The stress-recovery-adaptation cycle underpins the process of training. You stress yourself (the workout), spend time not stressing yourself (recovery), and hopefully move toward your goal (adaptation).
The stress you apply needs to be specific, based on the specific adaptation to imposed demand (SAID) principle. If you want to improve your run time, you should run, not follow a powerlifting routine.
For many people, following the workout program is relatively easy. What often becomes harder is changing habits outside the gym, which can be developed over years and decades.
How much protein are you eating? Are you willing to eat consistently in a caloric surplus? What does your sleep look like each night?
These and other factors limit your adaptation, and so addressing them can help you move toward your goal. Failing to deal with them means you may fail to meet your goal.
Recovery as the Limiting Factor: Maximizing RecoveryAs you age, stressful events occur in your life (even if they're positive, like having a baby), and your priorities change, your recovery (and thus your adaptation) capacity changes.
To move toward your goal and stay healthy, maximizing recovery may make sense.
This area, though, often comes with harder-to-crack psychological underpinnings. On some level, you like to and are used to your habits (even if you are unhappy with where they have led you).
Ensuring you get enough protein and consistently eat high quality foods matters. Prioritize sleep (which comes with a host of habits you can build around sleep). Limit alcohol. Don't pursue the unimportant and non-urgent in your life.
A new approach to training, especially in more stressful times of life, may need to occur. Building in some autoregulation and not beating yourself up if you don't do what is programmed (the planned stress) matters.
For example, Niki and her sister were on vacation. They went to the gym and Niki's sister did her last warm up and it was way heavier than expected. Niki decided to decrease the weight. The win was completing the workout, not beating themselves up about the weight on the bar, and not grinding out reps unnecessarily.
Recovery as the limiting factor is an important topic that needs more serious consideration.
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How to Structure Holiday Promotions - Coaching Success - #501
Deadlifts: Eat Your Spine - Beast Over Burden - #500
What is Your GAMEplan!? - Coaching Success - #499
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Business Economics: The Metrics that Matter for Your Business - Coaching Success - #497
3 Lifter Pathways - Beast Over Burden - #496
Delivering a Consistent High Standard of Service for Online Coaching - Coaching Success - #495
Metrics Aren't Your Master- Beast Over Burden - #494
Why You Should Take a Vacation - Coaching Success - #493
Strong Families through Strength Training - Beast Over Burden - #492
Automated Metrics are Awesome - Coaching Success - #491
Lots of Squat Thoughts & New Cues - Beast over Burden - #490
Be a Person of Integrity - Coaching Success - #489
Snapping Back to Your Goldilocks Zone - Beast over Burden - #488
Stop Being Cheap: Consider the Value of Your Time - Coaching Success - #487
Time to Change Programs? - Beast over Burden - #486
Pricing: Less is More - Coaching Success - #485
What Keeps You Training? - Beast over Burden - #484
Customer Service is King - Coaching Success - #483
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