Taking a second to catch your breath
Sometimes you have to just fucking chill...
Yes, we work in a sport where the intensity can be pretty high, and the power output even higher but sometimes you just need to take a second, step back, and catch your breath.
There has to be time to "build" and time to allow the body to work the other side of strength development which is catching up.
Whether your "building" is you gained a ton of muscle and are moving new weights but the tendons and ligaments are not ready for it...
OR
You lost a bunch of bodyweight and your body isn’t ready to hit it as hard as you were while lifting at a heavier bodyweight...
You still have to give it time.
Many times we are afraid to step back for a second and allow everything to catch up... we accept that if we don’t DO than we LOSE and that couldn’t be any further from the truth.
Faith in your own skills, trust in your coaching team, and PATIENCE will always allow athletes (in all sports) that need to take time off traditional training to come back stronger than ever, ready to attack the big lifts.
Faith in your own skills: You have practiced movements thousands upon thousands of times... if you don’t believe in your movement patterns to return to the smoothness they had before you needed time off, than you don’t lack practice...you lack trust in yourself! I'm not sure about you but if I’m going to bust my ass, bleed, and sweat for something I’m for sure going to remember that shit when it comes time...I fucking EARNED this movement pattern.
Trust in your coaching team: By team I mean YOURSELF and any coaches/specialists you may work with for your training. You cannot do everything by yourself...superhero complexes get no one anywhere in this sport. Trust your team to make the right calls based on experience, be open to discussion on how they feel you should proceed, and lastly and most importantly be vocal...if shit feels bad, communicate with them...if shit feels amazing, communicate with them!!!
Patience: isn’t this one a bitch? Yeah... you have to learn to be patient... just like how it took 3 years to get to where you "were" it may take a week or two or even a month to get back to where you feel as good as you did, but guess what...be patient, do it right, learn from past mistakes (history DOES tend to repeat itself so don’t let it lol) and rock and roll forward knowing you are ready...if you just take your time.
Taking a step back to breath, smell the roses, and knowing that you will sprint forward (if done right) is how all top athletes perform well. Yeah, they get scared and yes they freak out when injuries happen, or they cannot perform to the fullest because they are exhausted...they are human, but the thing most of them do is understand they are not machines and sometimes the body just needs some loving and needs to catch up.
Take a second, step back, catch your breath, then charge ahead!
Follow me over @coach_adamcheck for more!