THE TIME FACTOR

THE TIME FACTOR

By Shane Robert

One of the hardest things to overcome in exercise and fitness pursuits is our warped sense of progression. Nearly everything that we endeavor to accomplish in training takes the most valuable resource known to humanity. Time.

Neophyte trainees make rapid progress when they first start. This is true for the strength side of things, as well as for the endurance side. It’s not unusual for someone to gain 100-200+ pounds on certain lifts in a year. While that is amazing progress, going from insignificant weight to somewhat moderate weight in a year of concentrated lifting should be viewed as totally achievable. Much of that new “strength” is actually strength that already existed and simply became better at being expressed through a specific exercise or exercises. Unfortunately, it is this early progress that sets unrealistic expectations.

Everyone has different genetics that determine how far their initial progress can take them. Ed Coan, perhaps the greatest powerlifter of all time up to this point, or at least one of the top 3-5, didn’t stop making rapid, linear progress on his squat until he was squatting nearly 500 pounds as a teenager. Most fully grown men will never achieve such a squat. Regardless of your specific genetics, you will hit a plateau that requires doing something different to drive progress. At this point, gains start to slow. A lot. The more advanced you are, the harder you have to work for each pound gained on the bar. Where once you were used to adding 5 pounds per week, or even workout, at some point, gaining 5 pounds per month is incredible. At the extreme end of progress, 5 pounds per year is otherworldly.

Adding 5 pounds per month is nothing to scoff at. That’s 60 pounds in a year and 300 pounds in 5 years. That is, of course, if you can keep adding 5 pounds per month for 5 years. Sadly, over time, that 5 pounds becomes 2 pounds, becomes 1 pound, becomes…I’m sure you see the pattern here. Even a yearly gain of 5 pounds, averaging out to less than half a pound per month, will be 25 pounds in 5 years, which, for someone at an already advanced level of strength, is a major increase.

Let’s take a look at the real world example of world and Olympic champion weightlifter, Karlos Nasar. Karlos started weightlifting at 10 and could clean and jerk 45kg, which in itself is impressive. Now, at 21, he can clean and jerk the world record weight of 224kg. Spread over the 11 years that he has been training, that is less than 3 pounds per month of strength gained.

Long term thinking and understanding “slow” progress applies to weight/fat loss as well. I have worked with clients who get frustrated with losing 1 pound, or more, per week. If anyone could maintain that rate of loss, they would find themselves 52 pounds lighter by the end of the year! Keep the perspective that the typical American adult gains an average of 1-2 pounds per year. In fact, studies have shown that it varies by decade, with an average gain of 17.6 pounds between our 20s and 30’s (I’m looking at you alcohol), and slightly less during our 30s and 40’s of 14.3 pounds. Remember, these are the numbers for the entirety of each decade.

In 20 years, on their 40th birthday, the average (American) adult will find themselves 32 pounds heavier than they were on their 20th birthday. You can assume that this isn’t muscular weight since most people aren’t smashing weights multiple days per week. This is largely adipose tissue which, I don’t have to tell you, isn’t great for our health or physique. 

Over this long 20-year span, that is less than 1 pound, 0.8 pounds, gained per year. Even if you gain twice or thrice as much weight, you are still looking at 2.4 pounds per year. To then be disappointed with 1 pound loss per week, or even month, is crazy. It took you 20 years to gain. Even if it takes you 3 years to lose, that is amazing progress. It’s certainly better than continuing to gain that 1 pound per year for another 20 years.

Our society and, perhaps, our nature as humans, is geared towards instant gratification. We want it now and if we can’t have it now, then we don’t want it. Unfortunately, the only way to succeed in any health and fitness undertaking is to understand the time factor. Realize that everything takes time, likely a longer time than you think. Once you are willing to accept that you are looking at years, not days or weeks, to accomplish your goal, you can start to appreciate the small progress you make as adding to a much greater end, rather than feeling down about how slow it seems. To paraphrase Bill Gates, people overestimate what they can accomplish in the short term, but underestimate what they can accomplish in the long term. Focus on the long term.