I will be the first to admit that patience is not something that comes easily to me. If you want something, isn’t it better to have it now rather than later? Maybe in some instances, but when you set your sights on having something now that in all likelihood will take time to achieve, I think you’re setting yourself up to not only  fail in achieving your ultimate objective, but also fail in achieving your true (long term) potential.

By way of example, say someone wants to achieve a 1.5x BW squat. I think it’s fair to say that with consistent, focused effort and injury free training, this is something which is for a large number of trainees achievable. However, if someone new to training were to be convinced (whether on their own, by a magazine article or a PT/coach) that this could be achieved in 2 weeks, I suspect it would be highly unlikely they would achieve the desired 1.5x BW squat in 2 weeks, the end result instead being disappointment and perhaps disillusionment. Although some trainees may question the agenda underlying the “2 weeks to a 1.5BW squat’ (ie sell magazines, training sessions, etc) others may very well question and ultimately doubt their own abilities, leading them to abandon their training – effectively ensuring they will never squat 1.5x BW.  How much more could this athlete achieve if they understood that increasing their squat will be a long, ongoing process? Although their progress may be slow, slow progress is better than no progress.

Much like impatience can kill progress, so to can ego. A friend of mine (and no ‘friend’ is NOT code for ME) went through a phase of trying to hit new 1RMs in squat, bench, press and DL on a weekly basis. Yes, I said WEEKLY! Despite chatting through how draining this would be (both mentally AND physically) he was insistent that chasing new 1RMs was really satisfying and showed he was ‘succeeding’ – his definition being able to add more weight to the bar. Although he had a few weeks of success (I suspect in a large part down to him not having done much 1RM training previously) in less than a month he was worn down, complaining of various niggles and how he really didn’t enjoy training any more. Didn’t enjoy it, didn’t want to do it, so he didn’t. Progress killed. While I’m sure it felt great writing down all the new PBs in his training diary for a few weeks, I can’t but wonder if he would have ultimately achieved more (ie bigger 1RMs) if he’d been less ego driven and more patient? Four weeks of adding 5kg per week sees a 20kg increase, versus 1kg per week for 52 weeks more than doubles the increase. Although 1kg per week may very well not be sustainable for a year,  I suspect more would be gained (ie patience) than lost (ie ego).

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KWOW (Kim’s Wod of the Week)

EMOM 10

Minute 1: 10x Kettlebell swings (KBS) and 1  Burpee

2: 9x KBs and 2 burpees

3: 8x KBs and 3 burpees

 4: 7 KBs and 4 burpees

5: 6 KBs and 5 burpees

6: 5 KBs and 6 burpees

7: 4 KBs and 7 burpees

8: 3 KBs and 8 burpees

9: 2 KBs and 9 burpees

10: 1 KBs and 10 burpees

Notes:

1. First and foremost, please ensure you have good, safe technique.

2. Each of the above rounds are done ‘on the minute’ for 10 minutes. All work (ie KBs and burpees to be completed within the minute).

3. For KBs, I mean Russian style swings (ie just above shoulder, NOT ‘American’ where the KB is overhead).

4. Use a KB weight that is challenging, but allows you to maintain good form and technique throughout. It’s far better to err on the side of going too light the first time and progress the weight as you progress. Resist the temptation to ‘be a hero’.

5. To make this more challenging, try starting from 15 and/or increase KB weight. To make this easier, try starting at something less than 10 and/or decreasing KB weight.

6. Helpful hint – if starting from 10, each minutes work will add up to 11. Remember only the top number (ie KBS) then do as many burpees as required to add up to 11.

7. Enjoy!!!