Work Shop MCR

MOVING THE GOALPOSTS

I spent a good five minutes this week talking about where someone’s foot needed to land.

“No.”

“There.”

“Bit wider.”

“No... back there.”

Every rep.

Same place.

Again.

Again.

Again.

I could tell they were thinking, does it really matter that much?

Yeah.

It does.

Because if your foot lands somewhere different every rep...

You’re not repeating the same lift anymore.

You’re doing a different version of it every time.

Then someone says...

“I think that one felt better.”

Better than which one?

The one with your feet there?

Or there?

Or there?

You’ve changed the test three times.

You’ve no idea what’s actually improved.

I reckon we do that with loads of things.

One week we decide we’re counting calories.

Then we sack that off and start fasting.

Then we’re going to run more.

Then it’s weights.

Then it’s 10,000 steps.

Then it’s cutting carbs.

A month later we say...

“I don’t know what works.”

Well...

How could you?

You’ve changed the question every week.

Sometimes coaching isn’t adding anything.

It’s just keeping enough the same that, six weeks later, you’ve actually got something you can compare.

Otherwise you’re just moving the goalposts and wondering why you never seem to score.

One of the lads in the gym this week has got a bad back.

Someone else has got a shoulder that’s giving them grief.

My hand still hurts sometimes from an operation I had a few years ago.

And every single time something like this happens, people’s first instinct is the same.

“Well I can’t do the programme then.”

Why?

Who told you that?

I’ve never understood it.

It’s like putting your sat nav on, missing a turning, and then deciding you’re not going to Tesco anymore.

You don’t do that.

You miss the turning.

The sat nav says “No worries, mate.”

And finds another route.

That’s basically what coaching is.

Can’t bench press because your shoulder’s playing up?

Floor press.

Can’t row?

Bike.

Can’t run?

Walk.

Can’t jump?

Step up.

Can’t do that?

We’ll find something else.

The destination hasn’t changed.

We’re just taking a different road to get there.

I’ve lost count of how many sessions I’ve changed over the years.

Honestly, Thousands.

People think the magic is in the exercise.

It isn’t.

The magic is in the effect.

That’s why I always laugh when people say they’ve missed a workout because they couldn’t do one thing on the programme.

Who cares?

Do something else.

We’re trying to get stronger.

Fitter.

Move better.

Feel better.

The dumbbell doesn’t know what exercise you’re doing.

Your muscles don’t know what exercise you’re doing.

Half the time your body doesn’t care.

It just knows it’s being asked to work.

Good coaches understand the difference.

Bad coaches get obsessed with the exercise.

Good coaches stay obsessed with the outcome.

There’s more than one way to skin a cat.

And there’s definitely more than one way to get fit.

Most people just need reminding of that.

Most people think training is pass or fail.

Did I do the workout?

Did I do the prescribed weight?

Did I do the exact exercise?

The reality is, it doesn’t work like that.

This week I found myself saying some version of the same thing over and over again.

“I’m not bothered about the jump.”

“I’m not bothered about the burpee.”

“I’m not bothered about the exact exercise.”

What I am bothered about is what we’re trying to achieve.

There’s a difference.

If your knee hurts, we’ll change the jump.

If your shoulder hurts, we’ll change the press.

If you’re exhausted, we’ll reduce the load.

If life has kicked the s**t out of you this week, we’ll adjust the session.

Because the goal was never the exercise.

The goal was always the effect.

Too many people think changing the plan means failing.

Sometimes changing the plan is the smartest thing you can do.

The best training programme in the world is useless if your body can’t tolerate it.

The second-best programme that you can actually do?

That’s usually where you’ll make far more progress than trying to force the perfect plan.

Real coaching isn’t about forcing people into a programme.

It’s about finding the version that works today and keeping them moving forward.

Ever had a session where everything just feels harder than it should?

The warm up feels rough.

The weights feel heavier than last week.

Your lungs are working overtime.

You just feel a bit flat.

I think most people assume those sessions don’t count.

The reality is they’re probably some of the most important ones.

Because it’s easy to train when everything’s clicking.

When you’ve slept well.

When work’s quiet.

When your knees don’t hurt.

When you’ve got loads of energy.

Nobody struggles to train on those days.

The interesting days are the ones where none of that is true.

I’ve spent the last couple of days having conversations with clients about poor sleep, sore joints, busy weeks, holidays, kids, work and life generally getting in the way.

And to be honest, that’s normal.

Very few of us are operating under perfect conditions.

Certainly not me.

Some days you make progress.

You add weight.

You get an extra rep.

You surprise yourself.

Other days you just keep the wheels turning.

You show up.

You move.

You do what you can.

And that’s still training.

I think people massively underestimate how much those days matter.

Because if you’re trying to stay fit for the next twenty years, not the next twenty days, they’re the days that keep everything moving forward.