IT'S A MATTER OF PRIORITY

It’s a Matter of Priority

You can’t have it all, at least not quickly.

By Eric Bugera

• Training is a long game, integrated into a lifetime and not one single training cycle.

• The body adapts quickly to what is prioritized, but a low ceiling from underdeveloped clients can undermine their ultimate goals.

• Invest early with multiple attributes and a diverse training plan – raise the ceiling of their capabilities such that when the time to prioritize comes they are ready to work.

The Long Haul

Most meaningful goals in training will take time. Thankfully, it’s becoming much more common for trainers to preach the long, sustainable path to their clients; however, there still seems to be a gap in comprehension for just how long the path might be. Although planting the seed of a lifelong pursuit of fitness is a step in the right direction, many beginner and intermediate level goals actually fall in the same boat. Things take longer than anticipated, almost every time. If you’re looking to go fast, go alone. If you're looking to go far, go together. This sentiment absolutely applies to fitness as well. 

Make a Choice

Specificity, or the SAID principle, dictates that your body will make specific adaptations to the imposed demands of training. With that in mind, several concurrent adaptations can take place at once – particularly with a young training age. As any of these adaptations advance, the degree of stimulation that is required to elicit continued progress also narrows the amount of focus you can have in training. This is where you must make a choice.

Specialization can increase the speed with which you see change. While this may seem enticing at first, what gaps might develop within a client that a more diverse training program may help cover? If the goal is to compete, at some stage extreme specificity begins to take over; but, in the case of a new trainee – diversity at a slower pace of progress may actually increase their ceiling of gains in the long run. If you want to go fast, go alone – select a more singular focus. If you want to go far, perhaps a more balanced approach would be beneficial. 

A client that focuses on currently training their aerobic base, building muscle, strength, mobility, and movement competency will likely hit a stagnation point after what seemed like supernaturally paced progress. Prior to that stagnation, they also likely established all the skills and physical capabilities necessary to sustain the effort needed to accomplish any number of goals their future may hold. The delayed gratification of a singular versus multiple attribute approach at a slower pace may seem like its hamstringing progress, but ultimately, specialized (or a narrowing of training focus) is the destination for every trainee. Don’t sprint towards that end point before securing the capabilities to see the longest progress possible. Since it requires this delayed gratification, the choice between initial development or more expedient singular progress is a challenge for every client or trainer to grapple with.

Get To Work

When you look at training through the perspective of decades instead of months, the concept of early prioritization begins to hold a lot less importance. Early prioritizing in absence of the physical capabilities necessary to progress long term is a short sighted trap that an early commitment to diverse training can overcome. Instead of chasing a singular adaptation as fast as possible to appease the more immediate desires of a client, a methodical approach slogging through their individualized development stands out as the better plan. No one escapes hard work, it’s coming for all of us. Make sure that you’re developing clients capable of laser-focused effort when the time comes to make that choice.

• Take a detailed look at each client’s goals.
• Determine all possible plateau points based upon where they are and what will be required of them.
• Devise long-term developmental plans. Don’t jump directly into specificity if they would benefit from a diverse array of adaptations to drive their long term success.