Embrace the Process: By Christian Thibaudeau

I wanted to share this for you all to see, because I think it is brilliant.  Christian Thibaudeau wrote up this piece over at t-nation.com. Below is a copy and paste of Christian’s article…

“Embrace the Process

There are two kinds of people in the gym:

1. Those who are training to get results.

2. Those who are training because they love it.

Who builds the best body in the long run? Those who train because they love it!

Don’t get me wrong, those who train merely to get results will sometimes get short-term results, usually the inevitable “newbie gains.” But they never achieve true, long term success.

Why? Because once you’re past your beginner gains, progressing in physique and strength is hard. If you’re only in it only for the results, they’ll never come fast enough. So when you’re passed that beginner stage and you have to work much harder for your gains, you simply won’t make it far if you don’t love the process.

I’ll be honest with you. If somebody gave me a pill that would stop my strength and body comp progress forever, I’d still train hard and train often because there’s nothing I’d rather do.

When it comes to long-term results, understand that:

1. Progression is never linear. I’ve had guys gain 5-6 pounds of muscle in 10 days then stabilize for six weeks. I’ve had others lose 4 pounds of fat per week for four weeks then only lose a pound per week for two months. I’ve had people increase their strength by 10% over a two-week period then struggle to gain 5 pounds more within the next six weeks. That’s how the body works!

But when that happens, people freak out. They expect the quick gains to last forever. But the truth is that you cannot maintain that rate of gain all the time. On top of that, you never know when that will happen! The only thing you can control is to keep training hard.

2. Because of the non-linear aspect of progression, people who are in it only for the results open themselves up to “solutions” that are actually counterproductive:

A) They change their program too often, thinking that it’s the program that doesn’t work. Changing your program too often only gives you an illusion of progression because of quick neural adaptations; it doesn’t give you more actual muscle gain. And it could very well limit the amount of growth you’re getting in the long run.

B) They get discouraged and turn to anabolic steroids. When I see dozens of teens without much muscle turning to drugs (and often using higher doses than some pro-bodybuilders), it makes me sick. Not so much because of the steroids themselves, but because of the underlying attitude than lead to their usage.

These guys never learn to train and eat properly. They don’t know how to make gains themselves, so they become slaves to anabolic steroids.

C) They stop training altogether because they feel it’s not worth the effort.

The real secret to getting long term progress is:

Fall in love with the process.

Let training become one of your passions. That way you’ll approach every session like it’s a privilege to be there; you’ll be excited and motivated to train hard and, as such, you’ll get more results. It will also bulletproof you to any stagnation period that might come your way. You’ll be able to blast through that and resume your gains afterwards.

If you’re in it only for the results, you won’t get them!”

And back to Danny…

Very well said Christian!  No matter what it is in life, if you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to stick with it.

There are many ways to make training more enjoyable.  Such as…

-Getting a training partner that you can trust (i.e. Someone that always shows up. Someone that is always there to pick you up).

-Hire a trainer to help hold you accountable and to design a program that fits your needs.

-Find a way to make it more exciting. I think everyone should incorporate weight training into their fitness routine.  But if being “cooped-up” inside a gym all summer DOES NOT EXCITE YOU ONE BIT, get outside for part of your training.

Hell, you could get some TRX Straps and take them to the park (seriously) on a nice sunny day.

The main point is that it’s not JUST about results.  Yes, I’d be pretty frustrated if my personal workouts led to a flabbier me, and I’m sure you would too.  So, results DO matter.  But remember, it’s not JUST about the results.  EMBRACE THE PROCESS.