It was on Coach Candice’s goal list to be able to do a Strict Dip. She wanted to be able to do one for a long time, but lacked strength in those positions to be able to do one. Back in November, she mentioned to her coach that it was a goal of hers. In December, her coach started programming work to be on the trajectory to be able to do one.
Things started out rough. Top of dip holds – piece of cake. That bottom position – barely happening.
Putting it nicely, Candice’s coach commented, “we have our work cut out for us.”
Not looking at how far away she felt from her goal, she got to work. At least one day per week had a dip-work focus. Some other days during the week included some accessory work to support strength development for the movement. Each 4-week cycle progressed upon the previous 4 weeks.
She wasn’t due to test out the movement for another couple weeks, the mood struck and she decided to give it a try. The result: success!
Once she realized she could do a dip on the Matador attachment, she decided to give the rings a try! They are traditionally harder than a stationary implement. Turns out, she can do that too!
There are some valuable takeaways from this process here that you can apply to your own goals, whether they be fitness, nutrition, or otherwise.
1) It starts with a goal in mind. Then, you move intentionally towards that goal. Her program was designed with the end goal in mind.
2) There was nothing random. She didn’t get here doing a different workout every single day for weeks. There were 4+ months of Wednesday workouts that were very similar – sometimes changing by only a rep or two or a set or two. Too often, people do random workouts in the hopes they will achieve their goals. In reality, random workouts only generate random (if any) results.
3) There were great days, average days, and not so good days. There were some workouts that went awesome and she accomplished her goals for the training session. Others, she hit most of her goals for the session, but perhaps not 100% of them. Then, there were other sessions where the work felt so challenging that she wondered if she would ever get to the endpoint of her goal.
Get over the idea that every training session will feel amazing.
4) Accomplishment of the goal took time. Too many people have a “4 week to this” or “6 weeks to that” approach to their goals. That is far from realistic for the vast majority. One has to pause and consider where a person is starting from and what their opportunities for improvement are. This varies greatly from person to person.
Just because you don’t reach your goal as fast as someone else or you feel so far off from where you want to be, doesn’t mean you won’t get there. It takes time and focused effort.
The time will pass anyways…may as well continue to put in the work toward your goal.
Too many people give up just right before the next breakthrough.
The surefire way to guarantee failure is to quit.
5) You have to want it. A lot of people will mention a goal, yet show up and passively put in the work. It meant a lot to Candice to accomplish this goal which means, each session, she was focused on challenging herself to the best of her ability on a given day. She often video’d herself to review where she could improve and adjusted accordingly. She focused intently each session on improving.
Voicing a goal, but then only putting in the minimum to accomplish it will likely extend your trajectory for accomplishing your goal.
Let’s also add, Candice’s coach couldn’t want it for her more than she wanted it for herself. If you express a goal, but your coach has to prod you along to put in the work, then it’s likely the goal doesn’t mean enough to you.
6) You have to put in the work. Building off the last point, a coach can write you the best program but if you don’t actually work it, you lower the likelihood of accomplishing your goal.
Final thoughts, you have to “believe” and “let it be possible.”
You can do it.
We believe in you : )