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Exercising is good for us. Choosing better foods is good for us.
You know that, I know that, I know that you know that. (duh)
But – there’s a reason that I’ve made it such a high priority to preach the gospel of fitness and to be involved coaching others to include it as a foundational habit within their lives. That reason? Because the benefits it has on us are extra-ordinary.
In this article, I want to combine the experiences I’ve gained training myself, observations training others, and dabble into the science of what changes occur as strength training and the “fitness lifestyle” become part of our day-to-day experience.
I want to create a timeline of the impact that fitness has on us – weeks, months, and years down the road.
Through this article, I challenge you to identify which stage it is you are in. This can help you to gain an understanding about what the main focus should be for you specifically and to be able to anticipate what you can expect from the future, as well.
Now, on to the fitness timeline. Starting from square one.
This is the period of time that is undoubtedly the most difficult. Why is that? Because it’s all new. Not only are you fighting previous habits to get in the gym and make it a part of your routine, you also may be dealing with other side-effects such as DOMS, or delayed onset muscle soreness, which can (quite literally) be a real pain in the ass.
However during this time, you may notice you start to encounter the “feel good” hormones (called endorphins) that can help to get you hooked to the habit of exercising. You’ll likely feel more energized and gain a sense of accomplishment.
Your focus? Pay close attention to these early feelings. Identify what you enjoy about training (ex: having more energy or being more productive) and keep on showing up.
You’ve made it past the first few hardest steps. It’s in this next phase when you start to go to the gym and unload a dumbbell or bar from the rack and think – is this thing getting lighter?! Spoiler alert: the weight sure as hell isn’t changing. You’re just getting stronger. But it actually has very little to do with you gaining any muscle at this time.
We’ll get science-y for a quick second. What’s really happening is you’ve begun to train your central nervous system or CNS (i.e. your brain and spinal cord) to fire nerve signals more fluidly to your peripheral nervous system or PNS which also includes synapses that communicate with your muscles. I like to think of it as a simple analogy where your CNS is like an amplifier talking to your PNS and muscles which act as the speakers.
The focus here? Take advantage of this time to get stronger. Make consistent efforts to be adding weights to the bar every week. You will get stronger, and it will come quick.
Based on the evidence out there (and what I’ve observed training myself and clients) around 8 weeks is the time when physical changes start taking place. Your clothes may fit better, you may see a difference in the mirror, these are the things that we all strive for. Congratulations, you’re getting jacked.
And your scale weight? It may not even be changing all that much. This is when you’ll hear the cliche words that “the scale doesn’t tell the full story”. But, it’s completely true. Your body is in a state of recomposition as you add lean muscle while also dropping fat. Hypertrophy is just another bro-scientific word meaning to build muscle.
What’s the focus? At this stage (if you’re sticking to the plan), strength is climbing in the gym, you are looking and feeling better, and you’re in a “golden window” of opportunity for making early gains on all fronts. Take advantage of this time. This is when you can really build a solid routine and begin laying down a foundation for the future.
You’ve been in the game for a while now and chances are, you’ve now in a solid rhythm of getting things done inside and outside the gym. You’re probably now refining smaller details like your daily step count and tracking nutrition with calories and macros. Now’s the time to double-down on these things. Because there will be obstacles that test your ability to stay consistent. And you have to be ready to take them on.
I would say, without hesitancy, this is a period in your fitness where things change dramatically. At some point, you’ll approach diminished and slow returns. In other words you’re not going to keep making progress at a rapid rate like you were before. And so a mindset switch at this time is crucial to keep things from getting stale in your routine.
The focus in this phase? If you are here, I encourage you to check out my other article Why You Should Stop Chasing Muscle. This will help you understand what I mean by switching up your mindset. With slower gains, you need other ways to keep yourself motivated. Otherwise? Burn-out is inevitable.
By this point you’ve reached a high level of mastery in your fitness. And you can count on it by now that fitness will be a part of your lifestyle for the undeniable future. It’s a strong habit for you and through the consistent and clear work ethic that you’ve sustained, you are reaping all of the amazing benefits from your routine.
This is the part when you are solidified in your fitness but, now? You have an even greater responsibility. To educate and lead by example for others around you about this lifestyle. Not to act as some sort of fitness hero, but more-so to reinforce it within yourself. One of the best ways we learn is by teaching others.
This phase has no singular focus. You’re in a stage of compounding gains and can dive even deeper into the smaller details that were just “splitting hairs” before. You now have clearance to look into more advanced tactics like meal timing, supplementation, and incorporating complex and fancy-shmancy workout practices off-limits before.
So, let’s simplify. Here’s a summary of each of the phases:
- Week 1-4: The Habit-Forming Phase is about getting yourself teed up for success
- Week 4-8: The Newbie Gains Phase is about capitalizing on rapid progress early on
- Month 2-6: The Hypertrophy Phase is about laying down your foundation of fitness
- Month 6-12: The Slow Returns Phase is about making adjustments to your mindset
- Year 1-3+: The Goal Mastery Phase is about fine-tuning details and leading others
As I said earlier on in this article, take a moment to identify which phase you are in and hone in on the key focus for that particular phase. Your end-goal? Reaching mastery. To get there it helps to know where you are and what your focus should be.
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