I called relief progress for three years

For three years I called relief progress.

I was a lifter first. Then one bad rep on the bench, pain down my leg, a foot that started dragging when I walked. I was studying kinesiology at the time, learning how a body is supposed to move while mine kept getting worse. Stretches, mobility, the exercises. Every good week felt like proof it was working.

That was the story I told myself. From the outside it looked different. A guy who knew better, doing the same drills for three years, mad that other people were getting better, and never once asking whether any of it was moving him forward. I had the training to know the difference between relief and progress. I didn’t run the test on myself, because relief was all I had.

For a while I did the same thing to the people I worked with. Someone would tell me the drills were giving them relief, I’d take it as a win, and I’d send them back to training. Some of them came back the same way I kept coming back.

Relief and progress are not the same thing. Early on, relief tells you the approach isn’t making things worse. Six months in, relief on its own is the trap. It feels like it’s working, so you never change the plan.

Now when someone tells me the rehab gives them a little relief, I say cool, a shower gives me relief too, and I ask three questions.

Can you handle more load than you could six months ago?

Can you train harder than you could six months ago?

Are you doing more of the things you actually care about?

Three years ago I couldn’t answer yes to any of them. I was calling it progress anyway.

Hope you’re moving well and brewing better. ☕

Gabe

PS. Stuck doing the same old boring rehab drills and not making progress? Apply to work with me here.