The Grind can feel extra difficult sometimes.

You might get tired or bored of training when it gets monotonous. Always striving for that same, distant goal might not motivate you enough to sustain your lifelong performance lifestyle. Instead, the boredom persuades desertion. You end up just going through the movements and not necessarily pushing for adaptations, or just giving up all together.

Or maybe you struggle because it’s just that time of the year – Winter. If you’re someone who experiences seasons, like me in Philly, then we know the struggle of exercising when the cold sets in. The outdoors become harsh, and those favorite running routes become your “see ya next summer” routes.

In either case, our Grind becomes affected by the passage of time. And guess what, we can’t control time.

What we can control is how we Grind with time. And I think Everyday Athletes learn something about how Professional Athletes train, especially in regards to Seasons.

You may have heard about Pre-Season, In-Season, Off-Season… But, why are Professional Athlete’s training programs time-specific? For them, it’s so they can periodize their training to peak during major competitions. They gradually build upon their foundation and establish new goals and target new performance characteristics as time passes. 

You might be wondering – how is this useful, or even relevant, to you.

Seasons Help Facilitate Foundation Maximization

The seasonal process allows athletes to build their foundation prior to specializing. We see this when they create new goals in subsequent meso- and macro-cycles. The goals in these new cycles target higher-level abilities that rely on earlier, foundational adaptations.

Similarly, Everyday Athletes can use this strategy to eliminate the monotony of training towards “that same, distant goal”. We need to ask ourselves – Does the need to achieve that goal outweigh the displeasure in the process to reach it; or, could I enjoy the process more by adjusting my goals in a way that will still get me to the end goal eventually?

You see, consistently grinding out high-volume, hypertrophy-specific workouts might help you reach your goal, eventually. But we can achieve similar results, and maybe even faster, if we transition from hypertrophy-specific workouts to strength and power workouts. While these new goals won’t specifically target your hypertrophy goals, their inclusion will help future hypertrophy-specific workouts. By training strength, you’ve increased the intensity your body can work at, subsequently increasing the volume achievable in hypertrophy-specific workouts.

So, if you’re starting to feel bored with your routines, try altering your goals. Establish a timeline and indicate when you plan to transition. This transference will help integrate new and interesting exercises that will hopefully keep you invested in your program

Seasons Provide Flexibility to your Programming

This is important for those who experience seasonal changes. We need to learn to manage our expectations throughout the year, and be flexible based on the activities available to us. For instance, are you really going to run in the winter? There’s no sunlight, it’s cold, and just being outside can sometimes feel hard. You might run, but, in my experience the answer is a big fat No.

So just like we might periodize our goals around the year, we should consider periodizing our exercise mode. Realize ahead of time that running in the cold isn’t going to happen and devise an alternative. Don’t let a change in weather decide whether you’re going to achieve your New Year’s Resolution at the end of the year. Find an indoor alternative for the time being, and look forward to when that favorite running route becomes accessible again. If you are too rigid with what types of exercises you’re willing to do, you might find yourself doing none at all.

Seasons Assist in Stress Management

You can’t be high-intensity ALL THE TIME. That kind of attitude is simply to going lead to burnout, more stress, or even injury. That’s exactly why Professional Athletes utilize a Post-Season, where their recovery is prioritized over everything else.

I think that Everyday Athletes should do the same. You should learn to program and prioritize recovery throughout the year to support the continuation of your performance lifestyle. Take little breaks of hammering it to recover. Then, get right back into it.

This works great with the seasons, vacations, or holidays. On those special occasions, it can be difficult to find time and grind it out. So, instead, use them to (1) emphasize recovery and (2) improve your training potential once your return.

Next Steps

I want you to think back to when you’ve struggled to adhere to your program. Ask yourself, what made you struggle? Was it boredom? An injury? Did your “site” close down for the season.

If you can be honest with yourself, you can devise a seasonal strategy that should keep you grinding. Maybe your goals change from bulking to cutting between winter and summer, respectively. Maybe you decide to recover during Thanksgiving and Easter. Or, maybe still, you find a new, alternative exercise mode that keeps you moving when the original fails.

Let’s become better athletes by taking a page out of the “Professional Athlete” book. Let’s try organizing our programs into seasons so we can maximize our returns, adhere to our commitments, and enjoy the process.

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