How to Deal With Your First Training Plateau

Everybody loves the beginning. The excitement of something, perhaps something you’ve always wanted to try–and now, you’re finally doing it. You start sweating, you learn some techniques, you feel yourself getting better every session.

Then around the third or fourth month, something happens. You don’t feel like you’re improving as fast. Combinations or techniques feel harder, or maybe you look around and find someone doing the same thing–but they look like they’re doing better than you. Now you’re getting tired, life gets a little more busy, and training isn’t as fun.

Welcome to your first training plateau. Don't worry--everyone has been there. It's a part of the learning process.

Most people think that there’s something wrong with them, when in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It means you’re training. It means you’re putting in the work: the time, effort, and consistency that goes into progress. 

The beginning is exciting because improvement was obvious. The middle is where the work really starts. I’ve seen it thousands of times: the people who get good aren’t always the most talented. They’re the ones who keep showing up when improvement becomes harder to see.

The truth is that the “fight” is won on the days you don’t want to show up, but show up anyway. That’s how winning is done. The tough pill to swallow is that there is no other way. You can do everything right: diet, rest days, smart training, all of it–but anyone and everyone will have to learn resilience to truly grow. 

Keep showing up. Your breakthrough is on the other side.