What I mean by this summer has been a physiological struggle, is exactly that. I've mind fucked myself in every which way possible. It's difficult to admit when you're wrong or when you realize that you've been doing things completely ass backwards for months, but that's exactly what I've been doing. I listened to what other people told me to do, which was vastly based on bro science, and just took their word for it without really researching on my own. I've read hundreds of articles, but didn't consider the source, so just assumed because it was published it had to be right. I focused solely on bodybuilding training and it didn't even occur to me to look at the whole picture. Basically, I've been training incorrectly and nonfunctional for months.
Due to this, I’ve had to throw everything I’ve ever known out the window and start from scratch, which is a difficult thing to do, particularly for someone as stubborn as myself. It’s hard to unlearn what you’ve been practicing for months. However, after a series of injuries and lack of progress, I was left with no choice and decided to forget
everything and listen to my boyfriend 100%. It hasn’t only been emotionally taxing because physically I’m not in a place I want to be physically, which is incredibly discouraging to say the least, but it’s been even more of a distress to acknowledge everything I’ve been doing wrong and have to start from scratch. I’ve felt as though I’m back at square one. Although now in the past few weeks I’m seeing more progress physically and strength wise than I’ve seen in months, at the beginning I could tell my strength faltered and that is something that really got to me. I've been discouraged and far too critical of myself.
I've come to the realization that this isn't an overnight process. Especially considering I've had so many hurdles to jump through these past few months, this is going to take some time. And quite frankly, if all our goals just got handed to us overnight, what is to come of that? You wouldn’t get the same satisfaction knowing that you’ve been working your ass off for however long to get there. There’d be nothing to work towards day after day, nothing to drive you and it’d be boring as hell. Slow progress is still progress. Even if you don’t see or feel any changes, every day you get your ass off the couch and go to the gym, you are one step closer to your goals than you were the day before. Don’t rush the process, you’ll only end up cheating and hurting yourself in the long run. Take it one day at a time.
So try not to get so down on yourself, because when you’re stuck in such a negative rut, it’s even more difficult to pull yourself out and be focused on what you really should be concentrating on. Most importantly, think about the bigger picture. If you’re just getting over an injury, train smart and think about how far you’ve come so far. If you feel as though you’ve reached a plateau, do something about it, don’t wallow about it. Try something new and realize how much better you were than even six months ago. Take your time and enjoy the ride. Learn about yourself and how your own body works, it'll thank you for it in the end. The biggest piece of advice I can give you, thanks to the help and guidance of my incredible boyfriend, is to look at the bigger picture. Once you do that, everything else will fall into place.
