Your 4-Minute Friday
We Are Back! Let’s dive into today’s edition of 4-Minute Friday 👊🏻
On making progress, the true meaning of consistency, and more realizations of a new dad…
1. The Secret To Making Progress In Your Training: Progressive Overload
The principal of progressive overload is quite simple — gradually increasing the demands placed on the body over time, which forces the body to adapt, grow stronger, and be able to handle more stress.
If you look at your strength training program, each week you should be increasing one of the following variables:
- Weight
- Reps
- Sets
- Range of motion
As you do this, you are placing a new and greater stimulus on your body which is key for muscle growth or gains in strength.
Here is an example using REPS as the variable.
Week 1: 3x10 @ 100 lbs = 30 total reps
Week 2: 3x12 @ 100 lbs = 36 total reps
Week 3: 3x15 @ 100 lbs = 45 total reps
Once you get to Week 4, go up to 105 lbs and back down to 10 reps. Rinse and repeat.
Action Step — Look at your workouts from this week, now commit to progressively overloading your training next week.
Remember — The methods are many, but the principals are few.
2. The True Meaning Of Consistency:
I often talk about the importance of showing up daily. That being said, perfection doesn’t exist and as we all know, life happens.
The true meaning of consistency is being able to get back on track quickly when life happens or when the wheels fall off.
Consistency is about being able to adapt, acknowledging that setbacks are an integral part of any journey.
When you can relentlessly commitment to the process and pursuing progress, even in the face of life's unpredictability, you’re on your way towards growth.
You’re going to miss workouts. There’s going to be days where you aren’t the husband or dad you want to be. You’re going to have a shitty day at work.
Action Step — Commit to accepting that and making sure you show up the next day ready to be the person you want to be.
3. Realizations Of A New Dad:
This is a daily work in progress. We all wear many hats and we all want to look our best in every hat.
Husband and dad. In business and in our careers. In our training endeavors. Our personal development. Our social lives. I haven’t even talked about things we want to do around the house… This list can go on and on.
As high performers, we’re pulled in many directions and there’s a lot we want to accomplish… with only so much time.
We have to prioritize certain things during certain seasons of life.
For me - it’s wife and baby, my own training, my family, and coaching my athletes. I know that I can focus on these areas at the same time and show up at a high level. That means house projects are taking a backseat. Spending more time with friends is taking a backseat.
Action Step — Write down your main priorities and structure your day that allows you to focus and thrive on those key areas.
There are seasons in life. Each season may have unique challenges, opportunities, and demands. Understanding this allows you to be flexible, resilient, and align your energy with your purpose.
4. One Thought To Finish Your Week Strong:
“When you realize the hard thing is the good thing, you start to create a relationship with yourself that you are proud to continuously do the hard thing.” - Me
This thought was on my mind during one of my runs this week.
Maybe it’s your training. Maybe you’re trying to wake up early. Maybe it’s cleaning up your diet. Maybe its being more present with your family. Whatever that hard thing is, when we can realize, accept, and take action on that difficult task, we become proud. We become confident. And this bleeds into other domains of our life.
Action Step — What are you wrestling with? Cool… now take a few small steps this weekend to improve on it.
Momentum is a beautiful thing when it works in our favor. You got this.
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It was great hanging with ya today, now go dominate your weekend 💪🏻
- Matt
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