But I'd like to encourage folks to adopt a practice mindset. One of the toughest hurdles for many folks to get over when they're first starting a strength-and-conditioning program occurs after the first 1-2 months. They tend to be very enthusiastic about training when they're first starting out. Everything is so new and fun to learn, and with consistency, progress can often come quickly (depending on where we're starting from). But after the easy gains come and go and motivation starts to wear off, it can be a real challenge to get to the gym. While there can be many reasons for this, one of the most common ones is to be outcome-focused.
Now don't get me wrong. Having goals can be helpful, and in order to track where we are relative to our goals, we need to be aware of the outcome. But for things like long-term health and fitness, focusing too much on outcomes can quickly backfire. That's why it's much better--as early as possible--to develop a practice mindset. Commit to the process and the practice of movement and good things will happen. Don't worry about numbers in the short term, worry about getting reps in. Worry about practicing movement. Make consistency a habit.
After those initial gains, progress isn't a straight linear path. It zigs and zags. It's kind of like the stock market. If you check prices daily, you're bound to be in for a wild and often stressful ride. Much better to check in on your portfolio once a month (yes, this assumes a long-term buy-and-hold strategy, which is my bias).
Make movement the motivation. I have to credit Mark Bell with the following quote:
"You don't need to get motivated to move. You need to move to get motivated."
Precisely.
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