It Doesn't Get Easier - But Everything Else Does

A while back, one of our younger lifters - we’ll call him Mike - finished a set of 5 reps at 275 lb on the deadlift. Mike thought this was a pretty tough set, and after lowering the last rep to the floor, he stood up, turned to me, and we had the following conversation:

Mike: Phil - that was awful.

Me: The funny thing is, as you get stronger, someday you’re going to pull 315 lb for that same set of 5 reps, and it will be just as “awful,” but by the time you can do that, then doing what you did today - pulling 275 for 5 reps - will no longer be terribly difficult.

Mike: So . . . it’s kind of like eating really terrible food so that other food won’t taste as bad.

Me: Sure.

While this definitely made me chuckle, Mike actually understood the point quite well: Training doesn’t get easier, but everything else does.

When a lifter is new at Testify, it’s pretty common to get some version of this question at the end of a set: “This Weight was pretty heavy - I should probably just stick with This Weight next time, right?”

While this is an understandable line of thinking, it misses out on a key concept, which is that only when you force yourself to lift The Next Weight and The Weight After That does lifting This Weight become easier. If squatting 135 lb is difficult right now, don’t worry - it will become easier after you’ve squatted 140 lb, 145 lb, and so on. Squatting 135 lb until the end of time doesn’t work.

In school, when you pass 6th grade, you move on to 7th grade, and then to 8th grade. By the time you’re in 8th grade, your 8th grade homework might be challenging, but the work you did back in 6th grade is easy by comparison. . . because you’re now in 8th grade.

Not only do previous work weights become easier to lift as you get stronger - other physical tasks in your life become easier as well. You become stronger, but the driveway doesn’t get any longer, and snow doesn’t get any heavier, so shoveling the driveway becomes easier. You become stronger, but gravity doesn’t become more powerful, so keeping your balance becomes easier.

Training will always be challenging, but the fact that you continue to step up to that challenge means you become stronger and more capable. So keep eating that terrible food. You’ll be better for it.