Yesterday was a rough training day. The weights felt heavier than usual, my energy levels were low, and I struggled to hit the numbers that had been coming easily just a week ago. It would have been easy to label it a failure or to push through and force a session that just wasn’t happening. But instead, I took it as an opportunity. Rather than grinding through lacklustre lifts, I pivoted to mobility work and experimented with more obscure movements like tactical getups. These exercises weren’t about hitting PRs or chasing progress—they were about moving, refining coordination, and listening to what my body actually needed that day.
This kind of experience is common, but many people find it frustrating. We want our progress in strength and fitness to be linear, a straight line moving upward—more weight, more reps, more endurance, constant improvement. But that’s not how training works. The reality is that strength and fitness are cyclical. There are periods of rapid improvement, followed by plateaus, occasional setbacks, and necessary periods of consolidation. Understanding this truth makes setbacks easier to accept and even see as essential to long-term progress.
At the end of a structured training cycle—like the one I’ve just completed, where I pushed harder each week for six weeks—fatigue accumulates. That’s how progressive overload works: we challenge the body more and more until it reaches a point where it needs to reset. Feeling flat or even weaker at the end of a cycle isn’t a sign of failure. It’s a natural consequence of pushing limits. The body isn’t a machine that endlessly adapts without needing rest. By nature, it requires a period of recovery to consolidate gains and allow for supercompensation—where adaptations from the previous training cycle actually become ingrained, leading to the next phase of improvement.
Why Training Progression Isn't Linear
One of the biggest myths in fitness is the idea that progress should be smooth and continuous. The notion that every session should be better than the last, that every lift should increase, and that we should always feel stronger is a misconception that sets people up for disappointment.
The body doesn’t work in straight lines. Instead, adaptation happens in waves. When you stress the body with training, it doesn’t immediately become stronger. First, it experiences fatigue. If the stress is appropriate, the body recovers and then adapts to be slightly better prepared for similar stress in the future. But if the stress accumulates too much—whether through increasing intensity, volume, or lack of recovery—the body can become overreached, leading to stagnation or even temporary regression.
There are several factors that influence why progression doesn’t happen linearly:
Fatigue Accumulation – As training loads increase over time, fatigue builds up. This is why periodisation exists—to structure training in phases so that hard work is followed by recovery phases that allow for continued progress.
Life Stressors – Training doesn’t happen in isolation. Poor sleep, work stress, nutrition, and mental fatigue all impact performance. A tough session doesn’t always mean the program is failing; it could simply be that life outside the gym is affecting recovery.
Biological Rhythms – Energy levels, hormone cycles, and even seasonal changes influence performance. Some days, everything aligns, and the body feels primed for training. Other days, it feels sluggish, even when following the same routine.
Neural and Muscular Adaptation – The nervous system and muscles adapt at different rates. Early in a training cycle, the nervous system learns new movement patterns and recruits motor units more efficiently. After a few weeks, muscular fatigue may set in before true strength gains manifest, leading to temporary plateaus.
Psychological Factors – Motivation fluctuates. Training can be exciting when hitting PRs or learning new skills, but after weeks of hard work, mental fatigue can dull enthusiasm. Recognising that this is part of the cycle allows athletes to manage expectations and stay committed.
The Role of Setbacks and Recovery in Progress
Once we accept that strength and fitness progression isn’t a straight line, we can embrace setbacks as an essential part of the cycle rather than as failures. A bad session, a week of feeling weak, or even a short break isn’t a step backward—it’s part of the rhythm of training.
1. Understanding the Importance of Deloads
A structured training plan often includes deload weeks—planned periods of reduced intensity or volume to allow the body to recover and adapt. These weeks aren’t a waste of time; they help prevent injury, mitigate burnout, and prepare the body for the next wave of progress. A properly timed deload can lead to feeling stronger and fresher after just a week of lighter training.
2. Listening to the Body
Not every tough session means it’s time to take a break, but it’s crucial to listen to signals of excessive fatigue. Persistent soreness, reduced motivation, or difficulty sleeping can indicate the need for a short recovery phase. Active recovery methods like mobility work, walking, or experimenting with different movement patterns (like tactical getups) can keep training momentum without pushing the body into deeper fatigue.
3. Recognising Growth Beyond Numbers
Strength isn’t just about numbers on a barbell. Improvements in coordination, efficiency, resilience, and movement quality all contribute to long-term progress. A session where weights feel heavy but movement feels more controlled is still progress. So is adapting to setbacks with a smart training response rather than frustration.
Long-Term Success Comes from Embracing the Cycle
The people who make the most long-term progress in fitness aren’t those who avoid setbacks, but those who understand and work with them. The best athletes and lifters go through cycles of building, peaking, deloading, and rebuilding. They don’t panic when performance dips; they recognise it as part of the process.
Here’s how to adopt a mindset that embraces the ups and downs of training:
Zoom Out and Look at Trends – Instead of focusing on individual sessions, look at progress over months and years. A bad week is insignificant in the grand scheme if progress is trending upward over time.
Have Flexible Goals – Setting rigid expectations for constant progress leads to disappointment. Instead, aim for steady improvement while allowing for natural fluctuations.
Develop a Resilient Mindset – Strength is as much mental as it is physical. Accepting that not every session will be great prevents unnecessary frustration and keeps motivation intact.
Trust the Process – Training isn’t about quick wins; it’s about consistency over time. Trusting that setbacks are part of long-term success helps maintain momentum even when progress stalls temporarily.
So, there you go... yesterday, I had a rough training session. But instead of seeing it as a failure, I used it as an opportunity to do something different—work on mobility, refine movements, and take stock of where I am in my training cycle. My energy levels are low because I’ve been pushing hard for six weeks. That’s normal. That’s how progress works.
Understanding that fitness isn’t linear changes the way we approach training. Instead of feeling discouraged by setbacks, we can see them as signals—reminders that the body needs time to adapt, recover, and prepare for the next challenge. Strength and fitness are about playing the long game, embracing the cycle, and knowing that every phase, even the tough ones, contributes to becoming stronger in the long run.
At FEAT Fitness we host five kettlebell training sessions per week in Ditchling Sussex and on Zoom. If you are interested in participating in our fitness sessions take a look at the Kettlebell section of the website https://www.feat-uk.com/kettlebell and don't hesitate to get in touch on Info@feat-uk.com
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