PR’s MADE OUTSIDE OF THE GYM
NOT ALL PERSONAL RECORDS(PR) ARE MADE IN THE GYM
Revel in the achievements that everyday life afford you.
My client started the session with, "Oh man I was at the airport over the weekend, and we were late so I had to grab my kid(25 lbs), both our bags, and a car seat, then run a half mile through the airport, pretty cool." I was elated at the last sentence. My elation was due to the fact that this particular client came to me initially in a very different state. She had been in back pain for over a year that started before a pregnancy, and then was exasperated with said pregnancy. Due to the pain she couldn't pick up, or play with her child, or engage in a multitude of activities without the presence of pain. For an active woman in her early 30’s, this was no way to live.
Over the first few months we worked on getting her out of pain, while slowly exposing her to more, and more load to increase her overall strength and resilience. We were working towards PR’s for her squats, and deadlifts, and she was preoccupied with her numbers on the bar which many of us tend to do. As her trainer that’s the number I’m supposed to be obsessed with as well. I admit I find the more important PR was the success in her airport obstacle race. She is now strong enough to interact with her child in a richer and more meaningful way. She is able to withstand the forces that are thrown at her from an unpredictable life. She came out the other side without pain rearing its ferocious head, and was able to go on with her day without being sidelined by pain for two to three weeks and lost training time. In making her way to a gym PR she achieved a more valuable lifestyle PR. Recognize, revel, and value the achievements that every day life affords you.
PROGRESS AMNESIA
Another important lesson learned from the story above is that in her recounting of the story she recognized it was good she wasn’t sidelined, but didn’t truly realize how far she had come and was surprised at my elation. She had not been able to take in the true breadth of the achievement because she had blocked out the initial stages of her recovery trajectory and all that initial pain stage. This creates what I like to call “progress amnesia”. It’s like the moms who completely block out the pain of birth many years later, or a person who forgets which limb gave them debilitating pain unable to work for years. In fact this amnesia is totally normal, our brain protects itself by erasing the painful stuff. If we held on to every horrible memory of pain, that's not much of a way to live.
So it’s good that we forget most of it, but if you are cognizant of this phenomenon and keep a diary, mental or notebook record you can consciously go back and accurately determine all the progress you’ve made. After all if you lop off half of the increases in your mind, you've only made half the gains. It’s much better to enjoy all your gains.
Our brains holding on to all that pain sometimes can turn into a pathology which turns into chronic pain and PTSD like symptoms but that's a topic for another day. Most of the time we pleasantly put those memories of pain in a little shoebox in the corner of our brain. Again its a good thing to forget the pain, but for our clients we want them to internalize and recognize ALL their gains to empower them.
This again is an argument for properly documenting so you can show them written or photo proof of how far they have come. Remember be aware of "progress amnesia" when you are dealing with your pain clientele. Positive and empowering reinforcement are important in getting these people on a pain free path. Always remind them of how far they really have come.