QUALITATIVE BEFORE QUANTITATIVE.

If you’re feeling stuck in the gym, your lifts aren’t getting better or progress has stalled somehow, here are four questions to help troubleshoot your problem: 

Are you working hard? 
Remember, the struggle is required to create change.
The effort you put into a task at the gym can often become habituated.
The amount of work that got you to where you are now, may not be enough to get you to the next step. 

Are you putting the time in?
Adaptation and progress take time. 
There are no hacks or shortcuts.

Are you taking care of yourself outside of the gym?
Nothing happens in isolation. 
The 23 hours a day you spend away from the gym have a colossal effect on realizing any sort of progress on the hard work you put in inside of the gym.
Be intentional with your: eat, sleep, chill, play.

Are you lifting with the intent to make each rep as good as possible?
There are two kinds of PRs (Personal Records) in the gym.

Quantitative PRs - Lifting heavier than before. Or moving faster. Or being able to do more reps. 
These PRs generally focus on what gets done.

Quantitative PRs get all of the attention. They’re what everybody fixates on. They get the most likes on Instagram. 

Qualitative PRs - Making a difficult task easier, smoother or more coordinated. Or lifting with better technique, fuller ROM (Range of Motion) or less pain. 
These PRs generally focus on how something gets done.

Qualitative PRs are often go unnoticed because at the end of the day there isn’t a number to point to.

If you focus on knocking over Qualitative win after Qualitative win, over and over, the Quantitative PRs will eventually fall. 

Progress will be unavoidable if you separate yourself from the numbers, and instead focus on your effort, your intent, the quality of your movement, and taking care of yourself.