Let’s get right at it this week. In today’s log, Old Man Conjugate: You Have to Earn the Right to Be Frustrated I am going to go over something I see with beginner to intermediate level lifters and athletes. And I also see it on almost every discipline there is, even non-sporting ones.
What is it?
Unrealistic expectations for your current skill level.
I think the easiest way to get this simple, yet so often overlooked or misunderstood concept to you is with a story. So, grab a snack and read on.
One of my athletes, let’s call him W, is a very experienced Powerlifter with a ton of meets under his belt and a pretty good total as well, and has switched over to Strongman. W does the work, is dedicated and won his first show, and now has a Nationals win on his agenda. This is a lofty, but I feel an attainable goal in time.
We embarked on a Conjugate Strongman program and he is adapting well to it, but in the beginning, he was not satisfied with his progress. He got frustrated.
Let me interject here and say that this is good. We should never be satisfied, but we need to be realistic. We need patience.
As we progressed through training blocks, the time came for him to learn some basic Olympic Weightlifting movements that will carry over to Strongman and I explained that these will take time and patience. I told him what I tell all my beginners:
You Have to Earn the Right to Be Frustrated
As we progressed through the weeks and coaching sessions, W was often frustrated at his progress. I explained that Weightlifting, in my opinion is very different than Powerlifting and needs repetitive movement patterns to be ingrained into the nervous system and this takes time.
A long time.
He needs to be patient.
As with many of the younger generation, they want results now! Well, let me tell you, results take time. We need to learn to be a little better every session. We need to take the small victories and stack them on top of each other so they become larger victories.
As I sit on my phone and review training videos with him at night, there is an omnipresent level of frustration lately from W that hasn’t been earned. This is not uncommon but we need to take a step back and realize that being frustrated in the learning process only inhibits us from learning faster.
I tell him all the time, You Have to Earn the Right to Be Frustrated. And, as far as Weightlifting goes, he hasn’t earned that right yet.
So what does You Have to Earn the Right to Be Frustrated mean?
It’s pretty simple.
If you are new to learning something, especially something complex, getting frustrated that you are not a master of it after a few days, weeks or months is a waste of energy. It’s a bad seed that you, and only you have planted in your head.
Bad seeds don’t grow.
I explained to W that if he was training for a Powerlifting meet and was having technical issue with the basics that he has been doing for years, then indeed he did earn the right to be frustrated in that situation. Powerlifting is not new to him. But, since he has only been Weightlifting for a few weeks, no such right has been earned.
He is a RAW beginner learning a complex skill.
He also has to learn a new skill to help with this:
Patience.
Patience is a skill too.
Further, I feel it takes a long time to earn the right to be frustrated. Years. If we allow unearned frustration to sink in, it can implant negative thoughts about one’s ability, potential for growth, and can place unrealistic limits on us, as well as unnecessary stress. None of this adds up to a good learning experience or training environment/mindset.
This applies to any new learning situation, from work, to musical instruments to a new language. You get it, right?
When we are beginners at something we need to understand that there are miles between beginners and masters.
And, is anyone ever truly a master?
Can’t we all continue to be students of whatever it is we are doing?
Earned frustration may have it’s place in skill building once we have built a solid level of confidence if it is managed properly. But in the learning stages, frustration has no place and as coaches, it is our duty to help our athletes understand this.
We need to teach them that You Have to Earn the Right to Be Frustrated. A beginner simply has not paid the dues yet.
In closing, if you are in the same situation as W, take a step back and look at what you did today that was good. Use that to build a more solid base so you are better tomorrow. Focus on what you did well, and figure out how do the things that need improvement better.
And accept that the greats are lifelong students of their craft. They don’t allow unearned frustration to get them off their game.
Be a lifelong student.
Did you miss last week’s log?
Read it here.
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Vincere vel mori
C.J. Murphy
September 22, 2022
