Why Progress Isn’t Linear, and How to Train Smarter.

If you've spent any time training, whether you're new to the gym or a seasoned athlete, you may have noticed that progress often isn't linear. Some days you feel unstoppable then other days you might feel heavy, slow, tired, or off-your-game for no clear reason. 

There are the potential setbacks, injuries, stress, work, illness, kids, lack of sleep, loss of momentum, and people often interpret these dips as a failure, the truth is, most people, on the way to achieving their goals, still experience these dip, even pro’s.

Professional athletes don’t stay at peak performance all year round

. Behind every high-performance moment is relentless effort, and often hidden challenges, injuries, rehab, off-days, rebuilding phases. There are risks of overtraining, which can lead to mental fatigue, hormonal imbalances, and poor sleep, the point is that pros succeed not because their path is smooth, but because they and their coaches know how to navigate it. Through careful periodization, contingency planning, and smart adaptation, they hit peak condition when it matters most.

Better Programming = Better Results

Random workouts create random/zero progress. Structured programming creates predictable progress.

Why Random Daily HYROX/HiiT Workouts Are Limiting Your Progress

Let’s be honest, those Instagram pages posting a new “HYROX WOD of the Day” half of which are clearly churned out by AI are doing more harm than good. It feels productive to smash a different high-intensity workout every day, but in reality you’re spinning your wheels. These are Random workouts create random (or zero) progress. You’re not targeting weaknesses, you’re not building structured strength, you’re not improving specific energy systems, and you’re certainly not recovering properly. Doing these daily WODs is the fastest route to overtraining, plateaus, poor performance and preventable injuries.

The same goes for people who hit HYROX classes, HIIT circuits or CrossFit sessions every single day. These classes do have a place in a routine, they’re fun, motivating and great for general conditioning, but if you’re serious about getting faster, stronger, and performing well in an actual race or event, you can’t rely on generic group sessions. Your training needs to be tailored to you, your body, your weaknesses, your goals and your timeline. One or two group classes per week is fine. Beyond that, you’re sacrificing progress for the illusion of effort.

Good programming manages:

• intensity

• load

• volume

• frequency

• skill progression

• recovery

• injury prevention

  
  

Periodised Training Mirrors the Body’s Natural Rhythm

Periodisation means breaking training into phases that intentionally rise and fall:

• Build

• Intensify

• Peak

• Deload

• Recover

• Repeat

  
  

Clear Goals Keep the Journey Anchored

When you don’t have a goal, a setback can result in a complete collapse of a training routine, but when you do, it becomes a part of the journey. 

Goals provide purpose to you training.

They can be as simple as:

• Improve my 5K time

• Achieve my first unassisted pull-up

• Complete a HYROX

  
  

A clear target gives meaning to every phase of structured training.