“Make haste, slowly.”

This gem comes from Coach Sommer, ex strength coach for the US national gymnastics team. 

In his program, he plans training for his athletes in one year blocks.

Not six weeks…

Not a few months…

One year.

We are used to getting what we want, when we want it, and our expectation of immediate results has drifted into our physical preparation and training.

Want a freshly made sandwich? Jimmy John’s will deliver one to your front door in 10 minutes.

Need an oil change in your car? $30 and half an hour wait. And the popcorn is free.

Hoping to meet someone new? Pull out your iPhone, open an app, swipe right.

But some things can’t be rushed. Connective tissue for example, has approximately one-tenth the metabolic rate of muscle tissue. Nothing we can do to speed this up, but we can sure as hell slow it down by acting rashly. 

Want to significantly improve your joint mobility in your shoulders and hips? No problem. You just need to stick with it for the next 210 days and you will see great results.

Want to improve your finger strength? Sure, you can get some muscular and neurological improvement in weeks, but the structures of your fingers need months. 

The more we try to rush the process, the more likely we are to overstep our limits and set the whole timeline back.

The culture says we can have it now. Don’t be fooled.

When it comes to training, “make haste, slowly.”