Explainer | Running: training hard but not seeing improvements? Try these 5 steps
- A plateau can be frustrating but there are ways to kick-start the gains again if they have flatlined despite hard training
- Acceptance is key – for all the tricks to improve your training, you cannot improve at a beginner’s rate forever
Seeing improvements is great motivation for any runner. The harder you train, the more you improve. The more you improve, the more motivated you are to train hard. But sooner or later, we all hit a wall.
It can be frustrating to put in the work and not see the results. Your motivation plummets as you wonder what the point is, if you’re not going to improve.
Here are a few ways to stay motivated, or even kick-start the improvements again.
Acceptance
First, accept that plateaus are inevitable. When you first start running, the gains are inevitably big because the room for improvement is big. But when you are fit, the margins are going to be smaller.
So, do not get demotivated because the gains are slim. In fact, revel in the fact that you have got so fit that your body only has so much room for improvement left. Letting go of the expectations that you’ll be on an upwards trajectory forever allows you to enjoy the running, not the results.
Rest
Training is about putting your body under stress so that it breaks down, and then recovering so that it builds up stronger for next time. Many runners are excited about the breaking down part, but neglect the recovery part.
