Why Fitness Progress Is Never Linear: Hills, Valleys, and Detours
Last week, we talked about defining what fitness progress means to you.
For some people, that means chasing a measurable goal like completing their first pull-up, losing body fat, or running their first race.
For others, it’s about feeling healthier, moving with less pain, having more energy, or simply being able to keep up with life outside the gym.
Whatever your goal is, there’s one thing I can almost guarantee:
Your fitness journey won’t be a straight line.
There will be weeks where everything clicks.
And there will be weeks where life gets in the way and you experience what feels like a “fitness setback”
That’s normal.
In fact, that’s exactly what progress looks like.
Step One: Define Your Mountain
Last week, I encouraged you to spend five minutes thinking about what success looks like for you.
Ask yourself:
- Why did I originally start exercising?
- Have I accomplished that goal?
- If yes, what’s my next mountain?
- What does progress look like for me right now?
If you’re someone who enjoys measurable goals, maybe your next mountain is completing your first pull-up, losing 5 pounds of body fat, or hiking a challenging trail.
If you’re more of a big-picture person, perhaps your goal is to move with less pain, have more energy, or simply feel healthier in your everyday life.
Whatever your mountain is, I encourage you to write it down.
Better yet, keep it somewhere you’ll actually see it—a notebook, your bedside table, or on your phone.
Read it at least once a month.
Goals have a funny way of slipping into the background when life gets busy. A simple reminder helps keep you focused on what matters most.
Step Two: Focus on What You Can Control
Once you’ve identified your goal, the next step is to identify the daily and weekly habits that will move you toward it.
Think of it this way:
Your outcome goal is your destination.
Your daily and weekly habits are the route that gets you there.
The destination isn’t always under your control.
The actions usually are.
Here are a few examples.
Goal Example #1: Lose 5 Pounds of Body Fat
Outcome Goal
Lose 5 pounds of body fat.
Daily Habits
- Prepare three home-cooked meals built around lean protein and high-fibre carbohydrates.
- Aim for 6,000–10,000 steps each day, even if it means parking farther away, taking the stairs, or going for a short walk after dinner.
- Drink water regularly throughout the day.
Weekly Habits
- Complete three strength-training workouts.
- Enjoy one restaurant meal each week while still prioritizing lean protein and vegetables.
- Skip the appetizers, and if you really want dessert, consider sharing it. Instead of focusing on what you’re “missing,” enjoy the experience of having someone else cook and clean up while appreciating flavours you don’t make at home.
Goal Example #2: Move With More Ease
Outcome Goal
Move comfortably enough to get up and down from the floor with confidence.
Daily Habits
- Complete the mobility routine your coach has prescribed—even if it’s just the five-minute version.
- Drink water or herbal tea with each meal, plus an extra glass during your afternoon slump.
- Take your Omega-3 supplement if it’s part of your nutrition plan.
Weekly Habits
- Complete your two strength and mobility sessions at PI.
- Stay focused and present in your body, during the exercises designed to improve your movement, even when progress feels slow.
Goal Example #3: Perform Your First Pull-Up
Outcome Goal
Complete one strict pull-up.
Daily Habits
- Include lean protein at each main meal.
- Perform your assigned shoulder mobility exercises.
- Practice hanging from the pull-up bar, a sturdy tree branch or other progression exercises recommended by your coach.
Weekly Habits
- Complete three strength workouts that include your pull-up progression plan.
- Limit alcohol to one or two drinks over the week if reducing body fat is part of your strategy.
Give Yourself a Timeline… But Hold It Loosely
Having a target date is helpful.
Goals without timelines often become dreams.
But here’s the important part:
Treat your timeline as a guide—not a contract.
Life doesn’t always cooperate with our plans.
And that’s okay.
Hills: Sometimes It’s Just a Tough Week
Imagine you’ve committed to:
- Walking 8,000 steps each day.
- Completing three strength workouts every week.
Then you catch the flu.
You spend three days in bed.
The remaining days, you only have enough energy to walk 2,000 steps.
Instead of three workouts, you complete one modified Zoom session with your trainer.
When you finally start feeling better, you begin stretching and doing some gentle mobility work.
Because it was a particularly nasty flu, it takes another couple of weeks before your strength and energy return.
So let me ask you:
Was that week a failure?
Absolutely not.
You adapted.
Instead of giving up, you adjusted your expectations while continuing to move forward.
That isn’t failure.
That’s resilience.
Detours: Sometimes the Route Changes Completely
Not every setback is a week-long illness.
Sometimes life throws you a much bigger curveball.
Maybe you hurt your back helping a friend move because you weren’t paying attention to your lifting technique.
Maybe you’re rear-ended in a car accident and injure your neck and shoulder.
Suddenly, your goal of performing your first pull-up feels impossible when simply reaching into the cupboard or emptying the dishwasher is uncomfortable.
Does that mean you’ve stopped making progress?
Not at all.
It simply means the route to the summit has changed.
Instead of focusing on pull-up progressions, you and your coach shift your attention to rebuilding the foundation first.
Your daily actions might now include:
- Eating enough protein to support healing.
- Completing your prescribed neck and shoulder mobility exercises.
- Following your home rehab program consistently.
Your weekly actions might become:
- Attending your active rehab sessions.
- Gradually rebuilding strength and movement.
- Celebrating improvements in function before worrying about pull-ups.
Yes, the pull-up goal may need to move further into the future.
But every rehab exercise you complete…
Every mobility session you stick with…
Every workout you modify instead of skipping…
You’re still climbing the mountain.
You’re simply taking a different trail.
Progress Doesn’t Mean Perfect
Many people imagine progress looks like a straight line.
In reality, it looks much more like this:
A few great weeks.
A setback.
A plateau.
A breakthrough.
Another setback.
More progress.
The line wiggles up and down.
Here’s a great infographic from my Precision Nutrition Level 1 Sleep, Stress Management, and Recovery Certification, that reminds clients of what progress actually looks and feels like:
It’s important to remember, even if progress seems stagnant, often if you zoom out over months—or years—the overall trend is still moving upward.
The people who achieve long-term success aren’t the ones who never encounter setbacks.
They’re the ones who keep returning to the habits that move them forward.
Success Is Returning to the Process
One workout won’t make you fit.
One missed workout won’t make you unfit.
One healthy meal won’t transform your health.
One indulgent meal won’t undo months of good habits.
Success isn’t perfection.
Success is returning—again and again—to the daily and weekly actions that support your goals.
Life will throw you curveballs.
The people who succeed aren’t the ones who never get knocked off course.
They’re the ones who learn to adjust the route without giving up on the destination.
Your Action Step
Take another look at the goal you identified last week.
Now ask yourself:
- What are the daily habits that will help me get there?
- What are the weekly habits that will move me forward?
- Which of those habits are completely within my control?
- If life throws me a hill, valley, or detour this month, how will I get myself back on track?
Remember:
Don’t judge yourself by one workout.
Or one meal.
Or one difficult week.
Judge yourself by whether you continue returning to the habits that matter.
That’s what long-term fitness success is really built on.
Coming Next…
So far in this series we’ve talked about defining success and understanding that progress is rarely a straight line.
Next week we’ll tackle another common obstacle:
What happens when the numbers don’t seem to reflect the effort you’re putting in?
Whether it’s the scale, body fat percentage, your fitness tracker, or the amount of weight you’re lifting, metrics can be incredibly useful—but they can also become discouraging if we don’t use them properly.
In our final article, we’ll explore how to use numbers as tools—not judges—and why your progress is often much greater than the numbers suggest.
One Final Thought
Life will throw you hills, valleys, and detours.
Don’t let a difficult week convince you that you’re moving in the wrong direction.
The people who achieve lasting success aren’t the ones with perfect plans.
They’re the ones who keep returning to the habits that matter, adjusting the route when necessary, and continuing to climb.
If you’re a PI client and you’re feeling stuck, talk to one of our coaches. Sometimes a small adjustment to your plan—or simply a fresh perspective—is all it takes to help you keep moving toward your next mountain.
Not a PI Client Yet?
We’d love to help you identify your goals and build a realistic plan to achieve them. Book an assessment and let’s get started.