Progessive Overload in Business

About 18 months ago, I took up weightlifting. Since then, I've become more serious about it, competing in two powerlifting meets as well as setting up my own home gym to allow me to continue during lockdown. There are some basic principles to follow to get stronger; and it occurred to me that these transfer quite naturally to business.

1) Set ambitious but concrete goals

No serious weightlifter just goes into the gym and lifts what s/he feels like on that day. You first sit down and get clear on your goals. Then you come up with a program that will get you there. My deadlift goal, for example, has been to get to 180kg. I've had this goal for about a year - so it's ambitious enough to take time, but not so out of reach that I'll never get there. When I set it, my personal best was 140kg. Now its 165kg. While goal-setting is well rehearsed in business, people often set goals (e.g., at annual appraisal time) but then forget about them. In weightlifting, you have to set your goal and then go after it relentlessly.

2) Progressive overload

The key to improving strength is what's called progressive overload in weightlifting circles. That is, once you've set your goal, every time you do a workout, you try and incrementally improve on what you achieved last time. This can be as simple as adding a couple of extra kilos to the bar or adding an extra rep. This is how I got from failing a squat at 112kg to lifting 137kg just a few months later - improving by only a few kilos every time I got better. Work is the same - you don't have to achieve that ambitious goal on day one, but if you can focus on making one small step towards it, you are half way there.

3) The importance of recovery

Every bodybuilder or powerlifter knows that muscles aren't built in the gym, they are built outside. If you get your nutrition right, your body grows during recovery time, especially when asleep. It's the same in business. Think to where you had your best ideas - likely it wasn't in the office, but during a long walk, a shower, or when you were just relaxing at home. So make sure to schedule time for those reflective breaks that allow you both to recharge and be inspired.

4) Go hard, but not all the time

As a weightlifter, you'll have some great workouts where you feel you can lift anything, and some workouts where you just feel weak. That's ok. Any athlete knows that progression is not linear. So if you're having a bad day, you adapt your workout and do what you can. It's the same in business - if you try to go hard towards your goals every minute of every day, you'll burn out very quickly. You need to play the long game and realize that a bad day today won't look so bad in 6 months.

5) Get a coach

It's hard to find the motivation to push yourself all the time. That's why athletes have a coach. They serve two purposes - they help you set your goals and push you towards them, but they also help you to tune out all the noise. This is most obvious during a powerlifting meet - to lift a personal best, you need a singular focus. A good coach will take care of all the noise - making sure you are eating regularly, you are warming up at the right time, and telling you what weight to put on the bar next. Again, it's the same in business - whether it's a professional coach or an informal mentor, these people can really help you to tune out all the noise (your anxieties, self-doubts, the small stuff it's not worth sweating over).

It's useful to reflect on what you are good at in life and how what you've learned there can transfer to other situations. It doesn't have to be weightlifting - that's just my thing. The same principles apply whether it's running a marathon, cooking up that amazing meal, painting the perfect picture, or just being a great parent. If you're struggling to achieve a goal, think how you achieved goals in other parts of your life - you'll likely find the answer there.