Why Does It Feel Like We’re Regressing in Training, or Not Moving Forward at All?
Progress won’t happen in a perfectly linear way; you won’t always be going heavier week after week. You can try, but it’ll only take you so far before you eventually need to come back down and reset.
Someone recently asked:
“Can you chat about when you progress your athletes, but it can feel like they’re regressing?”
I’ll come at this from a few different angles, but bear with me, by the end, we should have a pretty good answer. As long as I stay on track, haha!
When Progress Feels Like Regression
If you’re new to training, or especially to weightlifting, you probably remember hitting PBs almost every week. It felt great, and you didn’t have to think too much about what you were doing. You just showed up and followed the plan.
Then, over time, things changed. The beginner gains slowed down, training got harder, and the rewards didn’t come as easily. Eventually, it can start to feel like you’re not making progress at all.
Trust me, I’ve been there too… It’s a frustrating stage, but it’s also part of the process.
When it feels like you’re regressing, it’s often because we’ve moved into a different phase of training.
Every block or program has a specific purpose.
If you’re peaking for a competition, or even just a testing block, your training will look very different to an off-season or rebuilding phase. Sometimes the goal isn’t to chase 1RMs, it’s to build a stronger base, improve positions, or refine technique.
As a coach, my job is to guide you through those phases, helping you understand why things feel different and how that connects to your long-term goals.
Progress Isn’t Linear
Progress is very much not linear, especially in weightlifting. There are too many variables for that: recovery, volume, nutrition, stress, sleep, and everything happening outside the gym.
If things shift in your life, they’ll impact your training. I’ve coached athletes who needed to lower their Olympic lift frequency due to life or work changes, and naturally, that affects performance.
That’s why you can’t just add weight every week. Your body needs periods of lower intensity to adapt and recover. You’ll always have to come back down at some point and shift focus somewhere else.
And that’s not a setback; it’s what allows you to keep progressing.
What Progress Looks Like
Progress looks different for everyone. Some athletes care about numbers like new 1RMs or total milestones. Others define progress as improving technique, moving pain-free, or simply enjoying training again.
Before going further, it’s worth asking yourself: What does progress mean to you?
How you define progress shapes how you respond to these slower phases. If progress only means lifting heavier, you’ll feel frustrated when numbers drop. But if you see progress as better movement, more awareness, or improved recovery, you’ll realise that even when training feels slower, you’re still moving forward.
I work with a variety of athletes, all with unique backgrounds and goals. For some, progress means lifting heavier. For others, it’s about having fun, building confidence, or feeling capable again.
Each version is valid, and my job as a coach is to help guide them there, whatever “there” looks like.
Ideally, we’re continually improving across all areas over time, but our focus shifts from time to time. When pushing for a 1RM, recovery might take a hit. When focusing on technique, numbers might dip, but your recovery and confidence often improve.
It’s all part of the balance.
Frequency Matters
How much time you dedicate to weightlifting directly affects how fast you progress.
If you only snatch and clean & jerk once a week, progress will be slow. Realistically, if you want to keep improving, you need to be doing the lifts at least twice per week.
The more time you can dedicate to weightlifting, the more flexibility we have to develop multiple qualities at once.
For example, if an athlete trains four times a week, I can allocate more frequency to each lift and include variations to target weak points without sacrificing intensity.
If I want to improve someone’s snatch, I might program three snatch-focused sessions per week and reduce clean & jerk frequency to maintain it. Two sessions might focus on variations and technical refinement, while another pushes intensity as the block progresses. As we move forward, that balance can shift again, with fewer variations and more classic lifts.
However, if you’re only training once or twice a week, the approach must change. We’ll prioritise what’s most important for that moment, often using variations to improve technique and consistency before returning to heavier classic lifts.
The Technical Phases, Where “Regression” Feels Strongest
Outside of chasing numbers, sometimes I’ll progress an athlete by focusing on technique, especially after a heavy or peak phase.
This can be one of the hardest transitions. I might introduce new variations, tempo work, or positional drills to target weak points. At first, these can feel uncomfortable or even awkward. The bar may feel heavier, the timing may feel off, and everything can seem slower.
That’s often when athletes say, “I feel like I’m going backwards.”
But what’s really happening is adaptation. You’re learning new patterns, refining movement, and building awareness that will pay off later. You can’t fix technique at max weight, it needs time, space, and intention.
When working on technique, you’ll usually go through a few distinct phases:
The new technique focus feels terrible and wrong, and the old way still feels good.
Both the new way and the old way feel terrible. You’re in that awkward middle stage where nothing feels right.
The old way feels terrible, but the new way starts to feel much better. You can feel it transferring into your lifts, and confidence starts to return.
If you’re in one of those first two stages, it can feel like you’ve forgotten how to lift, but it’s actually a sign that your body is learning and rewiring movement patterns. That’s progress in disguise.
The beauty of weightlifting is that there’s always something to work on. Even when you’re not chasing numbers, you’re still developing qualities that support long-term growth.
Trust the Process
Feeling like you’re regressing doesn’t mean you are. It usually means you’re in a phase that’s setting you up for your next step forward.
Progress isn’t just about adding weight to the bar, it’s about moving better, understanding your body, and developing the kind of foundation that lasts.
So the next time training feels slower, or your lifts don’t feel as sharp, remember, it’s not regression, it’s redirection.
You’re still progressing, just in a way that doesn’t always show up on the scoreboard yet.
Just Remember
Progress will happen, even when it feels like it’s not. You can’t always be going for new 1RMs all the time, and you’ll have to work on other areas to improve different qualities of weightlifting to help further your 1RMs.
If you are ever concerned about your progress, always be open and honest with your coach and ask them. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to explain the plan in more detail with you.
If you want to dive deeper into understanding your lifts, your training phases, and what true progress looks like, join us at the MWBC Intensive Workshop.
It’s a hands-on learning experience built around improving technique, movement awareness, and your ability to make sense of your own training, the stuff that turns frustration into long-term progress.
—MWBC Team
