How to Start Velocity-Based Training - Part 4
Is Your Progress Real? Four Ways Lifters Fool Themselves
You're adding weight to the bar every week. Your training log is full of personal bests. Everything points to progress.
But what if you're not actually getting stronger?
There are several ways progress can look real on paper while being completely fake in practice. Without objective data, these illusions can waste months of training before you realise something's wrong.
Hidden Plateaus
This is the big one. A lifter does 100kg for 3 reps one week, then 102.5kg for 3 the next, then 105kg for 3. Classic progressive overload. Textbook progress.
Except it might not be.
If the bar is moving more slowly each week, the lifter isn't getting stronger. They're just grinding through heavier weights. Their actual force production hasn't improved at all. They've simply pushed closer to their limit without expanding it.
Eventually, the wheels fall off. The lifter stalls completely and has no idea why, because their training log told them everything was fine.
Technique Drift
This is when someone lifts more weight each week, but their form is gradually deteriorating. The numbers go up, but the quality goes down.
Higher squats. Shorter pauses. Bounced deadlifts. Each small compromise allows a bit more weight on the bar. But the lifter isn't stronger. They've just found ways to cheat the movement.
Without objective measurement, technique drift is almost impossible to spot from the inside.
Novel Adaptation
Rapid improvement on a new exercise or variation feels exciting. Adding weight every session, hitting rep PRs, everything clicking into place.
But most of this is learning the movement pattern, not genuine strength development. Once the nervous system figures out the coordination, progress slows dramatically.
There's nothing wrong with using new movements. But there needs to be a sanity check for what progress is actually taking place.
Retraining vs Real Gains
Coming back after time off and adding weight weekly feels like progress. And in a sense it is. But if you're still below your previous best, you're just regaining lost ground, not building new strength.
Real progress means hitting new benchmarks. Doing the same weight for more reps. Moving the same load faster than before. Until you're past your previous peak, you're recovering, not advancing.
How Velocity Reveals the Truth
All four of these illusions share one thing in common: they're invisible without objective data.
Velocity tracking exposes them all.
If the same weight is moving faster than it did last month, you're genuinely stronger. Your force production has improved. That's real progress.
If the weight is moving more slowly despite adding load, something's wrong. You're grinding, not growing. Time to change the plan.
This is why tracking velocity at submaximal loads is so powerful. You don't need to max out to know if you're progressing. The data tells you week to week whether things are moving in the right direction.
Want the complete system?
This free guide covers the basics, but if you want the full methodology, including velocity profiling, fatigue management, periodisation, and competition preparation, my Velocity Programming Mastery course walks you through everything across 50+ video lessons.
It's the same system I used to develop multiple World Champions as GB IPF Head Coach, now available as a complete online course for £199.
