Why Progress Should Feel Hard
Slater Coe • November 24, 2025
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You’ve been training long enough to know that EASY workouts don’t change you.
But there’s a difference between something being hard and something being productive and knowing that difference is the secret to your progress.
In sports psychology, there’s a concept called "desirable difficulty". It means that learning or adaptation happens best when the challenge is hard enough to push you, but not so overwhelming that you break down or burn out.
That sweet spot of being uncomfortable but achievable is what we want.
Why “Hard” Is Good for You
When we face something physically or mentally demanding in the gym, our nervous system and our muscles are forced to adapt. That’s how we get stronger, faster, or more skilled.
But, it might feel messy in the process. Our lifts might slow down. Our positions might feel a little wobbly. Our confidence might dip.
That doesn’t mean it’s not working. It means our body is reorganizing itself under pressure. In strength training, that’s called progressive overload. In motor learning, it’s called adaptive stress. Put more simply, it's growth.
The Science of Struggle
Tempo squats, strict work, lifting under fatigue, barbell complexes, gymnastic complexes… those are all examples of “desirable difficulty” built into our programming.
It’s not there to make you suffer; it’s there to make your nervous system work harder and remember better. The struggle creates skill retention and deeper strength.
How to Use It
*Don’t chase comfort. A workout that humbles you is feedback, not failure.
*Embrace the learning curve. When something feels awkward (like new barbell positions or tweaked technique) that’s your brain wiring a new pattern.
*Recover like it matters. Difficulty without recovery is just fatigue. Sleep, eat, and hydrate like your progress depends on it. Hint: it does.
*Training isn’t supposed to feel easy. It’s supposed to feel earned.
Desirable difficulty is where strength, skill, and confidence collide. It’s where you start realizing that the work you once avoided is exactly what builds the version of yourself you’ve been chasing.
So, when class feels uncomfortable, when the bar feels heavy, when the workout looks intimidating... good. The work is working.
If you notice a moment in class where you want to pull back, try stepping into it, instead.
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Fitness trends tend to swing back and forth. Years ago, people avoided heavy weights because they thought they’d get bulky or injured. Then the pendulum swung the other direction, and now it feels like every fitness podcast is telling people they need to lift as heavy as possible. The reality is a little less dramatic. Research is pretty clear that muscle and strength adaptations can happen across a wide range of loads. Heavy weights work. Moderate weights work. Even lighter weights can work... if the effort is high enough and the set is taken close enough to fatigue. That last part matters. In a group strength & conditioning setting like ours, most people aren’t training for a one-rep max powerlifting meet. They’re trying to get stronger, build muscle, improve conditioning, and stay athletic while fitting training into a normal life. That changes how we approach loading. Some days should absolutely feel heavy and controlled. Other days should move faster, involve more reps, or challenge your ability to repeat effort under fatigue. That blend is important because strength and conditioning influence each other more than people think. Heavy work builds force production. Lighter repeated work builds muscular endurance and work capacity. Both matter. Here’s where things get interesting... Most people naturally stop sets too early when weights are light. The discomfort from higher reps usually shows up before the muscles are truly challenged. On the other hand, moderate or heavier loads tend to make it easier to reach meaningful training intensity in fewer reps. That doesn’t mean every day should be maximal. It just means the weight should probably be challenging enough that focus, effort, and good movement are required. The goal isn’t to lift the heaviest weight possible all the time. The goal is to use the right load for the adaptation we’re after that day... strength, speed, positioning, muscular endurance, pacing, or recovery. That’s part of why our classes include both a strength piece and a conditioning piece within the same hour. They develop different qualities, and together they tend to build more complete fitness than either one alone. And in a class setting like ours, it's easier to talk yourself into trying to lift that heavier weight. 😀 💪
