Aspects Of Performance

How long do these things take?

- Christie Wolhuter

In a world of instant gratification, knowing how long it takes to make worthwhile improvements on yourself can be confusing. There is a plethora of information on social media platforms, promising instant results for weight loss, performance enhancement and even mental health. As valuable as some of this content is, it is important to try to learn how to filter out information that is not useful or may even prove harmful in the pursuit of fitness, health and wellness.

As a rule of thumb, focus on engaging with content that is produced by qualified individuals, especially when it comes to healthcare. Athletic performance has many aspects to it, and someone who promises results from one only method, or in record time, may not truly understand how complex the human body is. Good science should always come with a heavy dose of scepticism.

Just like it takes time and effort to move your horse up the grades, no matter what discipline you decide to do, it takes time to work on yourself as a rider. In this article, I will clarify different types of improvements you can make, and typically how long it will be before you start seeing noticeable differences. Too often, good-quality programmes are stopped because an individual feels frustrated with the lack of improvement. However, it is common for these things to take much longer than you might expect and often, had you just kept at it, you would have experienced big gains.

THE ASSESSMENT CATEGORIES

When I assess riders, I first look at where the sticking point may be:

• Is the rider struggling with motor control?

• Is it a strength/endurance issue?

• Is it range-of-motion restriction in any of the major joints?