The 3 Phases of Training + Why and How to Cycle Through Them

 

Today I want to talk about something that, once it clicks, is such a relief. Your training is not supposed to feel the same all the time. Even when you’re consistent. Even when you’re doing everything “right.”

 

There are seasons where pushing feels amazing.

There are seasons where holding steady is exactly what your body needs.

And there are seasons where pulling back is actually what helps you move forward.

 

If you’ve ever noticed that some weeks you feel strong, energized, and excited to train, and other weeks the same workouts feel heavier or harder to get through, I want you to hear this clearly.

So today I’m keeping this really simple and really practical. We’re talking about the three training phases every woman should cycle through, how to tell which one you’re in, and why recovery is not optional if you want long-term results.

What's discussed

  • Why your workouts are not supposed to feel the same all the time — and why fluctuations in strength and motivation are normal, not failure.

  • How your body constantly gives you feedback through energy, recovery, hormones, stress, and performance.

  • Why staying in “push mode” year-round leads to plateaus, frustration, and burnout.

  • The importance of cycling through three intentional training phases instead of training randomly.

If this episode resonated, you may also enjoy:

Episode 566: What Most Women Get Wrong About Progressive Overload

Episode 263: How to Keep Yourself Challenged When You Don't Have Access to Other Weights

Episode 555, 3 Reasons Why Your Maintenance Phase Isn’t a Failure, It’s a Strategy.

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Transcript

 (0:00) Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, (0:05) a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I give you a dose of real (0:11) talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally (0:16) loving your authentic self.

Stay tuned if you're ready to Embrace Your Real. Let's get it. Let's go.

(0:29) Hello and welcome back to another episode on the Embrace Your Real podcast. Today, I want (0:34) to talk about something that once it clicks, I think that it's such a relief. And that is that (0:38) your training is not supposed to feel the same all the time, even when you're consistent, even (0:43) when you're doing everything right.

There are seasons where pushing is going to feel amazing. (0:47) And then there are seasons where holding steady is exactly what your body needs. (0:51) And there's also seasons where pulling back is actually what helps you move forward.

If (0:55) you've ever noticed that some weeks you just feel super strong, energized, excited to train (1:00) in other weeks, the same workouts feel heavier and harder to get through. I want you to hear this (1:05) clearly. That is not a failure.

That is information. Your body is always communicating with you. (1:11) We have cycles, hormone shifts, life stress changes, recovery capacity changes.

And when (1:16) we try to change in this one mode all the time, that's when frustration is going to creep in, (1:22) not because you're doing something wrong, but because your body was never designed to stay in (1:27) push mode year round. So today I want to keep things very simple and very practical. And we're (1:32) going to be talking about the three training phases that every woman should cycle through, (1:36) kind of how to tell which one that you're in and why recovery is not optional if you want (1:41) long-term results.

Before we dive in though, I want to share this review. (1:45) She gave a five-star review and said, I feel normal now. This podcast has helped me be kinder (1:51) to myself.

Julie has made me feel like a human being. I didn't feel like I have to punish myself (1:55) and I can accept who I am, where I'm at right now. Just signed up for her course and looking (2:00) forward to learning from her wisdom and get more cozy in my body.

Thank you, Julie, for being a (2:06) source of warm comfort for me when I feel out in the cold. I love this so much. Thank you so much (2:11) for taking time out of your day.

Most importantly, I want you to feel comfortable in your body. I (2:16) want you to feel educated and empowered. And so that's exactly what my hope that this podcast (2:21) does for you on a weekly and monthly basis, but then also my programs, right? My movement with (2:26) Julie, which is dumbbell only workouts.

Literally all you need is a few pair of dumbbells in a small (2:30) space. And then if you're confused on the nutrition side, my macro-county made simple online academy (2:34) is going to give you some clarity there, but I'm so grateful for you. I'm excited for you to (2:39) get started in your macro-counting journey inside the macro-county made simple online academy.

(2:44) And I'm just, again, excited for you to feel educated and empowered. Okay. Now that we've (2:48) kind of set the stage, I want to walk you through each of the three training phases and kind of (2:53) how to help you understand what your body's asking for in each one.

So phase number one (2:58) is going to be the push phase, right? This is where you are going to build strength on purpose. (3:02) And the push phase is exactly what it sounds. This is the phase where you're going to intentionally (3:06) ask your body to do more than it's done before.

This is not a feeling-based phase. It's a very (3:12) goal-driven phase, right? During a push phase, the primary focus is progressive overload, (3:17) which simply just means that you're gradually increasing the demands that you place on your (3:21) muscles over time so that your body has a very clear reason to adapt and get stronger. (3:26) This is really important because your body is incredibly efficient.

If you keep asking (3:30) it to do the same thing week after week, it's going to get really good at that level of effort. (3:35) And then it has no reason to change. Your strength gains are going to plateau.

Your muscle (3:40) growth will likely slow down. Your workouts will start to feel very repetitive without (3:44) really actually producing results. And you've likely gone through this before because you (3:48) know exactly what I'm talking about.

So progressive overload is really how you avoid that plateau. (3:54) And I want to make this feel very approachable because progressive overload does not mean that (3:58) you're maxing out every workout or lifting the heaviest weights possible all the time. (4:02) It simply just means that you're asking a little bit more of your body than you did before in (4:07) a way that's very planned and very intentional.

And that might look like a few different things (4:11) depending on the week or the day. This could be like lifting heavier weights when the current (4:15) weight starts to feel very manageable. It could look like doing more reps with the same weight, (4:20) adding an extra set to a movement, training an extra day during the week, (4:24) improving control range of motion while maintaining the same load.

(4:28) The key is that something is progressing and that progression is happening on purpose. (4:33) This is also why random workouts don't lead to long-term strength gains. (4:37) If there's no plan for progression, your body is never going to get a consistent enough (4:42) signal to adapt.

You might feel tired or sore, but that's not the same thing as getting stronger. (4:47) During a push phase, you are intentionally in a season where strength and performance (4:51) are your goal. This is the phase where you're trying to hit personal records, (4:56) whether that means lifting heavier than you were before, getting stronger in a specific lift, (5:00) or just noticing the movements that once felt difficult now feel more controlled and powerful.

(5:05) You're really leaning in to challenge instead of avoiding it. And you're doing that over a (5:11) period of several weeks, not just in one workout. And that's really important.

Strength is built (5:15) through repeated exposure to challenge over time, not from one hard day in the gym or in your (5:21) workouts. This is also why a push phase should feel very structured. You're not just going in (5:27) and seeing how you feel that day and deciding how hard you want to go.

You're following a (5:31) plan that gradually is going to increase demand on your body so that it has time to adapt, (5:36) recover, and actually get stronger without being overwhelmed. When progressive overload (5:41) is done this way, it's going to build confidence instead of fear. You start to trust your body (5:46) because you see the proof that it's capable of more than you thought.

And that's when training (5:51) starts to feel empowering instead of exhausting. And that's exactly what this phase is designed (5:56) to do. Now, this part really matters.

A push phase is not something that you bounce (6:00) in and out of based on how you feel in a given day. You can't push hard on Monday, pull way back (6:05) on Wednesday, and expect meaningful strength gains by Friday. That kind of inconsistency (6:10) does not give your body a clear enough signal to actually adapt.

Strength is really built (6:16) through repeated exposure to challenge over time. So your muscles, your nervous system both need (6:22) that consistency in order to respond. And when the stimulus keeps changing week to week, (6:27) your body stays in this reactive state instead of an adaptive one.

You may feel busy or sore, (6:32) but that doesn't translate into real progress. And this is why a push phase needs to last several (6:37) weeks, typically around eight to 10 weeks. That timeframe is going to allow your body to receive (6:43) the same type of training stress consistently enough to actually build strength instead of (6:48) constantly resetting.

I want you to think of it like this. Your body needs time to learn the (6:53) movements to improve coordination and then layer strength on top of that. The first few weeks (6:58) are about adapting to the workload.

The real gains tend to come after that. Once your system (7:04) understand what it's being asked to do and it can respond more efficiently. And this is where (7:09) patience really becomes important because early in a push phase, weights might feel very heavy (7:14) and progress might feel very slow, but that doesn't mean that it's not working.

It just (7:18) means that your body is adjusting. If you pull back too soon because it feels uncomfortable, (7:22) you're never going to get to the part where things actually start to click. And at the same (7:26) time, a push phase doesn't mean that you're going all out every single session.

Some workouts are (7:32) going to feel stronger than others. And that's totally normal. The goal here is not perfection.

(7:36) The goal is consistency, showing up week after week, following the plan and allowing your body (7:41) to adapt gradually. When you commit to a full push phase, instead of jumping in and out, (7:46) you're going to give your body the clarity that it needs. It knows what it's training for.

(7:50) It knows what kind of stress to expect, and it actually can build strength and response. (7:55) That's when progress feels real and sustainable instead of random. (7:58) Phase number two is the maintenance phase.

So one of the most important things to understand (8:02) about training is that it's not realistic to expect yourself to be growing, improving, (8:07) and getting stronger all the time, like all year round, every week, every single workout. (8:11) That expectation alone is enough to make training just feel super frustrating, (8:15) exhausting, and unsustainable. Real life has seasons, stress changes, sleep changes, (8:20) hormone changes, your capacity to push changes.

And if your only definition of success is constant (8:26) progress, you're going to feel like you're falling behind more often than you're actually failing. (8:32) And that's exactly why the maintenance phase exists. The maintenance phase is not about giving (8:36) up on progress.

It's about allowing the progress that you've already earned to settle into your (8:40) body. Muscle and strength don't develop in the exact movement that you push harder. The push (8:45) phase creates that stimulus, but the adaptation actually happens afterwards when your body has (8:51) enough space to respond to what you've actually already asked it to do.

During this phase, (8:56) your goal is to hold on to strength and muscle that you've built rather than constantly asking (9:00) for more. You're still training consistently, but intensity and volume are dialed back just (9:05) enough to support that recovery without losing that momentum. So inside the Moment with Juliet, (9:10) this is where your job is very simple.

You follow the workouts as written. You just might not pick (9:16) up the heavier weights every single week. You also might do more of the 30 minute workouts rather (9:21) than the 60 minute workouts.

You might cut back three days a week instead of training four or (9:25) five. You still want to push yourself in your workouts, but you do not necessarily (9:29) try the PR week in and week out. This phase is not a step backwards.

I can promise you that. (9:36) Physiologically though, this is where your body is going to reinforce that strength, improve (9:41) movement quality, and allow your joints, connective tissue, and your nervous system to recover while (9:46) muscle tissue continues to remodel. These are the things that most people don't think about, (9:51) but they're extremely important.

And that is exactly how gains stick instead of feeling (9:56) temporary. Mentally, this phase can feel uncomfortable, especially if you're always (10:01) used to chasing increases. When the numbers aren't going up, it's easy to assume that nothing is (10:06) happening or you should be doing more, but that discomfort is oftentimes just a mismatch (10:11) between expectations and what your body actually needs.

This phase is also what makes training (10:16) realistic for real life. Not every season allows for pushing harder. Some seasons require (10:22) you to hold steady, and when you give yourself permission to maintain rather than constantly (10:26) strive for more, training becomes something that you can stay consistent with instead of something (10:32) that you feel like you constantly have to restart.

Your win during this phase is just consistency, (10:37) showing up, executing with control, and trusting the structure to hold you steady. That steadiness (10:43) is what is going to prepare your body for the next push phase so that it feels productive (10:48) instead of forced. When you allow yourself to maintain on purpose, you're going to protect (10:53) your progress, reduce burnout, and create a training rhythm that actually fits your real life, (10:58) and that's exactly what makes long-term progress possible.

The last thing that we need to address (11:03) is how long do you stay in this phase? I really do think that it comes down to where you're at in (11:08) your life and what your goals are, but I think about four weeks can be a great amount of time, (11:14) even the length of the summer, so that's about 12 weeks. It really just depends, again, (11:20) on where you're at and what your life is, what it looks like right now, but that window, (11:26) at least four weeks, is going to give your body enough time to finish adapting to the work that (11:30) you did during the push phase without losing strength or muscle that you've built. It allows (11:34) fatigue to come down, recovery to catch up in your nervous system to stabilize before you ask (11:38) your body to do more again.

If you cut this phase too short and jump right back into pushing, (11:43) you usually don't get the full benefit of the push phase. What most people don't realize is (11:48) that if you don't give yourself a break, fatigue is going to carry over, recovery will feel slower, (11:54) progress will start to feel harder than it should. On the flip side, if you stay in maintenance (11:58) indefinitely, you'll probably no longer be able to maintain, so that sweet spot will really (12:04) depend on you and what your body needs, kind of what your life is like, but I would recommend (12:09) starting with four weeks, all the way up to 12 weeks if you want, and just see how your body (12:14) does.

Maybe the next time around, you do one last week or one more week. It doesn't need to be exact (12:20) science. With that said, again, just life matters here.

If you're in a particularly stressful (12:26) season or you're sleeping poorly or you're traveling or you're dealing with a higher mental load, (12:31) it's completely reasonable to extend and maintain a little bit longer. Holding steady during a (12:36) demanding season is often the most productive thing that you can do, and so the goal of this (12:41) phase is to not rush back into pushing. The goal is to feel recovered, steady, and confident (12:45) going into your next push phase.

When weights start to feel stable again, when your motivation (12:50) feels more consistent and your workouts no longer feel like something that you have to force, (12:54) that's usually a sign that you're ready to push again. All right, phase number three is the (12:58) restore phase. The restore phase exists because nobody can stay in progressive overload indefinitely.

(13:05) Don't even try it. You're going to get diminishing returns. Even though what most well-programmed (13:09) training creates fatigue over time, muscles, joints, connective tissue, and the nervous system (13:14) all need those periodic breaks from structured training, stress in order to stay healthy and (13:19) responsive.

I know I've said this already, but I just need to reiterate it. A restore phase is (13:23) typically a full week, sometimes two, and sometimes people sandwich the push phase and (13:28) the maintenance phase with a restore phase. For example, instead of cycling through push phase, (13:33) like phase one, then phase two, then phase three, you might want to go from the push phase into a (13:38) restore phase into a maintenance phase, and then maybe go back to a restore phase and then back (13:44) into a push phase.

During this phase, it doesn't mean that you're just going to lay on the couch (13:48) for a week. In this phase, you're really focusing on honoring your body with movement outside (13:53) of the gym or your workouts. What this phase really means is that you stop asking your body (13:58) to perform.

I like to lean into movement like walking, Pilates, mobility work, just cleaning (14:05) around the house, going to the park with Blake, doing house chores. I try to just aim to move (14:09) my body for 30 minutes a day without judgment of what movement actually looks like. As long as (14:14) it's not the regular workouts in the gym or you're at home, wherever you're doing them, (14:20) you're doing the restore phase correctly.

Another rule of thumb for this phase is to not get (14:24) your heart rate up. If you're doing any sort of movement that increases your heart rate a lot, (14:30) you're pushing too hard in the restore phase. Skipping this phase doesn't usually cause (14:34) immediate problems.

Instead, workouts slowly start to feel heavier, recovery takes longer, (14:38) and progress feels harder to access. That's when women oftentimes assume that they need (14:43) to push harder, when in reality, they likely need that restoration, especially if they've (14:47) been pushing hard and consistently for a long period of time. Planning this phase (14:52) on purpose protects consistency and prevents that burnout.

Okay, so there you have it. Those (14:56) are the three phases to cycle through and kind of working to build the body that you want. (15:01) Phase one is the push phase where you're really trying to PR.

You're staying in this phase for (15:07) roughly eight to 10 weeks. Phase two is that maintenance phase where you're giving your body (15:11) room to recover while maintaining your progress. Typically, you'll stay in this phase for a (15:16) minimum of four weeks, but up to eight or 12 weeks.

Again, it really just kind of depends. (15:21) I say 12 weeks because I'm thinking of like a proper summer, but you don't even have to be in (15:26) a maintenance phase for that entire length of time. If you want to, amazing, but a minimum of (15:31) four weeks, maybe eight weeks, maybe 10 weeks, 12 weeks.

Most of us don't actually need to (15:36) train harder. What we need to do is stop forcing our bodies into one mode all the time. (15:41) And if you're using my move with Julie Demel and the workouts, it's extremely easy to cycle (15:45) through these different phases.

One of the biggest benefits of the app is that the structure (15:49) is already there. These phases are not about changing programs. They're just about how (15:53) you're using the app and the workouts during those different seasons.

During the push phase, (15:58) that's when you're going to lean in a little bit more when life allows. That means that increasing (16:03) how many days that you're working out per week. That could be from three days a week to five (16:08) days a week or four days a week.

That's a great time and opportunity for you to do that. This (16:13) phase is also where you can choose the full 60 minute workout more instead of the 30 minute (16:18) ones. More volume means that you have the opportunity to challenge yourself as long as (16:22) it fits into your life.

And some weeks you might still need to use a 30 minute option and that's (16:26) completely fine. Consistency always is what matters more than doing it perfectly. You can also (16:32) really focus on increasing the weight that you're lifting, which is one of the most simple ways (16:36) that you can apply progressive overload.

Just remember that those small increases over time is (16:41) going to add up. I've done an entire episode on how to properly apply progressive overload (16:46) inside my move with Julie dumbbell only workouts. And that's a great one to listen to so that you (16:51) know how to push in a way that actually supports your goals.

So I'll go ahead and link that in (16:55) the show notes, but check out episode 566. That's really where I'm going to share (16:59) what most women get wrong about progressive overload and really how to incorporate into (17:04) your workout. Also, if increasing progressive overload cannot be done by increasing your (17:09) weight due to not having more dumbbells, I've also put together an entire episode on how to (17:15) have access to heavier weights.

So you can check that out in episode 263. I will go ahead and link (17:20) that one in the show notes as well. The maintain phase though, is where you're going to dial things (17:25) back slightly without stopping that momentum.

That's going to mean training one less day per week (17:30) or really leaning into those 30 minute workouts instead of the 60 minute ones. You're not making (17:35) things easier. You're just reducing overall intensity.

This is the phase where you're (17:39) maintaining the weights that you've been lifting and you're removing the pressure to (17:42) hit those PRs every single workout, week in and week out. Your goal is steadiness, (17:47) not perfection. If you are ready to kind of cycle through these different phases (17:50) and you want some help with the structure, head over to sale.

That's S-A-L-E dot movement (17:56) with julie.com. All you have to do once you are a subscriber is open the app, follow along, (18:01) get started. These workouts are go at your own pace. Every single workout has a video (18:04) demonstration and then there are alternate exercises.

So if you don't have access to (18:08) a bench or if you need body weight, you can totally use those in there. (18:12) If this episode helped you to see your training differently, I would love for you to follow the (18:16) podcast. You can leave a review.

You can also share it with a friend who might need this reminder. (18:20) And if you enjoyed this conversation, I know you will also enjoy episode 555, (18:25) three reasons why your maintenance phase isn't a failure. It is a strategy.

I will go ahead and (18:30) link that one in the show notes below as well. And then be sure again to check out episode 566 (18:35) where I share what most women get wrong about that progressive overload. That is all that I have for (18:41) you today.

Thank you so much for tuning in. I love you so much. I mean it.

And I'll talk to you in (18:45) the next one. All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need (19:00) you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so.

(19:05) Julie A. Ledbetter. Yes, it's with an A in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, (19:10) healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second (19:15) thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple podcasts to never miss an episode.

Thank you so much for (19:22) joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought.

(19:26) The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident (19:31) and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than (19:38) the surface. So go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.

 
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