up:: [[Habits MOC]] tags:: #on/habit #on/practice #on/excellence #on/body #on/strength # The mechanism for breaking through development plateaus To break through the a-curve plateau, we must get out of our newly established "automatic mindset", and return to a beginner's "cognitive mindset". Physical development by strength training is the clearest example. Russian Conjugate Periodization [^1]—used for the physical development of Olympic athletes—shows how to "game" the curve by evolving the routine around every 4-5 weeks, which forces the muscles into their own form of "cognitive thinking." A key term here is "adaption." (explore Tom Mysklinski's article to put it into context) Perhaps continual improvement through this lens can be summed up with a phrase used by the US Marine Corps, Viggo Mortensen, and Clint Eastwood: > “Adapt and Overcome." It’s just about knowing what to overcome…and with skill development, that's called [[Deliberate Practice]]. --- *"The A-Curve To Excellence: how to "game" the Asymptotic Curve to Improve your Skills, increase your strength, etcetera, etcetera* [^1]: Known as the Conjugate Sequence System and developed by the Soviets, it involves overlapping training arcs, with micro and macro cycles that include unloading phases. --- - Back Matter - dates:: 2015-02-20 - created:: 2015-02-20 - modified:: 2020-05-28 ---