Sometimes in training, as in life, things go wrong. When this happens in training, your choice is simple… you either fix it, or you don’t fix it. Of course, if you choose the latter it will only send you further into the abyss toward regression or failure. When faced with the choice to fix it, I’ve found two basic approaches.

The first is the drastic, one-time change. “Draw the line,” I find myself saying. Bad behavior stops today, good behavior starts tomorrow. This drastic change can be met with great success, but at tremendous risk of failure.

The second is the “Dial-It-In” approach. Instead of the making huge, sweeping life changes, make little ones. Dial in your routine. Keep the good things, adjust the bad. The risk with this choice is not making enough changes to change the tide of regression or failure, in which case you make more adjustments.

I’ve tried both approaches with success, and failure. I’ve doled out both forms of advice. I’ve learned when to attack training with one method, and when to use the other. So, if you’re struggling with training… decide how you’re going to make the necessary changes. Are you going to draw the line? Or are you going to dial it in?