Levelling too quickly

Is there such a thing as moving through the divisions too quickly?

With all my glads I have found myself shooting up through the divisions and usually fighting glads 5-10 levels (and more) above my level. I then find, when I get to Maximus, that I get pounded by all the Primus glads all of whom are level 50 and have purple stuff. I would get purple stuff but it seems a waste to get it before level 50 since you'll have to get rid of it and upgrade at some point.

My question is, is there a strategy to advance a bit more slowly that I haven't understood?

I don't spend trophies on arena fights much at all; I just use my daily arena fights and tavern fights.

Pick your challenges in the arena instead of challenging random, you can challenge the lowest ranked opponent possible to slow down your ranking progress.

Thanks for the reply. Is there a benefit to the slower progress other than not getting pounded at Maximus because that doesn't seem such a bad price to pay?

I don't know, I've just been doing that with a few of my glads because I had the same problem. This is what worked for me.