You've heard it all before, hell, so have I.
And while maybe I've got my shit together from a fitness point of view, there's areas of running a business where I need some of my own medicine too.
Rather than just spout of catch phrases and buzz words let's look at REAL (and as my 4 year old says) ACTUAL ways of helping ourselves be consistent. What can we do to safe guard ourselves from fucking things up like we normally do by the end of every January?
#1: First up, a plan. A rather simple idea, who'd have thought. For me personally I look at each upcoming week and plan when I'll train. Monday 9am I've got an hour: I can do my strength session. Tuesday I'm free: that'll be a long run. Whatever the case is for you make a plan. But, don't just think it, write it down and write it down like this.
I will train on [DAY] at [TIME] in [PLACE (Smith's Fitness :P]. This is what author of Atomic Habits, James Clear calls an implementation intention. In a study by the British Journal of Health Psychology simply writing down an implementation intention was good enough to more than double adherence.
Whilst planning when we'll train is of utmost importance having a plan ie program to follow is also significant if we have specific strength & fitness goals.
With our plan in place and written down, we also need to be steadfast in our protection of this plan, which we can do with step 2.
#2: Tell important people, it's important to you. Your boss, your clients, your kids, your significant other. These are all people who compete for and need our time and attention. It's perfectly fine to let them know that your training time is important to you. If anything you could use this as an opportunity to invite them along, ok, maybe not your boss.
#3: Start easy! And I mean easy. If you haven't been training start with 1 or 2 sessions in week 1. Don't throw yourself under the bus and put yourself in a world of hurt only to reinforce how much all this exercise malarky sucks. Start super easy with the goal to build once you've begun establishing a habit and routine.
#4: Fuck ups are inevitable. A problem is less of a problem if you know it's a problem before it's a problem. I'm sure someone smarter than me put it more succinctly but hopefully you know what I mean. So see step 5 :P
#5: A Plan B. What happens when life gets in the way? Can you adapt? I've seen so many people go from absolutely ripping it up in the gym only to hit one little hurdle and fall off the wagon altogether. I think Powerlifters are the worst for this. So much of their worth gets tied into the numbers they hit and when, for whatever reason, they can't hit impressive numbers they just pack the whole thing in. You must be able to adapt, train at home, do half your program, change modes completely. Life will always get in the way but there is always something we can do. Have a fall back and be ok with having to implement it!
#6: Set goals based on systems. Goals are great, they give us something to strive towards and give meaning to the daily grind. But we shouldn't get hung up on the desired outcome, rather the processes and habits that lead to those outcomes. It's great to want to Bench Press 100kgs it's better to fall in love with being someone who Bench Presses heavy twice a week and is meticulous about their execution. In time the long term goals will be smashed, but unlike those who focus only on a goal, you won't be finished, you're a big bencher now!
#7: An accountability buddy. A training partner or of course, a coach. Someone who will reinforce why you're doing this, give you motivation, encouragement and ultimately support you to stay on track with your plan.
So, there you have it some actual ways of implementing our consistency rather than trying to speak it into existence. If you need help with any of these points or just some help to get started feel free to reach out.
AJ
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