As in fitness and in life, I've found that consistency is the cornerstone of success.
My goals have ranged from losing weight, building muscle, to simply improving my overall health. Through my fitness journey, staying consistent with my workouts and lifestyle habits has been crucial.
Here’s what I’ve discovered about the importance of consistency in fitness and some practical tips that have helped me stay on track for over 10 years.
Lets dive right in! Here are some practical tips that have helped me stay consistent with my fitness routine:
- Reframed Mindset: Fitness isn't a finite journey—it's an infinite one. Like marriage, where the goal is to stay married, the aim in fitness is to stay fit for life. Shifting my mindset from finite to infinite helped me prioritize consistency over immediate results. I committed to regular effort, and the results followed naturally over time.
- Set Realistic Goals: Goals like "I want to lose X pounds in Y months" or "I want to bench X weight in Y months" are great, but I prioritized goals like "I won't miss two workouts in a row" or "I'll lay out my workout clothes each night to reduce friction to completing a workout."
- Know Your Priorities: While consistency is fundamental to fitness, life doesn’t stop for fitness. I don't feel guilty cutting sessions short or even missing a session as long as it is intentional and for a higher priority. This leads into the next point...
- Be Flexible: As long as I am intentional and have my priorities straight, I’m willing to adjust my workouts as needed. However, I always make an effort to stay consistent in the long run. Even on days when I don't feel like lifting, I strive to go anyway or sub in a different workout like cardio.
- Create a Realistic Schedule: I treat my workouts like appointments that I can't miss. Scheduling them into my calendar and prioritizing them just like any other important commitment has been crucial. I built a program that is realistic given my schedule. I found that realistic > optimal when it comes to fitness.
- Build Systems for Consistency: Setting myself up for success by building simple systems that support consistency has been very effective. For example, I lay out my workout clothes the night before.
- Find Accountability: Whether it's a workout buddy, coach, or online community, finding someone or something to hold me accountable has been vital. Accountability partners provide support, motivation, and encouragement when I need it most.
- Track Your Progress: Keeping track of my workout progress has been incredibly motivating and helped me stay committed to my goals. I treat tracking lifts as a form of gamifying my workouts.
Consistency has been my secret sauce to achieving my fitness goals. By staying consistent with my workouts and lifestyle habits, I've seen progress not only in the gym but also in developing the discipline and resilience needed to succeed in all areas of life. So, I encourage you to make a commitment to yourself today and prioritize consistency in your fitness journey. Your future self will thank you for it.
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