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Today marks exactly one year of exercising every day (bar that one sick day in February).

Last year, I realized, I was consistently making the all-too-common promise of 'I will exercise three or four days per week'.

The problem with this is, there is "never a good time, I will do it tomorrow, I am not in the mood".

This never works (or certainly never worked for me) and It is too easy to continually uncommit. I had put on some weight, I felt sluggish and lacking in energy.

As a huge fan of Jocko Willink, I saw the photo every day of his Timex watch just after 4.30am. I am a disciplined person, but could never see myself doing that. I needed a change and it needed to be monumental.

Seeing as it was closing in on the end of the year, I considered waiting until the new year. New year's resolution never work; this time I needed to do it differently. I choose to start on 22nd December. 2019.

I originally set out to exercise every day for a month, with a view to doing it for 66 days until it became a habit. I knew if I did this incrementally, it would be easier to implement this practice on a long term basis.

Following the advice of James Clear, I set up an accountability calendar, where every day I would write an 'X' after each workout. Originally I worked out at night (after 7.30pm) which was great as it kept me off the cookies. I changed that to lunch time workouts when Covid hit, and early morning (5am) when I started a new job in May 2020.

No excuses were tolerated. You stayed up boozing, 'so what - workout'.

I dont feel like it, 'you will feel great after it.'

One saturday in the summer, I had some drinks with the neighbours and I had'nt yet worked out, I sat there thinking should I break it? 'No'... I dont recommend working out after two gin and tonics, I learned a lesson that day. 

After over 400 workouts in 2020 (double ups), I am much better armed to attack life and hit my goals.

Results

?? Exercise is now engrained, It is a daily practice.

?? Exercise is not an option, It will be completed, It is not a case of 'if', it is a case of 'when'.

??I am far more lean than I was this time last year, there is still lots to do (clean up my diet and alcohol intake).

??I feel better, look better and have more energy.

??Consistency makes it much easier to get out of bed day after day.

?? The discipline spills over into other aspects of my life.

??Obvious health benefits.

The overall goal - "DISCIPLINE = FREEDOM" - Jocko...

"The best exercise for gaining strength is not missing workouts."

- James Clear