Consistency 101

On the surface, one could say "it's easy for you to workout."

Yes I've been doing some form of lifting in high school, but I'm not a mutant.

There have been time periods when I've taken my foot off the pedal or taken breaks from lifting completely.

Why would this happen?

I would lose the reason for why I was showing up in the first place. I had been used to competing, and that meant you had to hit certain numbers by certain time frames. That at least gives you a guiding light. But then if I took time off, that distance between where I used to be and where I currently was seemed so daunting that my brain didn't want to show up.

I knew what hard training was, and if your brain knows what's hard, it either won't start because it's too hard or the ego would get in the way and think that "starting over" was "too easy." (Which is hilarious because if it's easy, why wasn't I doing it anyway?)

When you've fallen off or if you're just beginning, you're not the same person that you used to be or you're not whatever your ideal self looks like. The only way to get there or to get back is to be consistent.

We want to be so consistent that you feel off when you don't do anything active. It should just be part of who you are, not "something you do."

Here's what you need to do it.

• A strong reason

• Learn how to form habits

• Have a "maintenance" plan

Is it just discipline?

To define discipline simply: it's doing something even when you don't want to do it.

Images of elite athletes or Jocko Willink or David Goggins enter the minds of most.

But discipline can be someone running a marathon every day or someone making sure they walk 10 minutes every day. It's about overcoming not wanting to do something, not how extreme the thing is.

Another point: people that really want something (motivated if you will) find discipline easy. If I said I'd give you a million bucks if you did 100 pushups a day for a month, you'd probably do it first thing in the morning every morning.

Then I heard a quote from Dan Koe that made me think: "You don't need discipline when the next is so simple your brain can't talk yourself out of it." When you do something daily, it becomes a habit. One of the ways to develop a habit is to start small and easy. It just makes showing up easier. (Also shout out to James Clear and the 2 minute rule).

So it's this combination of a strong reason and simple steps that helps people keep going. Discipline isn't just a genetic trait. It can be conditioned.

The Consistency Builder

So how do we start showing up and make sure we do so often? Let's list out a process.

Step 1: Anti-Vision and Vision

• Vision is what your day to day would look like in an ideal world. It goes beyond the goals because a goal can be hit, but it also needs to be maintained. To get a goal you need to be doing something daily to get it and keep it. After that you might want new goals.

• Anti-vision is there for people that are lost. It's usually a current circumstance that's obvious in your life as opposed to a goal that you have to daydream out of thin air. Your vision then becomes the opposite of the anti-vision.

Step 2: Goal

• Set a goal. Plan something in the next 30 to 90 days. I like this shorter time frame instead of a 10 year goal (because you have no clue what will happen even 3 days from now).

Step 3: Habit formation - The meat and potatoes

• This one could be an article in and of itself. Come to think of it, isn't being consistent just about your habits anyway? I'll list some things that have helped me in the past and hopefully you can see what will work for you.

  • Home gym - This may be a bit pricey up front and you may not have the space for it. If it's a problem with money, just think about how much you'd save on gym fees if you get this up front cost out of the way. You also don't have to commute or wait on equipment. If you don't have the space, you'll have to research gyms near you. But guess what? One bodyweight only program and you're set.

  • Morning training - You might not feel as awake or as strong in the morning, but "eating the frog" first thing in the day helps prevent you from talking yourself out of it. Gyms are usually less crowded and that crowd is usually more serious and not there to chit chat so long.

  • Find a plan, any plan - "Go to the gym" is nice advice, but knowing exactly what you're going to do makes it less intimidating. You can visualize yourself doing it before you even get there. This way your brain isn't scrambled with trying to show up and trying to learn what to do next. Be kind to your future self.

Step 4: Low/High Bar

• I heard this concept and it really helped calm down my training. Let's say you have the worst day ever. Do you skip the gym? No. You have a "minimum" workout idea that you could do. It may be just a warmup, stretch and a walk, but it's better than nothing.

• If you're reading this, you're probably not a world class athlete that has to compete in 5 months. You're just trying to stay fit. If that's the case, anything is better than nothing. Have to squat 5×5 at 80% today but you had a rough night of sleep with a newborn? Go warmup with the bar. Get up to 70% and if it's not there, be happy you did something and save it for next time.

• The high bar on the other hand allows you to let it rip when the iron is hot. However, you may think you're going to have more of these days, but you won't. Train hard when you're feeling it. Do more than nothing when you're not. Just keep showing up.

Step 5: Breaks, Deloads, Changes

• If you need a break, (meaning walking and stretching, not couch sitting) then do it.

• If you need to back the weight down and start over, do it.

• If you get bored with your training program and want to make a change, do it.

• Your training should serve you. You shouldn't be a servant for your training program. The only requirements are the ones you set for yourself. Maybe you want to push it, but if you don't, don't try to keep up with everyone else you see on the internet.

The Secret = Consistency

Start and don't stop. That's it. I forget who said this, but if you miss a day of working out, just don't miss 2 days in a row.

People are always amazed at the people at the "top" of any sports field, but it's just from a string of good days put together over a long period of time.

Go try it for yourself.

Thanks for reading!

If you have any questions, feel free to respond to this newsletter and I'll do my best to help you out.