Something is holding you back from being consistent.

 Being consistent is the thing that will get you the results that you are looking for. 

You can have the most perfect, scientifically backed fitness program, but if the program just stays on the paper it is written on, then nothing happens.

Without consistency won’t get stronger; you won’t build a physical relationship with your body and mind. If you don’t improve your consistency, you will be sliding backwards.

Have you been skipping workouts? If the answer is yes, this is the first thing you need to fix. Everything else is secondary.  

Things get in the way. Your work, family, social life and a myriad of other commitments that are battling for your attention.

Going to the gym is important, however the consequences of missing a workout are not as immediate as skipping your mother’s 60^th birthday dinner to then go and do a Bench Press workout. Something that I am not suggesting you do.

The first decision you must make is this one; is the gym going to fit around my life, or is my life going to fit around the gym? There are drawbacks and advantages to both. 

Fitting the gym around you life, you may need to; 

• work out at weird times 

• make the choice that consistency over perfection 

• have a flexible plan 

Fitting your life around the gym; 

• Is your work/career flexible enough to allow this? 

• Can you say no to things that are distracting you from your goal? 

• What are your family commitments? 

Either way you are going to have to make choices that you are not currently making. This will require change, sacrifice, and altering your mindset.  

This is a decision for you, but either way looking after yourself by lifting weights. Eating good food and prioritising sleep and recovery is something that you can’t make progress in unless you make sure that you are doing them most of the time. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it does needs to be consistent.  

What the Solution? 

The “80/20 Rule” 

I have coached many people through this process, and I like the “80/20 rule”. This is known as the Pareto Principle. And is one of the most powerful mindset tools to allow you to achieve your goals. 

The reason this works is that it gets you to realise that a plan does not need to be perfect to work, but there does need to be a plan. And you need to execute that plan as consistently as you can. 

However if your execution of the plan is dropping below 80%, then you may need to adjust your plan. Because it is not fitting into your life. 

Let’s take an example. 

You are planning to go the gym on Monday, Wednesday and Friday after work, but every Friday you get asked to go to go along to a “social occasion”, and you only make it twice that week.  

Is this is consistently happening? Let’s say it happens every Friday for several weeks in a row, you may need to make a change. That change may be logistical, in your mindset, or behaviour. 

What could that change be? You could; 

1. Logistical - Change your workout days. This may involve rearranging your workout split. 

2. Mindset shift - Explain to your colleagues that you have other priorities just now. Make sure to reassure them that you will be able to do it occasionally. 

3. Behaviour - Avoid the clash by doing your workout before you go to work in a Friday. 

4. Behaviourally - Remind yourself of the commitment you are making, and that lifting weights can be just as fun as going to the pub. 

5. Behaviourally - Invite your colleagues to go to the gym with you, this can be as much a social occasion as the pub.  

These are just a few examples, but the point is that you need to clear the path of obstacles that are making the “right decision” harder to make. 

What if that doesn’t work? 

Are you getting in your own way? 

External obstacles that might get in your way, but let’s look at the ways that you can be your own worst enemy. 

In my experience there are three main types of behaviours that get in the way of being consistent in the gym.  

1. The Procrastinator

2. The Self-Saboteur 

3. The Over-Optimiser 

Now you might recognise, parts of all three of these as I discuss them, and you might be a blend of all three. These are not a diagnosis of any sort of disorder, they are purely my observations from years of coaching real people. 

The Procrastinator. 

“I don’t have time for the gym today because of [blank]" 

One of the most common, and something that I work on myself constantly. 

Reasons I have skipped workouts.

I ; 

• writing an article, that I “needed to finish”. 

• will get to it this afternoon, and that time never comes. 

• didn’t block time off in my day to get my workout done. 

• am not fuelled for my workout, because I skipper lunch or breakfast. 

These are all things that you, or me, have control over. It becomes an issue of priorities. Or perhaps a better way to think about it is, what are you trying NOT to do? 

A Blueprint for Fitness

Imagine someone in very poor physical health, they would have the following; 

• Excessively high (above 30% for males, %35 for females) , or low (less then 8% for males 15% for females), body fat

• Low muscle mass, scored on the FFMI

• Below standard bone density, particular problem for menopausal women.

• Poor cardiovascular capacity,  common in sedentary populations.

• consuming highly processed foods for most of their calorie intake.

What does this exercise tell us about getting into shape?

It tells us we need to the opposite all those things. This gives us a formula for being in good physical condition; 

• a healthy body fat percentage, 15-20% for men, 20-25% for women, 

• a good amount of muscle mass,  

• strong bones and connective tissues,  

• a strong and capable heart and lungs,  

• eating a well-balanced diet to perform and recover 

• the ability to commit yourself to a long-term goal. 

It takes effort and commitment to achieve those outcomes. The consequences of not taking action will only grow over time.

Other suffer for your consistent inaction.

The bigger problem is that you are not the only one that suffers from those actions. 

If you spend your whole life kicking the can down the road, not living up to your potential, life will eventually send your a bill that you cannot pay. This may come as a heart attack, stroke, cancer, or some other affliction you wouldn't wish on anyone.

The sad truth is that the ones who love you are the ones to take the brunt of your own ignorance. They have to watch you suffer, and you will be racked with the guilt of knowing you should have done something about it, but you didn't take the step needed to get ahead of the problem.  

The other side of this coin is just as bad. If you devote yourself to your family, give up your health and well-being to look after theirs. I can guarantee the following things; they will not respect you, as you are a doormat, you need to set boundaries. Secondly, you will resent them for it.

Taking care of yourself is the biggest gift that you can bestow upon your children and grandchildren. To live a strong and healthy life, to be strong and healthy as you age is a gift that no one can give but you. 

All you must do is start. And if you want to find out what you should be doing, you can book a free training consultation here

The Self-Saboteur 

Self-Sabotage is a symptom of low self-esteem. Have you ever noticed that you don’t ever really try hard at things? Or even try at all? 

Because if you try hard and it doesn’t work out the way you want it to, wasn’t the effort a waste of time? I could have been out drinking, or watching my favourite show, or playing computer games. Or performing whatever task gives your brain the dopamine it requires to medicate yourself into distraction. 

So, you just give up. Or you tell yourself that you gave it your best shot, when you didn’t really? You then muddle through weeks, months, or years of mediocre effort, getting mediocre results before finally deciding to quit because you are not getting back what you put into it? 

“You can’t be upset with the results of the work that you didn’t do.”  - Jim Rohn

The program is everything you do.

The pursuit of getting stronger requires more than just completing your sets and reps. You are requires to sleep enough, eat enough protein, and total calories.

This requires you to delay instant gratification and make changes in your life that help you to move forward towards the goal you have set yourself. 

Commitment is required. And committing to one thing, means you are not able to commit to many other things. 

Now, trying to do that all at once, could be a bit overwhelming. There may be a few people who can make all those changes all at once, but those are the exceptions, not the rule.

You may need to make small changes, so that, gradually, over time, you get closer to lifestyle that you want to live. So, you may have to “triage” your lifestyle. This area is another article all itself, and I will link it here once I have written it, you can join my email list to get it when it comes out HERE 

My point is that you need to stop making the same mistakes that have got you in the place that you don’t want to be. Repeating the same mistakes and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity, as Albert Einstein said. 

So, start taking steps towards sanity. 

The Over-Optimiser 

Have you ever said any of the following to yourself? 

“My sleep wasn't great, let’s push my workout back a day.” 

“Today I missed my calories and protein target yesterday, let’s push my workout back a day.” 

“This morning I am a little under the weather, let’s push my workout back a day.” 

“Work was stressful, let’s push my workout back a day.” 

Being consistent brings focus

Strength training brings many things into focus. One of the biggest things it will make you do is assess what habits you have that are working for you, and those habits that get in the way of the progress you want to see. And if you keep putting things off because you are waiting for the “perfect time”, well I have some bad news, the perfect time never comes. 

Yes, there are better times than others. But starting is always better than not starting. Do not let perfection become the enemy of progress. 

So, if you have ever found yourself using any of the above statements as a reason for pushing your workout back a day, then you may need to be conscious about the decisions you are making and environment you are putting yourself in. 

“We are all products of our environment; every person we meet, every new experience or adventure, every book we read, touches and changes us, making us the unique being we are.” - C. J. Heck 

“I am not a product of my circumstances. I am a product of my decisions.” - Stephen Covey 

You are a product of your environment AND your decisions. You can decide to improve your environment, you can decide to put yourself in a position to succeed. To be in a position where success is more likely. The people that you have in your life, are they dragging you down? Or is it your responsibility to help lift them up? 

Set an example.

Is it time to set an example for those around you, to show them that things can be better? Call them to do better, but don’t beat them over the head with it, be the example that you wish you had. Leave the world a better place than when you came into it. 

Missing workouts? Some questions to ask yourself. 

I didn't sleep well, what can I change? 

• What time did you go to bed? 

• How much coffee did you drink yesterday? 

• Does your bedroom have good sleep hygiene? 

• What is your pre-sleep routine? Do you have one? 

I missed my nutrition targets for the third day this week, what can I do? 

• Did you prepare any meals? 

• Do you have a health promoting food environment in your house? 

• Is it too easy for you to make the “wrong decision”? 

• It is too hard for your to make the "right decision"? 

• Have you planned your meals for the week, or next few days? 

I am not feeling 100% today? 

• Are you hydrated? 

• Have you eaten enough protein and food? 

• Are you getting plenty of fruits and vegetables? 

• Are you replenishing your electrolytes after a sweaty workout? 

• Is there something you need to get off your chest? 

• Lastly, are you going to skip the gym every time you don't feel 100%? 

I had a stressful day at work. 

• Have you got a well-defined role and parameters in your work? 

• Have you set up professional boundaries? 

• Does the separation between “work time” and your “own time” get blurred? 

• Some jobs are more stressful than others, how are you going to manage the stress in your job? 

If you find yourself finding it hard to be consistent then you are more than likely not making progress because you are looking for the "perfect" time to get started. And as I said earlier, there is no perfect time.

So go do the thing, do it now. Just one thing that “tomorrow you” will look back and thanks today you for doing.