When it come to improving your fitness, consistency of training is crucial. We are what we repeatedly do and all that. This is true for those looking for fat loss as well as high performance athletes. Being able to consistently train and provide the body with a stimulus for change is required for longer term and lasting results. Yet consistency seems to be one factor that so many individuals struggle with. Again, this affects all levels of the fitness community. From FitBit newcomer to experienced, high performing weekend warrior, training programmes ebb and flow. The easiest example to illustrate this is the dieting community, with it’s millions of ‘Yo-Yo Dieters’. So why does this happen? What can be done to reduce lapses in consistency? Here, we look at one basic principle that goes a long way to helping – just show up!
Just Show Up
It really is as simple as that. If you are new fitness and find it all overwhelming, just show up each day. If you’re an experienced athlete and training is a grind, just show up each day. The rest is simply details. One common mistake that people make is taking on too much too soon. Going from couch potato to following the programme of an Olympian is unrealistic. Fair enough, some people may be able to follow the Olympian programme for a short period of time. However, experience dictates that slowly but surely the training drops off because it’s simply unsustainable. Unless you are an Olympian or Olympic hopeful, you DO NOT need to train like an Olympian. For most of us, that level of training commitment is unrealistic and unnecessary – leading to disappointment. Training becomes inconsistent.
Keep it Simple for Success
Just show up to training regularly and do something that either causes you to lose form, gets you breathless or makes you ache. This consistent stimulus will see you develop sustainable improvements over the medium to long term. Health and fitness is more of a marathon than a sprint, so be the tortoise not the hare! With all of our clients at NK Fitness we look to keep programmes as simple as possible. Whether they are athletes, business tycoons or simply Mum or Dad our aim is for their training to easily become a part of their weekly routine. Focussing upon one or two simple changes at a time allows us to develop clients without being overbearing. In turn, this leads to greater adherence and longer term success.
