It's All About Consistency

So  I figured that now that September has rolled around and everyone is getting back into a routine, setting schedules, formulating good habits etc, that this would be the right time for a little refresher on one of the most fundamental principles of training: Consistency.  

Seems like a simple concept right? In order to make progress, whether it be training or nutrition or some other aspect in life, you have to work at it consistently.  However, as simple as it sounds, this is a concept that many of us struggle with, and therefore we look for 'shortcuts' or ways to bypass it instead of addressing the issue at hand. 

I would argue that for most of us, exercise is not something that we are intrinsically motivated by.  Yes there are the few crazy people out there who actually would spend their day working out if given the choice to do anything they want, but that is certainly not the norm.  For most of us, we do it because we know it is a crucial part of a healthy lifestyle and we are usually motivated by some external factors (health problems, weight loss, 6 pack abs?!).  The problem many of us run into however is a lack of consistency; which can wreak havoc on our progress.

This can happen for a few reasons:

The first reason is because we set unrealistic goals off the bat when it comes to training frequency.  It sounds great on paper to train 5 times a week but is it realistic (or optimal?) if you haven't been training at all? Once we realize we can't follow through with what we had planned, we get discouraged, show up less often, get more discouraged from the lack of results, and so on in a viscous cycle.

Does something always come up, preventing you from getting to the gym? Life certainly can get in the way that's a given, and I'm in no way suggesting anything trumps family, but it can be pretty easy to justify any old excuse as being good enough. Next time say your reason out loud, maybe even to someone else, and see if it sounds as legitimate as it does in your head. 

Another reason (and one of the most common), may be the slow down in progress.  Let me take you through a familiar scenario. Your very excited early on to get started and therefore you show up 3-4 times a week consistently, and as a result see some pretty awesome progress. However, after a few months this progress starts to dwindle a bit and you start to get discouraged that maybe the program isn't working anymore or that you're doing something wrong.  Now you're showing up 3-4 times one week, 1 time another week, 2 times another etc, and you're wondering why your progress is stagnating.  Sound familiar?

The unfortunate truth is that the quick and easy progress we see as beginners can't last.  Your body (being the wonderful machine it is), starts to adapt and become more efficient with given demands so perceived progress slows.  Does this mean it's time to cut and run? Not at all! Perhaps it's time to make a slight tweak (increase the intensity or frequency).  However, for most of us, we are not even at a point where we need to really consider that.  We can still make progress (albeit a bit slower) by doing what we are doing, as long as we are doing it consistently.  

I'm not going to sugar coat it, CrossFit is challenging! We cover many different facets of fitness and it therefore requires your patience and your time.  But what makes it so challenging is also why so many who try it can't turn back!  

Let's face it, we all have days or even weeks when we don't feel like being in the gym (sidenote: i'm talking mentally, not because of injury or overtraining, that's a whole other issue!), but at times like this we need to keep in mind our long term goals, and not get wrapped up in the now.  Sometimes we need to just put our heads down, push through and think about the big picture!