The Secret to Success in Your Health and Fitness Journey

Lately I have been having a lot of discussions with members about what it really takes to see success in achieving better health and fitness. Most think it has to do with the program they are on. Although a good program is highly beneficial to getting the most out of your workouts, it’s still not at the top of the list. You could have the best program in the world but if you don’t actually do it, it’s just a useless list of exercises.

What is really going to get you results, especially over the long term is CONSISTENCY.

First, you need to figure out what a realistic amount of time each week you can dedicate to your exercise program. The important part of this is what is “realistic”. You don’t want to set yourself up for failure here. You don’t have to be at the gym 5 days a week to see results. We recommend 3 days a week for most people but you can see results with 2 days a week or even 1 if you are consistent every week with it. Here’s proof.

I have trained a gentleman for over 5 years now who dedicates 1 hour a week to the gym. Outside of that 1 hour a week here he does no other planned exercise, although he does stay active with other activities, his only day of resistance training at the gym is this one hour. Over 5 years he has tripled the number of pushups he could do, lost body fat, decreased his resting heart rate and got rid of his shoulder pain that had been limiting his movements for years. And his secret is one hour a week, every week, no matter what. In five years, he may have only missed a handful of workouts. It’s his consistency that has gotten him the results. And not to mention, he is in his mid 60’s. This is a time when most people are losing strength and instead he is making slow but steady increases in his strength. Sure, if he had done 2 or 3 workouts a week maybe he could have accomplished more over these 5 years, but he was realistic with his time, put it into his weekly schedule, same time, same day, every week that worked for him and now 5 years later he is stronger, more mobile and pain free.

So, the secret is in the consistency you can build into your weekly routine. Don’t get hung up on how many days that is. Just focus on what is realistic for you. Put that time into your schedule and treat it like any other appointment you would not miss. After all, what could be more important then your long-term health and abilities?

Our health and fitness are a lifelong journey, it never ends. Once you achieve your goal you still have to maintain it so figure out what a realistic cadence is for you and then do it! When you have this part figured out we can then start to focus on what the best program options are for you and your goals.