The Power of Consistency

I can remember the day like it was yesterday.

The day I was told I had a rare form of Leukemia.

I remember the Doctor telling me how rare it was. 1 in 10,000,000 rare.

I remember the medical team telling me how with this form of cancer, patients usually have a 50/50 chance of survival.

They also told me the outcomes were usually not that great because the average age at diagnosis was 70 and that patients also had at least one other co-morbidity (Diabetes, Obesity, Heart Disease).

I had no co-morbidity’s and I was half that age at 35.

I felt like I had the upper hand already.

I also had something else going for me.

20 years of consistency in the weight room.

20 years of not only being active with my health, but also with my nutrition.  Consistency is what saved my life.  

I feel so strongly about the power of consistency, and I am bullish on it changing your life (maybe even saving it like it did mine). 

So, when I am asked “what is the one thing you recommend to people to see results over the long term?”

It is not the diet you are on.

It is not even the workout routine you choose.

It is honestly just you choosing to be consistent over a long enough time horizon (usually longer than anything else you have done in your life).

But then, here is the issue.

Most people think about fitness in terms of sprints. 

21-day fat loss challenges, 6-week body transformations, 1 week juice cleanses.  

These “sprints” involve intense periods of training that are in essence and by design unsustainable. They may  work great for those 20 something year olds out there (but not forever), but for the rest of us who have the complexities of life, not so much.  Because, well sometimes life can get in the way.  

As we all age, we should be re-framing our idea of what achieving results looks like, and in what time-frame achieving those results takes.  We should give ourselves a little solace in the fact that it may take a little longer than we expect, and that is where consistency comes in.  

Quite simply:

You should be aiming for less intensity and more consistency, and over a longer time horizon.    

 

Health and wellness is a marathon, not a sprint.

Just about every gym model out there is competing against the other and is looking to give you more results in less time.  The “best” 45 minute workout.  Or the “fastest” 20 minute routine.  Or the “hardest” 10 minute ab circuit.  

Sorry to break it to you.  But the more intense the workout is, the harder it will be to recover.  And if you are not recovering properly from your workouts, then you will not see results in the long run.  

Consistency isn’t simply willpower, which comes and goes. Consistency is doing it when you don’t feel like doing it.

If it truly matters to you in your life, you must work towards doing the things that matter on your best day and your worst day.  This is where having a very strong and powerful “why” comes into play.  

That “why” may be that you just want to be able to play with and pick up your kids and/or grandkids without pain.  It may be that you want to go on that hike and not slow down your friends of family.

But here is what many fail to realize –  being a successful and high-achieving human is the result of consistent effort over a very long time horizon. 

That’s why if every day is an intense day, we struggle to stay consistent.

Use this framework next time you look at doing the “next hot thing” on the internet –

Think more about what your results will look like 5 years from now, not just 6 weeks from now.

Your health, well-being and your results will thank you for it.

You are here because you are probably looking for sustainable change, and not just a quick fix.  Well, you came to the right place.  You probably also want to try out a new routine to make sure it is sustainable for you, right?  You can check out our 14 Day Epic Kickstart where you can see for yourself what truly sustainable training, recovery and nutrition looks like and that is completely customized to you and your body.