We are constantly being told that our training must be consistent for us to get the results that we seek. How true is this? And is there any room for variety in our training. Variety, after all, is the spice of life.
Consistency in your training is very important, but the levels and types of consistency will vary depending on your goals. For example, for fat loss goals you need to develop a consistent routine of when you exercise. This plays a big part in your overall lifestyle goals such as mood and eating habits. Yet for muscle hypertrophy it is essential that not only a consistent routine is developed, but a consistent type of movement is too. But let’s focus on fat loss for today as the two goals are like different sports.
Let’s take a look a person A, who has fat loss goals. Here is a list of mistakes that I see on a daily basis and how he can put this right…
× he says that he wants to lose weight.
✓ when an individual understands what it is that they want to lose from their body the process becomes easier straight away. It’s fat that he wants to lose. Not muscle, an arm or an organ.
× he doesn’t plan his week around exercise.
✓ like any goal, it needs a certain amount of planning. At the beginning of the week, he should choose the days and times that he will exercise.
× his plan of a home workout in Monday could not happen because of work commitments so he ditched the whole week in plans.
✓ sticking to a plan, even if it doesn’t happen on a certain day, will still help him achieve his goals. His Monday workout could either be done on a different day or he can go for a walk when the time is right to make up for it.
× he follows a ‘diet’ that his mate told him about.
✓ every diet must have the same conclusion…it has to be in a calorie deficit. This means that he must eat fewer calories than he burns. This can be done by eating food that he enjoys with good nutrition and protein options.
× his exercise program becomes demotivating. Johnny Gainz from Gainz Bruh YouTube channel gave his followers two kick ass ab exercises to do.
✓ he needs a consistent exercise routine, but those exercises should be fun and varied. Although certain compounds will remain a constant throughout his training, these can be done with different equipment, rep ranges, as a circuit or as supersets. And full body workouts with a calorie deficit will get rid of belly fat. Not a hundred hanging leg raises. Johnny Gainz forgot to tell his followers that.
Person A became annoyed at not planning and when he did he found that other commitments got in the way. He listened to his pal regarding diet tips who’s own weight goes up and down more than an elevator at Trump Towers and he watches YouTube clips of jacked topless dudes talking him through a human flag routine. In the end the only consistency he maintained is the part where he says that he’ll start again in January. His variety comes from a box of Celebrations.
Attempting positive, consistent routines in his life doesn’t make him a control freak. Building structure and setting weekly targets is not anal retentive.
From being a baby a human will develop routines that work for them. They will crawl to a certain bit of furniture each day to climb to their feet and attempt to walk until eventually they will walk by doing it consistently. Many times they will fall and cry. But they will walk one day through development and persistence.
As we get older and life becomes much more chaotic, it is easy to forget how we were all that baby once. We attempt to be swan like above the surface but the feet are frantically trying to navigate us through another day below it.
Person A has already got the experience of achieving his goals, he just can’t remember them.
Never Give Up PT 