Every year millions of people make the resolution to improve their fitness.
It’s not exactly a secret that the majority of these good intentions will quickly turn into empty promises.
When you first get started, your excitement and energy are high and it’s easy to feel like you’re in control. You believe your willpower alone will help you through the difficult days ahead.
The reality is you’ll probably have more days when you don’t “feel” like training. This is the reason we preach Standards Over Feelings because we understand how fundamental this is for human behavior.
There have been several studies on human behavior that have helped identify the single biggest predictor of success when it comes to long-term consistency with your fitness.
It’s not keeping a gym bag ready and with you at all times…although this helps.
Setting your gym clothes out the night before is a great idea…but it’s still not the determining factor.
Surprisingly it’s not even having an accountability partner.
Schedule in advance when and where you’ll do your training.
Everything else is simply in support of this habit.
Being accountable to someone you don’t want to disappoint is incredibly helpful, but if you haven’t taken that first step, accountability falls short.
Having been that accountability piece for hundreds of people, I’ve been ignored and ghosted more times than I can count. Even my sister stopped responding to text messages and phone calls at one point. (I called our mother but apparently you can’t put an adult on restriction).
I’ll say it louder for the people in the back. (I know it’s a blog post…it’s just funny).
Scheduling in advance WHEN and WHERE you’ll workout is the single most important step to developing consistency with your fitness.
This helps you develop integrity with yourself…if you say you’ll do something, that thing gets done. Period.
Show up like a boss and bosses don’t cancel. Your training is time on your calendar dedicated to getting better.
The workouts on your calendar become non-negotiable. You don’t wake up and see how you “feel” because you already know there will be days you don’t “feel” like it.
In advance, you schedule your training where it best fits into your life with your responsibilities.
Once you’ve planned your work, you show up and work the plan. If you fail to plan the work, you’re significantly increasing the likelihood of failure.
Ask someone who has been remarkably consistent with their fitness if they know when and where they’ll workout.
This has already been decided. Their feelings aren’t involved in the process.
If you truly want to be consistent with your fitness, this habit is a must:
Schedule in advance when and where you’ll workout.
