Three habits that breed long term fitness success....
Habit 1 - Enjoyment
In my eyes this is where any successful training program begins although I doubt everyone will agree with me.....
I hated every minute of training. But I said to myself, suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion! Muhammed Ali
Like the great Muhammed Ali you could just suck it up, put in the time and effort and make progress whilst hating every minute of it. However, is this really likely to be the most successful formula for the rest of us? I doubt it, the more likely outcome is you will slave away for a few weeks or maybe even a few months before throwing in the towel at which point the use it or lose it principle will kick in and your strength and stamina will erode away.
This is why (in my opinion) finding a training program you enjoy doing is so important. Enjoyment breeds consistency which in turn breeds progression! Enjoyment could stem from the performing the individual workouts, it could stem from overcoming a particular challenge or fitness goal, it could stem from the people you exercise with. It doesn’t matter, as long as you enjoy the process you will set yourself up for habit 2.
Habit 2 - Consistency
Next on the list is consistency. This needs little explanation, performing one workout every couple of weeks is not going to get you anywhere fast. On the flip side, if you make working out a staple habit (which is much easier if you enjoy your training) you will pave the way for the all important final habit to take form....
Habit 3 -Progression
Last but not least is the key habit of progression. Habit 1 and habit 2 are really just precursors that allow habit 3 to happen. The human body has an amazing biological mechanism for adapting to the demands placed upon it. Applying habit one and habit two (with some smart programming) will allow you to take advantage of this evolutionary advantage and progress from average joe to serious competitor in almost any exercise discipline. Patience is the key to making this habit effective. Progress will happen via a long series of small incremental improvements, not in one giant cascade! Push forwards then back off, push forwards further then back off... you get the idea! Try not to concern yourself with how others are progressing around you, they are playing the game with a different set of genetics and will progress differently from you..... focus on your own journey and enjoy the ride! Don’t be the guy who does the same old thing at the same old intensity week after week, year after year... unless of course you are happy with mediocrity?!
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