Consistency Is King

I'm going to tell you a dirty little secret.

People that do something sub-optimally more frequently will get more results than individuals that nail their workout once a week and then do nothing from that point forward.

With few exceptions, it is generally hard to suck at something if you're doing it all the time. Do something frequently enough and you're bound to arrive at what is optimal.

When I was training full-time, people would often ask questions like this: "What's the best way to..."

What this question means is "What's the most optimal way for me to accomplish X, Y, or Z?"

Optimizing is something you can do after establishing a process or habit. Put differently, you can't refine something that's never been built out. However, these questions also point to something that people are afraid of.

Most people fear that lack of precision (exactness and accuracy) is going to implode their fitness aspirations.

There are two major things to consider here:

1. Experimentation is sometimes required for success.
2. Industry marketing would have you believe there is a magic formula to success when there simply isn't one.

I don't want you to be discouraged by the last point. There are many routes to take to the same destination. What is non-negotiable, however, is the need for consistency.

Let's use an example to further this point.

Pretend you are about to embark on the Oregon Trail. There's obviously a whole bunch of stuff that goes into a journey like this. But, I want you to focus on just staying on your wagon. That's it.

Taking what is obviously a large goal and breaking it down into one smaller simpler goal is an effective way of generating more consistency.

A simpler goal is more achievable and frankly, it allows you to collect a win.

We all like winning and, as it turns out, we tend to keep doing the things we like.

Now, if you've ever actually played the game The Oregon Trail (play it online here) you will know that there are any number of disasters that prevent you from staying on the wagon. Getting off the wagon only delays your arrival at your destination.

You will need to anticipate what those disasters are and find ways of mitigating them. Otherwise, you're getting off that wagon and what do we call that?

Inconsistency.

Inconsistency will delay results. That's it pure and simple. Consistency is always king.