From my experience, the easiest thing to do in a fitness regiment of any kind, after deciding that you want to get started, is to make a plan. Depending on what your goals are and your general experience with workouts/fitness, the first attempt at a plan can be fairly grandiose--an intense, well-laid plan. You start in on it right away, and the first day goes off without a hitch. This one's finally going to work. You go to bed exhausted and feeling great, and you're resolved to get up the next morning, go on a jog and get the day started right.
The next morning, it's raining--maybe a little drizzle or serious "cats and dogs" rain. Then the mental excuses start moving, and before you know it you're back in bed for "just one more hour 'til the rain stops."
The plan has died, and a few months later, the cycle begins again.
For Operation Shodan Fit, I had a little extra incentive when I got started--I got the mess beaten out of me at summer camp. I think I fought well, and those who saw it agreed, but I knew that I needed some serious training to be able to handle more fights like these after a black belt test (the fights come at the end). It's a pretty nice incentive.
So, the prospect of getting my tail handed to me again was enough extra purpose to find the x-factor in my fitness plan: consistency.
I have a feeling this may be the lynchpin for a lot of people's fitness plans, and it's a healthy outlet for the stubbornness that I (and most of my favorite people) have going for me in other avenues of my life.
Is it simply willpower that allows us to be consistent in our fitness efforts? Maybe it is, but I don't like the idea that those who aren't yet consistent are weak-willed and lazy. It's just hard to break a cycle--particularly one that feels so nice and easy while it's killing you.
I've found a few tricks to help myself in this process:
1.) Keep the process public. The blog and talking about this with karate friends and other loved ones has been huge. People are more than happy to support you when they can see the fruits of your labor and follow you in the process. Plus, since they're going to be asking about my workouts, it gives me a little extra reason to put some nice numbers up on the board to talk about. It's the bragging-rights process video games have taught us in the last 10 years or so...achievement unlocked!
2.) Keep it simple. We've heard this time and time again...the old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) formula...it's kind of like the endorphin-crazed cousin of Occam's Razor. By this I don't mean the workouts need to be simple--they just don't need to involve a lot of thinking to implement. With some good planning, HIIT, weight-training, cardio, etc. can all be conceptually simple enough to just go out and do them.
3.) Mix it up. Here's another big one--staving-off boredom in the gym, dojo, or on the road makes the process so much more fun. That's one of the big reasons I started doing "stair days" after a few days of more traditional jogging/brisk walk cardio. The stairs were fun to do, and after a while, the numbers of reps and sets just started to climb. Of course, the next day, my calves would scream at me like I cut them off in traffic, but that's also part of the fun.
4.) Keep records. "Everything that's recorded improves, and everything that's recorded and reported improves exponentially." --Peter Drucker
These are just a few of the things I have learned about consistent fitness so far--enjoy the day, and I'll be slinging words through the interwebs at you tomorrow!
The next morning, it's raining--maybe a little drizzle or serious "cats and dogs" rain. Then the mental excuses start moving, and before you know it you're back in bed for "just one more hour 'til the rain stops."
The plan has died, and a few months later, the cycle begins again.
For Operation Shodan Fit, I had a little extra incentive when I got started--I got the mess beaten out of me at summer camp. I think I fought well, and those who saw it agreed, but I knew that I needed some serious training to be able to handle more fights like these after a black belt test (the fights come at the end). It's a pretty nice incentive.
So, the prospect of getting my tail handed to me again was enough extra purpose to find the x-factor in my fitness plan: consistency.
I have a feeling this may be the lynchpin for a lot of people's fitness plans, and it's a healthy outlet for the stubbornness that I (and most of my favorite people) have going for me in other avenues of my life.
Is it simply willpower that allows us to be consistent in our fitness efforts? Maybe it is, but I don't like the idea that those who aren't yet consistent are weak-willed and lazy. It's just hard to break a cycle--particularly one that feels so nice and easy while it's killing you.
I've found a few tricks to help myself in this process:
1.) Keep the process public. The blog and talking about this with karate friends and other loved ones has been huge. People are more than happy to support you when they can see the fruits of your labor and follow you in the process. Plus, since they're going to be asking about my workouts, it gives me a little extra reason to put some nice numbers up on the board to talk about. It's the bragging-rights process video games have taught us in the last 10 years or so...achievement unlocked!
2.) Keep it simple. We've heard this time and time again...the old KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) formula...it's kind of like the endorphin-crazed cousin of Occam's Razor. By this I don't mean the workouts need to be simple--they just don't need to involve a lot of thinking to implement. With some good planning, HIIT, weight-training, cardio, etc. can all be conceptually simple enough to just go out and do them.
3.) Mix it up. Here's another big one--staving-off boredom in the gym, dojo, or on the road makes the process so much more fun. That's one of the big reasons I started doing "stair days" after a few days of more traditional jogging/brisk walk cardio. The stairs were fun to do, and after a while, the numbers of reps and sets just started to climb. Of course, the next day, my calves would scream at me like I cut them off in traffic, but that's also part of the fun.
4.) Keep records. "Everything that's recorded improves, and everything that's recorded and reported improves exponentially." --Peter Drucker
These are just a few of the things I have learned about consistent fitness so far--enjoy the day, and I'll be slinging words through the interwebs at you tomorrow!
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