Rome wasn’t built in a day, in fact Rome has taken over 1,012,000 days to build, so a very long time. Don’t worry this is an article about health, not history.
So why the history lesson at all? To put into context that getting the body you want will not happen overnight, it is a constant journey of self-improvement. The most important thing when it comes to getting the body you want is consistency, some determination, and realizing that it’s a long-term project. We live in a world where if you want something you can get it almost straight away but when it comes to getting the body shape you want unfortunately, that is just not the case, and it is why you see so many people join a gym in January and within 6 weeks have already given up.
People expect quick results and when that does not happen, they are to quick to jump to the conclusion of “I can’t do it”. More often than not they make drastic life changes which are not sustainable. Now don’t get me wrong, that’s not everyone, there are exceptions, people have changed their entire lifestyle overnight, have stuck to it, and achieved great results, but for the vast majority of new gym goers they change too much too soon.
For example, a lot of people tend to give themselves a huge calorie deficit, train for 2-3 hours a day and in a short amount of time simply burn out.
As you can see from the above example this is short-term thinking, expecting results to come thick and fast. But to get the best results possible you must be consistent, the more consistent you are with your training, your nutrition, your sleep etc. the healthier and better the outcome will be.
So, what can you do to help you achieve this? One simple way is to create a daily list of things you can do every day which will help your long-term goals. If you struggle with nutrition, meal prep should be on there, if you struggle to get your steps in throughout the day, include a walk. What this will do is help you to create good habits and help you to be consistent with those habits, this is a small change that can make a huge difference.
Another really effective way of creating consistency is booking out time in your diary to do certain tasks. Treat going to gym like you would a business meeting, you wouldn’t bunk off from your meeting because your job would be at risk, only this time it’s your health. Remember, a healthy body creates a healthy mind, a healthy body and a healthy mind make you a more productive worker, so prioritize exercise and reap the rewards at both ends.
Words: Ross Taylor
