Consistency is King!

I've trained a large number of individuals now, and over forums/email probably given advice to hundreds more. Over this time, I think I've worked out the vital component that has meant some people have succeeded in their goals, and some haven't - consistency.

I have yet to meet anyone who has had success training once a week. Of course, as a personal trainer I do take on and work with some clients once a week, but I stress from the start that they will NOT make progress if they only train when I'm there. They need to put in the work in between our sessions. Make no mistake, I can tell who has put the work in over the week, and who hasn't.

Many people say they've been training 'on and off' for years. Well, sorry to break it to you, but if you train for a couple of months, then have a month off, then start again, then take another break - well, you may as well not bother. Exercise isn't for you. You don't have the focus, willpower or desire to make differences to your body. I appreciate that may sound harsh, but it's true. Just give up and find something else you enjoy, because stop-start training and yo-yo healthy eating is pointless. In fact, it probably does you more harm than good, certainly psychologically, because of the constant re-enforcing of the fact you've failed again.

Within reason, ANY half-decent training plan or dietary approach will get you results, if you stick to it. I've seen people get great results from training plans I wouldn't touch with a barge-pole, but the fact is the person stuck to it, put in 100% effort, and didn't give up after 4 weeks.

This may put some people off before even starting, but to make significant changes to your body, that people around you will notice, will take at least six months of hard and consistent work and effort. Not one month of hard work and then two weeks of nothing because 'work was busy' or 'I had a lot on' or 'there were lots of Xmas parties I had to go to'. If that sounds familiar to you, then you need to recognise how much of your time and effort you are wasting.

Unfortunately, the phrase 'use it or lose it' is 100% applicable to strength and fitness. In particular, you can lose your CV fitness almost as quickly as you gain it. In other words, a hard months worth of effort increasing your ability to run for half an hour can be entirely wiped out by a month of making excuses and doing nothing. You'll end up back at square one. What a waste of effort, eh?

Stop-start training and stop-start attention to nutrition does not work. It's as simple as that. If you want success, be consistent in what you do. It's the only way to make a difference.

"The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will." - Vincent T. Lombardi

Prioritising Health - Rebecca Conlin

I have come from a very stressful job in a secondary school, where my role was looking after a particularly naughty year group and often dealing with less than supportive parents/carers. I was also leading an expedition to Borneo for some students who had to raise over £3500, which I was only given an hour a week to do. I did not receive very much support from colleagues; in fact it verged on bullying.

On top of this I was studying a full time distance learning degree in Psychology which took up most of my spare time. If that’s not enough I was also training most nights and competing for Eastwood Amateur Boxing Club… it doesn’t even end here! My partner was also serving in Afghanistan on the front line. As you can imagine I was very busy, and there is only so long you can go without it catching up with you.

About 10 months ago I had a mini melt-down and had to reconsider my life and put things into perspective. I had to prioritise what was important. Firstly, my health. Without health, you cannot enjoy anything else in life. I’m not just talking about physical health, but all round mental, physical and spiritual wellbeing. After a lot of soul-searching I made the decision to quit my job, quit my degree, quit boxing competitively and focus on what really matters and guess what? I’m happier, healthier and fitter than ever.

So my point is: drop the excuses. I don’t care if your job is stressful. I don’t care about your family commitments. I don’t care about any other personal problems that you're using as an excuse NOT to prioritise health and fitness. That might sound harsh but without the latter you have none of the former! I’m not saying quit everything and hope for the best. I'm not saying to ignore your family and friends commitments. I’m saying act now and don’t let the hustle and bustle of everyday life grind you down, eventually putting you in the position that I ended up in.

If you want to put your health and fitness first then please contact Real World Fitness and together we will put a plan together that addresses your personal commitments and advise you on how you CAN do it. Sometimes failure just isn’t an option.