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

Fitness for Fat Loss - Rebecca Conlin, PT @ RWF

A subject I am very passionate about! You don’t have to spend long arduous hours on the bike or treadmill! It has been proven in recent research that a combination of high intensity interval training (HITT) and a specific weight training programme yields the greatest results for losing body fat and weight. By working at a higher intensity for shorter periods you will not only burn more calories you'll also benefit from the ‘afterburn effect’, a boost to your metabolism meaning you burn calories at a faster rate for the rest of the day, even after you've finished your work out.

Why stop there? An effective weight training programme aiming to gain lean muscle will permanently increase your resting metabolism. More muscle means you burn more calories whilst doing…NOTHING! 

For all the ladies worried about bulking up, STOP! It is almost physically impossible for you to bulk up because women don’t produce enough of the hormone responsible for muscle growth, testosterone. Putting muscle on for ladies will only achieve that long, lean and athletic look most women strive for.

Finally, diet and nutrition are of vital importance and half the battle. Fad diets aside, now is the time to change to a permanent, new healthier lifestyle that is sustainable over long periods. Real World Fitness personal trainers are experts in diet and nutrition and would be happy to advise you on the perfect nutrition specific to your body’s needs.

Failure is only a fact when you give up. Everyone gets knocked down, the question is: Will you get back up?

Do you self-sabotage? by Derran Langston, PT and Owner @ RWF

Ok - this post isn't going to win any awards for revolutionary thinking. You're not suddenly going to have a light-bulb moment when you realise this is the one thing nobody ever told you. The problem is, as with many things in life, that you already know it. You just don't actually do anything about it.

There's a business model based around learning which details four stages of 'competence'. One of the four stages is 'unconscious competence'. Basically speaking, you're so damn good at something, you don't even have to think about it. You just do it, and do it well. The flip side to that is 'conscious competence'. You're still damn good at it, but you have to try. It doesn't come naturally.

Either one of those stages is a great place to be. Naturally talented or gifted athletes have the former; the rest of us that achieve anything halfway decent have the latter.

So where do the vast majority of people slot in to this model? I warn you, it's not pleasant reading and I suspect many people reading this will wince as they recognise themselves...

We've got to the unconscious incompetence level. This sums up a lot of people - you're well-intentioned, maybe you've gone out and bought all the new gym kit, joined a spanking new health club and signed up to a 10k for a couple of months time. But you're just not getting anywhere, because you don't have the first clue how to train properly. You're doing stuff, but not the right stuff. You're being incompetent, but you don't realise it. That's ok though - you are one of the curable people. There's hope for you - you just need guidance from a decent PT (such as us at www.realworldfitness.co.uk perhaps?).

The people that are really going to struggle are the last bunch. Please tell me you've already recognised yourself in one of the last three categories. Because if not, this is going to sting a little...you're consciously incompetent. Yep - you're doing all the wrong stuff., and you KNOW you're doing it. But guess what? You don't care enough to do anything about it. Ever heard the definition of insanity? It's doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results. If this is you, if you've been plodding away at the same things to reach your goals...and never quite getting there...then I suspect you already know what you're doing wrong. You're deliberately being incompetent.

If anything in that last paragraph strikes a chord with you, change today, not tomorrow. Be any of the other three types of people, because all of them will eventually get results, and get to where they want to be. Stay consciously incompetent, however, and you'll always be chasing a goal that gets further away from you...