I have found over the year with my own training that when I training on a daily basis rarely missing a workout, I seemed to perform much better. And now coaching athletes I see the same results over and over again. Those athletes that rarely miss a workout seem to perform with much better results race after race in compare to those that skip workouts on a regular basis. I understand that life gets in the way and it can be difficult to do every workout on the schedule week after week. It is not enough to do one or two intense workouts a week and expect to get faster, fitter, and stronger. It is the habitual workouts that you do day after day, week after week that will make you faster, fitter, and stronger both physically and mentally.
The quote from Aristotle is on point, that whatever we do repeatedly becomes our habits and we become very good at it. Whether it is training as an athlete or making excuses on why I can’t train today. If you have a desire to reach your goal, you will find a way to complete your training.
Consistency is a decision that you must make; you have complete control over it. Here are four habits that will help you be more consistent with your workouts.
1. Plan your week: Your coach provides you with a training plan. That is not enough, review your plan the week prior and plan your training schedule on your calendar. When and where are you going to do your workouts. Write it down and make it a priority just like you would for a doctor appointment.
2. Set a goal: Set a goal to complete your workouts as prescribed. If your short on time, commit to completing a portion of the workout. Completing half the workout is better than skipping it all together. When I was marathon training, one of my goals that I made with myself was that no matter how bad I felt or how little desire I had to do the workout I was committed to do at least the first 20 minutes of the workout. Rarely did I not complete the workout. The hardest thing is getting out the door. A goal could be something as simple as completing 85% of the scheduled workouts per month.
3. Fueling your body: Your energy level has a huge factor on motivating yourself to get out the door. It is critical that you have a high-quality diet. Think of your body as a race car, the high-quality fuel you put in the better you perform. You want to get the most out of your body. I can always tell when I am eating poorly.
4. Recovery: Sleep is essential to recovery and if you don’t get enough your body isn’t able to recover properly which will lead to fatigue over time. Shoot for at least 7-hours of sleep. In addition to sleep, not over doing your workouts on recovery days or weeks will allow your body to recovery so you can perform better the following day or next cycle of training.
Consistency is a decision that you must make; you have complete control over it. Here are four habits that will help you be more consistent with your workouts.
1. Plan your week: Your coach provides you with a training plan. That is not enough, review your plan the week prior and plan your training schedule on your calendar. When and where are you going to do your workouts. Write it down and make it a priority just like you would for a doctor appointment.
2. Set a goal: Set a goal to complete your workouts as prescribed. If your short on time, commit to completing a portion of the workout. Completing half the workout is better than skipping it all together. When I was marathon training, one of my goals that I made with myself was that no matter how bad I felt or how little desire I had to do the workout I was committed to do at least the first 20 minutes of the workout. Rarely did I not complete the workout. The hardest thing is getting out the door. A goal could be something as simple as completing 85% of the scheduled workouts per month.
3. Fueling your body: Your energy level has a huge factor on motivating yourself to get out the door. It is critical that you have a high-quality diet. Think of your body as a race car, the high-quality fuel you put in the better you perform. You want to get the most out of your body. I can always tell when I am eating poorly.
4. Recovery: Sleep is essential to recovery and if you don’t get enough your body isn’t able to recover properly which will lead to fatigue over time. Shoot for at least 7-hours of sleep. In addition to sleep, not over doing your workouts on recovery days or weeks will allow your body to recovery so you can perform better the following day or next cycle of training.
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