Tidbit Tuesday – The 80/20 Principle

Hello, 

Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday! Today we are going to talk about the 80/20 Principle, which everything in the world seems to be subject to. 

It was discovered by Italian Economist Vilfredo Pareto, in the early 1900s. He realized that 80% of the wealth in England was held by 20% of the population. And, being an economist, he kind of fixated on wealth and didn’t bother to look anywhere else...  Which is where a guy called Richard Koch stepped up and got a little more inventive than Vilfredo was. 

 The results were INCREDIBLE. He realized that the 80/20 principle didn’t just apply to wealth. It applied to everything!

20% of freeways get 80% of the traffic. 

20% of customers make 80% of the purchases. 

20% runners win 80% of the races. 

He has a 3 step system to achieve any goal.  

Let’s say your goal is to lose 10 lbs., run a marathon or triathlon, or maybe you’re trying to forge a strong, aesthetic, mobile, and conditioned physique.  

The 80/20 Principle has you covered! 

There is no “perfect person”, however Social Media may make it seem as though the world is full of them. And they just happened to “have it all” sometimes seemingly effortlessly.  

How frustrating! 

But, for some reason, whenever we want to get back into good shape and start taking care of our health, we can’t seem to stick with it! Why is this? 

The truth is, most of us have an “all-or-nothing” attitude when it comes to health and getting into shape.  

We want to have a solid workout plan. Stop eating all junk food and ordering out. 

But before you know it, you do something that doesn’t align with your goals. Maybe you go out with some friend and end up having few drinks, maybe some nachos, maybe you stop for some McDonald’s on the way home. 

Now you wake up the next morning feeling crappy, blaming yourself for falling off track again, thinking “why isn’t this easier?! Guess I’ll start again on Monday”. 

The truth is that no one can be 100% perfect all the time! We are human after all! 

So, rather than trying to be perfect and either be “all-or-nothing”, let’s try this 80/20 Principle, allow yourself to be a little bit human sometimes. 

Let’s look over that 3 step system I mentioned.  

Step 1: The 80/20 Destination - where you want to be. 

Step 2: The 80/20 Route - the easiest way to your destination. 

Step 3: The 80/20 Actions - your key actions/methods.  

If you follow the steps in this simple order you’ll achieve your goal, even exceed your goal... while avoiding the typical pitfalls most people fall into on their health and fitness journeys.  Let’s apply this model to your health and fitness goals.

 1. What’s your 80/20 destination?  

Whether it is to be shredded, strong, and aesthetic. Or, simply to improve your physical and mental well-being, and feel your best each day. 

 2. What’s your 80/20 route?  

A tailored program and daily healthy habits to practice that provides structure, challenge and evidence based principles while also empowering you through education and connecting you with a community of like-minded, goal focused people. 

 3. What are your 80/20 actions?  

Focus on the High Leverage Activities before you get caught up in the details. Train hard, be accountable, be consistent, take action on the world class coaching you receive, and be an active member of the community. 

Precision Nutrition has done some extensive studies on making progress and some of the results may shock you. The first thing they discovered was;

Just putting in some effort – no matter how small – changes things.  

Clients who are only 10% - 49% consistent with their daily healthy habits make significant changes over time. On average they were losing 11 lbs. per year. Over time, this really adds up to significant change.  

They also saw other health factors greatly improve, such as their cardiovascular health, lower risk for diabetes, better mood, immunity, sleep, and improved sex-drive. 

That is pretty exciting! 

You don’t even have to be consistent HALF OF THE TIME and you’ll still make progress.

Now, what if you could reach that 80% consistency?

The results can truly be astounding when you put in a little effort. 

But, enough chit-chat, it’s time to get to work.. 80% of the time anyways. 

After all, your dreams won’t work unless you do.  Find the balance that you need to consistently be making small steps forward. 

If you need help achieving that 80% consistency, e-mail us and say “I NEED MORE HELP BEING CONSISTENT!” 

Happy Balancing! 

Your friend in Health & Fitness, 

Coach Sean