Tidbit Tuesday - Consistency VS Variety

Hello,

Welcome to another Tidbit Tuesday where we aim to teach you something new about health, nutrition, lifestyle, training, and so much more, every week!

Today we are talking about Consistency VS Variety!

When it comes to training and nutrition, we know that results don't just happen overnight.

It can take some time!

But what might make that journey go a little quicker?

Being consistent and doing the same routine, week after week? Or changing it up every week? Every session?

To be honest, the answer is BOTH!

Allow me to explain.

Consistency is arguably the most important piece of the puzzle when maintaining or improving your physical fitness.

However, if a routine is too repetitive and

boring, you are far less likely to stick with it.

If you get bored and stop, your progress will stop. But if you change things up to keep yourself interested and engaged, your process can continue.

The most perfectly created plan is no use if you won't follow it and perform the necessary actions on a regular basis.

Random effort gets random results.

On the plus side, humans are fantastic adaptation machines.

Basically, our bodies naturally become more efficient at whatever it does repetitively. Whether that is sitting at a desk every day for 8+ hours, standing on your feet all day, climbing frequently, and even whether we reach up over our head very often.

Do you reach up very often? Can you lift your arm straight up so that your bicep is beside your ear and your fingers pointed toward the ceiling? Or is your arm floating out in front of you a little bit and you are pointing at an angle? Was it pain free, or did it pinch a little?

If we do not use our full range of motion, then we will lose it.

We must find a balance in our life that allows us to be happy with how we look and feel, how we are able to move and deal with pain. How we spend our time and who we decide to surround ourselves with makes a big difference!

To quote Aristotle; "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit."

They say to achieve excellence in any category that you must commit to ten thousand hours of dedicated practice.

But who wants to spend ten thousand hours doing the same thing over and over?!

The good news is that when you practice something consistently, it doesn't have to be the exact same practice for the entire ten thousand hours.

Consider learning an instrument. You wouldn't play one song over and over until you reach ten thousand hours.

Your time practicing is going to encompass an abundance of songs and techniques.

The same goes for training and nutrition.

You simply aren't going to perform the same workout and eat the same foods, day in and day out, week after week.

You could never sustain this forever!

And the truth is that you need variety in your diet to maintain your health by getting the appropriate levels of all the necessary micronutrients and minerals.

But it is also important in training to prevent plateaus while also keeping your routine from becoming stale.

Variety is the spice of life!

So how do you combine consistency with variety?

Here are 5 tips to help you stay consistent:

·       Periodization

This allows you to plan a few steps in advance and make the most with your time while also helping you to avoid injury.

An intelligently designed training year will encompass smaller blocks of time that each have their own goals or priorities. Each block could be anywhere from 4 weeks up to 10, or even 12 weeks long. Each with a certain goal in mind.

This keeps things from getting boring by creating a consistent program that utilizes both variety and repetition in exercise selection to achieve the desired result and keep things interesting.

·       The 80/20 rule

By aiming to be consistent with your goals 80% of the time, you will without a doubt continue to make slow but steady progress.

By allowing yourself about 20% freedom with your routine you can still have the little things that you enjoy, simply in moderation. If you are trying to be 100% perfect you will undoubtedly slip at some point, and this usually causes people to give up entirely. Now you're making 0% effort in the right direction.

80/20 for both training and nutrition will keep you moving forward toward your goals but also able to enjoy life!

·       Intention

Your progress on any one day won't be much, even one week won't see a ton of change. But if you can wake up each and every day with the intention of making the most with your time, putting your best foot forward and letting go of what is behind you. You will one day look back and be amazed at how much ground you covered. So, remember, one bad week won't ruin all of your progress. Keep going!

·       Do what you can with what you have

Every little bit counts. This is where having good intentions can make a huge difference!

On any given day you may wake up and be a little more tired than normal. You might not

want to give any effort at all. But if you can muster the energy to do something simple like go for a walk, spend a few minutes stretching something that feels tight, or even just planning ahead for the next couple days. By aiming to do at least the bare minimum each day you will continue to make forward progress!

Don't have access to a gym or any equipment? Use household items or simply use your own bodyweight to perform strength exercises. Go for a walk or spend time doing an activity with family. Don't want to cook or prepare food today? Order in, just opt for something healthier!

You can always be taking baby steps in the right direction.

·       Plan for hurdles. Life happens!

No matter how good your intentions are,

there will always be the unexpected. By expecting the unexpected we can make sure that it doesn't derail all of our progress. Remember you should really only be aiming to be consistent about 80% of the time. If something happens and you don't get to your scheduled workout, you don't have to stress, you can always get back into the groove tomorrow or the next day. Remember, one bad week won't ruin all of your progress.

So, plan for bigger events like birthdays, holidays, and work events that you know might not be in line with your goals. If you have a strategy in place before the event, you will be far more likely to avoid "failing", allowing you to enjoy the event guilt free and continuing your progress!

And remember, you cannot fail unless you never start.

Happy, consistent training!

Your friend in health and fitness,

Coach Sean