Keys To Progress: Part One, Consistency

This series of articles is going to lay out what I feel are the intangible virtues of those that progressively get better in whatever pursuit they may have. While these articles can be applied to any facet of life I'm going to use predominantly weightlifting examples because I'm a meathead at heart.

Consistency is the first of this series because it is absolutely the number one key to progress. All other things that help you progress come back to consistency. Having any inconsistencies in your training program will lead to diminished results in the long run. If you can't be consistent then you might as well stop fooling yourself and stay fat, lazy, unsuccessful and content on the couch. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is long term success in whatever you want to do.

In the last three years I could count on one hand the number of training sessions I've missed. My goals have changed throughout that time, but my consistency towards achieving them have not. I don't consider that any great feat either. I've felt like shit, been hungover, had to travel, been short on time, had little to no equipment, been hurt, yadda yadda yadda, and all the rest of the common excuses I hear yet I still got done what I needed to get done. But guess what? So do lots of people. Being consistent is part of who I am. If I'm passionate about something I find ways to fit it in. If I want to do something or change something about myself I don't sit around playing wishful thinking hoping that it will happen. Success doesn't happen by mistake.

I know where the weight room is.

Look at Jack LaLanne. The man has been consistent in his exercise regimen for-fucking-ever and he did shit at 70 most people couldn't do at 20. The man was successful in just about everything he did because he stayed consistent in his efforts to reach his goal of being the most bad ass nonagenarian the planet has ever seen. He was lifting weights and splittin' quiffs when he passed away at 96. His fight with death was probably as epic as Roddy Piper's and Keith David's fight scene in They Live. He more than likely woke up everyday and said, "I'm either going to kick ass or chew bubble gum today. Hmm, seems I'm all out of bubble gum." He practiced what he preached every day of his life.

This is old Jack at 71. Shit, I'd be happy if I looked like that now.

I will admit that consistency is a bit easier for me in that I don't have children, or even a significant other, and I work in a gym. I answer to no one outside of my job and feel a sense of responsibility to only my dog and very few other people. All I can say to that is, "Them's the cards." But, even if I were to wake up tomorrow with a wife and kids and a different job I would still be consistent in my training. Lot's of people have had amazing training careers with a plate full of other responsibilities. Training is a part of who I am and there is no way I'm about to go back on it now.

Consistency is not just showing up. Consistency is not doing the same thing day in and day out and expecting something greater in return. Consistency is not doing just enough to get by. I cannot preach this enough. Strive to consistently do more or better than what you have done in the past. When you do what you've always done, you get what you've always gotten. Consistent effort, consistent attention to detail, consistent learning, and sometimes consistent well thought-out change all play major roles in your progress. Any chinks in these links of armor and all of a sudden you've got a sword in your belly in the form of shitty results. Like I said, everything is predicated on consistency.

Maybe pedal harder? No? It's too hard? Well, have fun with that diabeetus, lady.

I've seen way too many people do great for three or four months, see some results, start to sputter in their attendance, and then be gone for the next six months. Then they return with a new sense of vigor and excitement and fall right back into the same cycle. I've seen people come in twice a week like clockwork, go through the motions, or don't do the things they need to do outside of the gym and never get any better. Don't be like these people. You want to learn calculus? You practice that shit every day. You want to squat 600 pounds? Get your ass under a barbell. You want to be an expert at tying knots? Fucking tie some knots every goddamn day, son. Set goals for yourself and consistently do what it takes to reach it. And if you don't reach it, you probably didn't really want it anyway. I once wanted to run a six minute mile but I never did. You know why? Because running is stupid.

My thoughts exactly Homer. No thanks.

The next few articles are going to feature other attributes that are important for progress and success but they all come back to consistency. If you cant be consistent then whatever bullshit effort you do give won't mean a hill of beans in this world, kid.

"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds." -Ralph Waldo Emerson