Rules For Training, Part II

Picking up where we left off here are the rest of my rules for training.

4. STICK TO THE BASICS

There is a reason that fitness fads come and go and some things remain constant.  That is because fads are usually money making schemes that offer little value and the tried and true techniques get results.

Unfortunately, sexy sells.  And it’s usually the complex fads that are appealing to the untrained eye.  Most people are willing to jump from fad to fad looking for the quick fix and impossibly fast results that they end up getting nowhere.

People also overestimate their commitment to a fitness routine.  I’d be willing to bet that more people gave up at some point on all the at-home fitness programs like P90X and Insanity than actually finished them.  Same thing goes for most fitness equipment sold in the US.  More of it probably acts as a clothes hanger or shelf than as a means of self improvement. 

But the basics, those are the rocks that all fitness is built on.  Here are a few of the basics that I’m talking about:

•  Lifting heavy weights using compound exercises
• Using simple and progressive set, rep, and intensity schemes
•  Slow, steady progress planned out in months and years, not weeks
• Sprinting, jumping, and climbing

I’m all for variety.  Boredom can be as much of a motivation killer as too much variety and program jumping.  But staying within the basic aspects of programming will yield much better gains than doing the latest fad and seeing nothing to show for it.

And for me personally, results are the best motivator out there.

5. BE CONSISTENT

I wrote a multi-part article a few years back on keys to progress.  Consistency was A-Plus Number 1 Good Time Progress Key!  Read it here.

Keys ToProgress: Consistency

Seriously, without consistency the only results you can expect are the wrong ones.  But consistency goes beyond how many times you work out in a week.  You have to be consistent in your nutrition, consistent in your recovery, and consistent in your overall effort.  This brings me to my final Rule for Training.

6. PUSH YOURSELF

I could lead this off with any of the thousands of motivational quotes about working hard.  While there are some good ones the simple fact remains that without struggle nothing is gained.

We live in a society where we want the things we want when we want them.  And most times if we don’t get them at that instant it’s not worth it to continue.  We want results but we don’t want to change.  We buy an untold number of products that are good for nothing and hope upon hope that it’s the magic bullet.  We so desperately want the pill that allows us to eat anything and everything and still lose weight.  We want the exercise machine that we only have to use 20 minutes a day, three times per week and we’ll be lean and muscular like the models in the commercial.

Losing fat, building muscle, and achieving the body and level of performance you are after don’t play that game.  Those things come with hard ass work.  They come with setbacks and struggle.  They come with the thoughts of giving up and self doubt.  They come with overcoming those thoughts and doing the things that are necessary even though you would rather do literally anything else.  They come with building the habits that get you closer what you’re after day in and day out.

Without pushing yourself progress won’t happen.  You could perfectly execute the above five rules but without struggle, without pushing yourself, you’ll be stuck in place.

Before you attempt any type of change you must account for the fact that it is going to be harder than you think.  There will be setbacks and times when it all seems impossible.  Embrace the struggle.  Embrace the pain of change.  It’s the struggle that makes change so rewarding.  

Only those that have done something can have the satisfaction of being done.