Commit to long term progress, invest in yourself, and your future self will thank you
Tell me if this sounds familiar:
You haven’t worked out in a while or not consistently at least. You see a friend or family member has been exercising and seeing results. Their trainer decides to runs some sort of “6 week challenge” or “Fit in five” type of program. You sign up. You see awesome results because you put in the work and the trainer runs a great program. The challenge ends, you stick with it for a week or two. You miss one day. “I’ll get on track tomorrow.” You miss a week. “I’ll start Monday.” Ooh, look another challenge!
Ever happen to you? You’re not alone. How can we fix this? How can we stop this constant cycle of challenges you’ve completed, done well in, and then lost track?
It starts with your mindset
When you sign up for a program that has a start and an end date, you’ve already decided how long you’ve committed for. You made up your mind that for the next 6 weeks, you are going to put yourself first. You are going to make better decisions and be more active. That is great! But what about week 7? What about 3 months from now? What about a year from now? What if the program you committed to was forever.
Most of us can sustain a heroic effort level for 6 weeks, but we often have to cut corners to get there. We often fail to set ourselves up for long term progress by doing the work it requires. You need to commit to a lifestyle change for life. This takes longer than 6 weeks. This takes longer than 6 months. This might take you multiple years of consistency and getting to truly know yourself on a deeper level.
Do I think 6 week challenges are bad?
Absolutely not! I think they can be a great jump start, but before you sign up for that challenge you need to be fully aware and honest with yourself that 6 weeks is not the end date for your transformation. Don’t wait until the 6 weeks is up to make your plan for week 7. Communicate with the coach who is running the program about what they have to offer outside of the 6 weeks.
If you’re done with challenges and short-term commitments, the long term progress approach is exactly what we take into consideration with both, The Good Human (Gym Program/Home Program) and The Strong Human programs. These are both programs with no end date. You want to be the best human possible, so you need to make the best choices possible to optimize your results. Commit and invest in yourself and your future self will thank you.
Train Hard, Train Smart, Train Consistently.
