After almost 10 years of working out pretty regularly, I decided to get my personal trainer licenses in 2018. However, these certifications haven’t taught me anything about the thing that determines our fitness the most.
That thing is called consistency.
In fact, being consistent with a shitty workout routine is better than being inconsistent with the best workout routine ever. At least if you want to get sustainably fit.
A learning I had to make back then when I still worked as a personal trainer in a local gym in my hometown Frankfurt:
In my one-on-one coachings I trained those gym members who paid a little bit more. 3-4 times per week they had a personal trainer to provide them with individualized and challenging workouts. These workouts worked. I loved to see how my clients progressed from week to week. Finally, they reached their summer-body or whatever had been their goal. Cool, congrats! However: Since then I haven’t seen most of them entering the gym anymore.
On the other hand, there were those who didn’t have a personal trainer but who had been showing up ever since they subscribed for the gym. Some of them were following a well-thought workout plan. Others were doing that random 3×15 routine they had been assigned to years ago. And yet others were pretty much freestyling.
However, I bet that at the moment you´re reading this newsletter, these guys are fitter than the premium clients I had coached to be in shape for summer 2018.
That’s why I’m not a big fan of 6-week six-pack challenges and such.
If you pay money for a personal trainer, then to get you to master your fitness on your own. To get you to be consistent in your workout and nutrition habits when he or she is not coaching you anymore.
From my own experience, rather than my trainer certifications, I know that the phrase “consistency is key” is not just another catchy instagram caption.
Also I know from my own experience that working out consistently is even harder when you travel a lot. So to not finish this article without any actionable advice, here are four steps to get consistency in your workouts, no matter where in the world:
- Set a minimum standard of 3 workouts per week.
- Mark them as fixed appointments in your calendar.
- DO them. In the worst case just do a few Push-Ups, Squats, and Burpees.
- Every extra workout is a bonus effort, reward yourself for it.
An approach that gets you fit for many more summers than just the next one.
