Reaching your goals of better health or weight loss is so easy to do. It is not rocket science, it is purely doing the right things over and over again.

We need to to stop searching for that quick fix to reach your goal, because it will never happen! The only way you can truly reach your goals is to sew, cultivate and harvest. These days all we want to do is harvest.

What do I mean by that?

Sew: Undertake an exercise and healthy eating plan.

Cultivate: Train daily and eat healthy most of the time for an extended period of time, day in day out until you reach your goals, for as long as it takes. Be patient and diligent.

Harvest: Enjoy your new found health and fitness.

Like I said, this is not rocket science but I feel like it must be because the majority of people just don’t get it. I get so excited when somebody does get it, and you know what happens when I meet somebody like that? They reach their goals. They harvest!

Far too often I meet those in search of the quantum leap and you know what happens to them? They don’t reach their goals and they don’t harvest. They just go off in search of the next quantum leap promise. Unfortunately they will do this for the rest of their life unless they come to the realisation of the error of their ways and begin to consistently repeat the correct actions that willl eventually lead them to successfully reaching their goals. You will know this person when you see them, they always have something new they want to tell you about which doesn’t conform to eating a balanced healthy diet and doesn’t involve regular normal exercise.

Everyday you are faced with decisions. From the moment you wake up to the moment you fall asleep, you are faced with decision after decision and your action at the time of that decision will help to shape your future.

The funny thing is that we don’t really acknowledge how important those decisions are. Think about this:

Do you instantly become unfit if you miss your exercise session today? No. But the fact is, you will repeat that action throughout the course of a year. Does that make you stay unfit and not progress? Yes

Do you instantly become fit if you turn up to your exercise session today? No. But if you repeat that action throughout the course of the year, will you become fit? Absolutely!

Not rocket science…

Do you have a heart attack everytime you eat a Big Mac, Fries and Coke? No, but I’m sure if you did, you wouldn’t eat another one any time soon. Does repeating that action throughout the course of the year lead you closer to a heart attack? Most definitely. The actions we make today help to shape our future.

Do you instantly become healthier when you eat a nice plate of meat and veggies and skip dessert? No, but if you make that choice today, you are probably going to make a similar choice tomorrow and the day after. Does that make you healthier? Absolutely!

Making the right choices over and over and over is the only way to reach your goals.

Eat well and exercise regularly

The answer I was looking for was Consistency!

Some of the other words emailed back to me were perseverance, commitment and motivation.

1) Perseverance ran a close 2nd to consistency. It takes perseverance to push through those tough times, I think perseverance is an awesome trait to have to reach your goals.

2) Commitment is the most important trait if it is used correctly. Unfortunately it generally isn’t. I have been told many times by people that they are committed to reaching a certain goal. Some time after these words were spoken, that “commitment” must have disappeared because they aren’t doing the things I asked them to any more.

3) Motivation is a feeling and it can fade away as quickly as any other feeling. Motivation will not get you to your goals, it will however get you started on the road to your goals.

4) Consistency is a culmination of actions that cannot be lied about nor interpreted. It is just the raw fact, were you consistent or were you not!

Do any of these things sound familiar to you? 

* When I was running everyday last year, the weight just fell off me. (Why are you so overweight now?)

* I remember how strong I was getting last year when I was doing those 2 weights sessions a week, I could do 50 dips without stopping, now I struggle to do 15.

* I used to be a size 8 years ago, now I can’t even fit into my size 12 clothes.

* I used to feel so good all morning when I was having those fruit and veggie juices for breakfast at my old job. I feel so sluggish after I eat that raisin toast from the cafe downstairs now.

* I was so skinny when I worked at my old job, I used to walk in everyday, now I just feel like a blob.

Why do any of these things have to change?

If people were consistent with their good habits, they would reach and maintain the health and fitness they desire.

I have seen people go through 12 week challenges and have great results. But what happened after the challenge or even towards the end of it, even though you had seen great results? You stopped being as consistent with your training and you started to slow your progress and eventually you went backwards.

Think about the results you have achieved in the past by being consistent with your training or eating, no matter how short of a time it was. I have seen people eat well for just one week and they tell me how great they felt. Unfortunately the next week things come up with work, or life or whatever and they ate badly again. I have seen people have a real hardcore exercise week, going to classes or running everyday and they tell me how awesome it feels. Unfortunately the next week things come up again and they only get to exercise twice. The funny thing is that they are always so quick to tell me how good they were last week!

Can you imagine the results you would achieve if you consistently had those good weeks. Can you imagine that after you finished your 12 week challenge and you have lost your 6kg, if you stuck with the same intensity of training, that it would not take that much longer to reach your end goals? Unfortunately, you didn’t and now you have gained weight and it is a struggle to get back into that routine and be consistent again.

Consistency is the key, don’t have good days and bad days, only have consistently good days and you will get there eventually.

Consistency is the key, don’t have good weeks and bad weeks, only have consistently good weeks and you will get there eventually.

To sum up;

Commitment is a word that is used far too often and it can be lied about. 

Motivation is a feeling and it will fade.

Consistency is a culmination of actions that cannot be lied about nor interpreted. It is just the raw fact, were you consistent or were you not!

Troy Shipsey

Fitta Bodies Personal Training

Centennial Park Outdoor Group Training Camp, Sydney