If you are lacking consistency in your fitness or workouts or not reaching your fitness goals, it might be your fault. BUT, not your fault in the way you think. Hear me out for a minute. I know that’s not super kind to hear, but i just MIGHT have some experience with this stuff.
In my many (I’m old) years as a coach, I’ve gotten to work with literally hundreds of clients and seen various forms of results from people showing up one session and never coming back to people with me for 14 years, multiple times a week and being in better shape than people half their age. There is one thing that people who get what they want out of their health journey do that most other people do not.
If i ask you why you work out, I’ll likely get an answer that looks something like “I want to tone up” or “I want to be in better shape” or “I’d like to lose some weight”. Sometimes I’ll even get some responses that have an actual physical goal attached to them. Things like “I want to look great for my vacation” or “I’ve got a wedding coming up and want to fit in my dress”. Maybe even some “I’d like to get faster” or “I want a six pack”. All nice things.
Don’t get mad at me, but if any of those sound like why YOU are working out, you are a liar and that isn’t going to be enough to get you what you want. It might be enough for a minute or two, or a couple months, but it won’t be enough forever. You didn’t really answer why. You just gave some surface ass level answer that sounds like a good enough reason to start something new. Those are not answers that implement change. Those are WEAK.
Here’s where it gets fun. It doesn’t have to be the end of your fitness journey. It really doesn’t. You can stay with the fake goals of “getting healthy” or “look great for my wedding day”, but you’d be selling yourself SO SHORT of your potential for this to be a staple in your life. It’s really simple to change it, too.
Keep asking WHY. Why do you want to “get healthy”? Why does it matter if you can fit in your dress if you can get it altered? Why do you want to be faster or have a six pack? Some of you might have gotten this far. For those of you who have, congratulations, but you still aren’t far enough.
After you answer those questions, like “I want to get healthy because my doctor told me I needed to” or “I want to fit into my wedding dress because I want to look good on that special day”, you STILL aren’t far enough. Why are those things important to you? If it was just that, you’d be killin’ it already, wouldn’t you? Nope, that is not enough, homes.
Here’s where it might get ugly for a few of you. Keep asking why. AGAIN. Your doctor told you you needed to get healthy. Why do you care what your doctor said? It isn’t really about what he says, but more about the repercussions if you DON’T do what he says, right? So what will happen if you don’t get healthy? What are you avoiding? Why avoid it? What will happen if you don’t “get healthy” and are you alright with that? What about you over there, Miss Bride To Be? What is the reason you want to look nice on your wedding day? Why is that important to you? Would you be ok if you just looked “ok” on your wedding day? Would that make you happy? It’s fine, right? Or is it that you want to remember feeling great about yourself on one of the most special days your life will ever have? You don’t want to look back on it and wish things were different, huh?
Keep asking why. You’ll find that most times, our original answer is not THE answer. There is usually something deeper, that we all are searching for. When we realize we want to do it because we want acceptance from our family, or that we don’t ever want our kids to think we’re weak, or we just thrive on physical acknowledgement, a deeper why will get you further committed to the health and fitness goals you have in mind. The more you go over those goals and keep them top of mind, the more you’ll be able to knock out the distractions and stay the course!