Stick With It!

OK, as of today I am 10 weeks into a 52 week program called Strong(er) by Dave Tate. Essentially, I am in the gym weightlifting 3 days a week, with the other four days either being 2 or 3 High Intensity Interval Training Days or 2 or 3 Steady State Cardio days. I’m working out 6 to 7 days a week. The seventh day is an optional rest day. My diet is a carb cycling one based around clean foods (meat, brown rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat pasta, some vegetables and fruit). I’m dropping weight faster than I should but the combination of the diet and the exercise regime has knocked out my appetite pretty well. I should be eating 5-10 meals and I’m usually 2-3 meals with a couple of protein shakes thrown in around workouts. There are no low carb days. There are only medium and high carb days. Energy hasn’t been too much of an issue but by the end of the day I’m usually exhausted. But the next morning I’m energetic enough to do what I have to do and make it to the gym for my workouts. Strength has not suffered, although the lifts in the phase are focused on intensity techniques. So I’m not doing my usual lifts where I would immediately notice a decrease in strength.

Now that I’ve posted my update as to what I’m doing, I’d like to speak to what I’ve learned. The further I get into this program, and consistent exercise in general, there is one main theme that keeps arising. This whole blog was started to outline my crossover from unhealthy eating and not enough exercise into a routine that emphasized good diet and lots of exercise. I’ve done that. I’ve not had any sweets, soda, cake, dessert, ice cream, etcetera, since Thanksgiving of last year. I’ve been training 5-6 days a week since January of 2009. Now I’m 6-7 days a week, consistently. And that is the thing I’ve learned. Consistency breeds consistency. Results are born from consistency. If you want to reach any goal, consistency is the way. The more consistent you are, the easier it is to remain consistent.

Out of this whole process there have been points where one part of the overall equation has been more important than the others. But to get through to the results you need willpower, determination and consistency. There is the catch phrase, “Just do it.” And that helps on the occasional day where you feel low on energy or an injury is nagging you. But the further and further I go down this path that becomes less necessary. It’s become routine to the point that nothing gets in my way of my workout for that day. If I have to go to the gym before work, I will. If I have to go after work, I will. If I’m sick with the flu, I’ll make the workouts up as soon as I can get out of bed.

I wasn’t always like this. There were points getting here that I did have to rely on the mantra of “Just do it”. You have to work through that. But there come a time when you don’t have to push yourself that hard. You’re workout becomes as necessary as breathing and eating. The same with your diet. Yes, it is hard at first declining offers of cake or ice cream. But you will reach a point where saying no is not a problem. In fact, it requires no thought…eating something like that is the furthest thing from your mind. All of this gets easier. The challenges change to things like how to train around an injured muscle or joint. Things like diet and exercise are givens.