While you always want to be on a good diet and workout program, the specific program you're on isn't going to decide whether or not your goals are realized -- it's your consistency in following it that will get you the results you're after.
The greatest factor regarding your success is how well you are able to maintain consistency in the program. After all, even the best-thought-out program in the world isn’t going to get you any results unless you actually follow it with consistency.
Here are some tips on how to improve your consistency so you can maximize all the rewards your program and diet have to offer.
Set the right goals
The type of goal you choose can have a significant impact on your motivation, and is important in maintaining consistency.In general, intrinsic goals tend to work better than extrinsic ones because they are set for yourself. Intrinsic goals include improving your cholesterol profile, maintaining a body weight that decreases your disease risk, feeling the euphoria that many people experience after intense exercise, and providing a good way to relieve stress during your day. Extrinsic goals, on the other hand, include losing 10 pounds before your beach vacation, getting that six-pack to show, and increasing your bench press to 200 pounds.
After a while, extrinsic goals become less important or fade away, and your workout consistency is ruined. Once that beach vacation is over, you won’t be motivated to hit the gym every morning after work. That’s not to say you should never have extrinsic goals, however; they are fantastic motivators for the short-term, but you should also try to set some intrinsic reasons for improving your health and fitness.
Follow the right dietary plan
Increase your consistency by setting a health and fitness plan. Consider what will actually be possible for you to do. For example, if you’ve tried very low carbohydrate diets in the past and felt terrible on them, don’t try another one. This will only lower your motivation and further decrease your chances of succeeding in the future. A moderate carbohydrate approach can work just as well, provided you are still tracking the total calories consumed.The best dietary plan is one that supplies you with enough protein and an appropriate number of calories.
Give yourself a break
While you want to maintain consistency when it comes to your diet and workout plan, don’t berate yourself if you cheat on your diet one time or miss one workout. Those who tend to do this have a very black-and-white mindset and let one slipup throw them off track.Getting out of this all-or-none thinking will help you get right back on the horse rather than struggle for a few days or abandon the program altogether.
Identify problems early
To maintain consistency with your program, always monitor your results and identify any potential issues early on. For example, if you are already starting to feel a buildup of fatigue after only two weeks on the program, imagine how you will feel in another few weeks. The sooner you can modify the program or get a personal trainer to look it over and make some adjustments, the better.If you let fatigue go on too long, your body will start crying, and once physiological factors combine with psychological factors, it will be really hard to maintain consistency.
By adjusting things early on, you keep any issues to a minimum and make the whole process of achieving your goals that much easier.
Modify your workout
If your workout is effective, you should be improving your fitness level; this means that, after a while, what was once challenging no longer should be. Sure, you can add more weight to the bar to increase intensity, but it’s far more beneficial to completely revamp your program every so often to ensure maximum results and maintain consistency in your workout.Keep in mind that your primary goal will change as times goes on. Maybe you’ll start winding down in the summer months, or maybe the doctor has told you to get into better cardiovascular shape. Whatever the scenario, be sure you keep your workout current.
Incorporate variety
Finally, incorporate as much variety into your workout as possible. It’s hard to stay consistent with a program when it never offers any new excitement. Whether you change your exercises entirely or simply perform your workout in a different order, making changes will help to keep you interested and maintain workout consistency.Take advantage of the changing seasons; why spend the summer months inside on cardio equipment when you could be enjoying a run outside or playing sports?
keep it consistent
The next time you find yourself analyzing different program options and dietary approaches, making sure every single calorie is balanced and your rest periods are worked out to the second, stop to consider whether you are maintaining consistency.If you spend a little less time program-planning and a little more time getting motivated, you’ll be ahead of the game.
By Jeff Bayer
Resources:
www.efit-today.com