More info on this episode: https://jaydharrisonfitness.com/coaching-corner-podcast/2023/11/20/episode-8-tips-for-staying-consistent

When it comes to reaching your fitness goals, staying consistent over a long time is one of the most important things. Quick-fix diets and intense workout plans might get you fast results--but these results rarely stick in the long term for most people. If you want to burn fat and keep it off for good, you need to change your lifestyle to something you can sustain over the course of many weeks, months, and years.

In this short episode of the coaching corner podcast, I give 3 main tips for building that consistency. First, I suggest that you get on a schedule. I'm a big fan of time blocking. Each week, I use an appointment calendar to block out my time for my workouts, personal training sessions, and other work. This helps me to stay organized by ensuring that I'm setting time aside for my workouts.

In addition to getting on a regular schedule, I also recommend getting onto an actual training program. Many people just show up to the gym without a plan and wonder why they never seem to make progress. Getting on a training plan will ensure that your workouts are the most effective for pushing you toward your goals.

If you struggle to stick to a schedule and training plan, I also recommend working with a personal trainer. Meeting with a personal trainer every week has helped many of my clients to stay consistent and make consistent gains. Look for a trainer at your local gym or check out my online personal training program at https://jaydigains.com

I wanted to talk about consistency today. So when it comes to reaching your fitness goals, whatever your fitness goals are, whether that's trying to burn fat or build muscle, just eat healthier and just establish a healthier lifestyle for all of these things. The most important things that you do something consistently if you want to make gains because your body is going to reflect whatever it is that you do most of the time. So you don't have to be perfect and you don't have to perfectly follow your plan all the time, but you do need to be pretty consistent. Across the board, we think of an 80 20 rule. So if 80% of the time you are following your plan, eating like you should hitting your workouts, then 20% of the time, if you fall off plan, it shouldn't really impact your gains that much, but you do need to shoot for at least hitting it 70 to 80% of the time because that consistency is what's going to allow you to build muscle or burn fat and make gains.

Consistency is the thing that I would say most people struggle with the most, right? And that's honestly the main reason why a lot of people end up coming to work with me as their personal trainer is because they're like, I need someone to help me stay consistent. So these are the things that I recommend. If you are struggling with consistency in your fitness, whether that's consistently working out, consistently eating the way that you need to be eating, I have three main tips that I recommend for helping you to develop that consistency. One is to get on a schedule, you need to organize your time and make time for the things that you need to do as part of your fitness plan. So if you are trying to work out, or if you're trying to get more active and go on walks, or if you're trying to meal plan, put that stuff into your calendar and try to make it a recurring event so that it's happening on the same day, same time of day every week.

As much as you can put it in your calendar, try to settle into a routine because routine is going to care you. When you're feeling low motivation on those days where you're like, oh, I'll work out when I feel like it. If you wait until you feel like it, it's never going to happen or it's rarely going to happen. If it's not nailed down as a scheduled time and appointment, then you're much more likely to be like, eh, I don't feel like doing that. I don't feel like working out yet. And so you put it off, you put it off, you put it off, and then before you know it, you haven't done your workouts at all for a week. So don't wait until you feel like it. Just go ahead and put it on your calendar. Put it in your schedule. I use an appointments calendar to time block, and I plan out every single hour of every single day what I plan to be doing during that time. So I plan out when I have my clients,

I plan out when I'm streaming, I plan out when I'm going to be editing stuff, when I'm writing blog posts and whatnot, and making sure that I am maximizing my time. And I also put my workouts in there as well. So time blocking and putting your workouts in and putting your meal prep in at the same times the same days every week will help you to stay consistent and then treat those times as very important appointments that can't be rescheduled. Okay? Try your best to avoid rescheduling or canceling them, treat them as very important appointments that you have to show up for. Okay? The second thing that I would recommend if you're struggling with consistency is to get onto an actual training plan. Get onto a workout plan, right? Don't just show up at the gym and just do whatever you feel like have a plan in place for what you're going to do during each and every workout, and make sure that that plan is in accordance with what your goals are, right?

So if you are trying to just get into the gym, build some foundational muscle, start generally getting in shape to get more toned or get more muscle definition or burn fat, then I have a ton of starter programs that if you wanted to do my programming, you can run on ADIY basis. You don't want to work with me as a coach, but you want to do my programs. You can find those. They're on the Trainer Eyes app, but even if you don't use those, you could go to bodybuilding.com and get on one of those programs, but get on a schedule and make sure that each workout is planned out, what you're going to do, and that's going to help you to one, stay more consistent because you have a plan in place that you can just follow very easily, and you don't have to worry about coming up with, what am I going to do?

What am I going to do when you step into the gym every time you go to train? And then also, it's going to help you to make more consistent gains because you're going to be actually doing the exercises consistently enough to make gains in those exercises and to build muscle in those exercises. Now, if you struggle with both of those things, like if you're struggling to keep your schedule, if you're struggling with how do I make a plan or how do I get onto a plan? I would recommend if you still struggle with consistency to work with a coach, this is why personal training is a thing, and this is where working with a coach can be very, very helpful towards helping you to get on a schedule, but also get on a plan. My personal training clients, most of them meet with me at a minimum of once a week, and we try to have it at the same time on the same days every single week.

And a lot of my clients say that helps them to stay consistent in showing up for their workouts outside of their sessions with me because they know they're going to see me. And so at the very least, they know they're going to get their workout in when they come to see me during our scheduled time. But it also helps to set the tone, make sure that they show up at least for one other workout every week. And then also as a personal trainer, as their personal trainer, I create a program for them. I create a training plan for them to follow, to work out when they're with me, and then also what to do when they're not with me. And so that helps my clients to stay consistent. And as long as they're consistently showing up for their personal training sessions, then they have a lot easier time staying consistent and making those consistent gains.

So those are my three recommendations. If you struggle with consistency in your fitness routine, one, get on a schedule, take your calendar out or use your Google calendar and create a recurring event for your workouts, and then your meal planning as well, or meal prep to make sure that it is in your calendar at the same day, same time every week, so that it will become a routine over time that will help you to stay, to show up for those things more consistently, to get on an actual training plan and for your meal planning. We can talk about meal planning, but I would say get on a meal plan or create a meal plan at least a day ahead of time, at least a day ahead of time or a week ahead of time. Have a plan in place for what you're going to do when you step in the gym or when you step into your kitchen, that's going to help you stay more consistent as well, because you're going to get less of that brain fog and that gunk up of your brain processes of like, oh, what am I going to do?

And that decision making fatigue, right? You can take that off the board by getting onto consistent plan. And then if you struggle with either of those two on your own, then I would say make sure to work with a coach, hire a personal trainer and get with them so that you can meet with them semi-regularly, if not once a month, once a week. And that will help you to stay more consistent and the other get on a schedule and getting on a plan. And if you are interested in working with me, I am taking on online clients. You can check out my website for more information on my online training program, but if you are more interested in, in-person training, check with your local gym or look for personal trainers in your local area. I find that a lot of people do do better with a personal trainer that they meet in person with regularly. So if that's you, that's also an option. They get on some kind of schedule, get on some kind of plan, work with a coach to get some consistency, and with that consistency, you'll be able to make consistent gains.