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If you’re anticipating a quick-fix, too-good-to-be-true promise, prepare to be disappointed. If you want BS-free information that’s, you know, actually helpful, so you can achieve fitness success, then read on.
Is there a “secret” to fitness success? How do some people get fit and stay fit long-term, all while making it look easy? What do they know or do that other people, seemingly, don’t?
Just like some people erroneously think doctors have cures for diseases that they keep locked away, others think coaches and bodybuilders have secrets to fitness success they keep closely guarded, unless you choose to access it with a few easy payments.
This leads to questions such as “How can I develop motivation to work out consistently?” and “How can I achieve results like you … surely there’s a secret?” from curious individuals who just want to build a healthier, better-looking body.
There’s no shortage of eager experts and companies that will gladly provide answers to these questions. This leads to a plethora of so-called “secrets” to getting and staying fit. Most are useless nonsense or exhausted platitudes designed to do nothing more than sell expensive supplements or products through clever marketing strategies.
I’ll gladly reveal my secret to fitness success. This secret is also practiced by my most successful clients. And you needn’t whip out your credit card to access it.
Consistent repetition.
That is the plain, boring, simple, yet undeniable secret to fitness success.
Doing the necessary actions over and over and over and over again until they become habits anchored firmly in place by deep, thick roots.
Some may read that “secret” in despair. A whole decade? they might moan. Success won’t take a decade. The “do it for over a decade” portion draws attention to the fact that health and fitness should be — must be — a long-term endeavor. You can have various goals and milestones along the way, but the best way to achieve the results you want while ensuring you maintain them is to make eating well and strength training and frequent movement part of your life. Part of who you are. Just like brushing your teeth or putting on clothes or going to work or taking care of your children or drinking coffee. It must become part of your daily routine.
We don’t always want to do these things. But not doing them for an extended period isn’t an option. They become part of us. Like threads in a quilt — they’re integral to the design and structural integrity. Remove them and the whole thing unravels, turning the quilt into a tattered rag that’s lost its identity.
Your Secret to Fitness Success
Consistency is mandatory.
How can you make being consistent easier, thus increasing your rate of success?
Have a brief must-do list of actions. Choose a few BIG actions that deliver results in a reasonable period; the results you achieve will create motivation and the desire to keep doing those things so you achieve even more results.
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Desiring some results quickly is fine, but remember, this is a long-term game. Ditch the I must get in shape as fast as possible! mindset and focus on the actions you can take today. Right now.
The secret lies in being able to do these actions consistently for years.
Start with the easiest thing first, if necessary. (Or begin with the activity you enjoy and want to do.) Strength train three days per week, for example; perform three workouts per week, every week, for a couple months straight. Then tackle another habit you want to establish, like making a protein-rich breakfast at home every morning. Do that, every single day, for at least a month. Then tackle something new.
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The longer you practice these habits, the deeper their roots will grow. And the actions create a beautiful compounding effect as well.
Before you know it, you too will harness the secret to fitness success — relentless consistency. Showing up. Doing the work. Making the actions a priority until they become part of your everyday life.
Here are additional articles that will not only get you started, they’ll help take you where you want to go:
- The Women’s Beginner Strength Training Guide
- The Busy Woman’s Guide to Strength Training
- Here’s the Simple Guide That Shows You How to Eat Healthy
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