Fitness with Jesse James Fit

WORKING OUT WITH CONSISTENCY

by Jesse J. Leyva, Owner of Jesse James Fit & Outlaw Fitcamp

To accomplish your fitness goals, consistency is arguably one of the most important components. Making a commitment to a regular workout routine increases your fitness level, improves your overall health, and offers a greater sense of mental well-being. But what are the tricks to staying consistent?

Step One: Create a Workout Plan.

Committing to a fitness plan, regardless of your goals, means mapping out and physically writing (or typing!) an actual plan. Whether it’s for a single activity or a series of activities, they are a written commitment to put your fitness goals into action. Without a long-term physical plan in place, there’s often a drop-off in enthusiasm and action.

Programs keep you on track. You won’t have to think about what you’re going to do that day – it’s already written out. Depending on what your end goals are, each program or part of your program can have a different focus – endurance, strength, cardio, etc. Be realistic. Each day should be designed with your goals in mind – follow your plan consistently!

Step Two: Adapt.

If you have a program and don’t follow it, your body can’t adapt because there isn’t an opportunity for progressive overload (we want this!), which is when the amount of stress on your body is gradually increased over time, leading to increased strength and performance.

A lot of things happen inside of your body during exercise. Over time, your body changes, becoming stronger, growing, or running more efficiently. Different factors affect adaptations in everyone, and there’s no way to know when changes will occur. However, being consistent with training will increase the likelihood of seeing adaptations sooner!

Check out this report “Physiologic Responses and Long-Term Adaptations to Exercise” from the CDC for more examples, including:

Improved ability of muscles to use fat as energy

Stronger ligaments and tendons

Increased VO2 max and lactate threshold

Increased number of capillaries in muscles Cardiac muscle hypertrophy

Increased force production

Step Three: Create Habits.

We’re all creatures of habit. The more we practice, the more natural it becomes. Think about babies learning to walk, or when we learned to drive – it’s the same with exercise. It’s completely normal to feel out of your element if you’re trying a workout, fitness regime, class, etc., for the first time. But the more you do it – the more comfortable you’ll feel.

Research suggests that to make something a “habit,” it needs to be performed for 68 consecutive days. The idea of sticking with something for 68 days can feel overwhelming. Focus on taking it day to day. Once you’re comfortable with one small change, add another, and then another.

Outlaw FitCamp CAN and WILL help – on all fronts. We’re here to help you create a plan. We’ll help you gradually adapt to exercise and work with you on the consistency to help you reach your goals. Walk in to one of our Outlaw FitCamp locations. Take our “Find your Fit” quiz at OutlawFitcamp.com. Become an Outlaw family member today!

972.355.2639 • JESSEJAMESFIT.COM | 940.497.6002 • OUTLAWFITCAMP.COM