What does it really mean to be ‘consistent’?
Consistent: “acting or done in the same way over time”.
Most of us understand the definition of consistency, but what does consistency mean when it comes to exercising?
When reflecting on our own habits to determine if we are exercising consistently, we need to look at both the big and little picture.
The big picture refers to what we are doing each week, month and throughout the year. Are we meeting our recommendation of 150 minutes of moderate intensity exercise every week, or at least most weeks? While it’s great to set small goals to achieve this volume of exercise each week, we really need to be making sure that we are doing this consistently to obtain the health benefits. Ticking this off on a calendar can be a great way to reflect on how consistent we are really being.
The little picture refers to what we are doing within each session. In order to improve our fitness (whether it be aerobic, strength, balance or flexibility) we need to be implementing PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD. This means allowing our body time to adapt to an exercise/ movement, then gradually increasing the intensity to prevent a plateau and encourage further improvements. The main thing this requires is for us to stick with certain movements for some length of time! With all the health and fitness information we receive in the media, it can be tempting to want to jump on to the latest trends and to not stick with one particular program for any length of time. Unfortunately this is going to be counterproductive for our fitness goals. While you may be able to try a large range of exercises, it’s unlikely that you’ll allow yourself the time to learn the correct form and consequently be able to increase the intensity of the exercise in order to see the results you’re after.
So what’s the answer? Create a PLAN and STICK with it!
Having a long term plan with exercise is the best way to ensure you are keeping track of both the big and little picture. This will allow you to see your overall weekly plan, as well as your individual sessions and be able to monitor your improvements. Having some variation between weeks is fine, but it is ideal to identify your main exercises and stick with these for a few weeks to allow your body time to adjust, adapt and improve. Remember, you don’t just have to change the type of exercise to progress it! With strength training we can progress an exercise by increasing weight or repetitions, and with cardio we can increase the length of time or our speed.
There are infinite ways for us to progress and continue improving while not having to change our foundational movements, allowing us to remain consistent with these exercises.
For more help with how to establish a consistent exercise routine specific to your goals, book in to see one of our Exercise Physiologists.
Keely MacLean