Last week I talked about the importance of consistency for athletes.
Consider your training volume (how often you are training), in addition to the quality of your training. Take an honest look and ask yourself if you are truly consistent or if you need a little help in this department.
Sometimes training isn’t convenient. However, if you only train when it’s convenient for you, you’ll get nowhere. Here are some tips to help you stay consistent even when it feels hard or life is busy.
Are you struggling with training frequency?
You have a quantity issue. How can you improve?
Priorities
Can you re-prioritize some things in your life and specifically in your training program? For example, if you have 7 different hitting coaches and sessions each week, that’s likely taking away from the time you have to get into the gym to improve your strength and power. Maybe the gym is more important than that 6th and 7th hitting day.
Finances
Personal training can get expensive. Think of other alternatives. Can you find a great strength coach and get a program designed specifically for you that you can do on your own? Can you train in a group setting?
When possible, I actually prefer that athletes train in a group setting. Training with other committed athletes is motivating. Plus, it’s much more affordable, making it possible for you to train more often. (Local? Check out our COMPETE program!)
Are you lacking motivation?
You have a quality issue. You show up most of the time, but your head isn’t in the game. How can you improve?
What’s Your Purpose?
If you are unmotivated for a goal that you set, you probably set a crappy goal. Try adjusting your goal(s) in some way to see if that helps. Don’t set a goal just because it’s something everyone else is doing. Set a goal that excites you and you’ll want to work towards it more often.
Are you Over Training?
Maybe you’ve been training really aggressively, but you’ve hit a point where you are starting to lose motivation. Perhaps you’re finding that the quality of your training is suffering. You might need to change gears a bit. Talk to your coach so you can work together to readjust your training for a month or so to give your body some rest and variety. See if that gets you re-motivated.
Train in a Group
Here we go again. Yup, train in a group setting. Training with other athletes provides a sense of community. On days when you are sore, you have a lot of work to do or you simply don’t feel like training, it helps to have others in the same boat, trying to balance the demands of training and life. Training with someone who has a similar goal as you can also keep you focused.
Consistency Wins
We all know that every competitive athlete is looking for an edge. Just look at the huge market for sports products and supplements! However, despite what commercials may lead you to believe, no one has made it to the NBA because they wore the lightest sneakers.
Consistency isn’t just about showing up, punching the clock and giving yourself a pat on the back. Consistency is also a mind set, or an attitude. If you want to reach your full athletic potential, and play with the big dogs you need to take an honest look at your training quality. Are you committed to your training, or are you just showing up and taking selfies?
Think about someone you view as “successful”. This can be another athlete, a mother, or an entrepreneur. Guess what? Those people are consistent. They show up consistently and they’re committed to working hard at what they do.