Steady On Now… – The Necessity of Consistency

Getting anywhere with a writing project often requires steady, consistent application. The more writing is part of your daily routine, often the easier it becomes to maintain progress. Even if you write just a few hundred words at a time, that builds up until you’re left with a whole novel. The more you maintain a writing habit, the easier it is to find yourself in a productive groove—plus you’re emotionally rewarded by a sense of accomplishment that encourages you to keep going.

It’s the same for exercise. It doesn’t necessarily have to be full-on workouts every single day (rest days are important) but finding little ways to be physically active each day can contribute to an overall healthier you. Consistency is critical. If you run five miles one day and then don’t work out again for a week or two, most, if not all gains from running are going to be long gone.

• Endurance – Physical endurance isn’t just built up through regular exercise—it’s also maintained by it. Stop working out for too long and that endurance starts to fade, forcing you to work even harder if you want to regain what you’ve lost. Why not just keep it with a little weekly reinforcement?
• Motivation – When you work out consistently, you get to enjoy feeling healthier, stronger, and more capable on a regular basis. The more you regularly work out, the more you get to feel this way, and who wouldn’t like that? It’s basically a self-reinforcing positive cycle. Break that cycle with too long of an inactive period and it makes it more difficult to remember why you enjoyed exercise in the first place.
• Long-term Results – Exercise builds on itself. You get stronger which allows you to push yourself further and farther and harder…which then strengthens you even more. Ongoing exercise allows you to continue building on your results, adding cardiovascular strength and flexibility while also gradually increasing the amount of stress your muscles, ligaments, and tendons are able to withstand.
• Recovery – As your body and its various systems are pushed through consistent exercise, it will begin to adapt to the strain and stress. You’ll begin to recover faster, restoring lost nutrients and healing damaged muscles, becoming stronger for the next workout. You’ll start being less sore and fatigued, and your body will be more efficient in using the rested downtime.

This is why having a fitness plan or schedule laid out can help so much. It’s easier to stick to your fitness priorities and make progress toward your goals if you have a clear plan in place rather than just making it up as you go along.

What helps you stay consistent in your fitness efforts? Do you find that the more you maintain activity on a regular basis, the easier it becomes to stay in the habit (and vice versa)?