As an athlete, you have likely heard the term ‘consistency’ repeated a number of times by our coaches. Why is that? Put simply, it is the most effective way to make continual, long term progress. The accumulative effects of doing a little each day far outweigh any quick fix or shortcut. For example, we consider attending four classes per week to be consistent. That is more than two hundred hours over the course of a year! Suppose you were to incorporate an additional fifteen minutes of accessory work four days per week. That right there is another fifty hours throughout the year!
The beauty of consistency is that it can take any small task and turn it into a huge achievement over the course of time. Let us discuss a few ways in which consistency greatly improves your fitness:
Work Capacity: Think of this as the overall sum of load, volume, and intensity that your body can tolerate. When you train consistently, your body will adapt, and you will be capable of more and more work over time.
Skill Development: High skill movements are highly demanding from a technical standpoint, and require precise timing and positioning. When developing a skill, your brain is figuring out which muscles need to activate and in what order, and this requires a lot of time and practice. Eventually, your brain will be able to perform the sequence with ease.
Information Retention: In the same vein as skill development, information retention can be an easily looked over aspect of fitness. However, the more you remember, the more confident you will be and the more time you will be able to allocate towards your fitness. Have you ever forgotten where to grip the bar for a snatch, or the difference between a push press and a push jerk? Consistency will help with that!
We recognize that circumstances differ from person to person, and that some are able to spend more time on their fitness than others. Regardless of your personal situation, though, do not underestimate just how effective a little bit each day can be. Rome wasn’t built in a day!
