Especially in the health and fitness fields, EVERY SINGLE NEW YEARS is the same:“I want to be healthier and lose X pounds.”It’s so cliche, and yet so true.
Here are the ONLY 2 New Years resolutions that you’ll ever need
“These are big britches to fill”, you may be thinking, but I have the feeling that you’ll find these to be true.
Let’s take a look at what usually happens around new years resolutions, especially the most popular “Lose weight, get healthy”.
New Years Eve comes, as does the hangover, and then the rush of almost exactly 14 days of the gym being insanely busy, with regulars getting teed off because someone new, who has no clue about gym etiquette, is on “their” machine, doing something weird, or just bothering the regular by being there.
On the trainers side, it’s an incredibly stressful time of year, as many are filled to the brim with clients, many of whom don’t even make it through the first months worth of sessions (at no fault to the trainer).
It’s pretty much a lose lose all around, with many giving up on their resolutions before any real progress is made.
So how do you beat this track record of failure? With the only 2 resolutions you’ll ever need.
Resolution #1
Consistency
Whatever the thing is that you want- be it weight loss, fitness gain, improving your relationship, finding a relationship, or being better at X, the #1 ingredient that you, or anyone, needs in order to get there, is consistency.
It’s not sexy.
It doesn’t “sell”.
And nobody wants to hear that crap.
But it’s true.
It’s one of the top reasons so many people fizzle out by mid-February (if you’re lucky!) with their resolutions- they go too hard and to much from the get go.
Fitness is not a short term game, it’s a medium to long-term game. . . ESPECIALLY for Endurance Athletes.
Wanna go World Tour Pro?
It’ll take you between 6-9 years of consistent training, hitting ~95% of your training days, and missing no more than 7-10 days in a row during that time period, due to illness or injury.
While there isn’t any “official research paper” on the topic, just talk with 5-10 coaches who have helped riders to get to that level, and that’s what you’ll find.
The same goes for pretty much any pro sport.
Got talent?
Still gotta put in the time.
Extra-ordinarily talented?
Yup.
Lebron James got drafted at, what, 18? Dude was balling since he was 9, if not before.
Cycling and Triathlon is no different.
- Consistency in their training
- Taking appropriate rest day to allow adaptations to occur
- Doing focused, purposeful practice regularly
- Making the training work for them
There is no one answer. Every Athlete is a study of one.
Reggie Miller, Half of Famer, and one of the top three in NBA history for 3 point field goals made, had “a weird shooting form”. . .But because it worked for him, and he put in the focused, purposeful practice, he will forever be remembered as one of the best who ever did it.
Chris Froome Staring at Stems is another one. That’s his style, that’s how he raced, but he put in the time and purposeful practice, that allowed him to express his genetics and talents, if you will, to their max.
But that doesn’t happen without consistency.
This, is one of the many reasons why year-round strength training is a MUST for cyclists and triathletes, but we’ll save that for another smattering of articles.
No matter what you want to do, you must be consistent if you want to get there.
Unless you want to be the world’s most unreliable person… actually, even then, you’ll have to be consistent!
Resolution #2
Practice Gratitude
This REALLY is the keystone to success in any area of life.
Being grateful for whatever you have, or don’t have, is the main engine behind everything.
You’ve not got the job you WANT yet, GOOD! I’m thankful that I need to grow and strive to be even more than I am today.
Gratitude, and making it a daily practice, really does change the energy you put out, as well as how other perceive you. This alone can flip around those tough times, into amazing growth opportunities.
I’m not just talking the talk, I’ve walked the walk- numerous times.
When going through a rough or particularly hard time, instead of wallowing in my frustration and even anger, I practiced gratitude for the situation, my health (ok, I had a newly broken fibula, but it could have been worse), and my ability to still talk with and help others.
It started with just 5 minutes a day, many times feeling silly, and evet pissed off, but it does change your perspective, and DEFINITELY your energy. Which others pick up on.
And when you start giving off good/better energy, great things are ATTRACTED TO YOU.
Wouldn’t you like to have amazing things come to you, instead of you needing to seek them out?
Conclusion
Say what you want, but these two resolutions, if applied and refined every single new years, can have drastically positive impact on the direction of your life, and of you towards you goals.
Make it smarter, not harder!
Instead of picking at the details, why not focus on the engines that will actually produce results for you?
It’s your choice.
Either way, have a healthy, strong, and amazing new year.
1 thought on “The Only 2 New Year’s Resolutions You’ll Ever Need”
lol I’m that guy! Started Doing Human Vortex Training in my gym today where I’ve always done 5 basic strength training exercises!
“regulars getting teed off because someone new, who has no clue about gym etiquette, is on “their” machine, doing something weird, or just bothering the regular by being there.”