• Is Consistency Really The Key?

    Posted by bailey-anne-vincent on December 3, 2020 at 8:43 am

    I am trying to embrace the idea of Consistency Above All Else.

    I have been slow-crawling my way back to daily ballet barre since my surgery some weeks ago, but the thing I hate to do THE most is anything stamina related. So, this week I decided to alternate my ballet days with “stamina days” to build my cardiovascular health back up.

    This means that today I woke up and did a 30 minute Leslie Sansone walking video on YouTube (“I will not be ashamed of my old lady workout routine, I will not be ashamed of my old lady workout routine”) and added light ankle weights for a third of the time. I’ll be honest: Even if marching in place seems silly and easy compared to lifting your leg up to your ear… For me, it’s not! I truly break a sweat and get all red in the face, but I am always willing to try again and end the videos in a happy mood.

    With other stamina based activities (running long distances or really wild HIIT workouts), I will do anything to avoid it or talk myself out of it… Which doesn’t go a long way for consistency, you know?

    Recently, I asked someone their secret to being a long distance runner (something I could truly never do), and they said that it’s better to go a moderate distance everyday, versus a super-duper long day and nothing the next. In short: Doing something the best you can most of the time is always better than doing something better than any other time only some of the time.

    I think that this way of thinking can apply to SO much in terms of health, whether doing our nebs, taking our medications on time, or getting more sleep.

    Are you an All or Nothing person when it comes to your health? How do you stay more consistent? Let’s talk health psychology!

    jenny-livingston replied 3 years, 3 months ago 4 Members · 4 Replies
  • 4 Replies
  • jenny-livingston

    Member
    December 3, 2020 at 10:22 am

    I can definitely relate to this, especially when it comes to working out/moving my body. I tend to get into these ruts where I don’t feel like I have the time, energy, or motivation to do a full workout so I end up skipping them entirely. Sometimes for weeks or months on end. (Eeshk!)

    I spoke with my dietician (of all people) about this, and she said something along the lines of, “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” Which is exactly opposite of the expression I’ve always heard about doing things well. She went on to say that moving my body for just 5 minutes is better than not moving it all. Doing something, as much or as little as we can, is always better than simply not trying. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t need to be all-or-nothing. Anything we can do or give or be is acceptable.

    This little bit of wisdom (which may not be new insight for many people) has been so helpful for me in several areas of life. When I don’t feel like I can do something well, I do it poorly… and that’s totally okay!

  • rusty

    Member
    December 3, 2020 at 2:25 pm

    “Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.” Ha! I remember my brother saying this about 30 years ago and it is so true. I think a key to maintaining exercise is to just get started. Trying to hold yourself to a strict routine may actually have the adverse effect of you doing nothing on days you just don’t feel into it. Instead, tell yourself you are only going to do a minimal amount and then go do that. You may find, as I have, that once you get started on the mini version of a workout you decide you can do just a bit more. And sometimes just a bit more after that. Sometimes you wind up doing the full blown workout. I think it is like inertia – once you get going it is just easier to keep going.

    • jenny-livingston

      Member
      December 4, 2020 at 9:48 am

      @rusty yes! Everything you said has been my experience as well! When I do a little, a little bit more seems easier.

  • paul-met-debbie

    Member
    December 3, 2020 at 2:46 pm

    My body seems to like consistency. It would, because it is always there. It is consistency embodied. So that figures.

    I don’t resist that preference of the body. So for me it’s not difficult to comply. If you have a belligerent mind however that resists consistency, the key might be (except getting rid of the mind, but that’s perhaps too much to ask for most) to embed the workouts as much as possible into normal day routine. Things you do anyway, define them as workout. And I think Jenny’s dietician is absolutely right: do whatever you do, it’s better than doing nothing. Only get rid of the notions of “well” or “poorly”. So that would read “Anything that is worth doing, is worth doing the way it goes”.

    Rusty is right on the mark too: just start with something and see how it goes. Listen to the body, it will tell you what it needs and is able to do in that moment. Don’t think about it.

    Have no expectations about it, then you will not be disappointed. Apply this to life and it will be a joy.

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