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Discipline of steel #9

Why you can’t fail at fitness, confidence comes from action, and 10 simple tips to stay consistent.

You may not know this but I made a big move last year.

I changed continents.

I left my Enso Calisthenics studio in Jakarta and moved to Abu Dhabi to start a new adventure.

That also means I left a lot of friends behind, including my clients.

As a coach, I give more than just sessions, and that’s because I don’t just coach, I teach.

I believe it is my duty to teach everything I know to people who need my help.

So when I was going to leave, I made sure I would share everything they needed to keep training without me.

It’s been a year and they still message me to ask me to come back and train them.

And I keep telling them they already know everything.

But the truth is they didn’t really need me to learn how to train.

What they needed most when they hired me, and still need today, was my support and the accountability.

My main role was to ensure their consistency and help them build discipline. I believe this is the role of most coaches in most fields.

It is them who inspired me to write this newsletter, and my goal is to help all of you stick to your training plan, whether you get it from my app or not.

I hope you find a little wisdom below to help you with that, and I wish you a strong week ahead.

You guys are warriors! 💪

1. You can’t fail at fitness.

Fitness is probably the only thing in life where success is guaranteed.

As long as you put in the work, you get results.
Eat well, sleep enough, and exercise, and the outcome can only be positive.

It’s science.

Can you think of anything else that works so simply?

Not studies.
Not work.
Not business.
Not relationships.

And I’m sure you worked hard in at least 2 of the above.

You took risk. You took action in the face of uncertainty.

You already proved you had the discipline and the strength to do what it takes to reach your goals.
Even when you could fail.

Your health doesn’t only work more simply, it’s also more important than any of those things.
And you cannot fail.

This is why your excuses are unacceptable.

Act now. Results guaranteed.

2. Don’t wait to be ready to act, it’s action that makes you ready.

Do not wait for confidence to start working out.

Confidence comes from action.

In fact, the less confident you are about the action, the greater confidence you’ll gain if you act.

Many of us are crippled by self-consciousness and are afraid to even step into the gym.

Not realizing the latter is the best cure to the former.

Start at home if you need, and give yourself the smallest challenge you can think of.

Try and do more tomorrow. And more next week.

Keep showing up and act, without expectations about the results.

See how your self-limitations slowly get pushed back.

And how this carries over the other aspects of your life.

Crush self-doubt with action in the gym or at home.

And watch the virtuous circle do its magic.

3. 10 easily actionable tips you can use to stay consistent without forcing yourself:

1) Use the 5-minute workout trick: tell yourself it’s just a 5-minute workout or run. It almost always ends up longer.

2) Grease the groove: spread your strength sets throughout the day. It’s perfect when time or motivation are an issue and is still very effective.

3) Tell everyone you will work out today: social pressure won’t even let you think of skipping.

4) Buy yourself new gear or equipment: you will get so excited to use it you’ll run to the gym.

5) Decide to go for an easy workout: the same as usual but with lighter weights. As in the 5-minute trick, you’ll be surprised how often it turns into a hard and good workout.

6) See every workout as your end goal rather than just one step towards it. See it as a victory.

7) Carry a set of resistance bands with you: you’ll make it very easy to work out whenever you’re bored.

8) Break your workout into 2 smaller ones: one in the morning and one in the evening.

9) Work out first thing in the morning before you start anything else, and that includes thinking.

10) Set up a home gym: there is no easier way to stick to your routine than having all you need at home. No excuse.

Something to remember:

Lofty goals are necessary to set the direction,
but they can become toxic if we can’t take our eyes off them.

At first, they make us eager to act.
But soon, they put pressure on us.

The gap between these goals and our present reality makes us feel bad about ourselves.

It feels like we have so much work, and that’s how we freeze and never act.

Always focus on the next session instead.

For some of us, one workout is a mindset shifter.
For many of us, it’s already a victory.
For all of us, it’s a mandatory step to our goals.

This is why we should think of our goals only 1% of the time,
and focus on the next step 99% of the time.

That’s what very fit people do.
And that’s what you will do today.