Why Consistency And Quality Effort Matter So Much

Consistency is a required to build a great body or to become an excellent athlete.

Along with being consistent, you also have to give a quality effort.  You cannot have success or reach your goals without giving a consistent, quality effort (CQE).

No one who has ever built a great body or became a great athlete did it without a CQE.  The combination of consistency and quality effort is like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen; individually they both offer incredible attributes, but individually they will not be enough to reach the title game.

1) Consistency 

You cannot master anything without being consistent.

There is no one on Earth who ever became great at doing anything by being consistently inconsistent.  Steph Curry did not become the greatest shooter in NBA history by inconsistently shooting jump shots.

Yes, his father is the great Dell Curry.  But his jump shot is more than just a result of genetics; it is a result of the consistent practice of that jump shot.  Fans only see the final result when he shows up and dominates on game day, but what about the hours he spends practicing that jump shot?

What about the everyday grind of shooting jump shots until you do not want to shoot anymore, and then shooting some more anyway?  That is what consistency looks like because repetition is the master of skill.

Doing the little things every day that make you better is vital to your success especially when you do not want to do them.

You may want to build a better body but are you consistently doing the things that will lead to it?  Are you consistently making measurable progress with your training?  Are you consistently eating a nutritious diet or are you living in Carb City?

Are you consistently recovering properly from your workouts?  Or are you still going out multiple nights a week like the average college frat boy?  If you are not doing the right things consistently, you will have uneven results.

It is easy to tell when someone is consistent and giving a quality effort in the gym.  They will have great lifting numbers, and you will be able to see big visible changes with their physique.  When someone does not have those two things, you can guarantee they are inconsistent, regardless of what type of snake oil they may try to sell you.

Consistency is required for success, but it cannot operate alone.  I know many folks who consistently go to the gym or workout 4, 5, or even 6 days per week but many of these people look the exact same or worse as each year passes.

Why is that?  A lack of effort.

2) Quality Effort

Sonya Squat has the best and most sophisticated training program in the world.  Meanwhile, Gabby Glutes receives a basic, no-frills training program.  Who will yield the better results over 6 months?

On the surface, it would seem that Sonya has a huge advantage over Gabby.  She has a world-class training program, while Gabby has the most basic set/rep combination in fitness history to work with.  However, if Gabby gives a quality effort every time she trains and Sonya gives half-effort, Gabby will be stronger and look better at the end of the 6 months.

Your input determines your output.  If you give a quality effort 1 out of 4 workouts per week, you cannot expect tremendous results.  You might be tired and stressed out and not want to train that day.  None of that makes you special as I would say the majority of folks in the world, including me, are feeling some combination of that on any given day.

The crazy part is that many times on the days that you do not want to train is when you have your most productive training sessions.  You also find out what type of character you have even though you thought you could not get the job done.

Conclusion

You reaching your goals is all about giving that CQE.

I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer,
Fitman