be consistent

In order to be successful, you have to be consistent.

Along with being consistent, you also have to give a quality effort.  You have to give a CQE (consistent, quality effort) to reach the mountaintop.

Without giving a CQE, you cannot win.

You cannot have success or reach your goals without a CQE.

No one who has ever built a great body or a successful business did it without a CQE.  No one who has ever had success in their career did it without a CQE.

You may have great natural talent in a sport.

Maybe you have supreme genetics and a naturally fantastic physique.

Perhaps you are intelligent and gifted beyond normal levels.

These things are all great, but if you do not apply a CQE that talent, that body, and that mind will all go by the wayside.

The combination of consistency and quality effort is like Jordan and Pippen.

Individually they both offer great attributes, but individually they will not be enough to reach the title game.

If you only apply one of these two principles to becoming successful, you will never win the championship.  But if you pair them together, then there are no limits on what you can achieve.

Let’s talk about these two principles below.

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.

Serena Williams did not become great by inconsistently practicing her serve.

Steve Jobs did not become great by inconsistently developing new ideas and technology.

Steph Curry did not become great by inconsistently shooting jump shots.

Let’s stick with Steph Curry.  How did his jump shot become so lethal?

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 on game day, but what about the hours he spends practicing that jump shot?

What about the everyday grind of shooting until you do not want to shoot anymore, and then shooting some more anyway?

That is what consistency looks like.  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, or are your numbers the same?

How is your diet?  Are you consistently eating the correct foods, or are you living in Carb City?

Are you consistently recovering properly from your workouts?

Or are you still going out and partying multiple nights a week like you were back in college?

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?

2) Quality Effort

We discussed the importance of giving your best effort in a previous article.

Without giving a quality effort you are doomed.  Let’s evaluate this truth with the story of two lifters.

Sonya Squat receives the best training program in the world.  Meanwhile, Gabby Glutes receives a basic 3 x 10 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 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.

Remember, your input determines your output.

Now, giving a quality effort is necessary, but it needs consistency to truly make it work.

If you give a quality effort 1 out of 4 workouts per week, you cannot expect tremendous results.  You have to give a quality effort during every workout.

You might be tired and stressed out.

Perhaps you might not want to train that day.

None of that makes you special.  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, or you are tired, is when you have your most productive training sessions.

You also find out what type of character and mental toughness you have when you get the job done even though you thought you could not.

I would rather you stay home and give no effort vs. showing up and giving half-effort.  A weak effort is the definition of fake hustle.

Conclusion

If you can consistently give a quality effort over time, then I promise that you will be successful in whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish.

You reaching your goals is all about giving that CQE.

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

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[…] If it took you 20 years to get out of shape, then you cannot expect to get into fantastic shape in mere months.  Building a great physique requires time and a consistent, quality effort. […]

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