Kyle Knapp
Is a personal trainer, health consultant and coach specializing in functional fitness and movement reeducation. Based in Southern California, for over 20 years he has helped improve the fitness and movement habits of a wide range of clients ranging from youth sports to professional athletes, first time exercisers to seasoned fitness enthusiasts and all ages, injury histories and goals between. With a background in sports and athletics, paired with education in psychology, sport psychology and physiology, he strives to always respect and challenge the full scope of health and performance in everyone he works with, bringing out success that’s truly appropriate and individualized to each person.
In a world of never ending health advice and fitness trends, one simple thing stands alone as the true agent of change: being consistent. No matter the situation, the simple act of being consistent with your actions is the best way to make a difference in your health. Whether you are a runner, weight lifter, yoga practitioner, CrossFitter or (fill in the blanker) the common thread of progress is showing up on a regular basis.
This is a beautifully empowering thing. It doesn’t matter as much what you do but more how you do it. Much like the fable of the tortoise and the hare, it is the slow and steady that wins in the end. It is the showing up, day after day, week after week, month after month that drives change. The body adapts very well when it is exposed to things consistently and progress is much more likely to be permanent. What makes the true difference in change is the dependable repetition of action. One workout by itself, no matter how impressive it might be, doesn’t change your body but one mindset, even if it’s the most simple of concepts, can change anyone and everyone. You can be in control of your fitness destiny as long as you’re willing to be consistent.
How can you be more consistent?
The simplest answer is to be smart about your training and respect your recovery.
Smart Training is Long Term Training
Three simple concepts for setting up smart, consistent and long-term success: Focus on doing things that you can realistically achieve, pick progress over perfection and take care of your body.
1. Proper Planning – Pick workouts, activities, and a schedule that you can realistically do. Consistency starts with good planning. Successful workout plans are setup in a way that takes life and individual situation into account. If you are always busy after work, don’t plan your workouts for after work. If you know that three days a week you can take a long lunch break, that’s the time to plan your gym visits. You don’t have to workout every day, you just need to have a weekly plan that is honest to you and practically doable. The more reasonable it is the more likely you are going to stick to it. Bonus: the more enjoyable the activity the more you’ll find yourself doing it.
2. Adapt and Adjust – Pick doing something over doing nothing. Life happens and we all know how easy things can get in the way and interfere even with the best laid plans. The key is to do one of two things: find a way to do a little something else or get right back on track the next day. Consistent people are both adaptable and resilient. Missing one workout, even if it seems devastating at the time, doesn’t derail your progress if you get the next one. Having to go for a walk because work didn’t allow for a lunchtime gym session or getting a quick park workout instead of getting your gym session in because your daughter’s soccer practice got moved earlier at the last minute around isn’t a game breaker, it’s actually a chance for you to reinforce how you can adapt to whatever life throws at you. Perfection is not an ally in fitness so don’t let the pursuit of it ruin the trend of progress.
3. Respect your Recovery – Make it a priority to take care of your body. Rested, nourished and recovered bodies are ready for action and will perform stronger and longer. As we all know, the better you feel the more likely you will want to exercise and will be willing, and able, to adjust if life forces you to adapt your workout plans. Recovering well is one of the best ways to get the most out of each session, but most importantly, promote feeling well and being ready to workout again. Although recovery can be broken down into many smaller elements and details, rest, hydration, and nutrition are the primary realms that can help foster better recovery. If you make each of these a focal point, you’ll often find that staying consistent is a lot easier.
Diving a Little Deeper on Recovery
As a general rule, the harder and more you workout, the more recovery becomes a crucial element to consistency and progress. Rest and hydration are foundational elements to health that become even more important with consistent exercise. Rest is a must, both in terms of sleep and not overworking the body physically. Much of the recovery process, including the repairing and building of muscle happens at rest. Respect your sleep and you’ll be surprised at how much better you feel. Hydration is always talked about but very rarely practiced well.
Keeping hydration as an important part of your day will also pay tremendous dividends to how you feel, as well as keeping you physically prepared to exert energy and effort the next time you move or exercise. The recommendations vary for this, but I have always found that simply being aware of drinking more water is the best way to increase your hydration levels. Having a water bottle with you during the day can be a valuable tool and a nice reminder to keep yourself on top of hydration.
Nutrition is the third and often most discussed aspect of recovery. Although nutrition and refueling happens 24 hours a day and is always ongoing, one of the best times to address recovery is right after your workout. The body is primed physiologically to accept nutrients and replenish what’s been lost. The window of 30-60 minutes after exercising provides an ideal opportunity for you to start the recovery process by getting high quality protein and electrolytes into your system. Ensuring these nutrients and building blocks are in the body is a necessary step in recovery and will set the stage for making better choices the rest of the day. Having a convenient post workout recovery drink is one of the easiest and most effective strategies to get the process going. Core Power protein shakes are my go-to when it comes to this and always hit the spot after a good workout.
The power of change lies in the simplicity of staying consistent. Every little step you take that helps put you in favorable positions helps keep your train rolling along the track. The longer you’re on the track and the more consistency you chug along the more likely you’ll end up where you want to go.
Be smart about your training.
Focus on progress over perfection.
Take care of your body with smart recovery.
Be consistent and you’ll always find a way to get wherever you want to go.
