Every once in a while you get a random reminder that you didn’t know you needed. Last week was one of those here. A simple quote that hammers home the foundation of consistency:

“Remember - one workout won’t change your body, just like missing one workout won’t ruin your progress. One healthy meal won’t change your physique, much like one cheat meal won’t ruin it. It’s consistently making more good choices than bad ones, compounded over a long period of time.”

Sometimes, especially when we have a short-term goal we are working on, we can grow impatient with our progress and beat ourselves up when we make minor slips. This internal pressure and focus can be used for good, as it keeps us motivated and pushing. Likewise, though, it can be a deterrent to our progress. If you are heavier than you’d like to be, think of how long it took you to get to this point. It didn’t happen overnight, and so we shouldn’t expect to reverse it overnight either.

Setting proper expectations with ourselves on how long it will take and the challenge it will be is crucial for traversing through the highs and lows of any journey. We have to remember that lasting results take time and effort. We control the effort - now we have to just submit to letting time do its thing.

The 80/20 rule is one I consistently have to reinforce for myself in all aspects of life - working out, diet, drinking, etc. If I focus on doing 80% of these in a positive manner, I give myself the bandwidth to live life in the other 20% and still make progress.

You can get faster results with the 100/0 approach, but the question for you to answer is, can you keep it up for the rest of your life?

Consistently Good > Occasionally Great

Brain - How Would You Act If You Were the Best at “X”?

My favorite listen this week was an episode of the Nick Bare Podcast with Sally Mcrae. Spotify link to the episode here.

Sally Mcrae, also known as The Yellow Runner on socials, is an ultra-marathoner who is pushing the limit of the sport forward seemingly every year. She is currently training for the Western States 100, which is known in runner’s circles as the pinnacle race of 100 milers. Last year she completed “The Grand Slam of 200 Mile Races”, in which she completed the 4 most renowned 200+ milers in a single calendar year.

If you want to be challenged and motivated to get off your a**, Sally will do it for you.

On the podcast, she made a side comment about halfway through that I think applies to so much more than running and fitness. She said “If you were the fastest marathoner in the world, would you train different because of this title? Would you eat/sleep/recover, would your effort be different? There’s only one champion (in a race), but you shouldn’t wait until you’re the champion to behave like one.”

This is such a great prompt and mental challenge for all of us to take on, in and out of the fitness realm. Think about it with these angles:

• If you were running the company you work for, how would you act? How would you show up to work? What would you dress like? How would you talk? When would you arrive?

• If you had the body of your dreams, how would you treat it to maintain it? Would you eat differently? Sleep differently? Train differently? Would you have more confidence?

• What about the best father in the world? Best spouse? Can you challenge yourself here?

It can be easy to give ourselves the excuse of age and time and that we’ll make the necessary changes once we arrive. What we find is that this is the inverse of the successful approach. The CEO of your company started acting like one long before he got the role. The friend you know who lost all the weight started eating great long before they had the physique. The winner of the next race you run treats their training like they are preparing to win. A simple mindset shift for our week, and a great episode to listen to to kick things off.

Body - A Ladder System in the Gym

As mentioned in previous volumes, this week kicked off what I am labeling as a “90-Day Summer Shred” for myself. No time like June to kick off a cut for swimsuit season right? Should be nice and diced by the time fall football is around..

Jokes aside, I have longer aspirations and reasons for the cut, primarily with the December wedding in mind, as well as realizing I probably need to roll into my next endurance block a little lighter on my feet, so I can move at the necessary speed.

I have trained very similarly for the majority of the last 10 years, with a typical bro / bodybuilding split in the gym. Chest, Back, Legs, Arms, Cardio, etc. You know the routine.

This week was a positive reinforcement of the value of not getting stuck in the mundane of one particular training style and always aiming to switch things up to shock the system. The program my new coach has prescribed is a variation of Push / Pull / Legs and cardio, which attempts to lump in those movements into one day, focused around compound lifts. Your “push” day focuses primarily on chest and shoulder movements, your “pull” days primarily back, and legs is legs. I have done this before, but what I have enjoyed so far is the intermixing of larger, higher-intensity sets with multiple movements to fatigue the body. I want to share one concept here for you to try, which is the “ladder system.”

Yesterday (Sunday), I did a variation that looked like this:

• Ladder Reps: 25, 20, 15, 10, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25

• Movements:

  • 1 - Flat Bench Press

  • 2 - Under Bar Row

  • 3 - Dumbbell Push Press

This ladder system asks that you pick a weight you would comfortably rep for 15 - 18 reps, and then go through the “ladder” at each rep cycle. IE - First round was 25 reps of bench, 25 under bar rows, 25 DB push press. Next set was 20 reps, then 15, all the way down to 5, and then back up to 25.

The idea here is to increase the intensity and increase the volume. It’s not about the weight being moved, it’s how it’s being moved and how quickly. If you have to rack the weight for a second, that’s fine, you just keep going until you complete the movements.

This ladder is a great rubric to use to spice up one of your training sessions upcoming. Pick 3 movements, pick a weight that is comfortable but that you know will be challenging, and get to work. Keep form tight, but focus on the time of completion as well.

I was sucking for air at the end of this one, and look forward to trying some other varieties of it in the future. More training insights to come as the 90-day plan progresses…

Book - Supercommunicators by Charlie Duhigg

For a quick second, I want you to think of the friend in your life who is the first person you go to for advice or to vent. Think also of the person in your life who just seems to be at the center of conversation in every room they’re in. Think also of the boss / leader you’ve had who seemed to have unanimous approval across the board.

Chances are these people, naturally or crafted, have come to master the art of communication. So many of us have the definition of successful communication backward, and it shows in our everyday lives. Communication is at the center of everything we do - having a happy life with our spouse, maintaining relationships at work, getting what we want in certain situations, etc.

Becoming a better communicator has to be an intentional effort, and Charlie Duhigg set out to make his new book “Supercommunicators” the one-stop shop to getting started and gaining a fundamental understanding of what makes a person a “supercommunicator.” I am about 100 pages in on this title, and wanted to share a couple of quotes to pique your interest:

• “The most effective communicators pause before they speak and ask themselves: Why am I opening my mouth? Unless we know what kind of discussion we’re hoping for—and what type of discussion our companions want—we’re at a disadvantage.”

• “Miscommunication occurs when people are having different kinds of conversations. If you are speaking emotionally, while I’m talking practically, we are, in essence, using different cognitive languages. (This explains why, when you complain about your boss—“Jim is driving me crazy!”—and your spouse responds with a practical suggestion—“What if you just invited him to lunch?”—it’s more apt to create conflict than connection: “I’m not asking you to solve this! I just want some empathy.”)”

• “During any conflict—a workplace debate, an online disagreement—it’s natural to crave control. And sometimes that craving pushes us to want to control the most obvious target: The person we’re arguing with. If we can just force them to listen, they’ll finally hear what we’re saying. If we can force them to see things from our point of view, they’ll agree we’re right. The fact is, though, that approach almost never works. Trying to force someone to listen, or see our side, only inflames the battle.”