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48: The Busy Person’s Blueprint for Fitness That Actually Fits: Ep. 3 -Consistency Through Chaos — How to Stay on Track When Life Doesn’t Cooperate

• Adam Kelley • Season 48

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Chaos is the norm in our busy lives, and any fitness plan that only works under perfect conditions isn't realistic for long-term success. We need to build flexible systems that carry us through unpredictable circumstances rather than rigid rules that crumble when life gets messy.

• Waiting for the "perfect moment" to start your fitness journey is a myth—over 80% of adults report feeling overwhelmed, and life is trending busier
• Success comes from identity and structure, not willpower—when you see yourself as someone who prioritizes health, making healthy choices feels natural
• Minimum habits that maintain momentum: 10 pushups before showering, walking during phone calls, and ensuring one high-protein meal daily
• Flexible systems beat rigid rules—adapt workouts for travel, prepare quick healthy meals for busy evenings, break exercise into smaller "movement snacks"
• Messy progress is still progress—people who practice self-compassion after setbacks bounce back faster
• Create a "reset ritual" to quickly get back on track after disruptions
• Consistency doesn't mean perfection—it means showing up in some way, even when life gets hard

Challenge yourself to pick one flexible system or minimum habit you can lean on the next time life throws you a curveball. If you need support, Transform Health Initiative offers the systems, accountability, and coaching to help you win on purpose, even when life doesn't cooperate.

Study References:

  • Lally, P., et al. (2009). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology.


  • Neff, K. D. (2003). The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity.


  • Wing, R. R., & Phelan, S. (2005). Long-term weight loss maintenance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.


  • Gallup (2023). U.S. Stress and Busyness Poll.


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Speaker 1:

Let's be real, even the best workout plan can fall apart when life gets chaotic. Am I right? I know, I've been there plenty of times. Maybe work throws you a curveball, maybe your kid's sports schedule eats up your evenings, maybe you're traveling for business or maybe, honestly, you're just tired and stressed. So today's question is this how do you stay consistent when life doesn't cooperate? Because here's the truth, guys Chaos isn't the exception, chaos is the norm, and if your plan only works when your life is perfect, then it's not really a plan that works at all. Now is it?

Speaker 2:

Welcome to the Win On Purpose podcast From health and fitness, business, personal development, relationships and more. We promise you will find inspiration to help you win on purpose in all areas of your life journey. And now for your host, adam Kelly.

Speaker 1:

Hello, hello, hello, and welcome back to the Win On Purpose podcast, where we help busy people achieve health and strength that fits into real life. I'm your host, coach Adam Kelly, and today we're diving into episode three of our series, the Busy Person's Blueprint for Fitness that Actually Fits. So in our last episode, guys, we broke down the balance between strength training and cardio, so if you missed that episode, make sure to go check that one out, because I promise you it is going to bless your heart. And we looked at what actually moves the needle when you don't have unlimited time. Okay, but let's be real.

Speaker 1:

Even the best workout plan can fall apart when life gets chaotic. Am I right? I know, I've been there plenty of times. Maybe work throws you a curveball, maybe your kid's sports schedule eats up your evenings, maybe you're traveling for business or maybe, honestly, you're just tired and stressed. So today's question is this how do you stay consistent when life doesn't cooperate? Because here's the truth, guys chaos isn't the exception, chaos is the norm, and if your plan only works when your life is perfect, then it's not really a plan that works at all. Now is it?

Speaker 1:

So we're going to look at the myth of perfect conditions, so let's start with the myth I'll get serious about my health when life slows down. Well, we've all thought it for sure I'll start after the holidays, I'll start when work calms down, I'll start when the kids go back to school. But here's the reality Life rarely slows down. According to Gallup surveys, over 80% of US adults report feeling stressed or overwhelmed by daily demands, and that number has actually gone up over the past decade. Life isn't trending towards slower, it's trending towards busier. So if you're waiting for the perfect moment, you'll probably be waiting forever. But I do have some good news for you. You don't need perfect conditions, you just need the right systems, systems that actually carry you through the unpredictable. So I want you to think of it like this If you only drive when every traffic light is green, you're never going to get very far, are you? But if you learn how to stop, adjust and then keep moving, you still reach your destination. And that's where habits come in, because strong habits aren't built on perfect conditions. They're built to survive chaos.

Speaker 1:

So let's talk about habits. A lot of people think success comes down to willpower. If I was just more disciplined, I'd stick to my workouts, but research shows that willpower is actually one of the weakest things to depend on. It's limited, it's inconsistent and it runs out fast. What actually works? Identity and structure.

Speaker 1:

When you see yourself as someone who works out, missing a workout feels out of character for you. When you see yourself as someone who values health, you naturally make different choices, even when it's inconvenient. So here's a simple example Maybe you can't get to the gym today, but if you see yourself as the kind of person who moves daily, then you'll take a 10 minute walk after dinner. That's not a backup plan, that's your identity at work. So let me give you three quick minimum habits that can keep you anchored even in the busiest weeks.

Speaker 1:

Number one 10 pushups before you hop in the shower Fast. No equipment, no excuses. You can throw in 10 push-ups here and there all throughout the day and still be staying active. Number two walking while you're on a phone call. So turning that dead time into movement. Super easy to get a ton of steps in when you're on the phone, especially if you work a job that has a lot of phone time or you're just someone that likes to talk, you like to chit chat and you hop on a phone call. It may take 25, 30, 40 minutes. That's like a mile or two that you could get in worth of steps. So really good opportunity. Or, you know, if you work on phones and you have some flexibility at your workspace, you know you could get a standing desk and get you a walking pad. Or, again, hold some of those conference calls while you're pacing back and forth in your office. Great opportunities there.

Speaker 1:

Look, I know what it feels like to be frustrated with your health, trust me, to feel like you're doing everything right but nothing seems to be sticking. That's why our coaching isn't about perfection. It's about building a system that works even when life gets messy. At Transform Health Initiative, we help busy adults rebuild their health, rewire their habits and redefine their identity without shame, without overwhelm and without starting over every Monday. If you're tired of trying to do it all on your own, we're here when you're ready. All right back to the episode.

Speaker 1:

And then number three packing one high-protein meal every day, even if the rest of your meals are chaotic. That one can help anchor your nutrition. It can truly make a difference, even if it's just one meal. So these little actions do more than keep you consistent. They reinforce your nutrition. It can truly make a difference, even if it's just one meal. So these little actions do more than keep you consistent they reinforce your identity, and identity is what makes habits stick. But here's the key Habits only survive if they're supported by systems, and the problem is most people build systems that are way too rigid. So we're going to look at building flexible systems instead of rigid rules. All right, rigid rules crumble the moment chaos hits.

Speaker 1:

If your plan is, I have to work out six days a week for an hour, what happens the first time you travel? Or what happens the first time your kid gets sick, or the second time, or every time, the whole thing tends to fall apart. So instead, think of it in terms of flexible systems. So here's a few examples Work, travel. Instead of. I'm going to lose progress if I can't get to the gym, shift it to. I'll use the hotel gym for 20 minutes, or I'll do a bodyweight workout in my room, and you can get phenomenal results with bodyweight workouts.

Speaker 1:

Trust me, busy week for kids, sports. So instead of hitting the drive-thru after the game or after practice, have a couple of high protein freezer meals ready to go, 10 minutes in the oven and boom, dinner's done. This is also a really great time to pull out that old crock pot and dust it off. Throw something in the crock pot earlier in that morning, you know, cook it on low simmer so it can cook all day, not not overcook, and then, boom, by dinnertime you have a delicious, warm, home cooked meal that's healthy for you and the family, regardless of your schedule and then crazy work deadlines. So instead of four 60 minute workouts this week, you can break them up into three 15 minute movement snacks. So a quick lift in the morning, a walk at lunch, a stretch before bed, so still reinstilling that movement throughout the day, even if you can't get your normal workout in.

Speaker 1:

So I actually had a client once who was working 70-hour weeks and he told me, coach, I can't stick to this program. He was just straight up with me, which I truly respect that. So what did we do? Did we quit? No, we built a flexible system. So we planned for three 20-minute workouts, protein-focused lunches and a hard cutoff at 11 pm for screens to help them sleep, because sleep is so crucial when your workload is high. And guess what happened? Not only did he stick with it, he actually lost 20 pounds and told me that he had more energy at work than before. And again we downgraded his plan, it seemed like, but really we just fine-tuned it to make it fit in that season of life.

Speaker 1:

And that leads us to one of the most overlooked truths in health Progress doesn't have to be neat to be real. So why messy progress still counts. Here's the part that most people miss Messy progress is still progress. Self-compassion researcher Kristen Neff found that people who treat themselves kindly after a setback bounce back faster and stay consistent longer. On the flip side, guilt and shame create that all or nothing trap where one missed workout turns into two weeks off, or two months off, or two years off.

Speaker 1:

So let me paint you a beautiful, pretty picture here. It's time to use our imagination. So imagine two people both missed their tuesday workout. Okay, person a says, well, I blew it, I'll just start back next week. And then then person B says well, that stinks, but I can still walk the dog tonight. Guess which person makes progress? Well, person B.

Speaker 1:

This isn't about lowering the bar, it's about keeping momentum alive, because momentum is everything. And once you stop, you guys know how hard it is to get back going again. So here's a practical tool for you Create a reset ritual. A reset ritual. This could be as simple as an evening walk. It could be prepping tomorrow's lunch. It could be doing five minutes of stretching, something small that tells your brain we're back on track. It's just kind of like a kickstart, rather than I've got to get a full workout in or I've got a meal prep for a whole week, so I'm going to wait till Sunday or Monday. You can do this right now, even if your lunch today, while you're listening to that, was not very good and yesterday you didn't really move around much. Well, you can do something now or this evening that gets your brain right back on track. So let's go ahead and land this plane with the big takeaway for the day.

Speaker 1:

So consistency does not mean perfection. Okay, let me repeat this Consistency does not mean perfection. It means showing up in some way, even when life gets hard. The people who succeed aren't the ones who never miss. I promise you. The ones that succeed are the ones who never quit. So here's your challenge this week Pick one flexible system or one minimum habit that you can lean on the next time life throws you one of those curveballs. Maybe it's a 10-minute walk, maybe it's freezer meals, maybe it's a reset ritual and if this feels daunting or if you've been trying to white knuckle your way through chaos alone. That's exactly why we built THI. We've got the systems, the accountability and the coaching to help you win on purpose, even when life doesn't cooperate. So, until next time, do something good for yourself, something good for your health, something good for those that you care about and, whatever you do, make sure you win on purpose. Talk to you next time.