The Health Huns
The Messy Side of Health and Fitness!
Your favourite amateur athletes keeping it real, discussing the messy side of health and fitness
The Health Huns
EP.18 The Messy Truth About Consistency
Consistency - that magical buzzword thrown around in fitness circles as the ultimate solution to all our health and wellness struggles. But what exactly does consistency mean, and is it truly the golden ticket we're led to believe?
In this refreshingly honest conversation, we challenge the toxic narratives surrounding consistency in the fitness world. From the pressure to maintain perfect workout schedules to the shame that comes with missing a session, we explore how these expectations often set us up for failure rather than success.
"Consistency isn't perfection," we emphasize, "it's showing up for yourself and your goals more times than not." This simple reframing can transform how we approach our fitness journeys, allowing space for life's inevitable interruptions without spiraling into self-sabotage.
We dive into practical strategies for building sustainable consistency, like starting small with achievable habits, employing the 80/20 rule, and identifying what genuinely works for your unique personality and lifestyle. Rather than following rigid plans that might work for fitness influencers but not for busy parents or professionals, we advocate for finding your own sustainable rhythm.
The comparison trap gets special attention as we discuss how social media has warped our perception of achievements. Remember when running a marathon was considered impressive on its own? Now it seems you need to run it in under 3:30 or complete multiple marathons back-to-back to earn recognition. We encourage listeners to zoom out and appreciate their progress rather than measuring themselves against carefully curated highlight reels.
Whether you're struggling to maintain consistency in your fitness routine or feeling guilty about missing workouts, this episode offers permission to be imperfect while still making progress. Join us for this honest, relatable conversation about finding balance in the messy world of health and fitness.
Thank you for listening!
Please review this episode, it really helps the pod grow.
Find us on Instagram @thehealthhunspod
It's only impressive if you run a marathon, if it's like sub 3, 30 hours. Hello and welcome to the Health Hands, the pod where we discuss the messy side of health and fitness.
Speaker 2:From gym fails to newfound communities.
Speaker 1:We're here to help you feel like less of a failure and find your place in the messy world of health and fitness.
Speaker 2:Hello, hello and welcome to episode 18 of the Health Hunts. That is so many episodes. We say that every episode.
Speaker 1:I know when we get to 100, we're going to be like, oh my God, this is so many episodes.
Speaker 2:That really is a lot of episodes, but all in good time. Where are you right now, Amber?
Speaker 1:um, where are you right now, amber? I'm in my work room, uh, where we always record the pods, but not now, because now we're technological and where are you rey?
Speaker 2:wales, you're in a different country in a whole different country on my holiday.
Speaker 1:Yes, Honestly, the wonders of modern technology.
Speaker 2:Do you like the curtains in the background? How caravan are these curtains? I love them. In Ziggy's room he's got parrots.
Speaker 1:Oh, nice Colourful.
Speaker 2:No abstract parrots.
Speaker 1:Oh, okay, yeah, Does he like?
Speaker 2:them. Yeah, he does, he's into it, he likes them.
Speaker 1:That's good um so how's your week been?
Speaker 2:um, my week has been full on, so we traveled up Monday morning six hour journey, which is all right it wasn't too bad.
Speaker 1:That's not bad. When we went to Wales, it took us like eight hours yeah, we missed all the traffic.
Speaker 2:So it was perfect, even our time to stop off for little services, a little treat, um, and then every day, so was it Thursday, so Tuesday we went somewhere, wednesday went somewhere. Today we've been somewhere. We tried to like do something every day and there's just loads of driving, so much driving so many hills, my poor car, I don't know. I don't think I've got out of second gear, the whole time I've been here I know there's.
Speaker 1:There's this hill where we um go in wales and like, honestly, I swear to god, it's like I sometimes have thought my car's not going to get up it.
Speaker 2:No, it's just going to roll back down, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Where do you go in Wales?
Speaker 1:So we go to the Llyn, the Llyn Peninsula, so you're in, you're North Wales. Yeah, you know the bit. That sort of it's North but slightly above there, but it sticks right out towards Ireland. It looks like a little island at the end of that. So it's called Abbasock, um, and it's very remote like there's nothing really there, loads of fields and lots of like beaches. I mean it looks very similar coastline to where you are um, but there's it's really really remote, but it's very nice.
Speaker 2:Wales is lovely. We saw dolphins. We saw loads of dolphins.
Speaker 1:That's actually amazing.
Speaker 2:In Newquay, so that was pretty cool. But travelling aside and being stuck in a tiny caravan with a three-year-old, I've actually had a really lovely week, and it's been about like a nine out of ten. It's been really nice.
Speaker 1:That's good.
Speaker 2:How's your week been?
Speaker 1:well, like I said to you yesterday, I feel manic, so I'm like it's a 10, because I feel crazy. I don't really know what it is. Um, I just feel mental, but in a good way. Yeah, I mean, like I said to you yesterday, ride, ride the wave, yeah, because it's probably all going to come crashing down in like three to five business days. But I feel mental, but in a good way.
Speaker 2:I think the trick is, when you feel like that is to do everything you have to do, but don't take anything new on yeah, because that's when you start saying yes to so many things and then you crash. You're like why did I do this to myself?
Speaker 1:yeah, yeah, just roll with it yeah, be sensible.
Speaker 2:So it's 10 out of 10. Week for you, 10 out of 10. We've got some exciting plans coming up this weekend, don't we? Yes?
Speaker 1:we will be at the fierce babe market talking about the health huns, um, talking to people about, you know, health and fitness as an average kind of human, no but you, you, traitor.
Speaker 2:You're doing a fitness competition, aren't you? Yeah, I? I had a dream last night that rachel, our friend rachel, had a new pug and a new cat and I'm taking them. I'd taken them to come and watch you do your fitness competition, but both of them kept shitting everywhere amazing you should come and watch it because it'll be hilarious.
Speaker 1:I saw it was in the car park. It's in a car park. It's gonna be so funny. Yeah, I'll come and watch you. I think Shannon's up for doing it next year, so maybe we need our own version. Um, I'm it's called flat out Norwich um, and it's a bit like I don't know Norwich version of high rocks, but I'm doing so. I have to do a 500 meter run around the car park. 500 meters is not that far. Then I have to do the first one I have to do. I think I have to do the bike first. There's two and a half k on a bike, static, then someone else does something, then it's 500 meter run and then 1200 meters on the rowing machine.
Speaker 2:I'll be all right, it's not too bad at all then, not too bad.
Speaker 1:I mean, there's people, there's someone else is doing like the weighted lunges with a sandbag. No, that it's not for me oh, so you can divvy it up between your team yeah, so there's four of us, four of us she says holding five fingers up four of us and you have to do two things each, so each section starts with, like the 500 metre run.
Speaker 2:Right, okay.
Speaker 1:Like a farmer's walk. An overhead press with a 10 kilo weight, a goblet squat weighted lunges, that horrible burpy, jumpy thing and ski erg.
Speaker 2:Okay, oh, when is it?
Speaker 1:It's only two weeks Sunday the 12th but I think we're in the afternoon, so probably going to come to Gator 5k in the morning.
Speaker 2:Okay, I will definitely 100% be. I'm going to tell Shannon she has to come too, okay you can hang out with Matthew Green.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm perfect, I'm there, okay. Well, I guess about pardon, what'd you say? What we're talking about today, I think what I was thinking this morning. It would be nice to talk about the word consistency, because it's a word like a bit of a buzzword and obviously we all know what consistency means. Yeah, I feel like it's something that's thrown around in the health and fitness industry a lot, across all different disciplines, across all, like nutrition, wellness, even like hustle culture, like building businesses and stuff, and it seems to be this golden ticket, this magical thing that everyone's after, and if you can just be consistent, all your hopes and dreams are going to come true. Yep, and consistency is something I have always struggled with, and not because I think I'm lazy or unable, it's just I get bored and I thought it'd be nice just to discuss what consistency is to us, how we try and stay consistent, and is it the be all and end all of everything?
Speaker 2:okay that this is live planning.
Speaker 1:I've got some notes.
Speaker 2:We have slightly discussed this, haven't we?
Speaker 2:yeah, and I think I think it's really important to talk about consistency and, in a way, I do think consistency is key but, I think what people struggle with is what actually is consistency and what things are worthwhile being consistent at, and are you able to be consistent at everything all at once? I used to say this thing when I first started out PTing. It was like keep it simple, keep it consistent, and I think people are often in the trap of trying to be consistent at 101 different disciplines all the time yeah so hit the notes so I mean well, I mean, first of all, I thought we could talk about you know what consistency is for us.
Speaker 1:So I mean, for me, consistency is not perfection, and I think that's a really, really hard thing that people, myself included, struggle with because you want to be good at something. But being consistent does not mean that you are good all the time. It's just. To me it's showing up for yourself and your goals more times than not, um, when it's hard, when you don't always want to, but also knowing that you need balance and you need a life. Yeah, yeah. It's being flexible and not beating yourself up.
Speaker 2:I think also people look at it week to week or month to month and actually it's really useful. Let's take an example of going to the gym, really common one people want to be consistent at, if you like. If you just look at maybe two months and you've been a bit sporadic with the gym and some weeks you've gone three times a week, some weeks you've gone none and you're starting to feel down on yourself, it can be really hard. Easy to fall into that. Oh, I can't, I can't, just can't stick to anything. But if you zoom out and maybe look at your patterns of behavior over a whole year and then take the average, you probably have, on average, been to the gym two to three times a week across 12 months.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, life happens. So, like this week I'm away on holiday, there's no gym here, I haven't been to the gym. You know there was weeks when you were ill a couple months ago you couldn't go to the gym, or life just happens. You get injured, you feel tired, you can't be bothered. But actually I think it's taken more of a macro view of things. What, rather than oh, my god, this week I've only been one time and then getting in that kind of self-sabotage mode as well definitely.
Speaker 1:I mean, I had that real period over the summer where I didn't I probably did. I did, probably other than the odd week. I did run at least once a week, but I didn't really run a lot and I was like, oh, you know, I'm I did beat myself up about it a bit, um, but then it was like, actually I did still run, just not every week, but most weeks. At least once I still went to spin, I still came to see you, I still really stuck to my goals. I just had a bit of a break from running and now I'm back on it. And that is consistency, isn't it? Because I picked it up, I've got I just wanted to say I think I've got a really good example of a nice chill, consistent person who is now really achieving good things. And I did ask them if I could mention them on the pod, and that is Scarlett, from Gay to 5k.
Speaker 1:Okay, so I think Scarlett shows up pretty much every week. She's like you know, kind of. She does the interval groups on a Sunday. Now she goes out maybe once on her own. She goes to the Wednesday group and she's not like mad, pushing herself every week to like, oh, I've got to get a PB, I've got to do this, I've got to do that. She just comes along and she runs and, like you know, I saw her time on Strava yesterday and she'd done like six and a half K and I'm guessing she didn't stop because her pace was like seven point something, which is way quicker than she used to run.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and without stopping. And that is the progress of being consistent, whereas lots of people go in and they're like I need to be able to run 5K in this time and they push themselves and they burn out and then they don't want to go. And I just think Scarlett is like a really nice progression of what being consistent is. And now she's seeing like the rewards and she had some time off over the summer when she went to like festivals and stuff, but she's just come back and got back on it and I think I think that's a really nice example of consistency, I think is and I think that's a really important thing about consistency that you don't often hear spoken about is taking the pressure off.
Speaker 2:I'm the same if I set loads of big goals when it comes to running or the gym or weight loss or whatever. The the more goals, the bigger the pressure I put myself, the harder it is for me to be consistent. The times I've been the most consistent and, like you were saying, seeing the most progress is when I'm not working towards anything at all. My only goal is to be consistent. It's not to get anything out of that consistency, it's just to show up on the days that I've told myself I'm going to go. Obviously, life happens, but also 90% of the time, you probably can still do the thing in some capacity that you've told yourself you're going to do, whether that's a shorter workout or a shorter run or whatever. Sometimes, if you're really struggling with staying consistent, look at the pressure you're putting on yourself and like why do you want to be consistent? Is it because you've heard you should? Is it because you want to prove something to someone, or maybe you need to take the pressure off?
Speaker 1:yeah, I mean, look at us with Ron Norridge. Neither of us trained properly for it because there was too much pressure, whereas, like, I want to do it next year. But actually I don't want to be like I've got to train for this race. I use the term I'm not racing it, I just want to finish it, but, um, I just think I don't want to be training for that.
Speaker 1:I just want to get to a point where, like, running 10k is normal and it it's not like a big thing yeah and so you know I want to start like maybe, rather than just doing 5k one one day of the week, doing five and a half k and then do that for a couple of weeks and do 6k and just increasing it really slowly when I can and if I can be bothered, and then eventually in a year's time I'll probably be doing 10k more comfortably, not at run Norwich, I'll still hate that. But like in general, in general, yeah.
Speaker 2:I think the other issue is we see, so obviously it comes back to social media every time, like all all the issues. I think Social media and men, they're our main culprits. They're our main culprits. You see, like, oh, if you can just be consistent for 30 days, you'll earn 10K, or you'll lose 10 pounds or you'll gain X amount of followers, do you know? Or views. There is this. It's very simple, once you can be consistent and sometimes, yeah, that actually happens to people and it's great. But what you're not seeing is the hundreds and thousands of people who have tried doing that just be consistent for this amount of time and they've got some results, but it's not these big grand results that we've seen. We see people share all the time and there's this disillusion and this underwhelm, I think, with what people achieve these days, like I saw someone doing a real I don't know who. It was a man, a running man, and he was like when did we stop celebrating marathons as like an amazing achievement?
Speaker 2:yeah like when did running a marathon become a normal everyday achievement and like wasn't impressive anymore and I was like that is like is exactly what I mean is yeah and now it's like it's only impressive if you run a marathon, if it's like sub 3, 30 hours or you've done 24 in 24 days. It's like we're so. I'm like a culprit of this. I'm so easily underwhelmed with things like it's really hard for me, but then I'm underwhelmed with myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah, because like we forget that what we're doing, it doesn't matter how many people are doing it, but the point is we aren't the norm. Like a lot of so many people, don't ever run 5k yeah and yeah, so many people it's just who you end up surrounding yourself with when you get into these communities.
Speaker 2:It then becomes so normal because everyone's doing it every week. But when you like, take a step out and you're thinking, oh god, like what hello? Oh, you said something happened. Um, what I'm doing is actually isn't too bad at all. You then start celebrating a bit more and maybe that little bit consistency you have been showing maybe it's not six days a week, but maybe the two runs a week. You know that consistency is enough for where you want to be. You don't have to be training six, seven days a week.
Speaker 1:Have all your meals, bang on, have exactly nine hours of sleep a night for consistency to be consistency yeah that makes sense and I think the rule and this rule applies to many things like the 80, 20 lots of like nutritionists and dietitians talk about, like you know, being on it 80 of the time and having 20 where you're not, so on it like you know. I guess it's the same with, like you know, pt and stuff and like with running, 80 of your runs should be really easy and only 20 should be harder. And that's how you get better and probably how you like maintain consistency is by not just going all out and burning out all the time.
Speaker 2:Yeah and have you asked yourself the question am I struggling with consistency because I'm inherently lazy, which is what a lot of people think about themselves, or do you just simply not enjoy what you're trying to be consistent at? Like that's also allowed, because only like sociopaths are good at doing things they hate. I think they kind of enjoy that, you know just getting stuck in. Or is it because you're trying to do too much and your lifestyle actually doesn't suit the level of consistency you're after?
Speaker 1:like there, you don't have to force yourself into a box yeah, or are you just doing it to the point of burnout that you're making you not enjoy it? Probably that yeah, like you know, I know so many people, myself included, that every time I go out you you know I want to run to like my maximum speed that I can, but actually like if I run a bit slower, then I can go a bit further.
Speaker 1:And that's going to build up like my distance and eventually, the longer I can run, it's going to build up my I don't know cardiovascular systems and I'll be able to run a bit faster up my I don't know cardiovascular systems and I'll be able to run a bit faster like and just not comparing yourself to other people, which is so hard?
Speaker 2:yeah, it is, it's so hard and I've actually been doing that more and more over the last month or two, and that's odd for me because I spent a lot of time trying actively not comparing myself to others. Like I preach it quite a lot and my approach to health and fitness as I'm sure you all know if you've been listening for the last 18 episodes is kind of like fuck what everyone else is doing. It looks different for everyone, but it's really, really hard to feel accomplished yeah day and age, like I'm coming out of that a little bit.
Speaker 1:I feel, like over the summer I was really in that, but now I feel like I don't know. I'm feeling a bit more like I don't know. I can't really explain it. I'm just feeling less like I can. I am comparing myself to others.
Speaker 1:Um, I think it's hard for me when, like, I do compare myself to people, but I'm trying not to. I'm just going off on a tangent here. Um, but yeah, I mean Alexa off, I don't know what she's doing. Um, I just think like I'd got myself into this real, like I want to get quicker at running and I don't know if necessarily I'm gonna be loads quicker at running, but like I've decided that I want to go to the gym more and get stronger, and like it doesn't just have to be all running or all this, all that, like it can be a mix and actually going to the gym more will probably make me stronger at running anyway.
Speaker 1:Maybe you know having strong biceps running on your hands, just powering myself along. But yeah, I I do feel like I'm coming out of that a little bit, but it is so hard, do you think? It's just down to the fact that, like we're like don't get me wrong like the gator 5k community and like this. Everybody is lovely, nobody compares themselves, but do you think it is just being in part of a community and being surrounded by more people that maybe you compare yourself a little bit more, rather than doing like when you, just like before, go for a run on your own or do your workout and not really think about it?
Speaker 2:yeah, I, for me, and I think everyone, I think I see like I never used to care about what people were doing on Strava, like I literally didn't care, and now I'm like, oh that me and that person kind of started running at the same time and I've found I've had to pick my pick running up again the last couple of weeks. So I feel like I'm starting from square one and I'm getting like a little bit jealous of other people's success, like happy for them, like happy for them. It's how I feel on the inside, and I also think a big thing for me I was actually talking to my therapist about this was I've been a personal trainer for six years, seven years nearly and a big part of that you're selling yourself. Pretty much. I am selling me as a solution to someone's problems. You know what I mean. I'm the one that turns off my gym floor, I'm the one that sells sessions.
Speaker 2:So I think, having been doing that for so long since I was like 20, so I think, having been doing that for so long since I was like 20, a lot of my self-worth is how people in the fitness industry and people into health and fitness perceive me.
Speaker 2:So then, whilst I did a lot of work on like moving away from weight loss and being a bit more body neutral. There still comes into play like I need to be stronger because I need to be showing like you know talking, walking and walking, all that kind of stuff and I feel an added layer of pressure to be keeping up with the fitness trends and to to know everything about all these different things and be faster, be stronger, show willing. So I think I don't know. Recently I've been like I need to be more in, I need to be better at things because it's my job, but it's not my job to be the fastest, it's not my job to be the strongest, but I think, and I think everyday people, whether you're a personal trainer or not, are in the fitness industry. If you're into fitness and health, yeah, it's super easy to be like I should be able to do that. I should be able to get up at 5am and go to the gym because someone else is doing it. You know what?
Speaker 1:I mean, I don't know. Yeah, I do and, like you know, a few years ago when I first started going to the gym, I used to get up and I used to go to body pump on a Monday at 6.30am. Tuesday I'd go to body pump at 7.30 in the morning. Wednesday. Tuesday I'd go to body pump at 7 30 in the morning. Wednesday I'd go to body pump at 6 30. Thursday and Friday I'd do spin at 6 30 and then I'd go to the gym on a Sunday and they were very different classes but I had no trouble getting up at 5 52 in the morning. Yeah, um, to go to those classes. Now I really struggle to get up in the mornings. But I'm three years older, I'm in my mid-40s, Like I'm tired, I've got a lot of things going on and like now, I just sort of try. I do like to get up early and do things and I would love to like be a morning person again.
Speaker 1:But I'm just not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I feel that I used to be a 5am-er. I used to love it. I used to love getting up 5am club. Fuck, we should actually I can't, I just I. Physically, I can have all the intentions, but I can't wake at 5am, my body's just like go back to sleep. But also, yeah, life does change and that was like that was pre-covid, pre-having a kid, pre-having like a. I wasn't even a PT, then I was just working in a coffee shop. So I feel like when you've got less pressures in life and that's the other thing I want to mention, and I probably said this before when you're comparing yourself to people you see on social media, please look at their life and their lifestyle. Because if you're comparing yourself to like a 20-something young guy who has no girlfriend, no kids, like maybe works from home and he's doing all these things, Maybe he's a content creator and that is what he does for a job.
Speaker 2:Exactly and you're like why can't I be like him? Because your life is different and you have different demands on yourself. You have to give yourself a break. So if you're struggling with consistency because your kid's been sick or you've had to pick up an extra shift at work to pay for something that month, like give yourself a break and just do what is manageable. I always said to people build your routine.
Speaker 2:Build a routine that you can do on your busiest week yeah and then that's your baseline, and then you know you can always do something, even when you're flat out yeah, and then you can add extra, if you have energy yeah.
Speaker 1:I think that, like you know, and I know, this has really like especially I know we don't particularly like love talking about weight loss but like for me, losing weight was because I had an all-or-nothing approach and I was very much, like you know, like I lost eight stone when I was about 30 because I'd done this diet where I just had four milkshakes a day. That's all or nothing. And then when I came off I put all of that weight back on within like six months I mean, that's what it took me to lose it and it went on just, and then I put more on, whereas now, like you know, my weight loss has been well, really much slower. It's been over three years, um, and I was talking to a friend about it earlier and it's like you know, this year I think this year I've probably lost since January just over a stone, which is not loads but it is still a stone.
Speaker 1:But like I measured myself and I'd lost nine inches from around my hips, like that's a lot, but it's not always about numbers, I don't know like and now I've had a really long period where I've barely lost any weight, but that hasn't led me to go into a spiral like it would have in the past and thought, well, fuck this, and then put everything back on. I'm just have a good day, have a bad day, or have a day where I'm more like mindful, and a day where I'm a bit more flexible, which probably works out that 80, 20, yeah, kind of balance.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and like you know, I haven't like, yeah, I have lost some weight this year and I have lost some inches. It's not been a huge amount, but you know I don't want to lose loads more weight, but also I'm just. I am just sort of living my life now. I was busy over the summer and I feel like winter is a really good time to lose weight, Do you? Yeah, because you can eat like like loads of really filling hearty food in the summer.
Speaker 2:I just want snacks yeah, true, and but I think you've built it into your lifestyle.
Speaker 1:Now you're not on or off, you're just Amber, you're just yeah, I'm not like I think that was the trouble before as well. I'd be like I'm on a diet, get to a certain weight, and usually it would. I wouldn't even be at the weight I wanted to be, but I'd lose a couple of stone, I'd feel a bit better, and then I'd be like, oh wow, you know, I feel a bit better now, and then I put it all back on and then I wouldn't want to go back to the slimming world group that I was at or whatever, whereas now it is really just like you know, whatever, yeah, so I have got a few strategies hit me. So the first one is start small. Yeah, I think your analogy of um, you know what you can fit on your busiest week and when you first start as well, don't go out there thinking you're just right, I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna run 5k in 30 minutes, like it's probably not.
Speaker 1:Yes, some people genetically can do that, but not most people. Like, at the end of the day, being consistent to begin with might just be like walking to work rather than driving, or walking up the stairs at work or something. Walking up the stairs more at home, I don't know, just doing tiny things, because they're things that you can do, and the more you do, then you might want to move on to the next thing rather than thinking right, so I'm going to join the gym, I'm going to run twice a week, I'm going to go weight training three times a week, because if you go in with that, like where have you got to go after that?
Speaker 2:Yeah, exactly, low hanging fruit. What's the easiest thing to start with?
Speaker 1:Exactly so. Another one is habit stacking oh James, atomic habits, yeah, so, like, you know where you already do one thing and you can build something else into it. So, um, I mean, some examples could be. I mean, the one that I read was when you're making a cup of tea, you could do some stretches.
Speaker 1:I'm probably not going to do that, but you, for me there's things, that for me there's things, and I guess it's a roundabout way, but, like, if I'm, if I'm, tidy in my house, then I know that leads to me making better choices in other things because there's less chaos.
Speaker 1:So I know that if I get up in the morning and I clean my kitchen, I clean my bathroom, I make sure the washing up is done, I know that then I'm going to make better, like choices through the day. So by doing, being in a habit of doing those things, I'm then better set up for the day, whereas if I let the house stay in chaos which I could I just would be chaos throughout the day. Yeah, um, having an identity, an identity shift. So this is about like, stop focusing on things like the number on the scales and just start thinking about, like I'm a person who goes to the gym. Yeah, um, and stop worrying about the goal and just enjoy the journey be it until you see it yeah, um, and then I mean, the last thing was like the 80 to 20 thing.
Speaker 2:Like you don't have to be perfect, no, because consistency can be really toxic toxic consistency and I think another word which is thrown around with consistency is discipline yeah, and then this discipline is like yeah a lot of these narratives which is why I want to talk about it today lead to so much shame and just feeling like a failure and feeling like, well, if I can't do this, I must be just useless. So check yourself, I think, when consuming media.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and discipline, like you haven't done anything wrong. Like if you wake up in the morning and you'd plan to go for a run or go to the gym and you don't feel like it, don't go. I said last night I was going to go for a run with Matthew Green and then we were going to go to the gym and like I came out of the gym last night I felt like I had a piece of dust up my nose. I couldn't stop sneezing, I couldn't sleep very well because I could just feel this dust in my nose and I was like, do you know what? Like I just don't feel, like I want to go tomorrow. So I didn't go, and it's fine. I had a nice day. I chilled in bed with the pugs for a bit, had a bath, done, some chores. World has not ended and it's not but I'm not disciplined, I just didn't need to go today.
Speaker 2:I'm not an Olympic athlete, it's not my job, but you've built the habits enough to know that you will go at some point this week. It's also trusting in yourself to have a day off if you need it, but trusting yourself enough to know that you will eventually get back on it because it's your that and you. You can't do that when you're in it all or nothing yeah so it's really good to practice that balance.
Speaker 2:I think another good way of consistency is how you frame it, and that, I think, is dependent on your personality type, like if I said to myself right, I need to work out Monday, wednesday, friday. I know for a fact I'm not doing that, I don't know what it is, but as soon as there's some sort of set plan, I'm like nah see ya. So for me, I have to go. I'm going to work out three times a week, or three days out of this week, and for some reason, as soon as I take the days away, I'm easily able to hit that goal yeah, see, I used to be very good at being structured and go it.
Speaker 1:If I say I'm going on a Monday, I'd go on a Monday, but I am the other way around now.
Speaker 1:I'm just like if I've got time and I can work it in, I'll go. Yeah, but most of the time there is time like I went last night at like 7 30 and I probably I'm probably not going to go tonight because tomorrow I've got spin in the morning. Um, and what else have I done? A little workout at home yesterday, so I do anything. The rest of the week probably not. I went to Gator 5k on Sunday, so it's not been like a particularly heavy week, but I have got a cold yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:I think like a practical way is how, what is your personality, what motivates you, what demotivates you, what makes you want to tick things off. You don't have to just follow what these bros are saying on instagram like work it into how you work. And I think another big thing is like oh, I've got to go on a 10k run this morning. If those big numbers or those big distances or whatever are putting you off, take it back down and just say I just have to go on. I've been setting myself 20 minutes at the minute. It's like, just do 20 minutes, I just have to go on. I've been setting myself 20 minutes at the minute. It's like, just do 20 minutes and you get to go home.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I only do 20 minutes, sometimes I do more, but at least I'm getting out and there's no big pressure on me. So I think again it goes back to taking the pressure off. You want to go to the gym but you don't fancy it. Just go in and say I'm just going to do one set of everything and most of the time you'll end up doing the whole workout and you'll be, you'll be fine. I think it's we build these things up in our head to be such a big hurdle that we then put ourselves off doing it all together.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I agree. Um, so have you got anything else you want to say?
Speaker 2:no, I think we've consistency, that we've kind of done it.
Speaker 1:My last thing really was um, there was a few people that had sort of said what consistency was from them oh, lovely instagram. And really it was kind of what we're saying like being flexible but not rigid. Um, showing up when you can but knowing that when you you know you can't, you don't beat yourself up and that's okay. Um, and somebody said training with you, you the only way that they've been consistent well, maybe you all need to come work with me.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I might not show up because I struggle with consistency.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's yeah, everybody, everybody could do your online program yes, I am now open for online coaching, shameless plug. If you would like to know more, get in touch with me via Instagram so yeah, I mean, I think the whole thing that we've been saying this whole way through is give yourself a break, give yourself a break, but not an athlete training for the Olympics. No, as much as sometimes I really do believe that I am.
Speaker 2:It will all be fine, just relax.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but know, if you do have some goals, don't relax too much.
Speaker 2:No, but then that's up to you. We're not talking about having big goals because we don't do big goals. No, we don't Because we just wouldn't do anything towards them.
Speaker 1:No, no, we can't really have goals.
Speaker 2:No, what was our goal with the Health Fund? To get to episode 10 yeah and then it was to have a guest on. Yeah, I remember saying we wanted to have a hundred listens we've had a over a thousand, over a thousand, um, and we're nearly at episode 20 yeah, so we are doing, we haven't, we've smashed this, are we consistent? Yeah, we are consistent.
Speaker 1:I'm in Wales on holiday filming a podcast yeah, yeah, and you know, sometimes we don't write that many notes. Sometimes we do, but I think the thing is with this is we talk about things that we are passionate about and we have a lot of thoughts on anyway, um, you know, we're not coming in with scientific facts on things. It's really just what we think about topics which affect people like us.
Speaker 2:Yeah, athletes, athletes. Right then, what are we going to talk about next week? Or should we leave it as a surprise for ourselves? Let's leave it as a surprise.
Speaker 1:If you have any suggestions, message us on the. I would really like somebody to make a suggestion. Make us work, yeah because we can research. Yeah, we can and we probably should. So if somebody can, please give us a topic to speak about next week, we'll actually do some research.
Speaker 2:We will, and if you are local to Norwich or you want to travel to see us, it's our first meet and greet. We'll sign autographs. We'll take selfies of you as well, yeah.
Speaker 1:But please don't touch us. So we will be at the shoe factory. St mary's plane for the fierce paid market saturday 12 30 till 8 30. Sunday, 11 till 4. Yep, um, there's loads of things to buy. There's beer. There's loads of things to buy. There's beer, there's coffee, there's food, there's us what?
Speaker 2:more could you want? What more could you want? Okay, well, thank you for listening and we'll see you next week.
Speaker 1:Bye.