“After all, there is no finish line” – Nike

I love this quote from Nike. You may also have heard it like this: “Fitness isn’t a race, because there is no finish line”.

I love this saying because it’s going to sum all what we’ll talk about today. Today is August 11. By the end of last month, over 70% of the people who joined a gym in January will have stopped showing up.

It’s not their fault. Everyone wants to feel better, look better and live longer. We join gyms, start diet challenges, buy stretch mats and running shoes and giant water bottles with the best intentions. We even take the hardest step–the first one–and walk into a place that makes us really uncomfortable. Then we commit money to the cause……and by the second half of the year, we’ve given up. Why?

Early on in my fitness journey, I realised that the key to fitness isn’t a new program, or even the best program. The key is consistency: just showing up most days of the week. If you just show up often enough, put out a enough effort for about an hour and don’t sabotage yourself between visits, you’ll get more fit. We all understand this–but it’s still not easy to be consistent.

19 years later, I know there are really only a few things that make a difference to your long-term consistency (and, ultimately, your fitness):

You have to find exercises you like;
You have to have an appointment to exercise (not just the desire);
You have to be accountable to someone else (like a coach or training partner).

Think about the fittest or healthiest person you know. I’m willing to bet:

They love their workout, whether it’s running or pickle ball or CrossFit;
They do it at the same time, all the time;
They have a list of friends who they only know because of their chosen workouts.

These people aren’t more social than anyone else. They’re not exercise fanatics. They don’t have more time in their day. They’re not more disciplined, don’t have more willpower–there’s nothing that makes them “born to be fit”. It’s the other way around:

They tried a few things until they found something they like;
They work out because they’ve scheduled their workout in their day, not because they have more ‘free time’ than anyone else;
They have a coach or a group or a mate who makes sure they show up on time.

The reason most gyms are vacant by July 31st? They don’t provide these things. Instead, they sell access to equipment.Sure, they have lots of treadmills. Yes, their mirrors and stack machines are nice and clean. They have a ton of variety. They’re probably very inexpensive. But long-term, those things fail to keep most people engaged long-term. These gyms are great–for self-driven people who have time to kill, don’t need anyone to hold them accountable, and love working out for its own sake. These are the 10% of people who just need access to some equipment, and they’ll take care of everything themselves.

But the rest of us (including me) – over 90% – need to find an activity we like, that we can do on a schedule, with someone who makes sure we show up.

Think about a friend or relative who’s joined an access gym in the last year. They were probably really excited when they started. They loved the special deal or free gym bag or shaker bottle. (I love that stuff too.)After a week, they were really happy with their choice. They were proud of themselves and probably invited you along. But a few months later, they started to taper off. They didn’t talk about their workouts the way they used to. They appeared a little bored…or simply losing motivation.

A year after joining, were they still going to the gym? I hope so. But as I said earlier, 70% stop showing up within six months, and nearly 90% aren’t using their membership at the one-year mark. I’m one of those people who need to like my workout. But that’s not enough: I need an appointment. And when the appointment feels easy to cancel, I need a mate or coach to text me: “You coming to the 6.30am class?”

That’s what’s kept me on track for over 19 years. And after 11 years of either coaching fitness or helping my friends to increase their gains, I know that’s what will make a real difference in your life.Access is freedom. It feels like great value. But coaching gets results.

See you in the gym soon to talk fitness, recovery and nutrition!  

– Coach Z