Rome wasn’t built in a day and healthy habits aren’t created in a month. Heck, they aren’t even established in several months. Creating an identity shift that allows an individual to exhibit the actions needed to move toward his or her goals is essential; and no matter how badly that person wants said goal, time is non-negotiable.

Ever wonder why the extreme actions of New Year’s resolutions last between four to eight weeks, resulting in the same resolution year after year with minimal success? It’s because too many things are changed at once, which leads to minimal, if any, new habits.

It may seem obvious that changing everything at once to reach a single goal would set someone up for failure, but unfortunately this is one mistake many of us fail to recognize. But no need to worry: we, too, learned this the hard way! It took us quite a while to learn that those committed to the long-term process of continual growth are the ones who not only move steadily in the right direction, with the right guidance, but are also less likely to revert back to where they started.

As a coach who is passionate about creating long-term success for each client, it is extremely rewarding when you begin to spot the difference between individuals with a quick-fix mentality versus those willing to take the time to truly learn and put into practice the necessary habits that will move them in the right direction. Quick fixes don’t work, not in the long term anyway!

Knowing this, we have decided, for the clients’ and the coaches’ best interests, that anything less than an annual commitment would be a disservice to the individuals and their own journeys toward becoming a better version of themselves both inside and outside the gym. After all, it’s not just changing a few decisions here and there, it is adopting a completely new mentality—one that supports the person you want to become.

Eliminating poor habits and instilling positive habits takes effort and time but that is not the only reason why long-term commitment is important.

Whether you are building new habits from the beginning or looking to improve upon the years of consistency you have already established, working toward each unique goal inside the gym takes patience and intention. If you read our skill acquisition article, you already have some understanding as to why time is a crucial element in reaching performance goals.

Doing one strict pull-up or completing your first single-leg squat is great, but then what? To become proficient in just ONE skill requires adequate strength, which can take months if not years to develop, depending on the individual and the specific goal. More time is needed to ensure those contractions become repeatable. Muscle memory! Moving from an accumulation phase under minimal fatigue to accumulation with non-complementary movements all the way down to performing said skill in a high-intensity fashion takes nothing more than skilled program design and lots of time!

So, you don’t care about performance? That is perfectly fine, but it is crucial to understand that improvements inside the gym are just as important if not necessary while trying to improve body composition goals such as building muscle and/or losing fat. Improvements in the gym are also essential in becoming more resilient and less prone to injury. No matter what your goal is outside the gym, performance inside the gym is likely correlated. This is another reason why  training programs need to be developed with intention and specifically crafted for each individual.

Regardless of your goals when first walking into our facility, the process toward reaching that goal and instilling the necessary habits that ensure you are moving in the right direction takes time.

Instilling the habits outside the gym to lose body fat takes time.

Making muscular contractions aerobic and sustainable takes time.

Repatterning faulty movements takes time.

Building muscle mass takes time.

Gaining strength takes time.

It’s more than just working out consistently for a long time; it’s committing to a continual process for an extended period of time with an intention that creates long-term success.

This dawned on me several months ago when I looked back at all the women I used to train with many years ago who were significantly stronger than I...so much so that I assumed I would never catch up no matter how hard I tried. But, through the continual pursuit of a single goal, to become better than I was yesterday, I have surpassed every one of them. While other women took a few months off here and there or got into various types of activities for several months at a time with minimal direction and no long-term plan, I committed to a long-term plan with the the right guidance and support. Now here I am, significantly stronger than I ever thought possible!

No matter how the cookie crumbles, time and adherence are two ingredients you don’t want to omit from any training and nutritional program. Central Athlete’s annual commitment reflects our strong belief around this subject, and clients also appreciate the coaches long- term investment in their unique journey toward constantly improving!

If you are ready to take your health and fitness journey to the next level with adequate guidance and support that leaves you feeling empowered with a tangible plan geared 100% toward you, schedule a free strategy session with a Central Athlete coach to learn more about personalized fitness. It is important to know that we are invested in you LONG-TERM in a way that ensures you not only reach your unique goals but also that you instill positive habits in life that allow you to continually improve over a long period of time without reverting back to your starting point!

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