Update (12/26/2014): Below is a speech I delivered on my quest to qualify for the Boston Marathon. In it, I discuss what's become one of my guiding principles in life: Consistency Over Time. Hope you enjoy!
"It takes a long time to get good."
"It takes a long time to get good."
- Scott Molina, Ironman World Champion
When I first got into triathlon I had very high
expectations of how I’d perform. I over-simplified the sport, if not entirely
trivializing it. I mean, “How hard could it really be?” I thought. I've been
running and riding a bike since I was four, and I’ve been in a pool every
summer since I was little. I played soccer competitively for over a decade and
have always considered myself to be athletic. So you could imagine how I felt
when I was saw much older folks who looked more out of shape than me crossing the
finish line well before I did in my first triathlon one year ago. I was so
confused as to how a woman with the number “56” written on her calf was flying
by me on the bike as if I was stationary. A humbling experience for sure.
Undoubtedly the single most important thing I've learned
in my one year of being a triathlete is the quote above by Scott Molina.
Getting good is all about the total volume over a given duration. Malcolm
Gladwell discusses this concept as the “10,000 hour rule” in his book Outliers.
Whatever you want to call it is fine, but the underlying concept to this idea
is that consistency over time is what truly matters.
We live in a society that demands instant gratification.
Our patience to get good at anything is wearing thin. It’s all over the place
with fitness, we all see it. “Six-Minute Ab Workout’s” that assure results in
record time. Programs called “P90X” and “Insanity”. Detox kits that promise to
melt away fat. Companies are selling products to capitalize on our desire to
take shortcuts and abandon persistence. And I don’t blame them… there’s a
market for it.
At the risk of offending some die hard P90X’ers, allow me
to say this. I realize that programs like P90X and Insanity achieve real
results and provide good workouts. I believe they can truly motivate and
kick-start someone to get back into the realm of fitness and health, which is
obviously a good thing. My problem with these programs is they’re not
repeatable. Most people can’t cycle P90X over and over again. Countless hours
of watching a DVD in your living room isn’t something most will do long-term.
It’s not a lifestyle, like tennis, cycling, CrossFit or group fitness
activities. So what happens? They do the program, lose some l-b’s, stop, then
gain it back. Square one.
Most people that want to lose weight fast go the
Atkins-route. Hardly any carbohydrates for an extended period of time, and
you’re certain to drop mass. Although one problem with this diet begs the
question: what happens when you lose the weight and go back to eating carbs?
Simple, you gain it back. I've seen it first-hand. There are various reasons
why, but the net of it in most cases isn't a scientific one, but behavioral in
nature: there was never truly a lifestyle change. The person got good at
omitting carbs for a short period of time, but there was not an addition of
frequent exercise, a conscious awareness of caloric intake (both quality and
quantity), etc.
People want to buy a DVD or stop eating carbs so they can
quickly and abruptly shed weight and be done with it, as if it’s a chore on
their to-do list. It’s a short-term temporary fix, as opposed to a long-term
solution. How about making healthy life-style decisions on a consistent basis
over time? How about letting the progress happen naturally with discipline and
patience?
Lately I’ve been noticing this theme in my life, and not
just with health and wellness.
About a year ago I made a commitment to become more
spiritual and further develop my relationship with God. One church service didn't do it, two didn't either. But consistent attendance on Sunday’s,
followed by weekly small group sessions, and more frequent prayer has
undoubtedly got me going in the right direction. It didn’t happen overnight; it
happened after successive attempts… baby steps that add up to a lot.
I’m also seeing this theme with people who are trying to
find a job. For some reason there’s this expectation that just a few
applications should land them a full-time career. And as most of them are
seeing, this is not the case. Searching for a new job is tough. It takes time
and effort. And the more consistent job seekers are in searching over time, the
better their results will be in the long run.
My chiropractor and I recently spoke about this idea.
He’s an avid triathlete who recently qualified for Kona. He was telling me a
story about someone asking him how he posted such a fast swim time: “They asked
me what my secret was, what I did differently in training to get fast in the
water, and I honestly didn't know. I went back and looked over the past few
years at my workouts, and discovered that I had swum at least once a week for
the past five years.” No magic formula to boost endurance, no special workouts
or PED’s to increase speed. Just consistency over time.
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