In the world of fitness, consistency is king. Results that turn heads and drop jaws are impossible without it. You can’t get six-pack abs or bulging biceps with haphazard effort. It simply won’t happen. But this isn’t groundbreaking news.
It’s possible you’re already on the right track. One of consistency. Shoot, it’s even likely if you’re on the internet reading articles about fitness. My guess? You’re crushing your workouts at the gym, sticking to your nutrition plan, and doing both consistently. Well done. That puts you ahead of the game.
The single greatest indicator of fitness success is simply sticking to the plan—consistently.
In my coaching program, this is something I talk about all the time. Consistently following a decent plan will get you better results than inconsistently following a perfect one. Every. Single. Time.
Who doesn’t like better results, right? Abs that pop, sleeves that stretch, quads that ripple—all of it.
Well, I’ve got good news. Being consistent will help you have it all. The body of your dreams. But I’ve got bad news as well. Alone, it’s not enough. Alone, it falls short.
Honestly, you’ll be sorely disappointed if the consistency card is the only one you play in this fitness game. Perhaps you’ve already felt the disappointment and frustration that hits—hard—when results stop.
If you haven’t yet, you will. It’s inevitable, because…
Eventually, Consistency Will Fail You
Without proper strategies, the very thing that’s critical to getting great results will inevitably fail you. Brutal, right? I’m about to show you five strategies that’ll make sure consistency never comes back to bite you. But before we get to that, I need to explain why consistency fails most people.
The problem is the law of diminishing returns.
If you’re doing the same things, they become less effective. The more often you do them, the less effective they become. In terms of fitness, it all comes back to adaptation.
Any results you see in the mirror serve as evidence that your body is adapting. It’s simple, really. Fat-loss programs stimulate the burning of stored energy and you get shredded. Muscle-building programs stimulate hypertrophy and you get jacked.
But what happens if you keep doing the same workouts over and over?
Once your body’s adapted to the stimulus, the results stop. Completely. Without a new stimulus, you can’t see new progress. And you’re left on a plateau—no matter how consistent you are.
At that point, you’re not getting results.
The worst part? It’s not in spite of your consistency, it’s because of it. Consistency failed you.
Why You’re Not Getting Results Anymore
Consistency is a double-edged sword. And, unfortunately, that pesky second side is even sharper than the first. I mean let’s be real, putting in consistent effort without seeing any results is the worst.
But that’s exactly what fitness is for most people—spinning wheels and zero traction.
A program that worked once won’t work forever. But people everywhere ride effective workouts straight into the ground, relentlessly beat that dead horse, and then get frustrated when they’re going nowhere.
I see it in the gym all the time.
The same people, doing the same things, on the same days, with the same weights. Consistently. Their workouts aren’t the only things looking the same, though. They look the same. Exactly the same.
Sure, they’re consistent. But after the initial results, consistency failed them and they’re stuck. No fat loss. No gains. No PRs. Nothing.
I’m here to make sure that doesn’t happen to you. Here’s how:
The Fix: Consistent Inconsistency
If consistency is king in the world of fitness, inconsistency is the queen. It’s yin. It’s yang. It’s balance. But when I say consistent inconsistency, I don’t mean consistently skipping workouts or hitting the drive-through. I mean consistent variability within your program.
Thanks to the law of diminishing returns and principles of physiological adaptation, you can only squeeze so much out of any given program. When your body’s done adapting, it’s done. You can’t keep doing the same things and expect endless progress.
Any fitness plan that gets long-term success will also change. Consistently.
Without that change, your results will stop. And those changes don’t even need to be drastic. Simple changes and small tweaks are more than enough spark new results.
When your program has stopped getting you results, the fix is clear.
You need variability. You need something to stimulate new adaptation. You need consistent inconsistency.
5 Proven Ways to Break Free from Your Rut and Stimulate New Progress
Needing something different doesn’t necessarily mean you should burn the fleet and hop to another program. Simple action is often better than massive action. (Largely because you’ll be able to stick to it more consistently. Go figure.) Basic things like switching up your grip or stance can make a big difference.
Here are a few of my favorite, can’t-miss ways to shatter plateaus and stimulate new results.
1. Progressive Overload
This is admittedly basic. But basics and fundamentals are what yield the greatest results. (Hat tip, John Wooden.) According to the well-known strength coach Eric Bach, “Success lies in ruthless execution of the basics.” A statement that couldn’t be more true. And progressive overload is one of the basics that, when ruthlessly executed, will lead to success. Always.
The problem? Most people don’t. At all. Let alone ruthlessly.
A lot of people aren’t adding more weight, more reps, more sets, or more time under tension to their program each week. And a lot of people are perpetually stuck—unable to drop those last few pounds, struggling to gain even an ounce of size, and just shy of finally benching three plates. Can’t imagine why.
Good news, though. Progressive overload is incredible simple. All you need to do is a little bit more than the week before. Think of adding a few pounds, squeezing out a couple extra reps, or tossing in another set. If you really want to get fancy, take advantage of time under tension with 10–15 seconds of pre or post-set isometric holds or simply slowing down your lifting tempo.
All of these will force your body to do more work, melt more fat, sculpt more muscle, and gain more strength. Progressive overload—do it.
2. Applying Progressive Overloading to Your Diet
The same principles of progressive overload can be applied to your eating as well. Like we’ve already covered, the key to progressively overloading your workout program is doing a little bit more each week. You can apply the same idea to your nutrition plan with a reverse diet.
Reverse dieting is essentially progressive overload for your eating. And it’s great. (Ya know, if you like food. And gains. And abs.)
But the right strategy and speed are both critical when reversing your diet. Too much food too fast and you’ll gain unwanted body fat. No thanks. Here’s a simple guideline to use for your own reverse dieting program:
I usually recommend following those guidelines for 8–12 weeks, or until you start gaining body fat in excess.
Reverse dieting can help you pack on slabs of lean mass and get stupid strong. Even if your long-term goal is to lose fat, being leaner and stronger translates into faster, more effective fat loss.
It doesn’t matter your goals, everybody can win with a properly programmed reverse diet.
3. Ditch the Straight Sets and Reps, Bro
Sets and reps are the building blocks of workout programs. And they’ve been that way for years. At this point, there are a few set and rep ranges that are like that song you always hear on the radio—overplayed.
Don’t get me wrong, I love three sets of ten and five sets of five. They work. But they’re not the only way to build an effective workout. And if you’ve been following the same set and rep ranges for a long time, you’re leaving progress on the table.
Mix it up with timed sets.
Instead of doing sets for a specified number of reps, set a 30-second timer and complete as many reps as possible. (With impeccable form, of course.) With each subsequent set, try doing more work by using heavier weight, doing more reps, or both. Trust me, your body will thank you later.
4. Inefficient Movement (For Less Fat)
Sometimes it pays to do things you suck at. Losing fat is one of those times. The more inefficient you are with a movement, the more calories (and fat) you’ll burn when you do it.
For example, an Olympic-level marathon runner will burn fewer calories running a mile than us normal people. They’re simply more efficient at running. For them and their goals, this efficiency is important. But for anyone that wants to lose fat, efficiency can be counterproductive.
Next time you have a cardio day, don’t go to the gym and do the usual routine. Instead, do something different, something new, and maybe something you suck at. It’s a perfect recipe for inefficient movement and better fat loss.
One of my personal favorites? Latin dance.
I’m terrible at it—unlike Shakira, my hips lie pathologically—but it’s a good time and I get to reap all kinds of fat-burning benefits. I’ll take that over the treadmill any day.
5. High-Frequency Training (For More Muscle)
Training frequency is an oft-neglected aspect of muscle growth. Classic programming splits for size have specific days for muscle groups—leg days, chest days, back days. Simply put, the splits work. Just look at the golden age of bodybuilding.
However, they’re not the only way to pack on slabs of lean mass.
Training volume plays a big role making gains. Most mass programs take advantage of this and use a ton of total volume to obliterate a muscle group on its day. Then, you let it recover before crushing it the following week. A plan like that simulates growth. But that growth stimulus is usually only once a week.
Instead, give high-frequency training a try.
High frequency shove some meat into your mouth.
With high-frequency training, you’ll stimulate growth several times each week without sacrificing rest and recovery. No more muscle-based splits, no more crawling up the stairs after leg day, and no more waiting to grow. Here’s how to work it into your plan:
Complete a total-body routine with enough training volume to stimulate growth but not so much that you need a week to recover. About 25–50 total reps per muscle group should get the job done. Do that three time a week for a month and you’ll get bigger.
Consistency is critical in getting great results. But if you’re unprepared, it’ll inevitably fail you. With the right strategies, you can introduce variability into your program, stimulate new progress, and keep getting results. Consistently.
About the Author
Ben is a writer, fitness coach, entrepreneur, and founder of BENTRAINED. Simplifying the world of strength and conditioning, Ben has worked with everyone from athletes, bodybuilders, and world record-holding powerlifters to average Joes and Janes. His coaching focuses on using simple strategies to achieve optimal performance both in the gym and in life.
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