You Don’t Need the Perfect Programme: What the Research Says About Consistency

Good and consistent beats perfect and temporary

Training research can help us make better choices about sets, reps and frequency. But research does not know what your work diary looks like next Tuesday.

A programme has to work in real life. If it only works when your sleep, motivation and schedule are perfect, it is not a very useful programme for a busy adult.

Consistency does not mean never missing

Everyone misses sessions sometimes. Consistency is getting back to training without turning one missed workout into a month off.

It can also mean doing a shorter session when time is tight instead of deciding it is not worth doing anything.

• Keep a normal version of the session and a shorter backup version.
• Repeat the main exercises long enough to actually improve them.
• Change the plan when it stops fitting your life, not every time you see a new workout online.

Make the next session easy to understand

You should know what you are doing when you walk into the gym. A small number of familiar exercises makes it easier to track progress and removes a lot of unnecessary decision-making.

You can still change exercises when there is a reason to. Variety is fine. Constantly starting again is the problem.

Sometimes support is the missing piece

If you know what to do but keep struggling to put it into practice, you may not need more discipline. You may need a plan that fits better, some accountability or someone to help you adjust when life changes.

That is one of the main jobs of coaching. Not to make exercise complicated, but to make the next useful step clear.