Progress Not Perfection

There's an amazing saying in recovery that we love: 'Progress not perfection'. We tend to live in a world where it's all or nothing. Or we've all heard the saying 'if something is worth doing it's worth doing it well or not at all'. Surely 5 minutes of yoga a day is better than no minutes of yoga a day?

Setting goals

For us it's running. We've set some big running goals this year and have entered 2 races that will be the furthest distance we've ever gone. We have a coach, a strength program and a good plan in place but we all know that life gets in the way when you're making plans. One of my favourite things I've heard recently is to aim for imperfect consistency rather than perfect consistency.

There will be days where the workout just doesn't happen and that's ok. Take your four legged bestie for a walk around the block, turn on a fun dance workout on YouTube or fit in a 5 minute yoga session. Take the opportunity to get proactive and set out your running clothes or pack your gym bag the night before.

Missing a day here and there doesn't equate failure, it just means you have to find a system/ workout/ plan that works for you and aim for progress not perfection.

Staying accountable

We've all been there, getting your fitness up is hard work and sometimes giving up can seem like the easiest option. This is where you can work on your systems. Here are a few ideas on staying accountable:

1. Find a training buddy. Extra motivation, accountability to show up and someone to share the fitness gains and goals with.
2. Enter a race, signup for a challenge or a class. Having something to work towards always helps you to stay on track.
3. On that note - set realistic goals. If you've never run before it might be a huge challenge to run a 5k in 30 days. Aim for goals you know you can achieve and as you reach them - your goals will shift as you progress on your fitness journey.
4. Put pen to paper and write down your goals and tack them up somewhere you can see them every day.

Progress not perfection – Don’t beat yourself up we're allowed to fail. It’s the only way we learn and get better.  

 We've added a few fitness planners and notes page for you to print at home below. Simply hold the image down and click save.