Consistency

When you look at people you admire, whether it be great athletes, inspirational business people, or those at the top of their game, one thing that they have in common is consistency.  They come to work with a proverbial hard hat and lunch pale every day, and in line with their goals, accomplish what they need to get done.  What separates them from the rest of the pack is they consistent every day.

From an athletic perspective, in order to get better you have to be consistent in training.  I'm sure this isn't a shocker that jumps out of the page at you.  Nevertheless, I believe that this is one of the biggest thing that the majority of the novice athletes need to improve.  Understandably, life obligations gets in the way of training due to family, kids, social obligations, and football season :). 

I've got a full plate now with a family, full time job, endurance athletes/personal training clients, and trying to fit in my own training time.  I've prioritized what's important to me and if I want to do well at IM CDA next year, then I'm going to have to be consistent in building up my endurance, improve my weakest link, and maximize my strongest asset.  Ironman training demands consistent training - without it, it's going to make for a long day and a performance that won't leave you satisfied at the end of the day.  In order to be consistent in my training I have get it done early in the morning and late at night.  This works best for me because it doesn't adversely effect family time, work, and my clients.

You need to find what works best for you on a consistent basis.  Here are some tips to get started:

1)  Plan your week ahead of time so you can be proactive in working around things that come up
2)  Create a rough draft of what your average week looks like and find times that make sense for training
3)  Make a schedule for the week and stick to it
4)  If the schedule doesn't work, make adjustements so it makes sense
5)  Prioritize - what is more important, watching 'The Office' or getting your run done for the day
6)  Some train in the morning, others at night - find out what works best for you.

Apply these principles to your goals and you'll get the results you want!