The Best Program You're Not Doing

The grass is always greener on the other side...

What's that guy over there doing? He looks like he's doing better than me...

Maybe I need to try that new program I just read about.

Or join that bootcamp to get rid of my beer belly..

There are always going to be get-rich-quick schemes. And fitness programs that promise super fast results.

And while some quick results are good, and can be encouraging and motivating, it's more about long-term progress.

Whenever you try something new it's fun. It works. For a little while.

As strength coach Dan John says "everything works for 6 weeks".. or was it 4 weeks? Either way.. Your body is not used to the stimulus. It must adapt. You get results. Often very quickly.

But this wears off. Now what?

Jump on another program every time the old one loses its novelty effect?

I find it exciting to program my own workouts. Tracking them on paper, changing things as I see fit. Finding new weakness and attacking them. Adjusting as I go along but sticking to a general plan. But I realize not everyone cares to do this or is as interested in fitness this way as I am.

So what should you do?

You can get a coach/trainer. Join a group fitness class. Find a training partner who can teach you something and you can bounce ideas off each other. Or get on legitimate program that you can tweak and use as a guide to follow.

Yes, the best program is the one you are not doing. But depending on what your goals are, and what kind of results you're after, maybe you shouldn't jump from one program to the next every few weeks.

When a program stops 'working'. Maybe you just need to make one or two small tweaks. Then go from there. Just don't change too many variables at once because then you won't know what worked and what didn't. 

Work hard and stay consistent. And find something you will enjoy!