31/08/2026
Here’s a very common scenario I see people going through
Regular efforts to ‘finally make it stick’ with exercise, which for some strange reason always begins in January
We some superhuman efforts usually until March at the very latest
Before reality hits come Easter time:
- school holidays arrive
- the clocks change
- it’s lighter outside
- summer is fast approaching
- socialising rapidly peaks
This is the big barrier most people struggle with. With no ‘bare minimum’ at this time year, you will almost always fizzle into an inactive patch where family, friends, sunshine and socialising becomes more of a priority than health and fitness.
This trend continues until September - I’ve seen it year upon year like clockwork:
- schools return
- holidays are over
- parents switch back on
- non-parents feel the end of the year looming
- ‘one last push’ until the end of the year
This triggers a pretty solid run for most people between September and November.
And then that big old C word comes around
It upends everything good you had going, you never hit a solid year of progress, and so you pack it all in for the year, get sauced up for 4 weeks straight, promising you’ll go back harder than ever next January.
What a frustrating cycle to be in!
How about a re-frame?
As little as 1 fitness event or deadline to work towards can transform how you behave during the months where you are typically less active.
Have a strategy to ‘elevate your floor’ so you have a new bare minimum Apr-Aug - eg. ‘On my worst possible week - I will do 1 strength session & 1 conditioning session, and walk as much as possible’ -definitely beats zero!
Or if you have an event, the training will take care of itself.
Having a ‘bare minimum’ number of sessions to target for December, can help provide a focus - eg. 8 sessions. That could be 2 per week every week, or 4 per week for 2 weeks, with the final 2 weeks off - up to you!
How will you break the consistency cycle?
