In order for any change to stick, we believe it must be made deliberately, one step at a time. By developing new fitness, nutrition, and lifestyle habits slowly, you give each new behavior time to mature.
Instead of committing to a massive one-time lifestyle overhaul, you commit to continual, steady progress.
This advice also applies to several key philosophies in our approach to life and fitness at Nexus.
Lay a strong foundation
All too often, people can get frustrated with tried and true methods to improve and seek to jump ahead to exercises that have more novelty. You know… the fun stuff.
The problem with this mindset is that there is a natural progression to movement. If you ignore it, you will either face injury or stalled progress at some point, and probably both! It really isn’t a matter of “if” but “when.”
Slow down and learn the basics first. Then you can get fancy. Trust me, you’ll progress faster and feel better, too.
Learn how to move
We do quite a few exercises at Nexus that people haven’t done before. When learning how to do these exercises, the best thing to do is often to slow them down and feel how you move. If you continually just try to do everything as quickly as possible, you’ll probably miss some key points of performance and get frustrated.
Slow down and focus on making the movement smooth. From there, speed is only a matter of time.
Pace yourself
On days that we have high-intensity workouts, one of the best things you can do is to slow down your initial pace. Going slower from the beginning allows you a chance to feel out how strong you are that day and how hard you’re going to be able to push yourself.
This strategy allows you to keep a more consistent pace throughout a workout, instead of burning out too quickly and then grinding through the rest. This is one of the best kept “secrets” to improving your conditioning quickly and consistently.
Hopefully you’re starting to pick up that faster isn’t always better.
Enjoy the journey
When you slow things down, it allows you to connect more with your body and the role that fitness plays in your life. This mindset gives you permission to try new things and make mistakes. It allows you to grow and develop, rather than getting stuck in an all-or-nothing mindset.
Instead of overhauling your life, commit to improving just one day, just one percent at a time. Do this and you’ll amaze yourself with how much you accomplish and how good you feel.
