You Can't Do Everything
(At The Same Time)
I constantly struggle with a goal I want to chase after in the gym; for brief periods of time I'll want to: become a bodybuilder, get ridiculously athletic, get insanely strong, or be the fittest human alive.
The problem isn't with any of these goals - on their own - but because I'll get super into that goal for a few weeks, then something else catches my attention and I'll want to switch to the new thing.
This partially may be attributed to my ADHD, but I know it's far from ideal for getting great results (for those wondering, yes, I basically live my life in the same way... Hooray!).
While most people who also struggle with this affliction claim boredom in the programming (this is partially understandable), my issue is that I just wish I had different genetics.
In my dreams, I want to be a jacked, strong, athletic, and fit MONSTER.
The truth is, some of those things aren't completely in the cards for me - there's a reason I gravitated to baseball and golf as my main sports.
Why am I telling you all of this? I promise I'm not just venting my personal issues as if you're all my therapist.
It serves as a great reminder that we can't achieve all the things - at least not all at the same time (most of us, anyway).
We're going to be better served focusing on a single goal at a time, at least if you want to see really great results. The more focus is divided, the more watered down the results are going to be.
I was reminded of this during one of my personal training sessions the other day; I was working with someone who moved to a new goal a few weeks ago. He's coming off a fairly long block of training for endurance events and is transitioning to a muscle-building phase.
As you can imagine, the training is quite a bit different for each goal, but there were two instances that served as a flashback for me: first, he was disappointed in the amount of weight he was lifting for an exercise, and second, he was disappointed in his performance on a recent run.
As a reminder, his goal right now is physique-based. He wants to get jacked (respect). Building muscle doesn't require lifting superhuman amounts of weight; it's much more about HOW you lift than how MUCH you lift.
As for the running, cardio doesn't prevent or limit you from building muscle, but the type (and how long/how intense you go) matters a bit. Long, slow cardio (LISS - stair climbing, treadmill walking, etc) and high-intensity, short burst intervals are great (If you want my cardio guide, click here). The moderate-intensity stuff (like running) isn't great.
On top of that, we've been going hard on the legs, so of course, his performance will dip.
This all goes back to the original idea that you can't achieve all the goals at once. Focus on a single track, go all in on it, and remind yourself that it's OK if performance slips in other areas.
The main takeaway here is simple: You can't achieve all your fitness goals at once. It's okay if your performance in other areas slips when you're focusing on a single goal. Rotate through your goals every 3-4 months to keep things interesting and make progress across different areas over the year.
Ready to apply these suggestions? Start by picking one fitness goal to focus on for the next few months. Track your progress, stay committed, and watch how much more effective your efforts become.
