Seinfeld’s Awesome Fitness Tip

Do you ever struggle with sticking to your exercise routine? Of course you do—you’re human!

 

It’s hard to keep up momentum, especially when we haven’t slept well, the weather is frightening, or our work week seems to pile up.

 

Each of these excuses is valid when it stands alone. The problem is they become a chain of excuses and create a slippery slope that leads to your fitness intentions left to the wayside.

 

And we all know how crappy this can feel. You start to blame yourself and before you know it, you are back in the old cycle of self-doubt, shame, and depression.

 

I recently read a trainer’s take on how to approach this never-ending cycle by taking advice from an unlikely source: Jerry Seinfeld!

 

At the top of his comedic career, Seinfeld was approached by a budding comedian. The youngster asked him the million dollar question in their industry:

 

How can I become a better comic? Seinfeld shared: To be a better comic you need to write better jokes.

 

How does one come to write better jokes? They write every single day.

 

Seinfeld describes this as his Chain Method for consistency. Every day that he writes, he marks the box on a calendar by his desk with a big X. Each day he writes, the chain of X’s elongates and his goal is to never break the chain.

 

This is a great visualization technique for fitness motivation. Maybe a big calendar placed right on your fridge or even in your bedroom, with all of those X’s you’ve accomplished by getting to the gym or taking a yoga class—staring at you—now just don’t break the chain!

 

Consistency is the key to succeeding at anything—whether it is becoming a good comedian, or dropping 20 pounds, or running your first 5K.

 

Consistency is what we all struggle with. So maybe X marks the spot for you to build your chain and keep it going!