The Pers and Cons of Istency

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds…”  Among other things, I believe he meant that continuing to do something stupid just to be consistent may not be the best choice.  However, he was talking about minds.  When it comes to bodies, a fair amount of consistency is good for us.

Our bodies don’t like to be ambushed.  If we hang out on the couch for three months and then decide we are going to exercise for three hours in one day, we are not going to be happy.  If we want to exercise for three hours on a particular day, our bodies will like us better if we exercise for half an hour or an hour almost every day before that day.  Then the three hours feel like a welcome surprise, something our bodies can step up and grow from.

A wise person I met at the gym said that a wise person told her that on days when she didn’t feel like working out she should just go look at the weights.  She didn’t have to lift them, but often, by the time she got to looking at them, she did.  Consistency gives us that little nudge.  Showing up is more than half the work.

So, no need to persist in silly thinking lest we end up with little minds, but some consistency in exercise will give us powerful bodies.