Is “it’s better than nothing” really better than nothing? Or are you setting yourself up to fail?

I read this and hear this a lot in the fitness and health field.  Well, __________  is  “better than nothing”.  The most common denominators include:

Walking “is better than nothing”.

Working out once a week or month “is better than nothing”.

Going to a fitness class every so often “is better than nothing”.

Eating well sometimes “is better than nothing”.

Here is my experience with this philosophy.  It leads to failure 9 times out of 10.  (not a good average if you are trying to hit your fitness goals). Here is why.

If you settle for doing something 25% of the time or even 50% of the time at a minimal effort you are going to achieve minimal( if any)results.  Most people would agree with this assertion.   

What usually happens in our experience in the fitness business is the following scenario. 

Client X starts a “better than nothing” training and nutrition program, either making up stuff at the gym, drastically cutting calories or signing up for a class or program that is the cheapest they can find.  After a month of subscribing to the “better than nothing” philosophy and achieving little if any results, with disappointment most people in this situation will throw in the towel and quit.  They are frustrated with their lack of results after committing time and effort to making changes in their fitness and they are lost to the land of fitness skeptics-why bother, I tried and I wasn’t successful. I failed.

Why do most people settle for such a low standard with their health and fitness.  Let’s all be realistic.  We want to feel confident in our physique, we all want to feel comfortable with our bodies and most importantly we want to move and live pain free.  These are all things you can achieve with the proper exercise and nutrition program.  Is it easy? No.  Is it a process that requires work, commitment and professional coaching.  That is the formula to get the results that you want. 

We seek professional advice for our bodies when they are sick and injured but do nothing to prevent the latter from happening.  Why not be proactive and give our health and fitness the 100% commitment on the program that is design to suit your needs and goals, instead of a “better than nothing” approach that leads to disappointment.

This New Year really think about what you are going to do to ensure that you hit your fitness goals whatever they may be.  Think about achieving 100% success with 100% effort because anything is possible. 

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek.” Mario Andretti

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