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How To Choose The Right Measure Of Success For Your Training · Total Barnage

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to Total Barnage.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode.
• 0:03
  SPEAKER_00: Today this is going to be another solo episode where I, Charlie, am just going to chat about another little fitness topic, another thing which can help you on your fitness journey.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: And this is something which is quite crucial because it underpins and is very relevant to every single part of the process, whether it's fitness or in life.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: And this is talking about measures of success.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: And basically working out and determining if the measures of success that we're using are beneficial to us in the short, medium, and long term, or maybe beneficial to us in the short term, but harmful in the long term.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: And also measures of success that are maybe changing or challenging the status quo, kind of the way that we have normally done things, and just trying to give a different perspective on.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I think this is you know on training in general.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that we've seen, or I've seen definitely across social media, is definitely a movement, let's say, like on the running side, um, a movement away from just the elite side of the sport and uh a lot more welcoming in the community to all abilities.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it's something especially coming from the the higher level um competitive running where the measure of success is very much based on times and people talking about enjoyment, people talking about just completing distances um or events or just getting into it or just started running.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, when you've got a really defined measure of success, as a lot of people have in the elite and sub-elite space, it seems like a a bit of a fluffy way to um to describe or to strive for with the with the experience.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so I think it's really important just to have this wider perspective on what measures of success might seem like you know things that aren't real measures, they're a little bit fluffy, they're a little bit more based on quality, they're difficult to define, but actually might be the ones that give you the most fulfillment, the most enjoyment, and actually maybe even the most motivation going forward and have the most impact on your life.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna go through some of the measures which I see a lot and is you know, Guy, Charlotte, and I talk about um talk about in a few few episodes about when people come to the gym, they want to have a they've got a certain goal in mind, and this goal is normally a measure which is very outcome-based.
• 2:47
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, I'm gonna go through a couple of the uh a couple of the problems and solutions that um I'm are brought to me on a daily and weekly basis of people that want to get into the gym and want to change their lifestyle.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_00: So the first one, which is the biggest one, um, the most obvious one in the fitness space is body weight, like the scales, the number on the scales.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, this is something which is always brought to us, and it looks amazing.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: In you know, you see it in transformation photos, it's sometimes what you know what sells the process, the coaching process to people because it's a very specific defined measure of success that you can see a before and you can see an after, and that is uh loss in body fat and loss in body weight.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_00: So using the scales as a measure of success is one of the most common ones, but unfortunately, it's also one of the most I would say fragile and kind of partial measures of success.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's a really good one to use to direct you to know kind of how to structure your training, how to structure your nutrition and your habits daily, but actually it's the one that is mainly just to allow you to unlock the true reason and purpose behind why you're doing it.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_00: So initially, body weight and trying to lose body fat and body weight is is a is a good way to start out, but actually, after a couple of weeks of training, you might find that it's more about self-esteem, or it's more about feeling confident in your own body, or if it's about showing up for your kids uh or your grandkids and being fit enough and strong enough to you know play with them to say yes to activities.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: So it's more of a mask for things that are a little bit deeper, and that's why you know we talk on on this podcast so much about finding your purpose and discovering your true purpose and why you're doing things.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, Charlotte and I went over it in um in one of the previous episodes, uh, which you can find down below, and it's just asking that why question over and over again to find out uh exactly you know almost what the um what those mask, those veneer success measures are, and actually what's underneath and what's the more profound thing that we're striving for, or the thing we might feel that we're lacking, and maybe the thing that would drive us to have a more fulfilling and enjoy, you know, enjoy life a bit more day to day.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: So with body weight and the scales, the trouble with having them as your only measure of success, and the trouble with having one measure of success in general is if that measure of success isn't hit, then you go onto the other side, which is just failure.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the way that I would love to talk about failure is you know, failure is something which is a positive part of the process, it's something which is inevitable, it's something that's going to happen, and actually, the more that you fail, the more that you will succeed.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: But if you have that on a knife edge where you only have a very strict measure of success, like body weight, something like body weight can change and not be representative of your consistency in training.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is mainly because of the fluctuations in water weight.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, if you cut carbs at the start of a diet, um, because stored carbs, glycogen, also binds to water, um, it means that as soon as you cut carbs, you also cut a lot of water.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: So it seems like you make a lot of progress straight away and you get that good instant gratification, but in reality, there's not a lot that's happening to the thing that you're actually trying to lose, which is more so body fat, um, which will allow you to you know reduce inflammation to uh be better cardiovascular, you know, cardiovascular way, and so you can have a big drop in body weight, and it's like it's really good, but then if you were to ever you know up your carbs in the next week or two, your body weight might just go back up again.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: And if you've got that as your only measure of success, then what you're gonna be questioning and you're gonna be fretting about and worrying is you know you've done something wrong, or you need to change something when you're only a couple of weeks in.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's a really interesting one actually because the more that we we go into these measures measures of success, the more that they can be used in a positive way.
• 7:54
  SPEAKER_00: So with body weight, there is a case to be made of saying, okay, just don't track your body weight, right?
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: You know, if it's if it's not a very good measure of success, and if it's actually more about um feeling better and looking better and having more confidence and self-esteem, then why not just like scrap the body weight altogether?
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: But I would argue that tracking your taking progress photos and tracking something like body weight is a really good way to see the fluctuations day to day, and overall, if you were to track it consistently every couple of days for a few weeks, you will see on you know, on certain days of the week, maybe if you've been eating more carbs, let's say, or you've been training less or more, then your body weight will fluctuate in in that sense, and then you can see that it's actually quite a fragile measure of success, it's actually a really good way to realize that it's so inconsistent that it's really a silly idea to attach your self-worth to something on the scales.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Although it's really difficult because previously, in you know, decades gone by, there'll be um societal norms, there'll be especially BMI, um, your body mass index, which is just the equation for that is just kilograms over meters squared, so it's your body weight over your height squared, and that's a very simple way to measure um if you're underweight, you're average, your normal weight, or you're overweight, or you're obese.
• 9:39
  SPEAKER_00: It's a very simple way to um measure that, but then also it doesn't take into account any of the other metrics, right?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: If you are someone that is um more of a power athlete, I mean if you are an athlete in general that does any sort of sport, let's say like any power sport, like for example, rugby or throwing in athletics, you'll see that almost every single professional athlete is overweight or most likely obese.
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: And so that number BMI has kind of you know been drilled into a lot of a lot of us, and it's not a great measure for for success for that for that reason, is it doesn't take into uh account you know any of your strength, any of your mobility, um, any of your cardio measures, it is literally just how tall you are and how much you weigh.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um but going on from that, so that you know that's that's body weight.
• 10:37
  SPEAKER_00: If you are to track your body weight, it's a really good idea to see those fluctuations um and also to see the downtrend in uh in the long term, and also to see the progress isn't linear, it's kind of akin to like investing.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_00: And if you were to you know, you have a long-term view, you have uh let's say you want to invest in I don't know, something like an index fund or something that over years has historically uh returned a certain percent and is supposed to grow over a load of decades, but actually in the short term, there are maybe really sharp dips or really massive rises.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's the same thing with body weight, is that you've got this long-term goal, and it's good to direct you and to see what you're doing is right.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but if you are to check it every day and to change your process or withdraw your money in the short term, then you're not going to be able to just stack and gain those those improvements over the long term.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_00: So it's really important that we then kind of shift our measure of success or maybe just combine a few to have a really good rounded and um less kind of fragile on a knife edge uh view of our progress and our journey in the gym and and in life.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_00: So one of the one of the trade-offs, let's say moving on from body weight is kind of body fat, and one of the trade-offs that you do if you can if you're judging it by body fat, is another measure which is energy levels.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_00: So you bring in something which is a quantity measure of success, so something which is very easily um definable, you know, you've got body weight in kilograms or pounds, whatever you like to do, and then you've got uh body fat percentage, and you just have that as a percentage of your whole weight, you know, how much does your body fat take up?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: And for men, a good body fat percentage, something that you kind of want to aim for uh to have that cardiovascular benefit and that health benefit is around 10 to 15 percent, and then for women uh is 20 to 25 percent.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: Now it's interesting with those measures because that's your peak for maintaining energy levels and having a good cardiovascular system, reducing inflammation, reducing all cause mortality, um, and basically just not giving your heart so much uh so much that it needs to pump everything around your body, right?
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_00: If you go below 10%, and Charlotte um can can attest to this, I'm sure, like when she's doing her bodybuilding prep, um, and why a lot of the time it's seen as a as for in those stages as a kind of like an unhealthy sport, is because they go so low into body fat because they are literally putting you know so little calories into their body, and calories is just a measure of you know it's a unit of energy, and so they have so little energy that you're just not feeling good, right?
• 14:09
  SPEAKER_00: I've been I've been around Charlotte, I joined when I joined the gym.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: Um she was uh she was deep into her prep and you know just like not having the energy to move around when you know doing doing the sessions or when she's just like chilling upstairs, it's just like you have the energy to live, and then that's pretty much that's pretty much it.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Um which you know depending on your her like her measure of success for competing, that's the trade-off that um she's happy to to make, right?
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_00: And so when you start to add in like energy levels into it, then you might see that you know a good it might be good to aim for let's say if you're at you know 20 as a as a male, you're 20 to 25, maybe up to 30, 35 percent body fat, and you've got a number that you want to get down to, and you could, you know, if you're really successful and you're really disciplined and you're able to um make those changes with your diet, with your training and your lifestyle, you might be able to get down into those 10 to 15 percent, and maybe even from there you want to do a bit more, you really enjoy looking lean, and you are you know chasing those like visible measures of success, kind of how you look, the aesthetics, and you then go down to let's say 8% body fat, right?
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh but as I said, eight percent then goes down into that range, which is lower than 10, that 10 to 15 category of um having you know peak energy levels, and you actually get into noticeable changes in energy levels where you might just feel fatigued a lot of the time, and to maintain something like 8% body fat, you might not be able to train in the way that you want to train, and so that's the that's the trade-off, and that's why it's really important to have a lot of these measures of success, and they normally come quite naturally as you pay attention to how you're feeling, how you're looking, and let's say maybe the performance numbers, the strength numbers that you're pushing in lifts, um day to day, week on week, and seeing how all of them combine into this sort of cocktail which you're you're happy with, right?
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: So having a mixture of um measurable metrics, things that are quantifiable, and then those that are a little bit more quality, um, a little bit more hidden, but more you know, feeling-based, um, energy levels day-to-day, uh, enjoyment of of the process, the actual training itself.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like, is it worth looking a certain way uh or you know, achieving that desired physique that you have when it comes at a cost of not eating the foods that you like to eat?
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_00: Because there's always ways that you can you know structure your nutrition plans um and stick to the things that you know want to get you to a desired uh body weight or body fat level, but being able to eat the stuff that you want to eat.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so if you're you know, if you're really going out of your way and doing something which isn't maintainable and you actually really don't like the process just for the sake of an external um metric or external validation or some sort of you know aesthetic side of things, it's a really good thing to ask yourself, you know, is it is it worth it?
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Um and that's where I guess the first question comes in as you um as you start asking yourself you have this uh we talked in Mark Coward's episode about his turning point when he looked in the mirror, and he just he said he was like, I just don't I didn't like what I saw when he kind of walked past, and that's when for him that was the catalyst for for that change.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um it's really good at that point when you have that inspiration to make a change, it's asking yourself, Why am I bothering to do this thing?
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_00: Why why am I doing this?
• 18:26
  SPEAKER_00: Literally, what is the point, and that is the whole what is the purpose of this?
• 18:31
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, this is to be fair, you could apply this to not just your health and fitness, but it's like work, it's relationships, it's you know anything else that you are that you are doing.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: There is a certain element of like why am I bothering to do this thing?
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_00: And maybe not going based off like emotions in the moment, like you might have those when things get tough, you might have those those thoughts that come in, like, yeah, why why am I doing this?
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: Um and you shouldn't you know let your emotions get the better of you and give in in those like in those little moments, but it's worth asking and reconnecting with the exact reason that you're that you're doing it.
• 19:15
  SPEAKER_00: And if you haven't asked this question of yourself, I think it's a really good thing just to write down the answer.
• 19:23
  SPEAKER_00: And if you do this practice and the answers start to make you feel uncomfortable, maybe even to think about, let alone write down and see the words looking back at you.
• 19:36
  SPEAKER_00: Then I believe, I strongly believe, that you're in the right place, and that's how it's supposed to feel.
• 19:44
  SPEAKER_00: Because what you're really doing is you're challenging a previous way that you've been doing things, a previous way that you've been accustomed to do things, and you are challenging those deep-rooted beliefs and the way that you've done it.
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_00: And then the next question to ask yourself is what do I need to do to achieve this thing?
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, why am I bothering to do it?
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then what do I need to do to achieve it?
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_00: So let's say that you want to build muscle.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_00: What you're gonna need to do pretty much is progressively overload.
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: So you need to track your weights, you need to increase your uh the amount that you lift, add a little plate on each time, the little 2.5 plate, add a little 1.25, add a little five kilo plate, um, or progressively overload with uh with the reps, go from eight reps up to ten reps with the same weight, then go up to twelve reps, and then you can increase the weight and then come back down to eight reps and go through that cycle and keep overloading and driving that muscle adaptation.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's your progressive overload.
• 20:55
  SPEAKER_00: You might also want to increase your protein intake to build muscle.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: You might want to increase your calories if you want to build overall size, let's say.
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: What you're also gonna need to do is you're gonna need to consistently train.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: And what you're gonna do there is you're just gonna keep showing up to the gym, you're gonna keep uh investing, you're gonna keep putting the chips on the table, you're gonna keep putting the money in the bank, and you're just gonna keep stacking the days and the weeks.
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you're gonna might want to look at your recovery, make sure that your sleep's good, and making sure that you're you're eating right before the session, you're fueling pre- and post-session to get the most out of it.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: And then also you might want to have a look at your body composition, you want to track your progress.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: You want to take progress photos, you want to see how it's changing to get that positive feedback and to give you motivation to keep going.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_00: So that's pretty much the two things where you want to do with your with your metrics.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_00: It's a process of questioning and discovering actually why you're doing it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Uh why am I bothering to do this thing?
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_00: And then what do I need to do to achieve it?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: And then the third one is you've got to do it.
• 22:07
  SPEAKER_00: And the I think the most fascinating thing about the whole process is you can sit in the whole planning stage.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: You can sit in the theory stage.
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can just you can plan into oblivion.
• 22:22
  SPEAKER_00: You can have the perfect uh workout, the perfect program.
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_00: And you know, you've got the sets and the reps, you've done all the research online, you've seen all of these reels about the best workout for abs.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_00: This is the best workout for fat loss, this is the best workout for building muscle.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: This is a um a great way to manage your cortisol levels in the morning, and this is when you should fast or should you intermittent fast and and all of that, you know, amazing, amazing jazz, right?
• 22:53
  SPEAKER_00: But ultimately, it's not going to be that simple, and you're gonna get so many more, so much more results by doing something to you know, 70 or 80 percent, doing something decently than having a perfect workout that you might not even start, or if you do have such a high bar for yourself, you only go on days where you're feeling top of the world because that's the optimum level of uh progress and driving adaptations.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: So, best thing is uh, and a really good measure of success personally is just showing up and putting in effort.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this will lead me on to the difference between process-based metrics and outcome-based metrics.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: So, putting effort in is an example of a process-based metric.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now, this is kind of important because process-based metrics are largely in your control.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, first of all, they are you know how an activity is performed, so um how the the components that it takes to complete the activity, the lifting of the weights, the putting the force into the ground, the actual steps that you take to run.
• 24:15
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, you know, that sounds really simple, but is that's the that's the whole process of you know lifting or going to the gym or running.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: No, that's that's just what it is, and then you've got outcome-based metrics or measures, which is the final result or the impact that you have.
• 24:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the issue with outcome-based metrics, again, we shouldn't throw them out entirely, but the issue of just fixing our um attention on those and using those for motivation is they're largely out of our direct control.
• 24:50
  SPEAKER_00: The feedback loop with doing process-based stuff, let's say uh focusing on effort or focusing on being present or focusing on enjoying the exercise, focusing on being free, or just de-stressing, focusing more on the emotional experience, is that that feedback loop is immediate.
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: We have that feedback of right, did I put in enough effort in that set?
• 25:17
  SPEAKER_00: Was it an eight out of ten effort?
• 25:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said on the plan that I would do, or did I go out on my easy run and did I keep it easy?
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: No, that is a feedback loop, meaning the um that quick feedback that you get that you can act upon the information, you have that immediately.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's really important, it's a really important thing because we're all obsessed at the moment.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_00: A lot of the things that stop us from achieving outcomes is because we can't accept and we can't do delayed gratification.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_00: Now, when we're on our phones, when we're on you know screens, or we we have you know Amazon that can deliver the next day, everything is so immediate that we're programmed for the immediate, yet we actually focus on the outcome more than we do the process.
• 26:12
  SPEAKER_00: So, either what you can do is you can completely try and rewire how your brain works and work against resistance and just focus on the outcome and really have to have grit and determination and willpower to get there because the outcome a lot of the time is delayed, or you can lean into your programming and the way that our brains are wired at the moment, which is that instant gratification, and use a bit of that in the process, and I think that's the that's the key, really, and that's the main argument that I see with process-based metrics, is that they are brilliant to keep the ball rolling and to keep momentum and to enjoy it just for the sake of doing it and having that in-the-moment feedback, and then what you can do is you can use the outcome-based measures.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, let's say a quick measure, a you know faster um measure of an outcome-based one, which might lead you to a greater, greater outcome.
• 27:20
  SPEAKER_00: Is uh if you're going for strength, if you're trying to build strength, um, it is the progressive overload, and it is seeing if you can hit certain numbers in the gym.
• 27:34
  SPEAKER_00: The only thing with that is that you can only control the effort, you can't control the amount of weight that you push necessarily.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Some days, an eight out of ten effort, even if you're at the same strength level, um, depending on your energy levels, depending on your life, load, work stresses, time of day, all of that sort of stuff, um, you might be pushing 40 kilos on a bench press on one day, and you're giving 8 out of 10 effort, but then a couple of days later, you come back and you're able to shift 50 kilos on the bench press with the same amount of effort.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: And so, although you might have those outcomes which will sometimes be immediate, they might not be a fair representation of your progress in the long term.
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: So, I hope that I hope that kind of makes sense.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: I you know, I kind of contradicted myself a little bit by saying that you know, a lot of outcomes, I think more so like the long-term outcomes.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_00: So we're we're looking at let's say, you know, on the scales, let's say uh you know, strength numbers, building muscle, like that takes time.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: That sort of thing is a little bit more delayed.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, the ones that are closer to us, the closer to our horizons, with maybe the weights going up and the progressive overload, um, that is you know, that is a good measure bringing it closer, but then in the same way, the only thing you can really control is how much effort you're putting in, the intentionality behind each set.
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: So, what else you know might be a factor in our measures of success?
• 29:15
  SPEAKER_00: What is actually gonna happen during the whole process of growth, the process of uh achieving a certain goal that we want to achieve, and from my experience, one of the things which has been a constant is that the measure of success is gonna change during the process.
• 29:37
  SPEAKER_00: So initially, uh let's say you know a few years ago, I my I had a really, really strict measure of success with my running, and it was based purely just off the times that I was running.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: So you know, a few seasons back, I wanted to really break one minute 50 for the 800 meters, and so I spent the whole season a few years ago trying to break that barrier, and I was trying to force it, I was trying to run every single race as if I could um set myself up in the last 200 metres to be in a position time-wise to run under 150, and the amount of times that I was just outside of it, I think I was about 1200ths of a second outside of it one time, and it was just because of that, you know, that the tensing up, the forcing it, and having that strict measure of success, and it meant that every single race was either a success or a failure.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_00: Now, after being injured for a while uh and a couple of years, I've been forced very much out of that measure of success.
• 30:42
  SPEAKER_00: I can't go and run an 800 metres, nor have I been able to run for the last couple of years, and so it's driven me to go and find find another measure.
• 30:51
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, and but I don't think that it really takes that much to it's not gonna take a big life change to change your measure of success, it might do, and it might be beneficial for you in in the long term, and it's a really good way to to ask yourself exactly why you're doing it, exactly what what you get out of it.
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: But even on a smaller scale thing, you know, me getting back to running now, it's the measure of success that I had at the start of my surgery was um a lot of it is to you know just to focus on putting in putting in the work every day, doing my best.
• 31:34
  SPEAKER_00: You know, that's the thing.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: And now actually it's it's pretty much the same.
• 31:37
  SPEAKER_00: It's like putting the work every day and doing my best and be present when when I'm doing it.
• 31:43
  SPEAKER_00: Further on down the line, let's say get back to um a decent level of competition.
• 31:49
  SPEAKER_00: Next year, when I'm competing, there might be certain races that I might need to get a certain position or time for.
• 31:55
  SPEAKER_00: My measure of success will change depending on on that.
• 31:59
  SPEAKER_00: But I think what's more relevant to to you if you're starting out your fitness journey is this uh kind of evolve evolution, I would say, and the process uh of growth is you might have this external outcome-based measure of success, you might want to look a certain way, you might want to be a certain body weight, certain body fat percentage, that sort of stuff that can give you good direction, and then by experiencing the process of how you get to that goal, you will discover, and you might discover certain ways of training that you prefer that you didn't know before, and so like I said at the start, it's like it's we're not gonna get rid of all of these measures, it's not that one's better than the other.
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, having a having a balance, having a mix, um, keeping the perspective maybe you know zoomed out, but also enjoying the process is a really good thing.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_00: But you can't underestimate the importance that something like a very binary measure of um success has by giving you direction so that within the process you can discover exactly what you love and enjoy about your training, and a lot of it is a journey of self-discovery as well, and your relationship with um whatever practice, whatever activity, whatever uh fitness mode you take.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: So when you're going through that evolution, I think a really important thing to ask yourself when your measure of success might start to change, is not abandoning the measure to start with.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe it's reminding yourself why you started, but also you know, measuring success based at where you're at.
• 34:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you're not constantly moving the goalposts, you're not changing the measure of success to suit where you're at, and you're not denying yourself success by changing it as you kind of go down the road.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_00: You're you're taking the wins, you're taking the small wins, and you're using your your initial why as a good motivator and a good um good director for your for your efforts.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: But you're also understanding that as you go further into the process of training and gaining more experience, and you know, maybe one time you might be really into a certain like the cardio side of things, you might be training for for a big running event, but then after that, you might say, Okay, I've ticked that off, I want a new goal, I want to, I want to change it.
• 34:40
  SPEAKER_00: And actually, the thing that I enjoyed in that running process was was the SNC, was the strength and conditioning alongside it.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: So being open to changing, changing course and maybe changing direction, or just deriving a different kind of uh emotional feeling of success and achievement within the process, um, deriving it from something else within the process, I think, is is a really good thing to do.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_00: So I think to sum up, I hope this podcast has not been too wishy-washy, or the amount of times that I've said um a metric of success hasn't completely deafened your ears.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_00: But I think it's a balance.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: It first starts off with asking yourself, why am I bothering to do this thing?
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Why am I doing it?
• 35:28
  SPEAKER_00: Um, what is it that drives me at the moment?
• 35:30
  SPEAKER_00: What do I feel like I, you know, what challenge do I want?
• 35:34
  SPEAKER_00: Where do I feel I'm at?
• 35:35
  SPEAKER_00: What what am I missing?
• 35:37
  SPEAKER_00: And being kind of accepting that that's going to be an uncomfortable change or an uncomfortable process of admitting admitting that to yourself.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Then it's saying, what do I need to do to achieve this?
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: Writing out exactly what you do, and then the most important thing is you go and do it.
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: Action is the antidote to anxiety, uh, it cuts through all of the worrying and getting it done, contributing something is better than you know trying to be optimal, absolutely everything, and then end up not doing it.
• 36:12
  SPEAKER_00: Um, it is using process-based uh metrics and also outcome-based metrics, building a cocktail of what you think during the process, what kind of drives you, what do you get the most out of, um, and not necessarily denying any of them, but just turning up the dial to what suits you and what really works works for you.
• 36:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then it's also accepting that on the path to it might be beneficial to have a very strict goal, a very strict measure of success to put that out into the future to give you the direction so that when you are on the road to discovery and exploration within that direction, then you will find other things by doing things on volume, doing things consistently, turning up, um, showing yourself that you can do it, but also being aware of exactly what makes you tick along that process and being okay to have a balance of understanding why you did it in the first place, and not letting your emotions in in the moment corrupt that initial reasoning, but also being happy to maybe change course and to uh to maybe let go uh a little bit of a way back when measure of success that may have driven you before but now might not drive you anymore.
• 37:40
  SPEAKER_00: So I think it's a really good exercise to do writing down exactly what you derive your sense of achievement, what your values are in life, why you're really doing things, and you can't go wrong.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_00: Uh let us know in the comments or drop me a message what you'd like to see next on these podcast episodes.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: Uh hope you enjoyed listening.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_00: Hope you've had a great start to your week, and I shall catch you soon.