Fitness Results – The 80/20 Rule
I’m sure you’ve heard of the “80/20 Rule” of life. If not, then here’s a quick summary: It seems that 20% of what you do is responsible for 80% of your results, and vice-versa. Another application of the rule is that in most situations you’ll get about 80% of what you want. People are always chasing that extra 20% and as a result often give up their 80% and end up far worse off.
This can, and is, applied to business, sports, relationships, life, fitness, and most everything else. Is it a hard and fast rule? Of course not, but the idea is worth looking into.
I see it all of the time in the gym. Guys are always chasing that magical supplement that will suddenly turn the corner in their physique chase. Girls are always hunting that one “secret” ab exercise that will flatten their tummy and get rid of “these” (*pinching their love-handles).
Guess what? They’re chasing the 20%. They’re also spending so much time focusing on that 20% that they’re not doing the things that will get them their 80. Focus on the basics that you know work for you: Train hard, train heavy, and train the body as a whole. Eat good, basic food that supports your progress. Learn to relax, destress your life, and focus on your productivity. The extra stuff is just that, extra. If you’ve got the time and ability, play around with the 80% of stuff that will bring you the extra 20% of your results, but put your effort into the solid, basic stuff that will maximize your results.
<- This clip is from one of my favorite movies: Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married?.
If you’re interested in the basic rules of life that will get you to your 80% and beyond, check out my 7 Secrets of Strength and Health on the right!
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Comments on Fitness Results – The 80/20 Rule
That’s the gospel truth! For both training and life. I think most of us have learned this the hard way at some point in time. The difference is some people learn from it and adjust their lives accordingly and others don’t…and keep wondering why they don’t hit their goals, are frustrated, unfullfilled, etc.
As fitness professionals we see this a lot with clients. Everyone wants to know the one thing that will speed up results, or they think they’re still missing one secret ingredient if they’re not seeing results.
When you reveal the basics of training hard, training with consistency, eating primal, getting rest…..rinse and repeat, they think it has to be something more. It’s not! Just focus on the basics and be consistent. You can search so hard for that secret strategy, ingredient, tip, short cut, etc that you totally overlook and neglect the SIMPLE things that actually do work. Good post Isaac!
Shane,
Glad you stopped by, man! How’s things in Mt. P?
You’re spot on with how so many people have learned this through life, but not everyone adjusts. So many people just keep hammering on the same shit or chasing the magic bullet. They never get their results.
I used to coach wrestling and one of the things I kept hammering into my kids was that they needed to find a basic technique from stand-up, top, and bottom that worked for them. Then they needed to practice it until they could hit it on anyone at any time. That alone would win them 80-90% of their matches. The rest came once they had that down. The kids that tried to learn every new trick under the sun always got hammered by some farm boy that could hit a double-leg over and over again.
Isaac