I recently added the Consistency in Motion tracker to the site after becoming aware a few months ago of an upcoming milestone of sorts, crossing the cumulative distance of 24,901 miles tracked on Strava since I started using it in November 2020.

Another leg day, another personal best recorded. As I touched on in a previous post, incorporating more consistent functional training is continuing to pay dividends for my leg strength. This morning, I hit 172.5kg for a one rep max on the seventh set out of my standard ten.

I’ve mentioned in prior posts the integration of more functional exercises into my training over the past eighteen months or so, however it’s really in the last six months that I’m starting to see the payoff. I’m lifting and sustaining heavier loads, more volume, and longer sessions in the gym.

Wednesday Morning, 5:45am, Amsterdam.

A city I’ve come to know well over the past year through work, lies dark and almost dormant.

I get myself up, splash water on my face, throw on my shorts, top and jumper and lace up my trainers. It’s time to go to war again. Here we are again my friend, I’ve missed you.

I’ve never really been one for New Year’s resolutions. I don’t have anything particularly against them, I’ve just always favoured consistency over focusing on the switch of year as a reason to reset. I understand why people leverage the new year to re-align, establish goals, and map out the next twelve months, however for me, clarity of direction and persistent action hold more importance than the date on the calendar.

During a recent article I mentioned a new Wellness Centre opened in the town centre. When I first visited, I booked a couple of treatments to test the waters, one was Cryotherapy and the other was the Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber.

When it comes to training, there’s a big difference between just showing up versus turning up to work.

Of course, not every session is going to be maximum intensity. We all have off days, moments of exhaustion, or times where the focus just isn’t there. But when you walk through those gym doors, what’s your intention?

When I opened Strava recently, I noticed they’d added a new feature showing your streak of active weeks. Mine currently sits at 265, which corresponds to five years of uninterrupted training since I first started tracking. And that’s just what’s been measured since I started using Strava.

As I’ve covered in past posts, despite my almost relentless focus on pushing myself physically, I’ve never really given rest and recovery the same level of attention. More so recently though, I’ve acknowledged that I can’t keep punishing my body without giving it the rest, recovery, and recuperation it needs.