- In this video we're gonna
be answering the question of why it's so hard to stick to a workout routine over the long-term. And this is a problem that
I've actually struggled with for most of my life. I've always been a pretty active guy, but when it comes to actually
sticking to a workout routine and seeing progress over the long-term, I've always had a problem with it. However, back in 2020, I
actually did start a routine that I've stuck to for the past two years. And that has come with some results. I've gained about 30
pounds of mostly lean mass in that time, going from
around 185 pounds to 215, I've achieved a 300 pound bench press, a 350 pound squat, and
a 440 pound deadlift. And I've managed to improve
my cardio at the same time. Mostly the thanks to picking up tennis, which is now my favorite sport. So today I'm gonna share
what I've learned with you, including sharing some of
my actual workout routines within a notion template, of
course, because, hey, it's me. And along with that, I also
want to share some of the tricks that I've learned from making sticking to that routine a lot easier. And I want to start by first
breaking down the problem because as I see it there are
really four main sub problems that make it so hard to
stick to a workout routine for a lot of people. And those problems are number one, you don't know what to
do or where to start. Number two, you aren't seeing any results when you do stick to the routine. Number three, there's too
much friction involved. And number four, you're
making it too easy to fail. So let's tackle these one by one, starting fittingly with
not knowing where to start. Now, there is more fitness
advice on the internet than there are grains of sand on a beach. And no matter what routine you pick, it seems like Athlean X is
gonna be out there telling you that it's killing your gains. And part of the problem,
part of what causes this, is that it seems like people think there are these vastly
different things you need to do, depending on what you want. Like if you want to gain mass, it requires following a
much different routine than you'd follow if you
wanted to get stronger, or if you wanted to lose weight. And while that is true at a certain level, the fact is that most
people, and that included me, especially at the start of
2020, aren't at that level yet. And that means that a basic
strength training routine with some added cardio is
likely gonna help you improve in nearly every area you want,
strength, lean body mass, cardio, even weight loss. Which to be honest is more
function of a diet anyway. And if you are at that more
advanced level already, where specialization truly is important, you're probably not watching this video. You're probably off watching
Jeff Nippard instead. So for the rest of us, I want to make this as easy as possible. And to do that, I'm gonna
actually share a couple of the routines that I have been following over the past couple of years,
including my current routine, which does require some gym equipment, at least a power rack and a bench, along with my original
lockdown quarantine workout, which needed nothing more
than a single kettlebell like this one right here. And one of those doorframe pull-up bars, the costs around 20 or $30. And what I've actually done is
put these into a notion page that you can find over at
ThomasJFrank.com/WorkoutDB. And there I've got each
workout with its exercises, its sets, and its reps, the
ones that I actually followed. And there are also some
sample weights that I've used. Though you'll probably
want to adjust these so that they're right for you. And lastly, I've included
both a video tutorial from Strength Coach along with a clip from my own recordings for every exercise so you have multiple
references for how to do these. And I wanted to share my actual routines because while there are a ton of different routines out
there, tons of fitness advice, literally thousands of people
on the internet giving it out, these are what I have actually done, which is why I feel most
comfortable putting them out there. They're what have actually
given me the results that I've seen. And they were also programmed by my coach who is an expert strength coach. Our second sub problem
is that a lot of us deal with not seeing any results. And if you're not seeing
any positive changes, then what's the point of putting
in all this effort, right? Well, one of the biggest reasons that a lot of people
don't see any progress is that they're not recording it. See in strength training, and in pretty much every
other skill area as well, you make progress by using a technique called progressive overload. And this is just a fancy way
of saying you push yourself to near your limit so your
body is forced to get stronger. It's an adaptive response. But the problem is that a lot of people don't actually commit
to progressive overload. A lot of people just show up at the gym and decide on the fly
what they're going to do. And for those that actually do show up with a predetermined routine, a lot of them get stuck
following the same routine with the same numbers for months without seeing any real gains. And the reason for this is that they're not recording their progress. When they don't do this, if
you don't record your progress, then you don't really know what you're doing or how you're doing. And you can't make intelligent decisions that are gonna help you get stronger. So if you want to see results, start recording your progress. Now, since I work with a coach,
I actually use their app, the Barbell Logic app to
do it through my phone, but you can also do it with an old school
trusty notebook as well. Just record your sets,
your reps, and your weight for each exercise, maybe time and distance for things like cardio, and then use that data to push yourself. For example, here's my
journal for a workout where I hit three sets of
five reps at 275 on the squat. So on the next workout, I, or actually my coach in this case, bumped that up to 280
pounds for a three by five and then 285 on the next one. Now we'll also note that
recording my progress in this way has caused
me to be more excited to get into the gym because while changes in my overall body
composition are really slow and take a long time to notice, I can see changes in my
numbers pretty quickly when I'm recording them. And that gets me excited
to see them improve. Now, our third sub problem here is that there's often too
much friction involved in getting into the gym or getting started with your routine. And you probably have a lot of days where you feel like this, where you feel like you're
just too busy to work out, or you just can't fit
it into your schedule. I know I do. And that's why it's crucial
to do anything you can to reduce that friction. This is actually why I
built a garage gym recently. It's at home so there's
very little preventing me from just getting out there
and getting my routine done. The commute has been eliminated so it's not a potential
source of an excuse. Now you don't have to build a home gym like I did just to reduce friction because smaller changes can help as well. Like for example, laying
out your gym clothes and packing your bag before you go to bed so it's all ready the moment you wake up. Also keep in mind the
actual problem you're trying to solve here. Because in the beginning what
you're really trying to do is build and stick to an exercise routine. So if you're feeling like there's just too much friction right now because your routine is
too long or too difficult, just remember that doing something is better than doing nothing at all. Case in point, my best friend
Martin doesn't like going to gyms and he wanted something
dead simple to start with because he hadn't really
exercised at all in quite a while. So back in December, he
literally started just running in place in his apartment and to keep things a
little bit exciting he put on these videos from a YouTube channel called Virtual Run TV to make
it a little bit less boring, but that's it. And crucially, he started out running for just three minutes a day. - I've got you for three minutes. - Now that doesn't sound like a whole lot, but it helped him build the habit. And as of today, he's been
doing this for 45 days in a row and is up to running for
about 23 minutes at a time. So his endurance has improved quite a bit. Finally, our last sub problem here is that it's probably
too easy for you to fail. Ask yourself what happens if you decide to push a workout off into the next day or you skip it altogether? Well, if you're like most people, the answer is probably
nothing other than the fact that you don't make any
progress from that workout. And that's a problem. If you want to more reliably
stick to your routine, you need to make it
somewhat harder to fail. Which means that you need to introduce some accountability into the mix. And this is actually probably
the number one reason why I've been able to
make so much progress over the last couple of years. I have people in my life
that hold me accountable to my workout routine. Now the primary source
of that accountability is my lifting coach, Matt, who
actually coaches me remotely. I've got to journal my sets and my reps, and then I actually film the
final set of each exercise. And the next morning I get a
form critique on that video and updated programming
for the next workout. But the most important
thing I get is the knowledge that he's actually expecting
me to turn in my workout log. Now, in addition to my coach, I do have one other big source
of accountability in my life. And that is the activity sharing
feature on my Apple Watch, which I use to share my exercise data with a few different friends
and who do the same with me. And this actually brings
in a different dimension of accountability and support as we typically don't hound each other when we don't do a workout, but we do send each other
emojis and other support when we do complete our workouts. And that's something that I
feel doesn't actually get talked about as much in the realms
of habits and productivity. It's useful to not only
have accountability to know that somebody is
going to hold your feet to the fire but also to
have positive encouragement from people who care about you as well. Those positive messages
can really keep you going. So if you can find a
way to get both of those by enlisting other people, that's gonna help you really
stick to your routine. Now you can work with a coach like I do, but there are other methods as well, like getting a workout partner,
using the Apple Watch thing, or maybe even using the social features in an app like Habitica to
party up with other people and track habits together. If you want to learn even more about how you can build strong habits in any area of your life, I also have a full one hour
class on habit formation over on Skillshare who
have sponsored this video. And this class will teach you how to take any goal you have,
define it more clearly, and then break it down
into actionable habits that you can work on every single day. And you'll also learn how
to stick to those habits over the long-term by using
external accountability systems, by anticipating and dealing
with pain points ahead of time, and by gracefully dealing with failure so it doesn't completely derail you. And because my class is on Skillshare, you're also gonna get access to thousands of other classes that can
help you learn new skills and really make 2022 a year of
personal growth for yourself. For instance, one of my
favorite creators, MKBHD, has a class on Skillshare about how to craft great YouTube videos from start to finish. And you're also gonna find classes on illustration, personal finance, and even how to grow your
social media presence. Skillshare is completely ad-free. They've got new premium classes that are added every single week. And the best part is that if you're one of the first 1,000 people
to use my link and sign up, you're even gonna get
a free one month trial, which means that you can take my class and all of my other
classes completely for free during that first month. So to get started use that link in the description down below, or click right there to sign up and start learning and support my channel. You can also check out one
of these videos right here, and I will especially recommend this one on the five levels of self-discipline, which is a great follow-up to this video. Thanks as always for
watching, hit that like button for ye old algorithm. And I will see ya in the next one.
