by Karl Britten, Owner & Heah Coach, CrossFit Mont-Tremblant

If you are reading these lines and you don’t work out, then this column could as well have been entitled: “The key to success in absolutely anything, even in brushing your teeth.”

What in earth does brushing your teeth have to do with training? Ask yourself this question: how did I get here? It’s rarely mere chance, but rather a series of choices which, over time, produced the results we have now.

In the context of my profession, I meet people who are seeking better health. People who wish to achieve a specific objective with respect to their physical condition. No matter what motivates them to come and work out, one and only one factor will guarantee their success: constancy.

Constancy in showing up for their training sessions, in making good choices day after day and in continuing to improve. The process can be a long one and strewn with pitfalls and self-doubt and often, these times that test our determination end up with our abandoning our course or changing our immediate goal…which distances us from our objective. In most cases, people speak of motivation. But motivation alone cannot be responsible for your constancy.

I often give the example of brushing your teeth. You know, brushing your teeth can teach you a lot about life. Your brushing technique, the quality of the toothbrush, the duration and frequency of the brushing (three minutes morning and evening are worth more than an hour once a week), the quality of the foods you eat and the time when you eat them…. All these elements determine your constancy. What’s more, do you really need to be motivated to brush your teeth? Get it?