24 May How To Build Momentum (In Strength And Life)

Author Steven Pressfield writes about the destroyer of all things.

He calls it a nearly unstoppable force that prevents you from achieving what you want.

It is the enemy.

He calls this internal force “resistance” and says it will kill you, if you let it.

You want to start eating better, but you don’t.

You want to train more consistently, but you aren’t.

You want to start that training program, but you haven’t.

Believe me, I’ve been guilty of this myself.

I want to write and publish more helpful articles, but I haven’t.

Why?

One reason is that damn internal force Steven Pressfield writes about, resistance.

By the way, if you haven’t read The War of Art, I highly recommend reading this book. It’s been called one of the greatest books ever written and I can’t tell you how many successful people have read it and to overcome the battle of resistance. 

Resistance takes many forms and can reveal itself as:

• Procrastination
• Fear
• Self-doubt
• Uncertainty
• Not willing to get out of your “comfort zone”

One proven way to smash resistance in the face is with something as simple as momentum.

Momentum can crush resistance.

It can be your best friend or it can be your worst enemy.

Let me give you an example right now.

I’m sitting here writing this article.

I’m writing this for myself, just as much as I am for you.

Somehow I’ve fallen off track in my writing habits. I own that.

I haven’t posted as consistently as I’ve wanted to in recent months, it’s been pathetic.

I have been writing a lot, just not publishing many articles.

Well, my friend, that stops now.

I wanted the topic of momentum to be a catalyst for many great things to come.

I am writer, so why am I not publishing new, fresh content?

Momentum is the platform to get you moving in the right direction.

I’m surprised at how little this topic is discussed.

DEFINING MOMENTUM

What exactly is momentum?

If we look at a simple definition from physics, momentum can be defined as mass in motion.

Think about that.

Lifting a barbell from the floor, that’s an example of momentum.

It’s also defined as strength or force gained by motion or a series of events.

If you think about the resistance thing, it’s really the opposite.

It’s a strength or force that prevents action. It’s a force that prevents something.

So, momentum is strength gained by motion.

Get a little motion going and you gain strength.

So simple, right?

Think of a snowball rolling down a hill and getting bigger and bigger as it rolls.

Once things get started, you get the momentum and then you crush resistance.

It’s the act of starting that is key.

You just have to start.

That thing you want to do or need to do.

Begin.

Today.

Momentum can come in many forms.

Here’s some examples.

To get more upper body strength: 10 pull-ups each day (2 sets of 5 or some variation where total volume is low, but frequent)

To improve conditioning: Minimum of 30-50 kettlebell swings every training session

To improve total body strength fast: 2 get ups every day for the next 7 days

To improve weightlifting snatch technique: 5 sets of 2 barbell snatches every day for a one week

To improve health by drinking more water: Drink 8 ounces of water as soon as you wake up in the morning for the next 7 days

To be more productive: Take 10 minutes before bed to plan your day tomorrow

To get started with a specific training program: Mark in your calendar today the day you will begin

To start learning a new skill: Identify what you want to improve and do something today to gain momentum with that skill

To start eating more healthy: Make a shopping list today of the foods you need to eat more of

To be more consistent in training: “Block time” in your calendar for next week for your training – let nothing interfere with that

Why is momentum so important?

The answer couldn’t be more easy to explain.

Momentum gets you moving toward your goal.

Hopefully, your momentum will lead to consistency (but not always). And, consistency gives us results.

Remember this.

MOMENTUM builds CONSISTENCY and CONSISTENCY leads to RESULTS.

Momentum builds consistency and consistency leads to results. -Rdella TrainingClick To Tweet

Anything great that you want to accomplish starts with building a little momentum.

How do you gain momentum?

First, you have to know what you want to get momentum with.

Here’s a few questions to consider.

What are are you trying to achieve?

What are the barriers?

What is the ‘momentum action’ that you need to take today to get you going?

Think about how you can build momentum today so that it carries over into your week.

Remember this, daily momentum builds weekly momentum which leads to monthly momentum.

Isn’t this just habit building?

Absolutely.

SUMMARY AND ACTION

What one thing do you need to gain momentum with today that will move you toward your goals?

C’mon, think about this for a minute.

Identify one thing that if you gained momentum with today, it would make a big difference.

Got it?

Good.

The purpose of this article was to help you get unstuck by building momentum.

There’s always going to be something in our lives that we need to work on by overcoming a nasty force called resistance.

All we need to do is gain the momentum to get us moving in the right direction and smash resistance in the face.

It’s the small wins that lead to massive victories.

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