What consistent training taught me
What can you look forward to when you train regularly?
I speak as someone who, on 26 July 2026, put on a weighted vest and started believing that my body was a gift from the universe—and that training was my gift back.
It wasn’t for the faint-hearted. Not everyone would have run alongside me through what I was about to do. Many would have found reasons not to continue.
For 56 days, I trained every day. On two of those days, I covered 13 miles wearing a 10 lb weighted vest. I sprinted headfirst into pelting rain, wrestled with an ankle injury and tackled Hill Cliffe—a hill higher than a 26-storey skyscraper. Admittedly, my pace on that climb was slower: an ambling jog at best.
I also tried unfamiliar equipment at a local gym. Even on holiday, my partner and I trained on 13 of our 14 days away, despite her dealing with some frustrating ailments of her own.
What did it teach me?
It taught me that discipline was more dependable than motivation. It brought me back into contact with myself and quietened the outside chatter—the voices telling me that my testosterone levels must be declining and that medical intervention was the obvious answer.
I became so focused on doing rather than talking that I sometimes overlooked my injuries while trying to work around them. Eventually, when my partner suggested taking a day off on holiday, I realised that rest was something I had overlooked, too.
Now, when I take my foot off the gas, I still know exactly where I am. I feel connected to myself, and I know that easing off doesn’t mean giving up.
What else changed?
I realised that the consistency I had built through exercise could carry over into another part of my life: my diet.
For a long time, I had neglected what I ate. Training gave me a sense of resolve that I could apply beyond running, beyond the gym and beyond the weighted vest.
The lesson was simple: if I could build consistency in one area, I could bring that same commitment to another.
The journey, in brief
• The beginning of 2026 brought a testing set of circumstances through no fault of our own.
• On 26 July, I put on a weighted vest and started running.
• I built a highly consistent routine.
• I discovered the value of discipline—and recognised that rest needed a place in that routine.
• I began applying that same consistency to my diet.
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