Five Lessons from a Decade of Coaching 🧐

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I've been in the coaching game while now and I’ve certainly done things the hard way more than once and figured out what works and what doesn’t. If you want to get fit & healthy and continue to do so for years to come, these five lessons are worth a read.

1. Do Less, But Do It Better

It’s tempting to think you can tackle everything at once; to be a full blown stud in every aspect of our life. But trying to do it all often means doing none of it well. Instead, narrow your focus and work on fewer things, but give them a more focused effort. This is particularly important that for most of us exercise and health is just one aspect of our lives and not the core focus.

Maybe that means focusing on building strength before worrying about your mile time, or dialing in your nutrition before tweaking your training schedule. Doing less allows you to make real, lasting progress—and not get bogged down trying to be superman.

2. Consistency Is Your Secret Weapon

When it comes to anything in life, consistency beats intensity every time. Too many of us dive in headfirst, only to burn out. Sustainable changes are about small, regular actions over time. You don’t need an extreme diet or a punishing workout plan. Start with workouts that you know you can stick to, and build up from there. A steady, consistent approach will take you further than any short-lived burst of intensity ever could.

Does that mean all focused sprints are a bad idea? Of course not. If you’ve built a solid base as a runner then you spend 8-weeks peaking for a race that’s an awesome idea but the key is having that solid base first.

3. Recovery Multiplies Your Gains

When you’re younger, you can get away with pushing through without giving much thought to recovery. Late nights, boozy weekends (and weekdays)? No problem! But over time, you’ll learn that recovery isn’t just about having a break or day off; Great recovery means getting enough sleep, managing stress, getting a massge, getting outside and recharging mentally. After all, if you’re putting in the work, you want your body to be ready to respond.

4. Learn to Reframe Failures

You’re going to miss workouts, make mistakes, and hit setbacks. These “failures” are also our best teachers—they’re part of the process. What’s more damaging than a failure itself is the story we tell ourselves about it afterward. It’s like fake news filling up our feed. Instead embrace them, learn from them. Realise that if you're failing, you're actively trying something challenging, and that's a good thing. Easy to say but hard to do.

5. Pace Yourself

We often overestimate what we can achieve in a week but underestimate what we can accomplish in a year. Time flies—we're already nearing December—yet we tend to measure progress week by week. "Have I lost a pound this week?" "Is my 5km time faster?" Short-term goals and metrics are valuable, but when we set unrealistic expectations for quick results, we often stray from lessons one and two. We try to do too much and often push too hard. Your health and physical fitness could be in a completely different place this time next year if you give yourself the space and time to make sustainable changes.

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, please share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie