Day 77: Reasonable, Repeatable, Doable
Action
Look at one important habit and ask whether it is reasonable, repeatable, and doable.
Standard
Build a plan you can live with.
Today’s Reading
I have seen thousands of training programs that look wonderful on paper. The problem is that human beings have to do them. A plan can be scientifically impressive, perfectly periodized, color coded, and supported by dozens of references, but if the athlete cannot follow it, the plan has failed.
Over the years, I began judging programs with three simple words: reasonable, repeatable, doable. Is the plan reasonable for this person, at this age, with this schedule and these responsibilities? Can the person repeat it long enough for the work to accumulate, and can it actually be done with the equipment, time, energy, and resources available?
This applies far beyond the weight room. A financial plan that requires perfection every month is fragile, and a diet that cannot survive a birthday dinner is fragile. A morning routine requiring two uninterrupted hours may disappear the first time a child becomes sick or the airport shuttle arrives early.
The best systems bend without breaking. Do not build your life around the perfect Tuesday; build it around ordinary Tuesdays, difficult Tuesdays, travel Tuesdays, and the occasional Tuesday when nothing goes according to plan. If you can keep doing the important things, the results have time to arrive.
There is more to life than the gym.
Coaching Vocabulary
Reasonable, Repeatable, Doable: A standard for judging whether a practice can realistically produce results over time.
Reflection
What part of my current plan is harder to repeat than it needs to be?
This lesson is adapted from Dan John’s book, Fitness Forge, originally written as Tools of Coaching. Learn more at danjohnuniversity.com/bookstore.