A couple of months ago one of my friends introduced me to the 7-minute workout app. As the name implies, it’s an exercise program you can do in around 7 minutes.

I can bench 300 pounds, and always loved going to the gym (though finding time for it has been a problem lately), so my initial reaction was: “7 minutes? Free body exercises? That is never going to work!”

A short while after that I had to spend two weeks traveling, so I decided to give the 7-minute workout a try, as it would be suitable for exercising in a hotel room.

I did the workout pretty much every day, and even though it was very different from going to the gym, after the 14 days I was feeling great, almost addicted to doing it every morning!

Fast forward to today, almost 2 months later, and I am still doing the workout every morning. It became part of my morning ritual, and I am starting to see results in muscle tone and overall conditioning.

This led me to think about consistency and intensity, and about how these factors affect our life. Sure, a 1-hour gym workout is much more intense than the 7-minute workout, and it will certainly produce better results if you do it regularly. The problem, however, is that few of us have the time and discipline to go the the gym five times per week, all year round. We start pretty pumped, but the workouts become less and less frequent over time, until you start showing up once or twice a month!

Sure, if you manage to have both intensity and consistency, go for it! That is the ideal situation. Most of us will have to choose between one or the other, however, and I believe that you should go with consistency, as it will produce better results in the long run.

For instance, who do you think will be in better shape after one year: a person who does intense workout sessions in the gym sporadically (i.e., 2 or 3 times per month) or a person who does the 7-minute workout every single day of the year?

This principle applies to every single area of your life.

Are you going to get better results by setting a goal to read 4 new books every month, or by committing yourself to read 10 pages every single day?

Are you going to get better results by trying to nail a super investment opportunity, or by committing to invest a small amount in the stock market every single month?

Small but consistent action produces great results over the long run!