THE FIT FOR PURPOSE WEEKLY
Thursday 6th August, 2026
YOUR PLAN HAS TO SURVIVE REAL LIFE
If your routine only works when life is calm, it does not really work.
Most people do not fail at fitness because they are lazy. They fail because their plan was built for a life they do not actually have.
Plans often work under the best-case scenario. They assume work stays consistent, there are no family health crises, sleep is good, injuries behave and motivation remains high.
Then an entirely normal difficult week arrives, the plan collapses and we blame ourselves.
The conclusion is that we were not disciplined enough or did not want it badly enough.
This is nonsense.
This is the first edition of The Fit For Purpose Weekly - one practical lesson each Thursday to help you take control of your health, fitness and performance without allowing them to take over your life.
THE BIG IDEA
Motivation can help you start. It can even accelerate early progress, but it cannot carry an entire training programme.
If success depends on feeling inspired or following everything perfectly, the plan is too fragile.
A plan should be Fit For Purpose. It should begin with your current reality: your working hours, family responsibilities, training history, injuries, available time, energy and recovery capacity.
Your actual life.
Only then can you decide what your goal should be, how much training can fit into your week and where it belongs.
For running, this might mean three purposeful sessions that you can complete consistently while working towards a 10K personal best. It does not mean copying a six-day programme designed for somebody with completely different circumstances because you watched a documentary about ultrarunning.
It also means deciding what happens when life disrupts the plan.
You do not punish yourself, cram missed sessions into the next few days or decide that the entire week is ruined. You adjust what needs adjusting and return to the next useful action.
You trust the wider process.
Consistency does not mean never missing anything. It means returning quickly enough that disruption does not become abandonment.
The grind-hard mentality has a time and place. It does not need to be everywhere, all the time.
A good plan can and should still challenge you. It simply should not require you to neglect your work, relationships, health or recovery to make it succeed.
TRY THIS WEEK
Write three versions of your training week:
Minimum: What can you still complete during a genuinely difficult week? This is where discipline sits.
Target: What should a normal, productive week contain? This should become your habitual training.
Extra: What can you add when your time, energy and recovery all allow? This is where you can use motivation.
Your minimum is not failure.
It is the structure that stops one difficult week from becoming a lost month.
WORTH YOUR TIME
I published two short videos alongside this edition that may be worth a quick watch:
"Are you really investing in your running?"
A short consideration of whether you are genuinely investing in yourself or merely convincing yourself that you are.
"Have you forgotten your “happily ever after”?"
A reminder to recognise when you are already living parts of the life you once wanted before immediately moving the goalposts again.
PROOF IN PRACTICE
Alec began with sporadic exercise, little direction and low energy. Once his training was built around his actual goals, priorities and circumstances, the results extended far beyond weight loss.
As Alec said: “I also built strength, redefined my body, as well as my relationship with food and mental health.”
READY TO MAKE RUNNING STICK?
Running With Purpose is my dedicated 12-week coaching package for busy adults who want running to become a serious, consistent and sustainable part of their lives, but keep being disrupted by work, family, injury, uncertainty or unsuitable plans.
The process begins with an in-depth Fit For Purpose Audit. I then build your running programme around your available time, starting point, training history and reasons for running.
You will also receive structured progress check-ins and a full end-of-programme review, allowing the plan to adapt when your circumstances change.
A FINAL QUESTION
If your current plan keeps breaking down, what usually knocks it off course?
More importantly, what would the minimum useful version of your training look like during that kind of week?