08/31/2026
I’m fully convinced that struggling is the job and progress is just the bonus.
Because most people get fitness backwards from day one. They think their job is to lose weight, hit PRs, look better, or finally get “in shape.”
So when the scale doesn’t move, the workout feels terrible, or they don’t see progress for a few weeks, they assume something is wrong.
But if you actually look at what getting fit requires, most of it doesn’t feel like progress.
Most workouts aren’t PRs.
Most weeks you won’t look noticeably different.
Some days you’ll feel strong. Some days the same weight will feel ridiculously heavy.
Your job isn’t to constantly see progress.
Your job is to keep showing up.
Think about a fisherman. He doesn’t go out expecting every cast to catch a fish. His job is to cast. The fish is what happens occasionally because he kept casting.
Training works the same way. The workout is the cast. Eating enough protein is the cast. Going to bed instead of staying up another hour is the cast. Training on the days you feel great and the days you feel average is the cast.
And eventually you catch something.
A PR.
Ten pounds gone.
Your first pull-up.
Better bloodwork.
More energy.
Clothes fitting differently.
But those things are the bonus.
The mistake is judging whether the process is working based on whether you got a result today. You can do everything right for a week and see the scale go up. You can train poorly, eat like garbage all weekend, step on the scale Monday morning and somehow be two pounds lighter.
Neither result tells the whole story.
That’s why the people who stay fit for decades eventually stop grading themselves by the scoreboard.
They grade themselves by the work.
Did I train?
Did I eat well?
Did I recover?
Did I do what I said I was going to do?
Fitness is built from thousands of ordinary days where nothing exciting happens.
The results are just what eventually accumulate because you kept casting.
Good luck, have fun.
Matt
