Yesterday Was Leg Day, Today Is Arm Day. And Everyday Is Gym Day.

I tried something that Arnold Schwarzenegger mentioned in his book last week. Every exercise I did, I did 10 sets. So right now, sitting here at 5.40am writing this, I can’t feel my legs.

And it feels great.

I haven’t missed a day of training for over 6 weeks. And I’ve been consistent throughout the year with at least 3 days of training per week. I hold the record for the most number of push-ups at my local gym (72), and yes, I still have some body fat. I’m not shredded like a lot of what you see on the internet. But I’m fitter than most.

Sorry if that sound like I’m boasting. I just want to say that if I can do it, you can too. 

But first, why?

I don’t have a goal. I don’t compete in professional lifting or bodybuilding. I don’t do it to attract the opposite sex (I’m married). So why do I train?

It’s a surprise. You’ll understand in a second.

Today is about showing you how YOU can turn up everyday. If not everyday, then enough to get your fitness under control. A lot of people don’t care about fitness. I want to change that. After all, what’s the point of having anything if you lose your breath climbing a set of stairs?

First, choose your pain

The only reason you skip sessions is because the pain of going to the gym is greater than the pain of NOT going.

We’re wired to choose the path of least resistance. So when the internet freaks tell us — ‘get up and go’ or ‘just do it’. We don’t ‘just’ do it. Because effort is uncomfortable.

And WANTING to be uncomfortable is not natural. Your nervous system is set to the ‘comfortable’ setting because thousands of years ago, we hunted for food. It wasn’t guaranteed. It would have been silly to start lifting heavy things and putting them down for fun. We saved our energy for hunting. And sex.

But now we face another threat — fatness. Everything tastes so good that it’s hard NOT to overeat. And it’s so accessible too — we can have it delivered to us while we relax on a couch watching a Christmas movie on Netflix.

Everything in life is comfortable, except going to the gym. We need to change that statement. And we’re going to.

Here’s the new statement: everything is comfortable, including going to the gym.

How? Just like we teach our kids or train our dogs. Change what you say to yourself.

Instead of ‘I can’t believe I wasted today’, say ‘I’ll have time to do this tomorrow, because I’ve done this before’. Subtle difference. Do you notice it?

The first line ‘I can’t believe I wasted today’ drains you of energy. So it makes it harder for you to show up next time.

The second line ‘I can do this because I’ve done it before’ uses history to justify how easy it is. It makes it easier for you to show up!

It’s not false positivity. It’s not ‘positive thinking’. It’s stacking your wins instead of your losses. Your wins give you energy. Your losses take it away. It’s simple.

You’ve done it before, so many times. So that means you can do it again.

The first time you tried to walk as a baby it wasn’t easy, was it? But you kept going because your parents encouraged you and called you a miracle. They didn’t say “you suck, just give up and don’t try again. Stick to crawling, tubby”. No! They said “that’s it, keep going! You’re doing so great.”

And now your confidence is so high that you know that walking is easy. Because you’ve done it before.

So here’s how you do it in practice.

Step 1.

Remind yourself that you’ve done this before and it was easy last time. That makes it seem more comfortable. Less of a threat, and you’re more likely to go.

Do it now. I’ve been to the gym many times. It was so easy. And fun.

Step 2.

Reward yourself for showing up. Don’t worry about how many reps you did or if you only stayed for 20 minutes. ALWAYS reward yourself for showing up. The association you form with going to the gym needs to be positive. You have to manually take control of how you feel about it. It’s not automatic.

Say I’m so happy I showed up today. As soon as you walk out of the gym.

By the way, it’s easier to go to the gym everyday than it is to go 3–4 times a week. Because you get rewarded everyday. You start craving that feeling of ‘holy shit, I did it again’. It’ll happen. It’ll become a craving like social media.

But like I said, your goal is to show up. Even if you’re tired and hungry. Spend 5 minutes on pushups. Or the treadmill. Or the bike. Do something, and then you can go home.

Be your parents’ voice in your mind, telling you how great a job you’re doing. Because you are doing a great job.

That’ll give you the energy to continue.

So that question I asked you earlier, why do you think I train everyday? Can you guess the answer?

Because it’s so much fun. I’ve been rewarding myself with every session. And now I miss a session it’s painful. It’s PAINFUL to NOT go to the gym.

I’m not using motivation. That’s in limited supply. I’m using pain.

Now, it’s 6.36am. We got home last night after 11pm after a Christmas dinner with family. This month is crazy with all the food and alcohol. Sleep has been in short supply.

So you know what would feel great right now? Going to the gym. See you there.

That’s it for today.

Harry

P.S. I’m waiting for a photo of your 6-pack. You can do it bro.