So this week marks my triumphant return to the gym. I am not yet in the full program that I will begin on the 15^th, but I am getting weights back in my hands, tracking my motions and getting used to waking up at 445 am for a few weeks. I’ve devised a workout program which is a lead up to the full program called Training Introductory Program or TIP.

It’s never just the tip

So, while I am tempted to go all out I am, at current, being patient and using just the TIP.

I will be keeping you guys posted on progress and, of course, continue offering both advice, mediations and challenges. In that spirit I would like to talk about a particular phenomenon I witnessed today that really bugged me. Yesterday we spoke about the resolutioners and, specifically, why we shouldn’t be too hard on them. Sure enough, one of them really bugged me today. One, specifically, who left the weights on his bar at the power rack and walked away and I didn’t know if he was finished or not. I waited a full minute and then just unloaded and started to readjust for my height. He did wind up coming back, but didn’t say anything. I reminded myself not to get all scowly and let it go.

Above the resolutioners, the regulars caught my attention. It has been three months since I’ve gone in and done a workout. After nearly a year of going 13 times a week and always at the same times I’ve come to “know” a lot of people. Sometimes you chat, but mostly head nod acknowledgement or a hello here and there. So a few people asked me how I’ve been and some people said it was good to see me etc. But I looked around at the 15-20 people that I would see every single day for a year and all but three of them looked exactly the same. This is a problem. Other than baseball cap guy, comic book hoodie guy and spandex dude (all of whom had made substantial gains), I was looking at a room full of people doing the same work outs with the same weights with the same bodies as three months ago.

Studies show that most gyms have 70% more excuses than gainz

Let me put this out there for any current or future WB Fitness clients: If you ever spend three months following a plan I design for you and you look exactly the same as when you started not only will I refund your money, but I will let you punch me in the mouth.

Let’s see other trainers make this deal

Some of these people, like velour workout pants girl, use a trainer every day. She was with the same trainer I would see her with 5 days a week doing the same workouts and there was absolutely zero difference. What the fuck are these people up to?

My big change has been my loss of gains, which is understandable due to a 3-month hiatus and no longer eating rhinoceros portions of food. However, change is still change. If you look at me now and look at me in July there is a difference and I will abso-fucking-lutely guarantee that if you look at me in March there will be a difference. To go to the gym on a daily basis for months at a time and see zero change is a massive failure. Where this failure belongs differs. I have to say that if you are working out alone, without a trainer, and after three months there is no appreciable difference than you need to make a choice to either figure out a better way to work out or just cancel your membership. I mean, just sleep in at this point. Why are you going to a gym at 5 am? If you are, however, working with a trainer for 3 months and there is no difference you need to march your ass down to the manager’s office along with your progress pictures and demand your money back or at least demand that you be given credit for the time you spent with one loser in order to hire another.

There is simply no way for a person to keep their diet on point, give 100% in the gym and follow a well-constructed plan and still come out on the other side of 12 weeks having not changed at all.

In the meantime, please keep in mind that you should always track your gains. Every single week, on the same day, at the same time you need to take photos, weigh yourself and take measurements of your body. There is no way to track your progress, or lack thereof, without it. There is always the chance that a week or two weeks or even three weeks go by where you make no significant change in physique, but after that you really need to put the brakes on, reconfigure your diet, your program, your intensity or maybe all three.

So get out there guys. Go conquer something. Go be a beast. Have a goal and attain it and always stop, think, judge and figure out if your path and your program are taking you to your goal.

This week is day one for me. My first goal is to pull myself back into shape. I am going to put as much work into it as possible. Today is Jan 3^rd. By March 3^rd I fully intend to be back to a point where people trip over themselves to get the fuck out of my way. That is my first goal and you bet your ass I will be paying close attention to every bite of food and every rep along the way.

Let me know some of your goals below and what you plan to do to achieve them!