Before I walked into the gym today, I made a deal with myself.
I was going to train.
What I trained was still up for debate.
Now, this may be hard to hear—especially coming from a trainer—but I don’t currently follow a workout program.
That’s right.
No spreadsheet.
No app.
No twelve-week progression plan.
No perfectly mapped-out training cycle.
And before my fellow trainers start throwing kettlebells at me, let me explain.
I believe in programs.
I write programs for clients every week.
Good programs work.
But here’s something I’ve learned:
The best program in the world is useless if you won’t follow it.
And the people who get the best long-term results usually aren’t the people chasing the perfect plan.
They’re the people who keep showing up.
Today’s workout is a good example.
I looked at what I’d trained over the previous week, thought about how my body was feeling, and considered what the next few days would probably look like.
Then I built a workout.
I started the session with a 20-minute weighted-vest stair climb. Nothing heroic. Just enough to get moving, break a sweat, and ease into the workout.
From there I moved into Smith machine hip thrusts. Light weight, controlled tempo, and a hard pause at the top of every rep.
I knew I wanted some hip extension work in there somewhere, but I also knew I had bigger plans for the second half of the workout. So instead of loading the exercise up and making it the star of the show, I kept it controlled and got what I needed out of it.
From there I moved into heavy pulldowns, followed by heavy one-arm kneeling cable rows and pin-stop overhead presses.
At that point, I felt like I needed to get some squatting in, but I wasn’t interested in loading a barbell or chasing weight. I wanted to slow things down for a minute before getting into the conditioning work, so I added three rounds of single-sided rack squats.
None of that was planned before I walked into the gym.
I was making decisions as I went.
Then things got a little more aggressive.
I paired kettlebell snatches with weighted-vest walking lunges and ran that for four rounds.
After that came the finisher.
Weighted-vest burpees with a push-up directly into box jumps, followed by heavy farmer carries with the biggest kettlebells we have.
Three rounds.
By the end of it, I felt absolutely lethal.
Now here’s the part that matters.
The lesson isn’t that you should go do my workout.
The lesson is that I trained.
That’s it.
I looked at what I’d already done.
I looked at what I still had coming up.
I adjusted.
Then I got to work.
Every week I sit down with people looking for the perfect workout.
The perfect split.
The perfect routine.
The perfect exercise.
The perfect plan.
And meanwhile, some of the most successful people I’ve worked with over the years are simply really good at showing up.
When life gets busy, they adjust.
When they’re tired, they adjust.
When work gets crazy, they adjust.
When they miss a workout, they adjust.
They don’t throw the entire week away because one day didn’t go according to plan.
That’s probably one of the biggest shifts in my own thinking over the years.
If you’d asked me ten years ago what the best workout was, I probably would’ve given you a very different answer.
Today, I think differently.
The exercises were negotiable.
Showing up wasn’t.
After nearly twenty years in the fitness industry, that’s probably one of the most important lessons I’ve learned.
The best workout isn’t the one some influencer swears by.
The best workout isn’t the one written by a celebrity trainer.
The best workout isn’t the one that looks impressive on social media.
The best workout is the one you’ll actually do.
This Month’s Quick Win
The next time life throws your workout schedule off track, don’t scrap the entire week.
Adjust.
Shorten the workout.
Change the exercises.
Walk instead of run.
Train for thirty minutes instead of sixty.
Just keep the promise you made to yourself.
Reader Question
What if I miss a workout?
Nothing.
Seriously.
Don’t turn one missed workout into a missed week.
Get back on track at the next opportunity and keep moving forward.
I appreciate your time and attention. I’ll do my best to make every issue worth reading.
Pat “Coach Loz” Lozzi
Coach Loz Fitness
P.S. If there’s a topic you’d like covered in a future issue, simply reply to this email. I’d love to hear your ideas and may feature them in a future newsletter.
