THE FITNESS CHEAT CODE

Fitness has often been seen as a chore due to how difficult it can be. You are voluntarily stressing and testing your body and asking it to perform maximally. This can be rough for many people, particularly if they are less fit. I am here to share with you a few hacks that can help you get into fitness and chase a better you.

FAILING AT FITNESS

To fail at fitness is merely to surrender to human nature to take the path of least resistance. It is not a sign that you are a terrible person, but rather that fitness was not presented to you as an essential element that will give you what you are looking for. Often I see people stop working out because the program costs too much, is too complicated, demands an unnecessary amount of time, or stresses them too hard too fast.

Often, the people who fail are the ones who try to get in shape through pure classic long distance running or pushing too hard too fast and getting injured or burnt out early. This is not a bad thing, but rather it is a symptom of our education system failing us early on by not teaching us how to take care of ourselves, despite PE being a course we were supposed to learn that stuff from.

YOU HAVE TO WANT IT

I know you may read this and think I am motivated all the time to do my exercise. The truth is that I try to talk myself out of exercising daily. I will make all the excuses in the world; “I just need coffee first”, “I am too tired”, “I am too busy”, etc. I do want to do my exercises because I want what they offer, but I rarely look forward to doing them.

Though I don’t want to go through the motions to get the benefits, I ultimately focus on the benefits of the exercises themselves. Every pushup is going to help build the chest, even if I can only do 1 because “I’m too tired”. Basically, I give myself permission to perform as best I can, given how I feel. I tell myself that even if I do a single rep, showing up is the ultimate goal, not performing like you are in a competition. Give yourself permission to suck and concentrate on technique and the benefits you will get from the exercise.

CHOOSE EXERCISES WITH A LOT OF BANG FOR YOUR BUCK

Often times I see workout or training plans that look a lot more like amateur bodybuilding plans than fitness training plans. People will do exercise machines for meager sets and reps and do isolation training well before they even do things that are basic and foundational to human performance. You have no place, in my opinion, lifting weights until you have mastered your own weight.

Until you can achieve an unsupported handstand, 20 slow ‘chest to ground’ pushups, and 10 pullups, and run 400 meters in 1:30, I don’t think you need to be working with any outside weight except maybe a kettlebell. Turkish Getups/Windmills with 24KG and 32KG are powerful mobility and stability tests. Also, keeping power for good swings and Snatches, and Clean & Presses are basic and foundational compound exercises that develop strength, power, and endurance all at once.

TIME IS MONEY

I know it’s tough to convince you to commit to 60 minutes of exercise. It’s also difficult to persuade you to do 45 minutes. But what if I told you that you can get a full‑body workout every day in just 10 to 15 minutes? And what if I gave you the clear blueprints to build both power and endurance in under 30 minutes, three times per week? This is true efficiency, and I assure you it’s entirely possible.

CONSISTENCY IS KING

When you are into your later years, you may find that your youthful snap is gone. That is not because you are “just older”. There are plenty of old athletes that still have snap and vigor. Something we are not warned about in basic health and PE is that the strength and endurance we build from our active youth days is temporary. The education system has yet to convey the point that our bodies are so good at adapting, that it can adapt to inactivity also and unused muscle will atrophy.

However, this is not the end of the world. Our DNA will retain the muscle building gene for decades, and this is why people who haven’t lifted in decades can still throw on muscle as easy as blowing up a balloon. To avoid this chore of having to reestablish a routine, it is best to keep a consistent momentum of exercise. The exercise doesn’t have to be torturous, but it needs to be consistent.

For myself, I will do the Daily 13 out of TC87 and War Department Pamphlet 21-9. I can take my time and still accomplish all the exercises with good form, and breaks after double exercises, in under 15 minutes. When I am feeling skippy, I will do it in under 8 minutes and I will get smoked. This is a non-negotiable series of exercises that maintains my muscle and power, but also gives me a bit of a HIIT charge as well. Even if I do nothing else, this series of exercises is enough to wake my body and get me moving. Afterwards, I do not feel tired. I have a specific rep range and can take my time recovering and prepping, which gives me comfort in doing this daily, despite less-than-optimal mood and fatigue.

MY CHALLENGE TO YOU

Go to my article on the TC87 and try the daily 13 on the week 1 or 2 reps. Just try it out as your warmup or exclusive exercise for the day. Do it every day for 5 days straight. If you like it, follow the progression reps, even if you feel like the reps are too easy. Trust the process and you will thank me later. I also advise you to try the Guerilla drills. Rotate through the exercises for a total of 10 minutes. You will notice how well it works you, and you may feel like I do that this style of exercise is superior to the gym bro life of today.