It is such a wonderful time to be alive.

You can order almost any food you want and have it delivered to your door.

You can watch almost any TV show or movie.

You can listen to almost any piece of music ever created.

You can take a class or watch a video to build almost any skill.

You can connect with almost anyone in the world.

And you have access to more information than at any other time in the history of our world.

So why are we more fat, depressed, and anxious than ever?

Sometimes I think it’s because there is almost too much information.

Let me phrase that even better for the context of this article:

We have so much information that we get stuck in analysis paralysis.

For every client who has ever hired me, they have access to almost all of the information I’ve learned over nearly 20 years in this profession.

What they don’t have access to is the number of times I’ve run the experiment with that information.

That’s a huge part of what you’re actually getting from me as a trainer.

If we dip back into The Formula, I’ve taken information and treated it as an experiment.

I’ve applied it to thousands of people and thousands of sessions.

I’ve watched what happened.

I’ve collected the data.

I’ve analyzed it.

I’ve edited it.

I’ve classified it into principles, systems, and philosophies that I can apply to people to help get them toward what they want.

And the most important part?

It’s never a finished product.

I’m constantly collecting data.

I’m constantly editing.

I’m constantly revising.

Because there’s always another experiment to run.

So what the hell does this have to do with you?

You Have to Start Somewhere

Back to analysis paralysis.

I see a lot of people get completely stuck because they don’t know where to start with any of this.

If you get stuck on social media looking for the perfect workout routine to get you what you want, you can keep endlessly searching for something that validates where you currently are.

Or you can find some dogmatic asshole who tells you they’ve discovered the perfect thing for what you’re chasing and nothing else works.

You can find a million things in between that contradict a million other things.

“Don’t do this. Only do this.”

“Stop wasting your time with this and just do this. It’s way less work.”

“Here’s the one thing nobody tells you.”

And on and on and on.

Some of that information is great.

Some of it is bullshit.

Some of it might work incredibly well for you.

Some of it might be completely wrong for you.

And eventually you can become so overwhelmed trying to find the perfect answer that you never actually pull the fucking trigger and start something.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

There are a ton of great beginner programs, and some are absolutely better options for certain people than others.

I’m not here to list them all out today.

What I am here to say is:

You just have to fucking pick one and start something.

Because the sooner you start, the sooner you start learning.

You’re starting this quest with minimal skill points if you’re brand new.

You’re not supposed to be able to take on the boss-level opponents yet.

You don’t need to worry about the later levels that require a higher skill set.

You simply need to start collecting experience points.

Build your skills.

Learn about fitness.

Learn about your body.

And most importantly, start learning about yourself.

Everyone thinks there is one perfect answer for them.

They think the more people they ask and the more research they do, eventually they’re going to find the perfect answer that makes everything easy.

Newsflash: that doesn’t fucking happen. Probably ever.

Now the Experiment Begins

Once you pick something and start, the experiment really begins.

Now you can start:

Collecting data.

Observing yourself.

Measuring.

Adjusting.

Repeating.

The principles and philosophies matter.

But even the most perfect philosophy still has to be applied to you.

It’s like when I give a client what I think is a completely perfect cue.

I’ll say that shit like it’s pure scientific poetry.

It’s not too technical.

I’ve tweaked it just enough to fit their language and their style of thinking based on my time working with them.

And sometimes it still doesn’t hit the way I want it to.

Then suddenly I see them figure it out.

They perform the movement correctly.

And I’ll tell them:

“How I said it was perfect to me. But whatever you just said to yourself that made your body do that correctly—that’s what you need to focus on.”

I’m really good at translating my computer code into language other people can understand.

That’s one of the things I’ve gotten good at through years of doing this.

But I’m not perfect at it.

Not even close.

Sometimes I miss.

Sometimes the way I explain something doesn’t work.

And when that happens, I get more data.

I learn.

I adjust.

I try again.

That’s the whole fucking point.

I speak my computer-code language.

A lot of the time, it works for a lot of users.

But everyone has their own specific code running in their brain.

Find your own code.

Take the principle.

Translate it into something you understand.

Then use it.

That’s part of the experiment.

And I’m still running that experiment too.

Don’t Expect It to Get Easy

So you started.

Now what?

One of the next things that comes up is thinking there is going to be some point where everything gets easy.

I hear this all the time from clients:

“When is this going to get easier?”

“Why does this still feel so hard?”

“I feel like I’m not improving.”

First off, it’s never really going to get “easy” if you’re continuing to progress.

You could do the exact same workout the exact same way forever.

Eventually it would probably feel pretty fucking easy.

It also probably wouldn’t continue giving you the results you’re looking for.

That’s simple progressive overload.

You get stronger.

You increase the resistance in one of many ways.

You adapt.

Then you increase the challenge again.

This is such a parallel to how you handle mental stress and overcome things in your life.

You keep progressing.

And things keep getting harder.

Problems that once seemed unbearable eventually become easier to defeat.

Then new problems show up that seem impossible.

But now you have something you didn’t have before:

Experience.

You can look at the new problem and think:

I’ve done this before.

Maybe not this exact thing, but I’ve figured shit out before.

I have skills I didn’t have last time.

I just need to improve some stuff first.

Again, it’s like the video game.

You level up.

You encounter higher-level enemies.

You keep building skills.

You keep progressing.

Eventually you get another boss fight.

Then another.

And another.

In real life, there isn’t an endpoint.

Well…

The end of life is another topic for another day.

But until then, you keep leveling up.

There Is No Final Level

You aren’t going to do the magic perfect workout and reach some final level of fitness where you can just stop working out forever.

You aren’t going to reach some magical state of mental strength where life never challenges you again.

And you aren’t going to build a collection of skills that you can put on a shelf and expect them to stay sharp forever.

They’re perishable skills.

As the saying goes:

If you don’t use it, you lose it.

Sure, you can hang around at one level for a long time.

But eventually you’re going to want to progress.

And sometimes life will knock you down a few levels.

You get injured.

You have kids.

Your career changes.

You get sick.

Life gets chaotic.

Sometimes you have to climb back up.

That’s part of the game.

The Same Thing Won’t Always Work

There’s another mistake people make.

They find something that works and assume they can just do the same thing forever.

Now, in a sense, you’re going to keep progressing the basics of strength training for your entire life.

Those principles don’t suddenly stop working.

What changes is you and the circumstances you’re applying them to.

Maybe you had an amazing strength program in your 20s.

You were hitting PRs.

You were the strongest you’d ever been.

Then you’re in your 30s.

Some wear and tear has accumulated.

Maybe you started a family.

Maybe your career has become more demanding.

Maybe you’re dealing with more stress.

Maybe you simply don’t have the same amount of time you had ten years ago.

And you’re not recovering or performing the same way.

So adjust the experiment.

Maybe you cut some volume.

Maybe you change the program.

Maybe you focus more on recovery.

Maybe you lift fewer days.

And maybe, most importantly, you redefine your goals for this season of your life.

That’s not failure.

That’s adaptability.

Be malleable.

Improvise.

Adapt.

Overcome.

Data Doesn’t Lie

So what does my preachy tangent actually mean?

You need to observe the experiment.

Collect the data.

Measure it.

Write shit down.

Keep a logbook.

Physical notebook?

Much better way in my opinion.

Computer?

Fine.

A chalkboard at home like you’re Albert Einstein?

I don’t give a shit.

Just track it.

Your diet.

Your workouts.

Your journaling.

Your meditation.

Whatever matters to the experiment you’re running.

Everyone thinks they have an idea of how things are going.

They think they can remember everything.

But here’s the thing:

Data doesn’t lie if you’re honestly tracking it.

It’s brutally honest.

And it’s beautiful.

It doesn’t care about your feelings.

It doesn’t care about the story you’re telling yourself.

It just tells you what happened.

You’re only cheating yourself when you don’t track—or when you don’t track honestly.

It’s like a kid racing home in the movies to get his report card.

He gets a bad grade.

He doesn’t want to get in trouble.

So he changes the grade.

A 72 becomes an 82.

An 82 becomes a 92.

Maybe he feels better for a little while.

He gets to avoid the immediate consequence.

But eventually someone is going to notice that the kid isn’t actually as smart as his report card says he is.

And that’s exactly what happens when you lie to yourself about your data.

You can tell yourself you’re eating better.

You can tell yourself you’re training consistently.

You can tell yourself you’re doing everything you’re supposed to be doing.

But eventually the results show up.

The body keeps the score.

If you’re saying you should be getting fitter but the data doesn’t show it, don’t change the fucking report card.

Look at the data.

Then figure out what needs to change.

Adjust the Experiment

This is the next key point.

Adjust based on your data.

Things that worked once might not always work.

Say you had an amazing strength program in your 20s that was getting you PRs and making you the strongest you’d ever been.

Now you’re in your 30s.

Some wear and tear has accumulated.

Maybe you started a family.

Maybe work has become more stressful as your role grows and you climb the career ladder.

Maybe you’re feeling run down and you’re not quite as strong.

Adjust your experiment.

Maybe you cut some volume.

Maybe you change your program.

Maybe you focus more on recovery.

Maybe you adjust the number of days you’re lifting.

And maybe you redefine your goals for this season of life.

The formula didn’t fail.

The circumstances changed.

So you edit the formula.

You Don’t Have to Figure It Out Alone

There’s another part of learning about yourself that I think gets overlooked.

Have you ever noticed how we get stuck venting to people?

Then those people love giving us advice about what works for them and what they think we should do?

Sometimes that advice is actually incredibly helpful.

And sometimes people are giving you advice that helps them validate their own way of thinking.

We’re all capable of doing this.

Sometimes we’re not really looking for information.

We’re looking for confirmation.

That’s one reason it’s so important to be careful about who you’re listening to.

But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Sometimes you’re simply too close to the problem to see it clearly.

Someone on the outside looking in can see exactly where you’re stumbling because they aren’t standing inside the fucking maze with you.

That’s one of the reasons coaches, mentors, friends, therapists, and other people with different perspectives can be useful.

They may see something you can’t.

But even then, you still have to run the experiment yourself.

Listen to the advice.

Take what is useful.

Discard what isn’t.

Apply it to your situation.

Then see what happens.

Because even the best advice in the world is still someone else’s experience.

You have to translate it into your own.

Then You Do It Again

Once you’ve adjusted the formula to accurately fit what you’re trying to achieve, you repeat the process.

Start again.

Observe.

Measure.

Adjust.

Repeat.

And the more you do this over the years, the better you get at it.

You keep building a collection of skills.

Skills you’ve acquired over a very long career.

Skills that make you a nightmare for—

Okay, sorry.

Taken movie quote.

Anyway.

You keep building your skills.

You get better at running the experiment.

You get better at tweaking things.

You get better at fitting the experiment into different circumstances.

You get better at adjusting.

You get better at practicing.

And you get better at getting the outcomes you want.

You can handle more curveballs as they’re thrown at you.

You become better at figuring out what needs to change.

And you become more capable of handling whatever level of the game you’re currently playing.

You’re Learning How to Learn

It isn’t going to come from one perfect piece of information.

Take in the information.

Use what you can.

Discard what you don’t need.

Pick something.

Start.

Collect evidence.

Adjust.

Repeat.

Forever.

Because you are the experiment.

And it’s not just fitness.

It’s not just mental health.

It’s not just your finances.

It’s not just your relationships.

It’s you.

Every single time.

It’s you learning what works for you.

It’s you learning what doesn’t work for you.

It’s you learning what you need.

It’s you learning who you are.

It’s you learning what works for you right now.

That’s different from simply learning what works.

Because what works for you at 25 might not work at 35.

What works when you’re single might not work when you have a family.

What works when you have unlimited time might not work when your responsibilities change.

The principles may stay the same.

The application evolves.

And eventually you realize something even bigger:

You’re not just learning what works.

You’re learning how to learn about yourself.

That’s the real skill.

So stop waiting for the perfect answer.

Stop researching forever.

Stop looking for someone else to hand you the perfect character build.

Take the information.

Pick something.

Start the experiment.

Observe.

Measure.

Adjust.

Repeat.

Because the experiment isn’t going to stop.

You are the experiment.