Picture a typical Tuesday: full of meetings, shifting priorities, and family demands. The kids have exams and need help with subjects I hardly remember. My wife works in shifts and keeps reminding me that the garden needs attention. Since her shifts are unpredictable, I'm in charge of the school runs.
On top of everything, it's autumn. The days are shorter now, and it's already dark by 5:30 pm.
The old me would have looked at this schedule, seen no clean one-hour slot, thrown his hands in the air, and said, "Forget it. I'll train tomorrow."
And "tomorrow," of course, would never come.
The Loop I Couldn't Escape
I've been stuck in this loop for years. I'm a natural early bird, but motivation isn't a given. I can have a great run at 6 am one day, and then, a few days later, just as many reasons to stop. My history is a classic yo-yo.
Ten years ago, I was fit. That lasted about two years. Five years ago, I was fit again until I started working abroad, discovered Indian butter chicken, and put on 30 kilos as a result.
See the pattern? My "fit" periods were built on a rigorous, 100% all-or-nothing regime: perfect training, perfect food, perfect sleep. If one of those three pillars failed, the whole system collapsed.
But as you get older, you realize the goal isn't what it was 10 years ago. I'm not chasing a six-pack for a summer holiday anymore. Life gets more real. People around you get sick. My wife works with elderly people, and the contrast between those who maintained their fitness and those who didn't is striking.
Fitness isn't a magic cure for disease, but if your base is good, you've got a much better starting point.
The Shift: From Perfection to Progress
So this Spanish "challenge" I signed up for isn't the goal. It's just an adventure. The real goal is the day-to-day. And for that, I've had to change my entire approach.
Nowadays, I just embrace the "Whatever" Workout.
I plan to train early in the morning, either a 6 am ride or a gym visit. But if I can't because the universe has other plans, I don't delete my fitness apps and eat cookies for breakfast.
I just do something.
- A longer, faster walk with the dogs? That's the workout.
- A few sets of squats, lunges, wall sits, planks (you name it) while the coffee brews? That's the workout.
- A run, a WOD, a hike, a quick mobility session... whatever.
Start stupidly simple by walking up and down your stairs five times. No gym, no gear, no YouTube tutorials. Your body weight and the decision to move are enough to begin. The beauty of "whatever" is that it meets you exactly where you are. Push-ups against the kitchen counter count. Carrying those grocery bags up instead of taking the elevator. The goal isn't perfection; it's starting the habit of doing something consistently.
The "Whatever" Workout philosophy could break the yo-yo pattern. It removes the pressure of feeling that "if I don't do it 100% right, I'm failing".
The simple, imperfect act of doing something is already more than average.
And that, right there, is the win. That is the continuous process.
Living with Your Data, Not Against It
Here's what I've learned about all those numbers on my wrist: they're helpful when they tell me something I can actually use.
Your smartwatch might tell you you're "detraining," but it doesn't know your life. It doesn't know about the sick kids, the late-night deadlines, or the fact that you just carried 12 grocery bags up the stairs.
I've stopped chasing perfect readiness scores and started paying attention to what my body actually tells me. Some days, the data says I'm ready to crush a workout, but I feel like garbage. Other days, my "recovery" is supposedly low, but I feel fantastic.
The data is useful context, not gospel.
My Simple Principles
After years of trial and error, here's what actually works for me:
Consistency beats intensity: Move at least four days out of seven. It doesn't matter what it is, but do some kind of strength work at least twice a week
Do something that makes your muscles work harder than usual.
Progress without pressure: Your body adapts when you nudge, not when you punish. Add a minute, a rep, a hill. Small steps that stack up over time.
Never skip twice in a row: Miss Monday's workout? Tuesday becomes sacred, even if it's just a 10-minute walk. This single rule has saved me from countless slides back into old patterns.
The Takeaway: Stop waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect plan, or the perfect readiness score. Start with whatever you can do, wherever you are, with whatever time you have.
Do something. Do it often. And watch how far "whatever" can actually take you.