I’ve been weightlifting since I was 15, and many times throughout my life, I’ve been approached by people at the gym who ask me how I achieve results so quickly. Usually, these are guys who’ve been going to the gym consistently for months, even years, but without much to show for it.
So I thought about these questions people asked me, and the answer?
I just went in really hard.
At that time, my goal was to pack on serious muscle mass.
I went to the gym 5-6 times a week, followed a meal plan consisting of 5-7 meals per day (prioritizing protein), read everything I could on the latest studies about nutrition and hypertrophy, and I slept a lot.
Basically: train, eat, sleep, repeat.
Wow, who would have figured that out, right?
So why did I achieve faster results than everyone else?
I did it obsessively for around 3-9 months at a time.
I didn’t know how incredibly difficult it is for people to be consistent with all the meals, all the training, and the rest needed—until now.
Now, I’m at a point in life where I enjoy different types of exercise—running, spinning, yoga—not just weightlifting. I also read four times more than before and have other interests, so my priorities have shifted.
Now I see why it’s so difficult to eat that fourth meal of eggs and potatoes with cheese for six weeks straight, or why it’s so annoying to go to the gym every day. Now I understand how, after week 2, it can be so hard to keep doing the meat and vegetables and not miss a single meal—even if you’re going out on a Friday night.
But at the time, I was just so obsessed with the goal of gaining 5-10kg of muscle that it felt natural.
I was fully focused and had no other major priorities in life.
I guess what I’ve discovered through that lens now is that, for anything you want to get better at—whether it’s learning, improving a skill, etc.—you just need to go full hard mode. All in.
Drop most things and focus on that one thing. The benefit? You see real progress fast. That’s how I can pack on 5kg of muscle in just two months.
I know what’s required, and I know how to do it. But the same approach applies to everything.
Want to learn French? Stop that 2-hour lesson on Saturdays; it’ll take you 5-6 years to become average. Instead, study 2-4 hours a day for 3-4 months.
Going full hard mode allows you to get exponentially better at things, much faster than a balanced, “slow-and-steady” approach.
Then, once you’ve achieved the desired results, you can switch to maintenance mode, like I do now. But when it comes to new challenges, a balanced life is often why people fail to progress and achieve real results.
Go full hard mode.
All in, baby