Hey there Muscles,

As much as I see the contrary, I do feel that MOST people (more than half at least) work "hard" in the gym. They sweat, they breathe heavy, they leave tired, and they feel like they accomplished something. But hard work alone doesn’t guarantee progress. You can absolutely leave the gym exhausted and still not move the needle on strength, muscle, or performance.

I know this because I regularly work with clients who come from environments where training is basically everything thrown at the wall for the sake of doing more. They’re tired, they’re sore, but they’re not actually improving (and getting better at doing misguided things is not progress...).

This usually comes down to one simple issue: lack of intent.

I see it all the time. Someone asks how to get stronger, but when you look at their workouts, it’s a mix of random circuits, some machines, a few heavy sets, maybe some conditioning, and whatever else felt hard that day. They’re doing a lot, but none of it is clearly pointed toward a specific outcome. The effort is there, but the direction is missing.

One of the most helpful questions you can ask yourself in training is: why am I doing this movement?

Not “does it burn” or “is it hard,” but what is this supposed to improve? If you can’t clearly answer that, you’re probably just exercising instead of training.

The Exercises Aren't Always the Problem...

The same applies to traditional lifts. If your goal is quad growth, and you’re squatting shallow, rushing your reps, using loads that are too light, or not creating any meaningful tension, then the squat isn’t really doing its job. The exercise itself isn’t the problem. The lack of intent behind how you’re performing it is.

For example:

I see this a lot when someone says they want bigger quads, but their lower body day includes light goblet squats, walking lunges, some jumps, and then conditioning. Nothing is wrong with those movements individually, but none of them are loaded or structured in a way that truly challenges the quads. The workout is hard, but it isn’t targeted.

When you start to train with purpose, everything becomes clearer. A back squat might be there to build quad strength and size, which means you focus on depth, loading, and repeatable effort. A lat pulldown might be there to build your upper back, which means controlling the eccentric (phase where you return the weight to the stack), keeping tension, and avoiding turning it into an arm exercise. Accessories stop being filler and start reinforcing the main goal of the session, the same way some dark chocolate and sea salt ELEVATES a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

You Don't Get Credit for Doing Bad Work

A simple way to start is to pick just one lift in your next workout and define three things:

1. What is the goal? (if you cant clearly define 1-2 key goals, or you define more than 1-2 goals, you are misguided).
2. What muscle or adaptation are you trying to drive?
3. What does success look like?

Even doing that for one movement will immediately shift how you approach your training.

The takeaway here is that training isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing what matters, on purpose. Hard work absolutely matters, but directed hard work is what actually produces results. If you don’t know why something is in your program, that’s usually the first sign it may not be helping you as much as you think.

That’s exactly what I help people clean up. Whether it’s remote coaching, structured programs, or just pointing you in the right direction, the goal is to make sure everything you’re doing has a purpose and moves you forward.

Stop guessing and start training with intent.

Stay strong, stay durable,

– Mike

P.S. Next week I’ll build on this and show you how to actually choose the right exercises once you know the goal.

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