A lady was waiting for her assessment in the lobby recently. I had a chance to talk with her a bit beforehand.
She said she’s been exercising consistently, but she’s not seeing the results she wanted.
Her routine sounded decent.
Yoga three times per week.
The gym on her own twice per week.
Then she added one detail that caught my attention.
She said she usually pushes herself about a 5/10 effort.
You might think this is where I’d say, “Well… there’s your problem.”
But I don’t think it’s that simple.
So I asked her a different question:
“Do you feel like you have wasted money on the yoga studio and the gym membership?”
Her answer was what it almost always is:
No.
And it makes sense.
Because even if she isn’t getting the exact results she hoped for, she’s still getting a real return.
She’s moving.
She’s building some strength.
She’s keeping her joints healthier.
She’s managing stress.
She’s avoiding the more treacherous road: slow weight gain, weakness, and becoming sedentary.
Something positive is happening—even if it isn’t the full outcome she wants yet.
Now, does she need a change?
Probably.
In my opinion, she’d likely benefit from:
More strength training (at the right effort, consistently, and progressively).
More walking and cardio.
Keeping the yoga that she genuinely enjoys.
More protein.
And a few simple strategies to reduce weekend calories.
But here’s the real takeaway:
People almost never feel like they wasted money on fitness if they actually use what they paid for.
The regret comes when people don’t use it.
The unused gym membership.
The treadmill that became a clothes rack.
The infomercial equipment in the corner.
The “I’ll start Monday” plan that never starts.
Ironically, this is why the most common fear—“I don’t want to waste money”—is backwards.
Because you’re in full control of whether it’s a waste.
If you use what you purchase, there’s usually zero regret whether you lost the 20lbs. or achieved the 6 pack abs.
You intuitively know it helped you.
Even if it wasn’t perfect.
Even if it wasn’t optimal.
Even if it wasn’t the exact plan you’d design on paper.
A true waste is doing nothing.
So yes—an optimal strategy is best.
It should be tailored.
It should include smart strength training.
But the “something is better than nothing” strategy has one big advantage:
It almost always eliminates buyer’s remorse.
Because you did the one thing that matters most.
You showed up.
– James Pratt