If you can’t guarantee intensity, guarantee repetition.

The protocol

  • Minimum: move for 20 minutes.
  • Add: one hard set (push, pull, hinge, squat).
  • Finish: five minutes of mobility.
  • Record: one line in a notebook.

No streaks. No guilt. Just evidence.

Why it works

  • It respects bad days.
  • It preserves identity: I’m the kind of person who returns.
  • It keeps the system warm so tomorrow has less friction.

Small steps don’t look like progress up close. That’s the point.