0.1 beats 0: Why I Chose Minimal Training Over Perfect Plans

I was told that one workout per week wouldn't work. That I'd need at least three sessions to see results.

My trainer wasn't trying to upsell me. He genuinely believed I was wasting my time. And technically, he was right. More training does produce better results.

But I knew something he didn't: I'd already moved mountains with small, consistent pressure. I knew one workout per week would beat zero workouts per week. And zero is exactly what I'd get if I committed to three and burned out after a month.

So I said no. Once per week was all I could handle. Maybe once every two weeks on a weekend if we could schedule it.

I was told that there would be no progress. But I started anyway.

May 10, 2023 was my first session. One per week, that was the deal.

What Two Years of "Not Enough" Looked Like

I love sports. I've been an athlete my whole life. I love running, playing football, any kind of ball games. I love moving (definitely less now than when I was younger, but still).

But the gym? The gym has never been pleasant for me. I can't work out alone. I just won't do it.

Once my trainer canceled when I was already at the gym. I thought, okay, let me try working out alone. Ten minutes later I was in the shower.

It's not that I don't know what to do. I know how to train progressively, what exercises to do. But here's the thing: I just don't enjoy it. Working out alone at the gym doesn't work for me.

With a trainer, it does. Because I need someone to tell me what to do. Someone who won't ask if I'm enjoying it. Who won't ask if I have the strength. Who won't ask what I want to do next. Because the answer would always be the same: I don't want anything. I'm not enjoying this. I want to go home. I don't want to be here.

That's exactly why once per week worked. It wasn't about enjoying it. It was about what I could actually handle. Not exciting, not impressive, just doable.

After I got used to showing up, I added a second session. Not because I wanted to become a fitness expert, but because two felt like a good compromise for maintaining my health.

Over the next two years, from May 10, 2023 to September 17, 2025, I completed 130 training sessions. That's roughly 1.2 sessions per week on average. Some weeks I skipped. Some weeks I made it twice. But I kept showing up.

The results: I went from doing 5 pushups to over 40. I can do multiple pull-ups now. I look better, I'm stronger, my body composition improved. I look closer to my actual age. I feel more masculine, more confident.

Would I look better if I'd trained three times per week and focused on diet? Absolutely.

But if I'd insisted on that level of commitment from the start, I'd have gotten nothing. I'd have quit.

The Math That Actually Matters

Here's the math my trainer was using:

• 3 sessions/week × optimal intensity = best results
• 1 session/week × moderate intensity = zero results

Here's the math I was using:

• 3 sessions/week × burnout after 4 weeks = 12 sessions total
• 1 session/week × sustainable for 2 years = 130+ sessions total

The key: 0.1 beats 0. Every single time.

The optimal plan you never start is worth exactly nothing. The minimal plan you actually stick with compounds into something you won't recognize in two years.

How It Actually Works

Even now, with a different trainer, training twice per week, there are mornings I absolutely don't want to go. But I don't give myself the option to skip.

Training is in my calendar. The alarm goes off on Wednesday or Sunday morning. I don't ask myself how I feel. I don't evaluate whether I have energy. I don't decide if I'm motivated.

The alarm rings. I turn it off. I get my things ready. In 30 minutes I need to be at the gym.

No negotiation. No decision. Just automatic action.

This isn't about loving the gym. I still don't love the gym. It's about showing up regardless of how you feel before, during, or after.

This Works for Everything

You look at a side project and think: "I'd need three hours a day to make real progress."

So you don't start.

Same with learning a language. Same with building a business. Same with any long-term goal.

You're running the wrong math. You're comparing optimal intensity against starting small, when you should be comparing starting small against not starting at all.

Worse, you're comparing yourself to people who already hit the goal. But you don't know how many months they put in. What their starting line was. What predispositions they had. You're comparing your day one to their day 500.

One hour per day on your project beats zero hours. One session per week beats no sessions. Ten minutes of practice beats zero minutes.

The question isn't "What's the optimal amount?" The question is "What can I actually sustain?"

Because sustained effort, even minimal, compounds into results that look impossible when you start.

Two years ago I could barely do 5 pushups. Today I can do 40.

You might think that's pathetic. Only 40 pushups at 34 years old? But I think doing 5 is more pathetic than doing 40.

Start small. Keep showing up. Let time do the rest.

0.1 beats 0. Every time.