MetaPhysique Weekly #016: The MOST IMPORTANT Aspect of Fitness

Everyone wants the one answer.

The magic exercise.

The perfect diet rule.
The thing you can focus on while ignoring everything else.

Wouldn’t that clarity be nice?

Let me tell you...there are a lot of different opinions. There are a lot of contradicting views on this. And it's one of the most common questions I get asked.

Here’s the problem: there is no universal “best.”
Whenever we ask “what’s most important?” we’re asking the wrong question.

Because the answer is always: it depends.

The context is you—your goals, your current situation, your priorities.

Clarity comes from breaking the paradigm: there is no universal best. The habit we need is looking at the outcome we want and focusing on what truly drives it.

The Framework

1. Get Clear on What You Want

Details matter. My training always circles back to four outcomes:

• Put on muscle

• Get stronger

• Improve run times

• Maintain athletic ability (jump, sprint, play without blowing something out)

Your outcome might look different. But you have to name it.

2. Know Where You’re At

Ask: what’s the next step?

• Education — Do I need more knowledge?

• Skill — Do I need a new ability?

• Execution — Do I just need to do the thing?

• Trending — If I’m executing, am I actually moving in the right direction?

3. Identify What Moves the Needle

Every outcome has a primary driver:

• Muscle growth → 10+ hard sets per muscle group, per week

• Strength → add weight to the bar (lower volume, higher intensity)

• Running speed → ~2 hrs/week of easy miles + intervals (race pace or repeats)

• Athleticism → mobility + stability + tendon strength + explosive power

4. Put It Together

When you’re setting priorities, here’s something most people miss:

What does that mean for you?

It means you can’t go all-out on every quality at once. Building muscle, building endurance, improving strength, and moving athletically all matter—but if you try to push all four at the same time, you’ll burn out.

So instead, the smart move is to pick 1–2 areas to build while keeping the others in maintenance mode. That way, you’re putting your energy where it creates real change, while still holding onto everything else you’ve already earned.

Picture This

You show up to the gym or hit the trail with absolute clarity about what you’re going to do.

You know today’s session will move you closer to the outcome you want.

No fluff. No wasted effort. Just training that builds confidence, resilience, and results.

Isn’t that what we all want?

The confidence to know our effort is actually moving us closer to what we want.

That’s what asking the right questions gives us: clarity to attack what matters most—and peace in letting go of what doesn’t.

So remember:

There’s no universal “most important.”
There’s your goal, and the best practices to get you there.

Get clear on the outcome → Build the plan → Engage the process.

Much love,

PS – Want me to help put this together for your own workouts?
Reply to this email and I’ll send you details about my program design service. We’ll cut the fluff and build a plan that actually moves the needle.