Inside The Playbook™
Disclaimer: If you’re not in the mood to read a testimonial or sales pitch … skip this read! We’ll get back to the usual vibe in a second.
Client Spotlight: The Gym Guy Who Handed Me the Wheel (Barely lol)
Let’s talk about Matt.
You know the type: He’s always at the gym. Rain, shine, vacation, hangover… doesn’t matter. He trains. He shows up.
He’s not new to this. He’s been in the game for over a decade.
But here’s the thing: Consistency ≠ progress.
Matt wasn’t lazy (quite the opposite). He wasn’t clueless.
He was just doing the same stuff he always had. Because it had worked once… a long time ago.
So when he slid into my DMs, it wasn’t a cry for help.
It was:
“I want to see results again. But I’m only giving you three things.”
Fair.
When you’ve been doing this long enough, trust is earned.
So I took the wheel, just enough to make a change and win him over.
What He Gave Me Control Of:
1. Lower Body Squat Day
This was sacred ground.
He said, “I squat every week. Don’t screw it up.”
Cool. I built him a 9-week powerbuilding progression that respected the ritual, but actually moved the needle.
Heavy compound lifts with reps/sets based on %’s of his 1 RM. No guess work.
RPE-guided machine work (we’re not barbells-or-bust around here).
Tempo work.
Everything based on progressive overload.
2. Zone 2 Treadmill Plan
Cardio? He “does it,” but never with intention.
We locked in 2 treadmill sessions per week:
Two 45 min Zone 2 walks/jogs with incline and heart rate guidance
Now? He’s recovering faster, sleeping deeper, and his joints feel alive again.
3. HIIT Protocol (Bike + Rower)
He was chasing that old-school “athlete” feeling but didn’t want to join a CrossFit gym.
We gave it back to him with a 30 to 40 minute weekly burner that combined rowing and the Assault Bike. Each week we increased our target - building in capacity.
Simple. Brutal. Addictive.
The Results
By week 7, this guy was saying what no gym guy ever wants to admit:
“Dude… I think I’ve been wasting my workouts.”
His squat jumped 30 lbs
His resting heart rate dropped, and his sleep scores spiked
And after a Saturday HIIT session, a girl at the gym asked if she could join on the next HIIT workout.
That’s what The Playbook™ is.
Not a total life takeover.
Just targeted control where it matters, to you.
You tell me where you’re stuck.
We hop on a 30-minute consult ($50 flat).
And if you want a custom program built from it? We’ll talk.
Matt gave me three things.
That’s all it took.
You in?
-Dan Nides / @gymtanlaw on Instagram
