There's a version of you that's doing everything right.

You're in the gym 4-5 days a week. Tracking food. Hitting steps.

But you look in the mirror and you still don't look like you lift.

Soft lower back and belly. Pear-shaped.

And it sucks, because you're not lazy. You're not eating like garbage.

Maybe it's genetics?

Your body just isn't built for this the way other guys are.

That was me a few years ago.

I'd been lifting for years at that point. Squatted 485.

Tracking every macro. I'd been a personal trainer for years, thousands of hours coaching people in person. And I still looked skinny fat.

A friend actually suggested I consider taking testosterone to help my social media.

Which stung, because it confirmed this wasn't in my head. I genuinely wasn't built the way I thought I should be, given the work I was putting in.

So I went down the rabbit hole.

Convinced myself I had bad genetics, that I was the exception, that my body just worked differently.

That's when I realized something. 

I wasn't actually giving anything a fair shot.

New training plan every few months. Bulk for six weeks, panic about getting fat, cut it short. Read a new study, change the plan again.

I was never in one system long enough to find out if it worked. I just kept looking for a new plan, instead of trusting the boring one I was already in.

And when a week went sideways, a missed session, a weekend that got away from me, I didn't just move on. It was a sign the whole thing was broken. Which gave me a reason to go find something new. Again.

That's not a genetics problem. That's not a discipline problem either.

Here's what actually changed things for me. 

1. I hired a coach. 

He didn't give me any new information. He helped me stopped switching. I had one plan.

2. Started filming my sets 

Turns out I was moving heavy weight, but I wasn't training close to failure. I could get away with that for strength. I could not get away with that for growth.

3. I got honest about food

I wasn't eating enough to support muscle gain. So I committed to a lean gaining phase. A full year of growth, without bailing the second it got uncomfortable.

4. I stopped treating a bad week as a verdict on the whole plan

That's the part that actually stings if you're in this spot right now. More effort isn't the fix if you're restarting every few months. You can be disciplined and still be missing the thing that actually builds muscle, because you never stuck around long enough to find it.

I took ownership. 

Admitted that there were holes in my game that I needed to improve. 

That's when everything changed. Not overnight. But meaningfully. 

And it wasn't just the physique. It changed how I looked at my business, my relationships, everything. 

Are you actually doing the things that would make the outcome you want unreasonable not to happen?

Or are you just doing a version of effort that feels good to you?

If you're working out right now, doing everything you know how to do and still not seeing it in the mirror, it's not your genetics. 

It's that you haven't been honest about your gaps. Once you see them, you can't unsee them.

It sucks to admit.

But it's the thing that'll get you to the next level with your body.

- Matteo 

PS - whenever you're ready, here's how I can help:

You're not lazy. You work hard. You want to crush it.

You just need a system. And someone to keep you honest when you want to bail.

That's what I do inside 1:1 coaching.

Work with me 1:1 to get your best ever body