Most People Waste Their Worst Training Days — Here’s How You Use Them

Hello!

This is my first newsletter — and I’m kicking it off with something we all face but rarely talk about: what to do when your training session turns to crap.

Not kinda bad. I mean the everything feels wrong, you hate being there, your body’s not cooperating, you have just regressed a year type of session.

You’ve had one. I had one just yesterday.
But here’s the twist:

Let me show you what I mean.

You think it’s a bad workout? It’s actually a test.

Hi bros and sisters,

you don't know me yet because this is my first video and newsletter. My name is Fred, and one of the things I do in life is train — mostly bike trials, but also a lot of gym and some other stuff too.

Yesterday I had a really bad training. Like, completely off. I felt weak, uncoordinated, annoyed at myself — the whole thing just sucked. And I want to take this opportunity to talk about what to do when your training goes like that.

Because here's the deal:

It’s not a question of if — it’s a question of when. And if you take your training seriously — if you’re trying to reach anything close to your potential — you better have a strategy for dealing with them.

Turn that bad training into a battle

First thing: not all bad sessions are equally fucked. You need to recognize the level of shittiness.

If you're around 50% of your usual capacity or better — don’t even think about quitting. Push through.

And when I say push, I mean go full-on mental war mode. Like King Sobieski at the Battle of Vienna — outnumbered 8 to 1 and still leading the charge from the first line. Only to crush the opponents.

That’s the spirit, that’s the level you want. Do some extra warm-up. Slam some more caffeine. Crank up the music. Go full barbarian. Do whatever it takes.

Caffeine is cheap. The glory is eternal.

Just. Make. It. Happen.

Because as you keep pushing, the tiredness — the despair — it starts to morph. It gets replaced by something else: a wild fire inside you. A sense of pride. Joy, even. The joy of doing something hard, of overcoming a really big obstacle. Of proving something to yourself.

It’s really not that impressive to train when you feel great. Anyone can do that. That’s not the game. The real training — the kind that actually matters — starts when the shit hits the fan. When you are falling apart.

And it’s not just about training. It’s about life:

• Escaping wage slavery? Hard.

• Finishing medical or engineering school? Hard.

• Starting a business? Really hard.

• Quitting a toxic job or relationship? Soul-crushing hard.

• Lifting that heavy bar that feels like it’s going to fold you in half the second you unrack it? Brutal.

But all of it requires the same mindset, the same inner stance.

That’s why these hard sessions — the shitty ones — are so valuable. That’s when you train your strong will. Your inner closer. The person who finishes. The person who fights back.

These are mental reps you are doing at that point.

You succeed? Good. It’s yours. You fail? No problem. That’s yours too. Own it. Learn from it. Come back stronger.

No one is coming to save you. No one cares.

At any point you can just give up and return to where you started. Abandon the transformation. Settle down for less.

It’s only you against the bar. Or against whatever else you’re fighting.

And the bar doesn’t care how you feel. Life doesn’t either.

This mindset is the foundation of everything worthwhile

Have you ever noticed that a lot of successful entrepreneurs and public figures are jacked? You might’ve thought it’s because they’re rich and have time to train.

But I promise you — it’s the other way around.

They’re successful because of what they learned through training in the first place.

For most people, hard, committed training is the first place where you learn things like:

• Ownership

• Consistency

• Grit

• Process over outcome

• How to love doing hard things — especially when you don’t feel like it

It’s how you learn to delay gratification. And that builds something powerful: a shield against cheap dopamine. Something that gives you resistance to all those highly addictive things most people struggle to quit: social media addiction, porn, fast food, netflix, video games...

But more importantly — it’s how you learn to set and follow your own goals. Not the ones society assigned to you. The ones that are truly yours.

Because in this world — unless you got super lucky and were born into an entrepreneurial family — you probably weren’t taught how to do that.

Since we’re kids, we’re trained to follow plans made by someone else. Someone else sets the rules. Someone else sets the desired outcome. You are placed in a maze like a rat and told to search for cheese. And escaping that system? That’s very hard.

And you know what? I only truly realized this recently:

The gym — or any physical training — is often the first activity where there’s no ceiling on ownership. No ceiling on liberty. Where you’re fully in charge. Have full responsibility. Where you decide what to do, when to do it, and how hard to go. Something that's hard but we do it because we want.

And it's not just a matter of making a single decision once - you have to keep making the same decision over and over again and keep replying - "Yes, I want that grind. Even though it hurts."

You’re not an employee anymore. You’re the boss.

And that’s a powerful shift. Yes, it’s hard. But now you want it. You look for solutions. An employee would look for excuses. A boss takes full responsibility.

And that mindset? That’s what turns 8-hour workdays that feel like torture into 12-hour days that fly by — because now you’re working toward something that matters to you.

And no — I’m not telling you to work 12 hours a day. I’m saying that you can build the mindset that makes that level of drive possible.

Build it in the gym. Transfer it to life. Use it to chase whatever matters to you.

It took me almost 10 years of training to learn that.

Your grounding technique for when it all goes to hell

Okay, so you’re mid-training. You’re cooked. Shit’s falling apart. You’re doubting yourself. The bar is trying to crash you. You’re about to quit.

In those moments it's easy to forget even the hardest hitting motivational stuff and theories.

Because you know, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.

Here’s your anchor:

Use it to ground yourself.

Say it out loud. Seriously. Right now. “This is where the real training starts.” Again. “This is where the real training starts.”

Say it every time you want to quit. Say it like it’s your battle cry.

That phrase pulls you back. It’s your mental reset button. It turns chaos into purpose.

Because that is the moment that counts. That’s when the mental reps begin.

That’s when you choose who you are becoming.

And when to just go the F home

Now — let’s talk about the days that are truly, fully, completely wrecked.

You’re operating at like 30% of your normal capacity. CNS fried. Body’s not responding. Mind is foggy.

That’s not a day to grind. That’s a day to go home.

Rest. Recover. Come back tomorrow.

That’s not a defeat. That’s wisdom.

Because if you keep pushing through a totally wrecked session, you’re literally rehearsing failure. You’re teaching your body to expect less of itself. That’s bad.

Only exception? If you’re a beginner, just getting some movement under load, not following a structured plan, you don't even know your baseline level yet — then great. Show up and move.

Otherwise? Call it. Go home.

And whatever you do — don’t dramatize it.

• No pity-party on Instagram.

• No whining.

• No shame spiral.

Just say: “Yeah, today’s fucked. No big deal.”

Move on. Don't overthink. Don’t give it any more brain cycles than necessary.

Tomorrow the sun will rise again.

If there’s something you can learn from it (like hey, maybe don’t get blackout drunk the night before a squat day), cool. Take the note. Move forward.

But no pity. No self-victimizing. That shit is cancer to your mindset.

In your training, be a wise emperor. Learn constantly and be a ruthless conqueror of your own weaknesses.

And remember: one bad day won’t stop you.

If this hit home — pass it on

This is my first video and newsletter. I am just starting this thing. No fluff. No motivational bullshit. No guru tips.

Just the stuff I’ve learned the hard way — and what actually works.

If this helped you, send it to someone who trains. Or someone who’s struggling. Or someone who just needs to hear it.

If it helps even one person get their shit together and start building the mindset they need to go after what they want — that’s already a huge win for me.

You can find more of this kind of stuff on my socials:
🧠 Follow me: @thefredmayor on YouTube, Threads, Instagram
🐦 Twitter: @thefredmayor123 

On Youtube you will find this newsletter in a video form. Great for listening on the go.

Drop a follow, shoot me a DM, tell me what landed.

Thanks for reading. More soon.

— Fred