It took me six years to achieve my first muscle up. Not six years of daily training, but six years of keeping it on my mind, working on it bit by bit whenever I had time, and maintaining structure even when life got in the way.
The Long Game
Most people think about fitness goals in terms of months, maybe a year. But some goals are different. They're not about intensity—they're about persistence. The muscle up became my lesson in long-term project management.
Structure Over Intensity
I didn't train every day. I didn't follow a strict program. Instead, I built a simple structure:
- Keep it visible - muscle up videos saved on my phone
- Small, consistent work - even 5 minutes when possible
- Track the foundation - pull-ups, push-ups, dips
- Mental rehearsal - visualizing the movement regularly
The Power of Keeping It On Your Mind
The secret wasn't in the gym time. It was in never letting the goal completely disappear. I'd watch muscle up videos during lunch breaks. I'd do a few pull-ups when walking past a bar. I'd think about the movement while commuting.
This constant, low-level attention kept the goal alive through busy work periods, travel, and life changes.
Year by Year Progress
Year 1-2: Building basic strength (couldn't do 10 pull-ups)
Year 3-4: Developing explosive pull power
Year 5: First attempts at the transition
Year 6: Finally linking the movement together
The Real Lesson
This wasn't really about the muscle up. It was about learning that some of the most meaningful achievements come from sustained, gentle pressure over time rather than intense bursts of effort.
The muscle up taught me that long-term projects need different strategies:
- Structure that survives disruption
- Progress that compounds gradually
- Mental space that keeps the goal alive
- Patience with the timeline
Application Beyond Fitness
This same approach has worked for learning languages, building side projects, and developing skills. The key is designing a system that can run in the background of your life, making progress even when it's not your main focus.
Six years sounds like a long time, but it passed anyway. The question is: what could you achieve if you started something today and kept it gently alive for the next six years?