So I was in work doing a clinical assessment this week with a guy who was looking to manage his weight a bit more, improve his exercise habits, and work on his nutrition.

We were discussing ways to increase his activity. He had quite a sedentary job, like most of us, and struggled to fit in enough time to do cardio.

He was actually weight training quite regularly—three or four times a week in the gym—but just wasn’t doing enough cardio.

I asked him how he got to work, and he told me that he used to cycle most days. But after going through quite a poor winter where the weather was really bad, he had a moment that changed things.

One day, he was cycling into work. It was pouring with rain. He stopped at a traffic light, and to his right there was a moped shop.

So he thought, “I’ve had enough of this,” and went in to get a moped.

But he knew at the time that as soon as he did that, he was never going to get back on the bike—because you get comfortable with the easier option.

He knew that himself, and he still went and got it. He’d just had enough.

I mentioned this to him and asked if he’d thought about going back to cycling, maybe in the summer when the weather was better.

He said, “I have… but I just haven’t got around to it.”

And this is one of the key things you have to be really mindful of—especially in the world we live in now, where everything is done for us.

We can have food delivered. We can have transport at our beck and call. You can work out from home—you don’t even have to leave your house if you don’t want to.

And now, you don’t even have to suffer to lose weight. You can take something like Ozempic and it will do it for you.

Everything around us is designed for least resistance.

And humans like least resistance. We naturally look for the easiest way to do things.

Just like the rise of AI—it’s making things easier for us. Sometimes that’s a positive, sometimes it’s not. The key is understanding how it fits into your life, and whether it benefits you or holds you back in the long run.

In this example, this guy took the easy option—but in the long run, it’s making his health worse.

His heart rate was a bit high. His blood pressure may have been elevated. And he simply wasn’t doing enough activity to improve those things.

I see this all the time when I cycle to work.

So many people in London are on Lime bikes—electric bikes. And while it’s great that they’re not taking cars and adding to congestion, if you rely on the electric bike thinking it will improve your fitness, you’ll quickly get used to it.

A lot of people think, “I’ll use it for now while I get fitter, then move to a normal bike.”

But what actually happens is you become dependent on it. You reach a ceiling, and you stop progressing.

You get comfortable—and you stay there.

One of my colleagues said to me when electric bikes started becoming more popular:

“Never get one. As soon as you do, it’s a slippery slope.”

And he was right.

Even I’ve thought about getting one for commuting—especially for longer rides so I wouldn’t get sweaty.

But the reality is, the fitter you get, the less of an issue that becomes. You don’t have to work as hard to get somewhere compared to someone who’s not used to it.

So by sticking with it and staying active regularly, your ability to handle things like that improves—and you become fitter as a result.

So the key lesson I wanted to share today is this:

Try to take the route that’s a little bit harder. A little bit more challenging.

Yes, you might get quicker results by taking the easy option—whether that’s medication, shortcuts, or convenience—but what are the long-term consequences?

Will you be able to maintain those results?

If you take the easy option with fitness or daily activity, you’re never really going to get the results you’re looking for.

At some point, you have to put in the work.

And with hard work and commitment comes greater reward—not just in the outcome, but in what it does for you mentally and personally.

What you prove to yourself. What you become capable of.

So whatever challenge you’re facing right now, apply yourself to overcoming it—one step at a time—by choosing the path that pushes you.

Now, coaching isn’t the “easy route.” There will be challenges. It’s not always plain sailing week to week.

But if you’re looking for support to help you overcome those challenges, that’s exactly what I’m here for.

If you want to learn more about my coaching, you can book a call below or click the link to find out more.

Neil