The year was 2004—a simpler time, back when I thought my shiny degrees and sheer brute force of will were all I needed to conquer the world of fitness coaching.

Naïve?

Hell yes.

….But back then, I was too busy stuffing my brain with PubMed articles and binging on the early, raw genius of T-mag to notice the trainwreck careening toward me at Mach speed.

“How hard could this coaching thing be?” I thought. After all at that time, I had:

· An undergrad in Natural Science,

· Two grueling years of post-grad engineering work

· And a freaking Masters in Mechanical Engineering focused on biomechanics and heat transfer

And as I mentioned the other day, already spent and additional $30K on learning more about human movement - which was helpful but that was like using a sledgehammer to kill a mosquito.

Add to that two more years buried neck-deep in graduate physiology studies, and I figured I was untouchable.

Hahaha. The arrogance! The hubris! The delusion!

Spoiler Alert: I got annihilated.

Picture this: me, swaggering into my first coaching gigs, armed with all the technical jargon and zero practical sense.

My clients—poor souls—must have felt like passengers on a flaming cruise ship, drifting aimlessly toward the Bermuda Triangle of incompetence.

I thought I knew what to do.

Instead, I got my gluteus maximus served to me on a rusty platter, seasoned with my own confusion.

My big mistake?

I thought I could go it alone.

I skipped the whole “find-a-system” part.

I ignored the “get-a-mentor” memo.

No, I was going to figure it out, trial by fire, armed with nothing but my inflated self-confidence and a hazy understanding of how humans work.

Crap!

Hindsight can be a cruel, but accurate lens.

If I’m being kind to my past self, I’d say I knew a fair amount about physiology..

….But physiology isn’t execution.

It’s not the only reason for results.

You need the art of stringing together a plan that actually works for a living, breathing, sleep-deprived human being.

I was like a culinary student who’d read a recipe once and thought he was Gordon Ramsay or Anthony Bourdain (RIP, Tony – you are missed).

Spoiler: I couldn’t whip up fitness results if my life depended on it.

Fast-forward a few brutal years, countless client blunders, and more physiology classes than any sane person should endure and hiring mentors.

Somewhere in there, I got my head out of my ass long enough to notice that metabolic flexibility was a key to everything.

It explained metabolism—the dance between carbs and fats, the ebb and flow of energy that fuels our meat-sack bodies.

I started tinkering.

Testing.

Iterating.

Getting to the lab at 5AM to run metabolic tests on formal test subjects for my PhD research – real research that was published in actual peer reviewed journals not this BS “research” that passes online as GooRoo Big Biceps 17 had an abstract on his desktop between doom scrolling IG.

…but I digress.

My clients became my lab rats—willing, enthusiastic lab rats—and to my amazement, the results started stacking up.

Every tweak, every insight, every late-night research binge led to sharper outcomes.

Six long years. That’s how long it took to mold these ideas of metabolic flexibility into something coherent—a full-fledged system that didn’t just work but actually crushed expectations.

I was glad I focused on real humans. Messy humans. And eventually, the Flex Diet Cert was born.

Now, I’ve packaged all that chaos, all those hard-earned lessons, into a system designed to help trainers, coaches, and anyone obsessed with better performance and body composition.

It’s the blueprint I wish I had back in 2004 when I was floundering.

And because I’m in a generous, slightly unhinged mood, I am going to sweeten the deal even more:

The Ultra Fast Bonus: Enroll in the Flex Diet Cert by Tuesday at midnight PST, and you’ll get a private consult call with me (a $250 value) absolutely free. Consider it my way of helping you kick 2025 square in the nut sack.

Here’s to better systems, bigger wins, and no more rookie mistakes.

Learn from all my screw-ups, late night pubmed reading, tons of real world clients, and early ass-crack of dawn metabolic testing sessions via the Flex Diet Cert.

It opens again this coming Monday!

Much love,
Dr. Mike
_____________________

Mike T Nelson CISSN, CSCS, MSME, PhD
Associate Professor, Carrick Institute
Owner, Extreme Human Performance,
LLC Editorial Board Member, STRONG Fitness Mag

Mike T Nelson is a PhD and not a physician or registered dietitian. The contents of this email should not be taken as medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any health problem - nor is it intended to replace the advice of a physician. Always consult your physician or qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health.

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