Every January, millions of people hit the ground running with lofty health goals. Some chase steps. Others slash calories. Many count days, streaks, or weigh-ins.
But what if the real secret to lasting change isn’t willpower at all?
What if it’s strength?
In my last two NFPT articles—Strength, Not Streaks: Resistance Training as the Real Resolution and Missing Link Between Motivation, Muscle, and Momentum and Protein Is the Plan: Why RDA Isn’t Enough for Body Composition Goals in the New Year—I outlined how resistance training and protein-forward nutrition provide a more effective, sustainable path for transforming body composition, boosting energy, and improving health than the usual cardio-and-calorie-cutting playbook.
Now, in this final installment of this New Year’s resolution mini-series, I want to highlight the missing link that personal trainers are uniquely equipped to provide in 2026: muscle-centric mindset coaching.
Because while the gym is full of people chasing outcomes, it’s our job as personal trainers and allied health practitioners to coach the process.
Muscle vs. Motivation: A New Paradigm
I don’t know about you, but I’ve read many self-help books and listened to numerous podcasts. Some of my favorite guests include world-class athletes, Olympians, Fortune 500 and 100 CEOs, special operators like Navy SEALs and Green Berets, and self-made millionaire entrepreneurs. As a result of heeding their collective advice, we’ve been led to believe that willpower drives behavior and that if we just try hard enough, change will happen.
However, research in both neuroscience and psychology tells a slightly different story: Namely, that behavior follows biology. In other words, physiological improvements like increases in lean mass, strength, and metabolic function often precede the emotional buy-in we’ve been told we need from day one.
As a result, resistance training rewires the brain, not just the body. As noted in Strength, Not Streaks, consistent training boosts self-efficacy, increases energy, reduces allostatic load (stress burden), and makes sticking with new habits easier—not harder.
Rather than clients “pushing through” low motivation, they begin to notice how getting physically stronger changes how they feel, how they move, and how they think. That’s the real win, and that’s why strength beats willpower every day of the week!
Resolution Reset: What Trainers Should Focus On
If you’re a health coach or personal trainer reading this, here are three reminders I share with my clients every January:
1. “Your Body Composition Is the Outcome of Your Behaviors.”
Rather than focusing solely on scale weight, I encourage my clients to monitor their progress through various metrics. These include tracking lean muscle gains using an InBody scan, assessing strength benchmarks—focusing on key upper- and lower-body lifts that align with their specific movement goals—measuring waist-to-hip ratio, and evaluating grip strength. These straightforward and functional metrics are closely linked to longevity and overall quality of life.
As I like to tell my clients, these are the markers that matter, as the mirror can lie, whereas your muscle doesn’t.
2. “Training Is the Signal. Protein Is the Substrate.”
From Protein Is the Plan, we know that resistance training provides the stimulus for adaptation, but without sufficient dietary protein—especially in midlife and beyond—clients miss their full potential.
This is especially important for women, older adults, and users of GLP-1 medications, as they face a higher risk of muscle loss during periods of calorie restriction. As I discuss in greater detail in other blog posts, this does not mean that all my clients must consume animal protein or cannot follow a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. In fact, achieving the same results requires more intentional planning. Ultimately, regardless of the source of high-quality protein, the key takeaway is that combining increased protein intake with resistance training preserves or even increases lean muscle mass and metabolic power.
3. “Progress Isn’t Just Physical—It’s Psychological.”
We celebrate PRs and progress pics, but also make sure to focus on moments like:
- Sleeping better
- Setting boundaries at work
- Feeling more confident in clothes
- Choosing strength over stress-eating
These markers indicate genuine behavior change—the kind that lasts well beyond January. As the renowned author James Clear discusses in Atomic Habits, habits function like the compound interest of self-improvement. This means that even seemingly trivial actions, when performed consistently, can accumulate significantly over time. The key is to let time act as a magnifier. When you maintain enough consistency, everything else will eventually fall into place.
It’s important to view small actions as akin to little deposits in a bank account or votes in an election. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach or an all-or-nothing principle. Rather, it involves doing the right thing more often than the wrong thing, allowing the compound effect of these positive actions to propel you forward on your journey of self-improvement.
Beyond the “Before & After” Photo
Here’s the reality: the traditional “before and after” model is somewhat flawed. While these images are powerful tools and should be used responsibly to help clients celebrate their personal achievements and milestones, transformation photos alone often tell an incomplete story. They highlight weight loss but not the strength gained. They capture moments rather than ongoing progress.
In today’s GLP-1 landscape, where rapid weight loss is achievable through medication, this gap becomes even more concerning. Without focusing on muscle-centric coaching, clients may look smaller but end up becoming weaker.
Personal trainers need to change the narrative. Our role isn’t just to help people shrink; it’s to help them build. We should focus on building habits, capacity, muscle, and confidence.
From Resolution to Revolution
If you’ve made it this far, let me leave you with this:
2026 isn’t just a new year. Rather, it’s a new opportunity to reframe what success looks like for your clients.
As a result, let’s ditch the shame-based language of “starting over” and instead anchor our coaching in biology, behavior, and belief.
Muscle doesn’t just move bodies. It changes lives, and it’s time we trained—and coached—accordingly.
