Never Miss – 101: What 101 Days in the Gym Taught Me About Discipline, Recovery, and Performance
Hi, I’m Dan McMillan, an Occupational Health and Safety professional from British Columbia, Canada. I work with companies across the country (and abroad) to help them build safety systems that actually work in the real world. This post isn’t a recommendation or a training manual. It’s a personal reflection on a challenge I took on to test my body, mind, and daily discipline. Some elements connect with safety. Others connect with leadership, mindset, and business. All of it comes from lived experience.
So here’s the story: how a 50-day goal turned into a 101-day test of consistency, and what I learned from pushing my limits.
The First Attempt: Learning Through Failure
In 2023, I launched my first version of this challenge. The idea was simple: lift weights as hard as I could (95-100% effort) every day for at least 30 minutes. I didn’t set a time limit, but most workouts averaged around 40 minutes. I just wanted to see how far I could go before something—life, injury, illness, or scheduling—knocked me off track.
And trust me when I say, it didn’t take long.
Old injuries flared up. My shoulders, elbow, and hip started complaining. Then came new issues: carpal tunnel in both arms, and for the first time in my life, I developed both golfer’s elbow and tennis elbow in my left arm at the same time. It was brutal, and I had to come to reality that I was getting old and my body did not react to hard physical labour the way it used to.
As an example of my epic failure, at the start of that attempt, I was shoulder pressing 95 lb dumbbells. On a side note, I had returned to the gym eight months before this challenge and had worked my way up to that weight. Unless you are a serious beast, you don’t just roll off the couch and start tossing around 95’s. You work up to it. By day 37, when I finally tapped out, I had dropped back down to 50 lb dumbbells. My body had completely broken down. I was lifting, but I wasn’t adapting. I was forced, at this point, to listen.
So with a big slap in the face, I stopped. I stopped with a bit of shock and a little bit of humility.
Reset and Rebuild: Preparing for a Real Challenge
After that first failure, I saw a physiotherapist. I started rehabbing. Stretching. Strengthening. Relearning how to train smarter. And then I built a new plan.
This time, I was going to treat myself like a new employee or an employee coming back from a long lay-off due to injury. Someone stepping into a physically demanding role after a long layoff, because in many ways, that’s what it was.
Challenge Plan – 50 Days, in the Gym:
Start Date: January 3, 2025
Gym Times: Weekdays at 5:00 AM, Weekends at 7:00 AM
Location: Public gym
Effort Level: 90–95% per session (Minimum)
Minimum Duration: 45 minutes/day
Stretching: Daily, during and outside of workouts (2-3 times per day)
Workout Schedule:
Mon: Chest + Biceps
Tue: Shoulders + Triceps
Wed: Back + Core
Thu: Legs + Core
Fri: Chest + Biceps
Sat: Shoulders + Triceps
Sun: Back + Core
Progressive Intensity:
Month 1: 80% of max weight, higher reps
Month 2: 90% of max weight with less reps
Month 3: 95–100% max weight and lower reps
Lesson 1: Pace Matters
The first time, I went too hard, too fast. This time, I made adjustments. I respected my limits. Some days that meant switching machines, reducing load, or doing more stretching before, during, or after my workout.
This same logic applies to onboarding new employees or helping someone return to work after an injury. You can’t just throw someone back into full duties and hope for the best. You meet them where they are and support them as they rebuild.
Lesson 2: Consistency Beats Intensity
Not every workout was perfect. Although rare, some were flat-out mediocre. But I never missed. Even an 80% effort day is better than doing nothing. Momentum matters more than motivation.
That same principle works in business. It’s not the one-time initiative or yearly team-building day that builds culture within an organization; it’s the everyday consistency: clear expectations, regular feedback, and shared accountability.
Lesson 3: Pain Is Feedback, Not Failure
Immediately starting this new challenge, I developed a strain in my right shoulder blade. I was performing shoulder shrugs and rolling my shoulders back instead of shrugging straight up. It was terrible form and a huge mistake. However, I worked around it and found ways to protect the injury, allowing me to move on. It happens.
By the third week, my hip started acting up again. This time, I listened. I changed exercises and added recovery protocols. That shift, choosing to adapt instead of push through, was a game changer.
In safety, we call these moments “near misses.” And I say that loosely, of course, because these were strains and not full-blown injuries. It’s an unplanned event that could have caused major harm, but did not. In leadership, they are called red flags. Either way, the earlier you act, the better your outcome.
Mindset Matters: Showing Up Is the Real Win
This challenge wasn't about ego. It was about showing up every day and finding a way to move forward, even when it wasn’t ideal. That mindset of discipline, awareness, and strategic adaptation is something I believe every athlete, worker, manager, and business owner can benefit from.
Because whether you’re building strength, rebuilding after injury, or running a team, success comes from structure, mindset, and showing up both physically and mentally.
What’s Next?
I’ll be breaking this journey down further over the next few posts, covering the move from 50 days to 75 days and finally 101 days, injury prevention, return-to-work strategies, business leadership parallels, and the mental side of performance. Keep an eye out. I also have a good friend and former Olympic athlete participating in the 101-day challenge, and I will share his perspective on the challenge, including his goals for the 101 days and how he laid everything out for success.
And if you're someone trying to build something, your body, your business, or your team, remember this:
“Never Miss – 101. 101 Days. Zero Excuses.”
