The Volume It Takes to Get Good
Real results only show up after hundreds of steady reps
When we set out to improve—whether it’s fitness, learning an instrument, starting a business, writing consistently, or developing any new habit—we expect results to come fast.
We picture the curve rising quickly: put in a few sessions, and surely things will click.
But when it doesn’t happen that smoothly, frustration sets in. We start looking for explanations or shortcuts.
Maybe we’re “just not talented enough” and should give up. Maybe we “need a better program” and should study more. Maybe we “should work harder” and grind instead of sleeping.
It’s a common pattern: high expectations up front, impatience when reality lags, and a temptation to either quit or double down in ways that don’t really help.
The problem isn’t that we’re failing — it’s that we’re measuring too soon. We want proof after a handful of tries, but the real change only shows up after dozens (or hundreds) of reps.
Those early sessions don’t reveal mastery; they just build the foundation for it.
That’s why the most important shift is to stop obsessing over immediate outcomes and start focusing on practice itself. Each rep isn’t a test of results — it’s an investment in your ability. The more deposits you make, the more capacity you build for future greatness.
Consistency becomes the win, and progress arrives later as the natural byproduct.
“To succeed, you just need to do so many reps that it would be unreasonable for you to fail.” - Alex Hermozi
👉 Ready to stop chasing shortcuts and start stacking the right reps? Book your FREE discovery call, and let’s explore how coaching can give you the structure and focus to build real progress.
Why We Want Results Faster
We live in a culture that trains us to expect speed.
Faster internet, faster delivery, faster promotions. Faster workouts that promise results in 30 days. Faster diets that promise weight loss in a week. Faster scrolling, faster replies, faster ways to get through your to-do list.
Everywhere we turn, the message is the same: if it isn’t happening fast, it isn’t working.
Productivity — how much you can produce in how little time — has become the default measure of worth in a world that constantly ranks and scores us against everyone else. From grades in school, to performance reviews at work, to follower counts on social media, we’re trained to measure value by output.
That conditioning bleeds into every corner of life. So when we start something new, we assume the same rules apply: Be good, fast (or else).
If it’s connected to what we already know — say a fitness routine, a writing project, or something close to our expertise — the pressure to get good fast feels even stronger. We expect to pick it up quickly, because “that’s who we are” or “this should come naturally.” And it can feel like the people around us expect it too.
But what happens when the skill is completely foreign? Imagine learning a new language, picking up chess for the first time, or trying to play the piano with no musical background. Would you really expect fluency or mastery after a handful of sessions?
Of course not. We all recognize it takes months, maybe years, of steady practice to develop a skill.
The disconnect is that we give ourselves patience when we’re obvious beginners, but we demand shortcuts when we think something should come easier. And that impatience is what pushes us into frustration, burnout, or giving up too soon.
The irony is, we often quit right before the point when consistency would have started paying off.
The Truth About Reps
Think about the areas of your life where you already feel confident — your work, your relationships, your hobbies.
You didn’t get there overnight.
You’ve put in thousands of reps: conversations, meetings, projects, late nights finishing assignments, presentations that didn’t land, tough talks with friends or partners, books you’ve read, hobbies you’ve tinkered with, mistakes you’ve made and learned from.
Over time, those reps stacked up into skill and experience.
The tricky part is that once something feels natural, we forget how much practice it took to get there. We stop counting the hours we’ve logged and start believing it’s just “who we are.”
That’s why it’s so easy to get complacent — we start to think that new challenges should click as quickly as the things we’ve already mastered.
But mastery never comes from shortcuts. It comes from sheer volume. Every expert you admire — in sports, business, art, or anything else — got there by putting in thousands of reps you’ll never see. Behind their skills and experience is a mountain of practice that made them who they are.
The reps you’ve already invested prove the point: progress is just a matter of showing up enough times for the work to compound.
And that same rule applies to whatever comes next. New skills, new habits, new goals — they’ll demand the same respect. You can’t expect fluency or confidence to appear in the first handful of tries.
Just like before, it takes hundreds, even thousands of small, steady actions before things start to feel natural.
When you see a gap between where you are and where you want to be, the answer isn’t to grind harder or search for a shortcut. It’s to remember the process that got you here in the first place: keep showing up, stack the reps, and let the work add up over time.
Patience Is the Real Shortcut
I once heard Alex Hormozi talk about his podcast. He said it took 400 episodes before anyone really paid attention. His point was blunt: until you’ve done 400 reps, you don’t have a reason to complain.
You’re not good enough to be recognized yet.
That hit me hard because it reset my own expectations about investing in success. Four hundred isn’t a magic number — the point is that it takes a mountain of reps before anyone notices. Recognition comes after volume, not before.
Right now, I’ve published about 160 stories on Medium. By Hormozi’s standard, I’m not even halfway to the point where I should expect real traction.
That’s not discouraging. It’s freeing. I’m still honing my craft and laying the foundation for success.
At three articles a week, the math is simple: I just keep practicing, and in a year I’ll have doubled my experience. No pressure for perfection today, just steady reps and small improvements over time. And I thank every one of my readers who are joining me on this journey in real time.
The same goes for my newsletter and Instagram — I’m still early in the reps. But instead of seeing that as failure, I can frame it as the early stage.
And the same is true for you. Wherever you’re starting — fitness, work, relationships, or creativity — the early stage isn’t failure, it’s just practice. The only way forward is reps.
That’s the real shortcut: patience.
Not sitting still, but showing up over and over again until the work pays off. Lasting progress doesn’t come from hacks or quick wins — it comes from outlasting the early stage long enough to earn the results through practice.
What’s something in your life you’re still early in the reps on? Drop it in the comments, and share how you’re approaching the early reps.
Getting good at anything isn’t about talent or hacks.
It’s about putting in the volume — showing up enough times that progress has no choice but to happen. The early stage will always feel slow, but that’s exactly where patience and practice matter most.
Real results don’t come after 10 reps, or even 100. They come after you’ve built the foundation with hundreds of steady, unglamorous attempts that stack into something bigger.
What about you? Where in your life are you still early in the reps — under 100, maybe even under 10 — and how would it change things if you gave yourself the patience to keep practicing long enough for the work to pay off?