MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSTIC v1.0
The Fitness Restart Quiz

Six reasons motivated adults keep falling off.
Find out which one is yours.

A four-minute diagnostic for adults 25–45 who already know the basics, follow the right people, and somehow keep ending up back at square one. The quiz names the pattern. The result page gives you the seven-day plan that fits it.

  • Identify which of six patterns is actually keeping you stuck
  • Understand why your last three to five programs didn't take
  • Get a seven-day protocol built for your pattern, not a generic week
  • See the next step that actually fits where you are right now
How it works

Eleven questions. One pattern. A real next step.

Step 01

Answer eleven short questions

About your training, eating, sleep, past programs, and the specific way you tend to fall off. No essay questions. No food log uploads.

Step 02

See your pattern named

One of six archetypes — Monday Restarter, Ghost, Researcher, Grinder, Juggler, or Rebuilder. The result is on the next page, not buried behind an email gate.

Step 03

Run the seven-day protocol

Day by day, runnable Monday morning. Built for your pattern — not someone else's. If you want the PDF version for the fridge, drop your email after.

Why this quiz

Built to diagnose, not to flatter.

I'm Mike Egan — coach, athlete, podcaster.

I've spent the last several years working with motivated adults who already know what to eat and how to train, and still can't stay consistent. The patterns aren't random. There are six of them, and they show up over and over again. I built this quiz so you can identify yours without having to hire a coach to find out.

The protocols are evidence-based, not aspirational.

Strength training, real food, enough sleep, a system that survives a bad weekend. Boring, specific, and built for an actual life — not a Sunday-night fantasy week.

DIAGNOSTIC IN PROGRESS 01 / 11
MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Monday Restarter

You're not lazy. You're stuck in a perfectionism loop.

Monday through Thursday, you're a machine. You track your food, you train, you feel sharp. Then Friday hits, the weekend slides, and Monday becomes a fresh start — again. You've been telling yourself "I'll lock in this week" for so long it's basically a personality trait. Every restart is heavier than the last.

The reason it isn't sticking has nothing to do with your discipline. The plan itself has no recovery protocol. One missed meal becomes "I already blew it." 300 calories becomes 3,000. One slip becomes a month off.

You think you need

More willpower, a stricter plan, a 75 Hard challenge, or a meal prep service.

You actually need

A plan engineered to survive imperfection — a minimum viable day, a bounce-back protocol, and the identity reframe that you're not "the kind of person who falls off." You're the kind who has a recovery plan.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. One job per day.

  • Day 01Define your Minimum Viable Day — 30g protein at each meal, 8,000 steps, one 30-minute strength session OR 10 minutes of bodyweight if life implodes. Write it on paper.
  • Day 02Strength session — 30 minutes, 4 lifts. Keep it boring.
  • Day 03Walk + protein floor. A "recovery day" with a non-zero floor.
  • Day 04Strength session, same template as Day 2.
  • Day 05Plan the weekend on paper before Friday ends. Pick what you'll fully enjoy and what you'll keep normal.
  • Day 06The test. Hit your steps. Eat at maintenance. Enjoy the planned indulgence. No free-fall.
  • Day 07Whatever Saturday looked like, you're already in the plan. No restart Monday — ever.
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — Build the system that survives imperfect weeks

For the person who does well when life is clean, then spirals when the week gets messy. We build your training, nutrition, habits, and bounce-back structure around real life — not the fantasy version where nothing goes wrong.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum

MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Ghost of Who You Were

You're not out of shape. You're training the wrong body.

You used to play. You used to be the athletic one. Then life happened — career, kids, a bad shoulder, less sleep — and you keep trying to train like the 22-year-old in your head with the body you have at 38.

You get a few good weeks, tweak a knee or a back, take six months off, then go back to the same approach. The ghost of who you were is writing the program. The current body keeps casting the deciding vote.

You think you need

To grind harder, get back to "the program," do CrossFit again but smarter, maybe TRT.

You actually need

A new athletic identity that respects recovery as the actual limiter. Joint-friendly substitutions. Concurrent programming — strength, zone 2, and targeted conditioning — instead of "everything maxed every session." A real benchmark to compete with your past self honestly.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. Stop training the ghost.

  • Day 01Pick one performance benchmark you actually care about — a 5K time, a 2x bodyweight deadlift, a Murph time. Test it honestly. That's your starting line.
  • Day 025-minute movement audit. Identify the 1–2 joints currently complaining. List the 3 lifts you've been avoiding because of them.
  • Day 03Upper-body strength — push, pull, accessory. Substitute anything that lights up the cranky joint.
  • Day 04Zone 2 conditioning, 30–40 minutes. Heart rate where you can hold a conversation. No grinding.
  • Day 05Lower-body strength with substitutions — trap bar instead of conventional, goblet squats instead of back squats if hips are tight.
  • Day 06Long walk + 10 minutes of mobility you've been avoiding.
  • Day 07Sleep audit. Hours, bedtime, quality. Set a non-negotiable lights-out for next week.
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — Rebuild the athlete you are now

For the former athlete who still has standards, but needs a smarter bridge back. We build strength, conditioning, joint confidence, and consistency around your current body, schedule, recovery, and training history.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum

MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Researcher

You don't need more information. You need to stop changing the plan.

You've listened to every podcast. You can name three studies on hypertrophy. You've optimized your macros four times this year and tried 5/3/1, then RPT, then Norwegian frequency, then RP. You change programs every 4–8 weeks because something promising shows up on YouTube.

Your knowledge is in the 90th percentile. Your body is in the 30th. The problem isn't what you know. It's that you can't stop tweaking long enough to actually progress.

You think you need

The "right" program, the optimal split, the latest hot take from a popular podcast guest, a more advanced plan.

You actually need

One boring program, run for 16 weeks, with no modifications. A single source of truth — one coach, one system, no second-guessing. A short list of allowed inputs (sleep, lifts going up, photos, waist tape) and a long list of disallowed ones.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. No tweaks.

  • Day 01Pick one program. Print it. Sign and date a paper that says you'll run it for 12 weeks with no modifications. Tape it to your fridge.
  • Day 02Train it. Log everything. No tweaks.
  • Day 03Mute or unfollow the 3 accounts that triggered your last 3 program changes. Yes, really.
  • Day 04Train it again. Same program. No tweaks.
  • Day 05Set 3 success metrics — bodyweight, waist measurement, top set on a key lift. Take baseline today. Don't measure again for 4 weeks.
  • Day 06Walk. No fitness articles today. Go outside instead.
  • Day 07Train. Reflect on what you actually executed this week vs. what you researched. The gap is the lesson.
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — One plan, one voice, real execution

For the person who knows enough, but keeps changing the plan before it has time to work. We build the program, the decision rules, and the accountability structure so you can stop optimizing and finally execute.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum

MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Grinder

You're not undertrained. You're under-recovered.

You're in the gym 5–6 days a week. You track macros. You hit your steps. You're doing everything the influencers say to do — and your body has stopped responding. You're constantly sore, your sleep is broken, your lifts haven't moved in months.

This isn't a discipline problem. It's a recovery debt problem, and the answer is the opposite of what your instincts are telling you.

You think you need

More cardio, lower calories, a stricter program, a fat burner.

You actually need

A real deload — not a "light week." Calories back up to maintenance for 4–8 weeks before any cut. Protein at 0.8–1g per pound. A protected sleep window. Strength training kept; conditioning intensity cut.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. Less work, more recovery.

  • Day 01Eat at estimated maintenance — for most under-eaters that's 300–500 calories more than today. Yes, today.
  • Day 02Strength session, 45 minutes max. Two compound lifts and one accessory. No conditioning finisher.
  • Day 03Walk only. No HIIT. No cardio bursts.
  • Day 04Strength session, 45 minutes max. Same structure as Day 2.
  • Day 05Sleep audit. Set a non-negotiable lights-out time. Phone out of the bedroom starting tonight.
  • Day 06Rest. Long, easy walk. Eat to satiety, not to a number.
  • Day 07Strength session, 45 minutes max. Track sleep, hunger, mood, and energy on a 1–5 scale. This becomes your dashboard.
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — Stop doing more and start adapting

For the person putting in the work but not seeing the return. We audit training, recovery, nutrition, stress, and output so your effort actually turns into progress instead of fatigue.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum

MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Juggler

You don't need more discipline. You need a plan that fits your actual life.

You're a parent, a manager, a partner, a person with too many group chats. You're not lazy — you're outnumbered. You've tried 5-day plans, 6-day plans, hour-long sessions, and they all worked for two weeks until the kid got sick or the work trip happened.

You've concluded "I don't have time," and what you actually mean is "I don't have a system that survives my real life."

You think you need

A 1-hour gym session 5 days a week, the "right" routine, to wake up at 4:30 AM.

You actually need

A 30-minute, 3-day plan that gets done in chaotic weeks. Defaults instead of decisions: same lift days, same protein floor, same rough meal repertoire. A 10-minute version of every workout for emergencies.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. Built for chaos.

  • Day 01Build your in-chaos template. 3 strength sessions/week, 30 minutes each. Daily walk. Decide it now, on paper.
  • Day 02First session — full body, 4 lifts. Done in 35 minutes including warmup.
  • Day 0325-minute walk after lunch or with the dog. That's the workout.
  • Day 04Second strength session. Same 35-minute template, different lifts.
  • Day 05Stock the fridge with 3 default meals you can make in under 10 minutes. Same meals all week.
  • Day 06Walk + family activity. Movement as default, not a separate event.
  • Day 07Third strength session. Reflect: what got in the way? Strip the system further.
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — A system built for your actual life

For busy professionals, parents, and high-responsibility people who don't need a perfect plan — they need one that survives pressure. We build training and habits around your real schedule, not your best-case week.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum

MIKE EGAN.
DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE
Your pattern

The Rebuilder

The weight is off. Now let's give you the body you actually wanted.

You did the hard part — you lost the weight. Maybe through a hard cut, maybe through a GLP-1, maybe both. You're at the number. And the body in the mirror isn't the body you pictured. You're smaller, but you're soft. Weaker than you've been in years.

You don't have a fat problem anymore. You have a building problem, and nobody taught you the second half of the equation.

You think you need

More cardio, to stay smaller, a stricter version of the diet that worked.

You actually need

Resistance training, 3x/week, progressively loaded. Protein at 0.8–1.0g per pound (most rebuilders are at 0.4 or below). A maintenance-or-slight-surplus calorie plan. A 12 to 24-week rebuild timeline. The scale-mindset reframe: the number can go up while the body gets better.

Your 7-day restart protocol

Seven days. Start the build.

  • Day 01Get a real baseline. Bodyweight, waist measurement, 4 photos (front, side, side, back — same lighting, same time of day). Week zero, not finish line.
  • Day 02First strength session — full body, 5 lifts, 3 sets each. Hard but not failure. Don't apologize for going light.
  • Day 03Calculate your protein target — your bodyweight in lbs, in grams. Hit it today. Track for awareness, not punishment.
  • Day 04Second strength session, full body, different 5 lifts.
  • Day 05Eat at maintenance, not in a deficit. If you're nervous, log one day to confirm intake.
  • Day 06Walk. Eat normally. Sleep 8 hours. Recovery is the program.
  • Day 07Third strength session. End-of-week reflection: how did your energy and gym performance compare to a normal "diet" week?
What I'd do next

1:1 Coaching — Build strength after the weight loss

For the person who lost the weight but now wants the body, strength, and confidence they actually pictured. We build muscle, performance, protein structure, and training consistency without dragging you back into another restrictive diet cycle.

$450/month · 3-month minimum · 6 spots maximum