The “New Year’s Resolution” is one of the most ridiculous human customs. You identify a problem you’re having, dream about overcoming it, and then put off taking any action about it until January the first of the upcoming year.

Most people don’t think about water until they’re thirsty. In the gym, it’s often overlooked entirely — not because lifters don’t care, but because it’s rarely discussed in the same breath as macros, programming, or recovery strategies. Yet, if you strip things back, hydration underpins everything your body does — from blood flow to brain function to bar speed. Without it, nothing works well, and some things don’t work at all.

Despite what casual gym banter might imply, benching 100kg is not something that “just happens” after a few months of training. Let’s delve into the figures and the story they tell, so you can truly appreciate how exceptional this feat is.

Muscle isn’t a costume you put on for show. It’s one of the most practical investments you can make in your health. More than that, it’s protection — against weakness, against fragility, against that creeping sense that life is getting harder than it used to be.

You wake up with a stiff knee. Or maybe your shoulder feels cranky after a night on the sofa. The instinctive thought is, “Better skip the gym today — I don’t want to make it worse.”