Three Things I Want to Do in the Last Three Months of the Year

I haven't set foot in a gym for four or five months, and I'm 10 kg heavier than I was at my leanest last year.

Yep, 10 kg. I've barely dared to step on the scale lately, in case my inner pig has struck again and I'm another kilo or so heavier. Then I'd see stars and collapse onto the bed.

When I think about why I stopped training these past few months, the main reason is IT band syndrome.¹

It's been almost ten months now. For people who don't exercise, an injury like this is no big deal. For someone like me who loves exercise, it's miserable.

I love cycling, and at the gym I love leg day. IT band syndrome means I can't ride freely, and I can't train legs without worrying.

Not being able to exercise properly affects every part of life. My energy is down, and I'm not as patient as I used to be.

This year I've ridden and trained exponentially less than last year, and my weight has gone up in proportion.

Luckily, I see the problem clearly. What I need to do now is rehab it properly.

So I finally went to a fairly well-known rehab center in Chengdu.

I spent 3,500 yuan on a rehab package.

I've done four sessions so far, and the results are pretty noticeable. My rehab therapist has taught me a lot of systematic, professional knowledge, and it's given me confidence I can recover completely.

People are like that sometimes. Even a little bit of hope makes your whole state of mind much better.

So I'm back at the gym.

Looking at the date is sobering. Somehow three quarters of 2026 are already gone, and from an exercise point of view, I've wasted most of the year.

But rather than regret the past, better to fight for what's ahead.

Three months is neither long nor short. It's enough time to do a lot.

So today I'm setting a few goals for 2026.

1. Fully heal my IT band syndrome.

Once I paid money to a rehab clinic, the nature of this changed. I used to think I could heal myself by looking things up online and doing my own rehab, but it didn't work well, and it took a toll on me physically and mentally. So I have to recover completely!

2. Get my weight back under 75 kg.

I'm 83 kg now. I don't know how much of that is water that will come off on low carb. But my goal is to be back under 75 kg by New Year's Day.

3. Unlock a strict pull-up.

This might be the easiest one. On the assisted pull-up machine, I can do sets with 60 kg of assistance. I remember when I started working out last year, even kneeling push-ups were a real struggle. With steady practice, I can now do twenty strict push-ups in a row.

For gym veterans, 20 push-ups is nothing. For me, it's huge progress.

So I believe that as long as I keep practicing specifically for it, unlocking the pull-up is only a matter of time.

Those three are the fitness goals I'll be working toward this year. Readers are welcome to hold me to them.

Last year my goal was to get abs, and I seem to have underestimated how hard that is. So I won't be so quick to promise it again.

First I'll get these three done. The rest I'll leave as room for the future.

Footnotes

1. Iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) is inflammation caused by the iliotibial band on the outside of the thigh repeatedly rubbing against the lateral femoral condyle. It's common in sports with repeated knee bending, like running and cycling, and the main symptom is pain on the outside of the knee. ↩