“To carry someone who is capable of walking is to cripple them for life.”
That quote opens my book, MetaPhysique, and it’s stuck with me ever since I first heard it. It has challenged the way I approach coaching and, ultimately, the way I see fitness as a whole.
In the fitness world, most coaches still follow a familiar script: hand out a strict routine, give step-by-step directions, and expect clients to follow it to the letter. That’s how I was taught to train people over 15 years ago, and that mindset still dominates the industry today.
But here’s what I’ve realized: That rigid, “do-this-exactly” approach is disempowering. It’s a form of carrying someone who’s perfectly capable of walking. And life isn’t rigid. If all you’ve learned is how to follow directions, what happens when you get pushed off the path?
You’re lost.
I didn’t write MetaPhysique to give you turn-by-turn instructions. I wrote it to hand you a map and a compass, so you can keep moving forward, no matter what life throws your way.
I don’t start with answers; I start with questions—because your path is yours to walk.
Why I Wrote This Book
Over the years, I’ve coached more than 1,000 people, each with different goals, bodies, and lifestyles. But one pattern shows up again and again: People want to get healthier, stronger, and more confident, yet they feel trapped by someone else’s version of how to do it.
They’re led to believe there’s one “right” way to train, eat, and live—and that if they don’t fit that mold, they’ve failed.
In other words, the modern fitness world is full of gurus selling you their exact method as the only way to succeed. I wrote MetaPhysique to challenge that idea.
There’s a saying I love: “Methods are many; principles are few. Methods always change; principles never do.”
Fitness doesn’t have to look one way. You don’t need to follow what an influencer is doing online. When you understand the core principles of getting in shape, you can create your own method that reflects your goals, your lifestyle, and your values.
I set out to build a flexible, empowering toolkit, not a plug-and-play program. MetaPhysique offers a guide to help you design your own system—one that you actually enjoy enough to stick with.
Fitness as a Path to Mastery
Fitness has taught me more about life than almost anything else. It’s where I learned the value of consistency, the importance of showing up even when I don’t feel like it, and how to find meaning in slow, steady progress.
In a world addicted to shortcuts and overnight results, training reminds us that mastery takes time—and that it’s worth it.
That’s why this book matters to me. Fitness isn’t just about reps, macros, or progress photos. It’s a daily practice, a mirror, a teacher. When you commit to improving your body, you build focus, discipline, and resilience. And those skills don’t just stay in the gym; they spill into every part of your life.
Unfortunately, the fitness industry often distracts people from that deeper work. It sells quick fixes and flashy gimmicks. MetaPhysique is my effort to return to something more honest—a place where the work is the reward and fitness reflects who you’re becoming, not just what you’re doing.
A Local Invitation
I didn’t write this book for celebrities or fitness models; I wrote it for people like you—neighbors, parents, business owners, everyday folks who are tired of starting over and ready to build something sustainable.
MetaPhysique is available now on Amazon. Or, if you’re local, come find me at Mazama or Los Campeones. I’m always happy to chat about training, answer questions, or just connect over the shared journey of building a life that feels good from the inside out.
At the end of the day, the strongest path is the one you make your own.
LyngsoPaul.com | @paul.lyngso
“To carry someone who is capable of walking is to cripple them for life.”