Welcome back to Project Legacy! Joshua Marron here, founder of The Level Up! Arena and the subject of Project Legacy, ready to discuss the happenings of Week 3.
Another week is in the books, and it was a battle.
I’m not going to lie, this week was a grind in a whole new way. I started Sunday with a solid plan, feeling ready to hit everything hard. But by Monday afternoon, a sinus infection hit me like a ton of bricks. From that point until Thursday morning, I was down for the count. Getting out of bed took Herculean effort. I won’t pretend this was just a mild case of the sniffles either, this knocked me flat. My head was in a fog, my joints ached, and every time I stood up, it felt like I was dragging a hundred-pound sandbag. Sleep was broken, energy was low, and the last thing I wanted to do was lace up my shoes or face a barbell.
But this is where a lot of transformations stall. That voice in your head starts whispering that one missed workout won’t matter. That you’re sick, so you deserve to skip. That rest is “self-care,” when what you really need is self-leadership. I gave myself permission to dial back temporarily, but with full knowledge and intention to push harder in the back half of the week as I knew this sinus issue wouldn’t keep me down for too long. Even then I wasn’t feeling my best, it’s amazing how draining being unwell is on your body so I didn’t crush PRs, but I showed up. And that’s what keeps the fire lit.
If there’s anything I’ve learned so far in Project Legacy, it’s this: You don’t build resilience on the good days. You build it in the grind. It’s about how you respond when things go sideways. I still showed up. I hit every single one of my strength and cardio sessions by ganging them up in the later part of the week. Getting the long-distance run and the cardio sessions in felt like even bigger victories because I had to fight for them. I even knocked out two of the bonus Mini-Quests: the Active Recovery and Long Cardio Revival missions. Small wins, but ones I had to earn in a week that tried to knock me down.
Structure & Protein Targets
Structure is what saved this week, without the Project Legacy framework, it would’ve been so easy to skip everything and write the whole week off. But I had a roadmap. All I had to do was follow it… one painful, head-throbbing step at a time. I stayed accountable with my check-ins, coaching call, and weekly progress photos. And like always, those photos hit me with that cold, honest truth. No filters. No guessing. Just data.
But this week’s biggest reality check didn’t come from the mirror.
It came during my conversation with Coach.
We looked at the numbers together, and one thing stood out like a flashing red light: my nutrition. While I was logging food consistently and mostly hitting my targets, I kept falling short on protein. I averaged 113 grams per day. That’s not terrible, but for the amount of work I’m doing, it’s not enough to support lean mass retention or maximize recovery. We saw the hole, and we didn’t look away from it.
And this is where coaching in The Level Up! Arena really shines.
The coach brings the science, the structure, the experience. But the client brings the self-awareness. I know my patterns. I know my loopholes. Together, we crafted a new rule: starting Week 4, if I don’t hit my daily protein goal, I lose all XP for the week and drop an entire level. Which means if I fail at this goal, I don’t just stay stagnant, I lose something, I lose some of the XP that I worked so hard to gain previously.
It’s not punishment. It’s accountability with bite.
And that’s what I needed. For you, it might be a softer approach. For someone else, maybe even more intensity. That’s the power of real coaching, it’s built around the client’s truth, not someone else’s template.
So why all this focus on protein?
Because when you’re in a calorie deficit like I am, trying to burn fat while preserving muscle, protein is your armor. It’s the thing that protects the lean mass you’ve worked so hard to build. Without it, your body doesn’t just burn fat. It starts breaking down the muscle you’re trying to sculpt. This isn’t just about hitting a number on the scale. I don’t want to be lighter, I want to be stronger, leaner, and more capable. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you make recovery and repair just as important as training.
That’s why my coach and I set the rule:
No protein? No XP. No excuses. It’s a reminder that every action (or inaction) has a consequence. If you’re on a journey of your own, ask yourself, what’s the one thing that needs to stop being optional? Then make it sacred.
Training Recap & Split Strategy
This week I ran a 3-day strength training split: Push, Pull, and Legs. It’s a format I’ve been experimenting with for a while now, and it’s currently working well for this building phase with my recovery window and energy levels.
I’ve done the every-other-day full-body thing in the past and it used to work great when I was younger. But one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is this: what worked five years ago might not be the move today. Bodies change. Schedules change. Recovery changes. And clinging to an old formula just because it used to work is one of the fastest ways to stall out.
Adaptation is the real flex.
Here’s what my Week 3 looked like:
Push Day (Upper Body & Calves):
- Chest Press
- Shoulder Press
- Lateral Raise
- Tricep Pushdowns
- Seated Calf Raises
- Standing Calf Raises
Pull Day (Upper Body & Grip Strength):
- Pull-Ups
- Seated Cable Row
- Face Pulls
- Bicep Rope Curl
- Dead Hangs
- Seated Calf Raises
Lower Body Day:
- Hex Squats
- Romanian Deadlifts
- Nordic Curls
- Leg Extension
- Seated Calf Raises
- Cable Glute Kickbacks
- Tib Raises
Each of these sessions is short, tight, and focused. The dead hangs and Nordic curls are especially brutal but necessary if I want to rebuild for obstacle racing later this year.
And yeah, that’s the plan.
Right now, my training is a bit fractured, strength is separated from cardio, recovery feels like it’s own thing too. Eventually, likely around Week 7, I’ll be shifting into a 7-day hybrid system that blends strength, cardio, distance, and recovery. It’s ambitious, but it’s where I want to go.
Here’s the rough outline of that future schedule:
- Day 1: Push (Upper Body & Calves)
- Day 2: Pull (Upper Body & Grip Strength)
- Day 3: Core & Cardio (Obstacle-Specific Training)
- Day 4: Push (Lower Body & Power)
- Day 5: Pull (Obstacle-Specific Strength & Grip)
- Day 6: Distance Training / Endurance
- Day 7: Rest / Active Recovery
This split is built for functionality, not just aesthetics. I want to look strong but I want to be strong, move well, and perform like an athlete again. The foundation’s being laid right now, brick by brick.
Ready For What’s To Come
So yeah, Week 4 is here, and I’m feeling a lot better. I’ve got a clearer plan, a tougher rule around protein, and honestly? A little more fire in the tank.
The workouts are already part of the rhythm. Now it’s about making sure my body actually has what it needs to use those workouts. That’s the part I’ve been missing the mark, and that ends now.
If you’ve been following along and you’ve got your own version of a weak spot such as nutrition, sleep, mindset, whatever, this might be the week to stop letting it slide. Doesn’t have to be drastic. Just pick one thing and raise the bar.
I’ll be doing the same over here.
In Legacy,
Joshua
