The Fitness Lesson Behind My Yu-Gi-Oh! Misprint

Back when I was a kid, my grandparents used to buy me Yu-Gi-Oh! cards every weekend.
I didn’t realise it then, but one of those packs would end up teaching me something I now use with my online fitness clients.

For context, every weekend as a kid, I’d visit my grandparents. And every single time, without fail, they’d take me to Tesco to buy Yu-Gi-Oh! cards.

They didn’t care about the cards, they just cared about seeing me happy.
I’d run straight to the toy aisle, scan the shelves for the new set, and pick whichever two packs felt luckiest that day.

This was the mid-2000s—peak Yu-Gi-Oh! era. Legend of Blue Eyes, Metal Raiders, Invasion of Chaos, Pharaoh’s Servant… absolute classics.

Every weekend: two packs.
Every weekend: excitement.

Looking back, I didn’t realise it then, but that consistency from my grandparents—that simple act of love—is one of the biggest blessings of my childhood.

One weekend, after grabbing a pack of Metal Raiders, I pulled one of my favourite cards ever: a 1st Edition holo Change of Heart.

But something was off. The name had been printed halfway off the box—a clear misprint.

Young me didn’t get it, “Why would I want a card that isn’t even printed properly?” So I tossed it aside and barely looked at it again.

Years later, I came across it while sorting through some old cards. The holo still gleamed under the light, even if the back was a little worn. And suddenly, I saw it differently.

That “mistake” wasn’t a flaw—it was what made the card unique. It mattered. Maybe even a one-of-a-kind misprint. The exact thing that made me ignore it back then is now what makes it special.

That card reminded me of something I see happen constantly in fitness.

When people start training or improving their health, they rarely see the value of what they’re doing while they’re doing it. The workouts feel small. The progress feels slow. The changes feel invisible.

And just like I ignored that card, they overlook the little things that actually matter—the walks, the sleep, the food choices, the consistency that doesn’t look or feel exciting in the moment.

But then time passes, and when they look back, they realise those “insignificant” days were the ones that mattered most.

The truth is, some of the most valuable things don’t look valuable when you first find or do them. It’s only later, with patience and perspective, that you have a change of heart (hehe) and see what those actions were really worth.

The habits that feel dull and unremarkable today—the ones you do even when no one’s watching—those are the ones that shape everything. That’s true in fitness, and it’s true in life.

If you’re in that slow, unseen phase right now, wondering if what you’re doing even matters, I made something for you.

My free 14-Day Fat Loss Kickstarter is designed to help you stay consistent long enough to see those quiet efforts start paying off.

Think of it as me in your corner every day for two weeks, helping you rebuild momentum one small win at a time.

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Speak soon,

Leo