"Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is"
About this Quote
The sting is in the second clause. A half-ass session doesnt just slow you down; it actively reallocates advantage. "Somebody else is" turns a private routine into a zero-sum race, a classic competitive-athlete move that reveals the subtext: discipline is social, because status is social. Even if no one is watching you curl, the hierarchy is still being written, rep by rep, by people who showed up with intent. Thats the psychological hook: guilt, yes, but also urgency. Youre not merely failing yourself; youre donating the future to a rival.
Coming from Yates - the 90s bodybuilding icon whose "Blood and Guts" ethos prized brutal, focused intensity over casual volume - the line reads like a manifesto against gym-as-lifestyle content. Its also a neat bit of self-mythmaking: Yates the bricklayer, not the celebrity. The metaphor offers a coping strategy, too: stop chasing inspiration, start honoring the unromantic act of placing one more brick where it belongs.
Quote Details
| Topic | Fitness |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Yates, Dorian. (2026, January 15). Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/each-workout-is-like-a-brick-in-a-building-and-172950/
Chicago Style
Yates, Dorian. "Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/each-workout-is-like-a-brick-in-a-building-and-172950/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Each workout is like a brick in a building, and every time you go in there and do a half-ass workout, you're not laying a brick down. Somebody else is." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/each-workout-is-like-a-brick-in-a-building-and-172950/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.
