2025/26 tax return and bill due 31 January 2027 89 days to go Check what you’ll owe

Free tax guide
(02 — MUSCLE · MY FITNESS TRANSFORMATION)

My training journey.

My fitness transformation started at around 120 kg in January 2023. It hasn’t been a straight line. This is what I’ve learned since about strength, endurance and habits that actually last.

These are lessons from my own training, not a coaching programme.

Read my story Follow @UsamahMAjmal
Usamah Majmal shirtless in a studio, hands on hips
(THE JOURNEY)

The process, in pictures.

After a serious accident and a period of real mental strain, training became how I rebuilt myself. In January 2023 I weighed around 120 kg.

It hasn’t been effortless. There have been injuries, setbacks and difficult periods when progress stalled. Each one taught me something, mostly about patience.

In 2025 I completed the London Marathon. I’m still working towards new strength and endurance goals, and still learning. The photos below aren’t a before-and-after advert; they’re checkpoints in something that’s still going.

  • Usamah Majmal before his transformation, standing shirtless at home
    01 Before
  • Usamah Majmal biting a London Marathon finisher’s medal
    02 London Marathon
  • Usamah Majmal smiling, shirtless, after his transformation
    03 After
  • 120KG
    Starting weight, January 2023
  • 2025
    London Marathon finisher
  • 0.01%
    Better every day
(HOW I TRAIN)

My training philosophy.

I’m not a qualified personal trainer. This is what has worked for me, learned the hard way, not a programme to copy.

  1. Consistency over perfection

    Sustainable transformation isn’t about being perfect every day. It’s about showing up consistently, making small improvements and building fitness habits that last. A missed session doesn’t undo anything; the next one is what counts.

  2. Strength and endurance

    I combine strength training, running, HYROX-style conditioning and daily movement. I believe physical strength and cardiovascular fitness complement each other, and both matter for long-term health and performance. HYROX-style sessions, running mixed with functional strength work, test both at once.

  3. Progressive improvement

    0.01% better every day. Lifting slightly heavier, building running endurance, refining technique or recovering better. None of it looks dramatic on the day. Over months, it compounds.

  4. Nutrition and recovery

    Training is only one part of the process. Nutrition, enough protein, sleep, hydration and recovery matter just as much. I’d rather follow a balanced approach I can keep for years than an extreme diet or a routine I can’t sustain.

  5. Discipline beyond the gym

    Fitness has taught me patience, accountability, resilience and self-discipline. Those carry into my work as an accountant, my financial habits and my personal development. That connection is the whole idea behind FitInFinance: the four Tax Reps I write about (track, set aside, file, review) are simply training habits applied to money.

(STARTING OUT)

If you’re starting today.

What I’d tell someone at the beginning of their own fitness transformation.

  1. 01

    Start where you are

    I started at around 120 kg. You don’t need to be fit to begin; the fitness comes from beginning.

  2. 02

    Pick something you’ll repeat

    Choose sessions you can keep doing week after week, not the hardest programme you can find.

  3. 03

    Track one thing

    A lift, a run time, your daily steps. Progress you can see keeps you turning up.

  4. 04

    Eat and sleep for the training

    Protein, water and sleep do much of the work between sessions.

  5. 05

    Respect setbacks

    Injuries and bad weeks happen. Get proper advice from a GP or physiotherapist, adjust, and come back.

This is my experience, not medical or fitness advice. Speak to a professional before changing how you train.

(FROM THE GYM TO YOUR FINANCES)

What training teaches.

The same habits shape how I think about money. A few lines from The UK Tax Guide 2026/27:

  1. 01
    You can’t improve a lift you don’t track. Your finances work the same way: know your numbers first.
  2. 02
    Strength comes from small, regular sets. So does a tax bill you’re ready for: set money aside every month.
  3. 03
    January is the heaviest set of the year. Prepare for it all year and it becomes another rep.
  4. 04
    You don’t get strong by thinking about the gym. You get strong by turning up.
Explore Money Explore Mindset
(FOLLOW ALONG)

Train along.

Follow the journey as it happens, setbacks included.

Follow @UsamahMAjmal
(FREE BY EMAIL)

Never miss a deadline.

The Tax Rep: one plain-English tax or money tip every week, plus deadline reminders. Free by email.

Sent weekly through Substack. Unsubscribe any time. Privacy