How to Eat More Food and Look Leaner in the Long-Run

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately on what most people really want when it comes to the relationship between their body composition and their lifestyle.

And I think I've made one big realization.

It has to do with our metabolisms.

Are you ready for it?

Most people who want to improve their body composition also want to be able to eat enough food to enjoy their lives.

In other words, being super lean and "hot-looking" probably isn't worth it if you have to eat like a bird, never go out for pizza with friends, and punt your favorite alcoholic beverages to the curb for a lifetime.

In this case, I think a picture is worth a thousand words.

Have you seen a photo like this at some point on social media?

My guess is that you have.

After all, what could possibly be more jealousy-inducing than a picture of a super fit guy or gal in a luxurious resort setting enjoying what seems to be a plethora of delicious foods and drinks?

They're lean, muscular, and aesthetically pleasing in a way that would make nine out of ten people whisper, “I want that,” under their breath.

My point?

I think this is what nearly all of us are secretly longing for in quiet desperation.

But before we get too far, I want to be clear about what you can expect from this article:

• Firstly, I’m going to continue to make the case that living a lean lifestyle is more enjoyable when you can eat plenty of food.

• I’m going to remind you and encourage you that your metabolism is adaptable.

• I’m going to offer you my two best tips for how to improve your metabolism for the sake of eating more while keeping your lean look long-term.

• I’m going to highlight a few specific lifestyle examples of how to take actionable steps today.

In short, if you’re interested in how to eat more food while looking lean and feeling confident in your own skin, you’re in the right place.

Your metabolism can change.

Most of you reading this article won't know me personally, but I think it’s relevant here to mention that I have an insane appetite, which means I couldn't be less interested in looking super peeled if it means I have to be on something like 1,800 calories for an extended period of time.

Pass!

I'd rather be fatter and happier.

But here's the silver lining.

Your metabolism can be improved over time, which seems to be somewhat classified information in the fitness industry.

And as much as I hate to admit this, even I wasn’t aware of this until I entered the pre-planning phase of my own body recomposition effort in 2018.

I remember it distinctly: I was watching a Paul Revelia video on YouTube, and he kept talking about adaptive metabolisms.

I was shocked.

Up until then, I had assumed our metabolisms were kind of like femurs or noses in the sense that they were fixed and unchangeable. I assumed we were just born with them and that they were completely out of our control.

But in that moment I learned that that’s not the case:

You can, in fact, up-regulate and down-regulate your metabolism based on how you live your life.

Ever since then I've been fascinated with the idea of improving my own metabolism for the sake of eating as much food as possible while looking lean and muscular.

Is anyone with me?

Assuming you are, I want to throw two big tips at you today for how to improve your metabolism for the long haul.

1. Building Muscle Is Probably the Best Way to Improve Your Metabolism

I've mentioned this before in content I've put out, but muscle tissue is roughly three times as metabolically active as fat tissue, which means your body requires more energy to maintain muscle than it does fat.

This is great news for jacked people because it means you need approximately three times as many calories to support your muscle tissue than your fat tissue.

The implication? Arguably the best thing you can do for the sake of improving your metabolism is to add as much muscle mass to your frame as possible.

More muscle means more food.

And this is true for you as well, ladies! Adding muscle can be done strategically to maintain whichever curves you currently love about your body.

In other words, building muscle doesn’t mean you have to “get bulky.” Like many female physique competitors these days, you can focus heavily on certain areas of your body like the glutes, hamstrings, quads, and back to help you emphasize that stereotypically feminine appearance.

I might even argue that it’s more important for women to try to build muscle since they tend to be smaller than men by nature. Smaller people require less food than bigger people, so as much as you can muscle-up your frame while maintaining a physical appearance that supports your confidence, the better.

So again, more muscle means more food.

Are we tracking?

To illustrate this point further, I want to offer you quick, personal anecdote.

How I Improved My Own Metabolism

In my mid-to-late twenties, I started trying to figure out the whole “macros” thing because I was unhappy with how I had “let go” of my formerly athletic and trim physique.

At the time, I was eating a decent amount of protein, but my calories were generally still pretty low.

But they weren't low enough to have me in a meaningful caloric deficit, which landed me in a state of perma-chubbiness with a "bad" metabolism while making little to no progress in terms of improving my body composition.

In my opinion, that's one of the worst places to be: chubby with a sluggish metabolism.

For for those who are curious, I was eating around 2,300 calories per day (when I wasn’t overeating on the weekends) with plenty of belly pudge and no definition. I was hovering between 200-205 pounds at six feet tall.

Now I'm eating between 3,500-4,000 calories per day at 190 pounds with way more muscle and way less chub while gaining weight slowly at a rate of around 0.25% per week (on purpose).

That's a 1,200-1,700-calorie increase in my metabolic performance, which is the equivalent of four to five large pieces of pepperoni pizza from Papa John's or 20 Double Stuf Oreos per day.

Oh, and I’ve lost between 10-15 pounds since then.

So the question is…

What the heck did I do?

And the answer is simple.

I tried to build as much muscle as possible.

• I resistance trained intelligently and systematically within evidence-based training guidelines and best practices from leading industry experts.

  • More specifically, I sought to hit between 10-20 sets per muscle group within a few reps of technical failure per week.

  • I chose exercises with an optimal stimulus to fatigue ratio.

  • I made minor technique adjustments on those exercises to favor hypertrophy as much as possible.

  • I overloaded my sessions properly over time.

  • I manipulated my session to session volume strategically to allow for optimal recovery.

• I ate enough protein to support my muscle growth goals.

• And most importantly, I trained this way consistently for four years.

And now I’m a real life example of what it can look like to juice up your metabolism simply by putting in the work toward training for muscle growth, eating a high-protein diet, and implementing those habits consistently over time.

Pretty cool, yeah?

The somewhat unspoken implications here, however, are the following:

• You might have to sacrifice a lean look now for the sake of a lean look later.

  • What I mean by this is that muscle is built best when we eat in a slight surplus or at least match our total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) calorie-for-calorie with our caloric intake.

  • Unless you’re brand new to training, this probably means you are going to have to gain weight slowly.

    • Although I think this is best accomplished in the context of a one-on-one coaching relationship, the general rule of thumb is to aim to gain weight at a rate of 0.25-0.5% of your body weight per week.

  • Fortunately, I can proudly say that I’ve led by example here. I forfeited my 173-pound photo shoot bod to multiple cycles of surplus eating to favor muscle growth instead of being tight-fisted with my six-pack and shoulder veins.

• Your training needs to be your greatest focus.

  • As much as activities like hiking, group cardio classes, boxing, yoga, and pure barre can be wonderful for overall fitness, I’m not aware of any powerful scientific literature that suggests they have any exciting metabolism-boosting benefits.

  • Stick to hypertrophy training or another form of high-volume resistance training like CrossFit for optimal metabolic improvements.

• You are going to have to be patient.

  • In fact, “Play the long game,” is one of the most common phrases I use with my clients.

  • In a society driven by everything but delayed gratification, I find that a combined lack of patience and perspective are what prove to be most self-inhibiting for people who want to eat in abundance while sporting an increasingly lean and physique look long-term.

And really it’s that simple in most cases.

Having said all of this, I can guide you down this same path if you’re willing to adjust your lifestyle and put in the work.

Just keep in mind that I'm not a metabolic wizard with a fancy wand that unleashes its magical powers at the subtle swipe of a credit card.

You will still have to train hard and manipulate your dietary habits strategically (and sometimes even counterintuitively) for months and years, which transitions me smoothly to my next point.

2. You Might Have to Reverse Diet and Be Willing to Get Chubbier Before You Get Leaner

Honestly, I think this is one of the most valuable strategies any coach could ever bring to the table.

Why? Because it's super counterintuitive and terrifying for most people who have struggled to lose weight for years.

Eat more and actually gain weight temporarily? Yes!

It's called metabolic building and/or reverse dieting, and the point is to set you up for better body recomposition success in the long-term by up-regulating your metabolism and enhancing your training quality.

Unfortunately, this article would be way too long if I got into the exact details of how to reverse diet, but just know that increasing your calories systematically in controlled increments is an extremely effective way to improve your metabolism over time while training hard and eating a well-balanced diet designed for physique improvement.

The only downside to this tip is that most people won’t be able to implement a well-designed reverse diet protocol on their own, which means the best way to reverse properly is to hire a reputable coach.

But if a one-on-one coaching relationship isn’t something you can afford right now, don’t fret.

There are still things you can start doing right now.

How to Get Started Right Away

If you’ve been sold on the idea of “playing the long game” in favor of eating more over time while keeping your physique intact, here are a very quick ideas that may or may not help you get started:

• Quit hopping from plan to plan and settle into something consistent and sustainable for the long-term.

  • In other words, quit experimenting with new dietary patterns and training plans in search of the one “perfect” plan for you. Consistency is the name of the game.

• Similar to that first point, make sure the main focus of your exercise regimen is resistance training.

  • I’m feel like I’m feeding a fed horse with this point since I seem to mention it in nearly all of my articles, but it really is that important.

  • If you aren’t training with weights, you aren’t going to build an appreciable amount of muscle that will allow you to eat more in the long-run.

• You could consider joining a CrossFit gym.

  • But before you drive to my house and toss a Molotov cocktail through my living room window because you hate CrossFit with all of your mind, body, and soul, know that I have to mention it here due to the potential metabolic and lifestyle benefits it can offer.

    • Without belaboring the point, CrossFit is unique in that it incorporates resistance training while challenging the cardiovascular system at the same time. So as it pertains to living that lean lifestyle while eating in abundance, CrossFit can be a quicker road to Rome because you can reap the metabolic benefits of adding muscle mass while cashing in on an increased energy expenditure from demanding workouts that allow you to eat more on a daily basis.

    • In a lot of ways, I think CrossFit allows people to recomp more effectively than any other training strategy, but I realize it won’t be for everyone.

Summary

• Most people don’t just want to look good. They want to look good and be able to eat plenty of food while enjoying life to the fullest.

• The best way to do this is to focus on building as much muscle as your lifestyle allows. This is because muscle tissue is approximately three times more metabolically active than fat tissue. In other words, the more muscle you have, the more you get to eat without gaining weight.

• The best way to build muscle is to focus primarily on hypertrophy training or something that incorporates resistance training like CrossFit.

• You’ll also want to spend as much time eating at maintenance or in a small caloric surplus as possible.

• And in some unique cases, some people will need to reverse diet and “risk” weight gain in favor of improving their metabolism before attempting a focused fat loss phase.

• Lastly, remember that nothing about this process will be quick and effortless.

  • Most people with impressive metabolic “transformations” will have accumulated years of strategic training and dieting. In my case, it took me about four years to be able to eat 3,500 calories per day while staying relatively lean.

  • Be willing to play the long game as you think about whether or not metabolic building is something you want to attempt. Although the rewards can be truly life-changing, the path to success will require discipline, diligence, consistency, and patience.

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As always, I really enjoyed writing this article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to a friend who would rather be smashing the all-you-can-eat buffet as a lean machine than smashing their face into a wall from metabolic frustration.

Until next time,

-Andrew

5 Tips for Getting Back to Basics When You've Overcomplicated Your Body Recomposition Journey

To be honest with you, this article originally began as a personal note to myself I cyber-scribbled into my iPhone one day on a flight from Denver to St. Louis.

For quite some time, I had been making my body recomposition journey way too complicated, and I had become the poster child of self-inflicted paralysis by analysis.

And although ultimately my desire to understand every known detail about evidence-based body recomposition had fueled a lot of personal growth for me, I was starting to realize that it had also prevented me from taking my best strides at times.

I remember rewriting my own training programs over and over again thinking, “Finally! This is the perfect mesocycle for muscle growth,” just to rewrite it once more in a few days.

I remember thinking tirelessly about the “perfect” number of sets I should be doing each week and wondering fruitlessly if I should be counting drop sets as full sets or a half sets.

And I remember being hyper-focused on getting six “hits” of muscle protein synthesis per day to the extent that I was setting 150-minute timers on my phone so I’d know when to guzzle down my next serving of shredded chicken and half of a plain bagel.

I once even bought raw, cartoned egg whites and drank them in the car during a road tip because I was unwilling to miss an opportunity to “stimulate muscle growth.”

As the saying goes, I was missing the forest for the trees.

I had become so entrenched in the details that I had failed to look up and remember the grander narrative of what it meant to improve my body composition sustainably over time.

Does any of this sound relatable?

If so, I want to share with you what I wrote in that small note on my phone that day with the hope of helping you refocus on what matters most for a successful body recomposition endeavor.

5 Tips for Getting Back to Basics for an Improved Body Recomposition

1. remember that Calories matter most for fat loss, but your health and livelihood probably matter too.

It's so easy to overcomplicate this, but it really is true that you can get shredded to the bone while paying attention to calories and nothing else.

Just take a look at anyone who’s ever been stranded at sea on a handcrafted life raft like Chuck Noland and his spherical confidant Wilson circa 2000.

And in some sense, this is both good news and bad news.

It’s good news in that weight loss has now become very simple. If you consume fewer calories than you expend, you’ll lose weight.

But it’s bad news in that it becomes increasingly tempting to think of foods exclusively in terms of their caloric density and nothing else.

So now there’s really no good argument for ever eating an avocado or a handful of almonds over a Rice Krispies Treat because avocados have nearly three times as many calories than their marshmallow friends.

And yet most of us understand that avocados are probably the healthier option when pitted against an ultra-processed dessert made by a curious clan of animated elves.

Are you seeing how this can quickly become complicated?

At some point, the question we all have to ask ourselves is this:

To what extent will we nuance our understanding of calorie balance for a fat loss effort with our best understanding of how to eat for optimal health?

And so even though you could consume brownie batter flavored whey protein, Rice Krispie Treats, and peanut butter toward a leaner and meaner physique, it begs a few questions.

Would that be good for your health? Would you lose muscle mass? Would you be performing at your best on a diet of ultra-processed foods and somewhat “empty” calories?

Would your skin look the same? Would your hair be healthy? Would you be thriving sexually?

Would your sleep quality be high? Would you have energy throughout the day to invest in the relationships that matter most to you?

As I alluded to before, I ignored nearly all of those questions for a very long time in the name of caloric over-obsession and nothing else.

Did I get lean? Absolutely. But did I do so at the expense of my overall health? I believe so.

So to mitigate the risk of overcomplicating my first point in an article written to encourage people not to overcomplicate things, the main takeaway here is this:

Being in a calorie deficit is king for fat loss, but you’ll want to make sure you’ve thought through the health and wellness ramifications of your dietary pattern as well.

In fact, I think it’s similar to playing a game of chess.

In some undeniable sense, the king is the most important piece on the board. You cannot win without protecting him. Your own king, in this case, is your application of calorie balance.

But there are other important pieces on the board as well: the queen, your rooks, the bishops and the knights, and even the seemingly insignificant pawns that can become queens if you shepherd them well and guide safely beyond enemy lines.

We might consider these your overall health, your energy levels, your sleep quality, and your sex drive (among many others).

The key to becoming a great chess player is being able to command all of your pieces toward a unified goal while considering the greater context of the ultimate task at hand.

Will you be able to consider all of the pieces and how they can help you achieve your goal?

Or will you fail to see the bigger picture and miss the forest for the trees?

2. Don’t forget that training quality is the most important thing for building muscle.

I screwed this up for a long time too because I was searching for the “perfect” dietary pattern like it was the lost city of Atlantis.

In other words, I was placing a disproportionate amount of attention on my diet to give me the look I wanted instead of the quality of my training. I was incessantly tweaking something with the hopes of optimizing my physique just that much more.

And in doing so, I neglected my training quality.

In some sense, this this is the overcompensation for my first point in this article, and it’s a great example of how you can make a good thing a bad thing.

If you focus too much on the quality of your diet, you might forget that you actually have to train intelligently and intensely in the gym to build the muscle you want.

The point here is to settle into a dietary pattern that is supported by evidence for positive physique improvements and then eat habitually while you train with purpose.

The less time you can spend overthinking your diet the better.

For example, don’t waste time and energy wondering if eating 20 extra grams of carbohydrates from bananas versus berries during your pre-workout meal is going to yield you an extra 1% of muscle gain over the next five years.

Just get in the gym and train hard!

In summary, if a major component of your body recomposition goal is to grow bigger muscles, be sure to focus on high-quality training above all else.

3. Don’t overcomplicate your protein intake at the expense of other macronutrients.

This is another mistake I was making.

I had gotten overly focused on consuming excessive amounts of protein at the expense of food quality and overall food diversity.

As I mentioned before, there was a time when I would estimate that nearly 80% of my calories were coming from Fresh toast doused in sugar-free maple syrup and bowls upon bowls of teriyaki chicken.

Why?

Because they allowed me to “hit my macros” with convenience and ease.

Not only this, but I was convinced that five protein feeds per day must be better than four, and six must be even better than five. In doing so, I manipulated myself psychologically to believe that I “didn’t want my goals badly enough” when I only made time to eat three times per day.

Do I regret it? Absolutely.

Unfortunately, that season of eating was characterized by low energy levels and overall lethargy, digestive discomfort, and delayed post-workout recovery.

And even more unfortunately, I see now that choosing to eat that way had actually suppressed some of my greater values of health and vitality in favor of a “protein at all costs” mindset.

In short, my encouragement to you here is not to become protein-obsessed at the expense of a more well-rounded nutritional profile.

Instead, focus on eating an adequate amount of daily protein that supports your goal, and then maximize your intake of colorful plant foods as you approach your daily caloric target.

In an attempt to lead by example, I’ve now adopted a completely plant-based diet that is rich in lean protein sources, fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds.

I feel better than ever, I eat much less protein than I used to (while eating way more carbohydrates and fats), and I’ve only continued to see steady muscle and strength gains since making that change in May 2021.

4. don’t stress about meals you can’t track perfectly.

As much as I enjoy the systematic fat loss outcomes of tracking food, I had come to realize that there were many times in life when tracking a meal just wasn’t worth the cost.

For example, one of my really good friends made me a delicious curry the other night.

If you've been around the macro-tracking block a few times, you know that curry isn't very tracker-friendly.

It's nearly impossible to know exactly how much of this vegetable or that vegetable was in your particular serving, and the sauce is always a caloric mystery.

This can make eating out with a friends a nightmare for people with orthorexic tendencies.

And this can be the case with many homemade meals like pastas, casseroles, and slow cooker meals.

Rather than stressing about it (like I would have in the past), I embraced the meal and simply kept my portion size reasonable and limited myself to one plate.

And I couldn't have been happier about it.

I didn't strain the relationship by being a high-maintenance guest, we were able to enjoy a delicious meal together without distraction, and I left feeling completely in control of my diet and physique.

So remember that not every meal in life will be trackable.

Learn to know when to relax and rely on mindful eating habits like portion sizes and eating to fullness without excess.

5. never forget that Sustainability wins in the end.

I mostly hate the phrase "do what works for you" because it always seems wildly unhelpful and conversationally lazy.

But this is one scenario where I think it works really well as long as we offer a brief explanation of exactly what we mean.

As it pertains to feeling more confident in your birthday suit, you’re still going to have to do all of the evidence-based things I’m always teasing out in all of my IVRY articles, but there are going to be small ways here and there that you can tweak your own lifestyle in unique ways for long-term body recomposition success.

For example, when dieting for fat loss, I used to eat a big breakfast and skip lunch in favor of a small snack in the afternoon and a bigger dinner while other people might prefer to fast until 1PM and then have their first large meal.

We're both generally still playing by all of the same rules of calorie balance, but we're manipulating those rules to our advantage based on our own preferences.

Does that make sense?

In my observations, this is a hallmark feature of all successful dieters - the ability to modify and nuance minor lifestyle behaviors in way that is rhythmic, repeatably, and sustainable for them.

Can I take it a bit further?

To be super frank, I'm not a proponent of transformations that people can't maintain long-term.

After having done this for awhile, I know how to sniff out a transformation photo of someone who crash dieted and destroyed their health to win an online “transformation challenge.”

Most people can starve themselves for eight weeks and "look hot" for a wedding. Most people can do super keto for three months and lose 30 pounds. Most people can suffer through P90X once to reveal a blurry six-pack and a plump, worm-like vein in their left bicep.

But what most people can't do is keep the weight off.

My point? Sustainability wins in the end.

Do yourself a favor and remind yourself to play the long game.

Summary

• When you’re passionate about improving your body composition, overcomplicating things can be an easy trap to fall into.

• Remember that calorie balance is most important for weight loss, but it’s probably a good idea to consider your health and wellness as well. The key is to find a balance.

• Never forget that training quality matters most for building muscle. Try not to let other aspects of the process distract you from executing a well-designed training plan with a high level of focus and intensity.

• Avoid overcomplicating your protein intake. Once you’ve identified an adequate amount of protein to eat on a daily basis, maximize your consumption of healthy carbohydrates and fats within your caloric target.

• Come to terms with the fact that you won’t be able to track every meal to the gram. In those unavoidable situations, eat mindfully and do your best to enjoy the moment stress free. You don’t have to keep a food scale in your back pocket at all times to be lean and muscular.

• Lastly, remember that sustainability is the name of the game. If overcomplicating any aspect of your body recomposition journey is preventing you from getting the results you want, you’d be smart to reconsider your plan in favor of something more sustainable.

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As always, I really enjoyed writing this article.

If you found it helpful, consider sending it to a friend!

Until next time,

-Andrew

How to Use Single-Day Fasting to Lose Fat and Build Muscle

You guys remember when Zoolander dropped in 2001 and Will Ferrell’s Mugatu character couldn’t stop obsessing over Hansel’s hotness?

That’s how I feel about fasting right now in the fitness industry.

Some people think it’s an amazing dietary strategy to help with fat loss (and sometimes even muscle gain) while others believe it’s suboptimal to having more consistent protein feedings across the day in order to maximize muscle protein synthesis.

Some people will tell you it improves insulin sensitivity and boosts natural testosterone levels while others would lead you to believe that it’s putting you at risk of muscle loss.

So which is it?

And why does it always feel like the fitness industry is exploding with conflicting claims?

These are good questions, which I hope to address (in part) in this article.

Here’s what you can expect:

• I’m going to avoid speaking about any health benefits of fasting outside of weight loss in order to respect my scope of practice. In other words, I’m not going to be taking a position on whether fasting can help us live longer lives or improve our hormone profiles.

  • So as for all of that insulin sensitivity and testosterone talk, you won’t see me addressing those claims (even though I find them fascinating and worthy of your own independent exploration).

• Instead, I’m going to tell you how to use fasting simply as a form of caloric restriction to help you improve your body composition primarily through fat loss.

• I’m going to provide practical examples of how I’ve used single-day fasting in my own body recomposition effort.

• I’m going to outline the advantages of single-day fasting when compared to other more traditional forms of caloric restriction.

How to Use Single-Day “Semi-Fasting” to Improve Your Body Composition

Although there are several ways to use fasting to improve your body composition, I’m going to focus the attention of this particular article on one specific strategy, which is…

Single-day fasting.

In other words, I think a lot of people would benefit from fasting for one entire day a week.

Sound crazy?

Maybe in context of our modern dietary patterns, but keep in mind that our modern dietary patterns have led 42% of people into a life of obesity, which is why I think a creative reconsideration of our eating habits surrounding the idea of sustainable body composition improvement is a very good idea.

So what’s up with not eating for an entire day? How is that supposed to help anyone with a body recomposition goal?

Simply put, it’s a very basic way of reducing your weekly caloric consumption.

In short, it helps you get into a caloric deficit to help you lose body fat.

We really don’t need to make it any more complicated than that, but we’ll dive into a bit more nuance in the following section.

That being said, if fasting for an entire day seems daunting and overwhelming, you could easily modify your strategy by fasting through the majority of the day and then enjoying one large, nutritionally-dense meal for dinner.

This is what I personally refer to as “semi-fasting” but only in the sense that you’re fasting for most of the day instead of complete 24-hour period. I understand that you can’t technically “semi-fast,” so take that terminology with a grain of salt.

Ultimately, it would be better described as a very low-calorie day relative to one’s normal intake.

When I do this myself, I usually have an 800-1,000-calorie smoothie packed with greens, plant-based protein powder, berries, bananas, nuts, and seeds around 5PM.

Or I might opt for an enormous tofu salad with a plethora of leafy greens drizzled in tahini and sprinkled with hemp hearts and walnuts.

The objective (for me) is simply to eat one nutritionally-dense meal with plenty of protein, which makes smoothies and salads great options given how easy it can be to pack them full of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and lean proteins like protein powders or soy products.

What I like about this modified idea is that I never have to go to bed hungry, but I can still reap the benefits of a restricted eating window.

And, of course, eating once per day tends to be much easier to adhere to (for most people) than an overnight fast.

In fact, this modified “semi-fasting” approach is what you will see illustrated in the upcoming examples as I have applied it to my own lifestyle (as opposed to a full day of fasting).

Why might a SINGLE-day weekly “SEMI-fast” help with fat loss?

As I mentioned briefly above, there doesn’t seem to be anything “magical” about fasting when it comes to losing body fat other than that it serves as a very simple way of reducing your overall intake.

But I think another underrated benefit of single-day “semi-fasting” is that it helps you start thinking of your caloric deficit in the context of one week instead of a single day.

In fact, this is what I do with all of my fat loss clients and it's why things like carb cycling and high/low approaches work for bodybuilders.

As long as the caloric math makes sense at the end of the week, the fat loss is always systematic and exciting.

For example, you may have heard that 3,500 calories equal roughly one pound of body fat.

So, if you can get yourself into a 500-calorie daily deficit, you'll be cruising toward about one pound of fat loss per week because 500 calories multiplied by 7 days equals 3,500 calories.

Boom. Math, right?

But sometimes people get too caught up in the "24-hour-ness" of it all.

In other words, people focus too much on that 500-calorie daily deficit when they could be acting more strategically on a behalf of a 3,500-calorie weekly deficit.

I’ll use myself as an example here.

If my maintenance calories are around 3,300 calories right now, we could say that a daily intake of 2,800 calories might lead to approximately one pound of fat loss per week based on the math we just discussed.

Because of that, I could structure my weekly (non-fasting) eating pattern like this:

Standard static Weekly Calorie Example

The standard static example would look like this:

• Monday: 2,800 calories

• Tuesday: 2,800 calories

• Wednesday: 2,800 calories

• Thursday: 2,800 calories

• Friday: 2,800 calories

• Saturday: 2,800 calories

• Sunday: 2,800 calories

As you can see, this is simply the “eat the same number of calories everyday” approach that many people ascribe to for the sake of consistency and routine.

But a one-day “semi-fasting” example could allow you to eat more during the week while eating much less just once per weekend.

This is cool because you could choose to eat more carbohydrates to bolster your weekday workouts knowing you can rest up and eat less (or nothing) on Sunday.

Here is an example of what that could look like (and what I often do):

One-Day “Semi-Fast” Weekly Calorie Example

• Monday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Tuesday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Wednesday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Thursday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Friday, 3,100 calories (+300)

• Saturday: 3,100 calories (+300)

• Sunday: 1,000 calories (-1,800)

In this example, limiting myself to just 1,000 calories on Sunday allows me to eat an extra 300 calories on each of those other six days per week. Keep in mind too that those +300 calories in parentheses are relative to the deficit, which means this entire week of eating is still designed for fat loss.

Three hundred calories may not seem like much, but that's an extra PB&J and a glass of almond milk that you could apply to a important pre or post-workout meal.

But again, this is just one way to do it.

If you really want to be a Level 1000 Fat Loss Ninja, you could nuance your daily caloric intake even further by biasing your calories toward your most intense workouts or even planned, higher-calorie social occasions while utilizing single-day fasting over the weekend.

Check out what I mean in the following example:

Level 1000 Fat Loss Ninja Weekly Calorie Example featuring a One-Day Semi-Fast

• Monday: 3,400 calories for a nasty leg day because you want that peach (+600)

• Tuesday: 3,100 calories for an upper body day (+300)

• Wednesday: 2,800 calories for a rest day (0)

• Thursday: 3,100 calories for a normal leg day (+300)

• Friday: 3,400 calories because pizza with the boys (+600)

• Saturday: 2,800 calories because math (0)

• Sunday: 1,000 calories (-1,800)

Do you have to make it this complicated? Of course not.

I just want to illustrate that you have the freedom to do so if you like the idea of heavily nuancing your caloric consumption based on fluctuations in your training routine and lifestyle overall.

All three of these options add up to 19,600 calories per week, which means the fat loss in each situation would be almost identical while all other factors remain equal.

Pretty cool, yeah?

You could easily do similar math with your own numbers.

Just remember that these numbers were calculated for someone with a maintenance calorie intake of 3,300.

I also have a few opinions on why I think this can work really well for people.

Advantages of “Semi-Fasting” Once Per Week

• It's easy to fast for one day when you know you get plenty of food the very next day.

  • I like to think of this as the "light at the end of the tunnel" effect. For those of you who have never fasted before, this may still seem extreme, but it's really quite doable once you commit.

  • Plus, if you've ever dieted before, you know that the worst part of dieting comes from being randomly hungry on a Monday and knowing it ain't getting any better for the next six weeks. This dieting pattern fights against that drudgery.

• You're unlikely to downregulate your metabolism by fasting just once per week.

  • I don't pretend to be an expert on metabolic downregulation outside of plenty of anecdotal experience from working with my own clients, but to me it just makes good sense that it might be better for keeping your metabolism churning along to duck your calories hard once per week versus committing to a peasant's 1200-calorie diet for weeks and months on end. It's almost like your body senses that there is no need to process energy more efficiently when it knows more food is coming soon. Anecdotally, I have seen this work time and time again. And, although I wouldn’t call it “biohacking,” I do think it’s a creative way to manipulate your caloric consumption.

• It gives your digestive system a break, which I personally think may have some exciting health benefits.

  • In my own experience, it can also create a refreshing feeling of emptiness as the fast goes on, which leaves me feeling acutely lighter.

• It exercises your discipline muscle.

  • In a modern gimme-gimme culture where we tend to complain about anything we can’t have instantaneously, I find it grounding to limit my food consumption once per week.

  • I also personally think this translates well into other areas of life.

• For me personally, my stomach starts feeling noticeably tighter around 1-2PM, but this is of course just my own experience and a small psychological benefit I enjoy.

Disadvantages of “Semi-Fasting” Once Per Week

• Some people will never be able to handle the acute hunger of even a half-day fast, and that’s fine.

  • I’m not here to try to convince anyone to be hungry if you’re not bought into the benefits beyond the hunger (and I mean that sincerely).

• It might be difficult to navigate certain social situations like dining out with friends if you and your significant other are social people on the weekends.

  • For my own lifestyle, Sundays tend to be very relaxed, so this isn’t an issue for me personally in most cases, but I think it’s worth mentioning in case it applies to others.

• Your Monday workouts might feel a bit lethargic if you don’t prioritize a massive, carb-heavy breakfast to replenish yourself from the low-calorie day prior.

  • And again, you obviously don’t have to choose Sundays for your “semi-fast.” This was just the example used consistently throughout this article (and what I do personally).

Summary

• I think single-day fasting is an underrated form of caloric restriction that could help a lot of people lose body fat sustainably.

• Single-day fasting can be a helpful strategy to help people think of their caloric deficits on a weekly basis instead of a daily basis.

• “Semi-fasting” once per week can allow you to eat more food during the week to fuel your most intense training sessions.

• Practically speaking, I personally like to fast through the first half of the day and then eat one large, nutritionally dense meal around 5PM.

  • This is usually a large smoothie or a big tofu salad.

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I really enjoyed writing this short article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to someone in your life who finds body recomposition banter just as entertaining as you do.

Until next time,

-Andrew

What Should I Eat to Lose Weight?

What should you eat to lose weight?

It’s the trillion dollar question everyone is asking because…

If we just knew what to eat to lose weight, we would eat it, right?

I’m actually not so sure.

But before we get too far, I want to let you know what you can expect from this article.

1. I’m going to tell you that losing weight is mostly about calories - not the specific foods you eat, which makes the question, “What should I eat to lose weight?” quite complex.

2. I’m going to help you think through that reality by using a financial analogy that relates calories consumed to dollars spent.

3. I’m going to tell you which foods I think are “best” for fat loss for those who appreciate practical suggestions.

4. I’m going to tell you which foods make up the majority of my own diet when I aim to lose weight on purpose.

MOST PEOPLE ALREADY UNDERSTAND BASIC NUTRITION

In my opinion, most people have a basic understanding of which foods tend to be best for fat loss.

For example, if we gave the entire planet a questionnaire about basic nutrition, I think we’d see that…

• Most people know that oatmeal with berries and a few tablespoons of chia seeds is a fat loss-friendly breakfast.

• Most people know that salads with lean proteins and modest portions of healthy fats are helpful, fat loss-friendly lunch options.

• Most people know that tofu, broccoli, and rice can be a fat loss-friendly dinner combination.

• And most people know that snacking on apples is probably more fat loss-friendly than eating Nutella straight out of the jar.

So where’s the disconnect?

Why are people still typing “what to eat to lose weight” into Google?

I could be wrong, but I think I know why.

In fact, it’s the reason I wrote an entire article called The Single Biggest Mistake You’re Making in How You Think About Fat Loss, but I’m committed to bringing you an updated perspective on the topic of food selection for weight loss.

Are you ready for it?

The problem with focusing exclusively on what you should eat is that there's little to no consideration of how much you should eat.

So the implication is that you can eat all of the “right foods” and yet never lose weight if you eat them in the “wrong amounts.”

This is why thinking of your caloric allotment for the day as a monetary budget can be a very helpful analogy for fat loss.

THINK OF YOUR CALORIC INTAKE AS A MONETARY BUDGET

We’re going to start thinking about calories like dollars.

To start, let’s use an example of someone with a maintenance calorie intake of 2,500 calories, and let’s say their goal is to lose weight.

We’ll also use a direct conversion of calories to dollars for the sake of making this analogy as easy to understand as possible.

So now, instead of eating 2,500 calories per day, we’re going to think of our example person as spending $2,500 per day.

Sound fun?

Just pretend our example person is Warren Buffet for a moment.

The first thing we need to do is tailor their new budget to their goal.

In this analogy, think of saving money as losing fat.

So, if we want to lose fat by 10%, all we need to do is reduce their daily spending by 10%, which would shift their current budget of $2,500 per day to a more prudent $2,250 per day.

Over the course of a week, they would save about $1,750. And, over the course of a month, they would save about $7,000, which is about two pounds of fat once we abandon our analogy.

And this is essentially exactly how weight loss works.

It’s like you’re a little kid being given an allowance of $2,250 per day and you can spend it however you want, but…

Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

To further the analogy, that means that spending more than your allotted $2,250 per day means you’ve put yourself in debt, and debt (in this particular analogy) negates any weight loss attempt and could even lead to weight gain depending on the magnitude of that debt.

The more debt you accrue, the more unwanted body fat you accumulate.

Interestingly enough, buying things on credit is a thing when it comes to dieting for fat loss, but credit (in this analogy) is stored body fat.

And finally, perhaps one of the most important implications of this analogy is that it really doesn’t matter how you spend your money as long as you stay within the budget.

Hear me out.

Some might be tempted to think it’s “better” to spend your budgeted money on things like your mortgage, utilities, food for your family, and clothes to put on their backs, but you technically could go spend it on strippers and cocaine as long as you can afford it.

Stick with me.

But it’s only “better” in the sense that it’s better for your overall wellbeing. Most people would probably agree that the way to flourish in life probably isn’t to spend your evenings frequenting seedy nightclubs and “doing lines” off of Tiffany’s lower back.

But it’s technically not “better” if the goal is simply to stay within your budget (at least in the short-term).

That being said, if you have a goal of staying within your budget and living a responsible life, then you would be smart to consider your purchases as more than “just pennies.”

So I’ll say it again.

It really doesn’t matter (much) how your spend your money if your only goal is to stay within the budget.

And this is the essence of flexible dieting, which is a popular dietary pattern that communicates this very same idea within the context of food.

WHAT’S FLEXIBLE DIETING?

Flexible dieting or the “If It Fits Your Macros” (IIFYM) movement says that…

If your caloric budget for the day is 2,250 calories, you really are free to consume those calories from whichever food sources you please if weight loss is all you care about (which is an important caveat).

Jelly-filled donuts? Yep.

Pizza? Yep.

Burgers and fries? If you must.

Cake and ice cream? Yes!

However, if you want that lean, hard-body look that we help people achieve here at IVRY, you’ll need to make sure you’re ticking a few more important boxes within your flexible dieting routine.

After all, there’s a big difference between weight loss and body recomposition.

It’s probably good to mention too that a flexible dieting approach doesn’t take your health into consideration either, which is why I prefer to encourage people to eat a whole food, plant-based diet as much as possible.

So what’s the takeaway from this section of the article?

Calories matter most for weight loss. Consume them however you please within your caloric allotment.

The Truth about Which Foods Are “Best” for Weight Loss

Once you understand that weight loss is mostly about the manipulation of your overall caloric intake, you’ll slowly realize that the only intelligent answer to the question regarding which foods are “best” for weight loss is…

That there are no specific foods that you should eat to lose weight.

I hope this is powerful and illuminating!

But, there are, of course, foods that tend to make weight loss much easier and more sustainable due to a few reasons:

• They're naturally lower in calories.

• They're voluminous.

• They're satiating, which means they leave you feeling full for longer.

• They’re usually plants.

• They work really well for your own personal preferences and lifestyle.

In my opinion, the following list of foods fit most of these categories I’ve just mentioned.

Do you have to eat them? No.

Should you feel limited to only eat these foods? Not at all.

If anything, I’m just giving you a brief peek into my own life and the foods I personally choose to consume on a regular basis in order to maintain my lean, hard-body physique.

And, if you didn’t already know, I do eat a 100% plant-based diet, which means you won’t see any animal products in the list below (although you certainly can use them to lose weight).

FOODS I EAT MOST often FOR FAT LOSS AND MUSCLE GAIN

• Oats

• Berries like strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries

• Other fruits like bananas, mangos, and cherries

• Plant “milks” like soy “milk” and almond “milk”

• Nuts like walnuts, pecans, and pistachios

• Nut butters like peanut butter and almond butter

• Seeds like hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, and pumpkin seeds

• Enormous salads made primarily with a spring mix or spinach

• Tahini

• Tofu and tempeh

• Sweet potatoes

• Vegetables of all kinds

• Rice (or quinoa) and bean combinations

• Burritos

• Chickpea and lentil-based pastas

• Nutritional yeast

• Chilis

• Plant-based protein powders

• Plant-based protein bars

And there are certainly many more, but this is just a list of the major players.

Remember, the reason it's good to focus on foods that are low-calorie, voluminous, and filling is because being in a caloric deficit is what drives weight loss, and foods with these qualities make it easier to maintain being in a caloric deficit for as long as it takes for you to get rid of your unwanted fat.

That being said, you can totally enjoy less “traditional” dieting foods like pizza or ice cream or brownies as long as you stay within your caloric budget.

At the end of the day, calories matter most for weight loss.

You don't need to make it any more complicated than that unless you’re interested in optimizing your weight loss effort and your health.

Summary

• There are no foods you should consume for weight loss since calories matter most for weight loss. It’s primarily a discussion of “how much” versus “which foods.”

  • That being said, I personally think everyone would benefit from a health perspective from eating most of their calories from whole or minimally-processed plant foods.

  • It’s important to remember that weight loss and improved health are not always synonymous.

• It can be helpful to think of weight loss in terms of a monetary budget.

• It’s probably easiest to lose weight when you consume the majority of your calories from plant foods that are naturally low in calories, voluminous, and satiating.

  • This also probably leads to better health outcomes, but this is outside of the scope of this particular article and beyond my expertise.

• Certain foods like pizza, burgers, fries, and ice creams can be difficult to incorporate into a weight loss effort due to their caloric density, but it’s still doable when your overall caloric intake is kept in check.

  • This is commonly referred to as flexible dieting, and can be a very useful strategy for many people.

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I really enjoyed writing this short article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to that person in your life who seems eternally perplexed about why they can’t ditch their muffin top for a trimmer midline.

Until next time,

-Andrew

How to Lose Weight By Eating More

I have good news!

The fitness industry just called you on your old school yellow phone to report that the solution to your seemingly incessant struggle to lose body fat is…

That you need to eat more?

But wait, is that really true? At best that sounds a bit counterintuitive, right? And at worst, downright ridiculous?

Well, let’s talk about this peculiar claim that "you need to eat more to lose weight."

I don’t mean to spoil the contents of the article too quickly, but I actually hate this phrase with a passion because it's one of those things that can technically be true but is mostly just extremely misleading.

It also annoys me because people usually use it to catch peoples' attention because let's be honest...

Who doesn't want to eat more and lose weight? Of course we'd all love to be able to eat the moon and look shredded 365 days a year.

In fact, it’s probably exactly why you clicked on this article in the first place.

The question is…

Is it possible? And is this buzzphrase legit? Or is it just a load of horse manure?

The 2 Technical Ways This Can Be True

JUNK FOOD VERSUS NUTRIENT-DENSE FOOD (THE VOLUME TRICK)

If you're eating a diet that's full of high-calorie junk food, people sometimes use this phrase to communicate the idea that you could eat "more food" in a volume sense (which is true) while consuming fewer overall calories. And to be clear, that's definitely true!

In fact, it's one of the biggest perks of committing to a whole food, plant-predominant diet in that you get to smash a ton of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, and lean proteins without eating in excess of your metabolic needs.

And this doesn’t mean you have to be vegetarian or vegan. It just means biasing more of your calories toward higher-volume, lower-calorie plant foods instead of consuming lower-volume, higher-calorie animal products like fatty beef and cheese.

In short, most people could lose weight without thinking too much about it just by picking more nutritionally dense foods over the pizzas, burgers, nachos, and beers they use to pick.

No brainer? For some people it is, but lots of well-intentioned people just don't understand this and plenty more simply aren’t willing to give up some of their favorite foods.

In fact, I wrote an entire article about the “one thing” a ton of people are getting wrong about the way they think about fat loss.

For example, if you're been snagging a McDonald's breakfast sandwich and a 600-calorie drink from Starbucks on your way into work each day for years, you can technically "eat more and lose weight" by choosing an enormous bowl of oatmeal and a protein shake instead.

See what I mean? The oatmeal is technically "more food" volume-wise than a tiny sandwich and a drink, but it's still fewer calories despite the increased volume.

You could literally eat enough oatmeal to poop your pants three times before noon for fewer calories than a McDonald’s breakfast platter or a classic burger and fries combo because you’re “in a hurry.”

But the trickiness here is that this isn't what people hear when you say "eat more and lose weight."

They think they need to get a second portion at the family BBQ to "boost their metabolism."

And that's why this is usually a harmful thing to tell people if you don't plan on explaining yourself.

You cannot eat more calories and lose weight acutely. That's very important.

Energy balance is absolutely the most important thing for fat loss. It’s not the only important thing, but it’s the most important thing.

YOUR METABOLISM SUCKS AND YOU might NEED TO REVERSE DIET strategically

This second one is a super stretch, but it's nonetheless a very real thing yet rarely explained.

Sometimes peoples' metabolisms are in such a bad place that you actually have to encourage them to eat more calories in the short-term in order to lose more fat in the long-term.

But rarely to never have I seen someone just start eating more calories and losing actual fat tissue at the same time.

That's a violation of the laws of thermodynamics and I can sense Layne Norton scrambling to make an angry YouTube video as I write this.

So to be clear, say some lady is eating 1200 calories and not losing weight even though she clearly has more fat to lose. Well, you can't just starve these people into oblivion.

So what happens is that you encourage them to eat more calories (in strategic increases) to help nurture their metabolism back to a better place.

But the reality is that they will most likely gain a bit of weight and body fat, which is the small price to be paid for having tossed your metabolism into the dumpster like a bag of potatoes you found leaking in your pantry.

But, once your metabolism is improved through a slow and strategic increase in calories matched with exercise and resistance training, you can then go back into a caloric deficit relative to your new metabolic needs and lose the fat you couldn't lose before.

In the fitness space, this is called reverse dieting and although it feels like wizardry, it's very much a thing. The problem is that it takes quite a bit of discipline to pull off, and a lot of people get too discouraged along the way and fail.

So in some long-term sense, it may be necessary to eat more to lose weight, but if you're trying to look cool at the pool in a month, you most certainly don't need to "eat more to lose weight."

Tricky, isn't it?

And that's all I've got for you. Just blasting confusing fitness lingo with the truth no one's telling you.

Summary

1. Eating more to lose weight is mostly hogwash, but it can be done in two technical senses.

2. The first is to eat more by maximizing food volume while still eating fewer calories than you baseline diet.

3. The second is to reverse diet strategically in order to potentially lose more fat later on due to an improved metabolic state.

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I really enjoyed writing this short article, so if you found it helpful, do me a favor and send it to that person in your life who’s sipping that fitness tabloid tea like an outdated Kermit meme.

Until next time,

-Andrew

How to Fix Your Squishiness

Let’s talk about the squishy fix.

As silly as it may sound, nearly everyone I talk to about training or dieting is interested in mitigating their squishiness in favor of a harder-looking physique.

Some people call this the "skinny-fat dilemma," but to me it's more of a squishiness dilemma.

So what do you do if you're squishy and you don't like it?

Firstly, I think it's important to understand how we all get squishy in the first place because not everyone is in the same squishiness boat.

How do we get squishy in the first place?

Scenario 1: you were lean but let go.

Probably the most common route to squishy is what I would call the person who grew up thin or lean by nature and then let go at some point in life.

Some of you are probably nodding your heads and thinking, "Yep. That's me." You never really had to think about food as a young person because "your metabolism was awesome!" And now it's apparently less awesome because you're squishy?

Or maybe your food and exercise habits changed a bit along the way as well.

A lot of these people were athletes in high school or college and then lost their way in their twenties.

scenario 2: the long-time chubster

But there are also people who have never known life without their squishiness. This would be anyone who feels like they grew up as a "fat kid" or thinks of themselves as genetically cursed.

You've never really felt confident at the pool or on the beach. You've never loved your picture being taken and you've probably always been insecure about a t-shirt that's just a little too tight. Maybe you were even made fun of for your weight when you were younger.

For those who know me well, you know that I actually fall into this camp.

Scenario 3: The Freestyle Friday Protein-Deficient Cardio Crowd

This third camp is probably the one that gives me the most grief because it represents a group of people who are trying really hard in all of the wrong ways.

And usually, pervasive ignorance is a common denominator among these people.

I know that sounds terrible, but I plan to defend what I mean by that as gently as possible. I call this group the Freestyle Friday Protein-Deficient Cardio Crowd.

Let me break that one down for you.

• Freestyle Friday is a term my high school basketball coach used to talk about anything that wasn't designed for a specific goal in mind. In short, it's something random and it implies little to no consideration of the future. With these people, I find that there's usually no method to their madness. They just "do" a bunch of stuff, and it's never systematic enough to warrant any meaningful or predictable returns.

• Protein-Deficient is pretty self-explanatory. Even though I've shifted my focus away from ultra-high-protein diets in recent years, you still have to consume an adequate amount of protein for any semi-serious physique endeavor.

  • If you want a deeper dive on calculating your own protein needs, check out this article I personally wrote on the topic.

  • You can also check this article out for practical tips on how to eat more protein if you don't know where to start.

• Cardio Crowd simply refers to the fact that these people generally spend way more time doing cardio than they do getting stronger and lifting weights.

When these three forces combine, you're bound to find some degree of squishiness. You might be fit in the cardio sense! But you might be squishy too.

For a surprising example, check out this photo of David Beckham I found the other day.

I'm not saying the guy looks "bad," but it's definitely a softer look for an elite soccer player in a photoshoot setting.

In my experience, most people want to be both more muscular and leaner than his physique in this particular photo.

Why Most People Don’t Love Their Squishiness

This is simple. Squishiness usually implies the combination of two unappealing factors: little to no muscle mass and unwanted fat.

This is a problem because most people would rather be the opposite of at least one but ideally both of those factors!

In other words, having little no muscle while carrying extra body fat is kind of the worst case scenario for most people.

You'd probably prefer having the combination of muscle and fat or the combination of no muscle and no fat than being all around squishy.

For example, powerlifters can sometimes be a decent example of what it means to have plenty of muscle but also plenty of fat, but, as you can see here, this lifter has a ton of muscle and a very healthy and aesthetic amount of body fat.

On the other hand, long distance runners tend to be a decent example of what it means to have little to no muscle or fat.

It's kind of like preferring to have your favorite team be 1-1 instead of 0-2 going into the third week of the football season.

Why would you want anything other than everything?

So in short, people don't love their squishiness because it's a double-opposite of what most people want.

Although each of those camps would benefit from slightly different strategies, the baseline principles are going to be the same.

5 Steps to Fixing Squishy

Be warned, these fixes are not sexy, and you won’t see any mention of lemon juice solutions.

Step 1: set a specific goal.

Firstly, you need to decide if you're going to lose fat first or build muscle first.

You can always try for a nice, slow, and steady recomp, but I think most people would be smart to pick one road or the other and get going.

This decision is important because it dictates how many calories you will be consuming as you start your new program.

Step 2: REMEMBER THAT calories matter most.

Once you have a clear direction and a specific goal, you've got to take extreme ownership of your caloric intake.

Remember that there are only ever three ways to eat:

• In a caloric deficit for a primary goal of fat loss

• In a caloric surplus for a primary goal of muscle gain

• At maintenance calories for a body recomposition effort

In any of these cases, I personally believe a modest approach will work best for most people.

In other words, I would recommend against any aggressive caloric deficit or caloric surplus, and I will tell you why.

Keep in mind that squishy or “skinny fat” people are typically visually softer and less muscular than they need to be for a hard-body look, which means…

• Eating in an aggressive deficit is going to severely limit the muscle you can gain.

• Eating in an aggressive surplus is going to cause excess weight gain and create an ever softer appearance.

As you can see, those are both unwanted outcomes.

So for some general advice, I think a 0-10% deficit or surplus depending on your goal is a very conservative place to start.

This means if your maintenance calories are 2,000 per day, you’d switch to an 1,800-calorie or 2,200-calorie diet depending on the goal (if you were to use the 10% figure).

STEp 3: make sure your protein intake is adequate.

You've got to get your protein in check.

Since so many people struggle to optimize their protein, I’m willing to throw out a few general recommendations.

I really think most females would benefit from targeting a minimum of 80g of protein per day while most males would benefit from targeting a minimum of 120g per day.

Obviously, you can eat much more than that if you personally feel you need to. That choice is yours. I'm just one guy yelling in a noisy room.

For a much more nuanced discussion on this, click here.

STEP 4: prioritize resistance training and progressive overload.

Train consistently with weights while minimizing unnecessary cardio.

You're just never going to develop succulent, balloon-like muscles that look impressive in your best outfits if you never train with weights.

I also realize it may sound a bit counterintuitive to minimize cardio, but you have to remember that building muscle is much more difficult than losing fat.

For that reason alone, I try to encourage people to commit to longer phases of muscle gain knowing in the back of their mind that cutting the fat later is always an option.

So if you're on the fence about training for muscle gain or dieting for fat loss, I might encourage you to train for muscle gain.

Some might argue it’s the less satisfying short-term move, but I firmly believe it’s the more gratifying long-term move.

You’re also going to want to make sure that your program is designed to allow for progressive overload, which means you’ll gradually be increasing the load, reps, or sets performed over time.

If you’re new to the idea of progressive overload, click here.

Step 5: diet in phases.

Diet phasically. I don't have the space to get into that here, but it's worth saying.

If you're squishy, you're probably not going to be able to do a single dieting phase and wake up lean and muscle-puffy someday.

In other words, you might start with an 6-week body recomposition effort at maintenance calories while optimizing your training quality and then deload for a week before jumping into a small surplus to start burning away some of the unwanted fat that’s preventing you from looking trimmer.

It might even take multiple phases of manipulating your strategy, which is where I personally think having a body recomposition coach can be extremely helpful.

Special Considerations

If you used to be lean but you've let go, there's a good chance you can "get your old self back" simply by getting back to old habits.

It's also most likely that you can go straight to cutting body fat since you might have some lingering muscle from your leaner days as a high school athlete or something similar.

If that’s you, it would certainly be my recommendation to start eating in a small deficit of around 10%.

For anyone who feels like they're bigger by nature, you might have to make a more dramatic shift than our leaner friends. But in my opinion, it's better to face the facts and get to work than it is to mope over the unfairness of genetic predispositions.

And I'm allowed to say that since I grew up "husky."

If your metabolism seems to be in a decent place, you're probably best to start chipping away at body fat and then building muscle once you get to a leaner base. Also, don't expect it to be easy. You might have to be more meticulous with your diet than the naturally thin girl at your office you secretly despise.

For these people, I would also recommend a small deficit of around 10%.

For the FFPDCC, you're in a bit of a pickle but it's not void of all hope. It's a hopeful pickle.

But you probably need to decide if you care more about being a cardio monster or a Greek statue. They just really don't go hand in hand in any optimal sense.

If you're more about cardio, then a lower-protein life makes good sense. You're not actually trying to build muscle and that's fine!

But if you're sick of squishy more than anything, get on a structured weight training program, bump your protein intake, and snooze the cardio for a few months to give yourself a chance to build some lean tissue.

For these people, I would actually recommend maintenance eating or a small surplus of around 10%.

And that's that!

Just some thoughts on being squishy and how to rewrite your story if you're in pursuit of leaner and more muscular body composition.

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Thanks for reading! I genuinely hope you were able to take something meaningful away from this article.

If you feel like it brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone who might be tired of having their love handles melt over the sides of their favorite jeans.

Later, guys.

-Andrew

How to Improve Your Body Composition Without Tracking Calories

Once upon a time, I wrote an article about why caloric deficits are overhyped, and the summary was generally this:

Most of us want to have leaner and more muscular bodies, and yet a disproportionate amount of enthusiasm and marketing in the fitness space go toward calorie deficits instead of modest caloric surpluses or eating at maintenance.

And I'm really no one to talk. I find myself tooting the caloric deficit horn much more than the surplus horn.

Why?

Because most people are chubby and like the idea of losing some fat immediately as a boost of confidence that they're moving in the right direction.

Right! That makes a lot of sense, and that approach is still going to work really well for most people.

But there's another way for another crowd that you just might fall into, and it’s likely why this article piqued your interest in the first place.

You want to know how to improve your body composition without tracking calories.

Personally, I think that’s wonderful.

In fact, if I had it my way, everyone would be working toward how to eat an abundance of nutrient-dense foods while pursuing a healthy bodyweight and body composition.

Why do I say this?

Although tracking calories meticulously for fat loss can be extremely effective, it’s not all rose petals and bubblebaths.

In fact, it can be quite the opposite when done poorly.

To illustrate that point, let's start by briefly addressing a frustrating yet very common reality for a lot of people who plunge headfirst into the “deficit or die” mentality when it comes to tracking calories.

WHY TRACKING CALORIES FOR improved body composition can be frustrating

Tracking calories works, but...

• The problem with tracking calories is that you start to think about food as just calories.

• And being in a calorie deficit usually implies eating fewer calories than you might like.

• So to maximize food volume, you start doing weird things to eat fewer calories like making Frankenstein French toast with low calorie bread, sugar-free syrup, and egg whites.

• And then your energy starts to decrease because you're depriving yourself of energy on purpose (and eating weird foods that might be void of any real nutritional value).

• You become afraid of bananas because they're the "highest calorie fruit!" Gah!

• And peanut butter is the devil because fat! Gah!

• And then all of sudden you’re the weird guy or gal who eats weird things in the name of “fitness.”

• And then going to the gym becomes a real pain in the bum because "you just don't feel like it."

• And then your training starts to suck. You're not getting stronger. You’re actually getting weaker. And you've maybe lost a few pounds, but you're still soft, chubby, and unhappy.

• And then you order 47 Papa John's pizzas and a birthday cake to yourself on a Friday night and never see the gym again.

That last bullet point is a bit of a joke, obviously, but hopefully you see the truth in the comedy.

Let me just pause briefly and remind you that doing the above absolutely works if all you care about is losing fat.

And that's not me trying to passively shame you into being "that person.” It’s totally fine to care about losing the fat above all else.

In fact, that above list is exactly what I did to lose 31 pounds and land myself the physique you see here.

So it definitely works. And I'm not taking a dig at it at all. I'm just being objective about the pros and cons while trying to make a specific point.

But again, we’re here to talk about how to avoid tracking calories while still making meaningful progress in improving our body compositions.

Are you ready for it?

Here it is:

Start training really hard while eating an abundance of whole foods without tracking a single calorie.

Some of you may be thinking, "That sounds reckless! All of this banter about how calories matter most for looking like Ken and Barbie and now you're telling me to eat in abundance. Lies!"

Let me explain.

Why not tracking calories for improved body composition might be better for some people

• From day one there is no notion of unnecessary restriction. In fact, the only restriction in this game is that you're bound only to whole, minimally processed foods. In other words, this is "clean eating" for lack of a better term. Vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and lean proteins.

• That's cool because being restricted is annoying. But I've found that being restricted to certain categories of food is more fun than being restricted to certain quantities of food. You might be different, and that would be totally fine. I'm just making that point.

• It's also cool because now you get to focus on your health instead of math. You're only eating whole foods, so there's a really good chance the nutrient density of your diet goes way up! That's great.

• You're also probably eating much more fiber now because you may have traded in a microwavable Lean Pocket for a bowl of oats with berries and soy milk.

• You're also probably not binging anymore because you can't really binge on "healthy food," you know? Seriously, grab yourself a bowl of brown rice, steamed veggies, and tofu and see how wild things get. I doubt they get very wild.

• So now you just have to train hard and effectively! If you need some direction on what that means, click here.

• Training hard is more fun now because you actually have energy to push around big weights. Yes, I am suggesting that a diet of oats and berries for breakfast might make you feel better and more energetic than frosted donuts and a whey shake.

• In fact, maybe you really start to enjoy training because you're seeing the numbers go up. Good vibes!

• And you're catching pumps in the gym. Ladies, the legs and the glutes are growing! Fellas, you just noticed a juicy new bicep vein in your right arm.

• And then you move from 3x per week in the gym to 4x to week in the gym because it feels like medicine and you're actually learning to love the process.

• And then all of a sudden you've been crushing your gym sessions for a month without having tracked a single calorie.

• Maybe you weigh the exact same, but you've built muscle underneath!

• Or maybe you weigh less "on accident" because you started fueling your body with pure goodness instead of occasional junk, and the sum effect of it all was a reduction in scale weight.

• Or maybe you weigh more because you're building muscle while eating like a beast.

• And slowly but surely you get leaner and more muscular through the simple practices of eating exclusively nutritious foods and then using that energy to fuel your increasingly productive training sessions.

That's what a life without calorie-tracking could look like.

CONS OF NOT TRACKING YOUR CALORIES

The obvious cons to this strategy might be:

• That you're not guaranteed any systematic fat loss results. I want to make this very clear. You can absolutely eat more than you need to even while eating a whole food diet, but it's just less likely to happen than in the context of a diet littered with pizza, burgers, ice creams, and donuts. This could be frustrating to some people with a very specific goal, but my guess is that some people would actually enjoy the freedom of the motto, "Eat in abundance. Train like a freak." I know I sure do.

  • The key here is not to make obvious mistakes like sitting down to watch a TV show with a jar of peanut butter or a back of pistachios. We all know nuts and nut butters are healthful food choices, but they are also very calorically-dense, which means you need to be careful to consume them in moderation.

• You also have to actually train hard and intelligently. The caveat here is that you might gain some unwanted fat if you only adopt the eating portion of this framework. Or you might not! I still think it would be a great step in the right direction regarding your overall health, but if you think that's a con, this approach might not be for you.

PROS OF NOT TRACKING YOUR CALORIES

The pros (in my opinion) are:

• You're free to eat foods without looking at them like numbers! That can be so freeing for a lot of people.

• You then start to see your dietary freedom as a motivator for training hard! Speaking personally, I’ve gone through phases when I was eating 4,000 calories per day (which I never thought would be the case), which means I was able to show up to the gym with purpose every day. It's like, "Okay, 4,000 calories per day? I literally have no excuse not to wreck this workout. Game on." What a fun way to train!

• You have an abundance mindset instead of a scarcity mindset.

• Your health and fitness get top priority instead of the mirror and/or the comments from friends and co-workers.

• It's suited well for people who are willing to embrace habits-based change and long-term improvements.

The question then becomes, “How do you want to live?”

If you decide you would prefer the systematic results of a tracking approach, that’s great! Seriously, it’s amazing approach for a lot of people (including me in certain seasons of training).

On the other hand, if you decide you like the idea of focusing purely on the consumption of nutrient-dense whole foods while training with purpose, that’s also great!

I have done both and will continue to utilize both as needed depending on my specific goals.

Similarly, the point is to make an educated decision about what is most likely to work best for you.

How to Take Action If You Don’t Want to Track Calories

• Commit yourself to eating only (or mostly) whole foods.

  • This means getting nearly all of your calories from vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, avocados, and lean proteins.

• If you like to snack aimlessly, try to snack mostly on vegetables and fruits instead of fats like nuts and seeds.

  • Nuts and seeds have amazing health benefits, but you’ll always want to consume them in moderation to help minimize the risk of caloric overconsumption.

  • Some good options would be carrots and celery or apples and oranges.

• Drink mostly if not exclusively water with maybe black coffee or tea.

• Make sure you have a great training program. If you don’t know where to start, click here.

• Try to sleep and reduce stress as much as you can.

  • We didn’t discuss these in this article, but these two in tandem seem to be the mostly commonly neglected step-children in the context of successful body recomposition efforts.

Summary

Remember that you don't have to put yourself in a specifically-calculated calorie deficit from day one.

You can keep it very simple by eating lots of nutritious whole foods and training effectively and with purpose.

I can almost guarantee that the results in due time will come and that you’ll be happier than ever.

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Thanks for reading! I really hope you were able to take something meaningful away from this article.

If you feel like it brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone whose lifestyle just simply doesn’t allow for a life of food scales and perfectly-tailored macro splits.

Later, guys.

-Andrew

The One Thing All Jacked People Have In Common

Every jacked person has one thing in common.

And I'm willing to bet you're going to be very disappointed when I tell you.

It's not some secret behavioral hack that you might pick off of a motivational Instagram account, and it's not some superfood or supplement.

And, to be clear, I’m also not saying it’s the only thing that matters.

I’m just saying that it’s the one common denominator among everyone who has built a very muscular physique.

Are you ready for it?

Every person with a well-built physique trains hard.

Truthfully, I wish I could modify that adjective to say something like "intelligently" or "strategically" or "in a periodized fashion with a well-planned diet," but that's just simply not the case in my experience.

Jacked people train hard...

• Even if the training program was wack.

• Even if their diet was suboptimal.

• Even if their recovery could have been better.

And when I use the term hard, I mean some combination of heavy lifting (usually in the 6-20 rep range), lots of sets (usually 10-20 per muscle group per week), and plenty of intensity.

And this is actually really annoying to me.

Why?

Because training hard (for whatever reason) was pretty much the last thing I tried over the years in my efforts to gain muscle.

I know that sounds stupid.

You're probably wondering what exactly I was doing if I wasn't training hard, but for whatever reason I just had this notion that I could outsmart the discomfort of training.

I would think things like…

• "Maybe if I do the perfect number of sets and time my perfectly macro-calculated meal post-workout to ignite maximum anabolism, I'll get jacked."

• "Maybe if I train 7 days a week, I'll get jacked."

• "Maybe if I sleep 9 hours per night and eat 200g of protein a day, I'll get jacked."

It just doesn't work like that because...

The training stimulus is what ignites the adaptation.

That is by far the most important thing for you to take away from this article today.

The training stimulus is what ignites the adaptation.
The training stimulus is what ignites the adaptation.
The training stimulus is what ignites the adaptation.

Get it?

So as much as I want to encourage you to optimize as many things as you possibly can in order to get the most out of your body recomposition endeavor, none of that stuff really matters meaningfully unless you introduce an incredible training stimulus.

A good analogy might be to think of it like a general and his army.

The General and his army analogy

You could have an infantry of 100,000 of the most skilled soldiers in the world, but if they don't have a general to tell them what to do, they'll never be as effective as they could have been with good direction.

Does that make sense? You need both a clear signal and an effective response to that signal for optimal outcomes..

In this case, the general represents the training stimulus - the thing that communicates the mission to everything else down the line.

And the army represents your caloric intake, your protein intake, your overall diet quality, your hydration, your recovery, your sleep, etc.

If the general says, "Grow muscle," then your army of food, water, and recovery will know exactly what to do.

And if you have an incredible army to support an incredible general, you'll get amazing results - arguably the best results you could possibly get!

But let's consider the other combinations:

• A great general with a terrible army

  • This basically means you're training really hard but you're not optimizing the rest of your lifestyle for muscle growth. It's slightly better than the second option, but it's still sub-optimal.

• A terrible general with a great army

  • This is the mistake I made for years. I had everything dialed in except for my training quality and intensity. Because of it, I still got decent results because my training wasn't a complete disaster. But it wasn't as good as it could have been is the point I want to make here. Again, it was sub-optimal.

• A terrible general with a terrible army

  • Hopefully you aren't this person! This would mean your training is wack and you're literally not taking care of your diet, hydration, or recovery in any meaningful sense. But if you do find yourself thinking, "Yeah, that's me," don't fret! Just make the necessary changes and redefine your narrative. That choice is always available.

So to make the best of your situation, be sure to:

1. Maximize your training quality. This includes exercise selection and execution/technique.

2. Optimize your training volume. This usually refers to how many sets you do per week.

3. Optimize your training intensity. This means performing most of your sets within 0-3 reps of technical failure.

4. Eat well.

5. Drink well.

6. Rest well.

7. Repeat until jacked.

Is this true for women too? Or just guys who want to get huge?

This absolutely goes for you all well, ladies! The same muscle-building principles apply.

This is not some exclusive tip for dudes who want shoulders that no longer properly fit through a doorway.

This is for any woman who wants strong and aesthetically pleasing legs and glutes (or a strong, attractive back) as well.

In fact, unless you came out of the oven with satisfactorily enormous buns (to your own standards and desires), you're going to have to squat, lunge, hinge, and thrust your way to glory just like every gym bro had to curl his way to making his biceps look like mutant chickpeas.

Summary

Every jacked person trains hard.

It’s not the only thing that matters, but it’s what matters most if building an impressive amount of muscle mass is the goal, and it’s the one common denominator among all well-built physiques.

However, if you’re less interested in building muscle and more interested in losing body fat while maintaining your muscle mass, energy balance will be the most important factor in achieving that goal. But that’s for another article.

If you’re here to get jacked, be sure to dial in your training quality, workload, and intensity first. Then eat well and rest well consistently until you reach your goal.

Not sure where to start? Check out this article about How to Build Muscle Effectively Using the Rule of 7’s and 11’s.

You’ll be on your way to sporting the best body composition you’ve had in years (or ever).

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I sincerely hope you found this article helpful or illuminating in some way!

If you feel like it brought you value, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone who might be failing to optimize a few important aspects of their body recomposition journey.

Later, friends.

-Andrew

How to Build Muscle Effectively Using the Rule of 7's and 11's

I want to share something with you that I've been meaning to immortalize somewhere on the internet as an extremely simple way of thinking about how to string together a muscle-building workout.

Until I have a better name for it, I'm going to call it The Rule of 7's and 11's.

It’s best-suited for a few specific kinds of people and scenarios:

1. People who are brand new to the gym and feel clueless about how much weight to use, how many reps to perform, and how many sets to complete

2. Seasoned gym-goers who are lifting in a new gym with new machines due to vacation or travel for work

3. Anyone who is looking to incorporate a new piece of equipment into their routine

The common themes here are newness and ambiguity.

The Rule of 7’s and 11’s is most appropriately applied when we are forced to learn something new either as inexperienced lifters or long-time gym-goers being exposed to new equipment or new exercises.

Tracking so far?

Good! Let’s get into the details.

The Rule of 7's and 11's

Step 1

For every movement you choose to do in the gym, pick an initial weight that seems very doable for an easy set of 7. When you get to 7 reps, stop - even if you could have done way more (which you certainly could have because that’s exactly the point).

To keep this easily understandable, let’s use an example of a brand new machine bench press in my local gym.

• Remember, the machine is brand new, which means I have no idea how much weight I should be using to elicit an optimal muscle-growth response.

• As a complete shot in the dark, I pin the 120-pound mark and do an easy set of 7. Mission accomplished.

• So my first set was 120x7.

Step 2

The idea from here is to continue doing sets of 7 while adding 10-20 pounds per set until you can no longer do 7 reps (or in some cases 11, which I will explain later).

• In this case I would probably move to 140 and complete another 7 reps.

• So my second set was 140x7.

• My third set might be 160x7. It’s getting more difficult, but I’m still able to get all 7 reps, so I rest and continue on.

• My fourth set might be 180x7, which feels plenty challenging, but I’m still able to get all 7 reps. So what I do? I rest and increase the weight for a fifth set.

• My fifth set might be 200x6.

Great! I found the point at which I could no longer lift a weight for 7 full reps. Now what?

Step 3

Once you've identified that roughly-7-rep weight, hang out there for 2-3 additional sets of roughly 7 reps. These are what we call working sets: the ones that actually “count” toward your total weekly volume. And always count that “failure set” where you were unable to do the full 7 reps.

I also recommend resting around 90-120 seconds in between each of your working sets. I personally do 60-90 seconds on my feeder sets and 120 seconds on my working sets, but I encourage you to experiment with your own recovery ability.

So in this case, I would have done 4 feeder sets before finding my working weight. These may be new terms to you, but simply think of your feeder sets as the sets that lead you to your true working weight.

All in all, my logbook would look like this.

Feeder Sets for Machine Bench

• 120x7 (90 seconds rest)

• 140x7 (90 seconds rest)

• 160x7 (90 seconds rest)

• 180x7 (90 seconds rest)

Working Sets for Machine Bench

1. 200x6 (120 seconds rest)

2. 200x6 (120 seconds rest)

3. 200x5 (120 seconds rest)

Step 4

And then you repeat that for each movement of the entire workout.

Boom. That's it. Seriously.

4 Reasons Why It’s a Very Good Idea

ReaSon 1: IT DEMANDS TRAINING CLOSE TO FAILURE.

Well, firstly and most importantly, it forces you to train within a few reps of a failure in a rep range that most experts in the muscle-building space agree is extremely effective.

I seriously doubt there's a single jacked person on the planet who would tell you that lifting within a few reps of failure between 7 and 11 reps is a bad idea.

So, if it's not a bad idea (and probably a great idea), why not do it?

Reason 2: IT INCLUDES A PROPER WARM-UP BY DEFAULT.

The next most important thing is that it forces you to warm-up for each movement properly. When you start with very doable weights and move up until you can no longer achieve a baseline rep range, you can know for sure that you've prepared your muscles properly to exert maximum force on those sets of 7 that "count."

Reason 3: IT CHALLENGES PEOPLE TO lift heavy.

Thirdly, it doesn't allow you to fall short of your potential because you have to increase the weight if you got your 7 reps the last time.

For example, if we were doing this on the squat, you might have gotten 225 for 7 last time and wanted to just hang out there even though you probably could have gotten 9-10.

The Rule of 7’s and 11’s would have you jump to 230 or 235 and force you to get 6 reps before calling it a day.

In my opinion, that's a great way to chase your true potential in each movement. It's like built-in wimp protection.

I also find that some movements hurt no matter what.

For me, these would be weighted dips and Bulgarian split squats. Bodyweight dips hurt just about as badly as weight dips with a 45 hanging from your belt.

The trap here is that you could easily misinterpret your discomfort for maximal effort. But this rule forces you to continue adding weight.

Reason 4: IT ENCOURAGES DISCOMFORT.

Fourthly, training like this forces you to enter into the suck zone when you don't want to.

Think about it. Squatting for sets of 6-7? Gross.

Deadlifting for 6-7? Gross.

Barbell reverse lunging for 6-7? Gross.

But this is how you grow muscle!

When should you use 11's instead?

If you've been lifting for awhile, you know which moves to use 11's on instead.

These are typically going to be isolation movements like exercises for your biceps or triceps or higher-rep stuff for your legs like leg extensions or hack squats.

Similar, I wouldn’t use 7's on super tiny muscles like your rear delts or calves in most cases. For those muscle groups, you’d probably even be smart to add a third tier rep range of 20-30.

But for the sake of keeping things as simple as possible, I encourage most people to think in terms of 7’s and 11’s.

Remember that training this way is particularly helpful when you're in a new gym or on vacation or on a business trip.

Why? Because you've got brand new machines to work with, so you can't really look to your logbook to help you much.

This allows you to keep adding weight to the random machine bench in your hotel in Dallas until you identify the weight you should be training with rather than "going by feel" and subjecting yourself to a suboptimal workout.

How do you know which sequence of exercises to do?

Unfortunately, the Rule of 7’s and 11’s won't help you figure out which moves to actually do. Fortunately, I've decided to help you out with a few structures below.

There's nothing magical about these sequences other than that they make good sense for achieving a full upper body, lower body, and full body workout.

If you want an upper body workout...

• Some kind of vertical pull like an assisted pull-up or lat pulldown (7's)

• Some kind of horizontal press like a bench press (7's)

• Some kind of row like a seated cable row (11's)

• Some kind of vertical press like a DB shoulder press (7's)

• Some kind of bicep move like a DB curl (11's)

• Some kind of tricep move like a rope extension (11's)

If you want a lower body workout...

• Some kind of squat like a barbell squat (7's)

• Some kind of hinge like a deadlift or a good morning (7's)

• Some kind of lunge like a reverse barbell lunge (7 or 11's)

• Some kind of stabilized squat like a hack squat (11's)

If you want a full body workout...

• Pick a few superstars from each of the above categories and get to work.

For specifics, here's a sick 7-move upper body blast I like to toss in every once in awhile when my training schedule gets a little weird and I need a one-off pump:

Andrew’s Favorite One-Off Pump Session

1. Deficit Bent Over Rows for 7's

2. Incline Machine Bench for 7's

3. Assisted Pull-Ups for 7's

4. Seated DB Overhead Press for 7's

5. Seated Incline DB Curls for 11's

6. Straight-Bar Tricep Cable Pushdowns for 11's

7. Superman Curls for 11's

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I really hope you found this article instructive.

If you feel like it brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone who might be using the classic “I travel a lot for work” excuse when it comes to neglecting their muscle gains.

Later, guys.

-Andrew

How to Get Huge Legs: 6 Tips for Building a Great Leg Workout

Let's talk about how to build a leg workout that actually grows muscle. 

Now obviously training and nutrition always go hand in hand, so keep in mind here that we are only talking about the training portion in this article.

But anyway, in my experience, building a good leg workout comes down to a few simple things that we tend to overcomplicate all the time.

6 TIPS FOR BUILDING A GREAT LEG WORKOUT

1. Determine Your Weekly Sets Target

2. Distribute Those Sets Across Your Sessions Sensibly

3. Pick Mostly Compound Movements

4. Train Relatively Close to Failure

5. Use Full Range of Motion

6. Rest Properly Between Sets

Let's break these down one by one in as few words as possible.

1. Determine Your Weekly Sets Target

Most experts in the body recomposition space recommend training most of your major muscle groups with 10-20 hard sets per week.

Unless you already know your own body better from personal experience, I would recommend starting around 10 hard sets per muscle group per week. Why? Because you can always add sets in future weeks if your recovery is awesome and you're confident you could do more.

This means I would dedicate 10 hard sets to your quads and then maybe 5 hard sets each for your hamstrings and glutes since there is inevitably plenty of overlap in terms of how much your quads, hamstrings, and glutes get worked across certain movements.

If you find that you recover on time from session to session and week to week, you can start adding sets for additional weekly volume.

2. Distribute Those Sets Across Your Sessions Sensibly

This just comes down to simple math.

If you've decided you want to train your legs once per week, you would obviously toss all of your leg sets onto your one leg day. This would be most like the traditional “bro split” approach.

For reference, here’s an example of what a brutal 18-set leg day could look like if you were forced to complete all of your leg work in one day.

• Seated Leg Curl (3 sets)

• Deadlift Pattern of Choice (3 sets)

• BB Back Squat (4 sets)

• Hack Squats (4 sets)

• Leg Extensions (4 sets)

That being said, I personally wouldn’t recommend training your legs only once per week for optimal muscle growth. Can you build a ton of muscle training your legs just once per week? Absolutely. People have been doing it for decades.

I’m just personally biased toward a higher frequency approach, which allows for quicker sessions on fresher legs.

If you're training twice per week, you would probably split them half in half or perhaps have a quad-focused day and a hamstring-focused day.

Or, if you're like me and you want to grow your glutes above all else, feel free to program a glute-focused day for yourself.

And the same concept applies if you are training your legs three times per week as well. You could easily do a quad-focused day, a hamstring-focused day, and a glute-focused day.

When I saw some of my best leg growth, I was doing around 9 sets on Monday, 9 sets on Wednesday, and 9 sets on Friday, but be warned that this was a very high-volume leg program.

You can only run 27 sets of legs per week for short bursts of specialization before you risk injury or overtraining, so be sure to tailor your approach intelligently with your long-term goal in mind.

Let me show you an example I think might be helpful for most people.

One way to spread out your weekly sets on a two-times-per-week training split could look like this:

Two-Times-Per-Week Leg Training Split Example

Monday (Session 1 of 2): Quad-Focused

• 3 sets of barbell back squats for quads

• 2 sets of leg press for quads

• 3 sets of leg curls for hamstrings 

Thursday (Session 2 of 2): Glute/Hamstring-Focused

• 3 sets of barbell step ups for quads and glutes

• 2 sets of Bulgarian split squats for quads and glutes

• 2-3 sets of a deadlift variety 

3. Pick Mostly Compound Movements

Compound movements generally give you a better bang for your muscle growth buck, which means it takes fewer sets to "get the job done."

Isolation movements like leg extensions and hip abduction machines can be a helpful supplement to your leg training, but I think most of us would agree that the strongest and most shapely legs were probably built with heavy compound moves like squat varieties, deadlift varieties, other hip hinge movements, leg pressing, heavy lunging, etc.

• From personal experience, my own legs seem to grow the best in the most favorable proportions (which is important) from lunging, squatting, hamstring curling, and hinging.

4. Train Relatively Close to Failure

Most people in the evidence-based space agree that training within four reps of failure is sufficient for muscle growth.

That's certainly where I tend to "live" in terms of my own proximity to failure (as we like to call it), and it's where I have all of my clients train.

5. Use A Full Range of Motion

Lifting through a full range of motion is going to recruit more muscle fibers than lifting through a partial range of motion, so it makes sense that you might experience better growth while going to full depth. 

That means with your squats and lunges, the key is to get deep.

If body recomposition outcomes are your primary emphasis, you want to be jamming as much tension into those targeted leg muscles as possible, which means the deeper you can get with immaculate technique the better. 

I when I say deep, I mean all the way down.

You can visit this Instagram post of mine to see what I mean.

6. Rest Properly Between Sets

I think I talk about this more than most because it's really personal to my own physique transformation.

Most people in the gym just simply aren't resting long enough between sets to allow for maximally productive sets.

For compound movements, I recommend resting at least two minutes in between sets. For small muscle groups and isolation movements, I'll take it down to 90 seconds. I only ever take rest times to 60 seconds or below when I'm implementing specific intensity techniques.

Bonus Tip: For whatever reason, my hamstrings seem to respond extremely well to working up to a heavy top set of 8-10 reps on the seated leg curl and then dropping the weight by 20 pounds or so for each set after that while only resting 30 seconds each.

To be clear about what I mean, the last time I did this my numbers were:

• 125x9 (then rest 30 seconds)

• 100x12 (then rest 30 seconds)

• 85x18 (then roll off the machine and curl up into a ball like a small child)

The pump and perceived disruption was gnarly and the work load only took about three minutes once I found my working weight for the 8-10 rep range within a few reps of failure.

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Once you've accounted for all six of these tips, the trick is to simply overload these workouts slowly over time through added weight on the bar, more reps, and improved technique!

So there you go - six tips on how to write your own leg workout that actually grows some muscle. Just be sure to eat an adequate amount of protein and to keep your macros in check along the way!

If you’re not sure how to optimize your protein intake, you can read more about that here.

Lastly, just to help anyone out who'd rather just be told what to do, I think the following weekly workout split for getting juicier legs would be a great place for just any beginner to start.

MY SAMPLE WEEKLY LEG ROUTINE FOR MUSCLE GROWTH

Monday (Session 1 of 2)

• Squats or Leg Press for 3 sets of 6-10 reps

• Bulgarian Split Squats for 2 sets of 8-15 reps/leg

• Stiff-Legged Deadlift for 3 sets of 6-10 reps

Thursday (Session 2 of 2)

• Reverse Lunges for 3 sets of 8-12 reps/leg

• Smith Machine Cannonball Squats for 3 sets of 10-20 reps

• Seated Leg Curls for 3 sets of 10-20

You could, of course, do it a million different ways, but I personally like this sequencing.

Enjoy!

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I hope you found this helpful!

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone who might be looking to thicken up their tree trunks.

Later, guys.

-Andrew

Why There Is No Hope for Your Body Recomposition Goal (Unless There Is)

Sadly, the title of this article is not clickbait. 

I really am going to tell you why I think there's absolutely no hope for a lot of people out there with a body recomposition goal. 

And here it is:

Your mindset is self-limiting. 

And frankly, it's time everyone got called out a bit (gently, of course). 

Common Examples of a Self-Limiting Mindset

These are examples of things I hear people say and my non-spoken responses:

• "I really want to lose weight, but I'm not giving up my pizza and beer on the weekends!" 

  • My Response: That's fine, but you're probably never going to lose a meaningful amount of body fat doing that. You might have to limit those foods for some time in order to achieve your goal.

• "I really want bigger glutes and strong-looking legs, but I really don't like lifting weights. I especially hate lunges."

  • My Response: That's fine, but you're literally never going to grow your glutes or your legs. 

• "I want to gain more muscle but I just don't really have a big appetite."

  • My Response: That's fine, but you should probably adjust your goal. Muscle is grown best in a caloric surplus (even if it’s modest).

• "My only slot to workout is in the mornings. I could go to the 6AM cardio class, but I just don't want to get out of bed that early."

  • My Response: That's fine. Just don't expect to lose any fat sleeping in. You might have to make a decision about which is more important to you.

• "I know Andrew recommended getting more steps in, but it's kind of chilly outside."

  • My Response: That's fine. You could always wear a jacket, but the choice is yours. 

• "I really want to see my abs again, but there are always so many treats in the workroom! It's impossible for me to say no." 

  • My Response: That's fine. It's definitely not impossible to say no, it's just not a habit you’ve mastered yet.

Why I’m Not Here to Dispute Your Reasons

Now, just to be super clear, it really is totally fine for anyone to say those things. I really mean that! 

• It's not a problem to like pizza and beer more than being jacked and lean.

• It's not a problem to prefer watching Netflix than growing your glutes. 

• It's not a problem to enjoy workroom treats more than getting systematic fat loss results. 

But you have to be honest with yourself about the progress you will be able to make within the limitations of your own mindset.

If you read those examples carefully, you'll notice that every single one of them reflects an order of priorities in which the body recomposition goal always yields to some other element of preference. 

As cliche as it sounds, it's kind of true that most people who never achieve their goals never wanted them badly enough.

Why?

Because it's the desire within us that demands the implementation of new disciplines - even when those new disciplines are challenging and uncomfortable.

But here's where my hot take gets a little hotter. 

Personally, I think you should start disallowing yourself to exude negative emotions regarding the outcomes of choices you have made.

Read that again if you need to. 

What I'm saying is that at some point it becomes a waste of your own mental and emotional energy to dwell on negative things that you could change if you chose to.

That's a terribly negative cycle that never ends! And yet I think it describes the everyday reality of a lot of people. 

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL

Think about it...

• Step 1: You see yourself in the mirror and you hate what you see.

• Step 2: You feel a negative emotion like shame or guilt or frustration or anger. 

• Step 3: But nothing changes because there are other elements of your lifestyle that you enjoy more than what it would take to improve the way you feel about the image in the mirror. 

• Step 4: And then the cycle repeats the next time you see yourself in the mirror. 

It's a very terrible thing.

Own your self-imposed parameters and move forward confidently.

In short, I think it's a good idea to make a decision about your body composition goals and journey, own that decision, and move forward confidently, even if your decision is not to pursue a dramatic change in your body composition. 

For example, if you wish you had a big booty but you're literally never going to squat, hinge, or lunge because you "just don't like it," I highly recommend learning to love your butt the way it is.

Contrary to what you might be tempted to believe while scrolling through Instagram, the plumpness of your peach is not a matter of life or death.

As it turns out, it's more of a fashion piece given the current cultural climate. 

Own your little butt. Love your little butt. 

Why?

Because you made a conscious choice not to grow your butt, and that was a mature decision. 

Seriously, you might wind up living a sad life if you hate your body despite your unwillingness to do anything about it.

Why put yourself through that? 

Similarly, if you're 30 pounds overweight but you're not willing to change your eating habits and exercise more, own that decision. It's a totally fine decision. 

Do I personally think you'd be healthier and flourish more in all areas of life if you were leaner and more fit? Of course! But I'm not you. Only you can make that decision for yourself. 

So what's my point here?

Do this...

Sit down and be real with yourself.

Go have a long think about what you think you want and the effort you're actually willing to put toward that image in your mind.

If there's a major discrepancy there, make an adjustment so that those two concepts line up with one another.

If you realize you've been dreaming and need to bring it back down to earth, adjust your goal.

If you realize your goal is legitimate but you're going to have to put more effort in, adjust your level of willingness to do what needs to be done.

Just make sure you have consistency between the goal at hand and the willingness to achieve it. 

Lastly, I couldn't help myself but leave you with some bit of positivity.

I lied. There really is hope (if you want there to be).

There really is hope for everyone if you choose to confront yourself and make change. 

Also, if this article offended you a little bit, I think that's good. I like to challenge the way people think - especially the ways they think of themselves and how they make decisions.

My honest opinion is that most people are capable of far more than they ever rise to achieve simply because they fall prey to laziness, self-doubt, and an over-obsession with comfort.

You can absolutely be that person if you want to be that person, but you can also make a powerful decision to rewrite your own story.

You don't have to think of yourself as "fat."

You don't have to think of yourself as "weak."

You don't have to hate your body.

The decision is yours, and there's hope if you want hope.

If you need help getting started, be brave and book a call with me.

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I hope you found this helpful!

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member who might need a loving kick in the pants.

Cheers, friends!

-Andrew

Vegan Bulking: My Most Common Meals for Building Muscle on a Plant-Based Diet

Today I'm coming at you with a quick-hitter about which meals I'm eating most often as a plant-based fitness enthusiast with an emphasis on building muscle.

I'm doing this because I’m realizing that more and more people are getting curious about how to consume more of their calories from plant foods while optimizing their fitness and their ability to build muscle.

The problem is that they just don't know how to do it.

And maybe you’re in that very same situation. You love the idea of getting jacked on plants, but you don’t you know where to start and the entire idea seems overwhelming, unpractical, and unsustainable.

I was the same way.

I was mesmerized by the idea of eating more plants, consuming fewer animal products, and getting more jacked than ever. It seemed like a win for the animals, a win for the planet, and a win for my own health, longevity, and moral compass.

And yet I had no practical knowledge of how to make it happen.

Fortunately, all of that has changed!

At the time of publishing this article, I’ve been flourishing on a 100% plant-based diet for 160 days.

In that time, I’ve noticed the following things:

• Dramatically accelerated recovery from weight training in both bodybuilding and CrossFit

• Increased volume capacity in terms of recoverable sets between 0-3 reps in reserve

• Increased cardio capacity

• Better pumps and improved vascularity

• Improved blood flow

• Increased sex drive

• Better day to day energy levels

• Sustained mental focus

• Heightened ability to resist irritability and be more patient

• Improved sleep quality

• Reduced body pain specifically in my sides and lower back

• No “gut clog,” which is what I call that heavy, sluggish feeling I used to get after eating meat or dairy-heavy meals.

• Better poops

• Being happier and more content overall knowing that my dietary choices are in alignment with my desire to be a more compassionate and selfless person

Not bad, right?

And, because I’ve had such a positive experience in my transition to a plant-based life, I want to pay it forward by giving you some specific ideas from my own dietary pattern about what to eat if you're wanting to eat more plants, excel in the gym, and look more muscular in the mirror. 

Let’s get into it.

My Most Common Plant-Based Meals for Building Muscle and Getting Lean 

1. Smoothies with Plant-Based Protein Powder 

I have a plant-based smoothie almost everyday because it's just too easy to smash 30-50g of protein in a single meal this way.

Back when I was a meat-eater, I remember following a lot of vegans who would say, "It's not hard to find protein on a plant-based diet!" And to be honest, it always confused me. 

“How could that be true?” I thought. “All of the most obvious protein sources seem to come from animal flesh. Are you really suggesting that broccoli can be a substantial protein source?”

Being on the other side now, I realize that they were trying to promote their lifestyle in a practical, winsome light, but...

The reality is that it does require a greater degree of intentionality to accumulate 120-170g of protein per day on a plant-based diet.

Sure, beans have protein, but compared to egg whites? Let's be real. You'd have to smash a lot of beans and poop your pants twice to get enough protein from those beans as you would an effortless 300mL pour of egg whites.

But, in my opinion, this is nothing to worry about.

I hope to touch on this in more depth in a separate article, but I’ve actually been challenging how much protein the body really needs to build an impressive amount of muscle mass. In fact, I’ve even dabbled with intakes as low as 80g per day, which is less than half of what I used to consume as an omnivore.

But enough on that for now. Let’s get back to the utility of smoothies for building muscle on a vegan diet.

Assuming you want to follow current evidence-based recommendations for protein consumption in the context of optimal physique outcomes, I would encourage anyone who is looking to gain muscle mass on a 100% plant-based diet to utilize the convenience of protein protein powders as one of the few protein sources that rival the macronutrient ratios of animal proteins.

To wrap this one up, protein smoothies make the #1 slot for a few reasons:

1. They’re quick and easy to prepare and consume.

2. You can pack them with greens, nuts, and seeds that might be less convenient to eat elsewhere throughout your day.

3. They taste delicious when supplemented creatively with bananas, mangos, papayas, dates, and nut butters.

4. They are a good opportunity to consume plant-based EAAs or BCAAs, which are more scarce in the plant kingdom

   1. Although I’m personally skeptical of the importance of leucine in the context of stimulating muscle-protein synthesis to a meaningfully greater extent than the other amino acids, you might be less suspicious than I am. As a bit of an insurance policy, it might be a good idea to buy a protein powder that contains EAAs or BCAAs. As a vegan, I’ve now purchased and used products from Vivo Life and 1st Phorm. I have no affiliation to either.

2. Plant Protein Pasta Explosions

This is another extremely common meal for me because nearly everyone on the planet loves pasta.

In fact, if you come from a traditional perspective on how to diet for building muscle, you’ll know that pasta is rarely to never a part of the conversation.

Why? Because it’s “too high in carbohydrates.” After all, bodybuilding and the pursuit of a god or goddess-like physique is all about protein, right?

I’m not so convinced.

Even though the protein hit from these pastas does come with plenty of carbohydrates, I still find that it's not that difficult to keep my calories in check - especially while bulking.

For example, if you find a plant protein pasta from chickpeas or lentils or even black beans, you can easily get 20-40g of protein per meal. Just be sure to keep your sauces lower in calories and to minimize oil use if you're looking to lose fat.

As a bit of a bonus, I like to sprinkle around 10g of nutritional yeast on top of my pasta bowls for that cheese-like effect while supplementing with vegan meatballs for an extra 16g of protein from soy.

Once you add all of that up, you can easily get 40g or more of protein in a completely vegan mountain of pasta.

Pretty sick, right?

3. Toddler-Sized Burritos

I have become the king of Panchero's.

You can literally get some of the most delicious plant foods out there for the modest price of $9 and some change.

Just in case Panchero's isn't a chain you have in your area, I'm basically talking about anything in the Chipotle or Qdoba category as well. 

And what's particularly cool about burritos is that there usually isn't one obvious protein source. This is one of those things that really perplexed me when I was a meat-eater. I just didn't understand the concept that all of the foods within the dish could work together to provide the accumulated protein dose I needed to stimulate muscle growth.

I thought I needed chicken or beef or tuna or eggs or something to get more jacked! But I couldn't be happier that I was wrong. 

In this case, the combination of the tortilla, the beans, the rice, and the tofu add up to around 46g of protein.

My specific order?

• Tortilla, rice, black beans, pinto beans, grilled veggies, tofusada with an extra scoop, lettuce, corn salsa, and pico

  • Depressing Update: I recently found out that Panchero’s tortillas are not 100% plant-based, which means I’ve shifted to being a bowl man. But Chipotle’s tortillas are 100% plant-based, which means they’re getting more of my business these days.

I also like mentioning Panchero's because it gives some people hope that you can eat on the fly on a plant-based diet. Although the options are skimpy, this is a super solid one. 

In fact, I actually documented the importance of burritos in my vegan bulking diet by naming every single burrito I ate during my first dedicated, vegan bulking phase.

I also named them hurricane-style, which I thought was pretty cheeky. If you want to check that out, you can sink your teeth in here.

4. Peanut Butter and Banana Sandwiches 

Believe it or not, the combination of some high-protein wheat bread or Ezekiel bread with nut butter and a banana can get you 20g of protein fairly easily. 

It has also not been uncommon for me to eat 2 plain peanut butter and banana bagels post-workout for a wily 932 calories from 27P, 166C, and 19F.

And if you read that and thought, “What in the flying fork?!”…

Calm down and remember that these are tips for plant-based bulking, which automatically assume a caloric surplus.

You also have to consider the context.

• I’m a 190-pound male that trains fairly intensely 5-6 days per week. Because of that, my maintenance intake at 190 is currently 3,500 calories, which makes a modest surplus around 3,800 calories for me.

In short, I need to eat ultra high-carbohydrate meals like this to get the results I want.

Do you? Maybe not.

I’m just giving you an insider look at my diet.

Always make the decision that makes the most sense for you and your goals.

5. Quinoa, Broccoli, and Tempeh Bowls

I really wish more people knew about tempeh!

If you’re not aware, tempeh is made from fermented soybeans.

I can't encourage you enough to try it for yourself if you’ve never dabbled. It's literally as easy as cubing up the block on a cutting board and tossing the cubes into a stir fry with some soy sauce.

For me personally, tempeh bowls really have become the "chicken, broccoli, and rice" equivalent for me from my omnivorous days.

But now, it's tempeh, broccoli, and quinoa.

I choose quinoa because it's actually a fantastic supplementary source of protein. Believe it or not, there are 45g of protein in the bowl you see above. 

All you need to make this dish a success is:

• Quinoa

• Broccoli

• Tempeh

• Garlic powder, onion power, black pepper, iodized salt or pink salt

• Optional

  • Korean Gochujang sauce

  • Tahini

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And there you have it, my friends!

These are the most common meals I’m using right now to build muscle on a 100% plant-based diet. For those who love to know exact macros, a fairly normal day for me might look like 150P, 620C, and 85F (although I routinely utilize the freedom to tweak my carbs and fats depending on training volume and fluctuating day-to-day preferences). This winds up being around 3,700-3,800 calories.

I hope you found this helpful.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member! You never know who in your life might be plant curious, and you could be the catalyst for a major change in the way they view the plant, their diet, and their fitness.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

7 Reminders to Keep Things Simple for Muscle Gain and Fat Loss

The fitness industry is always buzzing with controversy and confusion, which makes it easy to chase headlines and dabble in new ideas while neglecting the fundamentals. 

In light of that temptation, this article is a quick list of how to keep things simple for the long-run while seeing consistent and encouraging improvements in your body composition.

If you are not doing any of these and your goal is to get that lean yet muscular, hard-body look, you'd be smart to ask yourself, "Do I really have a good reason for making this more complicated?" 

There are often good reasons for complexity, but make sure you challenge them thoroughly before you abandon simplicity. 

And if you’ve stumbled onto this article because you’re brand new to the idea of body recomposition, these seven reminders are the perfect place to start.

7 Reminders to Keep Things Simple for Muscle Gain and Fat Loss

1. You need to be getting stronger over time in the main movement patterns to grow muscle.

This is what we call progressive overload.

Transparently, this is probably the one strength training and body recomposition principle I have personally neglected the most, which is a shame considering I’ve given it the number one slot. 

For whatever reason, I have always been more attracted to the pursuit of accumulating increased volume through additional sets over the pursuit of putting more weight on the bar.

And although increasing your work capacity over time can be a powerful driver of muscle growth, most would agree that it should be accompanied by a gradual increase in absolute load over time as well. 

Long story short, keep things simple by focusing on getting meaningfully stronger in some kind of squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull, and row pattern over time. 

If you’re looking for specific exercise recommendations within those categories, I would point you to the following:

• Squat: Heel-Elevated Smith Machine Squat to Full Depth

• Hinge: Romanian Deadlift 

• Lunge/Thrust: Reverse Barbell Lunges

• Push: Barbell Bench Press

• Pull: Weighted Pull-Ups

• Row: Barbell Bent Over Rows 

If you were to consistently add weight to all of those movements over the next five years without doing any other exercise, I’d be willing to bet you’d be a very muscular person assuming proper diet and recovery.

This goes for both men and women. 

2. You need to be doing enough challenging sets of mostly 6-20 reps within a few reps of failure to grow muscle consistently over time. 

In other words, you need to make sure you’re training with sufficient volume.

I think 12-20 sets per muscle group per week is the sweet spot for growing muscle consistently over time, but even I can admit that this seems like a large, ambiguous range.

“Well, is it 12 sets or is it 20? And how do I know what’s appropriate for me?”

In my opinion, the best way to identify the “perfect” number of sets to complete per week per body part is to start conservatively low at 10 sets per week and move upward from there as recovery allows. 

For example, if you want to grow your quads, you could split up your weekly quad volume into three different movements. We’ll use the following exercises for this example. 

1. Barbell Back Squat

2. Hack Squat

3. Leg Extensions

Given our goal of distributing 10 sets sensibly across those 3 movements, I might choose to delegate the volume as you see below:

1. Barbell Back Squat (4 sets) on Monday 

2. Hack Squat (3 sets) on Thursday

3. Leg Extensions (3 sets) on Thursday

Without going into too much detail regarding the “why” behind that distribution of set volume, this would be a logical and evidence-based baseline of training if your goal is to grow your quads. 

“So how do you know when it’s appropriate to add more sets?” 

If you can overload your sessions modestly and progressively while clearing nearly all of your muscle soreness by the next time you train your quads each time per week, I think you would be justified to add more sets. 

For example, maybe I find that the 4 sets of Barbell Back Squats on Monday are actually very fatiguing and soreness-inducing to the point that it takes Tuesday and Wednesday to recover fully. In that case, I would not add sets to that Monday session. But if I felt completely recovered by Tuesday evening, I would consider adding a fifth set of Barbell Back Squats the following week.

3. You should probably be eating most of your calories from whole food sources while keeping processed foods to a minimum.

There is no need to make this one more complicated than it needs to be. 

Although you can certainly enjoy “junk foods” and highly-processed treats from time to time, those who consistently see improvements in their physique and overall well-being over the long-term tend to be those who prioritize basic nutrition practices rooted primarily in a whole food diet.

Vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, teas, and lean proteins should probably make up the majority of your diet.

Bonus Reminder: I’d also like to throw in a bonus reminder here that you don’t have to eat meat or animal products of any kind to build muscle effectively, which means the “No Meat No Gains” motto from of old doesn’t need to be a guiding principle in your body recomposition journey.

If you’re curious about how to make the transition to a more plant-based life, email me personally at andrewwesleywhite@gmail.com with the subject line “Let’s Chat Plants.”

4. You need to consume an adequate amount of protein. 

To be honest, I've really been challenging the notion of ultra-high protein diets lately, so I think it makes sense for each individual to experiment with what seems to work best for them. 

In the evidence-based body recomposition community, most people agree that eating around 0.7-1g of protein per pound of lean body mass is sufficient to maximize muscle growth outcomes. 

Within that overall daily target, it’s probably a good idea to spread that protein across 3-6 meals depending on your lifestyle, preferences, and how much protein you need to consume to support your goals. 

Making it more complicated than that likely won’t yield any additional benefits. 

What do I do personally?

You can read more about my own plant-based dietary approach during gaining phases here, but I generally eat 3-4 high-protein meals per day with an emphasis on pre-workout and post-workout nutrition.

5. Your caloric consumption needs to match your goal. 

If you're trying to lose fat, you'll need to be in a modest caloric deficit.

If you're looking to build muscle, you'll need to be eating at maintenance (at the very least) or in a modest caloric surplus. 

If your caloric deficit is too aggressive, you risk burnout, unnecessarily decreased performance in the gym, and muscle loss.

If your caloric surplus is too aggressive, you risk gaining too much fat too quickly and reducing the overall productivity of your muscle gain phases. 

It’s that simple. 

If you need help determining those numbers for yourself, I would highly recommend reaching out to us for online coaching.

6. You need to be taking responsibility for your sleep quality. You can only train and grow as hard as you can recover.

It seems like no one in the fitness industry wants to talk about sleep quality because you can’t monetize it as easily as training programs and nutrition plans.

But you need to let your muscles and systems recover in order to introduce increasingly powerful stimuli over time.

Practically speaking, most research that I’ve seen over the years suggests that most people recover near optimally when sleeping between 7-9 hours per night. 

Although this won’t be possible for everyone in every season of life, its importance is certainly worth mentioning so that you can optimize it when possible.

In other words, there’s a big difference between losing sleep because you have a newborn versus losing sleep because you’re out partying or binging Netflix.

7. You can lose all of the fat you want simply by walking. You can make it more complex or intense than that, but you don't have to. 

As sexy as it may be to design a program that has you rowing on Mondays, biking on Tuesdays, swimming on Wednesdays, and sprinting on Thursdays, anything more complicated than a strategic walking plan is unnecessary for fat loss. 

Can you make it more complicated? Absolutely. 

Is there a place for more complicated methodologies for some people? Absolutely.

I’m just highlighting the reality that, if you want to, you can tailor your diet and training in a way that allows you to walk your way to your fat loss goal.

In fact, I wrote an in-depth article about exactly how to leverage walking to your fat loss advantage, so give that a read if you’re interested in learning more.

Conclusion 

How you get the physique of your dreams can be very simple. 

Does that mean it will be easy? Absolutely not. But the principles are simple and most effective when repeated and manipulated strategically over time. 

In fact, if I had to try to put all seven of those statements into one sentence, it would be something like this:

Getting lean and muscular is the result of progressively overloading the main movement patterns of squatting, hinging, pushing, and pulling while strategically manipulating your food selection, overall caloric consumption, and recovery within periodized phases of varied focus over time. 

Screenshot that for the moment you’re tempted to jump ship for Keto 3000 and Johnny Bravo’s latest Arm Blitz Split to add 6 inches to your biceps in 6 weeks.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

Is the StairMaster the Best Way to Lose Weight?

If there is one thing that is non-negotiably true about the fitness industry, it’s this:

Everyone wants to know the fastest and most effective way to lose fat and get that hard body look.

And, to be fair, that makes good sense considering most of us have never been busier. 

Who has the time to be farting around with their fat loss goals on nonsensically decelerated time frames when we could be spending time with our families, pursuing our up-and-coming side hustle, or even catching up on the most recent Netflix documentary that everyone is buzzing about?

I sure don’t, and I doubt you do either. 

But, you clicked on this article because you’re wondering if the StairMaster is the holy grail of fat loss from which we can all sip in shredded six-pack spendor, so let’s quit wasting time with introductory banter and get into the meat and potatoes of whether or not the dreaded stairs can help you carve out the statue-esque physique of your dreams. 

Now, rather than directly answering the question of whether or not you should do the StairMaster to lose weight, I’m going to pitch you four reasons you could be on the StairMaster and how they could impact your body recomposition goal.

The Only 4 Reasons You Should Ever Be on the StairMaster

1. You're Using It to Burn Calories for Fat Loss

Make no mistake about it, walking on the StairMaster can burn you a ton of calories in a short amount of time, which makes it an excellent choice for busy people who just don't have a ton of time to spend on their fat loss goals. 

And, this takes the number one slot on my list because it's by far the best and most logical reason - in my opinion - to be putting yourself through such torture.

So when I see people on the stairs, I assume it's time to get shredded, which means you have a focused fat loss goal that’s being done in tandem with a focused fat loss diet. 

Or, for people who really know what they're doing, getting on the stairs a few times per week can be a great way to stay lean while keeping your calories higher. 

I respect that 100%, and generally I assume that's what people are doing when I see "fit" people on the stairs. 

For a bit of practical application, I want to reiterate that I would always recommend using the StairMaster in combination with a calorically-controlled diet.

For example, if you’re a 110-pound female with a ferocious hankering for a Chipotle burrito who has to drop calories beneath 1200 to continue chipping away at the fat loss you want, you might consider assisting your deficit through the StairMaster 2-3 times per week for 15-45 minutes per session depending on the intensity.

Although I personally would always opt for more flat walking or incline treadmill work due to its minimal impact on overall recovery, the StairMaster is certainly a more time efficient way of burning a few extra calories than either of those options.

Keep in mind, however, that there literally isn’t a single person on the planet who needs the StairMaster to lose body fat and achieve the look they want.

It’s simply one tool of many that can be used strategically in context of your overall plan! Always remember that. 

2. You Might Be Training for a Hiking Trip, But I Doubt It

This isn't going to be very many people, but I have known a few people who were training for a hiking trip and used the stairs to prepare themselves for the hills. 

Let's be honest though, that's not going to be many people, and I would estimate that less than 1% of people on the stairs in the cardio section are training for a big hike.

At the same time, this is technically a legitimate reason to be on the StairMaster, so I thought it was worth including even though hiking protocols typically have nothing to do with a focused body recomposition effort. 

3. You Want to Improve Your Cardiovascular Fitness

Although this seems like a nutty reason to me since so many other things could achieve a very similar result, you could use the StairMaster for general heart health.

But you could also walk or jog or row or even do weight lifting circuits to keep your heart health on point, so I personally think the stairs are an unnecessarily brutal choice if you're just a noble soul looking to stay healthy.

That being said, good for you if this is your perspective on health! There is zero judgement coming from me. I see you and I celebrate you.

In fact, I have a medal of honor and nobility sitting on my desk for you at IVRY headquarters. Feel free to pick that up anytime between the hours of 9-5PM Monday through Friday.

But again, this has nothing to do with a focused body recomposition effort, and you could easily have a healthy heart while rocking a dad bod. 

The StairMaster is not an automatic one-way ticket to Shredzville or Peach Town.

4. You Enjoy It! 

Preference is always a fine reason to do something in the gym as long as you're doing it safely.

If you like the StairMaster, cheers! 

But stay away from me because I don't personally trust you.

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Okay, so those were the four main reasons I think you should ever really be on the StairMaster outside from silly reasons like you’re looking for a reason to talk to the cute girl who happens to be on the StairMaster next to you.

But I’m not going to leave it there.

Now, it’s time to expose three simple reasons you really shouldn’t be using the StairMaster.

3 Reasons Not To Be Using the StairMaster?

1. You Think It's Going to Plump Up Your Peach

Using the StairMaster is not how you get a big, muscular butt. 

I fear that a lot of people slaving away on the stairs are doing so because they saw some fit Instagram model doing it and they're envious of her rump.

Don't do that. 

Big butts are built mostly through heavy compound movements like deadlifting, squatting, lunging, and hinging for hypertrophy when paired with a high-protein diet that can actually build the muscle you want.

So let me say this one last time, if you see a chick on the StairMaster with a bum you’d be eager to sport yourself, remember that she did not build it on the stairs - even if she’s kicking her legs back with every step like a bad YouTube ad. 

Big butts are either the product of genetics or heavy resistance training.

If anything, the StairMaster might even be working against your glute gains! 

Why? Because muscle growth seems to occur when your glutes are trained within a few reps of muscular failure with a load that allows for 6-20 reps per set in most cases.  

So answer me this.

Do you want a bigger butt?

Or do you want an “endurance butt?”

The last time I checked, walking on the stairs is technically like doing thousands and thousands of supoptimal reps that never push your glutes to within a few reps of failure.

Do you see my point? 

The classic illustration of this idea in the fitness industry is the comparison of physiques between sprinters or “explosive athletes” and longer distance athletes.

To be fair, they always exaggerate the juiciness of the sprinters while making the long distance runners look like they’re on their deathbeds, but in general I think the point is well-supported.

FATIGUE BUILD-UP and the interference effect

And, one final point I want to make while we’re here is this…

Being on the StairMaster will create an immense amount of fatigue build-up in your legs. Some even call this the interference effect.

Think about it.

If getting a bigger butt is about training with loads that allow you get within a few reps of failure in the 6-20 rep range, but your legs are too tired from your time on the StairMaster to create the stimulus you need from your weight training, your butt is not going to grow optimally.

Can you see how you’d really be shooting yourself in the foot? Or should I say the butt? 

So the take-home point is this: If plumping up your peach is your main goal, train your glutes with heavy weights for 10-20 hard sets per week in the 6-20 rep range, tailor your calories and protein according to your goal, and stay away from the StairMaster.

2. You Think It's Going to Give You That Hard, Lean Look

Although riding the stairs can absolutely burn body fat like crazy when paired with a calorie-controlled diet, it's not going to give you that "hot" look all by itself unless you already have plenty of muscle hiding underneath your chub. 

And even then you might be risking a bit of muscle loss without a high-protein diet.

For example, if you're a former athlete and you used to have a lean look, you might be able to get away with hammering away on the stairs to reveal your lean tissue because, in some sense, you already put in the work years ago.

But if you're in that "skinny fat" category - or maybe if you're just overweight in general without much muscle mass underneath - slaving away on the stairs is just going to deflate you.

If your chubby self was a succulent grape, you’re now on the fast track to looking like your pointer finger after being in the hot tub for two hours.  

You'll lose weight! That's for sure. But you won't look the way you want to look. 

You’ll just have traded one unimpressive look for another - the only difference being a few pounds on the scale, which I doubt will capture the attention of your friends and family.

Think about it through the lens of my “family summer weekend at the lake” analogy.

MY Family Summer Weekend at the Lake Analogy

I am a Missouri person, which means one big aspect of Missouri culture in the summer is that people tend to hangout at the Lake of the Ozarks.

Nice lake homes on the water, fancy boats, fun drinks, good vibes, and…

Swimsuits - the infamously feared summer garment that reminds us all of how much we’ve let go.

And the fact that everyone is in their swimsuits means that you probably don’t want to feel wildly insecure in your own skin. 

I actually had a client tell me once that one of his bigger motivations in pursuing body recomposition is that he didn’t want to be the “fat friend” in photos from a friends vacation he’d be taking in a few months. 

Oof!

But, for the sake of setting up our analogy, let’s assume that next year you are going to show up to the lake after having undergone some type of weight loss or body recomposition effort.

I present to you two scenarios that could apply to men or women.

Lake Scenario 1 - You Lost Weight But That’s About It

You show up and no one really says anything. 

You’re in your swimsuit on the boat enjoying everyone’s company for maybe 40 minutes before you get caught up in a 15-minute conversation with your brother-in-law you haven’t seen a while when he says, “Am I making things up or did you lose some weight?”

Tickled that someone finally noticed your 30-pound weight loss, you proudly say, “I did actually! I’ve lost 30 pounds,” to which he responds, “Thirty pounds? Really? Huh. Well good for you, man. I wouldn’t have guessed it to be 30, but that’s great.”

Ouch! 

And to be honest with you, I think that’s what happens a lot when people diet for a weight loss goal through slaving away on the StairMaster (or any other type of cardio machine) without paying homage to resistance training and a high-protein diet along the way.

You lost weight, but no one really cares because you don’t really look that different and you certainly don’t have that hard-body look that tends to turn heads.

You'll be softer but mainly just smaller and equally squishy unless you really took your fat loss to the extremes.

And even then you'd probably just be a super tiny person with little to no muscle mass and a metabolism fit for a toddler.

Lake Scenario 2 - You Got Lean and Jacked

You show up and everyone says, “Dude, what in the world did you do?! You look sick!” 

I’m not saying you all of sudden transformed into Chris Evans, but you’ve definitely got broader shoulders, a shelfed chest, and some abs.

And, depending on how short your swim pants are, you might even be showing off a bit of quad pizzazz like our handsome Internet model Peter over here to the left.

You see that quad vein? Good job, Pete.

Or for the ladies, imagine hearing, “Girl, you look amazing! Please tell me exactly what you did so I can start tomorrow! But seriously, what did you do...”

Those are the kind of reactions that happen organically when you show up with less flabby underarms, stronger and more shapely glutes and legs, and a flatter tummy than you’ve had in a long time.

Just imagine how invigorating of a feeling that would be.

Speaking from experience as a body recomposition coach, those are the comments that continue to light the motivation fire for people more than anything else.

I could be wrong, but my guess is that 10 out of 10 people would choose this second scenario over the first every single time.

And for anyone scoffing right now because they’re unimpressed with the focus on vanity, keep in mind that having a strong, muscular body is a very functional way to live.

So what in the flying fork does that all have to do with not looking to the StairMaster to get you that hard, lean look? 

It’s a reminder that the coveted hard body look is a product of weight training, protein, and caloric control - not impulsive amounts of cardio.

And if you really want to remodel your physique over the long-term, cardio will actually probably play a somewhat minimal role in that process relative to those more important points of emphasis. 

3. You Are Super Duper Overweight

One last reason I think some people should avoid using the StairMaster is if you are significantly overweight or obese. 

The reason for that is simply because you likely don’t need to do something that intense.

In other words, just getting your diet in check is enough to get most obese people losing slabs of weight with very little required exercise.

I don’t say this to be judgemental in the slightest, but it seems like obesity is often times the result of having done almost everything “wrong” in terms of diet and exercise for an extended period of time, which means making a few critical changes - especially in the realms of calorie control - is enough to get the scale moving in the right direction.

I think I felt the need to bring this up because I frequently will see some very overweight people using the StairMaster at my gym, and it always makes me wonder if they know that it’s probably unnecessary. 

Secondly, I think being on the StairMaster when you’re very overweight puts you at increased risk of burnout because it’s semi-unsustainable. 

Imagine being overweight, putting in a ton of work on the stairs without tweaking your diet, not losing any meaningful amount of weight in the first two weeks, and giving up.

I think that’s probably a very real thing and the greatest source of frustration for a lot of people looking to lose weight.

“Screw it! If I’m not going to lose any weight, I’m done.”

If you’re very overweight, I would encourage you to look to more sustainable forms of increased caloric expenditure like:

• Walking outside with friends

• Incline treadmill walking at a very doable pace

• Spin class

• Other group classes with a community element like CrossFit

If you’d like an in-depth take on how to leverage walking for fat loss, read my article here.

Let's Wrap It Up

That was a long one, so let’s recap.

Being on the stairs stinks. 

Your heart rate goes soaring through the roof, you sweat like you're in a sauna, and your hip flexors cramp up into little tennis balls.

So if you're going to put yourself through that, do so for reasons that you've determined make sense for your long-term goal. 

Trying to lose body fat? Stairs could work! But walking also works, might me more sustainable, and sucks a lot less if you have the time.

Trying to gain muscle optimally? I'd recommend staying off the stairs and sticking with a moderate level of steps mainly for health. 

Walking up stairs won't make you jacked or help you really turn heads at your next pool party or family event at the lake. 

And for the love of all things moderately decent, don’t hop on the StairMaster in an attempt to grow your butt, ladies. 

“What about you, Andrew? Do you do the StairMaster?”

Personally, I have strategically used the stairs in the past to accelerate my fat loss, but I did so in a limited fashion with design and purpose. I encourage you to do the same! 

In fact, here is my transformation from 2019 when I lost 18 pounds. I used the stairs for the last two weeks of my diet. I was around 200 on the left and about 182 on the right.

And just for some comparative photos, I got on the stairs zero times when I underwent this transformation you see below in 2020.

I walked, lifted weights 5-6 times per week, ate plenty of protein, and kept my calories in check.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

How to Lose Weight for Your Wedding: A How-To Guide for the Brides of 2023-24

A lot of brides are gearing up for their special day in 2022 thinking, “It’s time to get into the best shape of my life for my wedding day.”

If that’s you, you’ve come to the right place because I’m here to tell you exactly how you can feel as confident as possible in your own skin as you walk down the aisle this year.

Before we get started though, I have to offer an extremely important disclaimer. 

This article is all about how you could lose weight and look “super hot” for your wedding, but no one here at IVRY is telling you that you should lose weight or need to lose weight - or that you can’t look beautiful on your wedding day just the way you are. 

You absolutely can.

I just know that there are plenty of brides and grooms who do want to shed body fat, build muscle, and “get hot” for their wedding day and honeymoon, which is why I’ve decided to write this article.

So let’s get into it.

You Need to Figure Out What You Mean When You Say “Lose Weight”

A lot of brides will say something like, “I want to lose weight for my wedding.”

And, to be fair, I know what most women mean when they say that, but I do think it can be an unhelpful way of thinking about “looking good” on your wedding day.

What do I mean by that?

Some people literally just want to see the number on the scale go down while other people care more about achieving a certain look.

These are very different things, which means…

You need to decide which person you are.

Do you really just want to lose weight? Or do you want to look a certain way?

The reason it seems like I am always teasing out this point is because it has a significant impact on the way you set up your diet and training.

In fact, it’s the very reason we call ourselves body recomposition coaches instead of weight loss coaches.

“I literally just want to lose weight and feel slimmer overall. If my butt looks like a sad raisin, I’m cool with that.”

If you literally just want to lose scale weight, I would encourage you to prioritize two simple things above all else:

1. Creating a moderate to aggressive caloric deficit through food

2. Burning calories through activity

In terms of practical application, that means you could go on something like a no-carb diet and commit to five classes at OrangeTheory per week. 

The diet is straightforward and simple to understand, and there’s no thought to the workouts, which means you just show up and burn hundreds of calories.

But remember, this isn’t going to make any of your muscles grow in any meaningful capacity because you’re only focused on losing weight - not body fat - just weight, which could be fat, muscle, water, or even just less food in your digestive system at any given moment.

At best, you’d be hoping to maintain any muscle you already had while getting smaller overall.

Nonetheless, you could very easily be “hardcore” for the few months leading up to your wedding, get the weight loss results you apparently want, snap the wedding day photos, feel “hot” on the beach and…

Oh, shoot.

Then what?

BEWARE THE EPIC HONEYMOON REBOUND

Unfortunately, you would probably rebound harder than Tom Hanks once he ditched Wilson and finally made it back to civilization after island life in the movie Castaway. 

Why?

Because crash dieting and reckless amounts of cardio just aren’t sustainably-designed or meant to bring anyone long-lasting results.

Not only that, but a traditional honeymoon experience sometimes involves the overconsumption of both food and alcohol, which results in an extremely high-calorie experience that could lead to anywhere between 3-10 pounds of fat gain.

This is why I warn against it.

But hey, maybe you’re not interested in a more phasic, long-term approach, and that’s totally fine!

You can make that decision for yourself. 

Some people literally just want the shortest route from A to Z and they don’t mind crashing and burning as long as Z is a good time.

Would I recommend it? Not at all. I think it’s shortsighted and destined for long-term failure, but I really don’t say that with judgment. It’s just my honest position.

But let’s address the brides out there who want to channel that shapely, fill-your-dress-out-in-all-the-right-ways type of lean bride vibe on their wedding day. 

We’re talking about strong yet feminine legs and glutes, a lean back peeking out from behind your straps, “toned” arms while you clutch the bouquet, and a flat tummy as a bit of icing on the cake. 

Do I have your attention yet?

“Okay, yeah. I’d rather put in the work to be shapely yet feminine! How do we do that?”

Sweet. That’s what I thought. 

So, if you’re wanting to lose mostly body fat (rather than just weight in general) while maximizing muscle retention or even building lean tissue on the way down, I would encourage you to do four things above all else:

1. Create a modest caloric deficit through food

2. Eat protein in doses of 20-40g per serving 3-4 times per day

3. Train 3-6 times per week with weights in an overloading fashion

4. Become a walking enthusiast

And here are some quick tips on how to achieve each of those numbered points without diving into too much detail.

Create a Modest Caloric Deficit Through Food

This is the most important thing on the list because the old saying that “you can’t out-exercise a bad diet” is absolutely true outside of Olympic athletes, genetic outliers, and those skinny eighth grade boys at the pool with a six-pack for no reason.

This comes down to identifying a caloric target for yourself that will have you losing around 1% of your bodyweight per week at most.

As a 200-pound guy, that means I’d be hoping to lose about 2 pounds per week.

Now obviously you can’t do that forever, but the point is to lock-in on a caloric target that can bring you that general weight of loss for 4-8 weeks. 

So if you’re a 150-pound female looking to get the ball rolling, you would set up a diet that would have you losing around 1.5 pounds (at most) per week for 4-8 weeks before adjusting.

Sample Fat Loss Pace for a 150-Pound Female

• Week 1 - 150 pounds

• Week 2 - 148.5 pounds or so 

• Week 3 - 147 pounds or so 

• Week 4 - 145.5 pounds or so 

• Week 5 - 144 pounds or so 

• Week 6 - 142.5 pounds or so

• Week 7 - 141 pounds or so

• Week 8 - 139.5 pounds or so

That would be a great start. 

But I know what you’re probably thinking.

“Well, are you going to tell me how many calories to eat?”

And the difficult answer to that question is no!

There is no one-size-fits-all caloric script that we can write because everyone is different.

That being said, I have found that starting most women out around 1800 calories is a great place to begin.

If you’re significantly overweight, you’ll probably lose plenty of body fat for quite awhile.

If you’re only slightly overweight, you’ll still probably start trending downwards, which is great.

But, women who are already relatively lean or who might just be very small people could benefit from starting their caloric target lower than 1800.

In some cases, eating 1800 calories per day could even cause you to gain weight slowly, but…

This could even be a good thing since it will give your body an optimal energy for muscle growth, which could even accentuate your muscular yet feminine curves despite a gentle uptick on the scale.

But again, did you just want to “lose weight” or did you want to look a certain way?

Now that’s true body recomposition, and it’s what lights my fire more than anything else as a coach.

The point of starting at 1800 calories per day is to kickstart the process because, well, you have to start somewhere. You can always adjust once you’ve accumulated about 14 days worth of bodyweight data.

If you’re losing weight around 0.5-1% per week, you’ve found the sweet spot! Slower than that? Maybe make a 100-calorie reduction to 1700 and continue to observe.

Others have speculated that you can take your current bodyweight in pounds and multiply that number by 10-12 for good estimation of a caloric target that should get you dropping some body fat.

Eat Protein in Doses of 20-40g per Serving 3-4 Times per Day

This is the second most important thing in my opinion because protein is the macronutrient that preserves and builds muscle. 

So, if you want to look svelte when the DJ cues up Canon in D, you’ll want to make sure you’re giving your body an optimal amount of protein to support your goal.

In short, I like to recommend a maximum of 1g of protein per day per pound of your goal body weight.  

So if you’re 150 pounds and you know you’d be excited to be a lean 140, it’s probably a decent idea to aim to eat between 98-140g of protein per day while you’re shredding for the wedding.

If you want more nuance on that, you can also check out our full article on just about everything you could ever want to know about structuring your protein consumption.

But, to keep with our 140-pound example, you could easily do the following assuming it doesn’t violate any food intolerance you might have:

• 8:00AM - 35g of protein from a plant-based protein shake with soy milk

• 11:30AM - 35g of protein from a tofu salad

• 5:30PM - 35g of protein from a chickpea pasta with salad

• 8:00PM - a piece of fruit for dessert

It really doesn’t have to be too complicated. Just make sure to keep your calories controlled to the goal.

Train 3-6 Times per Week with Weights in an Overloading Fashion

If you’re trying to look “uber hot” according to modern cultural standards, you’re probably going to need to be lifting weights multiple times per week.

In other words, thick bums and strong legs are in.

Can you do group fitness classes or hot yoga or pure barre or something similar? Totally.

But it’s probably not going to build the muscle you might be drawn to when dreaming about your ideal wedding day physique.

Those types of exercise are good for general health, fitness, flexibility, and burning plenty of calories, but they aren’t overloading enough to build an optimal amount of muscle.

Does that make sense?

So back to lifting.

For brides new to lifting, you really can’t go wrong with what we call the “push, pull, legs” split, which means you’d do the following:

• Monday: 4-8 pushing exercises (chest, triceps, shoulders)

• Tuesday: 4-8 pulling exercises (back, biceps)

• Wednesday: 4-5 leg exercises (quads, hamstrings, calves, abs)

And then you could easily repeat that for Thursday, Friday, Saturday while resting on Sunday if you want to make a 6-day split out of it.

You could also do 3 full body days a week or even a 4-day legs, push, pull, legs split if you’re a bride that wants to emphasize the lower half of your body (as most do).

For more information on how to structure a workout for optimal muscle growth, check out my article called How to Build Muscle Effectively Using the Rule of 7’s and 11’s.

Become a Walking Enthusiast

I’d recommend tracking your steps and aiming to hit the same semi-challenging number each day.

There’s nothing magical about 10,000 steps, but it’s a nice, round number that people like to see pop up on their phones or watches after a successful day of walking. 

When I lost around 30 pounds in 2020, I eventually had to push my walking up to 15,000 steps per day in order to see the continued results I wanted.

Whether your number is 10,000 or 7,000 or 15,000, get after it and get consistent. 

Walking burns way more calories than most people give it credit for, so if you’re in an area that allows for outdoor walking, I suggest you maximize it during the months approaching your wedding.

Seriously, if you think walking is silly advice, you’re probably unaware of the fact that most bikini competitors walk for 1-2 hours per day in the weeks leading up to their shows in order to achieve that fit yet feminine look that many brides are after.

So get to walking!

Looking for a more in-depth discussion on how to tailor your walking to your fat loss advantage, I’ve got you covered.

Manage Your Timeline Intelligently

The hard part about writing articles like this is that I can’t nuance every piece of the puzzle for everyone at the same time, but what I can do is remind you to be sensible about your timelines.

If your wedding is in two weeks, you’re probably a little late to the party.

At that point, “losing weight” probably comes down to wearing a trash bag in the sauna and chewing on ice like a high school wrestler. Don’t do that.

If your wedding is in a month, you could do an accelerated mini-cut for 4 weeks and lose a few pounds of body fat with an aggressive protocol.

But you really have a great chance at reshaping your physique if you’ve got 3-12 months until your special day.

The point is to tailor your approach to the time you have to achieve the goal, so if you’ve got plenty of time to make meaningful change, don’t put yourself on an unsustainable starvation diet.

Instead, go back to those four main areas of focus and start figuring out how to implement those strategies into your own life repeatedly for the duration of your engagement.

And, of course, if you need help doing any of this, these are the exact services I personally offer as a body recomposition coach, and I would be happy to walk alongside you for this process.

All you have to do is reach out for help.

Consider the Bigger Picture

As cliche as it may sound, every bride wants to feel like the most beautiful woman on the planet on her wedding day, and the photos you capture with your loved ones will be the moments you hang on the walls of your home for years to come. 

Which version of yourself do you want to be looking at for the next 50 years?

Not only that, but they’ll be the photos you one day share with your children, and I can’t help but think it would be a very proud moment to one day hear your daughter say,

“Dang, Mom! You looked HOT on your wedding day!”

And lastly, launching yourself into your married life with a strong, healthy, and confident body could be an excellent gift to your future spouse. 

Again, not because you should get fit or need to get fit, but more simply because it’s a token of discipline that communicates, “I want to be healthy and fit and present to live a full and thriving life with you.”

I think there’s something selfless and very romantic about that.

In fact, that’s one of my own greatest motivations for staying lean and muscular - to set myself up for a long life of romance within my marriage, adventures in the mountains and along the beaches, and (if I should be be so fortunate) fun spent with my future daughters and sons that will inevitably want to keep dancing or playing soccer with Dad for as long as he can keep up.

Is there any part of you that shares that sentiment?

Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content. 

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

Is Instagram Ruining Fitness for Everyone?

When I was planning out my content schedule the other day, I stumbled onto a super spicy topic that I've never written on before - Instagram influencers and all the ways I think they are kind of "ruining fitness" for a lot of people. 

So let’s get into it.

The Good and Bad of Instagram Influencers in the Fitness Space

Now obviously most things in life can be good or bad depending on how you choose to use them or "be them" in this case, so I'm not trying to make the point that all Instagram fitness influencers are "evil" or even full of bad intentions. 

You can absolutely be a good fitness influencer or a bad fitness influencer just like you can be a good plumber or a bad plumber. 

And by "good" and "bad" I probably mean something like primarily seeking after the common good of others more than your own selfish ambitions.

But here's why I personally think a lot of Instagram influencers are really screwing people up.

Reason 1 - Instagram Mostly Feeds You Content from the “Genetic Elite”

As much as I hate to admit this, what you're seeing on your feed really is the "genetic elite," as we like to say. 

But, to be totally honest, I really don’t like that term because I feel like it far too often gets used as an excuse for people to forfeit the integrity of their long-term body composition goals before they’ve ever given themselves a proper chance.

Let me explain.

I think too many people see phenomenal physiques on Instagram or other avenues of social media and think, “They were probably just born like that. It’s genetics, and I will never look like that.”

And while it’s absolutely true that some people are born with favorable anatomical structures, insertion points, and genetics overall for building muscle, that doesn’t negate the parallel reality that some degree of meaningful body recomposition can be achieved by all of us.

In other words, everyone can become a leaner and more muscular version of themselves to varying degrees, and I hate the thought of people settling for less than their personal best just because their own physique potential might not be as impressive on a cultural level than those of the statue-esque models they’ve grown accustomed to seeing on Instagram.

But the reality is that some people really do just “look hot" according to the cultural standards of the 2020’s with very minimal effort. 

You heard that right, some dudes can get pretty muscular without much work just like some chicks can have a thick bum and a tiny waist for seemingly no reason.

Genetics are very real and seemingly unapologetic. 

To spell it out for you even more clearly, I’m saying that some people are always going to look “better than you” no matter how hard you try.

Let’s think about it context of a race analogy:

• It’s kind of like being among a group of people who are all trying to run a “body composition race” of one lap around the track. 

  • If you’ve got average genetics, you get to line up at the traditional starting line, which means the distance to your destination is an even 400m. Seems fair, right? 

  • But, having elite genetics means you get a massive head-start on your competition in the sense that some people are literally lining up at the 100m, 200m, and even 300m mark to run the same exact race as you! All of a sudden, things don’t seem very fair anymore, do they? 

  • Not only that, but imagine being genetically disadvantaged, which means you’d be starting 100m behind the starting line - or worse!

  • Who is going to win the race?

And that’s exactly what I mean when we say “good genetics.” 

So imagine now you take that same group of genetically elite individuals and give them a great training program, evidence-based nutrition, and a team of photographers that know how to rig up the lighting just right. 

What happens? You get the perfect storm of aesthetics and social media allure.

Of course Instagram is going to put those physiques on your feed!

They are shocking and awe-inspiring and they can keep you scrolling for hours while you compare yourself (usually negatively) to their seemingly perfect features.

Call me crazy, but I personally don't think that's probably good for most people's mental health and overall self-esteem, which is the first reason I think Instagram’s over-promotion of the genetic elite is contributing to negative associations with fitness and body image for many people.

Reason 2 - Some People Will Do Just About Anything for a Double-Tap and a Potential Modeling Career

You have to keep in mind that a lot of opportunity is floating around on Instagram, which means that some people will do literally almost anything to snap the perfect photo that might land them a magazine cover or a partnership with Gymshark or Alphalete or an even a higher level modeling agency. 

But how far are some people willing to take it?

To answer that question, I decided to make a list of three specific things I would personally do if I decided to sell my soul for maximum Instagram approval:

• I would probably take drugs.

  • Whoa, drugs?! You heard that right! But before you freak out because you know me personally, just know that I will never take special sports supplements (which is basically a gentler way of saying steroids) because I personally value my long-term health more than any immediate benefit being more jacked could offer me.

  • But the point I am trying to make here is that we are seeing physiques on Instagram (both male and female) that you might naively think are achievable naturally or - in other words - without "special supplementation."

  • And just to be clear, I'm not talking about whey protein, creatine monohydrate, and your mom's favorite multivitamin. We're talking testosterone and exogenous hormones that allow you to build muscle literally all day long while staying lean, which is basically an influencer's dream come true. Sound appealing yet? 

• I would stage fake photographs to make you think I live a certain lifestyle that I really don't.

  • Specifically, I would take a ton of photos of me "eating meals" that I never actually ate.

  • Have you ever seen a picture of a super fit dude or dudette eating the cheat meal of your dreams? Or maybe even looking shredded on the beach or at the club with a few drinks in hand and a huge smile on their face? Of course you have. And although that may be possible for a handful of people, it's just not realistic for most people.

  • Creating the illusion that you can eat whatever you want and look "super duper sexy" 24/7/365 is high misleading for most “normal” people.

    • And let's be honest with ourselves. Do you really think influencers aren't above ordering an enormous array of food just to let their friends eat it once the photo has been snapped?

    • When your income is on the line, creating a false lifestyle narrative on social media is a no-brainer.

• I would starve myself all summer long for a summer of sick photos.

  • For people who don't use drugs, being super lean for an extended period of time is extremely difficult and frankly unhealthy.

  • "But wait! I'll get more modeling gigs if I stay super shredded even at the expense of my health?" Sold, right?

    • If I were an Instagram influencer and wanted the best approval outcomes, I would probably stay on 1,800-2,000 calories for 3-6 months straight, which is a pathetic amount of food for a guy my size. We'd be snapping photos every day with spray tans, perfect lighting, and perfect pumps and skin oil! 

Do you see my point? The stakes are high on Instagram, which means the commitment to photograph perfection (even at the expense of the integrity of its presentation) is ultimate.

Reason 3 - You Never Know Which Pictures Were Taken When

Similar to my third point in the paragraph above, it's worth noting that some influencers will take hundreds of photos on the same day in 18 different bathing suits to post all year round. 

This is even easier for women to pull off than men because their hair and facial hair consistency isn't a concern. Most women rock a relatively similar look all year round.

Also, do you think some influencers aren't above getting shredded for summer and then throwing on a Santa hat or staging a photo in front of a turkey mid-July so they can post those months later and appear super fit and lean even on Thanksgiving and Christmas?

That’s kind of like being a parent of a teenager and assuming they’ve been playing Monopoly with their significant other in the basement for the last few hours. Don’t be naive, folks.

As casual as the photos you are seeing on social media may appear, these are professionals.

This is their job, and their paychecks are often on the line based on the success of their photos.

If that were my sole concern in life, I would likely be doing the same exact thing.

In fact, I could see Santa hats in July becoming a real fashion statement for me.

Reason 4 - Photoshop and Other Body Altering Apps Are a Deceptive Mistress

People are literally changing the proportions of their bodies, which means our brains are being conditioned to define a new reality - a warped one.

Yes, men will make their chests and arms bigger while shrinking their waists on Photoshop and other apps.

And women will do the same with their bums and their breasts and their thick thighs and their tiny waists.

Would I do it if all I cared about in life were becoming the next fitness phenom at all costs? As weird as it sounds, I just might.

"Where do we go from here then?"

Since I never want to be the guy who just complains about this or that without providing his own thoughts about a solution or at least a practical step forward, I've got two practical takeaways for you depending on the type of person you are:

Takeaway 1 - Follow People Who Seem to Be Honest

I would say for 9/10 people, it's probably best to follow people that have a reputation for being honest about their genetics, the food they actually eat, and the training they actually perform. 

• Look for people who don't look absolutely bananas all year round. You should see them in seasons of very lean, seasons of “normal,” and even seasons of slightly fluffy.

• Look for women who are brave enough to post unflattering photos of their stomachs or the cellulite on their legs. 

• Look for men who will post pictures of themselves without a skin-splitting arm pump in hotel room lighting or fresh out of the shower.

• And beyond even that, try to follow people that talk and produce content across multiple forums like YouTube or a podcast.

  • I'm always skeptical of people who only have Instagram accounts because it's just too easy to fake stuff when you've only got one audience to dupe.

  • Plus, when you talk publicly and you talk often, people can get a sense of your values and what type of person you are on a deeper level. Some great examples of this are Steve Hall from Revive Stronger, Eric Helms of 3DMJ, Christian Guzman from Alphalete, and honestly even any local person in your area that is documenting their own modest fitness journey. To me, those are the most valuable accounts because the transparency and honesty they offer is unmatched when compared to major accounts. 

Takeaway 2: Keep the Freaky Folks Around for Motivation and Nothing Else

If you're like me, you shoot for the stars against all odds. 

So I literally follow people that I know for a fact are using resources I will never have access to because I like the challenge and the motivation. 

"This guy looks like this and he's on drugs? And he's a full-time fitness model so he has all the time in the world to dedicate to his physique? Plus, he has perfectly crafted, macro-friendly meals delivered to his house each morning because he's sponsored?" 

Some people would be paralyzed by jealousy and feelings of inadequacy and inferiority, but I personally love the challenge!

I sincerely want to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because that’s what drives me to new levels of success and ambition. 

At the same time, do I fully realize I may never be able to match the physiques of people like that? Of course. But I’m a dreamer.

That being said, most people are not like me. 

For many, negative body image association is lurking viciously around every corner, so I always like to give the following disclaimer. 

This type of approach only works if:

• You have a really strong perspective on body image and your own self-worth.

  • If you can't handle it, be honest with yourself and don't hurt yourself by following unhelpful accounts.

• You can use the motivation of other physiques while keeping the joy of the entire endeavor in the pursuit - not the end product.

  • For example, I see physiques of guys on Instagram every day that far exceed my current status. But as I just mentioned, for me it's just extra motivation! I don't compare myself negatively or think less of myself because of them. I see them as an entity of what might be possible if I apply myself to the fullest (whether that is true or not).

  • To be fully transparent, my favorite physiques on Instagram right now are Mike Thurston, Luis Young, and Steve Cook. And guess what? I will probably never look anything close to these dudes - and that's fine! The joy for me is in the pursuit - not any non-negotiable outcome that I might be tempted to attach to my self-worth.

• You have pretty thick skin and a competitive spirit.

  • This is pretty similar to my second bullet point, but I don't want to leave out the crowd of people who can take a strong right hook on the jaw 10 times in a row and stand up 11.

  • If you want to be the best and pursue your own genetic potential when it comes to your physique (just like I do), then this approach can be awesome. For example, if some guy out there is working harder than me, I want to know about it, you know?

  • So if that's you, I think using these somewhat unrealistic but still highly motivational fitness accounts on Instagram can - in some very specific sense - be helpful to you in a dreamer's vacuum.

Summary

• Instagram is totally fine to use as long as you can be mature about what you're looking at and know that reality often isn't what's being depicted. Instagram is largely fantasy.

• You're looking at pictures of people who do this professionally and will play any card to win another opportunity that may benefit them vocationally.

• Lots of people use drugs and lie about it because it's sexier and better for engagement.

• Photo editing apps are very much a thing.

• A healthier approach long-term for most people is probably to follow people you trust that don't have a million followers. Look for the people who are wildly honest even to the point that you think internally, "Wow, I'm surprised they would put that on social media. That's brave."

Also, just to be clear, I think every influencer I’ve photo-featured in this article does a great job of “keeping it real” while also inspiring their audiences. I just wanted to make that clear to anyone who might have been wondering if I was using them as a “bad” example.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

Are Being Healthy and "Looking Hot" the Same Thing?

In my opinion, three of the most abused terms in the fitness space these days are the following:

1. “health” or “healthy”

2. “fitness” or “fit”

3. looking “good” or looking “hot”

That being said, I’m pretty sure I know why these words get confused so much and it comes down to social behaviors.

What do I mean by that?

I mean some people are too afraid to admit that they really just want to look “hot” so they say things on January 1 like, “I just really want to get healthy this year.”

Don’t get me wrong - I love a good and honest goal of improving your health, but is that really what you want?

Or do you just want to feel a little more confident when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror each morning?

What about that “fitness” word though?

What’s up with fitness? What does that even mean?

Just a few days a go, I was chatting with my good friend Justin Miller about how confused most people are when it comes to training for fitness versus training for aesthetics.

And we decided the core of the issue is essentially that people don’t realize that fitness and aesthetics don’t always go hand in hand.

In other words, you can have great physical fitness abilities without looking like an Instagram fitness model.

And on the other side of that very same coin, you can look like an Instagram without being able to do 20 burpees in a minute with clean technique.

Really, it’s the classic difference between a bodybuilder or a bikini competitor and a CrossFitter.

So without beating the point to death, these are the three main things I want you to know as we consider the bigger theme of this write-up, which is to tease out the differences between being healthy and “looking hot” as our current culture seems to have defined it:

Health, Fitnesss, and Aesthetics

1. The way we use the word health should speak primarily to non-fitness markers. Having some level of physical fitness is certainly an element of optimal overall health, but that doesn’t mean you need to be a CrossFitter to be considered healthy in a general sense.

2. Fitness isn’t actually a term that speaks to body composition at all. Fitness speaks to work capacity, which means that being fit is an indication that you can “do a lot.” You have a large capacity for physical achievement, but what does that even mean? Admittedly, the waters are murky. Are we talking about running a marathon? Are we swimming? Are we lifting heavy weights? Or are we trekking through the jungle with a 60-pound backpack? Fitness is gray, but what I want you to know most is that being fit doesn’t mean you look like an Instagram god or goddess.

3. If you want to train for statue-like aesthetics, there’s a really specific way of training to achieve that. Burpees don’t make you look like a statue. Ab circuits in your living room don’t make you look like a statue. Air squats don’t make you look like a statue. And although all of those movements might make you a fitter person, they aren’t (in and of themselves) going to make you jacked and lean like you think of when you pass by a fitness tabloid while you’re checking out at Walmart.

Alright, so having gotten all of that out of the way, let’s chip away at the bigger idea.

"Are being healthy and “looking hot” the same thing?"

No way! And I think people need to hear that and be reminded of the differences. 

You can absolutely be healthy as a horse with a very unimpressive physique just like you can be shredded to the bone and hormonally suppressed.

Health and aesthetics are not the same thing.

That being said, I think there is definitely a sweet spot (and we'll get to that), but let me chat through what I think the biggest differences are.

What It Means to Be Healthy

All "healthy" really means in my opinion is that your doctor is giving you the thumbs up each year at your physical.

Your blood markers are good, you don't have any major vitamin deficiencies, your blood pressure is within an appropriate range, you're not significantly overweight, you're not smoking or drinking to excess, your lipid panels look good, etc.

In addition to that, there are also some general exercise parameters you might be meeting like 30 or so minutes of moderate exercise several times a week. That probably means getting your heart rate slightly elevated through jogging or some kind of recreational sport like pick-up basketball, soccer, or even pickleball.

But not much of that has anything to do with having an impressive physique or a body shape you're proud of.

You wouldn’t pick a healthy person out of a busy crowd in the name of looking amazing, but you just might notice if Mike Thurston happened to be walking down the street.

I think you get the point. Health and hotness aren’t always linked.

So, what does it mean to “look hot?” 

What It Means to “Look Hot” According to American Pop Culture in the 2020’s

If you're a dude, you're probably pretty jacked.

The softer, So-Cal, "Brody Jenner-esque" bodies of the early 2000's used to be the standard for "fit boys," but the game has changed now.

Nowadays, the "fit look" for men is to be carrying quite a bit of muscle mass. Big chest, big arms, sweeping quads, and a plump enough backside to rival the ladies.

Think Chris Hemsworth from Thor or Chris Evans from Captain America. These dudes have size!

If you're a woman, it's no longer about just being thin, which was the thing for a long time.

Nowadays, it's all about the booty. And when I say all about the booty, I mean it. We've traded thin for thiccck with 3-4 C's depending on which Instagram accounts you follow. 

“Fit chicks” are apparently the new breed of "hot girls," so we've seemingly ditched the Paris Hilton look for the girl who squats and hip thrusts 3x per week but still looks feminine enough to slay a classy yet fitted dress at a wedding. 

For better or worse, this is my perception of the way the tides have turned in what America and most of Western culture thinks is sexy on a larger scale.

I'm not celebrating it or demonizing it nor am I saying it's "good" or "bad" for people to be categorized like this and exposed to these cultural expectations.

I’m also not saying I agree on a moral level with how we tend to view people and their bodies.

I'm just setting the scene and speaking to a current social reality.

Also, if you read that and thought, “That is not at all what I personally find attractive,” then cheers!

I’m speaking to the greater theme of what I see in fitness pop culture everyday, and you are totally entitled to your own thoughts of attractiveness and sex appeal.

I am by no means saying that this is how you (or anyone) should think of the human body.

"So what does this have to do with the correlation between health and aesthetics?"

Honestly, this is kind of a cool time in culture to try to get the best of both worlds - both feeling culturally “relevant” while eating and training in a way that is probably optimally healthy at the same time (or at least a step in the right direction).

Let me explain.

I think you can be really healthy and look really good at the same time by doing a few simple things consistently.

How to Tick the Boxes for Health before you tackle aesthetics

Unless you’re hardcore into physique sport, I think most of us would agree that prioritizing our overall health and wellness should come before our physique endeavors.

If that’s you, I came up with these five points to help you make sure you’re putting your health first:

1. Make sure you're eating a balanced diet of plenty of vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, whole grains, healthy fats, etc. You probably already know this. Diet is a huge part of health. Get your diet in check first according to the recommendations of a trusted registered dietician.

2. Drink plenty of water. If you need a number, half your body weight in pounds and drink that in ounces. I aim for 100 ounces per day.

3. Sleep like a champion. I like no less than 7 hours per night, but 9 is my preference.

4. Walk plenty. For people looking to lose fat, I really think 10,000 steps per day is an amazing place to start.

5. Be carrying a healthy amount of body fat. Wait, what? You read that right. One thing a lot of people don't realize is that some Instagram models (both men and women) are actually hormonally suppressed given their extremely low levels of body fat. That's not healthy. So make sure if you want to hit the sweet spot of health and aesthetics that you're not too lean to the point that you're putting your health at risk. For men, that 8-15% body fat range is probably golden. For women, I’ve heard people smarter than I am recommend adding 7-10% to the low and high end of those recommendations as a general rule.

Now, what's cool is that none of those suggestions regarding health have to interfere with an aesthetics goal. 

How to sculpt your body aesthetically once your health checklists have been met

If you’re consistently nailing the aforementioned points, there’s a good chance you’re in good health standing, so now it’s time to get into the aesthetics piece:

• Get your calories in check with your goal within the parameters mentioned above.

  • If you're looking to lose fat, get into a caloric deficit. If you're looking to build muscle, either eat at maintenance or get into a caloric surplus. 

• Eat around 1g of protein per pound of body weight within the parameters mentioned above. I wrote an article on this to help you out. 

• Consider training with a higher-carb, lower-fat approach if you want to maximize aesthetics.

  • I know plenty of people have success doing ketogenic diets, but I'm personally biased toward high-carb, low-fat approaches for a handful of evidence-based and anecdotal reasons. Plus, bananas are carbs and everyone loves bananas.

• Train with weights 3-5x per week in a primarily hypertrophic fashion.

  • I am consistently blown away by the things people do in the gym when I know for a fact that all they want to do is look better naked and feel more confident in their own skin. Notice that I didn't say do cardio to burn fat. I said lift weights to get strong and build muscle. 

    • Prioritize the muscle groups that you know will help you achieve the aesthetics you want. 

      • For men, this likely means growing your chest and shoulders since most women find broad shoulders attractive and indicative of protector-like qualities. If that's you, you probably want to train your chest 2-3x per week with some specific side delt work 2-3x per week. If you're like me, you want big glutes and legs, so you'll train them 3x per week (which I do).

      • For women, this probably means big glutes and quads with a flattering midsection. Given that having a slimmer midsection is all about fat loss, I would recommend training your glutes and legs 3-4x per week with great muscle-building movements like squats varieties, lunge varieties, deadlift varieties, thrust varieties, etc. 

• Be sure as heck you are progressively overloading these movements over time.

  • That's way too much nuance to toss into this write-up, but make no mistake that progressive overload under proper technique is extremely important for growth.

Some Parting Words about Fitness Pop Culture

Here’s a hot take for you.

I'm actually a big fan of this change in "the new hot look" for one huge reason that has nothing to do with vanity or sex appeal.

Are you ready for it?

Having big, strong glutes and legs is a very healthy and functional body shape.

I know plenty of conservative people who think the butt craze is pure vanity (and it certainly can be), but at the very least it's somewhat cool that we're now encouraging people to lift and eat rather than smoke and starve.

To segue that, having a non-butt is not an overtly healthy or functional body shape. 

In fact, I call it the inverted butt. Everyone knows an older guy in their life whose jeans somehow seem to bubble inward instead of outward like a traditional butt would generally behave. I hate to say it, but that’s not good.

Having weak glutes and hamstrings can lead to all kinds of problems like posture issues, low back pain, and increased injury risk just from being a weak sack of potatoes.

Plus, the implications of being thin (or even skinny fat) with little to no muscle mass are that your calories are inevitably going to be very low.

And frankly, that's just no way to live a fun life. Food is so good! 

So when you think about it, that means 20 years ago people were being forced to make a choice: "Do I prioritize my health and fitness or do I try to look the part of what society tells me is attractive by keeping my calories super low to look as thin as possible?" 

In my opinion, that's a pretty slimy question to have to navigate in the first place, but the silver lining is that our current culture is now celebrating both at the same time (health and a strong body composition) - and that is pretty cool. 

What’s the takeaway then?

Be jacked and be celebrated for it!

Eat and put on some strength or muscle mass depending on your goal. And fuel your body with the foods that create strong bodies instead of obese bodies.

There has never been a better time.

Summary

• Health and aesthetics are not exclusively the same, but they can overlap in a way that allows you to get “the best” of both worlds. 

• You can be fit and not look like a social media Adonis. You can also look like a fitness icon without be very fit at all.

• For a rare moment in human history, pop culture is celebrating big, strong glutes (and jacked people in general). So, take advantage of this and get to lifting! 

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

How to Look Like Chris Hemsworth from Thor

Just the other morning I met up with a new potential client for coffee at Panera, and I asked him the question I ask nearly everyone when the topic is how to get maximally jacked and lean.

“So, do you have a favorite physique? Maybe a celebrity or something?”

And almost without fail, nearly everyone has that one photo in their phone that they keep coming back to - the one you pull up from time to time and say, “Dang, it would be so sick to look like this dude/gal.”

You’re probably no different.

Over the years, I’ve ebbed and flowed between wanting to look like Brad Pitt from Troy and Zac Efron from Baywatch.

Maybe for you it was Ryan Reynolds from The Amityville Horror (a random genre of movie to be jacked in) or Deadpool.

For this guy, it was Chris Hemsworth from Thor, and who can blame him?

Chris Hemsworth’s physique is absolutely next level - arguably the perfect combination of aesthetics and brute size, which in tandem flawlessly captures not only the heartbeat and admiration of the ladies but the respect and inner applause of the men as well.

In my personal opinion, that unique combination is the epitome of the ultimate physique - the one that captivates all audiences.

My Very Important Disclaimer on Wanting to “Look Like” Other People

Now, as a quick side note, I know a lot of people like to frown upon this idea of “trying to look like someone else,” so I’d like to speak to that briefly.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt when they tell me they want to “look like” someone they admire in terms of fitness or physique.

If you pull up a picture of Ryan Reynolds and say, “Take me here,” I know what you mean.

You’re not asking me to drive you to the nearest plastic surgery facility to reshape your pecs to look just like his…

You’re saying you want to build a similar amount of muscle and shed a similar amount of body fat to get a similar result.

You’re saying, “Let’s move toward this physique in my own specific context,” and I respect that.

It’s not like when I first saw that scene of Brad Pitt in Troy I was thinking about how to grow long blonde hair at the same time. I wanted to know what I would look like if I were carrying that much muscle at that body fat percentage.

Does that make sense?

I just want to be sure to tread really carefully when I speak about wanting to “look like” other people.

It’s not about “looking like” someone else because you’re insecure. It’s about being inspired by a strong, muscular physique in someone you admire and setting a personal goal to achieve similar outcomes in your own context.

It Might Be Easier For Men Than Women

To be honest, I think men are generally better at keeping these distinctions in mind than women.

That’s not a dig at women, I just think women are perhaps a bit more likely to want “hips like J-Lo” or the “ratios of a Victoria’s Secret Angel” - and that's much different than saying you want to be jacked like Thor.

In fact, I think it’s a very dangerous way of thinking for women who are looking to understand their dignity and self-worth, which is want to make it very clear that I would never want to encourage body negativity of any kind.

As you read this article, please understand that “looking like” someone else in the fitness industry should never (in my opinion) come at the expense of dismissing your own self-worth.

So, ladies, if you think you want to “look like” some other girl who you think is the epitome of beautiful or sexy, my encouragement to you would be always to hold your own beauty, dignity, and self-esteem in a precious place.

If you want to build muscle, lose fat, and feel confident in your own skin, I think it’s best to do so out of self-love - not envy or insecurity.

And although this article will most likely attract men looking to get uber-stacked, I wanted to be sure to include that for my female audience. Consider it your daily dose of advice you didn’t ask for.

Now that I’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about what you showed up for - how to get as jacked and lean as Chris Hemsworth was in Thor.

Is It Even Possible to Look Like Thor?

Frankly, it’s probably not possible for most. Ouch!

But I don’t say that to play the “genetics card” (although he certainly seems to have phenomenal genetics for aesthetics).

It’s deeper than that - an impossibility that speaks more to the willingness of the individual.

I say that because most people don’t want his physique badly enough to tailor their entire lifestyle toward that outcome.

Simply put, looking like Chris Hemsworth as he was in Thor just doesn’t happen by accident unless it happens by accident. And if you’re already jacked like Chris Hemsworth by accident, you probably skimmed over this article without a second thought.

But, let’s say you’re crazy enough to attempt it like me.

Here are my top seven tips about how I personally would approach it.

7 Tips for Getting Jacked Like Thor

1. Your Physique Is Now Your Full-Time Job

This first step is more of a mental adjustment than anything. Your food, training, and recovery are now of paramount importance at all times. You have to maximize all of the variables.

Some specific examples of this might be:

• Binging Schitt’s Creek but you know if you watch another episode you’re going to dig into the sleep you need to train properly all week? Turn it off and go to bed. It’s your job.

• Work party tonight but it’s going to be pizza and booze? Eat your own high-protein, macro-tailored meal beforehand and enjoy a sparkling water with your co-workers. It’s your job.

• Long stressful day at work and leg day sounds worse than hell in the moment? Cowboy up, my friend. You’re the one who signed up for this. It’s your job.

This also means no more stupid excuses about “missing breakfast because you overslept” or skipping leg day because you had a “tough day.”

Or only eating 67g of protein on Saturday because you were “traveling.”

Or having a lackluster training session because you “went out for too many drinks” with your friends on Friday night. Stop that.

If you really want to get after a big boy goal like getting jacked like Thor, you have to stop making excuses and starting owning every detail and outcome of your life - both positive and negative.

That’s a mental tweak and nothing more, but in my opinion it is certainly the first step.

2. Figure Out If You Need to Cut First or If You Need to Get Straight Into Bulking

For most people, looking like Thor is going to be a multi-year or even decade-long pursuit depending on how much muscle you want to add to your frame.

That means you need to tap into that idea that your journey is going to have to be phasic for you to see any kind of meaningful long-term success.

The first step is deciding if you need to bulk or cut, and these are my quick tips for making that decision.

People Who Should Cut First

• If you have no semblance of abomination definition, you should probably cut body fat.

  • The only exception I can think of is if you’ve never trained before and you’re not super overweight. But visible abs are probably a good indication that you’re near or below 15% body fat, which is where most people agree you should stop the gain train before your nutrient partitioning becomes more biased to fat gain (and even that’s still highly debated).

  • If you’ve never trained before, there’s a good chance you can build muscle and lose fat at the same time, so you could certainly make that your goal in this unique case.

• This probably goes without saying, but if you’re very overweight or obese, you probably need to cut body fat first before trying to put on muscle size.

  • You can still train for hypertrophy along the way, but you should probably be in a caloric deficit.

People Who Should Get Straight Into Bulking

The hardest part about looking like Thor is going to be putting on the muscle mass.

There’s nothing wildly impressive about his level of leanness, but the size and proportions are what turn heads when mixed with that leanness.

Your best gains are most likely going to come when you’re somewhat lean, which is why I would recommend most people who are any degree of “overfat” cut to a lean place in order to maximize those great gains. If you’re overweight and you go into a further caloric surplus, there’s a good chance that excess energy is going to be stored as more fat rather than more muscle - and we don’t want that.

But there are some people that would benefit from getting straight into bulking.

• If you’re that classic skinny dude who can’t put on weight to save his life, you should absolutely get straight into bulking, which probably means a modest calorie surplus.

• If you identify as skinny fat, I might also recommend getting into a very modest caloric surplus that might be mistaken for maintenance from time to time. You’re qualified to maximize that whole “build muscle and lose fat at the same time” idea, so why not press into it? Plus, cutting when you’re already sort of deflated and squishy can be a big shot to the ego, so why not set yourself up for more positive vibes by putting on some muscle beneath the flubber instead?

3. Get Your Calories Straight and Track Them

Talk to a trusted person in the industry about what your calories should be and get after it.

If you decided you needed to cut, make sure your caloric deficit is appropriate.

If you decided you needed to bulk, make sure your caloric surplus is appropriate and actually working. Wait, what does that mean? Metabolic adaption, folks. Your metabolism is not static.

If your surplus should have you gaining in theory, but it doesn’t have you gaining in practice, guess what? It’s not enough.

Add calories from carbohydrates (if possible) until the scale starts ticking upwards. If it becomes too unbearable to eat more carbohydrates, grab some extra calories from healthy fat sources to help you out.

Beyond that, make sure you are gaining at the proper rate per week, which most experts in the field would agree is around 0.5-1% of body weight gained per week.

Don’t want to track your calories? That’s fine, but that’s like saying you want to brew the best beer of all time but you’re simultaneously not interested in paying attention to the quantities and qualities of the ingredients.

You probably can’t do both if you want to maximize the quality of the outcome. You either get convenience and suboptimal outcomes or you get discipline and optimal outcomes.

If the glory of Thor is your end goal, suboptimal sure isn’t the word I would use to describe it.

4. Get Your Protein Straight and Track It

Within those calories, eat protein at least 3x per day in doses of somewhere between 30-50g each from high-quality sources, and get most of those calories and protein from whole food sources if possible.

In terms of overall daily amounts of protein, that’s going to vary from person to person, but this article I wrote should get you headed in the right direction.

As a general rule of thumb, you’ll want to be consuming about 0.7-1.0g of protein per day pound of lean body mass to optimize your muscle-building efforts from a protein perspective.

Also, supplementing with whey protein or a pea protein blend is probably a good idea for convenience and adherence purposes - especially if you are vegetarian or vegan.

Curious about how to do this on a completely plant-based diet? Click here.

5. Make Sure Your Training Program Is Top Notch and Train Like a Freak for Years

Make sure your training program is hypertrophy-based and well-rooted in proven methods.

This means training with the right amount of volume, a sensible array of movements (meaning the right blend of compound moves to isolation moves), and utilizing intelligent progression and overload schemes from week to week.

I can’t outline what that would look like in a single post, but this probably means hiring a good coach.

Trying to DIY your training to Thor status is probably a fool’s errand.

Also, remember that putting on an impressive amount of muscle mass takes years, so be ready to train relentless for a long time before you take on an endeavor like this in ignorant bliss.

6. Sincerely Consider Hiring a Coach If You’re Anything Less Than an Expert or Super-Enthusiast

Funny - I was just talking about hiring a coach!

This truly isn’t even a shameless plug for our own coaching services. Although we would love to have you, this tip makes the list because it’s genuinely probably the quickest road to Rome.

As much as it would be amazing if everyone were as educated in building muscle and losing fat as Dr. Mike Israetel, that’s simply not the case.

Having a coach provides you the peace of mind that your program is incredible and your nutritional strategy is appropriately tailored to the goal.

It also saves you precious time and energy that would be an epic shame to have lost in the stubbornness of your own unwillingness to invest in a coach.

7. Manage Your Recovery Like a Superhero

Although sleep is most likely the most important aspect of recovery on a macro level, there are other ways that recovery can oftentimes be overlooked.

• Minimize high-impact activities that might prevent your muscles from recovering on time.

  • This might be recreational basketball or soccer or even Spike Ball. You can do all of that fun stuff once you already look like Thor, but until then it might be time to lock down your recovery. Or if you must do it, do it sensibly and only on occasion.

• Nap when you can.

• This hopefully goes without saying, but don’t stay up late for no reason like a dumb-dumb. If you can bag an extra hour or two of snooze, do so.

• Drink plenty of water and get as much of your diet from high-quality, whole-food sources as possible.

• As a bit of a bonus consideration, you could consider sipping on a nighttime ashwagandha drink. Personally, I use KOS’ Organic Calming Blue Spirulina Blend once or twice per week to help wind down before what I hope becomes an epic night of sleep. Anecdotally, I have found it does exactly what it claims to do: It calms me down and leaves me crawling into bed with a warm and fuzzy sensation that usually leads to a bit more restorative sleep according to my Whoop.

8. Take Around 5g of Creatine Monohydrate Per Day

Although I don’t take creatine right now for personal reasons, the science on creatine monohydrate is pretty convincing in terms of improving strength output and muscle gains.

It is by far the most researched and well-supported supplement in the fitness space alongside whey protein, so it’s a bit of a no-brainer if you’re serious about rivaling Thor.

Just be sure to stay hydrated as creatine monohydrate does pull water into your muscles to aid in its beneficial effects.

Summary of How to Blow Up Like Thor

And there you have it, friends!

My top seven tips on what it would look like to really dig into the idea of pursuing a Thor-like physique as optimally as possible.

1. Realize that tending to your physique is now essentially a full-time job.

2. Decide whether you need to cut or bulk first.

3. Determine the right number of calories to eat and track them.

4. Identify a daily protein target and hit it consistently.

5. Be certain your training program is hypertrophy-focused.

6. Consider hiring a physique coach.

7. Manage your recovery as optimally as possible

8. Take creatine if desired.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Lastly, I want to disclose that I do earn from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew

How and Why to Use Deloads for Optimal Recovery

If you’ve been following our content for a while, you’ll know that we have spoken a lot to the fact that both Andrew and I did a ton of things wrong for a long time in our early twenties.

In fact, that’s a huge reason why we both have become so passionate about fitness and doing things the “right” way; so we started a business to try and help others avoid the same wasteful journey that we took.

When we didn’t know any better (i.e. we weren’t tracking our lifts efficiently, tracking calories, practicing effective recovery, etc.) we both encountered the strange phenomenon of what I’ll dub, “a week at home with Mom’s cooking.”

We would travel back home to our parents’ houses over holiday breaks and random weekends here and there, not lift while at home, and eat loads of great food.

When we would return to the bachelor pad, one of the first things we wanted to do was get a solid lift in like a couple of bros.

I kid you not, during every single one of those lifting sessions back from “a week at home with Mom’s cooking,” we felt like superheroes.

We would be putting up bigger numbers than we were hitting previously (albeit for only a few sessions because we were boneheads), and we thought that we were invoking some kind of magic power divined from middle-aged Midwestern women’s cooking.

What we were really experiencing - in some form - were the effects of practicing a great recovery tool called a “deload week.”

Deloading has become a staple in both of our personal programs and has allowed us to continuously push for bigger numbers and greater strength gains.

Let’s define the idea of a deload.

What is Deloading?

Generally, we define our deload phases as a period of decreased training intensity (amount of resistance used) or volume (number of reps/sets performed), while usually eating at maintenance calories (especially during a fat loss phase) usually four around a week but sometimes less.

Sometimes, deloading can mean completely taking the entire week off, but my recommendation would be to still perform the same sessions you were previously doing while lowering the intensity and/or volume.

There are many ways you can go about deciding what the best set of reps and what percentage of the load you should be using when deloading, but here are a few options:

1. Keep the same load on your movements, but cut the volume down.

2. Keep the same volume, but decrease the load you are using.

3. Use 50-70% of the load from the previous week and hit 50-75% of the volume, which is what I do.

So, the whole purpose of a well-timed and intelligent deload phase is to allow your body to have an extended period of recovery.

What happens is that once we successfully deload, we create a desirable launching point for our next training cycle.

Earlier I mentioned that “a week at home with Mom’s cooking” made us feel like superheroes and that we would hit big numbers upon our return to the gym.

Part of the reason for those feelings was the fact that we weren’t practicing strict progressive overload. We would hit more reps or use more weight, but none of those choices were really well thought-out.

You should still probably feel refreshed after a restful deload week, but you may only notice a slight increase in your performance, especially if your are an intermediate/advanced lifter, or you are following a strict training plan implementing progressive overload strategies.

So, what are the actual benefits of a deload phase?

Benefits of Deloading

I think one of the hardest parts about lifting weights, especially as people get more advanced in their training, is managing your body well in a way that avoids injury.

Lifting weights puts a ton of stress on our bodies, especially on our central nervous system (CNS) and connective tissues, and a lot of that stress is hard to manage.

So, instead of taking a few days off to give our bodies a chance to recover, we can end up injuring ourselves, which can put us out for an extended period of time away from the progress we have been working so hard towards.

To help you avoid those kinds of injuries and to practice healthy recovery, here are some of the benefits of implementing a deload week into your programming:

1. Muscle Recovery

   • Lifting with less intensity or less overall volume allows our muscles more time to fully recover.

2. Central Nervous System (CNS) Recovery

   • When you’re training in a light to moderate manner, your CNS may recover just fine by the next day, but some studies show - specifically for high volume training - that it may take multiple days for our CNS to fully recover after a very demanding session. And, since training intensity tends to ramp up at the end of a mesocycle, this makes deloading after your overreaching weeks the most beneficial time to sensibly deload.

3. Psychological Recovery

   • Just like we need to take breaks from our actual jobs and careers for vacations and weekends away to relax and mentally escape, taking a break from your normal gym routine can also promote mental benefits the next time a heavy squat is staring you in the face.

4. Connective Tissue Recovery

   • Muscle tissue generally recovers much faster than our connective tissue (ligaments, tendons, cartilage), and there aren’t any highly reliable ways to track damage done to our connective tissue. Deloading ensures that by decreasing the overall stress on these tissues, we are allowing them to recover and heal for the sake of injury prevention.

     • It’s worth noting that a majority of the injuries that I and a lot of friends experienced from lifting have been connective tissue injuries since they are so hard to manage properly.

5. Social Recovery

   • If you work a normal job and also lift 5-6 days a week, a lot of your precious time is already spent, which leaves less time for friends, family, and other hobbies. One of the best benefits of a deload period has nothing to do with your body, but rather the amount of time that is freed up from shorter or fewer workouts. I love spending this newly available time by hanging out with friends and family.

Now that we know what a deload is and have seen the benefits, how do we know when or how do we plan a deload phase?

How I Personally Know When It’s Time to Deload

There are several different ways to go about adding a deload at the end of your mesocycles, and I will say more about that in the next section, but I wanted to give a quick look into how I personally organize my routine to include deload phases.

But before I do that, I think it’s important to lay out my current approach to training so that I can provide a little bit of context before I talk about my deload.

My Approach to Training

After years of making mistakes, I have finally settled on a sustainable approach to weight lifting, which includes a thoughtful implementation of progressive overloading.

I have spent a lot of time learning about my limits for different exercises in different rep ranges so that I can now intelligently push to increase every week.

The way that I progressively overload is by starting out my mesocycle with 2-3 working sets for each of my exercises for that session, and then each week after I try to add a few total sets for that week along with trying to match or improve upon the number of reps I hit for each set the previous week.

In this way, I can ensure that I am progressing and every week. But, as the demands of progression inevitably increase, the need for a more dedicated recover period become more and more apparent.

At this point in my training journey, I can pretty much predict at about which point I will need to deload (which is usually after four or five weeks of increasingly demanding training), but I only know that because I keep a very organized logbook for each and every one of my sessions.

On occasion, however, I will plan a deload for a specific week, but generally I try to use my logbook to guide my decision making for the appropriate time to deload.

A Look At My Logbook

Here is a look at how I am currently organizing my logbook in Google Sheets.

This has been my Monday AM session for the last several weeks, and I organize everything from rest times to number of reps performed. Each week for this mesocycle is all included in the same Google Sheet so that I can easily check my progress from the previous week and then set a goal for myself for the current week.

So what I like to do is let my body tell me when it’s time to take a break.

Take a look at a few sessions from my previous week of lifting for example:

I’ve included (in parentheses) the decreases from the previous week to this current week for a few of the exercises.

At first glance, only missing a few reps may not be that big of a deal. For example, I may have had a poor night of sleep or felt more stressed that day.

What is important to note is that it’s okay to have one bad day in the gym. Life happens, and sometimes our gym performance struggles. So I will usually chalk up a day like this as a bad day, and I won’t go into a deload because of one day of missing my numbers.

This changes though when I have multiple days of not hitting my numbers in the same week. I interpret this lack of performance as a sign that my body needs a break from the stress I’ve been putting it under.

Here is another session from my logbook in the same week:

I hit this session two days after the pair of sessions in the previous picture.

There was a much greater decrease in performance in a few of the exercises on this day, so I decided I couldn’t really chalk up the lack of performance to tiredness. Instead, I realized I had pushed my body hard for five weeks and that now it was time to deload and recover.

Again, I know that not everyone keeps a detailed logbook for their exercise programs (although we highly recommend it), so you may not be able to use a method like this to help you decide when you should deload.

Here are a few methods for determining the right time to take a deload week.

How You Can Time Your Deload Appriately

Just like most things in life, there isn’t a “one size fits all” approach to deloading. Depending on how you organize your fitness life, there are a few options for you to try:

1. The “Drop in Performance” Approach

In the last section, I spoke a lot about how I personally implement this approach.

Again, the idea is that if you are keeping a good logbook and trying to progressively overload, you will eventually run into a week where you aren’t quite hitting the numbers you want to be hitting - whether that be not performing the same number of reps as the previous week or even not being able to perform an entire set of an exercise.

Again, when you arrive at this situation yourself, make sure that it isn’t just one day of tiredness, but rather multiple days of “missing the mark” in your training before you decide to take a deload week.

What is nice about this method is that it sort of becomes predictable to a point.

Eventually you will start to realize that you have been deloading consistently every four weeks, and you can then start to plan for those deload weeks in future training cycles.

A benefit of knowing how long it takes for your body to reach a point where it’s begging for a deload is that you can begin to plan things around when this week approaches.

For example, if I know I am going to be going on a week long vacation in September, I may try to plan my training so that my deload week lines up perfectly with my vacation.

2. The “Planned” Approach

This approach is exactly what it sounds like: instead of waiting to see your performance drop (especially if you aren’t keeping a logbook), you can just plan a deload week into your training cycle at predetermined time intervals. At IVRY, we personally recommend every 3-6 weeks, but it totally depends on the individual.

Depending on how you look at it, this can be a more carefree approach to deloading because it doesn’t require you to burn any training sessions on subpar performance.

On the same page though, this method can also be less precise.

For example, maybe you have been taking a deload week after four weeks of pushing hard in your training. There is a chance that you could have pushed for a fifth week of hard training, but you would never know it because you chose to deload sooner than you may have needed to.

Again, we are digging into the weeds here a little bit, but I am all about maximizing my output in my performance, and I hate the idea of leaving a good week of hypertrophically stimulating training on the table. Because we are trying to improve, aren’t we?

That being said, this method is probably most conservative way to go about deloading because at least you are giving your body a break over the course of a regular period, and you can know that you are safely recovering. It just might not be quite as precise and appropriately timed as it would be by using an more auto-regulatory method.

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Hopefully you found all of this information to be helpful, and if you weren’t adding deloads into your workouts before, maybe we have convinced you to give it a try! The last thing you want is to be chronically banged-up when a focused time of rest and recovery is actually exactly what your body needs to continue growing optimally.

Part of what we include with our personal coaching is an intelligent implementation of deload weeks to ensure that there is plenty of recovery and a limited risk of injury.

If you are interested in learning more about our online coaching, or just want to ask a question or say hello, click here to learn more.

And, we are currently accepting new clients, so don’t be shy. Saying hello just might be the best decision you’ve made this year.

Why "Doing Fitness" Is Easier When You're Rich (and How I Would Personally Go About It)

Over the last few months I’ve come to a semi-unfortunate realization.

Getting into incredible shape really is much easier if you’ve got a lot of money to throw at the cause.

But, before all of our non-millionaire Joes and Janes throw in their physique towels due to their “average” bank accounts, I want to be clear that you can, of course, get into phenomenal shape at pretty much any level of socioeconomic status - it just might take more planning, strategy, and effort if your finances are tight at the moment.

Why though?

Why is it easier to get lean if you’re rich and willing to spend your money on your goal?

I’m glad you asked.

Reason 1: You can buy the most convenient, high-quality, and macronutrient appropriate foods available without stress.

As someone who specializes in fat loss, believe me when I tell you that your overall caloric intake is the number one thing you should be prioritizing when it comes to losing body fat.

It’s the biggest thing people fail to understand when it comes to a successful body recomposition effort.

Because of that, one huge obstacle for a lot people is simply being able to purchase, prepare, and consume nutrient-dense, high-protein meals multiple times per day that fit into their prescribed caloric targets on a sustainable basis.

And, guess what?

I totally get it. It can be a bit of a chore to execute a grocery haul each Sunday with enough foresight to ensure you’re going to be able to hit your protein and caloric targets everyday for the coming week.

On top of that, it’s no secret that eating higher-quality, healthier foods can be more expensive than eating their ultra-processed or fast food equivalents, which creates a troublesome combination of inconvenience and financial stress.

Well, “being rich” eliminates the inconvenience and stress of eating the right foods for three reasons:

1. You either have more money in the food budget in the month to buy and prepare high-quality foods yourself (if you’re a good cook and enjoy making your own food), or…

2. You use a high-quality, physique friendly meal delivery service like Trifecta, or…

3. You hire your own personal chef that prepares meals tailored specifically to your goals and you never have to think about it.

So, if you’re wondering how I personally would do the food portion of my physique pursuits if I had a money tree in my backyard, this is exactly what it would look like:

I would have a plant-based meal service on speed dial.

Seriously, if I were rich, I’d be eating a minimum of 21 pre-packaged meals per week centered around lean proteins, nutrient-dense carbohydrates, healthy fats, and plenty of well-seasoned vegetables.

If you’re serious about your body recomposition goals and you have the money in the bank to support it, using a macro-friendly meal delivery service is an absolute no-brainer in my opinion.

My quick note to rich folks who are unhappy in their own skin?

Open up your refrigerator, throw out the junk foods, and restock it with your first round of delivered meals to kickstart the fat loss process.

Reason 2: You could literally hire your own highly-personalized physique coach to be your best friend 24/7.

If you’re rolling in the dough, it’s no problem at all if you have no idea where to start when it comes to getting jacked and lean because you can pay for someone to show you the way.

But, if you’re not able to afford a coach, you’re left to figure it out for yourself, Sherlock.

I say this because one of the reasons I personally spun my wheels for years when it came to my physique was due to the fact that I just couldn’t afford to put any money toward a coach.

As a result, I was left to the internet - a place mostly known for its fitness mythology and hyper-scammy marketing deception - and the tabloid-esque claims got the best of me for the majority of my twenties.

You don’t have to be that person when you’re loaded.

As I like to say, the ambiguity of exactly what you should be doing is offloaded completely when you have a personal coach.

And, you have the freedom to execute your diet and training plan without thought-fatigue, which is monumentally important when it comes to long-term adherence.

The reality is that we all only have so much energy to give, which means the task of researching how to create an intelligent diet and training program, then actually creating an evidence-based diet and training program, and then executing that diet and training program sustainably while making the appropriate adjustments along the way due to your body’s response can become overwhelming in approximately five nanoseconds.

With a coach, you just do what you’re told and learn along the way.

Could it be any easier?

If that sounds appealing, apply for coaching with us.

Reason 3: You can afford the best gyms (and maybe even your own home gym).

For some people, the cost of membership to a well-equipped gym can be a financial obstacle (or even out of the question completely).

Fortunately, you can still get a great workout at-home even if you’re limited to your own bodyweight and a few creative objects around the house, so there’s no real excuse per se.

But, having access to the best gym in town does give you the ability to overload your muscles through all planes of motion via traditional and newer-age machine movements.

There’s no question about that.

And, since quality training is the catalyst for muscle growth, that makes having access to great equipment a pretty big deal when it comes to pursuing a goal of getting leaner and more muscular.

Some people might even be able to afford their own home gym set-up, which adds another level of convenience to the mix.

When you think about it, going to the gym presents its own unique set of friction points that could potentially pose as a detriment to your physique goal.

The Downsides of Not Having Your Own Home Gym

• Firstly, you have to drive to the gym.

  • Obviously, that’s not a huge deal, but it does take time, effort, and planning that could be spent in other valuable ways if you’re a driven and successful person.

• You have to share the equipment with other gym goers.

  • If you’re forced to go to the gym at peak hours, this really can be a detriment to your workout both physically and mentally.

    • If you’ve been progressing week to week on the hack squat, but you walk in and see two or three people waiting to use the hack squat machine, that’s a problem. If you really care about overload, you’d be best to wait for the machine, but what if you only have 45 minutes to workout? In this case, you’d be better to substitute another exercise for the sake of maximizing your work output. In other words, it just wouldn’t make sense to waste 20 precious minutes of your time slot being legalistic about your workout. But, it’s still a bummer and certainly not ideal.

    • And, what about the mental aspect? Fighting for equipment is stressful and discouraging, which can absolutely ruin the vibe of a workout you were looking forward to all day.

As you can imagine, having a home gym eliminates all of these issues because your equipment is onsite and exclusive to your private use and pace.

As a bonus, you can even customize the littler things like which genre of music is playing in the background and the temperature in your lifting space.

All in all, having plenty of money in the bank allows you to optimize your exercise experience in ways other people can’t enjoy.

Reason 4: You can afford regular physical luxuries like deep tissue massage therapy.

I know for a fact that if I had the money, I would probably get 2-4 deep tissue massages per month.

The fact of the matter is this…

When you’re training toward a body recomposition goal, you’re going to develop some muscle tightness, aches, and pains along the way if you’re training as intensely as you should be.

And, if you can afford to have someone release the tension a few times a month (maybe even in the luxury of your own home), you’re going to have a slight edge over any regular Joe that has to “play through the pain” and be a bit more disciplined with his own stretching and foam rolling routine.

“Healing up” through massage from time to time is probably going to keep your body performing at its best while preventing acute and chronic injury - another luxury not everyone is blessed enough to enjoy.

As a side note, if you live in Columbia, Missouri and are looking for a top notch deep tissue massage experience, I highly recommend visiting Liz at Iron Muscle Massage. The woman has hands of fire and brimstone and I promise you will not be disappointed.

And, no, she is not paying us to say that, she is just that good.

A Quick Recap

1. Being wealthy allows you to buy the foods you need to support your goal without inconvenience or unnecessary stress.

2. Being wealthy allows you to hire your own fitness and physique coach.

3. Being wealthy allows you to workout in the best gyms with the best equipment - some of which may even be a part of your private at-home gym set-up.

4. Being wealthy allows you to take care of your body long-term through massage and other therapeutic services.

How Exactly I Would Do Fitness If I Were Wealthy

Nothing would make me happier than for someone to read this final piece of the blog and awkwardly whisper to themselves, “I could actually do exactly what he’s saying. What have I been waiting for? I literally have no excuse.”

And, that’s kind of the point I’m trying to make here.

The more disposable income you have, the fewer excuses you have when it comes to your body recomposition goals - it’s just that simple.

But anyway, this is how I would do it personally:

1. I’d hop on a plant-based meal delivery service and buy my first week of meals and make it a regular habit.

2. I wouldn’t hire a coach right now because I’m really enjoying the experimental freedom I have with both my nutrition and my training, but at some point I would hire someone just to learn from their years of experience and success.

   • But, if I were loaded and needed quick help getting lean and jacked, I’d hire a full-time trainer to support me in my goals 24/7. This could be anywhere from $200-1,000 per month or more depending on your needs and preference of online versus in-person.

3. I’d make sure I have access to my favorite gym in town.

4. I’d buy a few sweet pieces of equipment for my home set-up immediately: a treadmill, leg press, hack squat, Pit Shark, machine bench press, assisted pull-up machine, and a rack of dumbbells up to 100 just to start. Don’t get me wrong though, that would be a pretty penny.

5. I’d get a 90-minute deep tissue massage once a week from Liz.

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Thanks for reading, everyone! I sincerely hope you enjoyed the content and learned something.

If you feel like this blog brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member!

And, if you're interested in working with me one-on-one, visit The Vegan Gym and apply for coaching. I’ve had nothing but success in guiding people toward their fat loss goals.

Cheers, everyone!

-Andrew