The Best Tip for Sustainable Fat Loss

When it comes to the fitness industry, there are a lot of opinions out there about the best way to lose fat.

Unfortunately, most of those opinions tend to hover over well-intentioned people like money-hungry vultures eager to snatch a quick buck out of your back pocket at a moment’s notice.

What do I mean?

Most fitness propaganda will lead you to believe that fat loss is best achieved through one of these four methods:

1. Fat Loss Supplements

2. Specific Training Programs

3. Specific Workout Equipment

4. A Strategic Manipulation of Energy Balance

The problem?

Three out of four of those options are driven directly by money.

And in my experience, money tends to distort any notion of pure altruism.

Because as much as the people in the fitness industry want you to lose fat, build muscle, and live a healthier life, they also want you to buy their fat loss supplements, training programs, and workout equipment.

Fortunately, most of us are aware of this.

As much as any good dentist wants his patients to come into his office with vibrantly healthy gums and teeth, he also probably wouldn’t mind if you needed a few cavities filled, a wisdom tooth pulled, and a lifetime prescription of name brand mouthwash.

Business is business and we all have to make a living somehow.

The question is…

What’s the truth?

Are fat loss supplements, high-profile training programs, and specific workout equipment truly really necessary for sustainable fat loss?

Or is there a simpler, more affordable way?

As you may have guessed by now, the goal of this article is to provide you with an alternative approach to losing body fat sustainably that skips over the fat-burning teas, Movie Star Body training plans, and waist trainers.

I just have one simple tip.

Are you ready for it? 

Keep your “cardio” as fun and varied as possible.

In the past, I was awkwardly prideful about how little “cardio” I could do while still burning up fat. 

And this comes from a long history of bodybuilders being "against cardio at all costs." I'm exaggerating a little bit, but if you know you know. 

The idea is that anything you demand of your body that isn't stimulating for muscle growth while in a caloric deficit puts you at risk for muscle loss, which is why bodybuilders don't really do anything but walk while cutting fat. 

And it works like a charm if you have the time.

Plus, people like to be able to show off their lean physiques on Instagram with cheeky captions like, “Guess how much cardio I did to get this physique? None.”

And that’s great.

Eating like a bird is always an option for getting exotically lean if that’s your cup of tea.

But I'm going to be real with you, I think that's unrealistic and unsustainable for most people.

I think most people would be better off resistance training 3-5 times per week while sprinkling in as much "fun cardio" as possible.

Here are some examples:

• playing basketball before work with friends 

• playing soccer with your college buddies after work 

• hiking a new trail with your significant other

• take a long bike ride

• dropping into an OrangeTheory class

• hitting up a community yoga class

• trying out CrossFit for a few months 

• walking on the treadmill while binging your favorite new TV show

The key is to think about which ways you enjoy moving your body most and then implement them creatively into your lifestyle.

My own application of this concept is that I do CrossFit classes 5-6 times per week.

Why?

1. I love it, which makes it sustainable for me.

2. CrossFit burns a ton of calories and incorporates resistance training.

3. I don’t do it because I’ve been falsely promised it’s going to lead to automatic fat loss outcomes.

4. I do it in context of an entire lifestyle pattern that supports my fitness goals.

The result?

A great physique in context of a well-designed and implemented dietary pattern.

So ask yourself…

“What do I actually enjoy doing for exercise?”

And then do that as often as your lifestyle allows.

Why is fun “cardio” effective?

Keeping your “cardio” fun is effective for sustainable fat loss simply because movement burns calories.

Remember, fat loss is almost always a basic equation of calories in versus calories out.

If you burn more calories than you consume, you lose weight.

Therefore, adding a few more fitness-based activities to your weekly routine while keeping your caloric consumption the same tips this equation in favor of weight loss.

I also think fat loss becomes much less mentally demanding when you keep things fun. So it’s not that you’re burning more calories simply because you’re having fun - it’s that you’re not thinking of your exercise as some obligatorily hellish experience that “must be done.”

Keeping things fun creates positive associations around exercise instead of negative associations, which can be helpful for people who may have a strained relationship with working out.

Bonus Things to Consider

• You still have to make sure that you’re not out-eating your exercise.

  • No one here is suggesting that playing sand volleyball once a week with friends will give you the license to eat in excess while slowly transforming into a Greek statue.

  • The point is that if you were to add more exercise into your life while keeping all other lifestyle variables constant, you would likely lose fat over time.

• Resistance training is still king for obtaining a muscle-bound physique.

  • Going on a weekly hike and playing an extra game of basketball on Wednesdays isn’t going to make your glutes look like two newly discovered planets that rival the size of Jupiter.

  • You’ll want to be training effectively with weights several times per week to ensure muscle growth.

  • My recommendation in this article is to sprinkle in additional movement-based activity once you already have your resistance training regimen in place.

    • Also, my critique of high-dollar resistance training programs in the introduction is a critique of their unqualified promises to help people lose fat without consideration of other lifestyle factors like diet, sleep, and activity. It’s not a critique of resistance training programs overall. Training programs absolutely necessary for obtaining the lean, hard-body physique many people desire.

• It’s not all about calories.

  • What I mean here is that fat loss is best achieved through a combination of eating an appropriate number of calories, eating enough protein, resistance training, and implementing “cardio” as needed.

  • The point of this article is not to oversimplify the entire process. The point is to single out one particularly helpful tip for losing fat sustainably.

• Living a more active lifestyle will be much easier if you surround yourself with like-minded people.

  • In other words, you might have to get plugged into a new community!

  • Fortunately, there are lots of options like rock-climbing gyms, cycling clubs, CrossFit gyms, OrangeTheory gyms, yoga studios, and many others.

Summary

• You don’t need to spend your money on fat loss supplements, overpriced training programs, and fancy workout equipment to lose fat sustainably.

• My best fat loss tip is to keep your “cardio” fun so you can burn calories in an enjoyable manner.

  • If you were to think of your fat loss effort as a Venn diagram of three overlapping circles of effective, enjoyable, and adherable, you’d want your approach to be in that innermost circle.

• It creates positive associations around a lean body rather than negative ones. 

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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 missing that “fun factor” when it comes to finding an exercise routine that works sustainably for them.

Later, friends.

-Andrew

How to Set Yourself Up for Success Pre-Workout

A lot of attention in the fitness industry is spent on how to optimize your performance during the training session itself.

And this is good considering the implementation of effective training principles is what leads to better muscle growth, better fat loss results, and better overall body compositions.

But little to no attention has been given to what you can do before your workout to make sure your training session is of the highest quality possible.

In some sense, this is kind of like giving people a ton of advice on how to behave during a job interview without giving them any advice on how to prepare for a job interview.

And for that reason, I think a lot of people are shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to a lack of pre-workout preparation.

Why is this happening?

Most times, I think we're just not planning well-enough, so I've done my best to come up with four practical tips for how to set yourself up for success pre-workout.

How to Set Yourself Up for Success Pre-Workout

1. Make sure you know which specific days and times you are working out across any given week.

If you're running a push-pull-legs split, that probably means you're either on a 6-day split or a 3-day split.

Plan accordingly by putting all 3-6 of those workouts in your calendar.

If you’re fortunate enough to have a similar routine on a daily basis, you might be able to workout at 12PM every day.

But if not, you’ll need to set aside time each week to play Tetris with your workout schedule.

If you don't, those workouts simply won’t get done.

So the first step in optimizing your pre-workout gym flow is to schedule your workouts in advance and honor them on your calendar as you would a work meeting, a lunch with a friend, or anything else important to you.

Bonus Tip: To help remind you of the value of exercise in your life, pencil your workouts into your calendar with creative titles like “Prioritize My Health,” “Get Stronger,” or even “Live a Longer Life for My Kids.”

Doing this will help keep your primary motivations top of mind so you don’t lose sight of the bigger picture.

2. Make sure you know and understand the movements you're doing that day before you ever get to the gym.

For those of you who are doing pre-written training programs or working with an online body recomposition coach, there's no greater waste of time than showing up to the gym, pulling up your workout, and realizing you have no idea what a Seal Row is.

Now you're fumbling around on YouTube all frazzled trying to figure out what you're supposed to be doing, and the vibe is all off.

You wind up frustrated and stressed.

Set yourself up for success by peeking at your workout several hours before you need to execute so there are no surprises once you show up.

3. Make sure you are properly fueled.

This may feel like a no-brainer, but it's a very common thing for people to show up to the gym without enough energy in their system.

Don't do that.

Quality training is what ultimately drives the muscle growth you need to change the shape of your body, which means you need an adequate amount of fuel to support that training.

Need an analogy?

It's like setting out on a road trip from New York to Los Angeles without putting enough gas in your tank to get you across the New York border into Pennsylvania.

In this case, finally making it to Los Angeles represents the achievement of your body recomposition goal. It’s the moment when you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror and say, “I freaking did it. I’m strong, jacked, and lean, and it feels good.”

But here’s the problem.

How are you ever going to make it to Los Angeles someday if you haven’t even put enough fuel in the tank to get out of New York?

As it pertains to this analogy, those smaller traveling stints are the individual workouts you complete that eventually accumulate until you arrive at your destination.

The point?

Every workout needs to be high-quality, and high-quality training is predicated on high-quality fuel.

So be sure to eat a protein-rich meal with an appropriate number of carbohydrates in the hours leading up to your workout for optimal training performance.

Although I don’t think it’s worth overcomplicating the specific numbers of carbohydrates you should consume, I think it’s a good to aim to ingest around 20-30% of your total daily carbohydrates in your pre-workout meal.

For me, this is usually a bowl of oatmeal with berries and a banana.

Need a caffeine buzz? Consider sipping on some black coffee or your favorite pre-workout blend.

4. Make sure you have the gear you need to execute the workout optimally.

This probably isn't going to be super relevant for casual lifters, but if you need to be on the Smith Machine today for deep squats, make sure you have your squatting shoes.

If it's leg day, don't be wearing Crocs.

If it's chest day, definitely be wearing Crocs. It's that simple.

And, of course, this includes bringing a gym bag that contains all of the non-negotiables like a workout outfit, a water bottle, and any towels, shampoo, or body wash you might need if you need to shower post-workout.

Secondly, make sure you are wearing an outfit that makes you feel confident!

As Steve Cook once said, "Look good. Feel good. Play good," and I think there's a lot of truth in that.

Guys, if it’s arm day, wear a shirt or cut-off that makes your arms look big!

Ladies, if it’s leg day, wear bottoms that make you feel strong and fit!

Set yourself up for success by showing up in an outfit that makes you feel confident and ready to perform at your best.

In my opinion, checking these four boxes consistently is going to put you in a state of patterned and predictable success.

To illustrate just how powerfully I think your pre-workout decisions can impact your workout experience, I’ve decided to outline two real-life situations.

Scenario A: You Didn't Check the Pre-Workout Boxes and Got Wrecked By Life

You're packing up for work at 5PM and you suddenly realize you were "supposed to" workout today.

Discouraged at your lack of planning, you decide that you can probably stop by the gym on the way home for a quick workout if traffic is light. Traffic is decent, so you show up the gym at 5:20PM.

You pop open your Google Sheets app because you're my client and start looking over the workout when you realize the first move is a flexion row.

The stress hits you in the chest like Mike Tyson in his prime.

You have no clue what a flexion row is.

So you start flipping through the internet looking for a flexion row, but you find six different varieties and now it's 5:35PM and you were supposed to leave at 5:50PM to be home for dinner by 6PM and everything is falling apart so you say "screw it" and just starting running on the treadmill.

Except two minutes into the run you start feeling awful and it dawns on you. "I didn't have lunch today because I worked through the lunch hour." Woof.

Now you're running on a treadmill with no fuel in your body with a cold sweat. You get off, trudge to your car discouraged, and pick up a pizza on the way home for emotional therapy.

Scenario B: You Checked the Pre-Workout Boxes and Kicked Butt

You're packing up for work at 5PM feeling like a million bucks because about an hour ago you had some dried fruit with a protein shake.

You show up to the gym at 5:20PM ready to be lifting hard from 5:30-6:30PM because you cleared it with your significant other on Sunday that you'd be working out today because you're passionate about achieving your goals and they support you in that.

You complete your warm-up wearing all the right gear that makes you feel confident and then move over to the first movement of the day, which is a heel-elevated Smith Machine squat.

You weren't sure what heel elevation was a few days ago, but this morning while you were looking over the expectations for the day, you took note of that question and sent me (your coach) a question about it.

"Andrew, what's the best way to achieve this heel elevation thing? I looked online and it looks like some people use 2.5 pound plates and some people have wedges."

You decided the 2.5 plates will work great for you, so you set it up no problem and get a great quad workout in the rack.

Each subsequent movement goes just as smoothly and you waltz out of the gym at 6:30PM as planned feeling like a responsible adult for having planned well and executed the plan.

Hopefully this illustrates my point.

Whether you decide to be the person from Scenario A or Scenario B is entirely up to you.

But if you want to experience the highest level of success in the gym, you have to set yourself to succeed before you ever show up.

Summary

• Put your workouts on your calendar just like you would a work meeting or a lunch date. Avoid saying things like, “I’m going to try to workout on Thursday if I have time.” Make time if your goals are important to you.

• Make sure you know which movements you’re doing before you show up the gym. Being unfamiliar with your training for the day can lead to wasted time and frustration.

• Eat a high-carb, high-protein meal within a few hours of your workout to maximize training quality.

• Be sure to pack all of the equipment you need for your training session, and wear an outfit that makes you feel confident and fit.

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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 understand the importance of planning for success before they ever even show up to the gym.

Later, friends.

-Andrew

How to Tone Your Arms and Flatten Your Stomach

If you know me personally, you know there's one word fitness buzzword that drives me crazier than most, which is...

This idea of "toning."

In this article, I’m going to walk through four things:

1. Why “toning” isn’t really a thing

2. The solution to the “toning” problem

3. How to adjust your efforts accordingly

4. A really helpful summary with practical takeaways

The Awkward Truth about "Toning"

I have bad news.

As far as I am concerned, "toning" isn't really a thing.

But, why?

I think it's because the culturally defined definition of "toning" is something like this - making one or two choice body parts look a little bit leaner without a full-body shift in fat loss reduction.

For example, I will hear a lot of women tell me they want to "tone" their arms.

So what people are really saying when they say they want to "tone" is that they want to spot reduce fat from specific locations on their body. And I will admit, that would be amazing! My goal with this article is not to shame or make fun of anyone who uses the term "toning."

Unfortunately, there really isn't any promising literature that I know of to suggest that “toning” in this sense is possible.

And in my own experience with my own body and as a coach to others, I've never seen anyone successfully spot reduce fat in any meaningful way.

Examples of “Toning” Efforts

Just to be clear about what I mean by that, here are a few examples of how people attempt to "tone":

• Doing lots of crunches because they want more visible abs

• Doing lots of side crunches because they want to ditch their love handles

• Doing lots of arm curls and pushups because they want tighter-looking arms

And I know what you're wondering.

"How does it work then? If I'm insecure about my flabby arms or my love handles, what should I do? Help!"

We'll get to those questions in a second, but I want to briefly address why "toning" as you've likely understood it until this point isn't an effective strategy.

Why "Toning" Isn't Really a Thing

Simply put, the way we all lose and gain body fat is mostly genetically predispositioned, which means we all carry and distribute our total body fat in different ways.

You don't get to choose how your body fat comes off and in what order.

For example, when I am bulked, I am a “love handles and leg fat” guy, but my back and arms tend to stay pretty lean even when overall I'm sitting at a higher body fat percentage.

I definitely didn't choose that!

And what this means in context of "toning" is that no amount of side crunches is going to convince my love handles to go away without being in a caloric deficit.

Without a caloric deficit, it's just not possible to lose meaningful amounts of body fat.

In short, you can't defy the laws of thermodynamics and energy balance through cheat codes like side crunches and bicep curls.

That’s really the punchline of this write-up.

So, if that’s the case, what can we do about it?

The Solution to the “Toning” Problem

Since I don't like to be the guy who just points out problems without providing solutions, I'm happy to tell you that there is a better way!

The way to "tone" is to get leaner overall through getting into a caloric deficit for long enough to allow your body to burn through the excess fat storage that led you to want to "tone" in the first place.

In addition to that, training your muscles for hypertrophy will cause them to grow and thus "push out" on your skin more, which will create that leaner look.

Check out this photo of Matt Morsia.

He's very jacked and very lean and yet I can guarantee you there were no deliberate "toning" efforts going on here.

He simply built a lot of muscle through resistance training and then tailored his caloric intake and activity level to reduce his body fat while maintaining the muscle he had already built.

So ultimately, "toning" is about losing fat while building or maintaining muscle along the way.

Now that we know that, I want to focus on how you can apply this for yourself.

How you would “Tone” if “toning” were a thing

Let's consider a very specific example.

Your arms are flabby and you want them to be leaner. The way to make this happen would be to:

• Firstly, start eating in a modest caloric deficit while prioritizing a diet adequately high in protein.

  • The deficit is what will drive the fat loss that will eventually result in your leaner looking arms.

    • This emphasizes the importance of the “calories in, calories out” (CICO) formula when it comes to body recomposition.

  • And, if you need help figuring out how to calculate your protein intake, check out this article I wrote once upon a time.

• Secondly, walk more. Although it’s impossible to issue a one-size-fits-all recommendation for walking, the idea is to remember that walking can be an extremely powerful fat loss tool.

• Thirdly, in this particular example, you would start training your arms in the 6-20 rep range for probably 10-20 sets as a part of an intelligent training program.

  • Even though you're in a deficit, the stimulus from this kind of exercise might even allow you to build a bit of muscle size to help emphasize your newly "toned" arms.

  • What would be even better?

    • An even better approach would be to train your entire body in the 6-20 rep range to see full body improvements while simply biasing more sets toward your arms because you’d like to see specialized improvement in that area.

      • This is an important distinction because you might be thinking, “Wait, I thought you said you can’t target improvements in specific areas?” I said you can’t target fat reduction in specific areas, but you can send more muscle growth signals to certain body parts than others by training them more.

    • So if you want to grow your arms, train them with more sets than the rest of your body.

  • Note too that this works particularly well for people who have never trained meaningfully with weights before.

    • People in this category are eligible for what we call “noobie gains” in the fitness industry, which means your body is likely to grow new muscle very quickly since you’ve never trained before.

And, for anyone reading this who might want to “lift their butt” or something similar, you would imitate this same strategy by training your glutes, hamstrings, and quads (probably in that order of importance).

Additional Thoughts on “Toning”

FAT LOSS DISTRIBUTION CAN BE FRUSTRATING

One very real and frustrating reality of losing body fat is that the body fat doesn't always come off the way we might want it to.

For example, if you're a woman that is overweight, you might find that you start losing body fat from your feminine attributes like your breasts or even your butt before you start losing body fat from your midsection.

That’s frustrating.

The reality is that there isn't much to be done about that aside from resistance training over many years to help grow your underlying muscle bellies to help emphasize whichever look you might personally find most appealing.

Does that suck? Totally!

Like I mentioned, I myself fall into this category.

But the only way to overcome that is to get your calories in check, train hard, and let your body transform until you’re as lean all over as you need to be to feel aesthetically pleasing.

BUild muscle in the right areas for optimal aesthetics

Sometimes building muscle in the right areas can help make a physique that used to carry fat in the wrong areas appear much “better” aesthetically.

For example, if you're a dude with a big belly at the moment, you might benefit from growing your chest and shoulders because that will make you look less like a pear and more like a strong guy who just needs to cut back on the pizza.

And then you can cut back on the pizza and shift your pear-ness toward a hint of that V-taper most women historically find attractive in men - broad shoulders that "V" downward to a relatively trim waistline.

Or for the ladies, building a strong and shapely foundation of glutes, quads, and hamstrings can create the illusion of a smaller waist.

As polarizing as Greg O’Gallagher (pictured here) can be for some people in the fitness industry, I think he has done one of the best jobs at identifying optimal male physique proportions when it comes to peak aesthetics.

THERE ARE NO SPECIFIC EXERCISES THAT “TONE” YOU

In my opinion, there are no specific forms of exercise that will "tone" you.

This is probably going to offend some people, but pure barre is not going to “tone” you.

That being said, it's totally fine to enjoy a pure barre class for the fitness benefits it offers you!

You'll probably develop a lot of core stability, full body control, and you might even build a tiny bit of muscle if you're transitioning into some form of exercise from a formerly sedentary lifestyle. I just think it would be silly to consider that “toning.”

You still have to control your overall caloric intake in order to lose body fat and reveal your lean tissue even if the extra calorie burn from group fitness efforts help you drop a few quick pounds at the beginning.

SOME PEOPLE LOOK HOT FOR NO REASON

That's called having favorable genetics for body composition, and I say that because it's too easy to see a girl featured in a hot new TikTok or Reel about how to “get toned for summer” and think, "She looks amazing! I should buy her programs so I can look exactly like her."

It's actually very possible that she was already “hot” by twenty-first century standards before she ever wrote her “toning” program, so try not to be naive about situations like that.

In other words, she didn’t use the program she’s advertising herself to get her current physique. And even if she did, there’s no guarantee that your body would respond the same way.

Secondly, have you ever had that one friend or co-worker who just kind of ate whatever they wanted, didn't exercise much, and still looked great? Me too. They exist, and let's not forget that.

Some people look hot for no reason, which means you can’t look to their programs for non-negotiable “toning” success.

How Much "Toning" Did I Do to Achieve the Physique at the Bottom of This Article?

None.

I achieved the physique you see below through a modest caloric surplus for about six months to move from around 200 pounds to 173 pounds.

I supplemented with lots of walking.

I trained mostly in the 6-20 rep range 5-6 times per week for as many sets as I could recover from.

No toning. No pure barre. No hot yoga. No group classes.

Summary

• “Toning” isn’t really a thing in the sense that you can’t spot-reduce fat, but there’s no reason to feel hopeless because…

• You can still achieve what people think of as “toning” by losing fat across your entire body while building muscle through resistance training.

• The ”calories in, calories out” (CICO) equation is still king for fat loss, which means a calorie-controlled diet will be optimal for “toning.”

• Walking is a great way to supplement your “toning” effort.

• Training with 10-20 sets per muscle group primarily in the 6-20 rep range tends to be best for muscle growth, which will help you appear more “toned.”

• It might be a good idea to strategically train certain body parts more than others to create a more aesthetic overall appearance.

  • Men would typically be smart to train their chests, shoulders, and arms.

  • Women would typically be smart to train their glutes, quads, and hamstrings.

• If you need help doing all of this, hiring a body recomposition coach would be a great next step.

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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 your friend at work who has been doing 100 crunches before bed in preparation for hot girl summer.

See you in another article, friends.

-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

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

Why Caloric Deficits Are Overhyped

I think caloric deficits are overhyped.

No, this is not clickbait, and I'm prepared to explain why through a series of observations.

Why Caloric Deficits Are Overhyped

Observation 1: We All Want to Look Better Naked.

Most people in the fitness industry share a very similar goal in that they want to look better naked and feel more confident in their own skin.

Usually this means building muscle in certain areas and losing fat in other areas.

Most women want strong legs, plump glutes, and a flat tummy while most guys want broad shoulders, big arms, and six-pack abs.

I say this because these are by far the most commonly referenced physical attributes when I ask people about their goals.

Simply put, people want to look “hot.”

So we could summarize this point by saying that most people, by their own admission, believe that their bodies would appear the most attractive with the following characteristics:

• An appreciable amount of muscle mass

• Relatively low body fat

Observation 2: We All Want to Eat Plenty of Food.

My second observation is that most people also want to eat a good amount of food and enjoy life abundantly.

Consider how often we find ourselves in social situations centered on food and drink.

Fellas, have you ever had a jacked friend who seemed to be able to show up to a night out, crush a pizza, down a few beers, and stay as lean and muscular as ever?

Ladies, have you ever been jealous of “that one girl” whose body always seems to be perfect even though she can eat seemingly whatever she wants?

Most of us have, and I would argue that it’s a wildly enticing state of being.

It’s the desire to be able to eat without restriction while looking as amazing as possible, and it’s essentially the crux of my second point.

So, combined with that first observation, you're left with someone who wants to build muscle, lose fat, and eat in abundance.

I actually refer to this as the “golden zone” with my clients.

The “golden zone” is when you’ve trained and eaten strategically for long enough to be confidently lean while eating plenty of food on a day to day basis.

It’s the combination of being lean and have a high maintenance-calorie intake.

Now let’s move onto my third observation.

Observation 3: We’re All Being Told to Eat Less.

Most people in the fitness industry are obsessed with getting shredded or unsustainably lean, which has lead to a disproportionate level of attention given to caloric deficits.

Maybe you see where I'm going with this.

The problem here is that building muscle optimally actually requires most people to be eating in a slight surplus - not a deficit.

But the confusion comes from a very understandable place.

Most people are overweight or even obese when they begin, which means a caloric deficit is absolutely an appropriate first step (usually) in terms of burning some fat.

Let me make that very clear. I’m not saying that caloric deficits are overhyped because they don’t work. They definitely work when understood and applied properly and consistently.

The problem is that too many people never properly transition out of a caloric deficit into other phases of dieting (like maintenance periods and strategic weight gain periods).

In fact, I would argue that most of your body recomposition journey should be spent eating slightly above maintenance if you want to get increasingly muscular over time.

Why?

Because aside from very early beginnings in fitness, you don't really build a meaningful amount of muscle while eating beneath your body's needs.

Plus, it’s well known that the quality of your training dictates the quality of your fitness and physique outcomes.

Low quality training? Less exciting physical adaptations.

Extremely high quality training? Maximally exciting physical adaptations.

You can only grow your chest so much as a man who eats 1,500 calories per day just like you can only grow your glutes so much as a woman who eats 1,000 calories per day.

Long-term, the fuel simply will not be there to support the quality of training required to produce the quality of outcomes you desire.

This leads me to my next thought.

The “Chasing Two Rabbits” Analogy

It's much like the analogy of chasing two rabbits and catching none.

Let’s say you have two adorable rabbits in an open meadow. You set them both down to run freely and enjoy themselves, but then you realize you miss cuddling them and want to pick them up again.

In the beginning, you can actually clone yourself and chase both rabbits and catch both of them. It's super cool!

But after a while, you lose your superpower to clone yourself and you have to pick one or the other.

You can chase the fat loss and muscle retention rabbit or you can chase the fat gain and muscle gain rabbit.

To be fair, you can still choose to chase the recomposition bunny once you’ve lost your cloning superpowers, but it’s a far slower pursuit that many find discouraging.

The idea here is that you can’t eat in a caloric deficit indefinitely and while continuing to build more and more muscle mass.

At some point, you will probably have to choose between eating more and gaining more muscle or eating less and severely limiting your muscle gain.

What’s the Takeaway Here?

Here's the point.

Caloric deficits are overhyped in the sense that the fitness industry spends too much time talking about how to get into them and not enough time talking about how to get out of them and onto more glorious and healthful muscle-building endeavors.

If you're overweight right now but someday you want to be jacked and lean, think of your initial fat loss phase as a bank robbery. Get in and get out.

Once you've lost an appropriate amount of initial body fat, start eating more food, training harder, chasing performance improvements and strength gains, and improving your metabolism.

I fear that too many people are under the impression that eating in a caloric deficit is a permanent endeavor rather than a means to an end.

Let me say that again. Eating in a caloric deficit should always be a means to an end.

In other words, get into your caloric deficit, lose the fat, and then move on to strategic phases of maintenance eating and even eating in a modest surplus.

In time, you'll be eating way more, sporting a thriving metabolism, flourishing in the gym, and looking leaner and more built than you ever have before.

And that's a really good feeling.

Fortunately, I know this is possible because I've done it myself.

In 2019 I was a very unflattering 200 pounds and eating 2,300 calories per day.

Now, I can maintain a much leaner and muscle-bound 190-pound physique while consuming upwards of 3,000 calories per day.

Which would you prefer?

It's safe to say I prefer the latter, but the choice is yours.

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As always I hope you found this article helpful!

If you feel like this brought you any value at all, consider sending it to a friend or family member - especially someone who might be struggling with the despair of living life in a perma-deficit.

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

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

5 Really Important Questions to Ask Yourself Before Embarking on a "Fitness Journey"

Question 1: Have you clearly identified your goal to the point that you could write it down on a napkin?

First of all, is your goal a performance-based goal or a body recomposition goal?

Obviously, I coach people toward body recomposition goals, but there is, of course, an enormous population of people that care much more about accomplishing something performance-based rather than just building aesthetic confidence. .

A performance goal would be something like, “I want to run a marathon,” or, “I want to start doing CrossFit because it looks fun and I really want to learn to move better and develop a greater sense of functional strength.”

Physique or body recomposition goals, on the other hand, are pursuits that are centered around appearance – around looking differently – and they usually involve some combination of building muscle and losing body fat.

For these goals, let’s call it what it is: You want to look better naked.

The problem, however, is that too many people are afraid to identify their goal for what it really is.

For example, I get really skeptical when I hear people say something like, “I just want to get back to a healthy bodyweight.” 

Maybe you do!

Those people are certainly out there, but is that really what you want? Because to be fair, you could be considered a “healthy bodyweight” without a trace of abdominal definition or any evidence you’ve ever lifted a dumbbell in your life.

I could be wrong, but my guess is that most of us aren’t quite so noble. Given the choice, most people would prefer to be healthy and look incredible all in the same endeavor, right?

So, at the risk of making your grandmother blush, is your goal about “getting healthy” or “getting hotter?”

There’s no right or wrong answer here, but I do think it’s important to be honest with yourself. Once you’ve landed on a genuine, well thought-out pursuit, write it down.

If I were doing this for myself at the moment, my napkin would look like this:

“My goal is to get below 175 pounds while maintaining as much muscle mass as possible. And yeah, I want to look pretty diced by the time it’s all over.”

What would yours say?

I sincerely challenge you to get a napkin, write down your goal, snap a picture of it, and save it to your phone for future nostalgia.

Question 2: Have you done the research to know exactly what it’s going to take to achieve your goal?

Now, at the expense of my own dignity, I’m going to use an example from my past to illustrate this next point.

Are you ready for it?

For a long time, my goal was to look like Brad Pitt from Troy.

To me, he was the perfection combination of size, aesthetics, and swagger.

Laugh all you want, but at least I had nailed down the goal part of things (or at least I thought I had). The problem is that I neglected to take the next most obvious step.

As ridiculous as it may sound, I never even googled “brad pitt training program troy” or “brad pitt troy diet.” How silly is that?

What’s even funnier about this particular example is that googling “how to look like brad pitt from troy” probably would have been a terrible way to go about “doing research” given the over-saturation of scammy clickbait articles in the fitness industry.

I can see the article now: How Brad REALLY Got Into Shape for His Role as Achilles in Troy (NOT WHAT YOU THINK), but at least it would have been an attempt - a step in the right direction - an evidence of real intent.

And yet I never did it.

Do you see the problem with that?

How did I ever think that I could achieve a goal without looking into what it would require to actually achieve it?

Well, when I think about it now, the answer is quite obvious. The fact of the matter is, my obvious lack of research and planning was proof that my “goal” to look like Brad Pitt was never really a goal at all. It was nothing more than a momentary fascination.

Unfortunately, however, I don’t think I’m alone in this sort of nonsensical mentality.

A lot of us ebb and flow between different “fitness goals,” but really we’re just daydreaming. And, to be fair, this sort of thinking is certainly not confined to goals within the fitness realm. It’s no different than driving by a beautiful home and saying, “I’d love to live in a house like that someday.” I’m sure you would, but that’s not a very helpful thing to say if you’re merely hoping aimlessly in the breeze, is it?

Now, if you’ve got a plan to launch a financially lucrative entrepreneurial endeavor you’ve been working on for months, that’s a completely different story.

It’s also a different story if you’re really just trying to say that you like that particular house but have no intentions of pursuing what it might take to live in. Again, that’s fine!

What I’m more trying to say here is that it’s important to test the realness of your goal by educating yourself on the process.

Another way I like to think of this sort of thing is to consider it in context of a travel analogy. Wanting to look like Brad Pitt without doing the research surrounding an appropriate training and nutrition regimen is like “planning” a trip to New York without ever getting online to peruse the available flights - much less book one. 

Frankly, it makes no sense, and it’s why most people never wind up achieving a lean and muscular physique.

Question 3: What’s your motivation?

I’ll keep this one short and sweet, but it’s obviously very important to consider.

To expose my own motives a bit, I can fully admit that my primary motivation for getting very lean in 2020 was to further motivate both current and future clients of the IVRY brand.

I wanted to thoroughly document the process for those who are curious about "how I did it” despite the unforeseen limitations of life as we now know it in quarantine - to share that information openly with people who want the same results for themselves.

And, of course, I want the transformation photos as further confirmation that as a coach, I can lead you confidently and intelligently toward the greatest physique you’ve ever had.

For me, that was a very powerful motivation.

So, what’s your motivation? And is it deep enough to withstand all the adversity you might experience along the way?

• Do you need to lose weight so you can be more active with your kids?

• Do you want to prove it to yourself that you can become a CrossFitter?

• Or maybe you’re just excited about the idea of looking jacked and lean on the beach this summer because you’re sick of being the “fat friend?”

The list of motivations is endless.

I challenge you to search yourself deeply and meaningfully for something strong enough to carry you across the finish line.

Question 4: What’s the first step you need to take?

What is the very first thing you need to do to start making this happen right now?

If your goal is to lose 30 and you know for a fact you have absolutely no idea how to do that, hire a coach.

Stop making bologna sandwich excuses and invest in yourself.

If you don’t trust us enough yet with that endeavor, that is totally fine! Your trust should be earned and handled with care. We’re not the only coaches in the business doing quality work.

Maybe you’ve been following some other fitness personality on social media that you secretly idolize for their impressive physique.

You might be thinking, “Yeah, there is this one guy/gal I’ve always wanted to work with.”

Go to their site and apply for coaching. Believe it or not, we actually care more about you doing what’s best for you than you being an IVRY client.

“But I just don’t have the money to do that right now.”

Then let’s redefine the first step.

Start saving. How much is coaching? Start saving.

Maybe you’re spending more than you think on some little vice in your life. Coffees at Starbucks? A few too many drinks at the bar on the weekends? Buying new clothes you don’t really need? Slash the purchases that are getting in the way of your fitness goal, and put that saved money toward what you know you need to make it happen.

What I’ve found is that if you really want something in life, you’ll figure out a way to make it happen. Similarly, if you’re more interested in finding excuses that reasons to “get it done,” you’ll find those too. Which kind of person are you going to be? Only you can decide.

If your goal is to start CrossFit, start a new tab in your web browser right now and look up all the CrossFit gyms in your area.

Peruse their websites. Read the reviews. Figure out which one is the best. Do you know any friends who do CrossFit? Text them right now. Where do they go? Do you need to buy some equipment to get started? Get on Amazon and bag the gear. Once you’ve done that, walk into that gym literally tomorrow and get started. I don’t care if your shoes haven’t arrived yet. Go to the gym.

Otherwise you won’t do it - I promise.

You absolutely will not do it. The reason I know that is because you’re still reading this article right now and you have yet to act on that one little thing in the back of your mind that you’d love to accomplish - you just haven’t taken the first step.

Take the first step.  

Q5: Are you prepared to “do the thing” every single day until the goal is accomplished?

Achieving any meaningful goal doesn’t happen overnight, so the bigger question here is: Are you going to be able to keep your foot on the pedal for the duration of the ride?

You’re sitting their holding your napkin in your hand - the napkin with your goal scribbled on it in Sharpie.

You’ve done the research about what it’s going to take.

You’ve identified your motivation.

You know what your first step needs to be and you’re prepared to take it.

Now you just have to stay committed until the deed has been done.

An extremely powerful way to hold yourself accountable to this is to set a deadline for your goal.

For some goals, this comes inherently. If you’re going to run a marathon, chances are you’ve already signed up for the race. The date is on the calendar. There are going to be people running a marathon on that day whether you’re there or not. The show goes on with or without you. If you’re like me, you love that sort of thing because it’s a reminder that there’s a bigger story beyond your personal goal.

If your goal is to look like shredded wheat for your wedding, that wedding date is on the calendar and you’re going to be taking tanned selfies in Cabo whether or not the ab squad is out to play.

If the nature of your goal doesn’t impose an automatic deadline (like wanting to lose 15 pounds in a healthy and sustainable way), talk to someone who can create a realistic timeline for you and then do the same: set a deadline.

Once the deadline is set, work backwards from the deadline and plan as much as you can. Just don’t let the main push of inspiration live and die in a matter of a week or less. Launch your effort and maintain the effort until the effort accomplishes the goal.

And there you have it, my friends. Those are the five most important questions I believe anyone could ask themselves before starting their own fitness or body recomposition-related journey!

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If you’ve enjoyed this blog, consider sharing it with another fitness-minded friend or maybe someone who has been dragging their feet for a bit too long.

You know that one gal who’s always complaining about her weight at work? Give her a kick in the pants and shoot her a text.

And, of course, take the time to flip through some of our other recent posts for additional content! I often recommend this article as your next read if you found this one thought-inducing.

Lastly, we do have coaching slots available for people looking to transform their bodies.

It is not too late, but someday it will be too late, so don’t sleep on an incredible opportunity to be the most confident version of yourself you’ve been in a long time.

Oh, and we might even let you eat pizza a few times while shedding body fat. Are you in yet?

Learn more by clicking here!

-Andrew

Why Doing At-Home "Workouts from Hell" Might Not Be the Best Move for Your Physique

As far as entertainment goes, I’m a big YouTube fitness guy, and one of the things I’ve noticed lately on both YouTube and Instagram is that a lot of fitness influencers are pushing these “at-home workouts from hell.” And here’s the thing: they look really good in the thumbnails and the clickbait headlines are yummy. But, I’m not so sure this is the best way of going about things if what you care most about is your physique, and I’m here to tell you why.

First, I want to be clear about what I mean when I (and these influencers) say workouts “from hell.” The general theme of all these workouts can be summed up a in a few bullet points:

• Usually lots of reps (50 or more in most cases)

• Lighter loads

• Minimal focus on technique

• Minimal focus on the mind-muscle connection (MMC)

• Maximal focus on intensity and effort

• Minimal rest times or long circuits of exercises strung together

Let’s get into it then.

Q: Why are these workouts probably not the best idea for people looking to improve their body composition?

1. Being needlessly hardcore isn’t the mechanism that drives improved body composition.

This immediately requires us to zoom out a bit. What does it even mean to improve your body composition? Well, let’s cut to the chase. As far as I’m concerned, most people want to lose body fat (not just weight) and build muscle to the extent that they look good naked and feel confident at the pool. I have yet to hear a client say, “I actually really just like fitness for fitness. I really don’t care that much about losing body fat or gaining a bit of muscle.” If that were true of you, you’d probably already be fairly committed to your fitness hobby of choice: jogging, boxing, swimming, CrossFit, etc. So from now on, let’s assume that your goal is primarily motivated by looking better and feeling more confident.

Unfortunately, well-intentioned people get this wrong all the time, and I can say this confidently because I did it for years. So, hear me when I say this: Neither losing body fat nor gaining muscle are achieved through being aimlessly hardcore. It’s not the “hardcore-ness” of your workout that communicates to your body, “Okay, start looking better.”

If you want to achieve that leaner, more muscular look, you really need to figure out how you can train to maximize muscle gain (or retention) while being in a caloric deficit. Simply put, these "workouts from hell” probably aren’t optimal for physique outcomes because they don’t load your muscles optimally for growth - and growth is what creates that look most of us are after.

Training intelligently is what drives body composition results - not being “hardcore” just for the sake of it.

2. Muscles have been shown to grow best when loaded near failure in the 5-30 rep ranges - not 100 or more like some of these trending at-home workouts prescribe.

Yesterday on Instagram I saw someone challenge their social media audience to do 200 air squats per day for an entire week. Again, there’s nothing wrong with doing air squats if you like them for general exercise or find them therapeutic. My intent is also not to say this person is “stupid" or “wrong" because they aren’t! Getting people off their butts and moving during a time like this is amazing and absolutely beneficial in it’s own way, I just don’t want our audience thinking that doing 200 air squats a day is a good way to develop stronger, muscular, and more aesthetically pleasing legs (for both men and women). It’s not. Getting “up and moving around” versus training to grow some respectable muscle are two very different things.

If you want to grow, the science consistently shows that growth happens when loading your muscles to the extent that you can perform between 5-30 reps as you approach muscle failure. For example, if you’re doing a dumbbell squat at home and you’re able to do 40 reps with 25 pounds, you’d probably be better off increasing the weight until those achievable reps fall below 30.

To zoom in even more, most of that work should probably be done in the 8-15 rep range. This means instead of doing 1400 air squats across the span of a week, you could just pick one or two days and perform 3-5 sets of a weighted squat in that 8-15 rep range. 

It’s up to you, but the latter is much more likely to actually get you growing muscle and looking better naked while that first option is more of a fitness or endurance goal.

Choose what’s best for you, but be educated in that decision.

3. Despite the higher calorie burn, these workouts don’t account for sustainability or future progression, which frequently leads to burnout.

With their high rep counts and short, circuit-based rest times, these "workouts from hell” are really just training your endurance systems and maybe bumping your calorie burn for the day. And although burning extra calories through high intensity activity can absolutely be a piece of the fat loss puzzle, it can also be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Yes, I am actually making the point that burning a few extra calories might not be worth it in the grander scheme of things.

Think of it this way, if you burn an extra 500 calories doing a series of burpees, air squats, pushups, crunches, mountain climbers, and whatever else, do you really want to get in the habit of having your body rely on that sort of induced calorie burn to maintain your current rate of progress? You might - and I certainly don’t want to discount the fact that those people exist, I just personally don’t know too many people who genuinely enjoy that sort of training. Most people workout a certain way as a means to an end because they’ve been convinced it’s the best way to go about things. But, is it? In this case - probably not.

These workouts also probably aren’t sustainable. If you’re not already in phenomenal shape, doing something like 100 burpees followed by 100 pushups followed by 100 pullups followed by 100 crunches is going to absolutely dominate you. You will be sore for days - maybe even more than a week! So if you do that on Monday, what are you going to do on Tuesday? Well, I know exactly what you’ll be doing. You’ll be curled up in the fetal position with enough delayed onset muscle soreness to cripple an army.

And to that same point, these workouts don’t account for the future. Even if you could do that workout and live to see the light of next Monday, what happens then? Do you do it again? For the same amount of sets and reps? And again the following Monday? How do you progress? It’s a dead-end road.

For optimal muscle development, I’ve learned that you really need to be periodizing your approach, which means learning when to take it easy, when to ramp it up, and when to go hard in the paint.

Take this example of a leg day you could do instead of those 200 air squats per day.

• DB Goblet Squats for 3 sets of 8-15

• Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats for 2 sets of 10-20

• DB Romanian Deadlifts for 2 sets of 8-15

• Weighted Crunches for 2 sets to semi-failure

Most people could do that on Monday, feel a bit of soreness on Tuesday, and be fully recovered to train their legs again by Thursday. By next Monday, you could repeat that entire workout while adding a small bit of weight, adding a rep here or there, improving your technique, or even adding a set. That’s called progression. Progression provides overload, and overload produces results when your diet matches the goal.

So, here is the point in black and white…

“If your goal is to look better naked, consider training with heavier loads, eating plenty of protein within an overall caloric deficit, setting a step goal, and prioritizing your sleep and recovery.”

Hopefully that makes sense in simple enough terms.

Q: Are there any good reasons to be doing these workouts? Or are they just a bad idea in general?

It doesn’t have to be a non-negotiably bad idea.

Good reasons for doing these sort of workouts could be that you enjoy them or just prefer getting a bigger caloric burn in a short amount of time. Those are great reasons to do them, I just personally don’t relate to them because:

1. I don’t like high intensity training with lighter loads.

2. I prefer to achieve my calorie deficit primarily through diet and walking.

Another reason could be that you just really enjoy a good challenge for the sake of fitness. If that’s you, go for it!

But if that’s not you, take a step back, evaluate your long-term goal, and train/eat/sleep according to what the science says - not fitness mythology.

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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