L E A R N I N G   T H E

B A S I C S

A BANK OF INFORMATION COVERING

ALL THE FOUNDATIONS

OF SELF-DEVELOPMENT

PHASE 1 : W O R K O U T

PHASE 2 : N U T R I T I O N

PHASE 3 : M I N D S E T

P H A S E 1

W O R K O U T

The Complete guide to building the perfect physical foundations.

Progressive overload is increasing something overtime. Weight, reps or intensity. Something must be increasing to increase the stress on the muscle so it can grow. Add as many reps as you can from the previous session in your rep range, once you reach the upper limit, add a reasonable load like 2.5kg and repeat.

PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD

WORKOUT TERMINOLOGY

CONCENTRIC

ECCENTRIC

The ‘downward’ portion of a lift where your muscle working is stretching. (An increasing angle between the joint and muscle)

The ‘upward’ portion of a lift where your muscle is squeezing. (A decreasing angle between joint and muscle)

TOP SET

A top set is a term, like working set, which refers to a set of an exercise where you intent to train for hypertrophy and with intensity, not a warm up set where your goal is to prime your body.

HYPERTROPHY

Hypertrophy refers to the growing of a tissue ie muscle tissue and hence muscle.

RANGE OF MOTION (ROM)

The range in which your muscle is working between stretched and contracted.

I’m assuming by the sheer fact you’re here you’ve probably found your reason, but if you haven’t or you need extra convincing, let me help.

WHY WORKOUT ?

PHYSICAL BENEFITS 💪🏻

  • Working out speeds up weight loss due to the cardiovascular aspect.

    Also, it helps you build muscle to gain weight, if needed.

  • Working out reduces the risks of heart and lung diseases. It literally extends your lifespan.

    So, don’t be stupid, WORKROUT.

  • Obviously weight training will build your strength in the gym and out.

    Don’t settle for being weak.

  • Weight bearing activities promote bone remodelling which makes your bones denser, reducing the risk of osteoporosis.

  • Working out can increase the strength of ligaments and tendons.

    Also, it can increase the range of motion at joints reducing the chance of injury.

  • Regular exercise enhances your immune system function, promoting better circulation, improved immune cell activity, anti-inflammatory effects, stress reduction, temperature elevation, and enhanced respiratory function, collectively contributing to a reduced likelihood of illness.

  • Often people suffer with poor sleep due to not exerting enough energy throughout the day.

    This where exercise is extremely beneficial, as it will increase energy output.

    This will lead to improved sleep duration and quality.

  • Exercise aids keeping your digestive system healthy.

  • Exercise mitigates the risk of chronic diseases by positively impacting weight, insulin sensitivity, cardiovascular health and inflammation regulation.

  • The post workout ‘high’ speaks for itself.

    Combatted with pride within yourself for completing the workout, you will notice and increase in mood and energy levels.

    It boosts overall energy and reduces feeling of fatigue.

  • It can boost your metabolism, aiding in potential weight loss.

MENTAL BENEFITS 🧠

  • Achieving fitness goals and maintaining a regular exercise routine can boost self-confidence and self-esteem.

  • Exercise helps release endorphins, which act as natural stress relievers, reducing feelings of tension and anxiety. Also helps reduces cortisol - the stress hormone.

  • Physical activity stimulates the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, promoting feelings of happiness and well-being.

  • Regular exercise is associated with better sleep patterns and improved overall sleep quality.

  • Exercise has been linked to improved memory, attention, and overall cognitive function.

  • Physical activity promotes relaxation and can be an effective way to unwind and de-stress.

  • Regular exercise provides a healthy outlet for managing and coping with stressors in life. A way to take out your stress.

  • Physical activity is associated with improved focus, concentration, and productivity.

  • Going to the gym 3-7 days a week takes discipline. So this will naturally be improved throughout your journey.

  • Exercise strengthens the connection between the mind and body, promoting a holistic sense of well-being.

  • Regular exercise has been shown to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety, acting as a complementary therapy.

  • Engaging in physical activity provides individuals with healthy coping mechanisms to navigate life's challenges.

  • Exercise can contribute to positive changes in body composition, fostering a more positive body image and self-perception.

  • Protein is often referred to as the building blocks of the body.

    They are the primary component in muscles, tissues, organs and your systems aswell like immune or digestive. So ensuring you have adequate amounts of protein means your body will be healthier and run far smoother.

  • Protein is responsible for muscle growth and repair.

    When your muscles are used or trained, it creates small micro-tears in the muscles, which is why you may feel sore days after. Protein repairs these tears and makes them stronger and bigger so that next time you go and perform the same action, it’s easier to do. Your muscles adapt to your training which is why you must maintain progressive overload. Without adequate protein, your muscles will not recover properly and not get bigger and stronger.

  • Foods high in protein are known to be satiating-leaving you feeling full or satisfied. Because of this when trying to lose weight, protein should be prioritised to keep you full at a lower calorie cost.

    It also takes longer to digest than fats or carbs, so can provide a slight boost to your metabolism. This is not me telling you eating protein will double you metabolism (how fast your body burns calories) but it does mean that a diet richer in protein can aid a faster or more efficient metabolism.

  • Your immune system is made up almost entirely of proteins, like antibodies, which fight off infection and disease. Making sure you supply your body with enough protein to provide to your immune system means you can help keep some illness away.

  • Before I start it’s important to note that eating real unprocessed foods is far better from a standpoint of it’s healthier and also it is higher quality protein that contains more vitamins, minerals and ions which will aid you in many ways. To grow muscle, you need to be eating around 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight consistently. You can find on apps like myfitnesspal you can scan or search foods and it will tell you how many grams of protein it has per serving, or you can even google it. A chicken breast for example contains 25-30g depending on the size. Now obviously this can be hard for most to eat that much, this is where protein supplements come in. Usually in the form of powders, bars or even water. They contain extra protein to help supplement you to that daily protein goal. They can help massively especially if you may not have the time to cook or eat that much. However, it’s important to remember these are supplements for a reason, they don’t replace a meal, they just help supply you with extra protein to make sure you build muscle, or maintain it when losing weight.

Protein is one of 3 food fundamentals called macronutrients along side carbohydrates and fats. Whether you’re an athlete or just starting a fitness journey, I’ll break down completely the vital benefits of this.

Below, everything you need to know about protein is categorised for YOU into specific topics.

WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS

PROTEIN 🍗

In this guide, we'll delve into what pre-workout supplements are, how they work, and how they contribute to increased performance in the gym.

I want to start off by saying that Pre-Workout is not essential.

It is a tool you can use to enhance your workouts.

PRE-WORKOUT⚡️

  • Pre-workout supplements are formulations designed to be consumed before exercise to enhance various aspects of performance. They typically contain a combination of ingredients aimed at increasing energy, focus, and endurance during workouts.

  • Energy Boosting Ingredients:

    - Caffeine: A central nervous system stimulant that enhances alertness during exercise. It also increases the release of adrenaline, providing a burst of energy.

    - Beta-Alanine: Converts to carnosine in the body, buffering acid build-up in muscles, delaying fatigue, and improving exercise performance.

    Increased Blood Flow:

    - Nitric Oxide Boosters (e.g., Citrulline Malate): Stimulate the production of nitric oxide, a vasodilator that widens blood vessels. This enhances blood flow to muscles, delivering more oxygen and nutrients, and aiding in the removal of metabolic byproducts.

    Focus and Concentration:

    - Nootropics (e.g., L-Tyrosine, Alpha-GPC): Support cognitive function, sharpening focus, and reducing mental fatigue during workouts.

    Muscle Fuel:

    - Creatine: Some pre-workouts include creatine to provide quick energy for high-intensity exercise and support muscle strength and power.

    Electrolytes:

    - Sodium, potassium, magnesium: Help maintain proper fluid balance, support nerve function, and prevent dehydration, especially during intense or prolonged exercise.

  • Enhanced Energy Levels:

    - Caffeine and other energy-boosting ingredients increase alertness and combat fatigue, allowing for more sustained and intense workouts.

    Improved Blood Flow:

    - Increased blood flow to muscles delivers more oxygen and nutrients, optimising performance and increasing your pump.

    Reduced Fatigue:

    - Beta-alanine and other fatigue-delaying ingredients help buffer acid build-up, allowing for longer and more productive training sessions.

    Heightened Focus and Mind-Muscle Connection:

    - Nootropics contribute to improved focus, concentration, and a stronger mind-muscle connection, essential for effective and targeted training.

  • Timing:

    - Consume pre-workout 30–60 minutes before exercise for optimal effects.

    Dosage:

    - Follow recommended dosage guidelines on the product label.

    Stay Hydrated:

    - Pre-workouts may contain diuretic compounds, so ensure adequate hydration to prevent dehydration during exercise.

    Consider Individual Sensitivity:

    - Assess your tolerance to caffeine and other stimulants. Some individuals may be more sensitive and may need to adjust the dosage accordingly.

    Rotate and Cycle:

    - To prevent tolerance, consider cycling your pre-workout use.

    - This will ensure you feel the maximium effects from Pre-Workout when you need it.

Creatine is a widely studied and highly effective supplement that has been popular among athletes and fitness enthusiasts for decades. Throughout this section, we will explore what creatine is, how it works, and how it contributes to increased muscle mass.

CREATINE 💧

  • Creatine is a naturally occurring compound found in small amounts in certain foods and produced by the body. It is composed of three amino acids: arginine, glycine, and methionine. The majority of creatine is stored in muscles, with some also found in the brain and other tissues.

  • Creatine made simple :

    Creatine ABSORBS more water into your muscles + it helps replenish ENERGY stores to allow for extra energy when working out.

    It is important to know how Creatine actually works so you can trust it, so here’s the science behind it.

    ATP Resynthesis:

    - Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) is the primary energy currency of cells. During intense exercise, ATP is rapidly used, leading to fatigue.

    - Creatine helps replenish these ATP levels by turning ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate) back into ATP. This process enhances the availability of energy for short bursts of high-intensity activities like weightlifting or sprinting.

    Cell Hydration:

    - Creatine pulls water into muscle cells, increasing cell volume. This cell hydration is believed to play a role in stimulating muscle growth and improving exercise performance.

  • Improved Training Performance:

    - By replenishing ATP stores, creatine allows for more intense and prolonged workouts.

    Cellular Hydration and Protein Synthesis:

    - Increased cell volume due to creatine's water-attracting properties may trigger cell signalling pathways related to muscle growth.

    - Enhanced cell hydration is thought to promote protein synthesis, the process by which the body builds new proteins, including muscle proteins.

    Increased Satellite Cell Activity:

    - Creatine may enhance the activity of satellite cells, which are crucial for muscle repair and growth. These cells help repair and regenerate damaged muscle fibres, contributing to overall muscle development.

  • Loading Phase (Optional):

    - Some individuals choose to do a "loading phase" where they consume a higher dose (around 20 grams per day) for the first 5-7 days to saturate muscle creatine stores quickly.

    - Alternatively, a daily maintenance dose of 3-5 grams is effective over around 30 days without the need for loading.

    Timing and Consistency:

    - Creatine can be taken at any time of the day.

    - Consistency is key. TAKE IT EVERY DAY

    - If you forget a day, don’t worry. Just try and not forget for longer than a week.

  • Hydration:

    - Ensure proper hydration, as creatine draws water into muscle cells. Staying well-hydrated helps prevent potential side effects like cramping.

    - Around 3-5 litres a day

    Quality Matters:

    - Choose a reputable creatine monohydrate supplement. It's the most researched and cost-effective form of creatine.

    - Most of the big name brands are good. So go with one of those.

ALL THIS INFORMATION ABOUT SUPPLEMENTS IS VALUABLE,

BUT

REMEMBER IT IS NOT 100% NECESSARY TO ACHIEVE YOUR PHYSICAL GOALS, FOR EXAMPLE I PERSONALLY DO NOT TAKE CREATINE AT THE MOMENT.

YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR THAT YOU NEED TO MASTER IS CONSISTENCY,

  • GO TO THE GYM AT LEAST 3x PER WEEK

  • TRAIN HARD EVERY SESSION

  • HIT YOUR NUTRITION GOALS

Logging all your exercises with reps and sets is a non negotiable.

You can use your phone notes or a paper diary - it doesn’t matter.

What does matter, is you keep note of everything, stick to your programme and try your hardest to progress as much as you can. Keep the form the same and look back on however many reps you got with a weight last session and aim for +1 or +2 or up the weight and aim for as many as possible.

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT tool for progressive overload.

Your notes could look something similar to this, feel free to copy this and paste it into your notes :

TRACKING YOUR PROGRESS

CHEST AND SHOULDERS:

INC DB = …kg (…/…) …kg (…) 

INC PRESS MACHINE = …kg (…/…) …kg (…) 

PEC FLY = …kg (…/…) …kg (…) 

SHOULDER PRESS = …kg (…/…) …kg (…) 

CUFF LAT RAISE = …kg (…/…) …kg (…) 

Warming up should not be overlooked.

The primary goal of a warm up is to prepare yourself for the workout at hand. It lubricates joints to prevent a serious injury and puts blood into your working muscles.

NOW WHY DOES THIS HELP YOU BUILD MUSCLE?

Let’s take the bench press for example. The primary goal of benching is to grow your chest. Without warming up first, not only would you be weaker because you are not primed to lift the weight but the secondary muscles will take over, like your front deltoids. If your front delts take over, not only are you rounding your shoulders leading to injury but your chest isn’t activating as much. Less activation means less muscle growth.

HOW TO COMBAT THIS ?

Doing things like banded warmups to get some blood circulation is good but also doing specific warm ups for the muscle working that session should be done, like lighter weight on the same exercise and building up to a top set.

On a chest day, do a set of pec flies before your main pressing movement, and when you go onto your pressing movement do 3-4 warm up sets and make sure your reps on the warm up look like your top set reps, start as you mean to finish. Don’t exhaust yourself, do about 12 reps with your 30 rep max, then 8 with your 20 rep max, 5 with your 10 rep max then 1 or 2 with your 6-8 rep max.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF WARMING UP

EXPLANATION

How you execute exercises is possibly the most important thing when it comes to training.

You must learn to drop your ego and use a weight which you can control. I’m sure you’ve seen many a people jerking their body whilst they’re doing reps or doing half range of motion because the weight is too heavy. But just because a weight is heavier does not mean you will get stronger or bigger.

Let me put it simply for you - You need to be able to move the weight with the desired muscle. Picking a weight too heavy means your muscles take less force and your joints, tendons and ligaments take more. Not only does this mean you increase your chance of a serious injury, but your muscles aren’t moving the weight. The more the muscle is used in the rep, the more you will grow, so don’t use a weight which you cannot control completely, choose a weight where you can feel just the muscle working for a rep range which you can fail in.

STEP BY STEP :

Firstly a general rule of thumb is control the eccentric slowly- studies show that the timing of controlling the eccentric (downward portion of the movement, or where the muscle is stretching) isn’t important in itself but to make sure it is controlled because you can load far more weight on the eccentric than you can concentric (upwards portion of the rep or where your muscles contract) so make sure you use that too.

Then power up on the concentric and squeeze really hard then straight back down to controlling the eccentric. I’m sure everyone would love to add more weight on because it really does feel better when you move a heavier load but I can assure you a torn ligament or tendon will not. I would recommend going heavier on 1 set per muscle group per session.

BELOW is an example of adequate form, slow on the eccentric, faster on the concentric, squeezing at the top.

EXERCISE EXECUTION [FORM]

When using heavier loads, the slight breakdown in form is ok as long as you are still in control. The new stimulus from the increased weight enables you to progressively overload, so don’t be scared of the heavy weights, just be in control and confident.

Range of motion as proven in case studies - IS a limiting factor for growth, it is the MOST important way to build muscle. You need to use a range of motion where the muscle is fullly stretched, going right to the bottom of each rep or doing partials in the lengthened area.

If you are not fully stretching out the muscle, you are leaving gains on the table, for a fact.

N U T R I T I O N

P H A S E 2

PROTEIN

This phase of your learning is focused on understanding NUTRITION.

We will cover topics such as; Bulking, Cutting, Macronutrients, Hydration and many more.

Without knowledge and practice of the correct nutrition, you will not reach your goal. Nutrition is arguably the most difficult aspect to understand and perfect when it comes to building your physique. So pay attention, don’t just read this information once, STUDY It.

Once again, if you have any further questions about nutrition, message us on instagram.

This is a COMMUNITY, we want YOU ,to be a part of the MOVEMENT.

MACRONUTRIENTS

Macronutrients are the 3 big sections of your diet. Carbohydrates, proteins and fats.

Below, we will go through the function of each and various types of food you can source these nutrients from.

Protein is one of 3 macronutrients. It is very important when it comes to the maintenance of your body but also growth. In this context, protein is for growth and repair. When you exercise, you form microtears in your muscles, which is why you may feel sore days after. Protein is responsible for repairing these micro tears and in turn making the muscle bigger and stronger. Protein essentially makes you grow.

SOURCES :

You can find protein in many many different things. The highest you’ll find are animal products like meat, fish, eggs, milk etc. You can also find protein from oats, chickpeas or beans. All you really have to do is check the label for the protein content and you’ll find out.

You need to be eating around 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight everyday if you want to build muscle. A chicken breast for example has 25-30g so if you’re 180lbs, it’s 6 chicken breasts a day.

🥩 🍗 🍳 🥛

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are your main source of energy. They supply your muscles with the glucose and store glycogen in the body for stored energy whenever you may need it. Carbohydrates can be simple or complex. Simple carbs provide fast acting short bursts of energy which do not prolong throughout the day whereas complex carbs provide sustainable and steady fuel. Simple carbs can be used as your last food before a workout, things like fruit, and complex carbs anytime to maintain your energy and replenish used energy from workouts.

SOURCES :

You can find carbohydrates in so many thing. Grains, oats, pasta, fruits, veg and more. The less sugar the more complex it is.

You don’t need a set number of carbs for energy like you do protein, it’s more individual. Many people don’t eat carbs and run just fine although I would not advise that due to it’s very important properties. I am 100kg and like to workout on at least 150g of carbs. The more the better really, as long as you stay within your calorie limit and don’t indulge in bad foods.

🥯 🍚 🍝 🍌

FATS

Fats are often seen as a bad thing to consume in your diet. This is because for every gram of fat it provides 9 calories whereas carbs and protein have just 4, so on a surface level, they can be seen as ‘worse for you’. However, fats are essential for your overall health and wellbeing. They play a vital role in energy storage, hormone function, immune health, brain function and more. They also contain a lot of micronutrients which you only find in certain types of fatty foods and therefore provide more value. If you are looking to keep fat off or lose it, then yes portion control is important, but never cut them out entirely, you need to have a minimum of 60g of fats a day otherwise you will start to seriously mess with hormones.

SOURCES :

You can find different types of fats in different places. Things like avocado, nuts, oily fish and seeds are the most nutrient dense types of fats you can consume.

Obviously limiting certain types of fats needs to be done too. Trans fats. You can find small traces of trans fats in certain foods but they mainly occur in processed foods. Trans fats are horrible for your health in so many ways, so just avoiding them completely is your best bet.

🥑 🥜 🐟 🧈

MICRONUTRIENTS

Micronutrients are the smaller nutrients your body needs, like vitamins and minerals.

They’re needed in rather smaller quantities but very important none the less.

SUCH AS ; Vitamins like A, B, C, D and minerals like calcium, zinc and magnesium. You can obtain these usually from fruit and a wide variety of vegetables, but they should be supplemented if need be.

They keep your body running efficiently and keep you healthy for the long term. Things like vitamin D keep you from feeling lethargic and zinc and magnesium help your sleep quality.

Your output of everything can nearly be doubled if you just take care of your health.

  • As you know, the body is made of 60% water. This means staying hydrated is a fundamental must.

    However hydration doesn’t just mean water. Hydration includes electrolytes as well. Things like SODIUM and POTASSIUM provide the correct balance of fluids whilst also preventing cramps and giving you extra energy for your sessions.

    Being hydrated maximises cognitive function, joint health, supports the immune system and more. Your muscles are made mostly of water and if you go into a workout not hydrated properly, you are missing out on progress and limiting your performance. It can increase appetite too.

    Once I started drinking a sufficient amount of water, around 3 - 4 litres a day, I noticed a huge increase in how I felt not just inside the gym but out. Then when I started having electrolytes the same thing happened.

    Adequate hydration can have similar affects to caffeine [and i bet you love caffeine] so don’t miss out on the benefits of using electrolytes.

  • Calculating your caloric needs sometimes needs more work than it should.

    The most common method is using a calorie calculator like https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html where you input your weight, age and how active you are and it will give you an estimate of your maintenance calories. It is important to notice this is an estimate and not perfect but is a great place to start.

    You can also calculate it by tracking how much you eat in a normal day where you just maintain your weight using ‘myfitnesspal’ on the app store. Or eating a set number of calories - like the estimate from the website - and seeing what happens to your weight, if it goes up, the calories are too high, if you weight goes down, they’re too low.

    Then adjust for your goals.

  • BMI is a common method of people to test how ‘overweight’ you are. It puts you in a section like underweight, healthy or overweight.

    However there is a large flaw in BMI. It does not take muscle into account at all. If you test a bodybuilder their BMI will be obese even when they have 5% body fat.

    It’s not reliable.

  • Now whatever process it is you’re going through - bulking, cutting or recomping- you need to understand the basics of food quality and eating real, whole unprocessed foods.

    Ultra-processed foods are advertised everywhere to get you’re dopamine sky high and convince you to purchase them. The consumption of processed foods can be linked to nearly any health related issues. The high fat and sodium contents are known to most people but the chemicals they’re laced with will destroy your hormones as well.

    Real food will provide you with more vitamins, minerals and ions which again just keep you so much more healthy physically. Moreover, the mental benefits you get from real foods seem to go under the radar.

    Mental clarity - The more processed foods you eat the more foggy your brain becomes, the huge dip in blood sugar after spikes makes you lazy, lethargic and even symptoms of depression. Once I made the switch I never could have realised what affects it was having on me. The dip in motivation to go to the gym just seemed to fade away, my focus was sharpened I could finally work for longer than 10 minutes without itching for my phone. Nearly every issue you can imagine can be fixed by eating real, quality food.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR BODY

THE 3 PHASES

OF IMPROVING YOUR PHYSIQUE

BULKING

The simple equation for bulking or trying to add mass is just eat more than you burn.

If you need to see how many calories you need to eat check the ‘Calculating your caloric needs’ section below.

Obviously, you need to be eating adequate protein to grow muscle but you have to be in a surplus of calories. If you want a steady weight increase whilst limiting fat then eating at 250 over maintenance is ideal for you. If you don’t mind adding some fat too you can aim for 300 - 500 but I would not recommend exceeding that as it will catch up with you quick.

The extra calories you want to prioritise are carbs, making sure you have a surplus of energy as you will need it to push harder every session.

Obviously as you gain weight, your maintenance calories will also increase (the calories you need to eat a day just to maintain your weight). So once the scale starts to plateau or not increase at the same rate, then you can slowly increase the calories until you see weight gain at the correct speed. If you want to increase slowly then aim for 0.2 kg a week if you don’t mind gaining some fat you can aim for 0.5kg a week. This obviously seems quite slow but the quicker you gain weight, despite strength and muscle increase, you will increase your body fat too which will make it a harder and longer process to remove if you wish to do so.

CUTTING

Nutrition for cutting/losing weight is just the opposite of bulking.

You have to eat less than you burn. This can be semi dependant on how often you move/do cardio because the more cardio you do the more you can eat.

You also want to keep your deficit small. The risk when cutting is you can lose some muscle which is why you have to keep the deficit smaller. Going around 200 calories under your maintenance is a good place to start.

If you’ve just come from bulking it may be smart to just eat maintenance for a week or so to let your body get used to the drop in calories because if you drop 500 calories straight away it’s quite a drastic change. And with a drastic change comes an increase of over compensating your hunger and binging which will obviously not help you lose weight.

Whilst you lose weight, just like bulking you will overtime have to slowly keep decreasing the calories as you plateau on the scale. Keep these adjustments small and be patient as you lose weight slower than you can put it on.

You need to also keep your protein as high as possible. You need to be hitting a MINIMUM of 1g of protein per lbs of bodyweight to make sure you preserve your muscle.

BODY RECOMPOSITION

A Body Recomposition is unlike the other 2.

WHAT IS IT ?

It is a process in which you can lose fat and gain muscle at the same time but only if you are a beginner or detrained (not trained in an extended period of time). This is because any sort of lifting experience your body adapts to needing the surplus calories to put on muscle whereas when you are starting out you can progress without a need for excess calories. You can eat at maintenance or just under, maybe 100 calories under and making sure you hit adequate protein (1g per lbs of bodyweight). Focus getting your protein in whilst recomping as this is going to help you build as much muscle as you can whilst losing fat.

It’s useful to know whilst recomping the scale may not change at all. The lost fat and muscle built may cancel each other out meaning your weight can stay the same.

This is why you should not measure your progress using your body weight during this period.

Use progress photos and numbers in the gym to make sure you’re progressing in both directions.

Getting out that skinny fat stage is hard but this is how it’s done, it’s how I started myself.

This information is the foundations of physical development.

So, don’t stop learning after reading this, there is so much more that you need to know.

IF YOU ARE REALLY SERIOUS ABOUT TAKING YOUR LIFE AND YOUR PHYSIQUE TO THE NEXT LEVEL, I URGE YOU TO LOOK OUT FOR OUR NEXT PROJECT,

‘PURSUING PERPETUAL’.