• My 25,000-hour realization

• Talking trash on muscle confusion

• The importance of building skill and staying mentally engaged in the gym

• My recommendation on exercise choice duration

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I’ve found something very interesting through my 25,000 hours of training clients; the less frequently I change their programming concepts or exercise selections, the more progress they make in strength gain, muscle growth, and fat loss.

Muscles Don’t Get Confused

Basically, by ignoring the nonsense once-popular marketing phrase known as ‘muscle confusion,’ and instead, continually progressing with scientifically backed time-tested methods, people reach their training/physique goals faster. I know, I know…shocker!

While muscle confusion may sound cool, valuable, and interesting, it’s really just bullshit terminology created to sell products to uneducated customers. These customers don’t realize they’re buying inferior programming, and it’s sad.

In a nutshell, muscle confusion advocates are pushing a concept that actually produces results at a slower rate when compared to smarter methods like linear progression, progressive overload, or periodization. Not to mention, it keeps you from getting really good at effective exercises; more on that later.

Honestly, everything I’m saying checks out today. Now that we’re so many years past muscle confusion’s birth, it’s clearly fallen off harder than Enron’s marketcap.

If you say ‘muscle confusion’ now, you’re laughed at by the science-based fitness community. I think that’s great.

Get Good

Most people don’t think of the gym as an art or a skill to master. For many, it’s not. But for those of us who go to the gym to do more than burn off last night’s wine and Cheez-Its, it’s 100% a skill. The exercises we do are things we’ve either already mastered or are in the process of mastering.

Every set presents an opportunity to practice. Every rep is a chance to build our skill level.

Increasing skill in an activity takes consistency, time, and repetition. Let me ask you this; are you able to apply those three principles to an activity you only do every now and then? How about an activity you’re doing for just a couple of weeks? How about an activity you try out for a little longer, say a month?

You really can’t apply the principles of consistency, time, and repetition for long enough, in any of those situations, to become highly skilled in an exercise. There’s an easy solution to this, which allows you to continue increasing your skill level; just do the exercise for a longer period of time.

I know this sounds like common sense, and that’s because it is. Not every training principle has to be complex and new-aged.

At its core, getting incredible results from the gym always circles back to doing things that are hard, getting very good at those things, and continuing to do those things over and over.

The people that can do this, even though it may not be the most exciting plan in the world, always win over the people who can’t. We don’t just see this in the gym, we see it in sports, business, craftsmanship, and countless other aspects of life. Those who are willing to sacrifice variety for specificity get very good at a few specific things, while those who jump from thing to thing get mediocre at many things.

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The Mental Aspect

In terms of exercise duration, you’re probably expecting me to drop the ‘years’ bomb, but I’m not going to do that…yet. If I had it 100% my way, I would tell you to keep things the same for years, but I realize this isn’t ideal for achieving the highest rate of success for most people. While sticking to a handful of quality exercises, covering all major muscles in the body, for years, would produce a muscular and strong physique, it still isn’t the best way to skin that cat.

You see, there’s this training aspect known as mental engagement, and it matters. I feel like mental engagement is deserving of an entire article but let me summarize it for now.

Mental engagement is the x-factor that many programs forget to take into account. These programs line up the perfect exercises using the perfect protocols, but they forget to consider whether or not the user will have fun!

Mental engagement is a measure of how much you enjoy your training program.

• Does it make you excited to train?

• Does it make you look forward to the next training day?

These things matter so much more than the average person realizes. So why am I talking so much about mental engagement right now? Why does it matter? After all, I’m supposed to be talking about how long you should keep the same exercises in your program. Well, here’s why; I can’t tell you to keep the same exercises for years because that eventually gets boring and your mental engagement will plummet when it does.

That’s not optimal for results. Nobody grows and flourishes when they’re bored.

How Long Are We Talk’n Here?

At the same time, I’d be lying if I told you that keeping the same exercises for under a month would give you time to get good at them. It’s just not enough time for you to get there, and by the time you’re just starting to find your groove, it’ll be time to switch to something else. That’s also not optimal for results and it keeps you from being anything but mediocre.

Just like so many other aspects of life, the best plan of action comes by finding the happy medium. The happy medium is that sweet spot where you’re able to make progress towards your goal and do great work, while avoiding burnout and boredom.

From what I’ve found, through my 25,000 hours of working with real people, the sweet spot for how long to keep exercises before making changes is 8-16 weeks.

Yes, it’s a range. It’s a range because we don’t all have the same need for variety and change. Some people lose their mental engagement on the quicker side and by the time that eighth week rolls around, they’re about ready to check out. I know these people exist because I’ve been changing exercises to satisfy them for years.

Then there are people who can literally run the same exercises for months, even years, and stay in the game. I know these people exist because I’ve worked with many of them, but I’m also one of them. We’re content with repetition and, honestly, we thrive on it. It allows us to be in control and lets us know just what to expect in our lives, which is comforting.

Whether you’re the person who needs variety and change on a regular basis, or the person who prefers repetition and routine, there is an option here that works for you.

The 8-week option may take some extra willpower if you’re in the variety group, but it’s beneficial if you can buckle down and stick to it.

Once you do it and really see how much improvement you can make in that amount of time, you might even find yourself wanting to go longer! I’ve seen it happen to many people, so I know it’s possible.

As you finish up this article, I want you thinking about my main point; maintaining the same group of quality exercises for an extended period of time isn’t a bad thing. Getting good at exercises that produce results seems like common sense, right?

I believe there’s just been so much advertising and marketing for muscle confusion in the past, that the thought of doing something opposite seems wrong. It just isn’t the case, and this article is meant to challenge that line of thinking.

I really think this one sentence does a good job of explaining why repetition is great for results, so I’m going to say it again before signing off.

Take the time to get good at exercises that produce results.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

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Their training schedule didn’t change, nor did their eating habits, but their ‘outside of the gym’ activity level most certainly did. Here’s why that activity level matters so much.

My Message

I can personally attest to how a change in daily activity can force a change in eating habits, which isn’t easy. At one point in my career, I went from performing 30ish personal training sessions per week, so on my feet for 30+ hours, to doing the majority of my work online at a desk. This is a massive change in activity level, even though my own gym schedule didn’t change one bit.

While servicing 30 clients a week on my feet, along with training hard five days per week, there was a point where I was trying to gain weight and I literally had to eat 5000 calories per day to keep the weight gain train rolling. The 5000-calorie diet was a focused effort, so no exaggeration there, and weight gain wasn’t even happening regularly.

When I transitioned to sedentary work outside of the gym, with no changes to my own training routine, I had to drastically cut back my total calorie intake. If I didn’t, I would’ve ended up obese. Weight gain came easy on 3500-4000 calories per day. Doing the math, that is a big difference, and it’s all because my non-gym activity level changed!

Fun fact; when I did my last hardcore cut, I was actually down to 2000 calories per day in order to continually lose fat. This was during the time when my job was sedentary. reached 5lbs away from a competitive stage weight and for me to lose those last pounds, it would’ve taken less than 2000 calories per day. The low calories were necessary because I wasn’t active outside of the gym. I would’ve never needed to go that low if I was on my feet for 30+ hours a week like I had been in the past.

So, with you now being sedentary at work, it matters so much and you can see that in how your body is gaining weight. Job activity actually plays a massive role in how much people can eat versus how their body changes as a result. It definitely plays a bigger role than training and people don’t get that until it’s explained to them. They’ll think someone is wrong with them before they’ll consider it’s just that they’re not as active as they used to be.

People think they’re super active because they train five times a week in that gym. Really, they’re not super active because of that. The super active person is the construction worker moving and working for 40+ hours per week. The physical worker’s activity level puts the lifter with a desk job’s activity level to shame, which is why they can eat more and never seem to gain weight.

Conclusion

This whole concept of activity outside the gym impacting body composition is so important and I hope I’ve shed some light on it for you today. Should you want to do more research around this, the formal term for this type of activity is Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis. Look it up and keep learning!

Did you learn something new from this article? Please share if you did!

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Thanks for reading,

Ryan

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Coaching is a relationship and an ongoing discussion between me and the client. I aim to make this relationship highly valuable for every client, and I do that by giving them as much of my time and knowledge as they need.

Client’s Email

Do you feel like my scale weight got too high too soon? I don’t think that it has anything to do with how I’m distributing my macros with my meals, do you? One thing I have noticed with this bulk, and I may have mentioned it to you before, is that I’m holding onto higher weight longer after my high carb day than I was before when I was cutting. Not just this week, but past weeks as well.

The other thing I’ve noticed is that even when I am holding higher on the scale, I don’t necessarily always feel that way. Sometimes I feel even leaner when I’m weighing more on the scale than I do when I’m weighing less. This is true right now, too. I feel really good. I don’t know if I feel leaner, per say, but I do feel really good. Filled out, and just overall good.

Seeing the higher numbers isn’t affecting me at all mentally, it’s just kind of confusing me. I don’t know if that’s something you’ve had happen with clients, or even yourself, but I find it pretty interesting. Let me know your thoughts on my questions! I’ll talk to you later!

My Response

We definitely know your calories will not be increasing this week, that’s for sure. Instead, I’d like to address what you’ve talked about in terms of weighing more than in the past.

It’s good to remember that your long-term goal is to hold more muscle than before, which means weighing more than before. You peaked around 160lbs in the past and with every new building phase, we should expect a little more on the scale. You’ll generally be about the same bodyfat from building phase to building phase, but the more of them you do, the more muscle you’ll have at the end of each one. This means more weight on the scale.

I believe what we’re seeing now is the progress of muscle growth compared to the last big building phase. This time around you’ll see scale weights that were only reached at the end of the last phase being reached easier and before the end of this phase. That is one reason why you’re feeling better about your body and fullness this time around. It’s better weight, meaning its lean mass weight. That means it’s harder, it takes up less physical space, and it helps you be stronger and also burn more daily calories.

As you can see, there will probably be some new mental barriers to break through with this phase. New weights will be reached and that can be hard, especially for women. I know you know the goal though and have come a very long way in terms of knowledge and understanding of the body, as well as confidence. I don’t anticipate you having serious struggles with new scale territory. Do you?

I believe my thoughts above should give you plenty to think about and hopefully even teach you something new today. Let me know if you have any questions or concerns. And just to confirm, no nutrition adjustment this week.

Closing Chat

These are the types of interactions I’m having every week with clients. There are always new questions to answer, thoughts to relay, and knowledge to pass from my brain to someone else’s. I love passing knowledge and that’s why I have no problem taking the time to deliver detailed answers to every question a client asks me.

Do you need gym or nutrition programming? For a free coaching assessment text COACHING to 919-671-8585, email ryan@trainingwithryan.net, or message me here on Substack.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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If you do know what bulking is, read on!

Credit for the following post/quote goes to Nicholas Berg and he drops major truths around bulking:

“If this status offends you, you’re probably part of the problem.

I’m not sure why in today’s younger fitness/bodybuilding culture it’s considered an accomplishment to fail at bulking, but I see it in several males (typically aged 15-25).

Here’s a general rule of thumb:

If you’re under 20 years old or have been lifting less than 4 years, and you obsessively maintain a single digit body fat % year-round while maintaining weight:

• You are spinning your wheels.

• You will not grow optimally, especially as a natural.

What “bulking” IS: Steadily gaining weight, size, and strength over a prolonged period of time (0.5-2 years).

What “bulking” is NOT: Attempting to see how far you can slowly raise macros while maintaining/losing body weight and gym strength.

For the last time, upping macros with the result of losing weight while bulking is NOT an achievement. It’s also not bulking. That’s equivalent to me dropping macros in my cut, gaining body fat, and celebrating.

You can always shred...losing fat is a much quicker process than building muscle.

If you take this all into account and apply it, you’ll thank me later.”

My Additional Thought

I’d also like to add in another situation where I see this ringing true over and over......post-physique competition building, aka bulking.

When a competitor is 6 months post-competition, focused on building, and bragging about only gaining a few pounds from their stage weight...well, they are doing it wrong. What have they accomplished?

They’ve accomplished the monumental feat of wasting 6 months of growth time. Not only have they not put on muscle, but it’s also 99% likely they’ve lost muscle.

If you have any questions about this article, email me at ryan@trainingwithryan.net.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

My main training program, GST, runs its accessory lifts through three main set/rep schemes. I’d like to talk about Scheme 3, which is 4-5 sets of 4-6 reps.

This supplement scheme is aimed at accomplishing the following:

1. Directly and indirectly increasing the total volume of every GST workout

2. Increasing near-maximal strength levels

3. Enhancing one’s ability to lift with maximum intensity levels

When comparing the goals of Scheme 3 to those of Schemes 1 and 2 (2-3x15-20 and 3-4x8-12), it is clear they are not the same. I am now going to explain how Scheme 3 (low rep training) makes it possible to achieve the three goals listed above.

1. Increasing Total Volume of All Workouts

Developing strength is a ‘must do’ when it comes to making progress in the weight room. By getting stronger, you enable yourself to use heavier weights during all of your supplement schemes, which equates to a higher total volume associated with every workout.

This increase in total volume causes a greater need for adaption throughout the body, resulting in forward progress in all of the supplement schemes’ goals.

By placing a focus on strength gains through near maximal low rep training, Scheme 3 accomplishes the first listed objective.

2. Increasing Near Maximal Strength Levels

Scheme 3 is focused on strength gains. Working with challenging weight loads is how you force your body to gain strength.

Because of the near maximal weights being lifted, you will be forced to work within the low rep range of 4 to 6 reps.

It is well known that lifting near maximal weights is an excellent method for acquiring strength gains, and GST puts that established concept to good use by implementing the low rep guidelines of Scheme 3.

3. Improving Your Ability to Train Intensely

Performing a challenging low rep set is much different than performing a challenging high rep set. The duration of the low rep set is shorter, the weight is heavier, the risk is higher, the muscle fiber type being activated varies, and the overall levels of exertion and intensity are higher during a near-maximal set.

Learning how to approach, perform, and survive a heavy weight set is something that has to come from firsthand experience.

Believe me when I tell you, a veteran weightlifter can get much more out of a high intensity set than can be expected of a rookie. Confidence in form needs to be high, the tolerance to pump out multiple heavy reps needs to be present, and the ability to push the body to its limits in a controlled manner needs to be present.

Confidence, tolerance, and ability all come from experience, which is something that can only be acquired through repeated practice and efforts over time.

Scheme 3 will give you the practice you need to become experienced with near-maximal weights. And if you’re already an experienced veteran, you understand that more practice never hurts.

These are three big benefits of training with near maximal weights in lower rep ranges. There are more, and you’ll naturally experience them if you give it a shot. Start out using this rep range once every few weeks so you don’t overdo it.

Of course, if you’d like a full guide, just use GST.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

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I quickly realized that working hard pays off but having time where you’re not working is important for balance. You can’t always be thirsting for the next big thing. You have to know how to shut it down and maintain other aspects of life, like your non-work relationships, your health, and your hobby.

How do I do this? I try to make each day like a small cycle of hard work and relaxation time, so I stay balanced and happy in life.

I take time to myself each day, for sure, and lifting doesn’t count towards that time. If I go to bed and think back on my day and can say I worked towards my business and making money for my family, I got a workout in to stay in shape physically, I spent time with Jess and the kids, and then I took some time purely for myself, that is my definition of a balanced day and it feels good knowing I accomplished that before falling asleep.

Time management skills make a day like this possible and I feel it’s a very important life skill to hone. It’s pretty incredible what you can accomplish in a day if you stay on track, and you’ll feel much better if you do.

This article is meant to make you think about your own definition of a balanced day, but also to get you to review your own time management skills.

What does a balanced day look like to you?

Are you in control of your own time or are you being controlled?

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Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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People will often say they are bored with their food options/choices, and it makes it hard for them to stick to tracking and cooking their own food versus going out to eat. I get it, but I also know that with creativity and experimentation, it’s entirely possible to find a plethora of meals that you look forward to each day.

I mean, outside of always ordering out, is there any other option but to find meals you can make that you enjoy? If you want to stay healthy and not eat out the majority of the time, you have to work with common foods. Let’s face it, the reality is that there aren’t any new species popping up for meat, no new fruits are in the works, new vegetables aren’t being created, fats are pretty much set, etc...

The tough love truth is that it comes down to a few options, and you either want to track and be in control of your body, while also feeling your best each day, or you don’t.

1. Regularly eat fast food and regularly go out to eat, which definitely isn’t going to leave you feeling or looking your best.

2. Keep it bland and suffer through boring meals that you can make and track yourself. This works for a bit, but almost always ends in failure.

3. Be creative with seasonings/recipes and enjoy healthy foods that you can make and track yourself. This is the route to success.

Oh, and for anyone who is working towards a physical/body composition goal, that list is in the order of worst to best when it comes to aiding in reaching that goal.

Like my subtitle says, the reality is that you can’t escape reality. With nutrition, you’re rewarded for the work you put in and vice versa. It truly is a situation where you either want it, and will do the work to get it, or you don’t.

I’ll leave you with this little play on words, which is also worth its weight in gold:

“The more you cook, the better you look!”

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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Your body composition reflects your nutrition habits and skills, along with the decisions you make in the kitchen the majority of the time.

The fact that I said ‘the majority of the time’ is key. You might think that in order to achieve your perfect body, you need to make perfect decisions and maintain ultra-high standards in sticking to a nutrition plan. While you do need to make on-track decisions the majority of the time, you don’t need to be what I like to call a nutritional robot. When it comes to long-term nutrition and training success, the following information is insanely important.

The level of standard you hold yourself to determines whether you ultimately succeed, and it’s not as simple as higher standards equals more overall success.

Let me succinctly explain why by outlining three different levels and how they pan out.

1. If you expect perfection, holding yourself to an extremely high standard, essentially an impossible standard, you’ll create more occurrences of failure. The reality is that those continual feelings of self-created failure will wear you down, burn you out, and you’ll undoubtedly fall off the wagon.

2. If your standards are too relaxed, you’ll be able to stick to your plan, simply because it’s so relaxed. At the same time, this relaxed plan isn’t holding you to make effective decisions the majority of the time.

The end result of this approach is undesirable results. While you aren’t too strict and causing yourself to fail all of the time, you’re still going to fall off the wagon because the wagon isn’t taking you anywhere. If anything, it’s moving in reverse.

3. If you find that sweet spot between too strict and too relaxed, your story of long-term success basically writes itself. This approach provides you with multiple opportunities per week to relax with your nutrition decisions, keeping you from reaching nutritional robot status. At the same time, it aligns with making on-track decisions the majority of the time and we know that’s the secret to long-term nutrition success.

For me, my sweet spot has always been aiming for the 90/10 rule. This means that 90 percent of my meals are on track and 10 percent aren’t. To break down the numbers:

• Meals Per Day: 5

• Meals Per Week: 35

• 90 Percent: 31.5 Meals (I round up to 32)

• 10 Percent: 3.5 Meals (I round down to 3)

As you can see, the 90 percent rule may seem strict at first, but it’s really not terrible. I’m clearly eating on track the majority of the time and I have the opportunity to have three off-track meals per week, which is a substantial number, especially if you consider that I’m not having more than one of those meals on any given day.

That means that three days per week include one off-track meal. In my opinion, that’s plenty to keep a person feeling human.

Now that you’ve read through the three different standards options and understand my personal approach, let me ask you this; have you fit one or more of these situations? Sidenote, the first option is where almost everyone starts.

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Thanks for reading,

Ryan

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This article will share an important message I sent to a client earlier this week. It pertains to her bodyweight goal and how it meshes with taking trips and making memories with her family.

Before relaying the message, I want to preface it by saying that this client is incredibly consistent. She’s in her 60s and is currently on Week 497. Yes, you read that right. She’s coming up on 10 years as a continuous client and for the entire time, she’s fluctuated a maximum of 10lbs on the scale. She prefers to weigh in the upper 120s but also loves to travel.

When she’s home for a long stretch, she hits that upper 120s mark. When she has a series of clustered trips and weekends away, she floats into the lower 130s. Recently she’s been taking frequent weekend getaways with her children and grandchildren, so she’s in those lower 130s at the moment, and expressed her desire to see the 120s again as part of her weekly check-in.

My Response

I can see where you’re coming from with your wish to get back down below the 130s on the scale. In this email I’ll talk about why I think it’s been creeping up a little and give you some things to consider.

Truthfully, the more anyone is out of their routine, the tougher it is to maintain their usual bodyweight. Over the past months, you’ve been traveling here and there, which does make it that much tougher to stick to your usual routine in both nutrition and activity/training. When we travel away from our own kitchen and gym, we slide off track to some degree. If this happens regularly, our body reflects the new routine and changes. This can look different for different people, but for you, it tends to bump you to the lower 130s on the scale. We’ve seen this many times in the past, so it’s nothing irregular.

The thing I want you to consider is whether or not you’d want to forgo those weekend trips and vacations just to stay in your routine and hold below the 130 mark. Personally, I’d rather be taking the trips and making the memories, while still keeping myself in shape, versus skipping them to eat perfectly and maintain my exact gym/activity routine.

So, it’s just something to think about. I think if you began continuously sliding upward on the scale, reaching the mid-130s and then 140, we would come up with a definite action plan to curb that. However, being you are holding in the low 130s, all while taking the trips and making those memories, you’re not in a bad spot.

Is it fine for you to want to hit the 120s again? Yes. Can it motivate you to stay active, get your protein in, and maintain your gym routine? Of course. Having that goal keeps you at it and that’s better than the opposite situation where you have no standards for yourself. I just want to make sure that if 130 is where you fall, while making those memories, it’s OK with you.

Conclusion

I knew when I typed and sent that email that it held value for more than just its single recipient. After sharing it on my FB page and seeing people respond positively to it, I knew it was going to become a newsletter article.

My hope is that you use it to find or maintain balance in your own life. It’s always good to read things like this as reminders of what a healthy approach to training/nutrition/life looks like.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

In this article:

1. My question and message to you.

2. Discussing a common gym fear and source of anxiety.

3. Answers and thoughts from readers.

Have you ever held back in the gym because you were worried of what others might think?

When I was just getting started, this was me. I used to walk to the gym and sometimes I wouldn’t even have the courage to go in. I’d just turn around and go back home. Seriously, it took time for me to be able to take those first steps and really get in there without being nervous or anxious.

It’s normal and common for people, especially newbies, to think that everyone else is watching and judging them in the gym. While it’s natural to feel this way, it’s very unlikely to be happening.

As Steve points out below, everyone in that gym had a starting point. Nobody starts any new venture as anything but a beginner.

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When you’re new to the game, you assume that the people who know the most and look the most in shape are the most unapproachable or the most judgmental. Why would they want an outsider wandering into their haven? Why would they want some newbie getting in their way?

But guess what, now that I’m one of those seasoned guys in the gym, and have had experience with many other long-time lifters,

I’ll tell you a secret. It’s the people who are the most experienced in the gym who are the happiest to see beginners putting in work and the most likely to want to help them.

They remember back to when they were beginners and how someone probably helped them. They’re passionate about training and want to pass their knowledge along. I actually want people to ask me questions in the gym, really. Below, Scott is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.

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If you feel like everyone is watching you and it’s preventing you from doing an exercise in your program, trying something new, or even just getting through the doors…

Just remember, nobody cares what you’re doing in the gym as much as you think they do.

Do the exercises your plan calls for, try new exercises, and your gym insecurities will quickly fade away, I promise. Don’t believe me? Take it from Christina, Britland, and Dee.

In the moment, it’s not easy to overcome fear and anxiety, especially in a completely public place full of people you don’t know. Your first time taking that step will be the hardest, but it gets easier and easier from there.

Consider these outlooks from Lindsey, Ann, Ernie, and James; all different people with different ways of approaching the gym. They know exercise is important for them and they make it happen.

This article aims to be a steppingstone for you as you work your way into the gym. It’s not comprehensive enough to cover all aspects of gym fear and anxiety, but I believe there is immense value in seeing what other people have to say about it, especially while seeing their faces.

These people are just like you. The only difference is they’ve already walked through those gym doors. Now it’s your turn.

Thanks for reading!

Ryan

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I want to outline a basic supplement list for anyone looking to gain small edges in performance and overall health, while keeping their bank account on the bulk. This article will be short and sweet, while still providing value.

Here’s my recommended supplement list and I ask you to keep in mind that I am not someone that sells any supplement of any kind. I never have and don’t ever plan to, so my recommendations are unbiased and not financially motivated. They are based on both science and personal experience, as well as the experiences of others. These are not ranked in any order of importance.

1. Creatine Monohydrate - 2-5g per day depending on body size, no loading required, no cycling on and off required. This is a time-tested/highly studied natural substance that improves high intensity performance. This is a definitely a low-cost supplement.

2. Multivitamin - Dosed as recommended on the bottle. This is a good measure against any vitamin/mineral deficiencies your diet may be producing. This is usually the most expensive supplement on my list, but still pales in cost to the expensive trash supplements your former classmate is trying to sell you on Facebook.

3. Caffeine - 100-200mg 20-30 minutes pre-workout. Caffeine has been shown to increase training performance when taken pre-workout and most will experience a noticeable energy boost. This is extremely low cost if you use a simple caffeine pill or a cup of home-brewed coffee.

4. ZMA - Taken as recommended on the bottle. Many users report improved sleep, which aids in recovery from tough training sessions. This is a mixture of vitamins and minerals, so no danger here. It is also low cost and actually works.

5. Fish Oil - Taken as recommended on the bottle. There are many peer reviewed studies on fish oil’s overall health benefits. This is especially beneficial if your diet is lacking in fatty fish, such as salmon.

Just to recap, there are five supplements here and they cover multiple important aspects of feeling your best:

• Creatine for improved performance

• Multivitamin for ensuring your micronutrients are in check

• Caffeine for focus as well as a performance boost

• ZMA for deeper sleep and recovery

• Fish Oil for general health and it’s also commonly lacking in our daily diets

That’s it, seriously. Do without the worthless fat burners and over-priced pre-workouts and smarten up your supplement list, all while your bank account makes those gains.

Thanks for reading,

Ryan

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With summer wrapping up and my daughter moving into her dorm for her first year of college, my family and I are taking a weekend together in San Diego. We’re looking forward to some relaxing downtime, the ocean, and hopefully finding a great outdoor gym on the beach!

While I don’t have a new article this week, I encourage you to browse past articles and see what interests you. I’ve accumulated quite the collection over the past few years and it’s for you to read, enjoy, and learn from.

Thanks for being here,

Ryan

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There have been some movements that I always thought looked super impressive, but just never took the time to care about striving for. For my goals of size, strength, and aesthetics, they weren’t necessary. The move I’m talking about today is the front lever.

This skill doesn’t require adding weight, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t resistance training. In working towards this move over the past two years, I’ve realized a few things:

1. Bodyweight training can be extremely physically demanding. In fact, it can be just as hard as weight training.

2. No matter how long you’ve been training, if you’re willing to try something new, there are always going to be fresh PRs to set, and PRs feel awesome.

3. The amount of muscle you can gain in certain areas of the body from bodyweight training matches that of lifting weights.

That second point is what I want to talk about further. This topic came up because, after not setting any completely new exercise PRs in years, that exact thing happened just the other day.

After years of weekly practice, it finally happened…I felt a breakthrough and can see the light at the end of the front lever tunnel. I’m 90% there and am confident I’ll have it down shortly.

Watch my progress HERE!

For a good 15 minutes after this video, I was feeling like I was 16 again; like I had just benched 135 for the first time. You can’t get that type of feeling from anything else. When you work so hard for something, failing over and over again, and then one day, in one moment, you succeed, it’s overwhelmingly exciting!

Hitting those brief holds, even though they weren’t peak form, brought something to my attention that I’ve never really thought about before. It’s a string of thoughts that further cements in why I love the gym so much. I’ll share it with you now:

When you set a goal to learn or do something new, and you’re failing over and over on the way to reaching that goal, I want you to think about this…

The amount of time you spend failing is going to be dwarfed by the amount of time you’ll spend succeeding.

While the learning and failing part is frustrating, it’s the short part of the process. It’s likely measured in months.

Eventually you’ll do what you’ve been working towards, and from there, you’ll have that skill for years to come.

Failing for months to succeed for years is a great rate of return, wouldn’t you say?

My main message here is that it’s worth it to have something you want to do but currently can’t. It’s worth it to put yourself through pain and hardship while you’re on the path to doing it.

It’s worth it because when you finally do it, the satisfaction is unrivaled, and your continued possession of that skill is so valuable.

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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I like to call these people ‘perpetual dieters,’ and you probably know one of them. They’re the person who always has a goal of weight loss. They’re always talking about how they’re on a diet and need to lose weight. But if they’re always on a diet, then why don’t they look different over time? Why don’t they reach their goal? The truth revolves around a couple of reasons, but today I’m focusing on one:

They have diet ADHD and never stick to their plan long enough to get anything done.

You can ask them what their goal is in the spring, summer, fall, or winter and their answer is always the same......’I’m trying to lose weight.’

Of course, it’s possible that it feels like I’m talking to you so far. If that’s the case, don’t be the person who tries a new flashy diet every few weeks. You will go nowhere fast. Instead, use a balanced approach with effective principles that fits into your lifestyle and there will be no need to find something new. Also, you’ll make the progress you want without having to diet through all four seasons. Nobody wants to be a perpetual dieter, so don’t be one yourself.

This goes for training too! Using the same training program and principles for long periods of time is a good thing. Switching your training program every few weeks is a bad thing. Muscle confusion is a BS marketing term. Our muscles don’t have brains, so they can’t be confused.

To set yourself on the right path, let’s work together and make things happen for you. Fill out my questionnaire below and I’ll get back to you with a full assessment and details of my coaching service.

Coaching Questionnaire

To give you some inspiration, here are a couple of client features. In the future, I hope to be writing one up for you!

Do you know a perpetual dieter? If you do, please share this article with them!

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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Right now, it’s summer, which means kids are home and looking in your direction more than any other time of the year. This is the perfect time to lead by example and show them the importance of staying healthy and strong.

Let’s get into it:

This article is for every parent out there who works hard in the gym to be the best version of their self, the best parent they can be, and the best role model they can be for their child or children.

In this article:

• Three reasons to train while traveling the parenthood path

• How and why your children benefit from your self-care

• Subscribers share their stories

Reason 1: You’re Setting Your Child Up for Success

To the parents who train; you are setting an example for your children, as you are the epitome of greatness in their eyes. You are their superhero and if they see you exercising and working hard to be your best, they’ll want to do the same. This is immensely important for them!

They’ll be bound for success in several facets of life, as they’ll understand the value of working hard for things they want.

There is so much value in understanding that success is earned through continual hard work and discipline. Training as a parent, and making sure your child sees you working hard, instills this knowledge in your child’s young brain.

Success isn’t something people inherit, but without you showing your child and teaching them, they may think that success is going to be handed to them when they get older. If they expect success to be a given without work on their end, it’s going to rattle them hard when the truth hits as they grow up. By training as a parent, you will safeguard your child from this future situation.

They’ll never expect success to be given to them, and they’ll put more effort and work into everything they do because of that. The major tenants of a successful life require big effort and work; relationships, health, finances, and careers.

As a parent who trains, you will have already prepared them by continually showing them the value of discipline and work ethic and they’ll be well-equipped to make the most of their lives as a result; and you will have given them that.

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Reason 2: You’re A Better Parent

Happier healthier people make better parents. This is no secret. And what do happy and healthy people have in common? They exercise. They value their bodies and minds and understand that exercise is required to live their best life.

We will never feel our best when we’re not taking care of ourselves through exercise. And if we aren’t feeling our best, we aren’t able to be our best at anything we do; parenting included.

Parenting requires energy, physical strength, mental tenacity, balanced mood, and good health. Continual training provides and builds all of these things.

Exercise increases energy levels. As a parent, you need that…period.

Exercise, particularly resistance training, increases physical strength. Kids love wrestling around, playing sports, and building things. When you’re strong, it’s easier to do all of these things with them.

Exercise improves brain function, including memory and thinking skills. Being mentally checked-in is important when parenting. Remember, you’re the example both mentally and physically. Exercise improves your brain power and you’re a better parent and example to your child as a result.

Exercise improves sleep quality, as well as having anti-depressant effects, leading to a balanced/positive daily mood. Quality sleep improves everything about life; parenting skills and abilities included.

Exercise reduces the risk for major diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease. You can’t parent if you’re not alive. It’s blunt, but true. Don’t neglect your health and decide it’s time to take care of yourself after you’re diagnosed. Prevent the diagnosis from happening in the first place.

There’s no question about it, parents who exercise are more capable as they travel down the parenting path than those who don’t.

And honestly, in what world are we not supposed to exercise? It isn’t like this is some huge breakthrough and what I’m saying isn’t controversial. Exercise gives us advantages in life, and that’s that. Do you agree?

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A Quick Note

At this point, while writing this article, I took a pause and met my son in the gym to train. We ended up spending two hours together, which made it so easy to talk to you about the next reason. Everything I talk about below happened with him and I today.

Reason 3: Training Together is Time Together

Have you ever done physical work with people, perhaps as part of a construction job or a big home improvement project?

You start off as a group of people working together, but through the process of doing physical work as a team, you finish the job as a crew.

You’ve shared thoughts, stories, jokes, and motivated each other to get things done along the way. You’ve all shown up repeatedly for each other, continuing to work on the same goal. Bonds were created and friendships were made.

Now, imagine being able to do physical work with your child on a regular basis. Imagine the hours of time together you’re creating with every new workout. There’s time to motivate each other, time to teach each other new things, time to hear each other’s thoughts, time to joke around, and time to just do something together with no techy distractions.

It’s honestly hard to find another activity that creates this type of time together over and over and over.

Workouts with your child are your chance to instill values in them. You’re able to watch them grow mentally and physically, with you being their source of influence. Your child needs inspiration and motivation from you. Training together gives them those things and that’s priceless.

If you have the chance, let your child or children be next to you during some of your training sessions. The feeling you’ll have when you see them trying to do the things you do is unparalleled, and they’ll think you’re the strongest person in the world no matter how much weight you’re lifting.

Training dedication and work ethic carry over so much into the real world and showing your children those qualities will only help them in their futures. Set the example, plant the seeds, and watch them grow!

Again, I’m just not sure there’s another activity you can do with your child that creates so much positivity inside and out, for both of you. What do you think?

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What Do My Subscribers Think?

This article was begging for some real-world stories and thoughts, which I’m happy to share.

Lorelei, Todd, Stacy, Josh, and Colleen are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to people experiencing the benefits of training as parents, along with their children. If you’re reading this and would like to be added as a featured subscriber, let me know in a comment.

If you’re a parent who trains, give yourself a congratulatory pat on the back. You’re maximizing your life and your child’s experience with you as their superhero. Be proud of yourself, there’s no shame in that! You’re putting in the work, revel in it.

I’ve really enjoyed writing this article and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading it. Thank you so much for your time. On that note, I’m signing off.

Ryan

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If we take the total hours in a week versus the total hours they're training on average, we get 5/168, or a mere 3% of each week spent training.

So, you tell me, is 3% of each week enough to classify oneself as highly active?

Even if you trained for 2 hours per session, is 6% of each week enough?

Just because you go to the gym 5 days per week, you aren't actually classified as highly active on the activity scale. No matter how much you want to be, you aren't.

The value in realizing, understanding, and admitting this shows up when it's time to figure your calorie needs for either a fat loss or muscle-building nutritional phase.

It's crucial to be realistic about your activity factor and your body's actual daily caloric needs to avoid wasting several weeks unnecessarily adjusting because you were so far off with your initial estimates or plugged the wrong information into a calorie needs calculator. Time is valuable!

Truthfully, I’ve talked about this topic before on my social media accounts and it bugs some people. Those people felt attacked because they do go to the gym every day and they did consider themselves highly active because of it. Hearing they’re wrong about their activity classification wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

Be honest, did this information bother you a little bit? If it did, please share this article.

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Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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1. Three valuable training articles.

2. Press, Pull, and Leg Day training talk.

3. Quality exercise selections for each day.

4. Pro-designed sample training routines for each day.

What is Press Day?

I swear, the most cared about exercise on the planet is the Barbell Bench Press. If you’ve never been asked ‘whaddya bench?’ then I don’t think you’ve ever actually talked training with anyone. And if you look at the name of the exercise, the word ‘Press’ is in the name, which leads me into my definition of Press Day.

To me, Press Day is a training day that focuses on the muscles we use to press or push something away from our body.

These muscles include the pecs (chest muscles), front and medial delts (shoulder muscles), and the triceps (the muscles on the backsides of the upper arms). These three major areas of muscle are all used to press things away from our bodies, hence the term Press Day.

To give you a visual idea of what Press Day looks like, here are a few pictures of common Press Day compound exercises:

Bench Press (Pecs, Front Delts, Triceps)

Incline Bench Press (Pecs, Front Delts, Triceps)

Barbell Overhead Press (Front/Medial Delts, Triceps)

Close Grip Bench Press (Pecs, Front Delts, Triceps)

The theme with all of the exercises above is the motion of holding a weight, bringing that weight toward the body, and then pressing it away from the body. This can be done through a variety of angles, as the pictures illustrate.

Benefit from the full article below:

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What is Pull Day?

Have you ever heard the term ‘barn door back’? How about someone having lat muscles so developed that they look like wings? A muscular back is a symbol of power. So, how do you build up those back muscles? The answer is Pull Day.

By basic definition, Pull Day zones in on the muscles we use to pull something toward our body. This includes pulling something toward us from above (vertical pull) or from in front of us (horizontal pull).

Examples of vertical pulls are Lat Pulldowns and Chin-Ups. Examples of horizontal pulls are Seated Cable Rows and Flat Bench Dumbbell Rows. Think of these motions like this; climbing up a hanging rope is a vertical pull and playing tug of war is a horizontal pull.

Regardless of whether you’re performing a vertical or horizontal pull, you’re going to be involving major muscles of your mid/upper back and large portions of your arms.

Continue to the full article below:

What is Leg Day?

Leg Day is a big day throughout the gym universe. A proper Leg Day works the muscles between your ankles and the top of your hips. Intense lifters talk about Leg Day as if they’re going into a life-or-death battle. They brag about working so hard that they can’t properly walk up or down the stairs on their way out of the gym. It’s the stuff gym memes are made of, and I can appreciate that.

A well-executed Leg Day is truly the most challenging day in the average training program.

Meme time…this first one had me crack’n up and you know there’s truth to the last one too!

Leg Day is interesting because most people find it unpleasant at first, but as they push through the pain and misery and start making lower body progress, it becomes something they look forward to. For some, Leg Day even becomes the training day they look forward to the most.

You might even be one of these people. I know I am. Did you hate Leg Day in the beginning, but now love it? If this is you, tell me why you fell in love with Leg Day.

Leave a comment

So why is Leg Day so tough? Why do people treat it like an event? Why is it the universally accepted hardest training day?

In my opinion, it comes down to three reasons:

1. Leg Day requires the use of large muscles/muscle groups.

2. Leg Day exercises require relatively heavy weights.

3. Leg Day causes pain throughout large areas of the body.

Here’s my plan for the rest of this article; I’m going to talk about each of my three reasons above and then give you my recommended Leg Day exercises, along with some sample Leg Day routines for you to try out. OK, let’s hash out these reasons.

Don’t miss the full article below…

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Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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If you’re living here in the USA, and able to take time off of work, you’re probably doing something with friends or family, as it’s 4th of July weekend. Things are no different on my end, which is why there is no article this week.

My next article is in progress, and I’ll be finishing that up this coming week to share with you.

Until then, train hard!

Ryan

In this article:

1. Shoulder growth discussion.

2. Shoulder width anatomy.

3. Medial delt lateral flye tips and tricks.

Truth: total growth to your shoulder muscles inevitably increases your overall width. If you want wider shoulders, focus on multiple forms of overhead pressing first, as compound exercises are always going to be king for foundational growth.

Contrary to the beliefs of some, two things can be true at once. In this case, the second truth is that, aside from compound exercises, isolation exercises play an undeniable role in muscular development.

While compound overhead pressing builds your shoulder growth base layer, it never hurts to apply that shoulder-widening finishing touch by focusing in on the medial deltoids. This focused medial deltoid work is exactly what this article is about.

Why the Medial Deltoids?

Shoulders, otherwise known as the deltoids, commonly called delts, are made up of three main parts:

• Front/Anterior Deltoid

• Middle/Medial/Lateral Deltoid

• Rear/Posterior Deltoid

To build a great set of shoulders, you’ll need complete development. To build your widest set of shoulders, you’ll need jacked medial delts.

When viewed from the front, the anterior delts provide size and fullness to the majority of the shoulder area, but the medial delts provide valuable added width, which is what this article is focused on.

If you look carefully, you can see in the diagram above that the medial delt protrudes past the front delt, creating a wider frame. That contribution of width is also seen from the rear.

When viewed from the side, it’s clear that developed front and rear delts will add total thickness to the shoulder area, while the medial delt makes up the visual majority.

The medial delts are clearly a high-value muscle group when building an impressive upper body and they also contribute to a commanding physical presence. There’s an old Pontiac Grand Prix commercial and their slogan was ‘Wider is Better!’ I agree.

Making Them Grow!

The medial delts are responsible for raising your arms to your sides. In more technical terms, the function of the medial deltoid is arm abduction. Broken down to it’s most simplistic form, hypertrophy-focused training is:

• Knowing what movement a muscle is responsible for.

• Repeating that movement with resistance applied.

• Increasing the level of resistance over time.

Let’s break this down for our specific situation.

1. We already know the medial delts are responsible for arm abduction.

2. In the gym universe, if someone abducts their arm with resistance applied, they’re doing the exercise known as the lateral shoulder flye.

3. Now the only thing that’s left is to work hard and increase the level of resistance over time.

Here are a few important tips to make sure you’re working the medial delts when hitting those lateral flyes:

• Try to reach as far away from your body as possible while raising the weight. Doing this will reduce trap involvement because you’re relying more on the deltoids to raise the weights and not the traps.

There shouldn’t be much shrugging going on during lateral flyes and if you think about getting the weight as far away from your body as possible as you raise it up, it’ll keep shrugging to a minimum.

• Keep your palms facing down towards the floor. You’ll notice that as you fatigue during a set of lateral flyes, your hands want to rotate into the ‘thumbs up’ position. This is because your medial delts are tiring and your body is naturally trying to recruit the front delts for backup.

Rotating to the thumbs up position increases the involvement of the front delts. Since you’re not doing laterals for front delt activation in this case, keep those palms facing down.

• Maintaining a slight forward lean during lateral flyes tends to help with medial delt activation. This slight lean keeps you from leaning back as you lift the weights, which would shift focus to the front delts.

Leaning back is also just contributing to poor lateral flye form in general.

Along with my three tips above, I’m including video tutorials for a handful of lateral flye variations. Don’t limit yourself to the classic dumbbell lateral flye; mix it up!

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Lateral Shoulder Flye Options

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Cable Lateral Raise

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Lateral Raise

Give your shoulders the well-rounded love they deserve by including lateral flyes in your training program. Your physique will thank you!

Thank you for reading and be sure to comment if you have a question. I’d love to answer it.

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Want more delts? See my full shoulder-training program:

Thank you for reading,

Ryan

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If you gathered for Father’s Day, I hope you had great times with your family. If you didn’t, I hope your weekend was filled with productivity and relaxation.

Looking ahead, have a great upcoming week and I’ll be back with you soon,

Ryan

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