The first is hating your current situation so much that you’ll do whatever it takes to get out of it.

The second is desiring your dream outcome so much you’ll do whatever it takes to achieve it.

Sometimes it’s both.

But what I’ve found is that without a clear understanding of one or both of those things, making a significant change can be hard.

I just got off a call with a potential client who had a hard time explaining what she wanted to change, and had just as hard of a time figuring out where she wanted to be.

“I’ve never really thought about this”, she said.

After spending 11 years coaching people and thousands of hours with potential clients, it’s become very clear that we spend a lot of our lives going through the motions.

We’re too hurried and bothered to actually take a look at our life to determine where we are and where we want to be.

To ask very difficult questions we don’t want to answer.

But asking those questions is necessary.

This potential client shared how everyone in her family is overweight and always has been.

She also stated that she wanted to set a good example for her kids.

So I noted that it sounded like she wants to break a cycle that’s been repeating itself for generations and become the catalyst for generations to come.

She told me she’d never thought about it that way.

“Thinking about it that way is extremely inspiring.”

Boom.

We found something inspiring to work off of.

She didn’t have a specific weight goal that lit her up with excitement.

She didn’t have a number of pull-ups or push-ups she wanted to be able to do.

She didn’t want to be able to run a marathon next summer.

But she absolutely wanted to change the trajectory of her family tree and lead her kids by example.

That’s the kind of powerful thing that only comes about when you set aside some time to dig deep and ask yourself probing questions.

Sometimes epiphanies come out of nowhere.

But more often than not, they come as a result of dedicated time to reflect.

My question for you is as follows:

Do you have a dedicated time to reflect?

Once per quarter, I block a day out of my calendar to go to a coffee shop and evaluate everything.

My work

My health

My marriage

My faith

My relationships

I reflect to figure out what is working, what isn’t, and what needs to be the focus of the next few months to come.

Things are exposed that I didn’t see previously.

Potential is seen.

Growth begins.

Sometime over the next week or two, I want you to set aside some time to reflect on your health.

Are you truly happy with the way you look?

Are you truly happy with your bloodmarkers, your internal health?

Is your health and fitness truly at a level you can say you’re proud of?

If not, what needs to change?

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

There is no tempo (the speed at which you perform a rep) that directly improves muscle growth or strength.

The only things you need to focus on are as follows:

• Lifting a heavy weight relative to the reps you are aiming to complete

• Making sure the working muscle(s) is controlling the entire rep from start to finish

• Form/technique is consistent from rep to rep and set to set

Nutrition Nugget:

Here’s how you can make your nutrition stupid easy.

Batch prep a protein, starch, and veggie of choice (bonus points if you prep 2-3 of each

Buy a few of your favorite low-calorie sauces.

Each meal, put a protein, starch, and veggie of choice in a bowl.

Top with your sauce of choice.

That’s it.

That’s what repeatable, successful, and tasty nutrition can look like.

Stop DMing me about recipes for fat loss and just do that for a month.

Then you can come back into my DMs and thank me later.

Quote to Consider:

“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” — Elizabeth Appell, from her poem “Risk”

I would not consider myself a guru or a sage.

But I’ve been around long enough to notice principles that lead to success in health, fitness, and honestly any other area of life.

And one of those principles has been at the forefront of my mind lately.

I call it “riding waves”.

No matter what endeavor you pursue, there will be waves that move you forward.

Waves are simply actions, behaviors, systems, happenings, etc. that propel you closer to your goal, making the process seem easier than it should be.

A wave makes you feel like my client Joanna. We just got off our check-in call and she shared how all the results she’s seen so far have been far easier than she would’ve imagined.

A wave in your nutrition may be a set of meals that you genuinely enjoy, look forward to, and help you stay within your nutrition targets while feeling satiated and satisfied.

When you have a wave like that, you need to ride it.

Have those meals over and over and over and over and over and over again.

Imagine a surfer finding a huge wave with a lot of potential and then just deciding to bail in order to look for another one.

That would be stupid.

And it would be stupid for you to bail on meals that work just for the sake of “changing it up”.

Change it up when it stops doing what it used to do for you.

Otherwise, ride the wave.

Maybe you have a pre-workout ritual that helps you let go of the day and focus on the workout ahead of you, allowing you to set personal bests every time you go to the gym.

Use that ritual over and over and over and over and over again.

Some of my waves are as follows:

• Scheduling my workouts in my calendar so no calls, appointments, or meetings can be booked. I can’t tell you the last time I missed a scheduled workout.

• Starting my day with egg whites, and egg, spinach, bell peppers, and some sourdough toast. I love it, and it gives me a stupid amount of protein for minimal calories. Why would I change it?

• Spending 30 minutes each day reading my bible, praying, and staring off into space. I start my day with more peace, gratitude, and purpose.

What are your waves?

What works that you can double down on?

Your challenge this weekend is to set aside some time to identify them.

Then, rinse and repeat them as long as possible.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider.

Training Tip:

Your workout may be a hidden gem for steps.

If it’s feasible, pace around your gym during your rest periods.

A good 3-4k of my 12k step average comes from pacing in my workout.

Nutrition Nugget:

I just made some bomb “cheesy” grits today and wanted to share the recipe with you:

Ingredients:

• Egg whites

• Whole egg

• Grits

• Water or milk

• Powdered cheese seasoning (I use Kernel Seson’s)

• Babybel cheese

In a small pot, boil the water or milk of choice. Stir in the grits. Cover. Reduce to simmer stirring occasionally.

Once the grits are about cooked, continually stir in egg whites until the texture is thick and creamy.

Add in babybel cheese or low fat cheese of choice.

If you want more cheese flavor, stir in powdered cheese seasoning.

Top with cajun seasoning and one egg over easy.

If you’d like, add avocado for a healthy fat.

To reduce the cals, you can use water and/or opt out of cheese/avocado.

SO GOOD.

Quote to Consider:

“Repetition is the mother of learning, the father of action, which makes it the architect of accomplishment.” – Zig Ziglar

To your health,

Adam

PS. This may be why you’re having a hard time seeing any ab definition.

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We’ve been doing a lot of work on narratives, stories, and identities.

Things like…

“I have a sweet tooth.”

Or

“I’m just not a morning person.”

Or

“I just have to have something sweet after dinner.”

These are what I call labels.

Things you label yourself as and as a result behave accordingly.

We all give ourselves labels.

I would most certainly identify myself as a morning person. I’ve said several times that I “have” to have something sweet after dinner.

I do it.

You do, too.

What labels do you give yourself?

Maybe you say that you’re someone who has to eat something different every day.

Perhaps you always tell people that you’re just not someone who is going to track their food.

Or maybe you identify as a “sweet” or “salty” person and that’s why you can’t help but have a bag of chips or a candy bar every day.

What are your labels?

Where did they come from?

How are they hurting the growth you want to see in your life?

What needs to be done in order to rid yourself of those labels?

A long time ago I had my friend Kelsey come on my podcast.

Kelsey works with people who need to improve their relationship with food.

Frankly I’m not a big “relationship with food” guy (calling it a relationship gives food unnecessary power in my opinion since food is an inanimate object), but Kelsey gave some insight that can help in every area of life.

She called it Spot, Stop, Swap.

Spot the negative label or thought.

Stop in your tracks.

Swap it out with a truthful and helpful label.

For example, let’s say you’re someone who “has to have a sweet treat after dinner every night.”

For starters, it’s not true. That isn’t built into your DNA.

It’s not like God knit you in your mother’s womb saying “may she forever need 20 grams of added sugar after dinner in order to survive.”

Second, it’s keeping you from recognizing you have the power.

You are the one in control.

Third, it’s taking the place of something that is true, something that is helpful, something that helps you tap into your untapped potential.

So, next time you catch yourself saying “I just have to have something sweet after dinner”, stop in your tracks, and swap it with something else.

Something like..

“I used to always have something sweet after dinner. But I don’t have to.”

Or

“I don’t need something sweet after dinner. Dinner is satisfying enough.”

At first, it may feel like a bold-faced lie.

Makes sense, as you’ve been using different labels for years or maybe even decades of your life.

But over time, it will feel natural.

It will feel true.

And you will identify with it.

And those new labels will help you grow.

Today, write down every negative thought or label you have.

The first step is awareness.

Then go from there.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider.

Training Tip:

Clasping or placing your hands together during certain movements can help create stability.

For example, if you let the knobs of the rope touch during bent over rope tricep extensions, you may notice that you can move more weight and/or crank out a few extra reps.

That comes from the increase in stability in having your hands together.

Whether you have your hands together or apart, keep it consistent from one workout to the next in order to standardize things and make sure you can objectively tell whether you’re progressing or not.

Nutrition Nugget:

There has been no better time to lose fat eating delicious things than now.

Finding low calorie alternatives can be the difference between a miserable and enjoyable deficit.

Some of my favorites right now are Skinny Girl salad dressing and G Hughes sauces.

Drizzle those bad boys (I guess one boy and one girl, technically) on your dishes and you’ll have an immense amount of flavor for 10-30 calories.

Quote to Consider:

“We defeat ourselves with labels. We hem ourselves in; we shorten our vision; we cut off opportunities in the making.” – Unknown

To your health,

Adam

PS. If you eat healthy but you’re not losing weight, this is for you.

Everyone (ok, maybe not everyone) knows how important progressive overload is.

The idea is simple. You make the demand on your body harder over time so it has a reason to grow and get stronger.

Examples people usually give are:

• Doing more reps

• Using more weight

• Doing more reps with more weight

• Slowing the tempo down to make it harder

• Adding sets

• Increasing range of motion

• Decreasing rest periods

And more.

All of those make the workout harder, so it makes sense people point to them.

The problem is, harder doesn’t automatically mean change is coming.

You can flop around like a fish out of water on the floor for 30 minutes, and that will be harder than most anything you’ve done up to this point, but your body isn’t going to change the way you want it to.

Most of those guidelines just increase your training volume (total sets) or add novelty (doing something new). And your body (usually) doesn’t need more sets or something new to change. It needs a progression of the same thing.

So what does “a progression of the same thing” actually mean?

You take the same exercise and the same rep target, and over time you scale it. More weight for the same reps. Or more reps with the same weight. Eventually both.

That’s it. That’s the whole game.

Now here’s the part people mess up.

Progressive overload isn’t the cause of your results. It’s the proof of them.

Adding weight to the bar doesn’t inherently make you grow. Being able to add weight to the bar is evidence that your last few workouts already made you stronger.

Think of a report card. The A didn’t make you smarter. The A is proof you already learned the material. You studied over the past few weeks, and the grade is just how you found out it worked. You don’t get smarter by writing an A at the top of a blank test, and you don’t get stronger by throwing weight on the bar your body isn’t ready for.

Take it to the weight room. Say you did 185 for 8 quality reps, then bump to 205 and grind out 4 ugly ones. The number went up, but you did less quality work than before. Nothing was proven except that 205 beat you. But if you nudge to 190 and get 8 clean reps, that’s real evidence what you’ve been doing is working.

You don’t find that out by making today generally harder. You find it out by testing it. Can you do a bit more on this lift than you could last time?

Yes or no.

That’s why the “make it harder” list falls apart as a plan.

Adding sets, cutting your rest, slowing the tempo.. all of those make today’s session harder, but none of them tell you if you actually got stronger or bigger. You can always add another set. You can always rest less. But if your real strength on the movement hasn’t moved, all you’ve done is make yourself more tired.

Same story with swapping exercises every week. A new movement feels different and you improve fast at first, but that early jump is mostly your body learning the pattern, not a real increase in strength or muscle.

So how do you actually use this?

Pick a benchmark and track it. I have my clients use their first set.

Your job is to hit your rep target with the heaviest weight possible on that first set. When you hit the target, increase the weight next time. If you don’t, stay there and keep repeating it until you do.

If that number keeps climbing, your program is working and you’re building muscle.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

Your training tip today is to begin applying what I just taught you.

Nutrition Nugget:

Don’t only think about direct effects when it comes to nutrition. Think about ripple effects, too.

For example, having a drink or two may not have a direct effect on fat loss unless it causes you to go over your maintenance calories.

But if you have a drink or two, you don’t sleep well.

And if you don’t sleep well, you don’t have energy during the day.

And if you don’t have energy during the day, you get fewer steps and don’t train as hard.

And if you get fewer steps and don’t train as hard, you don’t burn as many calories or demand your body to build muscle and strength.

And if you don’t do that, you don’t get to your end goal as easily.

This doesn’t mean that you should never indulge. But it does mean you should always consider the tradeoff and whether or not it’s worth it.

Quote to Consider:

“What gets measured, gets managed.” - Peter Drucker

To your health,

Adam

PS. Here’s how you can master your metabolism.

I am a stereotypical man in that way.

I ask my wife if she’s seen the ketchup and she says, “look down” and what do ya know, there it is.

I ask her if she’s seen my sunglasses, and they’re on top of my head.

We do this with so many things in our life.

So many things beyond material items.

You do it with concepts, ideas, and frameworks, too.

I was on a call with one of my clients yesterday who told me she was having a hard time with lunch.

“What specifically is hard about it?” I asked.

“I’m not sure”, she said. “I guess I just run out of ideas. Can I have a greek yogurt and berries as my lunch or does it have to be a meal?”

From there I asked her where she got the belief that greek yogurt and berries didn’t qualify as lunch or a “meal”.

She stared into space for a second.

“I have no idea.” she said.

You see, we have these categories and boxes that we’ve created or been taught as we grow up.

There are certain foods for certain occasions.

There are certain foods for certain meals.

And those certain foods can’t work for other meals.

But you never stop to realize that none of that is actually true.

You don’t stop to question the “rules” that have been made.

And finding success within your nutrition can often start by realizing there are far less rules, boxes, and categories than you thought.

The other day I didn’t plan well so I didn’t have a lunch with me.

I could have opted for something like Chipotle, Mad Greens, etc.

But then I realized I’m a grown adult who can do whatever he wants.

So I went into the grocery store a few minutes away, grabbed a tub of Vanilla Zero Sugar Greek yogurt and a container of fresh blueberries, and that was my lunch.

The greek yogurt was 65g of protein for 350 calories. The blueberries were about 180 calories.

Fewer calories and more protein than a meal at a grab and go restaurant.

Not to mention I spent less time and less money getting it.

There are nearly no rules.

The only rule is that you need to be in a calorie deficit to lose fat.

The rest are merely guidelines.

So, get a tub of greek yogurt for lunch.

Bring chicken breast strips in a ziploc with your favorite low-cal dipping sauce for a snack.

Have eggs at dinner.

Who freaking cares.

If letting go of the arbitrary rules you’ve been following for no reason helps you improve your diet and feel less stress about your choices, then let it rip.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

The less intense your sets are, the more sets you’ll need to do to get a comparable stimulus for muscle growth.

If you’ve been working out but you’re not seeing muscle growth or muscle definition, it may be because your sets aren’t intense enough.

Flirt with failure safely with machines and a smith machine first.

Once you have a good sense of what failure feels like, you can begin applying 1-2 reps short of failure on all your other exercises, free weights included.

Nutrition Nugget:

Continued from my greek yogurt grocery store story…

If you don’t like greek yogurt, get something you do enjoy.

Grab a rotisserie chicken, your favorite low cal sauce, along with fresh veggies and fruit. You’ll walk out with a healthy meal that is dense in protein and nutrients for less than $15.

Remember, there are no rules.

Quote to Consider:

“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t, change your attitude.” - Maya Angelou

To your health,

Adam

PS. If you’re wanting to build muscle but you either don’t know where to start, or what you’ve been doing isn’t working, watch this. I broke down everything I did to gain 8 pounds of muscle while losing fat according to DXA.

If you missed Monday’s email, you’ll want to make sure you read this one all the way through as what I’m about to share ends on Friday the 14th at 11:59 PM MT.

The time has come to capitalize on the 2026 Coaching Scholarship.

For the month of August, I will be giving away $3,300 in partial coaching scholarships.

In addition, 33% of the revenue generated in August will go to UCount, an organization that fights global and local human trafficking.

Here’s how it works, and how you can apply:

First, this is not for everyone. Do NOT apply for this scholarship if you…

• are just wanting to try it out for a month and see how it goes

• are window shopping

• are wishy washy on your commitment to your goals

• are not willing to get out of your comfort zone

DO apply for this scholarship if you…

• want to finally love the way you look, feel, and move

• want to finally look like you work out

• want to learn the skills and tools necessary to get in great shape and easily maintain it the rest of your life

• are coachable and willing to get out of your comfort zone

• are proactive and have the “what I put in is what I get out” mentality

• are committed to pursuing your goals for a minimum of 6 months

• are willing to be an active part of a community that challenges and encourages each other to grow and improve every day

Second, the scholarship is limited to 10 winners. As soon as the 10th winner is selected, the scholarship will be closed as I have limited coaching capacity in an effort to maintain the highest quality service possible.

Winners will be selected on a first come, first served basis. So, the earlier you apply the higher the likelihood that you are selected.

Scholarship seats will be taken as winners choose to join. Should 10 winners be selected and 8 join, that means the list will be revisited to find 2 more applicants who are ready to go all-in and change their lives for the better.

So even if you’re not selected immediately, you may still have a chance to win and join.

Third, if you are a partial scholarship winner, the scholarship will go towards your coaching, saving you some $ and making it easier for you to get into the program and community in order to begin changing the way you look, feel, and move for good.

How your partial scholarship is applied will be discussed during the initial consultation to see if you’re a good fit.

To sum it up, here are your steps:

1. Apply for the partial scholarship here.

2. Schedule a call with me to discuss the details and make sure you’re a fit (I will respond to your application to do this should you be selected).

3. If you are selected, join the rest of us in the pursuit of looking and feeling better than ever before.

Let the games begin.

To your health,

Adam

PS. You can get more details about coaching and what it includes on the application page.

The time has come to announce the big news I’ve been mentioning over the past couple of weeks.

So, here we go.

My birthday is in August.

I’m not a birthday month person, and I tend to have a hard time figuring out what I want to do to celebrate my birthday (I’m sure my poor wife would just love for me to make a decision on that).

But, I didn’t want to have a birthday go by and not celebrate in some way.

So I thought, what’s a way I can celebrate turning 33, include others in the celebration, and also give back?

And I’m pretty happy with what came up.

For the month of August, I will be giving away $3,300 in partial coaching scholarships.

In addition, 33% of the revenue generated in August will go to UCount, an organization that fights global and local human trafficking.

So, let’s cut to the chase and talk about how you can apply to be a scholarship winner:

First, this is not for everyone. Do NOT apply for this scholarship if you…

• are just wanting to try it out for a month and see how it goes

• are window shopping

• Are wishy washy on your commitment to your goals

• Are not willing to get out of your comfort zone

DO apply for this scholarship if you…

• want to finally love the way you look, feel, and move

• want to finally look like you work out

• want to learn the skills and tools necessary to get in great shape and easily maintain it the rest of your life

• are coachable and willing to get out of your comfort zone

• are proactive and have the “what I put in is what I get out” mentality

• are committed to pursuing your goals for a minimum of 6 months

• are willing to be an active part of a community that challenges and encourages each other to grow and improve every day

Second, the scholarship is limited to 10 winners. As soon as the 10th winner is selected, the scholarship will be closed as I have limited coaching capacity in an effort to maintain the highest quality of service possible.

Winners will be selected on a first come, first served basis. So, the earlier you apply the higher the likelihood that you are selected.

Scholarship seats will be taken as winners choose to join. Should 10 winners be selected and 8 join, that means the list will be revisited to find 2 more applicants who are ready to go all-in and change their life for the better.

So even if you’re not selected immediately, you may still have a chance to win and join.

Third, if you are a partial scholarship winner, the scholarship will go towards your coaching, saving you some $ and making it easier for you to get into the program and community in order to begin changing the way you look, feel, and move for good.

How your partial scholarship is applied will be discussed during the initial consultation to see if you’re a good fit.

To sum it up, here are your steps:

1. Apply for the partial scholarship here.

2. Schedule a call with me to discuss the details and make sure you’re a fit (I will respond to your application to do this should you be selected).

3. If you are selected, join the rest of us in the pursuit of looking and feeling better than ever before.

Let the games begin.

To your health,

Adam

PS. Applications will close August 14th, 2026 at 11:59pm MT.

Today, I sit in one of my favorite coffee shops enjoying a cold brew without a baked good.

I usually don’t have too much of a problem navigating trade-off based choices (something I work directly with my clients on) when I’m in a calorie deficit.

But, as I said a few emails ago, I’m a sucker for baked goods, especially baked goods at a coffee shop.

I love me some muffins.

I love me some cookies.

And often times it takes a bit more mental planning to remind myself the trade-off of a good 300-500 calories for something I’ve had before often isn’t worth it.

But you know when it’s easy?

When I’m getting consistent and predictable results.

This morning I hit a new low with my average weight.

183.4 lbs.

I started at 195.6.

That new average was one of the many rewards that reinforces what I’ve been doing is worth continuing.

Remember, your brain loves rewards.

And your brain hates not getting rewards.

Especially when you’re training hard, getting steps in, and managing your calorie intake.

So if you’re going to do those things, you may as well do it all right and get consistent results.

Because when you get consistent results, saying “no” to things that can make it harder for you to reach your goals becomes easier and easier.

When you’re not getting consistent results, it’s harder.

Your brain is thinking “well, I haven’t seen much change on the scale, so what I’m doing isn’t working that well anyway. May as well indulge.”

Put the work in, doing it the right way, get the results, and then be done with it.

Side note: This is not me saying that indulgences shouldn’t be had when dropping fat. I do not support or believe in strict dieting. I do believe and teach flexible dieting while making mindful, conscious choices. That means at times, a 500 calorie piece of cake may be worth the trade-offs, and other times it won’t.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

When doing any sort of row, think about peeling your chest apart as you squeeze your shoulder blades together.

Almost like superman peeling his work suit apart to reveal his “S” logo on his superhero suit.

Nutrition Nugget:

Instead of trying to find the next nutrition “hack”, find ways to become more consistent with the stuff you already know to work.

Things like fiber intake, protein intake, and calorie intake.

Fiber: 14g per 1k cal consumed

Protein: 1.6-2.2g / kg bodyweight

Calorie Intake: Use this calculator.

You can worry about biohacking and all that other crap when you’re really consistent with those.

Quote to Consider:

“If you wait to be acted upon, you will be acted upon.” - Stephen R. Covey

To your health,

Adam

PS. If you’re loving salads this summer but hate how calorie dense dressings are, check out Skinny Girl dressings.

PPS. If I love Skinny Girl dressings, does that make me a basic white chick?

A few have expressed frustration and a desire to stop trying.

Here’s what one individual said:

“... to be honest with you I’m getting tired of being on a ‘weight loss journey’, [I] just want to live like this but get the fat off me…”

In response, I asked if I could be super honest with her, giving insight based on what I noticed throughout our conversation.

With her permission, here’s what I said:

“You’re tired of being on a weight loss journey because you’re not actually on one.

You’re in one mentally but not literally. You’re one foot in, one foot out so results don’t show, you get fed up, then ‘try’ again.

Vs. committing all in and getting legitimate results and then finally being done with it.”

She’s not the only one struggling with this.

It’s a story I hear at least once per week.

When you set out to lose fat, you get pulled in different directions with all the “sustainability” messaging (remember, fat loss isn’t supposed to be sustainable).

All the “get great results with minimal effort” messaging.

So you look for something that requires very little sacrifice for great gain.

But that’s not how this works.

The rules are the rules, and it takes what it takes.

But in failing to accept that, you mentally put yourself into calorie deficit mode.

But tangibly, objectively, you’re not all the way in.

You’re only in a deficit 4 days out of the week, saying “screw it” during the last three days ending up in a net maintenance or surplus for the week.

You make exceptions every few days to accommodate other things in life, rather than staying focused on what you said truly matters – finally getting in shape.

So you see some initial weight loss at first.

A pound here, a pound there.

But then things stop.

Some weeks the weight comes back on.

Next thing you know, you’ve told yourself you’re in a calorie deficit or on a weight loss journey for the last 16 weeks and you’ve only lost a few pounds.

Like any human would, you realize that it’s a lot of effort for very little reward, and give up.

The thing is, the effort wasn’t there like you thought it was.

It’s interesting because this isn’t just my observation or option.

There’s research to support this.

A study in 1992 looked at “diet-resistant” individuals (those who were claiming to eat 1,200 cals/day but not losing weight) and found that what they thought they were doing and what they were actually doing were completely different.

Specifically, they over-reported their activity by 47% and under-reported their calorie intake by 51% (PMID: 1454084).

Then there’s the idea that perception influences physiology, displayed in the famous milkshake study (PMID: 21574706).

Two groups drank the same milkshake.

One group was told it was indulgent and the other told it was sensible (high cal vs. low cal).

They found a big drop in the hunger hormone for the group who was told it was indulgent, and a relatively flat hunger hormone response for the group who was told the shake was sensible.

If you think you’re in a deficit, you’ll perceive it as such, but you’ll get crap results because you’re not actually in a deficit.

Then you’ll get tapped out and quit.

And it’s not that quitting is necessarily the problem.

Quitting is a problem if you quit before you’ve given it your all.

Bear with me while I share a quick story from my childhood. When I was little, I wanted to play club baseball.

My first year I tried out, I made the team, but I was one of the weaker players on the team.

I got very little playing time, and thus didn’t enjoy it.

I told my dad I wanted to quit, and he said no.

He said I could quit after I gave it another year and committed myself to improving.

So, we were in the backyard every day practicing.

The next year and every year after, I was one of the better pitchers on our team.

I played in high school, and had a good chunk of my college paid for to go play.

I’m glad my dad didn’t let me quit until I gave it my all.

You can’t quit, until you give it your all, either.

So if you’ve been one foot in, one foot out, it’s time to commit.

Get a coach.

Hire a trainer.

Get some skin in the game.

Make a goal and a deadline that scares you a bit.

And lock the freaking heck in.

Then, after you’ve seen incredible results, and those results aren’t giving you the life, freedom, and confidence you thought they would, and you want to quit getting leaner, then quit.

But you can’t do it until you’ve given it your all.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider.

Training Tip:

You can get in “ok” shape with a couple of adjustable dumbbells and some bands at home.

You can get in incredible shape with access to a gym that has weights that legitimately challenge you.

The physique you want has a lot more to do with building muscle than you realize. And you need resistance to build muscle.

Stop trying to get a great physique with next to no equipment.

Get a gym membership, and put yourself in an environment where you’re nearly forced to improve.

Nutrition Nugget:

You can eat the same thing every day.

You have the same coffee each day. The same glass of wine each day. The same pint of ice cream each night.

You just don’t like plain chicken and broccoli with no seasoning.

And I don’t blame you.

So instead of lying to yourself by saying you’re someone who “can’t” eat similar things, find 3-5 healthy dishes that you love and would look forward to, and rotate through them.

You’ll eat similar things when you enjoy them and when they help you get great results.

Quote to Consider

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness... the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too.” — W.H. Murray

To your health,

Adam

PS. We are approaching August and big news is coming. For those who are ready to commit, your moment is coming…

DM Adam with the word “Ready” on Instagram for more info on 1:1 Coaching: www.instagram.com/adampoehlmann

Free Calorie Calculator: www.poehlmannfitness.com/caloriecalculator

Free FFMI Calculator: www.poehlmannfitness.com/ffmicalculator

One thing I’m always working on with my clients is mindset.

Because mindset creates beliefs which creates identity which creates actions.

It’s a domino effect.

It’s really hard to stay out of shape when you have the right mindset.

And a part of helping my clients do that is by creating opportunities to have mindset shifts and “aha” moments.

To give them a nugget they haven’t heard before.

Or state something they have heard before, just in a different way, so it finally clicks.

And here’s the one I’ve been thinking about a lot recently:

Something that challenges us is not an inconvenience, it’s an invitation.

Inconvenience is something we hate as a society nowadays.

We don’t want to make dinner for our neighbors because it’s an inconvenience to set aside time, cook, and clean the house.

We don’t want to park far away from the store because walking a bit further is an inconvenience.

We don’t want to work through conflict-resolution so we just label things as “toxic” in order to justify our lack of desire to reconcile the issue. That’s too inconvenient.

We don’t want to track our food because it’s more inconvenient than just putting food on the plate and then putting it in our mouths.

We don’t like inconveniences.

But what if those inconveniences are actually invitations?

What if those challenges are invitations for us to become better versions of ourselves?

That perspective would change everything, wouldn’t it?

Making dinner for a neighbor could be an invitation into a flourishing friendship that gives you life for decades to come.

Working through conflict with someone could lead to reconciliation and restoration that makes your life more peaceful.

Tracking your food could lead to getting in the best shape of your life and forgetting what it was like to feel insecure in your body.

What if the challenges are invitations?

That’s what I want you to consider today.

What challenges have you labeled as inconveniences because they’re foreign and therefore uncomfortable?

What invitations could you be missing out on by not embracing those challenges?

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

When working on developing your triceps, it’s important to have tricep exercises that have your arms at your side and up by your head.

Each arm position will prioritize a different part of the triceps.

And no, having your palm up during a cable tricep pushdown doesn’t target a different head of the triceps.

Nutrition Nugget:

I’m a big fan of eating as many whole foods as you possibly can.

But I’m also a fan of taking advantage of the advances we’ve had in food during our time.

Having “deficit friendly” options can help expand your food choices dramatically.

For example, I really wanted a burger last night, but I wasn’t willing to make the tradeoff if it meant blowing my calorie budget by 450 cals.

So, I had a burger with two chicken patties, thin sliced cheddar, and a 60-cal high fiber, low carb hamburger bun.

As the kids would say, it slapped.

Quote to Consider:

“An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered.” — G.K. Chesterton

To your health,

Adam

PS. Shoutout to my client Brandon who reached 10% body fat according to his last DXA scan. Hard work with the right plan yields great results.

That’s your chance to ask any and all questions you have on fat loss, building muscle, nutrition, training, and more.

Honestly, ask whatever you want.

I answer your questions on my story AND I answer them in-depth on my podcast as well.

But last week, someone asked a question I thought would be worth discussing in this week’s email.

She asked, “What about emotional eating? I’m going through a rough time and I’m eating my feelings. When I restrict, I binge. I’ve lost and gained about 13kg 2 times before, and now I’ve gained back 13+kg.”

This is something that isn’t too common in my world.

Now before I share the advice I gave her, I need you to hear me on this.

Any sort of eating disorder needs to be handled by a therapist. I am not your therapist.

However, I do have some useful tips to help you tackle the cycle of restricting your food intake and then compensating by eating way more than you need to.

So if that’s something you’ve noticed in your life (and I’d bet it is because most every person I know has experienced this on some level), I have some things for you to consider:

First, all of this starts with restrictions. That is the root of the issue. But deeper than that is the seed that creates the root, which is the mindset of restriction. In order to begin improving this cycle, you must move from a mindset of restriction to a mindset of abundance.

Let me be clear, this doesn’t mean that you can lose fat without restricting your calorie intake on some level. You have to be in a deficit.

But where you go wrong is when you confuse restricting calories with restricting food.

You set yourself up for a rough time when you think that way.

It’s a must to understand the difference between calorie restriction and food restriction. This is something I coach my clients through, and it’s why I’m always proud to say they eat way more food working with me than they did before working with me.

It’s not too uncommon for clients to report feeling extremely full within the first couple of weeks which is a shock to them, as they’ve always thought they need to eat less food to get leaner.

Anyway.

Moving to a mindset of abundance involves rewriting the game in your mind.

Instead of seeing how little food you can eat, you need to gamify it by figuring out how much food you could possibly consume while staying in your calorie budget.

That alone opens up your mind to endless possibilities food-wise.

Second, it’s vital to understand that you are an adult who can do whatever you want whenever you want when it comes to food.

There is quite literally nothing keeping you from going to the store right now, getting a whole sheet cake for yourself, and stuffing your face until it’s gone.

Yet, you choose not to do that.

And that’s where the power lies.

Instead of telling yourself that there are foods that are off-limits (look up the forbidden fruit effect), you need to understand and appreciate that there are no rules.

No “good” or “bad” foods.

No “I can have this” or “I can’t have that” foods.

None of that crap.

But instead, mindful choices you make based on the associated tradeoffs and whether or not those tradeoffs are worth it to you.

For example, I have been in a cut (calorie deficit) to lose fat for the past 12 weeks or so.

As I write this, I am eating a blueberry muffin with my cold brew at the coffee shop (if you know me, you know I’m a sucker for a baked good and craft coffee at a local coffee shop with some undistracted time to work).

I’m estimating this muffin to be anywhere from 300-400 cals.

That’s a pretty decent dent in my calorie budget.

But it’s worth me making accommodations the rest of the day to make it fit.

It wouldn’t be worth it to go over my budget, though.

However, there are times where I do indulge and I go over my budget quite a bit, and it’s worth the delay in fat loss.

It’s all about choices, not rules.

Choices put you in control. Which is important, because ultimately you ARE in control. You just need to remind yourself.

Lastly, this is why I’m such an advocate for food logging.

When you track your food intake, you’re able to learn a ton about your body, your metabolism, nutrition, and the impact different choices make on your progress.

When you don’t track your food intake, it’s extremely difficult to know how many calories you’re eating (calorie intake has been shown to be underestimated by 47% and activity overestimated by 51% (Lichtman et al., NEJM 1992 — n=10 diet-resistant subjects, screened from 224)) so it’s easier to ensure you’re in a deficit when you restrict or cut out calorie-dense foods (go on a diet).

And as you track, you build a new intuition and awareness that you can use to maintain your physique relatively effortlessly without tracking.

But all-in-all, the start of ending the cycle begins with an abundance mindset and an understanding that no foods are off limits. This will end the restriction which will lead to far fewer swings in the other direction.

I hope this helps and serves you in some way.

This email was a bit more tactical, so we will keep the training tip, nutrition nugget, and quote to consider for Thursday.

To your health,

Adam

PS. We’re nearing August, and as I said, I’ll have a special announcement then. For those of you who have wanted to work with me, keep your eyes peeled.

Over the past couple of months I’ve been in a deficit to lose fat.

I started out at 195 pounds, and as of today I am at 183.4 pounds.

If you were to tell me that I’d weigh 183.4 pounds a few months ago, I probably wouldn’t have liked it.

I would have thought I’d be too skinny.

I would have thought I’d look like a little twig.

And that’s actually a part of the reason I started cutting even though I was already at a healthy body composition.

I wanted to make myself uncomfortable and detach any sort of identity I had with being the big muscular guy.

I have enjoyed the process and results much more than I thought I would.

Though I’m almost as “light” as I was in high school, my body composition is completely different now.

And though I weigh less than I ever thought I’d want to, I actually enjoy my physique way more than I thought I would.

My appearance is much more muscular than I thought it would be.

This process has completely changed my attitude of where I want my physique to be year-round.

It’s also solidified my belief in something that I always knew to be true.

We’re fatter than we think.

When you first set out to lose weight, you think you only have 10 pounds to lose.

But to get the appearance you’ve always wanted, it ends up being 25-30 pounds.

In order for you to figure out what kind of physique you want to have year-round, and what sort of bodyweight is associated with that kind of physique, here’s what you need to do.

Get really lean just one time.

I’m not talking about bodybuilding, fitness competition, get-on-stage lean.

I’m talking about getting lean to a point where people who haven’t seen you in a while say some expletives when they see you because they can’t believe how good you look.

I’m talking about the mid-range of what we call the “athletic” body composition category.

For men, that’s about 12% body fat and for women that’s about 20-21% body fat.

When you get to that level, you’ll have a LOT of clarity around what you need to do to get the physique you desire whether that be spending some time building more muscle, losing a little bit more fat, or maybe even putting a tiny bit of fat back on.

It all depends on what you want.

But you can’t get a concept for what you want until you make substantial progress in chiseling away the excess from the block of marble that is your body.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

Any muscle group that is underdeveloped or weak should be placed first in your workout, assuming you want to build it up.

Let’s say your abs are a weak point. Have your weighted ab work before anything else.

Yes, the “big” exercises like squats, bench press, pull-ups, deadlifts, etc. are important and should be first in your workout as a general rule of thumb.

But when it comes to building up a weak point in your physique, exercises that train that weak point must be prioritized.

Nutrition Nugget:

There’s nothing worse than trying a new protein powder, hating it, and getting stuck with a tub of powder you’re never going to use.

Before buying a tub of a new protein powder you’ve never tried before, check to see if the manufacturer offers sample packs (most do nowadays). Get a few flavors you think you’d like and try them out.

If you can tolerate dairy protein, go with whey isolate.

If you can’t, plant protein is fine. Just make sure it has a complete amino acid profile (usually a combo of pea and rice protein will cover that). Just keep in mind that plant protein will taste horrible compared to whey protein.

Oh, and you can find quite a few lactose free whey protein products nowadays, too. That may be worth looking into.

The protein powder I use and love is called Marigold. You can get it on amazon or on their site (I am not affiliated with them nor do I make any money mentioning them). It’s just an underrated protein that more people need to know about.

Quote to Consider:

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself – and you’re the easiest person to fool.” - Richard Feynman

To your health,

Adam

She’d been dreading the trip. It went better than she expected, but the thing she’d been bracing for was still there.

Her mom has a very different relationship with health, fitness, and food than she does.

Like a lot of people from that generation (Baby Boomers, especially the women) her mom’s whole framework around nutrition and exercise comes down to one word: skinny.

Now, hear me out.

I specialize in body composition. Losing fat, building muscle. I’m a big believer in getting leaner to improve metabolic health and quality of life, and I’m a big believer in tracking your food to get there.

But the mindset of “skinny” is a different animal.

Here’s what I mean.

My client didn’t want to tell her mom she’d started this journey with me because she knew that every time she ate, her mom would have something to say about how it was “too much food.”

Why?

Because back then, eating like a bird was just what you did on the road to skinny. The idea that calorie intake and food intake are two completely different things was foreign then (and still is for a lot of people).

She didn’t want to bring up the gym either, because that would earn her a lecture about how adding “stress” to her life was a bad idea, plus a comment or two about not wanting to get too bulky.

Now, I’m no therapist. Untangling the stuff you carry with your parents isn’t my job.

But here’s what I want you to sit with:

If you have kids, you are shaping how they’ll one day see health, fitness, lifting, and food. Whether you mean to or not.

And if you’re passive about it, you’ll pass down more of the bad than you realize.

I’ve had people tell me flat out that they don’t want their kids to see them tracking their food, or talk about working out much.

Why?

Tracking food is no different than sitting down to do a budget. So would you tell your kids budgeting is “bad”, too?

Of course not.

You’d hide the food tracking because you carry a negative association with it and that association gets handed down if you’re not deliberate about it.

A while back I saw a reel. A teenage girl walks up to her mom and asks why she weighs and tracks her food.

The mom nailed it.

“Well, honey, I work hard in the gym, and protein is a really important nutrient that helps me recover and stay strong. It helps my muscles. I don’t think I’ve been getting enough, so I’m tracking my food to make sure I’m giving my body what it needs.”

That response is both legitimate and genuine.

And it teaches her daughter that tracking is a tool, not a source of shame, guilt, etc.

It’s not always the big stuff, either. Sometimes it’s as small as saying “Mom can’t eat that ____ or she’ll gain five pounds” every time you see a baked good in front of your kids.

Either way, your kids are picking up on it.

Their subconscious is being shaped by your words and your actions, day after day.

In a real sense, your words are the clay that shapes the mindset your child carries into adulthood.

So the question is: how do you want to use that clay?

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

There technically is an ideal time to work out, and that time is in the early afternoon.

At that time of day, your core body temperature is highest, and core body temperature has been shown to influence workout performance (PMID: 28944269)

But, not everyone can workout in the middle of the day.

So, there are a few things you can do to raise your core body temp before training:

• Sauna for a few minutes

• Wear warm clothes to the gym

• Turn the heat on in your car in the winter or turn the AC off in the summer (that is one of my favorite methods)

• Do some sort of cardiovascular activity for 5-10 minutes before priming

You should feel warm - but not uncomfortably hot, going into your first exercise.

Nutrition Nugget:

As I’m sure you know, most people don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables.

The benefits for a diet rich in fruits and veggies is long whether your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, improve longevity, get metabolically healthy, or all of the above.

Problem is, most targets (such as “have 2-5 servings” daily) mean nothing to you.

Instead, aim for 500g of fruits and veggies per 1k cals consumed.

That means if you’re eating 2,000 cals per day, aim to get 1,000g of fruits and vegetables daily.

Focusing on grams per day will also give you an easy introduction to weighing and tracking your food.

Quote to Consider:

“It’s easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” - Attributed to Frederick Douglass

To your health,

Adam

PS. I have a big announcement coming in August. If you’ve considered working with me and needed a nudge, that nudge is coming. Keep your eyes peeled and notifications on.

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Take your “constraints” in regards to your health and fitness, for example.

I’ll list off a few that you’ve probably said a few times.

“I don’t have time to prepare meals.”

“I only have two days per week to work out.”

“I can only be in the gym for 30 minutes.”

“I’m just not someone who is going to track their food.”

And the list goes on.

You just make those statements in your head on repeat all day long.

It starts with you taking a statement like that at face value.

Then it becomes a narrative in your story.

Then it becomes truth in your story.

Then it becomes an identity.

And then you’re screwed.

We all have things like this in our life, constraints that we take at face value.

This isn’t about getting to a point where you don’t have constraints. But rather, learning to challenge them.

Because when it comes to these constraints, you only have two options.

Accept the constraints and completely unchangeable, and accept that you will not reap the reward that comes with challenging said constraints.

For example, accept that you only are willing to work out twice per week for 30 minutes, and give up the head turning results that come from working out four times per week for 60 minutes.

Or…

You challenge those constraints.

Let me give you some examples of what it looks like to challenge each constraint I listed earlier.

Constraint: “I don’t have time to prepare meals.”

Challenge: “What can I change in my week so I have time to prepare meals?”

Constraint: “I only have two days per week to work out.”

Challenge: “What can I give up in order to get a third work out in per week?”

Constraint: “I can only be in the gym for 30 minutes.”

Challenge: “How can I better manage my time so I can get a solid 60 minute workout done?”

Constraint: “I’m just not someone who is going to track their food.”
Challenge: “What can I learn in order to make food tracking easier so that I can become someone who is willing to track their food for a season?”

When you challenge a constraint, you practice what Carol Dweck coined as the growth mindset.

When you accept the constraint as truth, you practice a fixed mindset.

You further engrain the narrative into your mind that you are not someone who is capable of change.

Challenge your constraints.

It will be uncomfortable, certainly. As it should be.

But you will grow. You will evolve mentally and physically.

You will become someone new.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

An easy way to figure out what squat stance may be best for you is to lie on your back, and bring your knees up toward your chest.

Try it with your toes forward, at a 45 degree angle, with your legs wide, narrow, etc. Whatever allows you to get your knees closest to your chest without your tailbone tucking in and leaving the ground is likely what will feel best in a squat.

Nutrition Nugget:

Although you can eat whatever you want within your calorie budget and still lose fat, it doesn’t mean you should. In fact, eating a bunch of processed food is only going to make it harder.

One component of your total calories burned in the day is what’s called the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). Highly processed foods have a lower thermic effect than whole natural foods.

The math on this isn’t accurate and depends on the individual as well as the food, so these numbers are just for the sake of the conversation.

Suppose you eat 100 calories worth of apple, and 100 calories worth of Oreo.

Your body may burn 10 calories breaking down the apple, and 5 calories breaking down the Oreo.

The apple leads to fewer net calories taken in throughout the day compared to the Oreo.

A diet full of whole foods is the way to go.

But don’t get me wrong, enjoy the indulgences from time to time.

Quote to Consider:

“For twenty years, my research has shown that the view you adopt for yourself profoundly affects the way you lead your life. It can determine whether you become the person you want to be...” - Carol Dweck

To your health,

Adam

PS. Give her a big round of applause

We did the same thing back in March along with giving up a few other pleasures.

Earlier in the year, I didn’t have a hard time with it at all. It was far easier than I expected.

But this go-round has not been the same.

I’ve found myself thinking about having a little something every single day, multiple times in the day.

It wasn’t until last night that my wife (thank God for a wise wife) helped me realize why this time had been so much harder.

The first time we abstained from added sugar, it was my choice. It was something I wanted to do, and my wife decided to do it with me.

She had a much harder time the first go-round.

This time, it was her choice. She wanted to go another 30 days, and I decided to support her and join in.

The main difference between round one and round two of no added sugar was choice.

This is something I teach my clients, as there is a lot of good research to support it.

Let’s first discuss Self-Determination Theory.

SDT distinguishes between doing something because you chose it and it fits your values, vs. doing something out of obligation or outside pressure.

There’s also the Self-Concordance Model (Sheldon & Elliott, 1999, PMID: 10101878).

This research found that self-concordant goals (goals that are consistent with your own developing interests and values) have more sustained effort put into them.

In their words, they also found that “self-concordant goals appear to be protected and maintained in the face of task-irrelevant temptations”.

That’s exactly what I experienced between the two no-sugar rounds.

The first time around I couldn’t wait to have some fruit as my treat.

This time, Tillamook ice cream sounds WAYYYYY better.

And lastly, let’s quickly discuss what this meta-analysis (a study of studies) found.

After looking at 41 other studies, researchers found that choice improved intrinsic motivation, effort, task performance, and perceived competence in both children and adults.

So what does this mean for you?

It’s quite simple, really.

When you make a conscious choice to pursue a goal that means something to you, you’re far more likely to follow through.

This is why I give all my clients a lot of autonomy throughout their time with me.

If I just tell them what to do, when to do it, and how to do it without giving them the space to think and choose for themselves, they will be nothing more than extremely inconsistent robots who have a hard time sticking to the plan.

But when I create space for them to choose for themselves, not only are they more consistent and therefore get better results, but they also enjoy the process much more.

Take my client Yessica, for example.

When we started I asked her what she was and wasn’t willing to do to reach her goals.

From there, I put a plan together that fit those responses and told her the honest truth of what she could expect given the sacrifice she was or wasn’t willing to make.

As a result, she’s been unbelievably consistent and just had a massive win she recently shared with the everyone else in the program:

Side note: I love that my clients get on other clients to share their wins.

Whether you’re setting out to make a financial plan to get your money back in order, or lose that extra fat so you can finally feel like yourself again, the plan you come up with must be your choice.

BUT…

That doesn’t mean it won’t be hard.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be challenges.

That doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy breezy covergirl all the time.

If it’s challenging and therefore worth pursuing, it’s going to be hard.

It should be.

Because too much ease and comfort is why you are where you are right now.

But because you chose to set out on this challenging journey, you will be far less likely to quit.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and a quote to consider:

Training Tip:

It’s far better to improve the intensity of your current training than to add more to it.

If you feel your glutes are too flat, don’t immediately resort to adding more glute exercises in.

First apply much more intensity training much closer to failure.

Then, over time, you can consider adding more sets and/or exercises for your glutes.

Nutrition Nugget:

If you’re an avid coffee drinker whether it be decaf or not, consider having some more filtered coffee in the rotation (drip, pour over, etc.).

Unfiltered coffee contains diterpenes that can raise LDL (“bad”) cholesterol.

Filtering coffee can help reduce the diterpenes.

Quote to Consider:

“Fate leads the willing and drags the unwilling.” - Seneca, Letters 107

To your health,

Adam

PS. If you think there’s a better store bought ice cream than Tillamook, something is wrong with you. How they make ice cream that good with that few ingredients is beyond me.

If I had anything worse than two Bs, I wasn’t allowed to play baseball.

That means if I had three Bs and the rest were As, I couldn’t play ball.

If I had all As and one C, I couldn’t play ball.

There wasn’t a single rule that kept me in line more than this one.

I loved baseball. It was my everything.

So they knew that if I couldn’t have baseball, I’d do anything in my power to get it back.

At one point in high school, I had more than two Bs.

When I found this out, my stomach dropped.

I hoped my parents wouldn’t find out, but they did.

My grades weren’t that bad, especially compared to other kids on the team who were fighting just to stay eligible.

I was doing great compared to them, so I figured my parents wouldn’t actually uphold the consequences for the rule I had agreed to.

But they did.

Not long after that, I found myself in front of my coach with tears in my eyes, explaining to him why I wouldn’t be showing up for practices and games.

My coach looked me dead in the eyes and said “Adam, you should be thanking your dad.”

At the time, I didn’t want to thank him.

But now, I see how impactful that experience was.

My parents set a standard, created a boundary to protect that standard, and kept their word with the consequence for falling short of that standard.

And that experience taught me a lot about standards.

Fast forward to today, and I’ve had countless conversations with people like you.

People like you, who used to be in shape but have let themselves go a bit.

Maybe you used to be in shape because you played a sport or were accountable to something outside of yourself.

But now that you have the freedom and autonomy to do what you want when you want, you find yourself missing the days when you had a flat stomach and muscle definition.

You miss the days when you weren’t self conscious in your swimsuit.

And you’ve been repeating the same soundtrack in your head every Monday for the last five years.

“I know what I need to do, I just need to do it.”

And you haven’t done it because you don’t have standards in your life.

There are no boundaries.

There are no consequences.

There are delayed consequences, of course. Such as not being able to keep up with your kids down the road because you kept kicking the can.

But no short term consequences.

So you continue to settle for a mediocre body and state of health.

You need standards. You need boundaries, and you need consequences.

You need to be accountable to someone or something outside of yourself.

It’s part of the reason so many clients see unbelievable results in my coaching program.

At the start of their time, I clearly and firmly explain to them the standards and expectations they are expected to uphold, and the consequences if they don’t hold them.

Just last week I told a client I’m not going to have a check-in call with them until they complete what I asked them to do on the last call.

You need skin in the game, too.

Investing a lot of money into a program and not following through can be enough to light a fire under your butt, if that’s what motivates you.

You’re in the same spot you have been and you’re not seeing any real change in your body or your life because there are no standards and expectations that are demanding you to become someone new.

And you aren’t accountable to anyone or anything outside of yourself, so you keep letting yourself slide.

If getting rid of that fat you hate and turning your life around truly means that much to you, you must take action to find a person or place who will demand you to grow by upholding standards.

Moving on, here’s a training tip, a nutrition nugget, and quote to consider:

Training Tip:

If you hit your rep target on the first set of the exercise, increase the weight the next time you repeat the workout.

If you fail to hit your rep target on the first set of the exercise, keep the weight the next time you repeat the workout until you do.

Don’t worry about what happens in the following sets.

Use the first set to assess how you should progress.

Nutrition Nugget:

There’s a rule I have with my clients, and it’s called No Wussie Breakfasts.

When you have a Wussie breakfast (something that a finch would eat for breakfast), you set yourself up for a real struggle later in the day.

Increased hunger

Increased cravings

Having to play catch up on your protein intake

Start your day strong with a non-wussie breakfast.

Aim for a protein centric meal with at least 8g fiber.

This will keep you full for a ridiculously long time and reduce unwanted snacking.

Thought to Consider:

Are you going to become someone who works the plan, or continue trying to find a plan that does the work for you?

To your health,

Adam

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