These are nebulous terms created to scare you into thinking your body is broken. Funny enough, my first certification (cough* NASM *cough) had me believing that upper-crossed syndrome was an apocalyptic spinal condition I’d need to rescue every single desk client from. I hope they aren’t still teaching that, but I digress.

Ever seen a construction worker’s forearms? Jacked, usually. Why? Because the tissues in their body adapt to the demands placed on them regularly. This is no different than an office worker sitting in a chair eight hours a day. Tissues and tendons adapt to what is asked of them through habitual stress. Posture, or any tissue stress demand, will follow your lifestyle.

There also needs to be an emphasis on individual variation when it comes to posture. Structurally, we are all different … bone lengths, joint socket depth, densities, etc. This means that what qualifies as “safe” or “good” posture will not look the same for everyone.

Take the deadlift, for example. Most people who deadlift have probably heard one or both of these cues: “keep your back flat” … “keep your spine neutral”. While those phrases sound almost identical, there is one massive difference: a neutral spine doesn’t always look flat. Neutral (or safe) is a spectrum, not a fixed position. Because of that, plenty of people can safely deadlift with some rounding in the thoracic spine.

Which brings us back to the original point … can you or should you try to “fix your posture”? I think it’s the wrong goal, entirely. It’s a snapshot in time not a diagnosis. Thinking you need to “fix it” implies that your body is broken if it’s not in perfect alignment. As we’ve already established … whether its a construction workers massive forearms, or an office workers rounded shoulders … the tissues aren’t broken. The bones, sockets and tendons aren’t broken. They are doing what they are designed to do … adapt.

Improving posture isn’t an insurance policy against injuries or pain either. Poor posture might sometimes sit in the same room as pain, but it’s the symptom of something else.

The goal should be efficiency and capacity. The ability to move in and out of various positions and ranges with strength and endurance. Build a body that’s capable to do the work asked.

It’s easily one of the hardest bodyweight movements to execute properly, which is exactly why hitting that first full ROM pull-up feels so awesome. Without getting too existential, there is a distinct psychological shift that happens when you master this lift. A pull-up is quite literally the act of pulling your own mass up against gravity. When life gets heavy or things get hard, knowing you have the physical capability to pull yourself up changes how you carry yourself.

But wanting it isn’t enough. Most people fail to get their first pull-up because they train it with emotion and gimmicks rather than mechanics.

Here is the breakdown of the three tips to get you there ASAP …

1. The Physics of the Pull: Weight Matters

Let’s be objective: A pull-up is a physics problem. You are moving a mass (your body) against gravity. In any mechanical system, it requires less force to move a lighter object than a heavier one.

If you have two identical motors, but one is in a 2,000lb car and the other is in a 4,000lb car, the lighter car is going to be faster every time. The same applies to your lats. If you lose 10lbs of body fat, you have effectively increased your “strength-to-weight ratio” without even touching a weight. This isn’t an attack on aesthetics; it’s a commentary on force. If the mass goes down, the force required to accelerate that mass upward also goes down.

2. Ditch the Bands: Why the Assisted Machine Wins

Banded pull-ups are a trap … see my Instagram post about this here … (Machine Vs. Banded Pull-Ups). Because of the way elastic tension works, the band provides the most help at the bottom … exactly where you need it least …. and then goes slack at the top … exactly where you need the most help to get your chin over the bar. It’s a “slingshot” that creates a false sense of progress.

If you aren’t doing bodyweight reps yet, use the Assisted Pull-Up Machine instead:

• Constant Tension: Unlike bands, the machine provides the exact same amount of assistance through the entire range of motion.

• Measurable Progress: You can track your progress by the weight stack assistance … trying to get lighter as you go. You can’t accurately “track” a piece of rubber that loses its elasticity over time. The tension will chnage and it’s just harder to measure progress.

3. Frequency: You Can’t Build a Back Once a Week

Doing “back day” or “pull day” once a week is the slowest path to your first pull-up.

To see real adaptation in the lats and biceps … you need to hit them 3–4 times per week. The science of Muscle Protein Synthesis (MPS) shows that the growth window generally closes 24–48 hours after training. If you only train pulls on Mondays, you’re spending half the week not getting stronger.

The Strategy:

• Quality over Quantity: Focus on 3–5 sets of 5–8 high-quality reps.

• The Variations: Rotate between the Assisted Machine, Heavy Inverted Rows, and Weighted Negatives.

• The Goal: Total weekly volume should be high, but each individual session should leave you feeling powerful, not burnt out or sloppy.

The Top 5 Exercises for Pure Pulling Strength

If you want to build the raw horsepower required to command your own bodyweight, you need to pick exercises that maximize tension and trackable overload. Forget the circus tricks. Make these five movements the foundational anchors of your training routine:

1. The Assisted Pull-Up Machine: As noted above, this is your primary tool for mastering the exact path of motion under a manageable, consistent load.

2. Inverted Rows: This builds the horizontal pulling power and upper-back thickness (traps and rhomboids) necessary to keep your shoulders stable and your chest high at the top of the bar.

3. Lat Pulldowns: The ultimate tool for isolating the lats and building pure muscular volume without your grip or core fatigue limiting the set.

4. Dumbbell Rows: Heavy, unilateral (one-arm) rowing ensures you aren’t hiding a strength deficit on one side of your body, while building massive grip and forearm strength.

5. Bicep Blasting (Direct Arm Work): Do not ignore the arms. Your lats might be the driver, but your biceps are the closing argument at the top half of a pull-up. Heavy curls are non-negotiable for those final inches of elbow flexion.

The Takeaway: Consider the physics, increase the frequency, and build the back.

They conquered an injury rehabilitation and feel like this …

A person gets injured, finds a way back under the right circumstances, and continues the pursuit. We love these stories. Overcoming adversity is part of the physical game, and the natural human instinct is to share that “win” to help others.

But sometimes, good intentions become counterproductive.

Again, they are probably just trying to help, but don’t base your own diagnosis on convenience.

When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When all a friend has is their own surgical history or rehab protocol, every injury looks like their injury.

Experience is a great teacher, but it can be a narrow one. An injury survivor knows what fixed their specific pathology, under their specific training load/stress, with their specific recovery capacity.

Unless they are looking at your movement mechanics and total volume, they aren’t prescribing a solution … they are projecting a memory.

“It worked for me” is an anecdote, not a way to fix whats wrong.

Pain is just the output. The input causing that pain … whether it’s a technical breakdown, a load management error, or a structural issue … is unique to you. Treating a symptom with someone else’s “fix” is just guessing.

If you value longevity, then choose effort over expedience. See an expereinced professional.

“I just want to get rid of this.”

Oh … if I had a dollar.

It’s a common human reaction to a physical frustration. But as someone who has spent over 20 years watching how bodies change, I can tell you that the ideas behind how to get rid of that pinch are usually off from how physiology actually works.

Anatomy of the Pinch

When you pinch that area, you aren’t grabbing muscle. You are grabbing subcutaneous fat.

We know that you cannot turn fat cells into muscle cells, so a localized muscle contraction isn’t a cure for something that needs a systemic metabolic response.

Imagine a bathtub full of water. If you pull the plug, the water level drops evenly across the entire tub. You can’t drain the water only from the left corner just because you’re splashing your hand there. Your body’s fat stores operate in the same way.

When you perform a crunch/sit-up, you are activating the rectus abdominis … the muscle underneath. But that muscle has no impact to the fat sitting on top of it. You can have world class abdominal strength and a “shield” of a core, yet still have a pinch-able layer of systemic “energy storage” covering it.

The Honesty of Physiology

In a deceptive world of “silver bullets” and fitness influencers promising “belly focused workouts & supplements” that melt fat away … physiology remains stubbornly honest.

Spot reduction is a physiological myth because it suggests we can bypass the systemic work required for change. Eliminating fat stores requires a full shift in your environment, lifestyle, movement, recovery, and nutrition … rather than a localized “punishment” of a specific body part.

The Honest Path Forward

Does this mean we stop training the core? Absolutely not. While you can’t crunch the pinch away, you must build the structure underneath. You need a midsection that can stabilize and anchor you down.

If you are wondering how to effectively train your core …I’ve laid it all out in my previous deep dive here: [Core Training Made Simple].

The “pinch” is a reflection of your overall energy balance, not a sign that you haven’t done enough sit-ups.

A lot of people assume getting results in the gym requires long workouts.

Two hours in the gym. Endless exercises. Plenty of time between sets. Scrolling.

But if you watch what actually happens on most gym floors, a lot of that time isn’t productive.

With a few small adjustments, most people could cut 20 minutes off their workouts without sacrificing results.

Here are five simple ways to do it.

1. Have a Plan

One of the biggest time-wasters in the gym is decision-making. If you have to think about what you’re going to do next I can guarantee time is being wasted.

What exercise you’re going to do next should have probably been decided weeks ago (…when your program was being built).

Removing any decision making while you are at the gym (reps, sets, intensity) … by following a program - will not only save you time, but also likely help expedite your results.

(If you want to learn more about Planning and/or Programming check these out …HERE & HERE)

2. Notifications Off

Your phone is one of the biggest time traps in the gym.

You check a notification between sets.
That turns into a quick scroll.
Then another.

3 minutes have passed, since you finished set number 1 … of 3.

Rest is important, but distraction is not the same thing as recovery.

Putting your phone on airplane mode, and/or turning the notifications off eliminates the constant stream of noise while still allowing you to use it for music or a timer.

It’s a small change, but it keeps workouts moving.

I can’t break your TikTok addiction if you’re on Wifi though.

3. Have an Intentional Warm-Up

Warm-ups often fall into one of two extremes.

Some people skip them entirely. Others spend twenty minutes foam rolling, doing endless “mobility” drills that aren’t fixing any problems, and jogging on the treadmill.

Most healthy people don’t need anything that complicated.

A good warm-up simply prepares your body for the work ahead. If you like getting a sweat going on the treadmill before you lift weights, that’s great, but it may be unnecessary based on the goal of the workout.

Often the best warm-up for a lift is simply performing that lift with lighter weight, or working through some positions for accessibility.

4. Time Your Rest Periods

Rest periods have a way of drifting longer than people realize.

A rest that should be 60-90 seconds easily becomes four minutes when there’s no structure around it.

Using a simple timer helps keep things intentional.

You recover enough to perform well, but the workout keeps moving.

(Make sure to check out my post on Rest Periods if you’re looking to learn more HERE )

5. Superset Non-Competing Muscle Groups

Supersets are one of the easiest ways to make workouts more efficient.

The key is pairing exercises that don’t compete with similar muscle groups. Super-setting isn’t for every program, but if you goal is general strength, weight-loss, or hypertrophy … you could likely fit this strategy into your programming.

For example:

• Walking lunge ,and then lat pull down, then rest for 90s.

• Seated Ham Curl, and then DB Shoulder press, then rest for 90s.

While one muscle group recovers, another works.

Better training isn’t always about doing more …
sometimes it’s about wasting less time.

It’s not that the data is inherently wrong or bad. It’s that the data has become a permission slip for mediocrity.

When a wearable tells you that you’re at 34% recovery, it doesn’t just give you information … it gives you an exit ramp.

It validates the weakest part of your internal monologue. It turns “I’m a bit tired” into “The science says I shouldn’t push too hard today.” It treats the human spirit like a battery that needs a full charge to function, rather than a machine capable of adapting in the worst circumstances imaginable.

I’m not saying you need to try and go ‘Jordan Flu Game’ every single time you have a sniffle.

There’s a difference between being smart and being soft.

But there’s a time to stop checking your wrist for permission and start trusting the work you’ve already put in. You have to know yourself better than a piece of plastic talking to a satellite, knows you.

The algorithm can measure your heart rate variability, your REM cycles, and your skin temperature. But it has no sensor for grit. It cannot quantify the “second wind.” It has no category for the person who decides that his physical state is secondary to his objective.

During COVID one of my friends was coming through Minneapolis and wanted to meet up for a lift. I told him I had early (6am) clients so I couldn’t, he said … “Perfect, I’ll see you at 4am”. Keep in Mind his flight landed at Midnight the night before (flying cross country). He showed up and squatted 545lbs. He took another attempt at 585 but failed. From Minneapolis he drove home to Chicago (6 hours without traffic). Met up with his evening lifting crew and squatted 585lbs. If he would have checked his readiness score it would have told him to go to the hospital. Be he wanted it more.

It doesn’t have to be massive feats of strength like 500lbs squats. I see this spirit every day in my people. The ones who don’t wait for permission to show up in a great way.

• I see it in the parents who navigated a night of screaming toddlers and still show up to the 6:00 AM session ready to work.

• I see it in the professionals who just finished a double, at their second job, and choose the barbell over the bed.

• I see it in the devotion of my clients training while fasted for Ramadan, or in significant caloric deficits … their bodies may be empty, but their discipline is unwavering.

• I’ve even seen it in the person who walks in on crutches and says, “My leg is cooked, but we can still crush upper body.”

A wearable would tell every one of those people to go home. It would mark their readiness in the deep red. It would tell them that today is a “rest day.”

The algorithm would be wrong.

The best sessions of your life won’t always happen when you’re “ready.” They happen when you decide that the score doesn’t matter as much as the effort.

Most people don’t strength train NOT because they don’t care … they skip the gym because they prioritize their time in other areas. Maybe its kids, career, social life, etc.

Some people think if they don’t have time or discipline to go to the gym 5 days a week … then whats the point? Strength training is not a zero-sum game. Just because you might not have time for 5 days doesn’t mean you can’t benefit from as little as 2 days per week. And to be honest 2 measured, well-thought-out days, can sometimes be better than 5 days of ADD randomness.

It’s important to scale your expectations when aiming for the minimum effective dose of time in the gym. Two days per week can absolutely maintain strength, maybe increase some, and possibly build some muscle tissue … but everything has to be intentional.

THE CATCH IS … AS FREQUENCY DECREASES … PROGRAMMING, NUTRITION AND RECOVERY BECOME EVEN MORE IMPORTANT.

Please note … this article is about optimization under constraint, not perfection. This is not for athletes, or anyone training for performance. This is not for anyone looking to get jacked, shredded or optimize weight loss. This is … I’m hanging on by a thread. Smallest possible time committed for maximum ROI.

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Programming The Split: Full Body … Why?

With low frequency, you must distribute stress … not concentrate it to one area.

Body-part split programs fail because you don’t have enough time (frequency remains too low). Same with a Push/Pull or Upper/Lower type program. Following these types of program only exposes major muscle groups to mechnical tension 1x /week.

Frequency is king … so if you hit 2 full body workouts per week … each major muscle group is getting touched twice instead of just once. That’s a 100% increase in workload compared to the other style of programming splits.

Also, intensity spikes fatigue faster than adaptation. Frequency gives repeated skill exposure (so you can get better/more efficient) lots of runway and a good scale for long-term progress.

Note of clarity: “Full body” does NOT mean doing everything equally hard every session …it means touching everything intelligently. The Goldilocks amount of reps, sets and intensity.

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The Numbers: Volume, Sets, Reps, And What The Research Actually Supports

MORE VOLUME ISN’T ALWAYS BETTER …. RECOVERABLE/ADAPTABLE VOLUME IS.

Most hypertrophy literature points to 10–20 hard sets per muscle per week. The 20–26 sets range can work for advanced lifters, but often unnecessary if the goal isn’t performance driven. Strength and muscle can be maintained at as little as 6–8 sets/week. But you better be trying, so hard you’re making those faces … yeah, those ones. Rep range can be anywhere between 6-20.

At 2x/week, volume must be dense, but doesn’t have to be excessive.

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Exercise Selection: Choose Movements With The Highest ROI

Pick exercises that yield the highest ROI for stimulus.

Think … does this exercise use a lot of muscles? Squats use: Glutes, quads, back, some hamstring … a Seated Leg Extension uses: Quads. This doesn’t mean that every exercise has to be a compound movement, but they should make up the bulk of your full body program, so stimulus can be maximized. Other ROI filters you can use for exercise selection could be …

• ROM - Does the movement have a full range of motion for the primary muscles being targeted? The load and the stretch drive hypertrophy the most.

• Stability - The movement must be stable enough to produce good output. If you are thinking about standing on a BOSU ball and squatting versus squatting with two feet on the ground … keep your feet on the ground.

• Load-ability & Progress Potential - A pistol squat is a cool party trick, but is difficult to load and progress. Pick movements that are easy to load and have a long runway.

Careful though … don’t combine exercises. Example … Have you ever seen anyone do a Dumbbell Lunge, into a Bicep Curl, into an Overhead Press using the same dumbbell for all three moves? I appreciate the attempt at efficiency … but if you’re able to use the same dumbbells for all three of those movements in consecutive order … the weight isn’t heavy enough for one or two of them. It’s sacrificing load … which is one thing you cannot do on a 2x per week program. You’d be better off splitting those three movements up and going as heavy as you can on each one.

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Results: What Can You Actually Expect?

Two days per week will not get you into conditioning shape like a CrossFit or Endurance athlete. It will not have your physique ready for a bodybuilding stage. And the strength gains you make will probably not have you ready to compete in a Strongman or Powerlifting competition. But none of that was the goal in the first place, right?

What can be accomplished with measured effort 2x per week?

… SMALL GAINS AND STEADY PROGRESS OVER TIME …

IF and only IF … exercise programming, nutrition and recovery are dialed-in. The evidence supports this (see citations below) … and so do my client stories from over the years.

(Schoenfeld et al. 2016)

(Hackett, D. A. 2018)

(Gomes et al. 2019)

I’ve been coaching people long enough to see plenty of gadgets, miracle tools, and “revolutionary” training methods come and go. Some were harmless. Some were ridiculous. Some were marketed incredibly well, even though the benefit was questionable at best.

The latest version of this is the full-body EMS suits.

The pitch? “Why lift weights when electricity can flex your muscles for you?

Why spend 60mins training when you can do 25mins and get the same benefit?

Why work harder when you can ‘work smarter’?

Sounds incredible, right? Sounds futuristic. Sounds like the perfect answer for someone who’s busy, stressed, tired, and desperately wants results.

It also sounds like bullshit … at least in the way it’s being sold. Let me be clear … EMS does have proven benefits in controlled settings (see cites below) like rehabilitation … but it’s not an equivalent alternative to traditional strength training and is certainly not a faster way to build muscle, lose fat, get stronger or increase your metabolic rate.

(Kemmler et al., 2021)

(Nishikawa et al., 2021)

(Karatzanos et al., 2012)

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The 3 Craziest Claims They Make …

#1 …

“25 Minutes (training in the suit) = 2.5 Hours of Training (without the suit)”

This is the headliner. The sexy promise. And honestly, it’s the biggest lie. Not sure how they measured this because it doesn’t say on the website … but I’m guessing caloric burn? Which is not a good indicator for how effective a workout was … check out my other @Substack article that explains why ‘CALORIES BURNED is not metric worth tracking.

Does EMS (Electrical Muscle Stimulation) stimulate muscle? Yes.

Does that automatically make it equivalent to hard, progressive, mechanical tension training? Not even close.

Workout effectiveness isn’t measured in how tired something makes us feel or how many times a muscle contracts, or how many calories you burned.

It’s measured in:

• Mechanical tension

• Progressive overload

• Energy system demand

• Motor learning

• Skill acquisition

• Coordination, stability, joint integrity, movement control

… and more detail can be found here → CHASE WHAT MATTERS

An electrical impulse forcing a contraction is not the same biological stress as you lifting 100lbs. with your nervous system coordinating multiple muscles & joints in a real movement.

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#2 …

“We Activate 90–95% of Muscle Fibers! Way More Than Lifting!”

This sounds sciency. It sounds impressive. It’s also incredibly misleading.

Muscle recruitment in real training follows a logical neurological pattern:

• You recruit more fibers as force demand increases

• You learn to coordinate muscles across joints

• You build skill, not just contraction

EMS bypasses your nervous system and artificially zaps a bunch of tissue at once.

That doesn’t mean better … it just means more. And sometimes more is better, but not when it comes at the cost of …

Recruitment without load

Recruitment without control

Recruitment without stability

Recruitment without movement competency

It’s like saying a shock makes your hand open and close faster than gripping something … therefore it must be a better exercise for your forearms. No. It just means electricity can force a contraction. Not the same.

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#3 …

“Our Contractions Are 200% Harder Than Normal!”

Cool marketing phrase. Not a meaningful training metric.

“Harder” does not equal more effective.

Lactic burn ≠ hypertrophy.

Discomfort ≠ progress.

Intensity ≠ adaptation.

What builds muscle and strength is:

• Load the body must overcome

• Force that must be produced voluntarily

• Repeated effort patterns your nervous system learns to coordinate

If “harder contractions” were the entire game, we’d all just hook ourselves to car batteries and walk around shredded. Biology doesn’t work that way.

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Ok, ok, but why is mechanical tension better …?

Here’s the big picture most gimmicks don’t want you to understand:

Muscle is built primarily through mechanical tension resisting or producing force through load.

That tension teaches your body:

• How to stabilize joints

• How to fire muscles in the right sequence

• How to distribute stress safely

• How to progressively handle heavier challenges over time

It builds bone density.

It improves tendon resilience.

It strengthens connective tissue.

It develops motor control.

It teaches discipline.

An EMS suit shocks a muscle. That’s it.

Those are not comparable experiences, physiologically or psychologically

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Ok, ok, I got it … but what if you wear an EMS suit while you strength train? Double the benefit? No.

Because your nervous system is trying to draw strong pathways from the brain to the joints and muscles … randomly zapping your quads before your next set of bicep curls does nothing but add noise to motor learning. Also, the zapping adds extra fatigue … this means you won’t be able to put as much meaningful effort into what really moves the needle … mechanical tension. The faster we fatigue the faster our rep quality suffers, compensations will increase, and that’s when injuries happen.

So Why Will People Flock to These Suits?

Because the marketing is designed for people who are overwhelmed, tired, busy, insecure, and hoping there’s a way to skip the uncomfortable part of fitness.

And I get it. Life is heavy enough. The idea of …

shorter workouts +

less efforts =

more results

… sounds amazing.

But easy is rarely honest.

And shortcuts rarely deliver what you truly want.

If you are looking to build strength … traditional strength training wins 10/10 times.

Most people treat creatine like missing a dose will erase their gains overnight.

It won’t.

Creatine works by saturating the muscle over time … not by hitting some perfect timing window.

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Your muscles stay saturated longer than you may think.

Once your stores are topped off (usually 2–4 weeks at 3–5g/day), they decline slowly.

Studies show muscle creatine drops only about 1–2% per day when you stop completely.

So missing a day or two? Physically meaningless.

Evidence: Hultman et al., 1996; Harris et al., 1992; Kreider et al., ISSN Position Stand, 2017.

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Even 3–4 days off won’t affect your strength.

Performance benefits from creatine come from increased PCr availability (… which allows ATP to increase). If you remember from high school biology class our ATP is that first burst of energy we get when we produce high demand of force.

Since your stores barely drop in a few days, your strength, power, and training quality should stay consistent evebn if you miss a fe doses in a week.

There’s no measurable decrease in strength or sprint performance until muscle stores fall much further … which takes weeks, not days.

Evidence: Rawson & Persky, 2007; Branch, 2003; Forbes et al., 2021.

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Consistency matters… but not perfection.

Yes, creatine works best when you take it daily.

But that’s about maintaining long-term saturation. Not micromanaging a supplement schedule.

Missing a couple days doesn’t reset anything.

Just pick up where you left off. No loading phase. No compensation dose. Just… resume.

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The only real risk of missing a few days?

You overthink it and stress yourself out.

Creatine is one of the most studied, safe, and effective supplements in the entire industry. Check out my Substack on creatine if you haven’t … HERE

Take it most days. Lift hard. Eat enough protein. Sleep.

That’s it.

I’ve had many clients over the years tell me that before they came to see me for help, they had a “moment.” Maybe it was a trip to the doctor’s office where they were told something they weren’t ready to hear. Sometimes it happens when they try to do something physical they thought they could do … and couldn’t. Other times, it’s standing in front of a mirror and not recognizing the person staring back.

However or whenever that moment comes, it brings people to a fork in the road. One direction is “keep doing what you’re doing and hope for a miracle.” The other direction is change. Once they choose change, that is the confrontation with identity. And it’s not easy, because it means admitting to yourself that you haven’t been doing enough. For a lot of people, that reality is too hard to face, so they stay stuck, still hoping for a miracle … spending money on the next “Magic pill” or following the workout that “promises to melt away belly fat”. But here’s the truth: realizing or admitting that what you’ve been doing isn’t enough isn’t weakness. That’s a flex. That’s ownership.

Starting over at the gym in your 40s, 50s (or later) can be scary. Fifteen years of coaching has shown me the same pattern: people “starting over” usually don’t fail because of poor programming or exercise selection.

They fail because of the stories they tell themselves … and believe … before they even step through the gym door.

1. “I don’t want to look stupid.”

Jerry Seinfeld once joked that most people would rather be in the casket at a funeral than the person giving the eulogy. The number one fear isn’t pain … it’s embarrassment. Adults hate being beginners. We’ve spent decades getting good at our jobs, at parenting, at pretending we are experts and know what we’re doing. Then starting over at the gym strips all of that away leaving us vulnerable (*shivers*). Nobody wants to be the 40-year-old who can’t figure out how to use the cable machine.

Here’s the truth: nobody in the gym is watching you. They’re too wrapped up in their own insecurities to notice yours (… see all those trip-pods, they aren’t pointed at you). And if that fear is holding you back, hire a professional to guide you.

2. “I used to be in shape… what happened to me?”

This one cuts deep. I’ve had clients stare at old photos of themselves like they’re looking at a ghost. Or they’ll tell me about the moment they looked in the mirror and couldn’t recognize who they’d become. They walk into the gym and every rep feels like proof of decline.

But that old version of you isn’t gone … it’s buried. Muscle memory is real. Habits are dormant, not dead. The wiring from before still exists. Comparing yourself to 20-year-old you is a fool’s errand. You have to be real about where you are now, and build forward from here.

3. “It’s too late for me.”

This is the quiet resignation that keeps people stuck. They believe fitness is a young person’s game. But strength, mobility, and health don’t care about age … they care about stimulus. I’ve trained 60-year-olds who move better than they did at 30.

Science backs this up: muscle growth and fat loss don’t suddenly shut off at 40. What does change is urgency. You don’t have 20 years to waste anymore. That’s not a reason to quit … that’s the best reason to start now.

Sarcopenia, or age-related muscle loss, typically begins in the 30s–40s and can accelerate significantly if left unchecked. Adults who don’t strength train lose 3–8% of their muscle mass per decade, and strength declines even faster (Volpi et al., The Lancet, 2010). That means strength training as you get older becomes more important, not less.

4. “I don’t have time.”

This is the most common excuse. Work, kids, and life pull you in every direction, but the deeper truth is this: if you don’t make time for your health, your body will eventually take the time for you through injury, illness, or burnout.

I’ve seen it play out in corporate America and in the gym. Saying “I don’t have time” is really saying, “It’s not a priority.” Since COVID, I’ve noticed how much more lenient employers have become about allowing time for physical health during the workday. Most people are connected to work 24/7, so taking an hour in the middle of the day to train is no longer unusual.

Two practical tips if you’re struggling with time:

1. Pick a time of day that won’t get interrupted.

2. Talk to your boss about carving out an hour for training. You might be surprised how often they’ll support it.

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5. “I don’t even know where to start.”

In 2025, the biggest obstacle isn’t lack of information … it’s too much of it. Every fitness influencer has a different solution: keto, fasting, walking backwards, weighted vests. That paralysis from information overload keeps people on the sidelines.

The fix is simple: pick one lane and commit. Consistency beats complexity every time. If all you did was lift three days a week, eat protein at every meal, cut out alcohol, and truly prioritize sleep, you’d transform your body in 90 days. I’ve seen it happen. It’s simple … but not easy. If you need direction, hire a professional.

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Closing:

Starting over isn’t about getting back to who you used to be it’s about becoming who you still could be. The fear will always be there, but it doesn’t mean stop. It means you’re on the edge of something important. Forty isn’t too late. Fifty isn’t too late. The only thing that’s too late is never starting at all.

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• Volpi, E., Nazemi, R., & Fujita, S. (2010). Sarcopenia: The implications of age-related muscle loss. The Lancet, 375(9727), 152–162.

• Cruz-Jentoft, A. J., et al. (2019). Sarcopenia: Revised European consensus on definition and diagnosis. Age and Ageing, 48(1), 16–31.

We chase deeper stretches, bigger ranges, and the idea that more tension + across more fibers = equals better movement. That can be the case, but not always.

Flexibility without strength is like owning a sports car with bad brakes … it looks impressive, but there are greater-than-normal risks involved.

Real mobility isn’t about how far you can go.

It’s about how well you can control it.

1. Flexibility is only useful if you can control it.

Just because you can drop into a deep ASS-TO-GRASS Squat … doesn’t mean your body trusts you there, or that you can hold a bio-mechanically proper position through that full range. Without strength and coordination, that range is unstable & weak. Your nervous system senses that instability/weakness and tightens right back up as protection.

It’s like walking on ice. You don’t need to think about tightening up … your body does it automatically. Muscles tense because they don’t trust the surface. Flexibility without control works the same way.

2. Strength gives flexibility function.

When you can generate tension throughout a joint’s range, you’re not just accessing more motion you’re owning it.

That’s what turns flexibility into mobility … movement you can actually use under load/stress, fatigue, or real-world demand.

Sure, you might be able to bend over and pick up that heavy box at home … but can you do that while pushing with your legs, keeping a neutral/safe spinal position, and a braced core?

3. PASSIVE range without ACTIVE range increases risk.

Your muscles and connective tissues need tension to stabilize joints in those new ranges. Without it, you’ve created space you can’t yet control and that’s where some injuries happen.

Chasing passive flexibility without strength is like trying to play a guitar with loose stings. They stretch really far, but that don’t don’t make the right sound. They need tension.

The Real-World Example …

It’s very likely that both your Active & Passive range of motion will vary week-to-week, even maybe day-to-day. Biofeedback.

Take the Romanian Deadlift: one week, your hamstrings might let you drop the bar to mid-shin; another week, you might barely pass your knees. That’s not regression it’s bio-feedback as to whats accessible to you on that given day.

Tightness and fatigue are your nervous system’s way of saying, “I don’t feel safe going that far today.”

Understanding your active range (what you can control) versus your passive range (what you can access when assisted) tells you how much space your body truly owns in that moment.

Train within what’s controllable. Expand gradually. That’s how you build range that lasts.

4. Flexibility + strength = resilience.

People who stay healthiest aren’t the loosest or the stiffest … they’re the ones with strength through range.

Their joints can move freely and absorb force. Their systems adapt, recover, and repeat because the body trusts the motion it’s asked to perform.

That’s the sweet spot. That’s durability. That’s the long-game.

The Takeaway

In strength training … flexibility isn’t the goal … control is.

Stretching gives you access. Strength makes it usable.

—Every Personal Trainer Ever

What does that actually mean? How do you know when your core is strong enough or when it’s a limiting factor?

Does it mean once you have a six-pack or a lean midsection? Absolutely not. That’s much more about diet than core training.

So how do you know what to train and how to train it?

Influencers be like, “Follow my 10-minute ab crunch circuit for a stronger core in 6 weeks!”

Crunches and other bodyweight core exercises can be great, but your core muscles should be trained just like any other muscle group. Push-ups are great for chest strength, but eventually, you need more tension via dumbbells, barbells, or other forms of resistance to keep progressing.

“I was told my back pain is because I have a weak core.”

In my experience, a weak core is usually a symptom of back pain, not the cause. What I can say anecdotally is that bringing more awareness to your pelvic and ribcage positions will naturally strengthen your core muscles because those positions demand more from the muscles that stabilize them.

#TLDR … If you’re using proper form, your core will get stronger, and your back pain will likely decrease.

“What if I squat and deadlift? Isn’t that enough core training since I’m already using my core during those lifts?”

I’ve heard that one too and yes, contracting your muscles to create spinal stability during a heavy lift is one way to train your core. But in that scenario, your core is working like an anchor. Sometimes, it also needs to work like a rudder.

Training the core as an anchor or a rudder means asking, “What function am I trying to achieve?” In other words, which muscles am I trying to strengthen through specific movements?

In my opinion, the six main functions of the core can be broken down like this:

1. Anti-Extension

2. Flexion

3. Anti-Lateral Flexion

4. Anti-Flexion

5. Anti-Rotation

6. Rotation

Imagine your core as a bridge between your pelvis and ribcage. The bridge is strong when those two structures are stacked and the muscles supporting them are strong. If the bridge can’t support the amount of tension placed on it, it breaks that’s when injury can occur.

This doesn’t mean you’re at risk anytime there’s movement between the ribs and pelvis, but like anything, there’s a safe range for each person to operate in. When you’re training your core, keeping that “stacked and strong” ribcage and pelvis alignment is the goal.

I’m not a believer in a single “perfect” exercise for each function or for the core in general. But from a practical standpoint (for general health and strength), here are a few examples that I’ve had success with so you can understand the concepts:

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Anti-Extension: Resisting arching in the low back

Best bangers: Ab rollout, plank

Flexion: Creating movement through the spine

Best bangers: Hanging leg raise, back extension

Anti-Lateral Flexion: Resisting excessive side bending

Best bangers: Side plank, Copenhagen plank, carries

Anti-Flexion: Resisting rounding in the low back

Best bangers: Barbell hinges, squats

Anti-Rotation: Resisting twisting forces

Best bangers: Pallof press

Rotation: Creating force through twisting the torso

Best bangers: Russian twists, chops, med ball throws

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In my opinion, a comprehensive program for general strength should include some version of each of these core functions.

(***If your goals are more specific performance-based, sport-specific, or aesthetic—then your core training might look a bit different.)

Three movements I ditched along time ago for this population are …

1. Barbell Overhead Press

2. Barbell Bent Over Row

3. Barbell Upright Row

This list may or may not come as a shock. I still see many GP gym-goers performing these movements regularly. This is because these movements have a long history of being effective. Google “Ronnie Coleman Bent Over Row” or “Arnold Upright Row” and you’ll likely be fed a Youtube link to these monsters executing these lifts with excellent technique (and lots of yelling).

Please keep in mind these monsters were training to be as large as possible … slightly different goal than GP clients. I’m not saying these movements can’t be performed safely with GP clients, but usually the risk isn’t worth the slide.

Let’s get into it ..

Barbell Overhead Press

Primary muscles: Delts/Shoulders & triceps

Why I don’t use it with GP?

Requires a high level of shoulder mobility and thoracic extension which GP usually lack. Trying to force a position that isn’t accessible will just reinforce poor movement patterns. Also, the added stress of the forced position at the wrist, elbow and shoulder can lead to cranky joints over time. Dumbbells and machines offer more range of motion and more variability to be pain-free and efficient in an overhead position.

Bottom Line & Better Substitutes:

Barbell Overhead Press doesn’t offer any hypertrophy benefit over dumbbells or machines, but carries more risk. Honorable mention to Landmine press too.

Barbell Bent Over Row

Primary muscles: Lats, traps, rear delts, rhomboids

Why I don’t use it with GP?

Requires posterior chain endurance that most GP lacks. The limiting factor is often the ability to hold a proper hinge … so an enormous amount of energy is being spent on core stabilization, plus hamstring and glute tension … rather than the upper back muscles we are targeting. If the hinge is lost … the load usually translates to the low back, which increases the risk of injury. Grip can also become a limiting factor.

Bottom Line & Better Substitutes:

GP clients usually don’t have the capacity to keep form tight for enough sets … or with enough weight to provide adaptive stimulus to the target muscle groups. Also it’s a shitty/short range of motion. Wide grip pull-ups, single arm dumbbell rows and chest supported rows FTW!

Barbell Upright Row

Primary muscles: Delts & traps

Why don’t I use it with GP?

This is the winner for the number #1 shoulder aggravator through my experience with clients. At the top of the movement the humeral head (shoulder/delt) is abducted and internally rotated. This is a perfect recipe for a cranky shoulder and/or an impingement. Also, the movement has very little benefit to “functional” or real-world strength. How often do you find yourself having to lift something like you do during an upright row?

Bottom Line & Better Substitutes:

Compound movements (multi-joint) are great for building muscle & strength … but when it comes to Barbell Upright Rows … isolating the targeted muscles will likely result in healthier joints, better movement integrity & more hypertrophy. Dumbbell/Cable/Machine lateral raises to train the (medial) delts and shrugs for the traps. Isolating these muscle groups, specific to the function, will result in more stimulus to the target muscle with less risk of compromising the shoulder.

Final thought …

This isn’t about fear mongering or demonizing certain lifts. Plenty of athletes, and advanced lifters use these movements effectively in their training. And if someone came to me with a goal of being able to Barbell Overhead press heavy weight … say less … let’s get to work. But for GP clients … with GP goals in mind … there are more joint-friendly options that still hit the target. Choose movements that move the needle of progress … don’t cling to a movement because of allure.

Early in my career, I kept client relationships purely transactional. And honestly? It slowed my impact, created resentment, and stunted my growth as a coach.

If a client didn’t do their homework, it pissed me off.

If they showed up late, it got under my skin.

I wanted more “thank yous”, more validation something to prove I was doing a good job.

But that kind of scorekeeping made it way too emotional.

It turned the relationship into a silent debts and unspoken expectations.

A race to the bottom.

And probably a big reason why trainer turnover is north of 70% a year. This shit will bury you if you let it.

Thankfully, a mentor got in my ear and helped change everything.

He said, “It’s all about relationships.”

Then he said it again. “It’s all about relationships.”

He told me to stop keeping score and decide who I wanted to be as a coach and then fucking deliver.

Deliver the mission of your coaching.

Whether or not the homework gets done.

Whether they show up late.

Whether they ever say “thank you.”

That conversation shifted my whole perspective. It’s some of the best advice I ever received and for years gave this same anecdote to trainers I hired, worked beside and helped develop.

It made me think about the long game:

Trust. Impact. Behavior. Boundaries. Humanity.

If the mission is to help someone change, it has to be a shared investment.

Sometimes, showing up with a little extra patience, support and grace can change the whole trajectory.

Coaching isn’t keeping score. It’s showing up even when the score doesn’t matter.

That’s how you earn trust. And that’s how you create change.

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1. Progressive Overload Isn’t a One-Night Stand

You’ve probably heard the term progressive overload thrown around. In short: if you want to build muscle and strength, you need to put your muscles under the stress of mechanical tension, to be precise. When you lift weights, your muscles, connective tissue, and nervous system all begin adapting to that stress.

But here’s the catch: once your body adapts, you need to increase the challenge to keep growing. And “more stress” doesn’t always mean “more weight.” It can come from adjusting volume, tempo, frequency, or intensity.

This process is slow. It’s like investing … not gambling. Skip sessions, break the cycle, and you’re essentially pulling money out of the market every time it starts compounding. Inconsistency is the enemy of adaptation.

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2. Strength Is a Skill (and Your Brain Is Involved)

Getting stronger isn’t just about growing muscles … it’s about training your nervous system to fire on all cylinders. Think of strength as a skill, and like any skill, it improves with deliberate, repeated practice.

Most adults can deadlift 100 pounds. But when they first walk into a gym, their form usually looks like they’re trying to fold a beach chair with their spine. That poor movement efficiency becomes a bottleneck and limits performance while increasing risk of injury. But with consistency? Technique sharpens, motor patterns solidify, and the lift becomes a symphony instead of a garage band.

Your brain learns movement like it learns language … through repetition, correction, and practice. More missed sessions = more missed opportunities to refine. Building a skill can sometimes be boring … but so it not being able to lift because you ripped your QL.

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3. Weekend Warrior Syndrome: The Injury Buffet

We all know someone who crams a week’s worth of exercise into two frantic weekend sessions … usually with a side of bravado and a torn hammy. This is the college cram-session approach to fitness, and it’s a fast track to the urgent care clinic.

Sudden spikes in activity, especially after long breaks, don’t give your body enough time to adapt. Joints get cranky. Tendons scream. Your back revolts like it’s forming a union.

Consistency scales the adaptation process. It keeps you progressing instead of rehabbing, and reduces your risk of injury. Remember: weak things break. Strong things don’t.

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The Bottom Line: You Can’t “Hack” It … You Have to Earn It

The beautiful (and brutal) part about strength and muscle is this: you can’t buy it, fake it, or fast-track it. You have to show up. Over and over. In good moods and bad. On the days it’s fun and the days it’s a grind.

Muscle and strength are honest. They reward time and effort, not tricks or trends. So if you’re serious about making progress, put your money on the most boring, reliable strategy in the book: consistent, intentional training.

And maybe eat a vegetable once in a while.

Could You Benefit from a Coach?

It’s a fair question. We’ve all heard the most common reasons for hiring a personal trainer / coach. Accountability, motivation, efficiency, expertise, guidance, blah, blah, blah, etc. And those reasons hold truth. But those reasons often sound rigid, cliche and boring.

So here they are with a little twist a some comedic realities …

1. You Need a Workout Court Jester

You hate going to the gym. You hate lifting weights. It’s a chore, an important one nonetheless, but a chore. Like folding laundry or getting your oil changed. What makes those two things better? How about a True Crime show while your trying to figure out how to fold underwear … or a podcast while some greasy guy named Kyle is changing the filter and trying to up-sell you on the premium blend. I’m not funny, but I understand that part of my role as a coach is entertainment. If distraction helps get the work done - then it’s a good distraction. If people don’t like spending 60 minutes with me - the likelihood of them sticking around is low. A good coach can make the dreadful hour in the gym a bit more enjoyable, while also staying focused on your results.

2. You Can’t Be Trusted with Math

I scored a 15 on the mathematics section of my ACT, so I probably can’t be trusted with math much either … but I can turn into Rain Man with arbitrary “lifting math”. I can add by 25’s, and 45’s extremely fast, and know how to program volume and intensity for strength and hypertrophy. What’s 75% of your 1RM? What’s 3 sets of 8 reps at RIR 3 divided by your will to live? Movement alone is better than nothing, but random sets and reps and intensity don’t continually progress muscle building and strength gains. I should never be trusted with 401k investments, because I’m not an expert. I pay someone to do that for me - because they are, and it saves me time. Working with a coach is no different. The real cost isn’t what you’re paying a coach, but rather what you lose by staying stuck, inconsistent or hurt. And what you gain by saving time and effort where you don’t want to spend it … like exercise programming. Outsource if it’s a priority but not a passion.

***Sidenote: “Lifting math” and counting reps are not the same … I never said I was good at counting reps!

3. You Need Help When Mercury is in Retrograde

“I slept like crap.”

“My neck is tight.”

“Vibes are off.”

“My chakras are out of alignment.”

After you are with a coach long enough, they begin to understand your chaos … and integrate changes into the plan. Although I joke that my empathy meter is often low - I take client feedback seriously and call an audible if needed. My job is to coach the person, not the program. No judgement. Just strategy … and some sarcasm. Trying to objectively self-measure want your body needs is often tough. This is where a third-party (coach) can help give you the Goldilocks amount of stress while avoiding over/under training.

4. You Need a Social Spotter

Maybe its fear of the gym. Maybe it’s wanting to impress someone else … (or yourself) by deadlifting 300lbs or squatting ATG. Maybe you want to be taken more seriously as a worker-outer, or just need someone to gas you up. A coaches job is not to choose your goals - but rather guide you to them. They are a GPS. You pick the location and they map the fastest route. Confidence and direction. They should give you both - and if they don’t - find a better coach.

At the end of the day - hiring a coach isn’t about weakness, but more about leverage. CEO’s have advisors. Ahtletes have trainers. And therapists have therapists. So if you’re trying to do everything yourself … stay motivated/accountable, write the program, do the math, correct your own form, adjust the plan when needed … congratulations you’re a hero … but probably not as efficient of a hero as you could be. If you need help hire a professional. That’s not indulgence - that’s strategy.

When I Google’d “Yoga Body” … here was the first image result …

When I Google’d “Pilates Body” … here was the first image result …

(Sigh). And, when I Google’d “Lulu Lemon Models” … here is the first image result …

Let’s be careful to not mix up the Vibe of Yoga/Pilates Practice … with the Outcomes of Strength Training & Nutrition.

Successful marketing usually involves telling people a story they already believe.

In this case Yoga and Pilates frequently showcases bodies - often female - that are lean/sculpted. This is a direct appeal to people who are interested in achieving that look. These images imply that regular practice in these disciples will result in a specific body type.

Let’s be clear …

Doing lots of Yoga doesn’t give you a “Yoga Body”.

Doing lots of Pilates doesn’t give you a “Pilates Body”.

I say this with the upmost respect for both disciplines …but that’s not how physiology works.

Yoga and Pilates can be incredible for mobility, stability, neuromuscular connection & baseline strength. But no one is Warrior posing their way to visible abs … or hip circling their way to a juicy booty. These disciplines don’t create enough mechanical tension to build metabolic tissue, or enough overload needed for real physique change. And the single greatest factor for body composition is still nutrition. (Honorable mention goes to genetics - because we all have at least one friend who does the bare minimum and may still be able to model yoga pants.)

Movement ≠ Muscle

So if you are chasing the “Yoga/Pilates body” or have some type of aesthetic/body composition goals …

• Eat for your goals

• Strength train with effort and intention

• Stay consistent with both & prioritize recovery

… then layer in the Yoga and Pilates if you like the way it makes you feel.

Respect the method - but don’t romanticize the marketing.

If you enjoyed this post - be sure to check out my thoughts on the word “Tone” or “Toned Muscle” and how lead to a stimga that still lives on today in my previous post (You Can't Build Toned Muscle If You Don;t Lift Heavy Enough To Build Any Muscle

It’s not about finding the “secret exercise/movement” … it’s about finding the secret within each exercise/movement.

Today - I lay out my case for the Romanian Deadlift being Goated. It sits atop my Mt. Rushmore of movements along with the pull up, walking lunge & the 4th spot is still up for grabs (..maybe dips?). Many of you are probably wondering how these movements achieve such a high honor? The process of becoming Goated is filtered through a strict system of criteria. Let’s begin …

1. Compound Movement (Multi-Joint Involvement) – In order to be goated the movement must require multi-joint coordination, which ensures a greater force production, efficiency in training, and a higher overall training stimulus. During an RDL the ankles, knees, hips, and shoulders all need to work together at the same time. A bicep curl or any other single joint movement is eliminated from Mt. Rushmore contention.

2. Coordinated Muscle Contractions – Does it require multiple muscle groups to work together improve coordination, strength transfer, and functional performance? Bonus points if it requires upper body and lower body musculature demand. In the RDL the lats, glutes and hamstrings should all be lighting up like a Christmas tree! A hack squat or leg press would be a good example of something that meets the criteria of #1, but not #2. Even though its multi-joint … it’s still primarily targeting that quads with no real upper body engagement.

3. No External Spinal Stabilization – Is the spine externally stabilized? When the body, rather than a machine or external support like a bench, is responsible for stabilization of the spine, core engagement increases, leading to better overall strength demand from the movement. The inability to stabilize the spine is one of the leading causes of back problems. 20-30% of Americans have CHRONIC back pain (Heartford Healthcare) … and I’d be willing to bet the majority of those people do not have the ability to stabilize their spine. So, yeah it’s kind of important. The RDL requires an immense amount of internal spinal stability. Also, sorry, but this is where Bench Press leaves the Mt. Rushmore chat.

4. Eccentric and Concentric Phases – Does the movement include both? The eccentric phase builds control and strength while also being a key driver of hypertrophy, and the concentric phase develops power, force production and the other key driver of hypertrophy. This is why sled pushes, KB swings, Snatches and Battle Ropes are not optimal for building muscle. Want to know/feel why the eccentric piece is so important … next time your doing and RDL slow the descent. Take 5 full seconds to get below the knee and your hammies should be screaming after 5 reps (if you’re using enough load, sissy).

5. Scalability & Load Progression – How much runway do you have with this movement? The best movements allow for long-term progress by adapting to increased loads, volume, or intensity, ensuring continued progress. A push-up, although a great movement can’t be goated because it becomes harder and harder to load. I have a strong RDL (405lbs PR **cough cough**) but I still have some room left at the end of the barbell sleeve. I’m still progressing this movement after 20 years.

6. Full Range of Motion (ROM) – NO HALF REPS! A greater ROM strengthens muscles across their entire length, improves mobility, and reduces the risk of injury by reinforcing end-range control. A box squat is a fantastic movement … in certain applications, but it pales in comparison to dropping your ass down low. If the goal is to put the most tension across the most fibers … the box squat simply misses the mark because it cheats you out of full ROM. The RDL maximizes hip extension range under load and hits a bullseye.

Is the RDL the right movement for everyone? Definitely not. But, if you are capable of executing that movement with precision - and your goals are weight-loss, aesthetics, or strength - the reasons above, and personal years of client anecdotes are why I have goated it.

Agree, great? Disagree, would love to talk more, sincerely. Whatever the case - what I hope you take from this is exercise selection matters. Building or following a program should force you to ask a lot of ‘why’s’. Why the order? Why the volume? Why the intensity? Why these specific exercises. If your a coach - do you have a set of criteria? Time is usually a bottleneck with clients - so are you making the best use of their time? If you are a client, and you care about your progress - don’t be afraid to ask your coach, why? “FFS, why are we doing lunges again!?”

1. Lift Heavy Sh*t - Strength Training

Lifting weights isn’t just about looking good or lifting big weight … it’s about turning your body into a caloric furnace. Muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue, meaning the more you have, the more you can eat. See my post on Maxing Out Your Metabolism (HERE) for more context.

• Study: Strength training can increase resting metabolic rate (RMR) by 7-8% (Westcott, 2012).

2. Eat More Protein (No, a Handful of Almonds or a Tbsp of Peanut Butter Doesn’t Count)

Protein isn’t just for gym bros it’s the king of macronutrients when it comes to burning calories through digestion. Your body actually works harder to break down protein than carbs or fat, a process called the thermic effect of food (TEF). See my post on TEF and other Components of Energy Expenditure (HERE) for more context.

• Study: Protein increases TEF by 15-30%, compared to 5-10% for carbs and 0-3% for fats (Jager et al., 2017).

3. Stop Sleeping Like a College Freshman on a Bender

If you sleep like garbage, your metabolism downshifts and sends your hormonal balance into a Jager night on the dance floor. Poor sleep leads to lower production of growth hormone (for building muscle), higher production of cortisol and insulin resistance which leaves your body clinging to fat like a desperate one night stand who caught the feels.

• Study: People who get 5.5 hours of sleep vs. 8.5 hours per night burn 400 fewer calories per day at rest (Nedeltcheva et al., 2010).

Final Thought:

Your metabolism isn’t broken … it’s just needs some good physical stress, proper fuel, and more shut-eye. Lift, eat real food, and get some damn sleep.

What is it? Why does it happen?

“The Pump” is that temporary muscle swelling during a workout that makes you look bigger and feel like a superhero—until about 30 minutes later, when reality sets in… and your T-shirt sleeves feel baggy again.

The pump happens because of increased blood flow. Your body floods the working muscles with oxygen and nutrients while clearing out waste products. This process stretches muscle fibers and signals your body to grow/adapt.

But don’t confuse the pump with actual muscle gain—it’s just a preview, not the final product. Think of it like blowing up a balloon: it looks huge, but if you don’t keep filling it consistently (through proper training and nutrition), it deflates. The deflation happens because your body redistributes blood and fluid once the muscle is no longer under constant demand.

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If bro didn’t get a pump, did the workout even count?

Yes, of course, Bro… the workout still counts.

The pump can be a sign of effective training, but it’s not the primary driver of strength and hypertrophy gains. The main driver is mechanical tension—let me explain:

You could walk into the gym, grab some 25s, and do 3x10 dumbbell curls to get a really solid pump. But if you’re not progressively increasing reps, weight, or intensity, your muscles won’t grow or get stronger. The stimulus has to be enough to trigger an adaptive response.

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What if I don’t ever get a pump?

Even though the pump isn’t required for muscle growth, most strong/muscular people I know get a good pump regularly. Here’s how to increase your pump if you’re chasing that swole look:

1. Blood Flow Into the Muscle

Some (very few) people have genetically poor blood flow, but in my experience, most people can improve it through diet and supplementation.

• Vasodilators like beets, leafy greens, and citrulline malate promote better circulation.

• Hydration is crucial. If you’re dehydrated or low in calcium, potassium, magnesium, or sodium, your pump will suffer.

2. Training Variables

Three strategies I use for a better pump:

1. Higher rep ranges (15-20 reps per set)

2. Shorter rest periods (30-45 seconds)

3. Slower eccentrics/tempo (increasing time under tension)

These all keep blood flowing into the muscle for longer.

3. The Ole “Mind-Muscle Connection”

I’ve grown to loathe that term because it’s overused… but that’s a post for another day.

Do you actually feel your muscles contracting when you lift? If not, you should—because that’s what’s moving the weight.

Sounds silly, but next time you’re sitting on the couch or lying in bed, try this:

• Contract your calves.

• Then your hamstrings.

• Then your quads… glutes… and keep going all the way up your body.

Where does the Nervous System WiFi signal get weak?

Practice isolating and contracting muscles, and you’ll strengthen the network connection when you lift.

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Final Thoughts

To me, the pump is cool—probably slightly overrated—but let’s be honest… we all flex in the mirror after a shower, right?

Watching Pumping Iron as a teenager, Arnold had me very confused about what a good pump was supposed to feel like. If you’ve never seen it—treat yourself. (I’ll include the link below.)

ARNOLD TALKING ABOUT THE PUMP *** Click

Bottom line: If you dial in nutrition, electrolyte balance, and training variables, you should get regular pumps to help maximize performance and aesthetics.

Hope this helps!

DM me @_Champfit on IG or comment below with questions.