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You Want to Look Like Me?

A few weeks ago, someone I did not know reached out on Instagram and asked if I trained clients. He said he really wanted to have a physique like mine. He is 22 and has not lifted for long. He sent me these two pictures of me that he was really focused on. He wanted instant results, and I don’t think he understood what it would take. I responded by telling him how to start strength training.

I was intrigued by the idea, excited by it even. I’ve never trained anyone, and I’ve never had a trainer or coach myself. So, I considered it for a bit, discussed it with wife and kids. I quickly came to the conclusion there was no way I could train anyone today, for several reasons:

  • I have a full time job
  • Busy life as a dad of three busy kids
  • Potential for liability
  • I have no experience
  • No idea what to charge

I felt guilty leaving this guy with no direction, so I wrote out a detailed response. The remainder of this post is my response, and I share it here in case there are others who might benefit from it. Hope it helps you in some way, and reach out if I can help you with something specifically.

My Response

I thought about this a lot and I am not going to be able to be your personal trainer.  I am very flattered that you asked, and I know how hard it was to put yourself out there to ask me.  I am willing to be something of a mentor and help you figure out what you want and how to get started.  If you want a personal trainer or coach, I actually know several I have met on Instagram.  @spitzfitness, @camberfitness, @illuminatiiron are three of my favorites that I could introduce you to.

I never used a personal trainer, never had a coach for powerlifting or anything.  Just using resources on YouTube, connecting with people on Instagram was the ticket for me.  So, if you want to go that route, below are some things I think can get you started.

Re-Composition

Your goal is a body re-composition.  You are seeking to change some of your bodyweight into muscle without gaining or losing weight really.  There are only a few times in someone’s training career when a re-composition is possible.  One is at the very beginning of your weight training career.  So, it is possible for you to do! 

You aren’t looking to get huge, just move some of your existing mass around to other places, get a better shape.  I understand that to be your goal.  You are starting way earlier than I did, so that’s great too!  That means when you are my age, you’ll be much better off if you start now and are consistent.

One caveat:  You can do everything right and do exactly the same things I do, and you won’t end up looking the same as me.  You have different genetics, different muscle insertions, you may be destined to have a big chest, but some other muscle group may not be as easy for you to grow.  You may hold your fat in different places on your body than I do.

Nutrition: Just Track Protein to Start

You do not need to gain weight.  You do not need to lose weight.

To start with, you need to understand every diet out there (keto, intermittent fasting, carnivore, etc.) is just a way to eat fewer calories than you expend every day, to create a calorie deficit.  Calories in vs. calories out is everything.

I don’t want you to get overwhelmed and get too obsessed with calories (like I am).  So, don’t track everything you eat.  For now, I would just focus on getting a minimum of 160g of protein per day, while monitoring your weight.  If you are gaining weight (using weekly average), try eating fewer overall calories while still hitting your protein goals.

  • Protein is necessary to build muscle, a good rule of thumb is to eat 1g of protein daily for every pound of lean body mass, so 160g is a good number for you

When it comes to what you eat, I would focus on low calorie dense foods. Watch videos by Remington James and Greg Doucette on nutrition to get a better understanding.  Low calorie dense foods are foods that have a lot of volume to help you feel full while not having many calories.  Example of a low calorie-dense food is spinach, an example of a high calorie dense food is peanut butter, which has a ton of calories for just a spoonful.  So, eat less peanut butter and more vegetables if you want to feel full.

Training: Keep it Simple to Start

When I started getting into training, I found Barbell Medicine, and they were an amazing resource.  I have used their training programs more than any others since starting.  They have a great resource here to help people just starting out: https://www.barbellmedicine.com/blog/the-beginner-prescription/.  I recommend you read this post fully.  I also would recommend their initial 4-week training program that they give away for free. The first week looks like this:

Barbell Medicine first 4 weeks.

You would need to have a basic understanding of RPE (rate of perceived exertion), which is how you figure out how much weight to put on the bar.

  • Like Barbell Medicine, for someone starting fresh, I would recommend full body training, focused on compound movements primarily, three days a week
    • Full body training just means working on all the major muscle groups every day with compound movements (like squats) vs. isolation exercises (like bicep curls)
    • Each week try to make progress by adding weight to the bar, because progressive overload builds strength and forces adaptations.
  • As a novice lifter, you will see massive results quickly if you stick with it for a month or two.  To develop a really muscled physique, you will need to be consistent for a long time, but the initial gains come quickly, then later it becomes harder to see improvement.
  • If you are comfortable training with barbells and doing squats, bench press and deadlift, then I would do those movements. 
    • If you aren’t comfortable, I would recommend watching YouTube videos on the subject (Alan Thrall has some good technique videos, so does Brian Alsruhe, if you search them on YouTube).

What I did to get where I am today

  • Consistently train. 
    • I never missed a training session in the last 7 years.  That means I have training at least 3 days a week, every week. 
    • The consistency is really the key.  I enjoy training, how it makes me feel mentally and physically, and how it makes me look
    • Currently, I am focused on bodybuilding style training at high reps, but up until this year, I have been focused on powerlifting full body training, trying to get stronger in deadlift, overhead press, squats and rows
    • I now train 6 days a week in a push, pull, legs split.
  • Tracked my weight daily.
    • Helps me figure out how many calories my body needs to stay the same weight and to grow
    • Weigh yourself at the same time (in the morning right when you wake up)
    • Measure daily, but focus on the rolling 7 day average
  • Tracked my calorie consumption
    • I use the app MyNetDiary, but there are many others
  • Eat low calorie dense foods
    • I love anabolic ice cream, egg white French toast, and other “anabolic recipes” that can be found on YouTube channels
  • I watched a ton of YouTube.
    • There are a ton of really smart accounts that have tons of great information.
    • Layne Norton
    • Barbell Medicine
    • Geoffrey Verity Schofield
    • Greg Doucette
    • AlphaDestiny
    • Alan Thrall
    • Jeff Nippard
  • Walk 10,000+ steps every day
    • I use a Fitbit to track steps
    • I aim for 15,000 steps these days
    • Staying consistent with the step count helps me maintain a consistent calorie expenditure so I can match that up with a consistent diet so there aren’t too many changing variables that can throw things off.

Please share if you found this helpful. I am going to try to start posting more regularly this year.

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