Backed By Ish

I am SO SO SO proud of my friend for the effort he’s put in over the 10 months we’ve been working together.

November to January is just a snapshot in time of his progress and we haven’t even started our growth phase yet 😂

Current plan is to grow as much as we can over the next 6 months with a minicut in there if blood glucose, appetite, and body composition start to take a hit.

More to come :)

                

Push Phase progress so far (yes I’m sure you were all sitting at the edge of your seat’s waiting for the update no one asked for)

Crunch time for grad school applications is done… which means ya’ll get to see more of my ugly mug 😚

before photo was approximately a month before coach B started pushing my food up.

July: 216lbs

Nov: 229lbs

Food and training over this period has been on point apart from last weekend pedaling to the medal to get all of my supporting documents in this past weekend.

Training day macros:
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Carbs: 703
Fat: 69
Protein: 365

Rest day macros
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Carbs: 536
Fat: 105
Protein: 378

Split goes as follows
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- Push
- Pull
- Legs
- Off
- Push
- Pull + legs
- Off

I used to get caught up in minutia like “what’s the best training split” looking for black and white answers. While on paper there are certainly diets and training splits that are more optimal than others.

In practice things never pan out how they looked on paper because we all have lives outside of the gym and other stressors.

Ability to consistently execute the plan should always be put first and that looks different for everyone.

Eating has turned into a into a full time job and aside from having a moment where I cracked (not my finest hour), I’m happy with how my ex*****on of the plan above panned out despite this being the busiest period of my life ever.

Onwards we go 😌

                

“What do I need to get done this month?” Instead of “What do I need to get done today?”

A reminder to my clients and myself that significant changes in our physique, strength, and health are made over months and years… Not days. We often catastrophize over small lapses in our daily habits without looking at the big picture

Once upon a time I used to fear going to social events because I’d question my ability to stay on track.. When in reality I’d rather be fully in the present when I’m around the closest people to me.

Nowadays, it’s pretty easy to just enjoy holidays like today… At the end of the day, if you follow a meal plan and stick to it 100%. Because I like numbers and being practical. This scenario helped me put things in perspective.

Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sunday

And saturday includes a meal out and a drink.

If you went 700 calories over the usual 2500 you normally eat. Well that day you stuck to 72% (7 out of 10) of your plan if we’re talking calories. 7/10 sounds pretty okay but when you compare that one day to how you did this week, you stuck to 96% of your plan, add that up over the course of a year and I bet you can make tons of progress on that.

So breathe. You can reach your goals without hiding in the washroom at your family get together trying to calculate the macros in that turkey dinner.

Just enjoy :)

              

In my zoolander era

August 27th last year I set three goals to obtain during the period of Sep 2023 - September 2024:

1) Gain admission to a specialized MSc program in Psych —- a dream I’ve had ever since I started undergrad in 2017.

2) Stay afloat and succeed as an independent trainer/coach —— at least my definition of what success is in a period as short as a year

3) Compete in my first bodybuilding show

————————————————————————————-

None of those things worked out unfortunately

But falling short was MY fault.

Recognize that falling short of achieving the outcomes you want is entirely in your control.

The extent to which that’s actually true doesn’t matter. While there are extraneous factors we just can’t control….. It’s irrelevant

focus on what you can control…

Bodybuilding has always been my vehicle for self improvement in other areas. So this time around it starts with this small win from June - Sep

One cheat during this time frame and ticking the boxes.

While some of the above goals have been adjusted.

This time, I’m prepared

22 days into fat loss phase. 10lbs down.

To be honest. He makes my job easy. Not a single adjustment to nutrition or activity since we started.

Matt just has a relentless work ethic 🤷🏼‍♂️ the only secret formula we have

Have structure, don’t be afraid of getting flat, and embrace discomfort.

Macros or meal plan?

*in other words, is more flexibility in terms of food choices or more structure better*

First take a look at: your goals, skill with tracking, and current lifestyle.

I followed an “if it fits your macros” diet for years until assumed control. And from that point I’ve followed a structured plan since.

On the flip side, I used to give clients just a macro goal to hit when I started coaching.

What I have noticed when transitioning to more structure is that it will always yield better results. Sticking to the same foods allows for greater ease in predicting changes, allowing you to be confident in making adjustments to the plan.

More structure might seem more restrictive, but knowing exactly what you’ll be eating and in what quantity makes the process a lot less mentally taxing (besides, we’re creatures of habit).

You probably eat for the most part the same breakfast each morning with the exception of an easier alternative to prepare.

Thats not to say tracking as you go sucks. And it certainly works in those who are really skilled at it and have a goal that this approach can work within.

              

Tips for toned triceps

*if you’re Egyptian, just shave your arms* 🤝

              

A game of calculated tradeoffs

If there has been anything that bodybuilding has taught me, it’s been learning to let go of certain attributes for a period of time and avoid tying my identity to said attributes in order to keep moving forward.

I was the “overweight kid” all the way up until 24 (swipe). By the time I reached the body composition on the left, I tied a lot of my own value to maintaining that. I slowly learned to detach myself from that, which ultimately helped my progress.

We’re all more than just one facet of our life. I’m not just “Ish the lifter,” or “ish the academic” or “ish the coach.” Everything we do will one day take a backseat… and that is okay :)