Provided protein is sufficient and training isn’t overkill, it’s quite difficult to lose muscle mass. I much prefer to go hard and aggressive with dieting to strip fat than drag it out over longer periods for marginal gains that are prone to more noise and error
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I periodise their programming appropriately to make sure when they’re doing the first exercise, 9 times out of 10 they’re prepared to walk in cold, do a general warm up (eg treadmill/cardio machine etc) for blood flow then simply do lighter sets on the exercise and gradually build up.
It takes a smart approach to programming.
For example, if the goal is to walk in cold and do a barbell back squat, I might not program that for several months. A block progression may be something like this (primary exercise listed)
- Front Foot Elevated Split Squat
- Bulgarian Split Squat
- Front Squat
- Barbell Back Squat
And a block may take anywhere from 3-12 weeks for a person to progress through before changing the primary exercise. Of course the frequencies, intensities, reps, sets, and accessories are varying a lot as well throughout it all.
It might sound like a lot, having to wait up to 48 weeks (or even more!) to get to a Barbel lBack Squat or any other exercise for that matter, but once you get there - it’s permanent.
Thanks for the response!
Glad to hear the confirmation - I do better with quick, intense cuts than I do with long deficits as well - I don’t think i’ve ever lost muscle during a cut, just found out the hard way exactly how much muscle mass I had, or didn’t have.
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Thank you for the response. It was very informative.
Eugene - appreciate you spending some time here, and Hi from a fellow Aussie!
Running a hard cut here also for what it’s worth.
Q1. How do you go sleep wise during such a hard cut? (extra carbs at night or just trace carbs during your standard meals)?
Q2. How do you switch off outside of work given you’re running a gym etc. Meditation, etc? Any suggestions here would be super.
I really enjoy the calmness you bring in your videos and advice. And a great intro youtube video there on your gym space.
No questions, but just wanted to say thanks for being here as well; I appreciate your content.
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Really great to have you here, Mean Gene. (Apologies. Not sure I’d ever have that chance again though.)
What are your thoughts on the “need” or role of the Big Three when a lifter’s priority is building muscle? Are the barbell flat bench, barbell deadlift, and back squat foundational exercises you can eventually move beyond, should they always be programmed in some way, are they overhyped in general? What’s your take?
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Turns out I do have a question! I see you’re very aggressive with diet in your cuts. Do you change training at all when focused on fat loss?
Not really. I’m always pretty measured with my volume and intensity to make sure I’m not going overboard. I do avoid excessive bouts of aerobic work when in aggressive dieting phases to prevent muscle loss but that’s about it
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Reposting as it might have been missed above… @EugeneTeo
…
Eugene - appreciate you spending some time here, and Hi from a fellow Aussie!
Running a hard cut here also for what it’s worth.
Q1. How do you go sleep wise during such a hard cut? (extra carbs at night or just trace carbs during your standard meals)?
Q2. How do you switch off outside of work given you’re running a gym etc. Meditation, etc? Any suggestions here would be super.
I really enjoy the calmness you bring in your videos and advice. And a great intro youtube video there on your gym space.
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Very much overhyped and overrated.
We need to stop seeing exercises as good, bad, foundational, functional or any other buzz word that actually has no meaning.
Instead, exercises should be categorised based upon the principles of biomechanics, tension and fatigue/stimulus ratios.
Big 3 generate a lot of tension, but not necessarily more than other exercises (eg dumbbell press, machine or dumbbell squat/press variations & hinge/thrust/lunge variations).
They also come at a cost of forcing us to conform to certain positions that the barbell dictates, that are usually not well suited to most people’s leverages and structure - which is why many people have forward leans when performing a squat, or complain of elbow and shoulder issues after a long time benching.
So it always comes down to weighing up costs/benefits and fitting it to individual. Most people, unless they ONLY have that available or like it for personal reasons, are better off doing other variations
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- I try to bias a bit more calories/carbs in my final meal - but as a rule I always keep the last 2-4 hours before bed free from meals to assist in sleep form a circadian perspective.
- I use any mindfulness practice such as guitar or skateboarding that requires me to be actively present in the moment otherwise I can’t do it properly. That’s why jigsaw puzzles and colouring books are popular in that crowd as well - it forces you to be mindful, instead of having to sit there still with a guided meditation trying to be mindful.
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@EugeneTeo Thanks for this and other replies above. Appreciate your thoughts!
Hi Eugene. I’m currently going through your Full Body phase 1 program and I’m loving it. At what point do I move onto phase 2? What are the markers or indicators that I’m looking for that it is time?
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No question but just wanted to say thank you for your content @EugeneTeo
Eugene, love the youtube channel.
If one were looking for good “flexibility and mobility”, where could I find more info on the “no stretching” method of getting there?
Specifically, I have very tight wrists, even pushups hurt, how would I go about addressing that?
Thank you,
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Could you expand on this? It is something I’ve seen written a lot, i.e., “Don’t eat just before bed” but I’ve never seen anyone cite a source. I tried Googling some terms related to sleep, eating, and circadian rhythm but all that came up were various time-restricted eating (TRE) diets.
I’m having some of the best sleep I’ve had in years but still feel as if there is room for improvement. I’m willing to attribute my increase in sleep quality to exercising enough and eating enough more than my timing, but I eat fairly close to bed-time. It’ll usually be some heavenly bread (I’ve found a local breadmaker that retails through the grocery store), with some greek yoghurt and a side-bowl of quark mixed with honey, and high GI fruits. So, breaking a lot of “rules”.
When you’re sleeping, you’re secreting a lot of endogenous substances and your bowel movement is meant to stop - I think you can theoretically disrupt some of the things that your body wants to do while it’s resting by making it focus on digestion, absorption, etc.
That’d be my take. Would like to hear his as well though.
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Great to hear! Hope you love the new updates to the app as well 
I typically program with 4 week blocks in mind, BUT, there is no reason why you can’t stay on a program phase for longer (or shorter) - I always say bring it back to your response and preference. Many people can continue on the exact same program and make progress on it for several more weeks, while others may need a switch up within 3.
Give it time and an honest effort, and if you notice that despite that your progress isn’t continuing, it’s time to move on.
Correct.
Everyone is different from a circadian perspective, but biological processes such as the migratory motor complex slow down dramatically in the evening - eating huge amounts of food while this is down regulated naturally can cause food to sit in the GI tract undigested for start to ferment