The Action Takers’ Guide for Getting in Shape

This post is stress tested and it works. It’s not easy, but it’s effective. There are probably people out there that should not undertake this, so I recommend getting in touch with me if you’re unsure, or talk to your doctor about what you can handle. Now, let’s get shredded 😈

The first thing you need to understand is that it’s about 80% diet and 20% training. 

If you’re smashing KFC, McDonalds or whatever junk is your preference, you’re always going to be sluggish, tired and unhealthy. Think of it like putting a nearly dead battery into your remote. It’ll work very poorly for a while, then it won’t.

That doesn’t mean you have to cut these out altogether, I mean we’re not trying to be bodybuilders, but manage your intake if you want results. 

It’s way easier to cut fat than it is to build muscle, but you can do both at the same time. You just need to really manage your expectations as this will take more time and effort and results will be slower.

Here’s what I did to shred down:

Getting Shredded – Diet:

This is the cornerstone of any training program. This is where you get your energy and recovery. The old “carbs are bad” approach is bullshit by the way. I did keto for about 18 months and was in decent shape, but never broke through to get into bangin’ shape. If you’re overweight, you could start here and just do some walking (at least 45 minutes per session). Do this on a treadmill, pop on a movie/youtube clip/playlist/podcast and you’re set. 

What worked for me was to centre my diet around protein from meat (chicken and fish being the easiest, most readily available High Protein Low Carb with steak being a little higher on the caloric scale), with some healthy fats from avocados or milk but I rarely tracked this – I actually rarely tracked anything.  For me, I don’t like vegetables either so I ate very few of these and haven’t for a long time. No health issues whatsoever. If you want to throw some greens in, spinach or broccolini are great.

Hack: Get broccolini bunches, put them into a plastic container, pour boiling water over the top then put in the microwave for 1 minute – Done.

With that being said, I did calorie count for a couple of weeks, but it turned out that my body knew how much to consume for my goals and I was already doing this. I just had to alter the carbs and protein ratios. 

The calculation for every gram, you get the following calories:

1 gram of protein = 4 calories

1 gram of carbs = 4 calories

1 gram of fat = 9 calories

This is about as deep as you really need to go, as and macro calculator will help you understand how to balance this out. Then, if you REALLY want to calorie count (which I never botched with), you can. Just turn the label round and check the amounts. Easy.

For me, I never bothered with breakfast. Breakfast being the most important meal of the day is bullshit. In fact, being in a fasted state for a training session will give you better results for fat loss. More on some hacks I’ve figured out later on.

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GoalMaintain WeightMild Weight LossWeight LossMild Weight GainWeight Gain

Maintain Weight

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Activity Level

Sedentary

Spend most of the day sitting, with little or no exercise

Light

Exercise 1-3 times/week

Moderate

Exercise 4-5 times/week

Active

Daily exercise or intense exercise 3-4 times/week

Very Active

Intense exercise 6-7 times/week

Extra Active

Very intense exercise daily, or physical job

Your results:

Target calorie intake per day:

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With the above calculator, my recommendation is to have your diet made up of 50% – 70% protein, 20% – 30% carbs and 10 – 15%% fats, but do a little research and make sure it works for you. I am not a dietician, nutritionist or doctor, so if you’re concerned about anything here, consult one.

If I was hungry, I’d just have a protein shake. Whey protein, low carb, high protein was the way to go. I’d get a few different flavours so that it didn’t become monotonous. You can also get protein water these days which has a more fruity flavour so not every shake feels like a dessert. 

I’d constantly snack on beef jerky, but made sure it wasn’t sweetened. If you keep most carbs low, you’ll end up playing the long game which is more cumulative, so rather than cutting out carbs, you can just manage the intake. Anything under 10g of carbs with at least 10g of protein is a pretty good snack. You don’t have to be religious with it though. We’re not bodybuilders…

Now, I actually really like Jasmine rice. I’m not a food snob (but I do like good food) so I’d just get steam bags. They’re like $1.50 in Australia and they take 90 secs in the microwave. I am a decent cook but it bores the hell out of me. If it takes longer to cook than to eat, I’m out.

I’d cook up some chicken breast or just cut up a BBQ chicken from the supermarket and that was pretty much it. Throw on some Sriracha sauce if you like spicy food (I do), and *apparently* Chili can speed up your metabolism but up to 20x, but I can’t remember where I read this so don’t quote me on it.

I’d eat a 250g rice bag with some BBQ chicken OR smoked salmon with Sriracha. About 150-200g for me was perfect, but I’m also 66-68kg so use the macro calculator to see what your intake should be and get as close to this as possible. 

Again, we’re playing the cumulative game here so anything that can speed up the metabolism, do it. 

If you can squeeze in a 10-15 minute walk after a meal, it’ll break down faster and your digestive system will work better. I came across this on the more plates more dates youtube channel, so I trust it. 

Dinner, I’d make sure not to eat too late because if your body is sleeping while trying to digest, you won’t be active so more of a chance it goes to fat stores. A steak and some Broccolini was perfect for me. If you can find some low carb/low sugar sauces, get them. Salt, pepper, herbs, spices – All also good. Just line up as much with your macro calculator as possible. 

It’s very important to also note, that WHEN you eat is just as important as WHAT you eat. If you’re going to have a cheat meal, I recommend having it as early in the day as possible so that your body can naturally burn some of it off. If you eat sweets late in the day, the chances of it being stored as fat are higher. 

Getting Shredded – Training:

This is obviously a very important part. Get a gym membership, go to BJJ, do another martial art, walking, team sports – All of these will work. Just do one. A coach I worked with gave me some sage advice, 2 pieces actually;

1. “Just be more active bro, you gotta be more active”. I was a bit of a couch potato outside of training sessions, so by being more active (walks after meals and adding in a morning training session/walk) was a game changer for me.
   

2. “The best training program is the one you stick to”. Consistency trumps intensity every time, but if you can do both, you’ll get there faster. Just be careful not to hurt yourself.

My gym routine was pretty simple; 30 min light workout in the morning and a 30-40 minute workout in the evening. Yes, it’s difficult to free up time, but you probably watch that much TV, so why can’t you do that while in the gym or on a treadmill.

Work out the bigger muscles in the body because they will burn more calories. We’re talking hamstrings, quads, back, chest, abs. Compound movements (using more than one muscle at a time) are gold here. 

We’re talking deadlifts, squats, bench press, bent over rows etc.

I didn’t ever train to failure because it was again a cumulative effort rather than breaking the muscles down. It was kind of like a modified “greasing the groove” process by Pavel Tsatsouline in order to get more reps in over time rather than intense workouts for growth.

In physiotherapy, there’s also a process called “rate of perceived exertion” or RPE which you aim for about 6.5 – 8.5 at the max. 6.5 means you could easily do another few sets and have no fatigue whereas 8.5 means you might be able to get ONE more rep at the end of the set. The reps would sit around 8-10. You want to break a medium sweat and have no major DOMS the following day (delayed onset muscle soreness).

This might take a little to get dialed in, but if you can’t train the same muscle 2 days later, you’re overdoing it. 

Again, this is just one method that worked for me. Take it or leave it. Just don’t complain. If you’re not feeling like you’ve had a workout after the workout, up the RPE.

RPE is great because it’s a bit of a sliding scale. You’ll never enter the gym with the exact same amount of energy, so trying to hit the same numbers won’t always be consistent. The RPE method allows you to listen to your body and avoid injury. You never really need to go higher than an 8, as the science shows (according to my physio) that you wont get any better gains pushing to a 10 instead of an 8, and you’ll be able to recover faster therefore train more often. Try it out and see how you go.

Outside of weight training, what got me the most shredded, the fastest was doing Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. My thought process for starting at BJJ was: 

1) meet new people (mainly women) as I’d relocated from where I grew up into the city and had very few friends,

2) to meet new people (women mainly) and,

3) to learn a new skill while getting fit. 

The BJJ community is extremely supportive and very easy to connect with. I train with doctors, lawyers, surgeons, blue collar and white collar members of society, it’s so diverse. Also, it’s one of the most intimate forms of exercise you can do so this is great for building confidence and you are always training with new partners so if you can become comfortable with this, your social skills will naturally improve. I strongly recommend BJJ. 

You will also turn yourself into a shredded weapon with a god like body. You may injure yourself (I have plenty of times), so be careful. I also find that it is impossible to feel depressed when you’re fighting for your life when you do rounds (which is just sparring). BJJ also requires a large amount of discipline and respect, there are no down sides here in my opinion. If you can go 3-4 times a week, your strength will improve, your body shape will improve and your overall happiness will improve as you’re flooding your body with endorphins and there’s no better feeling than pulling off a submission. Go do it!

My first ever BJJ comp. I lost on points, but I did it and it felt good. Final score was 3-0.

Interval training: 

Interval training is a great way to burn fat. If you’ve got your calorie intake locked in, you’ll shred hard. What I love about interval training is that you can get it done within 20 minutes, but if you handle 30 minutes, you’ll get better results.

The process with interval training is to train in intervals (duh). 1 minute running/sprinting (if you can sprint, you’ll get better results, but if you can handle a 7/10 level running, that’ll be ok too), then 1 minute jogging or power walking. You do 10-15 intervals of each. 

So to break that down; it’s 20 minutes (or 30 if you can handle it), broken into 1 minute running, followed by 1 minute of jogging/walking then repeat until the timer runs out or you hit 20 (or 30) minutes. 

I’d do this on a treadmill and set it to intervals of 2 different speeds. Then you just have to push a button to change between intervals. Throw on some pump up music or a podcast and you’ll find that it passes pretty quick.

The thing with this approach is you NEED to sweat a LOT. That is showing you that your body is burning calories in this mode of training. Simple. 

If you want to supercharge this into a super fast shred, do it for 2 weeks but also add in a morning walk at a brisk pace (light sweat ONLY) of 30-45 mins. 

Within 2 weeks you’ll clearly see results. I also make a point of taking daily or bi weekly progress shots. It’s a great feeling to actually see results happening. If you’re not seeing results, you’re either not training hard enough or not locking your diet in properly. In some cases, it’ll be both. Just refer back to your macros and make sure you’re tracking towards your goals. If you need help, reach out to me.

Recovery:

If you’re following a good RPE for weights, recovery should just be getting enough sleep. If you feel tired, rest. But don’t trick yourself into thinking you’re too tired if you’re not. “Conquer your inner bitch” by Joe Rogan is a great listen and makes sense. Remember, 20% in the gym is better than 100% on the couch. There is a knock on effect here too; you’ll have done something positive and productive, released some endorphins, released some tension, and not wasted however much time you spend in the gym on whatever other BS you would have done. 

Always aim for at least 30 minutes if it’s a throwaway session. Shit, you can even just go and walk on a treadmill or stair machine, get a sweat up and bounce. There is no way you won’t feel better about yourself for doing this and if you’re going through a breakup, divorce or life trauma, you need some discipline to condition your mind for success.

Ice baths are cool, but I’ve never done one. Saunas are great for after a workout or BJJ session and you’ll get to throw some science in there and reap the benefits of heat shock proteins.

The most important part is to find something that works for you. You are free to create a variation of the above, just don’t go too far from it or I can’t guarantee it’ll work. 

The basic science behind weight loss/fat loss is calories in vs calories out. You need to consume less calories than you burn. Don’t get too caught up in this becoming a stressful process, just use the macro calculator and you’ll be fine. Stay as close to the daily recommendations as possible. 

Excuse makers: If you have convinced yourself you’ve got a genetic or glandular problem, you’re almost 100% kidding yourself. If you think you’re the only person to have ever existed who’s not susceptible to starvation, you’re worth billions – Cash in!

My personal super shred routine:

Ok, so this one won’t be for everyone but it is incredibly effective. If you want results FAST, this is one way to do it. 

It takes a lot of discipline and grit, because you will be tired, you will be sore and you will be craving foods that you can’t eat, but if you want results; I recommend giving it a go. 

At least if you try and don’t make it all the way, you’re still closer to the goal than if you didn’t. Also, this is not a sustainable way to live, so only do it for 2-3 weeks max. Also, if you’re just starting out training, avoid this. Your chance of injury is far higher than those who are accustomed to training. If you’re over 40 and have never trained, I actually recommend against doing this until you’re at least 1 year into your training journey. 

1. Start with a fasted morning gym routine. This can be medium heavy weights or medium heavy cardio. The choice is yours but you have to get above a medium sweat. 
   

2. Breakfast should be low carb bread and eggs. Your body size will determine the meal size. Make sure you’re in a calorie deficit, but don’t go starving yourself. Again, refer to your macros.
   

3. Throughout the day, keep the carbs low and get a 10-15 walk in after each meal. The more active you are between workouts, the faster your metabolism will work. 
   

4. Try to have your protein high, approx 1 gram for every pound of body weight you hold. 
   

5. Have dinner around 6-630pm and then get another gym session in about an hour after. I recommend pushing it a little harder in this session. 30 mins of interval training on the treadmill or 45 mins of weights, 8-12 reps (not to failure, but definitely to get yourself sweating) and only rest for a max of 30 seconds between sets. You want to get a GOOD sweat up in this session.
   

6. When you finish, don’t have a meal afterwards. We want to keep the body in fat burning mode, so now when you back up the following morning, you’ll have done 2 gym sessions without a meal, while in fat burning mode. This is exactly what worked for me. I don’t claim it to the be the best program on the planet, but I am proof of concept here.
   

You’re going to have times where you’re hungry during this shred, but if you want the results, it’s a minor obstacle. 

If you can prove to yourself that you can do this (any part of the above) and get results, your confidence will naturally improve because you’ll be in better shape and cashing in on the endorphins. If you’re going through or have been through a breakup/divorce or are struggling with any life traumas, this will also help you rebuild. 

When you are recovering from a relationship breakdown, you need to incorporate something new and different into your life to fill the void that’s now there. If you don’t, you risk spiralling into depression, bad habits, drugs, negative thought patterns and so on.  If you’d like to learn more about my story, you can do so here.

If you find yourself unable to conquer these with positive, productive actions then reach out for a breakthrough program with me and I will ensure that you heal properly, rewire your subconscious and let the past go. The negative emotions and limiting beliefs are no longer serving you, so you don’t need to hang onto them. 

Stay positive and reach out if you’re struggling. Don’t do it alone.