Scott
Scott approached me to improve his body composition.
He was a business owner with above-average genetics, 29 years old, and he was exercising hard a few hours a week. He was about 14% body fat. I assessed him and found a lot of problems in his exercise selection and his nutrition.
For example, his exercise was mostly plyometrics (jumping around), cardio, and boot-camp style classes (like with burpies, kettlebell swings, air squats, etc.). The problem with this program was the lack of progressive resistance training, which is required to give muscles shape, and equally important, to elevate basal metabolic rate.
I suggested a package of five training sessions and eight nutrition sessions. He suggested he pay as he go, but I said, "I don't like auditioning for my job every day. I'd rather focus on you getting the best results possible". So he invested about $1,500 and off we went.
Nutrition-wise he ate healthy for the most part. His bad habit was trail mix, which he felt was a healthy choice b/c of the nuts and seeds. But it is very low in protein and high in calories. I taught him my system of meal templates and intuitive eating which shifted his macros to more protein, less fat, more vegetables, and a decent amount of carbs. And it controlled calories.
I took over his workout programs, got him on an upper lower split with a bit of cardio on the off days, and suggested I train him five times so I was certain he was lifting safely. I changed his workouts every 4-8 weeks. In the gym I noticed he arched his back a lot. I was concerned that over time he would compress a disc so we worked a lot on neutral spine and abdominal engagement in his lifts.
Thanks to Scott’s hard work, consistency, and my coaching, in about six months he had gained about five lbs of muscle and lost about 10 lbs of fat, now looking like a men's health model at about 10% body fat. And he ate ice cream every day, because he liked it and it fit in the plan.
More than ten years later we still keep in touch. His passion lately is cycling.
