This was originally presented in a Youtube Video (you can see below) but the following is the plan laid out that was sent to those subscribed to my mailing list.

Now this plan is to give you a little jumpstart consisting of diet, lifestyle, and Sliding Bench Training to get you through the winter, out of that holiday binge, and ideally start to shed off 5 – 10 lbs (at least that’s what I’ll be shooting for). And this will be the same template I’ll be following myself.

I wanted to make this plan because it’s the prime season for people to start those typical resolutions, start fresh with their training, and just recover a bit from the holiday food (that if you guys are like me starts around October). I’ve also heard from some new people in the channel who just got a Total Gym or some other sliding bench trainer for Christmas and are looking for a quick guide to start fresh.

What’s laid out here is NOT a crash diet or exercise plan where we’re hitting the brakes and doing a 180 in the opposite direction. Because I don’t think that’s the best course of action anyways. We want this to be sustainable and something we can build upon. And we’re still in winter, so we have time to gradually ease our way into our spring / summer weight, which during that season, has its own things that we can manipulate with our training. 

I made a mass gaining program PDF and VIDEO YOU CAN SEE HERE for the fall when people typically eat more so to capitalize on that season. And predictably according to my scale, I put on approximately close to 10 pounds. Which I have no problem with because I know I (and you can as well) take that off starting now. 

But like I said, what’s being laid out here can be used at any season.

DIET

Diet is vitally important, but it’s highly individualized as you all can assume. I don’t know everyone’s situation and I’m not sure what particular diet you’re following (or enjoy), nor am I going to be giving specific dietary advice. You guys can take all of this and use it at your own discretion. 

Identify / Alter Habits

• What do you want to add in or take out? 
  • Focus on adding in versus eliminating (but that works too)

• Snacking Between Meals
  • Try to stick to either set snack times or eliminate them all together to just focus on eating during your set “meals”. 

• Alcohol and or Caloric Drinks
  • Reduce and or cut out for a set period of time. Find alternative calorie-free options to curb that habit. 

• Treats or Meal “Add-ons”
  • Avoid / Reduce desserts or other food that you typically consume around your meals (ex. appetizers, chips, dips, chocolate, etc)

• Limit Dining to Once a Week
  • Self explanatory, but try to also plan ahead on what you’re going to order to choose the best option for you. Also consider smaller meal sizes. 

• Maximize Ready Made Meals and or Make your own staple foods habits 
  • Aside from “ready made meals” services, create your own staple meals based on portion sizes you can adhere to. 

• Keep Protein High
  • Protein keeps you full, supports muscle growth / repair, and has a high thermic effect (requires greater energy by body to breakdown). You don’t have to go crazy with the amounts, but consider what most sports nutrition research recommends for those that regularly resistance train (1.2-1.7 grams per kg of bodyweight). Also ideally seek protein sources that high sources of essential amino acids such as animal based foods. 

Lifestyle 

• Stick to or tweak your morning / night ritual
  • Keeps you on track with your schedule, good for sleep patterns, and just great overall for establishing a foundation for your daily habits. 

• Screen addiction
  • In my opinion,everyone is a potential victim to this. Don’t get sucked into negative influences or time wasters that distract you from your goals. Instead, set parameters and little rewards that once reached in the day, allow a little time for mindless or educational entertainment. 

• Increase Non-Exercise Movement 
  • Set aside say at least 20 minutes (that maybe can be broken up) to get up and move your body, but not in a way that’s considered exercise. Go for a mini-walk or I even like my cellerciser which I keep next to my computer. 

• Read or Audible 
  • Great for calming the mind and learning. Also things like audible can be great to motivate you for the point above. 

• Focus and Assess Objectively Good and Bad Uses of Your Time
  • This is on you, but take time and assess how certain things / habits affect you and your overall health. My own personal example is social media. I can make all sorts of excuses as to why I should use it (even for promoting this channel / website), but personally, I feel the “cons” outweigh the “pros”. And I can tell you that this for me was a great decision.

TRAINING

Do Upper / Lower Training 

• 4 x Week minimum
• 20 – 45 min

OR

Total Body Training  

• 3x Week minimum
• 30 – 60 min

Cardio 

• Plan it and Do it
• Min 20 min vigorous 3x a week. (not counting walking)

Exercises: I get all sorts of questions regarding this so I’ll just defer to some of these videos that help if you’re new. 

“The Best exercises”

“Only 3 Exercises you Need”

“Simple Workout Plan”

Example Upper / Lower Body Program

Upper Body

Lower Body

Total Body Example Frequency

Intensity Note: What is “RIR”?

Reps in Reserve (RIR)

For example if “RIR 3” is listed, this means choose an intensity that allows you to complete within the rep range with 3 reps left in you. 

So “RIR 3” would be harder than “RIR 10”

And that’s it. That might not seem like much (or maybe it does I dunno), but if you adopt and follow this simple plan along with tailoring it to your own lifestyle, this should make for a successful outcome. The ultimate goal of this document is to encourage you to set some sort of plan and assess what habits / lifestyle factors you can alter for positive change. 

I know many of you reach out to me and just ask “just tell me what you do” and while I don’t fully recommend that approach (I made a video about that as well) , I do understand that some people work best with a specific plan laid out. So if that’s you and you want to see my step by step outline, you can look for that in the near future.