More Than Muscle

I was recording a check-in for one of my clients the other day, and this word phrase came to me...

"Become an ex*****oner."

No, not the type that cuts heads off.

But the type that executes on what they say they will do.

Somebody who sets a target and executes every day, with relentlessness.

I've decided to term this type of person an ex*****oner.

It's funny because ex*****oners usually have:

More confidence
More self-respect
More money
And a better physique

All the things you want.

So maybe you need to start looking at yourself and ask some tough questions...

Why aren't you executing at the level you know you could be?

Why are other people, who have less talent, so far ahead of you?

Well...

You're not executing.

You're making excuses.

You say you'll do something, and you never follow through 100%, do you?

Look, I've been there myself in the past.

Struggling to operate at the level that I know I can, especially when I used to play football.

And I can tell you first-hand that if you want to stop being average, you have to make a decision to get your s**t together.

You have to make a decision that you are going to set a standard.

That you've had enough.

You've just had enough of looking in the mirror and knowing that you should be seeing more.

Knowing deep down that you could be completely on another level.

But you're not.

You set a standard for your life, and you never fall below it.

That's how you stop being average.

If you need help setting your standard, join me on The Cut this summer and I'll show you how to operate at levels you didn't think were possible.

We start on 2nd May.

Hit the link in my bio, or drop me a DM if you're interested.

I'll be honest...

I've been very reluctant to share physique progress recently.

As body fat levels rise during a gaining phase, it can be pretty tough to accept at times.

It has been for me.

When we embark on the journey of building muscle, we accept that body fat WILL increase.

And we eat our body weight in crumpets, bagels and cereal... all the while pushing ourselves further away from the lean, muscular physique that we so desire.

It's a head f**k.

The ultimate form of delayed gratification.

You accept the idea of looking worse for a period, before you get to look better.

As body fat creeps up, you see less definition and shape.

Some weeks you'd swear you've lost muscle when you look in the mirror.

All of your hard work is completely hidden, and it feels like you're going nowhere.

But this post is a reminder to anyone who is battling their head, feeling a bit s**t about elevating body fat.

Don't stop.

Try to remember why you made the decision to start building muscle.

Do you remember why?

What was it for you?

Do you remember that moment when you decided that enough is enough?

I want you to think about the ways in which your life is going to change when you finally create a physique that you're proud of...
..when you finally have enough muscle, and people start to take you seriously.

Well, this is what you need to go through in order to create your vision.

Push through these boundaries and work outside of your comfort zone for just a while longer.

Trust me, when you decide to get lean again... it will all be worth it.

Show some courage, and rest in your discomfort.

The first module of the More Than Muscle programme is on developing the courage to break through the boundaries in which you currently operate.

If you want to know more about More Than Muscle, drop me a DM.

New website is up!

I think it’s pretty sick… thanks

What do you think?

Have a little gander and let me know.

You can find it by hitting the link in my bio and clicking ‘coaching enquiries’.

Now it’s about building out the client portal full of educational content to take my client results to the next level…

If there's one thing that I've learned over the last 22 years, it's this:

Adversity should be expected.

Don’t expect your life to run smoothly… it’s a great way to be disappointed 😂

There will be times in your life where everything is f**king flying. You might be in one of those periods right now!

But these won't last forever.

(not to be all depressing and that)

So we need to accept the undeniable truth that life is periodically going to test you.

Do you remember the last time you really got tested?

Life will constantly throw punches and it's going to take you to breaking point.

I think a lot of people try to ignore negative emotions, and they have this toxic positivity mindset which is actually just denial about the truth.

Things can be bad... and that's okay.

It's actually normal.

But the problem is that we don't get taught how to hold our negative emotions in school, so we naturally suppress them, and it f**ks people up in the end.

You can't outrun your demons by keeping yourself busy with distractions.

You need to face your problems head-on, no matter how scary and daunting they may feel.

Things in your life might be s**t right now.

It might be hard/almost impossible to execute your goals

But these periods of pain and challenge are the moments that define us.

They're the times that build character and forge our identity.

The pressure you may be feeling, the pain... this is where you grow and become the person you're supposed to be.

So stop running.

Hold the pain.

And execute your targets anyway.

You might just show yourself how f**king strong you are.

"This too shall pass." .si

Insane work from

If you listen to my podcast, you will hear me talk about this all of the time...

A physique transformation is much more meaningful than it seems on the surface.

A physique transformation is a great teacher of life, and along the journey, you become a completely different human being.

Abdul has.

When we spoke earlier this year, he told me how his confidence has transformed, his social life was in the best place it had ever been, and his self-respect was at an all-time high.

Do you know why?

He earned the right to be himself.

He showed himself what he's capable of.

And started to appreciate himself, and the person that he truly is.

But he never would have seen this person, and had appreciation for this person... if he didn't put the graft in.

It's just graft.

(and the right tools from me 😁)

But I want to ask...

Have you shown yourself what you're capable of?

What level of respect do you have for yourself?

Are you happy with the direction you're going?

Maybe you're reading this and you know that there's more on the table.

You could be doing a lot better, right?

Well, I want to challenge you to follow in the footsteps of Abdul...

I'm telling you that you need to be relentless in your pursuit of the goal.

That doesn't mean perfection.

That just means don't f**king give up until you win.

Even on the days where you don't want to get in the gym...
Turn up anyway.

The days when you're too tired to cook your food...
Cook it anyway.

The days where you're suffering, and life has just nailed you with a left hook. You're disorientated and your whole life feels like it crumbling down...
Guess what you need to do?

Yep.

Or just keep doing what you're doing...

The decision is yours.

If you feel like this post has resonated with you, and you'd like to find out more information about working with me, drop me a DM.

“Always been a big guy…”

Absolutely unreal work from .thwaite in just 8 weeks.

We spoke on the phone today to discuss how he found the whole process, and what he got from it…

One of the things for Michael was that he got addicted to the feeling of becoming better.

He said that throughout his life he’s “always been a big guy” and has struggled with body confidence.

So the feeling of looking at his pictures week after week and consistently seeing a better version of himself…

Have put him in a position where he’s waking up full of purpose and direction.

More motivated than ever.

And that’s the beauty of training and developing your physique…

It creates a satisfying avenue for us to direct our attention and efforts, because you won’t ever be cheated out of results.

You put work in, you get results out.

When you take things to the next level, you get a sense that you’re completely in control of your life.

And that feeling of levelling yourself up everyday is unrivalled.

It’s power.

Now we have the opportunity to take these results to the next level.

I’m happy with this 👆🏼 but the goal over the next 6 months is to make this look mediocre.

LFG .thwaite

Want to hear a lesson that Snowdon taught me?

When we arrived at Snowdon yesterday, we ran into an immediate issue which f**king wrecked us 😂

The car park was full.

It was heavy.

We had to drive a good couple of miles around the mountain before finding another spot to whack the car.

So we had two options…

Walk an hour and a half back up the road.

Or traverse the mountain along the “unbeaten path” until we meet the correct trail.

Second one sounded more fun, so we went with that.

(Plus we had an ex-soldier .level10life who was f**king in his element with a map and compass n s**t so…)

Now, although this was quicker… it was a lot more challenging.

Getting across this terrain was a serious workout (for me).

After about an hour we got to the bottom of the trail 😂

And then the climb began.

But I remember thinking…

“F**king hell, we haven’t even started yet and I’m already f**ked!”

So I noticed this voice in my head, and asked myself to do one thing, and one thing only.

Just keep putting one foot in front of the other, until you get to the top.

“Can you take one more step?”

“Right, do it then.”

“When you reach the top you can rest.”

And so that’s what I did.

Thankfully when we actually got on the path it was pretty f**king easy 😂 but the lesson remains…

If you just keep walking and admiring the view, you’ll be at the summit before you know it.

Just take one step at a time, and stop worrying about how far you’ve got left to go.

So when you’re sat there thinking about how much weight you’ve got to lose, or how long it’s going to take to build some muscle… I invite you to shut the f**k up.

And I invite you instead to just take one step closer towards that goal, today.

Then probably do it again the following day.

And again, and again.

Before you know it you’ll be 6 months down the line and your whole life will have changed.

NEWSFLASH

Nothing about your life will change…

Until you decide to change it.

Until you decide that you’ve had enough.

Until you decide that you’re better than this.

I remember one distinct moment about 3 years ago, where I looked at myself in the mirror.

I will never forget.

I said, “this needs to change”.

And I became relentless in my pursuit of transforming my physique.

Of building a respectable level of muscle.

Of proving to myself that I am worth more.

But it has to start with honesty, and awareness.

Acknowledgment that you’re unhappy with your current situation is not weakness.

It is true strength.

Because it’s much harder to admit your flaws than to be in denial.

If you know deep down that you could be doing better, stop lying to yourself.

Sort your s**t out.

If you’d like some help with sorting your shot out, drop me a DM.

You know what's sad?

When I see somebody putting in WORK, but they have nothing to show for it.

Someone who demonstrates consistency, discipline, dedication...

Yet they're achieving mediocre results.

It makes my insides hurt.

And their mediocrity is usually because of something, so simple, that they're doing wrong.

Because we know they're nailing the plan and working hard... it's not that.

It's just that their plan is s**t.

As .coaching once put it so eloquently...

"There's a difference between being consistent, and being consistently s**te."

Nailing the plan is so important.

But it's also worthless if you're doing things wrong.

Well, not worthless. But just a bit s**t.

So it begs the question...

Are you actually doing things right?

Do you think there's anything you could be doing better?

Would you like me to help you with anything?

If so drop me a DM and I'll be happy to help.

Yesterday my coach told me a very valuable story...

joined us on the podcast as our first proper guest since we started recording from and he spoke about what he's been doing for the last 10 years to reach the top.

Putting in work.

That's it.

Nothing sexy.

He's just been turning up every day and grafting.

Battling through viciously tough times, self-doubt, illness and more... but never losing his relentlessness to reach the top.

He just kept going throughout all of it.

And I think it's fair to say he's starting to receive the fruits of his labour.

But only just now.

For years nothing significant was happening, but he believed he had something special.

And this is the point we discussed in the podcast...

You have to be willing to just f**king go.

And keep going.

Until it happens.

Because one day, it will happen.

As long as you just don't quit.

Some may call it lunacy to continue grinding in the pursuit of greatness when you're receiving minimal returns for the best part of a decade.

Most people would fall by the wayside, consumed by self-doubt and pessimism.

But when your 'why' is strong enough, and you feel deep down that you have something special, it's going to f**king happen.

As long as you just don't quit.

Take a moment to think back to a time when you've given up on a meaningful pursuit.

Where would you be today if you just kept turning up?

Where would you be today if you just didn't quit?

Just a quick one to make you think on this fine Sunday evening…

What are you going to do next week to make yourself happier?

It’s easy to coast through life without direction.

Doing the same s**t week after week.

Take a moment to reflect on your life right now.

Have some awareness.

Are you truly happy with how things are going?

Are you deeply proud of how you’re acting?

Do you really like the person that you’re becoming?

If you answered ‘no’ or ‘sort off’ to any of those questions…

What the f**k are you gonna do about it?

Content for the new website!

Yesterday came through to the gym and we got some lovely footage.

This year is about levelling up for me.

In everything.

Education.
Business.
Physique.

We’re going to the next level guys, and I’m so excited.

What are you doing to level up this year?

Beautiful progress from Tom France, sitting at 79kg in both images.

It's a lovely metric, bodyweight, for many reasons.

One of those reasons is that when you hit a previous body weight, you get to see just how much muscle you've actually built.

For some of you, the changes here will be hard to identify.

Building muscle is slow, and non-obvious.

And that's one of the reasons why so many people fail at it... you don't get that instant gratification in the same way as when dieting.

You might gain 1lb per week.

You might add 1 rep to your lifts.

It's not super fun, it's not exciting or sexy.

There will be times where you think what's the f**king point.

And then you'll hit a milestone moment like this, and remember exactly why the f**k you're doing this.

Building muscle is a test of character.

You get to learn who the f**k you really are.

Do you have the minerals to keep grinding every single day when it feels like nothing is happening?

Maybe use that question as some food for thought.

Tom has the minerals.

Tom is a shining example of what happens when you turn up every day and just get s**t done.

Anyway...

You must have a trained eye to be able to notice the thickness added here, so hats off if you can see the differences.

When we decide to pull this body fat off, it's gonna be a madness.

17kg added in just 8 weeks.

That's 2 stone 9lbs.

Some would say a little fast...

But when the goal is to get f**king massive as quickly as possible, if the opportunity to push is there, then we f**king take it.

Cardiovascular health is getting looked after.
Appetite is in line.
Performance is on the up.

All the signs I'm looking for within Gracjan's weekly check-in are giving us the green light to keep pushing.

There's nothing wrong with gaining a bit of extra body fat when you're in a gaining phase people. In fact, I'd argue it's absolutely necessary.

See, look at his shoulders.

The skill is understanding when you need to put the brakes on, and pull body fat back down.

For now, we push on.

LFG

Had a boss conversation the other day with a close friend.


Thought I'd share it with you.


To cut a long story short...


They wanted results, but didn't want to sacrifice too much of their life.


Fair enough right?


Yes. Fair enough.


But the more I questioned, the more I listened... the more bulls**t came out of his mouth! 


That's harsh lol.


Not bulls**t, just lack of awareness.


Conflict and inconsistency with that he was saying.


He wanted 'freedom' to live his life.


He was unwilling to make any compromise/sacrifice to his lifestyle.


But also complained about how s**t he feels when he looks in the mirror.


So I asked him a simple question...


Do you want freedom now? Or later?


You see, you can have all the freedom in the world, now.


Eat what you want
Drink what you want
Train when you feel like it
Sleep whenever


But you better be okay with the feeling of imprisonment that will consume your life as a result.


Because you will never experience true freedom.


Freedom from mediocrity.


Freedom from disappointment.


Freedom from knowing that you could be better, but doing nothing about it.


Choosing freedom now, leads to imprisonment later.


Choosing structure now, leads to freedom later.


Let's be honest, is allowing yourself to have a maccies when you know you shouldn't really even freedom anyway?


Is choosing to watch Netflix over going to hit your steps really freedom?


It's not. Is it?


Freedom is being able to look at yourself in the mirror with pride.


Freedom is looking at your achievements and feeling a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for your hard work.


Freedom is earned.


What will you do today to earn some freedom?

DM me or hit the link in my bio for coaching enquiries.