By: Chris Gates

I want to introduce you to Dominik.

Dominik lives in the Czech Republic and reached out to me looking to make a change. He wanted to learn how to manage his diet, and take ownership of his training and nutrition plan in order to build muscle.

And let me tell you, that’s exactly what he did!

When we got started, Dominik and I dove into his training background and set up a plan to maximize his ability to train hard and build muscle. We started working together when COVID restrictions were in place in the Czech Republic, so Dominik stuck to the basics and got off to a tremendous start using bodyweight movements, resistance bands, and a set of dip bars.

We set some realistic, feasible, and effective nutrition goals as well. Dominik started by focusing on his overall calorie intake, and we also set a protein goal for him to hit every day.

“I was struggling for a whole year before I started working with Chris,” Dominik said. “I was not eating enough. I really wanted to change that and I went in with clear and straight goal — I wanted to make the best version of me without these unhealthy eating habits.”

He absolutely started down the path to making the best version of himself.

When restrictions loosened and Dominik was able to get back into the gym, we reevaluated his training program and created a four-day strength training split, which centered around compound exercises and gradually increasing his workload and intensity over time.

Additionally, we gradually increased his calorie intake over time to support his training goals.

Dominik saw his performance in the gym consistently improve from session to session, and from week to week. And it’s all a credit to his unbelievable commitment level to achieving his goal.

Dominik never missed a training session.

He never missed a day of tracking his nutrition.

And he simply focused on his own commitment to the process.

“I really enjoy being consistent and focused on things that I really care about,” he said. “What keeps me motivated is the progression, not only in the gym but also in my daily life. My mood was getting better each and every day, my energy improved, sleep improved as well, and just being able to enjoy things that I stopped enjoying after my eating issues is what keeps me going.”

I think the biggest thing people should take away from Dominik’s journey and success is that consistency is key to moving in the direction you want to go.

You don’t have to be perfect every day. You just have to keep showing up and putting the work in.

That’s exactly what he did.

“There are many things that I’ve learned along the way but for me, the most crucial one is learning about the importance of individual approach to your training and nutrition,” he said. “Being able to recognize what your body needs or what your body is telling you, and setting an appropriate goal based on that is, in my opinion, the most valuable skill that I have learned.

“What I enjoyed the most was the possibility to talk and work with someone who has basically the same passion about training and nutrition as I do. I also loved Chris’s friendly approach to his clients. It really makes the whole process so much easier and enjoyable. Speaking to a friend is way more pleasant than when it’s just a ‘coach’ or ‘trainer.’

“Everyone who struggles with their fitness goals, or someone who is just not sure if what they are doing is actually working, should try online-coaching.”

Congrats, Dominik! I had a blast working with you 🙂