By: Chris Gates
My online fitness coaching client, Eric, has made incredible strides in his strength training journey, and I want to tell you about him!
Because Eric has really served as a model for what you can achieve when you’re focused on being intentional about each day.
He came to me looking for some structure.
Eric had already lost a pretty considerable amount of weight. He was heavier in his 20’s, but slimmed down and has maintained a healthy weight for years.
He was ready to get on a program to build muscle and strength, and do it in an optimal way.
“I had been training for a while, so I was experienced at lifting but still didn’t know exactly what I was doing,” he said. “Especially when it came to building out any sort of program. I felt I could pick some decent exercises but when it came to structuring them properly along with the sets/reps to make meaningful progress — I was just guessing.
“I would fall into a habit of finding things I liked and sticking with them way too long without trying to push harder towards some progress.”
Now, there’s a few things you should know about Eric…
- He’s a father of three.
- He has a successful career.
- He’s incredibly detailed with everything he does (you should see his basement renovation project!).
- And he’s still unbelievably consistent, despite everything else he’s got going on.
Eric wakes up early to train every day, and we took advantage of that consistency when building out his program.
I set him up on a 5-day strength training routine, where he focused on one main compound movement a day. We’d follow that up with additional exercises that agree with his body and are effective at stimulating muscle growth.
And something we spent a lot of time talking about is the intensity Eric brings to each and every exercise.
We used a combination of RIR (reps in reserve) and RPE (rate of perceived exertion) to build out his program. This was specifically to give Eric the opportunity to evaluate how much effort he puts into each exercise, and identify areas for improvement based on those intensity levels.
In short…
Eric brings the intensity every day.
“I’ve made significant progress over these first few months working with Chris,” he said. “My strength levels have increased, and the weight gain has been very slow, as planned. I know that putting on muscle is a longer-term goal, but I feel like I’m on the right track. I’m excited by the progress I’ve made and really excited to see how much more progress I’ll make in the coming months.
“The awareness I’ve picked up along the way was something that I wasn’t anticipating, or at least not to this degree. I don’t think I coasted through my workouts, but I was never as focused on form, detail, and how hard each rep/set were until now. We’ve discussed this a lot along the way and I think its been as instrumental as anything in the success and progressions I’ve had. Learning to use RIR and RPE effectively, talking through the minor little details, and sharing how I think about them has allowed this to happen. The coaching has constantly offered these little tips like this along the way that have all added up.”
Eric’s progress so far has been all about his ability to put in the work, which has led to tremendous strength and muscle gains across the board.
He’s done an awesome job of focusing on the smaller details, too, to get the absolute most out of every exercise in his program.
“The discussions we’ve had have been really enlightening to me and the takeaway that I’ll never let go is that progress can come in any number of forms,” Eric said. “It doesn’t have to be huge but if you can push yourself hard and keep trying to get one more rep, one more pound, have that exercise feel a little bit easier — that’s all progress. Having this clarity now has made a world of difference for me in the satisfaction I’ve gotten in seeing the smallest of changes. It’s the motivation to keep going.
“We’ve also worked on a lot of form checks, which have been excellent. As someone who picked up lifting on their own and relied entirely on ‘feel’ to try and get things right, it’s been great getting feedback on these lifts along the way. I was surprised to see that my form was decent on most lifts but the advice on how I can clean up certain portions of the lift, make small adjustments with my feet, or even just move my fingers a half inch on the bar. They’ve all made what I’m doing more efficient and safer on my body. Looking back at where I started on deadlifts to where I’m at now with slightly more weight is jarring to see.”
Nutritionally, Eric has been in rather modest calorie surplus. The goal has been to build muscle and strength without taking on too much excess body fat.
We’ve also prioritized protein so that he’s able to recover from session to session and still feel fresh.
It’s been a careful balancing act of doing just enough to keep training intensity high, keep Eric recovering, and keep him training consistently.
Eric has managed it all unbelievably well, and it’s been a blast!
“Working with Chris has changed the way I think for the better,” he said. “I’ve learned that I don’t need to spend over an hour every day doing what sometimes felt like endless sets. Most of the workouts, I’m done in 45-50 minutes tops and still feel just as challenged, if not more, than before.
“Same thing goes on the nutrition side, it doesn’t have to be overly complex. I’ve been more open to giving myself some room on most days where I have just a little bit of a treat, it’s made each day feel a little easier and where I feel it’s made the most difference is on those days that previously went sideways in a hurry. I’ve seen the biggest change when I’m staring down a party or family event that would’ve led to me eating half a pizza and a plate of dessert. Having wiggle room everyday has made me more responsible on those outlier days because I don’t feel the need to binge.”
Eric and his wife recently welcomed a new child to their family, so we’ll be tackling new challenges, and making new tweaks to his program to keep that progress rolling while making fitness and nutrition fit within his life.
Not the other way around.
I can’t wait to see what’s next for him!
“I had debated online coaching for quite some time,” Eric said. “My biggest concern was the lack of real-time feedback and just getting prescribed a rather generic but ‘personalized’ workout. I can say that is 100% not the case in working with Chris.
“The email discussions back and forth, sending plenty of videos, detailed little pointers on how to make progress, and the creation of a great personal relationship on top of it. There’s always interest in what you’ve got going on outside of working out, how you’re feeling, how the family is doing. You’ve got a coach and a buddy to bounce everything off as you work towards your goals. Everything has exceeded my expectations and then some.”