THL has been HUGE for me over the last year or so, I first met Stephen through work a couple years ago, he was always willing to share tips and advice with me no matter what my questions were, even though some I’m sure he’s heard time and time again from hundreds of people. I was 215lbs and puffy in the summer of 2023, exercising off and on, I’d always do good for 3-4 months then get lazy. Finally in October of 2023 I took the bull by the horns around my 30th birthday. Got on a meal plan by Stephen and lost over 30lbs in less than 6 months (minimal to almost no cardio too!). I started by doing my workouts on my own then got on one of his plans. I was the leanest and fittest I’d been in YEARS! And had the most muscle I’ve ever had. As a dad of 4 it’s hard to find the dedication to stay consistent with such a busy life with kids sports, work and everything in between. Then I got “busy” again, or just lazy and undisciplined over the summer (2024). I haven’t worked out consistently since June and I went from 182lbs to 190+. Now it’s December and finally back on the wagon. I’m down to 182lbs again just from eating better over a couple weeks. I got back in the gym the last couple weeks and ready to get back to where I was at the beginning of the year. I look at pictures from where I was and I feel guilty for not sticking with it better through the summer, but it’s extra motivation knowing what I can achieve and I’m ready to take that to even higher levels! Pic 1 (today) pic 2 (before and during my training with Stephen) pic 3 (before I got lazy this past summer)

Leg Day! 💪🏼🤙🏼 recovering from an ankle injury so machine work has been my best friend for getting some leg work in!

Just remember to enjoy the holiday! Having a good time and eating some delicious food isn't going to derail all your progress or tear down your training. Don't punish yourself the next day because you ate a little more than usual. Just jump right back on the plan tomorrow--once in a while, enjoying a social event and food off menu is just what you need. The trick is don't make it habit, but join in on those special occasions when they come around!

🚶🏼‍♀️Walk - Implementing 1-3 10-30 minute walks daily can do wonders for your immune system, weight management, easing joint pain, can aid in cravings, and may help prevent forms of cancer. This is all due to increasing heart health and your circulatory system. ✔️A great system is to implement these walks after meals or finally start walking the dog every day--they will appreciate it and so will you. 💧Water or Low-Calorie Drinks - Ensuring the majority of your daily fluid intake is from water, plain coffee or teas, sparkling water, seltzers, and flavored waters that are low-calorie. ✔️These options can prevent dehydration, which may cause foggy thinking, mood changes, overheating, constipation, and kidney stones. Also beneficial for weight management, maintaining normal temperature, lubricate and cushion joints, protect your spinal cord and other sensitive tissues, removing waste through urination, perspiration, and bowel movements. 🥋Active Hobby - Finding a hobby you enjoy or always wanted to get into that requires some sort of movement and cognitive effort. Signing up for that martial arts class, picking up the guitar, finding an outdoor group, or even a class down at your local YMCA. ✔️It doesn't have to be exponentially hard, it's more about learning something new and getting a little more active during the week. Heck, even an in-person book club is great! You'll read more and you have something to do weekly/bi-weekly. ✔️The biggest take-away is to find something that you find enjoyable and use that to your advantage.

Using the main compound lift of the day to optimally warm-up for your training session, let me explain: 🔥Warming up through some dynamic stretching, maybe light cardio, even a few minutes in the sauna, or a combination of these is perfectly fine. ☝🏼However, the most optimal way to warm up is through a compound movement that is tied into the rest of your training session--or at the very least, hits on the majority of the focus 🗒️For example, if I'm walking into the gym today and my focus is a chest/shoulder day, I would most likely opt for placing an incline bench press or seated overhead press as my main/first lift of the day. This would ensure most of the upper body muscles and it's joints are engaged, but especially my chest and shoulders. 💪🏼How to implement this warm-up strategy: -Using what we call work-up sets. These are after the warm-up set or two of using the lightest possible weight, or different small movements. Work-up sets are simply you beginning to increase load (weight). A great protocol to use is say your target working sets are 5x5. Your work-up sets should begin around 1x8-10 at 25-35% of the total weight you would push for a top (heaviest) set. Then the next 1x6-8 at 50-60%, and then 1x3-5 70-80%. This should have you sufficiently warmed up and at the optimal state to begin pushing your working set loads for 5x5. Hope this helped! Comment if you have any questions or input on what you do to sufficiently warm-up. See you at the next Weekly Warp-Up!