About 5 months ago I had a man come to me because he'd been struggling to get back in the gym consistently.

I could tell he was experienced and had some serious training under his belt just by the way he moved.

He explained to me that he'd had a couple of years off the gym due to getting married and bringing his new little boy Charlie into the world.

Life changes like this are a common reason for men to lose themselves (not only physically but mentally and psychologically).

He said the "penny dropped" after seeing a family photo taken at the beach while they were on holiday.

In his own words he said "It cut me deeply to see I'd let myself get like that", especially as he had always been the "fit guy" and said it was effecting not only his self-confidence in how he looked but he also felt shame and felt he was letting his wife and little boy down by not being the best version of himself.

He desperately wanted to be a good example for Charlie and knew he needed to get back to being fit and in good shape.

So, after seeing that photo he tried to get back into the gym.

Even with limited time due to work and family commitments he decided he just HAD to get back into the gym and working out hard and getting himself back to where he used to be.

But there was a problem.

Every single time he tried to get back into it he would get to a week or sometimes two weeks in and quit.

Why?

Because his body was so beat up and sore that he just couldn't keep the consistency going. And on top of that he admitted he wasn't following a real plan. He was just doing the exercises, the reps, and the sets he used to do when he was younger and he had plenty of time and his body was able to recover.

Except… his body isn't the same as it was back then. He's now into his early thirties and he simply can't train like he used to in his 20's.

So we sat down together and I explained to him why he was consistently failing and what he needed to do to get himself training consistently again.

I explained to him that the secret is actually very simple. He just needs to follow a specific 2-Phase System that works under strict RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) guidelines to ensure he can manage the soreness and cumulative fatigue in those first few weeks.

Then, once his body adapts, he can transition smoothly into Phase 2 and up the intensity without the fear of his body breaking down on him.

So I wrote him up a 6-week Upper/Lower program based around his favourite lifts (squat, bench and deadlift) and split it into 2 specific phases. Phase 1 Foundation and Phase 2 Intensity.

4 weeks later I got this message from him.