So, I’ve been thinking about this for a while. Contemplated not doing it & then thought why not. If I can help one person out then it’s a good thing, if not, maybe a laugh. Going to brain dump some fitness things I’ve learnt over the years that I wish 18y/o me knew. A thread....

You may not agree with what I have written (or will write), that is ok. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and although I am a loud mouth prick at times, I am not a fitness expert nor do I claim to be. These are literally some thoughts.

I plan on pinning the main tweet and then adding comments when more come to my head. As I will not get them all down in one sitting.

1. Don’t overthink training when you are starting out. Any weight training is good. People make the mistake of wanting fancy programmes. Forget that. Stick to the basics and LEARN to do them well....

By basics I mean... bench, deadlift, squat, pull up, overhead press. Master them first. Don’t know how to do them? Get a coach to teach you. Not Dave the PT from the local leisure centre (sorry Dave no disrespect) a proper coach.

2. A few sessions with a proper coach to teach you the correct movements and mechanics of movements are invaluable. I owe my love of training to James (and some Ben on the side ) @EliteBodyWorks (other coaches are available). But, these guys are amazing.

They taught me HOW to deadlift properly, safely etc I couldn’t recommend them enough. Take home. Get a few sessions with a coach, yes expensive but will set you up for life.

3. To lose weight you need a calorie deficit. When you hear you can’t out train a bad diet. It’s true. Especially as you get older. There is so much truth in eat less, move more but life is not quite that simple.....

You can create your calorie deficit any which way you want. IF, Paleo, Keto, low carb, high carb, whatever you want. Any exercise you do SUPPLEMENTS this, which in turn enhances your calorie deficit. I wish to Christ I had known this at 18.

A bucket of KFC at the weekend, although helping you reach your protein goals will destroy all the good work you’ve done all week. Wish I’d known this too.

4. Stop treating food as treats. There is no bad food, it’s fuel, it’s food. If you want to eat pizza, eat it but manipulate into your calories. If you want ice cream do the same. Don’t try and have both at the same time. It won’t work.

5. Lift heavy weights.

6. Progressive overload is king. This means do more weight than last time you did that exercise, or so more weights, or rest more. If you are doing consistently the same as the week before and the one before that, you are wasting your time.

7. The more muscle you have the more calories you will need to eat to maintain your body weight.

8. Protein is king. 1g -1.5g per lb of body weight. Every. Damn. Day. Protein keeps you full.

9. Figure out your protein goal based on the above. Make up the rest of the calories with carbs and fat. Eat carbs around your workout.

10. Personal preference as I operate better, don’t eat carbs at breakfast. Protein and fats only.

11. Carbs before bed don’t make you fat, they actually help you sleep.

12. You’ll never change unless you REALLY want to. Not a little bit. You have to really want to.

13. Being on top of training and diet all week and then having two take aways and a box of beer at the weekend will not be conclusive to hitting your goals. Don’t eat like a twat at weekends is the take home.

14. Work hard in the gym. Most people don’t know what working hard is. Learn that it hurts. Learn to enjoy it.

15. Find some music that makes you tick. Different for everyone. But something that will help you smash that extra rep or PB.

16. Don’t neglect cardio. If you are shit at running. Run more. Fitness comes eventually and then running becomes really fun. Wish I had been fitter when I played rugby.

17. Supplements are just that. To supplement your diet. Nail your diet first. Nail your sleep first. Nail your training first.

18. Sleep 8hrs every night. People underestimate the power of sleep.

19. Drink water like it’s your job. Start with 2L a day and keep increasing it. Your body will get used to it. Water helps everything and you’ll feel better for it.

20. Supplements. Protein powder, find one that doesn’t have much shit added. Doesn’t have to cost the earth. My protein impact whey does the job just fine.

I firmly believe everyone should be taking 5g of creatine daily.

Fish oils. 1000mg 3 times a day.

ZMA before bed if you fancy.

Don’t fall for the BCAA hype. This is good marketing.

Fat burners don’t work. Avoid.

21. Starting strength 5x5 is a decent program to follow if you know what you are doing with the major compound lifts.

22. Learn to trust the process

23. Learn to enjoy the journey and stop wanting to have the result TODAY. It will take time. James @EliteBodyWorks again famous quote that resonates with me “took you 30 years to get your body in this state, it’s going to take time to reverse it” cheers brother

24. Stop training like a pussy. Arms three times a week is a waste of time.

25. Train legs. Hard. Twice a week at least. Same for back.

26. Train legs and back more

27. Keep the balance between your bench and your bent over row.

28. Train your glutes and hams. Boys abs girls.

29. Buy and eat the best QUALITY food that you can afford.

30. Don’t neglect fats. They are essential for hormone production. Very important for men and women.

31. If you eat meat. Eat a lot of it.

32. Eat vegetables. The more green veg you eat the better you will feel.

33. Whatever your goals. Write a food diary for a week. AND BE HONEST. everything that you eat or drink needs to go down. YOU WILL SHOCK YOURSELF.

34. Once your food and training, sleep and water on point. Consider supplements. Consider speaking to someone about food intolerances.

Everyone through either diet or genetics has some level of food intolerance. James again thank you had me on fish and greens for a week. Cheeky weight loss as a by product but also found some food intolerances too. And then and now avoid these.

35. Caffeine is the king of pre workouts. Save your money on other stuff. Especially to start with.

36. Don’t waste your calories on liquid calories.

37. Diet drinks won’t make you convert what you are eating to sugar or any other Bollocks. If you want a Pepsi max in the evening and it helps you stay on your plan, fucking drink one.

38. A McDonalds large fries has more Kcal than a BIG MAC (2 Big Macs instead please )

39. Push. Pull. Legs. Is the king of splits. But find a variation that works for you.

40. Push/squat and pull/hinge also works well.

41. 45mins to 90mins is optimal gym time. Anymore, you aren’t training with the intensity you need to.

42. Most people have weak hamstrings, glutes, abductors - train them. Anyone who has cycled or played sports as a kid will have over dominant quads. Fix the imbalance. Train posterior chain.

43. Train in commercial gym? Wear headphones and don’t play on your phone.

44. Supersets are king.

45. Once you need to experiment with dropped sets. Rest pause. Forced reps. Google them if you don’t know what they are.

46. You won’t get big arms doing bicep curls all day every day. Triceps make up 2/3 of the volume of your arms.

47. Progressive overload

48. Be consistent with moving more. Aim for 10000 steps a day. Walk more. Park at the far end of the car park when driving somewhere. Take stairs. Simple habit that will make a difference.

49. You are not a dog, do not treat yourself with food.

50. A good workout doesn’t mean you can go home and eat like a slob.

51. Fruit doesn’t make you fat. Excess calories make you fat.

52. Figure out maintenance calories using an online calculator if needed. Eat like that for a few weeks but with protein at 1.5g per lb of Bw. See what happens to your body. Adjust as necessary. One cap certainly doesn’t fit all.

53. Manipulating calories and seeing how your body changes is fun.

54. If you can’t be arsed to track for a few weeks and see it as obsessive probably means you don’t REALLY want to change.

55. It’s not rocket science. There are a lot of good coaches out there. There are a lot of shite PTs too. If you are hiring one. Take advice from friends or people that know them.

56. You don’t need to jump on the influencer video zoom gym classes. Especially ones who were in Towie last year trying to make a few quid in lockdown.

57. If you like running run. If you don’t. Don’t. Cycle. Or swim. Or walk.

58. Don’t like squatting? Either learn to do it properly and learn to love it. Or split squat or lunge or both. Trap bar deadlift.

59. Don’t bother with straps for deadlifts. Train with no straps to force your grip strength to increase. Only when lifting heavy and going for maximals introduce straps. Otherwise grip gets left behind. Use chalk.

60. MOST people don’t need weight lifting belts when squatting or OHP. Save your money. Build your core strength naturally. As above progress to a belt when lifting heavy. Learn to breathe to brace your core. Loads of info on YouTube.

61. Don’t squat in trainers meant for running. Nothing squishy. Weight lifting shoes not essential for beginners or at all infact. Vans or converse anything flat perfect.

62. Deadlift in socks or barefoot. Never with a raised heel in lifting shoes. It alters your mechanics too much.

63. If you don’t have the ankle mobility to squat. Work on it. Warm up a lot and raise your heels with 1.25kg plates or a squat wedge until you train yourself to have the mobility. Or just squat with raised heels/ weight lifting shoes as you progress.

64. Training in the gym is therapy. It’s as good for your mind as it is for your body.

65. You are NOT a bodybuilder (unless you actually are) - STOP training like one. A bro split is very dated and now and for "most" people is a waste of time. Push/pull/legs is far more effective - thanks @IanDLJones

66. If you are serious about getting in shape, stop drinking 20 beers every weekend. Who knew. SHOCK #FitnessMotivation #FitnessGoals

67. Train legs, stop skipping training legs, YES they hurt, yes you will get DOMS, but embrace it - the importance of training legs can not be overstated.