This is specifically written to give you one of the most honest insights about what it takes to get in movie star shape.
In fact, years ago I once too pursued this goal.
I was working at a fat loss facility when I started my career as a coach.
I had around 30 clients that I was managing, telling them how to lose weight and get in shape.
But the problem was the following…
I had never done it before.
I couldn’t help feeling like a little bit of a hypocrite.
One day an opportunity presented itself and the gym I worked at ran a photoshoot.
I decided to enter so I could experience what my clients were going through.
Although, it needs to be noted…
I went a little extreme (as I often do when I commit to something) and this was entirely my decision.
However, it gave me a valuable experience, one that I will share with you today.
Most men and sometimes (although far less common) women, have gone through the point in their lives where they think to themselves, “enough is enough, I’m going to get shredded this summer”.
It’s true, that you can get lean and maintain it for a relatively long time without much effort if you are diligent, educated and know how to do this correctly.
I’m not on about those of you who just want to get “leaner” today.
I’m talking to those of you that have seen Chris Hemsworth in Thor and thought, I want to be in that shape!
I’m talking to those of you that want to have abs on top of your eyebrows.
I’m talking to those of you that want to go to the extreme, like I once did.
Let’s be honest, most people don’t say “I want to get shredded” and get to a healthy body fat percentage, with visible abs and maintain it throughout the year.
What they really mean, is that they have seen someone on social media or in a film and want to go from gear 1, to gear 10 in 6 months. They want to get to a single digit body fat, which is very different from losing a little weight.
I don’t have a problem with people that decide to go down this path.
I have many colleagues, friends who I really respect that partake in bodybuilding and physique shows.
They are honest about their lifestyle and what is required.
It’s just not my thing, but they have picked something that requires extreme levels of discipline and hard work.
For that, my hat really does go off to them.
If this, is you reading this too, then my intention is not to make you feel bad.
I just want to present a fair argument, that doesn’t often get displayed on socials.
My specific problem lies with the online coaches that tell you it’s possible to look like Thor in 6 months, when you previously haven’t lifted weights.
It lies with the coaches that preach, getting to a single digit body fat percentage is the epitome of health.
It lies with the people that tell you, you’ll get all the chicks if you make this simple change in your life.
Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not that simple. It’s anything but.
In fact, you’ll have to turn your life 180 on its head very soon if you want to be in with a chance of looking like that.
I opened this article today in a very specific way, to tell you that this is not to bash having abs…
It’s just an article that gives you an alternative perspective from the one you get sold daily on social media.
So let’s delve into, what it really takes to look like a “move star”.
The Difference Between Get Leaner and Getting Shredded
There is a BIG difference between getting leaner and getting shredded.
I have many clients that right now want to get leaner.
It’s an important goal to have if you are overweight, because lower subcutaneous and visceral fat (to a point) will significantly improve your health.
It’s also cool, because most of the time these people improve their body confidence or whatever that means to you.
I want to reiterate this point because it’s very important that I make this clear.
If this is you, I am not referring this article to you, because there is in fact a time and a place to reduce body fat for your overall health and quality of life.
This article is talking to people that want to get “shredded”.
This article is for those of you that have a distorted perception of what it takes to look like the next Wolverine.
Another noteworthy point is that even if you do want to look like the next Wolverine, that’s also cool!
It doesn’t make you a bad person, it just means you have different values to me.
Let’s Talk Reality…
This was me when I just turned 19.
Let’s lay out black and white what it took for me to look this way.
Number 1 – I started training when I was 14. I pretty much lifted weights most weeks. That’s a total of five years of training right there.
Number 2 – I ate enough calories and protein, for 5 years straight to make sure I built new tissue.
Number 3 – I gave up 12 weeks of my life before the photoshoot to lose the fat. I never missed a day. I ate the same meals, the same calories. In fact, my girlfriend made me a cake on my birthday, and I didn’t have a slice. I became obsessed with one outcome, and that was to look this way. If I’m honest, not much else mattered back then, apart from the goal of getting this lean.
Let’s break this down in a little more detail…
I trained for 5 years before the shoot. Hard.
It takes years and years and years to build muscle.
It’s not something that you can just click your fingers with, the next day it turns up to your door.
Building muscle is a process, it takes a very long time to acquire.
If you look at any of the people you look up to on social media or in the films, to get in that shape, they would have had to spend a very long-time acquiring muscle tissue in the gym.
But very rarely does anyone talk about that do they… they miss that very important part out.
Once you’ve built all that muscle, then you are ready to lose the fat.
Now, 12 weeks may not seem like an awfully long time to you.
But if you want to look this way, it will take more than just monitoring your training and nutrition for a few months.
It takes levels of selfishness and obsessiveness to get in this shape.
If you are in a relationship?
Your partner is in for a shock.
I’ll tell you right now, it put a massive strain on my relationship.
Why?
Because I became a self-centred arsehole.
You see, this must encompass your entire life if you want to look this way.
You don’t just rock up to the gym and lift weights for a few hours per week.
No, if you want to look like this, it’s a 24-hour job.
Your hormones change, as a young man my libido completely vanished due to the low-fat intake.
Your mood (although not all the time) changes.
Meals out are determined by what you can track on the menu.
Calories and intake must be at the forefront of your mind, for 12 weeks if you want to get in this shape.
It’s about you and nobody else.
Also, there’s another important point that I need to bring up…
No girl cared about how I looked.
NONE!
You get sold this narrative on social media, that girls care about abs.
One, most don’t… it’s just the other bros in the gym.
Two, even the minority that do, they shortly won’t when they realise how regimented you are to look that way in the first place.
That’s why you often see the only people that bodybuilders date, are other bodybuilders!
It takes a very specific type of person to be able to live with another person that is leading that very specific lifestyle.
Another noteworthy point is that most people that want to get shredded often end up being underweight males, that desperately need to put on size.
The best sculptures in the world are built from the biggest pieces of block.
In so, if you have a small piece of block, it’s going to be impossible to chip away and make a masterpiece.
A few online coaches want to take your money and run.
They want a quick result for their page and tell you what you want to hear.
I’ve seen a number of these underweight males, go to an influencer coach.
They put them straight into a deficit, only to come out at the end looking skinnier than before.
You need to have a base of tissue there in the first place, and that my friends takes a very long time to acquire through hard training and eating enough food.
Oh, and then there’s the conversation about performance enhancing drugs that a number of actors and online influencers don’t like to talk about.
They are more than happy to sell you a 12-week program at the end of it, but not so happy to talk about all the supplements that helped them look that way.
I’m not anti-drugs, but I am anti-bullshit and dishonesty.
Now, it is possible to get there, (because I did) natural.
But it’s very hard to acquire without the use of PED’s, you’ll find that most of the movie stars are in fact, (shock!) on them.
What Most People Really Want Vs the Common Narrative
The common narrative that is sold to you online, is that people go to the gym to get in shape.
But the gym is so much more than that.
The gym is a place to discover your own potential and to find out what your body is capable of.
The gym is a place that can challenge your mind.
It’s a place that can help you discover what incredible feats of strength you can perform.
The reality is this, most people want to be in a shape where they look like they lift weights, feel healthy, and have a challenge in their life where they feel like they are progressing.
That my friends, is strength training.
To say nobody cares about how they look is a lie.
To some extent, everyone cares about how they look.
Now, that may exist on a spectrum.
But at the base, everybody cares.
Strength training will not only help you build muscle in the places that actually matter (so when you pass someone on the street, they know you pick up a weight), it also helps you discover simultaneously, what your body can achieve in performance.
For me personally, I have always had a competitor’s mindset.
I come from a rugby background, it’s always more impressive to me to see what my body is capable of, versus how it looks.
I know that most people are in fact the same way, but because they have fallen for the stereotypical narrative on social media, that you go to the gym to get “jacked”, they don’t ever stop to consider the other possibilities it offers you.
I went from an unhealthy lean physique, to a healthy bodyfat percentage after the shoot.
In fact, most people thought I looked better coincidentally ha! Including the only person that really matters, myself!
I took up strength training and I never looked back. Now, my training is geared to finding out what I can lift versus how I look.
My body confidence has never been better.
I feel like I have a purpose in the gym.
Finally, I feel like an athlete that has a sport because this is my sport!
I can pretty much eat what I want in moderation.
I have a lifestyle that means I can live life on my terms, be in great shape and perform at my best.
Isn’t that what most people want?
You see, it doesn’t always have to be about getting shredded.
If that’s you even after reading this, my hat goes off to you, best wishes.
But for many of you that want the above, give strength training a go…
Trust me, you’ll never want to go back.
