Are you new to fitness? Or new to this site? Start where you are and start HERE. The below is an outline of The Four Percent, and a step by step guide to help you think about health, fitness, and nutrition on YOUR terms. No PDF, guidebook, or cookie-cutter plan needed. This is your blueprint to start YOUR fitness journey, whatever your goals may be.

While a program or plan has its place, the goal is to be able to sustain a healthy lifestyle independently – meaning, feeling confident to make decisions for yourself without feeling handcuffed to someone else’s definition of success or what’s “good” or “bad.”

Where to Begin Your Fitness Journey: The Basics

There are FOUR ways to change your body.

1. Gain weight
2. Lose weight
3. Build muscle
4. Lose muscle

That’s literally it.

To do so, the following occurs:

1. Gain weight (eat)
2. Lose weight (manage calories)
3. Build muscle (start strength training or increase volume)
4. Lose muscle (stop strength training or decrease volume)

That’s literally it.

You achieve the above via nutrition and fitness. Here’s what you need to know ON THE MOST BASIC LEVEL.

Nutrition

There is a fundamental understanding of nutrition and exercise, which is why the diet industry (which does not work!) is A MULTI-BILLION DOLLAR ONE. Understand how the food you consume impacts your performance and progress.

Read these articles IN THIS ORDER to start your baseline knowledge.

1. Understanding Energy Balance
2. The 101 on Body Recomposition
3. Understanding Caloric Deficit
4. Determining Your Daily Calories
5. Understanding Macronutrients
6. The Ultimate Guide to Meal Prep

Here’s a truth – you can manage weight loss, maintenance, and gain with nutrition alone. Exercise will complement and enhance your goals, but it is NOT necessary. Understand the foundation of nutrition, and you’ll feel a level of freedom like never before.

For more information on all things nutrition, check out everything I’ve ever written HERE.

Exercise

Exercise is not punishment for your flaws, your indulgence, or something that should take the joy away from your life. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it 1,000 times; there are THOUNSDAYS of ways to work out, so don’t suffer through doing a method you don’t LOVE. While different workouts will have different effects on the body, and different workouts will help you achieve different goals, the ONLY thing that matters in regards to adherence to a process. You have to love it. Strength training is my bread and butter, and therefore most of my articles revolve around that.

If you are looking for any of the below, strength training is for you.

• A lean, muscular physique
• Confidence
• Strength gains
• Fat loss
• Weight loss
• Better energy levels
• Increased libido
• Clothes that fit you better than ever
• Improved form
• Decrease in stress
• Improved mindset
• Increase in energy

Much like nutrition, there is a fundamental misunderstanding of strength training. Bishes, you’re not going to get BIG, BULKY, or look like a man if you lift weights. The lines, definition, and tonality you’re seeking when you think of your dream physique can ONLY be achieved by lifting. Cardio alone won’t get you there.

Read these articles IN THIS ORDER to start your baseline knowledge.

1. The 101 on Body Recomposition (read it again, and again, and again)
2. Building Muscle 101 (reread it, and again, and again)
3. How to get Toned (reread it, and again, and again)
4. Achieving Progressive Overload
5. My Go-To Strength-Building Drills
6. How to Build Your Own Strength Training Program
7. How to Manage Your Strength Training Program
8. Your Recovery Strategy

For more information on all things fitness, check out everything I’ve ever written HERE.

Your Attitude

Like anything in life, your attitude is everything. You cannot rely on motivation or will power alone to maintain adherence, and you can’t underestimate preconditioned cognitive behavior, and their role in your success or lack thereof. Once the above is solidified, get a load of the below to help you stay your course.

1. Why You Should Ditch Your All or Nothing Mindset
2. The Problem with Cheat Meals
3. 8 Tips to Maintain Adherence While Traveling
4. Combatting Binging and Overeating
5. Creating Motivation
6. Finding Your Perfect Workout

In Conclusion

If you’re looking to start your fitness journey but feel a little lost, this is a great place to start. Never forget that your process is LIFE LONG with no start or end date or time. The above takes A LOT of trial and error and practice. Just start. Start where you are. Start today. Do not give up. As always, feel free to slide into my DMs and ask any questions.