‘Toning Up’ the Simple Way
A big motivation for many people to exercise and eat a healthier diet is to ‘tone up’. Although there is lots of confusing information on the internet you only really need to know two things!
Image: www.jamesclear.com
Hi! My name is Jack. I’ve worked with many clients to design the right exercise and nutrition plans, to help them form the healthy habits to lose weight.
When it comes to ‘toning up’, and the discussions surrounding how best to do it, I can’t think of a topic in health and fitness that contains more contradictory information. It’s a minefield!
So when I started working as a personal trainer, I conducted a focused test on myself to ensure I had practical, first-hand experience with the principles of losing body fat, and their application.
Now, progress photos are a really handy tool to use when embarking on altering your body body fat levels – I often use them with clients to help guide their progress. They can show you information that scales, and your own emotions, simply won't.
Progress photos are also a useful way to give potential clients an insight into the process, and the methods of the trainer – but let's face it, posting photos of your naked torso online can be a bit embarrassing.
With this in mind, a few of my clients kindly agreed to let me show their progress photos in this post … on the condition I show mine first. So please find the - not intended for public viewing - before and after pictures of my test below …
The images above were taken 8 weeks apart. The only differences between the before and after photos was eating 500 calories less a day for 8 weeks, and making sure I ate 1.7g of protein per kilo of bodyweight. I maintained the same exercise regime, didn’t use any supplements or cut out any food groups. This resulted in my losing 10lbs. The lower the levels of body fat the more ‘toned’ you’ll appear.
Principle 1: create a calorie deficit
Principle 2: check your protein intake
You can find these basic principles on the NHS website and in countless textbooks, they are taught by every strength and conditioning coach around the world. But you’ll also find a lot of confusing, competing and contradictory information out there! If you can apply these simple principles into your lifestyle and build the habits to make the process sustainable you will achieve your ‘toning’ goal.
Applying these principles to create habits that stick can take a bit of trial and error. This is where a coach can come in handy, to help guide you to create healthy habits that last a lifetime. If you have any questions or need a helping hand do feel free to send me a message.
Below are a few of my client’s progress photos. The principles are always the same, but the application is unique to each person and their respective lifestyles.
“I had such a great time, and it really was easy. I wasn’t the most responsive client but Jack was very patient! A simple but effective lifestyle change”
“Jack has been amazing. I lost a lot of fat and gained a huge amount of tone and confidence. Couldn’t have done it without him.”
“It’s been possibly the easiest way of losing a stone in weight, I’ve enjoyed the recipes and have my favourites which I continue to use. The vegetarian option has been fun and very simple to follow, I’ve not eaten any meat since Christmas and will continue to be vegetarian, I wish I’d realised earlier how easy it could be - thank you!”
“I’ve really loved the support from Jack! His plan was very easy to follow and enjoyable and I finally could stop worrying about how to train and what to eat and read different things online but just follow one combined plan of nutrition and excercise. Thank you so much! Will definitely keep in mind the learnings from these 12 weeks!”
“Working with Jack has been great. The workouts are time-wise very doable for a busy person, the nutrition is also very accessible and (unlike many other workout/fitness meal plans). The quickness and simplicity of both the workout and food made it easy to actually stick to it, and therefore very efficient. Jack answered all of my questions, and really tailored the everything to my requirements. As a result, I have lost weight and improved my physique - what a great kick start on my dream body journey. Thank you!”
“Working with Jack has helped my exercise and eating, and notice the difference over a sustained period of time. It’s definitely helped me change my eating habits without being rigid. The exercise routines allowed me to mix the workouts I was doing in a week and fit in a manageable amount each week. It was great to get reminders into my inbox and have everything so accessible.”
“Working with Jack has been amazing as he caters to your lifestyle, your body type, your goals and come up with incredibly easy to make nutritional meals from foods you love complemented by exercise routines which suit you to get you in that lean shape! Working with Jack for 12 weeks has put me in the best shape I have been in recent years. Jack is incredibly helpful, extremely easy to work with and I would highly recommend them for anyone looking to get in shape this summer :) Thank you for all your help and continue to be amazing!”
“Thank you for everything! I really appreciate the time and efforts you put in. I did exercise before, but none of the routines I followed manage to produce such noticeable results - my body got leaner and didn’t take much time. I was surprised at what I achieved in twelve weeks and didn’t take more than a couple of hours a week.”
“Jack has been amazing and so helpful with everything. All my questions were answered so quickly! Extremely good at making things flexible and always there for motivation and advice! Great coach :)”
“Jack has been a massive support throughout the process and has really shown me that I can lose weight but still lead a normal social life. I can’t thank him enough”
“Thanks for your ongoing support, I am learning new things about my body and hopefully I will manage to keep the weight under 60kg without having to do too many sacrifices! Food and weight have often been in the back of my mind and I want that to completely disappear from my thoughts and enjoy whatever I eat without the worry of getting fat :) It’s all thanks to Jack :) Again, thanks for the motivation and learning. I have been into different diets and in the past few years I lost lots of kilos, but it was hard for me to keep it stable. I now have the freedom of eating what i feel like :)
“Jack is great! A well balanced, thorough plan fitted to my lifestyle”
“Working with Jack has helped me improve my body, I have noticed that it has complemented my training and helped me to tone up my body. (My friends have noticed too!) I feel more confident and Jack has been really helpful. Thank you.”
“Jack has been absolutely amazing in supporting me throughout my journey with their regular friendly correspondence and check ups. He really motivated me by showing me my progress at different intervals. I am really appreciative for the help and time spent working with me. Thank you!”
“The nutrition advice provided by Jack was comprehensive and easy to follow. It has changed the way I buy and prepare my food for good. I love eating, and I get through large portions, so I am not willing to spend the rest of my life on a diet of rice crackers and cucumber. Jack has taught me how to make better choices every time I pick an item off a grocery shelf, and how all those little switches make a big difference. I’ve learnt you don’t always have to trade off being tasty and skinny, often you can have both if you simply are more aware. I wasn’t looking to lose a lot of weight, but actually those last 2-3 kg between you and the perfect you, are the hardest. Overall, If you don’t like the idea of dieting Jack will have the plan for you!”
A huge thank you to the clients who have let me post their photos online for the world to see. If you’re looking to ‘tone up’ remember the two principles and create the sustainable habits to make them fit.
Happy training!
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