Woke up in the morning, gotta thank God,
I don’t know, but today seems kinda odd,
No lifting for my dawgs, no smog,
And Momma cooked the breakfast with no hog.
– Ice Cube (probably)
If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.
Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.
Each week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.
Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…
Without any further ado, let’s get started..
N.W.A. Tip Of The Week
Sometimes, I feel like I’m always the bearer of bad news for you.
It seems like I’m always dropping sobering “truth bombs” and bumming you out.
(Hopefully that’s not true – I’m simply trying to give you realistic expectations.)
Most people who come my way have a #1 goal of fat loss.
Fat loss is usually a straight forward, linear process.
Rates of fat loss are fairly standard, as well.
Men will lose between 1-2 pounds of scale weight each week, on average, over the course of a year’s time.
A few caveats here.
First, understand that a 2 pound weight loss, on average, per week, is the absolute best rates of fat loss I have ever witnessed.
That 2 pounds is an average as well.
Some weeks, they will lose 3 pounds, other weeks 1 pound.
Some weeks, they may not lose at all (it happens, the human body is weird).
That equates to about 100 pounds of weight being lost in 1 year’s time.
But also understand that (again) those are the best rates of fat loss I see.
The people who lose 2 pounds on average per week tend to be men.
And tall.
And have a lot of weight to lose.
And they absolutely lock in and crush their diet daily.
Basically, they’re outliers.
1-1.5 pounds per week is a much more realistic time frame.
But that’s still 50-75 pounds of fat loss in a year, a massive accomplishment.
Women will lose fat a bit more slowly.
2 pounds per week isn’t a realistic number for most women.
The best rates of fat loss I see for women are around 1-1.5 pounds per week on average.
Things just move a bit slower for women due to being shorter, having less muscle mass, more hormonal issues, and a lower calorie maintenance in general.
But to be honest, I’m not here to talk about fat loss – I’m here to talk about muscle gain.
Muscle gain is difficult.
It’s not like losing body fat.
Reality is, you can lose body fat literally by doing nothing.
Just don’t eat as much.
There, you’ll lose body fat.
But muscle gain?
A different beast.
You have to eat enough to support muscle gain, and you have to train like an absolute mad-man (or woman) for a LONG time, consistently, without fail.
Most people just do not realize how HARD you have to push in the gym – for every set – to cause your body to create muscle mass.
It ain’t easy training at the level of intensity required to build muscle tissue.
Every single set must be pushed to absolute failure.
Now, we can argue over leaving “one rep in reserve” versus “absolute failure” – that debate has been raging in fitness communities for decades.
I prefer to train – and tell my clients to train – to absolute failure because there’s less room for nuance there.
Rep out with maximum intensity until you cannot perform 1 more rep.
The end.
It’s a clear-cut objective, and very straight forward.
The toughest part about gauging “absolute failure” is it’s hard to quanitify.
It does not mean “when it gets tough”.
It does not mean “when it starts to hurt”.
It does not mean “when it gets uncomfortable”.
It means when I am pushing with all my might and force I can possibly muster, and the bar is not moving forward any more.
THAT is the kind of intensity you need to have to gain muscle.
And you need to do that over and over and over again, tracking your workouts, repeating them each week, and getting stronger over time.
(While eating enough to support the muscle growth.)
Like I said… NOT easy.
And if you do all of that, you’ll gain a ton of muscle!
Right?!
Not so fast…
Here’s a picture that will allow you some realistic expectations:
This is me from 2013 vs me from 2025, present day.
In the picture on the left, I weigh 206 pounds.
In the picture on the right, I weigh 226 pounds.
There’s a 20 pound difference between the pictures.
I’m at about the same leanness level in both pictures – 8-10% body fat or so.
It took me 12 years of training like a crazed lunatic to gain 20 pounds of muscle.
12 years.
20 pounds of muscle.
Granted, probably 8 of those 20 pounds of muscle came from Bulk #1.
And each subsequent bulk added just a few pounds of lean body mass (your 1st bulk will always be your most productive).
These days, a full on 4-5 month bulk will only add 2-3 pounds of muscle, maximum, if I’m super lucky and do everything right.
It also needs to be said I train 5 days per week for an hour.
I push every set to absolute failure.
I eat 225 grams of protein every single day.
I take creatine daily, and have for 10 years.
I’m extremely hard working and consistent… and I’ve still only gained 20 pounds of muscle in my entire lifting CAREER – and it took about 12 years to accomplish.
Thus is the life of the “natty” lifter…
Most people I coach have a primary goal of leaning out/losing fat.
Most people I coach also have a secondary goal of gaining muscle.
The fat loss is straight forward and can be measured in weeks and months.
But the muscle gain is a different story – muscle gain is measured in literal years, or sometimes decades.
It doesn’t mean it’s not worth it – because it is.
But you have to “live the lifestyle” and have patience.
It won’t happen in a few months, it’s not humanly possible.
It also won’t happen if you fall off the wagon constantly – you must be consistent day in and day out over the weeks, months, and years to gain visible muscle mass.
There’s no other way to do it.
It simply must be done if you want to look “jacked” one day.
I currently have a few spots open on my personal, 1:1 roster for coaching.
I team up closely with my 1:1 clients and we work together on an individualized approach for success.
Here’s an example from a recent 1:1 client who lost 43 pounds in my program:
To learn more about this unique, “All In” experience, tap here and fill out this quick form – it will go directly to my email inbox.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
More AF Content From Around the Web:
You don’t need to do more HIIT.
You don’t need to starve yourself.
You don’t need to do 24 hour fasts.
You don’t need to eat only meat.
You do need to be more consistent with hydrating, sleeping well, eating real food, getting your protein in, walking more, and lifting weights.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Anyman Fitness N.W.A. Newsletter.
I’ll be back next week.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best, Coach J
Anyman Fitness
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An absolute classic… (NSFW – lyrics)