Strength, fat loss and nutrition, explained simply

Written by Sam Beagle: 17 years coaching, registered nutritionist.

CLIENT STORY Strong at 90: Michael's Story Michael, 90, trained twice a week for 30 minutes over 51 weeks. Here's exactly how he built strength, balance and independence, from foundations to 10 full press-ups. WORKOUT Bored of 3 Sets of 10? 5 Strength Protocols That Actually Work Bored of 3 sets of 10? A strength coach explains sub-maximal training, contrast training, 6-12-25, rest-pause and cluster sets: what they are, why they… DIET Kids' Snacks in the Cupboard? How to Stop Picking Without Relying on Willpower Kids' snacks in the house and you keep picking? It isn't a willpower problem. The science of why, plus eight practical changes for busy parents that make… DIET What to Eat, and Why It Works: The Sustainable Strength Guide to Nutrition Protein, carbs, fats, fibre, hydration and timing, explained by a coach and registered nutritionist. What each one does in your body, how much you need,… ARTICLE You Don't Need a Second Dinner: How to Eat Well Without Cooking Two Meals a Night If I had a pound for every time a client sat down at check-in, sighed, and said "I just ate what the kids were having again" — I'd have retired to a beach… MINDSET Why You’re Not Losing Weight (Even Though You’re Trying) You’re showing up. You’re getting to the gym a few times a week. You’re trying to make better food choices. You’ve probably cut back on things you know… WORKOUT The easiest way to progressive overload Learn what progressive overload really means and how rep ranges and RPE help you build muscle, get stronger, and progress in your strength training. WORKOUT How Hard Should You Really Be Training? A Complete Guide to Intensity, RIR, Progression, and When to Change Exercises If you’ve been training consistently but your body hasn’t changed much in… MINDSET How to Get Fit in 2026: What I’d Do If I Were Starting Over From Scratch If I Were Starting Over in 2026, This Is Exactly How I’d Get Fit (Without Burning Out or Starting Over Every Monday) Every January, I see the same… ARTICLE HRT, Strength Training & Fat Loss: How Women Can Get Leaner and Stronger as They Age Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) is often talked about in extremes. On one side, it’s framed as a miracle solution that will “fix everything.” On the… DIET How Sameer Dropped 21kg, Overcame Chronic Back Pain & Rebuilt Strength One Week at a Time Busy GP Sameer lost 21kg, overcame chronic back pain, and built full-body strength with just one smart workout a week. Here’s exactly how he did it. WORKOUT What NOT to Do When Training If You Want to Build Muscle and Strength Stop sabotaging your progress in the gym. Discover the six most common training mistakes that stop you from building muscle and strength — and learn… ARTICLE The Smarter, Safer Way to Build Fitness (That Doesn’t Involve Hours on a Treadmill) Ditch random HIIT and learn how to build real fitness using a smart, safe, and structured Assault Bike protocol. Discover how to calculate MAS, monitor… ARTICLE 16 Exercises I Program for Nearly Every Client (and Why They Work) Discover 17 of the best strength training exercises I program for clients to get strong, lean, and injury-free — even with a busy schedule. ARTICLE Post-Workout Mistakes: 5 Habits That Kill Your Progress After Strength Training Avoid post-workout mistakes that kill progress. Learn 5 common habits that ruin strength gains and what to do instead. ARTICLE 8 Exercises You Should Be Tracking If You Want To Get Stronger & Finally See Results Start tracking these 8 beginner-friendly strength exercises to get leaner, stronger, and see results fast — no complicated lifts required. DIET Why You’re Still Skinny Fat (Even Though You’re Training and Eating “Well”) Still look skinny fat despite training and dieting? Learn why—and how to fix it in 12–16 weeks with smart strength and nutrition. ARTICLE Metabolic Adaptation & Weight Loss: What You Need to Understand Learn how metabolic adaptation affects fat loss and how to coach around it. Understand hormonal shifts, NEAT, REE, and proven strategies to prevent plateaus and support sustainable results. ARTICLE Why You Might Need to Eat More to Get Leaner, Stronger & Finally See Results Struggling to build strength or get lean? You may need to eat more. Here’s how to increase calories without gaining fat. DIET Carb Codes: A Simple System to Know Which Carbs to Eat and When Confused about carbs? Learn the Carb Code system: a simple way to know which carbs to eat, when to eat them, and how to fuel your body for fat loss and strength without cutting carbs or guessing. DIET What Should I Eat Before and After Exercise? Learn exactly what to eat before and after workouts to build strength, burn fat, and feel energised—without overthinking your nutrition. WORKOUT Why Eating More Might Be Exactly What You Need Discover why undereating keeps you “skinny fat” and how eating more (strategically) can help women build muscle, boost metabolism, and get sustainably lean. ARTICLE How I meal Prep in An Hour With 2 Kids Under 2 and a full time schedule I know how hard eating the right foods is. EVEN though I’m a coach, I’m still human and have food desires like everyone else. But here’s how I stay… WORKOUT 6 steps to a summer body Here's 6 steps to build a summer body that I use every time I'm 6 weeks away from heading abroad that keep me lean and confident with my top of ARTICLE What does a personal training session look like? Here's a sneak peak into a typical personal training session for my female clients who want to gain strength but stay lean. WORKOUT Brutal Landmine Lower Body Finisher Finish your workout with this three-exercise landmine complex that hits the quads, glutes, and hamstrings. It's an awesome mechanical drop set that will leave you wobbly afterward. WORKOUT How To Get Strong In Under 30 Mins One of my clients has gone to NZ for a couple of weeks, so here's a sample strength workout I built to keep building her strength. DIET What to eat to get lean, strong & toned The first question I inevitably get when chatting with clients, or at randomers at a bar when I tell them what I do is...'What do I eat then?'Whilst it means well, it opens up a can of worms and the so-called client/stranger clinging to every word that I'm about to say. ARTICLE 6 ways to progress your lunges: Progressions & regressions for lower body strength We find reverse lunges more effective for most of our clients because it’s easier to stabilise and balance through the movement and it’s far easier to learn than a forward lunge. Both have their places but keeping the front foot stable seems easier to master than trying to place it in front like the forward lunge. ARTICLE 3 ways to make a single exercise more challenging I might be writing this for my purposes only because I can't imagine there are many nutters people out there who are after tougher workouts, but you never know. When you're training you'll invariably get to a point where an exercise that was challenging only a few... ARTICLE Progressing Your Home Workouts How can you build strength whilst working out at home with weights that are lighter than what you usually use in the gym? Look no further than these 6 variations that will have you trembling with even the lightest of weights. ARTICLE How To Get Your First Pull-Up How to achieve your first-ever pull-up in 6 weeks - even if you can’t hang from the bar right now. WORKOUT How to track your workouts One way of staying on top of your fitness and knowing whether you're heading in the right direction is to track your workouts. DIET 3 Rules For Easily Navigating Social Situations If you struggle to maintain your health with a busy social life, use these 3 rules to easily navigate a night out and still stay on track. DIET Why MyFitnesspal Isn't Working For You Learning to track your intake isn’t a forever fix, but it is one you should seriously consider if you’re at a crossroads with your fat loss. Making small and subtle changes as outlined above will have you winning your war with myfitnesspal and that increasingly annoying stubborn fat that you haven’t been able to shift. DIET Weighing yourself daily matters, here’s why Weighing yourself daily matters when it comes to losing weight, here's why WORKOUT How to get good at press-ups If you want to look good in a t shirt and build impressive upper body strength stop neglecting press ups MINDSET 10 Questions To Find Your Deepest Values In Life Over the years I’ve often found the true success factor that determines whether you’ll get in shape or not isn’t about how much hard work you’re willing to put in. BUSINESS The Tech I Use For My Personal Training Business Us personal trainers have a love hate relationship with tech but if you want to manage and streamline your business better, you need these 7 tools. WORKOUT How Strong Should I Be? Ever wondered how strong you should be? Here I outlay my strength standards everyone should strive to achieve for a longer, healthier life. DIET How to Meal Prep In Less Than An Hour Stop living out of Tupperware full of chicken and broccoli. Here's how to eat lean in under 60 minutes a week to get fitter, stronger and leaner. DIET 3,2, 1 Method For Your Meals Whether you're a busy professional, a parent on-the-go, or simply seeking convenience without sacrificing quality, unlock the power of the 3-2-1 Method to revolutionize your culinary experience. WORKOUT How To Properly Warm Up For Your Lifts If your goal is to build muscle, get stronger, become pain-free, and stay lean most of the year, you need to change the way you warm up. Here’s how: WORKOUT 7 Common Strength Training Mistakes Make sure you're not making these 7 common strength training mistakes if your goal is to get leaner and stronger DIET Meal Frequency: Is Little and Often Best For Weight Loss? Does meal frequency matter? I dig into the research to see if by eating little and often is best for your waist line. MINDSET Planning Your Annual Fitness Goals This annual planning process has been an immensely helpful exercise in which I am able to stay on top of my health and build upon my health and fitness levels. MINDSET 6 Leaderships Lessons From Southgate We had Kalvin Phillips of Leeds, who had 1 season of premier league football starting in the biggest of games. We had Saka come in on the right wing ahead of more prominent stars like Sancho, Foden or Grealish. Without communication and direction, these masterstrokes would have been a disaster.