ABOUT ME

My name is Tom, I'm a British recreational (occasionally competitive) natural bodybuilder and a certified personal trainer.

I specialise in helping skinny guys get to the point where they look and feel as though they've taken a super soldier serum or been bitten by a radioactive spider. I know how hard it is to gain muscle when you're naturally skinny, trust me, I've been there. Before I started lifting I was the definition of the word scrawny. At 18 years old I was 6'6" and a mere 75kg - if I turned sideways I'd practically disappear.

MY TRAINING PHILOSOPHY 

I am a firm believer in evidence based training. This means that when making decisions that affect my training, I take into account all of the evidence presented within the scientific literature, as well as evidence from my own experience training myself and others.

If I had to sum myself up in one phrase, I'd call myself a nerdy gym bro. I have a background in science, having studied a masters degree in physics and astronomy, and my passion for science has naturally carried over into my lifting career, and subsequently my training and nutrition philosophies.

Lifting has improved my life in so many ways that I never imagined it could, and I want to share this feeling with as many people as possible. For this reason, in 2020 I started my instagram page as a simple way to try and impart some of the useful insights that I've gained during my experience and research, with those at an earlier stage, or with those that don't have the time to spend many years learning for themselves. 2 years and 70,000 followers later I realised that the knowledge and wisdom that I had gained could help a lot more people and in a far more significant way than I had realised, which is why I decided to pursue a career in fitness coaching.

Note: I am a natural lifter, and so only coach other natural lifters. I have nothing against unnatural athletes, I just simply wouldn't have the relevant experience to be able to coach you well.

Another thing to consider is effort and intensity, should we be putting in as much effort as physically possible in order to get the best results possible? What I have come to realise is that when it comes intensity is that more isn't necessarily better. There is of course a certain amount of effort that is required in order to see results, but pushing past this threshold will quickly give diminishing returns. Take it far enough and you'll even start to see worse results than if you'd put in less effort. So training hard AND training smart are both essential. All the willpower in the world won't help you to realise your potential if you aren't training smart, and all the knowledge in the world won't help you if you aren't willing to put in the required effort.

I don't assume to know everything, as no trainer worth his salt should, but I am always striving to improve my knowledge whilst keeping an open mind in order to improve my understanding, and therefore the results for myself and my trainees.

What this doesn't mean is accepting whatever the biggest guy in the gym says as fact because he's "shredded af bro". This is what we call 'broscience', and whilst you can certainly obtain useful tips here and there from your fellow bros, it's not a reliable source of information to base your programs around.

However, this also doesn't mean constantly chasing what is deemed scientifically 'optimal' and implementing it whatever the cost. Optimal seems to have become something of a buzz word in the social media fitness community in recent times, and it is my opinion that there is a mass misunderstanding around the concept, and what it means to be an "optimal lifter". Viewing optimal as too black and white leads to an unsustainable approach of forever chasing this elusive point at which you are fit to become a God amongst men, optimal in every aspect. Whilst I admire the sheer determination, it is unnecessary effort in this case, and is a classic example of working hard rather than working smart.

Instead of optimal being a single point to constantly strive for, it's more accurately thought of as a range to aim to be somewhere within. This is why you hear different training methods from different world class bodybuilders and coaches. If you've ever heard Arnold Schwarzenegger talk about his training philosophies, they are different from say Dorian Yates or Jay Cutler. If there was one singular method that was optimal, everyone would be training in exactly the same way and it would be purely a contest of who has the best genetics. Therefore just because something is declared 'optimal', this is somewhat of a blanket statement and doesn't take into account individuality. What is optimal for the "average human" isn't necessarily optimal for you, let alone what you enjoy doing and what fits around your life the best, and so can stick to consistently. A coaches job is to help find where you personally fit in this range that is optimal training.