The Plex BLOG

If you don’t know me yet, I am Ryan, the Minister of Magic at The Plex.

I came from waiting tables at On the Border to take my position here the end of November 2020.

Since I came into the industry, I have learned a lot and taken a few notes on weight loss, confidence, building muscle and more.

Here are a few of those notes…

Consistency>Perfection

If you are anything like me, you have felt the guilt of missing a workout or indulging in a meal that wasn’t part of your plan and fallen off the horse. 

You miss one workout and then miss a week. 

A week becomes two. 

A bad meal turns into a month of crash dieting and you find yourself in worse shape than you started.

This is caused by perfectionism. 

Whether you think you’re a perfectionist or not, we have these tendencies because we didn’t do perfect on our diet and exercise so we skew in the complete opposite direction. 

We feel like we have failed so we continue to self-sabotage. 

Shifting your mind to accept that consistency is more important than perfection is powerful. Just showing up everyday starts to have a compound effect. 

Even if you feel like you had a poor workout, or you ate a little more than you meant to, you are still doing better thanked you not tried. 

So don’t let the tiny set backs turn into a spiral out of control.

No one got fat from one “bad” meal. 

Nobody lost all their gains from one missed or mediocre workout.

Just get back on the horse!

Speaking of self-sabotage…

We are our own worst enemies

I feel like we first start working out with this preconceived notion that everybody is watching and judging us. 

Seeing how weak we are. 

Seeing how bad our form is or how we are using a piece of equipment wrong.

However, all I see in the gym all day is positive reinforcement from other members. 

Complete strangers taking the time to pop an earbud out to congratulate another member on their progress and how much weight they’ve lost or how much muscle they’ve grown.

Quite the opposite from the idea that there is judgement in the gym.

So that leads me to conclude that it must be our own inner voice, our own insecurities, and our own limiting beliefs filling us with these lies.

I’ve complimented guys much bigger and stronger than I am, that I am genuinely impressed by their physiques, only for them to self-deprecate.

 “Yeah, Ryan, but I still have all this belly fat” or “Yeah, I wish”

Which honestly breaks my heart that we beat ourselves up so much. 

To the few people that stumble onto these blogs, I just want to say give yourself credit for your wins. 

Quit beating yourselves up so much. 

Be proud of how far you’ve come. 

Look back on who you used to be and pat yourself on the back for your progress. 

You deserve to feel good about your progress. 

I am guilty every now and again of these pitfalls too, so know we all go through it, but I still wanted to address the issue.

Now with constantly trying to give positive feedback, I learned…

You tell someone something enough and they start to believe it

The flip side of giving encouragement and people not believing you, is it will eventually wear on them over time.

I am speaking from personal experience because I was always one of the weaker people growing up and was discouraged from trying to get stronger feeling like I was already behind everyone else.

This led me to never take the gym seriously.

But working here, I have people commend me all the time on how far I’ve come, or how strong I have gotten and you know what??

I finally believed them.

I finally saw the progress.

I finally became friends with the guy in the mirror.

And I have seen it work for many others as well.

So build people up as much as you can.

They might just need a little nudge to help them believe in themselves.

Focusing on getting strong is more effective than focusing on weight loss

As for my own weight loss experience, I have noticed when I focused on getting stronger, the pounds melted away and I became happy with how I looked much quicker than had I only focused on the scale. 

You must focus on strength training to lose significant weight, which is contrary to the cardio overload most people think you have to do to lose weight. 

Cardio can be used to lose weight but you get much more bang for you buck when putting on muscle.

Higher muscle mass speeds up you metabolism and causes you to burn more calories than with a lower muscle mass.

So there is a compound effect from getting stronger and putting on muscle because not only do you have the new muscle, but you also lose weight easier.

So if you have been burning yourself out on the treadmill, cut your cardio down to no more than 1-2 hours per week and start focusing on strength training.

And ladies that are worried about getting “bulky”…

I promise you, you won’t get ginormous by accident.

It takes incredible discipline to get as big as the ladies you see on the stage or at competitions.

But if you do incorporate some strength training, it will do things for your body that would make a plastic surgeon jealous.

Trust me on this one. 

Go lift some heavy weights

Variety makes fitness fun

I came into working here having only really done some basic strength training, a bit of yoga and coming fresh off a marathon. 

So I had tasted a few flavors, but the Plex offered so much more.

I tried spin, and even teach it from time to time now.

I tried Thunder with Terri, which surprised me the workout I got and how much fun I had.

I got into some powerlifting with Trey and he showed me how strong I was (despite my negative perception of my strength throughout my life).

I worked out with many different people with many different strengths that challenged me to develop my weaknesses.

And what doing all this did for me was show me how much fun changing it up can be.

Breaking up the monotony of fitness and tasting new flavors kept a fire in me to constantly challenge myself and get comfortable with getting out of my comfort zone.

So if you find fitness boring, change it up and try some different things and you will surprise yourself how reinvigorated you will feel.

Happiness is directly related to your focus on other people

And finally, my most important lesson…

This isn’t just a lesson for the workplace but a lesson for life in general.

I have had my best days at work when my full focus is “How can help people today?”

Serving others is the most selfish, selfless thing you can do because your aim is to help them, but they end up filling your soul up even more.

The more you give this world, the more it gives you back in return. 

So if you take anything from this blog…

Give more, serve more, give out a helping hand however you can.

If you find yourself unhappy in life, it is typically when you are too focused on yourself.

Try shifting that focus to others and I can almost guarantee it’ll turn it around for you.

These 6 lessons are just the tip of the iceberg.

The fitness industry is an incredibly rewarding industry.

I deem it ESSENTIAL.

Because I see lives changing everyday.

I see people getting to escape from whatever is troubling them.

This gym is a sanctuary.

It’s a happy place.

If you or someone you know has needed a nudge in taking care of themselves better,

Email me @ ryan.williams@hcesportsplex.com

I would love to help you feel as good as I get to feel every single day.

Peace out, Plex Fam and Happy Memorial Day!

It is incredibly embarrassing posting before pics but as my mentor, Dr. Tim Reynolds, says

“You is where you is”

And the reality of my before picture is I had let myself become “Skinny Fat”

I had just finished college.

I put on the freshman 15 (more like 25)

I wasn’t obese but I definitely had more fat than was ideal and I had much lower muscle than I needed to have.

That is all I mean by skinny-fat…too much fat and not enough muscle.

Not only did this cause me to be unhappy with my body but…

My energy levels were low.

I had low confidence (and to be frank, I hadn’t EARNED the right to be confident).

I didn’t respect myself enough to leave a relationship that wasn’t working out.

I accepted much lower wages than I was worth.

Skinny fat is a frustrating place to find yourself.

And it doesn’t have to be for lack of effort either!

I was fairly regular at the gym the semester prior to me taking this picture.

But I was working out all wrong and hadn’t gotten my diet under control.

That is why I wrote this blog.

I know many guys find themselves in the skinny-fat stage and I don’t know many who wouldn’t want to have more muscle and less fat.

And once you take control of your health, everything else falls into place to.

People find you more attractive, thus giving you more confidence.

You are proud of the work you put into building a body you are satisfied with.

You will make more money.

Have better relationships.

Sleep better.

Have more sex drive.

Have more energy.

And a long list of other benefits.

So let’s break down just what needs to happen to transition from skinny fat to fit….

But first, let’s figure out why we are skinny fat in the first place.

The main reasons are

-excessive cardio

-little to no strength training

-not eating enough protein

-Too severe of a daily calorie deficit

When I found myself skinny fat, I was guilty of all 4 of these, but do not worry, these are simple to fix.

So I am going to give you a playbook on how to go from skinny fat to fit, which is essentially just doing the opposite of these 4 things.

First and foremost…

Strength Train 3-5 Times Per Week

This is the first and most important step because you get the most bang for your buck.

And this doesn’t have to be time consuming.

You can easily get a solid strength workout in 45 minutes to an hour, so we are looking at around 5 hours a week.

We all have the same 168 hours in a week so I really think everyone can carve out 3% of their week to train.

I said you get the most bang for your buck because strength training is the best way to build muscle.

And the higher muscle mass you have, the higher your metabolism will be.

After a strength workout, your body is consistently burning calories to try to repair your muscles for up to 72 hours after the workout.

Versus cardio where you are really only getting a boost in calories burned while you are exercising.

And when I say strength training, I mean lifting HEAVY.

I fell victim to thinking that high-rep, burn out workouts were the way to go, but I only saw minimal results.

Your body needs what is called progressive overload to build muscle.

All this means is it needs to be pushing itself to lift heavier weight, do more reps, or have varied mixes of tempo while doing your workout.

So only do a high rep workout periodically and stick to the 6-12 rep range to really grow some muscle.

And this is going to take some discipline.

But if it really is important for you to get fit, it will require daily consistency.

I am confident any guy can follow this first step.

Next we need to…

Prioritize Protein Intake

If you are going to put all this work in, you must fuel your body properly.

You can chase a lot of different fad diets, but this is the easiest, most sustainable way to think about dieting in my opinion.

During strength training, you are literally tearing your muscles and your body builds muscle by repairing these tears so they can get stronger and withstand the next time they are under stress.

To rebuild, they MUST have sufficient protein.

Studies suggest somewhere between .7-1 gram of protein per lb. you weigh.

So a 200lb. male needs somewhere between 140-200 grams of protein.

Beyond protein intake, you also have calories to watch as well, but I would argue focusing on protein intake is a much easier way to run your diet because it forces you to eat foods that will keep you full.

High protein foods like lean meats and fish will sustain your hunger for much longer that processed foods.

So aim to get 30-40 grams of protein per meal along with fruits and vegetables and you won’t have to stress much over your diet.

You can start out by using a tracker like MyFitnessPal to track your calorie intake and then move to a bit more intuitive eating once you get the hang of it.

Now I will say, it is difficult to try to add muscle and cut fat at the same time as your body needs a caloric surplus (more calories in than burnt in a day) to put on muscle and a caloric deficit(less calories in than burnt in a day) to lose weight.

So I would, personally, start out eating somewhere around your maintenance level (equal calories in as expended)  and continue to strength train and focus on protein intake.

If you find yourself putting on weight, you are probably in a surplus.

And if you are losing weight, you could be losing weight from fat, but you may also need to up what you are eating to give your body enough to put on muscle.

Now that we have strength training and diet down, let’s sprinkle some cardio in.

Mix in cardio, but don’t over do it

Now if you have been doing a lot of cardio and can’t see yourself shedding any weight, you may be working harder instead of smarter.

First off, you shouldn’t be spending any more than half the time you are spending lifting weights as you are doing cardio.

You can get your cardio a few different ways.

You can swim, walk on an elevated treadmill, ruck, box/martial arts, sprints…

The list goes on, but the main thing to note is doing too much will steal your gains.

For one, you will expend too much energy on cardio instead of putting it into a workout.

Furthermore, the extra calorie burn will push you further into a deficit and keep your body from being able to develop muscle.

Cardio is a very important pillar in fitness, but when trying to get fit and put on muscle, you don’t want to overdo it.

And like I said earlier, you get more bang for you buck from strength training because there is higher calorie burn, and the greater muscle mass will speed up your metabolism.

This takes care of diet and exercise, lastly…

Don’t forget flexibility!

There are 3 pillars to fitness:

-Strength

-Cardio

-Flexibility

We covered the first two.

The third doesn’t have to be stressful.

Simply stretch for 5-10 minutes before your workout to get yourself loosened up instead of going in cold. 

There is a vast list of resources online.

If you are working chest and shoulders one day, simply google or youtube “Stretches for chest and shoulders” and you can find what you need.

Stretching before a workout will reduce the chance of injury and keep your flexibility where you need to be for as long as you prioritize it.

You don’t want to be that guy that can’t scratch his back or touch his toes because you never stretch.

And if you are that guy, don’t think you can change it.

Stretch before your workouts and if you want bonus points, do a little yoga once a week as well.

Let’s wrap it up

So to summarize, lift heavy, eat plenty of protein, do cardio, but don’t overdo it, and stretch.

Nothing crazy.

You have the tools and information, now you just have to put in the work.

That is why a fit body is one of the best status symbols.

People know you can’t buy or cheat yourself into a healthy body.

I am no body builder or anything as you can tell from my pictures, but I can promise you I have been through the same struggle as you have been through and I know how to get to the other side.

I believe anyone can be fit and healthy and a lot of the world’s problems would be solved if everyone got in shape.

If you need a place to get in shape, I can’t recommend our gym enough.

If you still aren’t ready to commit, let us ease you into it.

We offer a free week trial for you to make sure this is the right gym for you.

If you have any other questions, feel free to reach me at ryan.williams@hcesportsplex.com.

There is a ton of buzz around meditation and 

if you are anything like me when I got into it,

You are probably overwhelmed by all the information out there.

However, it does not have to intimidate you.

Naval Raviakant said it most simply,

“Meditation is the art of doing nothing”

I’m aware to a lot of people that may not sound very enticing,

but I will explain why this unlocks your highest self.

MEDITATION CULTIVATES SELF AWARENESS.

Whenever you are meditating, 

You are simply:

-Sitting in a comfortable position

-observing your thoughts, sensations of the body, etc.

-letting them pass without judgement

-that’s literally it

It sounds very simple and it is.

Similar to how eating healthy and exercising is simple and is all someone needs to do to get fit, but it still requires work.

You see, meditation is work.

And perhaps, the most important kind of work

Because it is self therapy. 

To quote @Naval again, “Instead of paying someone, you listen to yourself.”

We get so lost and anxious in life because we are not paying attention to ourselves.

We are not paying attention to this moment.

I know we are all guilty of being at an event or being  with someone we love

And not being fully present because we are too worried about our future or still stressing over our past or thinking about all the things we need to get done tomorrow.

Meditation teaches you to be present. 

It teaches you to be self-aware.

“Awareness is the power that is concealed within the present moment. That is why we call it Presence. The ultimate purpose of human existence, which is to say, YOUR PURPOSE, is to bring that superpower into the world.” -Eckhart Tolle

Awareness is an absolute must for happiness. 

If you are not present, you are not fully appreciating life. 

Presence allows you to be a better spouse because you notice all the good in your partner. 

It allows you to be a better friend because you can fully listen and give constructive advice from being aware of your own experiences in the world.

And most importantly, it allows you to be the best you because you are totally immersed in life and all that it has to offer.

It allows you to live every minute.

Meditation forces you to look at yourself and your thoughts.

This is a scary thing because all of us, at some point, have carried around something we did not want to share with anyone else, whether it be something we did, said or thought.

Furthermore, the second we wake up, we are struck with stimulation.

Social media notifications, emails, missed calls, text messages… 

They all start piling up on us throughout the day and we never take a second to just do nothing. 

We never give ourselves space to think and organize our ideas.

Meditation is like pulling out the Nintendo 64 cartridge, blowing on it, and putting it back in and everything works again.

Meditation is a different experience for everyone.

There are so many ways to do it, it’d be foolish to say it isn’t for you.

You can do plain, sit and observe meditations, guided meditations, mindfulness meditations…

Walking or long drives can be meditating for some.

The point of it is to just let it be whatever experience it is meant to be for you.

And let whatever benefits you get out of it be enough for you.

Do not concern yourself for not doing it for long enough or not practicing often enough.

It is always available to you.

If you are interested in trying a guided meditation, I would recommend starting with  Deepak Chopra’s 21 Day Abundance Challenge.

I hope this opened your eyes to meditation. I could go on with more benefits like how it reduces stress and anxiety or how it literally reshapes your brain,

But I wanted to keep this short, sweet, and digestible.

Have a lovely day!

Namaste.