The CoachAk blog
Train smarter. Eat with a plan.
Straight answers on training, nutrition, contest prep and health, from the same evidence-based approach used with every coaching client.
Fat loss
· 6 min read
Do I Need a Coach to Lose Weight? How to Decide
Do I need a coach to lose weight? Often not at first. Who does well alone, who benefits from a coach, what research shows and what to try before you pay.
· 6 min read
How Much Does Online Coaching Cost? What You Pay For
How much does online coaching cost? What drives the price, what every plan should include, how to compare offers fairly, and when a free option is enough.
· 7 min read
How to Lose Weight for a Wedding Without Crash Dieting
How to lose weight for a wedding: count back from the date, set a target the weeks can hold, finish early and skip the last-minute crash diet.
· 6 min read
Menopause Weight Gain: Why It Happens and What Helps
Menopause weight gain explained: what changes in perimenopause, why fat moves to your middle, what research shows helps, and when to speak to your GP.
· 7 min read
What Is a Calorie Deficit? A Plain-English Guide
What is a calorie deficit? A plain-English guide to what it means, why every fat loss diet relies on one, how big it should be and how to tell you are in one.
· 7 min read
12-Week Body Transformation: What's Realistic?
A realistic 12-week body transformation: how much fat you can lose, what happens to muscle, and why so many before-and-after photos online mislead.
· 6 min read
Fat Loss for Beginners: Where to Start
Fat loss for beginners: the five things that matter most, in order, from a modest calorie deficit to protein, lifting and sleep, and what you can ignore.
· 7 min read
How to Get to 10% Body Fat (and Is It Worth It?)
How to get to 10% body fat: what 10% really means, how to work out your target weight and timeline, the plan that gets you there and what it costs.
· 6 min read
Photoshoot Prep: How to Get Lean for a Shoot
Photoshoot prep without the risky tricks: how to set your timeline, how fast to lose fat, what to do in the final week and how to handle the days after.
· 6 min read
Eating Out on a Diet Without Wrecking Your Week
Eating out on a diet: how big restaurant meals really are, why we underestimate them, what to order, how to log it and how to plan your week around it.
· 7 min read
Fat Loss for Women: What Changes and What Doesn't
Fat loss for women: what really differs (calories, your cycle, contraception, PCOS, menopause), what doesn't, and the signs a diet has gone too far.
· 7 min read
How to Stay Lean After a Cut
How to stay lean after a cut: why fat comes back so fast, how to pick a weight you can hold, set a range, keep your habits and act early on small gains.
· 7 min read
How Much Cardio When Cutting or Bulking?
How much cardio when cutting or bulking: what the interference research really shows, steps versus sessions, and how to add cardio without losing muscle.
· 7 min read
Fat Loss for Busy People: What Matters Most
Fat loss for busy people: the priorities that matter most when time is short, from short workouts and simple meals to daily steps, and what you can safely drop.
· 6 min read
Losing Fat Over 40: What Changes and What Doesn't
Losing fat over 40: what really changes (muscle, activity, sleep, hormones and menopause), what the 2021 metabolism study found, and a plan that works.
· 6 min read
How Long Should a Cut Last?
How long should a cut last? Work it out from the fat you want to lose and a safe weekly rate, see typical cut lengths, and learn when to pause or stop.
· 7 min read
How to Start a Cut: A Beginner's Step-by-Step Guide
How to start a cut, step by step: find your maintenance, pick a rate of loss, set protein and calories, keep lifting heavy and adjust from your weekly average.
· 6 min read
How to Lose the Last Few Kilos
How to lose the last few kilos: why the final bit of fat comes off slower, how to tighten up your tracking honestly, and when the target itself is the problem.
· 8 min read
How to Stop Feeling Hungry on a Diet
How to stop feeling hungry on a diet: what research says about protein, fibre, food volume, sleep, meal timing and deficit size, and when hunger is a warning.
· 8 min read
Alcohol and Fat Loss: What a Night Out Really Costs
Alcohol and fat loss in honest numbers: calories in beer, wine and spirits, what drinking does to fat burning, muscle and sleep, and how to fit it in.
· 8 min read
Diet Breaks and Refeed Days: Do They Actually Work?
Do diet breaks and refeed days work? What the research in lifters shows for fat loss, muscle, metabolism and hunger, and how to use them sensibly.
· 3 min read
How Many Steps a Day Should You Walk for Fat Loss?
How many daily steps help with fat loss and health, roughly how many calories walking burns, and how to set a step target you can actually keep.
· 5 min read
How to Lose Fat Without Losing Muscle
A practical guide to cutting while keeping your hard-earned muscle. How fast to lose weight, how to train, how much protein to eat, and when to adjust.
· 4 min read
Reverse Dieting: How to Eat More After a Diet
What reverse dieting is, what the evidence actually says, and a practical way to bring calories back up after a fat-loss phase without losing control.
· 4 min read
Not Losing Weight? 8 Common Reasons and How to Fix Them
The most common reasons fat loss stalls even when you think you are doing everything right, and what to check and change before you cut calories again.
Building muscle
· 8 min read
Beginner Gym Workout Plan: Your First 12 Weeks
A beginner gym workout plan for your first 12 weeks: two full-body workouts, how many sets and reps to do, and how to progress them month by month.
· 6 min read
Bodybuilding Off-Season: How to Improve Between Shows
How to run a bodybuilding off-season: recover from the show, gain slowly in a small surplus, train your weak points and stay close enough to stage condition.
· 7 min read
How to Lose the Dad Bod: Fitting Training Around Kids
How to lose the dad bod when time and sleep are short: short strength sessions, simple family food, a modest deficit, and what research says about new fathers.
· 8 min read
Building Muscle After Menopause: What the Research Says
Building muscle after menopause is possible. What research says about hormones and muscle loss, strength training, protein and bones, and when to see your GP.
· 7 min read
How to Build Bigger Arms: A Simple Plan
How to build bigger arms: how many sets to do, which biceps and triceps exercises the research favours, how to progress, and why eating enough matters too.
· 8 min read
How to Build Muscle When Busy: The Minimum That Works
How to build muscle when busy: the least training that still works, from research on short sessions and low volume, plus how to keep muscle in a hectic week.
· 6 min read
Does Muscle Soreness Mean a Good Workout? DOMS Explained
Does muscle soreness mean a good workout? What DOMS is, why it fades as you adapt, what research says about soreness and growth, and when pain is a warning.
· 7 min read
Building Muscle After 40: What Changes and What Doesn't
Building muscle after 40 is very possible. What research says about muscle growth, recovery, joints and protein as you age, and how to train for the long run.
· 7 min read
Deload Week: What It Is and When You Need One
What a deload week is, what research says about planned versus as-needed deloads, the signs you need one, and how to set up an easier week of training.
· 8 min read
How to Gain Weight as a Skinny Guy Who Struggles to Eat
How to gain weight as a skinny guy with a small appetite: calorie-dense foods, drinking calories, meal timing, how fast to gain and training to make it muscle.
· 7 min read
How to Start Bodybuilding: A Beginner's Guide
How to start bodybuilding from scratch: the training, eating and recovery basics, a simple first week of workouts, and what to expect in your first months.
· 7 min read
Not Building Muscle? Common Reasons and How to Fix Them
Not building muscle despite training? The common reasons people stall, from no overload to too little food, protein or sleep, and how to check each one.
· 7 min read
Should You Bulk or Cut First? How to Decide
Should I bulk or cut first? How to decide from your body fat, training experience and goals, with a simple decision guide and when to recomp instead.
· 7 min read
Training to Failure: How Close Do You Need to Go?
Training to failure explained: what failure and reps in reserve mean, what meta-analyses show about muscle growth, and when going all the way costs too much.
· 7 min read
Weight Training for Women: A Beginner's Guide
Weight training for women, explained for beginners: why you won't get bulky by accident, what to train, how often, what to eat and how to track progress.
· 8 min read
The Best Workout Split: 3, 4 or 5 Days a Week?
What is the best workout split? What research says about full body, upper/lower, push/pull/legs and body-part splits, with example 3, 4 and 5-day weeks.
· 8 min read
How Much Muscle Can You Build Naturally? The Real Numbers
How much muscle can you build naturally? Realistic gains by training age, what the FFMI natural limit means, and why online physiques mislead.
· 4 min read
Body Recomposition: Can You Lose Fat and Build Muscle?
Who can lose fat and build muscle at the same time, how to set up calories, protein and training for a recomp, and how to tell if it is working.
· 4 min read
How Many Sets Per Week Do You Need to Build Muscle?
How many hard sets per muscle per week the research supports for muscle growth, how often to train each muscle, and how to build your week around it.
· 4 min read
Lean Bulk: How Fast Should You Gain Weight?
How fast to gain weight to build muscle without piling on fat, how big a calorie surplus to use, and how to adjust a lean bulk week by week.
· 4 min read
Progressive Overload Explained: How to Keep Building Muscle
What progressive overload is, the simplest way to apply it (double progression), how to track it, and what to do when your lifts stall.
Nutrition
· 6 min read
Binge Eating on a Diet: Why It Happens and What Helps
Binge eating on a diet: why strict dieting can trigger binges, what to do the day after, how to make them less likely, and when to see your GP for help.
· 6 min read
Do I Need a Nutrition Coach? Honest Signs It Would Help
Do I need a nutrition coach? Honest signs a coach would help, signs you can manage on your own, and when to see a registered dietitian or your doctor instead.
· 5 min read
What Does a Macro Coach Do? Is One Worth It?
What a macro coach does: sets your calorie and macro targets, reads your weekly check-ins and adjusts. How it differs from app numbers and what drives the cost.
· 7 min read
How to Track Macros Without Obsessing
How to track macros step by step: set your targets, weigh and log your food, what to be exact about, what to let go, and when tracking stops helping.
· 7 min read
Bodybuilding Diet for Beginners: Where to Start
A bodybuilding diet for beginners, step by step: calories for your goal, how much protein, carbs and fat to eat, what to eat, a sample day and what to ignore.
· 6 min read
Bulking Diet Plan: How to Set One Up
How to set up a bulking diet plan: how big a calorie surplus to use, your macros, meal structure, a sample day, and what to change when the scale moves.
· 6 min read
Macros for Cutting: How to Set Your Numbers
Macros for cutting, step by step: set your calories, then protein, fat and carbs for a cut, with a worked example and how to adjust the numbers as you go.
· 4 min read
How Much Protein Do You Need to Build Muscle?
The protein target the research supports for building muscle and keeping it on a diet, how to split it across meals, and the best food sources.
· 4 min read
How to Calculate Your Maintenance Calories
How to estimate your maintenance calories with a formula, why calculators are only a starting point, and how to find your real number from two weeks of data.
Contest prep
· 6 min read
Online Contest Prep Coach: How Remote Prep Works
What an online contest prep coach does week to week: training, nutrition targets, check-ins, photos, written feedback and messages, plus the honest limits.
· 7 min read
Contest Prep Without a Coach: Can You Do It Alone?
Contest prep without a coach is possible. What you can do alone, where self-coached competitors tend to struggle, and when a coach is genuinely worth it.
· 8 min read
Masters Bodybuilding Over 40: How to Compete Well
Masters bodybuilding over 40: how masters classes work, what changes in contest prep with age, and the health checks to do before you start a long, hard diet.
· 7 min read
Post-Show Recovery in Bodybuilding: Life After Contest Prep
Post-show recovery in bodybuilding: what happens to weight, hormones and mood after a contest, how long recovery takes, and a plan for the weeks after.
· 6 min read
Bikini Competition for Beginners: What to Expect
Bikini competition for beginners: what judges look for, posing and the walk, suit and heels, how lean you need to be and what a first prep is really like.
· 7 min read
Contest Prep Diet: What to Eat From Start to Stage
A contest prep diet from start to stage: how big a deficit, how much protein, carbs and fat, which foods make it easier, and where refeeds and diet breaks fit.
· 7 min read
Contest Prep With a Full-Time Job: Making It Fit
Contest prep with a full-time job: how to fit training, cardio, meals and sleep around work, and protect your energy and focus in the final weeks before a show.
· 7 min read
Your First Bodybuilding Competition: Where to Start
Planning your first bodybuilding competition? How to choose a division and federation, pick a realistic date and what to sort out before your prep begins.
· 6 min read
Men's Physique Competition for Beginners: Your First Prep
A men's physique competition explained for beginners: what judges look for, how it differs from classic and bodybuilding, board shorts, posing and your prep.
· 8 min read
Peak Week Bodybuilding: What Changes in the Final Week
Peak week bodybuilding explained: what competitors change before a show, what the research supports, and why a lean, rehearsed, simple peak is safest.
· 5 min read
Contest Prep: What the Weeks Before a Show Look Like
How a bodybuilding or physique contest prep works, from how long it takes and how fast to diet, to training, peak week and recovering after the show.
Health and lifestyle
· 6 min read
Hiring an Online Coach With an Injury: An Honest Guide
Hiring an online coach with an injury? What a coach can do (adjust your program, work alongside your physio) and what needs a doctor or physio.
· 7 min read
Does Stress Stop Fat Loss? What Cortisol Really Does
Does stress stop fat loss? Not directly, but it changes how you eat, sleep and move. What cortisol really does, and how to keep losing fat in a stressful patch.
· 7 min read
Habits for Fat Loss: Why They Beat Willpower
Habits for fat loss: how long a habit takes to form, the research on habit-based weight loss, and the few daily habits that keep you lean without willpower.
· 8 min read
PCOS Weight Loss: What the Evidence Says Works
PCOS weight loss explained: why it can feel harder, whether you need to lose weight, which diet and training help, and what is myth. Work with your GP.
· 4 min read
Gut Health for Lifters: Bloating, Fibre and Digestion
Why a high-protein, high-food diet can upset your stomach, how much fibre you need, what helps gut health and which warning signs mean you should see a doctor.
· 4 min read
Sleep and Muscle Growth: How Much Does Sleep Matter?
What research shows about sleep, muscle and fat loss, how many hours you need, and simple ways to sleep better when you train hard.
Biohacking and supplements
· 6 min read
Cold Plunge After a Workout: When to Plunge and Sauna
A cold plunge after workout sessions can blunt muscle gains. What the research shows, when cold water and saunas fit, and who should check with a doctor first.
· 8 min read
Do Probiotics Work? What the Evidence Actually Says
Do probiotics work? Some strains help with specific problems, but for healthy lifters the evidence is weak. What research shows, safety, and what to try first.
· 4 min read
Biohacking for Lifters: What's Worth It and What Isn't
Cold plunges, saunas, sleep trackers, glucose monitors and testosterone boosters, sorted by the evidence, plus the basics that beat every hack.
· 4 min read
Creatine: What It Does and Doesn't Do
The most researched supplement in sport. What creatine does for muscle and strength, how much to take, side effects, and the truth about hair loss and kidneys.
Peptides and PEDs
· 7 min read
Stopping Ozempic and Weight Gain: How to Keep It Off
Stopping Ozempic and weight gain: what trials of semaglutide and tirzepatide show about regain, and the habits that help you keep more of the weight off.
· 9 min read
Weight Loss Injections vs Diet and Exercise: Which Works?
Weight loss injections vs diet and exercise: what the trials show, who the medicines are for, the trade-offs, and why training and food matter either way.
· 8 min read
TRT vs Steroids: What Is the Difference?
TRT vs steroids: often the same hormone, used very differently. How low testosterone is diagnosed, what TRT does, its real risks, and why gym 'TRT' is not TRT.
· 5 min read
Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro: How to Keep Your Muscle
GLP-1 weight-loss medicines can take muscle with the fat. What the big trials show, and how lifting and protein help make the weight you lose mostly fat.
· 5 min read
Peptides for Bodybuilding: What the Evidence Actually Says
Peptides for bodybuilding: what BPC-157, TB-500, growth hormone peptides and Melanotan are, what the research shows, the law and the risks of buying online.
· 6 min read
Steroids and PEDs: Health Risks and Why Bloodwork Matters
What anabolic steroids, SARMs and other PEDs do to your heart, hormones and mind, what the research shows, and why honest bloodwork and a doctor matter.
Progress and coaching
· 6 min read
Online Coaching for Beginners: Can It Work for You?
Is online coaching for beginners a good idea? What a remote coach can and cannot teach you, what you miss without in-person help, and how to fill the gap.
· 6 min read
Do I Need a Personal Trainer? 7 Signs You Do (and Don't)
Do I need a personal trainer? Seven honest signs that a trainer or coach would help, signs you can manage on your own, and what kind of help fits your problem.
· 6 min read
What to Expect in Your First Month of Online Coaching
Your first month of online coaching, week by week: the application, welcome questionnaire, first program and targets, first check-ins and first adjustments.
· 6 min read
Is Online Coaching Worth It? An Honest Answer
Is online coaching worth it? Who it suits, who it doesn't, what you should get for your money, and what research says about accountability and supervision.
· 8 min read
How to Choose an Online Coach: Questions and Red Flags
How to choose an online coach: the questions to ask before you pay, what good answers sound like, and the red flags that should make you walk away.
· 8 min read
Online Coach vs Personal Trainer: Which Suits You?
Online coach vs personal trainer: what each does well, what research on supervised training shows, how they are paid for, and how to choose (or combine).
· 4 min read
Why Your Weight Goes Up and Down (and How to Read the Scale)
Why your body weight jumps around from day to day, how to weigh yourself so the number means something, and how to tell real fat loss or muscle gain from noise.
· 3 min read
How to Take Progress Photos That Actually Show Progress
A simple routine for taking consistent progress photos (poses, lighting, timing and angles) so you can see real changes the scale misses.
· 5 min read
What Does an Online Bodybuilding Coach Actually Do?
What you get from an online bodybuilding coach, how weekly check-ins work, and how to tell whether coaching is worth it for you.
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