Mike Israetel

If not, try to not exercise and be a little easier at work, be a little easier on family stuff, have some fun cheat foods, eat a little more than usual, be a little less active so that your body can recover in a way that it can never recover between sessions, but it gets a whole week to do this. And once a year, at least, take two whole weeks like that. We call that active rest.

So that first thing, one week off is called a deload. The second thing off where you take two weeks in a row of basically just not even coming to the gym. And if you do, you just do the lightest, easiest stuff ever. It takes 10 minutes. That reduces your systemic cumulative fatigue so much that it brings it back down to zero or almost zero. Some people will say, look, 16 weeks I've been cranking.

So that first thing, one week off is called a deload. The second thing off where you take two weeks in a row of basically just not even coming to the gym. And if you do, you just do the lightest, easiest stuff ever. It takes 10 minutes. That reduces your systemic cumulative fatigue so much that it brings it back down to zero or almost zero. Some people will say, look, 16 weeks I've been cranking.

First 12 weeks, great results. Last four weeks, I don't know if I'm moving the needle. Maybe you're just really tired. Pushing the pedal down harder is usually not the best way to do things. It might be time for a break. People come back and your muscles resensitize to the stimulus if you take time off.

First 12 weeks, great results. Last four weeks, I don't know if I'm moving the needle. Maybe you're just really tired. Pushing the pedal down harder is usually not the best way to do things. It might be time for a break. People come back and your muscles resensitize to the stimulus if you take time off.

So when you come back, go back to two or three sets of everything, not four or five sets of everything. You're going to get really sore and really pumped from just a few sets, and you're going to be growing again.

So when you come back, go back to two or three sets of everything, not four or five sets of everything. You're going to get really sore and really pumped from just a few sets, and you're going to be growing again.

You do that for another six to eight weeks, you get tired again, your strength starts to plateau, take another week of easy training or no training at all, and that's how the cycle repeats itself. It's probably most of the stuff I would say about how to analyze your training inside the gym to get closer to your optimum.

You do that for another six to eight weeks, you get tired again, your strength starts to plateau, take another week of easy training or no training at all, and that's how the cycle repeats itself. It's probably most of the stuff I would say about how to analyze your training inside the gym to get closer to your optimum.

There's lots to say about external gym variables, but one thing I'll say really quick is this. Before I ever consult people nowadays about how to pursue incrementally more optimal outcomes for their muscles, people who want to gain muscle but are frustrated they aren't jacked enough. Nowadays, I always take time to find a reference frame of what have your gains been like?

There's lots to say about external gym variables, but one thing I'll say really quick is this. Before I ever consult people nowadays about how to pursue incrementally more optimal outcomes for their muscles, people who want to gain muscle but are frustrated they aren't jacked enough. Nowadays, I always take time to find a reference frame of what have your gains been like?

How much work have you been putting in? How long have you been training? And to see if, how do genetics play a role in this and how does age play a role in this? I've consulted with people before who were in their 60s, weighing something like 150 pounds. Fairly lean. They aspire to be in the low to mid 200s fairly lean.

How much work have you been putting in? How long have you been training? And to see if, how do genetics play a role in this and how does age play a role in this? I've consulted with people before who were in their 60s, weighing something like 150 pounds. Fairly lean. They aspire to be in the low to mid 200s fairly lean.

I told them that outside of an anabolic steroid cycle that's probably got an even chance of killing you as it does of getting you jacked, you're not going to get that jacked. And your progress rate is just going to be much slower than the 20-year-olds at your gym. But sometimes we forget that age has such a profound effect on our results.

I told them that outside of an anabolic steroid cycle that's probably got an even chance of killing you as it does of getting you jacked, you're not going to get that jacked. And your progress rate is just going to be much slower than the 20-year-olds at your gym. But sometimes we forget that age has such a profound effect on our results.

And we look around and as all young people, we're like, well, I want to look like that. Well, guess what? 1982 was a long time ago. So, unless you have a time machine or age reversal... Which I think age reversal technology is inevitable.

And we look around and as all young people, we're like, well, I want to look like that. Well, guess what? 1982 was a long time ago. So, unless you have a time machine or age reversal... Which I think age reversal technology is inevitable.

Yeah, that's definitely a component of it. Another component is overall systemic ability to recover. You have so much DNA methylation and all this other kind of damage and accretion. of the wear and tear of age that your organelles and your cells don't work as well as they used to. Your organs don't work as well as they used to.

Yeah, that's definitely a component of it. Another component is overall systemic ability to recover. You have so much DNA methylation and all this other kind of damage and accretion. of the wear and tear of age that your organelles and your cells don't work as well as they used to. Your organs don't work as well as they used to.

A lot of times you're taking for granted the fact that now in your mid-60s, you run a top 500 corporation and you have more stress than Most people can handle in a day. You have that in an hour. But back when you were making the gains of your life when you were 18, your job was to show up to school, go to the gym, eat at the cafeteria, and smoke weed. And that's all you did every day.