Mike Israetel

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.

Of course, you have the gains of your life. People discount that. They also look to athletes and they go, oh my God, like that bikini competitor. She looks amazing. I want that body. Well, check this out, Linda. You're 56. You have three children. One of them is in college, two are not. You are a CTO for a major company and you sleep five hours a night. That bikini competitor trains a few clients.

Of course, you have the gains of your life. People discount that. They also look to athletes and they go, oh my God, like that bikini competitor. She looks amazing. I want that body. Well, check this out, Linda. You're 56. You have three children. One of them is in college, two are not. You are a CTO for a major company and you sleep five hours a night. That bikini competitor trains a few clients.

She posts on OnlyFans and she does nothing else other than train, recover, and watch Netflix and sleep nine hours a night of uninterrupted sleep. It's two completely different worlds. She's also 27, by the way. Strange times, I know. But especially with social media, there is nothing that surprises me anymore about how unmoored some people can be from realistic expectations.

She posts on OnlyFans and she does nothing else other than train, recover, and watch Netflix and sleep nine hours a night of uninterrupted sleep. It's two completely different worlds. She's also 27, by the way. Strange times, I know. But especially with social media, there is nothing that surprises me anymore about how unmoored some people can be from realistic expectations.

The other thing is genetics. The most important factor, other than time spent in the gym, about how jacked and lean you're going to get is genetics. And it is a hugely, hugely important factor. You have to understand that your goals have to be referenced to what your genetic likelihood of achieving them are. The only way you'll find that out is if you work at it for a while and see what happens.

The other thing is genetics. The most important factor, other than time spent in the gym, about how jacked and lean you're going to get is genetics. And it is a hugely, hugely important factor. You have to understand that your goals have to be referenced to what your genetic likelihood of achieving them are. The only way you'll find that out is if you work at it for a while and see what happens.

But some people work at resistance training for three years. They'll accrue five pounds of muscle, burn three pounds of fat, and they'll be like, this next year, I want to gain 10 pounds of muscle. And you go, whoa, that's not how hyperbolic curves and asymptotic curves work. You got it backwards. If in three years you gain 10 pounds of muscle, in the next three years, maybe you can gain five.

But some people work at resistance training for three years. They'll accrue five pounds of muscle, burn three pounds of fat, and they'll be like, this next year, I want to gain 10 pounds of muscle. And you go, whoa, that's not how hyperbolic curves and asymptotic curves work. You got it backwards. If in three years you gain 10 pounds of muscle, in the next three years, maybe you can gain five.

That's realistic. It does not work in reverse. So it's really, really important to contextualize multiple qualities. One is how much recovery and rest and relaxation time do you get compared to work and being underslept? Another is genetics, and the other is age. And so if people say, I want to get more jacked, the reason I'm ranting about this, Peter, is because

That's realistic. It does not work in reverse. So it's really, really important to contextualize multiple qualities. One is how much recovery and rest and relaxation time do you get compared to work and being underslept? Another is genetics, and the other is age. And so if people say, I want to get more jacked, the reason I'm ranting about this, Peter, is because

I've had many clients who were willing to put in whatever work it was going to be necessary to put in, but they were older, they did not have particularly great genetics, and they had already gotten most of the muscle gain that they were going to get. Not all, but most. And they requested a formulation from me of their exercise plan that would get them categorically better gains.

I've had many clients who were willing to put in whatever work it was going to be necessary to put in, but they were older, they did not have particularly great genetics, and they had already gotten most of the muscle gain that they were going to get. Not all, but most. And they requested a formulation from me of their exercise plan that would get them categorically better gains.

And outside of pharmaceutical enhancement, I had to tell them in some way or another that was impossible. I ended up telling them that after many years of struggling myself to try to optimize for them and get them those gains, because I'm like, oh, I'm a science guy. I know things, I think. I've been fairly successful in my own body. Why can't I get these people to gain muscle?

And outside of pharmaceutical enhancement, I had to tell them in some way or another that was impossible. I ended up telling them that after many years of struggling myself to try to optimize for them and get them those gains, because I'm like, oh, I'm a science guy. I know things, I think. I've been fairly successful in my own body. Why can't I get these people to gain muscle?

And those, that trifecta of age, genetics, and how much of a professional bodybuilder or fitness person do you want to be for the next several months? They are the biggest factors for results. And people seem to think that you can just hack your way to the best plan. And if you just do the right things, you'll get amazing results.

And those, that trifecta of age, genetics, and how much of a professional bodybuilder or fitness person do you want to be for the next several months? They are the biggest factors for results. And people seem to think that you can just hack your way to the best plan. And if you just do the right things, you'll get amazing results.

It has to be in context, unless you like setting yourself up for really unfortunate experiences where you get quite upset that you couldn't do the thing. People will arbitrarily assign themselves an amount of muscle they want. It does not work like that. Put in the diligence, put in the time, see how it goes.

It has to be in context, unless you like setting yourself up for really unfortunate experiences where you get quite upset that you couldn't do the thing. People will arbitrarily assign themselves an amount of muscle they want. It does not work like that. Put in the diligence, put in the time, see how it goes.

Things are going well, you can crank it up a little bit and get a little bit better gains. It's going to take time. If things are not going so well, you have to optimize to make them go a little better.