Category: learning and living

 

How to Get “In Shape” in 2023 (myth-busting and info about how to design your own fitness program)

How to make 2023 your year

Well, 2023 is here, the new year has arrived and if you’re like many people, getting in shape nears the top of your new years resolution list.  Also if you’re like many people, its appeared at the top of your list before but remains and unchecked box on your new years check list.

eating healthy and exercising are consistently near the top of people's new year's resolutions
credit Statista

This year is going to be different though because I’m going to point you in the right direction.  Will this be a step by step plan?  Well sorta, but more like general guidelines that if you follow you can do great.

First, let’s set a couple things straight.  A common mistake people try to do is “spot reduce” problem areas.  A common example of this would be doing a bunch of ab exercises in an attempt to burn belly fat.  Unfortunately it doesn’t really work that way so don’t do it.

Fortunately though you can spot enhance muscle development.  Meaning you can do more curls to improve your biceps, or do heavier hip thrusts to build your glutes (the butt muscle).

So in order to get that the sought after lean, sculpted athletic appearance you should

  1. Develop the muscle in order to create toned muscle. (Through training)
  2. Get lean enough so the muscle won’t be covered up. (Through nutrition)

In reality, when people say that they want to be toned, what they’re actually looking for is building muscle and burning fat, just not to the extreme levels of body builders.

Now in order for this to happen, you’ll need to get leaner by taking control of your nutrition.  The nutrition needs to do a couple things simultaneously.  It needs to create a caloric deficit while simultaneously providing enough of the good stuff to rebuild your muscles while building health.  I have plans for this, and I also have nutritionists, dietitians and functional medicine doctors in my network to help out when the big guns are needed.

With the nutrition in place, we’ll train for performance across a variety of exercises that hit the main movements categories.

At the base level for lifting, this would be:

  1. Upper body push (examples would be bench press, military press etc)
  2. Upper body pull (examples would be rowing, chin ups and lat pull downs etc.)
  3. Hip dominant (examples would be hip thrusts, deadlifts, kettlebell swings etc.)
  4. Knee dominant (examples could be barbell squats, goblet squats, front foot elevated split squats etc.)

Training those 4 key lifting movements will train all the muscles involved with them.  As an example in the overhead press, you’re hitting shoulders, upper pecs, triceps, glutes, abs and many others.  Getting the 4 main categories will ensure you’re making effective time of training and hitting the major muscle groups along with everything in between and ensures balance.

Now, with those 4 in place we would strive to get stronger across all of them.  Why train for performance?  Well generally that produces better results, and better enthusiasm for training.  When you are training simply for aesthetics it’s hard to quantify results.  Even supermodels have things about themselves they don’t like.

Meanwhile, doing more weight than you ever had before and repping out with it is easy to compare.  Numbers are numbers after all.

Taking a bench press with a weight that someone could only do once at the beginning of a 12 week cycle and being able to do it for an easy “ish” set of 10 at the end of the cycle is an obvious improvement. In addition to that the best way to improve someones physique is to improve their max strength and do reps with it.

Strength has its own benefits too, like walking around with the “I got this” mindset and strength carries over to life in general, like throwing around your kids, drumming all night long, lifting critical care patients (one of my clients is a paramedic), martial arts, playing pickle ball or just having the physical capacity to do whatever makes you happy.  Life isn’t meant to be observed from a chair.  Life is for living, and it’s better when you have the physical capabilities to live it to its fullest.

picture taken of Jana on a recent vacation
Jana had this pic taken on vacation…enjoying her life with the lean, fit, strong physique she earned through training at Eric Moss Fitness

Now, with the basic lifting movements in place you would apply a strategy of progressive overload. As in over time you add either more weight, more reps or ideally both.  Like I said and it bares repeating the best way to improve your physique is to improve your max strength for reps.  Keep in mind, it’s not going to be every session.  It’s going to be over time.

With my personal training clients, after I’ve screened them to see what we can safely do, I come up with some exercises in the categories listed above, establish what their current capabilities are so I can get an idea of where I can start them to progress them optimally.

Then we start below their capabilities and expand outward until we sneak past their previous limits without them even realizing it.

Applying these strategies works for both men and women, younger or more life experienced.  

I’ve applied this to regular people that just want to look better, perform better and feel better about themselves. I’ve applied it to athletes.  I’ve applied it to nerds (their words not mine). I’ve applied it to touring musicians that needed to improve their capacity so they don’t lose a step.  And I’ve applied it to national beauty contest winners who went on to go the distance at the international level (making history by being the only one representing Team USA to not only place but to come in 2nd)

Mr. Gay World USA 2022 Tony Ardolino showing the physique he built at Eric Moss Fitness in Boonton
Mr. Gay World USA 2022 Tony Ardolino showing South Africa toned physique he built at Eric Moss Fitness in Boonton

It works for them, it’ll work for you too.

So let’s recap with a couple key elements.  Get a nutrition plan that simultaneously burns the fat that covers your physique while providing the building blocks for muscle and health.  Get a plan that covers the 4 main lifting movement categories and have a strategy of progressive overload to maximize your strength for reps.  If you do it right you can have that body you’ve been dreaming about for the past couple years and depending on where you’re starting from you can get it before summer.  Just have a look at some of my success stories and see how they did.

If you need help with this, I have a free trial at my personal training studio in Boonton. Just text me at 973 476 5328 to get started.


Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.

Some of my Favorite Books on Strength and Why

On my youtube channel I encourage people to ask me questions and one of the questions and when they do, I respond with a video answering it just for them.

This questions took a bit of thought. I used the criteria of being a book I’ve read and reread several times throughout my career.


Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.

The Pug of Steel – Dog Days of Summer

A couple weeks ago, I came to my personal training studio in Boonton and found one of the dog days of summer art pieces in front of it. I was surprised since in the time I’ve been here, this was the first time it happened. As I took a closer look I saw that it was a dog fashioned as Clark Kent tearing off his outer layers and being Superman.

 

Eric Moss wearing a Superman t-shirt posing with the pug of steel outside his personal training studio on Main Street in Boonton

How appropriate, but maybe not for the reasons you think.

You see the connection between me and the man of steel are obvious. We both bend steel and a stage nickname I had for a while was Last Son of Krypton (it was a tribute to my first mentor New Jersey’s Superman the late Greg Matonick….a nick name, not an official stage name…so don’t come after me DC).

But that connection isn’t what I’m talking about.

Here’s the thing that differentiates Superman from some of the others. Peter Parker started out as Peter Parker and he became Spiderman. Dr. Bruce Banner started out as Dr. Bruce Banner and he became the incredible Hulk. Most other superheroes are like that too.  Something happened to them, that gave them powers they didn’t have before.

But Superman started out as Kal El (Superman) and pretends to be Clark Kent, a meek uninteresting wimp…something he’s not. The real him is behind the glasses, and his strength was always there…just hiding.

And I feel like many of us are the same way. The training program methodology I use starts from the standpoint that we already have the power within us to lift a car off of a human, but it’s blocked behind all sorts of protective mechanisms within our mind and body.

What I do, is help them find the power that is already there…the inner Kryptonian and it allows people to be confident in their own skin, and to be themselves.

As an example Tony when I was preparing him to win Mr. Gay USA, the strength he gained in addition to his physique made him confident to be himself which is what made him win. You can read about it here Tony Ardolino’s success story

The other day, a woman popped into my studio with some questions while I was training him. When she asked him about the results he’d gotten training with me, his answer was “I no longer doubt myself.”

That’s what I’m talking about.

Matt's Personal Training Results in 6 months
Matt’s Personal Training Results with 6 months of training at Eric Moss Fitness

Matt was the same way. He was down on himself for how his health had deteriorated but as his physique and strength changed, so did his confidence in himself. You can read about Matt’s personal training success story here.

The same thing with Siddy. The strength carried over into her life so she can feel confident in herself which changed her outlook on life. Read her personal training success story here

I know I’m bragging a bit now, but last success story for this post…honestly. The very first person I trained who’s life is completely different as a result. That person is wait for it…me.

I sometimes lament on what life would have been like if I hadn’t found weight training. I’d probably be weak and lack the confidence to be myself. If you’ve ever heard my story you might know I was picked on and ridiculed as a youth. But weight training gave me confidence to live a life I would have only dreamed about, breaking the locks and chains that prevented me from living life to its fullest.

Eric Moss in locks and chains

Eric Moss in locks and chains

Even when I got down on myself from a failed marriage it was strength that got me back on my feet again. I’ve got a fun career that has me showing off and inspiring thousands at a time. I’ve become friends with people I was a fan of. I’m married to a woman that I definitely would have thought she was out of my league. Life is pretty cool and it started by finding weight training and the Kryptonian within.

If you would like to find the Kryptonian within and need help, I have a free trial at my personal training studio in Boonton. Just send me a text at 973 476 5328 and introduce yourself.

UPDATE:  Apparently some of my personal training clients went behind my back and collectively adopted this for me. I’m so thankful that they did this and chose Eric Moss Fitness for all their health and fitness needs. 


Eric Moss is a personal trainer in Boonton and moonlights as a world-record-holding modern-day professional performing strongman, author, and motivational speaker. In the tradition of the strongmen more common during the turn of the century, he performs feats of strength such as bending steel and breaking chains as part of a live show and speaks on goal achievement for corporations, associations, nonprofits, and government entities as well as for schools and universities. His personal training studio is located on Main Street in Boonton New Jersey and is close to Mountain Lakes, Denville, Montville, Butler, and Parsippany New Jersey.