It’s easy to get lost with fitness and nutrition, so in this article I’d like to give you a little trick to keep things straightforward.
I call it my 95/5 rule.
You see, people often get worry about every little detail of their diet plan or workout program, and for most it just leads to a feeling of overwhelm until they eventually crash into a “brick wall” of no results.
This is totally unnecessary.
When we “zoom out” and look at the bigger picture, we can see that around 95% of your results are going to come from repeating a very short list of easy habits over and over again – and it doesn’t ever need to get any more complicated than that!
I want you to focus only on these things, and drown out the fucking clutter.
Video Guide
Watch the video above, or continue reading below.
Using “The 95/5 Rule” On Your Diet
For the purpose of this article, let’s say your main goal is fat loss.
We’ve all done a fat loss diet which has us focusing on the wrong things, like demonizing entire food groups and over-hyping certain foods/supplements which don’t have any science behind them.
It doesn’t take long for those type of diets to become unsustainable, because they’re too strict and boring as fuck.
The good news is that there’s an easier way.
Because when we get down to the real nitty gritty of fat loss, research shows us that a couple of rules stand tall above everything else. The first thing we must do is control your total calorie intake (because this governs whether you will lose/gain weight), and the second thing is to make sure you’re eating at least 1g protein per pound of target body weight (because this will help you build and retain muscle tissue while in a calorie deficit). (1, 2)
Those two simple steps are going to help you achieve 95% of your long-term results, so if you want to make your diet as easy as possible then just focus on those.
Sure, there are other nutritional strategies we can use alongside this if we choose to (like intermittent fasting or carb cycling) but ultimately it always comes back to these two things.. (3, 4)
Using “The 95/5 Rule” On Your Training
It’s very easy to get lost in the minutiae in the gym
For example, one of my old buddies used to do about 15 different exercises just for his triceps. He’d be in the gym for hours every day, trying to hit them from every conceivable angle, but in doing so much volume his intensity was reduced so badly that he saw barely any results!
So just like with our diet, we need to focus on the stuff that gives us the biggest bang for out buck and forget about everything else.
The first is that you must train with intensity. Trust me, even the most basic of training programs can get fantastic results when you are actually pushing yourself in each workout.
The second thing is proper exercise selection. We probably don’t want to replace barbell rows and deadlifts what those cool-looking cable pulldowns you saw on Instagram, you get me? There are certain exercises which are head and shoulders above everything else when it comes to building muscle so if we take things “back to basics” then we definitely want to keep doing these. They include barbell squats, deadlifts, bent-over rows, walking lunges, and upper body presses.
Even though they may seem “primitive” in an age where everyone wants to overcomplicate every-fucking-thing, doing these movements on a regular basis will achieve the best results.
What Kind Of Results Can You Achieve From Doing This?
The main goal of “The 95/5 Rule” is to make you more consistent.
If we can do that, then you’ll see a huge improvement in your results.
It’s a technique which I first used with PT clients way back in 2012 (about 10 years after I became a coach), and it stuck with me throughout the remainder of my career because the success rate was incredibly high.
I’d tell my clients to just focus on nailing the “95% stuff” for their diet and training over and over again, until it became a habit they could do without even thinking about it.
At this point, they’d start incorporating some of the “5% stuff” as well (e.g. carb cycling, mechanical dropsets, etc).
However, in most cases, people chose to just continue with the “95% stuff” without ever making it any more complex, because they achieved a level of consistency which they’d never been able to have before, and there was no reason to make it any more complicated.
I kept hearing the same thing, that they felt “a sense of freedom” from de-cluttering their fitness program and diet, and that’s what made it a game-changer for their long-term progress.
So there you have it! Give it a try if you’re looking for a new challenge or feeling frustrated/burned out by your current gym goals.
Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this blog, then you’ll probably also like reading these.
>> Why I Ditched “Clean Eating”
>> The No-Nonsense 2-Month Photoshoot Diet
>> Russ Holiday Training Guide
References:
- Howell S., et al. “Calories in, calories out” and macronutrient intake: the hope, hype, and science of calories. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab (2017).
- Morton R. W., et al. A systematic review, meta-analysis and meta-regression of the effect of protein supplementation on resistance training-induced gains in muscle mass and strength in healthy adults. Br J Sports Med (2018).
- Pilegaard H., et al. Effect of short-term fasting and refeeding on transcriptional regulation of metabolic genes in human skeletal muscle. Diabetes (2003).
- Moore D. R., et al. Daytime Pattern Of Post-Exercise Protein Intake Affects Whole-Body Protein Turnover In Resistance-Trained Males. Nutr Metab (Lond) (2012).