Launching a startup is exhausting, which is why so many entrepreneurs make fitness something like their side hustle. JC White, founder and CEO of T3 Body, is a successful former bodybuilder who joined the World Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation (WBBF) at 22. Now he’s taking all that he learned and applied in his own life to help others reach optimal health the right way.
Instead of generic information online, JC provides six fitness tips backed by science that he actually uses in his programs. This advice can help anyone at any stage of their fitness journey.
Weights
The goal is to get your body familiar with compound, multi-joint movement patterns. If you’re just starting out and don’t have any physical limitations set forth by your doctor, JC recommends focusing on core, fundamental movements.
Pushing movement: bench press, push-up, overhead barbell press, overhead dumbbell press, or dumbbell bench press.
Squatting movement: a goblet squat with a kettlebell or dumbbell, box squat, or barbell squat.
Hip-dominant movement: kettlebell deadlift, barbell deadlift, or hex-bar deadlift.
Pulling movement: pull up, dumbbell row, seated cable row, barbell row, or lat pulldown.
“Doing this will maximize your return on investment when you go to the gym,” said JC. “You get the most bang for your buck when doing these exercises.”
Cardio
You need to set goals for yourself before determining how much cardio you need. The amount of cardio you do is going to differ depending if you want to lose body fat, gain muscle or just have better overall health.
To lose weight, you should do cardio three times a week. For gaining muscle and strength, you will only want to do cardio once a week, as it is known to reduce the number of calories in your body, which you need for building muscle.
If you just want an effective workout for overall better health, aim for at least 30 minutes, since nutrition and lifestyle will play the most important role in creating that kind of change.
Recovery
Many people focused on exercising forget that recovery is also important. These are the key things to focus on when it comes to recovery, according to JC:
Sleep: you should sleep between seven and nine hours every night.
Hydration: water is key to health, and you should drink more on the days that you work out. On days when you aren’t exercising, aim for roughly half a gallon of water.
Stress: this plays a serious role in the health of your body. If your stress levels are elevated, your body releases the hormone cortisol, and fat loss is slowed down or even stopped as a result.
Nutrition
There are so many diets out there promising to be the best, everything from Keto to Paleo to Weight Watchers and the current fad of Intermittent Fasting. These diets put your body into a calorie deficit so that you burn more calories than you consume. JC says the best diet to follow is the one you can stick to long term.
In order to figure out which diet is best for you, you need to consider if it fits your lifestyle and habits. If your friends and family are consistently planning get-togethers that consist of soul food, then Paleo isn’t going to be realistic, as you will be eating foods outside of the diet.
Supplements
Because of the four factors mentioned above, you honestly don’t need to take any supplements. If you have the money and the desire, however, there are some supplements that JC recommends.
Creatine monohydrate: this is the most-studied sports supplement. It can aid in muscle building and strength. You can take 3-5 grams on training days.
Beta-alanine: this delays the onset of fatigue when you are doing strength training or cardiovascular exercise. Take 1.6-3.2 on training days.
Citrulline malate: this helps with increasing blood flow and nutrient partitioning. Take 4-8 grams a day.
Protein powder: because it is best to get protein through food you eat, you should really only take this if you have a hard time reaching those requirements.
Fish oil: just like with the protein powder, it is better to get this through the food you eat, which can be accomplished with 1-2 servings of salmon per week. If you aren’t meeting those requirements, then you could take a supplement.
Multivitamins: having a broad and colorful diet will help ensure you are getting plenty of micronutrients, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a multivitamin to your daily regimen.
Bloodwork Biomechanics and Biofeedback
Utilizing biofeedback data is something unique to JC’s T3 Body, and it is essential in helping his clients get fit the right way and avoid the unnecessary suffering that often accompanies trying to get in shape on their own.
Biofeedback is simple but effective. It uses your body’s biomarkers, like energy, focus, mood, digestion, appetite, and libido, to indicate if certain diet, training, and lifestyle changes are actually working to generate results. It can also indicate if you’re doing something that isn’t working, saving you time and effort.
“What biofeedback does, and how I use it in my coaching, is that it allows me and the client to learn what program is going to work for them the best. It’s a real-time indicator that answers those questions for us and validates that all the work they are doing is actually working and it’s a complete game-changer,” said JC.
“Focusing on the four core factors of sleep, nutrition, hydration, and stress is going to dictate how quickly you are able to reach your goals,” he said, “but don’t get discouraged. As a rule of thumb, it generally takes about three months before you will see any real, meaningful changes in your body.”
