The Ripped Body® Podcast

This week on the podcast, I’m joined by my good friend Chad Landers, a coach who’s been training people hands-on for more than 30 years and recently published ​Building Strength and Muscle After 50​. 

Chad isn’t an influencer. He’s someone who’s spent decades watching real people train, get hurt, recover, and keep going.

If you’re over 40 and still want to train hard and stay healthy, Chad is someone worth listening to.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Whether you’re just starting your fitness journey, you’ve been a little inconsistent in the gym and want some routine, or you’re simply looking to change up your workout program, choosing the right training split can be a little confusing.

In this episode, Ripped Body coaches Sam and Matt explain how to choose the right training program for your goals. They talk about the important factors to consider, the pros and cons of popular workout splits, common splits we give our clients, and share the programs they’re currently using for themselves.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Once the diet ends, most people don’t know what to do next.

In this episode, Coach Matt and I talk about how to transition from fat loss to maintenance without panic or rebound. And then we talk about finding the least training you can do to maintain your physique.

We use Fred’s story — a reader who dropped from 360 lbs to 166 — as a real-world example of what to expect when you stop cutting and start maintaining.

We cover:

• How to calculate your maintenance calories after a deficit.
• Why regaining 5–10 lbs after a cut is normal (and not fat).
• What "maximum maintenance" means — and how to find it.
• How to reduce training volume without losing muscle.
• Why maintaining your physique is often harder mentally than dieting.

This episode will help you end the "yo-yo" cycle and finally hold onto the results you’ve worked for.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Todd, a father of six, spent two decades in engineering and renewable energy. At 48, he decided it was time to re-engineer something else: his own life.

Todd walked away from his career — not because he had to, but because he wanted to. He called it an "environment change." His goal was simple: finally take his health seriously, rebuild family connections, and reinvent himself.

Three months later, he’s down nearly 40 pounds and delighted with the success he has had. But he’s also confronting new challenges: how to avoid the all-or-nothing mindset, how to eat sustainably instead of obsessively, and how to set goals that last beyond the initial rush of progress.

In this episode, we dig into:

• Why Todd’s “temporary retirement” became the forcing function for change.
• How he lost 28 lbs in 34 days, and what really happened behind the numbers.
• Why aggressive dieting works short-term but fails without a plan afterward.
• How to reintroduce carbs without fear, and why this is necessary for his path forward.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

This week, Coach Sam joins me for a new Q&A episode. I put him to the test by asking him to answer a reader’s question — one I’d already answered myself — to see how closely his advice matched mine.

**Q: “Two months ago, I finished a two-month weight loss program. I’m 6'0" and weighed 248 lbs. I lost 41 pounds and feel great. I ate twice a day — each meal was about 5 ounces of lean meat, high-fiber veggies, and berries. I was full, but my daily intake was around 1,000 kcal.
I’m now in maintenance, but would like to lose another 20 pounds of fat and gain some muscle. I’m 56 and just started swimming three times a week. I also want to add lifting. Your [macro calculator](https://rippedbody.com/macro-calculator/) put me at almost 3,000 kcal per day — that seems high. Can you help? I’m committed. Thanks.”

How do our answers compare? Listen to find out.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Today, I’m joined by Chris, who went from 170 lbs to an unsustainable 118 lbs by eating just five foods and hammering cardio. That crash diet left scars — binge-restrict cycles, fear of weight gain, and self-doubt.

But over the past few years, Chris has rebuilt. He bulked up slowly, learned sustainable habits, and is now cutting again — this time without obsession or burnout. We talk about breaking free from the numbers game, training smarter, and learning to live a full life while chasing progress in the gym.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

 This week, Ripped Body coaches Sam and Matt break down why people often feel “stuck” in their fat loss journey, even when they’re consistent with training and nutrition. They walk through the most common reasons for stalled progress, how to troubleshoot your fat loss, and when (and how) to make adjustments. 

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Chandler is a form of client of mine. He’s a 42 year-old father of two young boys living in Savannah, Georgia. We work together 11 years ago when he got stuck, and we managed to make a level change in his physique. In the year since Chandler has diligently kept up his training and progress tracking, tried different training styles, and tried cutting and bulking many times, but he hasn't been able to break through the plateau since.

Has he reached his genetic potential? Is there something that has been missing? I think so. And frankly, I think the answer is hiding in plain sight and it goes back to what we did when we first work together.

I hope you enjoy this conversation with Chandler. I'm sure it will resonate with many of you who have made some good progress but are now feeling stuck and unsure how to break through the plateau.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

 Andy and Coach Matt talk about dieting during the holiday season, getting back on track after losing momentum, and how their coaching philosophies have evolved over the last decade. 

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.)

Joe’s beaten obesity and kept the weight off for years — but every bulk ends in failure. Why?
On the face of it, it looks like he has been doing everything right. But when we dig in, there are a couple of simple tweaks I believe he can make that will help him take his physique permanently to the next level. Best of all, I'm confident he can do it within two years.

We talk about:

- The *moment* he decided to change after hitting rock bottom.
- How CrossFit helped him kickstart his transformation.
- The mistakes that cost him hard-earned muscle during past cuts.
- Why long, patient bulks are the missing piece in his journey.
- How to push through the mental battles of seeing the scale climb.

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Since 2011, we’ve helped 2,000+ busy men get lean, strong, and in control — without supplements, gimmicks, or sacrificing their lives to the gym.

👉 Get our Free 15-Day Transformation Kickstart Bundle (https://rippedbody.com/)

(Training program, nutrition guide, and 15-step course to help you avoid the most common mistakes.