Metabolic Firestorm Protocol [Free PDF]

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Free Download: The Metabolic Firestorm Protocol (Holy Shit Week Meal Blueprint)

I built this during the Holy Shit Week cut — a simple, high-output nutrition plan designed to keep you lean, full, and sharp even in a steep deficit.

It’s based on real training, high daily steps, and no fluff. If you’re trying to drop fat fast without crashing your energy or losing muscle, this is for you.

This isn’t a magic fix. It’s just what actually works when you train hard, walk a lot, and stay disciplined.

Includes:

  • Step-by-step macro setup
  • Daily meal template
  • Activity-based adjustments
  • Simple tips to stay anabolic in a deficit

No email opt-in. No catch. Just the blueprint.

Download the free PDF below and start running it.

Download Now

 

Iron Resilience Newb Routine

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Full Body Workout (2–4x per week)

1. Barbell Squat – 3 sets x 10

2. Dumbbell Bench Press – 3 sets x 12 reps

3. Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press – 3 sets x 12 reps

4. Lat Pulldown or Weighted Pull-Up – 3 sets x 12 reps

5. Standing Calf Raises – 4 sets x 12 reps

6. Barbell Curl – 3 sets x 10 reps

7. Cable Triceps Pushdowns – 3 sets x 12 reps

8. Rear Delt Fly or Face Pulls – 3 sets x 15 reps

***

Core / Ab Finisher (pick one after each full body day)

Option A: Front Lever Progression

Option B: Plank Progression

Option C: Ab Circuit (use only 1–2x per week max):

1. Hanging Leg Raises x 15

2. Cable Crunch x 15

3. Weighted Crunches x 20

(Repeat 2–3 rounds, 30s rest between)

***

Cardio (Daily)

Walk 5–6 miles at a steady pace (2.5–3.0 mph)

Conditioning (3x per week on non-lifting or light days)

Weighted Burpees – 3 sets x 1 minute
(Rest 1–2 min between sets)

***

Stop Wasting Time: The No-BS Guide to Building Strength and Size

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If you’re struggling to grow and you’ve got access to a gym, it’s time to face reality: no amount of hype, motivational speeches, or insane high-rep routines will save you if you’re not following the basic principles of strength and hypertrophy training. You need three things: progressive overload, intensity, and recovery.

Progressive overload is the core principle of growth. It means you must add weight, reps, or difficulty to your workouts over time. If you aren’t progressing, you’re not growing. It’s that simple. If you’re coasting along doing the same thing week after week, you won’t see results. To truly grow, you must push yourself.

Training with intensity is non-negotiable. If you’re scrolling through your phone between sets, or casually going through the motions without breaking a sweat, you’re not training hard enough. You need to train like you’re fighting for every ounce of muscle. It’s not about just finishing a workout—it’s about making every set count.

Recovery is key, and it’s often overlooked. If you’re sleeping 4 hours a night, eating like a pigeon, and still expecting to grow, you’re setting yourself up for failure. Your body needs time to rebuild itself after the stress of training. Without proper recovery, you’re wasting your time.

To build muscle, focus on lower reps with heavier weights. If you’re pressing the same weight for the same number of reps every week, you’re coasting. Progress by adding weight to the bar, pushing yourself harder with every session. Slow down your reps for tempo training. Controlled negatives, like pausing at the bottom of squats, will help you build real strength, not just bounce up like a beginner.

Machines are a valuable tool for safe overload. If you’re avoiding machines like the leg press, hack squat, or cables, you’re missing out. Machines let you push yourself to failure without worrying about being crushed under a barbell. If you’re training solo, machines can be a lifesaver, allowing you to train hard without the risk of injury.

In the first six months, your goal should be to build a solid foundation of strength and muscle. You’ll be mastering the basics of weightlifting—learning proper form, developing joint stability, and building endurance. Start with compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench press, and overhead press. Your goal here is not to lift the heaviest weight possible but to build a strong base, improve your technique, and increase your work capacity. Train 3 days per week, focusing on a full-body routine or upper-lower split to ensure balanced development.

If someone has full gym access, the smart move is to focus on: 

1. Lower reps, heavier weights – (e.g., progressing from dumbbells to barbells, ramping up intensity instead of volume) 
2. Explosive movements – (e.g., power cleans, jump squats, medicine ball slams)
3. Slowing down reps – (tempo training, controlled negatives, paused reps) 
4. Isometrics – (heavy holds like rack pulls, weighted planks, paused squats) 
5. Machines for safe overload – (e.g., hack squats, leg press, cable work for constant tension) 

If you can train with barbells, cables, and machines, there’s no excuse for not getting bigger and stronger—everything is in your control.

The ideal way to approach progressive overload, especially for building muscle and strength, is to gradually add weight to the bar while also ensuring that your nutrition supports muscle growth without adding excessive fat, and supports losing excessive fat. Ideally, getting stronger, losing fat, and gaining muscle.

Consistently increasing the weight over time, along with controlling your reps and focusing on good form, will create the tension necessary for muscle growth. On the nutrition side, aim to eat enough protein to support muscle repair and growth, while also keeping carbs and fats in check to fuel performance and recovery without going overboard.

The bottom line? If you have access to a gym and you’re still weak and small, you’re not training hard enough or eating enough. Period. You have everything you need to succeed—now it’s up to you to put in the work.

Bodyweight Training – No Equipment Needed When You Are The Gym

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You either commit and get strong, or keep watching guys on YouTube and wonder why you’re still skinny. The choice is yours. If you want something casual, go do 30 minutes of random push-ups and call it a day. But if you want to actually get jacked without weights, this is how you do it. There’s a lot of nonsense online right now, like there always has been. Specifically, I’m talking about the hype around bodyweight routines where they tell you to do hundreds or thousands of reps of push-ups or chin-ups. That’s fake fitness advice—no protein, no weights, and most of them are either on steroids, train with weights, or built their physique with weights first. Some just have elite genetics and push the “smoke weed and workout in the park” nonsense. Ridiculous.

If someone is stuck with bodyweight only, the smart move is to focus on lower reps with harder variations (e.g., archer push-ups, one-arm push-ups), explosive movements (e.g., clapping push-ups, jump squats), slowing down reps (tempo training, paused reps), and isometrics (holding a planche, wall sits, etc.). If they can get a weight vest or dip belt, even better. Otherwise, pure bodyweight training will eventually stall for hypertrophy unless they’re doing advanced variations.

If you’re stuck with bodyweight training, you don’t get to half-ass it. This isn’t some “do a few push-ups and get shredded” nonsense. If you’re serious, you progress strategically—harder variations, intensity, and no wasted reps.

CALORIE & MACRO BREAKDOWN (Adjust based on your goal)

Goal: Build Muscle → 15-17x bodyweight in calories

Goal: Lose Fat → 12-14x bodyweight in calories

Protein → 1g per pound of bodyweight

Carbs → 2-3g per pound (higher if bulking, lower if cutting)

Fats → 0.4-0.6g per pound

Example for a 170-lb guy bulking:

Calories: ~3,000 kcal

Protein: ~170g

Carbs: ~350-400g

Fats: ~70-90g

For a 240-lb guy cutting, here’s an equivalent breakdown:

Calories: ~2,880 kcal (aiming for a 10-20% deficit)

Protein: ~240g (to preserve muscle mass)

Carbs: ~200-250g (depending on activity level)

Fats: ~50-70g (moderate intake to support hormonal balance)

Iron Resilience Push/Pull/Legs Bodyweight Routine for Novices, and Beyond

Day 1,4 – Push (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps)

You can modify or intensify push-ups by elevating feet, doing one-arm push-ups, or using a backpack for added resistance.

Knee Push-Ups → Regular Push-Ups → Elevated Push-Ups → Decline Push-Ups → One-Arm Push-Ups

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 8-15 reps (increase reps or move to harder variations over time)

Pike Push-Ups → Handstand Push-Ups (Wall-assisted)

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 6-12 reps

Chair Dips → Weighted Dips (Backpack)

If you don’t have access to parallel bars, you can still do dips with household objects or using natural structures. Such as placing two chairs together. A walker or rails can also work well for improvising parallel bar dips, as long as they are sturdy and can support your body weight.

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Diamond Push-Ups

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Day 2, 5 – Pull (Back, Biceps)

If you don’t have a chin up bar you can use a towel over a door or tree branch. Wrap it around and pull yourself up like a row. Use any high and sturdy surface (like a tree branch, bed frame, or horizontal pipes) to simulate chin-up movements. You can even use bedsheets or ropes if necessary.

Inverted Rows (Under a Table or Low Bar) → Weighted Rows (Backpack)

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 8-12 reps

Pull-Ups (Bar or Towel Rows over Door)

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 5-10 reps (add weight or reps over time)

Bicep Curls with Improvised Weights

Fill a backpack with books, water bottles, or other heavy items. Another idea is to use large water bottles or jugs (like gallon-sized ones). Hold one in each hand and perform curls as you would with dumbbells. Lastly you could always loop a towel around a heavy object (like a sandbag or large bag of rice). Hold both ends of the towel with your hands and curl the object up toward your body.

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 10-15 reps

Isometric Holds (Planche Lean, Wall Plank)

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 20-60 seconds

Day 3,6 – Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves)
Bodyweight Squats → Bulgarian Split Squats → Pistol Squats

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 10-20 reps

Walking Lunges → Weighted Lunges

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 12-15 reps per leg

Glute Bridges → Single-Leg Glute Bridges

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 12-20 reps

Calf Raises (Elevated)

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 20-30 reps

Wall Sits

Sets/Reps: 3 sets of 30-90 seconds

Day 7 – Off

Tips & Suggestions

Progressive overload ensures that your body is constantly challenged, forcing it to adapt and get stronger, bigger, or more endurance-capable. Without it, your progress will plateau. Therefore to achieve this we can: increase reps, add weight (backpack, sandbag, water bottles), slow down tempo, or progress to harder variations.

So, in whatever routine you do you must ensure you are doing one, or more of these:

  • Performing more repetitions per set than you did before. Note: simply doing more reps past a certain range will only build endurance, or function more as cardio.
  • Using additional resistance, like a backpack, sandbag, or water bottles, to make exercises harder. With barbells, or dumbbells this is simpler i.e. add weight to the bar, or select a heavier dumbbell. Likewise on machines we can simply adjust them higher or lower as per our individual needs. With bodyweight exercises you are the weight. You can add extra weight to your own body either by physically gaining more mass, or by adding external weight via a dip belt or such as discussed above.
  • Reducing the speed at which you perform the exercise, particularly the lowering phase (eccentric), to increase time under tension.
  • Moving from easier versions of an exercise to more difficult ones (e.g., knee push-ups → regular push-ups → one-arm push-ups). From a multi joint exercise to a unilateral version basically.

If you can’t add weight, add speed. Clapping push-ups, explosive dips, box jumps. The more force you generate, the stronger you get.

Tempo training makes everything harder. 3-1-3 tempo. 3 seconds down, 1 second pause at the bottom, and 3 seconds up.

Strap on a backpack, wear a weight vest, hold a rock—whatever it takes. If it’s heavier, it works.

Summary

With creativity, you can make almost any environment work for a solid strength training session. The key is to be consistent, increase difficulty progressively, and focus on training hard with the tools at your disposal.

And let’s be real—those “1,000 push-ups a day” stories? Mostly hype. Sure, you’ll build some endurance, but that’s not how hypertrophy works. The guy selling you that routine probably already had a great physique before he started.

At the end of the day, there’s no magic formula. Whether you’re lifting iron or just your own bodyweight, you have to force your muscles to adapt. The laws of muscle growth don’t care about fancy gyms, or trendy pop workouts.

No gym? No excuses. Full gym? No mercy. Either way, get to work.

The Truth About Diet Soda: Why the Hate Is Overblown

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Diet soda has been a controversial topic for years, with people acting like it’s some kind of chemical poison while ignoring the fact that regular soda is loaded with sugar and contributes to obesity, diabetes, and metabolic dysfunction. If you’re focused on fitness, performance, and staying lean, why would you drink liquid sugar when you have a zero-calorie alternative? 

Let’s break down the main arguments against diet soda and why they don’t hold up. 

1. Artificial Sweeteners Are Poison

One of the biggest myths is that artificial sweeteners like aspartame, sucralose, or acesulfame potassium are “toxic” or cause cancer. This fear mostly comes from rat studies where they were given absurd amounts—amounts no human would ever consume. 

The FDA, WHO, and multiple health organizations have reviewed artificial sweeteners extensively and found no solid evidence of harm when consumed in normal doses. If aspartame was as deadly as some people claim, we’d be seeing a massive spike in health issues among diet soda drinkers, but that’s not happening. 

2. Natural Is Always Better

There’s a common belief that anything “natural” is better than artificial alternatives. But let’s be real—sugar is natural, and it’s one of the main drivers of obesity, insulin resistance, and metabolic disorders when consumed in excess. 

Diet soda removes the main problem with regular soda—sugar. If your goal is fat loss or body recomposition, it’s a no-brainer to go with the zero-calorie option. 

3. It Tricks Your Brain Into Craving Sugar

Some people claim that drinking diet soda will increase sugar cravings and cause weight gain. But there’s no strong evidence proving this. In fact, studies show that people who replace sugary drinks with diet soda often lose weight because they cut down on calories. 

The reality is, if you have discipline and control over your diet, drinking a can of Coke Zero won’t suddenly make you binge on junk food. If anything, it can help you stick to your goals by giving you a sweet taste without the calories. 

So, Is Diet Soda Bad for You?

No. Unless you’re drinking absurd amounts every day, there’s no legitimate reason to avoid it. If it helps you stay in a calorie deficit, avoid cravings, or just enjoy a drink without the sugar bomb of regular soda, go for it. 

Fitness is about discipline, efficiency, and making smart choices. People who demonize diet soda while chugging sugary drinks or stuffing their faces with “natural” junk food are missing the bigger picture. Stick to what works for you, and don’t let bro-science or fear-mongering hold you back. 

Iron Resilience is about results, not dogma. Make the smart choice and move forward.

Average diet soda enthusiast…

High-Protein Homemade Protein Bars with Oats, Whey, Peanut Butter, and Stevia

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These protein bars are perfect for anyone looking to boost their protein intake on a budget, especially if you’re bulking. They’re easy to make, delicious, and provide a hefty dose of protein. Plus, you can snack on them whenever you need a quick, satisfying boost.

Ingredients


– 3 cups rolled oats 
– 4 scoops whey protein (each scoop provides around 20-25g of protein, adjust based on your specific protein powder) 
– ½ cup natural peanut butter (unsweetened, smooth or crunchy) 
– 4 tbsp stevia (or adjust to taste, depending on your preference for sweetness) 
– 1 cup water or almond milk (you can add more if needed for consistency) 
– 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional) 
– A pinch of salt (optional) 

Recipe

1. Mix Dry Ingredients:

In a large mixing bowl, combine the rolled oats, whey protein, and stevia. Stir everything together to make sure the protein powder is evenly distributed with the oats.

2.  Add Wet Ingredients:

Add the peanut butter, water (or almond milk), and vanilla extract (if using) to the dry ingredients. Mix everything together well. Gradually add more liquid if the mixture is too dry, but you want it to form a dough-like consistency.

3. Press Into a Pan: 

Line a small baking pan (an 8×8 pan or similar) with parchment paper or lightly grease it. Press the mixture into the pan evenly, packing it tightly. Use the back of a spoon or your hands to smooth it out.

4. Chill and Set: 

Place the pan in the fridge for 1-2 hours to let the bars firm up. This will help them hold together and make them easier to cut.

5. Cut Into Bars: 

After chilling, remove the pan from the fridge and cut it into 8 bars (you can also cut them into smaller sizes if you’d like, but 8 bars will give you around 40g of protein per bar).

6. Store: 
 

Store the protein bars in an airtight container in the fridge. They will stay fresh for up to a week. You can also wrap them individually for a convenient, portable snack.


Nutrition Estimate (Per Bar – makes 8 bars):


– Protein: 40-45g (depending on your protein powder and serving size)
– Calories: 300-350 (depending on the exact ingredients) 
– Fat: 15-20g (mainly from peanut butter) 
– Carbs: 25-30g (mainly from oats) 
– Sugar: 2-4g (from stevia and peanut butter)

You can still add small amounts of extras like cocoa powder, cinnamon, or chia seeds to enhance flavor and nutrients, but be careful as they may change the consistency of the mixture.

If your protein powder has lower protein per scoop, you can increase the number of scoops or choose a more concentrated protein powder. Some whey proteins have up to 30g per scoop

If you prefer a sweeter taste, you can increase the stevia or swap it out for honey or maple syrup, but be mindful of the extra calories from those sweeteners.

These protein bars are designed to be a high-protein, nutrient-packed snack while still being simple, budget-friendly, and effective for anyone looking to up their protein intake without going overboard on carbs or fat.