Today’s conversation is with Don Selkirk. Don is 52, has trained consistently for decades, and has a physique most people would be more than happy with. But like many experienced trainees, a small visual cue in the mirror was enough to trigger a familiar thought: “I should probably tighten this up before it gets away from me.”

In this episode, I help Don plan his cut to trim the 15 lbs of fat he’s slowly gained over the past year, and then return to maintenance in a way that minimizes intrusions into his life, so he can maintain it forever.

Let’s get into it.

Relevant links:

https://rippedbody.com/finding-calorie-maintenance/

https://rippedbody.com/diet-break

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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’s podcast is for the people who already know what to do, but can’t seem to make it stick.

Nico (42), originally from Venice, Italy, but now living in Austin, has a demanding career, trains regularly, eats well, and stays lean year-round. From the outside, he’s doing everything "right."

Yet for the last five years, he’s felt quietly stuck — unable to push past the same plateau, unable to regain the muscle he once had, and slowly losing motivation despite having all the knowledge.

This wasn’t a conversation about macros or programming. It was about why progress stalls when life gets full — travel, work, relationships, comfort — and how losing momentum often has less to do with discipline and more to do with belief, tracking, and commitment.

If you’ve ever thought, "I should be further along than this," this one will hit close to home.

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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 speaking with Jon. He’s a Brit who used to be ripped at 50. — That was when he lived in Australia.

But for the past 7 years, he’s been back in the UK, and his fitness has gone downhill.

He’s heavier than ever, and coming off a knee replacement, a fused foot, and months of disrupted training. The gap between what he remembers and what he sees in the mirror is messing with his head.

In this episode, we unpack a problem I see all the time in experienced trainees:

When your past best physique becomes your worst comparison point.

Jon’s notunfit. He’s disciplined, consistent, and still training hard. But clinging to the idea that he should look the same at 55 as he did at 50 has sapped his motivation.

We talk through how to reset expectations without lowering standards, why rushing to get his abs back is the wrong move, and how leaning out first will make everything else easier — from joint health to cardio to long-term consistency.

Links mentioned:

https://www.strongerbyscience.com/research-spotlight-metabolic-rate/

https://rippedbody.com/diet-progress-tracking

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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.)