95% Indians will never have a Fit Body. (Until this 1 Attitude Change)

95% of the people who start "exercising" - never really achieve their desired results.

Why?

Because 95% people are clueless in the gym regarding "what works".

They work hard, but on the wrong things.

They have sincere intentions, but unclear direction.

The 5%, on the other hand, seems to have everything working for them. They hit the gym, headphones on, minding their own business, train hard and leave.

And people wonder - "What's their secret? Are they special? Or am I a defective piece? Why the heck is my body so stubborn? Aghh, okay I will try this for 2 more months."

Well, I have been a part of both these groups - and let me tell you the secret of the 5%.

The mindset of the 5%

What separates the two groups is a fundamental mindset - about which I want to talk about in this edition of The Hypertroph Letter.

If I were to summarise this mindset in 1 word - I would call it "self-reliance".

People who are in a great shape all their life - are self-reliant on the gym floor.

They know exactly which exercises are the best use of their time. They know how to perform those exercises. They know the right order of doing these exercises.

Depending on how much time they have - they train hard for 45-90 mins, and leave.

The next question that arises is - how did they become self-reliant? Surely, they must have learnt it all from scratch, right?

Yes, of course. They did learn everything from scratch. They did make fitness a study.

And that is what the 95% never do.

Self-Reliance is not optional

I want you to stop and think about it for a second. And don't think just next 12 weeks, think next 50 years.

If a person has to stay in their best shape long-term, then they have to become "self-reliant". There is no other option.

You can not depend on always having a PT, who guides you through the workout for the rest of your life.

You can not depend on always having a group fitness class, where everyone is following the common instructions of the trainer.

You must know how to train your body. You must know how to take care of yourself. You must become self-reliant in your fitness journey.

(Group body workouts never really work anyway, it is fun - but it isn't very effective. Effective exercise plan has to be individualised. That's a topic for another day.)

Without self-reliance, you will not be independent. And without independence, you simply can not maintain fitness as a lifestyle.

So how does one achieve self-reliance?

Become a student

The only way to achieve that self-reliance is by understanding the fundamental principles of training and nutrition.

How?

By becoming a student of the subject.

By developing a genuine interest, a genuine curiosity about your own body. What fuels it. What are your needs. How can you get your needs met.

What are the most effective exercises for human body, and why.

If I were to do only 3 exercises per workout - which ones would they be and why?

How can I organise an effective training routine to train just 3-4 days a week.

Okay what are the alternatives of these exercises when I am training at home or in a gym with minimal equipments.

What are my protein needs. What is my calorie budget.

How can I eat in a practical and enjoyable way that I can sustain as a lifestyle for next 50 years.

How to eat under my calorie budget without closely tracking calories - so I can practice it as a lifestyle.

And so on..

With genuine curiosity - you ask the right questions. And when you ask the right questions - you get the right answers!

You don't have to do a diploma in nutrition or exercise science.

I am simply talking about knowing the "rules of the game" if you want to play it for the rest of your life.

Remember from your past, how you felt when you really had a genuine love and curiosity towards a subject - be it art, music, math, physics, cricket.

The same has to develop within you for fitness. The birth of this mindset is the beginning of self-reliance. Everything else falls in place after that.

I was happy to see people vibed with this reel on the idea of "genuine curiosity" a couple of months back.

The mistake 95% make

The mistake that 95% make is to start with a mindset of "outsourcing the responsibility".

They think buying a group class, or hiring a PT - will make them fit. They think they will just follow what they are told - and they will get results.

Don't get me wrong, having a good coach helps. I strongly recommend. I am a fitness coach myself - and have coached 2500+ people.

But being honest here, hiring a coach is not a substitute to self-reliance.

Heck, you need to have a basic understanding of the principles yourself just to judge whether your trainer knows what he is talking about or is he full of shit.

The harsh truth is that 80% gym trainers out there are juiced up with steroids and don't really understand the principles of natural fitness - exercise selection, sustainable training and nutrition. You know exactly what I am talking about.

And isn't it the same with any major area of life?

Don't you need to know basic finance in order to judge whether you can trust your CA to manage your taxes and your money. (If you think you don't - god bless you.)

Whether it is building your wealth or building your health - you can not outsource the responsibility.

Don't become a blind follower.

Become a sincere student.

Where do you start?

Here's where I started in 2016 - I followed the right people on social media, who created good content around fitness and nutrition.

They were all American and Canadian Youtubers/Writers back then.

I followed only those who talked based on science and first principles, and not "just do this bro it worked for me and look at me bro" .

I was in college, had no money - so I watched every single video and every single article they wrote. I studied and studied and studied, and connected the dots for myself in 2 months. Yes, it took me nearly 2 months of study.

But that's not the only way. I believe there are many paths to achieve self-reliance -

• Hire a good coach and ask the right questions. A good coach loves a sincere student. The competence of an online coach can be judged from their content.
• Take a good step-by-step online course that teaches you every training/nutrition principle - in an organised fashion, making you self-reliant to design your own training/nutrition plans for the rest of your life.
• You can check out my transformation course. People are loving it. (Special Coupon Code: READER for 33% OFF)
• Follow good youtubers/writers, and consume all their free videos/newsletters. Trust me, you will see the patterns and find your way fast. That's what I did back in college. One right question leads to another right question.

If you are not in a place to invest money, then spend your time instead. But become a "student" today in order to become a "self-reliant" individual.

Once you become a "student", you'll soon realise that the "learning never stops". And that's a good thing. They say that a true master is an eternal student. :)

5 Youtubers I recommend: Jeff Nippard, Jeremy Ethier, Alan Thrall, Sean Nalewanyj, Hypertroph (that's me).

In last 4 years I have created 215+ videos on Youtube to simplify fitness for India.

Here are 2 of my playlists that are most widely watched (5M+ views):
- Fat Loss Series
- Fitness Mastery

My videos on Hypertroph have gained 10M views, and have helped thousands of people become self-reliant in their fitness journey. I never thought it would be so well received. I am truly grateful for that.

May we all aim for self-reliance, and become a student in all the major areas of our life.

I hope this letter was valuable to you.

Have a great day my friend.

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Siddharth

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