Ryan Taylor Personal Training

Using multiple data sets to examine progress

I’ve preached on here before about the power of data collection. From just these two photos, and the corresponding data, I can make a few determinations.

First of all, on the left is Feb 3, 2023 weighing 237.
On the right is January 28, 2024 weighing 251.

The most obvious thing is that I’m heavier, visually leaner and bigger than last year. Perfect, means that things I did this past year worked well.
Biggest changes in my approach this past year?
Greater emphasis on SFR and not absolutely blasting every session.
Higher anabolic load (first time ever over 1000mg of AAS during a massing phase), plus implantation of GH.
Not forcing food quite as hard as I have in the past. Still high, but not letting my stomach get wrecked.

All of these actions are worth repeating, as the results were satisfying.

But now I can also look ahead. My current look is heavier and leaner and a week ahead of the picture from last year. This puts me well on my way to bring the same, or potentially better, conditioning than last year. Using old pictures (or if you’ve never dieted, use comparable photos of others) to compare where I am along the timeline to ensure I’ll land the plane in time.

It’s easy to slack measuring things, including taking photos when you don’t feel like it (I wouldn’t say I’m particularly impressive currently), but you can’t change what you don’t measure.

How many times have you seen someone post a video of themselves shoulder pressing, with the caption “had to try the 50s this week, going to work on my range for next time”.

This is class A f**kery. If you’re trying to build muscle, and not stroke your ego, grabbing weights heavier than you can handle and then slinging them around with no control, or doing partial reps where you never come CLOSE to a stretch position is not serving you. And no, “touching heavy weights” isn’t going to do anything magical for muscle growth when you lift them like a complete goober. Not only is it not growing muscle very well, it’s also not impressive to anyone when you post your chode-length range of motion on Instagram. So, take those 120s, put them back in the rack. Yes, you. Put them back. Grab the 90s and lift them bi***es with some good technique, with a slow negative and a big stretch. Your muscles will thank you.

1 week into prep, down 5.6lbs (down 13lbs total since the end of offseason. Lost weight eating at maintenance/deloading).
Time to just keep plugging away and pulling fat off for the next few months. Nothing fancy for awhile, no exotic PED use (aka tren. You don’t need tren 12 months of the year dude).

With 2024 kicking into gear, motivation is at all time high for most of us.

Dynamis looks to guide its clients through all the steps towards their goals. With over 11 years of in person experience, and well over 10, 000 in person client hours, our coaching strategy has been developed through practical knowledge.

If you have any questions about how to reach your goals in a more effective manner, please don’t hesitate to reach out!

This, but 10lbs bigger

Feeling hungry… literally.

Biggest moment of 2023

What was your biggest highlight from the past year?

Another interesting comparison
Week 1 post show vs week 1 of prep

About 50lbs difference in bodyweight here. Obviously accrued body fat along the way, but the most interesting thing here is how much my legs grew.
I actually made the choice to reduce my leg volume in order to allocate more volume to my back and arms.

Start of prep 2023 vs 2024
I started last prep at a peak bodyweight of 258lbs, and was on stage at 216. This time, I’m starting prep at a peak body weight of 274lbs. I would say body fat is reasonably similar, and I got into good enough shape for stage last time. So protocols will be very similar this prep, with some tweaks. Fewer, and less aggressive cheat meals. I won’t be going on vacation and taking a week of mid-prep like I did last year. I’ll also be starting harder cardio earlier in prep. And lastly, I’ll actually have GH in place this time for the entirety of prep. So I am extremely confident that I will bring the same or better condition to stage with added size.
I think this also highlights the importance of data collection. I can make extremely informed decisions about what direction I want to take because I have data to back it up. Timelines, nutrition, training, PEDs, I have an archive of information. The more you can make decisions based on data, the better.

Leading from the front

I think as a coach, manager, trainer, educator, leading from the front is one of the most impactful behaviours one can demonstrate. It keeps you invested in the game, and in the trenches along with your clients. It keeps you engaged, experimenting, and learning. It also shows your clients you put your money where your mouth is. Whether you like it or not, your clients look up to you. So be someone they can be proud to follow.

The online world is changing multiple industries, especially the fitness world.
More and more people are aiming to become online coaches, many with high levels of ambition. As someone who cares a lot about this industry, I care a lot about there being a high standard of service. Good trainers and coaches lead to happy clients, and happy clients should be what we’re striving for. There are MANY factors that can go into your potential success, but here are a few things to consider.

▶️ there are a lot of coaches. You’re very likely not going to coast by on your looks. For every one CBum, there’s a thousand other dorks who look like me. So you need to provide more value than just your looks in order to set you apart from the rest.
▶️ Education is of the utmost importance. Besides the fact that it can help set you apart by providing you with content you can speak about, it’ll directly impact the client experience and their results.
▶️ If you want people to view you as a fitness professional, fu***ng act like it. Do what you say you’ll do, treat people properly, put effort and care into your business.
▶️ If you get into this because you view it as easy money, you probably won’t make money. If you get into this because you care about helping others, you’ll make money. It’s a long game, if you’re in it for a quick buck, once things slow down, you’ll leave because now it’s hard. If you actually care about people within this space, you’ll stick through the slow times and learn to be better.
▶️ For the love of god, stop being that person who just cold DMs someone for coaching. You come across sleazy. I’ve had about a dozen coaches reach out to me telling me I’m going to go pro, and within 2 minutes they are asking me if I want to hire them as a coach. It’s the fastest way to not have people take you seriously.

Jan 2022 vs Dec 2023

Legs were about 25 inches on the left, and on the right are 30 inches.
Biggest factors that has contributed to leg size changes:
1. Picking leg exercises that I were highly braced, training a full ROM with slow negatives and paused in the lengthened position. Lots of hack squats, pendulum squats, split squats and hamstring curls.
2. Training with anywhere from 8-16 weekly sets for both hamstrings and quads
3. Training adductors 2x/week (still a highly underrated aspect of leg size)
4. Ate in a caloric surplus most of the last two years, and used diet phases to rebound back out and continue to grow
5. Increased PED exposure, both AAS and GH
6. Bought a CPAP and put a massive priority on sleeping more and better.

24 days until prep begins