Adil Zulkahari PT

Adil Zulkahari PT Personal Trainer

Aloha 🌺🏄‍♂️
06/09/2026

Aloha 🌺🏄‍♂️

3 things I stopped doing that actually led to feeling stronger in the gym 1. I stopped trying to stay shredded all year ...
26/08/2026

3 things I stopped doing that actually led to feeling stronger in the gym

1. I stopped trying to stay shredded all year round

For a long time, I felt the pressure from social media to stay under 10% body fat all year round.

The problem was, I was so focused on staying lean that a lot of the time I simply wasn’t eating enough to fuel my training or even my day to day life properly.

I was constantly picking up injuries, getting ill and not recovering as well as I should have been.

One of the biggest changes I’ve made is bringing my calories back up to around maintenance and prioritising my health and performance over being shredded 365 days a year.

I’d rather be strong, healthy and performing at my best than constantly chasing the lowest body fat percentage possible.

2. I stopped eating so much protein

This probably needs some context.

Most people I work with actually under eat protein, so getting enough protein is still one of the most important things you can do if you want to build or maintain muscle.

But for me, after training and tracking my nutrition for so many years, I had the opposite problem, I was massively overdoing it.

I was eating way more protein than my body actually needed because I’d always associated more protein with better results. And I like to say protein is the most important macro nutrient until it’s not.

Now I aim for roughly 1g per lb of bodyweight, which is more than enough to cover my needs.

Rather than pushing protein even higher, I use those extra calories for carbohydrates, which gives me more fuel to train hard and perform.

3. I stopped doing so many sets

I used to think more sets meant more gains.

But the more sets I had planned, the more I found myself holding back on each one because subconsciously I was saving myself for what was coming next.

So I reduced the amount of volume I was doing.

Now I’ll often do just 2 hard working sets, pushing them much closer to failure.

Less volume allowed me to put more intent into each set and I started seeing a much better return from my training.

12/08/2026

Last year I tore my meniscus and it made me realise I was training legs all wrong.

I was still squatting, but I was pushing my hips back (basically what you are always told to do) keeping my knees from bending too much, never letting them travel past my toes. For this reason I was training the movement like a deadlift but never really training my knees.

When I actually leaned into deep knee flexion (bending the knee more) instead of avoiding it, my knees got stronger not worse. Turns out the thing I thought was protecting my knee was just weakening it.

Three exercises I’ve been doing to rebuild the strength of my knees:

1. B-Stance Front Squat — If you don’t like the front squat position this can also be done hold one or two dumbbells.
2. Front Squat (heels elevated) — more knee travel so more demand on the quads. Again can be done holding a dumbbell in a goblet squat position.
3. Bulgarian Split Squat (I personally think the goat of leg training — front leg gets a single-leg squat and back leg is almost doing a leg extension. Great single leg exercise.

Save this if your knees need the same fix. 📌

Full day of eating 🍽️Lately I’ve been intentionally eating at maintenance rather than in a deficit as I want to focus on...
02/08/2026

Full day of eating 🍽️

Lately I’ve been intentionally eating at maintenance rather than in a deficit as I want to focus on getting strong in the gym (harder to do that consistently when you are always under fuelling your training)

Part of that has meant deliberately increasing my carbs so more fuel for training, more energy day to day.

Also a big reason I don’t eat out much: cooking my own food means I know exactly what’s going into it. When you eat out, kitchens use way more oil and fat than you’d ever add at home to get that flavour and texture, so you can end up eating hundreds of extra calories without even realising it. Cooking at home just gives me control over what I’m eating and I find I can actually eat more this way.

Total macros - 3082 kcal
205g protein
362g carbs
88g fat

30/07/2026

Earlier this year, I experienced the worst lower back pain I’ve ever had.

I shot in for a takedown during Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and my lower back went into a mad spasm. I couldn’t bend over to pick something up, rotating hurt, and simple daily movements became difficult.

My first thought was to get rid of the pain so I spent a few weeks having acupuncture, dry needling, and soft tissue work to release everything around my lower back. It helped enough that I could move again but then I got excited and messed it up again doing rows 😂

I realised pain relief wasn’t enough. My back was weak in dealing with the demands I was putting on it.

Once the pain settled, I gradually started rebuilding it with back extensions. Over time I progressed the load, improved my tolerance, and now I’ve progressed to reverse hyperextensions like I’m demonstrating here.

I’ve found the best way to do these is by setting a barbell across a squat rack, padding it with a pillow, and holding onto something sturdy in front of you. This setup lets your legs hang freely so you can get a full stretch at the bottom of every rep, which is where I feel the biggest benefit.

I also keep the weight light and the reps high. My goal isn’t to max out, it’s to build endurance and resilience.

I’ll do sets of 50 reps, or simply set a timer for 2–3 minutes and keep moving until the timer runs out.

For me, it’s not just about building an aesthetic physique anymore.

I want a body that looks good and is strong, resilient, and can handle whatever I throw at it, whether that’s lifting, BJJ, or everyday life.

The goal isn’t just to build muscle. It’s to build a body that’s less likely to break down.

Sometimes the best way to protect your back isn’t to avoid using it it’s to train it.

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