Leo Alves

A mix of training, geek culture, chaos, and small wins that made up my January:

Jujutsu Kaisen – Season 3
Finally started season 3. Things escalated quickly. No spoilers, but… yeah 😮‍💨

Lost dogs
Spent a good chunk of time searching for my dogs after they disappeared. Stressful doesn’t even cover it.

Shoulder-friendly chaos workouts
Put together some very makeshift workouts while my shoulder heals. Still productive. (Not 100% recovered).

Anniversary celebrations ❤️
Celebrated our anniversary—a nice reminder to slow down and enjoy life.

Language exchange with Takahiro
Did regular language exchange Zoom calls with my mate Takahiro. Brain tired, but in a good way.

Working back to my DB RDL best
Gradually rebuilding my dumbbell Romanian deadlift numbers.

Spider-Man 1 & 2
Rewatched the Tom Holland Spider Man films. Still holds up.

Bought out someone’s binder
Bought an entire binder off someone. Collectors get it 😅

First BJJ session of 2026
Got back on the mats for my first BJJ session of the year after my shoulder injury.

Loki – Season 1
Finally finished Loki season 1. Enjoyed this way more than expected.

Five new podcast episodes
Published five new podcast episodes in January. Consistency stacking. Link in bio 🎙️

Want to grow your glutes? Train them like any other muscle.

That means heavy loading, hard sets, and varied rep ranges—mostly 8-12 reps, with some heavier and higher-rep work mixed in.

Great exercises for serious glute growth:
✔️ Barbell hip thrusts
✔️ Romanian deadlifts
✔️ Squats
✔️ Lunges & split squats (with a more vertical shin)
✔️ Reverse hypers & glute drive machines

Glutes need progressive overload—not just endless bodyweight reps.

Train them properly, and they’ll grow.

Have you listened to my latest podcast episode?

It’s an 8-minute rant on “the boring middle of fitness” and why most people give up after a few weeks.

So, if you’ve been on your fitness journey for about a month, and you feel your motivation starting to dwindle again, this episode is for you.

Check it out on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Sjr7DnlPY5oJVvlnyWvkp?si

The Boring Middle of Fitness and Why It Matters The Leo Alves Podcast · Episode

Don’t confuse weight loss with fat loss. They’re two different things.

As you probably know, body weight can fluctuate a lot.

But unlike body weight, body fat doesn’t swing up and down every few days.

It’s kinda like judging a trading card’s value by a pump-and-dump spike instead of its long-term market trend—one can jump around, the other tells the real story.

Remember that the next time you freak out over a small jump on the scale.

Taking a few days off doesn’t erase your fitness progress.

If you’ve trained consistently for a year, missing a few days won’t send you back to square one.

It might feel like it, but that’s just in your head.

The same goes for weight—if you go on holiday and come back 3kg heavier, you didn’t gain 3kg of fat in a week.

A lot of it is just water weight, extra food in your system, and temporary fluctuations.

Get back into your routine, and things will settle.

Progress isn’t that fragile.

Miguel’s beret staying on the whole time Gojo was beating his ass doesn't get enough appreciation

Shame doesn’t build habits.

Strength training isn’t a reward.

And “wait until you’re lean” is just an arbitrary excuse for procrastinating on implementing positive, health-aligned habits that you’d do well to start today.

Is there an exercise that takes longer to set up than the barbell hip-thrust because I feel like I’m building a fort

Fitness becomes much more enjoyable when you shift to exercising out of love for your body and appreciating what it can do instead of punishing it out of hate

Friendly reminder: consistency doesn’t feel exciting while it’s working.
You only notice it after.

I once made myself so sore from a single workout that I couldn’t lift my arms to grab orange juice the next day.

It happened before I ever stepped foot in a gym 🧵

That summer, living in South London, transitioning from secondary school to sixth form.

Up to that point, my exercise was:
— Walking 10,000+ steps a day
— Football at the park or Power League
— Occasional PE classes

No structured training.
No clue how to actually change my body.

One afternoon, while watching football on Portuguese Sport TV, I noticed a dusty old dumbbell by my grandad’s chair.

On a whim, I picked it up and did the only exercise I knew:
Bicep curls.

And I didn’t stop.

Easily 200+ reps per arm.
Zero rest or structure.

The next day?
Brutal.

I couldn’t move my arms. The soreness was wild.
Even simple tasks were impossible.

I remember being in Tesco with my dad.
He asked me to grab orange juice from the top shelf.
I physically couldn’t extend my arm.

I just stood there, stuck.

But I didn’t learn my lesson.
A few months later, I joined a gym in Mitcham with my mate Steve.

Our first leg day?

A cursed combo of Mike Chang’s “Six Pack Shortcuts” and exercises we made up on the spot.

The aftermath?
I couldn’t walk properly for a whole week.

I remember riding the 109 bus to Dunraven School with my friend Akim.
He wanted to sit upstairs.
I physically couldn’t do it.

His face said it all:
“Why are you being so lazy?”

He had no idea the pain I was in.

Looking back, these two experiences taught me a lesson I now pass on to my 1:1 online fitness members:

When you’re starting, don’t go all out.

The first few weeks aren’t about max effort.

They’re about building a foundation:
— Learning key movement patterns
— Growing familiar with how much you can lift
— Letting your body adapt gradually

Otherwise, you’ll get so sore that you can’t stay consistent, and consistency beats intensity every time.

There’s one more thing that would’ve saved me back then:
Understanding the role of protein in recovery.

If you’re starting your fitness journey, you must know which protein sources will fuel your workouts and support muscle recovery.

That’s why I created my free Protein Cheat Sheet.

✅ The best protein sources for recovery & fat loss
✅ Simple, straightforward examples (no weird health foods)
✅ A guide to stop overcomplicating protein targets

Grab it here (free): https://www.kairos.online/pdf-guides/protein-power

Especially if you’re someone who lifts, trains, and still wants room in your life for hobbies you actually care about—such as trading cards, video gaming or watching the latest MCU movie.

If you want to feel less sore, build muscle, and keep making progress without overthinking it, protein isn’t optional.

Protein Cheat Sheet — Kairos Online Grab your free Protein Cheat Sheet, helping you stay consistent with your nutrition goals!

I always love messages like these!

Remember:
1) If you've got my book, but haven't left an Amazon review yet, then please do so—the success of books live and die by their reviews, especially for a small business like mine

2) If you haven't got my book, but would like to grab a copy, you can do so here: https://www.kairos.online/your-fat-loss-journey-starts-here-book