I think a lot about the difference between principles and methods.

Methods are many. Principles are few.

Methods are the specific things we do. The exercises, diets, routines, strategies, productivity hacks, and morning routines. Principles are the ideas underneath them. The problem is, we tend to obsess over methods.

What’s the best workout split?

How many carbs should I eat after training?

Should I use lengthened partials?

What’s the perfect morning routine?

Meanwhile, the principles that actually drive results rarely change.

Train hard. Progress over time. Eat appropriately for your goals. Get enough protein. Move your body. Sleep as much as you can. Do these things consistently for a long time.

Pretty boring, right?

That’s why methods get all the attention. They’re new. They give us something to talk about. And occasionally, changing the method is exactly what we need.

But we shouldn’t confuse the method with the principle.

There are a thousand ways to build muscle, get lean, become more productive, make more money, or improve your life.

The details will change. The fundamentals usually won’t.

Here is what I have for you this week.

You Don’t Need to Bulk…or Probably Even Cut

When I first got into fitness, it was almost universally accepted that if you wanted to build muscle, you needed to bulk.

And I’m not talking about adding a couple hundred calories.

You ate. A lot.

The classic bulking diet was fun. You got to eat a bunch of food, lift heavy, and stop worrying about your abs for a few months.

Then, eventually, you dieted off all the fat you gained.

Bulk. Cut. Bulk. Cut.

For years, that was just what you did.

Today, we know there is a lot more nuance to it.

Your body composition, training experience, genetics, goals, and proximity to your muscular potential all matter. And an energy surplus can certainly help maximize muscle growth, particularly when you have a lot of muscle-building potential early in your lifting career.

But bigger is not automatically better. Current recommendations generally favor relatively conservative surpluses. In other words, you probably don't need a traditional bulk. It doesn’t take as many calories as you probably think to support hard training, recovery, and muscle growth

And the same logic applies in the other direction.

Unless you have a significant amount of body fat you want to lose, you probably don't need to spend half the year in a big calorie deficit “cut,” either.

For most recreational lifters, I think there is a better way to approach this.

Stay reasonably lean most of the year.

Keep your calories around maintenance or in a modest surplus when muscle gain or performance is the priority. If you notice yourself getting softer than you want, pull calories back for a few weeks. Then get back to normal. Small adjustments instead of dramatic swings.

So, what’s the point?

Stop thinking you always need to be bulking or cutting. Pick a body-fat range you feel good maintaining, train hard, eat enough protein, and adjust your calories based on what your body weight, waistline, performance, and mirror are telling you.

You might be surprised how much progress you can make without spending your life bouncing between two extremes.

You’re Not Finished Yet

Interestingly, regardless of age, most people believe who they are right now is pretty close to who they’ll be in the future.

In a 2013 study, researchers examined the personalities, values, and preferences of more than 19,000 people between the ages of 18 and 68. Participants were asked how much they believed they had changed over the previous decade and how much they expected to change over the next one.

The results were striking.

Regardless of age, people consistently felt they had changed significantly in the past but expected to change relatively little in the future. In other words, we tend to look at the person we are today as a finished product.

We recognize how much we have evolved to get here, yet assume that from this point forward, we will remain mostly the same. But chances are, the person you are today is no more permanent than the person you were ten years ago.

And that makes sense.

You shouldn’t be the same person you were ten years ago. You shouldn’t even be the exact same person you were one year ago.

We all have stories we tell ourselves about who we are.

“I've never been good at that.”

“I'm just not that type of person.”

“I've always struggled with this.”

Maybe.

But…

Your habits can change.

Your interests can change.

Your career can change.

Your priorities can change.

Your relationships can change.

Your body can change.

You can become more disciplined, confident, capable, patient, curious, or ambitious.

You aren't obligated to remain consistent with an old version of yourself simply because that's who you've been up until now. Five or ten years from now, you will probably look back at the person you are today the same way you currently look back at yourself ten years ago.

The question is whether that change happens intentionally or accidentally.

You're not finished yet.

And that's a good thing.

Sleep

I’ve never been a great sleeper.

For years, I’ve lived on an average of around five hours of sleep a night.

And with sleep being such a big factor in health, recovery, performance, and simply feeling like a functioning human being, I knew it was something I eventually needed to address.

Well, lately I've actually been sleeping better. I'm routinely getting six to seven hours a night. Still not exactly elite, but it’s a noticeable improvement.

The interesting thing is that I've tried just about every standard sleep recommendation over the years:

Some helped a little. Nothing dramatically changed my sleep.

But recently I made one simple adjustment that seems to have actually moved the needle.

I cut my caffeine intake in half. And it kind of sucks because I love caffeine.

I used to routinely consume 400–500 mg per day between coffee, energy drinks, and pre-workout.

Now, I limit myself to around 200 mg. Basically, I get one real caffeine hit each day.

A strong cup of coffee.

An energy drink.

Or a scoop of pre-workout.

And I have it before noon.

Maybe the caffeine reduction isn't responsible for all of it, but the timing lines up pretty well.

More importantly, it reminded me of something. Sometimes it’s not about adding another thing. It's about removing something that's getting in the way. Unfortunately for me, that something might be caffeine.

The Kyle Hunt Show – Building Muscle After 40 with Alain Gonzalez | EP 550

In this episode, Alain Gonzalez joins me to talk about his new book, Building Muscle After 40, but the conversation goes well beyond training and nutrition.

We get into fitness, life, success, getting older, and what it means to keep improving as your priorities change.

Listen here:

https://kylehuntfitness.com/the-kyle-hunt-show-building-muscle-after-40-with-alain-gonzalez-ep-550/

The methods you use today probably won't be the methods you use forever.

Your training will change. Your diet will change. Your schedule will change. Your goals will change.

You will change.

That’s why understanding principles matters.

Find the principles that matter. Then build your methods around the life you're living now.

Have a great week.

-Kyle

PS – Need help with anything talked about today?

Let’s work together! → Apply for Hunt Fitness Coaching