Red Woods Fitness | Blog Week of 6-9-2025

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June 8, 2025

Quote of the Week 6-9-2025

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"A feeble body weakens the mind."

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NEWS

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Welcome back friends! As you guys know, we have been offering Nutrition services at the gym for over a decade. There have been literally hundreds of amazing transformations- from moms getting beach ready to stage competition bodybuilders. Most of the gains from this program come from offering accountability, unfortunately most fitness professionals gate-keep the actual diet and nutritional protocols.

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So to prove that our free stuff is better than everyone else’s paid stuff I am going to lay out exactly how you can develop your own meal plan and give you my best suggestions based on working with thousands of Athletes. Here we go…

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Most Coaches DO IT WRONG. Bold statement, I know, but it is a sad fact. They will take a gen-pop person, give them a ton of workload (think CrossFit 6x a week), become OVERLY focused on calories in vs. calories out and start cutting their macros immediately. If you encounter a Coach like this please run. A caloric deficit is,of course, the single biggest driver of weight loss but it needs to be done in a smart and efficient way.

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To get to a decent, back of the napkin math of how many calories you should eat a day we first need to examine your goals. Do you want to cut fat? If so you are looking at anywhere between a 10%-20% reduction of total calories. 20% being the most aggressive I have seen used with success. Are you looking for body recomposition? If so, eating right at your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) is appropriate. Finally, if you are looking to bulk you can add 5% to your TDEE and get amazing results.

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The fast math- if you would like an aggressive cut take your body weight and multiply it by 12-14. That’s it. Easy. If you would like a more in depth approach to get you closer to your real, accurate number then you can use these formulas below (this is what I use when developing custom meal plans).

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1. Calculate Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR):

This is the number of calories your body burns at rest to keep you alive.
Use the Mifflin-St Jeor equation:
- Men: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age in years) + 5
- Women: BMR = (10 x weight in kg) + (6.25 x height in cm) - (5 x age in years) - 161
There are other formulas like the Harris-Benedict equation, but Mifflin-St Jeor is generally considered more accurate.

2. Account for Activity Level:

Multiply your BMR by an activity multiplier based on how active you are:
- Sedentary: BMR x 1.2
- Lightly Active: BMR x 1.375
- Moderately Active: BMR x 1.55
- Very Active: BMR x 1.725
- Extra Active: BMR x 1.9
This multiplier accounts for the extra calories you burn through exercise and non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT).

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If you spaced out on all that, the good news is there are plenty of online calculators you can use that will just spit out these numbers for you. Or, I would be happy to help.

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When should I cut vs recomp vs bulk?

My general recommendation for men is to stay between 10%-18% body fat. At 18% you should probably start to cut, at 10% a nice recomp or even bulk has been earned. For women those numbers are generally 10% higher. Here is the easy answer- cut until you have some form of a flat stomach then recomp. I have been very guilty of bulking until I hate food then cutting until I hate my life- please learn from my mistakes.

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Macronutrients: The Big Three-Your body needs three main types of nutrients in large amounts:

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Proteins: Essential for building and repairing tissues like muscles and skin. 4 calories per gram.

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Examples: chicken, eggs, tofu, beef.

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Carbohydrates (Carbs): Your body’s main energy source and offers a sparing effect on muscle when cutting. 4 calories per gram.

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Examples: rice, oats, bananas, sweet potatoes.

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Fats: Important for brain health, hormone production, and energy storage. 9 calories per gram.

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Examples: avocados, olive oil, nuts, fatty fish.

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There is actually a fourth macro- alcohol. Your body gets 7 calories from each gram of alcohol. Don’t use this macro.

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Micronutrients: The Essentials in Small Doses

These are vitamins and minerals your body needs in smaller amounts:

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Vitamins: Help regulate body processes. (Vitamin C for immunity, Vitamin D for bone health)

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Minerals: Support structures and systems. (ron for blood, Calcium for bones)

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How much of each Macro should I eat?

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I suggest most of my Athletes get one gram of protein per pound of body weight to start. If they have a lot of excess body fat sometimes I will program one gram per pound of lean body weight. I think most of us need at least 100 grams of carbs a day, especially if we are hitting Group Fitness classes. Scale that number up as you see fit as long as you stay under your caloric needs. Fill the rest in with fat. I usually start with a 35% protein, 35% carb, 30% fat macro split but in truth- as long as you are getting your protein in, get enough essential fatty acids, and don’t feel terrible then you can split the remaining macros however you want.

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If you eat quality, whole foods and not processed trash your micros will be ahead of an enormous percentage of the population. What does that look like? Maybe it’s eggs with sourdough bread, avocados, and spinach for breakfast. Chicken thigh or ground bison with sweet potatoes and red bell peppers for lunch. A nice steak or piece of salmon for dinner with white rice and broccoli. Some greek yogurt with fresh fruit and honey for dessert. Bonus points if you can include some fermented foods like kimchi or refrigerator pickles.

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Finally all this will not work as well as it could without some sort of foundational fitness protocols. Drink good, clean water and lots of it. Get at least 10,000 steps a day- bonus if it is in nature and sunlight. Move some weights around a few times a week. Do it within a supportive Community. Sleep 7-9 hours a night. Manage stress effectively. This is the way.

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PROGRAMMING

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Here comes week two of our Conditioning cycle. This is the real deal folks. These repeats and barbell work will get us ready for our competition Metcon week starting next Monday. GO. ALL. OUT. This is the work that pays off big time.

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LET’S LIGHT IT UP!

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Monday

Strength

Every 30 seconds

For 6 Minutes

3 Clusters

Metcon

1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10

T2B

Box Jumps