A Step-by-Step Guide to:

  • Getting back into shape

  • Reducing unwanted body fat

  • Improving all-round fitness, cardio, and strength

  • No gym required

Science-based. Tried and tested by Clive Burns - Certified Fitness, Nutrition and Health Coach.


The Steps.

What follows below is a summary of  how I got back into shape, step-by-step, starting from scratch.
Before to doing this, I'd been out of any type of fitness training for several years and wasn't paying attention to health, fitness, diet etc.  It wasn't a priority.

Things changed in my life and I decided to get back into shape and I wanted to do it in a way I'd been trained to do it during my certifications.  Science-based and using best-practices.

To prove the process, I meticulously measured and recorded every relevant metric for 150 days. This included:

- Body composition: Weight, skin-folds, and waist-to-hip circumferences.

- Daily activity: Walking steps, cardio, resistance sessions, and total calories burned.

- Full nutrition: Every meal, macronutrient breakdown, and total calories consumed.

- Progress tracking: Full body metric updates every 10 days.


This is the basic outline:
Starting Point→Set Goals→Create Conditions For Goals to Occur→Measure Progress→Repeat/Time

More details below.

Measure Starting Point

Measure and record the key body metrics you want to change/improve.
Assess fitness level.

Age 46.
Total Body Weight: 73 kg
Body Fat Percentage: 21%
Waist Circumference: 
Hip Circumference:
Fitness Assessment:  Low/baseline.  Untrained for 2+ years.

Set Targets

These were my targets.
Reduce body fat to 10%.  Retain lean mass.
Improve fitness, cardio and strength.
Look and feel better.
What are your targets, if any?

Create Conditions

The body responds to the conditions you create with your actions, habits and lifestyle.  Primarily your levels of physical activity, your training, your diet and your rest/sleep.
I had to align my actions with the targets I'd set and create the conditions for my body to adapt.  Conditions for reducing body fat, retaining lean mass, improving fitness, cardio and strength.

Measure Progress

Every 10 days I checked my body weight, body fat and other metrics to see if i was on track to the targets.