Good news for all of you who are looking for a new fitness routine to get ripped…my buddy Clint from Crude Fitness recently released his first book, Reveal the Steel. It’s packed full of diet & nutrition tips, mistakes and misconceptions, and a 4 stage training program. In fact, the vast majority of Clint’s tips are similar to my philosophy, especially the dieting strategies. The training routine is solid as well. It’s highly detailed allowing you to follow it exactly as outlined and also customizable so that you can cycle through the workouts multiple times. All this said, I felt like I needed to catch up with Clint to get his full take on Reveal the Steel.
Hey Clint, thanks for joining me. Why don’t you start by telling everyone how long you’ve been in the fitness game and what first attracted you to getting in good shape?
I’ve been in the fitness game for coming on 12 years. It’s been a long and fruitful road and one that I’d probably change quite a bit (looking back). I was a tennis and soccer player in my high-school days, and looking back, I was never really aspiring to get my body into any decent shape. I often marveled at others with great physiques and pretty much thought it was all genetic and I was one of the ‘unlucky ones’. Once I’d left school, it took my poor lifestyle choices to throw my body into the ‘obesity’ area before I took notice and made steps to correct the damage I had caused to it for so many years.
Given where you are now, it’s tough to imagine that you were obese. How hard was it to get into great shape?
Very difficult in the early days of my training. I read a lot of misinformation and conflicting ideas. I never took heed of the ‘stick to a plan’ mindset effectively — I would always be searching for the ‘Magic Bullet’ of supplements or the program that would transform me into ‘Rocky’. Of course, none of that worked, so I had to work hard consistently before coming to the conclusion that you just can’t put an old head on young shoulders (even in terms of fitness).
I had to make my own mistakes in order to figure out what was more effective and required less ‘mucking around’ in order to progress my physique to an elite level. Thankfully, I think I’ve finally figured it out!
Sure seems like it! What separates Reveal the Steel from other fitness books?
I think it’s my no-BS attitude that helps ‘shape’ the content of the entire book. I was a victim of the lies and fitness bullsh*t that has been in the industry for seemingly forever, that I wanted to speak my mind and do so in an easy-to-read kind of way. So I wrote the book that I myself, would want to read and I think I’ve achieved that. I think the way it’s laid out, the color-coding of each ‘stage’ and the simplicity of its delivery makes it one of the most clear, concise and refreshing reads out there on the market (I hope!)
I’d agree. It was engaging enough that I made it through the entire book in one sitting. What types of people do you think will benefit most from your advice?
It’s targeted at both men and women of all ages who are open to a new take on some pre-conceived ideas. My goal of the book was pretty simple — If I was someone that was opposed to change, wanting to reach a ‘new level’ of fitness, stuck in a plateau or even brand-new to training, I’d be able to pick up Reveal The Steel, and go about improving my body in the most straight-forward and effective way possible.
Judging by your own results, I think it’s clear that you can certainly help men get ripped. How did you ensure the routines would work for women as well?
That’s where my sister Janelle Waters came to the party. She’s a CHEK trained, Holistic Lifestyle Practitioner who specializes in workouts tailored for the female market, and even in an at-home scenario. I ran the entire course past her numerous times and we went about substituting and highlighting exercises that were gender specific. As an example, some of the specified ‘calf work’ is largely unnecessary to a broad majority of high-heel shoe wearing ladies. Her input was of paramount importance to making sure both genders could benefit from the workouts.
Let’s change pace for a minute…diet is so critical to getting in shape. Is there a best diet?
I really don’t think there is. There are just too many ways to skin a cat, and more paths lead to your ‘goals’ than those leading away.
I’ve tried so many different methods from Intermittent Fasting, 6-8 meals a day to Paleo, etc. — I’ve found they all work to some degree. You just need to find the dieting methods that work for YOU, and most importantly, for the longest term possible. If you’re diet hopping too often, you’ll find that nothing will ‘work’ and you’ll probably become a disgruntled and un-happy person. That being said, I’ve found Intermittent Fasting (specifically Martin Berkhan’s 16/8 method) is something I can easily stick to, and use regularly.
I couldn’t agree more. If you had to pick a favorite diet tip and/or exercise tip from your book, what would they be?
Diet tip – Allow nothing to be off limits. I see people aspiring and ‘following’ fitness models especially on Facebook who typically follow and ‘extreme’ form of diet and need to adhere to it in order to be ‘shoot-ready’ at the drop of a hat. The rest of us mere mortals just don’t need to be that strict. Aspire to be lean and muscular by all means, but also be realistic about what you’re trying to achieve and enjoy that slice of cake every now and then. Go and have a glass of wine if you want to. Life isn’t a dress-rehearsal so get out there and enjoy it. You only get one.
Exercise tip – variation and periodization are the keys to progress. Variation is important in terms of ‘mental’ drive and focus—when things are kept ‘fresh’ our motivation levels increase and we seldom get stuck in plateaus. Periodization in terms of constantly challenging our muscles and nervous system so we can move forward, improve and better our physiques.
Excellent advice. Is there going to be a sequel to Reveal the Steel or have you already included as much knowledge as possible into this 150 page masterpiece?
There will be a sequel yes, but it will be a while before that happens! I’ll continue to ‘update’ the current edition, and provide those updates for free to my existing buyers to make sure that the work stays current.
You have a fantastic, yet highly challenging, one week preparation routine for a photo shoot or other big event. I imagine it wasn’t overly enjoyable but obviously helped take you the extra mile. How often would you recommend undertaking such an extreme approach?
I think you could do it maybe 2-3 times per year. I like to think for those that purchase RTS, they’ll do the 18 week program, then go back and start it again. Factor 3 cycles of the program with some rest breaks and holidays, and that leaves you with those 2-3 occasions where you might want to ‘challenge’ yourself. Even though it wasn’t the most ‘pleasant’ of experiences, I found I enjoyed the challenge—I had a goal that was so important for me to achieve (in this case photos in the book itself) that I stayed highly motivated.
So what’s next for you?
I’m off to Europe for a much needed break next month, but when I get back I’ll be firing on all cylinders. I’ll continue to research and find new techniques that work for myself and others, I’ll be supporting those that bought the book and continue to provide ‘worthy’ posts through Crude Fitness. Exciting times ahead!
Hey Clint, thanks for joining me. Why don’t you start by telling everyone how long you’ve been in the fitness game and what first attracted you to getting in good shape?
I’ve been in the fitness game for coming on 12 years. It’s been a long and fruitful road and one that I’d probably change quite a bit (looking back). I was a tennis and soccer player in my high-school days, and looking back, I was never really aspiring to get my body into any decent shape. I often marveled at others with great physiques and pretty much thought it was all genetic and I was one of the ‘unlucky ones’. Once I’d left school, it took my poor lifestyle choices to throw my body into the ‘obesity’ area before I took notice and made steps to correct the damage I had caused to it for so many years.
Given where you are now, it’s tough to imagine that you were obese. How hard was it to get into great shape?
Very difficult in the early days of my training. I read a lot of misinformation and conflicting ideas. I never took heed of the ‘stick to a plan’ mindset effectively — I would always be searching for the ‘Magic Bullet’ of supplements or the program that would transform me into ‘Rocky’. Of course, none of that worked, so I had to work hard consistently before coming to the conclusion that you just can’t put an old head on young shoulders (even in terms of fitness).
I had to make my own mistakes in order to figure out what was more effective and required less ‘mucking around’ in order to progress my physique to an elite level. Thankfully, I think I’ve finally figured it out!
Sure seems like it! What separates Reveal the Steel from other fitness books?
I think it’s my no-BS attitude that helps ‘shape’ the content of the entire book. I was a victim of the lies and fitness bullsh*t that has been in the industry for seemingly forever, that I wanted to speak my mind and do so in an easy-to-read kind of way. So I wrote the book that I myself, would want to read and I think I’ve achieved that. I think the way it’s laid out, the color-coding of each ‘stage’ and the simplicity of its delivery makes it one of the most clear, concise and refreshing reads out there on the market (I hope!)
I’d agree. It was engaging enough that I made it through the entire book in one sitting. What types of people do you think will benefit most from your advice?
It’s targeted at both men and women of all ages who are open to a new take on some pre-conceived ideas. My goal of the book was pretty simple — If I was someone that was opposed to change, wanting to reach a ‘new level’ of fitness, stuck in a plateau or even brand-new to training, I’d be able to pick up Reveal The Steel, and go about improving my body in the most straight-forward and effective way possible.
Judging by your own results, I think it’s clear that you can certainly help men get ripped. How did you ensure the routines would work for women as well?
That’s where my sister Janelle Waters came to the party. She’s a CHEK trained, Holistic Lifestyle Practitioner who specializes in workouts tailored for the female market, and even in an at-home scenario. I ran the entire course past her numerous times and we went about substituting and highlighting exercises that were gender specific. As an example, some of the specified ‘calf work’ is largely unnecessary to a broad majority of high-heel shoe wearing ladies. Her input was of paramount importance to making sure both genders could benefit from the workouts.
Let’s change pace for a minute…diet is so critical to getting in shape. Is there a best diet?
I really don’t think there is. There are just too many ways to skin a cat, and more paths lead to your ‘goals’ than those leading away.
I’ve tried so many different methods from Intermittent Fasting, 6-8 meals a day to Paleo, etc. — I’ve found they all work to some degree. You just need to find the dieting methods that work for YOU, and most importantly, for the longest term possible. If you’re diet hopping too often, you’ll find that nothing will ‘work’ and you’ll probably become a disgruntled and un-happy person. That being said, I’ve found Intermittent Fasting (specifically Martin Berkhan’s 16/8 method) is something I can easily stick to, and use regularly.
I couldn’t agree more. If you had to pick a favorite diet tip and/or exercise tip from your book, what would they be?
Diet tip – Allow nothing to be off limits. I see people aspiring and ‘following’ fitness models especially on Facebook who typically follow and ‘extreme’ form of diet and need to adhere to it in order to be ‘shoot-ready’ at the drop of a hat. The rest of us mere mortals just don’t need to be that strict. Aspire to be lean and muscular by all means, but also be realistic about what you’re trying to achieve and enjoy that slice of cake every now and then. Go and have a glass of wine if you want to. Life isn’t a dress-rehearsal so get out there and enjoy it. You only get one.
Exercise tip – variation and periodization are the keys to progress. Variation is important in terms of ‘mental’ drive and focus—when things are kept ‘fresh’ our motivation levels increase and we seldom get stuck in plateaus. Periodization in terms of constantly challenging our muscles and nervous system so we can move forward, improve and better our physiques.
Excellent advice. Is there going to be a sequel to Reveal the Steel or have you already included as much knowledge as possible into this 150 page masterpiece?
There will be a sequel yes, but it will be a while before that happens! I’ll continue to ‘update’ the current edition, and provide those updates for free to my existing buyers to make sure that the work stays current.
You have a fantastic, yet highly challenging, one week preparation routine for a photo shoot or other big event. I imagine it wasn’t overly enjoyable but obviously helped take you the extra mile. How often would you recommend undertaking such an extreme approach?
I think you could do it maybe 2-3 times per year. I like to think for those that purchase RTS, they’ll do the 18 week program, then go back and start it again. Factor 3 cycles of the program with some rest breaks and holidays, and that leaves you with those 2-3 occasions where you might want to ‘challenge’ yourself. Even though it wasn’t the most ‘pleasant’ of experiences, I found I enjoyed the challenge—I had a goal that was so important for me to achieve (in this case photos in the book itself) that I stayed highly motivated.
So what’s next for you?
I’m off to Europe for a much needed break next month, but when I get back I’ll be firing on all cylinders. I’ll continue to research and find new techniques that work for myself and others, I’ll be supporting those that bought the book and continue to provide ‘worthy’ posts through Crude Fitness. Exciting times ahead!
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