About

Hi everyone, welcome to the ProjectPhysique.com blog.  I’m James Koo and I’ve set up this site as a training and informational resource for all of you out there looking to build muscle, strength, and/or lose fat.  The primary goal of Project Physique is to provide you with the necessary information, knowledge, tools, and resources to achieve your body transformation goals, specifically in the area of building muscle, strength, and getting ripped and in shape for whatever reasons you may have.

If you want to finally build six pack abs, gain 10,20, or 30 lbs of muscle in a short time, add an extra inch or two of pure muscle on your arms,  shed 5, 10, 15 or more pounds of fat, then I’m confident that Project Physique can provide some help in helping you accomplish your physique and fat loss/ muscle building goals.

Take the time to check out the articles and archives sections at the top of the navigation menu on the home page  as they’re broken down into different categories for easy browsing.

What You’ll Find at Project Physique

Some of the content you’ll find here,

• free 35-pages “Fast Muscle Building” Blueprint that will help you gain up to 10 lbs of muscle in 30 days and free “Fast Fat Loss” Blueprint aimed at helping you lose up to 5 lbs in 10 days

• weekly blog articles with updated news on a variety of topics pertaining to bodybuilding, building muscle, fat loss, supplementation, nutrition, and strength training

• step-by-step training programs and workouts (includes strength training workouts, body weight training programs, conditioning/HIIT/cardio routines)

• training videos of workout programs and routines

• motivational tips and strategies to ensure fat loss and muscle gaining results

• Exercise database of strength training and body weight exercises, be sure to check back often as it’s always being updated

• the best training strategies, concepts, and methods to helping you lose fat and build muscle and strength

• helpful resources and tools, includes lists of the best fitness sites and blogs out there

• book recommendations

• product reviews of exercise equipment, supplements, and diet programs

• interviews of fitness gurus and trainers and likely podcasts in the near future

My Philosophy

The philosophy of Project Physique is really simple.  It’s nothing fancy or new in the fitness community.  If you’ve been confused about where to start or how to start an exercise program to change your body, get back into shape, lose that extra 25 lbs, or build lots of muscle, then I’ve tried to filter out all the bad information and give you the best training and nutrition information to reach your goals.  Because I remember being stuck on finding good exercise and dieting information when I started training.

It can be quite the hassle to find reliable workout programs and nutrition plans that actually work to changing your body and physical fitness.

I have 5 core concepts that you’ll see me repeating over and over again.  That’s because I believe these are the most important concepts for anyone looking to lose fat, build muscle and strength for an entire lifetime.

1. Fast, efficient, and effective training.  No strength workouts shall last longer than 45 minutes per session.  All conditioning and cardio workouts done at high intensity (HIIT training) will last no more than 20 minutes.  I’m all for short, intense, and efficient workouts.  We have to train hard and intensely, but also train smart and efficiently.  In and out of the gym without wasting time.  In addition, you’ll see me  constantly talk about dynamic workouts.  Dynamic workouts using free weights, body weight exercises, high intensity cardio, conditioning/GPP workouts, interval workouts, and exercises using a variety of different tools and equipment; ropes, gymnastic rings, resistance bands, backpacks, weight vests, grippers, etc.  The body is a very functional and dynamic “machine” that’s capable of being put in awkward training situations.  Functional Fitness with these training tools leads to greater fat loss and muscle gains in less time.
2. Strength training as the foundation of fitness.  And this applies especially to bodybuilding and building muscle.  All aspects of fitness and all body composition goals are based on a good foundation of strength.  In other words, train for performance.  Build strength and you will build muscle and lose fat.
3. Consistency.  Having the dedication and focus to never miss a workout.  To always follow your program.  Each day is a new day for progress.
4. Intensity.  Train intensely.  Train with focus.  Train with meaning.  Train smart, not just hard.   Seek performance rather than fatigue.  Each exercise you do in the gym should have a point…a goal.  Each rep and each set should serve a meaning.  Don’t just do for the sake of doing.  Train for your goals.  I like this quote by Steven Covery from the book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” ……….”Begin with the End in Mind”
5. Knowledge and Action.  Your body’s response to training is continuing education.  Educate yourself on what works, what to do, how to do it, and why.  Then find out if it really works by taking action to train.  Dump what doesn’t work and stick with what works.  Trial and Error.  Constantly experimenting.  Constantly training.

Taking the above 5 concepts, I believe the ultimate solution to body transformation, be it muscle building or fat loss, is to train dynamically like an athlete.  Use dynamic exercises and movements.  If you train like an athlete, you’ll look like an athlete.

Notice a lot of power and endurance athletes like tennis players, volleyball players, sprinters, runners, have slim, slender, and very fit bodies?  If you’re into building muscle, look at NFL football lineman, tight ends, and competitive combat athletes like MMA fighters and boxers.  These guys train using a variety of exercise modalities.  They jump rope, do body weight exercises, lift weights, sprint, run, cycle, and strike.  And they don’t all use expensive equipment.

You could use simple simple equipment or no equipment at all to achieve your body transformation and physical fitness goals.  Simple is good for dynamic workouts.  I like simple.

And why did I start this blog site?

I used to be that kid who got so confused from information overload and for a while, I got no where, got no results, didn’t gain any strength, didn’t add an ounce of muscle on my skinny 124 lb frame as a 16-year old.  I was paralyzed by this fear of failure and a lack of knowledge.  I did not have any initiative.  But when I did, I finally took action.

I just went out, bought a ton of books, read, read, trained and experimented with some diet plans and workouts.  Trained and experimented some more and after 9 years, I’ve amassed some decent experience with results to show for.  So I decided to pour all of what I know from my 9 years of training experience into this site so you can benefit from what really works and what doesn’t.

And I had my ups and downs like everybody else.  I gained too much fat weight despite wanting to build muscle.  So I had to diet down and start all over again.  I experimented with a number of diets and training programs and found what worked and what didn’t. Being a skinny and weak kid, I started out wanting to build muscle and look muscular.  But I also had to diet down once I got fat bulking up.  So I’ve been on both sides of bodybuilding and fat loss.

This blog is partly a collection of my training experiences rewritten into knowledge you can use to achieve your body composition and transformation goals.

You can read more about my training and dieting experiences through the past 9 years to get where I’m coming from in the articles below,

• My Story: A Bodybuilding and Fat Loss Body Transformation- Part 1
• My Story: A Bodybuilding and Fat Loss Body Transformation- Part 2

What I discovered

And what I’ve discovered is that if you want to accomplish anything, any goal, you have to focus on your inner game and your outer game.  That is, success in losing fat and building muscle really boils down to what you do on the inside, within your mind, and what you do on the outside, your physical body.

The inner game is all about what you say to yourself, the knowledge you must know, the information you learn ,and all that jazz.  The outer game are the actual action steps, the training programs, the exercises you do.  Taking action with what you know. It’s the behavior change.  It’s your transformation.  Each rep, set, and exercise you do counts.  Each bite of food counts.  They all add up to put you one step closer (if you do things right) or one step further from your goals.

Combine the inner game with the outer game to succeed with your body transformation objectives.

So maybe you’ve struggled in the past to gain even a pound of muscle, tried desperately to bench more than 150 lbs with no success, or failed at dieting to lose weight, I recommend starting with the “Fast Muscle Building” report or the “Fast Fat Loss” report (depending on your goals)  and you will definitely start building muscle and losing fat the efficient and “easy” way.

Why the name Project Physique?

Physique is self-explanatory since you’re here to change your physique, your body.  But project is a very meaningful word to me.  It depends on how you interpret words actually.   But I don’t want to get too spiritual or theoretical.   I do see life as a series of ongoing projects one after another.   We take up new activities, games, jobs, careers, and work on building a family throughout our lives.  Our bodies are no different.  We can work on our bodies, just like other areas of life.

We’re always striving to improve areas of our life and our bodies.  We’re always learning, discovering, experimenting, changing, building, and improving.  Perfection is really only an ideal.  We can’t be perfect but we can always work towards it.  Be a bit better than the day before.  Baby steps.  It all adds up.

We can change our bodies and build a lot of muscle if we really really work at it.  We can lose however many pounds of fat we want.  It’s a project.  Bodybuilding is a project.  Body transformation is a project.

• Like an author, sculptor, painter always editing and manipulating their works to be just a little bit better.

I don’t know about you but I strive to build more muscle and strength naturally just to prove to myself that I can.

And you can too!

Your project is about reaching your potential.  Reaching your goals and then exceeding it!

Gain 10 Pounds of Muscle and Lose 5 Pounds of Fat

So Project Physique’s entire bodybuilding philosophy, along with the 5 core concepts I outlined above, is getting that first 10 lbs of muscle in 30 days.  10 lbs in 30 days.  10 lbs of real muscular weight in 30 days.  For fat loss, the first objective is losing 5 lbs in 10 days.  Only 10 days.  That’s your first initial phase to body transformation and life long fitness.  If you can get past this first phase, you can repeat what worked before, repeat the entire program and lose even more weight and/or gain even more muscle.

• 10 lbs in 30 days

• 5 lbs in 10 days

If you can gain your first 10 lbs of muscle and lose your first 5 lbs of fat, what’s stopping you from gaining another 10 lbs of muscle or losing another 5 lbs of fat?

So taking this all in, I’ve focused on 3 main areas here,

1. Exercise which includes strength training/weight lifting, body weight exercise training, high intensity interval cardio or HIIT, and general conditioning and fitness
2. Nutrition with mass building diet, mass eating for bodybuilders and fat loss dieting without extreme or starvation diets, proper supplementation
3. Recovery strategies to help prevent overtraining and ensure you get the results you want

There’s really a ton of information out there for training, exercising, dieting, and fitness in general.  We don’t have all the time to go through all this information nor do we want to spend the time.  A lot of articles and training programs are incomplete.  So right here, I’ve attempted to post the best training, dieting, and workout programs/strategies that I’ve found to be really useful and effective in helping you accomplish your goals and mine.

Here, you’ll find articles on strength training, weight lifting, body weight exercises, fat loss/muscle building nutrition, cardio, high intensity conditioning, supplements, exercise equipment, product reviews, and more…all designed to help you lose fat and build muscle.

I’m always learning.  And I hope you will find this site very useful so you’ll come back to share your experiences and results.

I”m focused on  building muscle and strength naturally.  Losing fat naturally.  I don’t hard-sell any supplements or products here.  You’ll find few ads on here, unlike a lot of the fitness sites I’ve come across lately.  No annoying ads or popups.

The Project Physique brand is a one man show for now.  It’s just me.  And taking all of what I’ve said here, my ultimate aim and goal is to forge a growing community of like-minded fitness enthusiasts using the best training and dieting information online so you will get the desired results you want.

You can read more about my goals for Project Physique here.

Feel free to email me or leave comments throughout the articles.  Don’t hesitate to email me either if you have any questions or comments.  Let me know what you think.

Stay tuned.  Stay in touch.

Contact me at ZQH245@gmail.com and ZQH250@gmail.com

James Koo

photo credits:
Bug-a-lug
Vincepal
Markiza