My Training Journey With Dr. Nick Harden
I am close to completing my three-month hypertrophy and diet phase under the guidance of Dr. Nick Harden, and I can confidently say the experience has been outstanding — so much so that I’ve chosen to continue working with Nick through the next phase (maintenance) and beyond. From day one, Nick has been incredibly responsive, supportive, and consistently kind. We’re in touch nearly every day, and the weekly Zoom check-ins are something I genuinely look forward to. Having someone as knowledgeable and structured as Nick setting my workouts is amazing. I have previously done countless diets and training regimes, and the problem I’ve had is knowing what a reasonable timeline is for reasonable [objective] results, which results in me being discouraged and not sticking to anything long enough. With Nick, we have both diet and training goals which we track every day. For the way I personally work, it is substantially better and more sustainable for me when I understand what we are doing now, the milestones along the way, what the end of the journey looks like, and how long it will take to get there. One of the biggest takeaways from this journey is the importance of trusting the process, and that the numbers on the scale are one of many metrics to take into account in your hypertrophy and diet journey. The results will come if you are genuine about your commitment to this process. About two months in, I had strangers in the gym commenting on my weight loss; a clear sign that the program was working, even if progress felt subtle day-to-day. For me personally, three months wasn’t enough to hit my original body composition goals, but that’s more a reflection of me taking too long to engage Nick in the first place. The program itself is designed to be sustainable, with progressive results that fit a real lifestyle. That sustainability is key: there was no crash diet here, just structure, accountability, and habits that stick. The lifestyle changes were significant for me, and I have changed the way I live my life. I went from sporadic gym attendance (3–6x/week) and barely any cardio to a consistent four days per week training routine paired with a daily step target of 8,000+. I went from drinking alcohol daily (1 to 3 drinks per day) to zero alcohol for the entire cut. There is zero part of me that misses having the casual drink because I enjoy the clarity and overall feeling healthier so much more. RP doesn't give you a meal plan to hit your macros, so I spent a lot of time designing my own meals – it was a huge learning curve that you don’t get a lot of guidance on. However, once you nail your staples, it gets easier. My tip? You can’t go wrong with chicken, rice, and vegetables. Figure out a way to jazz up the chicken (my go to is Indian spices) and be conscious that some veggies are [much] higher in carbs than others. If you’re considering working with RP, or with Nick in particular, take the leap. It’s one of the best life decisions I’ve made, not just for my body composition, but for my overall lifestyle and long-term health.
