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<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="13994875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hyrox" source="Orion">Hyrox</keyword> champion Hunter McIntyre eats up to 7,000 calories of mostly carbs and sugar each day.</li><li>He eats lots of sugary cereal, PB&amp;J sandwiches, chicken, potato, rice, and steaks, he told Insider.</li></ul>Hunter McIntyre is a world champion <keyword id="11916651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="athlete" source="Orion">athlete</keyword> and fuels his training with a carb-heavy <keyword id="11892706" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="diet" source="Orion">diet</keyword>, he told Insider.McIntyre consumes a lot of McDonald's, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, Fruit Loops, and very little fruit, vegetables or water to fuel his workouts, he said.The athlete is 2022's Hyrox champion — a <keyword id="11897658" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fitness" source="Orion">fitness</keyword> race that requires endurance and strength, and combines running with movements like wall balls, rowing, and farmer carries.He said eating a high-calorie diet (anywhere from 4,500-7,000 calories a day) helps keep his energy levels up and aids his recovery.He estimates his diet is 70-80% sugar and <a href="https://www.insider.com/what-are-carbs#:~:text=Simple%20carbs%20are%20carbs%20that,spiking%20your%20blood%20sugar%20levels.">simple carbs</a>.<h2>McIntyre trains before eating </h2><a href="https://www.insider.com/hunter-mcintyre-training-diet-lose-weight-win-hyrox-championship-2022-5">McIntyre goes to the gym</a> in the morning three times a week but he doesn't eat beforehand. Instead he consumes coffee with 2-4 tbsp of honey or maple syrup.He said he prefers to <a href="https://www.insider.com/build-abs-walking-lifting-eating-well-hunter-mcintyre-hyrox-2022-5">feel light while training</a>, and eat more as the day goes on.After training, McIntyre said he eats "a landslide of food."He eats "tons of cereal" such as Fruit Loops, and PB&amp;J sandwiches.Sometimes he goes to McDonald's for breakfast and orders a cinnamon bun, oatmeal, and coffee with cream and sugar.As the day goes on, McIntyre eats whole chickens or steaks with "lots of" potatoes or rice. <h2>McIntyre rarely eats vegetables</h2><div type="image" title="Hunter McIntyre" height="998" width="1330" msid="91811619" hostid="261"></div>Vegetables aside from potatoes are noticeably absent from the athlete's diet."I don't eat any vegetables," he said, except for when someone else has prepared food for him. McIntyre doesn't really eat fruit either, except for the occasional plantain or apple, which he said he enjoys.This isn't because he doesn't value fruit and vegetables, he said."It's just because, in reality, there's only so much time in a day and so many times I can take bites of food, and it really comes down to the fact that you need really valuable calories," he said. McIntyre rarely drinks plain water, but he will drink some glasses over the day with supplements mixed in, such as "greens" powder, which contains a mix of nutrients, he said. People are advised to drink eight glasses of water a day, but <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-much-water-should-i-drink">individual requirements vary</a> depending on temperature, body size, activity levels and more.<h2>A balanced diet includes healthy fats for energy </h2>While carbs and sugar can serve as quick energy for workouts, too much of it long-term can be harmful and can throw off the balance of a healthy gut microbiome, sports dietitian <a href="https://healthandperformancecollective.com/our-team/jessica-spendlove/">Jessica Spendlove</a> told Insider.She said healthy fats, such as nuts, seeds, avocados, and extra virgin olive oil, are high-calorie and good energy sources but also contain beneficial <a href="https://www.insider.com/saturated-vs-unsaturated-fat">monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats</a>."High saturated fat foods, processed foods, and refined sugars are correlated with the development of certain chronic diseases later in life," Spendlove said.One <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l1451">large-scale 2019 study</a> found a 10% increase in ultra-processed foods in the diet was linked to a 10% increase in the rates of cardiovascular, coronary heart, and cerebrovascular diseases. Genetics and overall lifestyle can't be underestimated when it comes to <keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">health</keyword> and fitness, she said, as we're all different."Key considerations would be fueling before training, optimizing recovery, looking at plant diversity for a good gut microbiome and then choosing healthy fats where possible to get that additional energy intake," she said.

World champion athlete Hunter McIntyre said McDonald's, PB&J sandwiches, and cereal fuel his workouts and recovery

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Hunter McIntyre is the <keyword id="13994875" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="hyrox" source="Orion">Hyrox</keyword> World Champion for 2022 and record holder for the <keyword id="11897658" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fitness" source="Orion">fitness</keyword> race.</li><li>After coming fourth in 2021, McIntyre overhauled his diet and training and lost 17 pounds.</li></ul>In 2020, Hunter McIntyre won the Hyrox World Championships. In 2021, however, he came fourth, and he was not happy about it."I showed up in bad shape and I had never lost in the sport at that point," the <keyword id="11916651" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="athlete" source="Orion">athlete</keyword> told Insider. "I got my ass handed to me, rightfully so because I didn't put the hard work in."McIntyre realized he'd got complacent, so decided to up his game, overhaul his training, and <a href="https://www.insider.com/build-abs-walking-lifting-eating-well-hunter-mcintyre-hyrox-2022-5">get in (better) shape</a>, losing 17 pounds in the process, he told Insider.And it worked. McIntyre, 33, not only won the 2022 World Championships on May 14, but the month prior <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CcJSDfSDenq/">he set a world record for the fitness race</a>, which combines running with disciplines such as rowing, sled pushes, and burpees.McIntyre explained how he trained and ate to cut fat, build strength, and boost <keyword id="12250345" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="endurance" source="Orion">endurance</keyword>.<h2>Troubled teen to elite athlete</h2>As a child, McIntyre loved sports but then fell into trouble with drugs, he said.After getting kicked out of various rehabs for failing to follow protocol, at 18 he went to work as a logger in the Montana mountains.It was during this six months that McIntyre had a mindset shift, he said — and put on 60 pounds of muscle in the process.Since becoming a professional athlete in 2012, McIntyre has set out to prove that strength is an asset in endurance.<h2>McIntyre aims for explosive power</h2><div type="image" title="Hunter McIntyre doing a farmer's carry" height="751" width="1000" msid="91709391" hostid="261"></div>After his fourth place finish in Hyrox 2021, McIntyre retreated to the mountains in Boulder, Colorado, to focus on "honing his craft."McIntyre created his own training formula, with help from coach Mike Tromello, after studying cross-country skiers: "They have this incredible balance of the highest level of cardio but also explosive power," he said.In Hyrox, it's not simply about running stamina."We're going fast then we have to push a nearly 400 lb sled, then we run, then we do 100 wall balls," he said. "There are these humongous mountains in the middle of the course."<h2>McIntyre lifts, walks, runs, and cycles</h2>In October 2021, McIntyre began his transformation, he said.McIntyre started doing15-20 hours a week of cardio either walking, cycling, or running in the mountains, he said.This encapsulates high intensity, low intensity and moderate "active recovery" sessions, <a href="https://www.lukeworthington.com/">Luke Worthington</a>, a personal trainer who works with elite athletes, told Insider.Professional athletes build and taper their training volume around competitions, and the general public shouldn't try and emulate their training in the run-up to an event, he said.McIntyre's strength goal was to maintain rather than build.Three times a week, he did a 60-90 minute gym session. Each workout, McIntyre started with three exercises, such as a bench press, performing sets of three to five heavy reps.He then worked on two Hyrox movements, like a farmer's carry or ski erg, practicing the skill and "moving at a leisurely pace.""Then I'll pick another three movements and max out as hard as I can for 20-30 minutes, either interval-based or straight through," he said. McIntyre aimed for 30-50% of <a href="https://hyrox.com/en/hyrox-concept/">the race distance</a>.<h2>McIntyre keeps his food intake high to fuel his training</h2>McIntyre went from 212 lbs to 195 lbs, but he still ate a lot.Although <a href="https://www.insider.com/should-you-track-macros-and-calories-to-lose-weight-healthily-2020-7">a calorie deficit is required for weight loss</a>, he didn't track his food intake and was mainly concerned with eating enough to fuel his high activity levels. McIntyre estimates he ate 4,500-7,000 calories a day."I was eating a lot, keeping my metabolism high, and giving my muscles lots of energy," he said.McIntyre ate plenty of carbs around his training sessions, for energy beforehand and to help his muscles recover after, he said.As he got lighter, he went from struggling to keep up with his friends when out mountain biking to being leader of the pack, he said. And how did McIntyre relax after reclaiming his Hyrox crown? A backpacking trip in the mountains.

Losing 17 pounds helped Hunter McIntyre become a world champion athlete. Here's how he trained and ate to cut fat, build strength, and boost endurance.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Being lean doesn't equate to being healthy or fit, elite nutrition coach Mike Molloy said.</li><li>Training like an athlete isn't optimal for longevity either, he said.</li></ul><a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shredded-physique-does-not-equal-health-fitness-personal-trainers-say-2020-8">Being lean</a> or training like an athlete doesn't guarantee you're fit or investing in your longevity: That's what elite athlete nutrition coach <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-elite-athlete-nutrition-coach-clients-boost-longevity-2024-8">Mike Molloy</a> wants people to understand about balancing health, aesthetics, and performance.From <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/rucking-startup-founders-investors-look-for-ways-optimize-workouts-2023-10">Silicon Valley</a> to Wall Street and beyond, there's cultural capital to be found in being ripped, extremely fit — think of how CrossFit has turned white-collar workers into part-time athletes — while being plugged into the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bryan-johnson-before-and-after-anti-aging-longevity-supplements-2023-8">latest trends in longevity</a>. But prioritizing one to the extreme will cause one if not two of the other areas to suffer.Molloy thinks of it as a Venn diagram: The goals overlap, and the average person would likely improve all three areas by eating better and exercising more. <div type="image" title="A venn Diagram with &quot;Performance&quot;, &quot;Aesthetics&quot;, and &quot;Health&quot;" height="1500" width="2000" msid="113668231" hostid="261" sizebytes="23130"></div>Molloy told Business Insider how to find a balance between the three. <h2 id="c3106777-bd06-47d8-9d3a-eb83231c9adb">Switching focus periodically </h2>"There's an amount of training that's going to help you get strong. There's an amount of training that's going to help you to lean out (with nutrition and everything too). And then there's an amount that's going to help you to perform at the highest levels of human performance," Molloy, who works with Olympians and professional CrossFit athletes, said. Balancing the three requires compromise, Molloy said. He achieves this by recognizing that the core foundation of each goal is the same: <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elite-nutrition-coach-longevity-staples-sleep-strength-training-healthy-community-2024-9">eight hours of sleep each night</a>, prioritizing protein at each meal, and eating a good amount of micronutrient-dense, minimally processed foods."From there, I try to spend a few months each year a bit more focused on one aspect of the Venn diagram," Molloy said. "So four months might revolve around training for a Spartan Race or CrossFit competition, four months might be focused on leaning out a bit more (say, before summer), and four months might be more focused on doing everything I can to maximize my physical and mental health."<h2 id="4de14799-3c65-4a49-b3a9-cdc5835dd4a9">A lean body isn't necessarily a healthy body</h2>Many people want to lose fat, build muscle, and look like bodybuilders, but it's a misconception that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-lost-weight-fitness-expert-strength-leanness-myths-2020-8">the fittest, healthiest version of yourself is also the leanest</a>, Molloy said."The people that get the leanest, that go on to do these bodybuilding shows or these figure competitions, they are not, when they step on that stage, the healthiest versions of themselves by any stretch of the imagination," Molloy said.Many former bodybuilders and bikini competitors have later revealed that they were unhealthy and felt awful despite looking in "peak" physique at their leanest."Their sex hormones are probably in the trash, thyroid hormones are way down, hunger hormones are way up," Molloy said. "That's problematic."For instance, viewed from the perspective of Molloy's Venn diagram, being too lean can affect both a woman's performance and her physical health."Getting to 12% or 13% body fat may actually be negative for performance, especially if a woman is training with intensity in a sport like <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunter-mcintyre-training-diet-lose-weight-win-hyrox-championship-2022-5">Hyrox</a> or <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tia-clair-toomey-orr-crossfit-games-motivation-motherhood-training-2024-5">CrossFit</a>, because when you get down to that low of a body fat, there are usually changes to hormonal aspects that are negative for performance," Molloy saidWhen a woman's body fat levels get too low, the body starts to shut down non-essential functions that are critical for performance, Molloy said. For example, estrogen, which helps to build muscle, drops.Similarly, overexercising or cutting calories too low may cause the body to pause the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/crossfit-sara-sigmundsdottir-feared-competing-could-affect-fertility-lost-period-2021-8">menstrual cycle </a>to prevent a person from conceiving at a time of stress, Molloy explained.<h2 id="b4710dc9-7ea6-4f41-911a-8362f2f3a37c">Overtraining takes its toll on the body</h2>Meanwhile, training intensely most days is not necessarily the best for your <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/longevity-trainer-fitness-markers-to-watch-for-a-longer-life-2024-7">longevity</a>.He gave the example of a CrossFit athlete: "Training three, four, five hours a day is going to make you very fit, but we shouldn't confuse that fitness with long-term health."Molloy explained that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-hiit-classes-arent-necessary-to-lose-fat-get-fit-2020-9">high-intensity training</a> leads to a lot of physical wear and tear on the body as well as what's known as oxidative damage, where an imbalance of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/health/diet-nutrition/free-radicals">free radicals</a> in the body's cells can result in tissue damage, aging, and the development of conditions such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.Molloy said many elite athletes essentially trade long-term health for elite performance, experiences, and, in some sports, "a boatload of money.""If you really want to chase anything to the extreme, there are going to be sacrifices that you're going to have to make to other aspects of your aesthetics or your health," Molloy said.

Stop driving yourself crazy trying to be ripped, fit, and healthy. A nutrition coach to Olympians and CrossFitters shares how he strikes the right balance.

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Wall Street's top performers are hard workers who tend to work long, intense hours.</li><li>Business Insider asked its 2024 class of Wall Street stars about how they stay mentally sharp.</li></ul>Call it superstitious, but Mark Zhu, a 34-year-old managing director at Blackstone, likes to start every day the same way. He has two Trader Joe's yogurt cups, one banana-flavored and one blueberry-flavored, eaten in the same order, followed by his supplements, which also have their specific sequence."Those are just examples of how I bring a level of consistency and sequencing to my life," he said. "Because you know the moment after 9 o'clock, the days can get chaotic."Similarly, the 90 minutes between 5:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. are precious to Craig Kolwicz.The Moelis investment banker uses that time to put himself in control for the rest of the day, whether by going to the gym, meditating, or reading a book."You're not getting pulled in all different directions with your deals, your transactions, or just things in life," said the 35-year-old managing director."It's sacred time to me — anything before 7 a.m. is my time."It's no secret that working on Wall Street is demanding. Finance giants from Blackstone to Goldman Sachs attract some of the brightest and most driven people, and to climb the ranks is no easy feat.When we asked top up-and-comers on Wall Street about the habits or routines they followed to keep themselves mentally sharp, no one mentioned<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/start-day-cold-plunge-reduce-grogginess-stress-mental-sharpness-2023-4"> cold plunges</a>, 10-step facial rituals, or <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-bryan-johnson-dont-die-summit-singapore-longevity-health-biohacking-2024-10">biohacking</a> trends that tout themselves as life hacks that instantly make you more attractive, healthier, smarter, and more balanced.Most of these high performers featured on <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-wall-street-executives-rising-stars-investing-trading-2024#blake-cecil-32-bridgewater-associates-5">Business Insider's 2024 list of rising stars of Wall Street</a> are spending time with their families, keeping physically and mentally healthy with reasonable workout and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-partner-brian-robinson-neon-sign-about-sleep-2024-4">sleep routines</a>, and finding opportunities to recharge.Here's what we learned about the hacks, habits, and routines that help top talent on Wall Street stay on their game.<h2 id="25bcbc05-aac9-4976-b303-ad847534c9cf">Morning routines</h2>Chicago-based Bank of America investment banker Corey White is another early riser. He relies on his Apple watch to wake him up gently, with a little vibration at 5 a.m. The 35-year-old works out. He's partial to weight lifting but recently took up running thanks to his twin brother, who works in private equity. He sends his kids off to school and listens to a podcast on an hour-long commute into the office."My mornings are super important to me to have a nice, kind of slow start to the day. And I found it's regulating," he told BI. The routine helps him stay present with his home life as well as work, he added.<div type="image" title="Woman having coffee on her balcony" height="3333" width="5000" msid="114020357" hostid="261" sizebytes="359366"></div>Nina Gnedin, a San Francisco-based portfolio manager from Man Group, starts her day at 4:30 a.m. because she works East Coast market hours."I wake up. I do my face. I do my skincare. I brush my teeth. I drink my double shot of espresso. I do all my morning work rituals, where I check the trades. I check on the portfolios around 7, 7:30. I get coffee again."Her "very regimented" workday ends at 3 p.m., which allows her to get outside and enjoy the outdoors. "There's no day of the year where the sun's down when I'm done with work," she said.<h2 id="44e9adf5-0637-4484-ac2c-31816b001006">Productivity hacks and habits</h2>Bridgewater Associates deputy chief investment officer Blake Cecil likes to push himself (and his team) to meet deadlines that might be arbitrary on paper but give him a mental goal to chase.The 32-year-old overpromises on projects intentionally to " trick" himself into working more efficiently and diligently. One example is he will ask his team and himself this hypothetical: "Let's imagine we had to deliver this in 24 hours — how would we do that?"Often, this leads to creative and innovative work, he told BI.BlackRock's Chi Chen, 34, winds down her weekends with a Sunday evening reading ritual that helps her "distill my brain."It's a two-hour affair, starting with one hour of the books she's reading. The fixed-income portfolio manager is a fan of non-fiction and just read "Behave: The Biology of Humans at Our Best and Worst" by Robert Sapolsky. After that, she turns back to the markets. She reads external and internal research and prepares for the week.<h2 id="e4df00ef-f617-4808-b80b-d0d397e3e250">Commuting with a purpose</h2>Since starting at Bank of America, Justin Elliott has had a daily regimen designed to take up his 20-minute commute to work."It's really around my faith — I do a devotion. Read a Bible scripture, pray. Come into the office and listen to a gospel song," the 29-year-old vice president on the institutional rates sales desk at Bank of America told BI. "That's my every morning routine for getting me centered for the day. It's about reminding me why I'm here and what it's all about."He also goes to the gym two to three times a week and has recently been doing sound baths and meditation with his wife.Listening to music on her drive to her Boston office helps Fidelity Investments' Palmer Osteen, 31, take her mind off what's about to come and what's ahead so she can start her workday with a clear head. It also works for her way home.<div type="image" title="Businesswoman on the phone on her way to work" height="5464" width="8192" msid="114020358" hostid="261" sizebytes="517532"></div>Music "helps me reset and decompress and not go to bed with a hamster wheel in my brain," she said.KKR's Alissa Song, who grew up in Silicon Valley but now lives in New York, uses the time to touch base with family and friends."It just keeps me connected to the people I care about," the 31-year-old industrials investor told BI. "I've been doing this since my college internships.""Part of it is just that we came to the US when I was really young, and so here it's just the four of us here, my two parents and my brother. And so we're really close," she added. "That's been a way that I've kept in touch."<h2 id="d349da13-5838-4be9-ba4b-f0e2bc038874">Friends and Family</h2>Similarly, making time for quality time with friends and family keeps Daniela Cardona, 29, grounded."I work a ton," the RBC investment banking vice president said, but "most important is I've never lost sight of my friends, my support system."Bank of America's White has a family day every Saturday with his wife and two young sons."We go to the museums, go to the zoo, go to the water park, wherever it is, we just fully, deeply focus on our family," he said. "And I think being able to give 100% to whatever you're focused on is really important for just productivity, but also for the mental side of I'm here right now in the moment with my family and being fully immersed in that."<h2 id="0be578d3-3a1c-440b-bfb9-83f44a5d76f0">Hobbies that help take you away</h2>Ben Carper, who finished his <a target="_blank" href="https://www.padi.com/">Padi</a> open water certification a couple of years ago, tries to take a trip or two a year with his wife that focuses on diving. Along with a chance to see exotic locations, it's a chance to completely unplug."It's a change of scenery, and it's kind of hard to think about work when there's a 25-foot manta ray swimming nearby," Carper, a 34-year-old managing director on Jefferies' Private Capital Advisory team, added. His last dive was in the Maldives, and he's eyeing Thailand next.Matthew Eid-Holm, a principal at Ares Management, skis or scuba dives at least every 6 months."A few hours of these activities that require 100% focus on the present are very effective at resetting," the 32-year-old told BI.<div type="image" title="Scuba diver and big manta ray" height="3516" width="5483" msid="114020365" hostid="261" sizebytes="529324"></div>Also, on the ocean theme, Moelis' Kolwicz is a pretty avid surfer."Being out on the ocean, getting that physical activity — it's easy to zone out."There are ways to decompress and relax on land, too. Melissa Ding, an infrastructure investor at BlackRock, likes to engage in meditative activities like cooking, pottery, or tending to her terrace garden to give the 33-year-old a "little bit of mental reset.""When I need a little bit of rest time, there are just things that I do that where I can kind of zone out."Her garden consists of flowers, including dahlias, and a recently planted fig tree.Wells Fargo's Annie Cheslin, 34, recently learned how to play the centuries-old strategy game mahjong, which she's become "obsessed with." The managing director in high-grade municipal trading joined a club that meets twice a month to play.<h2 id="5b69cc3a-c919-44eb-9934-40cdd16bfe98">Exercise routines</h2>Physical challenges are a way to distract yourself from the day-to-day and counterbalance the time you spend in front of computer screens or client dinners.Margaret Williams, a 31-year-old executive director at Morgan Stanley, said she exercises in some form or fashion every day. Williams will do anything, from a run in Central Park to weightlifting to laps at a hotel pool on the road to late-night walks with the dog."It's a part of staying balanced, physically and mentally," she said.Being disciplined about daily workouts is also how Apollo's Austin Anton, 32, clears his head."I find that when I go for a run, I have my most creative ideas, and I love to run, and I tend to do that every other day," he said. "So I find that very helpful in terms of clearing my head and allowing me to think through something."<div type="image" title="Two men and a women lifting weights as they plank" height="3331" width="6317" msid="114020366" hostid="261" sizebytes="390294"></div>Erica Wilson's workout of choice is weightlifting, which "has become a real stress reliever over the last couple of years," she told BI.The 31-year-old vice president at Blue Owl's daily habit has evolved into a competitive hobby. She participated in a power-lifting competition last year through Tone House — she deadlifted nearly twice her body weight — as well as Hyrox, <a target="_blank" href="https://hyrox.com/the-fitness-race">a fitness race</a> featuring eight separate physical exercises, such as sled pulls or burpee broad jumps, with a 1-kilometer run in between each.For Harrison DiGia, morning is the best time to get a workout in."I try to wake up and move my body. I do some sort of workout every morning, whether it's strength training, playing tennis, or even stretching or yoga," the 31-year-old General Atlantic vice president said. "I'm a huge tennis player. I like using that time in the morning to clear my mind. It helps me reset and gets me ready for the new day ahead."<h2 id="d3113c79-caac-4d9d-8730-368968e9dd30">Getting some shut-eye</h2>Patrick Lenihan, a portfolio manager at JPMorgan Asset Management, has a strict bedtime."There's some nights where you need to get things done, but I try to have a hard cutoff. Let's just say 9:30— that's lights out." That gives him 30 or 45 minutes to wind down and ensure he gets his sleep, not just for physical health, but mental, too.He also makes a point to stay active. He played hockey his whole life, but after a few surgeries, he now does lower-impact exercises like pilates and barre at least three or four times a week."Now that I'm on paternity leave, I've been lucky enough to do it, get in a little bit more. But I think those two things help me to at least stay recharged and stay ready each day," he said.Luckily, his infant son is a great sleeper and has not disturbed Patrick's rest so far.<div type="image" title="Woman in distress resting in bed, soft light illuminating the room" height="2000" width="3000" msid="114020363" hostid="261" sizebytes="82906"></div>"I definitely think getting sleep is important," Elizabeth Stone Redding, a principal at TPG, told BI. "It's certainly something I have realized as I've matured in my career, that you really need to use your brain, and you need to get a decent amount of sleep for that."The 33-year-old also habitually sets priorities to stay on track and not get overwhelmed."It's very easy to obviously be overwhelmed with a large list of things, but narrowing it down and saying, 'Okay, these are the two or three things I really want to do today,' helps me a lot," Stone Redding said. "I try to have — even if it's just in my head — a list of two or three things I want to accomplish in a given day."<h2 id="4de0d80b-046e-4e13-ac5d-6bea4c6d110c">Taking a step back</h2>Matt Gilbert, a 35-year-old managing director at Thoma Bravo, started working with an executive coach a few years ago. He was surprised when the coach pushed him to pull back at work."I would say, in general, workaholic or 'Type A' people tend to try to grasp more and more responsibility," he said. "And I actually think ultimately that was the case for me."Gilbert now spends more time with his family. He has made a habit of watching TV with his wife every night and dropping his oldest daughter at school."I think I fill up my cup in terms of personal fulfillment so that my time that I'm at work, I can really, really focus and dedicate to that and kind of maximize the time that I have here."Gidan Dan's key ritual at work is consistently staying in touch with his clients, but at home, the Citadel Securities senior vice president takes the chance to relax."A lot of my colleagues are really good runners and they work out and everything. I'm completely different," he said. "I think I work long enough hours, so I don't want to exhaust myself too much. So I would just go home, and taking care of my kids is enjoyable but exhausting stuff," Dan said of his two daughters, aged 1 and 4. Feroz Khosla, a managing director at Goldman Sachs, isn't just looking for work-life balance, but "work-life harmony — which just means, when you look back at your career, you feel as if there was harmony between work and life," he told BI."Sometimes, you do need to have the power to say no, but do it gracefully," he said. "Maybe the answer is sure, but not right now—and being able to do that without disappointing people is super helpful."

Wall Street's hacks and habits to stay on top of their game 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Athlete Kris Rugloski said balancing a full-time job with elite fitness helps her stay balanced. </li><li>She said working with kids keeps her schedule structured to her training and more focused.</li></ul>For most people, a relaxing Saturday might involve ordering takeout, bingeing the latest hit Netflix series, or catching up on social media. For Kris Rugloski, a chill weekend is climbing five mountain peaks of more than 14,000 feet each — and that's when she's not traveling the world to take on 100-mile races or grueling obstacle courses. All of that's on top of her full-time job as a nanny, spending nine hours a day, four days a week caring for a 2-year-old and 4-year-old, squeezing in training sessions in the wee hours of the morning or jogging with a double stroller. Despite not being a full-time athlete, Rugloski, 26, still ranks among the elite, earning the title of 2022 world champion of <a href="https://www.insider.com/build-abs-walking-lifting-eating-well-hunter-mcintyre-hyrox-2022-5">Hyrox</a>, a fitness race which involves running in addition to circuits of exercise like sled pushes, burpees, and lunges.She told Insider that her strenuous schedule of work and workouts help her find the balance and discipline to push through some seriously gnarly physical tests. "The human body is very malleable and adaptable, and capable of a lot. What limits it is our mindset," she said. "I'm choosing something that hurts and sucks, but there's satisfaction at the end of having chosen it and gotten through it." Rugloski shared her training schedule, from early morning runs to planning her competition prep, and why her day job makes her a better athlete. <h2>She starts her day at 3:30 am with an hour of running and a CrossFit workout</h2>Rugloski rises early to fit in not one but two workouts before most people are even awake. She wakes up at 3:30 a.m. for an hour of running, followed by 90 minutes in a <a href="https://www.insider.com/6-tips-know-before-starting-crossfit-according-to-training-director-nicole-carroll-2022-9">CrossFit-style</a> functional fitness gym. Her training routine involves logging lots of miles of running to build endurance and efficiency, as well as strength training with equipment like sandbags and <a href="https://www.insider.com/kettlebell-exercises-full-body-workout-strength-training-speed-stamina-2022-2">kettlebells, which help develop explosive power</a>. "I'm not truly the best at any one thing, but my goal is to be a solid, <a href="https://www.insider.com/train-for-fitness-level-maximize-muscle-gains-trainer-advice-2022-3">well-rounded athlete</a>," she said. Rugloski is always looking for ways to get more fitness into her day, often working in a jog with the stroller during her day job. After a nine-hour workday, she'll hit the gym again for different types of training, depending on what type of contest is coming up next. Since her competitions can vary from obstacle courses that require her to jump, climb, and navigate odd objects, to ultra-marathons, to hour-long bouts of all-out effort like Hyrox, her training needs to be versatile for her body to keep up. While Rugloski said she works with a running coach and a strength coach to dial in various techniques, she said designs a lot of the planning and structure for the training herself, since it needs to be unique to the challenges she wants to take on. "What I am doing is not coachable. There's no specific formula, no way to coach everything I want to and am doing," she said. "At the end of the day, I'm passionate about it, and it just takes a lot of guts, and that comes from me." <h2>Spending the day working with kids keeps her grounded</h2>Rugloski said that balancing workouts with her job is worth the effort, because it takes the pressure off of being a full-time athlete. "I think having a full-time job gives me structure and balance," she said. "When I compete, I want to win. But at the end of the day, it's not paying my bills, so I can truly enjoy it."During the active competition season from about March through November, Rugloski said she's traveling nearly every weekend to compete — in the past year, she's had only three weekends at home in Colorado, and spent those exploring nearby mountain peaks. The packed schedule seems strenuous, but Rugloski said her ability to stay focused and discipline through this routine is part of what helps her excel in competition."If you show up to race day, you can be the most physically prepared, but if your mind isn't with it, your body can't do what it can do," she said.

A full-time nanny and elite endurance racer said she wakes up at 3:30 a.m. to train

I think about the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cody-rigsby-love-isnt-enough-dating-2023-5">Peloton</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-robin-arzon-not-trying-to-bounce-back-after-birth-2021-11">instructors</a> an unusual amount. I not only see them during my workouts but also follow a bunch of them on Instagram, where I try to suss out which ones secretly hate each other based on who is or isn't invited to whose wedding. A friend and I have a text chain that's often just Peloton instructor-isms, which include, "You are the CEO of your body," "I already have my stank face on," and "You are a nasty bitch," which was somehow said in reference to push-ups. The Peloton teachers can be cheesy and weird, but I love them. Given this level of attachment, I've also started to wonder what will become of them if and when <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-company-history-rise-fall-2022-2">Peloton goes kaput</a>. The connected-fitness company <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-interactive-s-ceo-mccarthy-to-step-down-1033319248">is struggling</a>. Its CEO, who joined the company in February 2022, is already stepping down. It recently announced plans <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-ceo-steps-down-company-cuts-15-percent-of-staff-2024-5">to lay off 400 people</a>, which is about 15% of its workforce. <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/private-equity-firms-consider-buying-out-peloton-cnbc-1033340322">Private-equity sharks are reportedly circling</a>. The <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/pton-stock">stock is near record lows</a>. Peloton isn't going under imminently, but let's be real here: No fitness fad lasts forever. At least culturally, the Peloton graveyard is probably on the horizon, right next to the Tae Bo cemetery and ThighMaster crematorium.Peloton was a bit of a pandemic Cinderella story. The company launched in 2012 and started shipping bikes in 2014, but for much of its history, it operated as the creator of a product designed for a certain type of well-off fitness nut. Its initial equipment wasn't great, and it had a hard time finding investors. Eventually, it took off. It went public in September 2019 — the same year it did that <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-holiday-commercial-is-sparking-hate-confusion-from-watchers-2019-12">viral holiday ad</a> with that pained-looking woman who gets a Peloton from who we can assume is her not-so-great husband.When COVID-19 hit in 2020 and gyms shut down, demand for its products skyrocketed. Customers <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-customers-complain-delays-cancellations-during-lockdown-2020-6">complained of monthslong wait times</a> to get their bikes and treadmills, and Peloton scrambled to get its supply chain in order. Despite the pain points, times were pretty decent: Peloton booked its first $1 billion in quarterly sales in the last three months of 2020, and its market cap peaked at about $50 billion. But what goes up often comes down, and in Peloton's case, the comedown was hard. While there was a lot that went wrong, the long and short of it is that Peloton failed to read the room on its pandemic popularity."The narrative and hype overshadowed its actual market opportunity," said Rina Raphael, the author of the book "The Gospel of Wellness" and of the newsletter "<a target="_blank" href="https://welltodo.substack.com/">Well To Do</a>," about the wellness industry. "It's not that Peloton isn't a good business model; it's that it simply isn't a mass product but more of a niche, luxe one," she said.The pandemic pulled forward a lot of demand, meaning people who would have considered buying Peloton equipment down the road decided to go ahead and pull the trigger in 2020. Much like other pandemic business darlings, Peloton thought the level of demand was a long-term shift, rather than a one-off event, so it invested accordingly. The problem is, by the time the company got its manufacturing and supply chain up to speed, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-pelotons-supply-chain-fell-prey-to-the-bullwhip-effect-2022-2">it wasn't necessary</a>."Peloton saw their strength in COVID and ran it forward in perpetuity, and that simply is not reality," Simeon Siegel, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets who covers Peloton, said.Peloton didn't respond to a request for comment for this story.Beyond cratering demand, the company has faced various headaches in recent years. It has issued <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-recalls-more-than-2-millions-original-1400-bikes-2023-5">multiple</a> <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-will-pay-19-million-penalty-over-treadmill-incidents-2023-1">recalls</a> of its devices and has been the subject of <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-has-pulled-commercial-with-chris-noth-off-social-media-2021-12">public-relations debacles</a>. It's slashed staff and outsourced logistics in an attempt to get on steadier financial footing. It now says it's trying to cut $200 million from its annual expenses by mid-2025, but it's unclear whether that will be enough. Investors have soured on the company, and Peloton's once $50 billion market cap has fallen to under $2 billion. Its troubles don't necessarily mean all is lost. Siegel thinks Peloton is just too focused on growing instead of looking at its user base and squeezing cash out of that."The primary focus should be on bear-hugging their brand loyalists, as opposed to trying to find new, money-losing customers," he said. "This is a business that convinces people to pay over $40 a month to get on a piece of equipment in their home. That's an incredibly profitable story, and yet the company loses money."<a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/peloton-stock-price-subscribers-loss-bike-seat-recall-consumer-spending-2023-8">Peloton's subscriber business</a> on its own isn't the problem — it's everything else. The company has thin margins on hardware, as in selling bikes and treadmills and rowers and whatever else, but it has more <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-prices-inflation-soaring-corporate-greed-profits-margins-wages-jobs-2023-4">robust margins on subscriptions</a>, Paul Golding, an analyst at Macquarie Capital, said. Instead of spending on getting more bikes into people's homes, it could just keep its attention on discouraging people from unsubscribing. But it's not doing that, so other costs are eating into its subscription margins."There are other expenses that the business incurs, including marketing expenses, general administrative expenses, and research and development, given that they are a tech platform as well," Golding said. "Over the last few quarters, there's been stagnating expectations of connected-fitness subscribers as well as declines in the more entry-level app. Those economies of scale have not been working in favor of outpacing the cost structure that the company has been left with."The path ahead is rocky. Peloton has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/peloton-treadmill-customers-threaten-class-action-lawsuit-over-treadmill-membership-2021-6">a decent subscriber base</a>, with more than 3 million paid connected subscribers (meaning people who have the device and a subscription) and 675,000 paid app users (they didn't buy equipment and have the app only) at the end of its most recent quarter. But there is churn. It expects its subscriptions to fall in the current quarter, and its paid app use has been on the downslope. When I went to look up Peloton on Google Trends for this story over the past month, "how to cancel peloton subscription" was the second search listed.Peloton has plenty of direct competitors in the connected-fitness-hardware space, including <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/echelon-fitness-increased-sales-700-percent-competing-with-peloton-2020-12">Echelon</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tonal-review-home-fitness-startup-2019-11">Tonal</a>. It also has to contend with the gym, which has all sorts of classes and fitness equipment that let people mix things up, including, in many cases, Pelotons or other connected-fitness devices."If you can get competing content and do it on demand at your gym and just pay the monthly membership fee of the gym and also be able to use a bunch of other things when you're not feeling a spin ride today, then does that change the value proposition for you when you're thinking about whether it makes sense to buy a $2,000-plus piece of equipment?" Golding said.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/10-youtube-fitness-channels-for-home-workouts-2015-8">There are options</a> if you're shy about working out in public and worried about spending cash on expensive gear or any sort of membership."Want to work out from home?" Raphael, the wellness author, said. "Then just log on to YouTube for free."Beyond the issues specific to Peloton, the company faces an age-old reality of fitness: Trends come and go quickly, whether it be Jazzercise, Zumba, CrossFit, Pilates, Cardio Barre, or, well, you get the point. Fitness is a lot like fashion.America is a capitalist, consumerist nation, and as such, we experience fitness as a capitalist, consumer product. Yes, the science changes somewhat — we didn't really think cardio was for everyone until the '60s and '70s, or really push strength training until the '90s — but the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/vintage-photos-exercise-trends-2019-1">different packages in which it's presented to us</a> change much faster. As Natalia Mehlman Petrzela, a fitness historian, a professor at the New School, and the author of "Fit Nation," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2022/8/25/23318541/fitness-trends-peloton-spinning-crossfit-flywheel-tae-bo">put it to me in a 2022 interview</a>, "There is this constant cycle of exercise trends mostly because there's the need to keep creating new products and flashy experiences for people to spend money on."Fitness companies are good at capitalizing on basic human nature when it comes to exercise. People get bored with their routines and are often eager to switch it up. Fitness requires variety for most people. Hope springs eternal that this workout will finally be the one that gets us in shape and doesn't burn us out. The best fitness advice is to find something you like and stick with it, even if it's just going for a walk. The trouble is, there's no money in that. And regardless, trends just evolve. The spin craze has been on the downswing for a while. <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/study-high-intensity-workouts-boost-health-in-people-over-70-2020-10">High-intensity training</a> isn't entirely out of vogue — some people are <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hunter-mcintyre-training-diet-lose-weight-win-hyrox-championship-2022-5">getting into whatever Hyrox is</a> — but there's also more emphasis on and interest in gentler, feel-good workouts at the moment."It's not uncommon to hear more consumers, especially women, say they're working out for the psychological benefits rather than, say, killer abs or a bikini body," Raphael said. "So you see a share of the market moving towards modalities like yoga or venturing outside."I personally like my Peloton, and while I don't think I've ever hit a cultlike level of fanaticism, I do some sort of Peloton class most days of the week. But I follow enough people on the app to notice just how many of them have fallen off, and I come across used bikes on Facebook Marketplace regularly. I recognize that, someday, I will move on. Once the bike breaks, I can't imagine I'll get a new one, or maybe the company will cease to exist, and then I will have a bike-sized brick on my hands.As for the instructors I now care a smidge too much about, I've noticed a lot of them are undertaking other business ventures, whether it be landing sportscasting deals or appearing on "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dwts-britney-night-cody-rigsby-cheryl-burke-remote-jazz-dance-2021-10">Dancing With the Stars</a>" or just doing more run-of-the-mill influencer stuff. I imagine they see the eventual writing on the wall, too, or at least I hope they do.<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/emily-stewart">Emily Stewart</a> is a senior correspondent at Business Insider, writing about business and the economy.

Peloton's demise is another in a long line of failed fitness fads

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="11963820" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="core" source="Orion">Core</keyword> exercises aren't essential for getting rippling <keyword id="11963819" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="abs" source="Orion">abs</keyword>, athlete Hunter McIntyre told Insider.</li><li>The American won the 2022 Hyrox World Championship, displaying prowess in endurance and strength.</li></ul>If you want to develop rippling abs, you don't necessarily need to spend hours doing crunches, sit-ups, and planks, according to world champion athlete Hunter McIntyre.Resistance training, walking, and eating well can be enough, McIntyre told Insider.McIntyre won the 2022 Elite Hyrox World Championship on May 14 and holds the world record for the endurance event, which combines running with functional <keyword id="11897658" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="fitness" source="Orion">fitness</keyword> movements such as weighted lunges, farmer's carries, and sled pulls.The American athlete said he believes you don't need to choose between endurance and strength, and getting in shape should be simple.<h2>McIntyre doesn't do any ab-specific training</h2><div type="image" title="Hunter McIntyre doing a farmer's carry" height="751" width="1000" msid="91647879" hostid="261"></div>McIntyre has a six-pack, but he rarely does dedicated core exercises — he focuses more on strengthening his back and butt to keep his body safe while competing, he said.Visible abs comes down to being lean enough, he said, which is mostly created through diet, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-lose-weight-get-abs-fitness-diet-at-home-2020-4">dietitians and personal trainers have previously told Insider</a>."If you want to see abs, you have to take care of it in the kitchen," McIntyre said. To lose weight healthily and sustainably, aim to <a href="https://www.insider.com/weight-loss-work-out-eat-calorie-deficit-not-losing-fat-2022-4">eat in a small calorie deficit</a>.<h2>Work hard in the gym and walk</h2>To build abs, McIntyre recommends training "very hard" a few times a week. "I'm not trying to scare you away, but train with intention, move weight that challenges you, and run on the treadmill faster than you feel comfortable with," McIntyre said.Having a strong core is important to help prevent injury, and there are various ways to strengthen it: <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-get-abs-quickly-fitness-beginner-according-to-expert-2021-9">Compound exercises like squats and deadlifts require core engagement</a>, and machines like the rower also work the mid-section, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-build-abs-core-strength-with-gym-machines-2022-5">Insider's Gabby Landsverk reported</a>.Outside of the gym, McIntyre recommends walking, which experts say can aid <keyword id="11896577" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="weight-loss" source="Orion">weight loss</keyword> by <a href="https://www.insider.com/walking-weight-loss">burning calories</a> while also providing <keyword id="11894571" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="health" source="Orion">health</keyword> benefits like <a href="https://www.insider.com/is-walking-low-impact-movement-enough-exercise-to-improve-health-2020-12">improved immune function and reduced risk of coronary heart disease</a>.Ultimately, moving in any way will help you get in shape, McIntyre said. If you don't have gym access, he recommends putting some weight in a backpack and walking up and down a hill, gardening, or doing push-ups and squats while watching TV."As long as you're moving, you're going in the right direction," McIntyre said.<h2>Hanging leg raises and cable crunches can help your abs show</h2>While losing fat on your stomach through diet is crucial for showing abs, building the muscles themselves can help them show, as physique coach <a href="https://www.insider.com/exercises-to-build-sculpt-abs-physique-coach-advice-2022-5">Cliff Wilson</a> and bodybuilder <a href="https://www.insider.com/bodybuilder-sunny-andrews-built-six-pack-abs-hanging-leg-raises-2021-11">Sunny Andrews</a> previously told Insider.To do this, they recommend exercises such as hanging leg-raises and cable crunches.Add weights to exercises and apply <a href="https://www.insider.com/progressive-overload-fitness-meaning-and-how-to-do-it-2021-1#:~:text=Progressive%20overload%20is%20%22the%20gradual,your%20body%20more%20during%20workouts.">progressive overload</a> too, Wilson said.<h2>Set yourself goals</h2><div type="image" title="Hunter McIntyre at Hyrox" height="959" width="1278" msid="91647881" hostid="261"></div>McIntyre lost his way as a teenager, getting kicked out of various rehabs and struggling to find purpose, he said.After six months working as a logger in Montana aged 18, not only did he gain 60 pounds of muscle, but he realized he was capable of doing hard things, he said.In winter in Montana, the temperatures can drop <a href="https://www.umt.edu/this-is-montana/columns/stories/montana-winters.php">as low as -50°F</a>."I froze to death, and from that day on, I got my shit together, I went from a boy to a man," McIntyre said. "Everything I do now is one-tenth of how hard that was."The experience taught him the importance of pushing yourself and setting goals."I think it's important for people to always have a task or something they want to achieve," he said.Fitness-wise that needn't be extreme, it could simply be getting to a place where you could spontaneously run a 10K with your kids or play a game of rugby with your friends, McIntyre said."The other aspect of it is it creates a great-looking body," he said.

Forget core exercises — get visible abs by walking, lifting weights, and eating well, says world champion athlete Hunter McIntyre

<ul class="summary-list"><li>If you want a six-pack, it's a mistake to spend too long on ab exercises, a personal trainer said.</li><li>Instead, prioritize fat loss through compound exercises and a calorie deficit, Patrick Wilson said.</li></ul>Spending too long on ab exercises is a common mistake people make when trying to define the mid-section, according to a personal trainer.If you want a six-pack or visible abs, most people need to focus on dropping body fat, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/gainsbypat/?hl=en">Patrick Wilson</a> told Insider."Having definition in that area is primarily from having body fat low enough to see your core muscles," he said.Instead of doing long ab-focused workouts, people would be better off spending their time and energy on actions that will help reduce body fat overall, as <a href="https://www.insider.com/how-to-lose-weight-get-abs-fitness-diet-at-home-2020-4">you can't spot-reduce fat</a>, Wilson said."All direct core exercises are overrated," Wilson said — a view shared by <a href="https://www.insider.com/build-abs-walking-lifting-eating-well-hunter-mcintyre-hyrox-2022-5">Hyrox champion Hunter McIntyre</a>.There are three main factors to focus on to lose fat, he said:<ol><li>Being in a <a href="https://www.insider.com/should-you-track-macros-and-calories-to-lose-weight-healthily-2020-7">calorie deficit</a> through diet and keeping active over the course of the day</li><li>Eating <a href="https://www.insider.com/high-protein-daily-diet-to-lose-body-fat-keep-muscle-2021-8">plenty of protein</a> to help muscle maintenance</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/strength-training-cardio-as-effective-weight-loss-calorie-deficit-study-2022-5">Strength training</a> to help build or maintain muscle.</li></ol>Having more muscle not only makes it easier to lose fat because <a href="https://www.insider.com/weight-lifting-burns-fat-faster-than-cardio-trainer-advice-2021-7">it boosts your basal metabolic rate</a> (meaning you burn more calories at rest), but it also creates a leaner, more "<a href="https://www.insider.com/toning-muscles-is-fitness-myth-truth-about-looking-athletic-2021-2">toned</a>" look that many people want, Wilson said.<h2>Focus on compound exercises to build a strong core</h2>Wilson recommends people use their time in the gym prioritizing <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-exercises-for-building-muscle-in-gym-correct-technique-2020-12">compound exercises</a> like squats, lunges, deadlifts, shoulder presses, bench presses, and rows.Compound exercises work multiple muscle groups at once and are an effective way to train your whole body."They work different muscles and you have to use your core a ton to stabilize your body," he said. "As you start to do heavier weights, your core gets stronger as well."However, doing some ab-focused exercises can help make them more visible — the abs are muscles that can grow like any other, bodybuilder <a href="https://www.insider.com/bodybuilder-sunny-andrews-built-six-pack-abs-hanging-leg-raises-2021-11">Sunny Andrews</a> and physique coach <a href="https://www.insider.com/exercises-to-build-sculpt-abs-physique-coach-advice-2022-5">Cliff Wilson</a> previously told Insider.Adding weight to core exercises helps build the muscles, Patrick Wilson said.He recommends spending five to 10 minutes, two to three times a week, on core work, doing exercises such as <a href="https://www.insider.com/henry-cavill-high-protein-diet-for-sculpted-abs-2021-8">planks</a>, glute bridges, bicycle crunches, weighted crunches, and hanging leg or knee raises.<h2>Create a calorie deficit through your diet</h2>A calorie deficit is required for fat loss, meaning your body is burning more energy than you're consuming, but you don't have to count calories.Wilson advises eating smaller portions and trying to eat more <a href="https://www.insider.com/high-protein-desserts-for-fat-loss-muscle-gain-recipes-ideas-2021-8">protein</a>, fruit, and vegetables to help keep you full for fewer calories.Equally, staying active through cardio like walking or swimming, and generally moving throughout the day (<a href="https://www.insider.com/lift-heavy-weights-eat-high-protein-fat-loss-muscle-building-2022-7">non exercise activity thermogenesis, known as NEAT</a>) contributes to a calorie deficit, he said.<h2>Genetics play a big role</h2>Wilson cautions that <a href="https://www.insider.com/personal-trainer-with-ripped-abs-cant-do-sit-ups-crohns-2021-9">genetics play a big role in ab visibility</a>, as some people naturally store less fat in their mid-section than others.Genetics also determine what your abs will look like when you are lean enough to see them, he said."If your abs don't look like your favorite actor or fitness influencer (even if you are super lean), there's not much you can do to change it," he said. "Some people get super lean and still don't have their abs fully popping."

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