One of the most shredded guys on the internet. Google him. Just prepare to feel like a fat turd.
Recently, a flimsy article ran with Helmut’s image and the usual clickbait to “see his secret diet.”
The diet was probably bullshit, but at least it suggested ol’ Helmut doesn’t eat much when trying to look like an anatomy chart. Which is no surprise to anyone that’s been within a mile of that lean.
But that lukewarm praise aside, some probably came away from the article thinking it was a snapshot of how he eats all year. Or worse, how he’s always eaten—even when he was building his muscular base.
And that knowledge gap speaks to an industry-wide phenomenon whereby the average person horribly OVERestimates the caloric surplus needed to build muscle, and UNDERestimates how low in calories they might need to go to get really lean.
In my experience, these folks have similar stories when they finally decide to get lean for the first time:
* They’ll say they’re currently 210 and 12% body fat—but it’s more like 210 at 20%.
* They expect to get ripped in 12 weeks and peak at 190—but it’ll take that long just to get visible abs. And if they do make it to “ripped”, they’re not even seeing 170 on the scale.
* They expect to never go below 2400 calories but don’t start dropping fat until under 2000. And towards the end, if they stick it out that long, most will be well below that—at least for a while.
Hell, Arnold would get down to 1500 calories before the Olympia, and that was training twice a day.
According to his coach, Ronnie Coleman was under 1000 calories at the very end when winning his first of 8 Olympias.
Granted, these guys were trying to reach ultra-low body fat levels—not just look good at the beach.
But if the most gifted, dedicated, and enhanced have to suffer towards the end to reach their goals, can Joe Accountant really expect to get close to theirs on 2500 calories a day and never feel hungry?
Yes, there are exceptions.
Some people can gain lean weight almost effortlessly, and when they try to lose fat they just “cut out junk food.”
Those folks are out there.
But it’s probably not you.
– Coach Bryan