Jack Gong

Since I turned 16, I have fallen in love with working out and gym culture, starting with my first-ever gym membership at Anytime Fitness Ponsonby. Although I didn't have any idea what I was doing at first, I was addicted to learning as much as I could about dieting and gaining muscle through YouTube. Some of my favourite creators who got me into the gym culture included David Laid, Muscle & Strength and Zac Perna. Of course, the most memorable moments of my early years in the gym were the constant trialling and erroring that I endured with my gym bro from school. I grew up a chubby kid and always dreamed of having a six-pack. I would hop around different trends like keto, 7-minute circuit ab workouts, one meal a day, working out at 5 am and more. With each new fad came the honeymoon stage, where I felt like I finally cracked the code to losing my stubborn belly fat. But there's a reason why fads come and go, and it's because we are attracted to whatever is the shiniest new solution. But it would be disingenuous for me to say that just because following a diet/training fad did not work for me, it does not mean they do not work at all. I've achieved the physique that I have now because I learnt the hard way which diets and training styles work for me, and I encourage you all to do the same. But if you're curious about my training and dieting philosophy, after 8+ years in, I believe that getting fit is easier than it actually is, as long as you filter out the fitness influencer noise. I believe that to build muscle, you just have to get stronger; this gives your body an incentive to actually build new muscle tissue. Then, for the weight loss aspect, I am a believer in tracking and being purposeful with how you allocate your daily calories. At the end of the day, my goal as a coach is simple: help you cut through the noise, find what genuinely works for you, and build a body you’re proud of, without wasting years the way I did.