Personal trainer, peak performance coach, and podcaster Ted Ryce has overcome a tremendous amount in his quest to live a legendary life.

Favorite Success Quote

“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, ask yourself what makes you come alive and go do that. Because what the world needs is more people to come alive” ~Howard Thurman

Key Points

1. You Need to Come Alive 

The world is full of people who are dead on the inside.

They are living and breathing in the literal sense, but their lives lack the passion.

They wake up in the morning with no fire in their bellies. They simply go through the motions, doing things that they dislike because of societal conditioning.

What the world needs, what you need, is to come alive.

To live a life every day that is of your choosing, doing things that you love and spending every day of your life living with deep passion.

Forget what society and your parents taught you. You need to do what will make you come alive, period.

2. You Need to Push Yourself Physically to Succeed at Life 

Your health is a critical part of succeeding at life.

If you are not pushing yourself physically in the gym and challenging your body on a daily basis, then you are doing a disservice to your career, your family, and your personal growth.

Whenever you push yourself in the gym, you can push yourself harder in life.

You wake up with more energy and can live life on a level 10.

3. Consistency is Key

You will never have the body of your dreams, the woman of your dreams, or the millions in the bank account if you are not consistent.

You need to be consistent.

Set a plan and stick to it.

Don’t make excuses, don’t allow life to get in the way.

As Nike says, “Just do it!”

4. You Need More Experiences 

If you are feeling lost in life, you need to experience more things.

Pack up your bags and travel around the world. Move to a new city. Try out a new career.

Do whatever you have to do to give yourself more experiences and grow into the man that you want to become.

5. Life is a Marathon 

Life is not a a sprint, it is a marathon.

You cannot expect to achieve all of your goals and dreams within a year.

It takes decades of dedication and consistency.

And even then you will never truly arrive at any sort of destination.

Life is a never ending journey.

You will never arrive, and that is ok.

6. Training Routine to Build Strength 

If you are looking to build strength and become (literally) the strongest version of yourself.

Follow the below routine.

Workout 4 Days a Week 

Monday: Upper Body
Tuesday: Lower Body
Wednesday: Rest
Thursday: Upper Body
Friday: Lower Body
Weekend: Rest

Exercise Selection

For exercise selection, stick to big lifts.

Deadlifts, squats, bench press, and overhead presses should comprise the majority of your workout.

Pick 2 based on the training day, for example, if you are doing upper body, complete Bench Press, and Shoulder Presses.

Then pick 2-3 supplementary exercises of your choice that are in the same muscle groups to compliment your workout.

Sets and Reps

Option 1

Month 1: 4 sets of 12-15
Month 2: 4 sets of 6-8 (higher weight)
Month 3: 4 sets of 4-5 (higher weight)

Option 2:

Week 1: 4 sets of 6
Week 2: 4 sets of 8
Week 3: 5 sets of 8
Week 4: Deload (Same sets and reps as week 1 with 30-40% less weight)

An Added Note

The most important part of any training program is called linear periodization.

This is the concept of basically incrementally increasing the weight that you are pressing or pulling to continue forcing your body to grow and adapt.

Always seek to add one more rep, just a little bit more weight, or another set to your workouts so that you are continually improving and pushing your body.

7. Bonus Routine for Fat Burning 

An easy trick to help you burn some extra fat is to complete the following workouts either on your off days or as a finisher to your workouts.

Week 1: 5 Minutes of Bodyweight squats in aerobic heart rate range (or some other bodyweight exercise)
Week 2: 10 Minutes of Bodyweight squats in aerobic heart rate range (or some other bodyweight exercise)
Week 3: 15  Minutes of Bodyweight squats in aerobic heart rate range (or some other bodyweight exercise)
Week 4: 8 Minutes of Bodyweight squats in aerobic heart rate range (or some other bodyweight exercise)

8. Sleep Better

Here are a few tips to help you improve the quality of your sleep.

-Download the app F.lux to dim the lights on your computer so that don’t disrupt your natural sleep cycle.

-Invest in a sleep master mask (or just cover your face with a shirt)

-Invest in a nicer mattress

– Set your thermostat to 64 degrees F

-Get ear plugs for noisy environments

-Get to bed at the same time every night, preferably before 11 p.m.