If You Could Start Fitness Over, What Would Be Your Advice?

Welcome to another episode of the Garage Gym Athlete Podcast with Jerred Moon and Joe Courtney! This week’s conversation is packed with insightful reflections, personal updates, and valuable lessons that will help both new and experienced athletes refine their approach to training and nutrition.

The core topic?
👉 If you had to start over—training and nutrition from scratch—what would you do differently?

Jerred and Joe walk through what they've learned over a combined 30+ years of training experience and what they’d change if they were just getting started today. Plus, they drop some fun updates about their own routines, sleep, hydration, and the upcoming Project Delta cycle.

Quick Life & Training Updates

Before diving into the main topic, Jerred and Joe share what’s going on in their training lives:

Joe's experimenting with the 3•50•Micro protocol (3 meals/day, 50g protein per meal, with micronutrients and no snacking) to control snacking habits and improve sleep.
Jerred talks about adjusting meal timing after noticing poor sleep and suppressed HRV due to late dinners. His takeaway: eating earlier significantly improved his recovery metrics.
Hydration & minerals: Both are now more consistent with electrolytes, trace minerals, and greens, and Joe recently completed a full fasted blood panel for health tracking.
Vacation workouts: Jerred revived the deck of cards workout as a go-to travel session—quick, simple, and effective. (And maybe... a 1,000-rep challenge version is coming 👀)

If We Had to Start Training from Scratch…

So, if they had to coach their younger selves, what would they do differently?

1. Start with Stability & Functional Strength

Joe would:

Begin with dumbbells over barbells for greater stability
Focus on full-body splits, supersets, and bodyweight movements
Delay heavy lifting until about 6–9 months in
Emphasize tempo-based movements and build a stable foundation before chasing big numbers

Jerred agreed and added:

He’d still include hypertrophy, but make it more athletic and functional
Introduce single-leg work, plyometrics, and more intentional sprint work
Avoid chasing numbers early on and focus on movement quality and intent
Use strongman-style mixed-modal aerobic training as a conditioning base

2. Aerobic Training Mistakes

Both admitted they ignored proper aerobic development early in their fitness careers.

Joe: Only ran occasionally for PT tests while on active duty
Jerred: Did a ton of threshold running, but lacked proper zone 2 and structured tempo work

What they’d do instead:

Structure runs into easy (zone 2), tempo, and threshold
Add sprinting and field work earlier on
Incorporate aerobic training that supports muscle gain, like sled pushes or strongman circuits

What We’d Change About Nutrition

Here’s where things really get honest.

Jerred's Takeaways:

Would’ve obsessed more about nutrition in high school and college
Cut down sugar and refined carbs
Relied less on cheap weight gainers and sugar-loaded shakes
Prioritized quality protein and micronutrients
Would’ve adopted a simple framework like 3•50•Micro much earlier

“Even if I changed nothing about my training, I would tell my 15-year-old self to get serious about nutrition. That’s where the biggest impact happens.”

Joe's Perspective:

Would’ve focused on food prep earlier
Learned how to cook in bulk and eat complete meals
Cut out dairy and emphasized hydration
Minimized reliance on protein shakes, especially when not paired with real meals

Both agreed: Nutrition is the game-changer, especially when you want to look a certain way, recover better, and perform well over time.

Bonus: Kids, Food, and Future Generations

Jerred and Joe also reflect on raising kids with healthy habits:

Jerred shared stories of his kids turning down milkshakes and fast food—not because they were told to, but because they started recognizing how it made them feel.
Joe’s toddler, Landon, is also showing early preferences for less sugary options and real food.

The big takeaway?
🔑 Lead by example. Model healthy eating habits. Build a strong foundation early.

Final Thoughts

This episode reminds us that:

Training quality > training quantity
Structure matters—even from day one
Nutrition is more than calories and macros—it's about energy, sleep, recovery, and long-term health
It's never too late to reevaluate your routine

And if you’re part of the Garage Gym Athlete community, don’t miss what’s coming…

Big Announcements Are Coming 👀

Jerred and Joe teased huge internal updates:

Project Delta kicks off this week for the Hard to Kill track
Some "secret" changes and new team members will be revealed soon
The Hard to Kill program is getting even better—and if you're in the community, you'll see it all

➡️ Not part of Garage Gym Athlete yet?
Try it for free at garagegymathlete.com and get access to smart, structured training, an incredible community, and tools that help you become a better human.

Remember:

If you don’t kill comfort, comfort will kill you.

Stay strong, stay focused—and we’ll see you next week. 💪