5 Rules To Look Like Brad Pitt In Fight Club (While Being An Extremely Busy Exec)

Is it possible to achieve an everyday physique like Tyler Durden all while working 70-hour weeks?

So you aren’t playing the leading role for Hollywood’s next action blockbuster, you aren’t getting paid millions of dollars to look flawless onscreen, and you don’t have a celebrity chef whipping up delicious meals to get you down to sub-5% body fat.

I get it. You aren’t Brad Pitt.

Instead, you - work extremely long hours sometimes nights and weekends at a demanding and oftentimes sedentary job, have social obligations, family obligations, don’t have a celebrity trainer or chef at your disposal, can't devote hours each day training, the list goes on - yes, you’re in good company.

Maybe you even make it to the gym or group fitness class a few times per week and get in a bike ride or a run on the weekends. Hell, you even “eat clean” and consciously as best as you can.

But if you’re a high achiever, alpha male, and especially if you’ve obtained success in other areas of your life (professional, financial), you probably expect the same out of your level of physical appearance and attractiveness, too, whether you've achieved it or not.

And for good reason - get this:

In a study published by Princeton, less attractive people stand to make 9% less in salary compared to their more attractive co-workers. That’s thousands, maybe tens of thousands of dollars less each year.

Coincidentally, a study from the Journal of Labor Research reports that gym-goers consistently earn 9% more than their less fit peers. Again, losses of thousands of dollars each year - obese employees stand to make nearly $9,000 less than their in-shape co-workers (a George Washington University study data point).

And if you are in the C-Suite, a University of Wisconsin study of nearly 700 S&P 500 company CEOs found that more attractive CEOs scored 43 points higher than CEOs deemed less attractive. For reference, a single point in that study equated to nearly $900,000 more in total wage for the company - at 43 points higher, that’s more than $38 million just for looking like a million bucks.

Last, a graduate Stanford Business school study found that how good you look is tied to your perceived social status - when you’re physically more attractive, others tend to assume you come from a higher social class and unsurprisingly, the less physically attractive you are, the lower your perceived social class.

But let’s say you don’t care about elevating your perceived social status, making more money, and all the other proven and scientifically-studied benefits of being as physically attractive as possible.

No, you’re doing it for your damn self.

Yeah! This pursuit’s for you and it’s high time you crack the nut on LOOKING a million bucks and not just making a million bucks.

You’re doing it because you haven’t achieved this yet, it’s been an elusive personal milestone for many years (maybe all your life), and you know - you KNOW you’re gonna love the feeling of waking up, pushing the covers aside, and wow...seeing rippling abs poppin’. It’s not just a great feeling, it’s a LIFE CHANGING feeling and achievement.

The pursuit of an enviable physique is much like building a profitable business - ALL people talk about “oh, when I’m a millionaire,” but few actually do it much less CAN do it. That’s why actual millionaires got there by seeking advisors who are already millionaires...and not listening to those who aren’t.

Likewise with crafting an everyday cover model physique that’d put most fitness professionals to shame (while working 70 hours or being a high-powered business executive running a multi-million dollar business) - most have never been in your shoes or would be able to comprehend the demands of your life and lifestyle.

En route to building and scaling an Inc. 5000 company, I found myself in the absolute worst shape of my life.

I was frankly disgusted at myself, weak, always tired, and void of any vitality and vigor (though long nights, early morns will do that to anyone). While I had achieved a level of professional success, it came at a significant cost to my health and physical enjoyment - I’m sure many of you can relate.

But we don’t have stay there and let that be our end destination.

I drew a line in the sand, vowed to turn this ship around, and not only get into the best shape of my life (I ended up winning a natural bodybuilding competition), but to do it while being an exec at a fast-paced startup.

These are the 5 rules I followed:

1) You must learn how to manage/balance both hunger and calorie intake long term

Hunger is hormonal/chemical and calorie intake vs. expenditure is mathematical. You cannot escape or out maneuver each and they balance each other.

Achieving unseen levels of leanness or being ripped is finding the balance between managing hunger and consuming calories at a slight and sustainable deficit. Maintained over time (emphasis on over time) this will allow you to slowly and surely shred down to your desired physique.

Obviously much more at play here with these two aspects, but any successful road map needs to start with and address these two elements.

2) 5-10 minutes is enough for a workout

This one’s a paradigm shift.

Time’s hard to come by. Even more so if you’re juggling a demanding career and working extreme hours.

Don’t wait or look for fitness opportunities only when you have an hour or more to spare. As we all know, these chunks of time are hard to come by.

Instead, find 5-10 minute pockets where you can bust out an ab circuit or do a body weight workout. Let that be your starting point and go from there.

String a few of these together throughout the day or week and you will see improvements (coupled with nutrition that works for you).

3) Get used to snacking and grab-n-go food options

So you jet-set around the globe going from meetings to galas living out of hotels and offices.

In order to make forward progress amid all this, you’ll need to have “jet-set” nutrition, too. Just like the luxury of having your own private jet to make traveling simpler, you’ll need to sort and have enjoyable food options on-hand that support The Shred.

If you’re busy and your schedule is hectic, don’t count on standard meal times or waiting till you have an hour break to eat. Get used to snacking and always having these food options on-hand whether it’s something crazy like fried pork rinds (if you’re going through the keto kick like everyone else) or protein powder and a tub of cashew butter.

4) Hydrate like it’s your job

This one is a no-brainer and proper hydration helps with literally everything including fat loss. But just like there are few actual millionaires but a ton of wantrepreneurs, few people actually hydrate properly much less give it any real thought or prioritization.

Drink water or no/low calorie liquids. This is definitely one you knock out while penning your next M&A.

5) Learn to do it “your way”

Your body, the way you are wired, how you process food, your lifestyle, schedules - these are all proprietary to you. It makes sense that you’ll ultimately need to craft an impressive physique playbook and set of rules that’ll work for you and only you.

Intermittent fasting is all the rage these days, but does it have a place your playbook?

Maybe.

If it helps with caloric intake, possibly, but if it derails your hunger then you may be better off fueling up regularly.

In business, there are many stories of founders or execs who pulled off amazing feats by “doing it their way.” And while it may not be applicable or even advisable for others to follow in their footsteps, it’s what worked and brought them success.

Approach the journey to looking like a cover model while being a busy exec or working 70-hour weeks in this same way. Trust me, life gets a lot more fun when you look like a million bucks, too! ;)

A former marketing exec turned "chief meathead officer," Jeremy Shih gets busy execs into cover model shape through nutrition and fitness coaching. Message The Executive Meathead today for a 13-page initial assessment and questionnaire.