Stronger by New Year's | Focus Fitness Coaching

You can diet during the holidays. Oops, typo. You can diet during the holidays. But why??

There's stuffing and mashed potatoes and cookies and pies and cozy sweaters and it's cold and who the hell are you kidding, I'm not going to eat a SALAD on Christmas Eve!!!!

Here's the thing. Your scale is not only mean, it's dumb. It can't tell the difference between a pound of fat and a pound of muscle, but your mirror sure can. Trade some fat for muscle and the scale barely budges while your waist gets smaller and your shoulders, arms, and glutes finally show up to the party.

Fat loss gets most of the fitness love, but what most people who come to me really need is muscle. And the best time to build it is before the gravy hits the table.

Me, after the one stretch where I ignored the scale and just built.

Book a call

"But John, I still have fat to lose"

Then this might be exactly what you need. Meet Dave. He loses 6 lbs of fat and gains 4 lbs of muscle over 12 weeks, which is very realistic with strategic training and eating, especially if you're newer to lifting or coming back after time off.

Dave on October 25th

25% body fat

200 lbs total
50 lbs fat
150 lbs lean mass

Dave on January 17th

22.2% body fat

198 lbs total
44 lbs fat
154 lbs lean mass

He ate his way through Thanksgiving, Christmas, AND New Year's, the scale barely moved, and he's leaner and stronger than when he started. And yes, the math is right - just like Santa, I checked it twice.

Three phases, timed to the holidays

Oct 25 to Nov 21

Symmetry

Fix the foundation first.

You start with the same joint and movement screen I run in the clinic. We fix imbalances and nagging joints so you can safely load heavier.

Nov 22 to Dec 19

Strength

Heap on another pile of stuffing.

Thanksgiving kicks it off, and the extra food goes toward getting stronger across your main lifts.

Dec 20 to Jan 17

Size

Christmas and New Year's fuel the final push.

All that new strength (and extra food) goes toward building muscle, with a plan for travel weeks and holiday meals.

January 17th, you walk into the new year already 12 weeks in.

What you get by January 17th

Noticeable new muscle where you want it. Shoulders, arms, back, glutes, you pick. Consider me Michelangelo.
A leaner look, even if the scale stays put. We track your waist every week and adjust if it creeps past a set threshold.
More strength and joints that feel better, because Phase 1 deals with pain before we push heavy.
Better long-term health, including insulin sensitivity, bone density, and lean mass that protects you as you age.
A head start. While everyone else buys a gym membership on January 1st, you'll have 3 months of training under your belt.

Built for still do-able

Optimal

Meal-prepped chicken and rice and 8 hours of sleep every night.

Still do-able

The turkey is burnt on the outside, raw on the inside, and your Aunt Peggy shows up 90 minutes early.

The kicker - Most programs only work in the first season, and that's why So. Many. People. Fail.

The holidays are the ultimate still do-able season and this program is built for messy, annoying, exhausting everyday life. It's a “bend don't break” approach to transforming your body and health.

What's included

This is not a workout spreadsheet and a PDF telling you to eat more protein.

The coaching

Joint and movement screen before day oneThe same assessment I run in the clinic, so your program fits your body.

Your 12-week training planBuilt around your goals, experience, equipment, and schedule, with exercise demos and warm-ups.

Personalized nutrition targetsCalories and macros set for building muscle, adjusted as your numbers change.

Weekly check-ins with meYou send your update, I send back feedback and changes to your plan.

The coaching app and direct messagingWorkouts and tracking in your pocket, and answers from me within 24 hours.

Your 5 early Christmas gifts

The Holiday Party Survival GuideParties, dinners, and travel days without losing momentum (or skipping the pie).

Travel-proof trainingHotel and home versions of your sessions for trips to the in-laws.

Pain-Free Loading and Exercise Swap GuidesWhat to do when an exercise hurts or you don't have the equipment.

Bloodwork and supplement reviewNo easy wins left on the table, and anything worth a closer look gets flagged for your doctor.

First access to my NEW 43-page ebook, 5 Steps to Losing the Fat and Keeping It OffSo when you're done building, you know exactly how to get lean and stay that way.

Same price as my regular coaching. The gifts are on the house.

100% money back

Your first gift of the season

If at any point in the program you think I'm a big ugly fraud or decide I belong on the naughty list, you get 100% of your money back AND keep everything.

Most coaches won't put their money where their mouth is like this. I'm confident enough in my coaching that I will.

What I can't guarantee

That you'll get as shredded as Eshan.

Or a back as defined as Veronica's.

Or a tricep dimple like Aaron's.

Worst case, you get your money back. Best case, you're the next photo on this page.

Is this right for me?

This is right for you if:

You want to finish the year stronger and more muscular than you started it
You can train 2-3 hours a week
You sleep at least 6-7 hours a night
You don't need someone physically yanking you out of bed to get to the gym
You won't block me when I send you three pics/week (minimum) of my puppy

Questions I get a lot

I don't want to get bulky. Should I still do this?

No one ever got bulky by accident. It takes years of high volume training and a large calorie surplus (a few extra slices of pie doesn't count). What actually happens: your shoulders fill out, your arms have more shape, your legs look athletic, and your clothes fit the way they're supposed to.

Why wouldn't I just work out on my own, or use ChatGPT?

You can, and any program beats no program. But across 180+ online clients, the people who DIY muscle gain get stuck in the same two places: programming that keeps driving progress, and dialing in nutrition well enough to build muscle without the waistline creeping up. Good luck doing that solo between Thanksgiving and New Year's.

An AI program can't tell when it stopped working for your body. I adjust your plan every single week.

Can I join after it starts?

Nope. It's timed around the holidays, so once we kick off October 25th, there's no jumping in late.

Come January 1st, everyone else starts from zero

You, on the other hand, could be 10 weeks in.

5 spots. Closes Sunday, October 18th at midnight CT.