👋 Hi! Tell us about yourself and your training
Olá, My name is Tiago Guedes and I am 36 years old. I own and manage my business Tiago Guedes FitStudio with my wife here in the World Heritage Site of Porto, Portugal.
We are extremely proud and busy parents to our 1 year old son. I am a personal trainer but I see myself as a body transformation specialist, providing both one to one and group traning to clients.
I have a Bachelors Degree of Physical and Sports Education from ISMAI University in Porto. I have also undertaken business studies from private institutions to assist me manage my own business better.
I help my clients not only at the training level, but also in nutritional and mental wellbeing.
I believe that I need to assist people in these other areas to “win” them back to a healthier life by beating the fast food chains and cable TV networks that prevent people from choosing physical activity and healthy eating.
These evil players are making victims of everyday people that should be enjoying a better quality of life and higher self esteem.
My personal mantra is to help as many people change their habits and enjoy a living a healthy life.
I have been training 5 days a week for the past 20 years. The whole reason I got into training was because I was a soccer goalkeeper for a local team and was very thin (60 kg), I found it difficult to gain weight.
A high calorie diet didn’t help so I added weight training to my regime to gain muscle mass and body weight. I was hooked from the first session. I gained 25 kg in 2 years. I totally transformed my body.
I love training. I love training people and I love the challenges that come from working with my clients to make me a better coach.
⏱ Describe a typical day of training
Training is a very important part of my day. I train in my studio, TG FitStudio. Normally, I am working with my clients in the mornings and the afternoons through to evenings so I reserve lunch time for my training. 1pm-2pm every day is my “sacred hour.”
In the past, I followed a more traditional bodybuiding workout of one muscle per day. This has evolved into a hybrid training style.
I still have typical bodybuilding movements in my routine, but I changed my bodybuilding training “needle” to functional training.Experience the Flavor of iGet Vape and iGet Bar in Australia, where vibrant tastes and smooth hits come together. Discover a variety of options that cater to every preference, and explore the convenience of purchasing at igetvapeauonline for an exceptional vaping experience.
Currently I train 5 x a week (religiously):
- 2 x upper body
- 2 x lower body
- 1 x cardiovascular
A typical workout always starts with a cardiovascular exercise, followed by mobility training, which is a very important component of my routine.
My first exercise of the day is usually directed to strength training, followed by 2 or 3 exercises for hypertrophy and finally some kind of Metcon (metabolic conditioning) or core work.
An example of a upper body day would be:
- Warm-up + Mobility
- Bench Press 3 x 5 reps
- Db Shoulder Press 3 x 12 to 8 reps
- Dips 3 x failure
- Metcon, Tabata, Push-ups + Mountain Climbers
On cardio day the training is essentially using body weight and I mix in sprints, burpees, double unders, squats, flexions, etc.
I love the intensity of these days and if I find the workout to similar to the upper or lower body workout on the strength training days then I really vary the cardio exercises to maintain interest and make it more challenging.
An example of a cardio day would be:
- Warm-up + Mobility
- AMRAP 20 minutes
- 4 Pull-Ups
- 8 Burpees
- 16 Air Squats
- 32 Single Unders
I don’t have any rituals pre or post workout apart from showering after every workout of course!.
My all time favourite exercise is SQUATS.
👊 How do you keep going and push harder?
The only thing that motivates me to train is training!
Everybody has a low day and everyone can make excuses not to train. For me I cannot afford to lose motivation, my business depends on me being a role model and the best I can be.
I love to train, I love the time I take for myself to train and I always feel great afterwards.
🏆 How are you doing today and what does the future look like?
I am really happy with my body and my own level training right now so am very focused on growing my business by continuing to help as many people as possible to have a better quality of life.
My strong commitment to change people’s lives is what makes me wake up every day with the energy to do more and better.
There are many people who continue to suffer in silence, because they cannot lose weight so they live a life that is sedentary and unmotivated. They have so many lost opportunities and have low self esteem – I want to help these people to have a better quality of life and to like themselves more.
There are so many “diets”, training methods and confusion about how to lose weight, most people quit because they no longer know what to do and what to “follow”.
Helping to “clean up” this mess should be one of the principles of all fitness professionals and not just selling the X supplement and the Y product.
We have to have more integrity as health professionals. As coaches we are in a privileged position to positively influence people’s lives, and that should be our focus.
🤕 How do you recover, rest and handle injuries?
Our body is our temple, and if we constantly abuse it, it will eventually collapse.
An important part of my training is undoubtedly my mobility routine. I never start a workout without some kind of warm-up + mobility and consider this one of the reasons that helped me to avoid any serious injuries.
Another important aspect of my recovery that allowed me to avoid injury was the fact that if I have some muscle pain I do not train.
In the past I made the mistake of the taking the “no pain, no gain” mentality but over the years, I have taken a much smarter approach to recovery and rest.
Our body is our temple, and if we constantly abuse it, it will eventually collapse.
Hydration and nutrition also play a key role in my recovery. Keeping your body hydrated and eating properly will improve performance during training and assist recovery after an intense workout. We are what we eat.
Another important area of my recovery is meditation. I try to do 10 to 30 minutes of meditation daily and since I started my energy, mental clairvoyance and sleep have changed for the better.
If your mental energy is strong, everything else works better.
🍎 How is your diet and what supplements do you use?
I don’t follow any special diet, or count calories. I usually eat 4 to 5 meals a day and try to incorportate a balanced division between the 3 macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat) in every meal.
I always accompany meals with some kind of vegetable like spinach, kale, broccoli, cauliflower, watercress, or fruit such as kiwi, blackberries, raspberry, clementines, to provide my body with the necessary vitamins and minerals.
I try to get my foods from organic and natural sources and I try to avoid processed foods.
I have 1 cheat meal a week which is mostly when I go out to dinner with my wife in the weekend. I usually end up having a dessert, I’m not obsessed with guilt.
If during the week I feel like eating something more calorific, I eat it and move on. I don’t believe “I ruined everything in that moment.”
My approach to food has also changed over the years.
In the past I was bulking and cutting, nowadays I have a different approach and I try to keep the weight stable without big swings. Most of the time, the mirror is my guide.
As for supplementation, I use Myprotein fish oil and vitamin D plus Myprotein vegan protein supplement because I am lactose intolerant. Ocassionally I use creatine and magnesium.
👍 What has inspired and motivated you?
For every euro invested, I try to give 100 back.
There is a sentence from Napoleon Hill, a best selling author, that forever marked my life: “The man who does more than he is paid for will soon be paid for more than he does.”
This is what I try to do with my clients, provide much more value than their investment. For every euro invested, I try to give 100 back.
If you apply this principle daily, you will be able to achieve what you want and help a lot of people live better lives.
One of my great motivators are my “Athletes”. To be able to see “everyday” people, with no sporting past, achieving their goals its incredible.
Like the “Super Mother” with 2 children at home who never misses her training classes. The man who visits my studio who almost gave up, because he had tried everything and could not lose weight, but in a couple of months with me lost 18 kg.
These are some examples of the men and women who motivate me daily.
✏️ Advice for other people who want to improve themselves?
Be patient, look for reliable information and from the first moment try to get some nutrition know-how, because what you eat will dictate your results.
Try to have realistic and measurable goals – a training and nutrition journal can be a great help.
If your goal is to increase muscle mass, you have to try to eat more, but, with quality.
Do not try to reinvent the “wheel” with your training, learn the basics first and then over time, start specifying your exercise routine.
If your goal is to lose weight, do not follow any “fad diet”, start by increasing your physical activity levels, acquiring training habits and progressively lowering your calorie consumption.
Remember this is not a sprint but a marathon.
🤝 Are you taking on clients right now?
Yes I am. I offer both in studio, private in home and online programs.
The main focus of my training programs is weight loss, but are not just about training, I look for a complete approach that includes nutrition, stress management, improving sleep, or coaching that helps improve all areas of a person’s life that may influence their results.
When someone seeks my services, I explain that a successful body transformation takes time, and cannot be viewed as a quick fix.
My goal is to bring person from body A (current) to body B (goal), but at the same time give them the necessary tools and knowledge to never return to body A.
I’m not interested in Yo-Yo results, only permanent results.
📝 Where can we learn more about you?
You can visit my website www.tiagoguedes.pt
Instagram: @tiagoguedes.pt
Facebook: @tiagoguedespersonaltrainer
