An interview with Nate Green – Training, writing, living life to the fullest and all things inbetween

Today is extra special as Nate Green has popped on over to tell us how it really is.

If you’ve ever read The Nate Green Experience, you’ll know that the man isn’t only well accomplished (he practically wrote a book whilst still in diapers), but has a ‘No-bullsh*t’ take on all things fitness and health related which JUST happens to be what I’m all about.

Nate, straight up, I fr*ckin love your work. You’re an inspiration to masses of people including myself.
Being featured in The LA Times, Men’s Health, Men’s Fitness, and appearing as a guest on top-ranked radio stations across the US all by the ripe-old-age of 25 is pretty impressive. How did you go about getting people to notice you and your work at such a young age?

Nate Green: I think being a young guy definitely helped set me apart, but it could also be viewed as a hindrance. I mean, if you’re young you really have no idea what you’re doing, right? You have no real experience.
At least that’s what “they” say.

I decided to get that experience. So I read books, took out loans to fly to seminars so I could meet people I admired, and practiced what I preached.
In other words, I did what I thought was good, unique work, and then I told everyone about it.
It seemed to work okay.

When I was learning how to build muscle, I focused specifically on all the training and nutrition habits that would lead to muscle growth.
But once I gained 40+ pounds and got my body where I wanted it to be (more or less) I decided to back off diet plans and crazy-ass workout programs.

When I read The Nate Green Experience, I get the idea that you’re a no-bullsh*t kind of person who trains when he likes and eats what he wants when he wants. How accurate is this picture?

Nate Green: Very accurate. When I was learning how to build muscle, I focused specifically on all the training and nutrition habits that would lead to muscle growth.
But once I gained 40+ pounds and got my body where I wanted it to be (more or less) I decided to back off diet plans and crazy-ass workout programs.
I’m still pretty methodical about my training — but I definitely have days where I make up workouts on the fly.

And I eat very healthy compared to most people. Organic food, lots of veggies, protein, good fats, and water, you know?
But I also love whiskey, micro-brews, and desserts from fancy restaurants.
There’s no way I’m giving that stuff up.
Then again, if my goal ever becomes “gain as much muscle as possible” or “get to 6% body fat”, then I’m sure that’ll change.
I just don’t see that happening. Those goals aren’t important to me anymore.

But I also love whiskey, micro-brews, and desserts from fancy restaurants. There’s no way I’m giving that stuff up.

Clint: So you’ve just released THE HERO HANDBOOK (and it’s completely FREE I might add)- How’s that been received so far and why did you choose to give your pearls of wisdom away for free?

Nate Green: The response has been incredible so far. Over 5,500 people have downloaded it over the past week and a half.
I can’t be happier with it.
Why did I give it away for free? Well, I wanted to help thousands of people — not just the few hundred who’d buy it.
Money isn’t a big issue and was never the goal of launching it. Instead, I wanted to give back to all my readers (and potential readers) who check out my blog to see what I have to say.

Ok, so being a personal trainer, it’d be easy for you to fall into a pattern of dishing out cookie-cutter routines and advice to the masses (especially with such a huge following that you have). What sets you apart, and how is your approach different?

Nate Green: All the advice I give is stuff I’ve personally done and had success with.
In terms of cookie-cutter programs, there’s a line there. If you’re training people one-on-one then you must write an individualized program. You have a lot more information about the client, and you’ll be more attentive to their individual needs.
But when you’re writing a program for hundreds of people to follow (like The Hero Workout or Built for Show program) you have to make basic assumptions.
In that case you do the best you can with exercise selection and methods to get the desired result (muscle gain, fat loss, building a badass body, etc.)
But you can’t completely individualize it. It ends up working spectacularly well for 99% of the people who actually follow it.

If you’re training people one-on-one then you must write an individualized program. You have a lot more information about the client, and you’ll be more attentive to their individual needs.

Absolutely. Ok, slightly off topic, but what are some of the other writers, artists and fitness leaders that inspire you?

Nate Green: I’m lucky to call a lot them friends.
John Berardi, Alwyn Cosgrove, John Romaniello, Tim Ferriss, Dave Tate, Eric Cressey and dozens more.
I keep up with them as often as I can, and we always find ways to make each other better.

I remember reading an article you wrote “For the Guys Who Don’t Work Out. (A 400-word Rant.)“ and thinking. This is f*cking gold! Telling it like it is etc, and its subsequently one of the most viewed articles on your site. Do you find the reactions to your content to be mixed? What have been the most interesting?

Nate Green: I’m glad you like the article!
Honestly, if people comment on my blog or read my site frequently they “get” me. They know what I talk about, why I talk about it, and what it sounds like.
Really, I want every article to feel like a conversation between me and the reader.
In terms of mixed reactions, I don’t really see a lot of it.
People either love it or hate it. And I’m fine with that.

Finally, what’s a day-in-the-life for Nate Green like. Give us a run-down of how you eat and move on a regular day.

Nate Green: It more or less looks like this:

8:30 AM Wake, take multivitamin, and drink a huge glass of water.

9:00 AM Make coffee (fresh ground in a French press) and an egg scramble with Omega-3 eggs, vegetables, and spices.

10:00ish 2 hours of MIT work. (MIT = Most Important Task). I don’t check e-mail or surf the Internet. I either work on a new article, blog post, or read.

11:30ish Drink Super Shake made with frozen banana, strawberries, vanilla protein powder, spinach, almond milk, and coconut.

12:00 − 1:30 E-mail, answer comments on my blog, check Facebook and other social media sites, and screw around online.

1:30 Lunch. Usually I eat out and get a huge salad with chicken and veggies.

3:00 − 5:00 More MIT work. Somewhere in here I’ll make some green tea and eat a custom-made protein bar from YouBars.com. My current mix is: cashew butter, whey protein, coconut, goji berries, chia seeds, cacao nibs, flaxseeds.

5:30 − 7PM Train with my girlfriend and other friends at the Missoula Underground Strength Training Center.

7:30 Shower, hang out with my girlfriend, cook dinner or go out to eat. Usually steak, salmon, chicken, and lots of veggies. And always (always) a locally-made micro-brew.

Rest of the night Movie, read, Wii, whatever.

11PM Bed

This is a pretty normal day. Sometimes I take entire days off from work or training. Sometimes I’m traveling. And sometimes I work for 14 hours straight. It all depends on what I’m working on at the time, you know?

Thanks for your time Nate and for being a part of Crude. Is there anything you’d like to add?

Nate Green: Go download The Hero Handbook. It’s free, and I think it’ll resonate with you on a deep level.