I’m finally feeling like Action Jackson again...

My office is cleaner, the matte black acoustic panels are on deck for this weekend, and (most importantly) my gym is officially “done.”

Well… done-ish.

Like my wife with her wardrobe, it’ll never really be done. She rotates dresses, jeans, and leggings; I rotate leg presses, squat racks, and dumbbells.

Same addiction, different aisle.

Here’s the bigger point: environment matters more than you think.

A noisy, cluttered space = a noisy, cluttered brain.

And if your kitchen or office is designed to nudge you toward snacking, skipping workouts, or pouring another drink… you’ll do that more often than you’ll track macros or bench press your bodyweight.

That’s why in this week’s newsletter, I’m breaking down four pillars that can reshape how you train, eat, think, and recover:

• 📊 Strength Score — when numbers help, when they hurt, and how to know the difference
• 🍲 Nutrition Hack — Panera soup on steroids (comfort food meets protein goals)
• 🧠 Mindset Reset — how to spark motivation when it ghosts you
• 🐟 Recovery Edge — the omega-3 study that blew my mind (and why fish oil is non-negotiable)

Let’s dive in. 🚀

📊 Pillar #1: Strength Score — When Metrics Stop Mattering

Metrics are like training wheels: super helpful at the start, but awkward if you never take them off.

When you first hop on Tonal, the Strength Score feels like magic. No, not sex magic... that's weird. 🤨 I'm talking about motivation magic. 🔥

Each workout, the number climbs. You get that little dopamine hit. Same with watching the scale drop or waist size shrink — it’s gamified progress, and it works.

But here’s the catch: every metric plateaus.

And if your only motivation is chasing one number higher (or lower), eventually you hit a wall. That’s when frustration creeps in, people bail, and months of progress vanish.

🔑 The real key is knowing the difference between a “healthy plateau” and a “stuck plateau.”

• Sometimes the plateau is natural — a sign you’ve built the habit, the number has done its job, and it’s time to shift focus somewhere else.
• But other times, the plateau is avoidable — it happens because you’ve gotten comfortable, are repeating the same programs, or don’t have the right progression strategy.

That’s why so many clients come to me after their Strength Score flatlines.

With the right plan and coaching, we can often get it moving again, at least for a while...

We do this by addressing weak links, improving technique, unlocking a new gear, or applying smarter progression methods.

The magic (I couldn't help myself) is in knowing which type of plateau you’re in.

My Strength Score has been flat for a while (see photo above) partly because Tonal isn’t designed to load big lifts like the deadlift or heavy lat pulldown...

But mostly because I’m not willing to chase numbers at the expense of form, health by risking injury, or longevity.

Instead, I focus on smarter forms of progressive overload at 43 years old like tempo, range of motion, stricter execution, eccentric loading, and long-length partials.

Sometimes the smartest ‘gain’ is knowing when not to risk an injury for the sake of a metric. Quick story example...

One of my clients was dead set on cracking a 1,000 Strength Score. She went for it against my advice — and sure enough, had to take time off afterward because of an injury.

⚖️ A Business Parallel

When I first started Action Jackson Fitness, all I cared about was client count and revenue. I chased those numbers like a lab rat on amphetamines.

But as the business grew, profitability and client experience began to suffer. So I shifted focus to satisfaction scores and retention.

Today, the main metric is lead flow consistency.

The numbers that mattered in year one or even in year five aren’t the ones that matter in year ten. Same with your body.

🧬 Science Check

Research backs this up: external feedback (like numbers on a screen) is a powerful short-term motivator...

But over the long haul, intrinsic motivation — the satisfaction of mastery, control, and confidence — predicts who sticks with fitness (Deci & Ryan, Self-Determination Theory, 2000).

Translation: the “score” gets you started, but the feeling and your identity are what keeps you going.

👉 Takeaway: Use metrics to build momentum. But don’t make them your religion... and don’t ignore them either.

If you’re plateauing, ask: is this a sign of growth, or a sign you need a new strategy?

🍲 Pillar #2: Nutrition — Panera Chicken Soup on Steroids

I love protein.

Like, love love love. Not as much as my wife, but protein is a close second — just before my son and our mini golden doodle. Just kidding. 😜

When I’m sick, hitting my protein goal feels harder than a one-arm Barbell Bench Press. (Okay, not that hard... but close.) My throat’s sore, my stomach’s queasy, and all I want is mom’s chicken noodle soup.

Enter my go-to hack: Panera Chicken Noodle Soup… on steroids. (Relax, fitness police — that’s a joke. Tough crowd.)

Here’s the play:

1. Grab a 16 oz Panera Chicken Noodle Soup tub from Target → link.
2. Add in 3 oz of Just Chicken White Meat from Sprouts → link.
3. Press, wait 10-min, and add raw garlic if sick. → Garlic Cold Cure.
4. Stir, heat, and you’ve just taken a comfort food classic and almost doubled the protein without doubling the effort.

📊 Numbers check:

• Soup alone = 19g protein
• Add 3 oz chicken = +19g protein
• Total = 38g protein in a warm, easy-to-eat bowl that feels as nostalgic as a hot cup of cocoa on a cold winter night in Chicago.

Why This Works

• Digestibility: When you’re sick, hot liquids + easy-to-chew protein beat dry meats every time.
• Palatability: The broth masks dryness and keeps the chicken tender.
• Adherence: Hacks like this make hitting your protein goal sustainable, not a daily grind.

💡 Pro Tip: This isn’t just for sick days. If you hate the “meat sweats” from pounding chicken breast after chicken breast, use soups, stews, or even chili as a base and fortify them with extra lean protein.

👉 Takeaway: Don’t let “I don’t feel like eating protein” become the excuse that derails your progress. Find a form that works for you. As Les Brown said, "Find a way or make a way."

🧠 Pillar #3: Mindset — Regaining Motivation

Here’s a dirty little secret: nobody feels “motivated” all the time.

Not me, not you, not Jocko Willink... or even The Rock (although he looks like he hasn't seen the inside of an iron paradise in months).

So what do you do when motivation feels like it packed up and went on vacation without you? You don’t wait for it to come back.

You find a way, or you make a way. Here are three levers you can pull when you feel stuck:

1️⃣ Pull Back With a Deload

Sometimes this is a signal your body needs a break. Lower the weight, cut the volume, get extra sleep. Paradoxically, that rest often restores the itch to train.

See this article I wrote about overreaching, when, and how to properly incorporate a deload week.

2️⃣ Do Less, Better

One of my long-term clients cut from 4 days/week to 3 and saw better results. Why? She could actually recover, show up energized, and attack her workouts.

More isn’t always better. Sometimes, better is better.

3️⃣ Change the Game

If you’ve been chasing the same goal forever, no wonder you’re bored.

Switch focus: fat loss → strength → hypertrophy → sports performance. Or pick a new challenge (PR on a lift, first 10K, ski prep, whatever makes you say, “That sounds fun”).

🔑 Key point: Motivation isn’t magic (still can't help myself). It’s momentum.

Create new sparks through recovery, smarter structure, or fresh goals and motivation has a funny way of finding you again.

👉 Takeaway: Don’t sit around waiting for motivation. Build it by adjusting the dials.

🐟 Pillar #4: Recovery — Why Fish Oil Isn’t Optional

A few years ago, in my Amazon #1 best-selling book 7 Secrets for Chiseled Abs, I joked that not taking fish oil was the new smoking.

I was being a little tongue-in-cheek… but then I recently came across a study that blew my mind:

👉 Smokers with a high omega-3 index had the same mortality risk as non-smokers with a low omega-3 index.

Translation: having low omega-3 levels is basically as dangerous as lighting up a pack of heaters a day. 🚬🐟

I was right. As my wife likes to say, I LOVE being right. 😜

Of course, that doesn’t mean fish oil magically makes smoking “healthy.” But it does mean omega-3s are non-negotiable. Here’s why:

🔬 The Science Behind Omega-3s (and Why They Matter)

• Recovery & Inflammation: EPA and DHA (the marine omega-3s) are powerful anti-inflammatories → less pain, less soreness, better joint health, faster recovery.
• Mood & Brain Health: In one wild rodent + human study, injecting people with inflammatory molecules caused instant depressive symptoms. But when those same people were given EPA, it blunted the effect. Omega-3s are literally brain buffers.
• Longevity: A Harvard analysis ranked low omega-3 intake as one of the top preventable causes of death — right up there with smoking and hypertension.

Bottom line: Omega-3s aren’t optional. They’re critical.

💊 My Routine (and What I Use)

I do bloodwork every 6 months to check my omega-3 index and adjust my dose based on the results. Right now, I’m taking 3 capsules of fish oil in the morning and 3 at night. And yes, I log fish oil as part of my daily macros.

For years I’ve trusted Legion Triton Fish Oil, and here’s why:

• Potent dose: 2,400 mg EPA + DHA per serving (exactly what matters).
• Highly bioavailable: Reesterified triglyceride form → absorbed better than cheaper versions.
• Clean & pure: Molecularly distilled, sourced from deep-water sardines & anchovies → no mercury, no microplastics.
• No fishy burps: They add lemon oil + vitamin E to keep it fresh.
• Third-party tested: Full transparency on what’s inside.

💡 One Last Caveat

Normally, I’m a “whole foods first” guy.

And I mean that literally as much as figuratively...

Back when I was broke, I shopped at Trader Joe’s because Whole Foods felt like Disneyland for the rich. Once in a while I’d splurge and go there, and now that I can afford it, I swear I get PTSD any time I step foot in a Trader Joe’s. 😂

Anyway… as Dr. Rhonda Patrick pointed out in this interview, with today’s environmental pollution, even salmon can come with mercury and microplastics.

That’s why I use Legion Triton: it’s purified, molecularly distilled, and third-party tested. Which actually makes it safer and more reliable than relying solely on fish.

So yes, eat salmon if you enjoy it. But for consistency, potency, and peace of mind? Fish oil supplementation wins.

👉 Takeaway: Whether you eat fish regularly or not, supplementation is one of the easiest, highest-ROI moves you can make for recovery, brain health, mood, and longevity.

⭐ Clients of the Week: Kristen & Anthony

You’ve heard the saying: couples who sweat together, stay together. Kristen and Anthony are living proof.

​

Over 16 weeks, here’s what they achieved:

• Kristen: –14.2 lbs, –7.1% body fat, –9.5 inches, +26% Strength Score
• Anthony: –23 lbs, –7.7% body fat, –5 inches off his waist, +55% Strength Score

🔥 Oh, and they still managed to crush Spartan Races (and beat my score) cutting nearly 2 hours off their Beast time and both finishing first in their age group.

But the numbers only tell half the story.

Right before starting, they got engaged. Instead of just wanting to look good for the wedding, they set their sights on building a lifestyle they could sustain for each other — and for their son.

• Kristen, who works in HR and wellness, wanted to move beyond “skinny” and finally feel truly strong. 💪🏻
• Anthony, in IT, wanted the energy to play with his kids, set an example, and prove to himself he could change his habits. 🥦

Along the way, they learned balance: no food is “bad,” one piece of Halloween candy won’t erase progress, and the real win is learning how to bounce back quickly when life throws curveballs.

And maybe the best part? They did it together: pushing, cheering, and sometimes competing with each other rep for rep. That shared accountability kept them both moving forward.

👉 Takeaway: Success isn’t about grinding alone. With the right support, accountability, and commitment, results multiply — in fitness, family, and life.

📽️ Watch my full interview with them here.

References:

1. Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000).Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being.American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
2. Smoking vs. Omega-3 Index (mortality risk):​
   Harris, W. S., Del Gobbo, L., & Tintle, N. L. (2017). The Omega-3 Index and relative risk for coronary heart disease mortality: Estimation from 10 cohort studies. Atherosclerosis, 262, 51–54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2017.05.007
3. Inflammation, depression, and EPA (rodent + human study):​
   Kiecolt-Glaser, J. K., Belury, M. A., Andridge, R., Malarkey, W. B., & Glaser, R. (2011). Omega-3 supplementation lowers inflammation and anxiety in medical students: A randomized controlled trial. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity, 25(8), 1725–1734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2011.07.229
4. Raison, C. L., Capuron, L., & Miller, A. H. (2006). Cytokines sing the blues: Inflammation and the pathogenesis of depression. Trends in Immunology, 27(1), 24–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.it.2005.11.006
5. Harvard analysis (low omega-3 = top preventable cause of death):​
   Mozaffarian, D., & Rimm, E. B. (2006). Fish intake, contaminants, and human health: Evaluating the risks and the benefits. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), 296(15), 1885–1899. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.296.15.1885