There are versions of online fitness that seem to exist in isolation: complete programs, dialed-in nutrition, and unlimited time. And the rest of us in the real world have fitness too.
For Will Simpson, a former rugby player turned military officer and founder of performance nutrition brand Realmeal, training doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s caught between an early start, business demands, and family life. But he says understanding that training isn’t your top priority is the first step to making it work.
“Lower your stakes,” he says. “One missed workout doesn’t mean the world ends.”
From rugby to the military – and side jobs
Simpson’s initial plan was simple: rugby.
“It was always like, ‘One day I’m going to get called up’…but I quickly realized I wasn’t big enough, I wasn’t fast enough…and I probably wouldn’t be good enough.”
He then joined the army and was engaged in reconnaissance work. It was during this period, which Simpson describes as “one of the most difficult selection courses in the military,” that the idea for Real Meals (a 600-calorie meal replacement bar) began to form.
“My alarm goes off at 3:30, breakfast at 4…and drive by 4:30.”
Although the work was relentless, the prescribed refueling strategy was rudimentary and inadequate for Simpson.
“We had big boxes of food, so all we had to do was fill our pockets before we left. One snack from each box. It was basically seven chocolate bars or flapjacks.”
This high-carbohydrate ration is effective in the short term.
“I remember feeling really good for the first hour or two… then I went completely crazy.”
Some efforts took hours. Others ran through the night.
“This is a six-month process…and I thought, where is the recovery component? Where is the fat? Where is the balance?
This question stuck with Simpson and led him to begin an experiment.
“I said, yeah, 600 calories.” 60-20-20, carbs, protein, fat. minimal materials.
Simpson’s V1 prototype was not a success.
“I baked it with oats, quinoa, dates and honey. It was a dense, thick, inedible biscuit.”
But the idea was right, so he took it to a nutritionist, shopped around, and got a ton of orders before the product even existed.
“I said, ‘I have this bar’…I didn’t have a bar,” Simpson laughed.
It took more than 30 iterations with food scientists to create the current version of Real Meal.
Train like an endurance athlete – focus on everything else
Alongside building his business, Simpson continued to train himself, completing multiple Ironmans and 100 mile ultras.
“I just tested it myself,” he says. “Ironman guys, I went on a long bike ride…and then I ran 100 miles using only the bars.” He completed 100 miles in 21 hours. “I felt like I couldn’t go any further.”
But for a father, business executive, and busy man, what’s remarkable is not just the challenges Simpson takes on, but how he adapts to it all.
There is no illusion of a perfect structure. Training is closely related to everything else.
“The stakes are actually pretty low,” he says. “Once you understand that, it becomes easier to get things done.”
This is a word that comes up over and over again. Rather than chasing the perfect session or waiting for ideal conditions, just find a way to keep moving. Unless he’s training for something specific, Simpson says his goals are built around showing up and engaging in the process, rather than accomplishing a set goal. Especially when learning new skills, it’s not about getting better at climbing, it’s about climbing twice a week.
You are not a professional athlete…that’s your advantage
Lowering the stakes in this way ensures consistency. High-pressure goals may work for a while, but as other parts of your life add up, like work, family, or illness, you need something simple, sustainable, and doable rather than lofty goals that can overwhelm you. Instead of a rigid plan that can easily go off the rails, consider a total of 3 hours of training time each week.
For Simpson, the goal is not optimization. It’s sustainability.
Training should fit around work, family, and everything else. And nutrition follows the same rules.
“I eat dinner with my kids,” he says. “We’re not creating something completely different.”
He relies on simple constraints instead of complexity. It’s protein first, whole foods if possible, and enough structure to keep you on track without overthinking it.
“If you’re getting your protein and your fruits and vegetables…it’s very hard to go wrong with everything else.”
Let’s get something done anyway
If there’s one philosophy that unites everything from rugby to the military to endurance racing to building businesses, it’s: keep the barriers low and keep it repeatable.
Mr. Simpson believes that most people do not fail for lack of trying. They fail because what they are trying to do doesn’t fit with their life. His approach reverses that and is very practical.
“Just get something done,” he says.
If you do this often, everything else tends to take care of itself.
Andrew, who has worked in the health and fitness field for nearly 18 years as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breathing coach, and writer, has spent nearly half his life finding ways to improve people’s bodies and minds.
As Fitness Editor, he takes pride in keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relevant, and trustworthy fitness information by writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, digging deep into the science behind muscle building and fat loss, and exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
While constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew loves practice as well as theory, regularly testing his training for everything from CrossFit and Strongman competitions, ultramarathons, multiple 24-hour workout stints, and (very unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram (@theandrew.tracey) or hold up a “Free Pizza” sign and wait for him to show up.
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