The Lean 25: The Proprietary Pratt Personal Training Method for Fat Loss and Muscle Gain
When it comes to transforming your body composition—losing fat and gaining muscle—it’s easy to get overwhelmed by conflicting advice. Should you be running every day? Lifting heavy weights? Eating a specific number of meals?
At Pratt Personal Training, we break it down into a simple, proprietary system we call The Lean 25—a structured approach that prioritizes what truly moves the needle when it comes to body composition.
But first, let’s kick things off with Underrated or Overrated!
Underrated: Protein Cereal
A game-changer in the breakfast department! One of my current favorites is Three Wishes cereal. While it has a solid ingredient list with no weird preservatives, the protein per cup is only around 8g—not quite enough. So, I mix almond milk with a scoop of protein powder, shake it up, and pour it over the cereal to bump up the protein content. Simple, delicious, and functional.
Here is one example to check out
Underrated: Intermittent Fasting
I feel like intermittent fasting is underrated for those looking to simplify their nutrition. It eliminates decision-making in the morning, improves focus, and helps reduce unnecessary snacking. While it’s not for everyone, those who tolerate it well often find it’s an easy way to reduce total calorie intake while maintaining energy levels.
Breaking Down The Lean 25 Method
The Lean 25 is built on three primary pillars:
- Nutrition (15 points)
- Strength Training (10 points)
- Cardio (5 points)
Each of these categories plays a different role in fat loss and muscle building. Nutrition takes up the largest portion of success, followed by strength training, with cardio being the least impactful (yet still valuable).
Nutrition – 15 Points
Why is nutrition weighted so heavily? Because you cannot out-train a bad diet. You could be doing everything right in the gym, but if your food intake isn’t aligned with your goals, you’ll struggle to see progress.
Ask yourself: On a scale from 1 to 15, how would you rate your current nutrition?
- A 15 means you consistently eat nutrient-dense foods, hit your protein intake, manage portion sizes, and track your meals.
- A 1 means your nutrition habits are completely unstructured, and you frequently overconsume low-quality foods.
Strength Training – 10 Points
Resistance training is the foundation of any body composition goal. Strength training helps build lean muscle, which in turn increases your metabolism and improves how your body looks and feels.
Rate yourself 1 to 10 in this category:
- A 10 means you strength train at least 4 days per week, follow a structured program, and progressively overload your lifts.
- A 1 means you rarely or never lift weights.
Cardio – 5 Points
Despite popular belief, cardio plays the smallest role in body composition change. Yes, it’s great for heart health and can aid in fat loss, but it should complement a strong foundation of nutrition and resistance training.
Rate yourself 1 to 5:
- A 5 means you do at least 4 hours of cardio per week, with half of it being intense (e.g., sprints, HIIT, incline walking).
- A 1 means you do little to no structured cardio.
The Lean 25 Score
Now, add up your three scores. If your goal is fat loss and muscle gain, a perfect score of 30 is unrealistic, but getting close to 25 is ideal.
- If you scored below 20, identify which area needs improvement.
- If you’re spending too much time on cardio and neglecting strength training or nutrition, shift your focus.
- If your nutrition score is low, that’s likely the biggest thing holding you back.
Why This Works
Many people fall into the trap of thinking more cardio = more fat loss, but this often leads to burnout. Strength training preserves muscle while helping you burn calories efficiently. Coupled with proper nutrition, you create a sustainable fat-loss plan without excessive cardio.
The Lean 25 simplifies fat loss by focusing on the highest return-on-investment activities. Dial in your nutrition, get stronger, and use cardio as a tool—not a crutch.
Final Thoughts
If you’re serious about transforming your body, start by rating yourself on the Lean 25 scale. Then, make small, intentional changes to improve your weak areas.
The key takeaway? Instead of obsessing over workouts or endless cardio, focus on nutrition and strength training first, and let cardio be the icing on the cake.
If you have questions about your personal Lean 25 score or how to improve it, reach out to us at Pratt Personal Training! Let’s make your transformation simple, effective, and sustainable.
Check us out at Prattpersonaltraining.com to learn more about what we do here at our gym.
