the Blog
Testimonial from Jessica Whiteley
Today's post is simply a testimonial from an amazing client, Jessica Whiteley. I hope it's instructive about what's possible and about what progress looks and feels like! -Scott Hi Scott, Becoming a coaching client of Scott’s is definitely one of the best things I’ve...
Three Reality Checks for Building a Better Body
If your goal is aesthetic muscle gain and physique development—without the crutch of steroids—then there are three general, high-level reality checks you should never take for granted. Progress stalled? Any single one of these three points could be what’s really...
Stair Climb Workouts for Sculpted Calves and Legs
I remember one of the early Muscle Mag articles about my athletes said that one of the key differences on stage between my clients and others came when my clients turned around, and you saw their backs, their hamstrings, and their calves. They were more ripped and...
The Cycle Diet vs. 6-Day Vegan: What's the difference?
When I released Lean Without Trying, I got a lot of questions from people worried that I would be focusing exclusively on vegetarian or vegan dieting. (The answer is no.) In fact, most of my books still illustrate examples of an omnivore diet-strategy. The meal plans...
Metabolism, Food Indulgence and Psychology
I recently went to Aruba and conducted a bit of an experiment on myself. I’ve discussed the results, and in a follow-up discussion offered a few keys to healthy metabolism. However, I also noticed something based on the comments from people I read during the...
Three Key Factors to an Optimized Metabolism
Series on metabolism: I’ll discuss 3 key factors that I believe contribute to an optimized metabolism.
Optimized Metabolism: How to lose weight after 17 days of massive overeating
Have you ever considered that you can train your metabolism? If you have, think about this, as well: what would it look like if you did this for years and years, and your metabolism just became more and more optimized? I want to talk about that in this article. I...
Building Your Own Home Gym
I recently posted a walk-through video of my home gym.After I did so, I got a number of emails and comments from people about “where to start” for their own home gym. There are good reasons to train or workout at home: You can save money on membership fees. You can...
How I Became “Skinny Fat”
There’s an old saying about learning by doing. “Learn by doing” suggests that, beyond just knowledge, experience itself is a valuable tool that teaches you what works and what doesn’t work—and sometimes the greatest lessons come from your biggest setbacks. My “skinny...
The Coach Scott Abel Metabolism Experiment
I'm going to see how much weight I can gain during a period of extended overfeeding; then, when I get home, we'll see how long it takes for the weight to come off. Because of how metabolism works, my guess is that it won't take long at all.
Client Case Study: A Success Story About Life Beyond the Thin Cage
This is a success story about escaping life inside the thin cage—that is, when you lose weight “successfully,” but you end up more obsessed with food, diet and weight scales and numbers. This was what Andreas P was wrestling with when he first hired me. He had lost...
1990s to Early 2000s: My Eventual Exit from the Steroid and Hardcore Bodybuilding World
In the last retrospective, I talked about the real beginnings of my career as what I call a “Big-C” Coach in the bodybuilding world. In this one, I’ll be talking about the changes in the hardcore bodybuilding world that led me, eventually, to leaving it. The...
Enter the 90s: My Early Coaching Career
As I mentioned in the last article, I returned from Muscle Camp a changed person. I had just lived out a dream. My goal had always been to get to the bodybuilding Mecca on my own, and up until Muscle Camp I’d naïvely thought the only way to do that was to win an...
1989: Muscle Camp and the Summer that Changed EVERYthing for Me
Before I dive into the summer that changed my life forever, I need to recap a few incidentals that led to 1989. After the Great Lakes contest of 1987, the “Powers That Be” the bodybuilding world decided that only specific contests would qualify a competitor for the...
1987: The Last Year Before It All Changed
Note: If you haven’t been following along my career retrospective article series, you may want to go back and check out my 1983, 1985, and 1986 previous entries.1987 was one of the most important years in shaping my career trajectory—but mostly because of the...
1986: My Introduction to the Dark Side of Bodybuilding
This post is the third in a retrospective series. Read the first and second posts. When I think of 1986, the first thing I about is how the trophies started changing. In 1983, the trophies I won were tiny and flimsy, and only 2 or 3 feet tall. By 1986 and then 1987,...
Bodybuilding Retrospective (part II): Still Natural & Still Learning in 1985
After my first show in 1983, and the attention I received afterwards, I decided I wanted to keep going in this whole fitness and bodybuilding thing.
My First Bodybuilding Contest: 1983
I believe there can be tremendous value in nostalgia. Nostalgia can bring mixed feelings, and yes, it is possible to spend too much time in it—but I really believe there can be tremendous value in it. Recently, I discovered some old photos. With some help, I was able...