The Dream Body vs the Principled Physique: A First Principles-based Approach to Fitness
By Victor Wong | 17 Jun, 2026

Victor (00:00)
I don't want this to be another health and fitness podcast. Because frankly, there is already so much information out there, and most of it says the same things. If you close your eyes and visualize your dream physique, I could probably tell you how to get there. It's going to be one of two paths. You will either need to build some muscle or lose some fat.

And doing either of those things is actually a very, very simple process. Most videos will say if you want to build muscle, you simply need to hit your protein goals, which is 0.8 grams per pound of lean body mass, work a little bit harder each training session, and get seven to nine hours of sleep. Losing fat is a similar process too. Eat on a caloric deficit rather than a surplus.

Eat 0.8 grams of protein per one pound of lean body mass and also get seven and nine hours of sleep. And also maybe get around 10,000 steps per day, whether or whether you're in a caloric surplus or caloric deficit. And with those facts in mind, I just save you saved you about 10 hours worth of research. You really don't need to watch any more.

Fitness content besides that. Again, the path is relatively simple. I mean, there is maybe something to be said about programming, periodization, etc. etc. But for most people, you actually don't really need an optimal program. What I am proposing here though is a more inward reflection as to why you are embarking on this journey of health and fitness.

Victor (01:58)
When most people describe their health and fitness goals, they usually start with a dream physique. And I think that is very telling as to what their goals are. Because let's think about the phrase dream physique, right? A dream is a fantasy, and fantasies ignore material realities in the favor of some type of wish wish fulfillment. Now

Most men usually say they would like to look something like Brad Pitt from Fight Club. And they usually try to chase that look. And in that process, they're looking up and down at every single forum, every single YouTube video, trying to find the optimal program, the optimal diet to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club. But what I feel that most people

Are missing is the underlying principle behind that physique.

Victor (03:04)
Now, I know that most of us were raised hearing the phrase don't judge a book by its cover. However, you can tell a lot about someone simply by the way they look. Right? If somebody if you meet somebody wearing messy clothes with lots of stains, messy hair, and a general unkept appearance, chances are they're probably a messy and disorganized person.

Right, if you meet somebody that's dressed like your typical business person, right? Nice haircut, well groomed, well dressed, you probably have an opinion that they are a well-put-together person. Or at least they are the type of person to present themselves in a specific manner, which does go on to inform their deeper character. Even though we say don't judge a book by its cover.

A lot of times that cover belies one's true nature. Now, if we think about, you know, a Brad Pitt from Fight Club, I feel that most people just see that cover and think that they can just magically become that without first thinking about the those underlying principles that would drive somebody to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club, right?

If the physique of Brad Pitt is something that you desire, then you have to start thinking: how does that line up with your principles? Right? Think about what are the things that somebody with that physique is doing. And does that align with your lifestyle and with your own principles?

Victor (04:59)
So a sh small anecdote. There is somebody I have known for almost a decade in real life who always asks me how to look like Brad Pitt from Fight Club, right? How to achieve a six pack. And every single time they've asked, I've always given the same advice as mentioned earlier in the video. Simply, eating a caloric deficit or surplus, depending on whether or not you want to build muscle.

I recommended that he build muscle and hit a minimum activity requirement, lift weights, get some sleep, etc. etc. And he had done none of those things. And when I assessed his lifestyle and his principles, he said he hates sweating, he hates walking, he is extremely lazy. The only work workouts that he likes to do are.

Tennis two times a week, and most of the times I see him, he is either sleeping, laying on the sofa watching a movie, playing video games, or watching football and getting very, very mad at the result of the football game. Now, when I look at somebody that lives like this, I don't really see how having the physique of Brad Pitt is in line with their lifestyle.

Because what does having a six-pack do for them? For me, I look at him and I think that his physique more or less matches his lifestyle. He looks like somebody that hates sweating, he looks like someone that hates working out, and he looks like someone that values the pleasures of eating. And there is no moral wrongdoing for wanting these things or for living like this. He isn't hurting anyone.

And that's fine. However, if those are the things that one values, then they can't expect to acquire things that don't align with their values. Again, somebody that looks like Brad Pitt is probably not sitting on the sofa all day watching sports.

Victor (07:19)
There has to be a core guiding principle that leads you down a certain path. And that is what creates long-term adherence to any plan or any goal, right? If you find a physique that lines up with your means and your principles, chances are that is what you will achieve, right? So thinking beyond.

right, looking a certain way, we have to consider what is a body that will allow us to achieve our goals and realize our principles as a person.

Victor (08:07)
To dispense with the vagaries for a moment, I can use myself as an example of someone whose physique lines up with their principles. I can say that because I'm relatively jacked, relatively lean. In almost every single room I walk into, everyone comments on my physique. So I think I have some credentials here.

I am somebody who enjoys working out. In contrast to the person I mentioned earlier, they say they absolutely hate sweating. For me, that's something I kind of enjoy when I break a sweat in a workout and then I start getting into a flow state. I enjoy working out in a hundred some degree warehouses. I do I can do jujitsu for

Multiple hours at a time, I run, I lift weights, and I enjoy hiking and going outside. I look like someone that enjoys doing those things. And on top of that, I've been incredibly disciplined about maintaining minimum activity requirements of 10,000 steps a day. I log everything on my fitness pal. I hit my macros every day. And just last week, in order to compete,

I actually lost seven pounds of water in a sauna with a friend. And as a result of all these actions and my own principles, I look the way I look. I value working hard. I value struggling for the sake of struggling. And I am incredibly devoted to my art, which is jujitsu, and also I enjoy lifting weights.

I mean, one of my perspectives on physical culture is that the more struggle you remove from the actual physical training, the more you lose from it. And what I mean is imagine working out at an equinox where the air is filtered, where everything is spotless, clean, and chrome, right? And everything is made as convenient as possible.

I feel like that loses a very key element of the act of training. When I compare this to one of the best gyms I personally ever trained at called Deadweight Strength in San Diego. It was basically a where an open-air warehouse, no AC, no amenities. Honestly, it was a little bit sketchy in how there was no front desk. I just found it on Google, and when I went there,

I just had to scan a QR code, pay PAL some account $20 for a key code to get in, and then when I got in, there weren't any amenities. There were no there was no towel service, no fancy bathrooms, showers, etc. etc. It was just essentially a pile of high-quality weights. They used competition style calibrated plates, they had very nice squat racks, they had

Competition style barbells where the nurling kind of bites your hand a little bit and every single piece of strongman equipment available, but they did not have any of the comforts typically associated with commercial gyms, like in Equinox. And frankly, that was what I wanted. I thought it was absolutely perfect. I thought the equipment was was well maintained, to be honest, and the

Outdoor environment really gave a grit to the physical training compared to an equinox, where honestly it was soft. And when you look at the types of people that are at a place like deadweight strength versus an equinox, there is no comparison. The people at deadweight strength are obviously way stronger. And the fact that I can wax poetic and talk.

this much about the differences in physical training points to my own devotion to the act of training. And as such, my physique looks the way it does.

Victor (12:45)
In other words, I look like someone that takes their training seriously and that values being active. Now, what does this mean to you as a listener, right? What I am trying to get at is the search for a purpose in your physical training. The search for the

Principled physique, as I like to call it. A physique that will enhance your life and that lines up with your values, a physique that will let you accomplish whatever goals you have set out for yourself. So one key word that I used in my rambling earlier is devotion as opposed to discipline. So the way I see it is

Discipline is simply doing something just for the sake of it, even if you don't enjoy it. And while I think that is noble and admirable in many regards, it is something that leads to burnout. And I think there is too much talk of discipline, to be honest, in a lot of male-centric spaces, just to suffer for suffering's sake. So that is why I

have turned it around. I think I got this from a YouTube video somewhere. what devotion is on the other hand is it is discipline tempered with love. So you are when you are devoted, you are doing things because you're disciplined, but it's being powered by love rather than habit. And for me, one of the things I love

Is the culture behind physical pursuits and the practice of jiu jitsu?

Victor (14:51)
So with that being said, I don't want this to be another male-centric hustled for hustle's sake, grind for the sake of grinding. Instead, I would challenge you to find a physical pursuit that you love and that you can dedicate yourself to, and hopefully in that path of devotion.

you achieve a physique that is in line with your principles.