Irslan Ali

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Irslan Ali NASM Certified Personal Trainer
Precision Nutrition Level 1

10/21/2026

Yeahhhhā€¦ šŸ¤£

10/15/2026

As Asians, we come from a culture of discipline so when I hear us saying things like ā€œI lack discipline,ā€ it doesnā€™t always add up.

Think about it, we hold some of the most prestigious jobs from a social standpoint whether itā€™s as engineers, doctors or lawyers.

Yet, somehow we begin to believe weā€™re undisciplined when it comes to our body and health.

Well what if itā€™s not a lack of discipline, what if the real issue is something instead?

Thatā€™s what I discuss in todayā€™s video.

If this resonates, let me know by dropping a šŸ”„ emoji below

10/13/2026

Come on! šŸ˜­

09/29/2026

The next chapter.

How Patel Went From Skinny Fat To A Flat Stomach & 15.3% Body Fat As A Vegetarian At 49 (now 50 years young!)When Prati...
09/24/2026

How Patel Went From Skinny Fat To A Flat Stomach & 15.3% Body Fat As A Vegetarian At 49 (now 50 years young!)

When Prativ came to me at the beginning of the new year, he had hypothyroidism, high blood pressure, and sleep apnea due to a double chinā€¦

Having moved to the U.S. over 20 years ago from India, he ballooned up from 145 lbs to 165 lbsā€¦

And while he lost weight on his own before, it was always unsustainable and came backā€¦

He tried fad diets like intermittent fasting, which only worked to a degree and he struggled with eating low amounts of protein as a vegetarianā€¦

He even tried working with in-person trainers and did group fitness classes but didnā€™t get the results he wantedā€¦

With his 50th birthday coming up in 2026 (itā€™s actually today!), he wanted to lose the 15 lbs so that he could get off the meds and get back down to his 2019 ā€œfighting weightā€ at 150 lbsā€¦

As a successful owner of two hotels out in the Bay Area, it was important for him to easily be able to keep up with the demands of his work, such as bending down to lift things without getting injuredā€¦

He started working out with the tonal at home but his main challenge remained the nutritionā€¦

Growing up in a Gujarati household, his mom would make vegetarian meals such as mung ki dal and kichidi (IYKYK, especially with the winter rolling around šŸ¤£)ā€¦

So when he came to the U.S. and began eating out at places like Chipotle or even Indian restaurants, he found himself slipping on the discipline of his dietā€¦

The biggest question heā€™d have every night going home was ā€œWhat are we going to eat today?ā€

Heā€™d get serious for a bit and then fall off trackā€¦

So when he saw my post on Instagram, he decided to reach out and he hit his 12 month goal of 150 lbs in the first 90 days!

The biggest difference was teaching him our South-Asian Body Type Nutrition System that allowed him to strip off fat without giving up his favorite desi foods like papadum and morning chai with biscuitsā€¦

Then we got down to 15.3% body fat with a flat stomach right before his Summer trip to Switzerland with his familyā€¦

His blood pressure has normalized and has been consistently going strong for past 9 months!

09/22/2026

If youā€™re desi and you donā€™t have these three fitness gadgets going into 2027, youā€™re walking on your fitness journey with both hands tied behind your back

Numbers DO lieā€¦ and hereā€™s what doesnā€™tOn Saturday, I had a lactate threshold test that measures the point at which your...
09/21/2026

Numbers DO lieā€¦ and hereā€™s what doesnā€™t

On Saturday, I had a lactate threshold test that measures the point at which your body switches from burning fat as a fuel source (zones 1-2) to burning carbs as a fuel source (zones 3-6)

The reason itā€™s important to know this number is because itā€™s what helps you build your aerobic engine, which allows you to push higher efforts without fatiguing early

Building it is how I went from running a 6:21 mile to a 4:48 mile

However, over a month ago, I injured my Achilles running so I switched all of my cardio workouts to the bike

By my own estimate, I assumed my zone 2 was around a 123-134 bpm as compared to 133-142 bpm for running since it varies based on your activity

The lab this Saturday showed me that my zone 2 was at 83-95 bpm

So I biked at 95 bpm this morning for an hour, barely broke a sweat and didnā€™t even feel like I worked out

Even my Oura ring showed I was largely at zone 0-1 the whole time

There are a lot of factors that can skew the data such as the mask being too tight, which restricts breathing or even the muscular endurance in my legs giving out before my lungs do ā€” artificially lowering my max heart rate to 149 bpm whereas Iā€™ve seen it get as high as 182 bpm during my last HYROX a couple of weeks ago

Ironically, the most accurate way to measure if Iā€™m actually in Zone 2 so that I can continue building my aerobic engine without running is through whatā€™s known as an RPE Scale or my ā€œrate of perceived exertionā€

If I feel like Iā€™m at a 4-5 / 10 effort, get into flow state and can peddle without it feeling too easy or too difficult, Iā€™m in the sweet spot ā€” usually around 123 bpm for me

This isnā€™t just unique to endurance training, numbers lie everywhere when it comes to fitness ā€” the number on the scale, body fat %, caloric intake tracked, labs, etc.

What doesnā€™t lie is energy ā€” your intuition about something and I have found that for this reason itā€™s equally important to pay attention to the qualitative data that the hard numbers simply cannot convey as to not get us off track by giving us a skewed data set

P.S.

Pricked the heck out of my index finger getting those blood samples (slide 4) šŸ˜‚

09/16/2026

A Pyrrhic victory.

09/13/2026

The Focusing Question

Failure.3 months and 7 days ago, I ran my first HYROX race in New York and set a goal time of 1:08.I missed the mark by ...
09/13/2026

Failure.

3 months and 7 days ago, I ran my first HYROX race in New York and set a goal time of 1:08.

I missed the mark by a few mins and hit 1:11:21 (+15s penalty so 1:11:36)

Overall, I was proud of my performance externally but internally, I felt the sting of failure like I donā€™t remember ever feeling before in my life.

I literally laid in bed all day afterwards and threw myself a pity party later that night cooped up on the couch watching Vox Machina (an anime on Amazon prime).

Yesterday, I saw Floyd Mayweather talk about the only defeat he ever experienced against a world champion at 19 years old and thereā€™s footage of him completely breaking down and crying.

In hindsight, he went on to say that he felt like he let his mother down, his country down and himself down above all else.

Since that moment, heā€™s gone 50-0.

Similarly, I knew I didnā€™t show up at my best for my HYROX race in June and I even texted my coach that I wanted to drop out of the race because I felt like I already lost mentally before it began.

I had carb loaded completely wrong and it ended up disrupting my sleep significantly to the point where I showed up in not the best head space.

All I remember is never wanting to ever feel that way ever again.

So I got to work with relentless effort over the next few months preparing for Washington D.C.

This time, I felt like I already won before stepping out onto the starting line.

Lo and behold, I hit my 1:08 goal (1:06:02 with a 2 minute penalty because I ran out of the wrong arch).

Had it not been for that sting of failure Floyd Mayweather experienced early on, I donā€™t believe he would be the fighter who went 50-0 today and I believe the same rings true for me and all of us.

Failure is inevitable and itā€™s not despite of it that we achieve our goals, itā€™s because of it if we are willing to allow ourselves to feel it completely and learn the lesson that itā€™s here to teach us.

The only time we truly fail is if we quit.

As Roman Emperor and arguably the founder of Modern Stoicism, Marcus Aurelius, said ā€œThe impediment to action advances action; and what stands in the way becomes the way.ā€

The obstacle (failure) is the way to success.

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