Review: RP Strength Templates

My experience with the Renaissance Periodization diet templates started when I asked my coach how I could to get abs like his.  He chuckled and told me all I need is an RP Strength cutting template and it’ll change my life.  He wasn’t lying.

After the holidays last year I decided to purchase a cutting template from RP Strength with a goal of losing 10-15lbs.  You have a choice between a cutting or massing template which both cost around $109.  The website says $109-$159 so maybe it costs more depending on your current weight.  For the price you get an Excel spreadsheet with a base tab, 3 cut tabs and a maintenance tab.  I’ll go over those later.  You also get a “how to” guide, an FAQ and an invite into their Facebook group.

The templates are easy to follow.  Each one provides an individualized approach to nutrition depending on gender, weight and goals.  The Excel spreadsheet provides different tabs for different stages in your diet so your body doesn’t become accustomed to one way of eating.  Each tab whether it be base or a cut provides different options depending on if your train in the morning, afternoon, evening or late at night.  It also varies your food intake depending on if your workout is light, moderate or hard and also for non-training days.  The additional documents you get with your template provide examples of what would be considered a light, moderate or hard training day.  Your food is broken down into 5 sections: Lean Protein, Veggies, Healthy Fats, Heathly Carbs and Workout Carbs.  During training days you get 6 meals and 5 meals for non-training days.  A typical meal can consist of 3oz lean protein, 1 cup of veggies, 1 serving of fat and 50 grams of carbs.  Again, the amount of food will vary depending on time of day, training type, cutting or massing, current weight and gender.  RP recommends you start on the base diet so your body becomes accustomed to this way of eating.  Some people actually lose weight on base while others don’t.  After 1-2 weeks on base if you haven’t lost any weight you would switch to Cut 1.  Cut 1 is basically the same as base with half the amount of fat.  Once you stop losing weight on Cut 1 you would switch to Cut 2 which is the same diet with 0 fat.  You would follow the same pattern and switch to Cut 3 which cuts carbs.  After 12 weeks of cutting you would start your maintenance tab to keep the results you’ve gained.  That’s pretty much it in a nutshell.

My personal experience with RP was hard at first but very rewarding at the end.  The first day on base I found myself eating a lot more food than usual.  I didn’t understand how this was suppose to help me lose weight since I was constantly feeling full.  My first workout while on RP felt slow and sluggish since I was still bloated from my pre workout meal.  I kept with it since I wanted to “trust the process.”  After a few days my body adjusted and I started feeling better.  I noticed more energy during wods and I was pushing myself harder than before.  By the time I started Cut 1 I was already seeing changes in my body.  I had only lost 2 lbs but my body composition was changing drastically.  I lost another 3lbs on Cut 1 and moved to Cut 2.  By the end of my 12 weeks I had lost a total of 10 lbs.  I had also gained muscle so I’m sure the fat loss was greater than what the scale was showing.  I loved the results I had gotten.  I’ve seen other girls lose weight on other diets but none of them had gained the muscle I had.  I’ve been on maintenance now for months and I still see changes in my body composition.  The changes are not as drastic as before but they’re still there.

RP Strength changed my life.  I got the results I wanted and increased my overall performance at the gym.  I never knew I was under eating before.  I always thought I needed low carb meals in order to stay fit but I quickly learned that is not the case.  You need to give your body the proper food to perform your workouts.  The results will speak for themselves.

Barbell Central
Jessie Jaime
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Fitness is my life!  My blog posts will feature fitness news along with my personal accomplishments and struggles in the world of Crossfit and gymnastics.

Jessie Jaime

Fitness is my life!  My blog posts will feature fitness news along with my personal accomplishments and struggles in the world of Crossfit and gymnastics.

3 thoughts on “Review: RP Strength Templates

  • February 23, 2018 at 7:02 am
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    Thxs, I was thinking to get a template but now after reading more I ready to do it.

    Reply
  • May 30, 2018 at 6:25 pm
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    I just came across your blog, looking for reviews on RP. Did you purchase the female specific physique or the traditional RP strength program? Thanks!

    Reply
    • June 3, 2018 at 6:22 pm
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      I bought their cutting template. The template combined with my regular crossfit training completly transformed my body.

      Reply

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