build muscle – A strength coach explains three habits for building muscle—training hard on weekdays and keeping weekends for family.
Building muscle doesn’t have to mean living in the gym every day. One New York City strength coach says consistent weekday training, smart session structure, and an easy-to-follow protein-forward diet can help you make progress without burning out.
James McMillian. president of Tone House—described by a business publication as “the hardest workout in New York City”—runs a demanding routine that includes coaching roughly 10 classes each week and leading personal training sessions.. At the height of preparation. he often goes to the gym twice a day as he trains for events such as Hyrox and marathon-style competitions.
A key part of his approach is what he refuses to do: he doesn’t train on weekends.. McMillian said the weekend is reserved for time with family. while Monday through Friday is when he works out regardless of whether he’s in a competition cycle.. He also credits the discipline of that schedule to an early life lesson. after being diagnosed with asthma as a child.
Motivation, in his view, is largely about mindset.. McMillian said nobody wakes up ready to train every single day, so the goal is not to wait for inspiration.. Instead. he recommends doing what you can on low-energy days—taking a walk outside or asking a friend to join you at the gym—and he frames success around “progress over perfection.”
One of McMillian’s most practical rules is to keep workouts full-body rather than separating everything into isolated upper and lower body days.. He prefers full-body movements to reduce his chances of injury, explaining that the body functions as one system.. He also said that when upper-body training is followed by lower-body sessions. core-demanding movements can create overlap that may increase the risk of overuse.
He also structures his warmup to match the demands of his training period.. During competition training season. his warmup can include a sequence of running and functional movements—such as a one-mile run paired with thrusters. then another half-mile run followed by reverse lunges. and additional intervals of running combined with weighted drop exercises.. Outside of that season, his warmup is simpler, centered on three unbroken sets of 10 bicep curls, 10 dips, and 20 pull-ups.
McMillian’s main workout alternates movements that draw on both the upper and lower body. with examples including squats and bench presses.. Even when training is intense. he emphasizes boundaries that keep him from forcing a schedule that doesn’t fit his body.. He doesn’t like starting extremely early and prefers to begin around 10 a.m.. saying you can be “a beast later in the day.”
When he returns in the evening—around 9:30 p.m.—his approach changes again. with a lower-intensity session that he describes in more personal terms.. He calls it a “spiritual workout” and likens it to therapy. saying he uses the session to re-channel his brain and slow down.. In that evening routine. he typically focuses less on cardio and more on strength training. reducing the tempo to introduce more control during lifts such as bench presses and squats.
To make the evening sessions easier to sustain, he listens to R&B music or audiobooks while training. The intent is not just distraction, but also pacing—helping him feel worn out enough to fall asleep when he gets home.
The third habit centers on diet that he describes as repeatable rather than complicated. Because his schedule is so packed, McMillian said he doesn’t try to reinvent nutrition every day. Instead, he prioritizes foods that are predictable, digest well, and consistently support performance.
In the morning, he typically eats oatmeal with fruit.. He points to the combination of protein and fiber from the meal. and he highlights that oatmeal is a slow-digesting carbohydrate that can help provide steadier energy during training.. The fruit, he said, adds water and micronutrients that support hydration and recovery.
He also prefers green tea over coffee, describing it as a lower-caffeine option with additional antioxidant benefits. For lunch, he keeps it straightforward: he often has a sandwich, adjusting based on whether the day is more cardio-focused or strength-focused.
On cardio-focused days. he chooses a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich for quick energy. saying it provides a strong mix of carbohydrates and fats that works when he needs something fast.. On days when he’s focusing more on strength. he switches to a turkey sandwich. which he says offers lean protein to support muscle maintenance and a feeling of fullness that lasts longer—while the carbohydrates help keep energy steadier. especially when the bread is whole grain.
For dinner, McMillian usually centers meals on steak.. He describes it as food geared toward rebuilding after a long day. noting that steak provides protein and iron—iron he links to oxygen transport and energy production.. Across all meals. he frames consistency as a performance tool: when nutrition is consistent. he said energy. recovery. and overall output also become more consistent.
For people trying to build muscle without turning their life upside down. his approach boils down to a schedule you can live with: train hard from Monday through Friday. use full-body work to manage injury risk. and keep nutrition predictable enough that it doesn’t collapse under a busy calendar.. Misryoum reported on these habits as part of an effort to show how structure—rather than constant intensity—can drive results.
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