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J Man - Body Transformation Coach

@jmanucan

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💪 I help tech pros build a lean, strong, energized body
👖 1-2 pant sizes down + visible muscle in 90 days
🏊‍♂️ 3x Ironman
🖤 DM “U Can” for coach

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From burnout… to balance

For the first 7 years of my career, I struggled with burnout. I can recall 3 major burnouts before I turned 30.

At one point for a year straight I’d wake up off 4 or 5 hours of sleep, work for 10 hours, take a 2 hour break for dinner, and go back to work for 5 hours… rinse and repeat.

At the time I was being rewarded for my work, so it felt like the only solution was to continue at that pace and work my way out.

It was 4 years into my first job that I had to go on sabbatical for the first time, and only a year and a half later after returning to work, I found myself sitting the ledge of our rooftop, looking down wondering if lying dead on the ground would be better than the life I’d built.

A few days later I found myself at the doctor staring at a diagnosis of major depressive disorder, and a prescription for medication.

And that moment truly changed everything. I was terrified of the thought of medication.

I remember making a promise to myself: I don’t know what it looks like, but I’m going to figure out how to build a life of balance, especially around my work.

And so the journey began. Staying true to form, I went big and quit my job, but I quickly learned that finding balance at work is far more about making tiny, consistent changes than it is about making big ones.

Fast forward to today and I love my jobs - both my corporate gig in tech and my side hustle as a coach. And I’ve found room for both of them in my life while still making time for everything else: family, friends, working out, guitar… you name it.

So, what did I really do to make it happen? Here are 3 lessons that I wish I could go back and share with J Man on the left of this photo:

1️⃣ Focus on inputs. Make one small change a week, and watch them compound.

2️⃣ Relationships are everything. Going alone won’t get you anywhere. Talk.

3️⃣ Space and grace. You can’t pour from an empty cup - take time and go easy on yourself.

So if you’re burnt out, questioning if it’ll ever get better — please don’t give up. I promise there’s a different way. And you deserve to find it.

Make tiny changes. Stack days. There’s balance on the other side of burnout. U Can by @jmanucan

Being stuck at your desk all day in back-to-back meetings, doesn’t mean you can’t get your movement in! Turn off that video and try 10 sets of chair squats followed by 10 sets of desk push-ups. Repeat two more times for a total of three sets, and then get back to work! U Can by @jmanucan

Work Day Too Busy to Work Out? Here’s how I lift and lunch in 30 minutes or less.

Back when I worked a typical 9–5, I thought workouts had to be long, intense, and perfectly timed to be effective.

But between meetings, deadlines, and all the mental juggling, that “perfect window” never really came.

So I’d push it off, feel guilty, and end the day with zero movement and zero energy.

Things shifted when I stopped waiting for the perfect time and started using whatever time I had, and a lot of days, that’s lunch.

Movement doesn’t need a golden hour to matter. It just needs to be planned.

And lunch is often the one pocket of time that’s actually in your control.
Here’s how to make it happen:

1. Block your calendar like it’s a meeting, and set aside your workout clothe in the morning or the night before.
2. Set a phone alarm or calendar reminder at your planned workout time.
3. When the alarm goes off, it’s time to rock. Change and get straight to it. Don’t forget to warm up!
4. Have a gameplay in the gym. Here I’m doing 8 supersets with 90 seconds of rest in-between for a total of 16 total sets. Limit the exercises and use supersets to keep things streamlined.

The workout here took me 24 minutes (including video filming time).

I’ve been doing this a long time so it might take you a little longer at first, but be consistent and the time efficiencies will come. I promise.

A midday workout does more than keep you on track with your weight loss goals. It also breaks the sitting cycle and gives you a second wind for the rest of your day.

You don’t need more time. You just need a plan for the time you already have.

Move during lunch. You’ll be surprised what a difference it makes. U Can. by @jmanucan

Happy Anniversary, Anna & Jonathan! 🤍 Wishing you both a lifetime of gentle moments, unwavering love, and a marriage that grows even more beautiful with every passing year.

Some love stories don’t begin with grand gestures—they begin with years of knowing each other, growing alongside one another, and one day realizing you’ve found your forever.

That feeling filled every corner of Anna and Jonathan’s wedding day. Surrounded by rolling vineyards, heartfelt laughter, live music, and the people who have loved them from the very beginning, they stepped into a new chapter with joy that felt effortless and genuine.

It’s a celebration we’ll never forget, and we’re honored to preserve these memories in a film they’ll treasure for a lifetime.

🎥 Watch their full wedding film—link in bio.

Bride: @annagavin
Groom: @jmanucan
Venue & Coordinator: @vinehillhouse
Photos: @marcblondinphotography
Videographer: @nilesprague
DJ: @amswinecountry
Florist: @absolutelywildflowerartistry
Hair & Makeup: @devotionstudiosebastopol
Caterer: @trendscatering
Rentals: @encoreeventsrentals
Cake: @sarasidenberg

#VineHillHouseWedding #WeddingFilm #CaliforniaWeddingVideographer by @jmanucan

Week 16 has us climbing a different kind of hill 😉 Summer is in full swing so get outside and get moving yall! And huge congrats to @grangeca and @00drew for tying the knot at a beautiful downtown SF ceremony this weekend! Love you! U can yall by @jmanucan

More salt is not a biohack.

For most people, adding more salt to your diet via electrolyte packets is probably gonna do more harm for your hydration than good.

People who need more salt: endurance athletes (90+ minutes of cardio), people who are sick (vomitting/diarrhea), people who drank too much (bad hangover), people who drink too much water (read: not many people - think over a gallon a day).

People who almost definitely don’t: consumers of the standard American diet, people who workout 60 minutes or less, people who are properly hydrated (read: most of the population)

Most people don’t fall into the categories above nearly as much as would warrant drinking an extra 1,000 mg of salt on a regular basis.

If you want to add something to your water to make it more interesting and that’s good for your health, try flavored creatine.

Just please, let’s slowdown on the electrolyte packets.

They’re becoming the BCAAs of 2026.

Follow for more evidence based takes on the latest health trends. U Can. by @jmanucan

“GLP-1 Friendly” - I’m gonna need you to do better than that Mission.

We’ve got enough stigma as it is around weight loss and the last thing we need is to be categorizing foods as friendly or unfriendly, especially in relation to weight loss medication.

What do yall think? Does this perpetuate miseducation around food?

Let me know if you have any questions on the whole GLP-1 debate, and I’ll do my best to get ‘em answered. U Can. by @jmanucan

We’ve been busy at the hill y’all!

Dates to join in May include the 2nd, the 9th, the 16th, the 20th and the 30th! They’ll all be in the morning at Berens Park in Elmhurst except for on the on the 9th we’re taking a special trip to the Warren Dunes State Park!

Shoot me a DM if you’re interested in joining! U Can. by @jmanucan

Didn’t actually mean for Android to catch a stray like that, but I was heated on the work trip this morning.

Seriously, you can automate 90% of my life with AI, and I’d figure out a way, but total digitalization of my gym experience is where I draw the line.

Lol that it’s April fools. This is 100% how I feel 😅 U Can Fam by @jmanucan

Week 4 of climbing this hill until I summit Mount Everest

If you're stuck in a rut with your fitness, get out there with your community! It's a surefire way to hold yourself accountable and make sure that you get moving and have fun.

And save the date for Saturday, May 9th if running up and down a sand dune all day with your friends sounds to you like a good time 😉

U Can. by @jmanucan

"You’re climbing Mount Everest!?" Y'all are too kind 🥲

Through the end of the year I am going to be doing laps up and down this hill, one extra lap added on each week, not in preparation to climb Mount Everest, but until I reach the same total vertical feet climbed as Mount Everest. This has become a pretty common endurance challenge in the biking and hiking/running space over the past five to ten years. You can learn more about it at everesting.com!

The challenge that I have for myself is less about some major endurance event and more about showing the power of consistency, compounding, and community. I'll be out on the hill every weekend for the rest of the year so if you live around Chicago don't be shy! Shoot me a DM and we'll find some time to get you out here.

Endless gratitude to Anna for always being right by my side and supporting me in all my silly endeavors 🥰 U Can. by @jmanucan

I went to the Winter Olympics and heres’s 3 things Olympians reaffirmed to me about performance.

Minimums > Maximums

Inputs > Outputs

Consistency > Intensity

U Can. by @jmanucan