There’s a version of fitness online that seems to exist in a vacuum: perfect programmes, dialled-in nutrition, unlimited time. And then there’s fitness for the rest of us, living in the real world.
For Will Simpson – former rugby player turned military officer and founder of performance nutrition brand Real Meal – training doesn’t happen in isolation. It’s wedged between early starts, business demands and family life. But he says realising that training can’t be your top priority is the first step to making it work.
‘Lower the stakes,’ he says. ‘Missing one workout isn’t the end of the world.’
From Rugby to the Army – and a Business on the Side
Simpson’s first plan was simple: rugby.
‘There was always that thing of, “one day we’ll get the call-up”… but I quickly realised I just wasn’t big enough, or fast enough… and probably not good enough.’
What followed was a move into the military, working in reconnaissance. It was during what Simpson describes as ‘one of the hardest selection courses in the military’ that the idea for Real Meal – a 600-calorie meal replacement bar – started to form.
‘Your alarm’s going off at 3:30… breakfast at four… on the vehicle by 4:30.’
The work was relentless, but the prescribed fuelling strategy was basic and, to Simpson, inadequate.
‘There’d be big bins of food, you’d just fill your pockets before you left. One snack from each bin. It was basically seven chocolate bars or flapjacks.’
This high-sugar rationing works – in the short term.
‘I remember feeling great for the first hour or two… and then you’re absolutely bonking.’
Some efforts stretched for hours; others ran through the night.
‘This is a six-month process… and I was thinking, where’s the recovery element? Where’s the fats? Where’s the balance?’
That question stuck with Simpson and prompted him to start experimenting.
‘I said, right – 600 calories. 60-20-20, carbs, protein, fats. Minimum ingredients.’
Simpson’s V1 prototype was less than successful.
‘It was oats, quinoa, dates, honey… I baked it. It was a dense, thick, inedible biscuit.’
But the idea was sound, so he took it to a performance nutritionist, shopped it around and secured a large order before the product even existed.
‘I said, “I’ve got this bar”… I didn’t have a bar,’ Simpson laughs.
Cue 30-plus iterations with food scientists until Real Meal, as it exists now, was born.
Via Will Simpson
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Alongside building a business, Simpson has continued to push his own training, completing multiple Ironmans and a 100-mile ultra.
‘I just tested it on myself,’ he says. ‘Long bike rides, Ironmans… then I did a 100-miler just using the bars.’ He hit 100 miles in 21 hours. ‘I was like, I am not taking another step.’
But what will stand out to fathers, business owners and busy men isn’t just the challenges Simpson undertakes – it’s how he fits it all in.
There’s no illusion of perfect structure. Training sits around everything else.
‘The stakes are actually pretty low,’ he says. ‘Realising that makes it easier to just get something done.’
It’s a line that comes up again and again: not chasing perfect sessions, not waiting for ideal conditions, just finding a way to keep moving. Unless he’s training for something specific, Simpson says his goals are built around turning up and committing to the process – not hitting fixed targets. Particularly when learning new skills: ‘It’s not about saying “get good at climbing”… it’s “climb twice a week”.’
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Lowering the stakes in this way ensures consistency. High-pressure goals may work for a while, but when life ramps up elsewhere (work, family, illness), you need something simple, sustainable and actionable – not lofty targets that feel overwhelming. Think: ‘three hours of total training time each week’, rather than a rigid plan that’s easily derailed.
For Simpson, the goal isn’t optimisation. It’s sustainability.
Training has to fit around work, family and everything else. And nutrition follows the same rule.
‘I eat dinner with my kids,’ he says. ‘I’m not making something completely separate.’
Instead of complexity, he leans on simple constraints: protein first, whole foods where possible, and enough structure to stay on track without overthinking it.
‘If you’re hitting your protein, getting your fruit and veg… it’s very hard to get everything else wrong.’
Via Will Simpson
Just Get Something Done
If there’s a philosophy that ties it all together – from rugby to the military to endurance racing and building a business – it’s this: lower the barrier and keep it repeatable.
Simpson believes most people don’t fall short through lack of effort. They fall short because what they’re trying to do doesn’t fit their life. His approach flips that, and is refreshingly practical.
‘Just get something done,’ he says.
Do that often enough, and everything else tends to take care of itself.
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With almost 18 years in the health and fitness space as a personal trainer, nutritionist, breath coach and writer, Andrew has spent nearly half of his life exploring how to help people improve their bodies and minds.
As our fitness editor he prides himself on keeping Men’s Health at the forefront of reliable, relatable and credible fitness information, whether that’s through writing and testing thousands of workouts each year, taking deep dives into the science behind muscle building and fat loss or exploring the psychology of performance and recovery.
Whilst constantly updating his knowledge base with seminars and courses, Andrew is a lover of the practical as much as the theory and regularly puts his training to the test tackling everything from Crossfit and strongman competitions, to ultra marathons, to multiple 24 hour workout stints and (extremely unofficial) world record attempts.
You can find Andrew on Instagram at @theandrew.tracey, or simply hold up a sign for ‘free pizza’ and wait for him to appear.
