The "protein-first" method is a new, alternative, and most important - ultra simple - way of setting your macronutrients, aka "macros" - protein, carbohydrate and fat - that many nutrition coaches are starting to use and embrace because it's so simple. Having a simple method is helpful because crunching macro numbers is one of the first stages in the meal planning process where many people get confused and frustrated
Does fasted cardio burn more fat? 20 or 30 years ago, almost everyone in fitness and bodybuilding thought so. You can count me in that group. I was a 1990s and 2000s era competition bodybuilder and I did a lot of fasted cardio first thing in the morning. Back then I also recommended cardio on an empty stomach to my training clients for burning more fat. Today the research is clear: Fasted cardio works, but it doesn't work better than fed cardio. Read the blog to learn why
What is the best time of day to work out? I wouldn’t blame you if you were confused about this because everyone seems to have an opinion: Conventional wisdom says train in the morning to start your day right. But some coaches argue that it's better to train later in the day due to circadian rhythms. New research has shed some light on the "best time to train," including the best time to lift if you want to gain muscle...
Meal prepping (aka “meal prep”) is often misunderstood. Many people think meal prepping and meal planning are the same thing. The truth is, they go hand-in-hand, but they’re different. In this post, first I’ll quickly explain that difference, and then I’ll show you how I do meal prep, and how you can use these great meal prep ideas too to burn more fat (or build more muscle)
It doesn’t matter whether you’re a physique, fitness, or strength competitor, or you’re a recreational health, fitness or sports enthusiast, if you have goals and you know when you want to achieve them, then I guarantee the tool you're about to learn about will skyrocket your training, diet and overall fitness success. It can also help you establish any new habit or break any old one. It's also one of the simplest strategies you will ever use. It's so simple, you have to be careful not to dismiss it until you try it. Anyone can do this, and without much effort. Oh, it's free too...
You may have heard of drop sets before because they've been around a long time and drop sets are one of the most popular high intensity muscle building methods. Drop sets were invented in 1947 by Henry Atkins. Arnold Schwarzenegger helped make drop sets more popular in the 1970s. The terminator famously used drop sets on barbell curls to build some of the best biceps of all time. Today you see recreational lifters doing drop sets every day in every gym. Maybe you already do them too. But if so, are you sure you're doing them right? If you're doing them wrong, or not doing them at all, you're missing out on major gains...
More people, especially as they get older, are finding that 5 or 6 days a week of lifting feels excessive, leading to so much fatigue and soreness, it's no longer fun. Sometimes they just give up. Others simply don't have time to train almost daily. If they are all or none thinkers, they might figure, "If I can't follow the ideal schedule to maximize results, why bother at all?" They don't realize how many time efficient training methods are out there. Training only 3 days a week is one of them. They also don't realize you can make excellent gains with only 3 workouts a week. And there are more options for 3 day schedules than you might imagine...
Published in 2002, The War of Art by Steven Pressfield is about breaking through blocks that hold you back and disciplining yourself to do important work and pursue your calling. This book is aimed at creative artists, especially writers. But it contains lessons for anyone pursuing growth in any area who feels blocked by self-sabotaging behavior or failure to act......
One of the biggest training debates in recent years is about the ideal training frequency: If your goal is building muscle, should you train each muscle group once a week or twice a week? (Or somewhere in between?) If you listen to most trainers today, you'll probably hear them say it's ideal work each muscle twice per week. However, based on recent research as well as observation of what's working for top bodybuilders, the answer about training frequency may not be so cut and dried. In today's post, Tom Venuto gives a unique and open-minded answer to a reader's question on this topic.
It's possible that everything you thought you knew about how much weight you should lift and how many reps you should do to build muscle might be wrong. But if it is, it's nothing to be upset about. For many people, the recent discovery that you can build as much muscle lifting light weights for high reps as you can lifting moderate weights or heavy weights is great news. Read on to learn why and how you can gain muscle with light weights.
