 Calorie counting is not some new fancy revelation in health and fitness. In fact, you’ve probably done it before and not even realized it. Tracking “food points”, macronutrients, serving sizes, and prescribed meal plans are all forms of counting calories. On a fundamental level, all of the methods mentioned above are just forms of applying a standard metric to what it is you’re eating. If you know me, or have read almost anything I’ve put out in the past, you’ll know I’m advocate of counting calories by the way of tracking macronutrients (proteins, carbs, and fats). Every client I’ve ever had, and almost everyone who asks for nutrition and fat loss on the street will always hear my calorie-counting and macronutrient counting spiel. It’s nothing glamorous. It’s not hip, sexy, or exciting by any means. But it works. Always has. Always will. This doesn’t mean you should be a bean counting, calorie tracking Nazi about every piece of food that makes it’s way into your mouth. In fact, I don’t think anybody should be counting and tracking EVERTYHING they eat. That my friends, is an eating disorder based on obsessive compulsion. But I’m not here to give you a Dr. Phil lecture. Do I count my macros and count my macros everyday? Certainly not. Do I suggest you learn how to track macros and count your calories? Of course! Do I suggest you track macros and count calories the rest of your life? Certainly not! As much as I am a fan of applying a metric to the foods you eat, I’m an even bigger fan of having people move into an easier, and more intuitive approach to eating. Most of the time, folks aren’t interested in learning how to track their foods and count their calories. If you’re adamant about not counting calories, you’re going to need a game plan . A real game plan. “Eating clean foods” just won’t cut it, and you’re going to have to have a better plan than that. So let’s devise a way of eating that will help you lean out and lose some body fat if you’re not willing to get on board with counting calories. Why Calories Counting is Your Best Option Here’s my last attempt at trying to bring you back to the light that is calorie counting. And also address the benefits of what you’ll be missing out on.
I kept that list pretty shorts, but let’s now take a short look at some of the issues on the other end of the spectrum that is “eating clean.” When someone makes the decisions to finally go “all in” to lose some weight, they’ll follow some pretty vague and ambiguous parameters. They’ll often look to Eat “Healthy”
This approach is known as a fear based approach. It’s based on the incorrect logic that there are specific foods in this universe that will instantly make you gain weight if you eat them. These foods are commonly thought of as:
In reality, none of the things listed above can make you fat or gain weight. This is only the case when consumed in excess and calories exceed your daily energy maintenance. The next approach most people take is following a fad diet plan. Something like Paleao eating, Low carb, Vegan plans, Mediterrean diets, no gluten, no wheat, etc. This isn’t to say the methods above are bad when it comes to improving your health and making changes in your appearance. It’s better than nothing. But there’s some issues with each of these approaches that should be taken into consideration. The idea that deprivation or elimination of foods is the key and to getting and staying permanently lean becomes your sole mindset. Sustaining your new lean lifestyle based on your diet becomes a problem. Denying yourself of foods you enjoy will begin to become increasingly more difficult, and it could only be a matter of time before a binge happens and your “cheat meal” turns into a cheat day. Or worse, you fall off the wagon completely for a week or more. Something of a vicious cycle ensures. Deprivation is implemented. So they’ll see results. Then they crack due to the restriction. Once they’re over their episode, they hop back on the wagon and start the cycle all over again, telling themselves they won’t screw it up again and have stronger will power. Fat Loss Is Progressively Difficult Every pound of body fat you lose makes the next one progressively more difficult. If you’re someone who needs to lose 200 pounds, the first 100 will come with small habitual changes such as more walking, smarter meal choices, and eliminating snacking during the day. It’s when the weight loss starts to slow down is where the approach needs to be fine-tuned. Enter: Calorie Counting. The real reason “eating clean” and only eating “healthy” foods works so well (at the start) is that you are eating less calories by default and not even realizing it. You’re eliminating junk food, fast foods, minimizing snacking, not drinking your calories, and probably exercising a bit more. So of course you’ll lose weight! There is a correlation between eating these “clean” and healthy foods, but it’s not the actual causation. It’s certainly easy to think these healthy foods are the cause of the weight loss because you’ve seen some progress, but in actuality, you’re just consuming fewer calories over an extended period of time. Counting calories will show you exactly how this weight loss is happening. But enough about that. I think I’ve made my point about counting calories. So if you STILL don’t have any desire to count, here’s your approach. Before we get into this short little plan, it’s imperative to remember that calories DO count. Even though you are not actively tracking them, they matter. Calories are the measure of energy content that food contains. Here’s a simplified explanation. Consume too many calories- gain weight. Consume fewer calories than you expend – lose weight. It makes almost no difference (on an energy level) whether these calories come from “superfoods” or Twinkies. The change in body mass and body fat is based on energy balances. There is no arguing that. Consistency in the diet plan will be paramount here, as manipulating the parts of the diet (food) will be what is making the changes to your weight and physique. So here’s the layout. NUMBER OF MEALS IN A DAY This one is based solely on what you’re comfortable with. Some people prefer to eat 3 times a day, which is perfectly fine. Others might like to eat 9 meals a day, which is fine as well. But keep in mind, the more meals you eat, the smaller they should be. Fewer meals means they can be larger. This recommendation seems to work best for most people
-OR delay first meal until lunch, mid-day snack, and dinner -OR delay first meal, lunch, dinner, pre-bed snack The reason for holding off on breakfast is mostly for convenience. People tend to be in a hurry to get to work early in the day and often don’t have an appetite. Why force yourself to scarf down a meal you don’t even want and take extra time out of your morning routine? By all means you CAN have breakfast if you’d like and hold off on lunch/dinner, but I’ve found that most people feel better and have increased energy levels if they have a mid-day meal. But it’s all based on YOUR personal preference.  PLAN YOUR PROTEIN You need more protein. Yes, you. Just about every client I’ve ever had has come to me with the issue of not getting enough protein in their diet. If you’re training with weights (which you should be at this point) you’re going to need more protein. If you’re dieting to lose weight and body fat, you’re going to need more protein. This means at EVERY MEAL you have during the day. Protein will be the focal point of your meals, and the rest (carbs and fats) will be built around your protein.
-Steak or flank beef -Salmon or other fatty fish -Chicken thighs and/or legs
-Turkey breast -Lean Deli Meats -Tilapia or Cod -Lean pork Protein shakes are also an option here, but should be utilized mostly if you feel you are not getting adequate protein. Or for after a workout if you’re not hungry or you’re limited on time and can’t get a whole-food meal in.  DON’T FORGET YOUR VEGETABLES If you’re looking to diet down with this program to lose some body fat, veggies are going to be the greatest thing in the world. They’ll fill you up quite nicely and keep you feeling full and don’t have very many calories whatsoever. They are imperative for fat loss. Not because they burn fat or any kind of nonsense like that. But because they’ll make the fat loss process a lot easier and tastier. Be sure to focus on leafy, green vegetables with EVERY meal. Also be aware of sautéed or buttered veggies at restaurants.
-Spinach -Lettuce -Kale -Cauliflower -Mushrooms -Onions -Tomatoes -Carrots -Peppers -Squashes  HAVE SOME FRUITS Fruits are not the equivalent to veggies here, for a couple of reasons. Fruit has a higher calories content than veggies and won’t leave you feeling as full as vegetables might. It will provide good amounts of vitamins and minerals, so be sure to include a small amount here and there. PLAN YOUR CARBOHYDRATES CAREFULLY A lot of people will tend to drastically cut out carbohydrates almost entirely to ramp up their fat loss efforts. Not a great idea, especially if you’re someone looking to make a sustainable change in your life and you’re working out with weights or doing some type of resistance training. Carbohydrates are delicious. There’s no arguing that. This makes them quite easy to over-eat, and they do not fill you up as easily as proteins and fats will. This is why it becomes smart to plan when and what carbohydrates you’re going to be eating ahead of time. Your carbs are better off being from whole food choices and less from processed or sugary sources. Here’s how your carbohydrate consumption should play out:
-Rice (white, brown, jasmine, whole grain, it’s your choice) -Potatoes (white, sweet, yams, etc) Folks will tend to argue that certain types of rices (brown) or potatoes (sweet) are inherently healthier and will be better choices. There is no validity to any of that. In a mixed meal of carbs, fat, and protein, the physiology of digestion will negate the “lower insulin” (or whatever process you’d like to say each food is superior food) effects. So choose the types of carbohydrates you’ll enjoy.  IT’S OKAY TO HAVE TREATS, JUST PLAN THEM WISELY Depriving yourself of fun foods that you enjoy forever is not a smart move here. The longer you try to restrict yourself from foods you (or someone else) deems as “bad” and “unhealthy”, the more you’ll inevitably begin to crave them. The best thing you can do here Is know when to plan the times you’d like to enjoy these treats. The way to do this is substituting the carbohydrates you would be eating for the day for the specific treat foods you’re longing to have. Here’s what you could do:
-Ice Cream -A slice of pizza It’s also best to plan these foods around social events. If you know you have a wedding to be at, or maybe happy hour with some co-workers, make this the time to enjoy these foods. STICK WITH YOUR PLAN AND TRUST THE PROCESS Starting a new diet or eating plan isn’t too difficult, it’s staying on track and not falling off the wagon that’s the difficult part. This plan of not having to count calories is still based on calories, but it takes the tedious and “hard” work out of it. Things will come up and you’ll be challenged. That’s normal and it will happen. If you happen to stray from plan for a day or two, don’t sweat it. Just pick up where you left on and don’t beat yourself up about it. Simple as that. If this plan is giving your current way of eating a large overhaul (elimanting sodas, sweets, processed foods, ect) expect to a large amount of weight loss at first. If you’re someone who’s been pretty good about making smarter food choices and have had some experience with counting calories or diets in the past, this will still be quite beneficial for you. If after a few weeks/months of dieting with the plan, adjustments may need to be made to continue seeing weight loss progress.
-Reduce the fattier protein sources (salmon, beef, pork) for leaner cuts of meats such as chicken breasts, white fish, shrimp, and tuna fish. -Make sure you’re not snacking during the day. Be honest with yourself. Those couple of handful of mixed nuts you’re having at the office might be sabotaging your progress. Ultimately, counting calories will be beneficial to everyone when they go into the process with the proper state of mind. For some people, it may not be what they can handle in their lives at the time. And there’s nothing wrong with that. The next best thing they can do is understand how to make proper food choices with a plan like this (based on calories). So give this a try, and hopefully it’s the jump start you need to find some motivation to finally get fit and improve your physique FOR GOOD. If you like the plan, or perhaps prefer a more detailed, customized plan especially for YOU, feel free to contact me and we can get you rolling. Best of luck, and thanks for reading. 
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 Yes, I am still alive. And so is this website, despite not being updated with new content for quite sometime. In fact, this site may be more alive than ever, and I'll explain why. So far into 2016 has been quite uneventful, yet probably the most enlightening couple of months I've experienced in recent memory. Days tend to be quite routine for me at this point in my life, as I'm sure many of you reading this can relate. It's the same old song and dance, and as the expression goes, "same shit, different day." Those of us who like to workout, lift weights, go to the gym, be a bro and all that good stuff tend to get make their workouts the "highlight of their day". Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with being a fitness enthusiast and wanting to be healthy. But for many of us, and I say us because I include myself in this population, tend to get too wrapped up in the "lifestyle". I say "lifestyle" with quotes because it's become some fabricated, manufactured style of living that has somehow been force fed into many of the avid gym-goers minds. I'll get into some of that here in a bit. Before I digress too much, I'll make my point right here, and you can probably guess what it is from the title of this piece: DON'T MAKE YOUR LIFE ALL ABOUT THE GYM. MAKE IT FIT INTO YOUR LIFE. I'm talkin to all you bros, cross-fitters, meatheads, squat-girls, fit-fammers, and IIFYMers out there. I'M A RECOVERING FITNESS JUNKIE that's the title of a recent article I read by a fantastic writer in the industry named Nate Green. You can check out the article HERE if you'd like, i highly recommend it if you're reading this. His article really resonated with me on just about every level, and I could relate with almost every experience he mentions. I've often felt I was alone in feeling this way, but I've heard and shared quite a few similar experiences that other fitness enthusiasts have had, and it seems to be a common occurrence among people who take their enthusiasm to the extremes. In many cases, it starts out like this: Almost everybody gets into lifting weights because they're looking to improve the way they look, whether its to gain muscle mass, lose body fat, or both. For most, the initial stages of trying to improve their body composition is a daunting and overwhelming task, this is why so many people fall off the wagon early on in their processes. But the ones who dredge on and make visible progress often benefit tremendously, and the benefits carry over into all aspects of their lives. They no doubt become healthier, more energetic, happier, and most importantly more confident with an improved self image. What's the problem, then?? The phenomena of visible, physical changes brought on by your own doing is quite addicting. In fact, i'd say it has the effect of a drug. The psychological consequences it brings about are interesting, to say the least. This is where all the bros, cross-fitters, meatheads, squat-girls, fit-fammers, and IIFYMers are conceived. I can't speak on behalf of everyone, but for most people, an insatiable sense of "I NEED MORE" develops. Whether it's more muscle, more weight on the bar, more visible fat loss, there's an objective now, and you'll do whatever's necessary to accomplish that objective. You've all probably witnessed the behavoir that can develop from this "quest" to be the fittest version of themselves they can be, The silly amount of meals most people carry about and shove down their throats each day, the ubiquitous gallon jug of water the meatheads tote around. The name brand workout shoes, knee-sleeves, lifting straps, and hardcore t-shirts they sport at the gyms. And of course, the perpetual talk about how much a crossfitter can crossfit as they're cross-fitting (cross-fitting? is that the present tense verb?) And worst of all, the 6-7 a days these people spend at the gym, trying to fullfill the "more is what i need" prophecy. This type of behavior can lead to superiority complex where most people walk around with a sense of "I'm better than you because I workout and eat boiled chicken breast 5 times a day." Whether you'd like to admit it or not, I'm certain you've felt that way at sometime in your "ultimate fitness quest." BEING FIT WON'T MAGICALLY MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON, AND BEING SHREDDED WON'T MAKE GIRLS LIKE YOU. A lot of the bros and meatheads tend to view lifting weights as a means to an end; the end being some celebrity-esq life where the sun shines brighter and women flock to you like the salmon of Capistrano. Sorry, but that's not the case, and it never will be Deep down inside we all want to look great, but so often people become deluded with the idea that being physically attractive will make you an awesome all-around person and everyone like you. In fact, I'd be so bold as to say the opposite of that really happens. ' People who feel the need for others approval and admiration tend to miss out on a lot of other important things in their life. Opportunities are blown at the expense of making trips to the gym. Relationships with friends and family are thrown by the way side by the social activities you miss out on because you want to stick to a diet. Career and work performance suffers. But it's okay! because you have six-pack abs and a 315 bench press to match. Come on, now. What's the point of looking phenomenal when you're a jerk to everyone around you and gave up so much to attain that physique? TAKE HOME POINTS
Once again, I don't mean to fit-shame any particular group of people, but I'm speaking on behalf of my own personal experiences and many other individuals. Working out and excessively training will often lead to a sense of apathy towards something you once felt tremendous enthusiasm for. This is known as getting burnt out, and this happens very often. If you're someone that hasn't yet been consumed by the gym-going-lifestyle, consider yourself lucky and do what you can do avoid it. This doesn't mean stop lifting weights and going to the gym, but always be sure to find time to fit other activities and hobbies into your life. And most importantly, always make time for your friends and family. ALWAYS. Take a good introspective look at yourself and prioritize some of the things going on in your life and ask yourself, "Is this where I want to be?" "Is what I'm doing currently getting me to where I want to be." Hopefully the paths you've chosen have provided your life with some direction, and if that's not the case that's fine. But the gym should never be an obstacle that may impede you from furthering yourself. If you find yourself feeling a bit burnt out by working out or see any of the issues mentioned here, take some time for yourself and re-evaulate what's really important to you in your life. Having the best WOD and abs shouldn't be at the top of that list. Live in the moment, enjoy time spent with those you care about, travel, eat fantastic food, and somewhere in there make some time to get a workout in. It really is that easy.  Summer’s right around the corner and as the beaches are heating up, so is everyone’s attempts at finally attaining that illusive beach-ready body. One of the key components of having an attractive physique (however you define it) for both men and women alike, is having a low level of body fat. Now I’m not talking peeled to the bone shredded here. Heck, you don’t even have to have visible abs. (Which isn’t the end all-be-all to a fit physique, folks.) A fit, healthy physique will have typically be at a decent body fat level, while being accompanied with a good amount of lean muscle mass to really forge an attractive package. Don’t let those uber-subscribed fitness freaks on Instagram fool you. Real people don’t look like that. Ever. Anywhere. Heck, those people don’t even look like that. But we’re not here to talk about that Instafit fame or what an ideal physique is. We’re here to look at how you can finally drop some of that unwanted body fat to make improvements on your own body to finally look good in those summer-time threads this year. Fat Loss Is Simple, But Not Always Easy  The premise to fat loss is a simple one. Expend more energy than you consume. I’m sure everyone knows this by now. And if you don’t, now you do. But it’s not always so easy in application. If you’ve read anything I’ve put out on the interwebs or have been following me for some time, you’ll know I’m a huge proponent of tracking macronutrients and counting calories. Yes, counting calories works. But it’s pretty challenging for most people to get the hang of. Especially someone who is new to dieting and working out. While it is a valuable tool that I believe everybody that everyone should try to comprehend at some point in their fitness journeys, it is not the only method to make visible changes in your body. So if you’re not down with the whole calorie counting game and could care less about tracking your macros, I get it. It’s perfectly fine. So if you’re someone who’s looking to shed some unwanted body fat, here are some EASY to implement methods that you can use everyday to help get you on track to attain those fat loss goals. 1.DON’T DRINK YOUR CALORIES  You’d be surprised at how many calories you’re consuming on a daily basis just through drinks. A latte from the coffeeshop with a bit of cream and sugar. A glass of sweet tea with lunch. It’s these small drinks that add up. And add up quickly at that. That small smoothie you had after your workout. And just because that smoothie is thought to be considered “healthy” because it’s frutis and greens and all that good stuff, it’s jam packed with loads of calories. You can easily consume up to 800 calories with a large smoothie, so be aware of this if you’re trying to cut down on your body fat. The best drinks to stick to throughout the day are water, un-sweetened teas, un-sweetened coffee, and diet drinks. And I know some of you reading this will be all like “Hey Craven, those diet drinks are going to kill you because of aspartame and whatever.” NO. They’re not going to anything. Especially if you’re limiting these drinks to a few a day, max. Diet drinks have been shown to be an effective tool for weight loss and maintenance. In fact, it is unlikely that a person could come close to reaching the aspartame levels deemed unacceptable by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. An adult weighing 165 pounds would have to drink more than 19 cans of diet soda a day, or consume more than 107 packets, to go over the recommended level. Water is always going to be your best bet when trying to limit calories, though. 2. EAT HIGHER PROTEIN MEALS THROUGHOUT THE DAY  This is where I see a lot of people screwing up their nutrition. They’re lacking adequate intake of protein. If you look at the standard American diet, it’s primarily high carb and high fat foods that make up the bulk of our meals. Pizza, burgers, French fries, chips, pasta dishes, etc. Sure, you’ll get small amount of protein in there with those dishes, but that’s not going to be enough. Especially when dieting to reduce body fat. Eating more protein throughout the day has multiple benefits. The first reason is a diet high in protein will help improve your satiety and keep you from feeling hungry. This automatically serves as a method for calorie control because it will help you reduce how much food you’re eating overall. Increased protein consumption can help increase your metabolism as well. Higher protein consumption can help your body expend and additional 100 calories a day just through the thermic effect of food alone. If you increase the amount of protein you eat throughout the day, you will start to see noticeable changes over time. A recommended amount for those looking to diet is between 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight and 1.3 grams per pound of bodyweight. If you’re having problems meeting your higher protein requirements, contact me and I’ll help you get there. 3. EAT VEGETABLES WITH EVERY MEAL  Again, something the standard American diet is lacking. Vegetables are a low calorie foods that provide a lot of volume for their calories. This means they’ll help fill you up and keep you feeling full for longer. It’s a lot harder to eat 200 grams worth of carbohydrates in vegetables than it would be with rice or pasta. So swap out those starchy carb entrees for some mixed green or steamed vegetables. Get creative with your veggies and add them to eggs, chicken dishes, and everything else. The greener, the better too. Something to be aware of is vegetables when eating out. Most restaurants will sautee or prepare these veggies in butter or oils, so be sure to ask for no butter or oils to save on excess fat calories. 4. INCREASE YOUR DAILY ACTIVITY  Working out Is the DUH remark here. If you’re not all ready hitting the gym to lift some weight and maybe do some light cardio from time to time, then you should definitely be incorporating this at least 3 times a week. But it the long run, it’s the small things that are easy to (and easy NOT to do) that will really help you make changes in your body. Small things like opting to take the stairs instead of the elevator. Parking a little bit further in the parking lot instead of trying to find the closest spot to the door. Taking a break from your desk at work to walk around for a solid 10 minutes every few hours. Even things that seem insignificant like sitting up straight in your chair during the day and focusing on walking with better posture. These small habits increase your daily energy expenditure, and over a long enough period, will make a dramatic difference. 5. GET MORE REST AND STRESS LESS  I think I have a knack for corny rhyme schemes.
This is probably the most underrated part of a fat loss diet and arguably the most important tip in this article. The benefits of enough sleep cannot be overlooked, especially when it comes to making healthy, physical changes in your body. Lack of sleep can increase your stress levels, make you feel lethargic and un energized throughout the day, and increase your appetite. Everything we DON’T want to experience when trying to reduce body fat. Never treat your sleep as a luxury, but rather a major priority. Aim to get at least 6 solid hours every night. And maybe a quick power nap (no longer than 30 minutues) throughout the day. Along the same thread as sleep is stress. Everyone is way too stressed out these days, especially about things they shouldn’t be worrying about in the first place. It’s as if people are going through their days and thinking they left the stove on at home in the back of their mind. That’s a metaphor, of course, but people are filled with anxiety and worry about things that don’t even really matter. So learn how take a step back from your life once in a while and chill out. If you think your workouts aren’t working and your diet isn’t yielding progress, don’t sweat it. Make the changes necessary (if necessary) and go on with your program and trust the process. FAT LOSS HABITS The fat loss tips discussed here are pretty crucial when it comes to making a change in your life to finally achieve a leaner physique. All of these methods are easy to do for sure, but they’re just as easy NOT to do. And the difference between successful people and unsuccessful people lies right there. It will surely take some time to get into a rhythm, usually 2 weeks for most habits to stick, but all it takes is a little determination and will power to make it over that first hump. None of the information discussed here is by any means “new”, “glamorous”, or “groundbreaking.” It’s just solid info that’s been proven to be effective. And just as a reminder, fat loss will ALWAYS come from consuming fewer calories than you burn. Don’t get that twisted. It’s simple. But not always easy. Hunger’s always gonna sneak up on you, especially when you’re trying to rid yourself of bad eating habits. You’ll slip up a few times and take a step backwards. We all do. But it’s the grit and determination to keep on going after those small set backs that will truly force yourself to attain the healthy, fit body you’ve been striving to attain for so long.  “So what supplements should I be taking?” The most ubiquitous question I’m asked by both clients and people I’m chatting up on the street. As weight training and “gym-type” lifestyles are becoming increasingly popular with women (no complaints on my end), more and more females are being targeted by supplement companies to “take their STUFF.” In fact, I’m convinced Instagram’s “fit-fam” community is probably 85% of companies and individuals trying to sell you something you don’t need; like supplements. It’s actually quite off putting to see so much mis-information spewed on the inter-webs towards women in order to make a quick buck at the expense of people who are looking for real helpful information to improve their fitness and wellbeing. Then there’s guys like me who want nothing more than to provide accurate and helpful information to those who seek it. Most of the time it’s kind of like shooting a BB gun at a train. It hardly makes a dent. But it’s something, right?? So I’ll continue to keep on taking aim and doing my thing. Before I get further into this and give you my PERSONAL recommendations of what supplements you could take to help improve your performance in the gym and overall health, let me just say this: SUPPLEMENTS MEAN NOTHING IF YOUR TRAINING AND DIET ARE NOT NAILED DOWN. I’ll repeat this one more time for emphasis. SUPPLEMENTS MEAN NOTHING IF YOU’RE TRAINING AND DIET ARE NOT NAILED DOWN. So if you’re expecting me to tell you about the latest fat detox that will instantly make you drop 20 pounds in 2 weeks, you came to wrong place, girly. There’s only a handful of tried and true supplements that should be considered if, and only if, you’re doing everything you can to make your training and nutrition programs top priority. Ask yourself this question: Am I doing everything I can with my training and nutrition planning at this moment? If you answered an emphatic YES! To this question, then feel free to carry on with the rest of this article. PROTEIN POWDERS  Protein powders, while technically labeled as a supplement, you should be getting adequate amounts from your food. It's often hard to eat adequate amounts of protein in a day from meat sources, so protein shakes thrown in periodicaly during the day (ideally peri-workout) will be beneficial. I highly recommend a quality protein powder, preferable a Whey Isolate (a little more expensive), or a basic Whey Protein. Try and steer clear from the whey concentrates, soy proteins, veggie protein, or anything of that hippie variety. It's not quality and doesn't have the necessary amino acids to promote protein synthesis (process of muscle building). If you want to throw some money away, I'd be more than happy to take it off your hands. PRE-WORKOUT SUPPLEMENTS  No supplement has gained more popularity in the last few years than supercharging elixir that is pre workout powders and formulas. These are products that are marketed from every angle, from the subtle “instant energy” variety to the “FULL ON HAM MOTHERFUCKING BEASTMODE GET APESHIT JACKED” magical powder, and everything in between. Here’s my thought on pre-workouts. You DON’T NEED them if you’re getting plenty of sleep each night and eating a variety of foods rich in vitamins, minerals, and decent amounts of carbohydrates to fuel your training. Now…if you’re looking for a slight edge to improve your performance in the gym after a tiring day of sitting at a desk for 10 hours, you could try your luck with a pre-workout supplement. WHAT’S IN IT? Almost every prewokout supplement on the market right now has one common ingredient. CAFFEINE. And lot’s of it. Caffeine seems to catch a bad rap in the media for whatever reason, but there’s actually a host of benefits that caffeine provides. The obvious one being increased energy. Additional benefits are reduced insulin sensitivity, increased alertness, helps prevent post workout muscle pain, and improves central nervous system functions. Pre-workouts typically promote an “increased pump” effect by including vaso-dialaters such as arginine to help facilitate the transport of oxygen and other nutrients throughout the bloodstream during training. It’s nothing magical and it definitely won’t increase your squat by 100 pounds, but it can definitely help provide some edge to your training when you need a quick boost of energy to help you attain those desired booty gains. There isn’t a specific brand or product that I recommend. They’re all essentially very similar and provide the same effect. For those looking to save on cash, I like to recommend drinking coffee before training. The energy and focus effects are just as good as those you’d find in a popular preworkout supp. CREATINE This is a supplement most women tend to shy away from. They immediately think of big, bloated, muscle-bound freaks when they hear creatine. Not exactly the sleek and sexy physique appeal that most women are looking for. But in reality, creatine is a very effect and useful supplement and should be utilized by women if they’re looking to make the most of their training in the gym. People often stray away from it as they think it'll "make them retain water" and look "bloated", which is completely stupid. Creatine is a molecule in an energy system that can quickly produce ATP (what your muscles use for energy). Its stored in the skeletal muscle system until it's called up in times of stress (i.e. intense training), allowing the muscles to reach a higher work capacity. Basically, creatine improves the work output of the activated muscles, allowing you to lift longer and harder. This means more gains. It's been proven effective over and over again for the last 30 years. If somethings been around that long, it must work. And don't be fooled by the creatine gimmicks out there, stick with basic CREATINE MONOHYDRATE. It's dirty cheap and available everywhere, so grab a bottle next time you're at HEB and start taking anywhere from 5-20 grams a day of this time-tested gym candy! Or you could kill 2 birds with one stone by supplementing with a pre-workout formula that includes 5-10 grams of creatine. FISH OILS  Fish oil has been touted as some magical, all-encompassing super supplement. Which it is! Fish oil is a form of fatty acid that is derived from the tissues of oily fish. It contains the omega-3 fatty acids, including eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are what has gained the most attention with regard to health research over the last few years. Without getting too much into the science of EPA and DHA, you’re bodies energy production powerhouses in the cells (mitochondria) will function more effectively. Fish oils provide plenty of healthy cholesterol level support and bone health support. This stuff really helps take care of the inside of your body while you’re trying to improve the aesthetic on the outside of your body. One of my favorite benefits of fish oils is mood support. Research has indidcated that fish oils enhances cognition function and improves mood. That alone seems like a good enough reason to supplement with fish oil. MULTIVITAMIN  I know I previously stated don’t take these supplement until your nutrition is nailed down, but this is a supplement you should be taking along with your wholesome foods.
Put simply, a multivitamin complex fills in all the nutritional gaps in your diet. It may help support against the possibility of deficiencies in some of the other vitamins and minerals that can result from reduced food variety or calorie intakeand increased vitamin loss from exercise. Being deficient in many of these micronutrients can lead to low energy levels and restrict muscle growth, strength gains and fat loss. There’s a ton of vitamins that are marketed towards women, but in all honesty you don’t need anything fancy. A women’s all in one vitamin from your local grocery store will do the job just fine. So ladies, don’t get duped into spending your hard earned cash on gimmicky fat loss pills, fad detox cleanses, or deceitful supplements being promoted by photoshopped women on Instagram. Train hard, eat wholesome nutritious foods, get plenty of rest, then consider taking the supplements I recommended above. Just remember, these supplements won’t do much for you until everything else in your control is all on point. So Ladies, until next time, keep the squats low and the goals high! 3/6/2016 FLEXIBLE DIETING MYTHS DISPELLED: If Your Diet Isn’t Flexible, You’re going to BREAKRead Now For those who are familiar with me and my work, you’re probably well aware that I am a huge proponent of “Flexible Dieting.” If you haven’t heard the term “flexible dieting” before, I’m about to hit you with some life changing knowledge. My Instagram and SnapChat posts are usually peppered with posts of poptarts, Chick Fil A sandwiches, and the occasional pint of Ice Cream. This always leads to a barrage of comments like “oh, well you’re lucky and can eat whatever you want” and, “boy, if I ate that I’d be so fat!” At first, I’d chuckle a bit while scrolling through these comments, share my information about flexible dieting and HOW my food choices are made, and carry on thinking I’ve changed the world. In fact, I’ve built a pretty solid business on this premise. But the more content I put out and the more viewers I get, the more resistance and confusion I get about flexible dieting. Which is what led to putting together this little write-up. Before I go any further, I’ll explain what flexible dieting is for you guys still in the dark here. “Flexible dieting” incorporates all types of food choices and doesn’t restrict any particular food group or specific foods. It’s a nutritional concept (not a diet) that accounts for the calorie content of foods based on their macronutrients. (Macronutrients are protein, carbohydrates, and fat) All foods have macros. Everything from chicken and rice to ice cream and McDonald’s burgers. Because we know almost EXACTLY what macros we’re consuming with every meal, and calories by extension, we’re not limited to restricting any certain foods and limited to “eating clean”, whatever that means. This means we’re allowed to eat poptarts, fast foods, and foods that have been deemed “unhealthy” and “fattening”. By the way, there is no such thing as “unhealthy” or “fattening foods”. It’s all relative HOW MUCH you’re eating in a given time period. EAT JUNK FOOD, ALL DAY, ERRR-DAY.  I mean, you can if you want, but you’re probably not going to get too far with it. Social media (myself included) might be the reason to think all we do is sit around eating boxes of snack cakes all day. This might be noted as the “glamourous” side of flexible dieting, and these foods actually make up a small portion of our total daily macros and calories, probably no more than 20%. Snack foods and “tastier” foods tend to be higher in calories and will use up more of your daily allotted macronutrients than more voluminous whole foods like meats, veggies, and grains. What you don’t see is the other 80% of the diet that is comprised of tuperware chicken breasts, bags of rice, broccoli, and salads. That kind of stuff isn’t glamourous, so it doesn’t get broadcasted on social media. Truthfully, you wouldn’t get very far eating only junk as it’s not conducive to building muscle, losing fat, or improving daily performance. A flexible dieter’s diet mostly contains lean meats, complex carbs, and quality fats. As long as the daily macronutrient goal numbers are being hit, the types of foods you consume are completely up to you. The idea here is to stop labeling foods as “clean” or “dirty” and see them for what they are in terms of macronutrient composition. This will go a long way in helping you understand the freedom of food selection this nutritional concept creates. No more of this “Cheat Meal” nonsense where you’re falling off the wagon and actively cheating on something you’re supposed to be dedicated to. “IF I ATE LIKE THAT, I’D GET FAT” Did science throw a party and forget to invite you!? Without even getting into the science of the concept, here’s the cold hard truth: every diet, regardless of food selection consists of specific macronutrient numbers. It doesn’t matter if you eat 20 cans of tuna and 5 bags of broccoli every day, these food still have macronutrient contents. There’s also nothing that says you have to eat donuts and ice cream to be a flexible dieter. Some people just don’t flat out enjoy eating junk foods. (God knows I’m not one of these people!) The wonderful thing about flexible dieting is that you can eat whatever foods you enjoy as long as you account for them properly and they fit into your daily macros. If you’re someone who truly enjoys eating nothing but chicken breasts and rice forever and ever (let’s be real, there’s nobody who can do this forever) you can still apply flexible dieting. All you would have to do is figure out your daily macro allowances and fit your “clean” foods into them. Simple as pie (which you aren’t eating BTW) Most importantly, if you’re someone who just “eats clean” without measuring or tracking your actual caloric intake, there’s no way of knowing if you’re eating the same amount of food each day. If you’re not tracking calories and macros, one day might be filled with 300 grams of carbs and the following day you may have 50 grams. Without even realizing it, your calorie intake is all over the place. A scoop of peanut butter here, half an acavado here. Maybe some chicken breasts today, maybe half a piece of salmon tomorrow. Your body undoubtedly does best when there’s a form of consistence calories being consumed day to day. The idea that a flexible diet can’t work for you is invalid; it WILL work for you and I can guarantee it will be better than whatever it is you’re currently doing.  IT MIGHT MAKE YOU LOOK GOOD, BUT CAN’T POSSIBLY BE HEALTHY. The whole flexible dieting premise began in the bodybuilding community by guys who figured out they could get the same spectacular body composition by hitting daily macronutrient targets with the foods they love just as they could by eating “clean” foods.
An added bonus was they didn’t experience any of the associated psychological effects that occur when you eat nothing but brown rice and boiled chicken breasts forever and ever. So it makes you look good apparently, but will you be healthy following flexible dieting? The answer: MOST CERTAINLY. As I stated previously, a flexible diet is made up almost entirely of wholesome food choices. Fruits and veggies which provide exceptional MICROnutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc) are still incorporated. In my personal and professional opinion, I’d go so far as to say a flexible diet is much healthier than a strict meal plan. The reason: VARIETY. It’s not easy, fun, or advised to always eat the same foods day after day after day. The best way to consume vitamins and minerals is to eat a wide range of foods. I hope this serves as a bit of insight for those of you looking to incorporate flexible dieting into your lives. If you’d like to see a bit of how flexible dieting works in action, check out my Snapchat as I typically do “full days of food” on my snapchat story. You can see the food choices I make and how I properly account for all my macros.  "Dude, how do you do that?" This is by far the most frequently asked question people seem to be asking me lately. I'll hear it from my friends and on-lookers after engaging in some social or professional interaction with complete strangers, potential clients, or people who seem to be on a "higher plane of success " than your usual average folks. So what exactly is that that I'm referring to? Honestly, I don't even know. But if I had to put a label on it, I'd have to say it's the ability to be confident. The first time I realized I had this confidence thing happening to me was about 7 months ago when a bus boy at a restaurant I've been moonlighting at came up to me after witnessing me charm a complete stranger on their way out of the restaurant. The kid came up to me and asked how he could do what I just did. I didn't have a simple answer for him. In fact, I wish there was a simple answer because there' are an infinite number of factors at play here. The best I could tell him was this. -You can't worry about what other people might think about you. -Just DO things, and don't second guess yourself. -Even if you don't know exactly what you're doing, you'll figure it out on the way. -Practice speaking to anyone and everyone -Surround yourself with people who lift you up. (Sidenote: about that busboy- he managed to become a bartender at the restaurant in just a few months by knowing he had the ability to be a great people person. He just needed a little confidence) Now I didn't come up with any of this on my own, and it certainly didn't happen overnight. And I'm definitely not saying I'm some jedi master alpha male that's confident at all times. The cute girl at the gym that keeps glancing over at me between sets of lunges? It would be easy to swagger on over and introduce myself, right? That's right. Too Easy. But 9 times out of 10, I wont do that. I'll shyly look away and walk out of the joint kicking myself about a great missed opportunity. Clearly, I'm not ALWAYS confident. But i know my level of confidence has VASTLY increased from where it was just a year ago. I never thought I'd be the type of guy to become a great bartender, start and run my own business, and coach/train dozens of clients, or being a half decent engineer. All which happened within the same year in fact. So here's me taking a shot at explaining where this whole confidence thing comes from, and how you can capture some of this voodoo juice.  Keys to Confidence The best and simplest thing you could do, (simplest, not easiest) is just start doing things. It can be anything. Literally, anything. I guess the best way to say this is don't hesitate when it comes to making move. Just take action. If you're given an opportunity to say something, just say whatever it is you want to say and don't worry about what those around you might think about your input. Think about all the times you've been in a public setting where you've wanted to speak up, but you held your tongue for fear of being judged, looking stupid, or just feeling embarassed to speak your mind. Yeah, you've been there. We all have. It's going to be hard and a little bit uncomfortable at first, but it's something that's got to happen if you want to be confident. On that note, I've noticed more and more people are becoming worse and worse at communicating in person. You can thank social media for that I'm sure. Talk To People This is the one the one premise that scares people the most as I previously alluded to. The ability to commnuicate ideas clearly is a skill that will definitely set you apart from the herd and propel you up the confidence scale. And the only way to improve a skill is to practice. Make conversation with the cashier at the supermarket, the server at the restaurant, and everyone you come across. You'll be surprised at the impressed reaction you'll get from the people you talk to. Guys, go talk to girls. Girls, go talk to guys. All of them. Anyone of them. Say something enlightening, or say something goofy. Get comfortable feeling uncomfortable for a while. While we're on it, get familiar with the feeling of rejection. It's the mere thought of rejection alone that will stop you from taking action in the first place. Once you realize the sky doesn't come crashing down when you hear the word NO, you'll be cool with the idea of rejection. Competence=Confidence This is something known as the confidence/competence loop.  If you're pretty competent about a subject, you'll know doubt be confident when it comes to talking about it. I guarantee it. Conversely, if you're in a position where you know almost nothing about the what you're facing, don't sweat it. You'll figure it out on the way. The key here is to stay cool under pressure. This is especially true if everyone around you is feeling stressed, worried, or unsure about something. When they look at you and see you staying cooler than a cucumber in a bowl of hot sauce, this will exude confidence like none other. Keep positive people close Think about the type of people you spend most of your time with? Are they the type who constantly complain, find fault in what they're doing with their lives, or are scared to take risks for improvement. If you answered yes to any of these questions, you might want to think about cutting some of these people loose. You've got to spend time with those who share your same ambition and who can directly, or indirectly motivate you, energize you, and make you feel worthwhile. Attributes like these are contagious. And if you don't have people like this around you right be, BE that person to those around you.  Put yourself out there
Excuse the language, but I'm going to be blunt here: sometimes you just can't give a fuck what people think. This is a time where social media is the biggest wave to be riding when it comes to advertising, building a business, or just building yourself. I was pretty resistant to the social media trend for the longest time. But I've come to accept it's something I have to embrace if I want to be part of the conversation. Got snapchat? Snap yourself right now reading this. Then snap yourself again doing whatever it is you do next. There's still a lot of people who might say you're egotistic, narcissistic, or self entitled millennial piece of shit for pulling out your camera and filming yourself in public. Haters gon' hate. It'll take some time and some practice, but there's no reason who can't constantly strive to improve your confidence level. There's no downside to this. You'll achieve more, inspire more, and be more comfortable as you become more confident. And as for me, i'll keep chatting up big wigs at the bar Friday nights and picking up clients to train off the street. Who knows I may even start talking to 2 out of every 10 cute girls who smile at me at the gym.  Metabolism is often a confusing topic for both fitness oriented folks and regular joes to wrap their heads around. For those who might be carrying a bit of extra weight around the midsection, the metabolism gets a badwrap and is the reason to blame for that little extra pudge. On the other hand, metabolism is also that magical body function that somehow keeps skinny people skinny because their metabolism works faster for whatever reason. First off, what exactly is the metabolism and what does it do? The metabolism is something of a catch all phrase for the functions in your body that produce energy from food and allow the body to expend and conserve energy. It includes a laundry lists of hormones and processes that might be out of the scope of this article. To put it simply, metabolism is what provides your body with the energy to get out of bed in the body, perform essential bodily functions like breathing, digesting, and pumping blood, and of course burn calories for energy throughought the entire day. Yup, the entire day. Even when you’re sleeping. But we’ll touch more on that in a bit. Even with the numerous benefits of the metabolism, it’s often blamed for weight gain and negative changes in body composition. With so many fad diets and special tricks marketed to speed up one’s metabolism (think grapefruit cleanse, hot sauce diet, gimmicky supplements, etc) the reality and truth of metabolism often gets blurred with fiction. To help clear up some confusion, here are some uncovered truths about metabolism and the top 5 myths debunked.  Myth 1: Skinny People have faster metabolisms “You only look like that ‘cause you have a fast metabolism!” Boy if I had a dollar for everytime someone has told me this, or I’ve heard someone else say in passing. So why is it that some slimmer and skinnier folks appear to eat whatever they want and never gain a pound? Clearly it’s because we have a faster metabolism than the average bear, right? Not so fast there. Metabolism actually has a lot to do with body size and body composition, but not exactly in the way most people think. Skinnier and leaner individuals almost invariably have slower resting metabolisms. There is literally less of them to burn while at rest. Inversely, larger individuals tend to have higher metabolisms than the skinny guys. This isn’t to say that any additional body weight (fat) can boost metabolism. Muscle mass is the type of increased body mass that has a huge effect on the amount of overall calories someone burns throughout the day. When comparing two individuals with similar weight, the person with the larger amount of muscle mass with generally have a faster metabolism. This is why it’s important to always keep weight training consistent when dieting and restriciting calories. An increase state of muscle mass when starting a diet can help accelerate fat loss much quicker than just a diet only plan.  Myth 2: Skipping a Meal Slows Down Metabolism “Eat multiple small meals throughout the day to stoke the metabolic fire!” You’ve probably heard this before. It turns out that this old notion of eating a meal every three to four hours to ramp up your metabolism is pretty flawed, to say the least. In actuality, how frequently someone eats has very little to do with the speed of their metabolism. Eating every four hours is popular mainly due to increased frequency of getting to put some food in your face and helps subdue large cravings, which can help limit the desire for junk and high calorie foods and limit portion sizes. Certain individuals may benefit from consuming multiple meals throughout the day, but for MOST of us, it’s important to consider the overall calorie content (and macronutrients) of what we’re eating. This means calories count! Whether you eat 2,000 calories of bread in one sitting or spread it out throughout the day, the calories will still be the same and have a similar effect. Remember this. It’s important! It’s not always about what you eat, but how much you’re actually eating.  Myth #3: Eating Late makes you fat There’s no doubt you’ve heard this before. This somehow has become the most ubiquitous and popular piece of nutrition advice on the planet. It’s easy to think that our bodies have some type of internal clock set to store anything eaten after 8 pm as fat, but when you think about that logically, it’s pretty stupid in the first place. Like I stated at the beginning of this, the metabolism isn’t that simple and includes a host of hormones and functions that are continuously working and functioning. And it’s definitely not some on/off switch that shuts down when you fall asleep. Simply refraining from eating late at night isn’t enough to prevent your body from creating and storing fat. Instead of focusing on the time of consumption, it’s important to focus on HOW MUCH you’re really eating throughout the day. For example, if your maintenance calories for the day (the amount of calories your body needs to remain the same) is 2500, and you consume 3000 calories all before noon and not a single calorie after, your body will still be in a caloric surplus and primed to add body weight. Conversely, if you don’t eat a single thing up until the minute you go to bed and whoof down 1500 calories, your body is primed to LOSE body weight (fat) due to consuming fewer calories than the maintenance limit of 2500 calories. Myth #4: Metabolism is all about burning calories and breaking things down. A lot of people think of metabolism as how quickly you can burn consumed calories, but there’s a whole other side to that. A catabolic process (don’t worry bros, being catabolic is a good thing in some instances) is part of the digestion process to release stored energy in calories, is the part many are familiar with. The secondary part here is the anabolic part, or how the body stores released energy from carbohydrates and fats for later use. A properly functioning metabolism does an adequate job of balancing both catabolic and anabolic functions.  Myth #5: You can’t control your metabolism.
It’s always going to be easy to place the blame of unwanted weight on the metabolism, as if it’s something they have no control over. So before you continue to go on playing the victim, there are some ways you can directly control how your metabolism functions. One major way is taking control of your body composition. This means: losing fat and building muscle. And yes, both can be done simultaneously, especially for someone who is newer to lifting weights. Lifting weights is a surefire way to slowly ramp up your metabolism by adding lean muscle mass. Sleep habits also have a direct effect on your metabolism. If you’re staying up half the night rewatching old episodes of How I Met Your Mother on Netflix, your metabolism is sure to take a hit. Ensuring you’re getting adequate rest each night can make you more productive the following day and allow you to be fully energized. There’s research to suggest that sleep deprived folks have a harder time managing blood sugar levels and tend to become hungrier between meals and crave high carbohydrate foods. Drinking adequate amounts of water is a no brainer here. Now here’s something you probably didn’t expect to hear. Consuming caffeine (preferentially before noon) can help give your metabolism a boost in it’s ability to burn calories throughout the day. So don’t feel too bad about that second cup of coffee or mid day Red Bull. If it makes you productive and gives you some energy, then by all means have at it. Lastly, be sure to consume enough protein! Protein consumption has a profound effect on metabolism. Research suggests that folks who take in higher amounts of protein rich foods during the day tend to have a higher energy expenditure at rest. Hopefully this short article can shed some light on some mainstream metabolism myths out there. The bottom line here is you can make a change in your body. You don’t always have to be stuck with your current situation. All it takes is a little bit of information and some will power. Today's blog is an interview an interview with an accomplished and renown figure in the fitness industry, Mr. Alain Gonzalez. Alain is the founder and proprietor of MuscleMonsters.com where he provides extensive information on how to attain a strong, healthy physique, as well as offering online coaching services. He's managed to turn his passion for fitness and helping others into his own brand and business, and inspire guys like me to do the same in the process. In this interview, we discuss some of Alain's professional background, his preferred training and nutrition methods that he uses not only on his clients, but on himself as well, and a little about what it takes to build your own business with whatever it is you're truly passionate about. So without further adue, let's get into it! Craven: Hey Alain, first of all I’d like to thank you for taking the time for this interview. A pretty standard question to start with but for my readers who may not be familiar with you, could you give us a brief history on yourself, what you do, and what you’re currently up to?  Alain: You’re very welcome, brother. Sure. I am a married, father of 4, who’s always had an entrepreneurial mind/spirit. I started a handful of businesses in my early twenties, those all failed, then my luck changed when I got into fitness. Just to give you some perspective, I was about 23-24 years old, weighed about 107 lbs, and took on the identity of the skinny guy who could “eat everything” without gaining weight. My brother took me under his wing, got me in the gym, and I fell in love with the process. Training and nutrition quickly became a huge interest and I pretty much dove into everything I could get my hands on about anything related. Fast forward a bit, I learned a ton, used what I was learning in my own life, started seeing amazing results, and got the idea to start a blog. Initially the blog was intended to be somewhat of a journal where I could share my progress and at the same time inspire other skinny guys who felt doomed to shop in the children’s section for clothing. And I guess it kind of snowballed from there. To answer your question about what I do, I do a lot of things. But I guess the best way to put it is I am an online coach, but not in the traditional sense. We’ll talk a bit more about that later. At the moment I am working on a huge membership program where I’ll be able to coach more guys, simultaneously, without having to clone myself. Craven: That is definitely some exciting stuff! You've stated that your personal mission is to “help over 1 million naturally skinny guys to build muscle and achieve a physique they never thought possible”. That’s awesome. What inspired you to take on such a lifelong mission to continually help others? Alain: I always say “progress yields motivation” and I believe it’s true in any area of your life. When I began selling my Bony to Brawny program, the testimonials came pouring in. Till this day, anytime I get a before and after photo from a client with a story, it completely electrifies me. So to answer your question, helping others essentially inspired me to help others. It’s sort of like losing weight might inspire you to lose more and/or continue on that journey, you know?  Alain's own transformation from "Bony to Brawny" Craven: Helping others is what it's all about, I couldn't agree with you anymore on that. Let's go back to your online coaching. How long have you been an online coach? Alain: I have been putting out content for the last 7 years. But I would say my work as a coach started about 4 years ago. Craven: What type of coaching and training methods do you use with clients? Alain: Although it may vary from client to client or program to program, most of the training I prescribe is higher frequency, percentage based, and consists of some type of non-linear periodization. Now obviously this may differ for a beginner, but that’s pretty much the gist of it. Craven: What is the most rewarding thing for you about coaching guys to help them reach their own personal physique goals? Alain: I think the most rewarding thing for me, personally, is to be the solution to a problem that is, in most cases, improving someone’s quality of life. Craven: Tell me a little about your site MuscleMonsters.com. What can kind of content and information can we expect to find there? Alain: Muscle Monsters is the website I started in 2008 when I had the idea for the “journal”. More recently it has become the hub I use to get my ideas across in the form of articles. 90% of the content is geared toward skinny guys because that’s the guy I can relate to. So if you’re a naturally skinny guy who is interested in very simple, straight to the point training and nutrition advice, that’s the place to go. Craven: Great stuff, man. I can definitely relate to the skinny guy thing. Let's talk a little bit about some nutrition and dieting methods. Are you a proponent of using “Flexible dieting” techniques on yourself and on your clients? Alain: For the most part, yes, absolutely. Craven: What are your thoughts on IIFYM? (If It Fits Your Macros) Alain: The term “if it fits your macros”, in my opinion, is a bit misleading. Especially now with all of the Instagram experts posting pictures of pop tarts and ice-cream, regularly. I think it’s very easy for young, impressionable guys (and girls) to get the wrong idea. On the other hand, if it’s followed the way it’s intended, it’s a game changer. Craven: Well said, Alain. On that flip side of the IIFYM coin, there's "clean eating". What are your thoughts on “clean eating?” Alain: Eh, I don’t know. From my experience, the majority of “clean eaters” have a very unhealthy relationship with food. I think this stems from the level of restrictiveness involved in that type of approach. On the other hand, I do know people who simply “eat clean” but aren’t extremist in their diets, and they get great results without ever tracking a single calorie. I think, however, the former is the most common. Craven: You believe in taking a “science based approach” towards training and nutrition. What exactly does that mean? Alain: It’s simple. The training systems I advocate are ones that have been shown in scientific settings to provide results, period. Craven: I like it. Let's talk about how you implement your knowledge on your own body and physique. What types of training do you currently do? What is your own personal nutrition like? Alain: Right now I am following a program that I put together and called Max Adaptation Strength System or M.A.S.S. It’s a high frequency, moderate volume, D.U.P. split that focuses on strength gains to yield hypertrophy. The program itself is not percentage based, however, the way I am running it currently is based on percentages. My nutrition is, well, flexible. I track macros, fiber, and aim for 3-5 servings of fruits and veggies per day. I track my weight daily and compare averages, weekly, to ensure I’m in a deficit (I am cutting). If I am not, I adjust.  Craven: It sounds like you've got your training programming really nailed down. That's a great example to set for some of the intermediate/advanced trainees who show up to the gym with no direction or program, and wonder why they can't continue to make gains. Craven: You mentioned you have a podcast? What do you usually discuss on your podcast? Do you frequently have guests? Who are some of the more popular names in the industry that you’ve had on your show? Alain: I do. The Muscle Monsters Podcast. On the podcast I discuss various areas of training and nutrition, mainly. For example, I had one episode where I talked about flexible dieting and why most people are misusing it, and in another I interviewed Kyle Hunt about bench press strategies. Because the podcast is still in it’s infancy, I haven’t had many guests, period. However, in terms of popularity, Greg O’Gallagher of Kinobody sticks out to me.  Be sure to check out Alain's Muscle Monster's Podcast for great science based information and conversations. Craven: Greg O'Gallagher has some pretty cool stuff out. Who are some of the big name science based guys in the industry that you look up to? How have they inspired you to do what you’re doing now? Alain: I do admire a lot of the guys I look to for the right information. Guys like:
I wouldn’t say they inspired me to do what I do. I’ve been passionate about what I do before I knew these names existed. But they certainly have changed my views on fitness and nutrition, and have inspired me to expand my knowledge, for sure. Craven: What are some of your future plans for Muscle Monsters? Can we expect any more new sites or other new media platforms? Alain: With the website, I plan on turning it into, what internet entrepreneurs would call “an authority site”. I hope to turn Muscle Monsters into a platform where I can help other fitness writers, the best of the best, to share their knowledge in front of a big audience. As far as any new sites, probably not. I will continue to launch new training and nutrition programs, but as far as content sites, I think I am good on that. The next big step for me, aside from the membership site (which is about 90% done), is a book. Craven: Fantastic. It's all about progress. What kind of media content do you currently have out? Books? Videos? Articles? Which of these media platforms is your favorite to produce/make? Which one(s) do you think your audience is most receptive to and enjoy most? Alain: Right now I’ve got eBooks, videos, articles, and the podcast. I enjoy filming videos and I am now really starting to enjoy doing podcast interviews. Not just because the interviews serve as videos, but because it’s always cool to chat with like-minded guys who have the same common interests. It’s not every day you meet a knowledgeable entrepreneur who’s into, and knows a ton about fitness. Craven: Powerful stuff, man. I'm really digging it. Let's talk a little bit about your other hobbies. Do you like to read? If so, what are your favorite things to read and what are you currently reading? Alain: I love to read. I read daily without fail. Aside from fitness and nutrition literature, I like to read about business and marketing. Right now I am reading The Lean Startup, going through Basic Nutrition Diet Therapy, and listening to Mastery by Robert Greene. Craven: I see you're always "sharpening your saw" by increasing your knowledge, Alain. That's a great way to be, and sets a stellar example to set for young entrepreneurs who really want to build their own businesses. Craven: You’ve managed to reach a great deal of success in the fitness industry. How exactly did you manage to achieve so much? I’m guessing a traditional 9-5 personal training job just wasn’t your thing? Alain: That’s a good question. But truthfully, I really don’t know. I don’t consider myself to be the smartest, most eloquent writer or speaker. I am not some guru marketer or businessman by any stretch of the imagination. So if I had to chalk it up to something, it would be my will to win. And although that may sound cliché or even cheesy, I am truly relentless. I know what I want and I will work tirelessly until I achieve it, period. Craven: Storng words my friend. Once again, you set a great example of what it takes to succeed. How did you manage to turn your passion into a career and generate your own income? Alain: Success leaves footprints. I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be, so I looked at guys who have already been there and done that. Craven: What does it take to be your own boss and run your own business? Alain: It takes a lot. That’s why most people aren’t their own boss. But if I had to say one thing, it would have to be, hands down, self-belief. If you don’t truly believe in yourself and what you’re capable of, your vision, and that it will work, then you’ll fail before you even begin. Craven: What’s the hardest part about having your own businesses? What’s the best part? Alain: It’s not like having a 9-5 where you just have to show up to get paid. You’re responsible for whether or not you get paid and earn enough to pay your employees, bills, mortgage, etc. There are so many great things about running your own business, especially if you’re doing something that you’re absolutely passionate about. But if I had to choose one thing, it would be the amount of time I get to spend with my wife and kids. The freedom to be able to make it to every school play, baseball game, or award ceremony. Craven: That's definitely the dream, brother. How did you learn to run your own business? Alain: Like I mentioned before, success leaves footprints. 99% of the time, someone has already done what you’re trying to do. Look at what they’ve done, don’t copy, but gain an understanding of how it all works. And LOTS of trial and error. Craven: How do you feel about social media marketing? Are you big on twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc? Alain: Not a huge fan of social media from a personal standpoint. The more I walk into restaurants and see couples texting and scrolling through their Facebook feeds rather than engaging with each other, the more turned off I get by it. But as far as marketing is concerned, I think different platforms can be game changers for different businesses if they’re used correctly. Honestly, no, I am not huge on any social media platform, yet. Perhaps once I read Gary Vaynerchuk’s book “Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook”, I’ll see more value in it. Craven: Awesome stuff, Alain. That's all I've got for you at this time, but I really want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to sit down and chat with me. I hope everyone reading this can relate to your story and fill motivated to not only change and improve their bodies, but take their own personal passions to the next level and generate their own sources of income. Congratulations on all of your success in the industry and best wishes on all of your future en devours. Be sure to check out Alain Gonzalez's work at: Dropping some unwanted body fat is all about "eating less and moving more". We should all know this by now. But HOW much less should you actually be eating is the real question you should be asking yourself. If you're someone who doesn't know much about how food actually works and what calories are, well don't feel too bad, a lot of people don't. Even fitness gurus in the industry aren't really sure how the science of calories work. If you need some boning up on the subject of calories and macronutrients (carbs, fats, proteins), check out THIS ARTICLE on learning the fundamentals of calories and macros.  For the rest of you who've done your homework and know your background info, let's take a look at what an effective fat loss process should look like if you want to maximize your fat loss with minimizing the loss of lean muscle mass in the process. An initial question about fat loss might be "is it possible to diet down to a certain weight just by eating the maintenance calories for that specific goal weight?" For instance, if you weighed 190 pounds, but you wanted to weigh 175 pounds, could you just eat maintenance calories for the 175 lbs. and eventually your weight would settle at 175? Shortly, the answer is YES. You very well could. The only problem with cutting your calories so drastically from a maintenance of 190 to a maintenance of 175 (or more if you're looking at losing more than 15 pounds) is that you'd lose way too much weight at the begining of the dieting process and lose more muscle mass than necessary. You ultimately wouldn't feel too great by making such a drastic decrease in energy consumption and your fat loss progress would stall out towards the end of the process. So if you're someone who is 10 to 20 lbs. away from your current goal weight, you'd benefit more some implimenting a 4 step process instead of an all out 1 step move that invovles a drastic decrease in calories.  ALL YOU NEED IS THESE 4 STEPSThe 4 step process would look something like this, where each step can be represented as 1 whole month for a unit of time. Month 1: Slightly decrease your current calories to a value halfway between your current wieght and goal weight. Example: If you're current calories are 3000 and your goal weight maintenance calories are 2200, move your current calories to about 2600 calories per day. Month 2: Decrease your current Month 1 calories to your goal weight maintenance calories. Again, using the previous example, reduce your calories from 2600 to 2200. Month 3: Continue to decrease your calories, this time to 250-500 calories BELOW your goal weight maintenance calories. Building on the current example, if you reduce your goal weight maintenance calories of 2200 by 400, you'll now be currently at 1800 calories. Month 4: This can be known as "the diet after the diet." Once you've met your goal weight, you can slowly raise your calories back up to the calories you had in month 2. So for the example, you'd slowly build your calories over the course of the month from 1800 calories to 2200. This 4 step approach will allow you to lose body fat at a slow and controlled pace while sparing the loss of muscle mass through the duration of the dieting phase. The weight loss will never be too fast, or too slow, but just right. It also allows you to adjust your new bodyweight once you've achieved your goal through the use of slowly increasing calories with the reverse dieting technique.
If you're looking to lose more than 20 pounds, it is best to split the process up into multiple dieting phases with intermittent maintenance phases to prevent burnout. What this means is impliment the 4 step process, take a short break and build your maintenance back up, then start the 4 step process again. This type of dieting process is known as taking a "science based" approach to improving your physique. In an industry filled with gurus who preach "magical health foods" and instant gratification scams, science based training and nutrition methods often take a backseat. They're not sexy. They're not glamorous. But they work. To quote the brilliant Mike Israetel, "Science can make things complex if you want exotic outcomes. If you want basic yet effective outcomes, science can help make things amazingly simple."  You’re a body builder. Yes, you. If you’re reading this, then you’re definitely a body builder. Even if you try to deny the fact that you’re a body builder by saying you’re strictly a powerlift, Olympic lifter, cross fitter, or just some guy who wants to lose some fat and build a muscle to make his shirts fit a bit more snug, you can’t deny the fact that you are a bodybuilder. Now I’m not calling you a stereotypical bodybuilder. You know the type. The overly big guy with a good amount of muscle mass and a little too much body fat for most of the year that looks “big” in clothes and spends the other half of the year actively trying to lose that fat so he can pose in a speedo on stage for the validation of judges. (Can you tell I’m not a huge fan of these guys?) Body builder in the sense that you continually try to improve your physique by building and shaping your muscles with weights, diets, and cardio. No matter what your direct form of weight lifting is, deep down inside all of us guys want to look good, especially for the ladies. I’m willing to bet that’s the reason everyone reading this started lifting weights in the first place. The massive powerlift who deadlifts a Volkswagen might say “who needs abs when you can lift a car”, probably still wants to look lean to some degree. And the cross fit guy training for a competition still wants to make sure his arms are big enough to hug the sleeves of his rogue equipment T-shirts and not dwarfed by his powerhouse torso. Here’s the point I’m looking to make: no matter what type of training you participate in, you still want to attempt to shape your body and attain the “I LOOK like I lift” physique. You know the one. Broad shoulders. Meaty chest. Wide, tapered Back. Thick arms. Small waist. Powerful legs. There’s no better example of this physique than that of Frank Zane.  Frank was known to have perfect proportions to exemplify the golden ratio and deemed a man with the “perfect physique.” What’s the golden Ratio? The golden ratio is the waist to shoulder ratio that really gives a man a broad, powerful physique. A big chest and strong shoulders don’t mean much if it doesn’t taper down to a small waist. And even if you do have the upper body nailed down, it isn’t too impressive if your legs are severely lacking and you have some twizzle straws hanging down from your waist. Here’s an example of some ratios that make up this Adonis-like physique.  Let’s be real right now. You’ll never look like Frank Zane. Or have the perfect ratios to exemplify the perfect physique. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get pretty close. So let’s take a look at some methods that will allow us to attain an almost-perfect physique. The Shoulders Ah, the shoulders. Who doesn’t want a set of well developed delts? Nothing says “I lift” better than some thick, rounded out shoulders. Fully developed shoulders really accentuate the physique by adding complete dimension to the upper body. How many times have you seen a guy with great front delts, but when he turns sideways it’s always like he disappears because his rear-delt development is nowhere to be found. The front get plenty of non-direct work through compound chest movements like bench press and other presses, but it’s the rear delts and side delts that almost don’t get any attention. So here’s a few movements you can implement to really bring out those neglected delts and round out the shoulders for some attention grabbing boulder shoulders you can be proud of. Bent over Lateral Raises  Sets: 3-5 Reps: 12-15 Tips: Be sure to keep the weight moderate at best. You really want to focus on lifting through the elbows and feeling the tension in the read deltoid. If the weight is too heavy, this can easily turn into a weird hybrid back and bicep row that won’t full target the rear delt. I’ve also found that keeping the reps in the mid range of 12-15 provides a good stimulus for the muscle. Upright Dumbell Rows  Sets: 3-5 Reps: 8-12 Tips: Once again, don’t go too heavy with these dumbells. Focus on driving the elbows up and keeping your palms face down through the movement. Be sure to squeeze the delts and hold for a spit second at the top before slowing controlling the weight down to the bottom. A lighter weight and moderate rep range reduces the chance of swinging the weight up, which limits tension in the shoulders through the lift. It’s imperative that your form is correct to really make this upright row worthwhile. Back The forever second place muscle group behind the always over hyped chest. Guys tend to neglect their back because well, it’s behind them. It’s not the first thing they see when they look in the mirror, so they often never really know what they’re missing. But trust me, a beefy chest with no back development just does not look right. A strong, developed back commands attention, and it shows that you really care about your physique. For those of you who don’t have naturally big or wide frames, a set of lats can really change for body composition and give you a greek god like figure, especially when tapered down to a narrow waist. So what can you do to really bring out those lats? Underhand Rows It might sound like blasphemey to all you bros, but the best method to target the lats with underhand rows is by using a machine row. Yup, that’s right. I said machine. A machine row is better for this move because guys it keeps you honest through the movement and almost eliminates cheating when rowing. How many times have you seen guys load up a barbell only to be standing almost upright moving the weight a comical 3 inches up and down? Yeah, exactly. That won’t happen with the machine. Also, the use of the underhand grip will allow you to hold onto more weight and add more tension to the lats. If you’re comfortable with properly performing dumbbell rows, then by all means do them, but I’ve found that nothing will enhance the lats quite like the machine.  Sets: 3-5 Reps: 6-10 Tips: The back will typically be more responsive to higher load with reps in the 6-10 range. Remember to engage the lats before you begin and focus on keeping tension in the negative part of the rep. Legs I know I just said the back is the most overlooked body part, so let me correct myself. The LEGS are most definitely the body part most guys tend to overlook. I’m not saying most guys don’t train their legs. They do. Especially because they don’t want to the bro in the guy who “doesn’t train legs.” But the problem is, most don’t train legs EFFECTIVELY. That’s the difference in doing something, and doing something RIGHT. A great set of wheels demonstrates a complete, powerful body. The human body was designed to derive almost all of its power from the lower half of the body, but most desk jobs and sedentary lives are taking away the ability to fully live up to our lower body’s potential. Besides, what good is a muscular upper body when you have a laughable set of legs? Also, girls love a great butt on us guys, too. So here’s how you can really bring up those lagging legs and fully round out that complete physique. Stiff Legged Dumbell Deadlifts You don’t know “the burn” until you’ve completed a few sets of stiff legged dumbbell deadlifts. This movement is fantastic at stretching out the hams and adding some quality muscle to not so impressive backside. Because the hamstrings are a muscle guys can’t see in the mirror, they’re often neglected, so if you can manage to bring up those slabs of mass on the back of your legs, I can promise you your entire physique will never look better.  Sets: 3-5 Reps: 12-16 Tips: Be sure to keep your legs as straight as possible for these. You can add a slight bend in the knees, but don’t turn these into full on traditional deadlifts. Always keep your weight on your heels and never on your toes and You should feel a strong stretch in the hamstrings as you lower the weight towards the ground. Once you’ve gone as far as you can go, return back up to the starting position and flex the hamstrings. Hack Squat Close Stance With the hamstrings done, now let’s focus on the quads, and no, it’s not all about squats bros. Squats can be fine and dandy, but most guys can caught up on trying to heave the most way possible without getting crushed by it and not actually trying to grow their quads. Traditional leg presses can be good too, but a wide stance on the platform incorporates more glutes and hamstrings than quads. Which leads me to the recommendation of using a close stance on the hack squat machine. Or if you don’t have access to a hack squat machine, a traditional leg press works as well. And if you don’t have one of those, then just squat with a close stance. Problem solved. The close stance will emphasis the quad muscles almost exclusively, so don’t forget to add these to your next legs workout.  9/19/2015 The 7 Highly Effective Habits of Fit People: Methods Adapted from the Best Selling Book to Attain Health and Wellness SuccessRead Now Personal development. Self-improvement. Self-help. These are topics that aren’t typically associated when someone thinks of bodybuilding, powerlifting, or even something as simple as getting off the couch and getting some activity in the gym for a few hours each week. But in actually, the root of everything related to bodybuilding and fitness is rooted in the principle concept of personal development and self-improvement. Think about the hours of deadlifting one might spend moving tons of weight, literally. Hands worn and callused, every muscle tense and retching with the pulse of adrenaline. The instant that person attempts to move the weight off the ground is the moment when that person tests their own individual grit. There’s no in between. No middle ground. No maybe. They either pull the weight or they don’t. I can’t think of any better exercise in personal development than that. But self-improvement and personal development is much more than how you can push yourself and strive for progress. A lot of an individual’s success, both inside and outside the weight room boils down to how effective they can be at any given task they may encounter. Let’s examine some of the prominent bodybuilders, fitness athletes, and Youtube Fitness stars for example To reach the level of success that almost every one of these individuals in their respective fields have reached, they all understand one fundamental principle of personal development; and that is how to be effective. So what exactly is being effective and how can you this effectiveness principle? I can’t think of any better way to express effectiveness without bringing up a classic book in the personal development genre titled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”, by Stephen Covey. Some of you may not be familiar with this book, while some of you might have heard of it in passing or maybe even have read it. But one thing is for certain, I can guarantee you that the accomplished names in the realm of health and fitness have read this book and applied every bit of information of it to their work. This article is not about getting you out of your seat and rushing to the closest bookstore to pick up a copy of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and spend the next 5 days straight reading it cover to cover. Who has the time for that, right? We’re bodybuilders and strength athletes who spend our morning and evenings in iron-laden gyms, not libraries and coffee houses. Instead, this article will apply all 7 of the book’s effective principles as stated by the author and be adapted for the strength training enthusiast and physique-oriented crowd. So without further delay, let’s get into it.  Habit #1: Be Proactive The old adage goes, “be proactive, not reactive.” This translates to focusing on what you can control and don’t worry about what is out of your control. There’s power in knowing how to proactively respond to any situation. It’s easy to be reactive to anything that happens, for example; if you’re someone who has been seriously dieting for weeks and you make the small mistake of eating a few donuts that aren’t part of your regular diet. You now have 2 options: say “screw it” and spend the rest of the diet binge eating and blowing your diet, or proactively deciding that having the donuts was not the best thing to do and move on. You can even look at it as a positive incident. The donut was delicious and satisfied your nagging sweet tooth and it provided some relief from your strict diet. Accept that it was a mistake and that it won’t happen again. It’s as simple as that. Habit #2: Begin With The End In Mind This principle may be the most important one of the list. It is important to remind yourself why you’re attempting to take control of your own health, body composition, and strength accomplishments. Understand that it is not a short term commitment and that it will take some time to achieve your goals, but it is imperative to know what the end goal is. The feeling of failure will inevitably loom over you at some point or another and it will be extremely easy to opt for comfortable mediocrity and go back to the ways of sitting on the couch watching Netflix all night while polishing off a pint of Ben ‘n Jerry’s ice cream. But you must ask yourself, “is this helping me get to my final destination?” There will be hardship. There will be struggle. It can get hard. But that’s what will make it worthwhile. So before you even begin any kind of strength program or transformation journey, set an end goal with an end date and stay committed to it. Habit #3: Put First Things First  This one should be a no brainer, but sometimes we forget which tasks and aspects of fitness are most important. Always remember this hierarchy: -Nutrition –Weight Lifting –Cardio. Your overall body composition (whether you’re looking to build muscle or lose fat, or both) is a direct function of your nutrition. If your nutrition isn’t dialed in, you will not get the most out of your training. On top of this, cardio will serve very little purpose if you’re not on a dedicated fat loss program that first focuses on nutrition and training. A more global application of putting first things first is to also remember what is really important in life. If you’re someone who has really attacked the fitness lifestyle with great zeal and have committed a large portion of your life to the gym, it’s often good to take a step back and look at the other areas of your life. You never want to neglect family, friends, your career, or anything of great value in your life in order just to look better. If you can find a way to happily balance all aspects of your life then that is the most optimal way to live. But always remember to put first things first, which means your most precious priorities come first. Habit #4: Think Win-Win Thinking win-win boils down to creating relationships that benefit not only you, but others around you. The best way to use this is seeking a training partner or a community of likeminded people who share your passion and enthusiasm for lifting and nutrition. If you walk into the gym with your workout buddy and you strive to push them to move more weight, hit more sets, and have an overall improved outlook of the journey, you’ll benefit from the training sessions as much as him. When he’s winning, you’re winning. It’s as simple as that. Habit #5: Seek first to Understand, Then to Be Understood You can never know enough about lifting, training, and nutrition. There is always something to be learned and applied, especially for those who are new to weight lifting. Heck, even those of us who have been lifting for years can still take a few lessons from the latest research and developments in the field of exercise science. And with the age of technology allowing for essentially limitless information at our fingertips, there’s no excuse for not seeking information. With that being said, the internet is not the only place to seek knowledge and wisdom. Don’t forget about the older, bigger, experienced guys at the gym. They built their bodies the old way: trying new things and keeping the things that worked. Before the internet, if you wanted to learn something, you asked the people around you. This is a concept that is quickly dying out in gyms across the country. Be old school. Develop relationships with the experienced guys. And once you do cultivate a good base of information and build the body you can be proud of, don’t be afraid to share the information with those who are in the stages of seeking it. Habit #6: Synergize The principle of synergy can be applied in so many ways. Synergy is combining separate ideas or parts to create a whole that is greater than the individual parts. Synergy is used all around us, whether we’re aware of it or not. The best way this can be applied in this context is understanding the value you get from the self improvement weight lifting and training provides while also understanding the value and contributations you make to the world outside of the gym; whether it’s at work, school, or towards the people you love. Those 2 separate parts of life can be combined to allow for a wholesome, fulfilled life that would not be attainable without the gym life and your non-gym life coming together. If you don’t believe me, try focusing on only one of those parts of your life. See how long you can go without feeling empty and unfulfilled. It takes the power of multiple facets of life to really optimize your entire life as a whole. Habit #7: Sharpen The Saw After habit 2, this may be the next most important principle. Sharpening the saw means to build production capacity by renewing aspects of life such as your training and nutrition, and non-fitness aspects like emotional health, knowledge, and spiritual dimensions. If you try to attain a 600 lb deadlift from a 400 lb deadlift in less than a year by working out as hard as you can as often as you can, chances are you’ll likely be burned out by the first month’s end. It’s imperative to always train hard, but it’s also important to know when to hold back or take a break from the intensities of training for a few days or a week. Once you’ve been able to recover not just physically, you’ll find yourself continually making steady progress for longer periods of time.  Wrapping It Up Learning how to be an effective person in and out of the gym won’t happen overnight. It’s a processes of personal development that takes time and should be exercised as often as possible. But since pretty much everyone who reads this knows a thing or two about the power of exercising, then the concept of exercising effectiveness should not be difficult whatsoever. Another important note to add, which can maybe be an impromptu 8th effective happen, is not confusing activity for accomplishment. This principle stems from effectiveness and it ensure that just because you did something, doesn’t mean you did it well. Walking into a gym and doing an activity like hitting the treadmill for an hour and feeling accomplished is nowhere near as effective as and activity like spending half an hour doing 5 sets of squats with heavy weights. Now that’s some accomplishment. At the end of the day, the principle of effectiveness can be thought of as this- if you’re going to do things, do them well in a timely fashion while making the most of your resources and always being mindful of the ones around you. Now that you’ve read it, go live it.
  
8/11/2015 Let’s Settle This Issue Once and For All: Optimal Rets Per Set for Gaining MuscleRead Now Here’s a shot out of a cannon. If you had to choose a single rep range to train for muscle growth for the rest of your life, what would it be? 1 to 3 reps? 4-8 reps? 15-30 reps? The choices of rep ranges are essentially endless. Think about it realistically for a minute. In your own personal training experience, which rep ranges has helped you gain the most muscle mass. I’m not talking increases in strength (there is some correlation between strength and muscle size, but it’s not a direct relationship), but size and shape of your muscles. I ask my friends and clients this all the time, and it’s almost always the same response from everyone. (I’ll tell you what most of them unequivocally answer at the end of this.) In this article, I’m going to explain some of the research behind training for muscle size and fill you in on what I would pick based on evidence, results, and my personal experience. How Muscles Grow Water, fresh soil, and sunlight of course. No wait, that’s plants. There really is no “secret” to how muscles grow. In fact trainees and bodybuilders have been pretty good about knowing what makes muscles grow since the late ‘60’s. In scientific terms, increased tension development is necessary for initiating compensatory growth. What does this mean? All this means is that high amounts of tension in the muscle are required to initiating the growth process for muscles. There are also a few elements of muscular fatigue (that burning feeling) that are responsible for signaling a “growth response”, but that contributes to a much smaller extent. And the most important part about the statement above is that there NEEDS TO BE AN INCREASE IN TENSION OVER TIME. It just isn’t enough to elicit tension within the muscle, but the amount of tension must be increased as well for the muscle to grow. This can be explained simply as YOU MUST ADD WEIGHT TO THE BAR OVER TIME. In graphic form, it would look something like this  Ronnie Coleman seems to have summed it up quite eloquently when he said, “Errr’budy wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights!” As far as natural (drug free) lifters are concerned, evidence has proven that the biggest and most muscular bodybuilders are often the strongest. This is due to the nature of the training that natural physique athletes implement. They develop more muscle mass because they provide progressive tension over time through adding weight to their lifts over time. The simple fact is if you’re not increasing the weight on your lifts (over time, don’t try to add 5 pounds every workout) you just will not grow. Go lift the same weight every workout for the next 6 months and tell me I’m wrong. You can even try to focus on the “pump” and “feel” of the muscle all you want, but once again, if the weight isn’t increasing then you just will not grow. Period.  Nueral Efficiency When Lifting Weights I won’t get too deep into this subject, but I do want to make mention of it because it’s somewhat important and relevant to making increases in muscle mass. Muscle fiber recruitment is an essential part to increasing muscle size. And it’s exactly what it’s name implies: how many muscle fibers are being recruited during a lift. The better you get at a certain movement and the more frequently you train it, the more efficient your muscle fiber recruitment will be. If you’re just starting off and beginning a new move (think dumbbell chest press) you won’t be very strong and will have a hard time moving the weight through space at first. 2 weeks later if you’ve been continually training the lift, you’ll notice you’re a lot more fluid with the movement of the dumbells and the power output of the movement (moving weight through space in least amount of time) improves dramatically. It’s not because you’ve gotten stronger (not totally anyway) but because your neural efficiency has improved and muscle fiber recruitment have improved. For bodybuilding purposes (increasing muscle size and improving body composition) we ideally want to use fiber recruitment to increase output force production to around 80-85% of MAX force output. Output beyond the 85% threshold uses a different mechanism all together. Remember this value of 85%, it’s important. HERE’S THE ANSWER TO THE QUESTION The reason you all are reading this, right? From everything I stated above about tension in the muscle, the research has proven that 80-85% of the lifter’s 1 rep maximum is generally 5-8 repetitions (for upper body, lower body movements tend to result in 12-15 reps) So let’s put it all together here and now. Pretend you put 95% of your 1 rep max on the bar. Typically most folks could hit about 2 reps with this weight. By only hitting 2 reps with 95%, you would not increase the fiber recruitment. All you would be doing is drastically lowering the amount of volume you are doing for the workout by lifting at such a high intensity. On the other end, let’s say you do 15 reps which is about a 70% of a 1 rep maximum. If you take this lift to failure at this weight, you can recruit all the muscle fibers necessary for growth. BUT most of the fibers won’t be recruit until the very end of the set towards the higher-end reps. This means the high threshold fibers won’t be exposed to the necessary mechanical tension required for growth for very long. Now here’s the good stuff. Like most things in the life, the best things are always found in the middle of the spectrum between the 2 polar extremes. So let’s say you work in the 5-8 rep range with 80-85% of your 1 rep max. In this rep range you will get full muscle fiber recruitment immediately from the first rep. You will also maximize the fatigue/metabolic work and volume for the muscle necessary to stimulate growth by working in this 5-8 rep range. This rep range is something of the ‘sweet spot’, or ‘perfect balance’ to provide optimal mechanical tension in the muscle due to fiber recruitment and a proper amount of fatigue/metabolic work in the muscle that acts as a signal to grow. And wouldn’t you know it? The 5-8 rep range is what most people instinctively answer when I ask them what rep range they would pick if they had to only use one for the rest of their lives. This does not discredit the other rep ranges by any means. The 1-3 rep range and 10-20 rep ranges have their place and uses and can be used very effectively within strength and body composition programs. There are plenty of valid and valuable reasons to use these rep ranges. But for all intents and purposes of this article, the main point made was reps used for optimal muscle growth. So if you’re looking to build your own program, or you’re a rookie lifter looking to build an impressive physique, you really can’t go wrong lifting with 80-85% of your 1 rep max for 5-8 reps to provide some exceptional muscle size gains. Related Articles  Optimize Your Training With These Muscle Building Methods Today’s society would lead you to believe that the more complicated something is, the more effective it must be. “The illusion of complexity” is the psychological terminology for it.  Let's Keep IT Simple: Training For Fatloss So let’s talk about training for fat loss, and what you should consider if you’re trying to get the most out of your efforts...KEEP READING  AVOID THESE 5 COMMON TRAINING MISTAKES THAT ARE LIMITING YOUR MUSCLE GAINS
Weight training and improving your physique is a balance of discipline and strategy, not excess. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration by avoiding these common mistakes in and out of the gym...KEEP READING  All right folks, I’ve finally gotten around to writing up one of my favorite dishes to both make and eat and I felt it would be appropriate to share it with everyone as the first recipe in a series of “Cookin’ With Craven” (name still in working progress). As you may have all ready inferred from the titles, this recipe is going to be completely chicken and is extraordinarily simple to make. Due to my strong advocating for flexible diets and allowing yourself to eat “junk” type foods while adhering to physique changing programs, a lot of people have this impression that I eat nothing but Chick-Fil-A for lunch and indulge on pints of Ben and Jerry’s ad libdium before bed each night. While I do enjoy an occasional half dozen donuts and even some large meals out at restaurants, recipes like the crock pot chicken are what I’m actually eating more than 85% percent of the time. (And I didn’t just make up that percentage, I ran some analysis to get the number, which is 87.66% lol) I’m strongly for making wholesome, nutritious foods for the foundation for everyone’s diet, no matter what their individual goals are. Anyway, let’s delve into the meat and potatoes of this chicken recipe. 
  I recoomend everyone should own one of these. If you don’t, stop what you’re doing and get yourself one at Target for $20. It will more than pay for itself after a handful of uses.  The steps involved aren't complex at all, but let’s walk through them. First dump the chicken breasts into the crock pot and space it out as evenly as possible. Next, chop up the boulion cubes into quarters and place them around the crockpot for an even distribution of flavoring throughout the chicken. Add the garlic powder around the pot as evenly as possible. Do the same with the onion powder and black pepper. Evenly add the Siracha hot sauce over the chicken. Evenly add the tomato paste throughout the pot. Add the cabbage slices and diced cilantro on top of the chicken  The beauty of the crockpot/slowcooker is you can virtually ‘set it and forget it’. I recommend cooking the chicken on the crock pots’ “low” setting, whether it’s fresh or frozen chicken. If you decide to use frozen chicken, the cooking time will be roughly 6-8 hours until the chicken is completely ready to be removed. If the chicken breasts is fresh, cooking time will normally be no longer than 6 hours. It is the perfect way to have dinner waiting for you if you prepare the chicken in the morning before you leave the house for the day. You can also prepare the pot before you go to bed in the evening and wake up to the aroma of spicy chicken in the morning. Eat your heart out Folger’s coffee.  Chicken Straight From the Crock Pot You’ll know the chicken is completely ready if it’s literally falling apart when you pick it up with a fork. Remove the chicken from the pot and it will be tender and moist enough that it can be pulled apart with a fork. Think pulled pork, only it’s chicken.  After Being Pulled Apart Using Forks  For those of you who are counting macros and want to know the macros/calories for the chicken recipe, here they are.  Not too shabby calories, right? If you cook 3 pounds of chicken, you should have about 12 total servings all together.  Shredded Chicken Pictured with Beans and Lettuce And that's all there is to making Craven's Kickin' Crock Pot Chicken. I recommend trying out your own version of the recipe with your favorite spices and seasonings. Maybe try a few dashes of soy sauce and ginger to get a real Asian inspired flavor. Or add Barbecue to sauce to the pot for a slow roasted pulled BBQ Chicken. You really can't go wrong. I hope this has been helpful for everyone that gets tired and bored of eating the same old dry chicken cooked in the oven or on the grill and they can fall in love with the moist and tender chicken that comes from using the crock pot. Enjoy! Related Articles  YOU EAT DONUTS AND ICE CREAM? BUT YOU'RE RIPPED! Why "Clean" Eating is a myth, and why your diet must be FLEXIBLE in order to be SUSTAINABLE. (and yes, that is a hamburger with donuts for buns)  The Truth About ALCOHOL: Do You Think You Can Handle It? You should never have to choose between your fitness and having a good time. Find out how you can attain that 6 pack while enjoying a 6 pack!  DAY OF THE SHRED VOL. 3: LET’S TALK “REFEEDS”
Get the down-low on what a "refeed" is, how it can work for you, and why it's been extremely effective for my own personal fat loss goals. 8/5/2015 The Energy Balance Equation: The Key to Unlocking Everything You Need To Know About Losing and Gaining WeightRead Now
Before I delve into what I like to think is a very simplified explanation of The Energy Balance Equation, I’m going to hit you with a short little story of my first encounter with the energy balance equation and how it really lit the fire for my never ending quest to comprehend all things related to human physiology.
The year: Two thousand and twelve (2012). At this point in my life I was somewhere between full on perma-bulking 215 pound meathead gym rat and sleep deprived aspiring mechanical engineering student. Actually, I’m still most of those things, except now roughly 60 pounds lighter. But that’s another story. It’s late August which means another semester of university classes has just gotten underway and I find myself in the first challenging engineering course in the curriculum. Thermodynamics I for Mechanical Engineers. Up until this point, engineering had seemed like a never ending onslaught of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra; essentially all the boring math you’ll never use in your life. So finally, an opportunity to see what this real engineering stuff is all about. Fast forward a few weeks into the course. I’m getting crushed. I mean slammed. So far it’s been 1 general equation with lecture after lecture about the mathematics and derivation behind the equation. Not exactly what I pictured as real engineering. And I can’t seem to grasp the concepts if my life depended on it. Overall, I didn’t feel too bad because I wasn’t the only one who felt lost; in fact my comprehension of the material seemed to be at about the same level as the other bozos in my class. (If you bozos are reading this, I love you guys haha) Three weeks into the course and all we’ve covered was a single equation: The First Law of Thermodynamics. For those who don’t know it, this is what it looks like: 
Yeah.
I know. I’m sittin in class trying to figure out what the hell Q is and when the work is being done ON the system or BY the system.? ??? Then gradually I started to understand the concept. But couldn’t put it in terms that I could fully grasp. Until I stumbled upon an article on a bodybuilding website that mentioned ENERGY BALANCE. So I put the pieces together. It was at that moment I realized, “This thermodynamics stuff doesn’t only apply to engines, compressors, and turbines. It applies to all forms of mechanical energy.” And what better engine to use mechanical energy than the human body? It finally clicked. I got it. From that moment on in all of my subsequent mechanical engineering courses, I’ve been able to comprehend the material by putting it in terms that I know and can relate to. I love it when people question my ability to solicit nutrition and training advice due to my background in mechanical engineering as opposed to having studied something like kinesiology or nutrition. It's funny because in most aspects, I have more credibility and training in bio-mechanics and human physiology than personal trainers and dietitians do. But that’s beside the point. I’ll get off my high horse and wrap up this little anecdote here and get into this whole energy balance thing. 
So What is the Energy Balance Equation?
I’m going to be as straight forward and simplistic in my explanation of all this scienc-ey lingo mumbo jumbo as I possibly can. As I stated about, the energy balance equation is the First Law of Thermodynamics. You may be familiar with this as “energy cannot be created or destroyed.” And that phrase looks something like this: 
Where Q means energy in.
W means energy out. And ΔU means change in total internal energy. Stay with me here, I’ll break it down further. This is how energy looks in scientific terms. But it really translates to this: 
Let’s break this down even further.
Since energy cannot be created or destroyed, it has to be accounted for in some fashion or form. Here the differences in energy in and energy out show up as changes in the body’s internal energy stores. If energy intake is less than the energy output, the body will utilize stored energy within the body and there will be a loss of tissue (fat, muscle, etc.) This just means if you consume fewer calories than you expend throughout the day, such as in a fat loss program, your body will used stored energy in the form of mostly stored fat to provide energy to the body.
A Detailed Look at the Energy IN Side of the Equation
This part (Q, or Energy In) is the most simplistic part of the equation and there aren’t too many variables of certain aspects that can change it. Energy in represents the total number of calories that you ingest each day from nutrients such as carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, and alcohol. That’s somewhat of a basic explanation too, because all foods are not digested with identical efficiencies. Most proteins digest at .95 efficiency, fat at .97, and carbs are typically 80% efficient based on the fiber content of the carb. This means that the calorie value can vary a bit depending on the specific macro nutrient and it’s source. There really is no way to accurately track the exact number of calories after ingestion and digestion of protein, carbs, and fat, but at this time it’s the most useful metric available to account for energy intake by the body. *Important to Note This doesn’t deny the efficacy and make the energy balance invalid. This means that the energy balance equation is a bit more complicated and more involved than most people know.
A Detailed Look at the Energy OUT Side of the Equation
This is where folks tend to make mistakes when applying the energy balance equation and it’s a bit more complicated than what it appears on the surface. Energy out is the mechanical work (W, energy out) produced by your body. There are 4 primary aspects of the energy out side of the equation which are: · Resting Metabolic Rate RMR · Thermic Effect of Food TEF · Thermic Effect of Activity TEA · Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis NEAT The important thing to note here is that none of these aspects are static in any way. They are constantly changing and are impacted heavily by foods consumed, activity, environment, stress levels, etc. It’s a very dynamic balance.
Don’t get muscle and fat confused: They are not identical
One major issue I’ve seen that throws people off has to do with the difference in losing/gaining fat mass and muscle mass. The old rule of thumb is you create a 3500 calorie per week deficit, you will lose exactly one pound. Because energy wise (calorie wise), one pound of fat is equal to 3500 calories. This assumes that 100% fat loss is occurring when in a calorie deficit such as dieting. This is hardly ever the case. Unless you’re extremely genetically gifted, a calorie deficit entails some loss of muscle mass of some kind. This loss in muscle mass is also dependent on a lot of variables such as dieting, training, sleep, stress, etc. 
The Energy Balance Equation is Not a Static Equation
If you’re going to take away anything from this article, let it be the information from this part here. Every factor of the energy in part of the equation (BMR + TEF + TEA + NEAT) can change moment to moment based on the individual’s current environment. Make sure you’ve read that sentence outloud to yourself a few times to fully understand. Folks tend to assume that if their daily maintenance calories is exactly 2500 calories and they start eating 500 calories less a day (or increase activity by 500 calories a day) they should lose exactly 1 pound of fat per week in a linear fashion. (500*7=3500 calories) On paper, this formula checks out. But like I stated above, the BMR, TEF, TEA, and NEAT are hugely considerable factors on how much energy is actually being expended. And there’s also the fact that the human body is exceptionally good at adapting to new situations based on survival. If you reduce your caloric intake long enough, even if it’s just 5 days, your body will slow down it’s energy expenditure to compensate for the lack of energy coming in on the input side of the equation. EXAMPLE: When you lose weight, BMR goes down. This is due to reduced overall body weight (smaller bodies burn fewer total calories), but the adaptive component kicks in due to a change of hormones like leptin, insulin, nervous system output, activity, stress factors, and thyroid hormones. The thermic effect of food (TEF) is directly related to the amount of food you consume. If you’re eating less, you’re burning less. It’s loosely around 10% of your overall calorie consumption. So if you eat 2500 calories per day and reduce it by 500 calories per day for a week, you’re burning 50 calories a day fewer through TEF alone. Now that previous maintenance of 2500 has been reduced to 2450 cal/day due to the adaptive component. So the assumption of a static 2500 cal/day maintenance is now invalid by the act of slightly reducing food intake. One of the downsides of dieting (reducing calories) is that folks tend to move around less and be less active in general. Again, the adaptive component kicks in. If there’s less energy coming in, the body will adapt on the output side of the equation. This is where you see the NEAT decline as energy levels plummet due to lack of calories coming in. The same rules apply for weight gain and overeating as well. All of the components can changes considerably.
Putting It All Together: The Summary
If you’ve ever read an article that claims the energy balance isn’t valid or that it’s incorrect, you may notice that they have ignored a lot of the factors and variables mentioned above. But the equation is perfectly valid and applies to humans just as it applies to car engines, turbines, electric machinery, and all that fun stuff that nobody really knows how they work. I hope I was able to convey a pretty scienc-ey and complicated part of physics into general terms that can be applied to gaining and losing weight. I wish to go further in explaining how to apply this information for specific body composition goals, but frankly that would take up more of my life than I have available. But if you’d like to discuss any of this further, feel free to shoot me an email or Facebook me and we can get into the nitty gritty of this stuff. Or if you don’t find me to be informative or interesting, check out references sited at the bottom where all of this information can be found and interpreted by guys much more intelligent than myself If you’ve made it all the way through this article up to this point, then I tremendously applaud your general interest in energy balance. But at the same time I'm a bit concerned because you may have a bit too much free time on your hands. Or you’re just a huge nerd. Which is fine because that makes two of us. References "The Energy Balance Equation." : Lycle McDonald, BodyRecomposition. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Aug. 2015. Holman, J. P. Thermodynamics. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1980. Print. "All About Energy Balance | Precision Nutrition." Precision Nutrition. N.p., 21 Sept. 2009. Web. 05 Aug. 2015. Related Articles 
9 REASONS YOU'RE NOT LOSING BODY FAT
9 reasons? Why not 10, Craven? Because 9 seemed like an underused number for these list-type articles that have become so popular all over the inter webs machine. So let's get into it. 
DAY OF THE SHRED VOL. 3: LET’S TALK “REFEEDS”
Get the down-low on what a "refeed" is, how it can work for you, and why it's been extremely effective for my own personal fat loss goals. 
YOU EAT DONUTS AND ICE CREAM? BUT YOU'RE RIPPED!
Why "Clean" Eating is a myth, and why your diet must be FLEXIBLE in order to be SUSTAINABLE. (and yes, that is a hamburger with donuts for buns) 
HOW MUCH A WOMAN SHOULD BE EATING FOR FAT LOSS: THE DEFINITIVE GUIDE
And by “definitive guide”, in reality I mean it’s more like the “it depends guide.” I apologize to anyone who came here looking for a specific and exact fat loss plan for women. ..KEEP READING
First off, you may be wondering, “what is P.H.A.T?”
P.H.A.T. stands for “POWER-HYPERTROPHY-ADAPTIVE-TRAINING” and was created by Dr. Layne Norton. That may sound like a lot of big words strung together, but I’ll break it down into what each component actually means and why it’s part of the program. This particular program has been a personal favorite of mine for years. I’ve cycled it myself on several occasions and made substantial progress every go-round. It’s also one of my favorite programs to prescribe to clients with a few years of weight training under their belts. I also recommend it to those who are looking to get a bit more serious with their lifting, even if they lack the years of iron experience but have the desire to immerse themselves in some effective weight training. The program is a combination of both “powerlifting” and “bodybuilding” style training; where powerlifters traditionally use low reps (3-5) for strength and bodybuilders use a higher (hypertrophgy) range around 8-12 reps, sometimes higher to induce increases in muscle size.
So who is Layne Norton?
Well if you haven’t heard of him by now I will explain. Layne Norton is a professional natural bodybuilder, powerlifter, and writer. Oh, and did I mention he has his Ph D? He is very experienced in the fitness industry and sought after highly for his articles and thoughts. So Layne Norton is highly qualified to introduce his newest training system: P.H.A.T. training.
Why P.H.A.T.?
Well you can pretty much use common sense when thinking of the possible outcomes from using both powerlifting and bodybuilding approaches to training – at the same time! Typically when one is training for strength, he will inevitably need to gain mass once he hits a wall. That is just fact. He will someday reach a plateau where he can no longer get any stronger without adding some more muscle to help with the motion. The opposite holds true to: the bodybuilder will eventually need more strength to add more mass to his body. P.H.A.T. hopes to aid with this… So in conclusion: Strength and Mass are directly proportional. (To a degree) So one can draw the conclusion that putting the two types of training together, for mass and for strength, the outcomes can be very impressive. Does P.H.A.T. really work? Can we really train for strength and mass within the same week to boost our overall results and accelerate to new heights we never thought possible? There’s only one way to find out.
Note:
This is a very intense, volume heavy program that is meant to push you to your limits. No person has achieved more than they were able to by not pushing themselves to places where they thought they couldn’t reach. Having said this, P.H.A.T. training can be highly demanding and as such you should always distinguish real pain to “training pain”. If you feel yourself taking it too far, back off for a day or two. An injury can set you back months to years while knowing your limits will set you back a few days. Train hard but train smart.
Day 1: Upper Body Power Day ·
Pulling Power Movement: Bent over or Pendlay rows 3 sets of 3-5 reps Assistance Pulling movement: Weighted Pull ups 2 sets of 6-10 reps Auxiliary Pulling movement: Rack chins 2 sets of 6-10 reps Pressing Power Movement: Flat dumbbell presses 3 sets of 3-5 reps Assistance pressing movement: Weighted dips 2 sets of 6-10 reps Assistance pressing movement: Seated dumbbell shoulder presses 3 sets of 6-10 reps Auxiliary curling movement: Cambered bar curls 3 sets of 6-10 reps Auxiliary extension movement: Skull crushers 3 sets of 6-10 reps Day 2: Lower Body Power Day Pressing Power Movement: Squats 3 sets of 3-5 reps Assistance pressing movement: Hack Squats 2 sets of 6-10 reps Assistance extension movement: Leg extensions 2 sets of 6-10 reps Assistance pulling movement: Stiff legged deadlifts 3 sets of 5-8 reps Assistance pulling/curling movement: Glute ham raises or lying leg curls 2 sets of 6-10 reps Auxiliary calf movement: Standing calf raise 3 sets of 6-10 reps Auxiliary calf movement: Seated calf raise 2 sets of 6-10 reps Day 3: Rest Day 4: Back and Shoulders Hypertrophy Day Pulling Power Exercise speed work: Bent over or Pendlay rows 6 sets of 3 reps with 65-70% of normal 3-5 rep max Hypertrophy pulling movement: Rack chins 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy pulling movement: Seated cable row 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy pulling movement: Dumbbell rows or shrugs bracing upper body against an incline bench 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy pulling movement: Close grip pulldowns 2 sets of 15-20 reps Hypertrophy shoulder movement: Seated dumbbell presses 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy shoulder movement: Upright rows 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy shoulder movement: Side lateral raises with dumbbells or cables 3 sets of 12-20 reps Day 5: Lower Body Hypertrophy Day Lower Body Power Exercise speed work: Squats 6 sets of 3 reps with 65-70% of normal 3-5 rep max Hypertrophy pressing movement: Hack squats 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy pressing movement: Leg presses 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy extension movement: Leg extensions 3 sets of 15-20 reps Hypertrophy pulling movement: Romanian deadlifts 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy curling movement: Lying leg curls 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy curling movement: Seated leg curls 2 sets of 15-20 reps Hypertrophy calf movement: Donkey calf raises 4 sets of 10-15 reps Hypertrophy calf movement: Seated calf raises 3 sets of 15-20 reps Day 6: Chest and Arms Hypertrophy Day Pressing Power Exercise speed work: Flat dumbbell presses 6 sets of 3 reps with 65-70% of normal 3-5 rep max Hypertrophy pressing movement: Incline dumbbell presses 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy pressing movement: Hammer strength chest press 3 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy fly movement: Incline cable flyes 2 sets of 15-20 reps Hypertrophy curling exercise: Cambered bar preacher curls 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy curling exercise: Dumbbell concentration curls 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy curling exercise: Spider curls bracing upper body against an incline bench 2 sets of 15-20 reps Hypertrophy extension exercise: Seated tricep extension with cambered bar 3 sets of 8-12 reps Hypertrophy extension exercise: Cable pressdowns with rope attachment 2 sets of 12-15 reps Hypertrophy extension exercise: Cable kickbacks 2 sets of 15-20 reps Day 7: Rest
I hope this quick overview finds all of you helpful in your quest to find a new and effective training program.
Like i said previously, I've found tremendous success with this program and if you follow it as it's laid out, you should make some exceptional size and strength gains on the PHAT program. 
doyoueven.com
If you’re going to read only 1 of the many pieces that I write, I implore you to read this and only this article.
I mentioned in a recent article that I like to tell people whom I just met that I make a living as a professional pecan farmer. Why do I do this? Because when I mention I’m in the business of shaping people’s lives (literally), 9 out of 10 people will say “CAN YOU TRAIN ME?” Here’s my thoughts on personal training: It CAN be a beneficial platform to start your fitness journey, but most of the time you will not be satisfied with the service you pay for or the minimal results that you see. I understand there are exceptions to every rule, and I personally know of a handful of exceptional trainers and folks who’ve hired trainers that make substantial progress. So why is a personal trainer not a good idea? In my professional experience, observation, and analysis, people always seem to think joining a gym, running for miles on end, or getting into a cult like workout program is what’s necessary to get fit, lose weight, and be healthy.
Basically everyone feels they have to workout.
I’m here to tell you that while exercise SHOULD be included in an effective fitness plan, it is not the end all be-all in terms of getting fit and losing weight. In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s a mere 20% of the overall equation. Furthermore, if you’re somebody who dreads the thought of exercising, it is still entirely possible to lose fat. You won’t be Mr. Olympia by any means, but you can reach a healthy body weight. So let’s get back to all these people who ask me to train them. (For free, I might add, but that’s not the point.) The list of people I take on to train personally is exceptionally small, so I almost always decline to train these people in a workout setting. I then steer the conversation towards their nutrition and diet and make my claim that if they really want to see results, THEY MUST PRIORITIZE AND FIX THEIR DIETS FIRST. That’s a service of mine I’m always willing to provide. And always, I mean ALWAYS, they’ll say, “NO, I DON’T NEED A NUTRITION COACH. I KNOW HOW TO EAT HEALTHY.” You do not know how much I do not like to hear such an ambiguous response such as I EAT HEALTHY. As if there are some foods that are inherently magical and cannot make you fat, no matter how much of it you eat and will instead make you completely jacked and tan and ready for the cover of People Magazine. So I say, “okay, so what do you mean healthy.” “Well, you know….salads, sweet potatoes, quinoa, avocado, grass fed meats. I try to do Paleo. I cut out all the starches and sugars too. I have a lot of fruit through out the day.” And there I am with a response like “Uh-huh…so do you know how many calories you’re consuming on a daily basis?” Then I get met with a blank stare with a look behind it to the effect of “geez guy, how should I know. I’m not a food accountant.” And the small percentile that does somehow manage to know their daily calorie intakes focus completely on the wrong macro nutrient ratios that are necessary for fat loss and muscle gain.
THERE ARE NO GOOD, BAD, HEALTHY, CLEAN UNHEALTHY, POISONOUS, TOXIC, SEPTIC, NUCLEAR, ETC. FOODS. THERE’S JUST FOOD.
Yup, you read that right. There is no food on this planet that will instantaneously make you fat if you eat it. It just doesn’t happen. It will however happen IF YOU EAT TOO MUCH OF THAT FOOD. There is no food on this planet that will make you unhealthy if you eat it. It will however happen if (you guessed it) EAT TOO MUCH OF THAT FOOD. A favorite saying of mine is “The Devil is in the dosage.” This translates to saying In proper amounts, nothing is bad. Even chemicals. People seem to be scared to death when they see words that belong in a chemistry textbook on their food labels and deem them as totally unhealthy. But drink too much di-hydrogen oxide (WATER, FOLKS) and that will kill you. Most people feel they have to take their food choices to an extreme in order to be healthy. They feel it’s necessary to restrict tasty foods like ice cream, cookies, cake, bread, pasta, cheeses, and foods of that nature because they’re fattening. They’re only fattening if you eat too much of them. I’ll tell this to people and they’ll give me the whole, “YEAH YEAH, I KNOW ABOUT MODERATION, I DON’T NEED THAT LECTURE FROM YOU.” Well while moderation is important, there’s a bit more to it than that. 
INVEST SOME TIME IN YOURSELF AND LEARN ABOUT MACRO-NUTRIENTS IN FOOD
Taking control of your health and fitness is a lot like taking control of your personal finances. If you want to be rich, nobody’s going to show you how to do it. That’s information you have to find out for yourself. Sure there’s the same old “save your money, don’t spend too much, get a good job and you can retire at 65” mantra that’s always spewed, but who do know has become rich by doing that. Rich folks have been resourceful with their information and know there’s more to it than just saving. Same methods apply to health and fitness. The same old “eat clean foods and avoid junk” is ubiquitous, but if you really want to take control of your health you must be willing to put in some time and effort to dig for the real information that can really change your life for the better. IT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE Trust me. I’ve studied rocket science and taking control of your health by understanding food doesn’t even compare. But it is A SCIENCE. Your body composition is based on an energy balance system. It goes something like this. You put more energy in than you put out, you’ll get bigger. You put out more energy than you put it, you’ll get smaller. Now I understand that’s a very broad and general way to put it, but that’s what it is. The energy balance can then be broken down to the macro nutrients of proteins, carbs, and fats. Once you know that carbs and fats are sources of energy that the body uses (preferably carbs then fat), you can make the conclusions of something to the effect of “IF I EAT A LOT OF CARBS THEN THAT’S MORE ENERGY THAN MY BODY NEEDS, SO I’LL GET BIGGER.” That situation can be a good or bad thing. If you’re a small person looking to add some body mass in terms of muscle, then a surplus in energy is what you’re looking for. Conversely, if you’re lookin to drop a spare tire or two off the midsection, you can probably tell that you should opt for fewer carbs. And I will say this about protein: get it with every meal that you can. The benefits of protein are substantial, not matter if you’re looking to add muscle, lose fat, or both. You can never go wrong with focusing on protein as the main component of every meal. 
WORKING OUT JUST WON’T CUT IT
Working out and exercising are supposed to be good and healthy for you, right? Of course. I’m not saying that it isn’t. What I am saying is folks will almost always rationalize the ability to eat more because they’re working out. Even if that means eating “healthy” food. They will unequivocally eat more of it. Here’s a scenario: Jane decides she’s going to start lifting weights to tone up and lose a bit of weight. Fantastic. Weights are an excellent way to do so. She gets after it and starts moving some weight around in the gym. She even adds a few minutes on the treadmill after lifting to burn a few more calories. After her workout, Jane’s feeling pretty hungry so she gets home and fixes herself a “healthy” meal of sweet potatos and chicken breast. She sticks with her “healthy” food choices and “eats clean” eating fruity greek yogurt, oatmeal, fiber 1 bars, kale shakes and smoothies, and quinoa everyday. A few weeks pass and Jane notices she’s gained 5 pounds on the scale. She rationalizes it as pure muscle gain from the workouts. Another couple of weeks go by and she’s up another 3 pounds. Why’s Janes weight steadily increasing? Here’s why. Exercise has an effect on the body that stimulate hunger, and this is especially prevalent in women unfortunately. The more you workout and exercise, the more of a hunger response your body solicits to meet demanding energy needs from the increased activity. Even by eating those “healthy foods”, Jane was unknowingly eating a surplus amount of calories that was adding to her weight gain. Because she was lifting weight a small amount of that could possibly be muscle mass (about 1 or 2 pounds) but there’s not way she increased her muscle mass by a pure 8 pounds. That is an increase in body fat mass. So why did I share this story? Because if Jane had known that her nutrition should have focused more on lean proteins like chicken and meats instead of oatmeal, sweet potatoes, and gluten free quinoa, she could have mitigated a large amount of unnecessary stored energy in the form of carbohydrates. Food choices do matter, and it’s important to understand how different macro-nutrients affect your body composition.
KNOCK OFF THE SENSELESS CARDIO
I see this happen every day at the gym. Folks will hop on some cardio equipment and jog a few miles or trek through thin air on the elliptical machine thinking that’s going to burn body fat in a raging inferno. Let’s go back to the energy balance stuff. Cardio will only reduce body fat IF YOU PUT IN LESS ENERGY THAN YOU PUT OUT. Which means if you’re calorie consumption through daily activity and exercise is higher than what you consume, that is the only way your body will burn body fat. And there’s no arguing with that. People will have unknowingly eaten 800 plus calories over their daily requirements and hit an hour on the treadmill to burn 600 calories, leaving them in a 200 calorie surplus. And they wonder why they can’t get lean. Once the calories have been accounted for through tracking macro nutrients, then and only then will cardio be an effective tool for weight loss. Nutrition in Perspective Let’s break this down a little bit more. If you do workout, even if it’s everyday, that is roughly 1 hour of your day. The other waking hours of your life are spent eating, and if you’re not eating, you’re thinking about eating whether you know it or not. You’re constantly being bombarded with food advertisements, aromas, images of food, people talking about food. All of this can lead to habits of overeating. Yes, even if it’s “clean” food. Constantly eating too much of the wrong things, or even at the wrong times, will undo that 1 hour of exercise you put in at the gym very quickly. It’s your same old 1 step forward 2 steps back song and dance.
BUT WHAT ABOUT SO AND SO
You probably know somebody who can eat whatever they want, hardly workout, and still look phenomenal. These people do exist, and if you’re reading this it’s probably not you. It’s not me either. But I know a handful of people like this and they make being fit and healthy look extremely easy. Most of the times, they do a lot of things wrong and still look and feel great despite being way off track with their nutrition and training. This comes directly comes down to genetics and how they’re genetically predisposed. If you’re not one of the lucky ones, all I can tell you is you have not to worry about the things you can’t control and focus solely on the things you can. Like your nutrition and how what macro nutrients values and foods will work best for you to reach your fitness goals. If you’ve stuck with me all the way to this point, I hope you’ve picked up what I’ve been putting down. While working out and exercising is a substantial part of the puzzle, it’s not the means to the end. Information about your diet and nutrition is key. A little bit of knowledge will take you places you never thought you could go. So invest in yourself and take the time to understand the real power of food. Food is a wonderful thing and should be enjoyed as often as possible. There’s no reason to stop eating delicious foods or avoid social occasions that revolve around food because you think certain foods will make you fat, lose your gains, or kill you. It won’t happen. If you really want to make the most of your body it will always be imperative to have a good training program, but your nutrition and diet foundation will always be paramount. 
Weight training and improving your physique is a balance of discipline and strategy, not excess. Save yourself a lot of time and frustration by avoiding these common mistakes in and out of the gym.
The major misconception with weight training, and most things in general, is the idea that more is better. This is hardly ever the case in bodybuilding, and as I hope all of you know by now, better is better. Media, magazines, and especially magazines have engrained us with the notion that you have to kill yourself in the gym by following the latest and greatest muscle building routine that’ll tack on lean mass in 3 weeks, take the newest super supplement guaranteed to obliterate fat and add pure muscle, and eat only the cleanest superfoods grown with a pedigree that certifies they’re the lineage of food grown and harvested in the garden of Eden. Joking aside, let’s get into some of the most common issues that are completely useless or even worse, could be hindering your progress in the gym. 
1. TAKING TOO MANY SUPPLEMENTS
Supplements are just that. Supplements. So often I get asked, “what should I be taking?” I always reply with, “first things first, how’s your nutrition and training looking.” Most folks tend to put the cart before the horse, so to speak, and put an emphasis on taking the latest promised muscle building supplement before learning about the foods they need to actually promote strength and muscle increases and the most effective training methods to improve their strength and physiques. There’s no need to blow hundreds of dollars a month on gimmicky supplements. Real food always comes first. Once that area has been covered, by all means add a high quality whey protein supplement, fish oil, multivitamin, creatine, and caffeine to your regiment.
2. TOO MUCH TRAINING VOLUME AND TOO MANY WORKOUTS
Is overtraining real? Yes and no. No in the sense that you cannot technically train yourself backwards and lose strength and muscle, but very real in the sense that you can too much and end up spinning your wheels and training yourself into the ground. Folks have the mentality that “more is better”, especially with the volume associated with their workouts. “if 3 sets of 10 reps are good, then surely 6 sets of 10 will be better!” I’m not saying don’t increase volume over time, but it’s all relative to how your training program is designed and what your nutrition is like. Muscle grow outside of the gym with rest and recovery. If you’re constantly pulverizing them into dust multiple times a week with high number of sets, chances are you’re over working them and not giving them adequate time to recover and grow. If you want to get bigger and stronger, focus on rest and recovery, not sets and reps.
3. SETTING UNREALISTIC GOALS Chances are you’ve seen some god-like physiques and phenomenal aesthetics on your latest Instagram feed and you feel a body like that is completely attainable and can be yours with just a few months of lifting heavy, bro. I hate to burst your bubble, but you will never look like that. Never. I’m not trying to be a negative Nancy, but typically the photos you see in social media and on the cover of magaiznes have been overly enhanced, doctored, and touched up. Oh, and not to mention the guys and gals with these exceptional physiques are not natural and are annabolicaly enhanced. That means they juice. Or if they’re not juicing, they’ve worked extremely hard (not to say guys on gear don’t work hard) for months to diet down and look fantastic for the one day necessary to take some great looking photos. There also may be that one guy you know who started working out a year ago and now he’s putting up 405 on bench press and squatting a Volkswagon. Yes, this does happen. Will it happen to you. Most likely not. Some folks are just genetically gifted and can train very little for a short amount of time and make tremendous gains. I’m not one of these people, and I’m willing to bed you aren’t either. So understand that training is a long term game and nothing spectacular will happen overnight. Be realistic when setting goals and focus on hitting short term milestones to stay motivated and realize your own personal progress. 
4. EATING MORE UNNECESSARY CALORIES
“Clean” foods. “Dirty” foods. Whatever labels you want to put on them, if you eat too much of anything, you will put on body fat. Period. And when your common bro decides to start bulking to add some mass, they often feel its okay to shovel more of anything and everything in their face in order to get bigger. This tends to be a rookie mistake, but I still witness guys who have been training for a decade eating pizza and burgers everyday because they feel its necessary to build muscle. This is the fast track to adding size, but sad to say, it’s going to be mostly fat. In general, if you follow this “bulk and cut” routine with emphasis on the dirty bulk, you could put on 20 pounds of scale weight, cut down, and ultimately only have a net gain of ONE POUND of lean muscle. All that fat and nothing to show for it. So if you’re looking to add lean body mass, understand it is a painfully slow process. Focus on increasing your calories slowing through moderate amounts of carbohydrates and even smaller amounts of protein. Contrary to what you may think, you don’t need to eat a cow’s worth of protein to build muscle. If you’re bulking and your carbs and fat are high, protein requirements are less of a concern.
5. JUMPIING FROM PROGRAM TO PROGRAM
Muscle confusion. Mix it up. Keep the muscle guessing. I’m sure you’ve heard these techniques are necessary to make sure the muscle doesn’t adapt to your training. There is some truth to the notion of prolonging adaptation, but gimmicky programs like Insanity have over-hyped the idea of muscle confusion. What happens is people will find an attractive program either online or in a magazine and try it out for a few weeks. If they run the program and complete it all the way through with decent results, they may feel it was inadequate and jump to another more enticing program. Instead of sticking with a routine that was proven to work for the individual and merely increasing the weights, reps/sets, or frequencies, they felt it would be better to try something different. In all actually, it makes very little difference what program or routine you follow. The main principle you should be following is progressive overload. This mean continually adding weight to the bar. You could do the same three exercises forever but if you continually strive to get stronger with the movement, whether by increasing the weight, reps, or both, you will grow. Period.
If you’re going to takeaway anything from this post, it should be this: think more, follow less. Do what is in your best interest and don’t worry about what you see in the media or what the big guy at the gym is spewing. Analyze your nutrition, training, rest, lifestyle, and find out the most conducive way to optimize your progress. Understand that nutrition and training are paramount before any supplement, yes even whey protein. Be your own best critic and when something stops working or never worked, realize it’s time for a change.
 YOU’RE EXPECTING NEW RESULTS FROM THE SAME METHOD. Working in the field of fitness and nutrition isn’t always a picnic with sunshine and lollipops. When I’m out meeting new people and the discussion of careers comes up, I often like to say I’m employed as a professional pecan farmer. Using that line is always a great ice breaker and instantly I rival “the most interesting man in the world” as “the most interesting man in the room.” But the real reason I tend to keep my profession in the health/fitness industry under wraps is because if I tell people what I actually do, they’re instinctively inclined to tell me their life stories about “how I always eat healthy and workout but am not losing weight.” Or it’s, “I work out all the time and eat like crazy but I’m not gaining muscle.” From my personal experience, and gauging from the information I’ve collected throughout all of these encounters, I’ve come to this conclusion: Everybody knows how to eat healthy. Everybody knows how to work out. They all say it with such strong conviction. Almost as if it’s been their life work to master the subject in discussion. But their body compositions and physiques say otherwise. Maybe these people do know how to eat for their goals- but have yet to commit to it. Or perhaps they do know how to train to attain the aesthetics of a Greek god. But again, haven’t applied the knowledge or physically committed to reaching the goals. Yet these people will claim they’re committed to making real changes, but in reality they’re about as committed as a kamikaze pilot on his 38th mission! They’ve probably made some sort of progress to their body compositions and health over their lives, but it wasn’t the kind of progress they could continue to maintain; and before they know it they’re frustrated and back to square 1. And then there are the ones on the opposite end of the spectrum who go to the extreme with their fitness. They will actually spend more time in the gym working out per week than at their desk jobs. (I wish this was an exaggeration, but it’s not) And these folks still see very little, if any changes in their physiques. Fitness is a funny thing. The return on the investment is very short lived and just like everything else in the natural world, the diminishing returns phenomena creeps in relatively quickly. This is known as hitting a plateau. It happens to everyone sooner than they could ever hope. The old saying goes, “the few things in life that are inevitable are death and taxes.” I’d like to add “hitting a fitness plateau” to that short list too. Few things in this life are as frustrating as putting in endless hours in the gym and giving your literal sweat, blood, and tears to improve your most valuable possession in this world and then not seeing any changes. So here’s a few tips on what you can do to break through those plateaus and get progress rolling again. YOU’RE EXPECTING NEW RESULTS FROM THE SAME OLD METHOD To borrow a favorite quote of mine used in Alcoholics Anonymous, “The term INSANITY can be used to describe doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result each time.”  I see this all the time. Everywhere. I’ve walked into gyms and seen a couple of guys doing dumbbell curls in front of the mirror. 8 months went by and I returned to the gym to see the same guys, doing the same curls with the same weights, looking. Exactly. The. Same. After a while you would think they’d realize their plan to get bigger and stronger has failed them and that they need to make a change. And not even a huge, drastic, overhauling change. But just at least a small change. But they don’t. They keep plowing away day after day hoping all the hard work will finally kick in and pay off. But it doesn’t work that way. I’m not saying it’s not important to commit to a program, but once the program has run its course and you’re not seeing the results you should, that’s your cue to move on and try something else. Change Your Program When Necessary Before you can change your program, it’s most important that you have a program to follow. A lot of people haphazardly workout and exercise just for the sake of exercise. This isn’t wrong by any means, but just know if this is the route you take your progress will stall out extremely quickly and you’ll be left frustrated about why you lost 5 pounds the first work and nothing more the subsequent 12 weeks. If you don’t know what to do or where to find decent programming, use your resources. Like…the internet. Do some research on your own about workouts and programs that are suited for your specific goals and STICK TO THAT PROGRAM. Folks tend to find a trendy workout they see in a magazine and run it for a week before they get bored and hop onto another program their friend told them about. This is a quick way to set you off on a journey that has no final destination. Once you’ve found a program tailored to your goals and you run the course, then it’s time to assess your accomplishments. The main question you need to ask yourself is did you get the results you wanted? If that’s a yes, then by all means continue to use the program. This is where a lot of trainees will get caught up again. They’ll run the program again and not make the same progressive increase in weights and/or repetitions in their workouts. In other words, they’ll become complacent with their workouts and progress with no longer continue. This is where it takes some intrinsic motivation to really push and remind yourself to continually try and increase the working weights, reps, or sets in a program. KEEP A WORKOUT LOG One method to help make sure you’re continually progressing is using a workout log I know it may seem cheesy and “newbee-esq” to tote around a pen and notebook with you at the gym, but trust me when I say it is the only way you can physically track your workouts and see your numbers increase. You don’t have to go all William Shakespeare with the pen and pad while you’re at the gym and write a short story about every last detail about your workout. In fact, after a while you may not have to have it with you at the gym at all. As long as you can somehow quantify and track the progression in your main lifts, that’s what really matters most. At the end of every month, or at the end of a training program block, compare the weights, reps, and sets of a lift from the beginning of the month to the weights, reps, and sets at the end of the month, and see how much you actually progressed in the lift. If the volume of the lift (reps x sets x weight) hasn’t increased in the slightest, then you can’t expect much in terms of progression. It’s quite simple. If you want to make progress, you have to progress. COUNT YOUR CALORIES AND TRACK YOUR MACROS While we’re on the topic of tracking and counting this, let’s address the biggest travesty I see people undergo when attempting to achieve their dream physiques. They don’t keep track of what they put in their mouths. I once heard a legendary speaker say, “I was overweight for the first 40 years of my life. Everything I ate that led me to be overweight was my choice.” Just because you “eat clean” (whatever that means) and avoid fast food and junk food like the plague, that doesn’t guarantee you’re going to pack on muscle mass, shred up, and instantly transform your physique.  In my experience, the opposite is entirely possible. I know folks who have gained body fat following strict paleo diets and low carb diets, just by overconsuming large quantities of food. Good nutrition isn’t based entirely on what you eat, but how much of what you’re eating. It’s one of the few things in life that favors quantity over quality. So the single best thing you can do is learn to count your macro-nutrients (macros). Counting and tracking macros means knowing the protein, carb, and fat content of the foods you eat and how much you can eat in a given day for fat loss, weight maintenance, and weight gain. A lot of people are perplexed and downright intimidated by the thought of having to become a full time accountant with their food choices, But in reality, it’s not that difficult. In fact, it’s a life skill I believe everybody should attempt to understand. If you can take control of your personal eating habits and change your body for the better, you will undeniably become a better all-around person. Gaining control of the single most important possession in your life that is your body has countless benefits that can trickle through all parts of your life. If you can manage to pack on 10 solid pounds of lean muscle (which is no easy feat, folks), what’s stopping you from getting that promotion at work? Or putting in an extra 2 hours to study for that upcoming exam so you can get the highest mark possible? Don’t be the big fish in a small pond This method is definitely the simplest, although not the easiest. If you’ve been working out in the same old big box gym over the last 3 years, you’ve probably built yourself a nice little repuatation amongst all the regulars. You may even be known as the “big” or “jacked” guy. But if you were to walk into another gym across town, say an old-school gritty, dirty, nothing but heavy iron gym, you’d probably be the smallest and weakest guy in the joint. In a place like that, you’d come across dumbells ranging over 200 pounds. A far cry from the 130 pound dumbells you’ve seen max out the top of the dumbbell rack at your usual gym. Like the old adage states, “you never want to be the smartest guy in the room.” The same applies to lifting and gaining muscle. “You never want to be the biggest guy in the room.” You should always have an external source of motivation to keep striving for more strength and size, and working out with guys much bigger, stronger, and older than you can definitely be enough motivation for you to give your training a slight edge. If you feel like your training has stalled out a bit and you’ve become complacent and too comfortable in your usual gym setting, then take a step out of that comfort zone for a bit and immerse yourself in a new environment that can push you to increase your lifts. Who knows, you may even make some new life-long friends getting out there and working out around folks with the same mentality and goals as you. Try being the small fish in the ocean for a bit and test your own personal grit and determination. See if you really have what it takes to work your way up the proverbial “food chain” and become a big fish in that big ocean. Don’t let those inevitable plateaus discourage you all from striving for more. The longer you train, the more you’ll see plateaus. But if you arm yourself with some knowledge and perseverance, you’ll overcome those plateaus and continually improve your lifts and body composition throughout your lifting life-spans. Related Articles  
 And by “definitive guide”, in reality I mean it’s more like the “it depends guide.” I apologize to anyone who came here looking for a specific and exact fat loss plan for women. Anyone who tells you there’s a plan for all shapes and sizes that will work regardless of who you are is straight up blowing smoke. In fitness and nutrition, everything is based on context and variables that are constantly changing. That’s why when I say “it depends”, I honestly mean it.  So let’s get into the details of what it actually takes for women to set up a practical and effective nutrition plan to breakthrough from average to attaining a true cover model physique. You’ve all seen this. Even if you don’t follow fitness profiles on Instagram, once in a while a picture of a girl with a goddess-like body will make its way into your news feed. You curiously click on it and see a caption with something like “looking extra lean on my booty day while still eating 250 grams of carbs!” This chick isn’t the only one either. Your feed eventually becomes inundated with pictures and captions just like this one. You see all these great looking girls eating amounts of food you could only imagine. All the while you’re following a 1200 calorie diet you saw in Cosmo or Women’s Health magazines and you feel like you’re starving yourself and whittling away. After a while you can’t help but notice the whole world is touting the mantra of “eat more and do squats” and “don’t worry about the scale, just eat and lift.” This advice might be fine if you’re looking to increase lean muscle mass (along with amounts of body fat), but for girls looking to get leaner, more toned, or whatever the latest aesthetic term used is, this isn’t the advice they need to be following. This advice is good hearted and well intended, but its misappropriated. If your maintenance calories are around 1800-1900 calories a day (which is about right for most average women who just want to look better), you are definitely not starving on a 1200 calorie diet. Before I continue, heres a list of women we ARE NOT talking about.
So if you’re one of those gals who’s dieted down to 11% bodyfat for her 8th figure competition on 300 calories a day and looking to hate on this, chill out. I’m not talking about you. Who we Are talking about:
I know you. I know you quite well because I coach girls like you. I’ve coached dozens like you. And if I haven’t coached you, I’m getting dozens of emails and texts from girls like you with goals like yours every. Single. Day. You’re not a former college athlete. You’re not an experienced gym rat. You don’t work a physically intensive or physical job. You just want to lean out and tone up a bit. You want to look great and still enjoy your life. You are THE MAJORITY. The Main Problem: A HUGE misunderstanding of caloric maintenance. I’ll try to make this as simple and straight forward as possible. A diet based on 1200 calories cannot be labeled as good or bad without context. And this context is solely based on the indviduals caloric maintenance calories. If you don’t know what caloric maintenance is, it’s the number of calories you must eat in a day to MAINTAIN your current weight and body composition. I’d hate to over complicate this part, but strategically trying to calculate maintenance calories isn’t exactly a walk in the park. For those interested, here’s a quick example for someone who weighs 150 pounds at roughly 34% body fat.
A multiplier (1.3) r is used with the BMR based on the daily activity level of the individual. This multiplier ranges from 1.3 (for more sedentary) to 1.7 (very active). So use this accordingly. So for a women whos maintenance is 1745 calories, eating 2000 calories just like her favorite Instagram star is going to lead her to build muscle and increase the weight on the scale. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not what you want if you’re looking to lose body fat. Small cuts in calories, slow progress, and the dreaded bathroom scale  So you’re thinking, “if I did all the calculations correctly and my maintenance is 1800 calories. If I eat 1500 calories, I’ll lose weight, yes?” Yes! Yes you will. At an estimated 300 calorie/day deficit, this is roughly a half pound of fat loss per week. But beware, there are a few things to be cautious of. Firstly, small deficits like 300 calories are risky because it assumes you are accurately tracking and measuring your food with exact precision. If you dip one too many times into the peanut butter jar, you can overconsume calories and ruin your deficit and wipe out the fat loss for the day completely. This becomes unrealistic to manage and extremely frustrating. Here’s the really frustrating and mind fuck part of this. You lose 7.5 pounds over 7 weeks. But the bathroom scale says otherwise. You only see a shift of 3 pounds. Why’s this? Things like water, carbs, alcohol, salt, hormones, time of day, going to the restroom, and time of the month all cause the bathroom scale to fluctuate insanely. Is this something you think you can handle. Personally, I can’t. I’ve tried. In my personal and professional experience, small deficits like this are un realistic and impossible to manage. You end up micromanaging your entire food life and that’s not a good idea. Eating disorder anyone? Back to the Instagram Chick  You want to look like her.
You follow everything she posts daily to look like her. Eat like her. Train like her. Supplement like her. But after a while you wonder, “how does she get away with eating 2700 calories a day but I cant?” You’d like to know why? Here’s why. The tremendous difference in nutritional demands of a women with a high amount of lean muscle mass maintaining a physique and a slightly overweight women looking to lose bodyfat. It’s that simple. Same applies to men. And unfortunately, the IG girl you love and admire so much is just out to make a quick buck. I get that we all have to make a living, but shamelessly promoting quest bars or some cheap supplements or affiliate sponsors to monetize her genetically superior ass at the expense of girls looking for a real role model isn’t cool. And to promise very impressionable young women that they can have the body you have while eating large quantities of carbs and calories isn’t very copacetic either. Immoral might be the word. Is the popular 1200 calorie diet right for you?? I don’t know. It depends, But specific caloric intake can’t be glamorized or vilified without proper context and variables. Are you a women who’s recently built a solid foundation of lean muscle mass who wants to lose body fat? Or are you a former collegiate level gymnast training to dominate the cross fit games? If you find yourself resembling someone like the first case, stick to advice in this article. And most importantly, learn to track and count your macros. It isn’t complicated and it’s a life skill that is worth having. Trust me. It pays off in the long run and it’s an invaluable skill that will last a lifetime. Knowledge is power. It’s also sexy. If you’re at a restaurant with a guy and you mention to him that a slice of bread has 28 grams of carbs just from looking at it, it’ll blow his mind. And if finds that knowledgable quality of yours unattractive, then he’s a guy you don’t need to be wasting your time on to begin with. So count your macros. Train with weights. Limit the cardio. Drink water. Sleep well. Track progress. Ignore the haters. Be realistic. Ignore the people who just suck. And then slowly rebuild your calories back up to maintenance after you’ve achieved your fat loss goals on a 1200 calorie diet, because 1200 calories forever sucks, and nobody wants to do that forever. Live your life ladies, and embrace the fitness journey with nutrition. A little bit of knowledge will take you places you’ve never imagined.  9 reasons? Why not 10, Craven? Because 9 seemed like an underused number for these list-type articles that have become so popular all over the inter webs machine. So let's get into it. 1. You’re unknowingly consuming too many calories This might seem like a pretty obvious point for most people, but for some reason there’s a whole lot of folks that seem to think “calories don’t matter”, as long as you restrict your carbohydrate intake. This couldn’t be any less true. It always comes down to the fact that you just need to eat less. It’s that simple. If you’re eating roughly 10 to 12 calories for every pound of bodyweight then it should not be that difficult for your body to lose fat. People typically stuff their faces every 3 hours or so to “jack up their metabolism” or “stoke the metabolic fire” and as a result, inadvertently end up eating waaay more calories than they actually need. This is why it’s important to track your macros/calories, or at the very least keep a mindful tab on the quantities of foods you’re eating every day. Eating less can be difficult. It can be challenging. Consuming 2000 calories a day requires some structure, discipline, motivation, and a bit of sacrifice. But I ask you, what doesn’t require all of that in this life that is worthwhile that you would like to accomplish?  2. You’re Not Eating Enough Total Calories This is the inverse problem of over consumption. Some people tend to diet too hard and really ramp down their metabolisms and limit their body’s fat utilization. When calories are cut too hard for an extended period of time, it can reduce your thyroid production and losing body fat will become extremely difficult. One easy way to measure your thyroid function is to take your body temperature immediately upon waking up in the morning. If it’s dipped below 98 degrees Fahrenheit you may have a sluggish metabolism. The best way to remedy a slowed metabolism is to increase calories (mostly carbohydrates) for around 10-14 days until regular thyroid and leptin functions return. You may even utilize a REFEED to help get things moving a long quicker. 3. You’ve jumped on the Latest Celebrity Diet or Quick Fix Bandwagon You didn’t get fat overnight. You didn’t wake up one morning with an extra 20 pounds of body fat. Whether you know it or not, it took a lot of time and effort on your part to get your body in an overweight and underactive state. The harsh reality of fat loss is it’s going to take some time. As long as it took you to put the weight on, you can expect that same amount of time to get the weight off. There are no quick fixes here. No magic powders or elixers. No amount of detox smoothies or liquid diets will get you lean in a matter of weeks. The best method that works is continually working to improve your eating and exercise. For a lot of people, I always recommend a Flexible Dieting approach to make fat loss plans sustainable for a lifetime. Oh, and accepting the fact that it’s going to take some fucking hard work. 4. You’re Eating too much “Good Fat” Since we’re talking about trendy diets… Some people really buy into the no carb/low carb/carbs are the devil/gluten in carbs will burn a whole in your soul fad. Carbs aren’t the enemy. Fat isn’t the enemy. Neither one is inherently bad. It’s a matter of quanity of each of those macros that affects your body composition. Folks reduce their carbs, or cut them out completely and assume they don’t have to worry about anything else. For a lot of people this will initially work on the basis that they are EATING LESS THAT THEY WERE with carbs. But body adaptations happen or they carried away eating cheese covered bacon and unknowingly consume more calories than they need. Refer back to point #1.  You can’t just eat pounds of bacon and mayonnaise with reckless abandon and think that you’ll magically end up ripped. Fat contains 9 calories per gram. Calories will always still matter at the end of the day, and if you’re consuming more calories from dietary fat than you burn, you’re never going to shed body fat. I’m not trying to say low fat diets are better, what I’m saying is there needs to be a structured value and balanace of both dietary fats and carbs in your diet. And as always, you need to keep a handle on total calories. 5. You’re drinking too many protein Shakes For a host of reasons, it’s always better to chew as many of your calories and you possibly can. The sole act of chewing and digestion burns more calories than drinking a shake through through the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF). There’s also the fact that 25 grams of protein in a chicken breast will leave you more full and satisfied a than slamming a scoop of whey protein. This can be crucial when reducing calories so make note of this. 6. You’re going Nuts eating Nuts Nuts are one of those healthy foods in disguised. They get a lot of play in the media as a healthy snack. They can be, but the caveat is they contain a lot of calories due to their high fat content and they add up extremely quickly. It’s terribly easy to mindlessly dip into a bag of nuts and go through half the bag without even looking away from your Instagram feed. I typically don’t recommend nuts to my clients. I like to suggest more voluminous foods such as green vegetable and meat proteins that are nutritionally dense that will fill you up and not pack on a lot of calories. 7. You’re Not Training Heavy Enough The first inclination people have when trying to lose body fat is to jack up the reps they’re doing and lower the weight to “burn some fat”. This couldn’t be worse advice for a fat loss phase. Your muscle didn’t get bigger and stronger doing 30 reps with pink dumbells, so why should you expect your hard earned muscle to stick around in a stressful time such as a diet phase if you’re not giving them the same intensity of training you use to get them big and strong? When you diet, the primary role of strength training is to maintain, and in some instances even build lean muscle mass. That’s the most important thing. If your nutrition is in check the fat loss with happen. Just make sure you’re maintaining that hard earned lean muscle.  8. You’re Overdoing the Cardio I’ve said it many times before, and god knows I’ll continue to say it for the rest of my life. Traditional forms of cardio are useless for fat loss. But you know what, useless can be okay; it’s when the cardio starts to become counterproductive is when there’s a real problem. Excessive amounts of cardio can lead to an overproduction of cortisol that can lead to water retention and increase the size and growth rate of certain fat cells. One of the best and most useful forms of cardio is taking a long walk. If you start walking a half mile to a mile a day, you’ll be surprised at how your recovery will improve and the changes in your body composition that will occur. 9. You’re Not Managing Stress Properly I saved the best and most important point for last. Stress is important. It’s a vital part of life. It’s what gets you up in the morning and keeps you tentative and alive. It’s when you’re in an unnecessarily overly stressed state that causes issues. When in a state of stress, the body produces a hormone known as cortisol. Cortisol has gotten a bad rep over the last few decades, but it’s a vital hormone that has many benefits in keeping you healthy and alive. Like stated above, it’s the hormone that gets you up in the morning.   Being an all around “fit” and “healthy” person requires more than just hitting the gym a few times a week. People often get so concerned with improving their physical appearance and body compositions that they often neglect training the most powerful part of their bodies: their minds. So many people get caught up in trying to look better that they forget that there are some other parts of their lives that need improvement; such as in the learning, thinking, and instantiable quest for knowledge departments. This particular volume of Gains For Life has been inspired by a host of new people I've recently had the pleasure of connecting with over the last few days. I've recently realized I operate on somewhat of a different frequency than my academic peers and friends and that I've been the odd-ball in a sense. But meeting and sharing experiences with these new people in my life have shown me that there's plenty of people out there very similar to me that want to improve their own lives, but more importantly, improve the lives of everyone they have the pleasure of meeting on their journeys. So kick back and peruse some of my favorite and recommended pieces of work pertaining to fitness, nutrition, and overall personal development! Quote of the Week  -Napoleon Hill FEATURED ARTICLE OF THE WEEK Does the Training Determine the Diet or the Diet Determing the Training? This is an extremely informative piece by Lyle McDonald where he discusses the different types of training that can and should be used during extensive dieting phases and/or bulking phases.  7 Strange Questions That Help You Find Your Life Purpose – Mark Manson In Defense Of being Average -Mark Manson The Cardio Vs. Weights Cheat Sheet– James Fell The Ultimate Hunger Satiety Guide – Propane Fitness The Women of Weed: 3 Innovative Female Entrepreneurs of the Marijuana Industry  Follow Your Purpose, But Enjoy The Present – Lewis Howes Videos To Watch Dan Pink- The Puzzle of Motivation Book Recommendation of the Week  One of my favorite books that I've ever read and it's on by desk at all times so that I can access it whenever i feel I need some quick inspiration.
Most people labor under the misconception that their life is the result of fate, luck, or circumstances. This book explains that your life is what you make of it, and the only way you'll be successful in life is if you're first successful in your mind. This is the foundation of a successful career in business. One of my favorite quotes (there's so many to chose from) from the book “A man's mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind.”  Get the down-low on what a "refeed" is, how it can work for you, and why it's been extremely effective for my own personal fat loss goals. Ah yes, “Refeed” Days. You’ve probably heard this term thrown a round by your fitness enthusiast friends. Personally, the word “refeed” disgusts me and I flat out don’t like it. Makes me think of a procedure a livestock animal might incur a few days before being processed for our eating pleasures. I like to refer to these “refeeds” as short periods of strategic over consumption. Not as catchy as “refeed”, I know. MY RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH REFEEDs To introduce the topic, let me give you a brief rundown on my current experience with refeeds over the last 8 weeks. I started with a bodyweight of 167 at roughly 9% bodyfat. Every week included 5 days of a large caloric defecit followed by 30 hours of a carbpocolypse refeed of 1200 grams of carbs. This happened continuously for 8 weeks. As of today, I weigh 160 pounds at roughly 6% body fat. That’s 7 pounds of body fat in 8 weeks starting from an all ready lean body composition.  I hope I have your attention. So before I digress any further, let’s make like Alice and tumble down this dank and dingy rabbit hole of a topic. The Hormone Leptin To understand what’s happening on a biological level during periods of overfeedings, it’s important to know what the hormone leptin is and how it works for fat loss. Leptin is a hormone that is synthesized in fat cells and is directly controlled by factors such as the amount and size of your body fat cells. Leptins main function in your body is to play a significant role in regulating hunger signals/responses, food intake, and energy expenditure.  That’s asking a lot from a single hormone. In fact it’s your bodies deciding factor whether you’re going to torch body fat like a fiery inferno, or cling to every last bit of it. When leptin levels decrease you’ll notice the intensity of your hunger and cravings for food increase. If you’ve ever dieted, you’re more than familiar with this. But when you’re in a fed state, or caloric surplus, you might notice you aren’t exactly dying of hunger pangs like you would be if you were on a diet. This is when leptin levels are high. Raising Leptin Levels with Refeeds Now that we know and understand the importance of leptin, let’s talk about how we can elevate leptin levels during extensive periods of underfeeding: or more commonly known as dieting. I hope you see where this is leading. Enter: REFEEDS. I’m going to state is first and make it as clear as possible. A REFEED IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO BE A FAT KID. A REFEED IS NOT AN EXCUSE TO EAT 2 LARGE PIZZAS THEN GO TO THE BAR A REFFEED IS AN EXCUSE TO EAT EVERYTHING IN SIGHT BECAUSE YOU’VE BEEN ON A CALORIC RESTRICTION DIET FOR 3 DAYS.  You get the idea. This is why I like to use the term SHORT PERIOD OF STRATEGIC OVER FEEDING. SHORT So refeeds will almost always be SHORT in duration. We’re talking periods of a few hours to no more than 36 hours. STRATEGY STRATEGY is paramount in refeeds. You just can’t decide to go hard at Krispy Kreme all willy-nilly and decide to call it a refeed. That’s stupid. It’s only after a certain extended duration of dieting AND weight training that you will need to refeed. It also depends on your current body composition. Someone who is 20 pounds overweight will not need to refeed very often. Conversely, someone who is all ready extremely lean and looking to get into levels of 6-9% body fat will have to refeed once or twice a week! Remember this. It’s a good incentive to be lean. You get to eat more fun foods. OVER FEEDING So what exactly can you eat during a refeed? Almost 100% of the time, refeeds will be based on an increase of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates (aka the Devil’s Nectar, for most folks) have a large effect on increasing leptin levels. More than fat. And yes, more than protein. By dramatically increasing the amount of carbohydrates you consume, you can essentially jump-start your fat cell’s leptin production and give your adapative metabolism a much needed boost to continue fat loss. How dramatic of an increase? Typical refeeds should consist of roughly 350-1000 grams of carbs, strictly depending on multiple factors such as current weight, body composition, training, etc. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it. PROS AND CONS OF REFEEDS There aren’t a whole lot of cons to refeeds, but there are 2 caveats to be aware of if you decide to implement a refeed. 1. Know your limit- it is easy to get carried away eating excess carbs. If you’ve been on a reduced carb diet for an extended period of time, putting down 500 grams of carbs in a single sitting becomes light work. And you’ll still be hungry. It’s also easy to start shoveling down fat-loaded foods such as pizza, donuts, cakes, and ice cream. A few indulgences don’t hurt, but when excess fat is consumed with excess carbs, guess what happens? Carbs get used for energy and fat gets stored as fat. So be smart when you decided to get down on the House of Carbs. 2. Taking 3 steps forward, 1 step back- This one isn’t so much of a con as it is a calculated cost. I say 3 steps forward, because if you decide to diet on a large calorie defecit (which I advocate for most folks) you will see tremendous weight/fat loss happen almost on a daily basis. But this will only last so long and get you so far before your body catches on and fat loss stalls. So you throw down some carbs to raise leptin and get your metabolism humming again, right? Correct. The 1 step backward comes with the fact that a bolus amount of carbs might lead to small amount of fat gain. But the bright side is your leptin levels will be restored and the next bout of carb/calorie restriction will lead to a jump starting of the fat burning process again and bust you out of that fat loss stagnation. 
So if you’re someone who has been a perma-dieter and notice you can’t get past a certain fat loss threshold, maybe it’s time to consider a refeed.
It sounds counterintuitive to eat more in order to lose weight but it works. And works extremely effectively. As always, if you’d like some more information on the topic or want to get started with an effective cyclical diet that includes refeeds, feel free to contact me.  Let’s talk about appetite For most men, moderate exercise tends to only result in a small to mild increase in appetite. To the dismay of the female gender, the more a woman excercises, the more likely she is to eat back everything they burned in the gym. This is due to the fact that women have a stronger appetite regulation due to exercise. Here’s the study performed on effects of exercise intensity on food intake and appetite in women. Fat loss is the result of consuming fewer calories than you burn. If performing excessive cardio activity ends up making you eat more at your usual meals, then the fat loss effect becomes quite diminished to say the least. You could walk into any gym at any time of the day and there’s one sight you’ll always see (besides bros doing bicep curls in the mirror) and that’s women glued to the cardio machines. More often than not, these women are desperately toiling away on the elliptical machine in effort to slim down a bit or shed some excess body fat. Unfortunately, as I hope all of you reading this know, cardio alone is extremely in effective as a tool for fat loss. It’s a pretty ineffective fat loss tool for men, but for women it’s even less effective! Here’s some quick math. In order to drop a pound of body fat, a calorie deficit of roughly 3500 calories must be created. Assuming that you’re a fit person and can workout at a moderate pace for about an hour, that’s like 6 to 10 hours of exercise just to drop a single pound of body fat. And that’s talking in terms of best case scenario. But what about all of those really thin and sporty chicks that are always running? How do they get away with all that cardio? In this instance, cardio can be useful to maintain weight while increasing how much food you eat. But it’s known as a ‘spinning tires’ phenomena. You’re ultimately putting in increasing amounts of efforts just to end up looking the same! For those of you who’ve studied business, that’s known as a poor ROI (return on investment). Cardio is quite in effective as helping you reach your goal level of leaness because it takes waaay tooo many hours to burn a good amount of fat. And as you start doing cardio, you invariably start to consume more food. Water Retention and Cardio The accumulating stresses of dieting, excess cardio, and just the thought of having to lose weight will create extremely high levels of cortisol in the body, which can lead to water retention and bloating! This is way in most cases when a girl sticks to a strict diet and workout plan but soon notices a plateu in weight loss. The fat loss may still be continuing, but the weight shown on the scale will stay the same. Talk about a major mind f-ck. This is due to her body holding onto more water in response to the increased amount of stresses being placed on the body.  Cardio can turn you into a couch potato For a lot of individuals, doing lots of cardio activity while restricting their calories on a diet can cause a pretty big lack of energy and put them in a state of laziness. They might give it all they got during workouts, but the rest of the day finds them in zoned-out and zombie like state. This is just the body preserving energy when and wherever it can when in a state of deprivation and excess energy expenditure. Trust me, there’s no benefit to looking slim and fit if you don’t have the energy or desire to leave your bed every day.  Avoid the Hamster Wheel So if running and cardio are no-no’s to burn fat, what’s the best way? Well it all comes down to nutrition. Nutrition is paramount. Always eat to ensure you consume fewer calories than you burn, but not in an excessive deficit. A few moderate sessions of light intensity walking is also beneficial. Light intensity walks seem to have a pretty neutral effect on appetite in women. If you’re looking to use exercise as the main medium to shed some body fat, then resistance training with weights coupled with some light walking is your best bet. Weight training also ensures the weight you lose comes almost completely from stored body fat while maintaining lean, sexy muscle. The major benefit weight training has on women is the ability to give a woman’s body a more overall attractive look. You’ll be leaner, more ‘toned’ and firm, and present a much better shape while looking great in clothes (or even better without). So ladies, please do yourself and us guys a favor, skip the excessive road-runs and half marathons; and don’t neglect the weight room if you’re looking to shape up this summer. Related Articles   ONE FOR THE LADIES: WHAT EVERY GIRL SHOULD KNOW ABOUT FAT LOSS AND TRAINING Ladies,quit wasting time and effort with fad diets and pointless workout routines that don't yield results. Learn the basics of what your diet and training should consist of!  ANOTHER ONE FOR THE LADIES: DON'T MAKE THESE MISTAKES WITH YOUR DIET AND TRAINING
Ladies, think you're making the right choices in the gym and in the kitchen? Be sure to avoid these common training and diet mistakes!  When did it become okay to cheat on anything, ever? Maybe it’s the moral-less public figures and celebrates we’ve come to idolize. Or the way we lack values in this increasingly toxic cesspool we call society. “Dang Craven, who pissed in your cheerios this morning?” Nobody. That’s because I had Captain Crunch today. I’ve been working with a handful of new individuals over the last few weeks that have personal goals ranging from just wanting to lose 10 pounds and eat smarter, to one who wants to get into physique contest shape. Before I even get a chance to analyze and draw up a customized program, without fail they’ll eagerly ask:  And there’s the ones who read those words in an e-mail and I’m sure don’t get a kick out of it at all. But I couldn’t be more serious when I say that. IF YOUR DIET WAS GOOD, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE TO CHEAT. To which I reply, “The same time you cheat on your significant other.” I personally think that’s a pretty funny, and perfectly appropriate response. My clients think otherwise and will give me some half hearted chuckle and a look that says, “No really…when?”  Think about it in the context of dating. Imagine you were dating a superb person that you felt was perfect for you. They made you feel complete and motivated you and compelled you to be the best person you could be. But only 6 out of 7 days of the week. So that one day you for some reason decided you needed a break from all that superb wonderfulness and felt the need to go out slummin’. To which at the time may have felt pretty liberating knowing you were breaking away from the shackles of your monotonous and routine life, but ultimately you end up feeling guilty and sleazy for the acts committed. If you’re normal and non-sociopathic person, the above situation sounds pretty absurd. But it happens ALL THE DAMN TIME when talking about diets. “I eat clean for 6 days, but on the 7th I get to cheat!” People enthusiastically recite this mantra. And it utterly baffles me. I don’t know who you paid to write up a program for you that encourages cheating, or how you even wrapped your mind around getting excited to take on a diet that makes eat foods you don’t enjoy for a majority of your meals. And the psychological aspect of the situation makes it more convoluted. Somehow the mentality of knowing that you’re cheating lessens the severity of the situation. Because the cheat meal/day has been scheduled and allotted in the program, it may seem okay that you’re going off your low carb plan and putting an entire large pizza in your face and you can walk away feeling essentially guilt free. Although probably pretty bloated. If for some reason you broke your diet mid-week and happened to demolish that same pizza at the end of a rough day, no doubt you’d hate yourself for it and you’d find your guilt-ridden self on the elliptical machine in a few hours or squeezing in another workout session the next day.  If you really want to get on a diet, make sure it’s something you know you can handle. Sustainability and adherence should always be the main priority when starting a nutrition plan. Because a diet is only as good if it works long term. You may find one of these “cheat meal plans” to help you lose 20 pounds in 6 weeks, but in 6 months you’ve found those 20 pounds plus an additional 10.  If you’re truly looking to make long term progress with a diet, the best method you can employ is a flexible dieting approach. I preach enough about flexible dieting and there’s an exorbitant amount of information on the subject all over the inter webs. But for those of you unfamiliar with it, here’s the benefits of a flexible diet: · No restriction of certain food groups or foods · Enjoy the “cheat” foods you love when you want · Eat as many, or few meals as you please throughout the day · Traveling and vacations need not interfere with your goals  Here’s an exceptional article on how to get started on your own:
FLEXIBLE DIETING- HEALHTY EATER And as always, you can hire me to walk you through the fundamentals and the information you might need to make flexible dieting a valuable tool you can use for the rest of your life. So Don't Cheat!
Today I’m starting a habit I hope to keep for the rest of my life.  It will help my body feel better throughout the day. It will serve as a small break from doing my work. And it will make every physical activity I do (inside and outside of the gym) more effective. Today I’m starting to stretch at home. And since I’m starting this new habit today, I thought it’d be a perfect time to give an inside look on how I start—and keep—new habits that are good for me.1 When habits fail In my experience, we fail to adopt or keep new habits for 3 reasons:
How to break down a new habit and start practicing Let’s stick with stretching, the new habit I want to start and keep.2 1. Define why it matters I sit or stand at a desk in front of my computer3 for 3-6 hours per day, depending on what I’m working on. Even though I have an ergonomic chair, a large computer monitor, and a desk that adjusts from standing-height to sitting-height, I still feel tight throughout the day. My shoulders slump and my head protrudes forward, stressing my neck and occasionally causing headaches. When I’m sitting, my hips are flexed at 90 degrees, causing my hip muscles to tighten. And my elbows tend to flare out when I’m typing, which over time has irritated my right shoulder. Basically, I feel awkward and tight most of the day. I want to start stretching because I believe it’ll help alleviate some of the pain and awkwardness I feel and “reset” my body, if only slightly. So there’s my reason for why it matters to me. 2. Make the habit super-specific Earlier I said my new habit is to start stretching. But that’s not quite right. Stretching is too big. It doesn’t really mean anything. It’s notspecific. When will I stretch? For how long? What kind of stretches? What about strengthening or mobility exercises––are those covered under “stretching”? How often will I “stretch?” And so on. So instead of saying “I’m going to stretch”, I’m making my habit super-specific:  There’s no ambiguity here4. I know exactly what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it. Which brings us to… 3. Set a trigger to remind you to do the habit You’ll notice I said I’m going to follow my little routine every time I go downstairs to make a cup of tea. Making tea is the trigger to remind me to do my new habit. A trigger is something you already habitually do, a thing you can “piggyback” your new habit on. Since I work from home, I go downstairs to make tea at least two or three times per day. And normally I just stare into space while the water boils and the tea steeps. By putting my new habit (stretching) on top of something I’m already doing (making tea), I’m way more likely to remember to do it. Plus, I’ll end up following my stretching routine at least two or three times per day, which my body will thank me for. Setting a trigger is the only reason I’ve also started regularly meditating (20 minutes per day after I have my morning coffee) and reading fiction (30-60 minutes before bed). What to try Of course, this is just my process. You’ll have to experiment to find out what works best for you. But the next time you want to start a new habit, it may help to keep this 3-step process in mind:
Good luck.  Be sure to visit The Nate Green Experience for more exceptional articles.
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