1. Wanna quit drinking and staying out late on the weekend?
Schedule a leg workout or book a session with a good (expensive) trainer for Saturday and/or Sunday at 7am.
Do this for a month and I assure you that hanging with your wingman Jim Beam will quickly lose its appeal.
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2. Losing excess body fat is pretty cool.
It not only dramatically improves how you look and feel but can also can improve a number of important health markers.
Best of all it happens FAST, once you have your ducks in a row — at least compared to gaining muscle.
Yet this presents a real problem, because muscle building dreams can fall apart if results are demanded too fast.
You can lose 20+ of fat in 3 months, especially if there’s a lot of chunk to lose. But gaining muscle? A couple pounds of new beef (not just weight) in three months would be a very good result.
This can cause those who’ve only known the fat loss side of the game and expect equally swift gains in size to get way too “tweaky.”
They obsess over their plans — the exercises, the reps, calories, supplements, etc. — and then make a bunch of unnecessary, even counterproductive changes.
The smart play is always to settle in and keep things consistent and then try to coax subtle progressions. Program hopping is a fast track to nowhere.
Fat loss = stopwatch mindset.
Muscle gain = calendar mindset.
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3. You can eat whatever you want and lose fat; you just have to track the calories closely.
You don’t have to count calories to lose fat. You just have to choose foods wisely and watch portion sizes.
Both can work. Determine the way of traveling that suits you and follow the rules.
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4. When you see a dramatic Before & After physique transformation, always applaud the person — not their coach.
The client did the work and achieved great results. And I’m here to tell ya, it’s sometimes IN SPITE of the coach’s “magic, cutting edge” program, not because of it.
#KeepItReal #Humility
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5. Most of the programs I write have prescribed rest intervals.
Some call BS on timing how long you rest between sets in light of recent research showing that longer rest intervals (at least 2 mins between sets) are better for hypertrophy than short rests (less than a minute between sets).
Others say that autoregulating your rest (starting the next set when your breath is back to normal and you “feel” ready) is best — which is what I personally do in my own workouts.
Yet still, I prescribe rest intervals. Why?
Again it’s reframing the issue.
In my experience, if I DON’T set rest intervals for clients working remotely:
- Guys will rest way too long between sets, which reduces the number of exercises that can be done in a reasonable time-frame (a 60-75 min workout). Results compromised.
- Women don’t rest along enough, which affects the amount of weight they can use over multiple sets. Results compromised.
Of course you may still prefer to go by feel, so keep this is mind:
- If your primary goal is strength then rest until your breathing is 100% back to normal — and then add another minute or two.
- If your primary gaol is hypertrophy then rest until your breathing is about back to normal for heavier, lower rep work, but slightly less than 100% recovered for stuff on the lighter side of the rep continuum. This changes the training effect while also allowing for more overall volume.
- If your primary gaol is fat loss then start you next set BEFORE you are 100% recovered — say 80% — so each successive set “digs” a little bit more into you recovery.
- Yes this compromises the weight you can use in successive sets. But it also increases cardiovascular demand of the workout while creating a sense of urgency, which can REALLY help maintain focus while on low calories.
Re-frame in the membrane.
– Bryan