Protein is an essential macro-nutrient that is absolutely vital to muscle recovery and growth. This is uncontested. It comes as no surprise, therefore, that it is almost inevitable that people will wind up buying protein powder if they are avid gym goers. It just feels like the right thing to do. Hit the gym, train hard, come home and down a protein shake. That’s perfectly fine, but many people misunderstand the role protein powder plays in helping them achieve their results. They believe the labels on the tubs, and think by drinking protein shakes they will “get big”, “lean”, or “muscular.” However, although a very common misconception, it is indeed a misconception. Let’s clear it up.

Whether you are trying to put on size, or you’re trying to lose some fat, caloric intake is your #1 priority. There are a certain amount of calories that, at your particular weight, make you hold that weight. Meaning, if you eat that amount of calories, you will stay at your weight because that is the amount of calories your body burns each day. Therefore, to make up for those burned calories, you must eat that same amount. Sounds simple, no? If you eat less, over time you’ll lose weight. If you eat more, over time you’ll put on weight. This is the concept of maintenance calories. Remember it!

With that said, there’s a certain amount of protein that you need per day. As a gym goer, that amount is higher than your average individual. Nonetheless, it is usually anywhere from 30-40% of your daily calories. How do you reach that amount? You usually eat foods that are high in protein (grilled chicken, steak, eggs, salmon, etc.). Many people, however, supplement with protein shakes. This is literally, the extent of a protein shake’s worth. Unlike the advertisements on the protein powder labels, or in fitness magazines, the only benefit they confer on an individual is provide them with added protein for the day. They are a supplement.

In other words, they don’t magically make you grow muscle. Well, they can certainly help. However, the mere act of drinking a protein shake will not magically make you grow muscle. There’s nothing in the protein powder you’ve chosen that makes it do anything other than give you a dose of protein (usually anywhere from 20-30 grams – or about 15-20% of what an average gym goer needs for the day). Protein shakes will not make you put on size, they will not make you tone, they will not make you lose fat. Protein powder is simply protein, the same protein that is in grilled chicken (let’s ignore the food vs. powder debate). Whatever grilled chicken does to you, that’s what protein powder does for you. It’s really that simple.

Now, can you drink 4 shakes a day if you want? Sure, is it required? Not at all. Many people don’t even use protein powder, because they get enough protein from eating their daily foods. If you focus on foods that have high protein counts, and are consistent, protein powder isn’t even necessary. However, for most people it is advantageous to have a shake or two throughout the day to meet their protein quota. To supplement their protein intake. Whether they grow or not is not based on those protein shakes, but on the amount of calories they eat per day. This is the key distinction, don’t forget it.

To get results, focus on figuring out how many calories you need to eat to achieve your goals. Once you’ve figured that out, if you need to, supplement your diet with protein shakes in order to get the required amount of protein each day. If you’re eating a ton of protein-rich foods, you won’t even have to. Protein shakes are in no way essential, but they are often helpful. Next time you’re at the store, don’t count on those pesky labels that tell you the protein will do magic, and give you great results. You might as well slap those labels on that steak in the supermarket, how far will that get you? Well, to the same place. Protein is protein! For a very related topic that covers this and other similar concepts, visit our Supplements Surely Produce Results, Right? article. Good Luck!

Although peanut butter is calorie-dense, it should be a very useful staple of any fitness-oriented individual. Not only are the nutritional benefits important, but also the flexibility that comes with its consumption. It can play a variety of roles, depending on your own personal fitness objectives.

1) Peanut Butter is satiating – it might not be oatmeal, but a serving or two of peanut butter will help you keep satiated for longer. It might sound crazy, especially since we’re talking about a few teaspoons, but imagine adding that serving size to some whole wheat bread. The combination of the peanut butter with the complex carbohydrates of whole wheat can do a lot for those looking to keep their overall caloric intake on the lower side of the spectrum. Peanut butter might have a decent dose of calories, but when you factor in the fact you probably won’t be requiring any snacking and are more likely to have a longer period of time elapse before eating again (and not over-eating as a result because of forcibly limiting yourself), you’ve got a good bargain.

2) Peanut Butter packs a caloric punch – running with the theme of flexibility, peanut butter can help those looking to put on some size by giving them a cheap source of quality calories. Where else are you going to get 100+ calories from a serving you can eat in one swoop? To add, peanut butter’s good fats and decent protein amount per serving provide you with solid nutritional value.

3) Peanut Butter + Nutrients/Vitamins/Minerals? – if you’re going to get some nice calories in, they might as well be giving you something you need, right? Besides the solid fats and protein, peanut butter has a decent amount of fiber, folate, Vitamin E, and magnesium.

Another great benefit of peanut butter is the fact it can be used to slow the digestion of protein. Due to its high amount of fats (which are slow-digesting), grabbing a night-time protein shake and throwing in a serving of peanut butter into the mix will help you get a constant dose of protein into your system as you sleep (at least, extend the digestion rate for longer than it would’ve been had you not included peanut butter or any other fat-rich food). This is also a recommended option for those who expect a longer gap between meals throughout the day, as it helps keep some protein in your system for a bit longer (and as discussed earlier, the peanut butter itself will reduce cravings by providing a satiating element). Good luck!

There’s been plenty of times where I’ve heard someone say they need to run to “lose that gut”, or “get back in shape”, assuming running alone is going to cure their bodily woes. If that’s all it truly took I guarantee you plenty more people would be in shape than really are. The assumption, however, is understandable. For an average individual with a “decent” diet that is around their maintenance calorie count, adding a physical activity such as running into the equation will indeed bring results. Assuming their diet stays the same and they do not increase how much they eat due to the fact they began running (which, by the way, is the worst thing you can do…rewarding yourself for running is not going to get you results!), their overall calories consumed per day will drop and they will go below their overall maintenance amount per day. This, in turn, will allow the body to burn fat. Keeping this ideal example in mind, we all know it usually isn’t the case. Therefore, we must account for all these other factors if we really want to use running to get our bodies into the fat burning zone, simply adding it into the equation will most likely not produce results. It’s going to be a good factor in improving your cardiovascular health and keeping your heart healthy, but your regular expected results…most likely won’t occur unless you fit into that ideal scenario.

To change this and make running a great way to help you lose fat, since we’re already on the topic and it’s pretty much explained above, is to add it to your overall altered lifestyle that includes eating a bit less. As is the case with not being able to use exercises to lose belly fat, it also follows that you won’t be able to get results simply from running (again, excluding the scenario above). Therefore, you have to make sure that you really put your focus into your diet as well and stay restrictive to get to the point you want to get to and get that fat off. A good diet is absolutely essential for results. This is a recurring theme, and may seem to be abused around here, but it’s only because we know you’ve been shown myths of quick and easy results through the media and it’s time to stop being conned, and get the results you are really looking for. For overall diet tips when trying to lose fat, check out our Healthy Foods to Eat To Lose Weight article.

Getting back onto the topic of the actual article, running is not necessary to achieve fat loss. As mentioned, it is simply one of many ways. Consider running a “supplement” to help you achieve more calorie loss in a day than the amount you consume through food (calories in < calories out). As long as you make sure that you burn more than you consume in a day, you will achieve fat loss. You can get ripped without doing a single cardio session, I’m serious. On another note, you will not speed up the process by cutting calories significantly and then running on top of that, so don’t get the wrong idea. All that will do is lead to muscle loss and nobody wants that to happen. There’s a big difference between losing weight and losing fat.

By the way, I am not advocating that you do no cardio. I’m simply stating that it is possible to achieve your fat loss goals without ever having to run. Whether you include it as a supplement to your routine is up to you. I’d say it’s a good idea, not only for overall cardiovascular health but also because it allows you to burn off some extra calories to make up for a cookie or something else you’ve eaten to keep sane in the process. If you’re serious though, you’ll find ways to keep sane by finding good things to snack on that are healthy and low in calories, sugar snap pea anyone?

Quick Tip: Consume a higher amount of protein and a lower amount of carbohydrates to enhance your body composition and “look” a bit more lean than you really are because protein is a diuretic (drains water weight), while carbohydrates retain water weight. Water weight often bloats you and makes you look fatter than you are. Watching your sodium won’t hurt either. Running has its place in achieving fat loss, I’d recommend it. However, don’t consider it magic. It is, as mentioned, only one of many supplemental tools. Good Luck!

Shoulder Holds:

Depending on how you incorporate it, this might be one of the best shoulder exercises available. The task is simple, and the name of the exercise speaks for itself. You have to slap on some weight on a bar, lift it to near lock out (or lock out), and hold the weight for a designated period of time. This shoulder exercise is most often done on the smith-machine, as a pair of dumbbells or a free barbell is unwieldy and creates safety hazards when attempting to go to failure.

The point of shoulder holds is to hold the weight on the bar until your shoulders feel like they are going to give out, and then set the bar back on the pins. If you were to use dumbbells or a free barbell, you can imagine the problems that may arise when you’re attempting to hold the weight until you can’t anymore, and then have to try and worry about setting the bar or dumbbells down without just letting go and letting everything clank on the floor. Therefore, having the safety of the smith-machine allows you to go to your limit with shoulder holds without worrying about any of these problems. Although the smith-machine often gets a bad rep because of the limited range of motion that it allows (Machines v. Free Weights), for shoulder holds this problem is irrelevant because this exercise does not have a range of motion that can be impacted by the rigidity of the smith machine.

All you are required to do is to lift the weight, hold it for as long as you can, and when you’re about to give up, set the bar back. Although it may not seem like it to some, give shoulder holds a try as a finishing exercise at the end of your shoulder workouts. Once you do a solid 3 sets (holding anywhere from 30 seconds to a minute, depending on the weight you choose to use), you will not be able to lift your arms. Your shoulders will be fried.

Many people forget that the most important objective when entering the gym on any given day is to punish your muscle group to the point of muscle fatigue, and although shoulder holds do not seem like the traditional way of doing so, they help accomplish this purpose by taxing your shoulders in a specific way. Muscle fatigue can be reached in many different ways, but an integral component is using that muscle to its limit through the concept of constant tension. With shoulder holds, your shoulders are under constant tension until they reach failure. Instead of reps, your unit of measure is time. The principal is the same.

For a variation on this shoulder exercise, you can also incorporate holds in between your reps, or at the end of a set. In other words, you can choose to do a set of reps, and hold the weight with your shoulders for a designated period of time in between each rep, or you could do a set of reps and finish your set by holding until failure. Get creative, but no matter what you do, make sure you use your Mind Muscle Connection and focus on using your shoulders to hold the weight. As often is the case during shoulder exercises, people focus on simply moving the weight and let their triceps take over. During shoulder holds, the problem is no different. If you let your triceps focus on holding the weight, it is your triceps that will give out first at the expense of taxing your shoulders. Keep your focus on your shoulder muscles during this exercise, and watch them grow.

As a tip, some people may prefer locking out while others may wish to stop just short of lock out. This depends on your ability to take your triceps out of the movement. If locking out allows you to roll your shoulders back and let the weight “sit” on them, that’s the better alternative. Conversely, you can stop short of lock out and allow the weight to rest on your shoulders as well (although for many, the triceps may play an unnecessarily larger role here). It’s up to you to figure out what feels best, as long as your shoulders do the work. Good Luck!

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1.) Grilled Meats – grilled chicken, grilled burgers, grilled steak. These are the staple meats you want to focus on as healthy food choices when eating to lose weight because they don’t come with the extra calories of breaded varieties and aren’t fried in oils. I don’t like to making sweeping generalizations, but if it is grilled you should most likely choose it over your other options. This is especially relevant when it comes to the meat department.

2.) Vegetables – what’s new, right? Ever since we were kids it’s always been about the broccoli. Nothing has changed, vegetables are a great source of vitamins and minerals and contain fiber that keeps you feeling more full for a longer period of time. Since the end result is always the amount of calories you wind up eating, this can be a great option.

3.) Brown Rice – the caloric difference between white and brown rice is negligible. However, since we’re focused on healthy foods to eat to lose weight, brown rice not only keeps you more satiated for longer (just like the veggies) but it is not as processed as its white rice counterpart. Complex carbohydrates help you eat less overall, because they take longer to digest.

4.) Wheat Bread – almost identical story to the brown vs. white rice match up above. Again with the generalizations, but when in doubt go with the complex carbohydrate version of the food. Processed (simple carb) foods fly right through your stomach, even if you eat a solid amount. As a result, you’ll wind up reaching for a snack an hour or two after when you could’ve still been satisfied.

5.) Fish in a can – tuna, salmon. Rich in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and a lean source of protein (much like the grilled meats). Low in calories, high in the essentials. One of the best foods available.

6.) Eggs – scrambled, boiled. Eggs are an amazing source of protein (arguably the best) and the yolks contain a variety of fat-soluble vitamins that boost your immune system and keep your teeth, bones, and skin healthy (Zinc, anyone?). The common myth that eating egg yolks is bad for you is simply not true, they do not raise bad cholesterol (LDL).

7.) Peanuts – best snack ever? Well, if we’re trying to fit it into our group of healthy foods to eat to lose weight, you bet! High in vitamins and minerals, this snack is rather high in calories but incorporated into your day in moderation they can keep the hunger away. If you’re going to eat some peanuts and survive before your next meal, it’s a better alternative to grabbing some processed snacks, no? Take a look into our Sugar Snap Peas article, for another great snack or “dessert” (if we can call it that).

8.) Beans – fantastic addition to any meal, whether it be a salad, soup, or mash up you’re making. Protein, fiber, low calorie. What more can you want? You get the best bang for your buck here.

9.) Potatoes – the best for last? Quite possibly. Potatoes are complex carbohydrates that aren’t part of the most popular dinners for no reason. Solid fiber content, while having almost every nutrient in the book. These will keep your stomach happy for a much longer time than french fries.

Although this list has certainly not been exhausted, these healthy foods are all top choices for a diet that stresses staying on the healthy side while attempting to lose weight. Remember, losing weight isn’t necessarily about eating healthy. Losing weight is based on the total amount of calories you take in per day vs. the amount you require to stay at the weight you are currently at (maintenance). One can certainly stray away from eating healthy foods and continue losing weight, what matter is managing the total caloric intake for the day. To learn more about this entire concept, check out Clean Food Bad Food.

As always, it is important to note that there is a difference between losing fat and losing weight. For most people the two terms are interchangeable, but when it comes to dealing with body composition and how you ultimately wind up looking they are not one in the same. Lose Weight Lose Fat discusses this difference in great detail. As a summary for our purposes here, however, losing weight involves both fat + muscle loss, unlike focus solely on fat loss. This ultimately plays a role in how your body looks when it is slimmer, and since the purpose for most people is to look more fit in the end, focusing on fat loss is ideal (keep in mind, when you’re dropping fat you’re still dropping weight – the difference is that the weight loss is almost entirely fat loss while your muscles are spared, resulting in a much more fit physique).

As a final tip on the subject of healthy foods to eat to lose weight, make sure that a solid chunk of your total caloric intake is made up of protein. There is a reason a good amount of the foods listed were high in protein, because protein not only spares muscle when you’re eating below your maintenance (so you can focus on fat loss) but it also is a diuretic that can help make you appear leaner as it keeps your water weight amounts on the lower end of the spectrum. For information on how weight loss can be easier than you think, visit our Easy Ways to Lose Weight article. Good luck!

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1) Start your chest day doing incline work – doesn’t always have to be the case, but I can almost guarantee that most people always stick to the same thing, bench or flat DB press first. There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’ll actually benefit you more if you hit up the incline first. Bodybuilding deals with creating an illusion, and if your upper chest is big, your whole chest will (even if it’s really not big overall) seem big. Plus, it’s the meatiest part of the chest, so more often than not if your upper chest is big, your chest as a whole should be at least pretty darn decent.

On a very related note, I see many people doing incline work with too high of an incline. We’re not working out shoulders here, and they take away much of the chest’s work if your incline is set too high. Although not absolute (you can do higher inclines if you feel it better), a good incline is around 30 degrees up from flat, no more. You’re just trying to get the chest in a slightly elevated position, but not overly so. If you’re on an adjustable bench, setting 2 or 3 should be more than enough. Again, from the article linked above, feel your chest working, try to not involve the other muscles. If you’re just doing the movement, your shoulders and triceps will come into play more than they have to.

2) Make the priority in the rep the bottom portion of the movement – this is the number 1 reason people fail to grow their chest. 9/10 times I see people going half way down, and then back up. Sure, maybe the gravity of the weights you’re using (which are probably too heavy for you, hence the half way down part) is pressing against your chest, causing it to strain and feel like it’s really pushing the weight, but it’s not. Check your ego at the door, lower the weight, and do the movement correctly. Drop the weight all the way down to your chest, feel the stretch, and come back up half way (if you want to exhaust your chest before your triceps get exhausted). Do this repeatedly so your chest is under constant tension for the whole set. The top half of the movement involves the tricep, why people go down to parallel (at best) and back up is beyond me (short of actual physical limitations, which are fine of course).

Your chest needs to be hit maximally, and it won’t be without it being used to push up the weight from the very bottom (unless you absolutely can’t limit your shoulder involvement that low, then go a bit higher till you can, and set that as your bottom). By the way, I’m not saying that going to parallel means you’re doing it wrong, it may be enough for some. For the majority, however, you have to follow physics and the natural way the muscle moves in order to get the best results, and that means using a full range of motion, or focusing on where the chest does the most work (bottom half).

The whole point of lifting weights is to get your muscles to reach fatigue, so they can repair and grow stronger for the next time. Doing weights you can’t handle, and thus going down half way, is not going to give you the optimal workout, even if you think it does. It’s basic physics, and you can’t argue with that. Next time you’re hitting up chest day, try these out and you’ll feel the difference. With time, you’ll see it too, as you increase chest size. To get an expansive look into overall chest development, also visit our Eliminating The Bird Chest article. Good Luck!

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Author name: Ashvin, J.

Qualifications in: Gym instructing, Personal training, Circuit training, Group indoor cycling, Outdoor personal training, GP referral.

Mention doing push ups to a modern day bodybuilder, and you will likely be greeted with a cynical huff. “Those are for sissy’s man, the bench press is where it’s at! So how much do you bench?” Now, brag about curling a 50lb dumbbell to an old school boxing coach and you could expect the same cynical huff, but probably followed by a smack and a “ Your 50lb curl couldn’t help you there now could it?!”

It’s time to talk a little about calisthenics. For the unaware, calisthenics is another form of saying ‘bodyweight training’, where you basically train for strength, endurance, and agility (among other things). This is done without the help of external resistance such as dumbbells, barbells, resistance machines and such. Calisthenics were very popular back in the day, and while it is still widely used today it is largely shunned by the fitness community in favour of traditional weight training. Now while there has been continuous debate on which is the better form of training, what I don’t seem to understand is why does one method have to be more superior? Can’t they both be equally effective? In the example of the bodybuilder and the boxing coach, the bodybuilder has trained with weights and developed an impressive physique. The boxing coach on the other hand, likely focused his training methods around calisthenics and managed to train fighters that developed impressive physiques too. Take a look at some of the fighters back in the day; you will no doubt agree that they are in top shape. Clearly, both methods can provide results.

Now let’s take a look at some of the benefits of calisthenics training and how it can be used either in conjunction with a weight training program or as a standalone form of training, if you have no access to a gym or you’re just looking to try something new and different.

Benefits of calisthenics

The first thing we want to look at is how calisthenics can benefit us. Here’s some pretty obvious facts:

-          It can be done almost anywhere, at anytime.

-          You do not require a gym membership.

-          You do not require expensive equipment.

-          You can play around with different workouts and have fun with it.

-          You can incorporate training styles like circuits and pyramids without having to run from one machine to another or waste time setting up the weights for the next exercise.

With that said, let’s take a look at how calisthenics can be useful in terms of fat loss and/or muscle building.

-          Your muscles respond to the presence of resistance. Place resistance on them and they will be forced to adapt and develop (known as progressive overload). Now bear in mind that the resistance can come from ANYTHING. It doesn’t matter if you are doing a dumbbell bench press, a push up, or you’re doing a bench press with 2 blocks of concrete. Resistance is resistance! Provide enough of it and your muscles will respond.

-          Calisthenics consist of compound movements for the most part. Almost every bodyweight exercise that I can think of involves more than one muscle group, despite it being primarily targeted for a particular one. Let’s take the dip for example. The dip is a fantastic exercise to develop the triceps. Yet when doing it, you will likely also feel the burn in your chest, as well as your shoulders, and maybe even your upper back (depending on your hand placement). This is good because you are working multiple muscles, and compound moves are known to greatly improve strength and have been shown to possibly release more growth hormones in the body.

-          Calisthenics also work to strengthen the core. Your core will be engaged automatically when doing moves such as the dive bomber push up, pull-ups, or one legged squats.

-          Calisthenics moves such as the burpee, grasshopper, mountain climber, and squat thrust can be an invaluable tool for fat loss. Use the moves as part of a HIIT or Tabata style workout and the fat will be melting off your body. These interval workouts are short and painful, and it increases your post-workout energy expenditure by leaving your metabolism in an elevated state for hours afterward. Besides, it’s more challenging and fun then jogging in a monotonous pace on the treadmill for an hour with some weak song channel as your only form of entertainment.

Calisthenics used in conjunction with weight training.

                If you choose to design a program with both calisthenics AND weights, you may be looking for ways to merge the 2 together. There are a number of ways to do this. We will take a look at 2 of my personal favourites (they can be quite intense). Just a side note, as with all training plans; be sure to train toward your goals. If you are looking to gain muscle, then keep your rep range between 8-12 for hypertrophy. For strength, it is recommended to stay between 4-6 reps. Anything above 15 reps is generally for endurance. If you can knock out 50 push ups with ease then please don’t use them for hypertrophy. Instead, try a one arm push up/Decline push up/ Push up with one leg elevated off the floor/ Push up between 2 blocks, etc. There are MANY variations out there. Think outside the box.

Pre/Post exhaustion

For this method, you pick one isolation move and one compound move and you superset them. For example, you will do a set of cable crossovers or dumbbell flyes (isolation), then immediately go into a set of push ups. The isolation move will prime up the pectorals and you will then IMMEDIATELY blast them with the push up. Rest 30-45 seconds and repeat. Another way is to begin with a push up and then go into the isolation move to specifically target and work on the pecs (Mind Muscle Connection). This type of training would serve to reduce the amount of involvement of the supporting muscle groups, and allows you to work the targeted muscle almost directly. You could also combine a single arm dumbbell row and a pull-up, or a Pike push up and a lateral flye. A quick example of how a Chest and Back routine would look:

1)      Superset Incline Dumbell flyes and Divebomber push ups

2)      Superset Single arm dumbbell rows and Pull-ups

3)      Superset Towel flyes (Get into a push up position with your hands on 2 small towels directly underneath you, and with a slight bend in the elbows slowly extend your arms outward and back in mimicking a flye movement) and Flat Bench Press

4)      Superset Upright rows with chin ups

You can use the same concept to combine exercises for any other muscle group.

Trisets

This is another intense way to incorporate calisthenics and weight training. It was made popular by Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. What you would do is pick 3 exercises that work the SAME muscle group and then do a set of each back to back. Rest for a minute then repeat for a total of 3-4 sets. If you are using this method, I would suggest doing full body workouts with it rather than doing a split, because the workouts are over fairly quickly. By performing a triset, not only will you get 3-4 sets of 3 exercises done in a short period of time, but you will also be knackered by the time you’re done with each bodypart. Here’s an example of exercises to pair up:

1)      Barbell squats, One legged bodyweight squats, Jumping lunges. (Legs)

2)      Pike push up, dumbbell lateral raise, dumbbell front raise. (Shoulders/Triceps)

3)      Wide grip decline push up, Knuckle push up, Incline bench press (Chest/Shoulders/Triceps)

4)      Pull-up, Chin-up, Reverse grip Lat pulldown. (Back/Biceps)

5)      Diamond push ups, Dips, Skull Crushers. (Triceps)

6)      Hammer curls, concentration curls, chin ups (Biceps)

Again, I would suggest using full body workouts when training with this method. On your off days you can opt for cardio or abs.

To summarize this section, if you wish to blend weight training with calisthenics there are many ways you can do it. The above examples can be applied, you can also choose to do the standard straight sets of 3-4 exercises per body part but you can make 2 of them bodyweight moves instead. Just be sure to get adequate rest in between each training day because while overtraining is rare, you still do not want to risk it.

Calisthenics as a standalone.

                Calisthenics can also be used as a standalone form of training, either when you have no access to a gym or if you just decided you have had enough of having to adjust your schedule to commute to a gym (and the time hassles that come with it). It should be clear by now that calisthenics can produce similar results to weight training, so you can give up your gym membership to have an effective workout in your house/room/garage/backyard/roof. (Ok maybe not the roof). You can also choose to train in some old clothes, or even your boxers (keep the curtains drawn though). After all, you are training in private so what’s the use of having the latest range of Nike workout gear?

Now once again there are many methods of training you can use and tons of exercises to choose from. You can do your regular straight sets, or incorporate the methods I have listed above, but substitute the weight exercises with something else. I would suggest though that you invest some money into getting a pull-up bar, as they are dirt cheap and most of them are really long lasting. If that is inconvenient, then try getting some resistance bands that come with door attachments (with a high amount of resistance). Ripcords have some good ones. The reason for this is mainly to make doing back and biceps exercises easier. While there are alternatives to using this equipment, the moves would be harder and you will need time to work up to it. Besides, if you’re saving money on gym fees already, what is wrong with spending $30-$50 on a pull-up bar and some bands that will last ages? I got a set of 3 Ripcords bands with 2 door attachments (you only need one) for under £30 in the UK.

Now, I will give you 2 methods of training with calisthenics alone. One of them is a pyramid, and the other is a circuit. These are 2 highly effective styles of training, not to mention, incredibly intense. Lets get into it.

Pyramids

                To do a pyramid, you will basically perform an exercise in a ladder fashion. Lets take a pike press for example. You would get into position and perform one rep. Then immediately perform 2 more, then three more and so on until you reach a number. (I would say 10 but that would be pretty challenging). Bear in mind you can do this for ALL exercises, be it push ups/pull-ups/dips/lunges/etc. Your reps will go like this : 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10. That is 55 reps in total, and that’s one set. Now believe me, it is pretty intense. If, however, you feel like you still have some energy at the top of the pyramid, just work your way back down in reverse. Effectively, your set will look like this: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. If it gets too difficult, take a 20 second rest in between reps. The pyramid serves as a great way to shock your system from the usual 8-12 reps or other rep schemes that you use and you will see gains in terms of increased strength, increased lean mass, and a better post workout pump. To do a split with this, you can train with 2 or 3 muscle groups a day. Pick 2 exercises for each and do 2 sets of pyramids. That’s all you will need. A sample for back and legs is as follows:

1)      Pull up pyramid to 10, Inverted row pyramid to 10

2)      Single leg squats pyramid to 10, Bulgarian split squat pyramid to 12

How you plan to split up the routine is up to you. You can do a pyramid to 10 for all exercises, then reverse the pyramid back down for the second set and again go through the moves or you can do them in straight sets i.e: finish the whole pyramid twice for each exercise before moving on.

Circuits

                I am sure many of you are familiar with circuit training. For those who aren’t, it basically involves choosing a number of exercises (between 6 and 8 is good). You will then perform a set of each exercise WITHOUT rest in between, until you have done all the exercises. You can then rest for a minute and repeat the circuit for the desired amount of sets. Calisthenics is an effective way to train circuits, primarily because there is minimal time wasted between exercises. You do not have to re-adjust any weights or move from one machine to the next. You can immediately go from one exercise to another, which will in turn, make your body work harder. Circuit training is excellent for fat loss as it keeps the heart rate elevated.

When doing circuits I have found it best to train your whole body in each session, instead of splitting up the muscle groups. It is also good to have an exercise included that will serve to tire you out more (burpees, mountain climbers or grasshoppers, for example). Next, you can either choose to perform a set number of reps for each exercise or you can crank it up a notch and train for time, as is commonly used by boxers as a form of ‘roadwork’ (The boxing coach will be proud). To do that, you will simply perform each exercise for 30 seconds to 1 minute before moving to the next. Here is a sample workout that you can do:

1)      Decline push ups

2)      Inverted rows

3)       Step ups

4)      Pike push ups/ Decline pike push ups

5)      Jumping lunges

6)      Regular push ups

7)      Assisted chin ups

8)      Mountain climbers

Do those exercises for 30 seconds each, then rest for one minute and repeat the circuit 4-5 times. You can finish off with some ab work.

Concluding thoughts

In this article I have highlighted many things about calisthenics and frankly I could go on for much, much longer (I have spent close to 7 years of my life researching all forms of body weight training). However, I don’t believe reaching an end is possible. Now I do hope this article sheds some light on the effectiveness of calisthenics, and it would be great if some of you reading this would try incorporating these sample plans into your workout schedules. I am certain you will notice some solid improvements.

Also, I am aware that many of you are going to be skeptical and have a million questions about what has been written, or you may also find ways to dispel the effectiveness of bodyweight training. I cannot answer all your questions as we do not have a Q&A session, but I will tell you to forget everything you think you know and just give this a shot. If you only look for faults in something, that is what you will find. You must not forget that traditional weight training is not without its fair share of flaws. Not only, but I am not advocating that you focus solely on calisthenics. You can do that, but you can also incorporate it with your weight training, or even alternate.

Some exercises I have described here may seem unfamiliar to you, and for that I would suggest doing a quick Youtube tutorial. It would be simpler than me having to explain each exercise and confuse you. I will give you some things to look for though: Dive bomber push ups, Inverted rows, Towel rows, Assisted pull up with a chair, Upper back push ups, Floor pull ups, Pike push ups, pistol squats, Burpees, Grasshoppers, Spider push up. If Youtube does not turn out to be helpful for all of them, I am sure a Google search will serve you well. In any case, I would say the exercises that would be tricky to perform are back exercises if you do not have access to a pull up bar or resistance bands. I would recommend you get some, as mentioned it will not cost much and it will serve you well.

That is all from me, I hope you learned something new here and are looking to give calisthenics a try. Good Luck!

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Weight-lifting is what we’re told to do. It’s what we read grows the muscles and transforms our bodies. The more weight you lift, the bigger you are. Bodybuilding is only the name of what people who compete in shows do, not the casual lifter. Of course, that’s what we’re told and that’s what we come to believe. Nobody ever tells us all of this is completely wrong.

If you’re trying to build a great body, you have to sculpt that body. You have to train in the gym in a way that maximizes your ability to build that muscle. That method of training is vital to your ability to build an aesthetically pleasing physique, and weight-lifting simply won’t cut it. It’s not about the weight you can move with your muscle, it’s about your ability to tax the intended muscle to a point it has no choice but to grow. In other words, to reach muscle fatigue.

Now, can weight-lifting give you what you need to reach muscle fatigue? Of course it can. However, the problem with weight-lifting isn’t its ability to tax your muscles. After all, if you load up on the weight and push yourself to the limit, it’s hard to imagine you wouldn’t destroy your muscles enough for them to grow. The problem with weight-lifting, then, is the sloppy set of consequences and unnecessary complications that come with it. All of which do nothing but impede an individual’s goal of attaining an aesthetically pleasing physique. Let’s examine a few of the things weight-lifting promotes:

1) Muscle Asymmetry – to be aesthetic, you require symmetry and proportionality. Flinging weights around and simply “doing the movement” brings all sorts of troubles. It allows any muscle group involved in the exercise to take over, and hinder the primary muscle group from getting hit the way you intend it to be hit. Let’s take a very common example to illustrate this point. If an individual is bench pressing, they are doing so presumably to develop their chest. Considering both the triceps and shoulders are heavily involved in benching, an individual who loads up as much weight as possible will be using all 3 muscle groups to push the weight up. Their ability to control how much shoulder/tricep involvement is present is severely limited. As a result, not only are those other groups getting more stimulation than is necessary, but they will also be trained on their own. When you do them, however, your chest is not involved (Close Grip Bench excluded). With this then, the shoulders and triceps are worked much more than the chest on a particular individual’s weekly routine. Unless their triceps and/or shoulders are lagging behind, this will only stimulate that individual’s muscle groups to grow at a different pace instead of equally. Instead of muscle symmetry, there will be muscle asymmetry. The exact opposite of what someone looking to build an aesthetically pleasing physique wants.

2) Inefficient Muscle Fatigue – for the same reasons stated above, often individuals struggle to develop a particular body part. Weight-lifting is the root cause of this failure because other stronger body parts overpower the weaker body parts and do not lead that muscle to muscle fatigue. When that happens, you walk out of the gym thinking you had a great chest day, when in fact your chest wasn’t as punished as you thought it’d be. Your shoulders and triceps did too much of the work. This insufficient level of stimulation of that body part in the gym means there’s going to be no growth, and over time the muscle group will lag behind. This is especially the case when people use a certain routine long-term, their inability to realize they’re not taxing that body part enough to grow is compounded over time as they stick to the same routine happy that they are increasing in weight. Those shoulders or triceps could be handling that extra weight increase, while that chest stays struggling and isn’t growing. They’re left to wonder why!

3) Injury – nothing quite like pulling a muscle because you wanted to push more weight. Can’t get the weight up in a controlled manner? No problem, jerk your body, use every muscle imaginable to get it up. Besides running into the two problems mentioned above, this obviously also creates a much greater risk of injury. If that risk is realized, you’re not building any physique for a while. Keep that in mind.

In order to avoid these problems and focus on aesthetics, the most important component of body building is using the mind muscle connection. Instead of grabbing the most maximal weight you think you can do with your body, use a weight you can do solely with the body part you are targeting. Exclude every other body part as much as you physically can, and do your exercises in a slow and controlled manner. No jerking, no pushing of weight. If you can’t get the weight up on your last rep or two, either get a spot or stop. Take a couple seconds rest, and go back up and do an extra rep to finish off the set. In other words, if you wanted to get 8 reps but only got 6 on your first try, wait a few seconds and try to get 3 more reps (last one to make up for the time-off you took).

You have to understand, if your goal is to be aesthetically pleasing, your goal is to develop and sculpt each and every muscle in your body. The best way to do this is to target that muscle, and that muscle only on its specific training day. If you come in to do chest, you’re not coming in to do bench press, incline press, and chest flyes just do to them. You are coming in to do chest, chest, and more chest – hitting it at varying angles and in varying ways. Do not let your shoulders take over, try to minimize tricep involvement. Your objective for that day is chest, that’s it. All those other muscle groups have their own time. For more information on how you can hit your muscles in different ways to help achieve muscle fatigue, check out our Weight Training Tips article. Good Luck!

*Common Mistakes During Certain Exercises

1) Bench Press – minimize shoulder/tricep involvement

2) Lat Pulldown/Pullups – minimize bicep involvement

3) Squats – minimize lower back involvement

4) Lateral Raises – minimize trap involvement

Also for those interested, here’s a list of the best exercises based on an EMG study.

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Clean Food Advocates:

Many people believe that when it comes to losing fat or gaining muscle, it is imperative that you stick to clean foods for best results. That means, day in and day out you’re supposed to eat your chicken and broccoli (for example), and not stray from this diet except for a cheat meal once a week (fast food, let’s say) in order to make sure your body’s metabolism doesn’t slow down. For them, having something like ice cream, or going to burger king to grab a whopper is absolute sin. You’re not going to accomplish your goals with these types of nutritional errors where you substitute clean foods for bad food that has weaker nutritional value. To them, it’s impossible to lose fat or gain muscle when your diet is constantly plagued by bad foods.

The Actual Truth:

If we’re discussing losing fat or gaining muscle, there is absolutely nothing wrong with including bad food in your diet. Matter of fact, I’m going to go out and say that it is encouraged, as long as you understand an important concept. The only thing that matters when it comes to gaining muscle or losing fat, is the concept of maintenance calories. The article I just linked you to discusses this concept and how to calculate your maintenance calories count (the amount you spend per day, on average). Without knowing how calories work, and what you need to do in terms of managing your daily intake around your maintenance calorie count, you’re not going to get far, if anywhere at all. So make sure you look into that if you don’t know too much about it yet.

Simply put, if I require 2,500 calories to stay at my weight per day (maintenance), whether I eat grilled chicken or a whopper has no effects on my overall goal over time (losing fat, gaining muscle) because in the end, all foods are made up of calories, and if I can manage my calories, I can eat anything I want (whether that’s clean food or bad food). Let’s expand on this some more with each goal in mind. In our article, How Many Calories Per Day?, we dive into the slightly mathematical side of things and give you good ideas of where to be, in terms of calories, if you want fat loss or muscle gain. Taking numbers from that article, let’s give some examples (Using 2,000 calories as maintenance):

Fat Loss: I’ll need to eat about 1,500 calories per day in order to achieve a solid pound of fat loss per week if my maintenance is 2,000. If I have BK and my meal from there is 700 calories, I have a recommended 800 calories to go for the rest of the day. Please tell me, what impact that bad food (I’m assuming you didn’t get a grilled chicken sandwich) will have if I make sure I stay at 1,500 calories for the day? None. I get to enjoy what I was craving yet still get my results.

Muscle Gain: I’ll need to eat about 2,300 calories per day in order to give my body enough nutrients for muscle growth, yet not enough to put on significant fat along with it if my maintenance is 2,000 calories. If I go to BK, and my meal comes out to be 1,000 calories, I still have 1,300 calories to use for the rest of the day. Same principle, same result. The bad food does not impact me outside of caloric count, therefore, I will still get my results.

Now notice that these are random figures for a random maintenance count, but no matter what you are working with, the principle is the same. Food, in the end, is nothing but units of energy (calories). The laws of physics don’t change because of the type of food you eat – either more goes in than is used (surplus), or less goes in than is used (reduction). The tough part isn’t sticking to grilled chicken constantly, but making sure you’re an optimal amount over/under your maintenance calories in order to see the best results. That’s it.

However:

Not so fast, although I’ve made you super-excited that this process doesn’t confine you to the same food day in and day out, there is one very important requirement that needs to be met in order for you to accomplish your goals (fat loss/muscle gain). That important requirement refers to the macro-nutrient ratios you have (that go along with your overall caloric intake per day – in fact, make it up). Macro-nutrients are the 3 main type of nutrients that calories come from – the Protein/Carbohydrates/Fats. Everything is evaluated according to these 3, if you look at a nutritional label. Protein and Carbs are 4 calories per gram, and Fats are 9. That’s why many people think eating low fat foods will make them lose weight. As you’ve learned in this article, and will if you read that one, that’s not necessarily the case.

Proponents of the clean food concept like to point to the macro-nutrient ratios as a way to scare people into thinking bad foods cannot aid you in accomplishing your goals. Let’s say your Protein/Carb/Fat intake per day is an ideal 40/40/20 percent. They’ll say that if you take in bad foods that ratio will be quickly disrupted because a grilled chicken and oatmeal will not be able to be equaled by a whopper. Although this is true if we match things up one vs. one, let’s not be technical and stick to being flexible (which we’re all about when dismantling this whole clean food only, no bad food mentality, right?). Let’s show you how this is easily bypassed:

Taking the example above, it’s true that in a specific meal match up, a whopper loses to oatmeal and grilled chicken in the macro-nutrient ratio. However, when we’re dealing with Calories in vs. Calories out, this can simply be fixed by having a protein shake with water (to avoid carbs from juice, milk, etc.) with the whopper. Suddenly, we improve the macro-nutrient ratio of the bad food in relation to the clean food (who said supplements aren’t useful?). Although the calories, overall, will be higher with the bad food, the macro-nutrient ratio will be very similar, and if you understand the concept we’ve shown examples of earlier in the article, you’ll know you’ll have to adjust your food intake for the rest of the day to deal with the higher calorie count of the bad food. However, not a very large trade-off for being able to satisfy cravings, right?

That’s the side-effect of eating a bad food, its calorie count. You’ll almost certainly eat more calories from bad food than clean food (of equal portions), but if you apply the knowledge above, you can manage that side-effect efficiently and keep your macro-nutrient levels proper with some creativity. However, you have to keep in mind that I’m not advocating a diet filled with bad food. I’m simply letting you know that you will not lose out on your goals if you do have a meal here and there that isn’t the cleanest in the world. Bad food is acceptable, but it definitely shouldn’t be the norm. Your diet should be clean food based, with some bad food mixed in from time to time in order to satisfy your cravings and keep you happy on your journey towards your goals (which is why I mentioned that it’s actually encouraged earlier in the article). With a diet that’s got foods you like to eat instituted in it and managed properly calorie and macro-nutrient wise, you’re not going to go insane and quit, or binge. Therefore, in the long-term, you’re going to be able to accomplish your goals smooth-sailing.

Let’s be honest, nobody wants to be a robot eating the same foods every day (well, I guess those that do don’t mind), but for most people this is simply not plausible, yet they still want results. Well, you can still get results, just apply the knowledge you’ve learned here and use it to your advantage. Ice cream is allowed, fast food is allowed, just don’t make it a staple and fit it into your ratios and calories for that particular day that you have it, and you’re set. Clean food, bad food….as you can see, when it comes down to it there’s really no need for extremes. Both are acceptable, and both have their place. Just be smart about it. Good Luck!

*Note to GI Index Followers*: The GI Index has been largely discredited in terms of impacting results, and even if it played a role as important as we were once led to believe, enjoying bad food here and there will not impact your body anywhere near enough to acknowledge any type of detriment to those on a journey towards results.

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Article written by D. Curt. – and the results posted are his, based on developing and following the general principles shown here.

There are 3 main areas I’d like to address in this article, areas that I found were the biggest contributing factors to my cutting success. The principles are simple, however, you must not only come to understand them but adapt them to your body to get the most optimal results. Everybody is different, so everybody has to track their own progress and make the necessary tweaks.

1. Nutrition

It all starts in the kitchen something most look right past. If you’re planning to get lean or cut down to lose body fat, then you must do exactly that, plan it.

Recommendations:

a) Protein – there has been alot of discussion and confusion as to how much protein should be consumed lately. The method I like best is that of Alberto Nunez (WNBF Pro) who stated that the intake of protein should be what you aim to be in lean weight (lbs) in grams. For example, if I wanted to weigh 190lbs lean, I would strive for 190g of protein per day. There are times when protein may need to be increased a bit more, this especially holds true when there is a need for carbs or fats to be lowered (low carb diets) whilst maintaining the same energy balance (same amount of calories). In simple terms, it’s all about replacement. You compensate for the loss of carbs or fats with protein (most often) in order to stay close to your maintenance calorie threshold.

Protein Sources:

Chicken Breast, Tuna, Turkey, Lean beef mince/pork mince, salmon, basa fillets, whey protein powder, casein protein powder (especially important either in the morning or before going to bed for its slow and timed release).

b) Carbohydrates – when it comes to carbohydrates it is all about maintaining stable blood glucose levels in order to avoid cortisol & catabolism in the process. For that reason, sources of carboyhydrates should be complex/low gi, this also ensures that insulin levels do not fluctuate too rapidly and we are getting a slow release of energy throughout our day to meet our energy demands.

Carb Sources:

Grained breads (whole-grain/multi-grain/whole wheat), sweet potato, oats, long grain white rice/basmatti/brown rice, high fibre spaghetti or pastas.

c) Fats – it is important to obtain fats from each of the following sources in your diet. While we don’t want to completely abstain or ignore saturated fats, keeping them at a minimum is important as they have much larger bonds (chemically speaking). As a result, they take much longer to be broken down into readily available fuel for exercise. Because of that, we want unsaturated fats as our primary consumption & to avoid hydrogenated oils & mcg (found in alot of processed/greasy foods).

Fat Sources:

Monounsaturated: almonds, olive oil, canola oil, avocado, peanut butter, peanuts.

Polyunsaturated: walnuts, margarine, (egg yolks are a good mix of both).

Fish oils (omega 3, 6, 9, EPH/DHA): oily fish, fish oil capsules, margarine.

2. Cardio

Cardio should be thought of as a bonus supplement which can help you lose body fat. It also has direct effects on heart hypertrophy and lung functions, which are integral for living a healthy lifestyle and achieving longevity. Either way, I would definitely recommend some sort of cardiorespiratory training alongside your nutrition and weighted workouts for the health benefits alone.

As an important aside, I’d like to mention that even though cardio may be a supplement, many people would benefit from it when it comes to leaning out. For some, however, cardio isn’t needed to continually lose body fat. This is directly related to the fact that their basal metabolic rates/metabolism is much higher than the average person, thus they burn fat more efficiently both at rest & during exercise (may just use weighted workouts as  their form of cardio). In these cases, quite often, dieting alone can get the job done when it comes to building their sculpted physique.

Recommendations:

Frequency: 3-5x per week (after workouts, as this is when your glycogen stores are depleted)

Intensity: 55-70% MHR (55-65% is the optimal zone where fats are predominantly burned, any point after that & carbohydrates become the primary source of fuel). This type of training is referred to as LISS, don’t be afraid to try HIIT methods either (High intensity Interval Training). If you’re using a HIIT protocol for the purpoe of fat loss, rest ntervals directly equivaent to the amount of work intervals work best i.e if you’re going to work/run at high intensity for 20 seconds then you also rest for 20 seconds.

Both methods are equivalent to each other in terms of amount of fat burned, for those who lack time, HIIT is a great way of getting the same benefits without being on a treadmill or bicycle for long periods of time.

Duration: For LISS a minimum of 30 minutes is recommended, personally I usually do 30-40 minutes & aim to burn 250-300 calories. A minimum of 15 minutes (including warmup) is needed to see any health-based benefits. Again, if you wish you use HIIT as your form of cardio, it would be good to start using a duration which you can comfortably complete. You have to lose that body fat!

3. Supplementation

Like cardio, supplements are an added bonus in helping you achieve your goals. Rememeber to do as the labels say, ‘dont use as a sole source of nutrition‘ as they are only there to help.

Recommendations:

Many of these can be found in foods, however, I would still advise getting the pill/capsule forms as the amount accumulated from foods is often not enough in order to achieve the desired effects.

 Fat-burning ingredients in many supplements: all these have some sort of proven efficacy.

1. ECGC (epigallocatechin-3-gallate)

Found in: Green tea.

Its function: Powerful antioxidant, speeds up metabolism.

2. CLA (Conjugate linoleic acid)

Found in: Eggs, Kangaroo steak, meats

Its function: Said to target visceral adipose fat (the fat surrounding the organs)

3. Inositol (phytic acid)

Found in: Lecithin, fibre, legumes & grains

Its function: Plays a role in the fat metabolism process.

4. Niacin (vitamin B3)

Its function: Interacts with several hormones including the adrenal gland -

relates to metabolism.

5. Caffeine Anyhydrous

Found in: tea, coffee, energy drinks

Its function: speeds up metabolism, more effective sarco-plasmic muscle pumps (allows more time before fatigue as it is a great source of energy).

6. Cayenne/Capsicum/Spices

Its function: Acts as a thermogenic in the body, elevating bodily heat levels via metabolic means (allowing for more calories to be burned).

7. Guarana/Ginseng

Its function: Very  similar role to caffeine, however it is twice the potency, so be careful not to go overboard (speeds up metabolism, also acts as  strong antioxidant).

8. Hoodia

Its function: A powerful appetite suppressant, if you have trouble controlling the amount you eat and tend to go overboard, get your hands on some of this.

9. Apple Cider Vinegar

Its  function: Acts as a bodily thermogenic along with impressive antioxidant effects.

Useful Supplements:

1. Casein/Whey Protein  (post workout/before bed/meal replacement)

2. BCAA’s (anytime of the day, a good idea to use during cardio)

3. Creatine Monohydrate (3-5g per day, increases ATP re-synthesis, aiding strength & lean muscle gains)

4. Waxy Maize/Dextrose/Malto-dextrose (post-workout, 50-80g in order to cause an insulin spike).  Assists in the uptake & delivery of protein to the recently trained muscles.

5. Multivitamin, Night Multivitamin (helps you hit the recommended daily intake for vitamins and minerals which you may be deficient in if relying on diet alone).

It’s time to lose body fat, and get the physique you want. Don’t rely solely on your workout routine to give you the results you need, because without focusing on nutrition and diet you will not be able to attain the type of look you desire. Throw in cardio to give you that extra boost, and use supplements wisely (if you use them at all). Good Luck!

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