May 17, 2017 · 8:18 am
“I want to be big and strong”
^^ A sentence many a man has said over the years and continues to say to this day.
“I want to be lean and strong”
^^ Something I’m pleased to announce more women are saying, it seems there has been a shift in them saying ‘I just want to be skinny’ to now learning the benefit of being lean and strong, it’s great to see.
While it is only my opinion, I feel everybody should be strong.
I’m not talking about record breaking strong, just strong enough to stay healthy and stave off the effects of ageing on the body.
These sports all centre around lifting:
– Weightlifting (olympic lifting)
– CrossFit (some may not like this one)
Did you know lifting weights can have the following positive effects on the body:
– Hormonal benefits: Higher testosterone, better insulin regulation, more growth hormone, lower cortisol to name a few
– Lowers body fat (great for improving health)
– A higher TDEE (total daily energy expenditure, more calories burnt in a day)
– Increased strength for sport/daily life
– Looking better naked (the most important benefit, obviously)
Those are only some of the benefits, there are numerous more.
Personally I’d say the mental improvement is the pivotal one as this can have the biggest impact on a persons life in a very positive way.
If you’re not an athlete and lift for health/confidence you should do it because you enjoy it, not because you feel you have to, that’s the secret to balance and long term sustainability.
Don’t eat yourself up if you miss a session, chalk it up to life and sue it as a rest day, that way you’ll be more motivated when you get to go in, excited to train in fact. Keep this in mind and you’ll find you don’t fall out of love with training.
What if lifting isn’t for you?
That’s cool, find soothing you do enjoy, here are some other options for improving strength and all achieving all the other benefits mentioned above:
– Calisthenics: bodyweight/movement training, loads of fun
– Kettlebells (sport or hard style)
– Climbing/outdoor sports
There are almost endless options.
Find something you enjoy, training shouldn’t be a chore.
Now go, have fun and make progress.
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January 20, 2017 · 11:28 am
Did you know that your inherent build can play a large role in how you lift a weight, not to mention the muscles that will take most of the load.
Let’s take the deadlift for example.
A person with short femurs will find they have excessive loading in their quads, whereas a person with longer femurs will find the hamstrings and glutes take more of a hammering.
Therefore because oft different builds and the inherent differences that will occur in set up etc, you’d be right in thinking that while a vernal set up will be followed everyone will look slightly different.
The logic is simple, but you’d be surprised how any people ignore this.
If you look at those who might be shorter and smaller than yourself but weight more this can be down to their genetic makeup that has an effect on bone density, torso length, muscle belly shape, tendon length and more. Meaning that while we are all the same physiologically; more or less. There will always be differences and you shouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else, just you.
Learning to understand your body is something that take a long time, however that does not mean you then blame poor genetics for your lack of progress or excessive body fat gain. Your body doesn’t control you (your conciseness/brain), you do. You make the choices, the responsibility is with you.
This brings us to another crucial and noteworthy point.
If you are a person of 5ft with narrow shoulders, wide hips and short legs, you need to accept that you won’t look like someone who is 5ft with narrow shoulders, narrow hips and long legs, stop trying to achieve a goal that is physically unachievable. Make the best of what you have and train/eat accordingly.
It is not uncommon to find that people idolise those that they will never look like, because we all want what we can’t have.
Take a look at your proportions and honestly assess what is and isn’t possible to achieve. Then find different people of a similar build who have achieved a goal along the same line as yours, learn from them, try things out for at least 6 months, constantly learn, adapt and achieve.
Enjoy,
Ross
May 18, 2015 · 9:27 am
I hope everyone had a good weekend off. You probably noticed no more fat loss faux-pas went up of the weekend, but, there was a reason of that which leads perfectly in to the next mistake to avoid.
Fat Loss Faux-pas #6 – Having a Cheat Day.
Fat loss and more importantly maintaining that fat loss isn’t something that can be easily turned on and off for everyone. Copious amounts of different diets over the years have advocated a ‘cheat day’ or something similar, I believe some even allow ‘cheat weekends’, which I’m sorry to say have a disastrous effect on on your fat loss.
Why?
Because the average person lacks sufficient will power to say no when they’ve had enough, this leads some to over indulging (binge eating), thus consuming thousands upon thousands of unneeded calories which completely destroys any caloric deficit accumulated during the week and puts a stop to any potential fat loss.
When the above happens people are left baffled as to why they have been ‘good’ all week with nutritious whole foods etc and still haven’t lost any weight. Being ‘good’ is not my favourite term because as children when we were good we got a reward or treat for being good, people see their ‘cheat’ weekends as rewards and over do it.
I am not saying that you cant have a little of what you fancy. In fact I would encourage you to have a little of what you fancy each day, just to be clear I shall say it again; have a LITTLE of what you fancy each day, DON’T, BINGE.
Please try and remember you need to find a balance in your life. If YOUR personal balance means you have one or two more things you like than your friend but your fat loss is half of theirs then accept it, if that’s what makes you happy.
After all, what’s the point in staring a lifestyle/nutritional change to lose weight and burning fat if you don’t enjoy it?
We keep doing what we enjoy, don’t make yourself unhappy trying to shift unwanted fat, do it slowly without pressure on your shoulders and a smile on your face.
Avoid this faux-pas and you will undoubtedly achieve your goal.
Enjoy
Ross
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Tagged as accountability, achievement, binge eating, binging, calories, diet, fat loss, fatloss, faux-pas, flexible dieting, foods, gluttony, Nutrition, overeating, problems, psychological, tips, weight loss
