The Current State Of The Fitness And Training Industry

Over the past few years, social media and online interactions have been one of the main drivers in the fitness, personal training and coaching industry. The general population now have access to the most knowledgeable coaches, the best training advice and the most informative articles with just a click of a button. Trainers and coaches from all around the world also get to discuss the latest training and dieting protocols and sell their services to others. 

However, with any good thing, come the negatives. Call-out culture, trolling, underqualified trainers and coaches, lies and accusations about other trainers, over-saturation of information, I'm sure we've seen it some of these to an extent. With that said, is this new age of fitness and personal training really a good thing.

This article is a reflection of the current state of the fitness industry and my opinion on the most commonly debated topics. 

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Facebook

I've only been in the game for 5 years, but I'm lucky to be connected with the most brilliant minds in the fitness, nutrition and strength & conditioning realm. Our industry is special in that training methods, diets, and expert opinions can all be criticized and scrutinized on an open platform, Facebook, without much anonymity. Despite the stereotype that Facebook can't be used for serious and civil conversations about any complex topic, it's surprising that trainers and coaches around the world can participate in scientific discourse about all things related to human fitness. Anything you say or post will be read by your peers and can be criticized and improved on; so long that you're connected to the right people and not committing cases of confirmation bias on the daily basis (avoiding criticism or change, always seeking out people and information who agree with you).

I also remember when this was not the case. I remember when Facebook was just a platform to share your fitness routines and update your friends on your latest physique or strength progress. Over the years Facebook has become a vehicle for distributing truthful, evidence-backed fitness and nutrition advice. At the same time, a tool for trainers and coaches to market and sell their services and information. I don't understand fully how this came to be, but I have a few theories:

Fitness is a personal pursuit, but has a big social impact.

Improving health, fitness and looking great naked is a personal pursuit. YOU have to put in the time in and YOU have to put in the hard work to benefit YOURSELF. However, humans are social creatures. Some post pictures of themselves to motivate others, some workout to show off their bodies, some want validation and approval from others. Whatever the intentions are, sharing your fitness journey on Facebook has a huge impact on your circle of friends on Facebook. This is akin to foodies posting pictures of great local meals or car enthusiasts showing off their newest car mod; there's something positive and gratifying about being able to share your own experiences with others.

Social media is the perfect platform for marketing personal training services and, but can be very dangerous.

Social media can also be a platform for marketing personal training services and diet plans. Often paired with paragraphs about why and how your methods are scientifically proven to be effective or the best. I do this, many other trainers and coaches I know do this. It's an effective way to reach an audience you've already built through friendships in high schools or a way to acquire clientele through the acquaintances you've crossed paths with from work or weekend-hobbies. 

Marketing on social media can also be very dangerous. It's easy to subscribe to too many different trainers with different view points, or at worse, subscribe to someone who teaches ineffective training methods and gives out dangerous nutrition advice. This results in an over-saturation of information for the general trainee and trainer, leading to something many people call "paralysis by analysis": over-thinking fitness and nutrition to the point where the trainee or trainer fails to stick with the basics or is confused to what steps to take to reach a goal.

Related to this topic: I've written about fitness and nutrition pyramids, and why they're so useful for trainees and trainers. Sticking to the basics and prioritizing certain training and dieting principles is the best way to avoid "paralysis by analysis".

Peer-reviewed scientific papers do not have the same reach and impact as a evidence-based coach that can effectively communicate to the masses.

Scientific journals and papers are made for scientists and researchers to communicate with each other, using statistics and logic to come to a consensus about a particular topic. The use of complex scientific terms is crucial for maintaining consistency in the field, but might not be the best for communicating with the masses on Facebook. Using scientific jargon and anatomical terms may be valid, but the average trainee or local personal trainer that don't possess the same vocabulary will be lost in the forest.

Share a breakthrough scientific article on carbohydrates and weight loss. You might get 100 views.

Read a breakthrough scientific article on carbohydrates and weight loss, dissecting the main points and communicating those points using both scientific and lay-man terms so the masses can understand and put to practice? Watch your view count go through the roof and your social impact increase. 

This is what is so great about podcasts like Danny Lennon's Sigma Nutrition Podcast and research reviews like Alan Aragon's Research Review. They speak with respected researchers in the field and are able to package information in a way most people can understand.

This is not to say peer-reviewed scientific papers and research studies are not useful, far from it. Rather, we should be mindful of the way we communicate with our audience. Using the right terminology or using communication techniques like analogies can help, and are very important.

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Call-Out Culture

Also related to Facebook and social media, I wanted to talk about "call-out culture" in the context of the fitness and nutrition world. This topic came to my mind after a thoughtful coach raised a question on Facebook on what the term "evidence-based" really means in the fitness industry and where to draw the line to divide people who are truly evidence-based away from those people who aren't.

Some trainers, researchers and coaches pride themselves for calling out bullshit they see in the industry, whether it be training methods that aren't scientifically backed or nutrition protocols that are considered fad diets. Some go as far as publicly shaming them on a Facebook status or write a whole article about why someone is wrong.

While I believe trainers who give out shady and dangerous advice should be called out, we have to examine their intentions:

A trainer who is purposely promoting stupid training methods and useless supplements for financial and egotistical gain at the expense of their follower's health and money, is an asshole and should be called out.

A trainer who has good-intentions but has mistakenly spread false information either from a lack of education or lack of carefulness, should not be bashed.

Much of the false information and pseudoscience I see being spread is by the latter group of trainers (I could be wrong...)

The best way to go about this problem is not to fight negativity with negativity, rather smothering them with positivity and giving them a chance to improve their critical thinking skills by providing them with sources (articles, podcasts, videos) that publish good information. Approach the coach or trainer in a respectful manner and challenge their ideas by making sound, logically points as to why they've made a mistake or that their information is outdated. If they fail to acknowledge the new information, your options are to 1) leave them alone, 2) reconsider your own stance and how to approach these types of trainers in the future. Forcing your ideas, or belittling them in a threatening manner benefits no one.

Positivity is something I've picked up from being a business owner. Trainees and potential clients are much more likely to be drawn to you if you're passionate about making a positive change. Constantly shitting on other trainers and failing to provide any useful advice to your own audience is a recipe for failure, something I've learned personally. Spending more time on honing communication skills and having good intentions is the key to making a positive impact you want to see in your clients, athletes and audience.

I understand that a budding scientist that dedicates their life to a particular area of research would be more likely to take offence to a personal trainer online spewing out false information about his/her area of expertise. The said scientist would then be more inclined to participate in call-out culture. 

Call-out culture is bad for business and social impact, but may be practical for keeping misinformation and psuedoscience out of scientific discourse. It's all about context. 

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Stay in your own lane

"Stay in your own lane". The most dangerous, yet best advice any personal trainer and coach can receive.

Dangerous in the sense that this piece of advice can convince a trainer or coach to not branch out of what is currently comfortable to them; suppressing creativity and continuing education.

Best in the sense that trainers should not attempt to use practices and methods they are not fully comfortable with just to make a quick buck or play a know-it-all guru.

I do believe trainers and coaches should go out of their way to learn about topics they're not comfortable or educated on. Well-roundness and adaptability is what every professional should strive for. Learning about areas outside your scope of practice can provide perspective and benefits that "staying in your own lane" cannot achieve. I became a much better strength coach after dabbling in the world of pure endurance training, which lead me to researching about concurrent training theories and methodologies; ultimately improving my program writing abilities. This is just my personal example. I've seen some physiotherapists branch out into the strength training world, integrating strength training principles into their rehabilitation system to better understand and change the lives of their clients. Some have even completely overhauled how they look at the world of physiotherapist after understanding strength training, the adaptability of the human body, and how everything is interconnected. 

A more common example would be trainers studying for a nutrition diploma or certificate to better understand how to adjust their clients' diet and dietary habits in order to fully reap in the benefits of fitness training.

So what's wrong with branching out? Why shouldn't trainers and coaches stay in their own lane?

The biggest problem is the self-inflated confidence of trainers and coaches that believe they are experts in areas they have barely scratched the surface of. Obviously this is a grey area. There is no line to draw to know when you're informed enough to give out advice on a particular topic. This part involves a lot of self-reflection and objectivity, so it's no wonder trainers get it "wrong".

There's a spectrum of people who don't stay in their own lane. Trainers who play sport nutritionist only having learned about "if it fits your macros" a few months ago. Personal trainers who play manual or physio-therapist despite not receiving any formal education in the area. Trainers who receive a NKT or cupping certificate over the weekend and think they're rehab gods or have figured out the code to rehabbing injured patients (don't even get me started on this). I could go on and on...

To make a quick buck, or to make themselves look like more of an expert. It doesn't matter. It waters down the field and is completely disrespectful to the professionals that have been in the trenches and have put in years learning the particular area or topic. It's not only stubborn to think that one can learn the in and outs of an area over the weekend, but dangerous to the potential clients, athletes and patients that follow these trainers.

Do some self-reflection on how much you really know of a topic before you decide to sell your services. Learn how to say "I don't know, I'll refer you to someone or I'll try to find out for you" to your clients and athletes. Be curious and sell the best services you can to your clients, but be humble.

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The Fitness Industry Moving Forwards

With the rising popularity of celebrity diets, Instagram model-sponsored supplements, squats on bosu balls and all the problems I've been discussing above, is the state of the fitness and personal training industry the worst it's ever been?

I don't believe so. I think it's actually the best it's ever been and is improving a greater rate than ever before.

Availability heuristic is a cognitive bias that causes you to make incorrect assessments and assumptions, making you believe something happens more frequently or is more prevalent than it actually is. 

If you ask the majority of people, they'll think poverty, murder and terrorism is much more serious and more prevalent than it was a few years or decades ago. When in fact, poverty and mortality rates have been as low as they've ever been, and other areas like literacy and basic education have been steadily improving (look at the figure below).

The increased exposure to social media, news outlets and daily news has made us believe these problems are more rampant than they actually are. People believe ISIS is the worse group ever in the history of the world, when there have actually been multiple factions of terrorist groups that have carried out the most gruesome massacres and genocides before the popularity of social media and news.

On a less serious note, some people in the fitness and personal training industry suffer from this availability heuristic. You see advice about knees not being allowed to go past your toes while squatting? You might be convinced the majority of trainers still don't know how to teach a proper squat. 

Yes, there are still trainers spewing out garbage, big supplement companies are still cashing in money on people gullible enough to buy a plethora of useless supplements. But don't forget about the increased financial awareness of consumers in the age of technology, the ability to read reviews on fitness products, as well as the thoughtful debates and discussions about fitness and nutrition on Facebook (I use the word "thoughtful" loosely haha).

Anecdotally, I also noticed the personal trainers down at the local commercial gym have been improving as the demand for higher quality training from more self-aware consumers has been increasing. It's much harder to get away with heavy squats on a bosu ball nowadays without getting your fitness page and reputation ripped to shreds. 

Here's a list of why I think the fitness industry is the best it's ever been:

• The growing skepticism and awareness of consumers drives companies to create higher quality products
  

• Amalgamation of professionals from different niches (Personal trainers, dieticians, strength & conditioning coaches, sport psychologists, rehabilitation therapists) on Facebook and online forums
  

• The rise of evidence-based training and nutrition plus the growing demand for these methods
  

• The benefits of strength training are reaching and influencing a greater number of people
  

• More women are buying into the benefits of strength training and competing in strength sports
  

• The pure strength training circle is starting to see the performance and health benefits of including cardio and endurance training
  

• The biopsychosocial model of pain and rise of pain science is changing the way rehabilitation professionals look at injuries and chronic pain management
  

• Trainers and coaches are able to help a wider range of clients worldwide through online training
  

• Evidence-based nutrition recommendations plus knowledge of flexible dieting and intuitive eating are helping people reach their body weight and body transformation goals more effectively; alleviating body image issues and eating disorders

There will always be myths to bust and fad diets to tell people to stay away from, but I believe the fitness industry is improving. Maybe I'm suffering from avaiability heuristic myself, but as a trainer that used to be very vocal and cynical about bro-science and poor advice, I can't help but accept the fact that this industry has improved significantly since I started and can't wait to see what the future holds.

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Have an opinion? What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them. Comment down below or visit me on my Facebook page!

Lose Weight By Eating More?

Before anyone jumps down my throat, yes, I know well that to lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit - eating less calories than you burn.

However, anyone who's followed a diet will notice that consuming less food can often result in lower energy levels throughout the day, negatively affecting our mood and most importantly, our activity levels.

NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis)

Represents all the physical activity throughout the day that isn't considered exercise - walking, fidgeting around, work, etc. When you restrict calorie intake, it can cause you to move less outside of the gym in your daily life. This decrease in NEAT can ultimately cause your fat loss to plateau. Although this is doesn't happen 100% of the time, it's smart to and monitor your physical activity using a basic activity tracker like the FitBit for example and see if your activity levels drop when dieting. It's also smart to be more aware of your mood from day to day and how it affects your motivation levels and your ability to get up and move.

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I've written in detail about NEAT and daily calorie expenditure, what they are, and how to use it to your advantage to help your weight loss and fitness goals. Click here to read.

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I am in no way advocating for ridiculously high calorie intakes and trying to catch up on your weight loss by performing hours upon hours of exercise. Most people do not have the time nor energy to do so. What I'm advocating for matching the positive mood and motivation levels that comes with a more moderate calorie intake, with higher NEAT levels throughout the day.

If you feel groggy and unmotivated eating 2000 calories a day, it may be smart to increase it to 2250 or a number you'll feel more comfortable or happier at. From here reach a calorie deficit by an extra 5000 steps a day or by staying more active outside of the gym.

Go for a walk on the beach. Go for a bike ride. Move more around the house. Keep yourself active, but keep it simple. The main goal here to is develop a more active lifestyle and making small tweaks to our diet to better accomodate it. Hope it helps!

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Do I Eat Less Or Exercise More For Fat Loss?

Picture taken from Huffingtonpost.com

Do you reach your fat loss goals by eating less or should you stick with your current diet and increase energy expenditure by exercising more? Let's go over each strategy and see what works best. 

Eating Less While Paying Less Attention to Exercise

Weight loss occurs when you consistently consume less calories than you burn; I'm sure everyone is aware of that by now. By tracking your calories and overhauling your diet with healthy whole foods, plenty of protein, fibre and vitamins, you will definitely lose weight. Some people are under the misconception that decreasing calories means eating less food; these are the same people that have problems managing their hunger levels - possible causing them to overeat or not adhere to their diet properly. The best way to control hunger levels while staying in a calorie deficit is to consume high volume foods, increase their protein intake and increase their meal frequency.

Examples of high volume foods include big salads, or substituting vegetables for your rice or pasta dish. Increasing protein intake can help with satiety and is achieved by consuming lean protein sources like lean beef, some seafoods, and vegetarian sources like tofu. A higher meal frequency, while shown not to have any beneficial effects on weight loss compared to a calorie-equated low meal frequency diet, can help people adhere to their diets more effectively and decrease the likelihood of overeating. Small to moderate size meals throughout the day can be better for diet adherence than eating 2-3 big meals a day.

What's wrong with this approach?

While you are certainly going to experience some weight and fat loss by eating less calories and improving your diet, your fat loss will plateau without paying extra attention to exercise. In order to consistently lose fat, your calories will have to decrease more and more. This is not only difficult in terms of managing hunger levels, but can be out right unhealthy - I've heard stories of females eating 1000 calorie diets attempting to lose weight. This is NOT okay and people will run the risk of nutrient deficiencies and low energy levels. 

EXERCISE MORE WITHOUT CHANGING YOUR DIET

Exercise will do wonders for your body. Increased energy/calorie expenditure, improved nutrient partitioning (positively change the way your body deals with the nutrients and calories coming into your body), improved muscular and cardiovascular health, alleviate pain and prevent injuries. I recommend a combination of resistance training and cardio exercises for everyone, the most important thing is to make exercise sustainable and enjoyable. 

My general recommendations for resistance exercise (lifting) would be a minimum 2 times a week. Cardio training can be done everyday (low intensity) or 2-3 times a week if performing challenging interval training. Doing that alone will increase your weekly calorie expenditure... as long as you're consistent!

What's wrong with this approach?

If you're a beginner trainee and you currently eat diet high in calories, its unlikely you'll be able to work off a bad diet. A beginner simply doesn't have the work or recovery capacity to exercise enough to out work a bad diet. Increasing muscle mass improves your fat and calorie burning abilities. However, new trainees do not experience significant muscle hypertrophy until 5-8 weeks into a consistent weight training program.

What should you do then? The answer lies in between the 2 strategies.

the perfect fitness and diet lifestyle

The perfect recipe for fat loss utilizes both strategies mentioned above. You should know now that fat loss can be achieved through either #1: increasing calorie expenditure, or #2: decreasing calorie consumption. Trying to take extreme measures on any 1 method will often cause you to fall short of your goals. It's very difficult to adhere to a hard exercise program when you're new to resistance or cardio training, and it's very hard to make your diet sustainable if it includes very low calories or foods you don't like eating.

The solution

Instead of taking extreme measures, take small steps to improve your exercise habits, diet and learn the concept of NEAT (Non-exercise activity thermogenesis). 

NEAT is one of the most overlooked aspects of calorie expenditure and fat loss. NEAT represents all the physical activity throughout your day that isn't considered exercise. How much you walk a day, how many chores you do, how active your job is, how long you spend your day sitting and being sedentary, all of these are included in your NEAT.

"I eat pretty well, I exercise 3 times a week, how come I'm still not reaching my fat loss goals?" - Bob

Well I'm sorry to hear that Bob, but it might be because you sit on your ass all day when you're not exercising. Bob is most likely not training hard enough for exercise to have any significant effects on his calorie expenditure. Paired with that fact that he remains sedentary when not at the gym, his metabolism remains relatively slow.

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This is an example of a breakdown of the daily calorie expenditure of a person that exercises moderately but stays relatively active in their daily life.

• Basal Metabolic Rate represents the calories burned just by staying alive (based on bodyweight, height, muscle mass, anthropometric features)
• NEAT represents the amount of activity level in a day not related to dedicated exercise
• Exercise represents a dedicated time to which you hit the gym/go for a run/follow your training program
• TE of Food represents the thermic effect of food - the amount of energy spent digesting the food you consume

As a beginner, there is only so much exercise you can do before it becomes unsustainable or you can recover from without being injured or burnt out. Seeing how the thermic effect of food plays a very small part in your metabolism and basal metabolic rate is dependent on genetic and body measurement factors, increasing NEAT would be the next best option.

As an intermediate/advanced trainee, your work capacity develops and the calories that can be burned through exercise increases. NEAT eventually turns into moderate-high intensity exercise. Many of these trainees can "outwork a bad diet", however, it still takes discipline and proper training/dieting strategies to become the leanest, strongest and fittest version of yourself.

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There are plenty of ways to increase your NEAT, and consequently, energy expenditure throughout the day. Here are a few:

• Every hour or so of sitting, balance that out with 5-10 minutes of stretching and moving around
• Create a daily step count goal and hit it every day
• Walk to the grocery store instead of driving there 
• Go on the stationary bike or treadmill while watching Netflix or studying for your upcoming exam
• Go for walk when listening to music or audiobooks
• Dance in the shower (careful there)

Achieving your fat loss goals and improving your fitness lifestyle does not occur while taking extreme measures, rather, working on all parts of the equation - diet, exercise, NEAT and building sustainable habits. 

Exercise more, improve your diet, move more.

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Thanks for reading! Here a few articles to get you started with your fitness and diet goals:

What Type Of Dieter Are You?

Surprising Reasons You're Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals (Habit Building Article)

How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

How To Pack On Muscle - Diet Tips For The Hardgainer

Need extra help? Want to jump start your training or diet? Feel free to contact me for a free consultation!

What Type Of Dieter Are You?

Weight and fat loss can be achieved using different styles of dieting depending on your personality, eating habit, tendencies as well as how much knowledge you possess about nutrition and dieting itself. Are you a trainee motivated by quick results or are you a person that likes to take it slow and ensure sustainable weight loss? 

1. The Shotgunner - Quick Weight Loss

The shotgun method is what I like to call diets that start out with a large calorie deficit, with that deficit decreasing as bodyweight drops. Why did I name this the shotgun method? Because like a shotgun, the initial blast is strong (large calorie deficit - ensures initial weight-loss) and can hurt the person if they're ill-prepared to handle the consequent recoil (junk food temptations, binge eating, etc).

This method works well for people who are motivated by quick results and find it difficult to adhere to a more conservative approach. For example, a person looking to lose a large amount of weight (eg: 30lbs) will start off with a 500+ calorie deficit (daily) and slowly reduce that to a 400, 300, 200 calorie deficit as the weeks progress and as body fat is being lost. As I believe protein intake should stay at an adequate level, most of the reduction from calories should come from partial elimination of carbohydrates and fats.

Pros

• Very effective for short term weight loss
• Initial stages can be very motivating for some individuals and help them adhere to future weight loss diets

Cons

• Large calorie deficits can be very mentally stressful
• Initial low energy and decreased performance in the gym or at a physical job
• The chance of the rebound effect is much higher, some dieters will use the initial weight loss to justify stuffing their face the following weeks... AVOID THIS AT ALL COSTS!

2. The Turtle - Slow And Steady

One of the more popular methods used in the past few years due to increasing research on food intake habits, willpower and weight loss sustainability. In contrast to the "shotgun" method, this style of dieting employs a conservative calorie deficit throughout the entirety of the weight loss period.

The caveat here is that dieters must be aware of their maintenance calories (I've talked about how to find out that number through estimations or tracking right here under section #3: Learn How To Count). So what's a conservative calorie deficit? A daily reduction of 200-300 calories coming from carbohydrates has worked well for me and my clients. Depending on your metabolism, expect to lose about 0.5-1lb per week. Trainees who employ this diet must be persistent and consistent with their calorie intake. If weight loss stagnates, consider increasing the amount of physical activity you do or further increasing the calorie deficit.
 

Pros

• The conservative calorie deficit allows dieters to lose weight without feeling the initial low energy that comes with large calorie deficits
• A small calorie deficit can sometimes be unnoticeable given the composition of your meals are healthy and based around nutritious and satiating, whole-foods.
• Paired with adequate protein intake, this style of dieting ensures maintenance of your hard-gained muscle!

Cons

• May not be suitable for beginners new to counting calories and portion controls
• Tests dieter's patience, weight loss may not occur for the first weeks either due to inaccurate tracking or using the wrong maintenance calories as a baseline

The Bottom Line

Both types of dieters can see success as long as they plan out their diet and adhere to it. Don't be quick to dismiss large calorie deficits and diets like the "shotgun method". While it doesn't always fit the modern dieting narrative that everything should be done conservatively to ensure long-term success, I've seen first hand that people can succeed with more daring weight loss methods. Pick the right dieting style that suits your goals and current level of experience with nutrition. Good luck!

Coaching vs. Programming: Is There a Difference?

initially a note post on my Facebook Page

Wait, if you’re programming for an athlete, aren’t you coaching them? I don’t see it that way.

Programming is writing out a specific training or nutrition program to cater to an athlete’s goal, whether it be improving their powerlifting total or body composition, etc. A knowledgeable exercise physiologist or personal trainer will be able to control training parameters well enough for their athletes to reach their goals effectively but a coach’s role extends beyond that.

Along side programming skills, a coach must be able to:

• Work WITH the person, not on.
   
• Dictate the training process and outline process-oriented goals
   
• Ensure that the athlete is tune with the process. So much can be learned working with a coach compared to jumping on a cookie cutter template program... HOWEVER, it is not uncommon for athletes to perform better on a cookie cutter program (over-individualization is problematic, more on this in another article).
   
• Effectively communicate with the athlete; this means communicating in a way the athlete can best understand what you expect out of them and what you’re teaching them
   
• Create curiosity in athletes, encourage questions and appropriately answer them (not just a “I’m the coach, you’re doing this cause I say so”)
   
• Understand that training and performance is multi-factorial, and that your athlete experience multiple stressors out of your control
   
• Care about their athletes. If you don’t give a shit about your athletes or clients, just write a training template and sell that. Simple as that.

A Lifter's Best Friend [PART 2]

This is PART 2 of last week's blog, READ PART 1 HERE.

3. Quality Training Partners

"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together" - African Proverb

Lifting and strength sports are as much team-based as they are individual. While training partners can't help you on the platform or in competition , they can be a great asset to your training. The perfect training partners will

Offer additional external motivation  

Admit it, no matter how much internal motivation you have, there are some days where getting up to train is difficult. When you're sore and tired, it feels good to have a training partner pick you up and motivate you (granted they are also probably sore and tired)

I've written more in-depth about this topic in my article Surprising Reasons You're Not Reaching Your Fitness Goals. Specifically, how you can use partner training and other environmental cues to get out of your comfort zone and sustain a healthy exercise habit.
 

Be able to check and critique your form

Even if your training partners are less experienced than you, training together will benefit everyone. You can hone your teaching and instructional skills while they can learn via observation)
 

Keep you on track

Taking too long of a rest? Skipping out on your range of motion on certain exercises? A good training partner will probably let you know
 

Have similar goals and aspirations as you

Work together, succeed together.

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4. Training Tracker/software

This may seem obvious, but are you really tracking the right variables? While a good ol' notebook works for many athletes, utilizing a tracker or some sort of software to analyze your poundages and training data will take your training to the next level (well only if you know what to do with the data!)

Training Metrics

Since most programs are prescribed on the microcyclic level (week to week), tracking variables such as: Average Weekly Volume, Average Weekly Intensity, Peak Volume, Peak Intensity, will give you a better overview on your overall training stress and how progress in the upcoming microcycles. How do you know if you're progressively overloading or if you're peaking for your competition correctly if you don't track these variables?

Graphs and Charts

Written numbers give you a general idea of your training volume, intensity and stress, however, graphs and charts are often a better way to beautifully present and analyze your training data. Many of us are visual learners, and unless you're a tech-savy individual or Excel worksheet genius, creating your own graphs and pie charts may be too time-consuming or out of your scope of practice. Luckily, there are websites/softwares such as MyStrengthBook that do all the work for you. If you're even semi-serious about tracking your training, I recommend you check it out.

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5. Mobility Tools

Dedicated training requires dedicated recovery. The bigger and stronger you get, the more you have to pay attention to recovery modules like sleep and mobility.

Not All Strength Sports Require The Same Degree Of Mobility

While I don't believe that strength athletes should aim to be as mobile as a yogi or gymnast, I believe they should be able to maintain or reach a certain level of flexibility (and stability) in order to effectively and safely perform their sport-specific movements. The degree of flexibility and mobility required by a Powerlifter differs to that of a Strongman or Olympic Weightlifter. 

Tools For A Healthy Body

Foam rollers, lacrosse balls, thera canes, resistance bands. All of these devices and toys have been popularized over the year in the fitness industry to fix all your mobility issues, aches and nagging pains. From anecdotal evidence and personal experience, these tools have helped my clients and I manage pain and increase muscle range of motion among other benefits. However, the underlying mechanisms are still being discovered. The science behind foam rolling, the human fascia and manual therapy are still being researched and developed. For example, foam rolling is technically NOT considered myofascial release, but there are still benefits to foam rolling. I urge you not to neglect flexibility and mobility work, but I'm also not a proponent of spending too much time rolling or stretching, which can take away from your sport-specific training.

Use all these tools effectively and soon you'll be getting bigger, faster, stronger all while reducing your chance of injury. Please like and share if you found this article useful, check out my Facebook page and Instagram below!

How Much Protein Do You Really Need?

Protein is an essential macronutrient used to build, maintain and repair tissue in our body. There are different recommendations on protein intake, this article will touch on the factors that should be considered when determining an "optimal" amount.

The current Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.36g/lb of bw (equates to 0.8g/kg of bw). Following these guidelines, a 185lb person is only recommended to consume 67 grams of protein!! Quite far off from the 1g/lb of BW recommendation we often hear from the fitness industry.

The RDA for protein was created for non-exercising individuals to consume enough protein for bodily functions and overall tissue health. However, this amount is not sufficient to meet the needs of athletes undergoing rigorous training . There are several variables involved in calculating protein intake values:

• Body composition (total body weight, especially lean body mass)
• Mode of training (strength vs. endurance vs. mixed)
• Frequency, intensity and volume of training
• Specific body weight goals (losing weight vs. gaining weight)
• Dietary Preferences

For The recreational and Dedicated Strength/power Athlete

Strength athletes want to consume adequate protein for one main reason: to maximize muscle protein synthesis (MPS) in order to to increase muscle mass (hypertrophy). Another benefit of protein consumption is to promote recovery in between training sessions. Supplying enough amino acids to repair our damaged muscle fibers from training is essential to health and making short and long term progress in the gym and on the platform.

Often in the strength training circle, we hear about being in a "anabolic state". What this really means is a positive net protein balance. A positive net protein balance is achieved when dietary protein consumption is greater than protein loss. For strength athletes, many lifters have success with anywhere from 0.8-1.5g of protein per Lb of bodyweight (some even higher, we'll touch on this in a bit). This means a 185lb lifter will consume anywhere from 148g to 278g of protein a day.

So why the large range? It really comes down to dietary preference, training age and current lean body mass. 

Dietary Preference: Lifters that love steak, chicken and fish among other protein sources will have no problem consuming these foods on a regular basis. Their protein intakes will be high, by habit/dietary preference.

Training Age & Current Lean Body Mass: The more experienced of a strength athlete you are, the more likely you'll have greater amounts of muscle mass. The more muscle mass you have, the more protein you'll need to consume to match the demands of you body. A muscular, lean, world-class strength athlete may grativate towards the higher end of protein intake recommendations (1.5g/lb of bw), while a beginner trainee on starting strength or other beginner programs will make great progress consuming 0.8g/lb of bw.

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High Protein Diets

This naturally leads us to the question, are high protein diets safe? Opponents of high protein intakes will argue high protein diets impair kidney function and decrease bone density. However, it is found that high protein intakes are not detrimental to kidney function in individuals with healthy kidneys to begin with and high protein diets are actually positively correlated with increased bone mineral density (elderly).

There is a series of research studies carried out by Jose Antionio et al, on the effects of the very high protein consumption on health and body composition(1.5-2g/lb of bodyweight). They conclude that there is no evidence a high protein diet is harmful, and that they were favorable for body composition goals and body fat control (even at a calorie surplus; very interesting).

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"I'm already consuming protein at 1g/lb of bw, in what scenarios should I further increase my intake?"

Periods of Moderate-Large Caloric Deficits

For most lifters in a 300-400+ kcal deficit, I suggest increasing daily protein intake slightly, perhaps to 1.25g/lb of bw. (please note these numbers are far from concrete, these can vary from individual to individual). Doing this will help maintain lean body mass while losing weight/body fat.

Increasing Satiety During Caloric Deficits

Protein is known to be more satiating and has more of a thermogenic effect (takes more energy to digest) compared to carbs and fats. After a high protein meal, individuals usually feel fuller for a longer. For individuals that struggle with hungry during calorie deficits, eating a plentiful amount of protein-rich sources (and a huge salad of course) may be your answer.

Enhanced Recovery

Do you struggle with muscle soreness, and decreased recovery time in between training sessions? Try increasing your protein intake. 

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The protein - carbohydrate trade off

More protein in your diet means less room for carbohydrates. Luckily, recreational lifters and dedicated strength/power athletes do not require a high amount of carbohydrates to fuel performance; with the exception of high-volume training. Before you increase your protein intake, consider the following:

• Is your current carbohydrate intake adequate for performance?
• Do you have to prioritize performance in the gym or do you need to improve your rate of recovery in between sessions?
• Are you in a isocaloric state (maintenance)? Are you in a calorie deficit? Calorie surplus?
• *Can you afford to decrease your carbohydrate or fat intake in order to increase protein intake?*

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the bottom line

Benefits of protein

• Support overall health
• Support muscle growth
• Repair muscle tissue in between training sessions and in times of muscle injury
• Hunger control and satiation
• Controlling body composition and body fat
   

0.8 - 1.5 grams of Protein per pound of bodyweight is sufficient

• The lower end 0.8-1.0g/lb of BW for:
  Beginners and (maybe) Intermediate Strength athletes
  Recreational Lifters
  General health and fitness (if you partake in strength and cardio training)
   
• The higher end 1.0-1.5g/lb of BW for:
  Intermediate and advanced athletes
  Hunger control and satiation
  Athletes in a caloric deficit
  Athletes with a dietary preference for protein sources

Protein Distribution 

• Multiple meals consisting of >20-30g of protein from high quality sources (whey, egg, beef, fish, soy protein)
   
• Aim for protein sources with high amounts of Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs), this is often what determines protein quality (optimal amount is 3-4g of Leucine)

Any questions? Comment down below or reach out to me on the Facebook page

Guilt and Shame: Motivation For Exercise and Gym Attendance?

Photo Credit: Psypost.org & U.S Pacific Fleet

Today, I came across this article: http://www.psypost.org/2016/09/mens-hidden-guilt-shame-body-fat-can-fuel-gym-attendance-study-finds-44867

Body image, expectations and attitudes towards exercise is usually a topic for women in mainstream media. However, this article/study examines how feelings of guilt and shame in men affect their exercise habits and gym attendance. These are my thoughts:

"The researchers found that men worried about body fat were more likely than others to undertake spontaneous, unplanned work-outs – and warned that these ‘sporadic’ exercise patterns tend to be difficult to sustain over time."

Sporadic exercise patterns are better than no exercise at all. Some people/trainers may say: there is no harm in feeling a bit guilty for not hitting the gym, whatever gets you up and moving. I generally agree with this. In my experience, many guys need a little kick in the ass to get them started. Whether these exercise patterns can be sustained should be addressed AFTER someone has already started exercising. It is then a matter of habit formation, support systems (friends, family, workout partners) and most importantly whether they're seeing results or not.

"With the recent growth of ‘selfies’ and the return of muscle-bound Hollywood hero icons like Vin Diesel and Hugh Jackman, there’s a real risk that males may be more influenced to attend the gym more regularly and workout to a point where it becomes dangerous or detracts from their wellbeing."

Looking and feeling like Superman is a "real risk" I believe people shouldn't be afraid of taking. How many people do you know where their well-being is being threatened by regular exercise? Please note that many middle-aged celebrities are on some sort of testosterone-replacement-therapy. A guy in their teens, 20s or even early 30s can build a healthy physique and improve their health and well-being naturally. Exercise is also about balance. How can you fit exercise into your life without detracting too much from other areas such as work and family?

For others that have struggled with their body image and their fitness, I urge you not to take the role of the victim. Find a trainer, watch some Youtube videos, ask a friend to go to the gym with you. For the first few weeks, its okay to let the feelings of guilt and shame motivate you to get in the gym, on your bike, in your running shoes; or whatever gets you moving. Those feelings will go away as you start to change your perspective on exercise. A lot of people seem to forget exercise improves mental health as much as it does physically. What starts out as a sporadic exercise schedule will develop into what I hope to be, a healthy habit. 

Thanks for reading!

Link to the study mentioned in the article:  http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2016&issue=09000&article=00024&type=abstract

P.S. One of the best articles I've ever written is on habit formation, and how to take advantage of your environment and support systems to reach your fitness goals. This article has a special place in my life as it combines my experiences with science to demystify the motivations and steps required to form a healthy exercise habit. Its all about stacking the odds in your favor.

Check it at my fitness colleague's website:

 http://www.fitnesspollenator.com/2015/10/surprising-reasons-youre-not-reaching-your-fitness-goals.html