I woke up humbled today.
I got a DM from a fan who wrote to say I'd inspired him with my training. He asked what the secret was. I wasn't aware I was privy to any classified exercise info, but, from my limited experience, I've accomplished what I have in a scant few months by adhering to this simple little formula:
I got a DM from a fan who wrote to say I'd inspired him with my training. He asked what the secret was. I wasn't aware I was privy to any classified exercise info, but, from my limited experience, I've accomplished what I have in a scant few months by adhering to this simple little formula:
It might seem like I'm trivializing matters, but it really is this easy.
On Eating Clean Diet is listed before exercise for a reason. Hands down, it is the most vital element in the fitness equation. What a person eats accounts for 70—yes, 70—percent of an individual’s fitness success . . . or failure. The best example of this is abs. A person can crank out 200 crunches a day yet, frustratingly, won’t have a toned midsection. Don’t get me wrong, the muscle will be there, it’ll just be hidden under a layer of flab. Why? Because, as the saying goes, abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym. Sugar stops at the belly and, especially after the age of 30, until an athlete cuts sugar and greatly reduces carbs (which is why there are so many paunchy, middle-aged vegetarians—they’re grain-eating machines), a six pack will refuse to come out and play. |
This doesn’t just apply to the stomach. A strapping, 19-year-old friend of mine routinely curls a mammoth 50 lbs., but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his arms. His muscularity is buried under what he eats. The moral to our food story is that you can slave away all day in the gym, but until you get a grip on what you're putting in your mouth, you won’t look like you’re in shape and, in fact, might not be because of it. |
On Lifting Heavy (Not Just Exercising)
Even though diet is a large part of getting fit, there’s the other 30 percent—exercise. However, contrary to popular belief, not all workouts are created equal and standard cardio won't get the Average Joe (or Joette) where he or she wants to be. The secret is lifting.
Most people exercise (and/or diet) to lose weight, which is more often than not code for wanting to look good. Eliminating the jiggle is the bare-bones starting point to getting hot, but the coveted beach body—for both men and women—doesn’t come about by hitting the treadmill twice a week. Aerobic workouts burn calories but build very little muscle and muscle is the key to looking tight.
To get a toned beach bod, something has to push up against the skin. That something is muscle. Muscle is created through resistance. This is accomplished—to quote eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman—by lifting “heavy-ass weights.”
My male readers need little convincing of this but females are often fearful that, because weights are associated with muscles, they'll wind up looking like She-Hulk. Proof is in the pudding: Check out the headlining female fitness gurus online. Although they advocate cardio, every single one of them incorporates weight training—be it in the form of CrossFit, body weight exercise, or actual weights—into their workout routines. Why? It's the only way to get tone.
Even though diet is a large part of getting fit, there’s the other 30 percent—exercise. However, contrary to popular belief, not all workouts are created equal and standard cardio won't get the Average Joe (or Joette) where he or she wants to be. The secret is lifting.
Most people exercise (and/or diet) to lose weight, which is more often than not code for wanting to look good. Eliminating the jiggle is the bare-bones starting point to getting hot, but the coveted beach body—for both men and women—doesn’t come about by hitting the treadmill twice a week. Aerobic workouts burn calories but build very little muscle and muscle is the key to looking tight.
To get a toned beach bod, something has to push up against the skin. That something is muscle. Muscle is created through resistance. This is accomplished—to quote eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman—by lifting “heavy-ass weights.”
My male readers need little convincing of this but females are often fearful that, because weights are associated with muscles, they'll wind up looking like She-Hulk. Proof is in the pudding: Check out the headlining female fitness gurus online. Although they advocate cardio, every single one of them incorporates weight training—be it in the form of CrossFit, body weight exercise, or actual weights—into their workout routines. Why? It's the only way to get tone.
The same principle applies to flabby arms/hanging triceps, a.k.a. "bingo wings" or "bat wings." Solution? Simple dumbbell and body weight exercises that can be done at home. | Same butt (and legs), before and after weight training. This is a prime example of the difference between "skinny" and "sexy": Dieting and/or cardio often leaves the saggy, dreaded "banana roll" below the buttocks. Lifting alleviates this, creating the taut, beach-ready "squat butt." |
On Sleeping Sound
Sleep is the most overlooked component of getting into shape. Rest is essential in that, when a person pumps iron, micro tears are occurring along the muscle fibers. As they heal and "scar over," the now swollen tissue is what we see as muscle development.
The body needs rest in order to repair itself.
Anyone who weight trains will attest to this process because it creates an irony: Shortly after a person is done working out, his or her muscles go flaccid. It isn't until a day or so later the Olympian recovers. This is why, if you catch a lifter right out of the gym, the athlete looks great. The next day the individual can't so much as pick up an overweight chihuahua. But, the day after that . . . well, the person is back to looking like a movie star.
Bottom line, and this isn't rocket science, sleep is important because if you don't get enough rest, you won't have the energy to exercise on a regular basis.
Sleep is the most overlooked component of getting into shape. Rest is essential in that, when a person pumps iron, micro tears are occurring along the muscle fibers. As they heal and "scar over," the now swollen tissue is what we see as muscle development.
The body needs rest in order to repair itself.
Anyone who weight trains will attest to this process because it creates an irony: Shortly after a person is done working out, his or her muscles go flaccid. It isn't until a day or so later the Olympian recovers. This is why, if you catch a lifter right out of the gym, the athlete looks great. The next day the individual can't so much as pick up an overweight chihuahua. But, the day after that . . . well, the person is back to looking like a movie star.
Bottom line, and this isn't rocket science, sleep is important because if you don't get enough rest, you won't have the energy to exercise on a regular basis.
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