Healthy Life Guide

I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again: I think one of my best “qualifications” as some dude giving diet/workout advice on the internet is that I’ve done a lot of things wrong and screwed up quite a bit. Basically, I’ve been a dumbass when it comes to most of this stuff at some point and I’ve made a lot of the common mistakes most people end up making. The good news is that I’ve fortunately been able to overcome my, uh – dumbassedness – and learn from those mistakes. And, even better, move past them. that is awesome for me, but my vast “I-used-to-be-a-dumbass” experience also puts me in a wonderful position to help prevent you from making those same mistakes or maybe stop you from making them now if you already are. So, here now are the 5 biggest diet/workout mistakes and regrets that come to mind. If I could, these would be the first 5 I’d go back and change… 1. Training Like An Idiot As A B...

Whenever you see a before and after picture showing someone’s amazing progress, your first thought is almost guaranteed to be “ what did this person do to get these awesome results? ” What workout did they use? What diet were they on? What supplements did they take? What approach did they follow? What methods did they employ? You want all of those details and specifics, and you want them NOW! And once you get that info, there’s usually only one thought that will follow:  I need to do this too! Why? Because this clearly worked well for that person, therefore it will work just as well for you. And just like that, you’ve instantly been persuaded to think this is the new best thing that you must start doing. Now I’ll admit, the logic to this line of thinking is quite sound. But, there are two major flaws. Problem #1: Bullshit For starters, many of the claimed results and before and after pictures for various diet and fitness products/supplements range ...

People who want to improve the way their body looks or performs have all sorts of potential problems that can prevent them from reaching their goal. But sometimes, it’s the specific goal itself that is the problem. I want to look at 2 such examples of this right now and show you why these goals exist and what you’re supposed to do about them. Problem #1: I Want To Lose Fat Without Losing Weight Something you’ll often here from “ skinny-fat ” people (people who are kinda skinny, but still not really lean or “ toned “) is that they want to lose more fat so they can get leaner, but they do not want to lose any more weight. This might be because: They’re already skinnier than they’d like to be, and they certainly do not want to get any skinnier. The number they see on the scale is already lower than they’d like it to be and they do not want to see it get lower. They’re happy with the weight they’re at, but unhappy with...

QUESTION : I no longer have access to a gym, and I do not have the space or money to make one at home. Will I still be able to build muscle without weights or any special equipment? Or am I just totally screwed? ANSWER : Whenever someone asks me about building muscle at home without a gym (or significant equipment or even the bare minimum of free weights), my first response is a question of my own… why? I mean, it does not take a genius to realize that this is not exactly a great scenario for someone trying to build muscle to be in, so my first goal is always to try to solve whatever the big issue is that is preventing things from being more ideal. can not you find a way to get to a gym? can not you maybe cut down on iPhone app purchases and put that money towards a gym membership? can not you throw out some of the crap sitting in your basement or garage and get yourself some free weights? In very rare cases, these questions strike a chord with the person and the big issue gets...

QUESTION : What’s the best workout and diet for turning my fat into muscle ? Also, if you stop working out, is it true that your muscle turns into fat? If so, how do you prevent that from happening? ANSWER : Alright, it seems we have ourselves a 3-part question. I’m going to try to answer each part separately, but I have a quite strong feeling that my answer to the first part will also answer the second and third parts. Let’s see how it goes. What’s The Best Way To Turn Body Fat Into Muscle? Well, considering that it’s impossible to turn fat into muscle, I can only guess that some type of magic would need to be involved in the process. Perhaps some voodoo? Maybe even superpowers? Because unfortunately, without that…  you’re kinda screwed . Why? Because fat is fat and muscle is muscle. They are two completely different and completely separate types of tissue, neither of which is capable of somehow transforming into the other . Fat...

You’d be surprised at how often people (typically women) ask me if they’re eating enough. They’ll run down the details of their current physical state, their current diet, their current workout, their current goals, and – last but not least – their current lack of progress in reaching those goals. So it’ll go a little something like this: “I’m [however] old, I’m [whatever] tall, I weigh [x] pounds, I eat [this] much, I work out [this] much, I want to lose [whatever] amount of fat, but I haven’t been losing any. Am I not eating enough to lose weight? ” Whenever I hear this, I instantly know exactly what this person is usually  asking. And that is… am I in starvation mode? Is It Starvation Mode? For anyone who hasn’t heard of it, “starvation mode” is the term used to describe a state where a person is unable to lose weight because they aren’t eating enough calories. Instead, they’r...

A common topic of debate among people in the weight training world is whether free weight exercises (which use dumbbells or barbells) are better than body weight exercises or machines. This of course is a topic I’ve already covered here: Free Weight Exercises vs Body Weight Exercises vs Machines However, if you look specifically at free weight exercises themselves, you realize there is a whole new debate to be had. I’m of course talking about dumbbells vs barbells . So, let’s debate. Which is best… dumbbell exercises or barbell exercises ? Well, the truth is that both types of exercises can be equally effective in general for virtually every goal. However, as is usually the case when looking at any weight training topic intelligently, the true best answer is that it depends on a bunch of different factors. This is because dumbbells and barbells each have their own set of PROS and CONS that can make each better or worse in certain situations. To determine which i...

The full body split is one of the oldest and most popular weight training splits there is, and it probably always will be. The reason why is simple: it works . Both the 2 day and 3 day version of the full body split is as proven and effective as training routines get. It works for a variety of goals (building muscle, increasing strength, maintaining muscle while losing fat , etc.) and can work quite well for people at every level of training (beginner, intermediate and advanced). That means that no matter what your specific goal or experience level is, the full body split is an extremely solid choice. Let’s take a look at exactly how this popular workout split can be set up… The 3 Day Full Body Split Monday: Full Body Workout Tuesday: off Wednesday: Full Body Workout Thursday: off Friday: Full Body Workout Saturday: off Sunday: off The most common version of the classic full body split is the 3 day version. As you can see, it’s a basic 3 day split (meaning you h...

One of the most overlooked aspects of a workout routine is the warm up . In terms of weight training, there’s primarily 2 different forms of warming up that people tend to neglect or just screw up altogether: The General Pre-Workout Warm Up This refers to the overall warm up that takes place before the workout actually begins. For example, this may include cardio/aerobic activity, stretching (statically and/or dynamically), foam rolling and/or various forms of mobility work. The Specific Pre-Exercise Warm up This refers to the warm up sets being done before the weight training exercises themselves. For example, if you were going to bench press 200lbs, you’d typically do warm up sets using progressively heavier weight as you work your way up to 200lbs. While both are definitely important for different reasons, today I want to focus specifically on the second item on that list: warm up sets . Let’s figure out their purpose and goals, how many sets to do, how much weigh...

Question : I’ve noticed that one of my arms (or legs, or any other muscle group) is a little bigger and stronger than the other. What can I do to fix this and make both sides equal in strength and size? Answer : Having one side that is a little (or a lot) bigger or stronger than the other is actually a fairly common problem. Usually it’s one arm or leg that tends to be a bit bigger and/or stronger than the other, but it can really be any muscle group. Some people notice one shoulder or one side of their chest is bigger than the other, or that the barbell moves unevenly because one side is stronger and therefore moving the weight slightly faster than the other. The cause of this can be any number of issues that are occurring in the gym or just within your regular day-to-day life. Whatever it is, let’s focus less on what caused it and more on how to correct it. Here now are 4 common ways to fix muscle imbalances in strength and/or size… 1. Switch to dumbbell/unilat...