Healthy Life Guide

Whether you want to build muscle, lose fat or do both, there’s a good chance you’re going to come across the terms bulking up and cutting in your quest for figuring out how to best reach those goals. In fact, I’m sure many of you have already done a couple of “bulk and cut” cycles over the years, and many others are probably thinking about doing it for the first time. How nice. The thing is, how successful these bulking and cutting cycles have been for you in the past and how successful they will be for you in the future depends on a bunch of factors, the most important of which may just be understanding what these terms DO and DO NOT mean and applying them accordingly. So, let’s start with the basics. What Are Bulking And Cutting? Honestly, they are just stupid words used to describe building muscle and losing fat . The reason I call these words “stupid” is because they are quite broad, and that leaves an opening for them to be interpr...

When it comes to losing fat, there are primarily two different categories of workouts a person might consider doing…  cardio  and  weight training . Now in the cardio category, we can break it down even further into stuff like steady state or interval training. And while this is all wonderful stuff that I get asked about approximately 30 billion times a day, we are going to skip right over it for now and focus on the weight training workouts. But I swear, I will cover all kinds of cardio topics eventually. Now in terms of weight training and losing fat, there are primarily two different types of workouts you can do. Or, more accurately, two different  purposes  your workouts can have. The Two Purposes Of Weight Training During Fat Loss When we are trying to lose fat, we really have 2 different goals. The first is to actually lose that fat. Obvious, I know. The second however is to avoid losing muscle while we are losing fat. As I’ve explained before, we may ca...

There’s a million reasons why people fail to lose fat, but somewhere at the top of that list is just a fundamental lack of understanding of the scientifically proven principles of how to lose fat . To show you exactly what I mean, let’s start this off with a list of things that do not cause fat loss. Things That DO NOT Cause Fat Loss: Eating healthy. Eating “clean.” Eating less carbs. Eating less fat. Eating less junk food. Eating less sugar. Eating 6 smaller meals per day/every 3 hours. Eating “good” foods instead of “bad” foods. Not eating after 7pm. Cardio. Weight training. Building muscle and/or getting stronger. And MUCH more. These are all things that can definitely HELP a person lose fat and can definitely assist in the overall fat loss process. But, in and of themselves, not a single thing on that list actually causes fat to be lost . They never have, and they never will. In fact, not a single one of these things actually need...

QUESTION : I’m currently working out 4 days per week and was wondering what I should do on my off days from weight lifting? I was thinking of maybe doing some cardio on those days, but I wasn’t sure if that was okay? I’ve also heard people say that the best thing to do on your off days is to just rest completely and let your body recover. Or maybe do something to help with recovery such as stretching, foam rolling, mobility work, epsom salt bath, massage and that kind of thing. What do you recommend? ANSWER : What should you do on your off days? Hmmm, I dunno… read a book? But seriously, this is one of a handful of questions I get asked over and over again that I kinda hate getting asked. Not because it’s a stupid question, but because there is no single universal answer to it. And typically the best answer I can give is a combination of annoying, complicated and lacking real direct concrete advice (you’ll see in a second). Why? Because what you shoul...

Every so often I get an email from someone telling me they’ve hit the dreaded workout plateau . This is not to be confused with the equally common weight loss plateau , which is when someone who was successfully losing weight suddenly stops losing weight. What we are talking about here is when strength stops increasing, exercises stall and progression comes to a screeching halt. While both types of plateaus suck, the first (weight loss) is much easier to break through. In most cases, you just… ya know… eat a little less or burn a little more. Behold, the caloric deficit exists once again! But when it’s a workout plateau, breaking through it is not quite as simple. This is because there are all kinds of different causes and potential solutions for them. The question is, how do you figure it all out and get back to progressing again as quickly as possible? Well, here’s the thing. I’ve helped enough people answer this question over the years that I...

People often ask me if it’s possible to lose weight without doing any form of exercise. The answer is YES . In this article, I’m going to explain why it’s possible, exactly how to make it happen, and why working out is actually a surprisingly shitty way of causing weight loss. Let’s begin with the most important point of all… How To Lose Weight: The One Requirement The first thing you need to understand about losing weight is that it is not caused by “diet” or “exercise.” It’s caused by being in a consistent caloric deficit . Diet and exercise are just the methods we use to create that deficit. Let me explain… Calories In vs Calories Out Calories In Everything you eat and drink contains calories. With the exception of obvious stuff like water, all foods and drinks contain some amount of calories, which of course go on to make up your calorie intake. Since these are the calories being consumed and therefore taken in by yo...