When it comes to being fit, I believe that your recovery is just as important as the work you put in at the gym. See, you’re only able to train as hard as your recovery allows. It’s easy to crush it in training but it takes extra work to make sure you can recover from your training too! Luckily, there are plenty of things you can do to help yourself recover better and train like a beast. But, it can be hard to figure out which ones actually help and which ones are a waste of time. So, let’s break down the best recovery methods that are proven to help you recover faster and make more gains! Sauna Let’s start with my personal favorite, the sauna. Having lived in Phoenix, AZ all of my life, but being in extreme heat is no problem for me. So, naturally, I find it relaxing and fun to sit in a 160-degree sauna for 30 minutes. But I only do so because of the benefits it provides in terms of health, performance, and recovery. Benefits Sauna use improves your cardiovascular and mitochondrial function. It also decreases muscle breakdown which happens every time you workout. Together, […]
Although you might think of stress as a normal part of everyday life, the dangers it poses to your health can be serious. Find out how stress can impact your body and what you can do to avoid it!
Most fitness enthusiasts will tell you that the most dreaded part of their training program is the training deload. Even the thought of taking your foot off the gas and coasting in the gym can be agonizing when you’re so used to tearing it up and going beast mode during your workouts. But, training deloads are actually a really smart idea if you want to avoid injury and keep making gains from your training program. A deload helps your body recover and eliminate the fatigue that may be hindering your fitness. For example, it’s quite common for my powerlifting athletes to struggle with a certain weight in the gym, only to lift a hundred pounds more on meet day after a proper deload. However, these kinds of results are only possible if you deload properly. So, let’s talk about how to structure one in order to get the most out of it! Intensity Reduction Deload Method No matter what strategy you employ for your deload, the main goal is to decrease the amount of stress you are putting on your body from your normal training habits. As you can imagine, there are quite a few ways to do this. One excellent […]
When you head to the gym to lift weights, do you ever pay attention to the speed of your reps? You probably pay close attention to exercise selection, rep ranges, and rest periods but most people overlook lifting tempo. Even experienced lifters with years of training experience will go about their workout without any real intention behind their rep speed. Those who pay attention to their tempo tend to do so in an attempt to maximize muscle growth. But does lifting tempo really make a difference for hypertrophy? And is there any reason to care about tempo outside of muscle mass? As it turns out, lifting tempo is a component of your program that deserves some respect. ignoring lifting tempo may cause you to leave a lot of results on the table. More Muscle Gain? As mentioned, most conversations that involve lifting tempo are centered around gaining muscle. You see, mechanical tension is one of the main drivers of muscle hypertrophy. Typically, there are two main ways to increase mechanical tension in a workout: Increase the weight you are lifting, or Increase the time you spend lifting the weight Slowing down your rep speed essentially increases the time your muscles spend […]
Home workouts have been all the craze these days! The pandemic has restricted your gym access and has caused long waits and high prices on workout equipment. As a result, finding a way to stay in shape at home is of the utmost importance. Brad Perry from the Daily Mix on AZTV7 invited me on the show to share a few creative ideas for effective exercises that make use of items you might have around your house. Here are a few of the tips I shared: Use a 5-gallon water jug! Each gallon weighs ~8 pounds, so a 5-gallon water jug is ~40 pounds. Substitute this for all your heavier weight needs. You can do squats, lunges, overhead presses, rows, farmers carries, or RDL’s. Use a 1-gallon water jug. This is great for biceps curls, lateral raises, overhead triceps extensions, or even shoulder shrugs. Fill a reusable grocery bag with cans. The best part about this method is the stronger you are the more cans you can add, thus making it truly customizable. Use this for bicep curls or lateral raises. You can even hold it in a goblet position to do squats, lunges, and deadlifts. A backpack filled with books is […]
It’s no secret that changing your routine is a huge obstacle as far as getting in shape is concerned. Humans are creatures of habit and adding to or removing something from our day is often an uncomfortable task. So, until we can get to a point where we are used to working out regularly, it is always going to feel like a chore. But if we know that we have to make a habit of it, why do so many people still struggle to workout consistently? The truth is that many people struggle with time management and prioritization. There are only so many hours in a day for us to manage, many of which can’t be manipulated (sleep and work). Therefore, the time we have left has to be managed well in order to fit in things like working out. Additionally, our priorities play a major role in determining what we choose to do with our time. So, if your goal is to include fitness in your routine and keep it there, some time management and prioritization is going to be key in your success. Setting Your Priorities We all have a hierarchy of priorities that we store subconsciously. These priorities […]
If you’re reading this article it likely means that you enjoy finding new ways to eat healthier, workout effectively, and live better. You’ve probably tried different diets over the years just to see if they made you feel any better or gave you specific results. This is a natural curiosity we all have towards new and popular trends. Given this curiosity, it’s no surprise that people have latched on to the idea of time-restricted eating. This “new” eating strategy has certainly caught the attention of health-minded people as of late. Indeed, there are a host of potential benefits that have been attributed to fasting and time-restricted eating. Everything from off the charts fat loss, to increased energy, and even battling cancer has been mentioned with fasting and TRE. However, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered about these eating strategies. Do they actually work the way they claim? What’s the difference between “fasting” and TRE? As always, the explanations behind the claims are not always as grand as people might hope. Are Fasting and TRE the Same Thing? If you have been paying attention for the past several years, you are bound to have heard someone […]
We’ve all heard the classic sayings when it comes to working out. People spew out phrases like “No pain, no gain”, “Failure isn’t an option”, or “pain is weakness leaving the body”. Although these phrases come from a good place, they can lead people down the wrong path. Some might assume that they have to suffer and break themselves in the gym in order to see results. This all or nothing mentality does work for some, especially those who have an iron will or relentless work ethic. But for many, this way of thinking only leads to injury, burnout, or plain old hatred for the gym. There is no doubt that we have to work hard for the things we want in life. Getting in shape and changing our body is no different. However, there is a point where working harder doesn’t actually lead to better results. It may seem logical to simply give 110% in the gym every day. However, in reality, this isn’t always the best way to get the job done. In order to have lasting results and enjoy the process we have to find a sweet spot where our efforts translate into positive results. In other words, […]
If you’re a fitness enthusiast, you probably get really excited when you start a new program. The novelty of the new movements, modalities, etc. is just so invigorating. However, that novelty fades pretty quickly for most folks. After completing a round or two of the program, you feel apathetic towards your training again. Of course, this doesn’t happen to everyone. Some people get amped up each and every time they get to work out. But for others, the thought of doing another session with the same routine is just plain boring. That’s why it is essential to have a program that fits the needs of each individual. Some people like boring. Others need constant variety to spice things up. So, if you find yourself being turned off by your training as of late, it would be worth learning some new tricks. Let’s dive into some of the best strategies out there for sprucing up your training program. Mix Up Your Rep Scheme A lot of times, people get stuck in a certain rep range. This probably stems from a need to make sure their training plan is ‘optimal’ for a given goal. Some prioritize getting strong by lifting in the 1-5 […]
If you’ve ever spent time dedicating yourself to a weight loss diet, you know that results are not linear. You may start out losing weight at steady pace but eventually things get out of whack. Some weeks you lose weight and other weeks you stay the same. Heck there may even be times when you gain weight! There are many reasons for these temporary fluctuations and sticking points. But what exactly can you do to bust through these plateaus? The trick to keeping the weight loss going depends on the reason behind the stall in progress. Sometimes there is a simple fix that requires little effort. But other times you have to put in a good deal of work to get yourself back on track. Let’s discuss some of the main reasons that your weight loss stalls and what you can do to remedy the situation. Don’t Sound the Weight Loss Alarm Just Yet The human body is a funny thing. On the most basic level it seems to operate on a fairly straight forward rule known as calories in vs. calories out (CICO). Eat fewer calories than you burn each day and you should lose fat. As such, you should […]