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You don’t need more discipline and willpower. You need a better environment.

Discipline. Motivation. Willpower.

Everyone knows these things are required for making a change.

Specifically, we’re going to discuss making a change in your health and fitness.

But as much as many of us try to be more self-disciplined, we often fail.

And most of us have good intentions.

But we don’t fail because of a lack of desire to change. We fail because we don’t set ourselves up in an environment conducive to success.

Sure, discipline and motivation are important, but they’ll get you only so far.

To be successful in making a change your health and fitness, you need to prime your environment for success.

So how do you actually set your surroundings up for success?

Ensure you’re spending time with people and at places conducive to success.

And make sure those places breed health.

Avoid or minimize time spent with negative influences.

Ever heard the late Jim Rohn’s quote “You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with?”

It’s so true. If you hang out with people who don’t practice healthy habits, you’re going to have a much harder time practicing healthy habits yourself because eating healthy and exercising aren’t the norm.

On the contrary, if you hang around individuals who eat well and exercise regularly, you’re going to be more likely to practice healthy habits because exercising and eating healthy are the norm.

Make it easy and obvious for yourself to practice habits of health.

If you want to drink more water, put full water bottles in places you go often throughout the house. For example, you can put a full water bottle on a kitchen counter, in a bathroom, on a side table by a couch and on a side table by your bed. You’ll have water everywhere you go, and it will be easy to remember to drink often.

If you want to go to the gym early in the morning, but you haven’t done it in the past, set your alarm clock across the room so you’ll need to get up to turn it off.

That will get you out of bed.

Then, put your shoes, gym bag, water bottle and everything else you would need to take in an obvious place so all you need to do is grab those items in the morning on your way out to the car.

Make it easy for yourself to get up and go in the morning.

Want to avoid buying junk food? You can order your groceries online so you won’t be tempted when you walk by unhealthy foods at the grocery store.

Also, you can eat before you go to the grocery store so you’re not hungry when you’re shopping. Create a list of foods you need to get from the store ahead of time so you’re not “winging” it.

Now, what if you have other family members in your house who want to have junk food?

First, have a conversation with them around the reason to buy that type of food in the first place. If others in the household are on board with what you’re doing, they may not want the junk food in the house either.

You would be making it easy for them to help you out because you informed them of your desire to eat healthier.

Otherwise, if you do have these items in your house, you can make it difficult to get to them.

You can put things like fruit and vegetables in easy-to-access places like the counter instead of having a bowl of calorie-dense nuts or trail mix out. Put things like ice cream in the back of the freezer so you won’t see it every time you open the freezer door. Put things like cookies in a high-up place you can’t reach unless you get a stool or chair.

Because you’ve made it challenging to access these items, you’re going to be less likely to consume them.

Having self-control is important, but it’s not going to be the best strategy in the long run.

Willpower is a finite resource, and eventually, it will run out.

If you walk by a bag of tempting potato chips at a party enough times, you’re likely going to cave and grab a handful (or two or three) eventually.

Instead, you would be better served moving into a different room that doesn’t have potato chips.

The people who have seemingly the most self-discipline rarely need to use their self-discipline because they’ve set themselves up for success.

Think about your surroundings.

What are your triggers? What are your temptations?

Find ways to minimize or eliminate those triggers or temptations, and you’ll have a much easier time succeeding in whatever area of your health and fitness you choose!

4 Big-Time Nutrition Mistakes for Normal People

In today’s day and age, you can find millions (yes, millions) of books, podcasts and social media accounts that tell you all sorts of different things about nutrition.

Book No. 1 might tell you to eat carbs because carbs provide fuel.

Book No. 2 might tell you to avoid carbs like the plague because they cause weight gain.

Book No. 3 might tell you to eat carbs, but eat carbs only during the day.

Knowing what’s right for you can be tough to figure out.

What should be noted is everything is always dependent on one thing:

CONTEXT

What works for one person might not work for another.

We all have different goals, dieting histories, physical conditions, psychological conditions and more.

This article is written for normal people, and here are four mistakes we should avoid in almost every situation.

It’s been ingrained in many of our brains that certain foods like chicken, sweet potatoes and broccoli are “good,” while certain foods like ice cream, pizza and donuts are “bad.”

While some foods certainly are more nutrient-dense than others, foods aren’t inherently “good” or “bad” and having that mindset can be destructive.

If you think of foods as “good” or “bad,” you may wind up with an unhealthy relationship with food. You’re going to feel guilty when you eat certain foods, and that type of thinking can lead to disordered eating.

Meal plans look great on paper.

You just want to be told what to eat, right?

So why not just lay out literally every single piece of food you need to eat for your goals?

Easy enough.

However, most of us go to restaurants, go on vacations, hang out with friends and want to enjoy many of the finer dishes in life.

So the chances of most of us sticking to a meal plan for very long are slim to none.

On the other hand, following a flexible meal plan can be beneficial to build adherence.

Many diets have popularized the notion of eliminating certain macronutrients or food groups.

For example, things like dairy, gluten or sugar are off-limits.

And sure, in some cases, minimizing the consumption of these foods is a good idea.

While cutting out food groups before re-introducing them can be beneficial if you’re testing to see if you have a food intolerance, it’s not beneficial in many other situations, especially from a psychological standpoint.

As soon as you’re told you can’t have something, you’re going to want it.

For example, if you’re told you can’t have cookies because of the sugar, you’re going to want cookies even more in all likelihood.

While some people may operate well cutting out food groups entirely, it’s not a good idea for most.

If you need to wait until Monday or next week or next month to follow a nutrition protocol, you may need to re-consider it.

Any time you go into a nutritional plan thinking you’re going “on” it, you’re implying you’re going to eventually go “off” of it and go back to eating “normal.”

The solution to each of these mistakes is to follow a flexible nutritional lifestyle.

A flexible nutrition protocol may mean something different to each person. You need to remember that you can follow only that which can be sustained.

You can have the best meal plan in the world written up for you, but if you don’t follow it, you’re not going to have much success with it.

Regardless of your nutritional goal, you can be certain one thing is important:

FOOD QUANTITY

While in most situations, you’ll want to ensure you’re consuming a diet primarily of whole, unprocessed foods, you need to pay attention to the amount of food you’re eating in all situations.

Your body doesn’t automatically become healthier from eating a piece of chicken, and your body doesn’t automatically become less healthy from eating a piece of pizza.

Your body knows macronutrients – proteins, carbohydrates and fats.

Proteins like chicken, beef and eggs help with things like building and repair muscle tissue.

Carbohydrates like potatoes, pasta and rice help with things like providing fuel for your body, especially during high-intensity exercise.

Fats like nuts, avocados and coconut oil help with things like regulating hormones.

You don’t need to have or avoid specific foods, but instead you can eat nutrient-dense foods most of the time while allowing for some flexibility with “fun” foods.

By following a plan that involves you focusing on consuming certain portions of foods, you can still be “on” your nutrition plan whether you’re at home, on the road or out with friends.

Most of us want a plan that fits around our lifestyle rather than having a lifestyle that works around our plan.

Luke Briggs Interviewed on Two Podcasts

I was interviewed on two podcasts recently, and they’ve both been released.

I joined my friend Tommy Clark on the “T. Clark Nutrition Podcast” to talk about Breaking Bad Habits, Approaching Flexible Dieting the Right Way, Reverse Dieting and Understanding Your Priorities.

I also hopped on the “Inside the Big Ring” podcast with Steve Brandes to talk about proper strength training and nutrition for endurance athletes. In the first part, I talk more about nutrition, but I dive more into strength training in the second part.

I hope you enjoy these episodes!

The scale won’t move – what’s going on?!

Sometimes, the scale just simply doesn’t move, and you feel like it should be changing based on your effort. This can be frustrating.

Many people have a goal to lose weight, and that’s a good goal. However, using the scale as the primary means of measuring progress can be a slippery slope.

Before diving into reasons the scale may not be moving in the direction we want it to move, let’s discuss why the scale isn’t always the best way to measure progress.

For the longest time, I based my worthiness off the number on the scale. In my early 20s, I did everything (or at least so I thought) I could to put on weight. I saw all these guys who had lots of muscle, and I wanted to look like them.

I weighed myself constantly. If the scale went up, it was a good day, and I felt great about myself.

If the scale went down, I freaked out and became frustrated. I felt defeated.

I hindsight, I was basing my self-worth off the number on the scale.

That wasn’t healthy at all.

Just remember that the scale isn’t a measure of your self-worth.

You’re worthy and deserving of love and praise from others no matter what the scale says or no matter what you look like.

You just have to believe it.

If someone judges you based on your weight, you should run the other way.

You’ll find plenty of people who will accept you no matter what you look like if you search in the right places.

It’s possible you’re seeing great progress with the scale, but you’re setting yourself up for failure with overzealous expectations.

In general, if you have a healthy metabolism and you follow a sound nutrition plan consistently, you should expect to lose between a half of a pound and one pound of body weight per week.

However, if your metabolism has adapted to a low number of calories, you may need to actually go through a reverse diet prior to even thinking about losing weight.

And the process of the reverse diet may take months.

But don’t worry.

If you’re a healthy individual, you absolutely can lose weight and keep if off with the right individualized strategy.

It just may take more time than you had hoped.

Don’t expect you’re going to lose 20 or 30 pounds in a month.

And just because your friend lost a certain amount of weight in a certain amount of time doesn’t mean you will.

We all have very specific individual needs.

It may take months or years to get the results you want, but be patient.

Remember, it likely didn’t take a month or two for you to get where you are, so it’s likely not going to take only a month or two to get you 100 percent of the way to your goal.

Now, there are times when it seems like no matter what you do, you can’t get the scale to budge.

Here are some questions to ask if the scale isn’t moving:

1. Are you accurately measuring your food?

First off, you need to make sure you’re actually accurately measuring your food. If you’re just eyeballing things and the scale isn’t moving, you’re probably not eating the proper portions.

It’s not always the most fun thing in the world, but measuring out your food makes a world of difference.

2. Are you increasing volume in your workouts?

You need to evaluate whether you’re actually doing your workouts at the necessary intensity or just going through the motions.

Your body adapts to certain stress loads, so over time, you need to be sure you’re increasing volume (sets x reps x weight)

For example, you can’t do three sets of eight reps at 135 pounds on the bench press forever and expect to get results.

If you complete three sets of eight at 135 pounds one week, do three sets of eight at 140 the next week. Then, add five pounds the next week.

3. Did you eat excess sodium or carbs?

If you ate excess sodium and/or carbohydrates, your weight may go up. For example, the day after a party or vacation, you’ll often notice your weight went up several pounds.

However, you likely didn’t gain several pounds of fat. It’s probably water weight.

Sodium helps regulate water levels in your body. As you eat more salt, your body holds onto more water.

Some of the carbs you take in are stored in the liver and muscles in the form of glycogen, which contains water. So if you have more glycogen stored in your body than normal, you’re going to be holding onto more water.

4. Are you “backed up?”

If you haven’t gone No. 2 in a while, you may be due! And obviously, that can lead to slight weight gain.

5. Ladies, is it your time of the month?

When you’re having your period, there’s an increase in hormones like estrogen and progesterone, which can lead to water retention.

6. Are you weighing yourself at the same time of day and under the same conditions?

Weighing yourself at a different time of the day and/or wearing different clothes can definitely impact the weight on the scale. If you’re wearing pants, shoes and a sweatshirt one time, but just shorts and a t-shirt with no shoes the next time, you’ll obviously be weighing yourself under different conditions.

It’s best to weigh yourself naked and first thing in the morning before you eat or drink anything and after you go to the bathroom. That way, you’ll always be weighing yourself under the same conditions.

If you are in fact measuring out your potions accurately and giving your best effort workout-wise and the scale still isn’t moving, you need to consider whether your measurements or photos are improving.

We see ourselves every day, so it’s sometimes tough to notice differences in ourselves.

Your body-fat percentage can improve without the scale changing. You could be losing body fat and gaining muscle.

Use how you look and feel as the best way to gauge your progress. Too often, people will feel great about how they look, but as soon as they step on the scale, their mood changes.

Remember, no one sees your weight. They see you. So many things other than body fat can cause the scale to fluctuate.

So remember, consider how you look and feel before the scale. Over time, if you’re trying to gain muscle or lose body fat, the scale will probably change in the direction you want it to, but always consider how your look or feel first.

How many days per week should us normal people train?

“Normal” people are considered those who aren’t bodybuilders or competitive strength athletes. Their needs are much different.

Normal people are average everyday Joes and Janes who want to build some muscle, burn some fat and get strong without having their lives revolve around training.

So how many days per week should you train for optimal results?

Two days per week?

Four days per week?

Seven days per week?

It’s going to depend heavily on a number of factors, including the following:

1. Training age (the length of time you’ve been working out seriously)

2. Biological age

3. Time dedicated to train

4. Goals

5. Injury history

Notice gender isn’t included on this list. Men and women shouldn’t train different based on their sex. Instead, they need to be trained according to individual differences.

If you’re a beginner, as in you haven’t trained intelligently for more than a few months, you’re going to be best served to start with two to four full-body workouts per week.

If you’re younger and/or you can tolerate more training, you’re best served to begin with three or four times per week. If you’re older and/or you don’t tolerate training as well yet, you’re best served to begin with two or three times per week. These are guidelines, but aren’t set in stone. It still depends highly on you as an individual.

***Note – you’re still considered a “beginner” if you’ve been working out consistently for 20 years, but not doing so in an intelligent manner

Strength is a skill, and it needs to be practiced often for you to improve. Constantly switching up what you’re doing as a beginner is a recipe for disaster.

When you’re a newbie or relative newbie, focusing on progressive overload and training a muscle group as often as possible are going to yield the best results.

Progressive overload involves gradually increasing the stress you place on your muscles over time. You increase the stress by adding either sets, reps or weight.

***Note – before you increase the stress you place on your body, ensure you have proper form

Once you’ve been training intelligently for at least a few months, you’ll need to make adjustments to your workouts to continue making progress because you’re not going to be able to add stress in a linear manner to your body forever!

You can do things like manipulating your set and rep schemes (i.e. performing five sets of three reps instead of three sets of five reps) or increasing the number of days you workout.

Let’s be honest, as we get older, our bodies don’t run as efficiently as when we’re younger and recovery becomes increasingly important.

As you age and have accumulated a high amount of stress on your body via physical activity, you’re going to need to focus on quality more so than quantity.

While you may have been able to train hard five or six days per week in the past, you might need to back off to three or four days per week as you get older and focus on efficiency during each workout.

With that being said, someone who’s 65 years old who hasn’t trained much throughout his/her life may be able to tolerate more training than someone who’s 35 years old but has beat his/her body to shreds.

That’s why lifestyle factors must be taken into account as well when determining the number of times per week you need to train.

The amount of time you’ve made available for yourself to train must be factored in as well. Your workout program is going to look different if you’ve allotted four days per week for yourself to train versus three days per week.

When considering the amount of time you need to spend training, you’ve got to consider your priorities and goals, which we’ll discuss below.

A bodybuilder stepping on stage at a national competition is going to have completely different training requirements than a mother of three kids who wants to look toned for an upcoming family vacation.

Different goals are likely require different amounts of time dedicated to training. If your goal is to become as strong as possible, you’re going to need to train more than two days per week. If you’re a parent who works more than 40 hours per week who wants to drop a little body fat, you’re probably going to be better off training three or four days per week instead of six or seven.

If your goal is to get a six pack, you need to understand three hours per week of training isn’t going to be enough for most people who aren’t blessed genetically.

You need to be willing to put in many hours in the gym each week and dial in your nutrition and recovery to exceptional levels.

The goal for which you’re training factors into how often you need to workout each week.

The nice thing about strength training is, unless you’re paralyzed, you can always do something. If you’ve got a broken arm, you can still train your legs doing exercises like leg extensions, leg curls and leg presses. If you’ve got a broken leg, you can still train your upper body doing exercises like seated bicep curls, seated overhead press variations and bench press variations.

With that being said, you need to factor in previous injuries when deciding on your training split. If you have an injury, avoid exercises and/or movement patterns that cause pattern and replace them with suitable alternatives.

When building a workout program, the first thing many people do is workout as often as possible. You’ll see individuals who go from not working out at all to working out seven days per week.

Let’s discuss why this approach isn’t a good idea for long-term success.

After a while of training with the same volume and intensity, our body adapts. That’s why we need to continually give our bodies a greater stress over time.

So if you’re a beginner who starts out training seven hours per week, once you stop making progress, you’re going to need to add in even more training to continue to make progress.

For most average folks, training eight or more hours per week isn’t going to be sustainable.

Plus, unless you have phenomenal recovery, most individuals don’t have bodies capable of handling that type of stress without getting injured.

So if you’re not currently working out, it’s better to start off training three days per week because you can always add more volume later. It’s going to be a much more sustainable and safer approach for average folks.

Program Design 101

So how do you find the right strength training program for YOU?

You can find so many programs out there, and it’s hard to know which ones will work.

Certain programs “work” for certain people, and there’s a lot that goes into whether a program will work for an individual.

Now, diving into every single detail of program design would require an entire encyclopedia, but we’re going to tackle some of the major principles associated with designing a program that’s going to be optimal for you and your goals.

We’re assuming if you’re reading this article you’re interested in getting stronger or building lean muscle. We’re going to discuss strictly the strength side of things.

So here are a few key things you must consider prior to beginning a program:

First, you need to establish what you want.

If you don’t know what you want, you’re going to have a hard time getting there.

You have three distinct choices for which you can train:

1. Health

2. Performance

3. Aesthetics

Within aesthetics, you can train for either muscle gain or fat loss. Unless you’re a beginner, as in someone who has trained intelligently for six months or less, you can’t have both.

If you want optimal results with the goal you’ve chosen, you need to focus all of your training efforts on that one goal.

Sure, you can see some results within each. However, if your goal is to win a championship in a sport, you don’t get a medal for having the best abs or having the best blood panel.

If you want a little bit of each, you just need to accept you’re not going to excel in any one area.

So it’s best to establish a clear goal and focus your attention of that one thing.

You need to establish your priorities in life.

Understand that balance in life doesn’t exist.

Expecting you’re going to train for a bodybuilding show or train hard seven days per week while being highly successful in a demanding job, having a booming social life and being an excellent parent and spouse is setting yourself up for failure.

What’s important to you right now?

Your aesthetics?

Your career?

Your social life?

You need to honestly assess what you most want in your life right now and build your lifestyle around that thing you want.

If you really want a six pack, that’s absolutely fine.

However, you need to understand training for a six pack may involve you going to the gym six or seven days per week for an hour or two each time and will involve diligently following a nutritional protocol aimed at decreasing body fat so your abs are exposed.

So if you need to dedicate time for proper training, nutrition and recovery for the sake of getting a six pack, you’re going to need to accept you likely can’t say “Yes” to every social event invitation from family and friends.

You also need to accept it’s probably not a good idea to work super long hours if you truly want a six pack because the stress from work may impact your ability to recover and train hard.

Focus is the key.

Decide what you want. Eliminate distractions.

Adherence is also important. Make sure you pick a training program that’s optimal for you and your priorities.

For example, if you’re not currently training, don’t give yourself a program for six days per week. You’re likely setting yourself up for failure. Start with two or three days per week.

Slowly, but surely add in training to your lifestyle.

Training age refers to the amount of time you’ve been training intelligently. Note the word “intelligently.” It’s possible you could have lifted weights for 20 years, but not trained intelligently. If you’ve been going to the gym, but not seeing results and doing random programs, you’re in luck because you have a low training age.

If you’re a beginner trainee, you actually have an advantage over someone who’s been training intelligently for a long time. You have a greater potential to see progress faster because of the neurological adaptations you’ll make from training properly.

If you’ve been training intelligently for a long period of time, you won’t make progress as fast as someone who hasn’t trained for a very long time, so that means you’ll need a higher volume of work to continue to see progress.

For example, someone who just started training may see good growth in their biceps by doing four sets of biceps exercises per week. If that person hasn’t been training biceps at all, that person is going from doing no sets of biceps exercises to four sets of biceps exercises. Seeing some progress is likely.

However, for someone who’s been training for a long time and performs 10 sets of biceps exercises per week, doing four sets of biceps exercises per week is going to be a decrease in volume

That’s why programs “work” for some people, but not for others.

It’s all about what you’ve done BEFORE the training program begins.

In another example, if your goal is to improve definition in your shoulders, but you’re currently performing only six sets of shoulder exercises per week, bumping your training volume all the way up to 30 sets per week is a recipe for disaster and may lead to injury.

If you increase your training volume in a certain area of your body by FIVE TIMES, you’re likely not doing yourself much good.

If you had been doing 24 sets of shoulder exercises prior to increasing your weekly volume to 30 sets, you’re increasing your volume by only six sets, or 25 percent, so you won’t be making as big of a jump.

Your body will likely handle the bump in volume much better.

Making small adjustments over time will yield far better results in the long run than making massive adjustments over a short period of time and risking injury.

When devising a program, it’s crucial to consider the health of your body.

Are you currently injured?

Have you had injuries in the past?

Do you have pain during certain movements?

Regardless of your goals, if you’re unable to train effectively because of injury, you’re not going to get the results you want.

So training to reduce the risk of injury is highly important.

If you currently have a knee injury, you may be wise to avoid certain exercises that involve forward traction of the knee, such as forward lunges or knee-dominant squats.

Instead, it would behoove you to perform hip-dominant exercises that keep your shins vertical like box squats or Romanian deadlifts (RDLs).

If you’re injured or in pain and are limited in what you can do, you’re in luck.

Strength training is one of the only, if not THE only, means of exercise in which you can always perform it in some capacity.

If you have a broken leg, you can still train your upper body.

If you have a broken arm, you can still train your lower body.

So make sure to consider the health of your body prior to beginning any exercise program.

We’re all different.

Some of us are introverted. Some of us are extroverted.

Some of us are tall. Some of us are short.

We need to consider individual differences when training, especially in terms of mentality.

Are you willing to push past the point of comfort?

If so, you may be better suited to try different programs or exercise variations sooner than those who want to move at a slow and steady pace.

Do you like keeping exercises constant or varying them?

If you like progressing with certain exercises for long periods at a time, you should keep your program pretty similar week to week and month to month.

If you get tired of doing the same exercises over and over again and want variety, rotate your exercises more often.

Do you like lifting moderate or heavy weights?

If you don’t like the feeling of pushing a heavy weight, keep your weights a bit lighter and do higher reps.

“Heavy” is a relative term and working at higher intensities can be highly beneficial.

However, instead of doing six sets of three reps of a certain exercise, you can do three sets of six reps and keep the same volume.

You can identify a number of other individual variances when designing a program.

Other things you’ll want to consider prior to beginning a training program include equipment to which you have access and the time you’re willing to train.

Obviously, if you don’t have access to something, you can modify it, so make sure the program you follow uses equipment you have or can be modified to equipment you have.

And remember, you can find a gym that does have that equipment, if needed.

You need to also factor in the amount of time you wish to train consistently. If you have a lifestyle that revolves around lots of other things, you may want to stick with three days per week instead of six.

Things that don’t really matter much in a training program include gender, tempo, rest periods and the type of shoes you wear.

In the grand scheme of things, performing the correct volume and intensity and training consistently with proper form are going to get you 95 percent of your results. Manipulating things like rest periods, tempo and the shoes you wear might get you that final five percent.

Particular exercises don’t matter as much as movement patterns.

Incorporating pushing, pulling, squatting, hingeing and core exercises in all programs is a really good idea. Single-leg exercises are important to include in most programs, but not all.

Here are examples of exercises that fit each movement pattern.

Please note this is FAR from an exhaustive list.

Push

Bench Press

Overhead Press

Seated Dumbbell Overhead Press

Push Up

Pull

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row

Seated Row

Lat Pull Down

Pull Up

Chin Up

Hinge

Deadlift

Barbell RDL

Good Morning

Kettlebell Swing

Squat

Back Squat

Front Squat

Box Squat

Goblet Squat

Single-Leg

Step Up

Single-Leg RDL

Reverse Lunge

Split Squat

Core

Plank

Hollow-Body Hold

Hanging Knee Raise

Farmer’s Walk

Sure, you can program a number of accessory exercises like glute bridges, tricep extensions and calf raises, but the above movement patterns will be your staples.

And there are subsets of exercises within each movement pattern, but for the sake of this article, we’ll stick with the basics.

You can write an entire manual on devising proper set and rep schemes, but for the sake of this article, a good place to start is about 21 sets per workout if you’re an average Joe.

It’s always best to start with the minimum effective dose if you’re a relative beginner.

If you’re an intermediate or advanced lifter and want to push the envelope a bit, you’ll want to aim for the maximum recoverable volume. Ultimately, you can only do as much volume as your body can handle while still being able to recover.

Progress the number of sets, reps and weight slowly, but surely, for most.

By now, you can see why making a generic program available to you isn’t a good idea.

However, you probably want to see these principles applied to a program.

So let’s give an example.

Let’s say you’re a 40-year-old mother of two kids who wants to train three days per week. Your goal is to decrease body fat without sacrificing too much strength.

You’ve been training intelligently for six months and have no injuries. You sit in front of a desk during the day, so you want to improve posture too.

So using the principles we learned above, we know we need a program for three days per week, and we’re going to focus primarily on the basic movement patterns since we have only three days per week. The primary exercises are going to give the most bang for your buck.

Frequency is also important in a training program, so we would like to ideally hit each movement pattern at least two times per week.

Here’s a sample template you can use:

WORKOUT #1

Squat 5 sets x 5 reps

Push 5 sets x 5 reps

Hinge 5 sets x 5 reps

Pull 3 sets x 8 reps

Core 3 sets

WORKOUT #2

Hinge 5 sets x 8 reps

Push 4 sets x 8 reps

Single-Leg 4 sets x 8 reps/side

Pull 4 sets x 10 reps

Core 4 sets

WORKOUT #3

Squat 5 sets x 10 reps

Pull 4 sets x 12 reps

Single-Leg 4 sets x 12 reps/side

Pull 4 sets x 12 reps

Core 4 sets

Then, you can and plug and play different exercises:

WORKOUT #1

Back Squat 5 sets x 5 reps

Bench Press 5 sets x 5 reps

Deadlift 5 sets x 5 reps

Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 3 sets x 8 reps/side

Plank 3 sets x 30 seconds

WORKOUT #2

Barbell RDL 5 sets x 8 reps

Overhead Press 4 sets x 8 reps

Split Squat 4 sets x 8 reps/side

Lat Pull Down 4 sets x 10 reps

Hollow-Body Hold 4 sets x 20 seconds

WORKOUT #3

Goblet Squat 5 sets x 10 reps

Seated Row 4 sets x 12 reps

Step Up 4 sets x 12 reps/side

Chest-Supported Dumbbell Row 4 sets x 12 reps

Farmer’s Walk 4 sets x 30 seconds

Honestly, the magic isn’t in the design of the program. The magic is in the execution of the program.

Two different people can get the same program and get completely different results. It depends on your adherence and work ethic.

Knowing how to adjust daily, weekly and monthly based on your current circumstances is important.

Just because your program tells you to do something doesn’t mean you should do it.

If your program calls for heavy deadlifts, but your back is sore from moving boxes all weekend, you would be wise to reduce weight on your deadlifts or replace deadlifts with something else for that workout.

That’s why knowing the purpose of the placement of each exercise is important.

Again, you won’t find an exhaustive list on everything you need to know about program design in this article, but hopefully, you’re now equipped to start thinking like a coach.

And hopefully you gained a bit more knowledge on how to put together a successful program for you and your goals.

3 Nutrition Myths That Need to Die

The world of nutrition can be downright confusing, right?

One person tells us the ketogenic diet is the greatest thing in the world and another tells us to avoid it at all costs.

One person says you can have red meat while another tells you to avoid it like the plague.

Ultimately, nutrition comes down to one thing – application.

What’s right for one person might not be right for another.

Making black and white statements in the fitness and nutrition space are dangerous.

The answer to a question is almost always “It depends.”

Let’s break down three common thoughts in the nutrition field and why they’re misleading.

In today’s day and age, carbs are often made out to be the devil. Some people say if you want to lose weight, you need to either greatly reduce them or cut out carbs altogether.

While carbs are tasty and certain carbs can be easily over-eaten, carbs in and of themselves won’t cause you to gain fat.

If you eat too many carbs or calories, you’ll gain weight. It’s all about the quantity you’re consuming.

You’ve probably heard of macronutrients, or “macros.” Carbohydrates are one of three macronutrients, along with fat and protein.

Your body CANNOT live without fat and protein, but your body CAN live without carbs.

Proponents of the ketogenic diet will tell you consuming carbs isn’t something you need to be doing.

However, carbs definitely make a difference when it comes to high-intensity exercise.

If you like to set PRs on your runs, push the weights in the gym or compete in any sports, you’re going to want to have carbs in your body. They provide fuel for glycolytic exercise and also aid in recovery.

When it comes to weight loss, calories are king. If you want to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit. If you want to gain weight, you need to be in a calorie surplus.

Insulin, the hormone that helps your body manage blood sugar levels, has gotten a bad rap.

Some bring up the fact eating too many carbs will cause your pancreas to release lots of insulin, and in turn you’ll store excess sugars and other carbohydrates as fat.

However, if you consume too many calories in general, you’ll store excess fat.

Eating too much of anything will cause you to gain weight if it puts you in a calorie surplus.

Quantity is king, so as long as you take in the appropriate number of carbohydrates for you and your metabolic needs, you’ll be OK.

The fact is carbs tend to be tasty, so they’re tempting and easy to over-eat.

That’s why minimizing processed carbs is a good idea because it’s easy to take in too many calories from processed foods.

Again, carbs themselves aren’t bad for you.

So do you need carbs to lose weight?

No.

But can you honestly say you’re not going to crave carbs if you tell yourself you can’t have them?

Probably not.

If you want to figure out the right amount of carbs you need for your goals, start HERE.

However, admittedly, the formula in the above link will apply to only half the population because it depends to what amount your body has adapted.

Piggybacking off the first myth, “clean” eating is commonly misunderstood.

For starters, most people don’t even agree on the definition of “clean” eating.

Ask a vegan, and that individual will tell you meat is bad for you.

However, if you ask a Paleo practitioner, that person will tell you to eat lots of meat but avoid grains and dairy.

But then ketogenic practitioners will tell you to consume full-fat dairy products like butter and cheese, but to avoid carbs. But vegans and Paleo practitioners are allowed to eat carbs.

The cycle continues.

Many diets suggest processed foods should be avoided at all costs.

And while you certainly want to minimize consumption of processed foods, you may become stressed out and feel deprived if you eliminate processed foods altogether.

And excess stress isn’t good for your mental health or lifespan.

So is “clean” eating the best solution?

What does “clean” eating even mean?

For a while, I bought into the whole organic and “clean” eating craze and thought every single thing I consumed needed to be whole and unprocessed.

All it left me with was very little results and an unhealthy relationship with food.

Most importantly, when it comes to weight and body composition, you need to factor in food quantity.

Again, to lose weight, you need to be in a calorie deficit.

So you can eat all the “clean” foods you want, but if you’re taking in too many calories, you’re not going to lose weight.

If you have a piece of cake every day and eating that cake prevents you from going off the deep end, which keeps you in a calorie deficit, then by all means eat that piece of cake.

When it comes to weight loss, food quantity is king. The composition of food certainly plays a role, but the composition of food doesn’t matter nearly as much as the number of calories you take in.

Hey, remember when I told you eating in a calorie deficit is essential to losing weight in the first and second myths?

Well, let me tell you eating less to lose weight isn’t always the answer.

Let me repeat:

Eating less and moving more to lose weight isn’t always the answer.

In the fitness industry, context is king.

Let’s look at an example:

If you’re a man who’s 5 foot 11 inches tall and 200 pounds, but you’re taking in 1,200 calories per day and working out two hours per day seven days per week, do you think eating less and moving more is the answer when you have no energy and are starving?

While that may be an extreme example, you can see eating less and moving more wouldn’t be a good solution in this situation.

Now, if you’re someone who’s sedentary and consuming WAY too much food, eat less and move more is solid advice.

However, that’s a big reason biofeedback (hunger, stress, energy and sleep) should always be factored into the nutritional protocol you’re following.

If you’re someone who already exercises regularly and has been dieting for a while to the point you feel low on energy, you have no business moving even more or eating any less.

That’s where reverse dieting comes into play.

Reverse dieting is the process by which you restore hormones and metabolic function through progressively adding calories back into your diet.

While adding calories to your diet sounds counterintuitive when your goal is to lose weight, it may be the only thing that can actually help you lose weight and keep it off in the long run without destroying your health.

So how do you know if you need to reverse diet?

Pay attention to your biofeedback.

How are you feeling? Are you hungry? Are you sleeping like garbage?

If you’re not feeling the best, you may need more food, not less.

And you may need to workout less.

Training is a stress on your body, and if your body is already stressed from work, family life or your low-calorie diet, what’s adding MORE training going to do for you?

You’re likely going to wind up in a bad situation.

So, as you can see, making a blanket statement that eating less and moving more is the solution to losing weight isn’t always correct.

Every situation requires context and individualization.

3 Keys to Building Self-Discipline

When we think of someone who’s self-disciplined, we think of athletes like Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps, who trained seven days a week, 365 days a year from age 14 through the Beijing Olympics in 2008.

He did it every day no matter what.

We think of NBA legend Kobe Bryant, who would show up to the gym to practice at 5 a.m. in high school and would make his teammates in high school stay after practice to play one-on-one games with him up to 100 points.

We also think of people who always eat well, always work out no matter what and seem to always do the right thing.

So how on earth do you develop self-discipline so you stay consistent with your workouts no matter what, make solid dietary decisions day-after-day and get enough rest and recovery to perform at a high level?

Don’t rely on willpower to avoid unhealthy foods or avoid drinking alcohol.

People who have seemingly the most willpower rarely use it.

Let’s repeat that:

People who have the most willpower rarely use their willpower.

They avoid putting themselves in tempting situations in the first place.

Willpower is a finite resource. You have only so much of it.

For example, if you want to stop drinking so much alcohol, get it out of the house or make it difficult to access.

Also, minimize the number of social situations you’re in that involve alcohol.

For example, have a rule for yourself that you go to bars or restaurants only once per week.

Then, if someone invites you somewhere tempting another time during the week, you decline the invitation.

Identify your triggers.

Who are you around when you tend to slip up? Where are you?

Recently, I decided I’m the type of person who’s present when I’m with my family.

I realized one of my triggers was scrolling on my phone when I was sitting on the couch with my wife and son.

So I made a rule for myself I leave my phone on the kitchen table or counter and not even take my phone over to the couch in the first place.

Now, if I want to check my phone, I need to walk all the way over to the kitchen table or counter. Even though I could take 10 steps and get to my phone, I made it more difficult for myself to access it. Thus, I’m less likely to scroll on my phone because it’s not within my reach when I’m sitting on the couch.

Another way to prime your environment is keeping positive people in your life and removing/limiting negative influences.

For example, I have a rule that I must listen to some sort of inspirational/motivational audio once I walk downstairs after getting up for the day.

Even though I’m not with disciplined people in the physical sense, I’m “hanging out” with disciplined people through the podcasts or YouTube videos to which I listen.

Don’t allow negative influences to even enter your space. If you do, you’ll be more likely to give into temptation.

If you have friends who tempt you to drink alcohol and you’ve decided you’re the type of person who drinks alcohol only once per week, set a rule you can hang around those friends only once per week.

Remove the temptations. Replace them with positive influences. Change your level of self-discipline.

Building self-discipline doesn’t happen over night.

Always make changes in a slow and steady manner.

One of the biggest mistakes people make is employing drastic measures to create self-discipline.

Going from drinking alcohol four times per week to cutting it out completely is a recipe for disaster.

Going from eating grains and dairy every day to cutting grains and dairy out completely isn’t an optimal way to make a sustainable change.

The all-or-nothing approach rarely works.

Think of the last time you set a lofty New Year’s Resolution. You may have said something like you’re going to cut out all sugar, give up drinking or workout seven days per week.

Chances are those habits lasted only so long because you went from one extreme to the other.

When something seems difficult to follow, you’re going to have a challenging time sustaining it.

However, when something seems easy to follow, you’re probably going to continue to do it.

For example, if your goal is to eat healthier, instead of cutting out an entire food group, think of one easy thing you can “add in” to your regimen.

Instead of cutting out “all sugary carbs,” you can add a fistful of vegetables with each meal.

Now, instead of focusing on what you can’t have, you’re focusing on what you can have.

As a result of adding vegetables to each meal, you’re likely going to reduce the amount of sugary carbs you have because the vegetables will fill you up and have higher-quality nutrients.

Adding a fistful of vegetables to each meal is easy, while cutting out all sugar carbs is hard.

By creating small wins for yourself each day through focusing on the easy habits, you’re going to believe you’re a self-disciplined person over time.

We’re not talking about goals.

Instead, we’re talking about standards.

Decide the type of person you want to be.

Are you the type of person who’s present when you’re with your family?

Are you the type of person who trains hard in the gym?

Are you the type of person who doesn’t drink alcohol?

When you change the type of person with whom you identify, you create a whole new level of discipline.

Because once you decide you’re a certain type of person, you won’t choose habits that go against your identity.

For example, I don’t drink alcohol.

So when I’m in a social setting, I’m not even tempted by alcohol because I’ve already set a rule for myself I don’t drink alcohol.

What’s your list of standards for yourself?

Do you work out three days per week no matter what?

Do you plan ahead for the week every Sunday morning?

Do you eat vegetables with each meal?

Here’s an action step for you – identify five standards you already have for yourself.

For example, are you the type of parent who attends your child’s sports events?

Do you always watch only one episode on Netflix at night?

Then, pick one more standard for yourself around the new identity you’ve formed for yourself.

Once you’ve set a personal rule and identified why it’s important to you, you make change and building self-discipline much easier.

What are the Best Foods to Get Lean? Wrong Question.

When I was younger, I always wanted to see what the guys with muscles and six-pack abs were eating.

Sweet potatoes or regular potatoes?

Chicken or fish?

Carbs or no carbs post-workout?

I figured if I ate the same foods as some of the most ripped people out there, I would have a good chance of looking like them.

I had to figure out their meal plans so I could follow them as well.

In reality, I was asking the wrong questions.

I wasn’t even staying consistent with my current nutrition regimen, so what made me think I could do a complete overhaul to my diet?

In retrospect, why would I think eating specific foods would get me lean and ripped?

I didn’t realize it was about more than just the foods these individuals were eating.

It’s about the entire lifestyle as a whole.

Now, certainly some foods have more nutrient density than others. You’ll be better served eating certain foods more than others most of the time.

So instead of looking at which specific foods to eat, look instead at the following:

If you don’t follow this action step, nothing else in the rest of the article will matter.

You can have the best nutritional information in the world, but if you don’t stick with it, you’re not going to have success.

If something seems difficult, you’re not going to follow it in the long run.

No matter what foods you eat, if you’re not setting yourself up for success to eat them in the specific amounts needed over the long run, you’re likely going to fail.

Make it easy for yourself to succeed.

Create a routine around making a grocery list for the foods you need each week. Then, build a routine around going grocery shopping, prepping your meals and planning your meals for each day.

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

For example, if you work Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., you can use the following strategy:

Sunday at 9 a.m. – create a sample meal plan for yourself for the week based on your macronutrient and calorie targets for the week; plan out the times you’re going to commit to eating these meals during the week

Sunday at 9:30 a.m. – go to the grocery store to get the foods on the list

Sunday at 10:30 a.m. – begin prepping the foods you need for the week; measure out the proper portions

Sunday at 12:30 p.m. – after meal prep is complete, place items in containers to be stored in the refrigerator or freezer

During this “magic” time on Sunday, turn off all distractions like social media so you can focus. Listen to a podcast, music or an audiobook while you’re doing your prep. If you have young kids, ask your significant other to take them for a couple of hours while you get things ready for the week.

Then, follow this routine every week. When you’re doing your weekly planning, make sure to prioritize time each week to prep your food for the week.

If you want to have success at anything in life, you need to be intentional about making it a part of your day or week.

Before worrying about specific foods to eat, you need to know how much food you need to eat.

Whether your goal is health, aesthetics or performance, you need to understand quantity is king.

As you can see in the above pyramid, energy balance (energy in vs. energy out) is the base of the pyramid. Things like supplements and nutrient timing aren’t as important as energy balance. And notice that specific foods aren’t even on the list.

Food is the “energy in” part of the energy balance equation, so it’s the most important thing to talk about after behavior and lifestyle.

So how do you figure out how much food you need to eat?

Well, you can use a formula you find online to calculate your calorie and macronutrient needs, and it may work.

You basically factor in your gender, age, height, weight and goal, and you’ll get a calorie amount to get you started. Then, you figure out the recommended number of grams of protein, carbohydrate and fat you should be taking in based on that number.

However, this formula works only if you’ve been eating around that same number of calories.

For example, the formula may say you need 2,000 calories to lose weight according to your gender, age, height and weight.

But if you’ve been taking in only 1,200 calories per day, and you start taking in 2,000 calories per day because the formula tells you to do so, you’re actually going to start gaining weight because your body has adapted to the lower calorie amount.

So the formula needs to be thrown out the window.

Instead, you need to figure out where you currently are in terms of your nutritional intake.

Keep an honest (note the word “honest”) food log for three to seven days.

Then, you’ll have a rough idea what you’ve been taking in calorie- and macronutrient-wise.

From there, you can determine where to go.

If you have no idea where to go, consult a qualified professional.

Now we can start talking about specific foods.

Let’s say you’ve determined you need 150 grams of protein, 200 grams of carbohydrate and 60 grams of fat to lose weight at a slow and steady pace.

Whether, your goal is health, performance or aesthetics, the majority of your nutritional intake should come from whole, unprocessed foods.

You know what they are – things like lean ground beef, sweet potatoes and veggies.

So if you need 150 grams of protein per day, you can find foods that fit into this requirement.

If you eat four meals per day, you’ll need 37.5 grams of protein per meal on average.

So you could have a whey protein shake for your first meal, four ounces of tilapia for your second meal, four ounces of 93% lean ground turkey for your third meal and one cup of Greek yogurt (mixed with other things) for the fourth.

Then, you can add in trace protein sources from carbohydrates and fats for the rest of your protein intake.

No specific source will magically help you achieve the body or performance you want, but when you follow the right plan for you and your body for a long period of time, and you make the proper adjustments along the way, you’re going to set yourself up for long-term success.

3 Principles to Get Strong Without Getting Hurt

Are you afraid you’re going to get injured lifting weights?

Do you think it’s impossible to get strong lifting heavy weights while staying injury-free?

For a while, I thought the same thing.

Every time I pushed harder on deadlifts, my back would hurt.

Every time I pushed harder on the bench press, my shoulder would hurt.

Then, I discovered several key principles to getting strong while staying pain-free.

Do you have a long-term strategy with your training, or do you hop from program to program?

If you’re a program hopper, don’t worry – I was there for many years.

If you’re walking into the gym without a concrete, long-term plan, you’re setting yourself up for failure – and possibly injury.

Because you’re not routinely tracking your overall volume and progress, you’re going to have a difficult time knowing whether you’re lifting the right amount of weight and doing the correct number of sets and reps.

When determining a long-term plan for your training, you need to ask yourself several questions:

1. What’s my No. 1 fitness goal right now?

2. What’s my current training and health status?

3. Based on my current training and health status, what’s the appropriate exercise selection and volume for my goal?

First, you need to establish a specific training goal. Don’t just say you want to get more toned. What does that even mean?

And don’t set multiple goals. Training to lose weight and build muscle mass are two completely different goals. Unless you’re a beginner and are in the phase of making “newbie” gains, you’re not going to achieve both at once.

Specific goals get specific results. Unspecific goals get unspecific results.

Let’s say your goal is to lose 10 pounds.

Now, you need to consider your current training status. Have you been working out? How many days per week have you been working out? How many sets and reps have you been using? Do you have any specific injuries?

Then, make small changes to your training. Don’t give your body more than it can handle. That’s when injuries happen.

If you don’t trust yourself to make these changes, you can get a mentor or hire a coach.

Injuries occur when we give our bodies a stress it can’t handle. Many times, they occur because we increase the weight and volume too fast.

We go right to our max weight on a particular exercise the first or second workout. Then, we don’t ever get a chance to work on proper form with a lighter weight.

Since we never had a chance to work on proper form before pushing the weight, we’re going to compensate with our movement and wind up using the wrong muscles to lift the weight.

For example, even if you think you can bench press 120 pounds, don’t start out at 120 pounds on day one. Instead, start off at 60 pounds. It will feel really easy, but who cares? Then, go to 65 pounds the next time. Then, go to 70 pounds the next time.

By the time you get to 120 pounds, you’ll feel super confident in your form and be able to blow past that number.

Imagine if you increased an exercise five pounds even every other workout for a year. That’s a 130-pound increase in one year!

You can also progress too quickly on training volume.

For example, if you haven’t trained your triceps in a year, don’t start with four sets of 10 reps of four different exercises. In this case, you went from doing no reps of triceps to 160 reps of triceps. That’s a big jump!

Instead, if you haven’t trained your triceps in a year, do two sets of eight reps with two different exercises. In this case you went from doing no reps of triceps to 32 reps of triceps. Then after doing this set-and-rep scheme for a couple of weeks, you can add a rep or two to each set. After a few more workouts, add another set.

Give your body a stress load from which it can recover.

Stress + Rest = Growth

Stress + Inadequate Rest = Decline (Injury)

If your goal is to train for the rest of your life, why does it matter what you lift today or even in the next couple of weeks?

Don’t worry about what everyone else is doing. Go at your own pace, and you’ll wind up stronger than you ever thought possible while staying healthy!

Every time you train, you need to consider your current circumstances.

How much sleep have you been getting?

How’s your nutrition been?

How stressful have things been in your life recently?

When is the last time you trained?

When is the last time you trained this muscle group?

The list goes on.

If you want to avoid getting injured and want to make progress instead, you need to consider what’s going on in every area of your life.

If you hardly got any sleep last night, you need to back off.

If you just got off an airplane following an eight-hour flight, you may need to go easy in your workout in terms of total weight lifted. Back off at least 10 percent.

If you’re feeling sore and beat up, don’t push it.

If you haven’t trained for four weeks or haven’t trained for several months, don’t pick up right where you left off.

Sure, being mentally tough and pushing out of your comfort zone are important, but not at the expense of your physical health.

If you can’t train, you can’t make progress whether your goal is to lift as much weight as possible, look good at the beach or have energy to get through the day.

So next time you’re about to do a workout, think about what you’ve got going on in other areas of your life.

Then ask yourself – if I train according to my plan as written, will I get closer to my goals or farther away from my goals?

If the answer is “farther away,” you need to make modifications and either drop the weight or volume a little bit.

And if you find yourself in a place in which you’re answering “farther away” too often, you need to focus more on what you’re doing outside the gym.

What you do OUTSIDE the gym is just as important, if not more important, than what you do INSIDE the gym.