Author: Nick Hawkins

If you can just improve in one area,
you’ll be giving yourself a much better chance at being successful.

Don’t try to do everything at once though. Keep things simple and make sure you’re consistent.

There is a difference between being hungry and eating because you’re bored.

If you have a schedule to follow then that will help…minimize the unnecessary snacking.

Working out early doesn’t actually make you lose more fat.
But the earlier you get your workout done, the less time you have to talk yourself out of doing it.
I know it sounds basic but walking more does really help a lot.
What’s done is done. Don’t dwell on mistakes. And don’t go to extremes to make up for them either. That
just creates a cycle that’s tough to get out of.

The scale won’t move every week. Use pictures, measurements and clothes to keep track of your progress.
The more times you can find progress, the more you’ll be motivated to continue.

What’s the best workout to lose fat?
I get that question at least 10x a week.
And it makes sense because if your main objective is to lose fat then obviously you want to do workouts that will lead to losing fat, right? The problem is that working out is really a minor factor in your overall fat loss journey. No amount of working out will get you results unless you’ve got your nutrition under control. So workout primarily to build muscle or at least get stronger. That will help with increasing your metabolism and ultimately making it easier to keep the weight off. In order to lose the fat though, you’ll need to create that deficit with your eating
Sure, adding cardio will give you a little boost but the biggest factor that will dictate whether you lose fat won’t be your workouts..
It will be your nutrition. So eat to fuel your body and to create a reasonable deficit
And workout to get to get strong, build muscle and to reshape your body.

There are some things you need to focus more on and some things you need to focus less on, regardless of where you are in your fat reduction journey.
In essence, you want to keep things as straightforward as possible.
No crazy new exercises, weird diets, or pricey pills are necessary.
Right now, those items are being pushed on you A LOT.
In the end, all you need to do is continually pay attention to the fundamentals to achieve your goals.
Your objective is to have a modest calorie deficit.
You may maintain that shortfall over time by eating things you enjoy, increasing your protein intake, exercising, and sleeping more.

So t, instead of trying to do everything to lose weight, take a step back and do less. Just do it more consistently and for longer.

Don’t go through the motions in the gym. Workout with purpose and intention. 

When I was younger, I used to think I was working out the right way, but I lacked the sense of connection towards my goals. Your objectives must be crystal clear. Without focusing on the muscles that would give me those powerful initial few strides, I would exercise for hours. I would lose track of my body and let my mind wander. I used to meditate without any particular purpose and I never really established any tasks or goals for which I needed clarity. My thoughts would begin to stray much more easily as I pondered why I never found the answers I was seeking for.  It’s important for you to know what you want to accomplish and take the actions necessary to get there.

When you focus on a region, breathe into it, and give it your full attention, we are stepping up the action.The next time you bench press to expand your chest, concentrate on lifting with your pecs, contracting and squeezing the muscle during each repetition, and concentrating on the expansion.

I like to visualize my muscles contracting, swelling, and almost about to burst through my skin. Prior to working out, I decide which muscle group or even single muscle I want to emphasize. I then design my workout to focus on that area throughout the entire session. Every exercise in the entire workout should be used as a chance to advance your own fitness objectives.

Remember to make intentions! For your life, your activities, and your meal. Take charge. 

PERFECT YOUR DAY, PERFECT YOUR LIFE!

Can drinking alcohol effect how much muscle you gain? 

The primary stimulators of muscle protein synthesis are exercise and protein intake (the main process driving muscle adaptations, such as growth).

According to reports, athletes are more inclined to drink excessively, especially while participating in binge-drinking rituals during team sports. Can these actions impact the protein synthesis?

This study examined the impact of post-exercise alcohol consumption on rates of muscle protein synthesis in young, healthy adults who exercise often. First, subjects engaged in joint resistance and endurance training (to mimic sports). After an 8-hour recovery time, individuals consumed one of the following:

1. 25 g protein
2. 25 g protein and 12 standard alcoholic drinks
3. 25 g carbohydrate and 12 standard alcoholic drinks

Consuming alcohol decreased the rates of muscle protein synthesis after exercise. Even when alcohol was consumed, muscle protein synthesis rates were still higher after exercise than they were at rest.

This means that skipping a training session is never a good idea, even if you know that you will drink a lot of alcohol afterward.

Keep in mind that the subjects consumed a lot of alcohol (i.e. 12 drinks). This number was selected to represent team athletes’ (binge) drinking habits. A smaller intake of alcohol (such as a drink with supper) will probably have a considerably less impact.

In conclusion, consuming a lot after working out reduces the production of muscle protein.

Resources: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24533082

▪️Patience is overvalued; especially within the weight room and particularly when it involves those focused on a specific outcome:

▪️Sure it takes time to build muscles, but if you’re trying to build muscle and aren’t seeing obvious size increases from month to month, it’s a sign that your approach is off.

▪️And a workout may be a terrible thing to waste. Plus, if you’re seeing progress, there’s no reason you can’t see more.

▪️How do you rev up your results? Here are 5 ways.

1. Increase Your Training Volume

▪️Training volume—your number of reps multiplied by your number of sets—is a primary determiner of hypertrophy (aka the way to grow muscle). And to extend volume, you’ll really need to lower the weight than you would expect.

2. Focus On The Eccentric Phase

▪️When weight training, you’ve got a concentric (hard) and eccentric (easy) phase. For example , as you lower into a squat, you’re performing an eccentric movement. Once you return to standing, that’s concentric. And, according to research published within the ecu Journal of Applied Physiology, eccentric work is much better at activating muscle growth.

3. Decrease Rest Intervals

▪️When lifting for hypertrophy, rest periods of 30 to 90 seconds encourage a fast release in muscle-building hormones (including testosterone and human growth hormone) while also ensuring that you truly fatigue your muscles.

4. To Grow Your Muscle, Eat More Protein

▪️Weight training breaks down your muscles. Protein rebuilds them. The more intense your workouts, the more important it is to consume protein to solidify recovery.

5. Focus On Being In A Calorie Surplus

▪️This can be hard to get used to , especially for those who are used to counting calories within the hopes to burn fat. But to most efficiently build muscle mass quickly (that means weight gained, not lost), you have to consume more calories than you burn every day.

Energy Intake

▪️Here’s an idea of what your potatoes can cost you in calories. It’s imperative to understand the energy density of the food you eat. Not all food is created equal no matter how similar it may look on your plate.

▪️Potatoes for instance, vary in calories based on their type and also by the way they are prepared.

▪️Here’s a few reasons how food appearing similar can vary:
-Cooking methods
-Types and brands
-Additives like butter, milk and oil.

▪️Be conscious of the amount of calories and the preparation method of the food that you are eating. Especially if you’re looking to shed some extra fat.

▪️Ultimately, in order to lower your body fat percentage, you need to be in a calorie deficit. When you are focusing on calorie awareness while choosing potatoes; aim for the lower caloric option such as steamed potato or the variation without any cooking additives.

▪️Where you are consuming a higher calorie and higher fat potato like chips; you should make sure that your other food choices throughout the day compensate for this by being high protein, high fiber and nutrient dense.

✔️Overhead Press

▪️If you wan’t to grow bigger and stronger shoulders, the Overhead Press is a great compound exercise to take you there!
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▪️It’s one of the best exercises for progressively overload your deltoids to improve size and strength in your shoulders.
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▪️You can do the exercise with either dumbbells or barbell, seated or standing.
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▪️When you perform it standing, you’re recruiting your Pectoralis (chest), Deltoids (shoulders), Triceps (arms), and Trapezius (upper back). But to stay balanced and upright, your Lower Back, Obliques, Serratus Anterior, Transverse Abdominal and Spinal Stabilizers are engaged.
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▪️Also, keep your Glutes and Abs engaged to press the weight up with stability.
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▪️Make sure you have enough shoulder mobility to perform this exercise correctly, otherwise you might compensate by overarching and hurt your back and shoulders.
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▪️A good solution is to add Wall Angels to your routine and foam roll your lats before Overhead Pressing.

How To Gain Muscle ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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1. First, we must be in a net positive energy balance to ensure we’re providing our body the necessary nutrients for growth. This simply means that we should be consuming more calories than we’re burning.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

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1. We must ensure we’re consuming enough protein (0.8-1g/ pound will suffice). If doesn’t matter how many workers are present, if we don’t have enough bricks available, we can never build the house.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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2. Progressive Overload: When we introduce a stress to our muscle, our body is forced to adapt by building new muscle in the hopes that it will handle the same stress again in the future. If we fail to increase that stress, however, our body will find no need to repair and grow. It’s really that cut and dry.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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3. Rest & Recovery: No matter how on point your diet and training are, if you’re not able to recover from the work, you’ll never maximize your performance in the gym.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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   Eat. Train. Sleep. Repeat.⠀⠀⠀⠀

Do you let the number on the scale dictate whether you have a good day or not?

If so, you’re definitely not alone.

Your body is about 70% water – so almost all short term changes are water related.

Could be you had a hard workout yesterday and have some inflammation while your body is recovering.

Could be that you ate a bit more salt yesterday.

Could be that you didn’t drink ENOUGH water and have some retention.

Could be that you had more refined sugars yesterday and are a bit more bloated.

Whatever the reason is it’s important to realize that the increase is VERY short term.

To see the real changes in fat and muscle you’ve got to look at the overall weekly trend.

And honestly, the best way to see your progress is to find a pair of pants that are a bit too tight and try them on every week.

You may be pleasantly surprised that even if the scale hasn’t budged, the pants fit a bit better.

Oh and if you’re going to say that you can eat 15,000 calories in a day then I REALLY doubt you keep it all down.