The Supreme Court could be enabling a criminal conspiracy to prosecute IDF reservists unjustly.
Avi Bell
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Tag: General
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Commentary: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fat-shames the U.S. military’s top brass as the world burns
Ukraine and Gaza. China and North Korea. Iran and Russia. There was so much to address Tuesday when 800 generals, admirals and their senior enlisted leaders in the U.S. military were ordered into one location from around the world on short notice.
The sudden meeting in Quantico, Va., was called by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. And it was an unprecedented event for unprecedented times, but not in the way that anyone imagined. Hegseth took aim at the packed room’s waistlines, proclaiming that he no longer wanted to see “fat generals and admirals,” or overweight troops.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” he said to the 800 likely stunned souls in the room. “Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.”
Flanked by a portly President Trump, he proclaimed, “It’s a bad look. It is bad, and it’s not who we are.”
President Trump joined his Defense secretary in urging his top military brass to shape up.
(Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
Like a sugary doughnut, the hypocrisy was too tempting to pass up. California Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s X account posted, “I guess the Commander in Chief needs to go!” Newsom also juxtaposed a clip of Hegseth’s speech with a photo of Trump in a McDonald’s restaurant, the president’s stomach protruding over the belt line of his slacks.
The former Fox News personality turned secretary of Defense initially gave no reason last month when he summoned leaders stationed across the globe to attend the meeting, causing concern and conjecture among military and congressional officials about the purpose of the gathering. Trump told NBC that they would deliver a “good message” about “being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things.”
That new “positive” messaging? Terminating restrictions on hazing for boot-camp recruits, toughening grooming standards (no more “beardos”), doing away with racial quotas and raising physical standards for everyone in uniform to a “male level.”
“I don’t want my son serving alongside troops who are out of shape, or in a combat unit with females who can’t meet the same combat-arms physical standards as men, or troops who are not fully proficient on their assigned weapons, platform or task, or under a leader who was the first but not the best,” Hegseth said Tuesday.
He added that troops will have to meet “gender-neutral, age-normed, male standard, scored 70% ” fitness levels. “If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it,” he said. But all will be fat-shamed on an equal basis.
“Today, at my direction, every member of the joint force, at every rank, is required to take a PT [physical training] test twice a year, as well as meet height and weight requirements twice a year, every year of service,” he said.
Hegseth’s obsession with appearing ripped and manly is nothing new. The 45-year-old has challenged 71-year-old Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fitness tests in which the men do 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups in 10 minutes or less.
The “Pete and Bobby Challenge,” as Hegseth calls it, was posted on the official HHS YouTube account and circulated widely on social media.
Hegseth’s deep message to the troops keeping America safe: “It all starts with physical fitness and appearance. If the secretary of war can do regular, hard PT, so can every member of our joint force.”
Hegseth has repeatedly emphasized that the updated fitness requirements for troops are part of a larger effort to achieve a “warrior ethos” in the U.S. military. Uncle Sam wants YOU! But not until you drop that BMI below 24.9.
Lorraine Ali
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Opinion | The Key to Ukraine’s Victory
‘Is there a Manstein in Kyiv?’ isn’t the right question.
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Trump and Hegseth declare an end to ‘politically correct’ leadership in the US military
President Donald Trump revealed that he wants to use American cities as training grounds for the armed forces and joined Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday in declaring an end to “woke” culture before an unusual gathering of hundreds of top U.S. military officials who were abruptly summoned to Virginia from around the world.Hegseth announced new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness, while Trump bragged about U.S. nuclear capabilities and warned that “America is under invasion from within.”“After spending trillions of dollars defending the borders of foreign countries, with your help we’re defending the borders of our country,” Trump said.Hegseth had called military leaders to the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, without publicly revealing the reason until this morning. His address largely focused on his own long-used talking points that painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by “woke” policies, and he said military leaders should “do the honorable thing and resign” if they don’t like his new approach.Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new, but the gathering had fueled intense speculation about the summit’s purpose given the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it.Video below: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gives remarks in QuanticoAdmirals and generals from conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere were summoned for a lecture on race and gender in the military, underscoring the extent to which the country’s culture wars have emerged as a front-and-center agenda item for Hegseth’s Pentagon, even at a time of broad national security concerns across the globe.‘We will not be politically correct’Trump is used to boisterous crowds of supporters who laugh at his jokes and applaud his boasts during his speeches. But he wasn’t getting that kind of soundtrack from the generals and admirals in attendance.In keeping with the nonpartisan tradition of the armed services, the military leaders sat mostly stone-faced through Trump’s politicized remarks, a contrast from when rank-and-file soldiers cheered during Trump’s speech at Fort Bragg this summer.During his nearly hour-long speech, Hegseth said the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts.”“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said.That was echoed by Trump, who said “the purposes of America military is not to protect anyone’s feelings. It’s to protect our republic.″″We will not be politically correct when it comes to defending American freedom,” Trump said. “And we will be a fighting and winning machine.”Loosening disciplinary rulesHegseth said he is loosening disciplinary rules and weakening hazing protections, putting a heavy focus on removing many of the guardrails the military had put in place after numerous scandals and investigationsHe said he was ordering a review of “the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing.”The defense secretary called for “changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records that will allow leaders with forgivable, earnest, or minor infractions to not be encumbered by those infractions in perpetuity.”“People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes.”Bullying and toxic leadership has been the suspected and confirmed cause behind numerous military suicides over the past several years, including the very dramatic suicide of Brandon Caserta, a young sailor who was bullied into killing himself in 2018.A Navy investigation found that Caserta’s supervisor’s “noted belligerence, vulgarity and brash leadership was likely a significant contributing factor in (the sailor)’s decision to end his own life.”Gender-neutral physical standardsHegseth used the platform to slam environmental policies and transgender troops while talking up his and Trump’s focus on “the warrior ethos” and “peace through strength.”Hegseth said the department has been told from previous administrations that “our diversity is our strength,” which he called an “insane fallacy.”“They had to put out dizzying DEI and LGBTQE+ statements. They were told females and males are the same thing, or that males who think they’re females is totally normal,” he said, adding the use of electric tanks and the COVID vaccine requirements to the list as mistaken policies.Hegseth said this is not about preventing women from serving.“But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral,” he said. “If women can make it excellent, if not, it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”Hegseth’s speech came as the country faces a potential government shutdown this week and as Hegseth, who has hammered home a focus on lethality, has taken several unusual and unexplained actions, including ordering cuts to the number of general officers and firings of other top military leaders.Hegseth has championed the military’s role in securing the U.S.-Mexico border, deploying to American cities as part of Trump’s law enforcement surges, and carrying out strikes on boats in the Caribbean that the administration says targeted drug traffickers.
QUANTICO, Va. —Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of U.S. military officials to an in-person meeting Tuesday to declare an end to “woke” culture in the military and announce new directives for troops that include “gender-neutral” or “male-level” standards for physical fitness.
Hegseth and President Donald Trump had abruptly called military leaders from around the world to convene at the Marine Corps base in Quantico, near Washington, without publicly revealing the reason until this morning. Hegseth’s address largely focused on his own long-used talking points that painted a picture of a military that has been hamstrung by “woke” policies, and he said military leaders should “do the honorable thing and resign” if they don’t like his new approach.
Meetings between top military brass and civilian leaders are nothing new, but the gathering had fueled intense speculation about the summit’s purpose given the haste with which it was called and the mystery surrounding it.
Admirals and generals from conflict zones in the Middle East and elsewhere were summoned for a lecture on race and gender in the military, underscoring the extent to which the country’s culture wars have emerged as a front-and-center agenda item for Hegseth’s Pentagon, even at a time of broad national security concerns across the globe.
Video below: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gives remarks in Quantico
During his nearly hour-long speech, Hegseth said the U.S. military has promoted too many leaders for the wrong reasons based on race, gender quotas and “historic firsts.”
“The era of politically correct, overly sensitive don’t-hurt-anyone’s-feelings leadership ends right now at every level,” Hegseth said.
He said he is loosening disciplinary rules and weakening hazing protections, putting a heavy focus on removing many of the guardrails the military had put in place after numerous scandals and investigations
Hegseth said he was ordering a review of “the department’s definitions of so-called toxic leadership, bullying and hazing to empower leaders to enforce standards without fear of retribution or second guessing.”
He called for “changes to the retention of adverse information on personnel records that will allow leaders with forgivable, earnest, or minor infractions to not be encumbered by those infractions in perpetuity.”
“People make honest mistakes, and our mistakes should not define an entire career,” Hegseth said. “Otherwise, we only try not to make mistakes.”
Bullying and toxic leadership has been the suspected and confirmed cause behind numerous military suicides over the past several years, including the very dramatic suicide of Brandon Caserta, a young sailor who was bullied into killing himself in 2018.
A Navy investigation found that Caserta’s supervisor’s “noted belligerence, vulgarity and brash leadership was likely a significant contributing factor in (the sailor)’s decision to end his own life.”
Hegseth used the platform to slam physical fitness and grooming standards, environmental policies and transgender troops while talking up his and Trump’s focus on “the warrior ethos” and “peace through strength.”
Hegseth said the department has been told from previous administrations that “our diversity is our strength,” which he called an “insane fallacy.”
“They had to put out dizzying DEI and LGBTQE+ statements. They were told females and males are the same thing, or that males who think they’re females is totally normal,” he said, adding the use of electric tanks and the COVID vaccine requirements to the list as mistaken policies.
Hegseth said this is is not about preventing women from serving.
“But when it comes to any job that requires physical power to perform in combat, those physical standards must be high and gender neutral,” he said. “If women can make it excellent, if not, it is what it is. If that means no women qualify for some combat jobs, so be it. That is not the intent, but it could be the result.”
Hegseth’s speech came as the country faces a potential government shutdown this week and as Hegseth, who has hammered home a focus on lethality, has taken several unusual and unexplained actions, including ordering cuts to the number of general officers and firings of other top military leaders.
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NCIS investigating after major general is found dead at Twentynine Palms Marine base
The Naval Criminal Investigative Service is probing the death of a military officer whose body was found at the Twentynine Palms Marine base, officials said.
Maj. Gen. William F. Mullen was found dead at the Twentynine Palms base Saturday, according to San Bernardino County coroner’s records.
Mullen, at one time the commanding general of the base, retired in 2020.
San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez confirmed that NCIS is investigating the death at the facility, which is the world’s largest Marine Corps training base.
NCIS is the investigative law enforcement entity of the Department of the Navy. The agency leads criminal investigations and, according to its website, also investigates noncombat deaths of Navy or Marine Corps members.
NCIS officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Major General Mullen’s dedicated service to our nation and the Marine Corps will always be remembered,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Savage, commanding general of the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his loved ones.”
Marine officials confirmed NCIS is investigating the cause of death.
San Bernardino coroner’s officials are handling the autopsy, Rodriguez said. That investigation is ongoing.
Before his retirement, Mullen served as commanding general of the Training and Education Command, according to the U.S. Marine Corps. His extensive military background includes tours of duty in the Middle East, leading a counter-narcotics mission in the Los Padres National Forest and serving as Marine aide to President Clinton.
Salvador Hernandez
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Get Rid of Man Boobs FAST (5-Step Plan for “Moobs”) | Nerd Fitness
“Can I get rid of my man boobs quickly and naturally?”
Awkward phrase? Sure.
But that’s not gonna get us to shy away from the topic here on Nerd Fitness.
We work on solutions to questions just like this with our Online Coaching Clients: awkward questions and challenging situations that are tough to talk about, but can be helped!
This is what we do, and we’re really good at it.
Today, let’s tackle the “moobs” situation head-on by covering all of the following in this MASSIVE guide:
Okie dokie, let’s jump in!
What are “Man Boobs”?
Let’s chat about some medical definitions, because it’ll help us put “man boobs” in some proper context.
- Gynecomastia is defined as the benign growth of the male breast glandular tissue. The National Institute of Health states it’s usually caused by “increased estrogen activity, decreased testosterone activity, or the use of numerous medications.”[1]
- Pseudogynecomastia is when male breasts are enlarged by fat deposits, due to an increase in body fat which distributes itself on one’s body according to genetics.
Most men who struggle with “man boobs” or “moobs” are in this second category, and the “pseudo” means they don’t really have the condition “gynecomastia.”
There is no hormonal imbalance.
Instead, the body is just storing extra fat in the chest area.
I’ll mostly be talking about shedding body fat and building muscle to lose “moobs,” but I will also talk about gynecomastia and medical conditions later.
Next up!
Can You Get Rid of Man Boobs?
Why do some men store fat in their chest?
We all process and store calories differently in our bodies.
And how our body stores excess calories is a critical concept for our discussion on “man boobs.”
If you eat more calories than you burn, day after day, month after month, year after year, your body has to do something with all that extra energy.
If we’re sedentary, more often than not, the body will choose to store that energy as fat to be used for later.
Depending on our genetics, our body might choose to store that fat in our butt, gut, thighs, or chest.
Probably a combination of all those things.
And for some of us, a large portion of that body fat deposits itself in our chest area.
And thus, man boobs.
So, in order to start reversing the process, we need to have a two-pronged approach to tackling the “moobs” problem naturally and safely:
Exercise and nutrition.
Specifically, strength training and calorie restriction.
If you are somebody that wants EXACT instruction and a nutritional plan that is designed to help you reduce your man boobs, check out Nerd Fitness Coaching. We’ve helped people just like you do this the right way.
Can Exercises Target Chest Fat?
Fat and muscle are two different ‘systems’ in our body.
Fat sits on top of the muscle, like oil on water.
When we target a specific area for weight loss, like with a Thighmaster, all we’re really doing is exercising the muscle underneath the fat on our thighs.
And don’t get me wrong – this is GREAT (the muscle, not the Thighmaster).
And yup, any exercise will result in calories burned – which is crucial when it comes to fat loss.
However, we need to think of the other systems as well:
The fat resting on top.
So, the path to get rid of “man boobs” centers on three points:
- Eating a caloric deficit (consuming fewer calories than you burn) so that our body has to break down our fat stores (including the fat stored in our chest) for energy. You can calculate how many calories you should eat to start.
- Strength train so more calories are diverted to rebuilding our muscle mass rather than getting stored as fat.
- Strength train (again) to build up the muscle under the fat. Muscular pecs with a low body fat percentage look dramatically different than man boobs.
Here’s why: strength training preserves the muscles we have (and can help build pectoral muscles).
Our body also has to rebuild the muscle that breaks down while we exercise, so it uses any extra calories we have to do that rather than storing it as fat!
Think of it kind of like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter (come on, this is Nerd Fitness after all).
When we strength train, our body will act like The Sorting Hat and divert calories coming into House “Rebuild Muscle” and away from House “Store As Fat.”
It’s a message we really strike home in our video for Body Recomposition:
For more, check out our guide on “Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle At the Same Time.”
With a strategy of slight caloric restriction combined with enough protein and heavy strength training, we’re decreasing the body fat on top of our muscle, while also building up that same muscle underneath.
This results in tighter skin, with less padding (fat), stretched over firmer muscles.
And boom – confidence-boosting pecs that would make King Leonidas proud!
Said another way, we’ll be coming at “man boobs” from the outside and inside.
The Best Workouts for Reducing “Man Boobs”: strength Training
If we’re currently sedentary, the best form of exercise to help build a confidence-boosting physique would be strength training.
In our opinion, strength is a foundational component of overall health.
We’ll get started in three areas:
- Build up oour pectoral muscles (chest muscles under your “man boobs.”)
- Same with broadening our shoulders.
- We can also improve our posture to make sure we stand tall and proud, puffing our chest out and pulling our shoulder blades back.
In order to accomplish each of these goals, we’re gonna focus on building up strength in our PUSH muscles and our PULL muscles.
Our first stop will be push-ups, a foundational exercise for developing upper body strength.
We show the correct way to do one right here:
I don’t care if you need to do them from your knees or doing an elevated push-up:
KNEE PUSH-UP
ELEVATED PUSH-UP
We all start somewhere, and the name of the game is progressive overload – getting stronger with each workout!
In addition to the push-up, let’s consider the following as the best 5 Advanced Chest Exercises.
These are the types of exercises we build into the workout programs for our Coaching Clients looking to reduce chest fat and build up muscle in that area:
#1) Bench press (barbell or dumbbell).
If one piece of equipment is visually associated with a fitness gym, it would be a bench press. If you’ve never used one before, check out our guide on using a bench press safely right here.
#2) Incline bench press.
We can also work on an incline bench press to develop a more rounded-pectoral muscle that targets your upper chest.
#3) Overhead presses.
Not only can our pectoral muscles help push forward, they also get worked out when we do an overhead press (though much less so than the bench press variations.)
Varying chest exercises is a good way to help attack all different sides and parts of our chest and build well-rounded pectorals.
Here’s a dumbbell variation if you can’t train with a barbell yet:
#4) Bodyweight Dips (ADVANCED)
Once we start to develop some serious strength, we can start to level up your advanced bodyweight training with bodyweight dips!
#5) Dumbbell Chest Fly (ADVANCED)
The dumbbell fly is another great exercise that targets the chest. This is one you want to make sure you do with good form. Lie on a bench like you are about to do a dumbbell bench press (but you’ll want to use MUCH lighter weights to start.) Keep your elbows slightly bent and your chest puffed up. Reach to the sides until you feel a great stretch RIGHT in the chest muscle, and then come back to the starting position.
As we cover in our “how to build your own workout” guide, make sure to do a push exercise in every workout to start building up pectoral muscles.
Again, start with push-ups.
Start doing them today.
Again, if you can’t do a regular push-up, a knee push-up is totally fine.
Just do them.
After you get cozy with push-ups, move onto the above advanced moves or follow some of the following workouts:
I asked the male members of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion about man boobs, and many have reported improving their appearance with these pectoral exercises.
Outside of improving man boobs, strength training will make every other aspect of your life better.
Bringing groceries in from the car, doing that thing that consenting adults do, and defending yourself against ninjas will all be much easier after strength training.
Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include two other exercises that can change your life:
These two basic barbell movements are the most ‘efficient’ exercises at building strength and burning fat.
They recruit your central nervous system and every muscle, joint, tendon, and bone in our body to get stronger.
In fact, if you could only do 4 exercises for the rest of your life, I would say:
Show me somebody who is super strong at those four movements, and I’ll show you somebody who has a great physique.
Seriously, don’t neglect those PULL muscles!
This exercise might seem counterintuitive: why work on your back muscles if we’re trying to build up the muscle in our pecs?
Balance and posture.
By building strength in our PULL muscles, we strengthen and tighten our back muscles. This will naturally cause us to pull our shoulder blades back and down into proper position, and give us a better posture.
If we ONLY do chest exercises, we’re more likely to get out of balance, which leads to contracted chest muscles, hunched shoulders, and poor posture.
Here are some options for building up our back muscles and improving our posture:
#1) Dumbbell Rows
#3) Pull-ups (here’s how to do proper pull-ups)
And if you can’t do a pull-up yet, here’s a great pull-up progression that will show you how to do assisted pull-ups to build up strength, like so:
Too long didn’t read: get strong, and your life will get better.
Build muscle in the right places, and it can help you reduce “man boob” problems.
Now, if you’re all:
“Steve this sounds awesome. I want to strength train, but damn man. I’m already self-conscious enough about my man boobs.
How the hell do I get enough confidence to go into a gym when I don’t know what I’m doing!”
Great question.
If you want expert guidance, form checks, and a custom build workout (and nutritional guidance) to help you transform your physique, we have a private, 1-on-1 coaching program that spurs nerds into action.
Also, you don’t even NEED a gym to train (it might sketchy thanks to the pandemic). Here’s exactly how to start working out from home.
Okay, we talked about exercise.
And I mentioned “nutrition” as a MAJOR component when it comes to weight and fat loss.
80-90% of “how to get rid of man boobs” will rest on how we answer the question: “What do I normally eat?”
The science of fat loss (Proper nutrition and “moobs”)
TOUGH LOVE ALERT:
I can almost guarantee that your man boobs are NOT a result of a slow metabolism or genetics (outside of how your body stores excess body fat).
It’s due to the fact that you have been consistently overeating, day in, and day out, for years.
Once you’re done being mad at me and defensive about this, you’ll realize this is great news!
Why? Because it’s fixable.
You are not broken.
You simply need to change how you deal with food.
To do that, we’re going to focus on sustainable changes.
After all, temporary changes create temporary results.
And we want to get rid of man boobs permanently.
So, in order for us to lose body fat, we need to expend more calories than our body consumes, consistently.
Let’s put some numbers to this: 3,500 calories equals roughly one pound of fat.
So if we do the math here:
- There are seven days in a week.
- If we want to lose one pound of body fat in a week (a worthy, sustainable goal for some), we need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day.
- We can do this by consuming 500 fewer calories, burning 500 more calories, or a combination of the two.
Remember this: a daily 500-calorie deficit compared to how we normally eat to lose a pound a week.
(Note: in our coaching program, we’ve found clients have the most success targeting 0.5%-0.75% of their body weight per week as a fat loss goal. This is fast enough to see consistent results and stay motivated, while not SO restrictive that it’s completely unsustainable.)
What does 500 calories look like?
Here are two examples:
- The number of calories found in a Big Gulp of Mountain Dew.
- An estimate of the calories required to run five miles.
Hopefully, those two dots above made your head explode.
“Steve, you’re saying that in order for me to counteract just sipping on a Mountain Dew while owning noobs in Fortnite, I’d need to run 5 miles?
I haven’t run a mile since gym class. And that was 15 years ago.”
Yup.
Nutrition is 90% of the equation when it comes to weight loss.
NINETY. PERCENT.
Okay, I don’t actually know the exact percentage, but 90% is dramatic enough.
I hope to get you to realize that changing your nutrition is the most important thing you can do to reduce “man boobs.”
Sure, exercise is important.
However, when it comes to creating a caloric deficit, it’s much easier to decrease calories consumed vs. increase “calories burned.”
Put a different way: would you rather pour out that Mountain Dew, or run five miles?
Let’s tie together our discussion on “man boobs” with our philosophy on fitness: we’re eating too much, and our body is choosing to store these calories wherever it sees fit.
Unfortunately in this situation, it’s choosing to store them in our chest area.
We can’t change the past.
But we can change your future…and you won’t even need a wacky scientist.
This is why we’re gonna reverse the trend: eat a caloric deficit, consistently, until we reach our goal. Then learn how to eat AT our caloric needs to sustain it for the long run.
Over time, our body will respond by burning fat from certain areas, in a certain order (again, this is out of our control).
As our body fat percentage drops far enough, it should start to remove the body fat from your pectoral area.
We have two paths forward.
PATH ONE: Count calories. If you’ve never done this before and are interested in trying, we recommend recording every meal and morsel for 3-5 days to start. (We can use a food journal, a calorie-counting app like MyFitnessPal, etc.
It’ll teach you a lot about the food you eat, and yourself. From there, calorie counting can be a viable strategy for SOME to continue to monitor and dial in their caloric intake. For about 25% of our coaching clients, this is the process that works for them.
As for how many calories we SHOULD eat, see our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) Calculator.
It works, but boy is it challenging.
PATH TWO: follow our “simple plate” approach from our Healthy Eating Guide. Learn portions sizes, and start making slightly better choices. Focus on getting enough protein and veggies and cut back on liquid calories. Over 60% of our coaching clients find this method to be more sustainable and successful for them in the long-run.
I know that overhauling one’s diet is easier said than done.
But it’s time to take a proactive approach to nutrition.
You’re reading this article because man boobs are a real problem for you – educate yourself on what you’re eating and work on cutting back on the calories!
And that’s what we’ll cover in the next section: what foods to eat that will help you reduce your calories without you being miserable.
What should I be eating to lose “moobs”?
The Nerd Fitness philosophy on what constitutes a ‘healthy food’ can be written like this:
“Foods I can eat frequently that give me enough fuel to get through the day AND don’t make me miserable.”.
I lay it all out in our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating, but this generally equates to foods like:
- Protein like poultry, meat, low-fat dairy, and legumes.
- Fruits and vegetables.
- Healthy carbohydrates like rice and quinoa.
- Healthy fats like almonds and olive oil.
- Occasional full-fat cheese and dairy.
These are the types of foods that form the foundation of a well-balanced diet.
Do you know WHY these types of foods help with weight loss?
Because if we stick mostly to this list, we’ll likely create a caloric deficit naturally.
But why tho?
The fine folks at WiseGEEK did an awesome post where they took pictures of what 200 calories of a certain food look like.
200 calories of broccoli gets you enough broccoli to fill up an entire plate:
Or half a Snickers bar:
Yeah. And who eats half a Snickers and says “I’ll save the other half for later?”
Literally nobody.
If we want to create a caloric deficit consistently, focusing on foods that give you a ton of bang-for-your-buck from a nutrients vs calories standpoint is the answer.
Of course, I know a Snickers bar is way more delicious than broccoli – it was designed in a lab by scientists to be AMAZING!
And I’m not gonna tell you to never eat a Snickers ever again either.
Instead, we need to start being proactive about our food choices. If we’re gonna eat a Snickers, we better damn well be planning for that by reducing our calorie intake elsewhere.
And if the scale isn’t budging, and our man boobs aren’t getting smaller – we’re still eating too much!
Should we do the Mediterranean diet? Keto? Vegan?
Maybe!
They all follow the same premise: by changing the foods we eat, we’re more likely than not to eat a caloric deficit. Certain people respond better to certain diets than others.
I personally follow a mental model diet, summarized here:
- Minimize and plan for processed food – they’re designed for us to overeat them. Take a look again at that Snickers bar. Do you really think you’d only eat half of one to stick to 200 calories? Of course not.
- Eat veggies. Vegetables are nutrient-dense and light on calories. Because of all the fiber, they are also tough to overeat. Imagine eating all that broccoli. Are you going for seconds? Probably not. So eat your veggies to help keep you full. Here’s how to make vegetables taste good.
- Avoid liquid calories. Cut back dramatically on soda, juices, smoothies, and any beverage with calories. Even most coffee orders (with sugar, cream, etc.) have a ton of hidden calories. Stick to water, and unsweetened tea or black coffee. Here are our thoughts on diet soda.
- Prioritize protein. Our body uses protein as the building block of muscle rebuilding. Outside of repairing our body, protein will also work to keep us full and satiated: 400 calories of chicken will leave us wayyy more full than 400 calories worth of Gatorade.[3] If you prioritize protein on your plate, you’ll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting on proper nutrition. Some great sources of protein include chicken, eggs, beef, pork, fish, nuts, legumes, quinoa, and most dairy products. Check out our Guide to Protein to measure how much protein you need every day.
These four points will help you on your journey to create a caloric deficit.
I know this is much easier said than done. After all, everybody knows they should eat more vegetables, and yet 70% of the country is overweight.
Clearly, there’s more happening here than just “I need willpower and I need to try harder!”
If you’re struggling with portion control and challenges, jump fully into the NF community.
We cover human behavior and psychology to help you:
We’ve helped thousands of people like you here at NF, and we really focus on nutrition.
As we said, it’s 90% of the battle!
It’s why we created our 10-level nutritional system. Each level gets a bit more challenging and healthier, but you can progress at your own speed to make your changes stick!
I’ll send you the 10-Level Guide when you sign up for our newsletter here.
Does Soy Cause Man Boobs?
You don’t have to search far on the internet for the advice “avoid soy because it causes man boobs.”
It’s repeated so much, it’s assumed to be fact.
Is it?
The definition of gynecomastia (medical condition of man boobs) mentions “increased estrogen activity” as a major cause.
So when people say stay clear of soy, they’re worried about its impact on hormones like testosterone and estrogen.
Why the concern?
It comes down to a compound found in soy called “isoflavones.” Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which acts a little like estrogen, the central female hormone.
“Phyto” is derived from Greek and means “plant.” “Estrogen” is estrogen. So phytoestrogen more or less means plant-derived estrogen.
The fear of isoflavone rests with our bodies using this plant-like estrogen as actual estrogen. A report from Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology found that this is potentially possible.[4]
I should now note, we are about to wade into a controversial subject.
We’ll be careful and rely on good old-fashioned science and studies for guidance.
However, sometimes science can point us in a couple of different and contradictory directions. When this happens, it’s important to acknowledge the uncertainty.
Compounds in soy may act like estrogen in the body. Does this apply to men though? And do they cause “man boobs?”
A 2005 study out of The Journal of Nutrition did find a relationship between soy intake and hormone levels in men.[5] However, they concluded these to be “minor.”
In 2010, Fertility and Sterility tackled the question on whether soy had “feminizing effects on men.”
They found it didn’t.[6]
Their report stated:
Neither isoflavone supplements nor isoflavone-rich soy affect total or free testosterone levels.
The journal concluded:
There is essentially no evidence from the nine identified clinical studies that isoflavone exposure affects circulating estrogen levels in men.
Case closed?
Probably, but I’d be remiss not to mention the following:
There is one documented case published in Endocrine Practice, where a man may have given himself gynecomastia by drinking three quarts of soy milk a day.[7]
His gynecomastia went away when he stopped. Granted, this is anecdotal evidence, which is far from proof.
However, it is interesting and worth noting to round out this discussion. And as mentioned earlier, the ability for phytoestrogen to act as actual estrogen does seem possible…
“Steve, Just tell me: Should I ditch soy to ditch my man boobs?”
Well, as with anything, quantity and context matters. Virginia Miller, an estrogen researcher at the Mayo Clinic, told a Vice journalist:[8]
The amount of phytoestrogens in various soy products varies by process method.
Dr. Miller didn’t think it was too problematic to eat soy, specifically mentioning that:
Eating tofu is probably OK.
Interestingly, Miller suggested that BPA found in plastic is more harmful to our endocrine (hormone) system than eating or drinking soy.[9]
Confusing stuff.
In general, the consensus seems to be that as long as you don’t binge soy products, the amount of phytoestrogens found in a normal diet is fine.
If you have the actual condition of gynecomastia, soy is unlikely to be the root cause.
As more and more research is being done on this subject, this answer could change.
My opinion: this is a tiny piece of the puzzle…
…not the whole picture.
If we’re overeating food every day, worrying about the soy we consume is missing the forest for the trees.
That’d be like…putting on a long sleeve shirt instead of a t-shirt for added protection, before driving 50 miles an hour into a brick wall.
Instead, maybe focus on wearing a seat belt, or better yet – not driving into the wall in the first place!
I swear that analogy made sense in my head before I typed it out.
Anyways – back to real specifics.
Here is the Nerd Fitness philosophy on soy: focus on total calories consumed and get that dialed in for consistent caloric deficit.
Only THEN, as our body fat starts to decrease, and we’re analyzing how our body responds to any and ALL types of food, see how our body responds to removing soy from our diet.
Want to have an expert guide you on this process? A fitness partner to help guide you on nutrition, including eliminating and then re-introducing certain foods? You can by checking out Nerd Fitness Coaching.
Do I actually have gynecomastia?
The only way to really know if you have gynecomastia is to go to a doctor.
They’ll be able to tell you (often with an ultrasound) if it’s a glandular breast enlargement or just fatty tissue.
They might also do some blood tests to check testosterone levels and female sex hormones like estrogen.
If you have an imbalance, gynecomastia could be a side effect. They’ll know for sure and can prescribe a treatment.
Also, they can verify that something very serious isn’t going on. In very rare cases, male breast enlargement can be a sign of cancer. Yes, men can get breast cancer.[10]
It should be noted: obesity itself is tied to increasing the development of real gynecomastia.
Excessive fat stimulates the body’s production of estrogen, spurring the growth of actual breast tissue.[11]
Said another way:
Pseudogynecomastia can turn into actual gynecomastia.
If you are diagnosed with gynecomastia, it’ll be between you and your doctor as to the next steps. I’ve seen men take one of three paths, as I’ve read anecdotes from our private support community for Nerd Fitness:
- Men who had elective surgery (liposuction in some instances and skin tucks) to remove the fat due to gynecomastia. They are thankful for no longer being self-conscious about their chest areas. This is not an option for everybody for various reasons.
- Others have worked hard to reduce their man boob size through exercise and nutrition.
- Some have elected to not treat gynecomastia, or are working to reduce the fat around their pecs through diet and exercise before deciding what to do next.
If you’re concerned with “man boobs,” weight management is the path of action we’d recommend, whether you’re facing either gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia.
Reducing your body fat percentage can help keep your hormones in balance.
One important note here. Your unique situation is just that: unique.
I know many men who have treated pseudogynecomastia with diet and exercise, and I know others who are VERY thankful they had surgery to treat the symptom and are much happier as a result.
No judgment here. You do you, brother.
At this point, I bet you have an additional question: “Can hormone balance be affected in the opposite direction? By increasing testosterone?”
Is there a way to boost my testosterone naturally?
If you do suspect you have a hormonal imbalance, speak with your doctor. They can run tests and tell you exactly what is going on, why, and how to treat it.
I will not be digging into medically supervised testosterone therapy (which is above my pay grade, and between you and your doctor), but here’s our guidance on naturally boosting your testosterone levels:
#1) Strength training. I know. A few sections ago I devoted an entire area to strength training.
However, if you are looking for a natural way to boost testosterone, strength training would be a good way to go about it.
One 2017 study found, that although temporary, testosterone levels were shown to: “acutely rise immediately following an acute resistance exercise bout.”[12]
Because of the short-term increase, consistency is key with resistance training and testosterone levels. That’s likely why “regular exercise” has been linked with increased testosterone overal.l[13]
#2) Stress. Cortisol is a hormone that is promoted by stress and reduces free testosterone levels (in addition to signaling for your body to store fat).[14]
The more stressed out we are, the lower our testosterone will be. What’s a cure? Being mindful.
Meditation practices have been shown to help control cortisol levels.[15] Want to start a mindfulness practice? Scope out our Nerd’s Guide to Mindfulness to get going.
Do you know what else is connected with higher cortisol levels and increased stress? Lack of sleep! If this is you, shut off Netflix and get to bed sooner.
#3) Overtraining. There can be too much of a good thing. Studies have found that both professional basketball and soccer players drop their testosterone levels by the end of a season.[16]
Which makes sense.
Tons of activity in a short amount of time gives no time to repair and heal. The same phenomenon has been found in ultra-marathoners.[17][[17]]That study on ultra-marathoners is right here.[[17]. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and schedule rest days.
#4) Eat red meat. Red meat is a great source of the amino acid carnitine, which has been linked to improved fertility.[18] Plus, it’s a good source of zinc, which has also been shown to help regulate testosterone.[19]
#5) Your results may vary. My friend Brett over at Art of Manliness did a 90-day experiment in which he doubled his testosterone levels through diet and strength training.
To be honest with you, even if you don’t have low testosterone levels, you should strength train, be mindful, and prioritize rest.
And maybe even eat a little red meat.
And yes, I read that study that says red meat will kill you. I don’t agree with the fear-mongering.[20]
If you want help with strength training, nutrition, or even starting a mindfulness practice, check out Nerd Fitness Coaching! We help men (and women) level up their lives by providing actionable goals and accountability.
How to Start Reducing Man Boobs
So you have pseudogynecomastia.
And you’re interested in trying to do this the old-fashioned way before going down the route of surgery.
This would be my recommended path to everybody, though remember I’m not a doctor and I would recommend working with your doctor to put a plan in place together.
OUR NON-DOCTOR ADVICE FOR A DUDE TRYING TO GET RID OF MAN BOOBS NATURALLY:
- Take front and side photos without a shirt on today. This will help give you a frame of reference as you move forward with your changes. Pictures will round out your story.
- Consider a tape measure and take weekly chest measurements too. Just be consistent with how you take the measurements and look for overall trends! Here’s our Guide on Tracking Fitness Progress.
- Follow the above nutritional guidance and workout routine for the next month. Remember, I gave you four tips for healthy eating. If you requested our 10-Level Nutrition Guide, it’ll help make those suggestions permanent. Plus, I want you to start doing push-ups (on your knees is a great start). Do it immediately. It’ll help prep you for those Advanced Chest Exercises I talked to you about.
- If the scale is dropping, and your photos are showing “moob” improvement, keep it up! As I said earlier, consistency is the name of the game here at Nerd Fitness. “Slow and steady” beats “fast and quitting” every time.
- If you want to talk to a doctor to see if anything can or should be done about it, go for it! Medical advice is generally good advice. Bonus points if you find a doctor who strength-trains and seeks to treat through nutrition and exercise first!
I do want to stress, that many male members of the Nerd Fitness Rebellion have reported improving their “man boobs” through the strategies listed in this article.
We are dealt a certain hand from the genetic lottery: whether we gain muscle quickly or slowly, whether we lose our hair or not, and whether we store fat in our legs or in our chest.
We can get mad about it, or we can play the hand we are dealt.
Until somebody develops robot legs, I’m not growing any taller.
However, let’s not justify our internal excuses, or throw ourselves too big of a pity party.
What we do with our genetic fate, is completely up to us. And we have hundreds of thousands of people in the Nerd Fitness Rebellion who have overcome shitty genetics to transform themselves dramatically.
If you want 1-on-1 help to transform yourself, we got you!
We come in all shapes and sizes: you do you.
The goal of this post is educational. To teach us how our body stores fat, and what can or cannot be done about it.
It’s more than okay to love yourself and also want to improve your physique.
Body positivity and wanting to look better are not mutually exclusive.
We’re all works in progress, and that’s great.
If you want to use this post to spur you to change, like cleaning up your diet or lifting some weights, awesome!
I’m glad Nerd Fitness can help lead you into action:
- Reduce your body fat percentage through nutritional changes (which includes eating a caloric deficit).
- Strength train to increase the amount of muscle you have, increase the “calories burned” portion of the weight-loss equation, and increase your testosterone.
- Work with your doctor if you are reducing your body fat but not seeing any changes in your chest area – you might actually have a medical condition called gynecomastia.
Want help knowing exactly how to progress from here?
I have MULTIPLE options for you. Pick the path below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign in the box below and not only will you receive our free weight loss guide, but our step-by-step plan for starting a Strength Training practice:
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
I know it’s easier said than done to say “f*** the haters,” but seriously, f*** the haters.
Take your shirt off at the beach: you deserve to enjoy the sun and sea like everybody else.
We’re all a work in progress, and I hope this post helps you continue to work on yours!
-Steve
PS: No seriously, f*** the haters:
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All photo sources can be found in this footnote right here [21]
Steve Kamb
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Restart Your Exercise or Nutrition Plan (in 5 Steps) | Nerd Fitness
Did you know today is National Respawn Day?
This is definitely true and not a holiday that I just made up.
Okay I did make it up, and it doesn’t matter what day it is – you’ve decided you want to try again, and you’re trying to make the changes actually stick this time.
Luckily, whether this is the first time you’ve had to respawn or the 50th, you’re in the right place.
I’m going to share the same step-by-step strategy we’ve used to help 15,000+ nerds restart their routines in our Coaching Program, and we’re gonna have a tiny bit of fun along the way.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Why It’s Okay to Start Again
So you already bailed on a goal or habit or routine this year.
We all start with hopes and dreams for what we hope to accomplish, but then we encounter this ugly thing called “reality.” We find out that maybe we picked the wrong goal, or we tried to do too much, or life managed to get in the way.
This is amazing news!
As the saying goes, “Success is moving from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm.” So, congrats for already finding a strategy that doesn’t work for you right now.
Let’s get to work on fixing that!
First, we must…
STEP 1: FORGIVE YOURSELF
When we fail at a task or goal, that voice in our head will very quickly point out all the things we’ve done wrong or how we’ve screwed up.
We might call ourself a nasty name, or berate ourselves for not having enough discipline.
There’s another way to think about this:
- You discovered a strategy or tactic that doesn’t work for you! For example, if you went Keto and bailed, great! That’s a diet that doesn’t work for you. I personally love carbs, so Keto sounds terrible to me too!
- Treat the voice in your head like a roommate. You just both happen to occupy the same brain. Just because our brain thought something doesn’t mean it’s true! I like to think of my thoughts as if they came from Chaz, a weird roommate. He means well but he doesn’t always know what he’s talking about. Also, he has a ferret.
And you’re ready to try again.
This is amazing and should be celebrated.
As NF Coach Matt explains in the video below, “self compassion” is really important when attempting to fulfill New Year’s resolutions:
STEP 2: ASK WHAT WENT WRONG?
Great! That’s information we can use, my scientist friend.
#1) You built an idealized goal for a romanticized view of life:
Life is chaos, and we all have a lot going on. When we expect to have a beautifully organized schedule, our kids won’t get sick, and work won’t run late…we’re setting ourselves up for failure.
And when we set our expectation at “perfect adherence to the plan,” one missed day can be enough to derail our progress completely.
Fortunately, as John Steinbeck wrote, “Now that you don’t have to be perfect, you can be good.” Perfection is a trap, so we’re instead going to focus on being pretty good, most of the time.
We need a plan that fits into the chaos that is life, and is not built for a perfectly clear schedule! Those don’t exist.
#2) You tried to change ALL the things:
- Your goal was 1,800 calories a day instead of your normal 3,000.
- You tried to run 7 days a week when you don’t exercise at all now.
- You said you were going to write 5,000 words a day but don’t write normally.
Instead of change all the things completely or don’t change anything, what if we changed a few things, a tiny bit?
We’re never going to get everything done, certainly not all at once. So like a video game, we need to stop trying to fight 10 level-100 dragons at the same time when we’re a wimpy level-1 wizard!
We need to pick ONE target, that’s our level, and then as we level up and get stronger, tackle bigger monsters.
So, let’s try to do less with our next experiment, okay? It’s better to succeed at ONE new habit, than it is to fail at all 10 aspirational habits!
STEP 3: CHANGE A VARIABLE IN YOUR EXPERIMENT
For your next attempt consider adjusting one of the following variables:
Did you actually enjoy the exercise you attempted? If you discovered that you hate running, great! Never do that again. “Exercise sucks,” so I would pick something you actually enjoy.
Did you try to exercise 5 days a week for 60 minutes a day? What if you instead decided to just go for a 5-minute walk every day to build the habit first, and then increased the difficulty?
#2) Try a substitution rather than addition:
ADDING a brand new exercise routine into a busy schedule can be really challenging. The same might be true with severely restricting your calories, which can be really uncomfortable and make you hangry and angry.
Let’s try this instead: Substitution! Here are three examples:
- Making healthy swaps with our diet: How you eat is 80-90% of the weight-loss equation, and you’re already eating every day. So focus on substituting a vegetable for fries once a week, or swapping sparkling water for soda. You can also keep a food journal and change up your breakfast twice a week.
- Temptation bundling: combine an exercise/activity you want to do with an activity we already love: Listening to a great audiobook, but only when we’re out for a walk or on the treadmill, or joining a friend on a bike ride (to a winery or pub!).
- Do ONE activity mindfully every day: meditation is amazing for developing the skill of being present and cultivating awareness, but it might be tough for us to set aside 20 minutes to sit alone with our thoughts. So why not practice being mindful during something you’re already doing! Practice mindfulness while brushing your teeth or washing the dishes in the sink. No extra time required, all of the benefits!
#3) Adjust your “win scenario”:
I get it. You were able to train in your home gym for the first few weeks of this year, going for at least an hour.
But THEN…work got busy. And you only had 30 minutes, which wasn’t enough time to get through your workout. So why not set the win scenario at “30 minutes,” or “15 minutes,” or just “1 exercise”? Lower the bar!
This is not an on-off switch. It’s a dial that we can turn UP or turn DOWN based on how busy our life is that day:
We can stop asking, “Do I have time for my workout” and instead ask “What workout do I have time for?”
There’s nothing that says “a workout must be 60-minutes in a gym.”
A 5-minute walk with your kids, A 10-minute circuit workout between zoom calls.
It all counts!
Feel free to turn the dial all the way down when life gets really busy, just don’t turn it off.
STEP 4: RESPAWN and try again
This next attempt might be the one that works for you too!
Keep trying differently, keep failing differently.
You can do this!
STEP 5: SUPERCHARGE YOUR RESULTS
For more strategies here, check out our guide Tracking Your Fitness Progress.
We have a free Nerd Fitness Facebook group with thousands of people ready and willing to support you!
As Coach Matt explains below, sometimes “outsourcing” help can be a real game-changer when trying to get in shape (or back in shape):
GET BACK IN THE FIGHT
For #5 (“Supercharge your results”), I have two perfect ways to help you respawn today:
Consider our Online Coaching program, and I also send out a free newsletter twice a week to help you stay motivated and entertained.
It’s the best newsletter in the galaxy, I promise you.
For the Rebellion!
PS: If you want more tips and tricks on how to stick to your goals this year, check out 5 Hacks to Effortlessly Build Healthy Habits in 2024.
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Photo Citation: Oh My Goodness! Shut Me Down, The Iron Giant, “Hello, old friend. Is he ready for me?”, Happy Halloween!!, At the blacksmith’s (Part 2), Medieval Blacksmith
Steve Kamb
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How Temptation Bundling Can Help Build Healthier Habits | Nerd Fitness
“Damn you Netflix, how did I just watch 10 episodes of Stranger Things, I have stuff to do!”
We’ve all been there. There are the things we know we SHOULD do, the things we NEED to do, and the things that we WANT to do.
More often than not, the WANT wins out over the NEED and SHOULD.
It’s like trying to win a tug-of-war against a tractor pulling in the opposite direction. It’s why we struggle to get to the gym after a long day of work. It’s why we opt for Taco Bell instead of taking the time to cook a healthy meal.
Today, we’re going to give you a quick life hack that can help you start leveling up your life and actually get things done that need to get done!
What is Temptation Bundling?
I bet you’ve said the following: “Before I can watch TV, I need to exercise.” And yet, TV ends up winning over exercise almost all the time, especially if it’s after a long miserable day at work.
So, instead of “if I do this, then I get this” What if we combined the two into one epic activity?
That idea is called “temptation bundling,” a term coined by Wharton Professor Katy Milkman: ultimately, you combine something that needs to be done with something you want to do.
She describes the idea in a paper entitled: “Holding The Hunger Games Hostage at the Gym: An Evaluation of Temptation Bundling.” [1] The goal is to get us to do things we need to do by combining them with things we want to do, removing the “either/or” temptation and getting us to ACTUALLY do stuff:
Participants were randomly assigned to a full treatment condition with gym-only access to tempting audio novels, an intermediate treatment involving encouragement to restrict audiobook enjoyment to the gym, or a control condition.
Initially, full and intermediate treatment participants visited the gym 51% and 29% more frequently.
Long story short: the people in the study who were told they could listen to addictive audio books only while working out visited the gym 51% more frequently than those who were just told they should exercise more.
Here’s some Nerd Fitness examples:
In love with the show Arrow? I am, and I want Stephen Amell to be my best friend. Don’t say, “I can only watch Arrow after exercising.” Change your phrasing, and try this instead: “I can only watch Arrow WHILE exercising.” Bring your iPad or Laptop to the gym, and only watch particular shows while you are on a treadmill, walking, or using the elliptical.
Addicted to Clash of Clans on your phone? Only allow yourself to work on your clan while at the gym, in between sets of deadlifts. Same goes for looking at TikTok or Instagram: only while resting in between squats!
Maybe you can only listen to Serial or The Rewatchables while walking, doing a particular work task, or even completing a chore at home like cleaning or laundry. An hour episode while walking could result in you racking up 3+ miles on your walk to Mordor!
Afraid to try cooking a new healthy meal? You can ONLY listen to a podcast or music in your house while you are cooking. BLAST it at top volume while having fun making a mess trying to cook.
Now, although this study teaches us that bundling a healthy life-improvement activity with one you enjoy can help you make a change, the boost can oftentimes be temporary.
The study went on to say that the “allure” of the audiobook + gym combo wore off after a few months, thus furthering the suggestion that the best chance for long term success is to truly “enjoy the journey.”
Long story short: this can a great strategy to get started, and a great way to identify types of exercise or strategies that work for you, long term results might require leveled up strategies!
But that’s fine – we’re going to be using it to build long term habits.
Try the temptation bundle challenge
If you can implement it properly, temptation bundling can both increase your time spent doing a healthy activity while also helping you limit the unhealthy one.
Now, you might be saying, “Steve, doesn’t this make the fun activity less enjoyable and the exercise/health portion less efficient?”
Possibly, but that’s not the point! Sure, I would love it if you went to the gym, completed a kickass workout, ate a healthy meal, and then got 8 hours of sleep.
However, this isn’t Imagination Land, and I know the best workout plan is the one you actually complete. This is infinitely better than the perfect workout plan that makes you say “meh, I’ll start tomorrow.”
So what do we do? We use temptation bundling to get us started, and then use drive to keep us going. When we build interest ih the activity itself, we shift our focus from “I’m enduring this workout” to “I can’t wait to see how much better I am this week.” The change can become permanent.
Your turn: what’s one activity that you love to do, and one that you know you should do more of? And how are you going to implement this strategy TODAY to your daily routine? Here are some other rapid fire examples:
- Are you studying or getting some work done? Get your favorite snack or beverage only when you are doing it.
- Try walking outside (or a cardio machine) – that’s now the only time you’re allowed to listen to your favorite podcast/audiobook.
- Try pairing chores like ironing, doing laundry, or cleaning dishes while watching your favorite tv shows or a new movie you’ve been waiting for.
Your turn!
What’s one temptation bundle you are going to combine and start TODAY?
-Steve
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Photo sources: Visiting Friends, A good Sunday to you, Rain doesn’t stop a photographer
Steve Kamb
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dirtier divergent pushy
It just honestly seems like search engines are getting worse in general. Whether it’s the fact their primary focus is on ads, or maybe it’s the websites they link to just trying to show up, but it just seems like you can never actually find what you want when you search, just someone selling something.
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The (Best) 20-Min Leg Day Workout for Home
One of the biggest questions we get from everyone is “How do I work my legs at home?”
After all, challenging the legs with barbells, dumbbells, and machines at the gym is easy. We can just continue to add weight to our exercises until our legs look like tree trunks. But if we want to build strength but we’re unable to get to the gym, don’t have a gym membership, or are traveling – then what do we do?
Enter the NERD FITNESS LEG DAY WORKOUT.
Our 20-minute routine can be scaled for someone just getting started (beginner), or someone looking to get their legs blasted (advanced).
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
Let’s hop to it!
Jumping would also be a great leg workout!
The 20-minute Nerd Fitness Leg Day Workout
To get started with our Leg Day Workout, warm up with 1-2 minutes of leg swings and marching in place.
Continue the warm-up with 1-2 sets of the first exercise at an easier variation (or less weight/reps) then move on to your work sets. For the remaining exercises, perform 1-2 additional warm-up sets at the start, if needed. (A bit more on the warm-up later!)
Alternate between Workout A and Workout B on non-consecutive days to properly recover. Meaning, give yourself a “rest day” before doing a leg workout again.
If you’re new to dedicated leg days (or just getting back into things), then choose the lower end of the prescribed sets and reps, while picking easier variations. If you’re a seasoned pro, then start increasing the number of sets or reps you do each workout, while pushing for harder and harder variations.
Rest 1-2 minutes between sets (or longer, if needed).
Now, let’s give you some specifics.
LEG DAY AT HOME – WORKOUT A
Phase 1
Warm up for a few minutes.
Phase 2
Do 2 to 4 sets of the following:
- Squat Variation: 5-8 reps
- Deadlift Variation: 8-12 reps
Phase 3
Do 2 to 3 sets of the following:
- Lunge Variation: 5-8 per side
- Calf Raise Variation: 8-12 reps
LEG DAY AT HOME – WORKOUT B
Phase 1
Warm up for a few minutes.
Phase 2
Do 2 to 4 sets of the following:
- Deadlift Variation: 8-12 reps
- Squat Variation: 5-8 reps
Phase 3
Do 2 to 3 sets of the following:
- Step-up Variation: 5-8/side
- Shin Raise Variation: 8-12 reps
There are a lot of variations you can choose from for these exercises, so let’s break these down for you.
Real quick, before we do, I’d like to highlight that crafting effective routines, much like the one above, is a significant aspect of NF Coaching. Our team of coaches understands the hustle, so we tailor quick workouts that optimize available resources—be it equipment, time, or energy.
And that’s not all! A coach can also help with your nutrition and stress management, two vital components of the fitness adventure.
In fact, there’s a whole lot more to explore. If you’re intrigued, take a closer look at our online one-on-one program here:
The 6 Best Leg Day Exercises for Home
Let’s go over some categories of leg day exercises that you can do at home, plus some variations you can choose to get started with.
#1) Squat Variations:
No leg workout would be complete without the squat.
It uses all the muscles of the lower body in a very natural pattern – ever see a baby squat?
However, as we age and adopt unnatural sitting postures, our squat form tends to suffer.
So let’s work to get back to basics, baby!
Squat variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Squats
Working up to an unassisted squat in your workout, or just need a good option for your warm-up? Enter the assisted squat! Hold onto anything safe and stable (a countertop, a chair, the wall) to put some of the work off your legs and into your arms.
2) Bodyweight Squat
In the video above, we cover five common mistakes folks often make when performing a squat.
Give it a watch so you don’t make them too!
3) Pause Squat
Is the regular squat feeling too easy? Pause for a couple of seconds at the bottom. This will work the muscles a bit more as well as help improve your mobility for the exercise.
4) Goblet Squat
Have you become a master of the bodyweight squat? Then add some weight to it! Hold a weight with two hands in front of your chest, like a big goblet that you don’t want to spill. This means keeping the chest and weight up!
If you don’t have a dumbbell, then this is the perfect time to hold a suitcase or backpack up for improvised weight as we describe here.
5) Banded Squat
Weighted squats are great, until you have to travel! For a much lighter, but still powerful option, hold a band in your hands and stand on it. If your band is a continuous loop, you can also stand on it and drape the band over the front of your shoulders while crossing and lifting the arms up.
6) Jumping Squat
No weights? No bands? No problem! Add some explosion to the movement and jump off the ground for each rep. You don’t have to jump sky high, or honestly even leave the ground. Even just a slight weight reduction should prove more challenging than a regular bodyweight squat.
7) One-Legged Squat (do 5-8 per side)
Ready for the ultimate challenge? Build up enough strength to do a squat with just one leg!
This is an amazing variation when you find yourself with no gym and no equipment. Just like the regular bodyweight squat, you can work this assisted first by holding onto a chair or doorframe.We cover a lot of the finer points in our YouTube video – getting your first one-legged squat:
For more deets on how to squat properly in general, check out The Nerd’s Guide to the Perfect Squat.
#2) Deadlift Variations
Why deadlifts?
Well, not only will a deadlift challenge our legs. But really, it’s an EVERYTHING exercise, as we engage every muscle in our body throughout the movement:
- Posterior chain and legs? They’re the powerhouse, working like a lever to hoist that weight up.
- Back and core? Engaged throughout the movement as we keep our whole body tight and steady.
- Shoulders and traps? They’re working hard to keep the weight secure as we lift.
So any solid leg day workout should aim to include deadlifts in it.
Deadlift variations to choose from:
1) Bodyweight Deadlift (Good Morning)
While we’re not “lifting” anything in this variation, it’s still the same movement of hinging at the hips and leaning forward. You can keep your hands in front of you holding imaginary weights, or placed up behind your head for an exercise that is often called the “good morning”.
2) Weighted Deadlift
We can pick up dumbbells, kettlebells, or barbells. At home, we might be picking up luggage, backpacks, or sandbags. In any of these examples, the form remains the same! Push your hips back and lean forward, like you did for the good morning.
Once you’ve leaned forward a bit, then bend your knees slightly to be able to reach your weight. Grab strong and stand up tall. Put the weight back down by reversing the process. Hips back, lean forward, and bend the knees slightly.
3) Banded Deadlift
No weights? Again, no problems. You can stand on a band and work the deadlift.
If you have a close-looped band, another option is to loop the band around one foot, then under the second foot, and then back around the first foot. This will give you a cat’s cradle of bands between your feet where you can grab one to four bands to deadlift for a variety of difficulties.
Check the gif for further explanation:
4) Kettlebell or Dumbbell Swing
Just as we added some speed and explosion to the squats, we can do the same thing to the deadlift movement too. This is called ‘the swing’ and can be done with a dumbbell, kettlebell, or even a compact backpack.
The biggest focus is to make sure the power is coming from your hips and they pop open, and not from your arms lifting the weight.
5) One-Legged Deadlift (do 8-12 per side)
As with the squat, if we don’t have bands or equipment, then one of the best go-to’s is to perform the exercise on one leg. This puts more work on that single leg, as well as makes it more challenging for our balance as we go through the reps.
6) Weighted One-Legged-Deadlift
Have some weights to use, but a two-legged deadlift is too easy – then do it on one leg! Take your time, and continue to focus on pushing those hips back at the start of the exercise.
For more here, check out The Nerd’s Guide to Deadlifting.
#3) Lunge Variations
When done correctly, lunges target the quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and calves, enhancing lower body strength and stability. Additionally, because they are iso-lateral (your feet aren’t in line with each other), lunges help stress the lower body in a different way that can help reduce imbalances from left to right.
When you add it all up: lunges are perfect for leg day!
Lunge variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Lunges
Just like with the assisted squats, for assisted lunges, we can hold onto something stable like a countertop, chair, or wall. The idea again is to put some of the work into your arms and off your legs, as well as provide more stability.
2) Split Squats
The split squat is another great variation to work on the way to a regular bodyweight lunge. While it looks very similar to a lunge, the biggest difference is that we’ll set our feet once, and then keep them in place and we move up and down. By keeping the feet stationary, the exercise can be a bit easier to balance.
3) Bodyweight Lunges
The lunge puts stress on the legs greater than just a bodyweight squat, while also challenging our balance. Step out far enough to be able to sink down so that your back knee comes close to the ground (it can lightly touch, but don’t slam it down).
If stepping forward feels a little achy for the knee, you can work on stepping backward into position (aka the reverse lunge).
4) Pause Lunges
If the regular lunge is feeling strong, then add a pause! We’ll pause at the bottom of each rep for a couple of seconds before returning to standing. Get as low as you can, while still keeping the back knee off the ground.
5) Lateral Lunges
Lateral lunges are a deceptively challenging lunge variation. While many of our movements in the gym have us moving forward and backward (the sagittal plane, for you anatomy nerds). The lateral lunge has us moving sideways (the frontal plane), so it may feel new and unfamiliar.
Take your time, use an assist if needed, and look to sink down as low on your leading leg as you would in a squat. The other leg can remain straight, with the foot on the ground.
6) Weighted Lunges
Are all of these lunges too easy so far? Then add some weight! You can hold weight up at your chest, like the goblet squat, or in your hands. If you have some weight in a backpack, you can even wear it to make the exercise more difficult.
7) Jumping Split Squats
When you’re working out, but don’t have any extra weight to add to your lunges, this dynamic variation will get the job done. Get set just like a regular split squat – stepping out with one foot and sinking down. But now, instead of just split squatting up and down with the feet in place, you want to explode off the ground and switch feet in mid-air.
For more here, check out The Nerd’s Guide to the Perfect Lunge.
#4) Calf Raises
No surprise here that calf raises target our calf muscles…it’s right in the name.
But the exercise also promotes foot and ankle strength, contributing to overall body balance. That makes it a great exercise for leg day.
Calf Raise variations to choose from:
1) Seated Calf Raises
If this is your first time doing dedicated calf work, I’d highly suggest starting with seated calf raises. The extra focused work on this muscle can make them sore very easily, so this a good option to dip your toes in.
2) Standing Calf Raises (Floor)
If seated calf raises are feeling strong, then stand up to add a bit of weight to the movement. Press your toes through the ground and get up as high as you can. Hold onto a wall, chair, or countertop to assist with your balance, but look to keep most of the weight still in the legs.
3) Standing Calf Raises (Step)
Adding a step to your standing calf raises allows you to drop your heels lower and increase the range of motion. This also increases the likelihood that it’ll be a little tough to walk normally the next day!
Get a good stretch at the bottom, and then really extend up to the top.
4) One-Leg Calf Raises (Floor)
Once two-legged calf raises are no problem, then it’s easy to increase the intensity by working one leg at a time. As before, we can start on the ground to get more weight into the movement while working in a smaller range of motion.
5) One-Leg Calf Raises (Step)
Ready to turn those calves into cows? Then let’s get up on the step and work the one-legged calf raise. All the previous cues still apply – look to drop your heel below the step and get a good stretch before pushing through and really extending at the top.
If this continues to feel easy, then your free hand can hold a weight to increase the intensity further.
#5) Step-Up Variation
Step-ups, a versatile leg exercise, amp up strength in crucial muscle groups—quadriceps, hamstrings, glutes, and adductors.
Moreover, being a unilateral leg exercise (since we’re doing one leg at a time), step-ups play a vital role in balancing strength between both sides. This can help us improve imbalances. As we strive to create a killer leg day routine (which is the plan), step-ups definitely deserve a spot in the spotlight.
Step-up variations to choose from:
1) Assisted Step-Ups
As with the previous assisted variations, use something stable to help you step up onto the object. You may step onto a stepstool, a step or two on a flight of stairs, or any stable box.
The higher the object, the harder the step-up, but looking for a height that puts your front thigh about horizontal is a good average to work towards.
2) Bodyweight Step-Ups
When the legs feel strong enough, then remove any assist and step up strong. Look to keep the chest up as you stand up tall at the top. Alternate back and forth with which leg you step with, to give the legs an equal amount of work.
3) Weighted Step-Ups
As we continue to get stronger with the step-ups, then adding weight is the next natural progression. As with the lunges, you can hold weight up at your chest, like the goblet squat, or in your hands. If you have some weight in a backpack, you can even wear it to make the exercise more difficult.
4) Bulgarian Split Squats
While the Bulgarian Split Squat looks like a lunge, we’ll keep it in the Step-Up Variations as A) we should be putting more emphasis on the front leg than both legs and B) you’ll likely be performing this exercise with the same set-up as your step-ups – on a flight of stairs or with a box.
Step out in front of whatever object you’re using, and then place the top of your foot up on the object. If this is too uncomfortable, then you can place a towel or other similar padding to help.
Sink down until your front thigh gets horizontal, and then stand back up. If you feel too “cramped” when trying to descend, then step a little further away from the object.
#6) Shin Raises
Shin raises are great. They make the front shin muscle, called the tibialis anterior, stronger. This muscle helps protect your knees by reducing the force on them when you run or jump. They are also fantastic if you’ve ever suffered from shin splints. So, shin raises are like a shield for your knees during active stuff!
They are also much less frequently worked, so take your time and don’t get frustrated if they feel challenged!
Shin raise variations to choose from:
1) Shin Raise – Feet Close to Wall
The first and relatively easiest variation is to perform shin raises with your feet closer to the wall and your back leaning up against the wall. Feet should be naturally hip-width apart, and then lift your feet as high as you are able to go. Again, take your time and go for quality reps.
2) Shin Raise – Feet Far from Wall
As the shin raise gets easier, you can increase the range of motion and difficulty by moving your feet farther from the wall. Continue with the same cues – putting your feet hip-width apart, and lifting your feet as high as you can go.
3) Shin Raise – Heels on Edge of a Step
Some people prefer standing on the edge of a step and lowering their feet down, as opposed to moving their feet out away from the wall, to make the shin raise more difficult.
Care should be taken here to set up a safe position. Look to pick a very low step where your toes can touch the ground lightly at the bottom. This will help minimize the risk of slipping off the front. Your heels should be firmly on the step, and then reach back to the wall for balance.
What’s a Good Leg Day Warm-Up?
Warming up before tackling leg day is crucial because it’ll help you move better and feel stronger through your workout.
As your body temperature rises during a warm-up, blood flow to muscles increases. This enhances oxygen delivery and nutrient supply, optimizing muscle function.
Additionally, warm-ups promote the release of synovial fluid – this is a thick liquid between your joints that reduces friction. This helps the exercises feel more effortless.
So, in a nutshell, warming up is like priming your engine before pushing the pedal.
Here’s a warm-up you can do to prepare for leg day:
#1) Leg Swings for 20-30 seconds per side
The objective for this movement is to lightly move the hip joint through a big range of motion. Only swing as high as you feel comfortable, and keep the body in a strong upright posture.
#2) Marching in Place for 30-60 seconds
You can march in place or march straight ahead. The marching should increase our heart rate a bit, but not be strenuous. The objective here is to introduce some movement in the knee joint and continue to warm the whole body up.
#3) One to Two Sets of an Easier Variation of Your First Chosen Exercise
These are not part of the prescribed sets that are in the workout. These are additional sets! Adding in a few warm-up sets is one of the best things to do to specifically prepare the body for the exercise.
So if you’re first exercise is a bodyweight squat:
Start off with an assisted squat:
Or if you’re doing a goblet squat, then start off with a lighter weight (or a bodyweight squat).
Adjust the movement for these warm-up sets so that they feel good and you feel more prepared for the tougher sets ahead.
#4) Include Additional Warm-up Sets, as Necessary, as You Continue Through Your Workout
After the first exercise, you may feel good enough to step right into the main sets of your next exercises. If you don’t feel ready, then continue performing 1-2 easier sets as a warm-up for any additional exercise.
If you’re going to be lifting heavy weights, or just challenging yourself in general, it’s still a good idea to do warm-up sets before you get to the main event.
So if you plan on doing a kettlebell deadlift:
Deadlifts at a lighter weight, or a bodyweight good morning would help.
Listen to your body as you go, and don’t be afraid to add a warm-up set or two before every new exercise.
For more on this subject, check out How to Warm Up Before a Workout.
3 Ways to Challenge Your Legs Without Using Weights
If you’re at home, you might have some weights around for your leg day workout.
Great!
But if you’re away from home, like at an Airbnb, you might not.
Don’t fret.
Here are three ways to challenge your legs without weights:
- Pause variation: this will make the movement tougher as we pause for a couple of seconds at a certain point in the exercise, usually at the bottom where the muscles are doing the most work.
- Banded version: this will make the movement tougher as we use bands to add resistance to the exercise. There are different exercise bands you can purchase, but we tend to like the thicker, closed-loop bands. They are much easier to pack for a road trip than a set of weights. You can learn more about resistance bands here.
- Dynamic version: this will make the movement tougher as we add some speed to the exercise. This generally involves a jumping variation of a regular exercise, such as jumping squats or jumping split squats.
Now, sometimes we need to make exercises EASIER.
This is generally done by performing an assisted variation.
With an assisted variation, we make the movement easier and generally involve holding onto something solid nearby – whether that’s a countertop, chair, or wall.
Assisted variations are also handy (hehe) for doing warm-ups. See above.
Now, obviously, a simple way to make an exercise tougher is to add some weight to it. Let’s talk about that next.
How to Use Weights at Home for Leg Day (Including Household Objects)
Adding any weight to an exercise will naturally make the movement tougher, as we have to move our bodyweight and this additional weight. You might have a small collection of weights and dumbbells at home that you can use, but we can also grab anything safe and stable for additional weight. It’s something we bring up in the video, How to Level Up Your Home Gym:
As highlighted by Coach Matt in the video above, various household items can be repurposed for your home gym!
Picture yourself as a fitness MacGyver, but instead of building a helicopter with a crazy straw, a can of hairspray, and some bubble gum…
You’re crafting a home gym!
Consider these alternative fitness equipment ideas using everyday items:
#1) Household Containers (Milk, Laundry)
If it has a handle and can hold water, it can serve as a makeshift free weight.
Another idea is to use an empty laundry detergent bottle, refilled with water. To make it lighter, adjust the water level.
Want it even heavier? Use sand instead.
#2) Buckets
What’s designed to hold water and be lifted and carried?
A bucket!
With a bucket and your legs, you can perform a Romanian deadlift:
Like a jug, fill it with enough water (or sand) to match your strength. Take your time if you’re using water, as it’ll be likely to slosh out otherwise!
#3) Luggage and Backpacks
Your luggage might just be sitting in a closet right now. Or you might have a ton of extra bags or backpacks lying around.
So why not turn these into weights? Fill them with anything that can add a bit of heft.
Need some ideas? How about:
- Books
- Canned goods
- Laundry!
Take a stroll around your house; you’ll find plenty to add to make things challenging. (Just remember to keep it safe!)
Now that you have heavy luggage, deadlifts are a great option. You may find it a bit more challenging to lift than a traditional dumbbell or barbell too!
Most exercises with a sandbag can be replicated with a suitcase filled with weight too. You could even just dive into the deep end and make a few sandbags yourself.
And finally, a heavy backpack is great to wear for weighted squats, lunges, or step-ups.
What Exactly Is Leg Day?
So what is this “leg day”, and why does everyone always seem to be skipping it?
Leg day isn’t any more complex than dedicating an entire workout to the lower body. This allows you to focus much more time and attention on it, than if you were working your leg exercises during a total body routine. (Like something we outline here.)
Leg day also tends to be really, really HARD. Not only because we’re recruiting the biggest muscles of the body to move around the most amount of weight, but the rest of the body usually also has to work and stabilize everything in the process.
Lots more working than just the legs here!
Now there’s nothing right or wrong about having a dedicated leg day. This may or may not work with your current goals and situation.
But whether you have an entire dedicated leg workout, or work total body with each session, training your legs is a must.
That’s because…
5 Reasons to Never Skip Leg Day
You may wondered:
“Are training legs really that important? I mean, I walk a lot.
Isn’t that good enough?”
My answer: no. Now go do some squats!
Kidding (but seriously do some squats).
Here are the benefits of doing leg day:
- Build a Beastly Base: Your legs are the powerhouse of your body, literally. Strong legs = better balance, improved athleticism, and a boost in everyday activities like climbing stairs or carrying groceries like a champ. Think of them as the foundation of your fitness empire!
- Calorie Crushing: Leg workouts engage multiple muscle groups, making them calorie-burning machines. Squats, lunges, deadlifts – they all send your metabolism into overdrive, helping you sculpt a leaner, fitter you. Plus, the extra muscle mass you build burns more calories even at rest, meaning more calories burned while playing video games.[1]
- Total Body Gains: Forget the myth of isolated muscle groups. Leg workouts trigger a hormonal cascade throughout the whole body that benefits the rest of your muscles, leading to gains in upper body strength as well. Biceps? Triceps? They’ll be thanking you for those squats!
- Brain Booster: Exercise isn’t just about the body, it’s a friend to the brain too. Leg workouts increase blood flow to your head, delivering oxygen and nutrients that boost cognitive function and memory. So, next time you need to ace that presentation or remember where you parked the car (again), hit the gym and give your legs some love.[2]
- Pain Prevention Powerhouse: Strong leg muscles are your body’s shock absorbers, protecting your joints and spine from injuries. So embrace the leg day life – your future self will thank you for it![3]
Now, to answer your question:
Can You Get Strong Legs Just by Walking?
While a brisk walk (or a run) is a fantastic way to stay active, improve your cardiovascular health, and boost your mood, it’s not quite the muscle-building superhero you might be hoping for. Think of it like a gentle tap on the shoulder compared to the full-on boot camp of squats and lunges. Challenging strength exercises, like the ones you see in this article, have a host of benefits you won’t get walking and running.
- First off, they take the joints through a much bigger range of motion. The amount of movement in the knees and hips during a squat is significantly more than a walk. It’s important to move our joints through these ranges of motion, so we can continue moving them well for years to come!
- Next, this bigger range of motion means we’re building strength in the muscles much more effectively than with a walk or a run. More strength will serve us well in anything we do – from sports to life.
- Lastly, this strength-building also puts enough stress on the body to build (or maintain) muscle and bone. The same can’t be said for walking and running. Maintaining muscle and bone is vital as we age (and also pretty darn important when we’re younger too!).
So, while walking is excellent for the heart and a great foundation for a healthy lifestyle, don’t underestimate the power of adding some targeted strength training to unlock those hidden gains. Trust me, your legs will thank you for it!
Oh, and if you are interested in walking more (a great idea in general), here’s The
Hobbit’sNerd’s Guide to Walking.How to Prevent Muscle Soreness From Leg Day
First things first, let’s manage expectations.
Soreness is a natural consequence of challenging your muscles – especially if you’re coming back from a long break or trying something new. It’s like your body throwing a tiny temper tantrum because you dared to ask it to get outside its comfort zone.
So maybe reframe this as your muscles whispering, “Hey, we just leveled up!”
Now, that doesn’t mean we gotta roll around in agony the day after. We can outsmart the soreness a bit with some clever strategies.
Step 1) Pre-Workout Prep
- Warm up like nobody’s watching: Get your blood pumping with some easy movements like leg swings or marching. Think of it as waking up your muscles before they get thrown into the gladiator arena. We covered a warm-up at the top of this article (found here), but we also have a complete guide that covers different warm-up routines.
- Hydrate!: Water is your post-workout soreness BFF. Hydrating properly can lessen discomfort and safeguard your joints and muscles. It works by maintaining the flexibility of the cartilage, kind of like giving them a regular dose of TLC. Fill up before, during, and after your leg day adventure. Think of it as internal lubrication for those tired warriors.
Step 2) During Your Workout
- Form is your fortress: Don’t ego-lift, my friend. Use proper form to target the right muscles and avoid injury. If you find an exercise too challenging, then adjust to another variation. We’re trying to slowly build a castle here, and proper form is how we make sure all the rocks go in the right places.
- Progressive overload, not extreme overload: Push yourself, but listen to your body. Don’t go from “I never work out” to “squat champion” in a day. Your muscles need time to adapt and build strength. Increasing the amount of work you do too drastically is a surefire way to have some debilitating soreness from your workout.
- Variety is the spice of leg life: Different exercises target different muscle fibers within your legs. Squats primarily engage quads, while lunges hit hamstrings and glutes more prominently. By mixing things up, you ensure all muscle groups get challenged, and one area isn’t beaten up relentlessly (and incredibly sore the next day). Working different exercises also leads to more balanced and overall leg development.
Now, Step 3 is going to get us into “active recovery.” Basically, what to do AFTER your leg day workout.
But let’s dive into a new section for that.
What Workout to Do AFTER Leg Day? (5 Ideas)
To recover from an intense leg day workout, there are a few things we can do. Some of these things can be done right after our workout, while others can be prioritized the next day.
Here are some ideas:
#1) Cool Down
Avoid the post-workout slump with a gentle cooldown. Light activity like walking or jogging helps pump blood through your working muscles, preventing them from feeling like overinflated balloons. This can reduce lactic acid buildup, a major contributor to muscle soreness.
#2) Foam Rolling
Foam rolling is your secret weapon for releasing tension and improving blood flow in those tired legs, especially in your quads, hamstrings, and glutes. Think of it as giving your muscles a mini massage after a workout. Studies show that foam rolling can help increase blood flow to the treated area, potentially aiding in faster recovery and reducing muscle soreness.[4]
Remember, it’s not a battle – listen to your body and apply gentle pressure. We’re trying to relax the muscles a bit, not beat them down into submission.
Here’s a routine you can run through if you have a roller handy:
For more, check out our guide How to Use a Foam Roller (Step by Step).
#3) Re-Fuel!
Soon after your workout, replenish your energy stores with a delicious blend of protein and carbs.
Think of meals like:
- Protein smoothie with banana
- Greek yogurt with berries and granola
- Whole-wheat wrap with turkey and avocado
Studies show that consuming protein and carbs soon after a workout optimizes muscle recovery and growth.[5]
#4) Motion is Lotion!
This is a favorite saying we have around here. It means to move around nice and easy, anyway that you can! This might mean a light walk, or a yoga session, or even a set or two of yesterday’s exercises at an easy level. Look to get the joints and muscles through as big a range of motion as you can.
This is often the exact opposite of what many people do the day after leg day – which is to sit around for days and wait for the soreness to subside. You’ll feel much better and be able to tackle your next workout a lot sooner if you remember to keep moving around!
#5) Sleep
Don’t underestimate the power of sleep! Aim for 7-8 hours of quality shut-eye to allow your muscles to repair and rebuild. As we cover in our Guide to a Goodnight’s Rest, sleep is like magic for your body – it’s when the real growth and progress happen.
For more tips on activities to do after your leg day workout, check out The Nerd’s Guide to Active Recovery.
What’s the Best Day for Leg Day? (When to Schedule Leg Day)
When it comes to scheduling your leg day, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. It’s all about finding what works best for your schedule.
With that being said, here are some things to consider when scheduling Leg Day:
- When you have the most time. Working legs is tough and takes time to warm up and go heavy in your sets, as compared to the upper body. While we still recommend getting in your leg workouts even if you have a busy schedule, IF you have a choice then look to line up your leg day with the day of the week that gives you the most available time.
- Post rest day for a fresh attack. To maximize muscle engagement, potentially schedule your leg day workout after a rest day. That way you’re feeling recovered and ready to put in the hard work.
- Avoid pulling exercises the day before. Often when someone is doing a dedicated leg day, they’ll work their upper body on the other days of the week. With these upper body workouts, it’s also common for people to break up the exercises into pushing and pulling workouts. Because we often have to grab and hold weights or bands for our leg day workouts, it’s better to avoid scheduling leg day the day after your pulling workouts. The grip will be tired and it may affect what you can lift.
So there you have it, my friend! The leg day gauntlet has been laid, but how you choose to conquer it is entirely yours.
You may find a dedicated leg day to work best for you – allowing you to really focus on each exercise and push really hard. Or you may find that a total body workout – hitting legs and upper body in the same session – works much better for your schedule and your goals. There are no right and wrong answers here.
Remember, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion isn’t about rigid rules, it’s about experimenting, finding what lights your training fire, and making progress toward your goals while having fun.
And if you’re looking for even more help in building your workout, don’t forget to check out our guide on crafting the perfect personalized workout plan: How to Build a Workout Routine.
It’ll help you incorporate your new leg day routine into a complete workout.
Now go forth, nerdy warriors! Conquer leg day, conquer your workouts, and conquer the world, one step, squat, and lunge at a time!
-Coach Jim
PS – This is my favorite leg day meme:
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Jim Bathurst
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How to Do a Turkish Get-up (and Workout Example)
It’s time to learn how to do a Turkish get-up!
I’m glad you want to learn it, as it’s a great functional exercise that will improve your strength and balance.
However, it’s also a bit of a technical movement, as there are quite a few steps to follow.
But have no fear! You’re in the right place to learn the Turkish get-up.
After all, it’s what we do best here at Nerd Fitness: making complex exercises simple for beginners.
Here’s what we’ll cover today:
Let’s get after it.
How to Do a Turkish Get-up (With Video Tutorial)
In the video above, Coach Staci walks you through proper technique with the Turkish get-up (TGU).
Staci demonstrates three versions of the TGU:
- With no weight (or a bodyweight TGU)
- With a shoe to help test alignment
- With a dumbbell
But there’s a lot to the move, so we’ll break it down for you.
Before we do, it’s worth pointing out that Staci is a coach here at NF!
Yep, we’re lucky to have her on the team
When she’s not busy making videos on complex exercises, she’s coaching nerds on how to grow strong and level up their nutrition.
Pretty cool, huh?
If you’re interested in learning more, you can learn all about our coaching program right here:
What are the Turkish Get-up Steps?
Here’s how to perform the Turkish Get-up, step by step:
#1) Lie on the Floor, Extend Arm, Bend Leg
Begin in a supine position, extending one arm vertically while bending the same-side leg. This is our starting stance.
#1a) If Weighted, Roll onto Your Back and Extend the Arm
For those using additional weight, start on your side and pull the weight close with two arms. Roll onto your back, continuing to keep the weight close, then extend the weight overhead with both arms, taking your time and maintaining control.
#2) Roll up onto the Other Forearm
Maintain eye contact with the hand overhead as you roll from your back up onto your opposite forearm.
#3) Get up onto Your Hand
Continue the movement by getting up onto your hand, and maintaining eye contact with the other hand overhead.
#4) Bridge the Hips and Sweep the Leg Under
Keep your hand on the ground and lift your hips high enough to sweep your leg underneath you. We’re looking to move that leg far enough to make a triangle on the ground with your hand, knee, and foot.
#4a) Ensure a Stable Triangle
Make sure the triangle you’ve created with hand, knee, and foot feels strong before shifting weight and moving onto the next step.
#5) Move into a Kneeling Lunge Position
Lift up your body into a kneeling lunge, with one knee up and the other down. Take your time to maintain your balance.
#6) Stand up (Halfway through the TGU)
Stand up completely. This is the halfway point of the Turkish Get-up.
#7) Step Back to a Kneeling Lunge
Start the descent by stepping back into a kneeling lunge.
#8) Hand Down, Create a Triangle with Foot and Knee
Lower your hand, forming the same stable triangle with your hand, knee, and foot on the ground.
#9) Keep Hips High, Sweep the Leg Under
Push your hand strong into the ground and keep the hips elevated, as you sweep the leg forward and sit on the ground.
#10) Forearm and Elbow Down on the Ground
Bring your forearm and elbow down to the ground, continuing to maintain eye contact with your hand (or weight) overhead.
#11) Upper Back Down on Ground
Complete the Turkish Get-up by gently lowering your upper back to the ground.
#11a) If Weighted, Lower Weight Down, Roll to Your Side
For those with added weight, lower it down with two hands (if necessary), keeping it close, and then roll to the side to put it on the ground.
What’s a Turkish Get-up Workout?
The Turkish get-up is very versatile and can be worked into your routine in several different ways.
Here are some quick examples of a Turkish Get-up Workout:
- Warm-up: Perform 1-2 easy sets of 2-3 reps each side, alternating sides, with light or no weight. With little rest between sets, it’s quick, effective, and readies your body for more.
- Strength Training: Opt for 2-3 sets of 1-3 reps per side, either same side or alternating, with progressively heavier weight. Rest 1-3 minutes between sets.
- Conditioning: Engage in 2-3 sets of 3-5 reps or more per side, alternating sides, using light to medium weight. Keep it moving to elevate your heart rate (minimal rest).
Let’s break this down a bit.
#1) The Turkish Get-up as a Warm-up
If your aim is to warm up and prepare your body for action, incorporate the Turkish Get-up with 1-2 easy sets. Perform 2-3 reps on each side, alternating between left and right.
This can be done with a lighter weight or just your bodyweight, focusing on proper form. Even without added weight, ensure you go through all the points of performance, treating it as if there’s resistance. Each repetition may take 15-30 seconds (or more if you’re first learning), offering a thorough warm-up. If you need a bit more warm-up, then do a few more reps! This will get your entire body ready for more activity.
#2) The Turkish Get-up as Strength Training
While it doesn’t look like a traditional exercise, you’ll still build plenty of strength when you start increasing the weight and testing yourself.
Because of the longer time it takes to complete each rep (as opposed to something like a push-up or a squat), you’ll tend to see lower rep ranges worked with this exercise – 1 to 3 reps per side is a good place to start.
You can work the same side (all 1-3 reps done before switching) or alternate reps (one rep left, one rep right, etc). To progress, continue to increase the weight used, as long as you have control.
If you decide to add more reps, we start to enter the world of conditioning.
#3) The Turkish Get-up as Conditioning
If we want to turn the Turkish get-up into a conditioning exercise, then increase the total number of reps, while keeping the rest between sets minimal.
Because the shoulder will fatigue first, it’s best to alternate between sides (although if you’re feeling spicy – then complete all the reps on one side first!).
We’re also looking for light to medium weight so that we can keep things going safely, while getting the heart rate up.
As with any of these recommendations, if you need to make it tougher then start adding weight and/or reps, or just decrease your rest time!
What Are the Benefits of the Turkish Get-Up?
With all of these steps and cues in the Turkish get-up, you might be asking yourself:
“Why? What’s the point and benefit of learning this? What muscles are even worked?”
You might have heard of the 2012 study that linked the ability to stand up from the ground easily with a longer life. This was attributed in part to the fact that flexibility, strength, and coordination are all important things to maintain as one gets older.
But even if you’re not a senior in their golden years, you can still build up and benefit from more of each of those attributes.In addition, and this is something very often overlooked in people’s routines, it’s good to move in different directions.
The sky’s the limit here.
Too often we head to the gym and move around like we’re on tracks: moving forward or backward, two feet together, both arms pressing or pulling at the same time.
If we never explore different planes of motion and stress the arms and legs independently of one another, then when we’re called to do this outside the gym (cue Morpheus saying “Welcome to the real world”), there can be some troubles.
Now any sort of movement is fantastic – so don’t stress out or second guess yourself – but when you’re looking to level up your workout, then look to work your arms and legs independently of each other.This might be as simple as a lunge:
Or a one-arm row:
You can also look to move in different directions – this might look like a lunge to the side:
As opposed to always lunging to the front.
Then, of course, you can also pick up and explore the Turkish get-up. Feel how we’re moving in unfamiliar directions and stressing our muscles in unique ways with the exercise.
Now, to your next question:
What muscles do Turkish Get-ups work?
When performing Turkish get-ups, you’ll strengthen muscles like:
- Chest and arm – as we press the weight into the starting position.
- Core – specifically the obliques and abdominals, as you move from the floor to a standing position (and back down). As you move through several positions, your core will be engaged the whole time.
- Shoulder – as we put our other hand on the ground and get the supporting arm vertical.
- Glutes – as we bridge up our hips.
- Quads – as we get into and stand up from a lunge position.
- Grip – as we squeeze the weight hard to control it.
But really, it’s just about every muscle you have.
That’s because the Turkish Get-up is what we call a “total body movement,” meaning it requires every muscle in your body, all working together.
So your shoulders will stabilize the weight above you, all while your glutes and core are engaged.
On top of that, the Turkish Get-up will also help improve:
- Coordination – following the correct sequence during the Turkish get-up will help your body awareness, also known as “proprioception.” This will help you improve coordination.
- Mobility – getting off and on the ground takes some work. Adding a weight to the equation makes it even more so. This is a perfect recipe to improve mobility.
- Balance – you shift a lot during the Turkish get-up, using one limb and then another. This will require some balance.
Because of this, you’ll often see the Turkish Get-up included in a Functional Fitness Workout (like those found in CrossFit).
Functional Fitness means training that will carry over to your day-to-day life. With the TGU, it’ll help you remain strong to get off the floor or grab a heavy item from a shelf.
It’s no wonder people have been doing this exercise for well over 100 years (and some legends say over 200 years!)
Speaking of…
Why’s It Called the “Turkish Get-Up”? (Origins of the TGU)
Some believe that ancient wrestlers, in what is now Turkey, invented the get-up to prepare for their intense competitions.
Additionally, it also demonstrated their immense strength to each other (everyone loves to show off now and then).
To support this theory, it’s also worth noting that the Turkish get-up is traditionally done with kettlebells (we go over different options here), which have historical use in the region.
For example, as BJJEE points out, you can find old kettlebells at the Taksim Pera Museum in Istanbul, Turkey:
So that’s probably why it’s called the “Turkish get-up.”
You might also hear the TGU referred to as “The Turkish Stand-up” or “The Kettlebell Stand-up.” Don’t worry, it’s all the same exercise.
The Turkish Get-up for Beginners (When in Doubt, Start Here)
Even as we tout all these benefits, we also understand that the Turkish get-up is an intimidating exercise!
After all:
- There are a lot of steps.
- You’re not sure if you’re doing them correctly.
- You might eventually have a weight balanced over your head!
Never fear! There are a lot of things that a beginner can do to tackle the TGU, build confidence, and have fun with it.
Here are four ways a beginner can get started with the TGU:
#1) Do the Turkish Get-up with no weight (or a Bodyweight TGU)
As we mentioned earlier, a good starting point would be to work the movement with nothing but your own bodyweight.
There’s enough to think about with your own coordination, before having to worry about controlling another object too!
#2) Split up the Turkish Get-up
Another really good way to ease into the full TGU is to work on parts of it. You can do this anywhere along the line for as many steps as you want, but some of my favorite variations:
Part #1) From the start (lying on the floor), to getting up to your hand, and then back down again.
Part #2) From sitting up on your hand, to bridging your hips up and sweeping the leg under, and then reversing it.
Part #3) From foot, knee, and hand on the ground, to getting into a reverse lunge position, then standing up, then reversing it all (reverse lunge back down, put your hand down in the triangle)
#3) Do the Turkish Get-up with a Shoe
As Coach Staci showed in the video at the top of this article, a fun variation you can try before adding any weights is standing up and down with a shoe in your hand!
Specifically, we want to rest the shoe on our open hand, so that if you let your arm drop or drift forward, the shoe might topple out.
#4) Do the Turkish Get-up with a Medicine Ball
If you want a more “fun” variation of that, you can do a TGU with a medicine ball in your hand. Pick a larger one so that you can’t grab and control the ball (unless you have hands like the Hulk!). This will really test your abilities to keep the arm vertical and control every aspect of the motion.
And if you think this is too mean-spirited, just know that in many kettlebell certification courses, they expect you to do this open-handed with a cup of water! Any wavering from a good position will result in an impromptu shower!
It’s all in good fun though, and will give you a really, really good idea of what steps you need to practice more.
8 Common Mistakes When Doing Turkish Get-Ups
Despite the detailed steps, there are a few prevalent mistakes that often crop up. Let’s talk about what we SHOULD do to avoid them.
#1) Keep Your Eye on the Weight!
This is so key that you should write it on the bottom of all your kettlebells. It can be tempting to look around as you play one-person twister with yourself, but keep watching that weight! It is much, much easier to control it when you do. If you do have to bail and drop the weight to the ground, it’s also easier to direct if you’ve been watching it the entire time.
#2) Use Two Arms to Bring the Weight into the Starting Position.
Early on, it’s common to grab the weight with one hand, especially with lighter loads. However, as weights get heavier, this becomes impractical and risks shoulder strain. Practice rolling to your side and using both hands to secure the weight, ensuring a controlled and safe setup.
#3) Try to ROLL SIDEWAYS to Your Forearm and Hand.
As we’re lying on our back with the weight over our chest, it’s incredibly common for people to want to sit forward and up to get into position. Maybe it’s years and years of sit-ups in gym class. While you can get away with this with light or no weight, it quickly becomes impossible with heavier weights.
Instead, think about rolling to your side (the side opposite the weight) to get onto your forearm and then hand. You should press down with the leg that’s bent (the leg that’s the same side as the weight) to help the movement.
#4) Create That Triangle Before Moving Up into the Reverse Lunge.
After we bridge our hips and sweep the leg underneath, it can be tempting to try and rush the next step and try to get upright and stand up. As with all these steps and mistakes, you’ll be able to get away with this with lighter weight, but not heavy.
After you sweep your leg under, pause. Ensure you’re forming a stable triangle with your hand, knee, and foot. This foundational position provides the stability needed as you ascend.
#5) Press the Weight Up and Back as You Stand Up.
This is a cue that might not make sense until you try it and feel it, but the common mistake we’re trying to correct here is when people stand up from the lunge position, and their arm (and weight) shift forward. This often then results in them losing the weight to the front and dropping it.
To counteract this, focus on driving the weight up to the ceiling and back behind your head. This intention will help keep the weight over your own center of gravity so you can stand up triumphantly.
#6) On the Way Down, Roll to Your Elbow, Then the Nearest Shoulder, Then the Farthest Shoulder.
Another cue that may sound puzzling until you’re finishing up a TGU with heavy weight. Common mistake here is to get excited and rush the end. Your hand is on the ground, your hips are on the ground – things are so close you can taste it!
Well, you might be tasting the weight in a moment if you simply fall backwards to your entire upper back. Just as we want to focus on rolling upwards at the start (as opposed to trying to sit forward and up), we want to do the same thing on the way down.
Get down to the elbow, keep the upper body slightly rotated as you lower down to touch one shoulder, THEN let the rest of your upper back and second shoulder roll down and rest on the ground.
Plus, don’t forget…
#7) Engage Your Core Throughout the Turkish Get-up.
Given the technical nature of this exercise, it’s easy to let your core relax. Actively engage your core throughout the entire movement to ensure stability and control.
#8) Move Slow.
Resist the temptation to rush through the Turkish Get-up; it’s a recipe for injury. Move deliberately and in control throughout the entire sequence. If necessary, opt for a lighter weight—there’s no shame in prioritizing safety.
How to Grow Strong (Next Steps)
If you’ve made it this far, then you’re obviously pretty serious about growing strong.
So why not check out our Beginner’s Guide to Strength Training?
It’ll show you exactly how to:
- Build a full-body workout
- Perform all the exercises required
- Eat so you grow muscle (and don’t put on too much fat)
Yep, it’s pretty cool, and many a nerd have used it to start their strength training careers.
Okay, I think that about does it for me.
I’ll see ya later!
-Coach Jim
PS – You may be asking yourself:
How much progress can you make with the Turkish get-up?
Well, they make really heavy kettlebells, so there’s practically no limit here.
For example, here’s me doing a TGU with 106 pounds:
Just move up in bells gradually and consistently, and you’ll be lifting heavy weights before you know if.
###
Photo source: ruttanapol/123RF.COM, karmiic/123RF.COM, ©rosinka79/123RF.COM, Turkish Get Up, malkovkosta/123RF.COM, tonobalaguer/123RF.COM, sergign/123RF.COM
Jim Bathurst
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What Can I Expect From Nutrition Coaching? (5 Benefits)
So you’re interested in nutrition coaching?
Great! It’s a smart move for the right person.
I’ve seen the power of it firsthand in our Online Coaching Program, with folks making small nutrition adjustments with big results.
But before you go and hire a nutrition coach, read this guide!
You see, in many places “nutritionist” is an unregulated term, so not all nutrition coaches you find will be equally qualified.
So let’s tell you what to look out for and whether you even need a nutrition coach to get started.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s do this thang.
What Does a Nutrition Coach Do?
Nutrition coaches guide people’s dietary habits to improve their health, body composition, or athletic performance.
To do this correctly, a nutrition coach will need to know the science behind:
- How different macronutrients (protein, fat, and carbs) affect the human body.
- Calories, metabolism, and energy balance.
- The vitamins and minerals found in our food.
In a nutshell, a good nutrition coach will know how to properly nourish the human body.
They can probably also tell you a little bit about nuts and their shells!
But being an expert in nutrition science is only half of it. The other half is people.
Yep, a nutrition coach also needs to be an expert on folks like us. Otherwise, it’s hard to help people develop new habits.
Because sure, a chicken salad for dinner could be a smart move.
But how do you make that realistic for someone like Mason, who’s constantly working and studying?
That’s where a coach comes in.
To be done well, nutrition coaching needs to include “behavior change,” which enters the realm of psychology.
So a nutrition coach needs to be an expert on two things:
Without the second bullet, you’re just handing out good advice that no one will ever use.
Before we go on, I will mention that through NF Coaching, we not only work on nutrition. But we also help build sustainable workout programs too! The goal is really to come at fitness from every angle, including exercise, nutrition, and mindset. We’ve learned this is the key to making changes that LAST.
If you’d like to learn more about it, you can scope out our program right here:
Okay, let’s talk a little more about how a nutrition coach can help.
How Can a Nutrition Coach Help Me?
There are all sorts of things a nutrition coach can help us with.
For example, a good nutrition coach will provide:
#1) ACCOUNTABILITY
This is one of the top reasons people hire a coach in the first place. When we survey those who join NF Coaching, it’s often the number one reason folks join the program.
That’s because knowing what to do is one thing. Doing it is quite another.
When we’re accountable to someone else, whether it’s a coach or even a friend who’s on a similar mission, we’re more likely to follow through.
Heck, it’s one of the reasons Rebel Leader Steve has a strength coach, despite running a fitness company.
Here’s what Steve says about it:
I know when my coach asks me about my workout, I don’t want to let him down. So I just do the workout.
The same accountability can happen with nutrition.
For example, if we make a plan for meal prep on Sunday afternoon, we’re more likely to do it if we know our coach will ask about it on Monday.
Accountability can often be the missing piece for starting long-lasting change.
#2) A PERSONALIZED APPROACH
It’s really easy to go online and find a bunch of free recipes for healthy meals.
For example, here are 26 such recipes.
While these recipes can be a great starting point, they often won’t help with individual challenges:
- What if we don’t have any time to cook?
- What if we have to deal with food allergies?
- What if we want to eat the same dinner as our family?
That’s where the help of a coach can be a game-changer.
They can offer specific recommendations around our unique challenges (and we all have unique challenges). Plus, they can check in with us to make sure their solutions are working.
If those solutions aren’t working for us – nbd. They’ll brainstorm new strategies we can implement.
This personalized solution can be very helpful if we haven’t had much success with a “right out of the box” approach.
#3) EXPERTISE
I mentioned earlier that a nutrition coach needs to be an expert on human nutrition.
This is helpful, so we don’t have to worry about:
- Is Keto the best strategy for weight loss?
- Why have so many people had success with Paleo?
- How does OMAD fit into this?
While it’s good to be curious about different diets, a nutrition coach can help separate fact from fiction when it comes to healthy eating.
Otherwise, we might get tricked into following some terrible “crash diet” or some social media “fad diet.”
#4) GUIDANCE AROUND “HOW TO EAT”
Most people approach proper nutrition around “what to eat.” Just as important, however, can be “how to eat.”
For example, a nutrition coach can help us develop skills around:
- Eating mindfully and slowly. Our bodies take a while to recognize it’s full. That’s why slowing down and concentrating on our meals can help with portion control. Some skills that might help include using a meal timer, putting the fork down between bites, and eating without the TV or our phone (i.e., no distractions).
- Recognizing hunger and fullness cues. Sometimes, we eat just to eat. Maybe we’re more bored than hungry. Maybe we’re stressed and find ourselves emotionally eating. To help fight this, we can keep a “Hunger and Fullness Journal.” With our journal, we rate our hunger from 1 to 10 before eating anything. If it’s less than 6 or 7, maybe we pause for 30 minutes or so and check back in later. It’s the same idea for our fullness. We’ll pause during the meal so we can ask “How hungry am I still?” If our hunger has subsided, maybe we save the rest of our food for later. The goal is to get to know our body’s hunger signals again.
- Creating a schedule for meals. Most people do best with eating on some type of routine. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner at roughly the same time. Our body will pick up on this and naturally get hungry at the times we normally eat.
In our Online Coaching Program, we’ll often assign missions to work on a “how to eat” skill for the week:
- “This week, how about we put down our fork between bites?”
- “What if our next mission is to eat without the TV on?”
- “How do you feel about having dinner at the same time this week?”
These missions are discussed and built between the coach and client, so we can custom-make the best plan for you! After a few months of this, it can be surprising just how different our eating habits look.
#5) TOOLS FOR BUILDING HEALTHY HABITS
One of our head coaches is fond of saying “The secret to our program is we build long-term healthy habits together.”
Sure, it’s great if someone can work out 2x a week and eat healthy lunches every day for a month.
But it’s even BETTER if they can do it for the foreseeable future.
The difference between the two?
Making them long-term habits.
A habit is something we do all the time, without much thought. Like bruising our teeth in the morning or showering at night.
We want our healthy eating behaviors to join this mix.
If a year from now, we’re still practicing the actions our nutrition coach recommended, then we’ll call that a major win.
Hiring a nutrition coach can absolutely be worth the investment if we continue our healthy habits after our time together is over.
Next, let’s talk about what separates a dietitian from a nutritionist.
What Is the Difference Between a Dietitian and a Nutritionist?
The big difference between a “dietitian” and a “nutritionist” is the formal education required and the regulations that govern the use of the title.
While they both have their time and place, it’s important to understand the difference between the two:
- Dietitians treat disease through nutrition and will often work within hospitals. For example, they might prescribe a diet to a patient with diabetes to help manage blood sugar levels. They’ll likely hold the title of Registered Dietitian (RD).
- Nutritionists work with the general population to develop healthy eating behavior, often to meet a client’s personal goal. You might hear them referred to as a “Nutrition Coach.”
Throughout most of the world, the title of “dietitian” is regulated by a governing body, like the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the United States.[1]
While some states and countries do regulate the title of “nutritionist,” the requirements are often far less rigorous.
Here’s another way to think of it: all “Dietitians” can likely call themselves “Nutritionists” but not all “Nutritionists” can call themselves “Dietitians.”
To become a dietitian in the US you need to:
- Earn an accredited bachelor’s or master’s degree
- Complete an internship
- Pass the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) exam
- Obtain the appropriate state license
- Maintain said state license
What does it take to become a nutritionist?
Well, depending on where you live, it could be nothing.
Yep, you could print a business card with “nutritionist” on it and get to work.
Now, obviously, there’s a big difference between calling yourself a nutritionist and actually helping people.
Yeah…
However, that doesn’t mean a nutrition coach can’t be beneficial.
Since the barrier to entry is lower, it’s often more affordable to hire a nutritionist or nutrition coach.
Plus, a nutrition coach will often work alongside a dietitian, helping to facilitate their prescription.
Much the same way an orthopedist might work with a physical therapist.
Next, let’s chat about some certifications we can look out for if we want to hunt down a well-trained nutrition coach.
What Certifications Should a Nutrition Coach Have?
There are quite a few certification programs out there for nutrition.
Some are great!
Some are…not so great.
Let’s chat about some of the legit ones.
Here are some certifications to look for if we’re going to hire a nutrition coach:
#1) PRECISION NUTRITION CERTIFICATION LEVEL 1 (PN1)
One of the most well-respected certifications for nutrition comes from Precision Nutrition.
In fact, when we hire coaches, it’s one of the qualifications we look out for!
PN states there’s “no best diet for everyone” and instead believes coaches should help their clients find the individualized nutrition plan that works best for them.
They’re one of the best in the business, and their curriculum has had a big impact on Nerd Fitness Coaching.
#2) INTERNATIONAL SPORTS SCIENCES ASSOCIATION’S (ISSA) NUTRITIONIST CERTIFICATION
ISSA is an education company that does certifications for personal training and strength coaching.
They also offer a Nutrition Certification that is pretty well done.
#3) THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SPORTS MEDICINE (NASM) NUTRITION CERTIFICATION
NASM is another name well-respected in the fitness industry.
While they mainly certify personal trainers, they also offer a comprehensive nutrition certification.
Now, these three companies aren’t the only organizations that do good work with nutrition certifications. But this can start to give us an idea of things to look out for when seeking out a nutrition coach.
Signs of a Good Nutrition Coach (and Signs of a Bad One)
Not all nutrition coaches will be created equal:
- A good coach will work with us to develop a healthier relationship with food, focusing on habits that will help us reach our goals.
- A bad coach will just tell us to eat more broccoli (thanks Coach, super helpful).
Outside of the credentials we discussed in the last section, here are some other signs to look out for:
#1) They ask us a lot of questions
A good nutrition coach will want to learn about us before they recommend anything.
They’ll ask us questions like:
- What are your goals?
- What’s been your previous experience with weight loss or gain?
- How do you normally eat today?
- What’s your schedule like?
- What other priorities do you have?
Without this information, it’s very difficult to help someone.
If a nutrition coach doesn’t ask us a bunch of questions, that’s a huge giant red flag.
#2) They’ll work with us to create an action plan
The name of the game here is “long-lasting change.”
To do that, habits need to be created TOGETHER.
If our coach just tells us what to do, without any input from us, it might fall flat.
For example:
- If a coach tells us to batch cook on Sunday, but we don’t know how to work an oven, this won’t fly (here’s how to cook some easy meals btw).
- Let’s say we want to eat dinner with our family. Well, our coach’s advice to eat the same thing over and over might cause our kids to revolt (“Chicken AGAIN…gag”).
If a coach creates a plan that never addresses what we can do or what we want to do, it’s destined to fail.
#3) They’ll monitor our progress
Any halfway-decent coach is going to check in frequently for a status update.
As they say, that which gets measured gets managed, so a good nutrition coach will gather data on things like:
- Body Measurements. How much we weigh, waist circumference, etc.
- Strength. If we’re trying to grow strong, our coach might check to see if we’re increasing in weight with our resistance training.
- Lab test results. Maybe we have some health metrics, like cholesterol levels, we’re trying to change.
- Compliance. Let’s say we have a goal of eating a vegetable with every dinner. Are we actually doing it?
- Confidence. Our confidence levels can often be a good indicator of how we’re doing in a program.
If a nutrition coach doesn’t check in on how you’re doing, consider that another big red flag!
#4) They’ll base their recommendations on outcomes
A good nutrition coach is like a scientist.
Their recommendations are almost like experiments. They’ll ask themselves questions like:
- Did my clients perform their assigned tasks?
- Is it helping them with their goals?
- Are they enjoying themselves?
Like any good scientist, they won’t judge the outcome.
If under certain conditions an experiment catches fire…well…we now know what will set the experiment ablaze.
“Day 9…still catching fire.”
So a good nutrition coach will constantly reflect on what our feedback means:
- Scenario – “After working on it all week, my client still doesn’t have enough time to make breakfast.”
- Possible Solution – “Perhaps we should propose making a protein smoothie the night before?”
- Scenario – “Despite the changes we’ve made, my client hasn’t been losing weight.”
- Possible Solution – “Maybe it’s time for a food journal, so we can both see how many calories they’re eating?”
- Scenario – “My client easily obtained protein with every meal last week.”
- Possible Solution – “Maybe we should scale this up, and include a vegetable with every meal now too?”
That’s why a good nutrition coach is constantly changing their action plan, based on the outcomes they see and record.
#5) They know when to refer out
There are some things a nutrition coach can’t help us with.
That would be any kind of medical intervention.
If we need someone to “prescribe” a diet to treat any kind of disease (Crohn’s, Hashimoto’s, etc.), we’ll need an actual Registered Dietitian or other medical professionals to do so.
While a nutrition coach can help with the implementation of that treatment (“Here are some ways to get more iron in your diet”), the actual treatment needs to come from someone properly qualified.
Plus, a good nutrition coach will understand this. They’ll recognize their own lane and know when it’s time to refer out (and might even have some recommendations if you don’t know who to talk to).
How Much Does a Nutrition Coach Cost?
The cost of a nutritionist is really going to be variable.
But you can expect to pay $50 to $150 for a one-hour session with a nutrition coach.[2]
Note: Insurance will generally not cover a nutrition coach or nutritionist unless they are a registered dietitian.
This leads to another question…
How much does a registered dietitian cost?
Again, it’s variable, but you can expect to pay somewhere between $100 to $200 for a one-hour session with a dietitian.[3]
This might be covered by insurance, but usually only when there’s a diagnosis that requires nutrition counseling.
If the cost of a nutritionist seems too high, it might be worth considering…
Do We Even Need a Nutrition Coach? (or How to Simplify Nutrition)
Before we go out and hire a nutrition coach, it might be worth asking ourselves a couple of questions:
Am I making this harder than it needs to be?
Could I benefit from making nutrition super simple?
As Coach Staci explains in the video above, overcomplicating nutrition could look like this:
- Weighing all our food.
- Calculating the correct macronutrient split.
- Daily fasts.
Now, there’s a time and place for all this. But there’s also a time and place to ignore it.
Coach Staci has had clients absolutely convinced they had to weigh their food to lose weight.
They’ll start out good, weighing everything they eat. This generally only lasts for a week or so, because they quickly grow annoyed at the overwhelming amount of work involved!
So they quit.
Instead of this, maybe we start off smaller and simpler.
To improve nutrition, try these three things:
- Have a glass of water with every meal.
- Have a lean source of protein at every meal.
- Have a vegetable with every meal.
That’s it! Let’s just do those three things.
Don’t worry about Keto, Paleo, or Plant-Based.
Just make sure to drink enough water, get plenty of protein, and eat lots of veggies.
Then we can worry about all sorts of complicated nutrition stuff.
Is a Nutrition Coach Worth It?
Ultimately, the question of whether or not a nutrition coach is worth it will come down to a few things:
- Our goals
- What we need help with
- What kind of coach is available to us
If it can be done on our own, great!
I’ve seen all sorts of Rebels grab a map and make their way to Mordor.
But, I’ve also seen lots of Rebels who’ve benefited from their very own Gandalf.
Someone who knows the way, and has helped people achieve similar goals.
A good nutrition coach can 100% be this…if we find the right one.
Remember, “nutritionist” isn’t always a regulated term, so do a little research before jumping in.
Here’s something else to consider: some personal trainers ALSO offer nutrition coaching.
Many coaches are combining traditional personal training services like programming workouts alongside nutrition counseling, since the two can often be dependent on one another.
That’s more or less the basis of NF Coaching. Our coaches customize exercise routines, plus help our clients build healthy habits around nutritious eating (done all online).
We’ve found that lasting success often combines BOTH diet and exercise, so we don’t ignore either.
Plus, it’s often a better value to bundle both services together.
If you’re interested in seeing if one of our coaches can help you adjust your nutrition ( while also growing stronger), you can see if we’re a good fit for each other right here:
How to Hire a Nutrition Coach (Next Steps)
So you’ve decided you want to hire a nutrition coach?
Sweet!
Here’s what to do:
- Determine goals. We don’t want to start this process blindly. Figure out some goals and write them down. Any good coach is going to ask us about them right away.
- Formulate the scope. Do we need a medical professional for a prescribed way of eating? Or can a more generalized approach work? Do we want to meet someone in person or online?
- Compare qualifications. Anyone can throw the word “nutrition coach” on their resume. So look at their qualifications. Are they certified? Do they have a track record for helping people? Don’t hire the first nutrition coach found. Do some research!
- Determine what “success” looks like. How will we know if we’re on the right track? Is it eating more vegetables? Losing 10 pounds? Ask what a successful result will look like.
- Get started. Write out some goals, do your research, and then act! Hiring a nutrition coach isn’t like getting married – we can always leave our coach after a month or two. Don’t let the search for the “perfect coach” prevent us from getting started.
That should help with hiring a nutrition coach.
Alright, I want to hear from you now:
Are you considering hiring a nutrition coach?
What behaviors do you need help with?
Any tips for hiring a good coach I’m missing?
Let me know in the comments!
-Paul Aguilar
PS: Make sure you check out The Nerd’s Guide to Healthy Eating for tips on how to make small tips on how to improve your nutrition.
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Photo source: In 2015, the first woman coach was hired by a Major League Baseball team., ©Ekaterina Minaeva/123RF.COM, Four Bricks Tall, Not All Heroes Wear Capes, Mr. Bundit Chailaipanich/123RF.COM, ©rosinka79/123RF.COM, ©Lightfieldstudios/123RF.COM, bicycle
Paul Aguilar
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What’s the “30/30/30 Rule” for Weight Loss? (Is it legit?)
Today, we’re diving deep into the viral 30-30-30 “rule” for weight loss.
One of the great things about working at NF, is I get to ask our team of coaches any fitness question that comes to mind.
Another perk here is I get to wear sweatpants all day.
Recently, I noticed the 30/30/30 method blowing up on TikTok and Instagram.
Here’s the video of Gary Brecka explaining the “30/30/30 rule to lose fat” in case you haven’t seen it:
After watching the clip, I thought:
“Why not get a fitness expert’s take on this 30/30/30 rule for weight loss?”
So I caught up with Coach Jim for some insights!
Jim’s a good sport and humors all my silly questions, no matter how many times he has to respond with “No, I don’t think I could successfully wrestle a bear.”
“But what if it was a small bear?” -Paul Before we dive into Jim’s insights, let’s quickly recap what this “rule” entails, in case you missed the video.
The 30-30-30 Rule: Kickstart your day with 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up, followed by 30 minutes of steady-state cardio.
Simple, right? The claim is that this combo will make body fat vanish like magic.
Intriguing.
So I asked Jim, “What’s your take on this?”
Here’s what Jim shared:
While it’s a snappy strategy, it’s crucial to remember that not all “rules” are created equal, especially in the world of fitness.
Most advice is not one-size-fits-all mandates. What works wonders for one person might not have the same effect for another.
He then broke down each section a bit:
#1) Do I Need 30 grams of Protein for Breakfast?
Starting your day with a protein-packed breakfast is fantastic. It helps to maintain muscle and keeps you feeling satisfied.
But does it have to be exactly 30 grams?
Absolutely not!
That number is not some magic incantation that unlocks fat loss. You may be eating more or less protein.
What matters most is that you’re getting enough throughout the entire day to support your goals. You can calculate the range of protein you’ll likely need each day, then divide it by the meals and snacks you have.
This will give you a better target to start.
#2) Do I Need to eat within 30 minutes of waking up?
Some of us are early birds, while others prefer a leisurely morning routine.
And some of us are wrestling kids and crazy schedules as soon as we get up!
A typical family morning on a school day. The 30-minute window after waking up is not a rigid law. Enjoy your protein-packed breakfast at your own pace.
Or skip it. Some folks thrive with intermittent fasting.
#3) Do I need 30 minutes of cardio in the morning?
Cardio is a fantastic way to get moving and burn some calories.
But whether you prefer it in the morning, afternoon, or evening is entirely up to you. Do what works best for your schedule and that you find to be most sustainable.
There is not some secret fat loss power-up that you’re missing out on by going for a walk at lunch instead of in the morning.
Plus, it doesn’t always need to be “steady-state.” You could mix in some interval training on occasion if that’s more your style.
The bottom line?
Fitness is not about fitting into a prescribed mold; it’s about finding what works best for you and your lifestyle.
While catchy strategies and specific numbers are easy to remember – they often stress us out about tiny details that ultimately don’t make a big difference.
Are we eating enough protein and moving around?
Then you’re doing good. Keep at it!
Alright, I think that wraps it up for now.
I’m off to ask Jim how he’d fare against an alligator.
-Paul
PS: I’m not the only one who gets to fire off fitness questions at an expert.
Our clients in the coaching program get that privilege too!
(Although there are probably a lot fewer “coach versus a wild animal” type inquiries.)
If you’re curious about our program, schedule a chat with our team right here:Paul Aguilar
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The Push-up Progression Plan (Get Your First Push-up!) | Nerd Fitness
Today I’m going to help you achieve your first push-up!
Yep, I know that sounds super confident.
But it’s because I have a push-up progression plan that’s helped loads of clients in our Online Coaching Program crush their first push-up.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Follow our guide and you’ll be doing “Earth Downs” in no time:
Let’s get started.
What’s the Best Push-up Progression Plan?
As I discuss in the video above, the most important part of your push-up progression plan: consistency.
Yeah, I know, there’s nothing too earth-shattering there.
But no matter what your current strength level is, the best way to work towards a push-up is to train your push muscles consistently. No matter where you’re starting today.
This is how our friend Mason went from wall push-ups to regular push-ups, then all the way to diamond push-ups.
Oh, and he lost like 70 pounds along the way too!
I’ll discuss push-up variations you should start within the next section. Plus, we’ll wrap up today’s guide by discussing just how often you should train your push muscles.
Just remember, if you want your first push-up (and you should cause push-ups are awesome), then you’ll need to be consistent with our push-up progression plan.
Cool?
Cool.
Our first stop on the Push-up Progression Plan: finding a push-up variation for you to become comfortable with. Something you can do about 8-10 reps with, for about 3-4 sets.
To start, you’ll probably train with an elevated push-up variation:
These will be easier than a regular push-up, since the higher the elevation, the less of your body’s weight you’ll be lifting during the movement.
Conversely, if you were to elevate your feet, you’d actually be lifting more than a regular push-up:
Let’s provide a rough breakdown of the percentage of your body’s weight lifted for different elevations of push-ups.[1]
The Percentage of Body Weight Supported by Our Hands During Push-Ups:
- 4’ Elevated Push-up (Wall): 9%
- 3′ Elevated Push-up (Countertop): 20%
- 2′ Elevated Push-up: 36-41%
- Knee Push-up: 49%
- 1′ Elevated Push-up: 54%
- Regular Push-up: 64%
The strategy behind our push-up progression plan is to slowly move you down to the ground, lifting more and more of your own weight as you go.
Think of it like gaining XP in a video game, so one day you’ll be able to tackle the final boss: the floor.
It might help to pretend there’s a witch below it.
Alright, let’s show you exactly how to do some of these push-up variations.
4 Push-up Variations (to Progress to a Full Push-Up)
The push-up variations below can be thought of as benchmarks.
If you can’t complete 8-10 reps, nbd.
We’ll have you train at the level below and you’ll move up before you know it.
Here are 4 variations for our Push-up Progression Plan:
Push-up Progression Level 1: Wall Push-ups
Place your hands on a wall about chest weight (roughly 4′, 48″, or 122 cm). Bend your arms and get as close to the wall before pushing back up.
Push-up Progression Level 2: Waist-High Push-ups
Place your hands on a surface about waist high (roughly 3′, 36″, or 92 cm). Bend your arms and touch your chest to the surface before pushing back up.
Push-up Progression Level 3: Knee-High Push-ups
Place your hands on a surface about knee high (roughly 1.5′, 18″, or 46 cm). Bend your arms and touch your chest to the surface before pushing back up.
Push-up Progression Level 4: Knee Push-ups
Hold yourself up on your hands and knees, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower down to the ground before pushing back up.
FINAL BOSS: Push-ups!
You made it to a push-up!
Are you doing them correctly?
Our next section will dive into the correct form, since this is a guide on getting your first proper push-up (I wouldn’t hold out on you).
But first, you may be asking yourself a question: when do I progress up to the next level?
For that, I’d recommend downloading our new app (it’s free to try out).
Nerd Fitness Journey will guide you through a workout routine specifically designed to help you get your first push-up, with benchmarks and signals on when to move up.
Plus, you get to earn actual XP so you level up your very own superhero!
You can give it a free test drive right here:
What Is the Proper Form for a Push-Up?
The video above walks you through the correct way to do a proper push-up, and also includes a few well-placed jokes from yours truly.
Here’s how to complete one perfect push-up:
- With your arms straight, glutes clenched, and abs braced, steadily lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle or less.
- Try to keep your elbows relatively close to your body, and keep note of when they start to flare out as you get tired.
- Once your chest (or nose/chin) touches the floor (or your arms go down to a 90-degree angle), pause slightly and then push back up until you’re at the starting position.
Here are 4 common mistakes with push-ups:
#1) Make sure you keep your elbows in. Often, beginners will flare out their elbows when doing a push-up.
A good way to think of this, is you want your body to appear more like an ARROW from the top, not a T.
This infographic on the proper push-up form shows you want I mean:
#2) Keep your head in line with your body. We don’t want your head shifting forward, which could put unnecessary stress on your neck and prevent a full range of motion.
#3) Keep your hips in line with your body (no sagging). We want you in one straight line as you push your body up and down:
#4) Attempt to do a full range of motion with your push-up (as long as it’s pain-free). Shoot to come all the way down, so your chest is touching the ground or the object you’re doing push-ups against.
If you want more help here, we have a full guide on how to do proper push-ups, (including advanced variations to try).
Exercises For Achieving a Full Push-Up
There are two exercises that will go a long way towards achieving your first push-up:
- Push-up Negatives
- Front Planks or Top of Push-up Holds
First, let’s talk about push-up negatives.
“Negative” in exercise terminology generally means only doing half of a traditional rep, normally lowering the movement.
To do a Push-up Negative:
- Hold yourself up at the top of a push-up, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to feet.
- Lower down and touch the ground, then let the knees rest on the ground to help you push back up.
- You can do a push-up negative from an elevated surface too.
Next, let’s talk about Front Planks or Holding at the Top of a Push-up.
This is important for a few reasons:
- Builds a strong midsection. A sturdy core will help a lot when doing push-ups.
- If you can’t hold the top of a push-up position, doing one complete rep will prove almost impossible.
Holding a plank might be tough for you, so let’s talk about a few variations you can experiment with.
Hold Level 1: Knee Planks
Hold yourself up on your forearms and knees, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to knees.
Hold Level 2: Front Planks
Lie on the floor with your forearms flat, making sure that your elbows are aligned directly under your shoulders.
Engage your core and raise your body off the floor in a straight line from head to feet, keeping your forearms planted. Try not to let your hips rise or drop.
Hold Level 3: Push-up Hold
Hold yourself up at the top of a push-up position, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to feet.
If you follow the Push-up Challenge in NF Journey, you’ll notice that pretty much every workout ends with a type of one of these holds, since core strength is so critical for push-ups.
Oh, and if you want to just try Nerd Fitness Journey to see what I mean, you can do so right here:
The Push-up Workout Plan
Remember earlier when I said the name of the game with push-up progression is consistency?
To show you what I mean, it’s time to build a workout for conquering push-ups.
I’d recommend three workouts a week for a Push-up Progression Plan, with a rest day between.
Could be Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday.
As long as there’s a day off between workouts, it’s fine.
Oh, and if you can only do two workouts a week, that’s okay too. Just do the best you can (even once a week).
The “Get Your First Push-up” Workout is:
- A Warm-Up
- 3 or 4 sets of a Push-up Variation for 8-10 reps
- 2 or 3 reps of a Push-up Negative
- 60 second Plank or Hold
Let’s dive into each of these a bit more.
Step #1) Warm-up
- Arm circles: 10x/way
- Wrist stretches: 5/side
Arm circles for push-ups will look like this:
Wrist stretches for push-ups will look like so:
You can always do a more formal warm-up routine, but just make sure you include some variation of these two moves.
Step #2) Train with a Push-up Variation
Earlier, we went through 4 variations that will help you get your first push-up.
After your warm-up, you should train with one of them.
For our Push-up Progression Plan, I want you to alternate between two variations:
- On Day A, do 3 or 4 sets of a push-up variation that you can do 8-10 reps in.
- On Day B, do 3 or 4 sets of a push-up variation that you can do 5-8 reps in (so a harder variation).
For example:
- On Monday maybe you do 3 sets of waist-high push-ups for 10 reps.
- Wednesday, you can do 3 sets of knee-high push-ups for 8 reps.
- Then Friday, back to the waist-high variation.
Step #3) Do a Negative
After you train with your push-up variation, I want you to attempt 2-3 reps of a negative push-up.
If these are too tough, simply do an easier variation, like knee push-up negatives:
Any of the 4 variations we discussed earlier can be done as a “negative.”
These negatives will be important, as they’ll go a long way towards building strength for a regular push-up.
Step #4) Plank/Hold for 60 seconds
We’re going to end our “Get Your First Push-up” Workout with a hold:
- Front Plank
- Holding the Top of the Push-up
Choose whichever variation you like, but attempt to hold the position for a full minute, with as few sets as possible.
If you need to break up the 60-second hold, you could:
- Do three sets of 20 seconds each.
- Do two sets of 30 seconds each.
Just aim to go longer and longer as you go. If you can’t make it to a full minute, don’t stress. Just work on holding a knee or elevated plank.
These holds will help strengthen your core, which will be critical for doing push-ups with proper form.
Oh, and if you want someone to modify this workout for you (let’s say you also want to do some HIIT for fat loss) our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program can do just that.
Plus, your coach can review your movements through our app so you’ll know your training correctly and safely.
How to Achieve Your First Push-up (Next Steps)
That should give you everything you need to get started with the push-up progression plan.
Remember…
The “Get Your First Push-up” Workout is:
- A Warm-Up
- 3 or 4 sets of a Push-up Variation for 8-10 reps
- 2 or 3 reps of a Push-up Negative
- 60 second Plank or Hold
Do this three times a week, with a day of rest between workouts, and you’ll be good to go.
As you continue on the Push-up Progression Plan, remember to keep pushing harder. We want you slowly but surely increasing the challenge of the workout (known in the biz as “progressive overload.”)
This could be:
- Adding another rep (8 reps of waist-high push-ups to 9)
- Adding another set (3 sets of knee push-ups to 4)
- Moving up to a more difficult variation (waist-high push-ups to knee-high)
Oh, and if you need any help along the way, I gotcha boo.
Here’s how to continue your journey with Nerd Fitness:
#1) Our Online Coaching Program: perfect for someone who wants an expert (like me!) to design the right path for conquering push-ups. We’re all different, so why not have a coach guide you through a program that’s custom-made for you?
You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program would be a good fit. Just click on the image below for more details:
#2) If you want an exact blueprint for crushing push-ups, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Plus, our 6-week Push-up Challenge has helped quite a few Rebels achieve their first push-up!
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. You’ll meet individuals from all different walks of life, all of whom are trying to level up their lives.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our “Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know” guide, which will teach you exactly how to grow strong enough to rock push-ups:
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Alright, I want to hear from you now:
Can you do a proper push-up?
If not, what level are you on?
Are we missing any helpful suggestions for a beginner?
Let me know in the comments!
-Jim
PS: Check out the rest of our guides on doing push-ups:
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Photo source: Gecko push-up; Figure push-up; 102, 103, 104…; doll push-up, push-up sunset;
Jim Bathurst
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Strength Training & Weight Training 101: How to Get Strong
Strength training will change your life.
If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, and/or just look and feel better, strength training will do just that.[1]
In this comprehensive series, we’re going to cover EVERYTHING you need to know about getting strong.
By the way, hi. I’m Staci Ardison, Senior Coach for Team NF, with a 455 pound deadlift, and strength training has changed my life.
Here’s that deadlift by the way (at a bodyweight of 150 lbs):
I help men and women get strong with our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and in addition to this strength series, I’d love for our team to help you get strong too:
In this introduction to Strength and Resistance Training, we’ll cover:
This is also quite a lot to absorb, so we’ve combined this article along with the rest of our strength articles into a “Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know” guide.
Grab it free when you join the Rebellion by putting your email in the box below.
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
What are the Benefits of Strength Training?
Life is EASIER when you’re strong:
- Carrying groceries? One trip.
- Children to carry? No problem.
- Car stuck in the snow? Push it out with ease.
- Feel like a badass? YUP!
Plus, whether you’re 100 lbs overweight or just need to lose the last 15, strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build muscle.[2]
Let’s get the long term benefits out of the way.
How Strength Training Will Help as You Age:
#1) Halt and even reverse sarcopenia: As we age our skeletal muscle deteriorates, which is a condition known as sarcopenia. Strength training has been found to reduce the negative effects of sarcopenia allowing us to maintain an independent lifestyle (and out of a nursing home) and live longer.[3]
#2) Prevent disease and degenerative conditions:[4a] Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
Strength training helps correct issues relating to cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and inactivity – all factors for heart disease.
Cardiologists are even starting to recommend strength training for people who have suffered a heart attack as little as three weeks after the attack.[4b]
#3) Improve the quality of life for people with: arthritis,[5] osteoporosis,[6] Parkinson’s Disease,[7] Down Syndrome,[8] lymphedema,[9] fibromyalgia,[10] who have recently had a stroke,[11] have had a spinal cord injury,[12] cancer survivors[13] and clinical depression.[14] Clinical exercise physiologists working with these special populations listed above strongly recommend incorporating strength training to slow down the progression of their disease or disorder, decrease their risk for other comorbidities, and decrease their risk for premature mortality.[15]
Now, in addition to making life easier LATER, strength training has a lot of great benefits right now.
How Strength Training Will Help You Today:
#1) Lose weight, look good naked: You can find study[16] after study[17] after study[18] that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management when combined with “calorie restriction.”(eating fewer calories than you burn every day), such as greater fat loss and improvements in muscle mass. Additionally, the combination of these two behaviors also decreases one’s risk for the development of chronic diseases (e.g., CVD) and premature mortality.[19]
#2) Strength training can help increase your metabolism by speeding up your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).[20] It takes your body more calories to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat!
#3) Strength training has a much greater level of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption than aerobic exercise.[21]
What does this mean?
When you finish a workout, your body needs to do a lot of work to replenish itself in order to bring itself back to a normal state (the way it was before you worked out). This takes a lot of energy, and some studies have shown that it can boost your metabolism for up to 38 hours after you finish your workout. If you do your resistance training quickly, minimizing rest intervals in-between sets, you can actually increase this effect.[22]
This is why it’s important to stay off of the phone in-between sets!
If you want to learn more about how to do this, check out our Guide to Circuit Training.
In addition to physical improvements, strength training will improve your next doctor’s visit.
How Strength Training Can Make You Healthier:
#1) Strength training increases bone density, builds a stronger heart, reduces your resting blood pressure, improves blood flow, halts muscle loss, helps control blood sugar, improves cholesterol levels, and improves your balance and coordination.[23] This is all great news because this will decrease your risk of developing conditions such as osteoporosis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.
#2) Strength training will make you FEEL better: Not only will you find yourself with more energy and confidence, less stress and anxiety,[24] and a better overall mood,[25] but you’ll actually begin to think better (resistance training has been proven to help increase cognitive function[26]).
You may be asking how this is possible?
Strength training allows for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity to take place, which is the process of creating new neural pathways in the brain.
Plus, strength training also allows for certain neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) to be released that plays a role in brain health.[27]
And while training too close to bedtime can be a bad idea, exercising earlier in the day has been proven to help prevent sleep apnea and insomnia.[28]
But wait, there’s more!
I even improved my posture from strength training – when I started lifting, I was 5’4”. Now I’m 5’5.5”.[29]
This is also a major concern for today because of prolonged cell phone use, which finds people constantly tilting their head forward and down resulting in neck pain and faulty posture.[30]
#3) Last but not least, strength training is fun! Whether you are looking for the most effective 20-30 minute workout (to stay fit and look great naked), or are looking for a competitive sport that you can really get into, strength training can help you meet your goals.[31]
It’s easy and fun to see progress as you strength train, almost like leveling up (“You gained 100xp and +1 STR with your deadlift today”).
If you’re looking to improve in other areas (a sport, traditional cardio, or an activity like rock climbing), strength training is an easy choice! Strength training will help keep you injury free too.[32]
We have coaching clients from 18 to 80+, and we work on strength training with practically every single one of them due to just how many benefits it provides! We’d love to work with you too:
Who SHOULDN’T strength train?
Trying to be balanced, I wanted to find studies of a single group of people who should not strength train.
But it didn’t go so well…
- I found studies on how strength training can be beneficial for paraplegics.[33]
- There are also studies that show the benefits for children and adolescents.[34]
- You can also find plenty of studies that explain the benefits of strength training for pregnant women.[35]
Oh, and if you think you’re too old, I promise that you are not.
And thus I’ve decided, not knowing you, you should probably strength train.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: if you do fall into any of these special populations (e.g., paraplegics, children, pregnant women, etc.) it is imperative that you work with a qualified professional (e.g., clinical exercise physiologist, strength and conditioning coach, etc.).
These qualified professionals will perform a risk stratification and pre-assessments so they can start you off with the perfect training program that will improve your physical and mental health, and will decrease your risk for injury and prevent your condition from progressing to a more severe state.
Oh, and if you are already injured, you should check with a doctor[36] or physical therapist before strength training.
Long story short: EVERYBODY should strength train.
Robots too…probably.
It’s what we’re genetically designed to do: move around, push, pull, jump, and carry things.
What Is Strength Training? The Basics You Need to Know.
“Strength training” of any kind can be explained by two things:
- Movement of any weight (including your body weight) – Doing ANY exercise that pushes your muscles outside of their comfort zone, forcing them to rebuild stronger to prepare for the next challenge.
- Progressive overload: exerting slightly more effort than last time (lift heavier weight or do 1 more rep) consistently. Your muscles will constantly have to adapt and will constantly be rebuilding themselves to get stronger.[37]
That’s strength training!
If you want 7 different ways to achieve progressive overload, watch this video:
All this means if you do 10 squats and 10 knee push-ups right now, you have completed a strength training workout.
Feel free to do this right now to give yourself a quick win.
And we’re back!
So what’s actually happening to our bodies when we strength train?
Let’s get on our magic school bus and learn about the wonders of muscles!
Here’s what you need to know your muscles and strength training:
We’ve got 642 muscles in our bodies (but who’s counting), and they all work together to help our bodies move, stand, and exist.
When you bend your arm, your biceps contract and your triceps do the opposite (elongate) in order to let your elbow bend.
Every muscle in your body works alongside other muscles to let you move and do things. In this particular example, the biceps is known as the agonist muscle and the triceps is the antagonist.
Strength training starts when you move your bodyweight (doing 10 push-ups), or pick up a weight (a 100 pound deadlift) that is beyond what your body is normally used to.
In other words:
Strength training finds you pushing your muscles outside of their comfort zone.
They “break down” and tear slightly during this workout, and then over the next 24-48 hours they rebuild themselves stronger and more resilient.[38]
This is the foundation of strength training, and it’s called hypertrophy, in which the individual muscle fibers packed into your muscles are growing larger in size.[39]
There are a few types of hypertrophy,[40] which you can nerd out about here (don’t worry, this won’t be on the quiz):
- Sarcoplasmic hypertrophy focuses on increasing the amount of sarcoplasm, the non-contractile fluid found in your muscle. This type of hypertrophy helps build overall size.
- Myofibril hypertrophy focuses on strengthening the myofibril, the contractile part of the muscle. You are strengthening the actual muscle fiber so it helps you build super dense, strong muscles.
- Transient hypertrophy is the temporary increase in muscle size that happens during and immediately after weight training due to fluid accumulation in the intracellular space, that you might know as “the pump”.
“Staci, what does this mean for me?” You might be wondering.
We cover exact strategies in our “How many sets and reps?” guide, but here’s what you need to know:
Strength train based on your goals!
If you are building your own workout:
- If you want dense muscle and strength (myofibrillar hypertrophy), keep the reps low and the weight heavy (in the 1 to 5 rep range).
- If you’re looking to build muscle size, (sarcoplasmic hypertrophy), do more reps with a lighter weight (in the 8-12 range).
- If you’re looking to build cardiovascular health and muscular endurance, hang out in the 12-20 reps per set range.
Please note: each of these rep ranges are NOT exclusive – when you train in a higher rep range you’re not JUST getting size, you’re also getting strength.
And if you get really strong, it can also help you with size and endurance.
Don’t forget that no matter HOW you train, nutrition will be responsible for 90% of your results.
Three quick points (which we cover in more detail throughout the rest of this series):
#1) “How often should I work out?” For a basic strength program, working out 3-4 days a week is plenty.[41] This is one of those situations where more is not necessarily better.
#2) Recovery: The general rule is to wait 48 hours before working the same muscle group again. For example, if you trained your biceps and triceps today, then you should wait 48 hours before hitting them again. However, recovery is different for everyone depending on many different factors such as what the actual workout is, how old you are, your sleep quality, diet, and other recovery elements (such as massage, including the popular massage guns, foam rolling, and stretching).[42]
#3) Soreness after a workout: The day after an intense strength training workout – or 2 days after – you’re going to be VERY sore. This is called “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness(DOMS)”. It’s a normal part of the process of repairing your muscles from the damage to the fibers you created while exercising. More recently, research evidence has found that the eccentric part of a lift, or the part of the lift in which the muscles are lengthening and stretching, produces the greatest degree of soreness.[43]
Expect to be more sore after doing an exercise for the first few workouts. As your muscles get used to that movement (and adapt to being put under stress), they will get less and less sore every time.
If you are sore, don’t skip the next workout!
That’s because:
The best way to alleviate soreness is to continue exercising.
This increases blood flow to the muscles and helps them heal.[44]
You can check out our Guide for Active Recovery for some tips on how to do that.
Already overwhelmed and just want to be told what to do? I hear you. It’s why we created our coaching program:
Can I strength train to lose weight?
We get questions relating to weight loss and strength training all the time, and it’s a BIG part of this entire Strength 101 series.
Let me quickly address it here:
Fat and muscle are two different things – one can’t transform into the other.
We all have plenty of muscle right now (otherwise we wouldn’t be able to move, walk, sit up, etc.), the muscle is just hiding underneath a layer of body fat.
In order for us to lose weight and look better, we want to do two things:
- Build our muscles stronger and tighter.
- Burn the fat on top of it!
And luckily, both of those things happen simultaneously through strength training!
So NO, you don’t need to lose weight first before you start strength training.
You will lose weight BY strength training (and keep the muscle you have).
You do NOT need to do hours of cardio for weight loss – weight loss is 90% a result of your nutrition. So honestly, you don’t need to ever set foot on a treadmill again (unless you WANT to).
Strength training will help you lose weight and look better IF you do two key things for effective weight loss:
- Calorie restriction: eat fewer calories than you burn every day.
- Strength train with progressive overload (picking up heavier stuff).
As we cover in our “Why can’t I lose weight” article (full of fun Harry Potter references), combining a caloric deficit and strength training is magic:[45]
- You’re not consuming enough calories to carry out your body’s daily functions. Our bodies require enough calories to support normal physiological functions such as heart rate and breathing. Additionally, enough calories are needed to help maintain our blood glucose, which is the major energy source for our brains.[46]
- Your body needs to use lots of calories to rebuild the muscle that was broken down during the strength training workouts. Our bodies use calories to facilitate a process known as protein synthesis, which is the process of muscle hypertrophy.[47]
- Your body has no choice BUT to pull from fat stores to get stuff done! As mentioned earlier, higher-intensity strength training results in a greater post-exercise oxygen consumption, resulting in greater caloric expenditure post-exercise.[48]
Just by doing those two things (get strong, reduce calories), all sorts of wizardry and witchcraft takes place in your body:
- Get stronger and keep the muscle you have.
- Build tight dense muscle.
- A revved up metabolism while rebuilding muscle.
- Burning of body fat to get things done.
Yeah, you’re hearing me correctly.
Lose the body fat that sits on top of your muscles and you’ll make your muscles tighter and denser = look better without clothes on.
So how do you put this into practice?
- Pick one of the strength workouts in our “How to start strength training” section.
- Calculate your daily caloric needs.
- Learn which diet is best for you, and make a small change.
Oh, what’s that? You just want somebody to tell you exactly how to train for your body, and how to eat for your goals?
Fine!
Check out our 1-on-1 Coaching Program – it’s helped thousands of people lose weight through strength training – and proper nutrition. We work with you on habit building and lifestyle design to actually get stuff done!
Am I Too Old to Strength Train?
As we cover in our “am I too old to strength train” article, no – you are not.
I promise.
I cited dozens of studies above that show strength training is beneficial for people of all ages. And even for the frail elderly, studies have shown that drastic results are possible in just 10 weeks of weightlifting (for both men and women in their 70s through their 90s).[49]
In fact, weight training has also been shown to delay Alzheimer’s and stave off dementia.[50] As mentioned earlier, strength training allows for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity to take place, which is the process of creating new neural pathways in the brian. And, strength training also allows for the dopamine (i.e., neurotransmitter) to be released that plays a role in brain health.[51]
Research has also shown that older adults can safely engage in higher-intensity strength training resulting in improvements in strength, body composition, disease status, and independent lifestyle.[52]
So, if you think you might be “too old,” you’re probably the exact type of person that SHOULD be strength training!
Team NF’s Steve’s gramma is 89 and she strength trains. You are not too old!
We have plenty of coaching clients who are retired and just STARTING to strength train now in their 50s or 60s+. In fact one of our coaches, Kerry, is certified as a Functioning Aging Specialist, and you better believe she has her clients strength training!
By the way, if you are 90+ and reading Nerd Fitness, please email us at contact@nerdfitness.com – I’d love to hear from you 🙂
Will Lifting Weights Make Me Bulky?
No (unless you are TRYING to get bulky).
Let me first address this from a women’s point of view, then I’ll get to the men.
“Fear of bulk” is one of the biggest myths surrounding women and strength training and it makes me a sad panda.
The images of “bulky” women that you are conjuring up are from bodybuilding magazines.
When I started strength training, I didn’t get bulky, I got lean:
And I’m just one example.
We have hundreds of examples here at Nerd Fitness.
These are women who strength trained to get strong and lean, not bulky. Like Leslie, who lost 100 pounds by getting strong:
Or Christina, who got strong as hell, lost 31 total inches, and now crushes sets of pull-ups!
That “bulky” look in women does not happen by mistake or overnight – we simply do not have the hormones necessary to get there on our own.
To achieve this look, women have to eat incredible amounts of food and consume incredible amounts of drugs.
When we strength train normally, without these supplements, we end up looking like athletes.
And for the men: if your fear is getting too bulky, you can rest easy. Steve, creator of Nerd Fitness, has spent his entire life trying to get “too bulky.” It was only after fixing his diet (and hiring an online coach) that he went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.
That’s right, strength training is only 10% of the “slim down or bulk up” equation. The other 90% is nutrition and total calories consumed.
- Want to lose weight? Strength train + caloric restriction. It is recommended that you seek a calorie deficit by consuming 250-500 less calories per day below your typical calorie intake. This will result in a realistic weight loss goal of 1-2 pounds per week.[53]
- Want to get bigger? Strength train + caloric surplus. It is recommended that you seek a calorie surplus by consuming 250-500 additional calories above your typical calorie intake. This will result in a realistic gain in lean muscle mass of about 0.5 pounds per week.[54]
“My focus is on running/basketball/quidditch and I need to stay slim! How do I strength train for this scenario?”
Studies have shown that strength training increases the endurance of your muscles.[55]
In fact, resistance training and weight training not only help to tune up an out of shape nervous system and increase the activation of motor units within your muscles, but also helps increase their overall endurance. More specifically, strength training can result in improvements in how much force muscles can generate and also how much fatigue they can resist leading to better exercise economy.[56]
Want to run your first 5K? Strength training will keep you injury free. One of our coaching clients, Aylette, used strength training to keep her injury free and she recently one a triathlon!
If you’re worried about getting too big, remember: there are many types of strength training (and alternate forms of strength training like acro yoga and rock climbing!), and size and strength don’t always go hand in hand.
I Don’t like Gyms. Can I Still Strength Train?
You don’t ever have to set foot in a gym if you don’t want to.
Sure, gyms are great, as long as you join the right gym.
And we can also teach you how to train in a gym so you avoid that “lost sheep” feeling.
But they aren’t for everybody!
You can get really strong as hell doing just bodyweight exercises at home.
Remember how I talked about “progressive overload” earlier? That applies to bodyweight training too.
You just have to constantly increase the challenge your muscles face. Like moving from our Beginner Bodyweight Workout to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout.
And then advancing to handstands and even gymnastic ring muscle-ups.
You just have to keep challenging your muscles and get strong as heck.
Look at any gymnast, male or female – those physiques are built through bodyweight training!
To progress in bodyweight exercises, you need to start, so you have something to advance from. You can begin by trying our beginner bodyweight routine RIGHT NOW:
Do you know how to properly build a workout routine that has bodyweight exercises that properly scale up as you get stronger?
It’s super fun building your own program, but many people just want to follow a plan that they know is aligned with their goals. If you hate gyms and still want to get strong, let us help!
How to Start Strength Training Today: Next Steps
If you’re ready to start, fantastic.
We’d recommend a simple program to get your feet wet.[57] You know, to learn the movements, build some confidence and prove to yourself that you can DO this!
If you want to take the Next Step, here’s how Team Nerd Fitness (that’s us!) can help you:
1) Work with a professional Yoda! If you want confidence that you’re following a program that is tailor-made for your busy life, situation, and goals, check out our popular 1-on-1 Coaching Program.
You’ll work with a certified NF instructor who will get to know you better than you know yourself, keep you accountable, and help you reach your goals.
2) Join our amazing free community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! It’s free to join, and we provide you with free goodies like our Strength Training 101 ebook when you sign up:
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
3) Read ALL of the other amazing resources on Nerd Fitness. We’ve published millions of words over 800+ articles at Nerd Fitness that you can read, but these are the guides that will be the most helpful to you on your journey:
I don’t care which next step you pick, as long as you PICK a plan that works for you
- It’s simple to follow
- You have all of the equipment available
- It focuses on compound, full-body movements
Congratulations: You just made it through the first class of Strength Training 101!
What big questions do you have about strength training?
Has strength training worked for you?
How else can Team Nerd Fitness help you?
Now go pick up something heavy!
-Staci
PS – Please read part two, “5 Strength Training Workouts for Beginners!
PPS: Be sure to check out the rest of Strength Training 101 series too:
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Photo Source: Stepan Popov © 123RF.com, LEGO one arm, LYT, lego bench press, Belly, Wizard, Not Happy, Free Weights, acrobat
Staci Ardison
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A breakfast-cereal giant’s grumbles about prices could be music to the Fed’s ears
General Mills the megamanufacturer behind your morning Cheerios, reported a drop in earnings that might make it question whether continuing to raise prices is worth it.
General Mills
GIS,
+0.52%
CEO Jeff Harmening acknowledged during the company’s fourth-fiscal-quarter earnings call this week that consumers responded to higher prices by making fewer purchases. “As you look at the last 12 weeks, it’s pretty clear that elasticity — volume elasticities have increased,” which may suggest consumer demand is more sensitive to price increases than it had been previously.In business and economics, price elasticity refers to the degree to which individuals, consumers or producers change their demand or the amount supplied in response to price or income changes.
“ ‘Companies have been raising prices pretty aggressively. We’re seeing that trend definitely subside.’ ”
The manufacturer of the Häagen-Dazs, Pillsbury and Betty Crocker product lineups, as well as its famed breakfast cereals, felt the impact of this phenomenon as it reported a decline in profits and sales volume for its fourth quarter.
Read: General Mills’ stock slides 5% as sales fall short. North American retailers are reducing inventory.
Richard Moody, chief economist at Regions Financial Corp., said higher prices are posing an issue for companies more broadly. “Companies have been raising prices pretty aggressively. We’re seeing that trend definitely subside. Sellers of goods just don’t have as much pricing power as they had for most of last year and the prior year,” Moody told MarketWatch.
This could be music to the ears of Federal Reserve officials, who are trying to get inflation back down to their 2% target.
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, during the early days of the fight against inflation in 2022, said inflation would return to the Fed’s target once companies find out that raising prices is harmful to their bottom lines.
In an interview last May with Fox Business Network he observed that “a lot of CEOs have come on TV and said, ‘Oh, I have lots of pricing power, and I can do whatever I want and make a lot of money … but I think some of them are going to get punched in the face here with the fact that consumers have to react.”
Also see: U.S. consumer sentiment climbs to 4-month high on slower inflation and end of debt-ceiling fight
Though General Mills’ drop in earnings might not be the punch in the face Bullard warned of, its recent quarterly update could be a sign that continuing to raise prices is now looking harmful to financial results.
A statement from the company attributed the drop in earnings to a trend among retailers toward lower inventory levels. During the pandemic, grocery stores stocked up on Nature Valley snack bars and CoCo Puffs due to concerns about supply-chain complications. General Mills says retailers are holding less inventory now, so there is less on the shelves for consumers to purchase.
CEO Harmening said the majority of General Mills’ price increases are in the marketplace already. Though conditions can change, “we feel good about what we see right now with our pricing and the inflationary environment that we see,” he said, a possible indication that the company might back off of flexing price muscle.
Other economists were uncertain about reading too much into lower earnings for companies like General Mills.
Will Compernolle, macro strategist at FHN Financial, said he detected a bit of a culture change due to grocery-store inflation over the past two years. “People are buying less stuff to eat at home. And that is, you know, a kind of mysterious trend in the sense that this is always considered a necessity,” he said.
As pandemic-era stay-at-home recommendations and other public health measures were eased, there’s been “a temporary surge in food-services spending” as people have chosen to go out to restaurants rather than cook at home, he said.
He said it is unclear how companies like General Mills will respond to consumer spending. In order to determine demand, they will have to see what “the new normal looks like when the dust settles” and ask whether “people going to go back to their old composition of food at home versus food away.”
Read: Shopping at Kroger can be up to four times cheaper than eating out, CEO says
Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, said he has observed “consumers are saving more and spending less, perhaps out of caution, as most believe a recession is either here or imminent.”
Lower-income Americans have become particularly sensitive to price increases, Frick said. He shared his “hunch” that there is “kind of a drag on spending because lower-income Americans are being hurt so badly.”
“It seems likely most of the effects of spending plateauing overall has to do with that lower third of Americans [having] really started to, you know, pinch their pennies and run up their debt, and they don’t want to run it up any more,” Frick said.
Income and spending data released by the government on Friday showed people may have more money to spend but are not spending quite as much.
U.S. consumer spending slowed in May, rising just 0.1%, compared with 0.6% growth in consumer spending in the prior month. Consumers saved 4.3% of their disposable income, an increase from April’s 3.4% savings rate.
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What is Functional Fitness? (11 Exercises) | Nerd Fitness
So you want to learn about functional fitness?
Great!
We create strength, balance, and flexibility workouts as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so you’ve come to the right place to learn about functional fitness.
Plus, we add sweet LEGO photos for good measure.
Here’s what we’ll cover to answer the question: “What is Functional Fitness?”
What Is Functional Fitness and Why Is It Important?
Functional fitness means training your body for everyday activities, and to make daily motion easier and safer.
When we practice functional fitness, it’s for activities like:
- Carrying groceries
- Picking up small children
- Walking in nature
- Being mobile on the floor
- Fighting off sharks
Functional fitness seeks to build strength, flexibility, and balance for navigating the physical world and the objects in it.
We do this by replicating and practicing movements necessary in the real world: squatting, pulling, pushing, bending, climbing, walking, and running.
Personally, I like to think of it as becoming “antifragile,” or being able to physically handle the chaos of life.
So for functional fitness, we prioritize natural movements (squats, pull-ups) over exercises that are done on a machine (leg presses, lat pulldown).
Here’s the rationale: in your everyday life, you probably won’t find yourself in a situation where you have to push weights along a guided track…while seated:
But you’ll probably find yourself in a situation where you have to lift an object from the floor, then raise it above your head, like loading your luggage into the overhead bin on a plane.
So it makes sense to practice:
And this too:
Here, the kettlebell is substituting for an object you may have to pick up and lift during your everyday life: a book, a pet rabbit, a cursed golden idol, etc.
It’s why we encourage free weights instead of machines, because free weights force you to balance and control objects just like you have to in day-to-day life.
Another thing to consider for functional fitness: “compound exercises.”
Compound exercises require more than one muscle group working together for the exercise (squats, pull-ups), so they replicate the way your body actually moves. This would be different from isolation exercises like biceps curls, which more or less train JUST your biceps muscles to move one particular way.
Since functional fitness seeks to improve your body’s ability to work as one unit, compound exercises are encouraged!
As they say, variety is the spice of life.
Let’s give you one last example of functional fitness.
Compare running on an elliptical vs going on a short hike:
- Both will get your heart rate up.
- But a hike will challenge your stability and balance as you move over uneven terrain. The elliptical, on the other hand, provides a repetitive motion over and over.
There is a time and a place for both, but it’s important to introduce variety and instability if your goal is to develop all-around functional fitness.
What’s that? You want exact exercises to try?
The 11 Best Functional Fitness Exercises
A functional fitness workout prioritizes natural movements that help us conquer the obstacles and tasks faced in our everyday life.
Here Are the Best Functional Fitness Exercises:
#1) Squats
Squats are one of the most fundamental functional movements in our lives.
Getting off the ground, moving in and out of chairs, and shoveling snow will all be easier after a regular squatting practice.
Simple bodyweight squats are a great way to get started, but if this is too tough at first, start with assisted bodyweight squats:
Once you get comfortable with a regular bodyweight squat, you can start incorporating weights, like with a goblet squat:
If you build up to a 30-pound dumbbell, this move can replicate picking up a small child off the ground. Practical and functional if you’re a new parent.
2) Deadlifts
Speaking of picking up stuff off the ground, let’s talk about the deadlift as a part of functional fitness.
Moving furniture, grabbing bags of dog food, and taking a sleeping child to bed are all forms of the deadlift. When you start to incorporate the deadlift into your life, you make all these movements easier (and safer).
If you’ve never deadlifted before, it can be a little intimidating. A good place to start might be the Romanian Deadlift with very light dumbbells:
If you’re looking for other deadlift variations, or you want to make sure you have proper form, read our full guide with step-by-step instructions on how to deadlift safely.
#3) Overhead Press
The overhead press is another exercise that will provide benefits in daily life:
- Placing a cast iron skillet into a top kitchen cabinet
- Hoisting luggage into the top bin when flying
- Showing off the piece of the Triforce you just scored
Performing the overhead press will not only increase your upper-body strength, but it will also strengthen your core, since you balance and stabilize yourself while standing and lifting. Compare this to the bench press, where the bench itself offers support during the movement.
Again, some lightweight dumbbells are a great starting point if you’re just getting started:
Make sure you read our full guide on how to perform the overhead press for more variations and tips for progression.
#4) Farmer’s Walk
The farmer’s walk is really simple: pick up a couple of weights and walk.
To up the difficulty, pick up more weight. Or walk further.
Very basic, yet very functional, because most of us carry objects from one place to another all the time.
When performing the farmer’s walk:
- Pick the weight up with a good form
- Keep a tight posture with your shoulders back
- Take small, manageable steps
That’s it.
The farmer’s walk will challenge your arms, back, shoulders, core, and grip.
Being able to lift and carry heavy objects is about as functional as you can get.
#5) Bear Crawl
When we’re young, it’s a given that we’ll be mobile on the floor.
As adults, eh, not so much. The only interaction with the floor comes from us standing on it. We won’t even sit on it without a chair helping us.
Not very functional.
Enter the bear crawl…
To perform the bear crawl:
- Begin in a tabletop position.
- Bring your knees up, so they hover.
- Using opposing arms and legs (ex: right arm, left leg), take a small step forward with each limb. You want to use small steps so your torso is stable, instead of rocking side to side.
- Repeat on the opposite side.
It’ll look like this:
#6) Walking Lunge
The walking lunge is going to provide lower body strength, as well as balance, for when you come in and out of the movement.
To perform a walking lunge:
- Stand with a shoulder-width stance.
- Step out with your right leg.
- Lower your hips until your back leg’s knee almost touches the ground.
- If you stepped out far enough, your front knee won’t extend past your toes.
- Explode forward and up by pushing off with your back leg and up with your front leg.
- Bring both feet together, and then step forward with your other foot and repeat.
#7) Pull-Ups
When discussing the best functional fitness exercises, we can’t neglect your “pull” muscles.
Being able to lift yourself up is very functional, and may save your life if you’re being chased by velociraptors.
If you can’t quite get your first pull-up yet, an inverted bodyweight row will help you build strength until you can.
#8) Kettlebell Swing
The kettlebell swing is an explosive full-body movement that focuses on building strength with your hip hinge.
How to perform the kettlebell swing:
- Get down into a bent-over, flat-back position and grab the kettlebell with both hands from the handle.
- Swing the kettlebell behind you, then get ready to jump up.
- Jump up (without leaving the ground) and swing the kettlebell up. You should be standing tall at the peak of the movement.
- Reverse the movement and bring the kettlebell back down and behind you.
- Repeat.
If you want more tips for training with a kettlebell (a great tool for functional fitness), then check out “The 20 Minute Beginner Kettlebell Workout.”
#9) Push-Ups
Push-ups, the ole fitness staple. But being able to hold yourself firm in a straight line (don’t sink), while pushing yourself up will create a lot of core strength. And a great functional exercise.
Plus, you can add some variation to level them up, creating a more dynamic exercise.
For example, you can do dive bomber push-ups:
#10) Step Up
It doesn’t get much more functional than going up steps. Life doesn’t always provide us with elevators.
If this seems too easy, start mixing weights into the practice:
#11) Box Jump
As Mario would know, sometimes you have to jump on stuff.
Practicing jumps will improve your power, balance, and agility, all critical for functional fitness.
Coach Matt walks explains how to get your first box jump in this video:
BONUS: #12) Handstands
On the one hand, handstands are really tough. On the other hand, the amount of strength and balance required to perform handstands are central to functional fitness.
And…ah…you need both hands to do it…unless you’re Luke Skywalker:
We have a full guide that will walk you through getting your first handstand, from simple wrist stretches:
All the way to handstand push-ups:
Are you doing these moves correctly? A good way to check would be to record a video of yourself and match it against the gifs and videos here. If they look close, you’re doing great!
The other option would be to have a trained professional review your form, which we can do in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!
Our spiffy mobile app lets you send a video of your training directly to your coach, who will provide feedback so you can perfect your technique.
They’ll also build a workout program that’s custom to your situation, which can improve your functional strength!
What Is a Functional Fitness Training Workout?
Now that we’ve gone over specific functional fitness exercises, let’s pull them together!
Let’s pull a video to do so!
How to Build Your Own Workout :
As Coach Staci mentions in the vid, for a beginner just getting started, we’d recommend doing a full-body routine, two to three times a week.
A full-body workout will need to include:
- Quads (front of your legs).
- Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).
- Chest, shoulders, and triceps: (“push” muscles).
- Back, biceps, and grip ( “pull” muscles).
- Core (abdominals and lower back).
Since we prioritized compound exercises in today’s post (because they are more aligned with functional fitness), our muscle groups will overlap when we build our routine.
That’s a good thing.
Using the exercises covered earlier, our Functional Fitness Workout could be:
That’s it! If you start doing this once a week you’ll be well on your way to building functional fitness.
If you want to do this twice a week, maybe switch out some exercises:
- Instead of push-ups, try the overhead press
- Instead of squats, try lunges
- Instead of pull-ups, try bodyweight rows
One important point: no matter what routine you pick, always warm up first!
It can be simple arm circles:
Or some jumping jacks:
Warming up is important because we want your muscles engaged and loose before we jump right into our training. So warm up for about 5 minutes before jumping into your workout.
As long as you include your warm-up, you can now start your training.
If you want more help building a functional fitness practice, I have a couple of resources for you:
- How to Build Your Own Workout Routine: our guide will walk you through building your own training practice. We’ll teach you what exercises you should do, how many sets and reps you should perform, and how often you should work out. It’ll help you start performing functional fitness exercises today.
- Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: if you want a more customized approach for your exact situation (kids, an old injury, you turn into a werewolf once a month), then check out NF Coaching. We’ll build you an exact plan of attack on how to become a functional fitness master.
Is CrossFit Functional Fitness?
CrossFit claims to support “functional movements” by using “safe, effective and efficient movements similar to those you use every day in life.”
So yeah, that does sound like what we’ve been talking about this whole time.
The difference with CrossFit is the intensity. It’s something we highlight in our Beginner’s Guide to CrossFit.
CrossFit does promote functional fitness. It’s why you’ll see people carrying sandbags, flipping tires, and wielding sledgehammers at CrossFit gyms:
But the intensity is another noteworthy aspect of CrossFit. Workouts are done in a group setting, with people cheering you on.
While this can be great for motivation, it can be less great when trying to move at your own pace and train with proper form.
Now, this is a generalization, and all CrossFit gyms will have their own characteristics and culture.
If you’re curious, it doesn’t hurt to walk through the door of your local CrossFit gym – just make sure you read our Crossfit Beginner Guide first. I’m sure they’d love to see you and show you around.
How to Build Functional Fitness (Next Steps)
We’ve covered a lot of different ways to increase and build functional fitness.
But our article barely scratched the surface:
- Gymnastic rings would be a great way to promote functional fitness.
- Working your way towards your first handstand is fun strength practice.
- A yoga routine could also be considered “functional.”
- A hike would be a great way to prepare for traveling through natural landscapes.
Also, let’s not get close-minded here. Being strong will help you navigate the world in front of you, so in that sense, any form of strength training could be considered “functional fitness.”
So would parkour, which has you traveling through urban landscapes:
Just find something you like and get started!
The more you do, and the more variation you include (barbell training, yoga, and hiking), the more functional fit you’ll be.
This is how you become “antifragile.”
Now, all that’s left to do is start:
Want a little help getting going? The perfect next step on how to begin your functional fitness journey?
No problemo!
Here are 3 options to continue with Nerd Fitness:
Option #1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to get strong, lose weight, and level up your life, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
Option #2) If you want a daily prompt for functional fitness workouts, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
Option #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign-up below and receive our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It includes step-by-step instructions for the Best Functional Fitness Exercises covered in today’s guide.
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Alright, enough from me. Your turn:
Do you practice functional fitness?
Do you have any specific exercises you cover?
Any tips or tricks for someone just getting started?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
PS: Strength training would be a great way to promote functional fitness. If you’re not sure where to start with your strength training journey, start here.
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GIF Source: Bear Crawl, Batman vs Shark, Triforce, Indiana Jones, CrossFit, Chest Press, Parkour
Photo Source: “I’m Batman,” Wandering, Strongman, Scenes from an empty lot in Brooklyn, vol 1., Antonio Guillem © 123RF.com
Steve Kamb
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How to Use a Rowing Machine (3 Workouts) | Nerd Fitness
The rowing machine – it’s so hot right now.
Rowing classes are everywhere. It’s easy to find professional and Olympic athletes hyping up the machine’s ability to provide a full-body workout.
All fine and good…but how do you actually use the thing?
Welp my friend, you’ve come to the right place to find out.
Many clients in our Online Coaching Program tell us they want to start rowing, but they don’t know how. Today, we’ll explain how we get them going with row machine workouts.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Alright, you ready?
Let’s row, row, row your rower.
How to Use a Rowing Machine (Video Tutorial)
In the video above, Coach Staci explains the ins and outs of using a rowing machine.
What? Who’s Staci?
Welp, she’s a Senior Coach here at Nerd Fitness and an all-around badass powerlifter.
She also knows a thing or two about using a rowing machine, since she’s gotten several CrossFit certs (they love the rowing machine at CrossFit).
If you’re going to learn about using a rowing machine, she’s not a bad person to talk to.
But first, let’s back up here a bit…
What Are the Benefits of Using a Rowing Machine?
The rowing machine was originally invented for water rowers to train off-season.
You might hear the indoor rowing machine called an ergometer, or “erg” or “ergo.” They get this name since rowing machines often measure the energy produced from the workout in units of ergs.
They’ve grown in popularity, because this one stationary machine offers a lot of neat features.
For example, the benefits of the rowing machine include:
- A Full-Body Workout. If we use proper rowing technique, we’ll hit every major muscle group in our body. Upper, lower, core, we’ll work it all. This is one of the main reasons they’ve become so popular.
- Low-Impact. While a workout from a rowing machine can get intense, it’s considered to be little to no impact. That’s why it’s sometimes recommended to patients with osteoarthritis.[1]
- Versatility. We can do a lot with an ergometer. We can train for duration and/or intensity. We even do a HIIT workout. Or we can combine it with bodyweight movements in a circuit. Plus, since some of them fold up, they’re perfect for those who need to train in small spaces.
Alright, let’s now go over some terminology so you know what’s what with the ergometer.
Rowing Machine 101: Terms to Know
When it comes to the rowing machine, there’s some vocabulary that would be worth discussing quickly.
First, let’s chat about the rower itself.
Here Are the Parts of the Rowing Machine:
#1) Foot Plate – no matter the rower, there will be a place for you to strap your feet in.
You’ll want to set your feet so that the strap goes over the ball of your foot. This will allow you to have the most powerful stroke.
You should be able to lift your heel in this position.
#2) Handle – also called “the bar.” This replicates the handles of an oar.
Your hands should be approximately shoulder-width apart.
#3) Rail – the central beam of the rower, which allows the seat to roll forward and back.
#4) Display Monitor – while these will differ from model to model, the rower will normally have a screen to show some basic info:
- Strokes per minute (Stroke Rate)
- Split Time (more on this momentarily)
- Duration of workout
Etc.
For the Concept2 model – the rower Coach Staci demonstrates above – you can hit any button and select “Just Row.”
This will be the easiest way to get going.
#5) The Damper – The lever on the side of the flywheel housing (or fan cage) that controls airflow.
The difference in Damper settings:
- The higher the setting, the more air is allowed to flow. This requires more work to spin the flywheel.
- The lower the setting, the less air is allowed to flow. This requires less work to spin the flywheel.
Think of this sort of like bicycle gears – it affects how the rowing feels but does not necessarily reflect the resistance:
- A setting of one will feel fast and easier to pull, but you’ll need to move quickly to generate power.
- That said, cranking the damper up to ten doesn’t mean a better workout either. It just means a tougher pull – like trying to move a rowboat.
We recommended you aim for a Damper setting between 3 and 5 (which is also where most competitive rowers have it).
Note: some indoor rowers use a water tank to create resistance, so any similar Damper setting controls the amount of water moving through the system. You can still use the same recommendations for damper numbers.
More on that here:
Next, let’s talk about some terminology for the sport of rowing itself.
Rowing has been around for centuries and a lot of the vocabulary has carried over to the indoor sport.
Rowing Terms to Know:
#1) Split
Split time refers to the time it takes to row 500 meters, also known as the “split per 500.” This will likely be shown prominently on your Display Monitor.
If the number goes down, it means you’re going faster! Woot.
#2) Strokes Per Minute (SPM)
This is also called Stroke Rating and it’s exactly what it sounds like: the number of strokes you take per minute.
A higher SPM doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going faster – you can also go faster by putting more power into each stroke.
#3) Paddle (or Rest)
Normally in the sport of rowing, you never stop completely. You just row or “paddle” a little bit easier.
Sort of like you do in HIIT workouts.
However, if you need to stop completely in your workout, don’t stress it. It’s fine to even get off the rower from time to time…it’s not actually a boat.
You do you.
Next, we need to discuss the four parts of the rowing stroke, but we’ll jump to a new section for that.
The Four Parts of the Rowing Stroke
The rowing stroke is broken out into four parts:
- The Catch
- The Drive
- The Finish
- The Recovery
It’ll look like this:
Let’s cover each.
#1) The Catch
This is the start of the stroke:
- Our knees are bent and our shins are roughly vertical.
- Our body leans forward slightly to about a 1 o’clock position and our arms are straight.
Like so:
This puts us in the ideal position to generate power.
#2) The Drive
As the name would suggest, this is where we’ll be driving and generating power for the stroke.
The order in which we generate power is key:
- It should go legs first
- Then lean back with the body
- Then pull with the arms
It’ll look like this:
They should blend smoothly right into each other, so a good reminder is:
- Legs
- Body
- Arms
A great drill to practice the Drive:
Start with JUST the legs:
THEN the legs and a slight backward lean with the body:
FINALLY, the legs, body, and arm pull together:
This can be done with or without the rowing handle.
Common mistakes with the Drive:
A) Pulling hard with the arms first. We’ll see the elbows bend early. This greatly decreases the amount of power we can put into the stroke.
We want to keep the arms straight and wait until the handle passes the knees BEFORE we first bend the arms.
B) Letting the body pull forward while we’re driving with the legs.
Instead, we want to keep a strong and stable midsection so that we can go smoothly from the leg drive to the body lean.
#3) The Finish
This will be our position after the Drive:
- Our legs are extended and our body is leaning back slightly.
- The handle is about at our solar plexus.
- Our shoulders are down and our wrists are straight.
It’ll look like this:
A great drill to practice the Finish: just work on the arm motion.
Keep the legs extended and lean back slightly. Then pull with just the arms.
Common mistakes with the Finish:
A) Shrug the shoulders up by the ears.
This is often accompanied by bent wrists and chicken wing arms.
Instead, we want the shoulders down and the elbows closer to the sides, with enough space between the arms and body for a grapefruit to fit.
B) Pulling the handle too high – to the neck or face.
We want the handle down at the solar plexus, not up orbiting in the solar system!
C) Leaning back too far – we’re not trying to perform the one-person luge here!
We only need to lean back slightly, at about an 11 o’clock position.
#4) The Recovery
This is how we return back to the starting position.
- Just as we had a proper order for the Drive – legs, body, arms – we’ll have a proper order for the recovery by reversing it – arms, body, legs.
- Straighten the arms, then lean the body forward slightly, and finally bend the legs to head back to the Catch.
Common mistakes with the Recovery: Bending the legs too early when recovering from the stroke. You’ll know you’re doing this when you have to lift the handle up and over the knees.
Instead, wait for the handle to PASS the knees before fully bending the legs.
There you have it, the four parts of the rowing stroke.
You’ll get better at this as you go, I promise.
Rowing is like golf: the relentless pursuit of the perfect stroke.
One way to check your form would be to record yourself doing a rowing stroke.
If it looks close to the gifs and videos found in this guide, you’re doing great!
Oh, and if you want an expert to review your form, you can do so in our snazzy Coaching app.
You can learn more here:
When to Add the Rowing Machine to Your Workout
A rowing machine can fit into our workout in all sorts of ways.
We can row:
If you want to give the rowing machine a whirl, including it as part of your warm-up wouldn’t be a bad idea. Since it’s a full-body exercise, it’s a great way to prep our body for the workout ahead.
To warm up with the rower, aim for about 5-10 minutes at a steady pace.
Once you get the hang of the rower, you can look to incorporate it with some of these ideas:
#1) Interval Training
Interval training or HIIT is all about flipping between intensity.
Going hard one moment, then resting another.
So after your warm-up, you could row intensely for two minutes, rest or “paddle” for a minute or two, then back to intensity.
A fun way to do this is to build up the duration and then pull it back with a “Meter Pyramid.”
To Row a Meter Pyramid:
- One minute of intensity, followed by one minute of paddle.
- Two minutes of intensity, followed by two minutes of paddle.
- Three minutes of intensity, followed by three minutes of paddle.
- Four minutes of intensity, followed by four minutes of paddle.
- Three minutes of intensity, followed by three minutes of paddle.
- Two minutes of intensity, followed by two minutes of paddle.
- One minute of intensity, followed by one minute of paddle.
If you start this off with a 5-minute warm-up, it’ll take about 37 minutes.
#2) Circuit Training
You could also mix in some other exercises as part of your rowing workout. Flipping between rowing and some bodyweight exercises, for example.
Here’s an example Row Machine Workout Circuit:
Repeat.
We could aim for 3-4 circuits here, but even 1-2 is a great start.
#3) Steady State
This is exactly what it sounds like: rowing at a constant pace.
After a warm-up, find a pace that you can stay with. Then stay with it.
A good frame of mind here would be about 50% of your effort, but don’t overthink this.
Put on a good podcast or your favorite playlist, find a Stroke Rate you can maintain for 10-30 minutes, and get rowing.
You can pretend you’re in a competition if it helps!
Also, mix and match! The important thing is that you’re doing some type of workout. Don’t fret if it doesn’t fit into the exact format you find here or on other websites.
For more ideas here, check out How to Build Your Own (Full-Body) Workout.
Should a Beginner Use a Rowing Machine? (Next Steps)
There you have it, my friend.
You now have everything you need to get started rowing.
Don’t overstress if you’re not doing anything 100% right as you start.
Like anything, you’ll get better at it as you go.
Plus, it’s not like you’ll be ejected into the water from an indoor rower.
But, if down the road you do want to take it outside, there are all sorts of leagues and clubs you can join.
It could be a great way to get out and make friends!
Granted, you’ll need SOME type of body of water around you, but if you live next to a lake or large river, there’s likely a team out there that would love to meet you.
Practice indoors for a bit, then take 20 seconds of courage to put yourself out there.
What’s 20 seconds of courage?
We explain it all to you in this video:
Oh, and if you want to continue having Nerd Fitness propel your journey, here are three ways we can help:
#1) Our Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
If ever you come across a snazzy piece of equipment and what to learn how to use it, your very own coach can help you!
Plus, they can guide your nutrition and help you level up all areas of your life.
You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details:
#2) If you want an exact roadmap for building a full-body workout, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app tells you exactly what days to exercise, what days to rest, and helps you track it all so you know if it’s working for you.
Interested?
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, our Strength Training 101 eBook, and much more!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
- The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
- Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
- Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
Now, your turn:
- What’s your experience with row machines?
- Do you use them as part of your training?
- Any workouts I’m missing?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
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Photo source: vadymvdrobot © 123RF.com, Legoland Somerville (Boston), indoor rower, nd3000 © 123RF.com, malkovkosta © 123RF.com.
Steve Kamb
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How to Portion Control (for Weight Loss) | Nerd Fitness
It’s time to learn how to portion control!
There are all sorts of “tips” and “tricks” out there, but today we’re going to show you the best method.
What makes me so confident?
For many of our Online Coaching clients, we create portion control strategies for weight loss that don’t suck. Today, we’ll share them with you too!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s do this thang!
What Are 5 Methods for Portion Control?
As you might know from our “How to lose weight” guide, the key to sustainable weight loss is getting ourselves to consume fewer calories in a way that doesn’t make us miserable.
Because our brains and bodies are complicated emotional disasters, there are some tips and tricks we can implement to protect us from…ourselves.
4 Strategies for Portion Control:
- Use smaller plates. Folks will often eat what’s placed in front of them, so using smaller dinnerware has been shown to help people eat less.[1]
- Drink a glass of water before your meal. If you chug a glass of water 30 minutes before you plan on eating, the H20 will take up some room in your stomach. This might help you eat less.[2]
- Take it slow. It can take about 20 minutes for your body to come around to the fact that it’s full, so slowing down your meals can help you eat less.[3]
- Use a food journal. Recording everything you eat and drink is a great way to become aware of portions, which can help you control them.[4] In fact, one of the first missions we have Nerd Fitness Prime members complete is creating a food journal.
All of these methods will work to some extent, and they’re good to keep in mind and also practice.
However, nothing will get more consistent results than actually learning the number of calories in the food you eat (Portion Control Tip #5)!
This is our number one recommendation for how to lose weight.
Study[4] after study[5] after study[6] shows that our bodies obey the laws of thermodynamics and that in order to lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume regularly.
- When you consume more calories than you burn, your body tends to store those extra calories as fat (weight gain).
- When you burn more calories than you consume, your body will pull from fat stores for energy (weight loss).
However, as we point out in our Calories In, Calories Out guide, determining your exact “calories in” can be a real pain. Not only that, but many people with certain personality traits can become neurotic about tracking every single calorie. They worry if they go 1 calorie over their daily allotment.
So, what’s a nerd to do?
Unless you’re going to weigh out all your food (something I’ve done before) and be militant about tracking, is it possible to “track” your food with a high level of accuracy without having it take over your life?
The answer: yes, by getting darn good at estimating!
Portion Sizes: How to Portion Control (The Best Method)
You already carry with you the best method for portion control.
Your hands!
Even if you have robot hands.
We’re going to use them to build a healthy plate, as shown above.
The “Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate” was originally published in our Guide to Healthy Eating, which was inspired by our friends over at Precision Nutrition.
We’re not going to worry about being exact.
It’s really hard to be precise anyway.[7]
However, using your hands as a tool for portion control provides a “good enough” strategy that can help your food intake:
As you can see, we’re going to focus our portion control strategy on:
- Protein
- Vegetables (technically carbs, but important enough to deserve their own category)
- Carbohydrates (think starches and fruit)
- Fat
Each macronutrient will correspond to an area of your hand, to give you a sense of what a proper portion size should be.
We’ve learned that using your hand as a guide is the most helpful strategy for portion control:
- You might not always have access to small plates.
- You might forget to drink water before each meal.
- You might have a short lunch break without the luxury of eating slowly.
- You might grow tired of logging all your food intake.
However, having an intuitive sense of what foods should be eaten in what portions will help you level up your healthy eating.
When in doubt, match the food in front of you to your hand and carry on.
Let’s break this down a little by talking about protein and veggies.
What is the Correct Portion Size Part 1: Protein and Vegetables
The above video is taken from Nerd Fitness Prime, as part of our NF Kitchen series.
In it, Coach Lauren and Justin discuss the two most important parts of every meal:
Here’s something that might seem counterintuitive: our #1 recommendation for portion control isn’t about limiting food. Instead, make sure you get a proper serving of protein and vegetables every time you sit down to eat.
In other words, when you begin your healthy eating journey, don’t even worry about nixing any specific food. Just make sure you are leaving plenty of room for protein and vegetables.
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm:
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
- Meat (steak, bison, pork).
- Fowl (chicken, turkey, duck).
- Eggs![8]
- Fish and shellfish (salmon, tuna, shrimp).
- Legumes (black beans, chickpeas).
Not a meat-eater? Read our massive plant-based guide!
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist:
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill half your plate:
- Broccoli
- Broccolini
- Cauliflower
- Spinach
- Kale
- Spaghetti squash
- Brussels sprouts
- Zucchini
- Cucumber
- Carrots
- Onion
- Asparagus
When it comes to learning portion control, start by making sure you eat enough protein and vegetables.
How much?
As we discuss in our protein guide, when building a plate aim for the following amount of protein:
- Dudes: 1-2 servings (6-8 oz or about 170-228 g): two palms
- Dudettes: 1 serving (3-4 oz or about 85-114 g): 1 palm.
For vegetables, in practice you can probably eat as much as you can stomach (the fiber will likely slow you down), but aim for about 2 fist fulls at most meals, or about half your plate.[9]
Don’t like veggies? I was once like you. Check out 10 ways to make vegetables taste good.
Here’s why you should prioritize protein and vegetables if you’re struggling with portion control:
- Protein. Eating enough protein will assist your health as you age.[10]Plenty of protein will also help you retain and grow muscle.[11] Plus, prioritizing protein will help you stay full and satiated between meals.[12]
- Vegetables. Veggies are both high in nutrients and low in calories, which makes them ideal for a healthy plate. Plus, the fiber will not only help your health, it’ll also keep your indoor plumbing in proper order.[13]
In the video that kicks off this section, Coach Justin makes a great point: aim for a little better than you are today.
Meaning if you don’t really plan your meals at all, start by having ONE meal include a good protein source and some veggies.
So maybe you make chicken stir-fry this week.
Once you have that win under your belt, you can aim for doing a little bit more next week (TWO meals that include protein and veggies).
We’ll close out today’s guide with some more ideas on how to get going.
Before we get there, we need to talk about what else can go into your healthy plate.
What is the Correct Portion Size Part 2: Carbs and Fats
After making room on your plate for protein and vegetables, what’s next?
As Coach Lauren and Justin mention in the Nerd Fitness Prime video above, it’s time to include some healthy carbohydrates and fats!
Depending on what fitness camp you find yourself in and your history of “dieting,” eating carbs and fats might make you nervous.
But as Coach Lauren points out, they have a purpose on our healthy plate! You just need to portion them out correctly.
A serving of carbohydrates is about two hands cupped together:
If it’s uncooked, it’s about half the size, so one cupped hand.
Examples of healthy carbohydrates:
You also want to make sure you’re including healthy fat in your diet too.
Fat is actually the most calorically dense macronutrient, so comparatively it’ll take up less room on your hand.
Here is a serving of fat, roughly the size of your thumb!
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
- Avocado
- Almonds
- Walnuts
- Macadamia nuts
- Olive oil
- Almond butter
- Peanut butter
The reason people call it “healthy” is because the fat is unsaturated, although science has recently come around on saturated fat too in the correct amounts.[14]
We cover this in detail in our Guide to the Keto Diet.
Saturated fats can come from things like:
- Whole milk
- Full-fat dairy
- Coconut oil
- Grass-fed butter
- Lard
- Fatty cuts of meat
When it comes to portion control, we need to pay close attention to carbohydrates and fats, because this is where people have the tendency to overeat.
However, that doesn’t mean we want to completely ditch both food groups either.
Here’s why you need to eat these two macronutrients:
- Carbohydrates. Did you know fiber is a type of carbohydrate? Yep. As we mentioned earlier, you need plenty of fiber for good health.[15] Carbs are also a great source of quick energy, especially fruit.[16]
- Fats. Some nutrients like Vitamin A are fat-soluble, meaning they are best absorbed alongside some fat.[17]Fat will also help you feel full, which can help with overall portion control for the day.[18] While a little goes a long way, you wouldn’t want a “zero fat” diet.[19]
Just be careful here.
When we analyze the diets of our coaching clients who can’t seem to lose weight, it’s almost always because they are overeating carbs or fats.
If you find yourself in this group, take a look at your hand the next time you sit down to eat:
- How much pasta are you serving yourself? It should fit within your cupped hands.
- How much olive oil did you place on your salad? It should be about the size of your thumb or a tablespoon.
- How big is your serving of peanut butter, REALLY? One serving, a tablespoon, is about the size of a walnut:
Remember: you don’t have to get this perfect. You just need to be pretty good most of the time.
Even just consciously thinking about if your portion sizes are under or over is a great start.
And as long as you are consistent with your measuring techniques, then you can adjust your portions based on your progress!
You might also find some special plates or containers helpful when serving yourself.
How to Use Portion Control Containers and Plates
One hack Coach Justin uses is simple Tupperware containers to portion control his meals:
You can also use some glass containers too if you want to get fancy:
Don’t stress about finding the perfect container that exactly holds each macronutrient you need.
The point here is that you have a quick frame of reference for portion sizes:
- The largest portion of the container: vegetables go here.
- The two smaller portions: are for your protein and carbs.
- The small little holder: your fats go here.
Again, don’t stress if your container doesn’t fit this description exactly. We’re all working off estimates here, so let’s focus on the big picture.
These are some cool glass containers if you’re looking for something to buy.
How to Control Portion Sizes When Eating Out
An area of concern when attempting to portion control is dining out.
It seems like restaurants serve you twice the amount of food that you need.
Here’s what Coach Justin does in the situation: ask for a to-go box as soon as you place your order.
Yeah, it’s a little weird, but as soon as you get your food, place half of it in the container.
Boom! An extra meal for later.
Another thing to consider: restaurants want you to leave feeling full.
They often do this by piling on the carbs. Think extra bread, lots of rice, plenty of pasta, etc.
So it might make sense to split these portions in two, and you’re set for lunch the next day.
Also, if you get hungry after eating only half your meal, no problem. Just eat the other half. Even if you’re still at the restaurant.
The point is to consciously think about how much you’re eating. A break halfway through can be used as a decision tree:
Should I keep eating?
This question alone can help with portion control.
One last thing: we know eating out at restaurants is often a family or friend-bonding experience, so we’d prefer you ENJOY the night. Food is more than just calories.
Just plan for it! If you eat a really large dinner for a celebration, eat slightly smaller portions for the next day or so and your body will be right back on track.
How to Portion Control for Weight Loss (Next Steps)
In the video above, Coach Lauren and Justin walk you through eating a Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate IRL (In Real Life).
It’s all well and good to build a healthy plate at home, but…
- What if you’re at a restaurant?
- What if you need to order a sandwich?
- How about pizza?
Here are some tips from the Coaches for portion control IRL:
#1) How to Portion Control a Sandwich
The trick here is to pack in as many vegetables as you can. Yeah, you’re probably not going to get two fist fulls in, but you can squeeze in a lot of spinach, onion, sauerkraut, and tomato (yeah, it’s technically a fruit, whatevs) on your sandwich.
- Your carbs can be some type of whole-grain bread (you can do an open-face sandwich if you want to limit this).
- Your protein can come from some turkey.
- Your fat can be a little avocado.
Boom.
You now have a turkey sandwich that matches our healthy plate strategy.
#2) How to Portion Control Chili or Soup
This can be a little tougher when everything is mixed together.
If you’re making it yourself, perhaps you measure out your hand portions as you cook.
- Put a palm-size portion of ground beef in.
- Your vegetables can be onion, garlic, and tomatoes (again a fruit, but who cares).
- Your carbs can be pinto and/or kidney beans.
- Your fat can be a little bit of cheese sprinkled on top.
Sure, maybe you’re doing less than two fistfuls of vegetables, and more than a cupped hand of carbs (beans).
It doesn’t matter. Again, the point is you’re putting a little thought into proper portions.
If you’re eating out and ordering soup or chili, maybe just think of the end product in mind:
“After portioning everything out, it should be about two fistfuls of food. So that’s what I’ll eat. Everything else I’ll take home.”
#3) How to Portion Control Pizza
This is a little trickier because pizza is mostly bread (carbs).
But Coach Justin has a solution for this.
First, he eats something he’s proud of, like a salad.
Then he portions out his pizza, which if he uses his hand strategy, would be about two slices:
Is it perfect?
Nope.
Does it help Coach Justin reach his goals and allow him to still enjoy life?
Yep!
So experiment a little by creating some rough guidelines, see how you feel, and course-correct as you go.
Remember, any step you take on leveling up your nutrition is great.
If you don’t know where to start, I actually recommend you begin by not worrying about what to take OFF your plate, but instead what to add!
Make sure every meal you eat has a healthy protein source and a vegetable. Once you have that dialed in, THEN you can worry about portion controlling your carbs and fat.
If you need help along the way, we got you.
Here are three ways to continue your journey with Nerd Fitness.
#1) Our Online Coaching program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
As I said before, we teach portion control to our clients who struggle with overeating, so we’ll provide a non-judgmental expert to help you reach your goals.
You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you:
#2) If you want an exact blueprint for leveling up your nutrition, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
If you follow our Nutrition missions, you’ll learn to portion control while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, the Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet, and much more!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
- The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
- Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
- Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
Alright, I want to hear from you:
Do you have any tips or tricks for portion control?
Do you use the hand strategy that we covered today?
What’s your biggest challenge with portion sizes?
Let us know in the comments!
-Steve
PS: If you’re just starting your weight loss journey, make sure you check out:
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Photo Source: Fresh lobster rolls, bean-there-donut-that-40358-2, Taco trike, Peanut/Walnut
Steve
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44 Best Bodyweight Exercises (for Each Muscle Group) | Nerd Fitness
Here are the 44 best bodyweight exercises you can do to build muscle and burn fat, no gym required!
These are the exact exercises we start our coaching clients on, and many perform them from their house or apartment.
In a hurry? Sign-up for our free weekly newsletter and we’ll send you PDFs of our “Work Out at Home” guides!
We’ve organized the exercises in today’s guide by major muscle groups (click to jump to those movements):
Plus, we’ll pull it all together at the end so you can create a complete bodyweight workout routine!
Alright, let’s get to it.
The 11 Best Lower-Body Bodyweight Exercises
You don’t need the gym for “leg day.” Do the following wherever!
#1) ASSISTED BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:
(Perfect if you can’t do regular bodyweight squats).
#2) BODYWEIGHT SQUAT:
If you want even more instruction, here’s how to do a proper bodyweight squat:
#3) ASSISTED PISTOL SQUAT:
#4) PISTOL SQUAT:
#5) SUPPORTED LUNGES:
#6) REGULAR LUNGES:
We have a guide on how to do lunges with proper form for you too.
#7) SINGLE-LEG DEADLIFT:
#8) HIP BRIDGE:
#9) CALF RAISE:
#10) STEP UP:
#11) BOX JUMP:
The 8 Best Push Bodyweight Exercises
Let’s walk you through the best bodyweight exercises to train your push muscles. We’ll more or less progress in difficulty as we go.
#1) KNEE PUSH-UP:
#2) ELEVATED PUSH-UP:
#3) PUSH-UP:
We have a whole article on how to do a proper push-up, but we also cover it extensively in this 5-minute video:
#4) DECLINE PUSH-UP:
#5) SIDE-TO-SIDE PUSH-UP:
#6) ASSISTED DIP:
With a resistance band, you can start performing assisted dips. A great exercise while you build up strength for normal dips.
#7) DIP:
Here’s how to do a proper bodyweight dip if you’d like a step-by-step guide.
#8) HANDSTAND (WALL WALK):
The wall walk is a great exercise as you progress into a full handstand. If you’re a complete newbie to turning upside down, check out our guide “Get Your First Handstand” for a full tutorial.
Just make sure you take it slow with your handstand and don’t be an “Overeager Beaver,” a label we define in our guide “15 Mistakes That Newbies Make When Trying to Get Healthy.”
Download it and the rest of our guides for free when you sign-up for our weekly newsletter!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
- The 15 mistakes you don’t want to make.
- Full guide to the most effective diet and why it works.
- Complete and track your first workout today, no gym required.
The 8 Best Pull Bodyweight Exercises
Don’t neglect your pull muscles when creating your bodyweight workout. Here are the top 7 to include:
#1) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (HIGH):
An inverted bodyweight row can be a great “pull” exercise if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or if you don’t have a proper pull-up bar nearby. Because a good sturdy table can be used for inverted rows:
Alternatively, you could do doorframe rows if your table seems sketchy:
#2) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (LOW):
Once you get comfortable doing an inverted bodyweight row, try going lower to increase the difficulty.
You can check out The 5 Best Pull-up Alternatives for more ideas on how to perform rows, including how to build your own station:
#3) BAR HANG:
#4) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BAND):
A resistance band is a great tool to help build strength for proper pull-ups. It’s part of our arsenal for getting your first pull-up.
#5) ASSISTED PULL-UPS (WITH BOX):
#6) NEGATIVE PULL-UPS:
Once you feel confident enough that you can do assisted pull-ups and support MOST of your own weight, start looking into negative pull-ups.
Jump and hold yourself above the bar, and then slowly, under control, lower yourself to the ‘starting position’ of a pull-up.
Then repeat!
This is a great way to build up enough strength to eventually get your first pull-up.
#7) PULL-UP:
We have a full guide on proper pull-up form so you can hone in your technique.
#8) CHIN-UPS:
Much like a pull-up, but with your palms facing toward you.
Here’s a video going over proper pull-up and chin-up form:
Don’t have enough strength yet to hoist yourself up? No problem.
Download our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, for an exact plan of attack to start growing strong today:
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
The 12 Best Core Bodyweight Exercises
Our next stop on building a bodyweight workout finds us at the core. Here are the 10 best exercises to include:
#1) REVERSE CRUNCH:
#2) KNEE-PLANK:
#3) PLANK:
#4) SIDE PLANK:
#5) HIP BRIDGE HOLD:
#6) HANGING KNEE TUCK:
#7) JUMPING KNEE TUCK:
#8) HOLLOW BODY HOLD:
The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. We utilize the hollow body exercise as part of our strategy for getting your first handstand.
Once you get comfortable holding the position, try…
#9) HOLLOW BODY ROCKING:
#10) KNEES TO ELBOWS:
#11) TOES TO BAR:
#12) GOOD MORNING:
Catch our guide “How to Strengthen Your Core” for even more exercise ideas!
5 Dynamic Body weight Exercises (Full Body)
Next, we’ll cover some dynamic full-body exercises to get your heart rate roaring during your workout.
#1) WALKING JACKS:
#2) JUMPING JACKS:
#3) STAR JACKS:
#4) BURPEES:
#5) BURPEES WITH PULL-UP (WHAA…):
How to Build a Bodyweight Workout
Alright, it’s time to pull this whole guide together and build a bodyweight workout!
We will pick a bodyweight exercise from each section:
We’ll aim for 3 to 4 sets under each category for 8-12 reps.
Plus, we’ll bookend the workout with a dynamic warm-up (DON’T SKIP) and a post-workout stretch.
Your warm-up can look like this:
Your post-workout stretch can look like this:
Example Bodyweight Workout:
- Dynamic Warm-Up
- Jumping Jacks: 10 reps
- Bodyweight Squats: 10 reps
- Push-ups: 10 reps
- Pull-ups: 10 reps
- Reverse Crunch: 10 reps
- Repeat 2-6 two more times, for 3 complete circuits.
- Post-workout stretch.
Boom!
You now have a bodyweight workout you can do in your own home.
You can mix and match from each category or progress to more difficult moves as you get stronger.
Now, you don’t HAVE to do these exercises at home. You can even do them while exercising around the world, as I did!
If you want to learn all the fine details of building a workout, make sure you check out our extensive guide “How to Build Your Own Workout Routine.“ It’ll walk you through creating a program of bodyweight exercises – or using weights if you want to train in a gym.
Don’t want to bother creating your own bodyweight workout? No problem, I have two options for you:
Start at the Beginner workout and move onto the Advanced when it becomes easy.
This should help you get started with a bodyweight training routine. But we hear frequently that people want MORE instruction, MORE guidance, and MORE workouts.
If that’s you, we have MULTIPLE options to take the next step. Pick the option below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom bodyweight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) If you want an exact blueprint for working out at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guide
- Everything you need to know about getting strong.
- Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
- How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Alright, your turn: I’d love to hear how your bodyweight training is going!
Did you make your own workout?
Try one of ours?
Include different moves we didn’t cover today?
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on bodyweight training.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
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Photo source: Deadshot, Laughing Budda, 102, 103, 104, hanging, 167/366, Yeaaaah…. Surprise ladies!!, acrobat
Steve Kamb
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