As more and more information has come out on the not-so-friendly practices of industrial animal farming, and the environmental costs of industrial animal farms, vegan and vegetarian diets have gained a lot of popularity. 

We get it... you care about all of the muscle you've worked so hard to build, and may have some reservations about removing meat and/or animal products from your diet. 

To be clear, we have online clients that consume a lot of animal products, none... and everywhere in-between. As coaches, we're here to guide you to your best body composition based on your dietary preferences and choices.

So by no means is the blog pushing you to remove or add animal products. 

But for the individual who is considering removing animal products for moral, ethical, environmental, or any other reason... you'll learn how to  build a diet without animal products that will help you build muscle and burn fat.   

First let’s define veganism, and all other plant-based diet terms since they can cause some confusion about what each category can and cannot have. 

Vegan - Vegans exclude all products that come from animals, and usually also exclude any other animal-based products like leather or any products tested on animals. 

Plant Based - This usually means most of the food consumed comes from plants, but they still include some animal products in small portions. 

Vegetarian - Excludes any animal meat, but will still include things like dairy and eggs since they aren’t the animal flesh. 

Pescatarian - Will eat fish, but excludes other animal meats like poultry and red meat.

WHY IS IT HARDER TO BUILD MUSCLE ON A VEGAN DIET?

There are two main reasons giving up animal products makes it harder to build muscle and/or lose fat.

PROBLEM 1: IT'S HARD TO GET ENOUGH OF THE AMINO ACID LEUCINE.

Leucine is an essential amino acid that plays a huge role in muscle protein synthesis (MPS).  

Muscle protein synthesis is the process of building up new muscle tissue, whereas the opposite of that is muscle protein breakdown (MPB) which is the breakdown of muscle tissue.  

These processes are always ongoing, but if your MPS exceeds MPB you get larger muscles over time, and if MPB exceeds MPS you lose muscle tissue. 

When you eat protein, there is a leucine threshold that maximally stimulates MPS.  

Other amino acids are important as well, but leucine seems to have the most significant effect on MPS.   

The foods highest in leucine content per gram are all animal based foods, with whey protein being the highest.  

In this study, researchers compared isonitrogenous (same amount of protein) of beef protein compared to soy-based beef substitute.  

Even though they had the same amount of protein, the beef was more effective at stimulating muscle protein synthesis.  

That’s largely because meat has a higher amount of the amino acid leucine compared to plant proteins.  That doesn’t mean you can’t stimulate MPS with plant protein, but it does mean you may need to be more selective about the type and increase the amount to account for the lower percentage of leucine. 

This table from the study shows the different quality between types of protein.
(PDCAAS stands for Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score):

PROBLEM 2: MOST VEGAN PROTEIN SOURCES ARE ALSO HIGH IN CARBS OR FATS

The most popular sources of protein for vegans are things like peanuts, beans, lentils, tofu, and peas. 

These are all healthy foods, but not high in protein as a percentage of overall calories. 

In order to get the same amount of grams of protein from a plant-based source you typically have to consume a lot more calories than you would from meat, which makes eating enough to gain without too much fiber, and eating little enough to lose fat, harder (but not impossible).

For example:

The general recommendation for anyone aiming to improve their body composition is anywhere from 0.8-1.2g/lb of bodyweight in protein.

Because of the lower amino acid quality in most vegan protein sources, you should aim for the higher end of that range to make sure you’re maximally stimulating MPS and reducing MPB.  

For example:

→ A 150 lb individual eating a meat-inclusive diet can get away with 120-150g of protein per day.

→ That same person eating a vegan diet would need more like 180g of protein per day. 

So how do you get plenty of protein as a vegan?

Here are a few of the best options:

Seitan (wheat gluten) - 18g protein per 3 oz cooked. 

Tempeh - 18g protein per 3 oz cooked. 

Black beans - 14g protein per 1 cup cooked/canned. 

Lentils - 24g protein per 1 cup cooked. 

Firm Tofu - 7g per 3 oz.

Chickpeas - 14g protein per 1 cup cooked/canned.

Quinoa - 8g protein per 1 cup cooked.

Pumpkin Seeds - 8g protein per 1 oz.

Peanuts - 7.3g protein per 1 oz.

Soy Milk - 7g protein per cup.

There are also a lot of meat alternatives on the market now that can make hitting your protein easier:

→ A beyond meat burger patty is 20g of protein per 280 calorie patty. 

→ The company Lightlife makes a burger patty that’s 20g of protein for 190 calories, and “meatballs” that are 9g of protein and 120 calories for 2.

→ The brand Quorn makes a variety of meat-alternatives that are relatively low in carbs and fat.  Their chicken breast alternative is 70 calories and 9g of protein (plus 9g of fiber) and their burger is 16g of protein for 165 calories. 

Next, including some animal products that are not meat and moving more toward the “vegetarian” end of the spectrum can open up a lot of high-quality protein. 

You have options like:

→ Eggs and egg whites 

→ Fat-free Greek yogurt

→ Whey and casein protein powders

Perhaps the easiest way to get in plenty of protein on a vegan diet without adding a lot of calories is by adding a vegan protein powder.

High quality plant based protein powders like this one contain all of the essential amino acids and this one in particular has 25g of protein from pea and rice.  

Including something like this can make things a lot simpler when you’re either on the go, or are getting toward the end of a fat loss diet and the calorie budget is low. 

With vegan protein powders in particular, it’s really important to be picky with quality.  Plants absorb heavy metals from the soil, so some vegan protein powders have been found to have high levels of heavy metal contamination.

PROTEIN COMBINING TO BUILD MORE MUSCLE ON A PLANT-BASED DIET

In order for something to be considered a "complete protein", it needs to contain all 9 of the essential amino acids.  Meats are all complete proteins, but not all plants are complete.  

That said, some plant proteins that are complete proteins include: 

→ Hemp 

→ Spirulina 

→ Quinoa 

→ Buckwheat 

→ Soybeans 

It used to be thought that you need to make sure to combine certain combinations of plant proteins to make the meal complete (i.e. beans and rice).  

But the truth is, as long as you’re getting enough protein over the course of the day and getting it from a variety of sources, each meal doesn’t have to have a specific combination to make sure it’s complete.  

For muscle growth, the most important thing is making sure you’re getting enough protein per meal, and getting 3-6 meals per day.

EXAMPLE MEALS FOR BULKING AND CUTTING ON A PLANT-BASED DIET

Let's use an example online client who is vegan. They'll needs 1800 calories for cutting, with 180g of protein.

When building, they'll need 2800 calories for bulking with 180g of protein.  

To break down what a sample meal plan for each day would look like:

FAT LOSS:

In the context of fat loss, you’re aiming to keep the protein sources furthest from training as your “leaner” sources of protein, so low in carbs and fats with a majority of the calories coming from protein.  The higher carb protein sources can surround training.

BUILDING:

When you’re eating to build lean muscle, you have more calories from carbs and fats to use, so you can have some protein sources that come along with more of those other macros.

THE BEST VEGAN SUPPLEMENTS FOR FAT LOSS & BUILDING MUSCLE

A few nutrients that would be smart to supplement when switching to a vegan diet:

1. Vitamin b12 

Vegetarians and vegans are at a higher risk for b12 deficiency because most foods rich in b12 are meat.  B12 is important for protein metabolism, formation of red blood cells, and keeping your nervous system healthy. 

2. Omega-3’s

Omega 3 fatty acids are usually associated with fish, so going vegan cuts out any fish oil or krill oil.  

Omega-3’s are great for your brain and eyes, and can also decrease inflammation and help with recovery of joints and muscles between training sessions.  Vegans will need to use an algae oil, and can also get AHA from things like flax, walnuts, chia seeds, and hemp seeds, although these plant sources do not convert well to EPA and DHA. 

3. Iron 

Iron allows you to create red blood cells and carry oxygen to blood.  It’s also used in energy metabolism, so when you become low in iron (anemic) you feel lethargic and tired.  

There are two types of iron: heme and non-heme (heme meaning blood).  Heme iron is only found in meat and is more easily absorbed and used than non-heme.  

Vegans can supplement, or be sure to include high-iron foods like cruciferous vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans, and use a cast-iron skillet for cooking.  Coffee, tea, and calcium interfere with iron absorption so avoiding those during meals will help. 

4. Zinc 

Zinc helps your immune system and metabolism function.  It also promotes sleep quality and recovery from workouts.  Most foods high in zinc are animal products so supplementing may be necessary for vegans. 

5. Vitamin D 

This one is important for most people to supplement, since almost everyone falls short of getting enough vitamin D from the sun or food.  Vitamin D strengthens bone, helps muscle function, and reduces the risk of several diseases.

THE BOTTOM LINE FOR BUILDING MUSCLE & LOSING FAT ON A PLANT-BASED DIET

The most important aspect for anyone in a health and fitness journey is planning ahead, and that is even more so the case for anyone trying to build muscle and/or burn fat on a vegan diet.  

Although it may be harder at first, it’s just like a normal meat-heavy diet in that once you get into your routine and have some go-to meals that you love and meet your goals, you’ll be able to become much more automatic in your day-to-day food decisions.

If you're following a plant-based diet and struggling to build muscle of lose fat, we can help! We've coached many online clients in your shoes to their goal physiques. 

If you need expert guidance to achieve you physique goals, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

If you're struggling to build muscle, the push pull legs split is one of the most effective workout routines you can follow.

However, most people who fail to follow it properly find that they can't handle the high training volume or choose poor exercises and burnout too quickly.

Today's blog is your science-backed guide to programming the PPL split the right way, and finally seeing progress in the gym again.

WHAT IS THE PUSH PULL LEGS SPLIT ROUTINE?

The push pull legs training split divides your training days into three distinct groups:

1. 2 training days focused on your "push muscles" (chest, front delts, side delts, and triceps)

2. 2 training days focused on your "pull muscles" (your back, biceps, and rear delts)

3. 2 training days focused on your legs (quads, hamstrings, glutes, calves)

So a week of training in a push pull legs fashion would usually look like:

DAY 1: Push 1

DAY 2: Pull 1

DAY 3: Legs 1

DAY 4: Rest

DAY 5: Push 2

DAY 6: Pull 2

DAY 7: Legs 2

The push pull legs split is widely considered one of the most effective training routines for building muscle, and one we use often with our intermediate and advanced online clients.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PUSH PULL LEGS?

There is no "magic training split", so understand that If you're struggling to build muscle, just hopping on a push pull legs training routine isn't necessarily "the solution".

That said, we know that if you're training with proper form and taking most sets of your training ~2 reps shy of failure, volume (number of hard sets done for a muscle group on a weekly basis) is the main "dial" we can turn up and down in your training to stimulate more muscle growth.

But, more volume isn't always better - there is very clearly a point of diminishing returns when it comes to volume.

To quote James Krieger’s amazing article Set Volume for Muscle Size: The Ultimate Evidence Based Bible:  

“On average, muscle growth tends to be best around 6-8 hard sets per muscle group per training session when taking long rests. That can be 12 - 24 weekly sets for a frequency of 2-3 days per week.” 

Now, realize that these numbers are averages (so some individuals will need more volume, some less) - but the averages give us a great starting place. 

Once we pass the 6-8 sets threshold, we’re a lot more likely to enter the realm of “junk volume”. 

Junk volume: Hard training sets that drain your body and create more fatigue that your body must recover from in order to grow, but don't provide any additional stimulus for muscle growth.

Since building lean muscle is essentially a game of getting the right amount of muscle building stimulus, without creating too much fatigue to recover from...

...we of course want to avoid as much junk volume as possible.

So the main benefit of the push pull legs workout routine is the fact that it allows you to fit more effective volume (non-junk volume) into your training week than most other splits, and potentially build more muscle. 

WHO SHOULD USE A PUSH PULL LEGS SPLIT ROUTINE?

Not everyone should follow a push pull legs workout split.

As mentioned before, only some of our intermediate and advanced online clients follow this routine.

A few smart guidelines for who should and shouldn't follow a push pull legs split:

1. If you've been following a science-based training program for <2 years, you probably don't need to follow a push pull legs workout routine yet.

In fact, you'll likely get better results following a lower volume upper lower split four days per week.

Your body's volume needs in order to build muscle will increase across your training career (you have to do a bit more overall work to keep seeing results), but more isn't always better.

Remember the SRA curve we discussed earlier?

If you've been following a science-based training program for less than two years, it's likely that you simply don't need all of the volume that comes with a push pull legs split to optimally stimulate muscle growth.

So, a lot of the volume that comes with a push pull legs routine will turn into junk volume... meaning that you'll build muscle slower than if you were following a lower volume training split.

2. You need to have the appropriate recovery ability to follow a push pull legs split.

Your muscles don't grow in the gym. 

The gym is where you hit your muscles with the stimulus for growth.

If your body has adequate recovery resources (food, sleep, stress management), it will be able to recover from the "damage" you did in the gym, and return to it's previous "normal". 

Actual growth hasn't happened yet. The above is what we call recovery - it's simply your body returning to homeostasis.

From there, if the training stimulus you created in the gym was adequate, and enough recovery resources are still available, adaptation occurs. 

This is when your body grows new muscle tissue.

So the push pull legs split is a great way to create a strong training stimulus... but you also need to be sure you have plenty of recovery resources available before in order to actually make progress while following it.

TO SUMMARIZE:

→ If you're following an aggressive diet (and were training with less volume before), or pay very little attention to your nutrition as a whole, don't start a push pull legs split. Your body will need lots of fuel to be able to train hard and grow here.

If you're not paying attention to your nutrition, start tracking your macros like our online clients do (check out our blog The Ultimate Guide To Setting Your Macros to determine the optimal macros for your goals) to ensure you're fueling your training and recovery properly.

→ If you've been following a science-based training program for 2+ years, are consistent with your nutrition, sleep, and stress management, and are recovering and progressing well on a lower volume split, you could benefit from transitioning to a push pull lower training split.

Now that we're clear on who should and shouldn't follow this split, let's talk through an example push pull legs split for muscle growth.

THE PUSH PULL LEGS ROUTINE: EXAMPLE PUSH DAY WORKOUT

MOVEMENT 1: FLAT OR INCLINE PRESS 

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Dumbbell Bench Press 3-4 x 7-10

To start the push day off, we're going to use a compound press to target the chest. 

Your chest is made up of three primary "divisions":

As you'll be training push twice in a microcycle (the 7-8 day period wherein you're complete all 6 training days), it's smart to alternate this first movement between one option that hits the sternal and costal divisions of the pec more, and one that hits the clavicular division more.

Basically, alternate between a flat press and an incline press on Push Day 1 and Push Day 2 - this will ensure you've trained the entire pec optimally.

Here, we're choosing a dumbbell bench press over a barbell variation, because dumbbells will typically be better for stimulating muscle growth.

The range of motion with dumbbells in this particular press pattern is greater than barbells. You'll be able to get closer to the fully lengthened position of the pec, which does seem to be where the most muscle growth is stimulated.

So typically for clients in this situation, we'll opt for a barbell flat press over a dumbbell flat press.

MOVEMENT 2: ACCESSORY FLY (Emphasis On Training Opposing Division Of Chest From Movement 1)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Clavicular Chest Fly 2-4 x 10-15

As your first pressing movement of the day really targeted the sternal and costal divisions of the pec, our second chest-focused movement of the push workout puts more emphasis on the costal division (the upper chest).

Similarly, whereas the first movement was most challenging to the pec in the midrange and lengthened positions, with this movement we'll be overloading the pec most in the shortened position.

MOVEMENT 3: HORIZONTAL OR INCLINE PRESS (Opposite Of Movement 1)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Dumbbell Seated Overhead Press 2-4 x 8-12

Now that you've sufficiently stimulated your chest, it's time to put more focus on your front and medial delts.

We're going to slightly tweak the way most perform a Dumbbell Seated Shoulder Press.

By pressing from a slight incline and bringing your elbows in front of you more (as opposed to flared out to the sides), you're in a better position to load the target muscle (the front delt), and are able to use an increased range of motion.

MOVEMENT 4: SIDE DELT ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Cable Full Lateral Raise 2-4 x 15-20

Your side delts are a hard muscle to effectively overload, as their position on the body makes it much harder to place them under a significant degree of tension during any compound presses. 

So while most presses will involve your front delts to a degree, we need to be sure to include a movement that targets your side delts specifically in order to build great shoulders.

We're implementing the Cable Full Lateral Raise here because it puts your delts under a significant degree of tension in both the lengthened and shortened positions (at the bottom and top or the rep), which is something most lateral raise variations fail to do.

MOVEMENT 5: TRICEPS ACCESSORY (Long Head Emphasis)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Samurai Tricep Extension 2-4 x 10-15

Just like your anterior delts, your triceps will do some of the work in most pressing movements. But for optimal development, they need targeted training.

The long head of your tricep makes up the majority of the muscle mass of the tricep, and thus should usually be preferentially trained. 

All three heads of your tricep work to extend your elbow (think: straighten your arm at the elbow joint), but is the long head is the only one that actually crosses the shoulder and attaches to the shoulder blade.

Because of the unique anatomy of the long head of the tricep and the fact that it makes up most of the mass of the three, it makes sense to focus mostly on tricep movements that either:

a.) Put your elbows overhead - Here, the long head of the tricep will experience the greatest stretch (I.e. the movement shown above).

b.) Pulls your shoulders back into extension (elbows behind torso) - Here, the long head of the tricep will have to work harder to help keep the upper part of your arm in the extended position.

WHAT ARE THE BEST PUSH WORKOUT EXERCISES?

So now that you have good idea of how to put together an effective push day workout for building muscle, let's run through some great options for movements.

Horizontal Press

Dumbbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Low Incline Bench Press

Smith Machine Bench Press

Flat Bench Press

Deficit Push-Up

Costal Pec Dip

Incline Press

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press

Smith Machine Incline Press

Barbell Incline Press

Dumbbell Seated Overhead Press

Hammer Strength Incline Press

Clavicular Division Chest Fly

Clavicular Chest Fly

Low To High Chest Fly

Dumbbell + Band Low To High Chest Fly

Sternal Division Chest Fly

Cable Chest Fly

Dumbbell + Band Chest Fly

Costal Division Chest Fly

Costal Cable Chest Fly

Side Delt Accessory

Dumbbell Prone Incline Lateral Raise 

 Dumbbell Leaning  Lateral Raise

Cable Lateral Raise 

Egyptian Cable Lateral Raise

Cable Y Raise 

Cable Full Lateral Raise

Triceps Accessory

Cable Overhead Extension

Dual Dumbbell Overhead Extension

EZ Bar Overhead Extension

Samurai Tricep Extension

Cross Cable Overhead Extension

Crossbody Cable Pushdown

Long Head Tricep Pushdown

Incline Skullcrusher

Dips

THE PUSH PULL LEGS ROUTINE: EXAMPLE PULL DAY WORKOUT

MOVEMENT 1: HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL PULL (Lat Emphasis)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Helms Row 2-4 x 7-10

It used to be thought... 

"Horizontal pulling trains back thickness, vertical pulling trains back width - do pulldowns/pull-ups for lats, do rows for rhomboids & upper back." 

...which really isn't true at all.

What area of your back you want to target with any pulling variation is dictated by the way that your elbow travels in relation to your torso. 

To help you brush up on your back anatomy quick:

So...

→ When your elbow is flared out to the side, you'll be biasing much more upper back. 

→ When your elbow comes directly by the side as doesn't pass the midline at the back of the rep, the movement will be much more lat focused. 

→ When your elbow is flared at about 45 degrees, we can get a bit more of a combo of the two.

You'll notice shortly that this push pull legs routine puts a larger emphasis on lat focused movements than it does rhomboid focused movements. This is because:

a.) Your lats are the largest muscle group on your back

b.) Most lat focused movements (movements with the elbows driven down by the side or at ~45 degrees) will also recruit the rhomboids and rear delts... but most movements designed to targets rhomboids or rear delts (with elbows flared wide) will not recruit much lat.

MOVEMENT 2: HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL PULL (Rhomboid Emphasis)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Pronated Grip Lat Pull Down 2-4 x 10-15

Ironically, the traditionally way most have learned to do a "Lat Pull Down" actually makes it more of a rhomboid and upper back focused movement than a lat focused movement.

The elbows are flared wide throughout the movement.

That said, the Pronated Grip Lat Pull Down is still an excellent movement... once you understand the proper application.

MOVEMENT 3: HORIZONTAL OR VERTICAL PULL (Lat Emphasis)

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: 1/2 Kneeling 1-Arm Pulldown 2-4 x 10-15/side

Here we have a much more lat focused variation of the pull down.

Notice how much different the path of the elbow is here vs. in the Pronated Grip Pull Down.

MOVEMENT 4: REAR DELT ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Cable Face Pull 2-4 x 15-20

To effectively target the rear delts, we want you elbows flared out wide.

It's also important to note that your elbows shouldn't pass the midline of your body (elbows shouldn't go behind your spine at the back of the movement). 

On any rear delt variation, once your elbows are behind your torso, your rhomboids, traps, etc., will kick in much more, meaning that the rear delts have to do less work. 

So for people that struggle to develop rear delts, their elbows are often simply coming too far back on their rear delt movements (making it a more rhomboid or trap focused movement). 

MOVEMENT 5: BICEP ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Dumbbell Incline Curl 2-4 x 10-15

Your biceps are involved in your compound pulling movements. That said, to truly build great biceps, they'll need to be trained in isolation as well with bicep curl variations.

When training biceps, one of the most important considerations is varying shoulder joint angle (think: where your elbow is at in relations to your torso) across the week.

Shown are 3 different bicep curl variations, with 3 different shoulder joint angles:

1. Incline Curls - Shoulders are in extended position

2. Dumbbell Curls - Shoulders are in neutral position 

3. Spider Curls - Shoulders are in flexion

Varying shoulder joint angles like this changes where maximum tension is placed on the muscle through the lift.
⠀ 

So across your training week, it makes sense to program movements with different shoulder joint angles to get the most out of your bicep training.

For example, if you're doing an Incline Curl today, you'd want to do a Standing Curl or Spider Curl on Push Day 2.

OPTIONAL MOVEMENT 6: UPPER TRAP, SIDE DELT, OR BICEP ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Cable Upright Row 2-4 x 10-15

Depending on which muscle groups you're prioritizing, we'll often add either a trap, side delt, or bicep focused movement here.

Personally, I really like to program an Upright Row variation here for online clients because most clients want to make delts a priority, and your delts are capable of recovering from a lot of volume applied vide lateral raise and upright row variations (most clients following this split are hitting different variations of these two movements 4x/week). 

WHAT ARE THE BEST PULL WORKOUT EXERCISES?

So now that you have good idea of how to put together an effective pull day workout for building muscle, let's run through some great options for movements.

LAT FOCUSED PULL

Chest Supported Lat Pull Down

1/2 Kneeling 1-Arm Pull Down

Seated 1-Arm Pull Down

Lat Focused Cable Row

Seal Row

Helms Row (lats & rhomboids)

Bent Rows (lats & rhomboids)

Neutral Grip Pull-Ups

Mid-Neutral Grip Pull Downs

T-Bar Row

RHOMBOID FOCUSED PULL

Rhomboid Pull Down

Pronated Grip Pull Down

Cable Row

Chest Support Row (lat & rhomboids)

Dumbbell Row (lats & rhomboids)

Pronated Grip T-Bar Row

REAR DELT ACCESSORY

Facepull Variations

Rear Delt Row

Dumbbell Back Flys

Cable Rear Delt Fly

BICEP ACCESORY

Barbell/Dumbbell/Cable Curls

Spider Curls

Preacher Curls

Seated Dumbbell Curl

Incline Dumbbell Curl

Bayesian Curl

UPPER TRAP ACCESSORY

Shrugs

Overhead Plate Raises

THE PUSH PULL LEGS ROUTINE: EXAMPLE LEG DAY WORKOUT

MOVEMENT 1: QUAD FOCUSED COMPOUND

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Hack Squat 2-4 x 7-10

We've chosen the Hack Squat here specifically because it makes the quads the rate limiter.  

When the goal is building muscle (which is what most of our online clients are chasing), you want the "rate limiter" (the thing that forces you to eventually stop a movement) to be the specific muscle group(s) you're targeting.   

So, let's say you're doing heavy Front Squats to train your quads. 

Per usual with the Front Squat, your core and upper back fail before your quads. 

Thus, this has become a pretty shit exercise for actually building your quads.

This is why machines or movements that allow you to use your hands for stability are helpful for quad training - they remove balance, core strength, your upper back, etc., as potential rate limiters, and allow you to simply focus on maximizing tension in your quads.

MOVEMENT 2: KNEE EXTENSION ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Leg Extension 2-4 x 15-20

The primary function of your quads is knee extension (a.k.a. straightening the leg from a bent position), and many squat and lunge variations are great for training this function.

We're including another movement for the quads here because Leg Extension and Sissy Squat variations (a.k.a. knee extension accessories) are the only movements that put the Rectus Femoris muscle of the quads in a fully lengthened position:

As we discussed earlier, the lengthened position seems to be where most muscle growth is stimulated.

That said, realize that the other muscles of the quad will be stretched at the bottom of a deep squat or lunge - so including a squat or lunge and a Leg Extension or Sissy Squat Variation in each lower body training day is the recipe for quad growth.

MOVEMENT 3: HINGE PATTERN COMPOUND

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: 45 Degree Back Extension 2-4 x 10-15

Now that you've fully hammered your quads, it's time to move on to more hamstring and glute focused training. 

Here, we're focusing on hip flexion and extension (pushing the hips backwards/forwards), which will recruit much more of your hamstrings and glutes than a squat pattern (which is usually focused much more on knee flexion/extension). 

One of the main issues most run into with hinge patterns?   

Many create a relatively large amount of stress on the lower back (a.k.a. axial loading). 

Anecdotally, most online clients have a pretty limited tolerance for movements that put a lot of strain on the lower back, before running into issues with low back pain.

Also, realize that the more stress a movement puts on your spine, the more fatigue it generates.

So typically, when putting together an online clients training program, if the primary quad focused movement loads the spine heavily, we'll try to avoid doing so with the primary hinge movement, and vice versa.

This why we've plugged a 45 Degree Back Extension in here - it allows us to effectively train the hinge pattern without heavy loading of the spine.

OPTIONAL MOVEMENT 4: GLUTE EMPHASIS LUNGE, HINGE, OR LEG PRESS

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Kas Glute Bridge 2-4 x 10-15

Many of the women we coach want to put an emphasis on building their glutes.

Your glutes are a very large muscle group relatively to the rest of your body, and can generally handle a good amount of volume.

So if you're chasing glute gains, it's smart to plug in another glute focused compound lift here.

MOVEMENT 5: KNEE FLEXION ACCESSORY

EXAMPLE MOVEMENT: Seated Leg Curl 2-4 x 15-20

Your hamstrings don't just help with pushing your hips back and forth (hip flexion and extension), they also serve a major role in knee flexion (think: pulling your heels towards your butt). 

So if you're not training knee flexion (think: leg curl variations) along with a hip hinge, you're not fully training your hamstrings.

MOVEMENT 6: CALF ACCESSORY X SPINAL FLEXION SUPERSET

EXAMPLE MOVEMENTS: Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raise 2-4 x 10-15 / Hanging Knee Raise 2-4 x 8-12

Many can consider the calves portion of this superset optional. If you don't care about building your calves, you're ok to skip this.

If you are chasing calf gains, we want a movement that allows for a full range of motion, with a big stretch of the calf muscles at the bottom of each rep, and control at the top of the movement.

When building the "six pack muscle" of your abs, the rectus abdominis, you need to consider the function of said muscle:

The Rectus abdominis is responsible for spinal flexion (flexing at the spine) - which means that properly training it should involve a lot of flexing/bending of the spine. 

Spinal flexion is based trained through crunch, sit-up, reverse crunch, and knee/leg raise variations.

WHAT ARE THE BEST LEG WORKOUT EXERCISES?

Quad Focused Compound

Hack Squat

Pendulum Squat

Smith Machine Squat

Leg Press

Heels Elevated Barbell/SSB Squat

Front & Rear Foot Elevated Split Squat W/ Hand Support

Hinge Pattern Compound

Romanian Deadlift

Stiff Legged Deadlift

Good Mornings

45 Degree Back Extensions

Trap Bar Romanian Deadlift

Glute Emphasis Compound

Glute Focus Leg Press

Kas Glute Bridge

Hip Thrust

Glute Bridge

Deficit Reverse Lunge

Knee Extension Accessory

Leg Extensions

Sissy Squat Variations

Knee Flexion Accessory

Seated Leg Curl Machine

Lying Leg Curl Machine

Standing Leg Curl Machine

Glide Leg Curls

Towel Leg Curls

Calf Accessory

Standing Calf Raises

Single Leg Calf Raises

Leg Press Calf Raises

Spinal Flexion (Abs)

Cable Crunch

Swiss Ball Crunch

Decline Sit-Up

Hanging Knee Raise

Decline Reverse Crunch

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER TO BUILD YOUR OWN PUSH PULL LEGS ROUTINE 

Remember, following this split you're typically training 6 out of every 7-8 days. 

So while we laid out three example training days above (the first push, pull, and lower sessions of your training week), you'll need to create the other three training days on your own to create a full training week.

Basically, we've covered examples for....

DAY 1: Push 1 

DAY 2: Pull 1 

DAY 3: Legs 1 

DAY 4: Rest 

Now take what you've learned and create...

DAY 5: Push 2 

DAY 6: Pull 2 

DAY 7: Legs 2

I would not recommend repeating the exact same movements twice per week, as you'll likely be able to see quicker gains using different variations of the patterns listed above.

If you're ready to take the guesswork out of achieving your best body composition ever, click here now to apply for Online Coaching with our team. You'll get fully customized training + nutrition protocols fit to your specific goals & lifestyle, and expert guidance through every step of the process.

Today, we're taking a deep dive into how to get better results out of your training with Aaron Straker and Bryan Boorstein. 

You'll learn:

→ The mistakes you're making with movements like Romanian Deadlifts, Squats, Lateral Raises, Pulldowns, and much more that are killing your muscle growth. 

→ Bryan & Aaron's exercise setup and execution adjustments to get more out of these movements. 

→ Our personal favorite/most effective movements for each muscle group.

[*Aaron and Bryan deserve credit for most of the points and concepts below. I've expanded on their thoughts a bit where helpful, but highly recommend you listen to the episode as well to fully understand the context of the conversation.]

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE MIND-MUSCLE CONNECTION?

The mind-muscle connection is important... but also not everything. 

To a certain level, it doesn't matter if you're not heavily feeling ____ muscle working in a movement, as long as you're using said muscle correctly.

Bryan used the example of N1 Education's Single Arm Lat Pulldown:

If the movement is executed properly, the setup aligns so well with the function of the illiac lat muscle, that you lat must be working in the movement.

On the other hand, you could isometrically squeeze your biceps or glutes without any load/the optimal setup to load the muscle... and it'll still feel like you're doing something (you'll still "feel the mind-muscle connection"), but aren't likely growing muscle this way.

I've always found it helpful to frame this to clients like this:

While things like...

→ The mind-muscle connection

→ A good pump

→ A bit of soreness

...aren't what we design your training program to create, they do typically come as a byproduct of you putting the target muscle in the proper position to experience tension.

So they're typically good signs that you're doing something right, and are stimulating muscle growth.

But, the most common mistake people fall into is thinking...

"If I don't feel the target muscle(s) working, I need to think harder about squeezing and contracting the muscle."

...whereas really this is very rarely the case if you're truly executing a movement properly. 

So if you're not feeling the mind-muscle connection, stop thinking about "squeezing harder" and take a look at your technique and execution of the movement.

Brad Schoenfeld recently released a study that seemed to indicate that loading a muscle in the lengthened position is the most impactful for stimulating muscle growth:

The interesting thing is, the contracted or shortened position is where we really feel the connection with a muscle the most. 

But the Schoenfeld study seems to show that the shortened position is the least effective for stimulating muscle growth.

Now, this isn't to say that we shouldn't train muscles through a full range of motion or avoid the shortened position... just that feeling a muscle work more doesn't necessarily equate to more growth.

So how important is the mind-muscle connection? The mind-muscle connection will likely come as a byproduct of smart training, but probably shouldn't be the primary focus of your training.

SMARTER TRAINING FOR DELTS (WHY THEY AREN'T GROWING, AND THE FIX)

First, a quick overview of your shoulder anatomy:

The side delts are a hard muscle to effectively overload, as their position on the body makes it much harder to place them under a significant degree of tension during any compound presses.

So to target side delts, lateral variations are your best bet.

WHY YOU CAN'T FEEL YOUR SIDE DELTS/WHY YOUR SIDE DELTS AREN'T GROWING, AND THE FIX:

1. When doing lateral raise variations, think "getting wide"/trying to drive your arms out instead of up - You don't want to simply be "flapping your arms". 

Imagine trying to keep the weight/cable handle as low to the floor as possible, for as long as possible on the way up is very helpful for engaging the side delts.

2. Limp wrist position - A common mistake people make with lateral raises is letting thumbs turn upwards while raising the weight.

This engages the brachialis muscle (muscle underneath your bicep), and takes tension off of the delt. 

To fix this, using a "limp wrist" position where limps are essentially limp and you're grasping the weight in a hook grip (vs. having the weight centered in your palm with thumb wrapped) can help maintain tension on the delt. 

3. Lead with the elbow - Very similar to the above, focus on flying your elbows wide can help ensure the side delts are doing the majority of the work. 

4. Remove complexity with chest support or lying variations - Aaron mentioned how much he liked chest supported variations and lying variations, due to the fact that they don't allow you to use toros momentum, nor do you have to think about torso control. 

5. Put delts in a position to experience tension in the lengthened position - Dumbbell lateral raise variations lose almost all tension on the muscle at the bottom of the rep in the important lengthened position we discussed earlier.

This is really where cables seem to be superior for most lateral raise variations over dumbbells, as they allow more tension on the muscle at the bottom (and in this case, lengthened) position.

6. Staying in the medial plane - Rather than flying your arms straight out to the side or in front of you, they're flying out at about a 45 degree angle.

This allows the shoulder to rotate more naturally.

THE BEST MOVEMENTS TO BUILD YOUR SIDE DELTS

Aaron's Favorites:

1. Incline Prone Lateral Raises

2. Snatch High Pull With Dumbbells

Bryan's Favorites:

1. Lying Cable Upright Row

2. Cuffed Lying Y-Raise

WHY YOU CAN'T FEEL YOUR REAR DELTS/WHY YOUR REAR DELTS AREN'T GROWING, AND THE FIX:

1. Elbows shouldn't pass the midline - On any rear delt variation, once your elbows are behind your torso, your rhomboids, traps, etc., will kick in much more, meaning that the rear delts have to do less work.

So for people that struggle to develop rear delts, their elbows are often simply coming too far back on their rear delt movements (making it a more rhomboid or trap focused movement). 

It's a smaller range of motion than people believe.

2. You can't feel your rear delts because you're going too heavy - Similar to the above, going too heavy often forces the other muscles of your upper back to kick and, and the rear delts experience less tension than if you'd used a lighter load.

THE BEST MOVEMENTS TO BUILD YOUR REAR DELTS

Aaron's favorites:

1. Cable Rear Delt Fly

2. Bent Over Cable Fly

Bryan's favorites: 

1. T-Position Row

2. Cable Facepull

WHY YOUR QUADS AREN'T GROWING (AND THE SOLUTION)

First, a quick overview of your quad anatomy:

The biggest reason most people can't build their quads is because they're not putting themselves in a very mechanically advantageous position to train them properly.

So many people can spend years squatting, believing...

"If you want to build your quads, all you need to do is barbell back squat and/or front squat." 

...when in reality, these are two movements that many will find make it harder to properly apply tension to (and grow) the quads vs. more stable alternatives like the hack squat or leg press.

WHY YOUR QUADS WON'T GROW, AND WHAT TO DO:

1. Your quads aren't growing because you're not spending enough time in deep knee flexion - Your quads extend the knee (push the knee back) from the bottom of the squat. 

Remember our discussion earlier about how important the lengthened position is for muscle growth? Here it is again.

If you're not reaching a significant degree of knee flexion (knee bend) at the bottom of your squats, you're failing to reach the lengthened position for the quads.

Through the top half of a squat, there is much less tension on the quads vs. the bottom half.

This means stopping your reps at parallel is much less effective for quad growth than deeper reps, as you're missing out on the part of the rep where most of the tension is applied to the quad.

2. Your quads won't grow because you're not driving your knees forward (stop trying to "sit back" into your squat) - A quad-focused squat is almost a different movement than a squat where you're simply trying to move the heaviest weight possible/get stronger at squatting.

Context is very important here. For a general population trainee who simply wants to get better at squatting and doesn't care to get "jacked quads", sitting back into the squat will allow for more muscle groups to be used and a stronger squat.

But to target the quads with things like driving the knees forward, elevating heels, "trying to keep hips under you", you'll be able to do less weight.

3. Your quads won't grow because you're too attached to the amount of weight on the bar (ego lifting) - Similar to the above point, a quad-focused squat or lunge is performed much differently than one the way you'd move simply to "lift the heaviest weight".

The fact that you have to achieve so much knee bend, keep your pelvis underneath your shoulders, and control the negative means you'll have to use significantly less weight.

4. Your quads won't grow because the rate limiter of your squats/lunges is wrong - When the goal is building muscle, you want the "rate limiter" (the thing that forces you to eventually stop a movement) to be the specific muscle group(s) you're targeting.  

Let's say you're doing heavy Front Squats to train your quads.

Per usual with the Front Squat, your core and upper back fail before your quads.

Thus, this has become a pretty shit exercise for actually building your quads.

This is why machines and using movements with hand support are so helpful for quad training - they remove balance, core strength, your upper back, etc., as potential rate limiters, and allow you to simply focus on maximizing tension in your quads.

5. TRY ELEVATING YOUR HEELS - The amount of knee flexion (knee bend) you can achieve with good form while squatting is often limited by your ankle mobility. Many people struggle to achieve lots of knee flexion in the squat, because of ankle mobility.

Elevating your heels allows you to bypass poor ankle mobility and achieve much more knee flexion.

6. SLOW DOWN THE ECCENTRIC - It's more than just dropping down and standing back up. On the negative portion of each rep of a quad focused squat, you should be trying to send your knees as far forward as you can, and trying to increase the distance between your patella and hip as much as possible.

7. DON'T LET GLUTES/LOWER BACK KICK IN/HIPS SHIFT AS THE PAIN SETS IN - "Keep your pelvis under you". When your hips shift back in the squat (commonly happens from the bottom of the squat on the way up), your glutes and lower back are moving more of the load, your quads are doing less. 

THE BEST MOVEMENTS TO BUILD YOUR QUADS

Aaron's top quad movements:

1. Bulgarian Split Squat W/ Hand Support

2. Pendulum Squat or Hack squat

Bryan's top quad movements: 

1. Pendulum Squat or Hack Squat

2. Leg Press

HAMSTRINGS

First, a quick refresher on hamstring anatomy...

WHY YOU CAN'T FEEL YOUR HAMSTRINGS/WHY YOUR HAMSTRINGS WON'T GROW, AND THE SOLUTION

1. You're not hinging properly - When doing movements like Romanian Deadlifts of Stiff Legged Deadlifts, stop when your hips can't move back any further horizontally. 

Once you can't push your hips back any more, further range of motion comes from your to torso dropping. This creates more low back (and system-wide) fatigue, and can make the stimulus to fatigue ratio of the movement much worse.

2. Use Romanian Deadlifts, Stiff Leg Deadlifts, Good Mornings, or Back Extensions + A Leg Curl Variation - Training the "hinge" pattern discussed above covers one of your hamstrings primary functions (hinging at the hips), the other primary function - knee flexion (pulling your heel towards your butt) - is covered with leg curl variations. So it's important to train both variations.

While traditional deadlift variations are good strength movements for most, they're typically inferior to the above hinge options for muscle growth.

3. UNDERSTANDING HOW TO CONTROL YOUR PELVIS - In a movement like a Romanian Deadlift, you must control your pelvis to properly apply tension to your hamstrings.

→ Posterior pelvic tilt - When your back rounds forward slightly a.k.a. back flexion.

→ Anterior pelvic tilt - Your back is in an "arched" position. 

→ Neutral pelvis - Your back is neither excessively arched nor rounded.

Your body will naturally want to shift your pelvis into a posterior pelvic tilt when you're performing a movement like a Romanian Deadlift, when we want it to stay neutral to keep tension on your hamstrings and off your low back.

4. Using a hip band can help - Something Bryan mentioned (and a strategy we use often with online clients), a hip band attached behind you can really help cue "pushing the hips back into the hinge". 

5. More weight ≠ more tension in your hamstrings - Just like with squats and quads, a heavy deadlift doesn't necessarily equal hamstring growth. Drop your ego, and focus on mastering execution of your hinges before trying to add load.

LATS

First, a quick refresher on the muscles that compose your back:

It used to be thought...

"Horizontal pulling trains back thickness, vertical pulling trains back width - do pulldowns/pull-ups for lats, do rows for rhomboids & upper back."

...which really isn't true at all.

What area of your back you want to target with any pulling variation is dictated by the way that your elbow travels in relation to your torso.

→ When your elbow is flared out to the side, you'll be biasing much more upper back.

→ When your elbow comes directly by the side as doesn't pass the midline at the back of the rep, the movement will be much more lat focused.

→ When your elbow is flared at about 45 degrees, we can get a bit more of a combo of the two.

THE BEST MOVEMENTS FOR LATS

Aaron's favorite lat movements:

1. Trap Bar Rows

2. Machine Assisted Pull-Ups

Bryan's Favorite Lat Movements:

1. 1-Arm Lat Pulldown

2. Rack Pull-Ups W/ Rotational Handles

Check out Aaron Straker's content:

→ Website

→ Instagram

→ Podcast

→ Metabolic Performance Protocol

Check out Bryan Boorstein's Content:

→ Website

→ Instagram

→ Podcast

These are the same science-backed strategies we implement with our online clients undergoing the physique transformation process.   

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

Gut health has become a buzzword in the fitness industry over the last few years... but unfortunately most of the supplements & protocols being pushed as essential to "fix your gut health" are  unproven and likely ineffective.

Your gut is full of trillions of bacteria microorganisms - the “gut microbiome”. 

All these microorganisms make up a whole ecosystem in your belly. This ecosystem can do things like improving digestion, strengthening the immune system, or causing gas or bloating, depending on the balance of different bacteria. 

There are tons of products being sold to capitalize on the gut health hype - prebiotics, probiotics, kombucha, and the like.

But the reality is, scientists don’t really know what is going on here. Study of the gut & the gut microbiome is a very new field.

So today, I'm joined by Dr. Gabrielle Fundaro to separate the truth from the lies when it comes to gut health.  ⠀

[*The content below is primarily my interpretation of Gabby's thoughts from the interview. She deserves full credit for them. I've added a few of my own concepts or expanded on her thoughts when helpful.]

HOW WORRIED DO YOU REALLY NEED TO BE ABOUT GUT HEALTH?

Gabby mentioned that she doesn't like to use the word "worry" in relation to gut health, as that's probably a bit more serious than most people need to be.

"We can certainly care about it, be curious about it, and do evidence-based things that to the best of our knowledge support an adaptive and resilient microbiome".

It's actually very tricky to define what a "healthy" gut is.

This is because there is no reference point for what a healthy gut even looks like.

We could look at the gut/microbiome from people all around the world, and people that are "healthy" would likely have microbiome that looked much different due to their location, food availability, and more.

It's kind of like asking your friend...

"Hey, does your car do... car stuff well?"

"Yep! My Honda is perfectly adequate for all of the car stuff."

"Cool. My Jeep looks much different than your Honda, but it does car stuff just as well."

In this case, both cars seem to get the job done very well. So "ability to do car stuff" is how we're gauging whether a car is "good" or "bad", we can't really say one is better than the other, even though they look much different.

The same is true for the microbiome and gut health. People who are healthy have a very different microbiome, depending on where they're located.

Thus it probably makes more sense to use terms like "resilient" or "adaptive" instead of "healthy". 

A lot of people are wondering...

"Is there something I don't know when it comes to gut health? Am I unware of an underlying issue that needs fixed?"

In Gabby's words, they're almost "being sold a problem so that they'll buy the solution".

There's no reason to create problems that don't exist.

If you're already active, eating a diverse array of foods, and don't have symptoms of a less resilient gut (i.e. struggling with diarrhea), there's likely not an issue.

DO GUT HEALTH SUPPLEMENTS WORK?

Probiotic supplementation can be beneficial, but the effects are strain specific.

For example, there are several different strains of e. coli (which makes most of us automatically think: bad, disease, Chipotle) that are actually probiotic strains that prevent typhoid.

So when we're choosing a probiotic, taking a shotgun approach (taking a probiotic without knowing the strain of probiotic you're taking has been shown to improve the symptoms you're trying to improve) is ineffective and likely a waste of money.

You shouldn't take a probiotic like you would a multi-vitamin (which is generally taken as a kind of insurance policy to prevent deficiency in a wide variety of micronutrients) as there isn't strong data that probiotics are actually improving your GI tract as a kind of "one size fits all" pill.

A probiotic could be helpful... but you need to understand what specific strain you're chasing to make the most of it.

An excellent graphic explaining this from Gabby's article on probiotic use with Precision Nutrition:

HOW TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE POOR GUT HEALTH

Changes in the microbiome aren't always going to be associated with GI distress. (Meaning that sudden diarrhea doesn't necessarily mean your gut health has deteriorated.)

So...

SOME SIGNS OF GASTROINTESTINAL DISEASE (you really need to go to a doctor):

→ Blood in the stool

→ Uncontrollable bowel movements

→ Extreme pain relieved by a bowel movement

→ Extreme pain after a meal

→ Tarry or oily stool

If you're seeing red flag like this, don't waste time with things like candida cleanses or probiotic supplementation. Go to the doctor.

DOES BLOATING MEAN YOU HAVE POOR GUT HEALTH?

Many of the foods associated with improving body composition and losing body fat (whole, minimally processed foods) are high in fermentable carbohydrates.

Often times, when you switch to eating more foods like this, you'll experience more bloating and a change in your stool.

This does not mean you have "bad gut health". 

The microbes in your gut are actually very happy with all of the fermentable carbs you've been eating, and in breaking those down they're producing gas (which is normal), along with other very beneficial things to our health like short-chain fatty acids.

So this often isn't a sign that things are going wrong.

That said, if you have any concerning symptoms, it'd be wise to consult with a gastroenterologist.

If you have a clean bill of health, simply start paying attention to the foods the you seem to be bloated after eating, and adjust portion sizes until the bloating dissipates.

WHAT CAN YOU DO TO IMPROVE YOUR GUT HEALTH?

So to wrap this up, a few of Gabby's suggestions for what we all can do to support a resilient, adaptable gut:

1. Eat plants at every meal - This doesn't have to just be vegetables, but can also mean legumes, whole grains, beans, seeds, nuts, etc.

2. Eat plenty of fiber - Typically, ~15g of fiber per 1,000 calories consumed is thought to be a good rule of thumb.

3. Coffee and red wine intake also seem to be beneficial, BUT... - Don't get too excited. With wine, the recommended dose is ~200ml for women / ~400ml for men across the course of a week.

4. Engage in regular physical activity - Most of the research here shows that aerobic activity seems to be most beneficial, but there's also some evidence that training in a more bodybuilding-esque fashion and consuming adequate fiber will yield the same benefits.

Check out Gabrielle's content:

→ Follow Gabby on IG 

→ Gabby's website

→ Comprehensive Coaching

These are the same science-backed strategies we implement with our online clients undergoing the physique transformation process.  

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

Sleep is possibly one of the least sexy topics within health and fitness.

Everyone wants to focus on what to eat, when to eat, how to train, and what program to do...that’s the fun stuff! 

But here's the problem most people encounter... sleep is such an important part of health and fitness, you'll struggle to make any progress if you neglect it.

In today's blog, you'll learn how to maximize your sleep to build more muscle, burn more fat, and improve your health.

SLEEP AND METABOLIC SYNDROME

Poor sleep is associated with an increase in metabolic syndrome.  

Mayo Clinic defines metabolic syndrome as... 

“A cluster of conditions that increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and diabetes."

Metabolic syndrome includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels. The syndrome increases a person's risk for heart attack and stroke.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE SLEEP?

There are two types of sleep: 

1. REM

2. Non-REM

You cycle through these throughout the night, but start the night in non-REM sleep, which itself has four stages: 

STAGE 1: Between awake and falling asleep.

STAGE 2: Light sleep. Heart rate and breathing regulate and body temperature drops. 

STAGE 3 & 4: Deep sleep. 

From here, you move into REM sleep (rapid eye movement sleep) where you become temporarily "paralyzed", start dreaming, etc.

You will cycle through these stages 3-4 times in a night of sleep. 

During sleep, your body does a lot of amazing things: 

→ Your brain processes and stores into memory the events of the day. 

→ Your pituitary gland releases growth hormone that helps your body and muscles grow and repair (more on this later.) 

→ You go into a parasympathetic nervous system state. That means cortisol is lowered until it’s time to wake up, and blood pressure goes down. 

→ You release cytokines, small proteins that lower inflammation.  This is part of why sleep is so important to fight off infection, illness, or injury. 

While sleep is massively important for health, it’s also a really important factor in your physique development. There is a lot of evidence that suggests more sleep (to a point) = more gains and less body fat, because...

→ Glycogen is replenished during sleep. 

Glycogen is the storage form of carbohydrates.  When you eat carbohydrates, your blood glucose levels rise, then are stored within the muscles or body fat cells.  The more of that carbohydrate that gets stored as glucose in the muscle, the harder you are able to train. 

→ Strength is improved after getting good sleep.  

Increased IGF-1 is associated with improved sleep quality, and is rapidly reduced during periods of poor sleep.  IGF-1 is an anabolic hormone that plays a role in protein synthesis. 

→ Cortisol is higher when you don’t get adequate sleep.  

Cortisol is a stress hormone and is catabolic, meaning it breaks down muscle tissue.  Having chronically high cortisol for long enough can cause high blood glucose, suppressed immune system, and high blood pressure.  Getting plenty of sleep will help keep cortisol levels down. 

→ Growth hormone is released during sleep.  

Growth hormone will help you grow, repair and preserve muscle mass, as well as repair tissue in the brain and other organs. 

→ Lack of sleep causes an increase in the release of the hunger hormone grehlin.  

If you aren’t getting adequate sleep, you will find yourself getting more hungry over the course of the day, and have an increase in cravings.  Poor sleep also lowers leptin, which is the “fullness hormone” and plays a role in fat burning. 

A study done in 2018 divided almost 17,000 participants into groups of people who slept <5, 6, 7, 8, and >9 hours per night, with 7 hours/night being the control group.   

The participants’ body composition was measured with DEXA scans, and while we know DEXA and other body fat scans are highly inaccurate, over this many participants we can assume it would give at least a relatively accurate picture of the different trends of body fat levels between groups.  

The researchers concluded... 

“The results of our study suggest that short sleep hours might be associated with an increase of fat mass, general obesity and abdominal obesity, whereas long sleep hours [>9] might be related to a decrease of lean mass in Korean adults aged between 18 and 70 years. Adequate sleep hours may be necessary for the prevention of obesity and maintaining a balanced body composition.” 

But my favorite study on this topic is titled...

Insufficient sleep undermines dietary efforts to reduce adiposity

This study was done in 2010 over a 2-week period. Participants were placed in two groups:

GROUP 1:  8.5 hour sleep group

GROUP 2: 5.5 hour sleep group 

The goal?

Determine whether sleep restriction slows the effect of a reduced-calorie diet on excess body fat.  

The researchers measured loss of fat and lean tissue. They also measured changes in substrate utilization (the use of fat and carbohydrate by the body for energy), energy expenditure (calorie burn), hunger, and 24-hour metabolic hormone concentrations.

The result: 

“Sleep curtailment decreased the proportion of weight lost as fat by 55% (1.4 vs. 0.6 kg with 8.5 vs. 5.5 hours of sleep opportunity, respectively; P = 0.043) and increased the loss of fat-free body mass by 60% (1.5 vs. 2.4 kg; P = 0.002). This was accompanied by markers of enhanced neuroendocrine adaptation to caloric restriction, increased hunger, and a shift in relative substrate utilization toward oxidation of less fat.” 

TRANSLATION - The people who only slept 5.5 hours per night lost about 2 pounds less fat in 2 weeks, but lost 2 pounds more lean mass (not the type of weight you want to be losing!) They also started adapting hormonally to calorie restriction (down-regulating calorie output to adapt to the restriction), were hungrier, and burned less fat for fuel.

When dieting we’re generally doing everything we can to burn the highest amount of body fat and preserve the most muscle mass possible, so these are the exact opposite results of what you’d hope for on a fat loss diet. 

Another similar study in 2018 had overweight and obese participants divided into two groups for 8 weeks:

GROUP 1: Just restricted calories

GROUP 2: Restricted calories and sleep.  

Both groups ate 95% of their measured resting metabolic rate, and the sleep restricted groups were instructed to reduce sleep 5 nights a week, and slept as much as they wanted the other two nights.  

The sleep restricted group lost the same amount of weight as the calorie restriction only group, but the sleep restricted group lost a larger proportion of their weight from lean mass.  The sleep restricted group also saw greater decreases of leptin. 

This study seems to show that getting poor sleep increases loss of lean tissue, and causes you to experience more hunger and less fullness. 

Now, aside from the effect directly on hormones, there are more basic implications from not getting great sleep.  

We know non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) is the biggest proportion of total daily energy expenditure (TDEE), aside from BMR, which isn’t under our control. 

When you aren’t getting enough sleep, you are more tired during the day (duh, right?).  

Well, if you are more tired you are much less likely to move around as much.  You might fidget less, not go check the mail that day, sit instead of stand, and so on. All of this "non-exercise movement" makes up the N.E.A.T. or non-exercise activity thermogenesis component of metabolism shown above.

According to Mayo Clinic researcher Dr. James Levine, N.E.A.T. can cause a variance in TDEE by up to 2000 calories per day in different people of equal body size.  

That’s a massive difference.  You probably won’t have a swing of 2000 calories in your N.E.A.T. from getting a bad night’s sleep, but it can definitely put a damper on your movement and cause a decrease in your calories burned for just that reason alone. 

Other downstream effects of lethargy from poor sleep could be snacking just to feel a boost even in the absence of excess hunger, missing training, or overall feeling unmotivated.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR SLEEP

There are a lot of actions you can take to improve your sleep duration and quality, and it can start the minute you wake up.  

Our bodies work on a body clock called your circadian rhythm.  A lot of your body’s systems work on a 24-hour clock, including your sleep hormones, cortisol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and many others. 

SLEEP KEY #1: Getting Sunlight Early

Starting your day by getting into the sun can help “set” your circadian rhythm to be awake with the sun and asleep when the sun goes down.

Melatonin is the hormone that tells your body it’s time to sleep, and it works on a cycle of low in the daytime and high in the evening/throughout the night.  

Getting sunlight helps lower melatonin when it should be low, which in turn helps your body elevate melatonin when it should be elevated, which helps you fall asleep.

SLEEP KEY #2: Turning Screens Off 

The flip side of getting early sunlight is turning screens off at night, ideally about an hour before bed-time.  

The blue light emitted from screens on your TV, computer, or phone can mimic sunlight and suppress melatonin which makes it harder to fall asleep, and get good quality sleep once you do fall asleep. 

SLEEP KEY #3: Journaling 

Journaling, specifically a brain-dump journal can help you clear your head so you can fall asleep easier.  

This is especially helpful if you are someone who lays awake with racing thoughts or to-do lists in your head.  

Brain-dump journaling helps you get all those thoughts out onto paper so you aren’t stewing over those things or worried you’ll forget something by morning.  

To do a brain dump journal you will use a blank sheet of paper (No structured journal prompts needed) and literally just write out everything that comes to mind.  Get all your thoughts out (dump your brain) onto the paper so that you can fall asleep. 

SLEEP KEY #4: Meditation/Deep Breathing 

Your autonomic nervous system has two branches: sympathetic and parasympathetic.  

The sympathetic branch is also known as “fight, flight, or freeze” and is the amped-up, more stressed state.  

Cortisol is higher in this state.  Cortisol works opposite to melatonin.  When cortisol is up melatonin is suppressed, and vice-versa.  Parasympathetic is your “rest and digest” state.  

You are more calm, and heart rate and blood pressure lower in this state.  In order to get to sleep you need to be in the parasympathetic nervous state.  Meditation and deep breathing are tools to take you from sympathetic to parasympathetic.   

Meditation can be intimidating for some people who haven’t tried it before, so we recommend a guided meditation app that will take you through a session.  

Some great options: 

→ Calm 

→ Headspace 

→ Brain.FM 

Deep breathing is another tool to switch you into a parasympathetic state.  

I recommend 4/4/8 breathing: 

1. Inhale for 4 seconds

2. Hold for 4 seconds

3. Exhale for 8 seconds.  

4. Repeat the above 8-10x.  

Inhaling increases your heart rate, and exhaling slows down your heart rate, so taking longer exhales than inhales will slow down your heart rate and help you get into a restful state to fall asleep. 

SLEEP KEY #5: Stay Out Of Bed, Until You're Ready For Bed

If you are working or eating in bed you will set up an association with your bed that isn’t sleep. When you only get into bed to sleep, your body starts to get tired in response to being in bed.  If you’re working you could associate bed with stress or other thoughts. 

SLEEP KEY #6: Create a Bedtime Routine 

You can create a “habit” of falling asleep by creating a bedtime routine.

Our bodies like habits.  It’s why you get hungry at the same time you normally eat lunch if you miss it.  It’s part of the circadian rhythm... your hormones can get on a schedule.  

So if you create a routine and do it consistently before bed, eventually you will start to get tired at that time of night in response.  

You can put together any of the previously mentioned tools, or add any of your own that you think would be helpful. Make sure it’s a solid routine but also short enough you can follow through consistently.  

A good routine might look something like:

→ Cup of decaf tea 

→ Journal 

→ Skincare 

→ Deep breathing in bed 

→ Sleep 

SLEEP KEY #7: Get to Bed Earlier 

If your main problem is not getting to bed on time, you will need to get to bed earlier in a step-wise fashion.  

Trying to make your bedtime two hours earlier all at once will mean you just lay there awake for at least that two hours, because your body is on it’s clock and used to being up doing things at that time.  

A good rule of thumb is to get to bed about 15 minutes earlier every 1-2 weeks.  It will take longer to get to the desired bedtime but it will gradually accustom your body to the earlier sleep time. 

Sleep could one of the major factors keeping you from your goal physique. If you think you could be leaving gains on the table by missing sleep give some of these tips a try - they'll help. 

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

WHY IS PRE & POST-WORKOUT NUTRITION IMPORTANT?

Most people love to push themselves in the gym, but still never look like they lift because their nutrition doesn’t match the way they train.

Your training is like the gas pedal. But your nutrition is the fuel in the tank. Without proper (or enough) fuel, you’ll never go far... no matter how hard you push the pedal.

This perfectly illustrates why pre and post-workout nutrition is so important for physique development.  

Today’s blog teaches you how to stop under-fueling / under-recovering, and finally achieve the physique you’re already doing the work in the gym for. 

THE BEST SCIENCE-BASED MEAL TO EAT PRE-WORKOUT

When teaching online clients how to get the absolute most out of their training, we typically start with the pre-workout meal. 

This is because (for most), a solid pre-workout nutrition strategy will yield the most “bang for your buck” when it comes to improving performance, recovery, and results.  

If your pre-workout nutrition is optimized, what you do intra and post-workout is much less important. 

There are three key things you want out of your pre-workout meal: 

1. Your pre-workout meal should improve your ability to train intensely in your upcoming workout 
2. Your pre-workout meal should minimize catabolism (the breakdown of muscle tissue) during your training 
3. Your pre-workout meal should provide your body with the amino acids that it needs for to recover from your workout, and build new muscle tissue.  

We’ll focus on macro-specific recommendations first (protein, carb, and fat recommendations), before concluding with some collective recommendations.

HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT?

Protein is a key component of your pre-workout meal due to something called net protein balance. 

Your muscles are essentially built from protein (or more specifically, the amino acids that you consume within protein). 

→ Muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is the process of your body repairing/adding to your current muscle protein. 

After you consume protein, levels of MPS “spike” for the next 2-3 hours before returning to baseline. The size of the spike depends (to an extent) on the amount and quality of protein consumed. 

Resistance training also spikes MPS. 

But it’s not just as simple as eat protein, train, spike MPS, build muscle. Because there’s another force at work here...   

→ Muscle protein breakdown (MPB) is the process of your body breaking down muscle protein. 

Your muscle proteins are stuck in a constant battle between MPS and MPB. Sometimes rate of MPS is greater than MPB, sometimes vice-versa. 

→ To build muscle - We need positive net protein balance (More MPS have occurred than MPB) across any given timeframe. 

→ To lose muscle - We need negative net protein balance (more MPB than MPS must have occurred) across any given timeframe. 

Now, net protein balance is related to more than just how much protein you're eating...

When you’re training hard, your body enters a what we call a sympathetic state (better known as fight or flight mode): 

In this state, more of the hormone cortisol is released. 

Cortisol (along with a few other byproducts of an intense training session) increase the rate of MPB. 

Because lifting weights will stimulate MPS, post-workout both MPS and MPB are elevated (1)... so it’s not like your muscles are just deteriorating in front of your eyes like the Nazis at the end of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of The Lost Ark. 

But, your net protein balance will be negative post-workout if you haven’t consumed adequate protein recently. 

So how can you avoid this?

By consuming an adequate dose of protein pre-workout, you’re giving your body the amino acids it needs intra and post-workout to further spike MPS and create a scenario where muscle growth is possible. (This is also why if you haven’t eaten pre-workout, getting in protein post-workout becomes much more important.)

RECOMMENDATION:  

To optimally stimulate MPS pre-workout, research indicates (2) that consuming 20 grams of protein will allow for an almost maximal increase in MPS, while consuming 40 grams will yield a 10% higher MPS rate than 20 grams, making it slightly more optimal. 

→ Eat 20g of protein in your pre-workout meal to create a near max MPS response, or 40g+ if you want to ensure you’re ticking all the boxes.

WHAT KIND OF PROTEIN SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT?

Ideally, you want this to be a lower fat, fast digesting protein source that also contains a good amount of the amino acid leucine. 

This is because the amino acid leucine is essentially the "trigger" for MPS. 

Leucine content varies by protein source, which in turn impacts whether you optimally stimulate MPS or not.  

So along with the 20-40g dose of protein mentioned earlier, we need 2.5g+ of leucine (this is the "leucine threshold) to optimally stimulate MPS. 

That said, you don’t need to overcomplicate this too much. 20-40g of protein from most animal-based sources or a quality plant protein powder will tick the leucine box here. 

It’s ideal that this protein source is lower fat, because we want your stomach to be empty when you start training. This isn’t the same thing as your pre-workout meal being fully digested (which takes quite some time), but if your body is still digesting food in the stomach when you start training, performance will suffer (more on this later). 

Leaner protein sources will (typically) digest quicker, as fat can potentially slow the digestive process. 

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

→ Whey protein 

→ Plant-based protein powder 

→ Chicken breast 

→ Lean ground beef (93%+) 

→ Lean ground turkey (93%+) 

→ Egg whites

HOW MANY CARBS SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT?

There are three primary reasons carbs are helpful in a pre-workout meal:

1. Managing glycogen stores. Glycogen (carbohydrates stored in your muscle and liver) is going to be your body’s preferred fuel source while training.  

During a training session...

1. First, muscle glycogen stores are depleted.  

2. Next, liver glycogen.   

3. At this point, your body will start converting amino acids to glucose (via the process of gluconeogenesis) to use as fuel.

Gluconeogenesis (the process of converting amino acids to glucose) is very energy expensive, and an additional stress for your body to recover from, which will slow your recovery time (and potential muscle growth).

To simplify - when training for aesthetics like most of our online clients are, your body is literally using carbs (which also = blood sugar) as the primary fuel source for your training. 

As you’re depleting your body’s current carb stores in your training, if more carbohydrates aren’t available, many will experience a lower blood sugar “crash” about halfway through their training.  

This of course is counterproductive to the level of performance you need to have in order to get the physique results you want from your training.

So having some carbs pre-workout to “top off” glycogen stores is smart for better recovery after your session. 

2. Carbs and protein both stimulate an insulin response (the hormone insulin is released into the bloodstream after consumption). Insulin has been shown to suppress muscle protein breakdown, as insulin has an inverse relationship with the catabolic hormone cortisol.  

As cortisol levels are elevated during training, it’s thought that a combination of protein + carbohydrate consumed before (or during) training could be an effective way to create an “anti-catabolic buffer” by reducing cortisol levels and protein breakdown, allowing for full recover sooner. (3) 

3. Carb intake could potentially send your body the signal that “plenty of fuel is available”, allowing you to train harder. Some interesting research on “carb-rinsing” (swishing a sugary solution around in your mouth before spitting it out) seems to potentially show that sending your brain the signal that it’s just taken in more carbohydrates/energy leads to increased levels of performance. (4)(5)

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

Here, assuming you’re training in a bodybuilding-ish manner like our online clients are, you won’t need a huge amount of carbs pre-workout (although there’s nothing wrong with more carbs either). 

→ Most will feel best aiming to get .25-.5g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight. 

IMPORTANT CONTEXT: PRE-WORKOUT CARBS WHEN BUILDING VS. CUTTING 

If you’re in a calorie surplus (consistently eating more calories than you’re burning), muscle glycogen stores will likely already be full, and thus carbs in this meal (if you feel fine training without them) are less important. 

If you notice that you’re having trouble focusing or pushing yourself during training while in a surplus, it’s smart to experiment with decreasing carbs and increasing fats. Sometimes the large insulin spike that comes with a large amount of carbs can actually hinder your focus and leave you feeling lethargic. 

In a calorie deficit (for already lean individuals), carbs in the pre-workout meal will be more important as they’ll help maintain your glycogen stores. 

WHAT KIND OF CARBS SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT?

The primary thing you want is a carb source that can digest quickly (both to prevent you from feeling sluggish during your training and to top of muscle glycogen stores sooner) - higher glycemic index carbs/starchy carbs tick this box (so probably still smart to focus on these if you’re eating closer to training), but really you’ll primarily want to ensure that fiber is lower in the carbs you’re consuming here, as fiber will slow digestion. 

I like Chris Barakat’s recommendation from our episode on Body Recomposition: 

Ideally, your pre-workout carbs would be from a mix of starch and fruit, which gives you a combo of faster and slower releasing carbs to fuel you through the workout.   

RECOMMENDATIONS:  

Starchy/High GI Carbs  

→ Rice cakes  

→ White rice 

→ Cream of rice 

→ Instant oats 

→ White potato 

→ Bagels 

→ White bread 

→ Cereals 

→ Corn  

Fruit 

→ Berries 

→ Bananas 

→ Pears 

→ Apples 

→ Peaches 

→ Kiwis  

...ok this list could go on, but you get the idea. 

HOW MUCH FAT SHOULD YOU EAT PRE-WORKOUT?

Fat (for most) should stay relatively slow pre-workout. 

You don’t get any benefits as far as refilling glycogen stores or stimulating MPS from eating fat, and it can potentially slow the digestion of your carbs and protein, causing your ability to train hard to suffer. 

So this is an area that doesn’t require us to delve too deeply.

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

→ If eating 60-90 minutes pre-workout... most will feel best keeping fat intake between 5-15 grams of fat in the pre-workout meal. 

→ If eating 1.5-3 hours before training... fat can help slow digestion enough that you’re not hungry mid-training session. Here, most will feel best consuming 10-25 grams of fat in the pre-workout meal.

This really depends a bit on what you’re eating, and your personal preference as to what makes you feel best. 

If your body is still trying to empty the food from your stomach, some blood (which we want to be pushed to your muscles while training) will be rechanneled to your stomach. 

But in general, somewhere between 1-3 hours pre-workout is a good time to eat. 

→ Eat 60-90 minutes before training if… you’re eating quick digesting foods like cream of rice or instant oats + a whey shake. 

→ Eat 1.5-3 hours before training if… you’re eating unprocessed foods that’ll take longer to digest, like sirloin steak + a potato. Do you have to eat before working out? 

TL;DR - THE OPTIMAL PRE-WORKOUT MEAL

PROTEIN: 20-40g of protein from a quick digesting, high leucine source like protein powder, chicken breast, lean ground turkey, or egg whites.

CARBS: .25-.5g of carbs per pound of bodyweight from a quick digesting source like white rice, rice cakes, cream of rice, instant oats, or bagels.

Combining a starchy carb source (see above) and a fruit will potentially be more optimally for both quick and sustained energy. 

FAT: Keep it light. 

→ 5-15g if you’re training in <90 minutes. 

→ 10-25g if you’re training in >90 minutes.

TIMING:

→ Eat 60-90 minutes before training if… you’re eating quick digesting foods like cream of rice or instant oats + a whey shake.  

→ Eat 1.5-3 hours before training if… you’re eating unprocessed foods that’ll take longer to digest, like sirloin steak + a potato.

THE BEST SCIENCE-BASED MEAL TO EAT POST-WORKOUT

When it comes to your post-workout nutrition, much of the same logic behind food sources and the outcomes they’re meant to drive (managing glycogen stores, spiking MPS) carry over to the post-workout meal. 

So you’ll notice that many of the concepts are the same here as what we’ve discussed earlier.  

Because of the similarity between the pre and post-workout meals, if one of the two is honed in as far as food composition and timing, you can be a bit more “flexible” with the other. 

For example:

→ If you had a solid pre-workout meal, there likely aren’t any detriments to waiting 1-2 hours before eating your post-workout meal. 

→ If you’re training fasted, eating a post-workout meal as soon as you can after training becomes much more important 

There are two key things you want out of your post-workout meal: 

1. Your post-workout meal should spike muscle protein synthesis (MPS)
2. Your post-workout meal should help replenish glycogen stores 

Again, let's dig into post-workout nutrition on a macro-by-macro basis.

HOW MUCH PROTEIN SHOULD YOU EAT POST-WORKOUT?

Just like with the pre-workout protein, the goal here is to ensure that you’re providing your body with the amino acids it needs to build new muscle through the process of muscle protein synthesis (MPS). 

If you recall, both MPS and MPB (muscle protein breakdown) are elevated post-workout. 

By consuming an adequate dose of protein pre-workout, you’re giving your body the amino acids it needs intra and post-workout to further spike MPS and create a scenario where muscle growth is possible. (This is also why if you haven’t eaten pre-workout, getting in protein post-workout becomes much more important.) 

That said, consuming another bolus of protein post-workout is an excellent idea… because even if you optimally stimulated MPS with the pre-workout meal, MPS will likely have returned to baseline levels (or will be within the next 30-90 mins) due to something called the muscle full effect. 

See, once enough protein is taken in to saturate the muscle, the “muscle full” effect happens:  

1. ~30 mins after consuming an adequate bolus of protein, rate of MPS ~triples.  

2. At ~90 mins, rate of MPS peaks, before returning to baseline levels at ~2 hours.   This return to MPS baseline occurs regardless of how much protein is still available in your bloodstream.

So to once again spike MPS, and ensure that rate of MPS > rate of MPB, you’ll need to eat some more protein post-workout.

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

The same logic as the pre-workout meal applies here: To optimally stimulate MPS post-workout, research indicates (2) that consuming 20 grams of protein will allow for an almost maximal increase in MPS, while consuming 40 grams will yield a 10% higher MPS rate than 20 grams, making it slightly more optimal. 

→ Eat 20g of protein in your post-workout meal to create a near max MPS response, or 40g+ if you want to ensure you’re ticking all the boxes.

WHAT KIND OF PROTEIN SHOULD YOU EAT POST-WORKOUT?

Similar to pre-workout, this should be a lower fat, fast digesting protein source, as research seems to show this will be more optimal for muscle growth than a slower digesting source. (7)

RECOMMENDATIONS: 

→ Whey protein 

→ Plant-based protein powder 

→ Chicken breast 

→ Lean ground beef (93%+) 

→ Lean ground turkey (93%+) 

→ Egg whites

HOW MANY CARBS SHOULD YOU EAT POST-WORKOUT?

The primary role of carbohydrates post workout is to replenish your muscle glycogen stores so that you’re able to train hard again in your next session. 

Waiting just two hours post-workout can reduce the rate of glycogen replenishment by up to 50%. 

But this is likely only really important if you plan to train again in the same day. It seems as long as you eat enough carbs across the day, your body will likely refill muscle glycogen stores again by your next session (whether you had lots of carbs post-workout or not). 

So the primary outcome we want from post-workout carbohydrates is taking advantage of the inverse relationship between insulin and cortisol we mentioned earlier to reduce cortisol levels (and in turn MPB) and create an environment that's more anabolic/conducive to muscle growth.

RECCOMMENDATIONS:

Typically we recommend online clients try to get at least 1/2 their daily carb intake peri-workout (pre/intra/post-workout), so if you're lighter on the carbs pre-workout, go heavier here.

→ Aim for at least .25-.5g of carbohydrate per pound of body weight in the post-workout meal.

WHAT KINDS OF CARBS SHOULD YOU EAT POST-WORKOUT?

Very similarly to your pre-workout carbs, we want these to be fast digesting. 

This will typically mean lower fiber, starchy carb sources.

RECCOMMENDATIONS:

→ Rice cakes  

→ White rice 

→ Cream of rice 

→ Instant oats 

→ White potato 

→ Bagels  

→ White bread   

→ Cereals

HOW MUCH FAT SHOULD YOU EAT POST-WORKOUT?

Again, we want to keep fat lower post-workout.   

You don’t get any benefits as far as refilling glycogen stores or stimulating MPS from eating fat, and it can potentially slow the digestion of your carbs and protein, slowing the delivery of these nutrients to your recovering muscles. 

That said, this also isn't the biggest deal - the difference in gains made from eating 10g of fat in your post-workout meal vs. 30g is likely so small it wouldn't even be measurable.

So for online clients who's post-workout meal is typically dinner with their family (and usually a bit higher in fat), we typically instruct to not stress the extra bit of fat - just be sure to hit your protein and carb targets here as well.

RECOMMENDATIONS:  

If you want to optimize every detail, keeping this <20g of fat is likely a good idea. But again, just being sure to get plenty of carbs and protein is much more important than the amount of fat here.

HOW LONG AFTER WORKING OUT SHOULD YOU EAT?

Again, how soon you need to eat post-workout is very dependent on what your pre-workout meal looked like.

→ Eat as soon as possible if... you're training fasted.

→ You're ok to wait 1-2 hours if... You ate a pre-workout meal that fit the above guidelines.

Really, I like Alan Aragon's recommendation here...

Make sure there is no more than 3-5 hours between eating your pre-workout meal and your post-workout meal.

TL;DR - THE OPTIMAL POST-WORKOUT MEAL

PROTEIN: 20-40g of protein from a quick digesting, high leucine source like protein powder, chicken breast, lean ground turkey, or egg whites.

CARBS: At least .25-.5g of carbs per pound of bodyweight from a quick digesting source like white rice, rice cakes, cream of rice, instant oats, or bagels. Try to get 1/2 (or more) of your daily carb intake fit into the pre and post-workout meals.

FAT: Much less important than ensuring you have plenty of carbs and protein in this meal. But could be slightly more optimal to have <20g.

TIMING:

→ Eat as soon as possible if... you're training fasted. 

→ You're ok to wait 1-2 hours if... You ate a pre-workout meal that fit the above guidelines.

→ Don't let there be more than 3-5 hours between your pre-workout and post-workout meal.

And that's the science-backed way to most effectively fuel your training and recovery with your pre and post-workout meals.

These are the same science-backed strategies we implement with our online clients undergoing the physique transformation process.  

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

Have you tried to get exceptionally lean in the past, but failed because you didn't have confidence that the approach you were taking was the right one?

If so, today's blog will give you the confidence and structure you need.

If we're studying how to get very lean (with as much muscle as possible), who better to learn from than the high-level male and female natural bodybuilders? They're truly the best in the world at physique transformation.

Today's blog is a masterclass on the methods one of the world's best natural bodybuilding coaches (Peter Fitschen) uses to help competitors get exceptionally lean before hopping on stage.

Peter has been competing in bodybuilding since 2004, and has been a natural pro since 2012. He also has a bachelors degree in biochemistry, a masters in physiology, a P.H.D. in nutritional sciences, and co-author of the book Bodybuilding.

Today, Peter guides us through the exact process (rates of loss, diet breaks, macro adjustments, etc.) he used to get men and women shredded for stage. 

So even if you don’t have aspirations to compete, but simply want to get very lean for summer, the methods and strategies here will be very applicable to you (just the amount of leanness you push to should be different).

[*The content below is primarily my interpretation of Peter's thoughts from the interview. He deserves full credit for them. I've added a few of my own concepts or expanded on his thoughts when helpful.]

HOW LEAN DO YOU NEED TO BE? (BODY FAT PERCENTAGE FOR STAGE LEAN)

Worrying about what your body fat percentage is probably adds unnecessary stress, and just isn’t that accurate.  

For example, BIA scales (bioelectrical impedance analysis - the scales you stand on or hold in your hands that measure body fat with electric current) have an ~8-10% error rate.  

This large range of error means that someone could very easily be losing fat across 2 weeks, but the BIA scale could show fat staying the same (or even increasing).

Even DEXA scans (often considered one of the best ways to measure body fat) are prone to error (the average margin of error for a DEXA is ~4%), something Peter noticed when performing his own Natural Bodybuilding Contest Prep case study:

Because easily accessible methods of measuring body fat can vary so much from one measurement to the next, Peter prefers not to have his clients measure body fat. 

WHAT TO LOOK AT INSTEAD: 

1. What direction is the scale moving, and how quickly? 

2. What is your strength doing in the gym? 

3. How are you changing visually?

Visual changes will always be slower, but if the scale is trending down at the desired rate and you're maintaining strength, the visual changes will happen. 

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN YOU'RE READY TO DIET?

Getting this lean isn’t something you should just jump into. As Peter said… 

“It’s not a couch to 5k.”

THINGS TO CONSIDER BEFORE DIETING TO AN EXTREMELY LEAN CONDITION: 

1. Before dieting, you should have spent a good amount of time focusing on fueling your training properly and building a solid amount of muscle. 

When you get extremely lean without a solid amount of muscle... you just look skinny.

Not spending enough time focusing on building muscle is a massive problem that holds back many women and men alike in their quest to build a great physique, and is exactly why we’re such big proponents of the building phase with our online coaching clients.  

Especially before trying to get on stage, it’s wise to have trained for at least a few years. 

2. You shouldn’t have dieted (to an extremely lean condition) recently. 

Studies seem to indicate that it takes ~4-6 months for hormones and metabolic rate to return to normal after a prep after getting super lean. (1)(2) 

So it’s wise to wait at least 4-6 months before dieting again. 

But really, the minimum amount of time you should spend between phases of getting this lean is a year. 

As Peter mentioned, individuals who are always spending a good majority of the year dieting will never be fueling their bodies well enough to add lean muscle, and thus will likely bring the exact same physique to the table year after year. 

To see solid improvements from one show to the next, individuals should only diet to a stage ready level of leanness (keep in mind, this is much leaner/harder to come back from than getting “lifestyle lean” for the summer) every few years.

3. You should be sure you can truly adhere to the diet. 

Some past experience with fat loss, and knowing that you're able to be consistent/stick to a diet structure is very helpful.

Here's what we assess with online clients before (potentially) starting a diet:

DETERMINING HOW MUCH WEIGHT YOU NEED TO LOSE

IF YOU'VE ALREADY BEEN STAGE LEAN IN THE PAST - You'll already have a decent idea of how much you need to weigh to once again be shredded. Intermediate and beyond natural trainees can’t expect to gain much more than 5-6 lbs of muscle per year (this is not counting time spent dieting), weight at any given body fat won’t have shifted too much. 

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN STAGE LEAN BEFORE - For someone who hasn’t gotten this lean before, more flexibility is important. 

Peter prefers clients to pencil in multiple different show dates over the span of a few months, so that the client can still bring their best physique to the stage, whether they’re ready early or late.  

Ideally, you’ll start your diet with more weeks than estimated pounds to lose  

For example, if you estimate you have 15 lbs to lose, you’d want a longer diet timeline than 12 weeks. 

This is a very similar approach to what we use with online clients prepping for photoshoots - we want to make sure you have plenty of time to take a diet break if needed, and not feel rushed into the shoot if you’re progressing slower. Worst case, you’re ready early and reverse dieting into the shoot  

IS THERE A LIMIT TO HOW MUCH WEIGHT YOU SHOULD LOSE IN A SINGLE DIET PHASE?

Peter prefers to break the diet up into two separate diet phases (with a 4-6 week maintenance phase in-between) if someone has a lot of weight to lose. 

For example, someone 35 lbs away from their goal weight might lose the first 20 lbs, take a 4 week diet break, and then push to lose the last 15 lbs.  

But like all things within coaching… it depends. To quote him: 

“I generally don’t like to stop something that’s going well.” 

Meaning that if the diet is going smoothly, the clients biofeedback and training is good, and weight is dropping at an acceptable rate, there’s really no reason to stop the diet after an arbitrary number of weeks or pounds lost. 

HOW FAST SHOULD YOU LOSE? (DETERMINING TARGET RATE OF LOSS)

For most .5-1% of body weight lost per week is a smart recommendation. 

Peter was actually one of the researchers in “the literature” I’ve referenced on this blog in the past:

Basically, you want to determine your target rate of loss based on the .5-1% of body weight lost per week recommendation... 

→ For most men, this is ~1-2 lbs per week 

→ For most women, this is .5-1.5 lbs per week.  

...and then adjust your macro intake until you're falling in line with the desired rate of loss.

DO WOMEN NEED TO DIET LONGER THAN MEN?

One interesting variable that came up in this conversation (and one we discuss constantly with female coaching clients), is how the menstrual cycle impacts weight loss. 

If you have one week per month (around your period) where weight actually increases during your diet, that’s 25% of every month where we don’t know whether you’re actually losing fat or not. 

Cycle related water retention could be masking weight loss… or hiding the fact that weight isn’t changing. We don’t know for sure. 

But because of this, it does often make sense to set slightly longer diet timelines for women, as we leave a bit more room to make up for the uncertainty here.

TROUBLESHOOTING FAT LOSS STALLS

Most everyone knows how to set fat loss macros.

Few people know how to adjust when fat loss stalls.

When a client is eating macros that should be creating fat loss but aren't, it’s smart to dig into food logs and determine if there’s anywhere measurement error could be sneaking in. 

This is something we proactively address by requiring new clients to pre-plan their food diaries for the next day and send them to us nightly. 

This way, we can filter through for any potential sources of measurement error, missing nutrients, tweaks that could help reduce hunger or increase training performance, and ensure the client knows exactly what they need to do to be compliant. 

This is also (part of) why we have clients track hunger. Normally, when someone starts tracking food less accurately (thus it appears they aren’t eating much, but still not losing), the increase in untracked food will also lead to a decrease in hunger on the client’s daily metric tracker. 

Accounting for daily movement is also very important. 

One of your body’s primary defense mechanisms against getting super lean is a subconscious reduction in Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (N.E.A.T.) - you fidget, pace, blink, etc. less, and make decisions like… 

“Ehh, I’ll wait a few more days before walking to the mailbox to check the mail.” 

...without realizing that this is your body’s way of keeping you from burning precious calories. 

So of course this reduction in daily calories burned can slow (or stop) fat loss. 

Generally, the best way we’ve found to somewhat negate this is to give clients a step goal - somewhere between 8-12k is realistic for most. Past this (unless the client naturally moves a lot due to career or lifestyle), the time investment for adding more steps is so large that it makes more sense for most to just decrease calories or add traditional cardio instead.

HOW TO MAKE CALORIE ADJUSTMENTS

First, realize that once you've successfully created fat loss, it typically doesn’t take more than a 50-100 calorie per day / 350-700 calorie per week decrease to get fat loss to resume again when faced with a stall.

But really, I'd highly recommend working through the decision making process we use with online clients before adjusting macros:

[*To learn more about how we apply this system to online clients in a fat loss phase, check out our blog on How To Fix Stalled Fat Loss.]

When determining which macros these calories come from, here are the guidelines we use with our online clients: 

→ We want protein to be at a minimum of 1g/lb body weight daily

→ Ideally, fat will be at a minimum of .3g/lb body weight daily (although sometimes in situations like a show prep, clients will have to drop below this for a short period of time). 

→ From there, carbs will typically be as high as possible within your calorie limits. 

So when decreasing, we'll typically be able to pull relatively evenly from carbs and fat the first half of a fat loss phase. Deeper into the cut (as fat is usually near the .3g/lb mark), we'll typically pull more from carbs.

HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU NEED A DIET BREAK

First, do you actually have time to take a diet break? 

While often helpful psychologically, some recent research on shorter (one week) diet breaks does seem to indicate that they’re not a must for muscle or metabolic rate retention. (4)

SO....

→ Have more weeks left in the diet than pounds to lose? You’re probably ok to work a diet break in if needed.

If your macro adherence is slipping, a diet break can be a good idea. Issues like this can very commonly cause plateaus, and of course when the issue is sticking to the diet, decreasing calories doesn’t help.  

Plus, one week diet breaks do seem to decrease hunger and improve mood, which can really help client adherence coming back to the diet:

→ Have less or the same number of weeks left in the diet as pounds to lose? Likely safest to stay in the deficit. 

→ Things going smoothly and you’re losing consistently? There’s no need to interrupt your diet momentum by inserting a diet break.

[*Check out our Complete Guide To Diet Breaks blog to learn more about the best methods to use here.]

WHEN TO ADD CARDIO VS. DECREASE CALORIES

One of the thing I gathered from the conversation with Peter was that he prefers to keep cardio to the minimum effective dose with clients (as do we with our online clients).

He laid out your fat loss priorities as:

1. Food

2. Daily Activity

3. Actual Cardio

For most, it just makes sense to decrease food intake first. Dropping food intake by a mere 15 grams of carbs (a.k.a. not much) and get fat loss to resume again. 

To create a similar effect by increasing movement...

→ Adding ~1-2k steps per day is pretty manageable for most (to an extent), but will be more time consuming. 

→ Moderate to high-intensity cardio is extremely taxing on your already exhausted body. 

When reducing food, you just have to eat less... adding cardio means adding time to a clients already full plate.

That said, many people pushing to extreme levels of leanness will find that adding some traditional cardio is necessary to increase calories burned. 

In this case, low-intensity steady state (LISS) makes the most sense, as it won’t actively hurt your ability to recover like higher intensity modalities would. 

This could be as simple as adding two sessions of incline treadmill walking per week, 30 minutes at a heart rate of 120-140 beats per minute. 

SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS WHEN LOSING THE LAST FEW POUNDS

Truly getting to a bodybuilding show level of lean is far from a “healthy” thing for your body to go through. 

Many of your hormones are tied to the amount of fat your body has. And before hopping on stage (if you’re in a good condition to do so), you just don’t have enough fat on your body to produce optimal hormones. Your body is shunting the scarce amount of energy available to your most vital functions. 

So it’s important to understand that there’s a clear difference between getting sustainably lean and uncovering your abs vs. getting absolutely peeled for a bodybuilding show. 

Being this lean is very hard on your body, and isn’t something you should try to maintain for more than 2-3 months at most. You'll eventually need to gain fat back to return to a healthy place. 

REVERSE DIETING AFTER GETTING STAGE LEAN

Again, if you’ve gotten stage lean, you need to gain some fat back to restore health. (Individuals who have dieted but didn’t get super lean don’t need to be too concerned with reverse dieting.) 

Peter likes to see clients gain 1-2 lbs per week for the first (typically) 6-8 weeks post show, until biofeedback starts to return to normal levels.

From there, rate of gain slows dramatically (.2-.5% of body weight per week) so that you don’t have to diet again soon in the future. 

There’s no point in trying to stay stage lean post-show. No matter how high you reverse diet, you’ll feel like awful (and won’t be able to add muscle/improve your physique) until you add some fat. 

So aiming for at least a 100-200 calories over your current predicted maintenance is a good place to start. From there, increase or decrease calories as needed to hit the target rate of gain. 

And that’s how to apply the art of coaching + the science of nutrition to get bodybuilding stage lean. 

Check out Peter Fitschen’s content:

→ Website: https://fitbodyphysique.com/ 

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitbodyphysique/?hl=en

→ Book: https://www.amazon.com/Bodybuilding-Complete-Contest-Preparation-Handbook/dp/1492571334

These are the same science-backed strategies we implement with our online clients undergoing the physique transformation process. 

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.

Many people feel like they're absolutely crushing themselves in the gym, severely restricting calories, and still are not seeing the results.

In fact, often individuals like this seem to be losing progress. 

If this sounds like you, LEAST MODE might be the answer.

In the video below, Luke Leaman and I talk his "least mode" concept, and why it's likely the key ingredient most people are missing for much better health and aesthetics ↴

WHAT IS "LEAST MODE"?

[*Below are a few of my main takeaways from chatting with Luke, and I want to make sure he receives the credit for the points here - they're the concepts he's come up with. This blog is a lot of his thoughts/words from the interview, along with some of my interpretations of the thoughts and guidelines he shared.]

The common problem for individuals who are working very hard... but still aren't seeing results? 

Often, they've run themselves into the ground with insanely high amounts of training volume and high-intensity cardio, paired with extremely low calories.

This is especially prevalent in the world of female bikini competitors, where many women are struggling with health issues like hair falling out, brittle nails, etc... only to see massive rebounds in weight after their shows.

The problem here: 

These individuals are focusing too much on anaerobic work (think: short, high effort bouts of lifting or cardio) and constantly putting their bodies in a sympathetic state, and not nearly enough on aerobic work (think: lower-intensity, steady state work) and spending more time in a parasympathetic state.

Too much time in a sympathetic state can come from chronic training stress or chronic mental stress.

And while neither sympathetic or parasympathetic states are "bad", spending too much time with one elevated far above the other will slow results (either due to lack of recovery, or lack of sufficient stimulus to drive new adaptations).

HOW TO KNOW WHEN YOU NEED LEAST MODE

Luke and his team use a few metrics to determine whether clients are ready for or hard push, or need some time in least mode...

METRICS:

1. RESTING HEART RATE: Client probably needs least mode if resting heart rate is over 62 beats per minute.

2. BLOOD PRESSURE: Client probably needs least mode if above 120/80.

3. BODY TEMPERATURE (used less frequently): Aiming for 36.8 °C +/- .2 °C

4. VO2MAX (used less frequently): Client probably needs least mode if below 50.

An example Luke used:

If you have high blood pressure, the last thing you need to do is go do heavy squats or assault bike sprints.

When you brace for a heavy squat while blood pressure is high, it will cause blood pressure to skyrocket, which can cause damage to the endothelial lining (a thin membrane that lines the inside of the heart and blood vessels) in your vascular system, because your vascular system won't dilate. 

This in turn ca make your heart more muscular, but less efficient because it's not pushing as much blood, which can push you closer to developing cardiovascular issues. 

So the first priority/the goal of least mode is "fixing bad metrics" (a.k.a. improving health by reducing training volume, building up an aerobic base, and increasing food), because this will allow you to get more out of your future training...

→ You'll recover better

→ Sleep better

→ Absorb nutrients better

→ Need less downtime between sets in your training, and likely be able to lift a heavier load longer   

...all of which will enhance your progress.  

That's why someone would initially start with "least mode", transition to harder training after Improving their metrics, and eventually transition back to least mode when metrics start to deteriorate (it's somewhat similar to an autoregulated deload). 

Basically, you push yourself hard for (typically) 5-10 weeks, before their metrics start to deteriorate, at which point you return to least mode, where you'll be:

→ Dropping training volume

→ Adding food (likely eating at maintenance)

→ Building your aerobic base

PROGRAMMING FOR LEAST MODE

The approach Luke described for a new client entering least mode...

PHASE 1: Structural Backloading

This is composed of:

1. Stretching and weighted mobility to start the training session

2. Strength work to end the session

The goal here is essentially to find the areas where the client is especially tight that are hindering said client from full range of motion lifting, and working through the issue to set the client up for better future training and gains.

Example: 

If you have a lot of tension in through your quad down to your knee, this will be suboptimal for squatting, because you knee won't be able to move optimally during the squat.

If you're too tight to get your body into a squat (or any position), your body will compensate by moving/destabilizing areas it shouldn't to achieve the range of motion you're pushing it through (I.e. lower back rounding while squatting). 

So the common process here would look something like:

1. Start with PNF stretching and/or static stretching to shut off the stretch reflex.

2. Follow this with isometric work.

3, Then weighted mobility (i.e. bulgarian split squat) movement to teach the brain to move through that new range of motion, and this is a safe range of motion to be in. 

Once clients have reaped the benefits of structural backloading, they're moved to...

PHASE 2: Structural frontloading 

Basically, strength work first, followed by accessory work and some mobility work.

Eventually, all of the mobility and stretching work isn't needed, but is simply maintained with full range of motion strength training through variations of squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull.

[*I think it's also important to point out that the structural backloading phase doesn't seem to be one that's necessary for those that can already train through a full range of motion on variations of squat, hinge, lunge, push, pull - rather, it's more geared towards those who struggle to move well through a standard range of motion.]

BUILDING AN AEROBIC BASE

Initially, more aerobic work is better in least mode.

To be clear, we're talking about relatively "easy" aerobic work here - meaning work that's done at a sustainable (but usually still a bit challenging) pace - NOT all out sprints on the assault bike. 

But optimal isn't always practical.

OPTIMAL: Incline treadmill walk daily. 60-90 mins at heart rate of 130-140BPM

PRACTICAL: 30 mins per day at at heart rate of 130-140BPM. 

IF LIMITED ON TIME: You can do more intense aerobic intervals, while still staying within your aerobic system's limits (I.e. 2-4 min run, walk until HR is 120-130). Since these are more intense, less volume is needed, so you can typically get away with 2-4 sessions per week. 

Aerobic work helps your gains.

The more "aerobic reserve" you have, the more reps you can do without hitting "lactate tolerance" or lactate threshold - if you're trying for a set of 12 back squats, and your legs are on fire by the 5th rep, your "lactate threshold" is poor.

→ If you brought your aerobic ceiling up (and lactate ceiling along with it), you'd actually be able to do more weight for those 12 reps, and thus get more muscle building stimulus from said reps.

→ Plus, a stronger aerobic system allows for quicker recovery between sets and between training days - So you're able to lift more weight, and recover quicker between training sessions.

→ Finally, when you get aerobically fit, you carry more red blood cells, which in turn means you oxidize carbs and fat better, which means you can eat more food and grow quicker if you have a decent aerobic base. 

After your initial least mode phase (when you shift to a more specific style of training for your goals), you might not even need to do any aerobic work to maintain these your improved metrics for a good amount of time. But once you start seeing metrics consistently deteriorate for a week+, it's like time to take 1-2 weeks to go back to a "least mode" style of training.

NUTRITION FOR LEAST MODE

A few of Luke's insights here:

1. If you're insulin resistant, the research seems to show you'll do better on a lower carb diet

2. If you're insulin sensitive, you're likely better to start off with a higher carb approach. 

Luke's approach is to start individuals with a Iarge amount of body fat to lose off on a lower carb approach initially (outside of those who have sport-specific goals), for it's potential benefits for lowering blood pressure, lowering systemic inflammation, and making individuals more fat-adapted/metabolically flexible.

From there, high protein is high (because it's so satiating), along with lots of veggies.

As a whole this is usually a more aggressive approach to dieting for those that have a lot to lose, because there are two places you get energy from...

1. Exogenous food (food you're eating) 

2. Endogenous food (food that couldn't be used at the time, and was stored as fat) 

So it makes sense to be more aggressive when people aren't as lean, as there is plenty of endogenous food for your body to use for energy. 

When you've burned off a lot of fat and your body starts to slow the process, then it makes sense to ramp up food a bit more (typically around 25-27% body fat for women, 17-18% men).

As individuals get leaner, they use a "reverse dieting" type approach to slowly add in more carbs as they're needed as you get leaner.

The thing to realize here is, this isn't a single approach that's followed forever, but rather a phase that should be fit to what will allow the client to see quickest results. 

It's the idea of nutrition periodization.

But it's important to understand that you don't have to go low-carb (nor would it be a good fit for most of the intermediate-advanced reader of this blog who are already relatively lean). Follow the method that you can stick to over the course of the diet.

Check out Luke Leaman's Content: 

→ Website/program design & nutrition courses: https://musclenerds.net/

→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musclenerds_health/?hl=en

If you're ready to stop collecting information and start transforming your body, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.     

We apply proven, science-backed nutrition & training methods through individualized coaching to help you get the body you want, and teach you on how to keep it for a lifetime.

One of the biggest result-killing mistakes most people trying to get shredded for summer will make? 

Doing random things in the gym simply because they "feel hard", just hoping it'll lead to results. 

This is especially true when it comes to cardio, as very few people have any understanding of the energy systems, or even think about the specific outcomes they want to achieve from doing a specific type of cardio.  

(This is also true when it comes to resistance training, but read our Hypertrophy Guide for more on that.) 

So today, we’re taking a deep dive into the how to program smarter, more effective cardio. Whether your goal is fat loss, performance, or general conditioning, the knowledge in this blog will level up your results.

WHY DOES CARDIO BURN CALORIES?

Everything you do eventually comes back to your body’s ability to produce energy.

→ Want greater power output in the gym? That requires more energy.

→ Walking though the store? Requires your body to produce energy. 

→ Even the “stress response”  to a mental stressor causes energy to be mobilized (and then sometimes re-stored).

You get the idea. 

Every action we take requires our body to first create energy for said actions.

Basically, your body uses the food you take in, and converts it to ATP, which is your body's "energy currency". 

Without adequate levels of this energy currency, we won't be able to perform as desired. So ATP is constantly being created by the energy systems.

WHAT ARE THE ENERGY SYSTEMS?

Your body can produce energy (ATP) in two different ways: 

1: AEROBICALLY (meaning with oxygen): Using your Aerobic Energy System 

2: ANAEROBICALLY (meaning without oxygen): Using your Anaerobic Energy System(s).

Each energy system has a different capacity and duration that it can continue to produce energy. As a result of this, each energy system also relies on different fuel source.

So, your energy systems essentially provide the fuel for different activities - be it an explosive round of squats, or a slow walk on an incline treadmill.  

Now, you've probably noticed that your ability to exert yourself strenuously fades rather quickly. This is (partially) because there is a trade-off between how fast your body can produce energy, and the level of power output that can be maintained.

The longer the duration of an activity, the lower the amount of power you'll be able to output will be (to an extent), because your energy systems can't keep up with the ATP production demands required to keep power high.

All three of these energy systems are always working, but the primary system at work will depend on the power output & duration of an activity.

Now, let's dig into the science behind how (and why) to program for each energy system, depending if your goal is fat loss, performance, or conditioning.

THE AEROBIC SYSTEM

As you can see from the graphic above, your aerobic system provides the majority of the energy for anything longer than 60 seconds. 

Really, your aerobic system is crazy important. It's responsible for creating the ATP necessary to fuel the majority of your life. The aerobic system is the most important energy system for you (or your clients) to develop. 

Because your aerobic system plays such a key role in... well, keeping you alive... it's very adaptable, and can break down many different macros as fuel sources... 

→ Carbs

→ Fats

→ Protein 

...can all be converted to ATP by your aerobic system.

This system has a very large energy supply available, and thus is capable of producing ATP to fuel hours of work at a sustainable pace. 

But as we discussed earlier, the fact that the aerobic system can generate fuel for such long periods of time also means that it has the lowest level of power output of all of the energy systems. 

Your aerobic system is also what drives recovery from anaerobic bouts... meaning that your aerobic system is what helps you recover between short, intense bouts of effort (e.g. a max effort set of squats). 

This means having higher levels of aerobic fitness means you'll be able to recover faster between short periods of intense effort. 

So while the common thinking is...

"Cardio kills your gainz breh!"

The reality is, a strong aerobic system will allow you to recover quicker and more fully between sets in the gym, meaning you'll be able to put forth a better effort (and build more muscle) during each set. 

Having a higher level of aerobic fitness also allows your autonomic nervous system to get back into a parasympathetic (a.k.a rest and digest) state quicker after training - translating to better recovery and more progress.

Why everyone can benefit from aerobic training:

→ It develops your cardiovascular system, decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease. Ditto for high blood pressure. 

→ Your heart is also better able to deliver oxygen to muscles during training. 

→ Your body is better able to move more blood, quicker throughout the body, keeping cells and tissues healthier. Just like any muscle, the heart actually grows bigger to support improved functioning.  

→ In the context of programming cardio for muscle gain/performance: it can indirectly leads to better recovery, and more lean muscle from your resistance training. 

→ In the context of programming cardio for fat loss: aerobic work generally makes the most sense. It actually improves your recovery & your body's ability to manage stress during a time when "recovery resources" are already limited... whereas programming more intense modalities of cardio can create more stress that your body must spend it's limited recovery resources on.

AEROBIC SYSTEM SUMMARY

To summarize:  

1. Your aerobic system is the primary energy system creating ATP for longer duration activities, done at a sustainable pace.

2. Your aerobic system uses a variety of fuels - carbs, fats, and (if needed) protein + oxygen to generate ATP.

3. Your aerobic system is the most important energy system. Everyone can benefit from training it.

AEROBIC SYSTEMS TRAINING FOR FAT LOSS/CONDITIONING

When programming aerobic work, we can use two different styles of training: 

1. Cyclical 

2. Mixed-Modal

CYCLICAL TRAINING: Here, we're programming a single movement/piece of equipment - rower, airbike, sled drag, jogging, etc. 

→ When programming aerobic work, the goal is working at a sustainable pace, and maintaining performance across sets and weeks. 

→ We usually progress this across weeks by adding time/distance to the work sets. 

For example, a cyclical aerobic progression could look something like: 

Rowing Machine

● Week 1: 5x1000 @ 2:00/500m pace (2 mins rest)

● Week 2: 5x1200m @ 2:00/500m pace (2 mins rest)

● Week 3: 4x1500m @ 2:00/500m pace (2 mins rest)

● Week 4: 3x2000m @ 2:00/500m pace (2 mins rest) 

The total distance stays nearly the same across weeks. Our primary means of progression here is increasing the distance per set, while maintaining the same pace.

MIXED MODAL TRAINING: This is generally a circuit style of training, involving multiple exercises and modalities. 

This is one of my favorite ways to program finishers, as we can often kill two birds with one stone:

1. Getting clients more core work, upper back work, unilateral work, etc.

2. Improving their aerobic system and increasing fat loss at the same time. 

For example, a mixed modal aerobic progression could look something like: 

AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) 

● Week 1: 5 mins of - Rowing Machine x10 Cals / Push-Up x10-20 / Farmer's Walk x50m 

● Week 2: 6 mins of - Rowing Machine x10 Cals / Push-Up x10-20 / Farmer's Walk x50m

● Week 3: 7 mins of - Rowing Machine x10 Cals / Push-Up x10-20 / Farmer's Walk x50m

● Week 4: 8 mins of - Rowing Machine x10 Cals / Push-Up x10-20 / Farmer's Walk x50m  

With our goal being to sustain pace as total time/distance increases, we should be adding sets weekly here.

THE ANAEROBIC-LACTIC SYSTEM

The lactic system helps provide energy for activity up to about 30-40 seconds in duration. 

When you're burning through ATP faster than your aerobic system can handle, your body starts using lactate as a fuel to start converting glucose into ATP. 

We don't need to get into the specifics of anaerobic metabolism here. You just need to know that lactate + glucose = quicker ATP production/the ability to produce more force. 

Unlike with the aerobic system, oxygen is not being used here.

Glucose is the primary fuel source for the lactic system, which is why our ability to produce power often suffers on a low carb diet. 

This is also why I generally prefer a higher carb nutrition approach for online clients looking to build maximal lean muscle, or optimize performance.

Why not everyone needs to (or should) do much lactic system specific conditioning:

→ Anaerobic-lactic training creates a huge amount of stress on the system, and pushes the nervous system into "fight-or-flight" mode. While not always a bad thing (the formula for growth is stress + recovery = adaptation), implementing too much anaerobic-lactic work has the ability to leave you feeling absolutely smashed, and slow recovery. 

→ For clients who's goals are simply to look good & be healthy, this style of training often isn't needed.  

→ In the context of programming cardio for fat loss, although it does allow for less time spent for calorie burned, we have to carefully consider the huge amount of stress we're adding to our clients "recovery debt". If we're simply looking to burn more calories, less stressful modalities of cardio make sense.

→ In the context of programming cardio for muscle gain/performance, for clients that need to be able to produce high levels of force for relatively short durations (e.g. CrossFitters), this style of training is helpful.

ANAEROBIC-LACTIC SYSTEM SUMMARY

To summarize:

1. Your lactic system provides energy for shorter, unsustainable bursts of effort (usually up to 40 seconds). 

2. Glucose is the primary fuel source here, oxygen is not being utilized.

ANAEROBIC-LACTIC SYSTEM TRAINING FOR PERFORMANCE & CONDITIONING

Training the lactic system should feel brutal. That's why OPEX nicknamed this energy system's training method "Pain" after all. 

→ The effort/power output in a set should be high and unsustainable for more than 40-60 sec, but you do want to be able to achieve a similar level of power output across all of our sets for the day. 

→ So don't completely destroy yourself on the first few sets, because power output will fall off by a large amount during the later half of the training session. 

For example, a lactic training progression could look like: 

Assault Bike

● Week 1: 20 sec near all-out every 3.5 mins x 6

● Week 2: 25 seconds near all out every 4 minutes x 5

● Week 3: 30 seconds near all out every 5 minutes x 4

● Week 4: 45 seconds near all out every 6 minutes x 2 

Set duration across weeks increases, but total number of sets decreases. 

Again, we should see similar power output, RPM, calories burned, etc. across the course of sets. 

A big drop off in performance from the first set to the last set in the training day indicates that you're going too hard in the early sets, and won't acquire the adaptations we're chasing here.

THE ANAEROBIC-ALACTIC SYSTEM

Your alactic system is the most powerful of the three energy systems, but also has the shortest duration, typically lasting 10-20 seconds. 

The alactic system is able to produce lots of power, quickly, because the pathway to convert phosphocreatine (the fuel source of the alactic system) is much simpler than the chemical process for creating ATP with the other two energy systems. (This is also why supplementing with creatine is helpful - it gives this energy system more fuel.) 

Problem is, the alactic system is not as adaptable as the other two systems when it comes to fuel sources, and our supplies of phosphocreatine are drained quickly.

Similar to the lactic system, oxygen is not being utilized to create energy here.  

You use this energy system often when lifting weights. 

Why everyone can benefit from some alactic training: 

→ In its most commonly programmed form, alactic training is lifting weights. As a reader of this blog, I doubt I even need to tell you the many benefits of lifting weights. Things like better nutrient partitioning, a higher your metabolic rate, functional strength, healthy tendons, increases bone density, and aesthetics. 

→ In the context of programming cardio for fat loss, this style of training doesn't make much sense. A smart resistance training program is a huge part of building a great physique, but cardio-specific alactic programming involves very short bouts, in a relatively low volume. 

→ More advanced clients can also benefit from explosive alactic training outside of just lifting weights (e.g. short, all-out assault bike sprints or sled pushes).

ANAEROBIC-ALACTIC SYSTEM SUMMARY

To summarize:

1. This is the most powerful energy system, but it's limited to very short durations.

2. Phosphocreatine is the primary fuel source here.

ANAEROBIC-ALACTIC SYSTEM TRAINING FOR PERFORMANCE

Again, this most often takes the form of well programmed resistance training.  

That said, we can also program things like assault bike sprints, sled push, kettlebell swings, squat jumps, etc. here. 

→ Generally for a work period of 8-15 seconds, followed by 1-3 minutes rest. 

For example, an alactic training progression could look like: 

Sled Sprints

● Week 1: 8 sec all out x 12. 90 sec rest.

● Week 2: 10 sec all out x 10. 90 sec rest.

● Week 3: 12 sec all out x 8. 2 min rest.

● Week 4: 15 sec all out x6. 2.5 min rest.

And that's how to start programming smarter, more effective cardio; whether your goal is fat loss, conditioning, or performance.

These are the same science-backed strategies we implement with our online clients undergoing the physique transformation process.  

If you're ready to be coached 1-1 by our team to your best physique ever, click here now to apply for online coaching with our team.