Articles

Most of you probably scoffed at the title and thought the term obsessed was reserved for more destructive behavior. Tracking devices, like a Fitbit or a food scale? No way that could be a problem. But like everything in life, even good behaviors can have negative consequences when taken to the extreme…

More often than not, the new year comes with a lot of lifestyle changes. Alongside this, however, comes those individuals who simply do not know where to start. This is a common obstacle and in order to help kick off the new year on the right foot (or to help those in your life who are looking to do so!), I’ve compiled a list of simple, yet effective habit changes that everyone should master when looking to make bigger changes over time.

Reading and listening to audiobooks is an accessible way to keep learning and enriching your mind no matter what your formal education status may be. So, whether you are looking to read more in the new year or just get some new ideas for reading materials, here are our coaches’ top recommendations for books that will grow your brain in 2021!

Are you ready to start a fat loss phase? Before jumping into this question, it is best to analyze how you spent your time before the fat loss phase. After you’ve checked all the boxes on the topics we discussed in the last article, the most important thing to consider is whether or not you are mentally ready to commit to this challenge.

The million dollar question that we get all the time as coaches is “how do I know when I have reverse dieted long enough?” Reverse dieting and time away from a caloric deficit is essential for building muscle mass and maintaining a body composition you feel comfortable in all year long. How you spend your time away from a diet, can also be a major factor in how successful your next fat loss phase or contest prep is!

Food focus shows up in day to day life for many people, especially those with a history of dieting or restriction. A lot of these thought patterns are conditioned in us and happen without us even knowing. While there are no “one size fits all” fixes here, there are some things you can do to ease these thoughts in the moment and prevent them from coming up in the future.

The interesting thing is, no matter the lifestyle you lead (whether or not you intentionally train, keep active, or work at making healthy lifestyle- or physique-related changes), NEAT will always be a large variable at play…

How many times have the weeks after Thanksgiving been a total blur and you realize you didn’t do anything productive the entire month of December? With all the holiday events and parties, family dinners and get togethers plus the extra days off work… it’s easy to not really take December seriously…

If you have to stop training at your current intensity, or even completely, know that muscle memory is a real thing. While we have known this for a while, there has been groundbreaking research in recent years showing genetic adaptations from training last even after a period of no training. This means your muscle mass will return much quicker once you start retraining than it did when you were initially building the muscle. While that alone is pretty cool, the research behind it is even cooler…

There’s a lot of hype around nutrient timing (for good reason), but a lot of focus is placed primarily around post-workout carbohydrates and the concept of replenishing glycogen stores. While I agree, pre- and post-workout nutrition is an essential part of maximizing our progress, there still seems to be some misunderstanding around glycogen replenishment and resistance training…