Category: Fitness

Fitness

The Next Chapter of My Fitness Journey

Miranda

Now that I’m done with bodybuilding competitions… What’s next?

Well as discussed in one of my earlier posts, fitness is made up of several components:

  • Body composition 5compnents
  • Cardiovascular endurance
  • Muscular strength
  • Muscular endurance
  • Flexibility

I have learned a lot about one of them – body composition.

Now it’s time to explore some of the other aspects of of fitness: flexibility and muscular strength.

So over the next weeks, as I go through a little detox from the bodybuilding diet, I will also sign up for yoga and dance classes to improve my flexibility.

Of course, there is always the need for some more explosive action, so in order to improve my muscular strength, I plan to begin crossfit and powerlifting training.

Yep, I am definitely ready to enjoy a more whole-food, plant based diet and a different challenge in the gym.

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But first, I will enjoy another week of rest and all sorts of healthy & unhealthy treats! Everybody deserves a break right?

WW

Fitness, lifestyle

The Pros & Cons of Competing in Bodybuilding

Miranda

Competing in bodybuilding, whichever category it is, has it’s positives and negatives.

Of course the further up the ranks you go, the harder it gets but the rewards get bigger too!

For those of you not familiar with the world of bodybuilding, here’s an example of the categories you usually find in competitions (yes it’s not all about the big boys!):

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As you can see there are varying degrees of muscle mass in each category. Yet each one has to work extremely hard both in the gym and in the kitchen! Growing muscle, no matter how big or small requires a strict diet and consistent training.

So let’s take a look at what you stand to gain, should you choose to enter a bodybuilding competition:

  • You will learn a lot about your body, how it reacts to certain foods and styles of training. This knowledge can easily be transferred to a lifelong healthy lifestyle, minus the extremities of competing. You will know which foods affect you negatively and how to manipulate your training to maintain your shape and still enjoy a few treats.
  • You will push yourself mentally and physically. Following a strenuous training routine for 3-6 months before a competition will challenge you a lot. You will discover your limits and try to push past them. You will learn what your strengths and weaknesses are and you will work on them.
  • Your confidence will get a major boost. Who knows, you may even start liking what you see in the mirror!
  • You will meet new people, go to new places and have new experiences. All of these will help you grow as a person and develop a different perspective in life.
  • And finally a bit of a controversial one: you may discover who your true friends are. Committing to a competition means committing a significant chunk of your life towards achieving a fitness goal. Your new lifestyle may no longer fit with that of your current social circle. Will your friends understand and accommodate your needs (and may be even try new things together with you!) or will they avoid you and mock you?

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But all these good things don’t come without a price… literally:

  • It is an expensive sport. Every competition comes with a hefty bill and your new-found fitness lifestyle can significantly bump up your monthly expenses. Also, you can easily get sucked into the false need for new things: you’ll think you need more / new supplements, clothes, protein shakers, etc… The only way to manage this is to reallocate money from other parts of your life (e.g. eat more homemade meals instead of eating out, travel less, and by reconsidering other unnecessary expenses).
  • It can be damaging to your physical health. Ironically, the sport that should showcase the ultimate health & fitness can have detrimental effects to your health if not done properly or if done for a very long period of time. Staying at a very low body fat is unnatural and can unlock a chain of health problems, especially when it comes to hormones. Ignoring cravings and following a cheat meal protocol encourages binge eating a lot of junk food (which you would normally not do if you allow yourself treats on a regular basis). The “muscle building diet” is an acidic diet high in animal products and artificial sweeteners (protein powders & bars) which can cause damage to the digestive system if not balanced out with healthy greens.
  • Your mental health can suffer too. Constantly restricting what foods go into your mouth can trigger many mental health problems such as depression, lethargy, eating disorders, self-hate  and guilt, food phobia (or rather should I say fear of gaining weight and fat from eating), and so on. On the other hand, not everyone is good at being disciplined and committed. If that is not your cup of tea, then the journey to a competition will stir up some negative emotions in you. Self-blame and not feeling good enough are just a few examples. It can get boring at times or you may develop a fear of missing out on your social life… yep the issues are many!
  • The bodybuilding lifestyle is not a sustainable lifestyle. You can’t train and lift heavy weights forever. You can’t deprive your body of carbs forever. You can’t deny your mind delicious treats. An injury or a health problem can easily put you out of the gym and may be even leave you unable to eat the necessary proteins to sustain your muscles. Therefore, it is important to follow a lifestyle and diet that you can sustain as you progress through life. A wide variety of healthy foods and moderate, enjoyable exercise will keep you going for a long time.

So is it good or bad? It depends on every individual. The way I see it is that competing once or twice is a good way to kickstart your journey into health and fitness. After that, it’s upto you to find your true fitness passion!

Fitness, Motivation

What to Pack When Travelling to a Competition

Miranda

It’s time! I’m flying tomorrow, but had already started packing my bags last weekend 🙂

Further to my last post on 3 things to think about when travelling to a competition, here is a list of important bits you’ll need to take with you for your next comp 😉

1. Important documents

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Of course, you need your passport, but also your competition entry documents and information – having it printed is always easier to access when you need it!

2. The travel outfit

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Choose comfy, loose clothes for your trip and the day before the competition. Even if the weather may seem ok, you are likely to feel colder than usual due to fatigue and low body fat so make sure to take something to keep you warm if needed.

3. The tanning outfit

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A loose, long dress is ideal for tanning, just make sure it is either old or cheap as it will get stained. Flip flops and hair bands are also a must during the tanning process.

4. The backstage kit

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Once you are tanned and in your bikini, it is easier to put on a robe backstage. Also don’t forget to take something with you to help you pump your muscles and warm up before stepping on stage.

5. The stage outfit

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This is probably the first thing you will need to pack and the most important! Your bikini, jewellery and stage shoes should not be forgotten. If possible, bring spares for each as anything can happen at the last minute!

6. And a few beauty items

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Just a few extras that can save you money – body scrub (instead of doing a scrub treatment) and eyelashes if you fancy those (instead of buying fromt he make up artist).
Fitness

Forget Crunches, This is How You Get a Thinner Waist

Miranda

By Adrianna McDonald

A small, thin waistline is every girl’s dream. We are all born with different genetics and some are blessed more than others. What most women don’t realize is that traditional crunches and common abdominal exercises can widen your waist instead of slimming it.

But there is a way to get a stronger core and a slimmer waistline. Although slightly controversial in the fitness community, stomach vacuuming or hollowing and abdominal bracing techniques can help you achieve your perfect midsection. 

So, what exactly is “stomach vacuuming” and how do you do it? No, it does not involve going to the hospital to get your insides cleaned up! Popularized by physique, fitness & bikini competitors, this technique focuses on strengthening/tightening your core muscles through simple breathing exercises 🙂

There are 6 abdominal muscles and I’m not talking about the famous 6-pack here.

The stomach vacuum exercise targets the deep muscle Transversus abdominis (TVA), which is situated underneath your “six pack”- rectus abdominis.  

Both muscles are part of the “corset” that keeps your waist tight. When the TVA is strengthened the inner corset gets tighter.

The stomach vacuum is a gentle breathing exercise which involves isometric contraction targeting the TVA. The benefit goes further than a slim waistline – it will also stabilize the spine, preventing lower back pain and improving your posture.

It’s best to perform this exercise upon awaking while your stomach is still empty and your mid section is flatter. Doing this first thing in the morning will help you make it a habit.

It also can be done few times a day anywhere. So let’s see how it’s done…

There are 5 levels of progression:

1.Supine

This is the easiest version. Here is what to do:

  • Lay down on your back with your knees bent and feet flat.
  • Exhale all the  air from your lungs (and stomach).
  • Now pull your navel (belly button) as close to your spine as possible.
  • Start with 10-15 seconds on each repetition, aiming for 3 and building up to 5 reps. You can also work it up to 60 seconds over time.

2.Quadruped

This is bit more difficult than the supine version as gravity comes into play.

  • Get on your hands and knees with shoulders in line with your wrists, hips over the knees and neck in line with your spine.
  • Start with exhaling and pulling the navel in the same way as in the supine version.
  • Begin with 30 seconds per rep and work up to 60 seconds. Again aim for 3-5 reps.

 

3.Seated

With this version other spinal stabilizing muscles come into play.

  • Take a seat, keeping your back straight.
  • Exhale and pull in the navel.
  • Start with 3-5 reps of 60 seconds.
  • As you progress move on to unstable surfaces like a swiss ball.

4.Functional 

This version is your everyday concern. Pay attention to pulling your navel in , every time you sit down, throughout the entire day.

Difference is that  you’re holding your belly in (slightly contracting the TVA muscle) indefinitely, and breathing throughout the movement (with your chest, not your stomach). Be conscious not to allow the abdominal muscle to relax when seated or standing. Practicing it this way will become a second nature for you.

5. TVA & Rectus Abdominis co-contraction exercise: pull down crunch

This is to add in the intensity and functional carryover of vacuum exercises. To do this exercise you need to contract both the TVA and Rectus muscles at the same time. You will first exhale and tighten the navel (the vacuum exercise) and then you will do a crunch-like maneuver.

  • Set yourself in cable pull down position with a bar or rope high over your head.
  • Inhale and suck in tummy in and push your abs against your spine.
  • Exhale as you crunch down.

This version is perfect for those with a distended abdominal wall.

In a simpler version, you can just contract TVA by drawing in the navel and then crunch while exhaling.

The Bracing Technique

Finally, and arguably the best version of all of these is the bracing technique:

Think about what you would do if you were to prepare yourself for someone to punch you in the gut. You would immediately tense and stiffen your core to brace for the impact. This is exactly what abdominal bracing is, a term first coined by Dr. Stuart McGill of Canada, a leading expert in spine mechanics. – Breakingmuscle.com

Basically, with abdominal bracing you activate all of your core muscles from all sides & layers (deep, superficial, etc.) along with other connecting muscles in your back. Now, that should really make you sweat!

This technique is slightly harder and may not be applicable during posing on stage, however by making all of your core muscles stronger it will help improve your balance and flexibility.

All that said, make sure your diet is on point as without it no exercise will help.

Fitness

Workout of the Week: Legs

Miranda

Ah, the joy of training legs! Big muscles, big effort, big pain – yet big satisfaction! No other workout makes me feel better then getting through a leg session.

  1. Superset:
    1. Single leg lying hamstring curl – 4 sets x12 reps each leg; temp: 3secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 2secs pause (squeeze); rest 10 secs
    2. Lying hamstring curl – 4 sets x12 reps; tempo: 3secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 2secs pause (squeeze); rest 60 secs
  2. 45 degree leg press (low and close foot placement) – 4 sets x15 reps; tempo: 4secs down, 2secs pause (bottom position), 4secs up; rest 60
  3. Superset:
    1. Glute kickback machine – 3 sets x15 reps; tempo: 3secs up, 2 secs pause (squeeze), 3secs down, 1sec pause; rest 10 secs
    2. Back Extension (Glute/ Hamstring focus) – 3 sets x10 reps; 3secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 2secs pause (squeeze); rest 60; last set triple drop set till failure
Fitness

Workout of the Week: Triceps & Biceps

Miranda

Women shouldn’t workout arms? Said who? If you want to be in the best shape ever, you can’t leave a single body part behind!

 

  1. Single Arm Cable Tricep Extension – 3 sets x15 reps each arm; tempo: 3secs up (release), 1sec pause, explosive pull down, 2secs squeeze.
  2. Superset:
    1. Barbell Tricep Press – 4 sets x8-10 reps; tempo: 4secs down, 2secs pause, 4secs up, 1sec pause.
    2. Overhead Tricep Rope Extension – 4 sets x10-12 reps; tempo: 3secs down (release), 3secs pause at the bottom, explosive pull up, 1sec pause.
  3. Standing Rope Pulldown – 3 sets x15-20 reps; tempo: 2secs up (release), 1sec pause, 2secs down, 2secs squeeze.
  4. Machine Preacher Curl (last set is drop set) – 4 sets x15 reps; tempo: 3secs down (release), 1sec pause, explode up, 3secs (squeeze).
  5. Superset:
    1. Standing Hammer Curl – 3 sets x20 reps; tempo: 2secs up, 1sec pause, 2secs down, 1sec pause.
    2. Rope Bicep Curl with External Supination – 3 sets x8-10 reps; tempo: 3secs down (release), 1sec pause, explode up, 3secs squeeze.
Fitness, Motivation

Q&A: How Can I Get Leaner Thighs?

Miranda

It’s Thursday once again and time to answer another one of your questions 🙂

Question from @hana_mkb: How can I reduce the size of my thighs? I do follow a healthy diet + I walk every morning (brisk walking). I lost so much weight but my thighs are stubborn. What is the solution? And will having them for so many years will leave them loose and flabby after losing weight?

And this time the answer will be from Mark Doherty, personal trainer and performance nutritionist:

Hi there,

Thank you for your question. In my 20 years of working in the fitness industry this is one very common area I often get asked about from many females. Having stubborn fat can be very frustrating for anyone and it can be easy to blame genetics or hormones which may not be the case in most instances. It may merely be that the correct training and nutritional protocols are not being applied, and on a consistent basis for a long enough period of time.

So firstly let’s talk about training. The fastest way to change the shape of your body and boost your metabolic rate is to incorporate resistance training into your routine. Yes, that’s right it’s time to hit those weights, and I can promise you, you will not get bulky.

Let’s look at bikini competitors – it’s imperative that these ladies have nicely shaped legs and low body fat levels. They achieve this by training their legs anywhere from 1 to 3 times per week using resistance based movements. Exercises such as squats, leg presses, leg curls, stiff legged deadlift and lunges are crucial to this process.

If you are not currently doing this, it is really important you find a trainer that can take you through these exercises and help design a program catered towards your needs.

Secondly we need to ensure that your nutritional needs are being met to ensure fat loss and also to maintain lean muscle tissue. The most common error females make is dropping their calories way too low and doing way too much cardio.

My top tips for a fat loss diet are:

  • Create a calorie deficit (only a 5 to 10% deficit to start with)
  • Keep your protein consumption at 1gram of protein per pound of lean body mass
  • 90% of your diet should include one-ingredient, wholesome foods
  • Some people prefer carbohydrates and while others prefer fats. Find out what works best for you with the help of a certified nutritionist.
  • Ensure the plan is sustainable and fits into your lifestyle

One final point to take into consideration is that some females, even with the perfect diet and training program, may still struggle with fat loss in their leg/hip region. This may be due to an imbalance between estrogen and progesterone. In the past for these clients I have successfully used the supplement DIM (100mg per day). DIM has potent effects on estrogen metabolism and is able to keep the body’s estrogen levels relatively balanced.

I hope you found the above information helpful. Please feel free to contact us at Pinnacle Performance for a bespoke plan that is individualized to your needs.

Fitness

The Best Exercises to Activate Your Glutes

Miranda

By Adrianna McDonald

There is a misconception that squats are a girl’s best friend when it comes to booty development. The truth is that squats are a multi-joint exercise and work the whole leg including the glutes but they shouldn’t be your primary glute exercise.

The glutes are a large muscle group and respond well to volume (high rep) training, so it would be wise to train these muscles specifically 2-3 times a week. The key is to add a variety of glute exercises and use body weight variation with progression to heavier weighted exercises.

The most important factor is to be able to contract the muscle and feel the burn in the right place with every repetition. Proper movement is crucial in getting the desired result. Don’t forget about changing the angle and the exercise position i.e horizontal, vertical, prone or supine. Below is the list of specific strengthening exercises, which in my opinion do wonders for glutes development:

  • Hip Thrust & Bridges

This is a far more superior exercise to squats or deadlifts when it comes to the glutes. There are different variations to this exercise and the more you do, the better. You can start with glute bridges if you haven’t tried the hip thrust yet and progress to single leg bridges, and then onto a weighted bridge (band, plate, barbell) and finally to a hip thrust using a step or bench. Some gyms are better equipped than others and you may even find specific hip thrust machine.

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  • Kick backs

These are my favorite. In this exercise you can really feel your butt working and completely exclude the legs. The pure glute isolation lets you completely focus on form and quality. It has many variations from bodyweight, ankle weighted to cable and glute machine kickbacks. Make sure you use them all! (not in one workout though ;-))

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  • Back extensions

This may be a new thing for you if you only performed this exercise to target your lower back. But trust me, this exercise can set your glutes on fire! It’s a very efficient way to increase metabolic stress and time under tension for the glutes. Just focus on engaging (a.k.a squeezing) the glutes. The load comes from front-to-back and it incorporates the upper glutes in addition to the lower glutes.

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  • High step up

To recruit the glutes and hamstrings you have to place the majority of your weight on the to heel of your foot. At first try to master the eccentric (going down) phase of the exercise, taking at least 3 seconds to lower from the top to the bottom of the exercise.

Doing step-ups from a high box with the weight shifted to the heel is going to target your hamstrings and glutes more. The increased range of motion slows you down and provides more strength and stability benefits. But remember, just like with any exercise, you need to apply the principle of variations to your training to prevent plateaus. Start step-ups with your own body weight and increase the height before increasing the weight.

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  • Reverse hyperextensions

Even though the reverse hyperextension is a bodyweight exercise, you still have the ability to increase the resistance by using ankle weights, a pendulum machine or holding a dumbbell or medicine ball between your feet. Remember: before you add any resistance, make sure you master your form.

To have a great feel of gluteal contraction this exercise has to be performed without flexing or extending the lumbar spine (your lower back). Reverse hypers have an extreme eccentric component if you perform the exercise correctly and stop the pendulum from pulling your lower back into flexion. With proper technique the glutes will contract very hard at the top of these movements at end-range hip extension.

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As one of my favorite coaches says:

“Squats and lunges are the kings of quad exercises; deadlifts and good mornings are the kings of erector spinae exercises; hip thrusts and pendulum quadruped hip extensions are the kings of glute exercises; and weighted back extensions and glute ham raises are the kings of hamstring exercises.” – by Bret Contreras

Fitness

Workout of the Week: Shoulders

Miranda

“As an IFBB pro bikini athlete, I know the importance of a pair of stacked shoulder caps. They’re the key to any well-rounded physique and can make your shoulders appear wider, your waist smaller, and your hips narrower. Strong shoulders mean balance, symmetry, and proportion.” – IFBB bikini pro athlete Brittany Tacy.

  1. Seated Lateral Raise -2 sets x15-20 reps; tempo: 3secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 2secs squeeze; 45 secs rest between sets
  2. Seated Front Raise – 2 sets x15-20 reps; tempo: 3secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 2secs squeeze; 45 secs rest between sets
  3. Smith Machine Press from Dead Stop (Small increase of weight with each set and the final set is drop set) – 5 sets x12-15 reps; tempo: 3secs up, 1sec pause, 3 secs down, 1sec pause, 60secs rest between sets
  4. Reverse Shoulder Press – 3 sets reps till failure (can’t do no more!); tempo: alternating between a slow rep (3secs up and 3 secs down) and a fast rep (explosive movement), 60secs rest between sets
  5. Superset:
    1. Seated Lateral Raise – 3 sets x20-25 reps; tempo: 2secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 1sec pause; 30 secs rest between exercises
    2. Seated Front Raise –  sets x20-25 reps; tempo: 2secs down, 1sec pause, explode up, 1sec pause; 60secs rest between sets
Fitness

Beginner’s Guide Part 2: Avoid These 5 Mistakes if You are New to the Gym

Miranda

By Alan Bichara

I was a beginner once at the gym as well and I started knowing very little or at least I thought I knew a lot, but turns out I had the wrong information from friends or the internet.

I will list down the 5 most common mistakes people make when they decide to finally start their fitness journey. I know I’m guilty of most of them, even after I got certified as a fitness professional!

1.Getting too excited

When people decide to finally start their fitness journey, they are more excited than kids going to a candy store, they believe that in the next month or first 10-12 sessions with their personal trainer that they will lose 10kgs and have the biggest transformation of their life, because if they can do it in “The Biggest Loser” TV show, then they can too, right? Big NO!

People don’t realize that the bad lifestyle they have acquired and are accustomed to for the past 3-5 or even 10 years cannot be reversed in just 1 month. You have to accept that this will be a lifestyle change for the better and it will hopefully teach you to live the rest of your life in a better and healthier YOU!

Part of being too excited is overstaying in the gym. Some beginners tend to stay 2 or even 3 hours in the gym and that is just too much to begin with. You will eventually burn-out and get sick of the gym. Keep your time in the gym short and intense and save it for the workout not for socializing, which can be very time-consuming. Get in, get your workout done, and leave, eat and recover, rinse and repeat.

2.Too heavy, too early

There are 2 ways that I know of that people tend to lean towards to when they start. It’s either they go too heavy and eventually get injured or the opposite, they don’t stimulate their body enough and they end up wasting the first 6 months looking like the same person when they first walked in.

I honestly don’t mind the latter of these 2 – like I said it is a lifestyle change and it’s a long process so I would prefer staying on the safe side even with slower results rather than pushing too much and getting injured.

3.Form? What form?

Connected to number 2, the reason people don’t get results or get injured is because they don’t focus on the form or technique. There are proper ways to perform all exercises. In general, the safest way is to start light and go slow (literally). Concentrate on the muscle you are working. This way you can lessen the risk of injuring yourself.

For example, if you are feeling your shoulders when you chest press, then you aren’t doing it right. You are probably pushing your shoulders and not keeping your shoulder blades retracted.

The saying “NO PAIN, NO GAIN” doesn’t apply to joints, but only to muscles. Usually the “pain” should be a slight burn due to lactic acid build-up during the workout or due to DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) 24-48hrs post-workout.

Even fitness professionals sometimes commit mistakes when performing certain exercises and it takes a lot of practice to know how to activate certain muscle groups to perform the exercise correctly. But there are ways to learn without hurting  yourself – remember to keep the weights light and the movement slow and controlled.

4.Not having a Plan

Once you start your fitness journey and go to the gym almost everyday feeling excited, motivated and dedicated to change how you look and feel, you start doing things and pushing as hard as you can. And then you might hit a dead end and ask yourself “Where am I headed?”, and this is a good time and assess what your goal is and make a plan to reach it.

Lose 10kgs in 6 months, right before your 40th bday? Possible, but how will you reach it? By eating whole foods and doing 30-60mins of activity everyday. That is an example of a general plan. You can be more specific as well and maybe list down what those whole foods are and break them down into daily meals, or schedule your activities: is it running at the park, joining a group exercise class, or just lift some weights?

It also helps to have a notepad with you or on your phone to record your activities and diet. It can be hard to remember the exercises, weights, sets and reps after a while so keeping notes on this can help you a lot in measuring your progress.

You don’t want to be fluctuating with your performance. There are certain times during proper program scaling where you can drop the weights to a lower intensity but most of the time you either want the same weights you did last time or heavier.

This also applies for your food. Years of bad eating habits have made people very numb or forgetful. You can easily forget the donut or the muffin they had with their morning coffee for example and still ask why you are not losing weight. Write it down and you can be surprised of what goes in your mouth most of the time. This takes me to the last point – nutrition.

5.Nutrition

The most important part of your fitness journey is nutrition. The reason you are out of shape is because of the bad diet that you got used to through the years, and as much as I don’t want to say it (because telling people what not to do can make them very defensive), for the first 2 months I would really recommend not eating any junk or processed food.

Most probably you will starve at first and realize how dependent you are on processed food. But starving is never the end goal – replace your meals with fresh whole foods, lots of veggies, some protein, some fruits, and a little fat. That is usually my general rule in nutrition. Remember you can never out-train a bad diet, you can’t decide to just go 3hrs in the gym and keep on eating junk.

So there you go, the 5 most common mistakes beginners make. I hope this can help you or your family and friends who want to start a healthier stage in their life.