Post Workout Showdown Protein vs Carbs

Posted on May 17, 2021May 17, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

The workout is done. You kicked its butt and you can already feel your body getting sore as the muscles begin the process of repair. You’ve walked in the door to your home and popped open the fridge to make a quick meal as your belly rumbles, begging for some food to replenish.

You know you need a clean meal made of quality food sources to keep you on track for your goals – whatever they may be – but you’re not sure if you need to lean more heavily toward carbohydrates or protein in the post-workout hours.

It doesn’t matter what your ultimate goal with your fitness journey is, protein and carbs (and fat) are high priority macronutrients that are found in all foods and need to be consumed in their appropriate proportions to help your body. Every meal should be well-balanced around these macros but the timing in which you consume higher quantities of one of another could benefit your results and progress more than you probably thought.

So which do you focus on post-workout?

If you guessed protein, you’d be on the right path.

While carbohydrates are still good and necessary for your body and help replenish your energy stores – their primary function – it is protein that we want the bulk of our post training meal, snack, dish to be made of.

While you are training, whether lifting weights; doing yoga; playing a sport; etc. your muscles are contracting and expanding and using energy (carbs) and in doing so, creating micro-tears in the muscle fibers. We’ve discussed this in past articles, but these microtears are necessary proof that the muscles are working. This is what causes inflammation during training, it releases the energy and creates waste (lactic acid). During the recovery time period – when the muscles are not being used – they are doing everything they can to recover before you put them under stress/resistance again. In order for the body to do this, it breaks down the food we eat and funnels the protein directly to the re-building muscles. The muscles then take the protein and use it to repair and rebuild stronger and better than they were. This is why/how we are able to adapt to heavier stresses – the more your body gets used to a certain stress, the stronger the muscles become to manage it, hence why we continue to increase the resistance (higher weight/reps, less rest, more sets, etc) to continue to build a better body.

Though your standard diet should provide enough protein (about .8-1.0g per pound of bodyweight), if you’re not feeling like recovery is happening as quickly as it should, or you’re on shorter turn around between training sessions or use of particular muscles, a higher protein meal or added protein source (shake) after training sessions can help the body recover quicker but quickly facilitating protein back to the muscles to begin repairing immediately and getting you back in shape quickly.

Carbohydrates do have a special place in the body as they are the energy source for almost all bodily functions and complex/high quality carbohydrates are suggested to keep you going, focusing on them post-workout is not as highly regarded compared to protein. Carbohydrates should be more focused prior to a training session as they will help provide the energy needed to get through your training session.

It is recommended to find a balance and take in both protein and carbs (along with healthy fats and plenty of veggies) at all meals, if you’re looking for an added boost, protein centric meals/snacks after training could go a long way to help speed up recovery and help build better, stronger muscles vs post training carbohydrates.

I personally enjoy chocolate milk, a protein shake, eggs, or a quick chicken breast wrap as my go-to post workout protein meals.

What is your favorite protein source?

Learn the 3 Secrets to Sleeve Busting Arms!

Posted on May 14, 2021May 14, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

When I started my fitness journey, I followed a number of free training programs I had found online – mostly via bodybuilding.com before they started requiring memberships for access. During that time one of the parts of my body that saw great results was my arms – my biceps and triceps. Over the years, they became a notable point of conversation if anyone was admiring a part of my body and

Negative Reps

One of the first training techniques I learned in the gym through my friend Manuel was the “negative”. It’s one of the easiest ways to train, but most often overlooked methods because it’s boring, it’s exhausting, and it hurts (in the good way). When an exercise is done, focusing on the NEGATIVE, what we’re talking about is the portion of the movement when the weight is moving down toward the ground, which could be the dumb/bar-bell, your body, the stack of plates, etc. This is the eccentric motion of the exercise when the targeted muscles are lengthening out after having been contracted. For example: During a biceps curl with a dumbbell, when you lift the dumbbell from your hip up to your shoulder by flexing your elbow, you are contracting the biceps muscle which engages it to pull the elbow/forearm up. Having reached the shoulder, it’s now time to lower the weight back down. Releasing the contraction of the biceps, the muscle then stretches back into place. By slowing down the time we allow the muscle to release the tension, we are forcing the muscle to work harder and longer than it would be if we just let the weight drop. The longer time under tension of contraction, the more the muscle is working; therefore the more the muscle will become stronger, and bigger.

Aim for a 3-4 second negative per rep, doing 3-4 sets of 8-12 reps.

Drop Sets.

A big proponent of bodybuilding style workouts that helps people build muscle and tone quickly is the incorporation of drop sets. What this means that you pick a number of reps and perform the heaviest weight you (safely) can at that weight, then immediately drop the weight down by about 20-25% and perform another round of reps without rest. Once you’ve completed both number of reps at the original and dropped weight, THEN you take your rest break. Reset the weight to the starting point, and go again. The idea here is to push the muscle close to it’s failure point, meaning if you tried to do one more rep, it would be almost impossible (without risking injury); but then by dropping the weight by that 20-25%, your muscles are still able to keep going for a few more reps. This pushes the capacity of the muscle to work, building stronger and larger muscles.

One of my favorite set/rep schemes if you’re looking for an extra challenge is a DOUBLE drop set, in which you perform 2 drops of the weight in 1 set. If you’re up for it, try 3 sets of 10-12 reps, dropping the weight twice per set (perform 10; drop the weight + perform 10; drop the weight again; perform 10; rest; reset; repeat).

Save for the End.

If you’ve programmed correctly, the bulk of your training program should be focused on compound movements – exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench press, etc – that utilize more than one muscle group and perform more than one joint action. Because of that, during the main focus of your workout, you are already using the biceps and triceps as accessory/support muscles in exercises like presses (triceps) or pulls (biceps). Since they’ve already been used, they are already feeling the pump of blood and oxygen coursing through them. Now is the time to take it to the next level by isolating them for ultimate growth! This is now the time to do your negative reps and drop sets. The isolated work that focuses solely on the pre-warmed up biceps/triceps will help take your progress over the top.

It’s no secret that toned arms are seen as sexy and as someone who’s received compliments for having a big arms, I can tell you that the 3 secrets laid out here, are where it’s at when you want to grow bigger arms.

Hit a great workout then finish off with some negatives and drop sets consistently, and you’ll start busting sleeves in no time!

What’s your favorite exercise to work your arms? Sound off in the comments below!

Pre-Workout: To Use or Not to Use, That is the Question!

Posted on May 9, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

The clients I work with and people who have asked to know my stance on supplements is that you don’t need them. They are beneficial in many ways to help you toward your goals but being an industry that is non-regulated (in the US), the number of supplements that the body can ACTUALLY benefit from pales in comparison to the number of products on the market.

Avoiding going into every detail, I was questioned specifically about my take on Pre-Workout – would I recommend it or not?

First let me start by saying, I do not recommend any sort of supplement as necessary without consulting your physician, and I am not affiliated to any specific supplement brands. Any products mentioned in this post are based solely on my own experiences and products that I have or currently do use.

Like any question you’d ask to a good trainer, the real answer to, “Should I use pre-workout or not?” is:

“It depends.”

It depends on… your level activity; intensity of your training; goals; sensitivity to caffeine; sensitivity to other ingredients in pre-workout; desired effect; etc.

Let’s take a step back for a minute and address the question of what pre-workout is and what is it for/what it does.

Pre-workout is a supplement designed to help boost your energy, blood flow, and focus prior to a training session to help you achieve optimal results. The main ingredients are typically caffeine, beta-alanine, creatine, niacin, and a series of other random ingredients depending on what that products manufacturer decides it wants to add.

Focusing on those main ingredients, caffeine is typically the most common at about 200-250mg per serving in most pre-workout products. Caffeine is a stimulant designed to increase your energy levels and clear fog from your brain to allow focus on the task ahead. Beta-alanine is a vasodilator which means that it increases the size of blood vessels to allow for a large flow of blood through the body. This helps training sessions as your blood is able to move more oxygen into the muscles to help them maintain work and continue pushing even when you want to quit. Creatine is the main component of muscle building supplements and helps our bodies avoid atrophy. It doesn’t make you bulky but can cause you to retain a bit of water. If you are on a muscle building or toning program, creatine is a great supplement to incorporate to help build strong, sexy, toned muscles. Finally, Niacin works also as a Nootropic supplement focusing the mind and boosting energy.

Beyond those, there can a ton of other filler ingredients that get advertised as helping you, but ultimately probably don’t do much.

In rants I’ve made countless times, there are only about 3-4 supplements that I would recommend someone take if they were interested (of their own volition) that would aid their training – caffeine, creatine, protein, multi-vitamin, maybe a couple of others.

As you’ll notice, caffeine and creatine are on that list – 2 of the biggest players in most pre-workouts.

The reason I support those 2 ingredients is that they are the only supplements that have conclusive evidence of working for those who take them in addition to regular training.

The problem with pre-workout products isn’t the ingredients that work, it’s all the filler that’s unnecessarily added.

As I mentioned earlier, the supplement industry is largely unregulated in the US and with that, companies will make claims of ingredients being in their product but the factual amounts they claim could be skewed. Often seen as a “proprietary blend” they will throw random amounts of ingredients together in the bottle so they can claim they are in the product, but without having to disclose how much. Also, they do not have to be pure substances and often these bottles of product are filled with artificial flavors and ingredients.

So going back to the original question – should you use pre-workout or not – I would say that you can if you feel like you need an extra boost to get through your training sessions. It would be beneficial to those who train in the morning, but be wary of later training sessions especially with pre-workouts that use caffeine as it could disrupt your sleep patterns, which we don’t want to do. Thankfully they have started making less potent or stimulant free products which primarily utilize Vitamin B12 (or Vitamin B Complex) to provide energy, but be aware that an over intake of any vitamin can be detrimental.

I personally DO use pre-workout, and though I’ve used many different kinds with varying results, the one I continually come back to is Pre-Kaged by Kaged Muscle. It’s a product I’ve followed since its inception 5-7 years ago and believe works best for me. They use natural flavors and no artificial additives. It’s pricier than most products – but like anything else, the higher the price, generally the better the quality.

If you are sensitive to caffeine, niacin, or any other ingredients, I recommend not taking it – there are other alternatives and unless you are training extremely hard on a regular basis or professionally, a cup of regular coffee (black, no added cream, sugar, etc) has enough caffeine to get you through. There is a movement by many fitness/health “guru’s” I have seen via Twitter of eliminating caffeine all together and switching to local honey as their stimulant, but honey is basically just natural sugar which gives you an energy boost like caffeine would.

If you’re not sure if you should take a pre-workout or have questions about ingredients, you can always consult your physician to be sure.

Need an extra boost in the gym and not a coffee or energy drink consumer, maybe give pre-workout a try, but know you don’t NEED it, but it can help push through tough training sessions. Just be careful of ingredients and going overboard with caffeine later in the day.

Have any other questions about supplements or ingredients you’ve seen on your pre-workouts, drop them in the comments and I’d be happy to answer!

Special THANK YOU to my client Terry D for posing the question in the first place.

4 Secrets to Toning Up

Posted on May 6, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

You’re not going to get bulky, I promise.

Those reasons are for a different post entirely, so we’ll focus on toning up!

One of the more common goals I hear from potential clients (men and women alike) is the desire to “Get toned!”

Start with my 4 Secrets to Toning Up

and you’ll be on your way in no time!

1. PRIORITIZE COMPOUND MOVEMENTS

Classified as a movement that uses more than one “joint action” these can include:

-Squat

-Hip Thrust

-Lunge to Lateral Raise

-Dumbbell Curl to Overhead Press

They can typically move the heaviest resistance/weight, helping build muscle to create tone. Aim for 3-4 sets of 8-15 reps of these exercises.

2. EAT A HIGH PROTEIN DIET

Protein is the building block of muscles. Resistance training breaks down the muscle tissue, so maintaining a high protein diet (~1-1.2g per kg of weight) will help re-fuel your muscles to get bigger and stronger!

3. FOCUS ON SLEEP/RECOVERY

Often overlooked by a “I’ll sleep more when I’m dead” mentality by a lot of people, one thing we can all do is take sleep/recovery a little more seriously. Clearing a foggy brain, providing more energy, and giving your body the time it needs to properly rest and re-build the muscle used during that days training session is vital to help get you toned in no time. Shoot for 7-9hrs per night! And reminder, you can’t make up for lost sleep, be consistent, get consistent results!

4. SLOW AND CONTROLLED TEMPO

It’s great that you’re hitting compound movements and starting to feel good, but if you want to speed up the process, it’s time to slow down the reps. Each rep should aim for a 2 second contraction and 2 second extension at minimum. During the movement, the muscle shortens and lengthens, breaking down with micro tears on each rep. Slowing down the movement forces harder work (more micro tears), so when the muscles rebuild thanks to protein and the rest/recovery, they’ll be stronger and more toned/defined!

That’s it!

To get toned, you have to have muscle to show off. Follow those 4 steps and you’ll be leaps and bounds ahead of the game to building your ideal body.

Which “secret” are you going to work on today?

Resistance Training 101

Posted on April 28, 2021April 28, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

We all start somewhere and stepping foot on a gym floor can be one of the most nerve-wracking things in the world if you don’t have a plan. One of the first things I learned that helped me and a few of my clients when we started was keeping our plan SIMPLE. Welcome to Resistance Training 101 – Beginners Guide to Fitness.

There are a ton of pieces of equipment (barbells, dumbbells, cables, machines, etc) on a commercial gym floor (Planet Fitness; Esporta Fitness; etc.) but when you take a bird’s eye view, you’ll notice every exercise is a variation

of just 7 movements that our body does:

Push (chest, shoulders, triceps)
Pull (back, biceps)
Squat (quadriceps)
Hinge (glutes, hamstrings)
Lunge (full leg)
Rotation (core/abs)
Gait (walking, total body)

When starting out, the first thing you need to learn is HOW YOUR BODY MOVES through each of these 7 movements and begin building from there. It doesn’t matter what your goal is, if you’ve never stepped foot in a gym, the first

thing you should do is learn how your body moves. Not only will this help you push yourself and make strides quicker than those around you, but it will help your mind and muscles develop a connection to learn how to safely move, which will help avoid injury as you increase the resistance/load (weight).

PULL

When coming up with your plan, my suggestion would be to pick 1 exercise that falls under each category to be your workout that you repeat 2-3 times per week for 2–4 weeks to properly develop HOW to do it and how your body moves.

Making it even simpler, begin by using machines or your own bodyweight as they are the most stable and can help you learn the basic movement pattern of the exercise. One rule to keep in mind is you want to start with the most stable exercise possible and machines, being the most stable, literally only have 1 way they work, which helps you develop the proper form for the exercise.

Once you’ve completed the 2-4 week entry period, then take a step back and decide how you want to attack your goals. You will be able to decide if you want to train 2, 3, or 4+ days per week and then build your program or plan from there.

One of the most popular goals I’ve come across is combining Burning fat + Getting toned (building muscle). I say this not only from what I’ve discussed with my clients, but because this is similar to goals that I have gone after and achieved personally. To do this, I/we have seen best results by doing 3–4 sets of each chosen exercise at about 10–15 repetitions per set (resting 45–60 seconds between sets).

**Not sure what weight to use (if more than Bodyweight)?

When you choose a number of reps you’re shooting for, the weight should be heavy enough to hit that number of reps with difficulty, but not so heavy that you can’t safely get there; or light enough that you finish and think, “hmm… could have done 10 more…”**

If I were starting out, a sample workout I might try (and similar to those I have applied to clients on their first few days) would look like this:

A. Chest press machine (3 sets; 12 reps)

B. Seated close grip row (cable maybe?) (3 sets; 15 reps)

C. Leg Press machine (3 sets; 15 reps)

D. Dumbbell deadlift (3 sets; 12 reps)

E. Bodyweight stationary forward lunge (3 sets; 8–10 reps each leg

F. Russian twist (3 sets; 20 reps each side)

G. Dumbbell farmer carry (3 sets; 30–50yds)

Do your best to maintain focus on controlling the weight and as you get better, increase the weight and plug in new exercises that still work toward your goals and vary it up.

Consistency and patience will lead to the best results.

Once you’ve got the basics down, if you’re looking for that edge, there are TONS of free programs or helpful hints and tips you can find and all the exercises in my sample workout can be found with a quick Google/YouTube search.

Fitness is for everyone; and everyone started somewhere – you got this and remember that wanting to walk this journey means you are working toward a happier, healthier you – physically, emotionally, spiritually, etc.

Still not sure what to do or need that extra bit of accountability?

It’s never a bad idea to hire a coach or trainer. One of my specialties is helping new people learn their way around the jungle gym of their fitness facility and learning how amazing the human body can be. If you’re tired of waiting around and ready to make the change, head to the Online Client Application and fill it out and let’s talk today! Get all the structure and accountability you need from an in-person trainer, with the flex to train any time, any where in the world at a fraction of the cost, with the best in the world! (me! 😊)

Eric Hinrichsen

Always Hungry Personal Training | Columbus, OH

Warm Weather Running

Posted on April 26, 2021April 28, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Spring is my favorite time of year. Winter is finally over and the snow and terribly low temps that sweep the Midwest are gone, and with warmer weather comes the time to exercise outdoors again! Not only is Vitamin D severely lacking in most Americans, but physical activity outside is invigorating! The warm sun; the cool breeze; the feeling of pushing yourself in whatever you’re doing is second to none. One of the most popular things you’ll see people doing this time of year is hitting the pavement to log some miles walk, jog, running.

Though Running is widely criticized for it’s impact on the ankles, knees, hips and it’s over used as a way to lose fat when there are much better ways, it’s still a popular go-to exercise for those looking to get their lungs burning and heart pumping in the beautiful spring weather (myself included).

It’s still a relatively new hobby/exercise for me to partake in seeing as the first 25 years of my life, I could hardly run ¼ mile without feeling like everything internally was going to explode, but over the last 5-7 years as I’ve made it a part of my spring, summer, fall training, I’ve picked up a few key tips for making the best of my workouts.

These are my Top 3 tips for running in warmer/hot weather

Un-Dress Appropriately

One of the downsides of training outdoors in the spring – especially here in the Midwest – is that it can be 40 degrees in the morning and quickly jump to 70… it’s hard to tell where the weather is going to settle. Which makes it tough to know what to wear. Do you bundle up with a hoodie/light jacket and pants; or risk it with a t-shirt and shorts? Either way, you’re screwed.

But you don’t have to be!

A rule of thumb I learned while training for my first 5K (which took place in January!) was to dress as if the weather is 20 degrees warmer than the thermometer states. It had me curious so I looked into it more and found that the reason for this estimation is that when your body starts moving, the movement creates energy. Energy naturally warms up our body temperature, and if you’re starting out in cool weather with too many layers, your warmer body temps might climb too high.

It may be a little uncomfortable with a chilly start, but once you get your feet moving and the heart starts pumping blood around, you will naturally feel your body temperature rising. Keep it regulated and avoid it getting too high by dressing like it’s 20 degrees warmer than it says when you head out for your next jog.

Keep in mind the intensity of the workout. If you’re going for “all out sprints” or a lengthy trot around the neighborhood, your body temp will rise and sustain much higher/longer than if you’re just doing a mild-brisk walk around the block.

Slow Your Pace

If you’re like me and want to get the run over as quickly as possible, one thing I have to remind myself is that I need to S-L-O-W my pace down in the beginning. It’s too easy to want to bolt down the road, especially if you’ve been training through winter and early spring when it’s still chilly out. The colder weather typically makes for better runs because – as discussed in the clothing section – our body temperatures rise and when it’s cold out and our internal temps rise to a comfortable level, we don’t get overheated and burned out.

Slowing your pace – especially at the start – can help you maintain for longer exercise durations and keep you feeling better upon finishing. It will help avoid overheating; dehydration; and burn out.

The nice thing is, like when you get used to colder temperatures, your body will re-acclimate to the warmer climate and you’ll be able to withstand running at your normal pace again in no time. For regular runners, it should only take a week or two for Stella to get her groove back.

Hydrate

Always important – don’t forget to hydrate. 2-4 glasses of water about 15-30 mins before your run can help you avoid dehydration as well as regulate your body temperature. This will help keep you in the game longer and aid in quicker/better recovery afterward. Don’t slosh down too much or you might have a full belly or have to use the restroom way too often. Handsfree water bottle belts and vests are a great investment that minimally adds weight but helps keep you going even on the hottest of days.

They sound simple enough but forget one of these tips and you might be in for a rough day after a warm weather run. As you can see, regardless of what you do – the overarching concept is to keep your body temperature regulated. It will naturally rise as you expend energy through movement – going beyond running, this could be cycling, sports, swimming, any other outdoor strenuous activity – so keeping these tips in mind will help you mitigate the pitfalls of overheating – heat stroke, heat exhaustion, dehydration, etc. – that go along with outdoor running in warmer temperatures.

What’s your favorite outdoor activity and how do you prep to beat the heat?

6 Tips for New Trainers

Posted on April 24, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Not everyone is cut out to be a personal trainer, just like everyone is not cut out to be a doctor, or plumber, or desk worker, etc. But if you want to give it a go, it’s a booming industry with a lot of potential for growth and a job position that should be sticking around for a while. People are becoming more sedentary and unhealthy – but many are REALIZING this and seeking help from professionals to get their lives in control to be happy, healthy, and stress free.

Beyond getting certified and deciding if you’re going to work for yourself or for someone else as a trainer, there were a few tips that got passed along to me early on that when taken to heart, helped me grow leaps and bounds for myself and my clients and I’d like to pass them along to you! Here are my 6 tips for new personal trainers that will help any personal trainer new to the game.

Train Everyone

Most literature you will read will tell you to “find your niche” and maybe you’re entering the fitness world with one in mind and that’s great! But when you’re starting out, cast a wide net and try working with anyone and everyone you can. This will help you learn how to work with different types of people; work through problems you might not know you could solve; really confirm or discover your niche community; and just help you gain experience on the fitness floor helping people work toward their goals. When I first started, I thought I would help people work through transformations – turning their bodies from flab to fab, because that’s what I did. I lost the weight and put on muscle and thought I could help them do the same. But as I worked with different people, I found that my best clients are either men/women over the age of 50 who are just trying to stay healthy and active for themselves and their families; and 25-35 men who were seen as “scrawny” and looking to “bulk up”. Though I’m confident to help people outside of those goals, those are where I seem to thrive. I wouldn’t have known that if I tried to only stick with “fat loss” or “transformation” clients. Working with a little bit of everyone helps uncover who you work best with and can set you up for long term success.

Don’t be afraid to say, “I don’t know”

Being a personal trainer comes with a lot of bravado and ego. Typically you work out to keep yourself healthy and one of the best non-scale victories of working out is confidence. But it also comes with one of the biggest catches – you THINK you know everything, but if you’re honest… you don’t.

AND THAT’S OKAY.

As a new trainer, you’re going to do your best to help answer every question your client has and you’ll be compelled to maybe even lie when something comes up that you’re not sure about. DON’T. Not only can people smell BS, when it comes out that you’re wrong, it looks terrible on you and you’ve lost trust right then and there. They came to you and chose you because they trust you know what you’re doing and if that trust is lost, good luck finding it again. But when someone asks you a question that stumps you, and you say, “That’s a great question, I’m not really sure….” What that does is allow you to follow up with, “…but let me do some research and let’s discuss further when you come in for your next session.” Which does a couple of cool things…

It establishes that you’re human and you can set aside your ego. Being open and honest and showing some of our own flaws like that can help solidify trust and the bond between you and the client.
It gives you the privilege of doing some research to learn more – which is one of the best things about this profession. I’m still relatively new at only about 2+ years as a trainer, but I feel like I learn something new every day. And learning something new means not only being able to discuss with the client who asked but sharing with others who might have the same questions!

Saying, “I don’t know” can be a huge benefit to help you establish trust and learn something new to expand you, your client, and your communities’ horizons.

Other trainers are NOT your competition

You should not be afraid to watch what other trainers do or ask them for advice or help. We are all in the industry of helping people better themselves through training and nutrition. Helping people is our number one priority and helping each other is a very close second. If I can help you learn a new exercise variation or discuss ways we help clients work toward similar goals, and you can apply them to your clients, then that’s a big win for them, you, me, and everyone around. There are 7+ billion people on this planet… there are plenty of clients for all of us – let’s learn from each other and help them all become the best version of themselves possible!

Don’t chase dollars, chase change

Money is cool and allows you a lot of freedom to do cool things. But if you’re new and start charging top dollar… good luck. There are a number who can succeed at this, but the best are those who focus on helping clients reach their goals.

“If you build it, they will come.”

Put in the reps of helping those around you that will work with you at a fair price get results and as you grow, build on your systems and PROVE you know what you’re doing… and the cash will follow.

Helping people become their best should be your top priority. If you can do that, the cost to them won’t matter.

Don’t fret about name, branding, logo, etc.

Piggybacking number 4 above here, don’t fret about branding and logo and image. Get results! It doesn’t matter if you’re name is Eric Does Training – as long as your name is Eric and you train people, not only is it spot on, but it will avoid any sort of confusion about who you are and what you do. What’s more important is the helping people. Like I mentioned, without tangible evidence that what you know and apply to help people actually works, the flashiest logo, brand name, content, etc. will be found out and left behind.

As you grow and find who you are, what you believe and stand for, and what kind of person you want to work with, the rest of that will follow.

Be Yourself and have fun!

Like it or not, you’re not just selling a service to help people. You’re selling yourself. If people don’t think you’re being genuine or see that you’re putting up a front, they’ll avoid it like the plague. Be true to who you are and know who you want to work with, and you will attract the clienteles that are the right fit. As Jonathan Goodman of The PTDC once said, “People don’t buy training, they buy the trainer.” If they don’t trust or like who you are and what you bring to the table, it’ll never work. Who you are is just right for someone and if you put it out there, you will find each other.

On top of that – have fun! You are helping people change their lives for the better. They have taken the time to look in the mirror and say to themselves, ‘Fuck whatever is happening right now – I am ready to become my best damn self!” and they came to you and chose you to help them do that. There is nothing cooler (to me) than having someone come to you who has no idea what their doing, and being able to help them not only learn what to do physically, but watch that internal lightbulb click on in THEM when they reach a goal they thought might never happen.

Being a personal trainer is hard and it’s not for everyone. It’s grueling hours and can be frustrating with clients who push back or don’t give their all like you wish they would… but it should rank in the list of most rewarding jobs you can do. We get the opportunity to help people become their best selves and share knowledge that we continue to learn.

If you’re just starting out, know that you have what it takes and you can be wildly successful, and it starts with following these few simple tips.

If you’re a new trainer, what are some tips you’ve been given outside of these that have helped you grow into the best you around? Drop them in the comments and let’s spread the good word across the industry to help others.

Fat Burners

Posted on April 24, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

One of the most popular goals for anyone entering training, working out, nutrition, etc, is to lose weight. With that, supplement companies have been falling all over themselves to create products that they claim to be THE ONE to help you shed that fat once and for all. The supplement market is flooded with pills, powders, and shakes that promise to melt away the stubborn fat you can’t seem to nix, but in truth, they are all snake oil.

As someone who battled with his weight and eventually went through his own weight loss transformation before becoming a personal trainer, I would be lying if I said I have never used a fat loss supplement in the hopes that it could help me knock off those extra lbs.

But I will honestly tell you also, that none of them worked.

Looking at an ingredients list for fat loss supplements can be as daunting as looking at a box of cereal, full of words and things you can’t pronounce and probably shouldn’t allow yourself to ingest, but almost every bottle you pick up will most likely boil down to 2 main components.

Some sort of Caffeine + a Diuretic

Caffeine

Probably one of the highest consumed ingredients in America (behind just sugar), caffeine has been in the spotlight for a long time thanks to the benefits of increasing our energy levels and helping us get through those midday slumps. It’s in coffee, energy drinks, pre-workouts, and is a large component of pre-workout supplements. Because it increases our energy levels, part of that process is increasing our heart rate our bodies natural functions. With our body moving more, it slightly increases the thermodynamic effect of our body – the ability to burn energy. That energy being burnt, it is claimed, is the fat cells we store. By causing our body to move more – even if just internally – the idea is that it’s burning fat for that energy. This can be seen as ingredients such as: Purcaf, Caffeine Proprietary Blend, Caffeine Anhydrous, or Green Tea Extract*

*Green Tea Extract is essentially caffeine specifically sourced from green tea – thought to be a naturally occurring energy source (similar to coffee beans).

Diuretics

The other thing to be aware of is the use of diuretics. Most fat loss supplements include ingredients that cause the body to shed water. Many people who start taking these supplements and see a steep drop in weight at the beginning are really just seeing that their body is flushing out water that has been retained. This may be helpful if you’re competing in some sort of physique/bodybuilding competition, but if you’re an average Joe like myself, you want water in your body to help it function optimally. Diuretics are hard on your kidneys and since our bodies are made up largely of water – cutting it out can have other detrimental consequences.

I’m not here to tell you not to try whatever you can to lose the weight if you feel it’s necessary, but I want to try and give a testimonial, that they may provide some sort of aid, beyond the caffeine boosting energy and diuretic components dropping water, these supplements rarely work to the effect that they claim.

True fat loss comes from focusing on the hard things you don’t want to do – cleaning up your nutrition; exercising regularly; prioritizing rest and recovery; and managing stress.

Take care of those things and the fat should melt away the way no supplement can.

Do the un-fun things now and enjoy the fruits of your labor later.

Trust the process and reach your goals!

What’s your favorite fat loss myth you’ve heard? Let’s start a thread below.

Weight Loss Plateau Tips

Posted on April 21, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

There comes a time in every journey where we hit a plateau. You broke through the initial hard parts of creating new habits by addressing the things you needed to change. You adjusted your schedule and made them easier to perform while limiting access to the detrimental norms that were keeping you from your best self.

You’ve put the cookies away; stopped buying fast food (as often); steer clear of the chip aisles at the grocery, and you’re seeing the results of your increased veggies and protein in addition to the weight training that’s turned from enemy to friend.

But you’ve hit the wall.

The number on the scale isn’t falling anymore.

Your workout progression has stagnated and you’re not seeing progress.

Aggravation sets in and you feel like throwing in the towel and picking up that cheeseburger you saw on the sign on your way home from work.

But you also know that you’ve put in so much work and it’s not worth giving up when you’ve come as far as you have.

What can we do to break through the plateau!? Let’s look at a few ways to breakthrough training and weight loss plateaus.

Adjust the program

This is probably the easiest way to bust through a plateau! One thing people don’t realize is that when you’ve been doing the same thing for a while (4+ weeks) in regards to training and nutrition, your body adapts. As much as we think we want variety and change all the time, the body is naturally designed to run as efficiently as possible. When you go through your training and keep your nutrition at a certain level, yes you will see progress and change initially, but that adaptation is the time when your body is basically screaming, “Woah, something’s different! We have to work harder! Let’s go boys!” But as you continue on the program, it recognizes that it’s doing similar workouts; it’s taking in similar calories; it learns and builds itself into an efficient machine that is able to perform that work with those calories and doesn’t require as much energy to do the same work. Therefore you hit a plateau.

This will be the time that you go through your log to see if it’s time to change the program – adjust your training plan; adjust your nutrition schedule; work on a new habit you’ve been putting off.

No one is ever going to be 100% efficient in their nutrition and training and there will always be something you can adjust to work on. Heck, after a while, it can be re-visiting a habit that worked and now that you have a new baseline to work off of, it may benefit to re-introduce back in for new results.

Take some time off

Another reason we plateau is when we’ve been running on a program or diet for so long that our body has reached its efficiency limit. You can only handle so much before your body needs rest.

Similar to an athlete, they have “in season” training and “off season” training. They don’t go balls to the wall all year – they would burn out. Sometimes the best way to break through a plateau is to eliminate the rigidity of the structure and enter a period of maintenance in which your goal stays in place, but you back off the strict structure you’ve been following. Allow your body and its systems a chance to relax and reset before diving into the next phase of your training. This doesn’t mean stop by any means, but release the gas pedal a little bit and lower the intensity to a manageable point.

Prioritize rest/recovery – De-Load Week

Along the same line as adjusting the program or taking time off, maybe you enjoy keeping it going despite the lack of results, one of the most often neglected facets of a training or nutrition program is rest/recovery. It is during the down time that our body repairs itself; utilizes the nutrients we’ve fed it; and creates the progress we’re looking for. If you’ve been going Hard AF for weeks or months without a break, it may be time to prioritize rest and recovery for a week or two to allow the body to re-achieve its homeostasis.

Re-visit Your Goal

Beyond adjusting the program, maybe it’s time to re-visit your goal as a whole. You’ve been pushing to lose weight and you’ve seen results but the scale isn’t going down anymore. Maybe it’s time to shift your focus from weight loss to building muscle. One of the benefits of building muscle is that it tends to use fat stores as energy. The adjustment to your goal could be the key to unlocking that next step in your evolution.

Remember the Non-Scale Victories

You’ve taken names and kicked butt so long and been so focused on that scale number and not seeing it go down has been ruining your mental health. WHY WON’T IT JUST GO DOWN?! After taking a deep breath, let’s remember that the scale is a single tool in our belt. Sit down and take stock of yourself. How do you feel on a day-to-day basis? How are your energy levels daily? How do your clothes fit? How is your confidence? How is your sleep? What things have others noticed or complimented? How is your training? How is your mental health? Taking stock of the non-scale victories is a great way to help break through plateaus and keep your mind on what’s actually happening and keep from falling into a “woe is me” rut.

You are a kick ass person who puts in a lot of hard fuggin work. But like I mentioned, your body is literally designed to be as efficient as possible. You may want to burn calories, but it’s trying to keep them as best it can. It will develop ways to be efficient, which is why when you do the same workout; eat the same meals; etc; over time your body learns how to burn the least amount of calories and your progress hits a plateau. When this happens keep these tricks in mind to help you bust through to the other side.

-Adjust the program

-Take some time off

-Prioritize rest/recovery

-Re-visit your goal

-Remember the non-scale victories

What are you going to do to break through your plateau? Sound off below and let’s keep the progress moving forward!

Best Self

Posted on April 12, 2021 by alwayshungrypt

Do you have what it takes to create your best self?

I mean REALLY light the fire to become your best self?

Whenever someone asks me what I do (professionally) and I tell them I’m a personal trainer, they immediately go into a spiel about how they have a gym membership and don’t go; or used to go and need to get back into it; or started but then life got in the way; etc. My first reaction (after, “what did I ask?”) is internally thinking that it’s not that these things got in the way or stopped them from keeping up. My first thoughts are that they didn’t approach the situation as well as they should have.

If you want the results, you can’t just say you’re going to do it and never do it. We’ve talked before about scheduling your workouts; prepping your meals; setting goals; etc. but too often this goes without action.

I know you’re as tired as I am of making excuses or continuing the same path you’re on now and want to make a change, but you can’t just want to make it – you have to take action.

Set Your Target – whether it be a number on the scale; a level of strength; a new dress size; etc. you must set your target. A specific end goal that you want to work toward with a realistic time frame of both starting and stopping is the best framework to helping you succeed. It gives you a concrete idea of what you’re working toward and the timeframe in which you’re working to reach it.

Create Your Plan – Including workouts, nutrition, recovery, schedule, etc. This may be the most detailed aspect of the journey, but if you keep it simple and consistent with progressive and challenging phases to reach the goal, you should be on your way to reaching every milestone!

Find the Drive – We have the drive within us, but you must light the fire to become your best self. Watch it rage and build and burn through this challenge. You must build the mindset that during this time, nothing else matters but creating your best self. Everyone will try to derail you, but if you REALLY want or heck NEED it, then they can wait. Happy hours are fun, but so are happy years on your life. Cut out the distractions and keep your mindset here and on your target. Envisioning each workout; meal; the end result; the person you become at the end of this journey; can all help you stay on track and maintain the flame that burns within you.

Though the steps are easy, the work is hard. But everyone is strong enough to take on their mountain if they want to. Set your target; create your plan; light your fire and get to work building your best self!

Need help to light the fire to become your best self!? Comment below on what your goal is and let’s connect to create that roadmap to the top!