If your hotel doesn’t have a gym, is your training routine doomed? Should you just turn on HBO and get back to exercising when you’re home? Not so fast! If you have 20 minutes, and a cozy hotel room, you can still get a great workout in! I have a simple routine that I use when I’m stuck in a hotel room, and you can try it too! Let’s get your heart racing and roaring, and then you can get back to complimentary cable. Also, if you’re prioritizing working out while traveling because you don’t want to lose momentum on your fitness journey, you’ve come to the right place! We have tons of resources for you to check out. If your hotel does have a gym, we have a Strength Training 101 guide that will show you exactly how to use it. If your diet suffers when you’re traveling, our healthy eating guide will provide tips on what to keep in your mini-fridge. And if you want more exercises to do from your hotel room, our Beginner Bodyweight Workout will walk you through another full routine you can do from anywhere. You can grab them, and our other free guides when you join the Rebellion below!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
THE HOTEL ROOM WORKOUTWhenever I create a workout, I always aim for a complete full body routine that will build muscle, burn fat, and also exercise your heart. And when I’m pressed for time, I do it in a circuit, so I can jump from one movement to the next. I hit four types of exercises for my routines:
That means that you can work out almost every muscle in your body with just four exercises – simplicity for the win! Always start with a warm-up (to get your core temperature up and muscles loose): 25 jumping jacks, 15 bodyweight squats, 10 push ups, 10 lunges (each leg), 10 hip raises, 25 jumping jacks. Do one exercise right after another – this should take you probably 3-4 minutes. After that, move into your workout – set your watch/laptop for 15 minutes and then do as many full circuits as possible in that time frame, using PERFECT FORM for each repetition. I’ve split the workout into three levels – beginners should start at level 1 until they feel comfortable enough to advance to levels 2 and 3. Do each exercise, one after another, without stopping if possible. If you need to stop between exercises or even in the middle of the set, go for it. Just remember you’re trying to complete as many circuits as possible within the 15 minutes without compromising your form. Advance to the more challenging exercises at your own pace, and if some exercises are too difficult or it’s too many reps, adjust them to fit your experience level – just make sure you are getting stronger and challenging yourself with each additional hotel stay. For example, if you can only do 5 incline push-ups…aim for six when doing the workout next time. So, here it is! LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
After your workout (you should be sweating like crazy if you did it right), ALWAYS remember to stretch. Here’s a cool down sequence you can try: MORE WORKOUTS BUILT FOR HOTELS AND TRAVELLING If you’re a road warrior and find yourself in hotels often, we have many resources here at Nerd Fitness to offer you. If you enjoyed the Hotel Room Workout Circuit, it and others just like it can be found in our article “15 Free Circuit Training Routines: Build Strength and Stamina.” If you like working out in unconventional places, like a hotel room, check it out! It’ll cover training in playgrounds, living rooms, or a gym (okay, that last one is 100% conventional). Plus, there’s a circuit routine inspired by Batman. You’re welcome. The next resource I would toss your way is the article “How to Stay in Shape While Travelling.” I took an epic quest of awesomeness for half a year, and while living out of a backpack, got in some of the best shape of my life. You can read all about it right here. The last resource I will mention is our uber-popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. Many of our clients travel quite a bit, and having an accountability partner that is available in any part of the world has been a game changer for many Rebels. Are you trying to learn a new exercise, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? I’d love for you to click below and find out if we are a good fit for each other: WHY YOU SHOULD WORK OUT IN YOUR HOTEL ROOMEven when I’m living out of hotel rooms, I prioritize working out. I find that on days when I exercise, I eat better. Something activates in my brain when exercising that says “I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy.” On days when I don’t exercise at all, I tend to say things like “meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or ‘it’s only one meal” or “it’s only a few beers.” Not good, because as we continuously remind Rebels, diet is 80-90% of fitness equation. That’s why a workout, even if it’s for only 20 minutes, can be very critical while traveling. It really does have a way of stopping you from gorging yourself silly on pizza later. The next time you’re in a hotel room, or any room, try our 20-Minute Hotel Room Workout. If you find even Level 3 too easy, try this one instead. I’ll warn you though, I don’t hold back on this more advanced circuit. Alright, now I want to hear from you: Do you spend a lot of time in hotels? Travel a lot for work? What are your tips and tricks for staying healthy while living in hotels? Let us know in the comments! -Steve PS: I mentioned above that what you eat will be responsible for 80-90% of your fitness journey. If you have no idea where to even begin on eating healthy, like a lost sheep with no shepherd, I encourage you to check out our 10-Level Nutrition Guide. It’s designed for beginners, with easy simple progressions, each level getting a bit more challenging and healthier. You also progress at your own speed, to make sure your dietary changes stick! You can download it for free by signing up to the Rebellion below:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
### All photo sources can be found right here.[1] via Blogger The 20-Minute Hotel Workout
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If your hotel doesn’t have a gym, is your training routine doomed? Should you just turn on HBO and get back to exercising when you’re home? Not so fast! If you have 20 minutes, and a cozy hotel room, you can still get a great workout in! I have a simple routine that I use when I’m stuck in a hotel room, and you can try it too! Let’s get your heart racing and roaring, and then you can get back to complimentary cable. Also, if you’re prioritizing working out while traveling because you don’t want to lose momentum on your fitness journey, you’ve come to the right place! We have tons of resources for you to check out. If your hotel does have a gym, we have a Strength Training 101 guide that will show you exactly how to use it. If your diet suffers when you’re traveling, our healthy eating guide will provide tips on what to keep in your mini-fridge. And if you want more exercises to do from your hotel room, our Beginner Bodyweight Workout will walk you through another full routine you can do from anywhere. You can grab them, and our other free guides when you join the Rebellion below!
Get your Nerd Fitness Starter Kit
THE HOTEL ROOM WORKOUTWhenever I create a workout, I always aim for a complete full body routine that will build muscle, burn fat, and also exercise your heart. And when I’m pressed for time, I do it in a circuit, so I can jump from one movement to the next. I hit four types of exercises for my routines:
That means that you can work out almost every muscle in your body with just four exercises – simplicity for the win! Always start with a warm-up (to get your core temperature up and muscles loose): 25 jumping jacks, 15 bodyweight squats, 10 push ups, 10 lunges (each leg), 10 hip raises, 25 jumping jacks. Do one exercise right after another – this should take you probably 3-4 minutes. After that, move into your workout – set your watch/laptop for 15 minutes and then do as many full circuits as possible in that time frame, using PERFECT FORM for each repetition. I’ve split the workout into three levels – beginners should start at level 1 until they feel comfortable enough to advance to levels 2 and 3. Do each exercise, one after another, without stopping if possible. If you need to stop between exercises or even in the middle of the set, go for it. Just remember you’re trying to complete as many circuits as possible within the 15 minutes without compromising your form. Advance to the more challenging exercises at your own pace, and if some exercises are too difficult or it’s too many reps, adjust them to fit your experience level – just make sure you are getting stronger and challenging yourself with each additional hotel stay. For example, if you can only do 5 incline push-ups…aim for six when doing the workout next time. So, here it is! LEVEL 1
LEVEL 2
LEVEL 3
After your workout (you should be sweating like crazy if you did it right), ALWAYS remember to stretch. Here’s a cool down sequence you can try: MORE WORKOUTS BUILT FOR HOTELS AND TRAVELLING If you’re a road warrior and find yourself in hotels often, we have many resources here at Nerd Fitness to offer you. If you enjoyed the Hotel Room Workout Circuit, it and others just like it can be found in our article “15 Free Circuit Training Routines: Build Strength and Stamina.” If you like working out in unconventional places, like a hotel room, check it out! It’ll cover training in playgrounds, living rooms, or a gym (okay, that last one is 100% conventional). Plus, there’s a circuit routine inspired by Batman. You’re welcome. The next resource I would toss your way is the article “How to Stay in Shape While Travelling.” I took an epic quest of awesomeness for half a year, and while living out of a backpack, got in some of the best shape of my life. You can read all about it right here. The last resource I will mention is our uber-popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. Many of our clients travel quite a bit, and having an accountability partner that is available in any part of the world has been a game changer for many Rebels. Are you trying to learn a new exercise, lose weight, or build muscle, but find doing it on the road a challenge? I’d love for you to click below and find out if we are a good fit for each other: WHY YOU SHOULD WORK OUT IN YOUR HOTEL ROOMEven when I’m living out of hotel rooms, I prioritize working out. I find that on days when I exercise, I eat better. Something activates in my brain when exercising that says “I’m trying to be healthy, so I’m going to eat healthy.” On days when I don’t exercise at all, I tend to say things like “meh, I’ll do it tomorrow” or ‘it’s only one meal” or “it’s only a few beers.” Not good, because as we continuously remind Rebels, diet is 80-90% of fitness equation. That’s why a workout, even if it’s for only 20 minutes, can be very critical while traveling. It really does have a way of stopping you from gorging yourself silly on pizza later. The next time you’re in a hotel room, or any room, try our 20-Minute Hotel Room Workout. If you find even Level 3 too easy, try this one instead. I’ll warn you though, I don’t hold back on this more advanced circuit. Alright, now I want to hear from you: Do you spend a lot of time in hotels? Travel a lot for work? What are your tips and tricks for staying healthy while living in hotels? Let us know in the comments! -Steve PS: I mentioned above that what you eat will be responsible for 80-90% of your fitness journey. If you have no idea where to even begin on eating healthy, like a lost sheep with no shepherd, I encourage you to check out our 10-Level Nutrition Guide. It’s designed for beginners, with easy simple progressions, each level getting a bit more challenging and healthier. You also progress at your own speed, to make sure your dietary changes stick! You can download it for free by signing up to the Rebellion below:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
### All photo sources can be found right here.[1] via Tumblr The 20-Minute Hotel Workout By Leo BabautaIn my Fearless Training Program, one of our members talked about how she gets a lot done during the day, but inevitably puts off her two scariest tasks, and doesn’t get them done. Does that sound familiar to you? Putting off the hardest tasks of the day is a common affliction for most of us. That wouldn’t necessarily be the worst thing, except that this often means the most important work doesn’t get done. The most meaningful work, our passion project or dream, keeps getting pushed back to another day. Our days are too precious for this. We treat them like an unlimited resource, but how many do we have left? None of us know. But we do know that it’s a limited number, and they are incredibly valuable. So how do we change this habit? We stop running from the fear and start moving towards it. We let it become our training ground. Let’s look at how to train. Creating a Sacred Training ContainerIt’s important not to take this lightly. We have age-old habits of putting off our scary, hard tasks, and just saying, “I’m going to change” is not enough. We have to take this seriously. The way to do that is to create a container for our training. Think of it like a boxing ring where you train, or a yoga mat, or a meditation hall. It has boundaries that make it special, and that keep you in the training area. Think of this as a sacred space. It’s sacred because you have elevated it above all the other ordinary things you have to do for the day. In this special space, you are going to go towards your fear, and allow your habitual patterns to shift. Here’s how you might create that container:
That’s the training container. Can you feel how this would elevate your training, to create a container like this? How to Train, with JoyTraining in doing the things that scare you doesn’t have to be torture. In fact, it can be joyous. To start with, what’s the scariest thing on your todo list? Pick that for your training session today, and create the container as we talked about above. Then try these ideas to bring joy to the training:
Keep doing the task that you find scary, that you would normally put off, but do it with this sense of mindfulness, of dancing, of curiosity and gratitude and relaxation and joy. via Tumblr How to Do Your Scariest Tasks of the Day, with Joy So you want to get bigger and stronger, like this guy. Leopard print leotard optional. Maybe you’ve always been the skinny guy and can’t gain weight to save your life (trust me, I’ve been there). Maybe you’re a bigger guy and you’d rather have broad shoulders than a broad waistline. Maybe you’re a female, and you’ve realized that lifting weights with the right diet will give you that “toned” look that everybody is after. Maybe you just want to be stronger and faster. No matter who you are or what your starting point is, I want to help get you where you want to go. Building muscle is something I’ve been obsessed with since high school (okay, not obsessed, but it’s where the majority of my fitness research and experience has taken me). After struggling with building muscle for close to a decade, I’ve made significant progress in the past few years, packing on 20+ pounds of muscle, learning handstands, and adding 200+ pounds to my deadlift. If you’re looking to start building muscle, getting bigger, and becoming stronger, these are the things you need to do:
I realize doing those three things is much easier said than done – I struggled with progress for a decade and know exactly what you’re going through. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than putting in effort for months (or years) and not seeing results. And unfortunately, this is what I see from most people: Lots of well-intentioned but misguided effort in the gym and no changes. You probably don’t have years to make the mistakes that I did, and you just want to start getting results today. In addition to the free resources below, we also offer 1-on-1 Online Coaching, where you’ll get personalized instruction for your body type and goals, and professional accountability from a Coach on Team Nerd Fitness! But enough of that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to get started with Strength Training! How do you build muscle? Lift Heavy ThingsIf you are going to build muscle, you’re going to need to lift heavy things. This means you’ll most likely need access to a gym with a great free-weight section. Body weight exercises can be fantastic for weight loss and keeping the muscle you already have, but if you’re serious about weight training you’ll need a gym with a squat rack, bench, barbells, and a spot to do pull ups, chin ups, and dips to be most efficient. Got access to a decent gym? Good, now we can started. Because we’re looking to create functional strength and size, we’ll be doing lots of full-body routines with compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. They’re more efficient, they create solid growth and stimulation, and they will keep you safe. Why is that? Well, when you spend all of your time doing stupid isolation exercises on weight machines (ugh), you’re only working those specific muscles and not working any of your stabilizer muscles (because the machine is doing all of the stabilization work). On the other hand, when you do compound exercises like barbell squats, you work pretty much EVERY muscle in your body, setting yourself up to be strong and injury free. Stay away from machines, focus on dumbbells and barbell exercises. Each of your routines should have one leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and a core exercise:
That’s IT. Don’t worry about adding in any ridiculous machine shoulder shrugs, iso-chest flys, preacher bicep curls, calf-raises, whatever. Learn these few exercises, get really good at them, and your entire body will get stronger and bigger. Focus each week on adding more weight to each exercise. For example, if you did 3 sets of 5 squats of 150 pounds this week, try for 3 sets of 5 squats of 155 pounds next week. If you do that, you’ve gotten stronger. Eat right, and you’ll get bigger too. what’s a sample routine for building muscle?Using the principles I’ve laid out in my “how to build a workout routine” article, here’s a routine I’ve created for myself recently:
Each day has a leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and some core work. While it’s possible to build out the perfect routine on your own, many of our Rebels end up spending hours and hours building something custom – only to realize it isn’t what they need (or isn’t effective) weeks and months later for their goals. For people who want to avoid that altogether, we built the solution – our uber-popular 1-on-1 Nerd Fitness coaching program pairs you with your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and handcraft a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life. Click on the image below to schedule a call with our team to see if we’re a good fit for each other! How many sets and reps should I do?That depends on your goals. If you’re just interested in getting stronger, you can do 3-5 sets of 5 reps, with a focus on lifting heavier and heavier each week. If you’re looking to add more size along with strength, mix up your rep ranges. Sets of 5 reps will build compact explosive strength, while sets of 6-12 reps will build more size but less concentrated strength. I try to mix it up. This week, I might do 3 sets of 5 reps for each exercise (other than the core exercises), adding enough weight to each exercise so that it’s incredibly taxing. Next week, I’ll do four sets for each exercise, adding weight each time and doing less reps. For example, I’d do 12 reps of an overhead press at 100 pounds, then 10 reps at 105 pounds, then 8 reps at 110 pounds, and finally 6 reps at 115 pounds. The good news is that no matter which path you take (pure strength, size, or a mix of both), as long as you are adding weight each week you WILL be getting stronger. ANY path will work, provided you are getting progressively stronger with it! So if you do 5 sets of 5 squats at 140 pounds this week, aim for 5 sets of 5 of 145 pounds next week. Or 3 sets of 10 at 100 pounds, then next week try for 3 sets of 10 at 105 pounds. Get stronger, which is 20% of the puzzle. The other 80% is nutrition (which I cover later)! If you want even more info, you can head to our article “Determining the Correct Number of Reps and Sets” for a deep dive into the subject. Any other weight-lifting tips?Warm-up before exercising – don’t walk into a gym, slap 45-pound plates on the bar, and then start your routine. Get your heart rate up and muscles warm first by doing a dynamic warm-up of jumping jacks, lunges, bodyweight squats, hip raises, push-ups, leg swings, jumps, etc. After that, always start with doing a set or two of lifting JUST THE BAR. Only then should you start adding weight for some warm-up sets before moving into your real sets. Have focused form – if you’re doing a bodyweight squat incorrectly, you might develop bad habits. However, if you do a squat incorrectly with 405 pounds on your shoulders, you could do some serious damage. If you’re just starting out, check your ego at the door: start with a VERY light weight and make sure you are doing the exercise properly. There is NO SHAME in starting with just the bar. You can always add more weight next week if this week is too easy. Stimulate, don’t annihilate – I try to always have one more rep left when I finish a set. Some trainers will preach working your muscles to annihilation, but I think that’s just asking for an injury, poor form, and beyond-sore muscles. Your muscles get built while resting, not in the gym, so don’t worry about destroying them completely each day you step in the gym – it’s not worth it. Change up the time between sets – if you’re doing 3 sets of 5 reps of a really heavy weight, it’s okay to wait 3-5 minutes between sets – you’re focusing on pure strength here. If you’re doing sets up in the 8-12 range, try to keep the time between sets around a minute or so. This will affect your muscles in different ways. Just be consistent between sets and when doing the same workout between weeks to track your progress. Don’t overdo it – More does not mean better in weightlifting. You don’t need to spend two hours in the gym, you don’t need to do 15 different kinds of chest exercises. My routines last no longer than 45 minutes, I only do three or four sets (after warm up sets) for each exercise, and it’s enough to stimulate muscle growth. Three routines a week is plenty too – you shouldn’t lift every day, as you need to give your muscles time to regrow bigger. Less is more – just make your routines really intense and exhausting. Write down everything – Keep a training journal, and write down exactly how many sets and reps you did for every exercise. That way, you can compare how you did this time with how you did last time. You’ll know how much more you need to lift this week to make sure you’re stronger than last week. Follow a routine, have a plan. The best thing you can do is have a plan to follow and stick with it! We provide a free bodyweight routine, and a comprehensive gym training routine to get you started with strength training in our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab your guide when you sign up in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Okay, what about diet?If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up, this will be 90% of the battle. If you’ve been lifting weights for a while “but can’t seem to gain weight,” then you are not eating enough – it’s that simple. I thought I was one of those people who just could never gain weight…and then I learned it was all diet, started eating 4,000 calories a day, and I put on 18 pounds in 30 days. Yeah, I wanted to throw up from always eating along with three Muscle Milk shakes a day, but it worked. Looking back I would have done things differently (so many calories and so much sugar/carbs), but after 6 years of exercising without putting on any weight, it was great to see so much progress in such a short period of time. 4,000 calories sounds freaking insane right? I know. It makes eating a full-time job, as you’re always either cooking, eating, or cleaning up after yourself. But if you really want to get bigger and you’re struggling to do so, then all of your effort is going to have to go into eating more, eating healthier, and eating ALL THE TIME. Here are a few different techniques for weight gain: Eat a lot of whatever – this was my first plan years ago: it’s cheapest, the fastest, but probably the least healthy. Just make sure you get 200+ grams of protein a day and 3,500+ calories in any way that you can: pasta, rice, pizza, milk, hamburgers, chicken, protein shakes, muscle milk shakes, whatever. This is how I went from 162-180 pounds in 30 days. I’m not proud of how I ate, but it produced results and I remained healthy and strong. Eat a lot of “healthy” stuff – I did this once and put on about 10 pounds in 30 days. Lots of oatmeal, brown rice, chicken, my home-made big-ass shake, almond butter sandwiches on whole-grain wheat bread, beef, eggs, fruits, veggies, and some milk. Still not optimal, but it works and is better for your insides than the previous method. Still relatively cheap, as tubs of oats, brown rice, and bread are inexpensive and can add on a lot of calories quickly. Eat Paleo – I’ve tried this strategy too, and despite my best efforts to GAIN weight I managed to lose five pounds (all of which was fat). It’s certainly possible to gain weight on the paleo diet (try adding in three big-ass Primal Shakes per day), but it is tricky and very expensive to get 4,000 calories of paleo-approved food daily. LOTS of nuts, eggs, sweet potatoes, shots of olive oil, and yams along with tons of chicken, grass-fed beef, fruit, and veggies. GOMAD (Gallon of Milk a Day) – Obviously this method will only work if you’re not lactose intolerant. Oh, and it has to be whole milk. You’ll definitely put on some fat, but you’ll build muscle and get really strong quickly – and then you’ll adjust the diet to thin out. I’ve attempted this diet occasionally, as whole milk is certainly a fast path to tons of carbs, fat, protein and calories. Be prepared for your stomach and body to constantly feel bloated. Note: you can adjust the amount of milk you consume daily based on how your body responds. How many calories should I eat to build muscle?That’s going to depend on your situation – your age, how much you weigh now, how much you want to weigh, and how fast your metabolism is. For some, just 2,500 calories and strength training will be enough to build muscle. For others, you might need to eat 4,000+ calories in order to put on weight. The only way to find out is to track your normal calorie intake for a few days, and then start adding on 500 extra calories per day for a week or two and see if you notice any changes. Want a rough idea of how many calories you should be eating? Head right here for our calorie requirement calculator. Bottom line: If you don’t see any change, then you need to eat more. Yes, it will feel excessive. Yes, you will feel full all the time. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass and expensive. But if you really want to be bigger, then you are going to need to really dedicate yourself in the kitchen. Unless you’re a genetic mutant, it’s incredibly tough to build muscle and strength without overloading your system with calories and nutrients. Just keep eating. Won’t all of this eating make me fat? I don’t want to get bulky.
I get this question all the time in emails, usually from guys who are 6 feet tall and 130 pounds. Don’t worry, if you can’t gain weight now, putting on this extra weight is going to be great for you. Yes, you will put on SOME fat along with the muscle you’re building if you’re running a calorie surplus. This is why picking the right amount of calories per day is important. If you can build muscle at 3,000 calories, but you’re eating 4,000 calories, you’ll put on a pound or two of fat per week along with your muscle. However, if you need to eat 4,000 calories to build muscle and you’re only eating 3,000, you won’t see any changes. Everybody is different, so you need to experiment and find out what works best for you. Once you get to your desired weight (actually, aim for about 10-15 pounds heavier than your goal weight), you can scale back the calories, add in some extra sprints to the end of your workout, and keep lifting heavy – the muscle will remain, the fat will disappear, and you’ll be left with the body you want. I’m not skinny, I need to LOSE weight – what’s different for me?You can actually build muscle and lose body fat at the same time. You just have to be careful about how you do it. We cover the subject in depth in the post, “Can You Lose Weight and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?” This gist goes like this: If you are eating enough protein, and have decent fat stores to pull from for energy needs, you can build muscle even while in a caloric deficit. As long as you are resting (next section) and strength training (previous section), you can shed bodyfat while still putting on muscle. Now, this only works if you have plenty of fat stores to pull form. Once you start to lean out a little, you’ll likely have to increase your calories to start putting on more muscle. Just remember, you can build muscle while losing weight, as long as you:
Let’s talk about that last one for a bit. What about rest?If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up, avoid cardio like the plague. Why? Take a look at the best marathon runners in the world – they look like a stiff breeze would knock them over. Now take a look at Usain Bolt, the best sprinter in the world – tons of muscle, power, and a body to envy. I have nothing against people who run all the time and love to run marathons/half-marathons – as long as you’re active I’m all for it. I’m just telling you that if you want to build muscle as quickly and efficiently as possible, cardio is the enemy. I will admit that I’m biased against chronic cardio, but mostly because it bores me! You can be far more effective when you focused on getting stronger and only do ‘cardio’ on things you enjoy – after all, your success will largely depend on your nutrition, NOT your cardio! I spend three days a week in the gym, with each workout clocking in at 45 minutes. I go for long walks on my off days along with a day of sprints to stay active, but I know that my muscles get built while I’m resting, not when I’m working out. I really focus in on my workouts to make them as exhausting as possible, and then I give my body ample time to recover (while eating enough calories to produce a surplus). If you’re lifting heavy, and eating enough, make sure you’re also getting enough sleep! 5-6 hours a night isn’t going to cut it – you need to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal muscle-building. Take naps too if you have the opportunity. Sleep needs to become a priority. If you’re a big guy/girl trying to slim down, a little extra cardio might speed up your fat loss, but a lot of it might cause you to lose the muscle you already have. Don’t worry about going for 10 mile runs on your off days – do 20-30 minutes of intervals or go run hill sprints in your park. The weight will come off more slowly, but you’ll only be losing fat, not fat AND muscle. Once you hit your goal weight and the target amount of muscle mass, I’d recommend adding back in some cardio for your overall conditioning, but keep it varied (sprints and intervals). The focus is to keep building explosive muscle and not long, slow, boring muscle. If you love going for long runs and aren’t going to give that up, I’m not gonna stop you. Just know that the long hours of cardio will severely inhibit your progress on building strength and size. What Say You?This is a basic overview to get ya started. It really boils down to a few major things: lift heavy, eat lots of good food, and rest. Simple to understand, tough to implement. Trust me, I know – I’ve been battling this for the past decade. If you made it this far, and you want more specific instruction, or have more questions about strength training and bulking up, sign up for our email list in the box below. I’ll send you two free resources that will help you reach your goals: our massive Strength Training 101 guide and a Skinny Guy Bulk Up Cheat Sheet and Shopping List.
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
So did I miss anything? Do we have any strength building success stories? People who are skinny struggling to bulk up? Big guys who lost weight and got stronger while lifting weights? Post your questions in the comments and I’ll go ahead and answer them. Let’s hear your strength and muscle stories! -Steve PS – If you made it this far, and you are tired of not getting results, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. No more guesswork, no wondering if you’re doing exercises correctly – you’ll get expert guidance and accountability from a professional on Team Nerd Fitness who gets to know you better than you know yourself! Sound good? Head over to our Coaching page and schedule a free call with our team to see if it’s right for you! PPS: 40,000+ rebels have joined us in the Nerd Fitness Academy! If you’re interested in strength training and want more specific workouts to follow, nutritional advice and meal plans to pick from, a boss battle system, character leveling system, and a supportive community, check it out. We’d love to help you level up with us. See you inside! ### All Photo Sources are found right here.[1]
Footnotes ( returns to text)
via Blogger The Beginner’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength So you want to get bigger and stronger, like this guy. Leopard print leotard optional. Maybe you’ve always been the skinny guy and can’t gain weight to save your life (trust me, I’ve been there). Maybe you’re a bigger guy and you’d rather have broad shoulders than a broad waistline. Maybe you’re a female, and you’ve realized that lifting weights with the right diet will give you that “toned” look that everybody is after. Maybe you just want to be stronger and faster. No matter who you are or what your starting point is, I want to help get you where you want to go. Building muscle is something I’ve been obsessed with since high school (okay, not obsessed, but it’s where the majority of my fitness research and experience has taken me). After struggling with building muscle for close to a decade, I’ve made significant progress in the past few years, packing on 20+ pounds of muscle, learning handstands, and adding 200+ pounds to my deadlift. If you’re looking to start building muscle, getting bigger, and becoming stronger, these are the things you need to do:
I realize doing those three things is much easier said than done – I struggled with progress for a decade and know exactly what you’re going through. After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than putting in effort for months (or years) and not seeing results. And unfortunately, this is what I see from most people: Lots of well-intentioned but misguided effort in the gym and no changes. You probably don’t have years to make the mistakes that I did, and you just want to start getting results today. In addition to the free resources below, we also offer 1-on-1 Online Coaching, where you’ll get personalized instruction for your body type and goals, and professional accountability from a Coach on Team Nerd Fitness! But enough of that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to get started with Strength Training! How do you build muscle? Lift Heavy ThingsIf you are going to build muscle, you’re going to need to lift heavy things. This means you’ll most likely need access to a gym with a great free-weight section. Body weight exercises can be fantastic for weight loss and keeping the muscle you already have, but if you’re serious about weight training you’ll need a gym with a squat rack, bench, barbells, and a spot to do pull ups, chin ups, and dips to be most efficient. Got access to a decent gym? Good, now we can started. Because we’re looking to create functional strength and size, we’ll be doing lots of full-body routines with compound exercises that work multiple muscle groups at once. They’re more efficient, they create solid growth and stimulation, and they will keep you safe. Why is that? Well, when you spend all of your time doing stupid isolation exercises on weight machines (ugh), you’re only working those specific muscles and not working any of your stabilizer muscles (because the machine is doing all of the stabilization work). On the other hand, when you do compound exercises like barbell squats, you work pretty much EVERY muscle in your body, setting yourself up to be strong and injury free. Stay away from machines, focus on dumbbells and barbell exercises. Each of your routines should have one leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and a core exercise:
That’s IT. Don’t worry about adding in any ridiculous machine shoulder shrugs, iso-chest flys, preacher bicep curls, calf-raises, whatever. Learn these few exercises, get really good at them, and your entire body will get stronger and bigger. Focus each week on adding more weight to each exercise. For example, if you did 3 sets of 5 squats of 150 pounds this week, try for 3 sets of 5 squats of 155 pounds next week. If you do that, you’ve gotten stronger. Eat right, and you’ll get bigger too. what’s a sample routine for building muscle?Using the principles I’ve laid out in my “how to build a workout routine” article, here’s a routine I’ve created for myself recently:
Each day has a leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and some core work. While it’s possible to build out the perfect routine on your own, many of our Rebels end up spending hours and hours building something custom – only to realize it isn’t what they need (or isn’t effective) weeks and months later for their goals. For people who want to avoid that altogether, we built the solution – our uber-popular 1-on-1 Nerd Fitness coaching program pairs you with your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and handcraft a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life. Click on the image below to schedule a call with our team to see if we’re a good fit for each other! How many sets and reps should I do?That depends on your goals. If you’re just interested in getting stronger, you can do 3-5 sets of 5 reps, with a focus on lifting heavier and heavier each week. If you’re looking to add more size along with strength, mix up your rep ranges. Sets of 5 reps will build compact explosive strength, while sets of 6-12 reps will build more size but less concentrated strength. I try to mix it up. This week, I might do 3 sets of 5 reps for each exercise (other than the core exercises), adding enough weight to each exercise so that it’s incredibly taxing. Next week, I’ll do four sets for each exercise, adding weight each time and doing less reps. For example, I’d do 12 reps of an overhead press at 100 pounds, then 10 reps at 105 pounds, then 8 reps at 110 pounds, and finally 6 reps at 115 pounds. The good news is that no matter which path you take (pure strength, size, or a mix of both), as long as you are adding weight each week you WILL be getting stronger. ANY path will work, provided you are getting progressively stronger with it! So if you do 5 sets of 5 squats at 140 pounds this week, aim for 5 sets of 5 of 145 pounds next week. Or 3 sets of 10 at 100 pounds, then next week try for 3 sets of 10 at 105 pounds. Get stronger, which is 20% of the puzzle. The other 80% is nutrition (which I cover later)! If you want even more info, you can head to our article “Determining the Correct Number of Reps and Sets” for a deep dive into the subject. Any other weight-lifting tips?Warm-up before exercising – don’t walk into a gym, slap 45-pound plates on the bar, and then start your routine. Get your heart rate up and muscles warm first by doing a dynamic warm-up of jumping jacks, lunges, bodyweight squats, hip raises, push-ups, leg swings, jumps, etc. After that, always start with doing a set or two of lifting JUST THE BAR. Only then should you start adding weight for some warm-up sets before moving into your real sets. Have focused form – if you’re doing a bodyweight squat incorrectly, you might develop bad habits. However, if you do a squat incorrectly with 405 pounds on your shoulders, you could do some serious damage. If you’re just starting out, check your ego at the door: start with a VERY light weight and make sure you are doing the exercise properly. There is NO SHAME in starting with just the bar. You can always add more weight next week if this week is too easy. Stimulate, don’t annihilate – I try to always have one more rep left when I finish a set. Some trainers will preach working your muscles to annihilation, but I think that’s just asking for an injury, poor form, and beyond-sore muscles. Your muscles get built while resting, not in the gym, so don’t worry about destroying them completely each day you step in the gym – it’s not worth it. Change up the time between sets – if you’re doing 3 sets of 5 reps of a really heavy weight, it’s okay to wait 3-5 minutes between sets – you’re focusing on pure strength here. If you’re doing sets up in the 8-12 range, try to keep the time between sets around a minute or so. This will affect your muscles in different ways. Just be consistent between sets and when doing the same workout between weeks to track your progress. Don’t overdo it – More does not mean better in weightlifting. You don’t need to spend two hours in the gym, you don’t need to do 15 different kinds of chest exercises. My routines last no longer than 45 minutes, I only do three or four sets (after warm up sets) for each exercise, and it’s enough to stimulate muscle growth. Three routines a week is plenty too – you shouldn’t lift every day, as you need to give your muscles time to regrow bigger. Less is more – just make your routines really intense and exhausting. Write down everything – Keep a training journal, and write down exactly how many sets and reps you did for every exercise. That way, you can compare how you did this time with how you did last time. You’ll know how much more you need to lift this week to make sure you’re stronger than last week. Follow a routine, have a plan. The best thing you can do is have a plan to follow and stick with it! We provide a free bodyweight routine, and a comprehensive gym training routine to get you started with strength training in our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab your guide when you sign up in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Okay, what about diet?If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up, this will be 90% of the battle. If you’ve been lifting weights for a while “but can’t seem to gain weight,” then you are not eating enough – it’s that simple. I thought I was one of those people who just could never gain weight…and then I learned it was all diet, started eating 4,000 calories a day, and I put on 18 pounds in 30 days. Yeah, I wanted to throw up from always eating along with three Muscle Milk shakes a day, but it worked. Looking back I would have done things differently (so many calories and so much sugar/carbs), but after 6 years of exercising without putting on any weight, it was great to see so much progress in such a short period of time. 4,000 calories sounds freaking insane right? I know. It makes eating a full-time job, as you’re always either cooking, eating, or cleaning up after yourself. But if you really want to get bigger and you’re struggling to do so, then all of your effort is going to have to go into eating more, eating healthier, and eating ALL THE TIME. Here are a few different techniques for weight gain: Eat a lot of whatever – this was my first plan years ago: it’s cheapest, the fastest, but probably the least healthy. Just make sure you get 200+ grams of protein a day and 3,500+ calories in any way that you can: pasta, rice, pizza, milk, hamburgers, chicken, protein shakes, muscle milk shakes, whatever. This is how I went from 162-180 pounds in 30 days. I’m not proud of how I ate, but it produced results and I remained healthy and strong. Eat a lot of “healthy” stuff – I did this once and put on about 10 pounds in 30 days. Lots of oatmeal, brown rice, chicken, my home-made big-ass shake, almond butter sandwiches on whole-grain wheat bread, beef, eggs, fruits, veggies, and some milk. Still not optimal, but it works and is better for your insides than the previous method. Still relatively cheap, as tubs of oats, brown rice, and bread are inexpensive and can add on a lot of calories quickly. Eat Paleo – I’ve tried this strategy too, and despite my best efforts to GAIN weight I managed to lose five pounds (all of which was fat). It’s certainly possible to gain weight on the paleo diet (try adding in three big-ass Primal Shakes per day), but it is tricky and very expensive to get 4,000 calories of paleo-approved food daily. LOTS of nuts, eggs, sweet potatoes, shots of olive oil, and yams along with tons of chicken, grass-fed beef, fruit, and veggies. GOMAD (Gallon of Milk a Day) – Obviously this method will only work if you’re not lactose intolerant. Oh, and it has to be whole milk. You’ll definitely put on some fat, but you’ll build muscle and get really strong quickly – and then you’ll adjust the diet to thin out. I’ve attempted this diet occasionally, as whole milk is certainly a fast path to tons of carbs, fat, protein and calories. Be prepared for your stomach and body to constantly feel bloated. Note: you can adjust the amount of milk you consume daily based on how your body responds. How many calories should I eat to build muscle?That’s going to depend on your situation – your age, how much you weigh now, how much you want to weigh, and how fast your metabolism is. For some, just 2,500 calories and strength training will be enough to build muscle. For others, you might need to eat 4,000+ calories in order to put on weight. The only way to find out is to track your normal calorie intake for a few days, and then start adding on 500 extra calories per day for a week or two and see if you notice any changes. Want a rough idea of how many calories you should be eating? Head right here for our calorie requirement calculator. Bottom line: If you don’t see any change, then you need to eat more. Yes, it will feel excessive. Yes, you will feel full all the time. Yes, it’s a pain in the ass and expensive. But if you really want to be bigger, then you are going to need to really dedicate yourself in the kitchen. Unless you’re a genetic mutant, it’s incredibly tough to build muscle and strength without overloading your system with calories and nutrients. Just keep eating. Won’t all of this eating make me fat? I don’t want to get bulky.
I get this question all the time in emails, usually from guys who are 6 feet tall and 130 pounds. Don’t worry, if you can’t gain weight now, putting on this extra weight is going to be great for you. Yes, you will put on SOME fat along with the muscle you’re building if you’re running a calorie surplus. This is why picking the right amount of calories per day is important. If you can build muscle at 3,000 calories, but you’re eating 4,000 calories, you’ll put on a pound or two of fat per week along with your muscle. However, if you need to eat 4,000 calories to build muscle and you’re only eating 3,000, you won’t see any changes. Everybody is different, so you need to experiment and find out what works best for you. Once you get to your desired weight (actually, aim for about 10-15 pounds heavier than your goal weight), you can scale back the calories, add in some extra sprints to the end of your workout, and keep lifting heavy – the muscle will remain, the fat will disappear, and you’ll be left with the body you want. I’m not skinny, I need to LOSE weight – what’s different for me?You can actually build muscle and lose body fat at the same time. You just have to be careful about how you do it. We cover the subject in depth in the post, “Can You Lose Weight and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?” This gist goes like this: If you are eating enough protein, and have decent fat stores to pull from for energy needs, you can build muscle even while in a caloric deficit. As long as you are resting (next section) and strength training (previous section), you can shed bodyfat while still putting on muscle. Now, this only works if you have plenty of fat stores to pull form. Once you start to lean out a little, you’ll likely have to increase your calories to start putting on more muscle. Just remember, you can build muscle while losing weight, as long as you:
Let’s talk about that last one for a bit. What about rest?If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up, avoid cardio like the plague. Why? Take a look at the best marathon runners in the world – they look like a stiff breeze would knock them over. Now take a look at Usain Bolt, the best sprinter in the world – tons of muscle, power, and a body to envy. I have nothing against people who run all the time and love to run marathons/half-marathons – as long as you’re active I’m all for it. I’m just telling you that if you want to build muscle as quickly and efficiently as possible, cardio is the enemy. I will admit that I’m biased against chronic cardio, but mostly because it bores me! You can be far more effective when you focused on getting stronger and only do ‘cardio’ on things you enjoy – after all, your success will largely depend on your nutrition, NOT your cardio! I spend three days a week in the gym, with each workout clocking in at 45 minutes. I go for long walks on my off days along with a day of sprints to stay active, but I know that my muscles get built while I’m resting, not when I’m working out. I really focus in on my workouts to make them as exhausting as possible, and then I give my body ample time to recover (while eating enough calories to produce a surplus). If you’re lifting heavy, and eating enough, make sure you’re also getting enough sleep! 5-6 hours a night isn’t going to cut it – you need to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal muscle-building. Take naps too if you have the opportunity. Sleep needs to become a priority. If you’re a big guy/girl trying to slim down, a little extra cardio might speed up your fat loss, but a lot of it might cause you to lose the muscle you already have. Don’t worry about going for 10 mile runs on your off days – do 20-30 minutes of intervals or go run hill sprints in your park. The weight will come off more slowly, but you’ll only be losing fat, not fat AND muscle. Once you hit your goal weight and the target amount of muscle mass, I’d recommend adding back in some cardio for your overall conditioning, but keep it varied (sprints and intervals). The focus is to keep building explosive muscle and not long, slow, boring muscle. If you love going for long runs and aren’t going to give that up, I’m not gonna stop you. Just know that the long hours of cardio will severely inhibit your progress on building strength and size. What Say You?This is a basic overview to get ya started. It really boils down to a few major things: lift heavy, eat lots of good food, and rest. Simple to understand, tough to implement. Trust me, I know – I’ve been battling this for the past decade. If you made it this far, and you want more specific instruction, or have more questions about strength training and bulking up, sign up for our email list in the box below. I’ll send you two free resources that will help you reach your goals: our massive Strength Training 101 guide and a Skinny Guy Bulk Up Cheat Sheet and Shopping List.
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So did I miss anything? Do we have any strength building success stories? People who are skinny struggling to bulk up? Big guys who lost weight and got stronger while lifting weights? Post your questions in the comments and I’ll go ahead and answer them. Let’s hear your strength and muscle stories! -Steve PS – If you made it this far, and you are tired of not getting results, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program. No more guesswork, no wondering if you’re doing exercises correctly – you’ll get expert guidance and accountability from a professional on Team Nerd Fitness who gets to know you better than you know yourself! Sound good? Head over to our Coaching page and schedule a free call with our team to see if it’s right for you! PPS: 40,000+ rebels have joined us in the Nerd Fitness Academy! If you’re interested in strength training and want more specific workouts to follow, nutritional advice and meal plans to pick from, a boss battle system, character leveling system, and a supportive community, check it out. We’d love to help you level up with us. See you inside! ### All Photo Sources are found right here.[1]
Footnotes ( returns to text)
via Tumblr The Beginner’s Guide to Building Muscle and Strength By Leo BabautaWhile most people want to find a way to eat healthier, they are up against forces stronger than they understand. Sure, we’d like to eat healthier — but then why do we keep failing? Why are most of us getting heavier over time, despite our best efforts? To figure out a better method, we first have to look at the powerful forces we’re up against. Then firm our resolve, and try one or both of the powerful methods that I describe below. The Forces We’re Up AgainstLet’s say you’d like to eat a healthier diet … think about what you’re up against:
I’m sure at least a couple of these sound familiar to most of you. Maybe too familiar — you might have been struggling with these for years. The forces we’re up against are powerful:
Most of us can’t beat all of these really strong forces all the time. And so we win a few battles but lose the war over the long run. What can we do against these powerful forces? Are they unstoppable? No, we can overcome them. It will just take more focused effort than we usually believe when we say, “I’m going to start eating healthier, tomorrow!” There are two powerful methods that can help us overcome these forces. Powerful Method #1: Change Your EnvironmentMost of the forces above can be overcome with a complete change of our environment. Now, I understand that many people aren’t in complete control of their environment (teenagers, for example, or people living in a family) … but we can still make some changes that will help. The more of these kinds of changes we can make, the better we’ll do against the forces above. See if you can make more changes than you normally would consider — sometimes when there’s a will, there’s a way to make it happen. Imagine this: you go through your day with only healthy options to choose from, and you have healthy meals already prepared (you made them on Sunday). You wake up, grab a healthy breakfast, take your healthy lunch to work, avoid the unhealthy places your coworkers eat and instead read a book and eat your delicious lunch. You have healthy snacks packed for the afternoon when your energy starts to dip, and when you get home you have a healthy dinner to heat up and enjoy. At night, you have fruits you can eat if you get hungry. With your environment changed, you will default to healthy most of the time. Then when you don’t have a choice, you can just do your best, and not worry too much about it. Some changes to consider making to your environment:
These are just some ideas. You might come up with others, but these are some examples of changing your environment to support a healthy change. It’s more important than we often realize. Powerful Method #2: Get Some Support & AccountabilityThe next most powerful thing you can do to make a change is to make it social — get friends, family and/or co-workers to give you support, join a challenge with you, or hold you accountable for the changes you’d like to make. This is true for any habit, but it’s especially true for eating habits. That’s because our friends, family and co-workers are often the biggest influence on us when it comes to eating. If they are trying to make us eat dessert all the time, we will have a hard time resisting that for very long. But if they’re eating healthy meals and snacks with us, or at least encouraging us to do so, we will probably do a lot better. Some suggestions here:
I highly suggest you join us in the Healthy Eating Challenge in Sea Change — I’d love to have you. Two Other Things We Can Work OnWhile those are the two most powerful methods of change, there are a couple things that are also pretty important, that I should mention:
These might sound like a lot of changes to make, and they are. But you don’t have to do them all at once. Make it a project to do some of these changes each week, slowly practicing the new coping mechanisms, slowly changing your environment, slowly getting more support and accountability. This is doable. You are worth it. via Tumblr The Two Most Powerful Ways to Create a Healthy Eating Pattern Pull-ups are my favorite exercise of all time. They work all of the “pull” muscles in your body – your back, biceps, forearms. They are indicative of your level of fitness – anybody that can do a pull-up is in pretty good shape. And anybody that can do 10 or more is clearly in great shape. Lastly, pull-ups make you feel like a badass after doing them. However, pull-ups are also hard as hell, especially if you’re just getting started. Unlike other exercises that can be completed with just your body weight (like squats, lunges, and push ups), pull-ups and other exercises that strengthen your pull muscles require at least one piece of equipment or something to hang from! On top of all of that, if you can’t do one yet, how the heck are you supposed to work on them to get better? I’ve recently received thousands of emails from fellow rebels who are working towards their first pull-up but aren’t there quite yet. Whether you’re 300 pounds overweight and can’t even look at a pull-up bar without freaking out, or you’re half an inch away from finally being able to do your first pull-up, this article is for you – sorry it took so long for me to write! Pull-ups are quite the intimidating exercise, but like Optimus Prime has taught us, we can make small changes and improvements over time that will result in the ultimate goal: One. Freaking. Pull-up. It will take a combination of two things to get your chin up over that bar:
I realize doing those two things is much easier said than done. What most people don’t realize is that they spend too much time on the strength part, not realizing that decreasing their body weight is as important and impactful (if not more so!). Which is why most people never get to do a pull-up! After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than putting in the effort for months (or years) and not seeing results and getting demoralized. And unfortunately, this is what I see from most people: Lots of well-intentioned but misguided effort in the gym and no changes. You probably don’t have years to make the mistakes that I did and want to skip this problem, and you just want to start getting results today. In addition to the free resources below, we also offer 1-on-1 Online Coaching, where you’ll get personalized instruction for your body type and goals, and professional accountability from a Coach on Team Nerd Fitness! You can schedule a free call with our team to learn more about coaching by clicking on the image below of Christina! She’s one of our coaching clients who went from 0 pull-ups to now doing sets of 10! But enough of that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to get your first pull-up!
A few tips to get startedThis should hopefully be obvious, but the more you weigh, the more you have to lift in order to complete a pull-up. If you’re truly serious about completing a pull-up, start by getting your diet under control. I’m a HUGE fan of the Paleo Diet, because I know it works. A few folks have already lost 10+ pounds in just over a week following the Paleo Diet in the Nerd Fitness Academy. As you start to weigh less, you’ll have less weight to pick up and move up over that bar! Got it? Good. MAKE YOUR BACK EXERCISES A PRIORITY. A lot of people do every other exercise before doing any back-related exercises, if they do any at all. After warming up properly, your first exercise should always be the stuff that you want to work on the most – in this case it’ll be your back. The progression below is just a path that I’ve created, but does NOT need to be followed to a T. I give sample sets and reps and when to move up, but if you feel like you can progress sooner or want to try doing full pull-ups sooner than I recommend, that’s OKAY. This is the slower progression method, where some people will want to do fewer reps and progress to the next levels sooner – that’s okay. I recommend moving up to the next level when you can do 3 sets of 8 reps of a particular exercise. If you want the accelerated path, move on up as soon as you can do 3 sets of 5 reps. Almost every exercise below has a video to show you how to do it. Click on the picture or the video below it. If you want to know how to incorporate the progressions below into a regular training routine, you can put your email address below to download our beginner bodyweight workout! It’s a great way to get strong as you also get better at your pull-ups!
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Level 1: Bent Over Dumbbell RowsWe’re going to start with these, the most basic of back exercises, in case you’re starting from ABSOLUTELY square one. For these exercises, focus on lifting more and more as you get stronger. Every OTHER day, pick up a dumbbell that you can lift for three sets of 8 repetitions with a 2-minute break between sets. As soon as you can do 3 sets of 8 reps, it’s time to move up to a heavier dumbbell.
Level 2: Body Weight RowsBody weight rows are the PERFECT precursor to pull-ups – they work the same muscles, just at a different angle. You can also make adjustments. You know how I HATE HATE HATE exercise machines? Here, I wholeheartedly recommend the use of a smith machine…but ONLY for rows! Because you can adjust the height of the bar, you can adjust how difficult the exercise is. If you’re just getting started, put the bar very high, so you only have to lean back slightly. If you’re stronger, you can start with a lower bar. Here’s a whole post I did on body weight rows (also called inverted rows). My advice:
A sample routine that starts with your back exercises
As soon as you’re doing bodyweight rows where your body is at a 45-degree angle or lower, you can progress to level 3. IF YOU DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A BAR FOR INVERTED ROWS: Try using your kitchen table, or move up to Level 3 and progress with caution there. IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A GYM OR WANT TO JOIN A GYM, I know they can be intimidating! We have multiple chapters on how to find a gym and get started using the equipment, in our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab our nerdy guide when you join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion with your email in the box below:
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Level 3A: Assisted Pull-UpsPersonally, I don’t like using the assisted pull-up machine in a gym as it doesn’t give you the full feeling of a pull-up, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Instead, I recommend doing one of these alternatives:
My advice:
A sample level 3 routine:
Level 3B: Negative Pull-UpsNow, let’s say you don’t have a rubber band, you don’t have somebody to hold your feet, and you don’t have a chair – you ONLY have a pull-up bar. That’s okay – you can do what we call negatives. When doing a negative, you jump above the bar and try to lower yourself slowly and in control until you’re at the bottom of the movement. This can be very dangerous if you’re very overweight, which is why I’d recommend moving slowly through steps 1-3A first. However, once you have a decent amount of back strength, doing negatives is a great way to build arm and back strength. You can either jump above the pull-up bar, and then begin to lower yourself back down IN CONTROL, or you can hop up on a chair to get above the bar and then lower yourself back down. Again, the name of the game is “in control.” You don’t need to lower yourself so slowly that one repetition destroys you…lower yourself in a controlled speed – Counting to three during the movement is a good tempo. Here’s a sample workout using everything up to this point:
For your negative pull-ups, do as many as you can (up to 5 reps) per set – jump and lower yourself in control, then jump right back up and lower yourself. If you can do 5, wait 2 minutes and then start again. If you can’t do 5, do as many as you can in control, wait 2 minutes and then start again. Once you’re doing 3 sets of 5 repetitions on your negative pull-ups, along with your assisted chin-ups and body weight rows…you’re ready. Level 4 – Chin Ups and Pull-UpsMy dear rebel, it’s time. Depending on your weight, your level of fitness and strength, and how far along you are in these progressions, you might be able to start with more than one pull-up. For MANY people, especially if you have spent time in the gym in the past working on your biceps (like most guys do), you might find it easier to start with chin ups (with your palms facing toward you) for your first exercise before trying pull-ups (with your palms facing away from you). I’ve already covered how to do a pull-up/chin-up in another article, so I won’t get into it too much here…just focus on these things:
At this point, here’s a Level 4 routine set up for a week:
Level 5 – Next stepsOnce you’re able to do 3 sets of 10 pull-ups or chin-ups, you have a few options:
Personally, my favorite thing to do in a gym is weighted pull-ups; if you’re at this level and interested in doing so, here’s what you need to do:
So, here’s an advanced sample routine for back exercises:
Don’t Make These Pull-up Mistakes!My work here is done – it’s now up to you to take care of business. As you start to get stronger with your pull-ups, it’s important to check in and make sure you’re doing them correctly. 90% of people I see doing pull-ups in a gym are doing them incorrectly! Here are the 5 big mistakes people make when doing a pull-up: I want this for you so badly, because in my head there’s no greater exercise than a pull-up. It makes you feel like a badass, you get super strong, and it’s an amazing benchmark and milestone on the path to a leveled up life! Just ask Christina, who can now do multiple sets of pull-ups – her story is incredible: Or Bronwyn, who lost 50+ lbs and now does chin-ups with her daughter on her back! I know you might be overwhelmed right now, and you might be worried you’re gonna spend months without getting results. Although that happens for many, it’s because they don’t have the right plan (or nutrition) in place! You can absolutely do this on your own and follow the program above, but if you’re looking for more specific guidance or you want to avoid the guesswork and be told exactly what to do on what days to get to a pull-up on schedule, check out our coaching program! We’ve helped tons of men and women get their first pull-ups with our 1-on-1 Online coaching program, where our coaches build a program that incorporates pull-ups and fits your busy life! You can schedule a free call with our team to see how coaching can help you succeed by clicking on the image below: Anyways! In case you don’t need a long article, here’s a the short version: How To Do A Pull-up (short version)
No matter your starting point, whether you’re a guy or girl, you CAN do pull-ups. And you WILL do pull-ups. You don’t need to follow the progression above exactly – it’s merely one path that you can take in order to reach the promised land…where the pull-ups flow like wine and the women instinctively flock like the Salmon of Capistrano. Follow the path that works for your schedule, your experience, and your level of comfort with this movement – there’s no shame in going slowly and progressing safely. And if you’re gung ho about pull-ups, ready for negatives and trying to squirm for that first rep, feel free to go for it. Just be safe. When you DO finally do a pull-up, I want to be the first to know – email me at [email protected] and tell me about it! For the Rebellion, -Steve PS: If you are interested in learning more about pull-ups, bodyweight workout routines, and getting started with strength training, I applaud you – this is the BEST decision you make in your life. If you want more specific instruction, we walk you through each step of the process in our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab it free when you sign up in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
### via Blogger Can’t Do a Pull-up Yet? Here’s How to Get it Done Pull-ups are my favorite exercise of all time. They work all of the “pull” muscles in your body – your back, biceps, forearms. They are indicative of your level of fitness – anybody that can do a pull-up is in pretty good shape. And anybody that can do 10 or more is clearly in great shape. Lastly, pull-ups make you feel like a badass after doing them. However, pull-ups are also hard as hell, especially if you’re just getting started. Unlike other exercises that can be completed with just your body weight (like squats, lunges, and push ups), pull-ups and other exercises that strengthen your pull muscles require at least one piece of equipment or something to hang from! On top of all of that, if you can’t do one yet, how the heck are you supposed to work on them to get better? I’ve recently received thousands of emails from fellow rebels who are working towards their first pull-up but aren’t there quite yet. Whether you’re 300 pounds overweight and can’t even look at a pull-up bar without freaking out, or you’re half an inch away from finally being able to do your first pull-up, this article is for you – sorry it took so long for me to write! Pull-ups are quite the intimidating exercise, but like Optimus Prime has taught us, we can make small changes and improvements over time that will result in the ultimate goal: One. Freaking. Pull-up. It will take a combination of two things to get your chin up over that bar:
I realize doing those two things is much easier said than done. What most people don’t realize is that they spend too much time on the strength part, not realizing that decreasing their body weight is as important and impactful (if not more so!). Which is why most people never get to do a pull-up! After all, there’s nothing more frustrating than putting in the effort for months (or years) and not seeing results and getting demoralized. And unfortunately, this is what I see from most people: Lots of well-intentioned but misguided effort in the gym and no changes. You probably don’t have years to make the mistakes that I did and want to skip this problem, and you just want to start getting results today. In addition to the free resources below, we also offer 1-on-1 Online Coaching, where you’ll get personalized instruction for your body type and goals, and professional accountability from a Coach on Team Nerd Fitness! You can schedule a free call with our team to learn more about coaching by clicking on the image below of Christina! She’s one of our coaching clients who went from 0 pull-ups to now doing sets of 10! But enough of that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to get your first pull-up! A few tips to get startedThis should hopefully be obvious, but the more you weigh, the more you have to lift in order to complete a pull-up. If you’re truly serious about completing a pull-up, start by getting your diet under control. I’m a HUGE fan of the Paleo Diet, because I know it works. A few folks have already lost 10+ pounds in just over a week following the Paleo Diet in the Nerd Fitness Academy. As you start to weigh less, you’ll have less weight to pick up and move up over that bar! Got it? Good. MAKE YOUR BACK EXERCISES A PRIORITY. A lot of people do every other exercise before doing any back-related exercises, if they do any at all. After warming up properly, your first exercise should always be the stuff that you want to work on the most – in this case it’ll be your back. The progression below is just a path that I’ve created, but does NOT need to be followed to a T. I give sample sets and reps and when to move up, but if you feel like you can progress sooner or want to try doing full pull-ups sooner than I recommend, that’s OKAY. This is the slower progression method, where some people will want to do fewer reps and progress to the next levels sooner – that’s okay. I recommend moving up to the next level when you can do 3 sets of 8 reps of a particular exercise. If you want the accelerated path, move on up as soon as you can do 3 sets of 5 reps. Almost every exercise below has a video to show you how to do it. Click on the picture or the video below it. If you want to know how to incorporate the progressions below into a regular training routine, you can put your email address below to download our beginner bodyweight workout! It’s a great way to get strong as you also get better at your pull-ups!
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Level 1: Bent Over Dumbbell RowsWe’re going to start with these, the most basic of back exercises, in case you’re starting from ABSOLUTELY square one. For these exercises, focus on lifting more and more as you get stronger. Every OTHER day, pick up a dumbbell that you can lift for three sets of 8 repetitions with a 2-minute break between sets. As soon as you can do 3 sets of 8 reps, it’s time to move up to a heavier dumbbell.
Level 2: Body Weight RowsBody weight rows are the PERFECT precursor to pull-ups – they work the same muscles, just at a different angle. You can also make adjustments. You know how I HATE HATE HATE exercise machines? Here, I wholeheartedly recommend the use of a smith machine…but ONLY for rows! Because you can adjust the height of the bar, you can adjust how difficult the exercise is. If you’re just getting started, put the bar very high, so you only have to lean back slightly. If you’re stronger, you can start with a lower bar. Here’s a whole post I did on body weight rows (also called inverted rows). My advice:
A sample routine that starts with your back exercises
As soon as you’re doing bodyweight rows where your body is at a 45-degree angle or lower, you can progress to level 3. IF YOU DON’T HAVE ACCESS TO A BAR FOR INVERTED ROWS: Try using your kitchen table, or move up to Level 3 and progress with caution there. IF YOU HAVE ACCESS TO A GYM OR WANT TO JOIN A GYM, I know they can be intimidating! We have multiple chapters on how to find a gym and get started using the equipment, in our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab our nerdy guide when you join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion with your email in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
Level 3A: Assisted Pull-UpsPersonally, I don’t like using the assisted pull-up machine in a gym as it doesn’t give you the full feeling of a pull-up, but it’s certainly better than nothing. Instead, I recommend doing one of these alternatives:
My advice:
A sample level 3 routine:
Level 3B: Negative Pull-UpsNow, let’s say you don’t have a rubber band, you don’t have somebody to hold your feet, and you don’t have a chair – you ONLY have a pull-up bar. That’s okay – you can do what we call negatives. When doing a negative, you jump above the bar and try to lower yourself slowly and in control until you’re at the bottom of the movement. This can be very dangerous if you’re very overweight, which is why I’d recommend moving slowly through steps 1-3A first. However, once you have a decent amount of back strength, doing negatives is a great way to build arm and back strength. You can either jump above the pull-up bar, and then begin to lower yourself back down IN CONTROL, or you can hop up on a chair to get above the bar and then lower yourself back down. Again, the name of the game is “in control.” You don’t need to lower yourself so slowly that one repetition destroys you…lower yourself in a controlled speed – Counting to three during the movement is a good tempo. Here’s a sample workout using everything up to this point:
For your negative pull-ups, do as many as you can (up to 5 reps) per set – jump and lower yourself in control, then jump right back up and lower yourself. If you can do 5, wait 2 minutes and then start again. If you can’t do 5, do as many as you can in control, wait 2 minutes and then start again. Once you’re doing 3 sets of 5 repetitions on your negative pull-ups, along with your assisted chin-ups and body weight rows…you’re ready. Level 4 – Chin Ups and Pull-UpsMy dear rebel, it’s time. Depending on your weight, your level of fitness and strength, and how far along you are in these progressions, you might be able to start with more than one pull-up. For MANY people, especially if you have spent time in the gym in the past working on your biceps (like most guys do), you might find it easier to start with chin ups (with your palms facing toward you) for your first exercise before trying pull-ups (with your palms facing away from you). I’ve already covered how to do a pull-up/chin-up in another article, so I won’t get into it too much here…just focus on these things:
At this point, here’s a Level 4 routine set up for a week:
Level 5 – Next stepsOnce you’re able to do 3 sets of 10 pull-ups or chin-ups, you have a few options:
Personally, my favorite thing to do in a gym is weighted pull-ups; if you’re at this level and interested in doing so, here’s what you need to do:
So, here’s an advanced sample routine for back exercises:
Don’t Make These Pull-up Mistakes!My work here is done – it’s now up to you to take care of business. As you start to get stronger with your pull-ups, it’s important to check in and make sure you’re doing them correctly. 90% of people I see doing pull-ups in a gym are doing them incorrectly! Here are the 5 big mistakes people make when doing a pull-up: I want this for you so badly, because in my head there’s no greater exercise than a pull-up. It makes you feel like a badass, you get super strong, and it’s an amazing benchmark and milestone on the path to a leveled up life! Just ask Christina, who can now do multiple sets of pull-ups – her story is incredible: Or Bronwyn, who lost 50+ lbs and now does chin-ups with her daughter on her back! I know you might be overwhelmed right now, and you might be worried you’re gonna spend months without getting results. Although that happens for many, it’s because they don’t have the right plan (or nutrition) in place! You can absolutely do this on your own and follow the program above, but if you’re looking for more specific guidance or you want to avoid the guesswork and be told exactly what to do on what days to get to a pull-up on schedule, check out our coaching program! We’ve helped tons of men and women get their first pull-ups with our 1-on-1 Online coaching program, where our coaches build a program that incorporates pull-ups and fits your busy life! You can schedule a free call with our team to see how coaching can help you succeed by clicking on the image below: Anyways! In case you don’t need a long article, here’s a the short version: How To Do A Pull-up (short version)
No matter your starting point, whether you’re a guy or girl, you CAN do pull-ups. And you WILL do pull-ups. You don’t need to follow the progression above exactly – it’s merely one path that you can take in order to reach the promised land…where the pull-ups flow like wine and the women instinctively flock like the Salmon of Capistrano. Follow the path that works for your schedule, your experience, and your level of comfort with this movement – there’s no shame in going slowly and progressing safely. And if you’re gung ho about pull-ups, ready for negatives and trying to squirm for that first rep, feel free to go for it. Just be safe. When you DO finally do a pull-up, I want to be the first to know – email me at [email protected] and tell me about it! For the Rebellion, -Steve PS: If you are interested in learning more about pull-ups, bodyweight workout routines, and getting started with strength training, I applaud you – this is the BEST decision you make in your life. If you want more specific instruction, we walk you through each step of the process in our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab it free when you sign up in the box below:
Download our comprehensive guide STRENGTH TRAINING 101!
### via Tumblr Can’t Do a Pull-up Yet? Here’s How to Get it Done “She is seriously crushing it.” When you speak with Emily, it doesn’t take long to realize how proud she is of leveling up her life. And she should be proud! What she’s accomplished is simply amazing. Emily, a dog walker from Chicago, had been obese her entire adult life – and it wasn’t like she didn’t try to lose weight. Emily had attempted:
Such start and stop patterns continued for years. Then things changed. Emily saw that Staci, our head female trainer for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program, was accepting clients. She knew it was time to try something different. And this time, things were different. For starters, Emily, for the first time in her adult life, is no longer obese. And when she heads to the gym, she crushes it, rocking 195 lb squats, 225 lb deadlifts, and 110 lb bench presses. Awesome. While all this is indeed super amazing, the thing I really want to highlight today is Emily’s mindset change. Because she had tried getting in shape, multiple different ways, in the past. However, a trap of “perfectionism” saw Emily abandoning all these earlier efforts. But you don’t need to hear it from me. Let’s bring in Emily! HOW EMILY LOST 65 POUNDS, LEARNED TO LOVE STRENGTH TRAINING, AND LEVELED UP HER LIFESteve: Hi Emily! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. I’d love to hear from you about your past – Can you take us through a typical day before you started your journey with Nerd Fitness? Emily: A typical day for me looked something like this:
I did a lot of living in the moment. It really felt like I was trying so hard all the time, but a lack of planning ahead gave me too many opportunities to slip up. Steve: Yeah, marketers really do place junk food at every angle in our grocery stores. It really is tough to avoid it all. Was this the first time you had tried to get in shape? Emily: Hardly. I’d tried sticking to 1,200 calories a day for weight loss but just couldn’t do it. I ended up hungry and grouchy a lot. Later, I tried again and bumped it up to 1,500 calories a day. Same results though, I ended up miserably and abandoned the effort. As far as working out, I could never achieve consistency. There would be times when I wouldn’t even try and exercise. Other times, I’d try and work out every day. But I never felt good about what I was doing. I gave the P90x and TurboFire programs a shot, but they were too tough for me. I tried some Jillian Michaels videos but got bored. I joined Planet Fitness, but it turns out I hate treadmills and elliptical machines with the fire of 1,000 suns. I tried their weight machines too, but it felt really awkward. Going through all this has taught me a valuable lesson: if you don’t like what you’re doing, you probably won’t continue to do it. Steve: You’re 100% right! We often tell people to exercise in a way they love and to do that as much as possible. That, and also strength training. But since you’re working with Coach Staci, I’m sure we’ll get to more of that soon. Was there a specific moment when you decided to ask for help? Emily: There was. I had just hit my highest weight ever. I was on the couch crying, looking through the subreddit r/progresspics (where people post before and after photos), and I was so frustrated. I felt like I was constantly trying to lose weight, making lots of good choices while still getting nowhere. I had been a member of the Nerd Fitness Academy for a while and had leveled up a lot of my choices, but the weight loss just wasn’t happening. Then, I saw that Staci was accepting clients for 1-on-1 Coaching, and decided to sign up. Which has been a game changer. In the past, I had a tendency to pick a shiny new program, try hard to be perfect, fail and burn out, and give up for a while until I found another shiny new program. Staci really helped me focus, pick myself back up when I fell, and keep going. Steve: I’m so happy to hear you hit it off with Staci. Can we talk a little bit more about your “perfectionism?” I think jumping from one program to the next is something a lot of people can relate to. Emily: Yeah, my perfectionism was really holding me back. I used to set ridiculously impossible goals. I’d do okay for a bit, then I’d have an eff it moment and eat half a package of Oreos. From there I’d spend the next two weeks spiraling in shame and frustration, wondering why I can never seem to stay on track. Then I’d vow to get “back on the wagon” and the cycle would begin all over again. I had to start where I was and learn to set teeny tiny incremental goals. Goals that I could still do even when everything felt impossibly hard. Goals like:
I had been trying to jump into a healthy lifestyle with both feet, when what I really needed was to baby-step my way there. So looking back, the most important change I’ve made is focusing on consistency over perfection: It doesn’t matter if my food log isn’t absolutely flawless, just that I log all my food as best I can each day. It doesn’t matter that every workout isn’t the most incredibly hard-core workout ever, just that I actually get myself to the gym three times per week. Keeping myself moving forward even when I feel like giving up is the absolute most important thing. Steve: Yes! You nailed two key points: Often it’s easier to make small habits you can stick with instead of changing every single aspect of your life all at once. The other is that consistency is the name of the game. No one is perfect, but a key characteristic of success is to keep going. Your response highlighted both ideas perfectly. What’s your workout program look like? What is Coach Staci having you do? Emily: Strength training. I lift weights on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday mornings first thing. I also go to yoga class on Monday after work. I LOVE lifting, it makes me feel like such a badass. Once I picked up a barbell for the first time, I was like “Okay, this is it. I found my favorite thing to do.” I’ve gone from basically just lifting the bar to a 195 lb squat, a 225 lb deadlift, and a 110 lb bench. Steve: I don’t know if you can fully understand how happy you just made me! I’m so pumped that Staci helped you find a love of strength training. Talk to me a little bit about nutrition. What have you done differently? What strategy are you following? Emily: Since I was constantly hungry when cutting calories before, we knew we had to keep my volume up. Which meant eating vegetables to meet my calorie goals. But I was convinced I didn’t like veggies. However, I decided to start an experiment. Every week I would pick up a vegetable I thought I didn’t like, and try cooking it a few different ways. If at the end of the week I still didn’t like it, that’s fine. I wouldn’t buy it again. The thing is, I found I actually DID like a bunch of different veggies. I just didn’t like the kind forced on me as a kid: boiled to death and soggy with no seasoning. Another thing that helped was making a food plan ahead of time. Planning helped me restructure my life and make the healthier choice easier, and the less healthy choice harder. For example: let’s say it’s Thursday evening after work. I had a hard day and I’m hungry, grumpy, and tired. I know that I’ll make the easiest choice available at the moment: Emily With No Plan hasn’t thought ahead, as though it’s a surprise that she has to feed herself every day. She could either figure out a healthy meal to make, probably have to swing by the grocery store and pick up ingredients, come home, prep everything and cook. Or, she could order delivery. Honestly, she’s probably going to order delivery. Emily With A Plan is prepared! She previously decided that dinner is chicken fajitas. There’s chicken thawing in the fridge and the veggies are washed, chopped, and ready to go. In the moment there’s no tough decision to make. Plus, it’s faster to just make the fajitas. She’s probably not ordering delivery. I’ve used this strategy a lot. I ate a ton of chips, so I stopped buying them. When I wanted them I would have to go to the store and buy a single serving. That’s a lot of work for like 10 potato chips. I ate a lot of cookies too, so I decided “I no longer keep store-bought cookies in the house.” If I want them I have to make them from scratch. I’ve actually made them only a handful of times since implementing this rule, which has drastically reduced my cookie consumption. Shifting the regular structures of my life in this way has allowed me to use my laziness as an advantage. If I make unhealthy choices too much work, I’m WAY less likely to choose them. Steve: That’s incredible. I made that same exact point in a recent article, “Super Simple Batch Cooked Chicken For Lazy People.” You really distilled down the argument on your example of fajitas. Also, your strategy on learning to like veggies is the exact one I used! Great work all around. What’s a typical day for you like now? Emily: A typical day for me now:
Planning ahead and setting up healthy habits has helped me so much: I don’t have to decide what’s for lunch or dinner, because that decision was already made. I don’t have to white knuckle my way past junk food at the grocery store while picking up dinner ingredients because they’re already in the fridge. I don’t have to decide to work out, because gym time is blocked out on my calendar. If it’s time to go to the gym, I just go. No decision, no skipping because I don’t want to, no internal drama. Just go. That also means when it’s not gym time, I don’t have to think about it or feel guilty that’s it’s been too long since I last worked out. I’ve set up the structure of my life to support healthy habits and remove opportunities for unhealthy behaviors. Steve: You really are crushing it Emily. Both you and Coach Staci should be very proud. Your appearance has changed? What else has changed about you? Emily: I have completely changed. You’re right, how I look has obviously changed, but I’m also way more confident now. I’ve proven to myself that I can do what I once thought was impossible. I can look my flaws square in the face and learn from them instead of running from them. I can rebuild my life from the ground up. I’m more assertive now instead of letting people walk all over me like I used to do. I’m way more energetic than I ever was before. And I’m more social because I have the energy to go out and do stuff. I’m like an entirely different person. Steve: I’m so happy to hear that. We often talk about how one improvement in life can lead to another, and then another, creating a chain reaction. I’m so happy you feel more confident as a result of your new habits. Okay, real talk: NF Coaching isn’t cheap. You’ve been a client for a year and a half. What makes you stick with it and keep investing in yourself? Emily: Coaching has definitely been worth the investment. Just knowing Staci is there in my back pocket, that she believes unequivocally I can do it, and she’s there with me every step of the way has been invaluable. She keeps me grounded and focused. She keeps me from getting distracted by shiny new programs. And when things get rough and I start to get overwhelmed, she helps me keep things in perspective and just keep trucking along. Interestingly enough, I’m actually better off financially now than I was before Coaching. Managing my calorie budget has helped me with my financial budget – there’s a ton of overlap. It’s helped me hone my long-term planning skills. Practicing the skill of not eating junk food even though I want it has helped me sharpen my ability to not buy things I don’t need. Both require trying to get the most out of limited resources. Both require putting long term goals before short term desires. Steve: I totally believe it. The financial and calorie budget analogy and overlap makes a lot of sense to me. You’re a clever one, Emily, and you’re okay in my book! Alright, I’ve got to ask: do you have any nerdy passions or pursuits? Emily: I read a ton of fantasy and sci-fi. My favorites are Name of the Wind, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Way of Kings. I’m in three book clubs. I also love playing board games. I consider myself a Trekkie, but have also cosplayed as Kaylee from Firefly. Lastly, I just started playing D&D for the first time – my character is a kick-butt Druid. Steve: A love of fantasy and sci-fi, cosplaying experience, and repping a D&D character: your nerd credentials are in proper order. We may proceed. What’s next for you Emily? Where do you go from here? Emily: Two main goals:
Steve: I have no doubt you will rock a chin-up soon. You’ve been crushing everything else you’ve sought after. Best of luck Emily! And thanks again for taking the time to share your story with all of us! THE 6 KEYS TO EMILY’S WEIGHT LOSS AND LEVEL UP SUCCESSWe can all learn a lot from Emily. Losing weight and transforming yourself is tough. When someone around us does it, it’s worth analyzing their behavior to see if any lessons can be gleaned for the rest of us. Something we can ponder, and then take action with ourselves. Emily’s journey provides plenty of good examples. In speaking with her, I distilled six key traits that set her apart. Six behaviors that helped Emily succeed despite the odds against. Here’s what we can learn from Emily: #1) EMILY DIDN’T GIVE UP Emily had been trying to lose weight for years: Restricting caloric intake to super low levels? Check. Running mindlessly on treadmills? Check. At home workout videos? Double check. She tried all of it. And she didn’t like ANY of it. So she’d move onto the next “shiny new program.” What’s important is Emily never gave up. She kept trying new things. Then, when she started working with Nerd Fitness Coaching, she tried something different: picking up a barbell. Now, Emily loves strength training and feels like a badass for doing it. There’s no ONE way to get in shape, and Emily finally found something she loves and will stick with. The important thing is Emily kept trying until she got it right. Speaking of… #2) EMILY IS WILLING TO EXPERIMENT I love Emily’s willingness to experiment with vegetables. Vegetables are nutrient dense, full of fiber, and low on calories. If you’re trying to eat within your calorie goals, but don’t want to be “hungry and grouchy” the whole time, vegetables will be key. Emily was convinced she didn’t like vegetables. But she decided to test her assumptions and try some out. She did this by picking out one new veggie a week. If she cooked it and hated it, no big deal. She wouldn’t force herself to eat it again. But if she liked it…BOOM! A new vegetable could be added to the menu. Emily discovered she liked many different kinds of vegetables, as long as they were prepared correctly. Be open to experimentation. Try new things. Not everything you experiment with has to work. But some things you try just might. #3) EMILY BUILT A SYSTEM AND HAS A PLAN One of the true gems of Emily’s interview comes from the “Emily With No Plan” and “Emily With A Plan” comparison. She really nailed it. When you have a plan, like prepared meals for the week, you take all the guesswork out of “what should I eat?” Dinner time, which comes around every day, doesn’t have to be a surprise. Emily knows exactly what to eat because she planned it out over the weekend. And she never has to stress about not having supplies, because she picked those up too over the weekend. When it comes time to figure out what to eat, the easiest option available to Emily is the healthy meal she has planned for. The same strategy can be seen on her workout schedule: Tuesday morning? She’s up early crushing it at the gym. Wednesday morning? She’s sleeping in. Emily never feels guilty about waking up late, because it’s all part of her plan. Wednesday’s are her day to rest. The gym will be calling tomorrow. Make a plan. Put it on your calendar. Make your healthy habits automatic instead of worrying about what to do from one moment to the next. #4) EMILY DIDN’T LET PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF GOOD In the past, Emily had let “perfectionism” derail her efforts. In her own words, Emily would find a “shiny new program.” She’d go all in, excited about her new endeavor. Then…life would happen. She’d miss a workout. She’d eat some Oreos. She’d order takeout. When this would inevitably happen, she’d have an “eff it” moment. Emily would abandon everything and “then spend two weeks spiraling in shame and frustration.” Then, she’d try again, have another “eff it” moment and the cycle would repeat. But not anymore. Today, Emily is consistent. If she wants to have some cookies, it’s okay! She knows tomorrow it’s back to strength training and the chicken fajitas she has ready to cook. No one is perfect. We all have moments where we stray from the path. The important thing is to not let one decision affect all future decisions: Don’t let some potato chips today stop you from going to your yoga class. Don’t let sleeping in and missing a workout this morning stop you from cooking dinner tonight. Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.” #5) EMILY INVESTED IN HERSELF AND ASKED FOR HELP Emily had tried to get in shape many times before. And Emily had stopped trying just as many times. When Emily saw that Staci was accepting clients as part of NF Coaching, she decided to try again. But this time, she would ask for help. It’s okay to ask for help. Even if you have to invest your time or money to do so. You are not the first person to want to get in shape. Emily is not the first Rebel to transform herself. What makes them successful varies from person to person, but oftentimes it’s that they reached out for assistance. It’s okay to ask someone for guidance. Someone who has helped others do exactly what you want to do. Yes, you will most likely have to pay for this expertise. But oftentimes, it is indeed worth every penny. I’ve personally had an online coach for 4 years, someone who knows exactly how to help me reach my goals, and it’s the best investment I’ve ever made. Remember, you don’t have to make this journey alone. #6) EMILY IS HAVING FUN ALONG THE WAY I know it’s cliché, but getting in shape really is a lifestyle adjustment. Meaning this isn’t something you do for a week, a month, or even one year. It’s something you will do for the rest of your life. For this to work, you need to enjoy the journey ahead. And Emily is enjoying herself! She feels like a total badass when she deadlifts. And she should, because doing deadlifts is badass. Emily doesn’t dread picking up the barbell. She looks forward to it. That means she’ll keep doing it! Emily takes a yoga class because Emily likes taking yoga classes. Emily makes chicken fajitas because Emily likes chicken fajitas. Emily occasionally makes homemade cookies, because occasionally Emily likes making homemade cookies. You need to enjoy what you do, otherwise, you won’t stick with it. You need to have fun today, so years from now you’ll still be doing it. It’s a message I really push in the video “Want to get in shape? Think in days and years, not weeks and months” We are not making temporary changes, because they will only create temporary results. We are making permanent changes, so our transformations will be permanent. HOW WILL YOUR NEXT ATTEMPT BE DIFFERENT? BE LIKE EMILYI’m super proud of what Emily and Coach Staci have accomplished. And if you’re still reading this, I want you to know I’m proud of you too. You’re still reading, which means you’re still trying (see #1). You found your way to our strange corner of the internet and you’re part of the Rebellion. I’m so happy you’re here today. We’ll continue to be here for you tomorrow, next month, and years from now. No matter where you are on your journey, I would encourage you to think about what made Emily successful:
If you found yourself relating to Emily’s story, jumping from “shiny new program” to “shiny new program” without getting the results you’re after, maybe it’s time for something different. Depending on your current situation, our 1-on-1 NF Coaching Program might be the No matter what you do, here’s what I want you to take away from Emily’s story:
If you do those two things, I can almost guarantee you’ll be a healthier version of you in 12 months. Then maybe it’ll be your story on the website we’ll be sharing. And hey, maybe your journey will inspire change in someone else! -Steve PS: I want to give a special shoutout to Coach Staci, who helped turn Emily’s life around. Staci has guided and inspired hundreds if not thousands of Rebels and we are very lucky to have her on Team Nerd Fitness. If you want to see if we can help you level up your life, check out our 1-on-1 Coaching program. We’d love to talk to you, no matter what you end up deciding. via Tumblr How Emily Started Picking up Barbells, Learned to Meal Plan, and Lost 65 Pounds! “She is seriously crushing it.” When you speak with Emily, it doesn’t take long to realize how proud she is of leveling up her life. And she should be proud! What she’s accomplished is simply amazing. Emily, a dog walker from Chicago, had been obese her entire adult life – and it wasn’t like she didn’t try to lose weight. Emily had attempted:
Such start and stop patterns continued for years. Then things changed. Emily saw that Staci, our head female trainer for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program, was accepting clients. She knew it was time to try something different. And this time, things were different. For starters, Emily, for the first time in her adult life, is no longer obese. And when she heads to the gym, she crushes it, rocking 195 lb squats, 225 lb deadlifts, and 110 lb bench presses. Awesome. While all this is indeed super amazing, the thing I really want to highlight today is Emily’s mindset change. Because she had tried getting in shape, multiple different ways, in the past. However, a trap of “perfectionism” saw Emily abandoning all these earlier efforts. But you don’t need to hear it from me. Let’s bring in Emily! HOW EMILY LOST 65 POUNDS, LEARNED TO LOVE STRENGTH TRAINING, AND LEVELED UP HER LIFESteve: Hi Emily! Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with me. I’d love to hear from you about your past – Can you take us through a typical day before you started your journey with Nerd Fitness? Emily: A typical day for me looked something like this:
I did a lot of living in the moment. It really felt like I was trying so hard all the time, but a lack of planning ahead gave me too many opportunities to slip up. Steve: Yeah, marketers really do place junk food at every angle in our grocery stores. It really is tough to avoid it all. Was this the first time you had tried to get in shape? Emily: Hardly. I’d tried sticking to 1,200 calories a day for weight loss but just couldn’t do it. I ended up hungry and grouchy a lot. Later, I tried again and bumped it up to 1,500 calories a day. Same results though, I ended up miserably and abandoned the effort. As far as working out, I could never achieve consistency. There would be times when I wouldn’t even try and exercise. Other times, I’d try and work out every day. But I never felt good about what I was doing. I gave the P90x and TurboFire programs a shot, but they were too tough for me. I tried some Jillian Michaels videos but got bored. I joined Planet Fitness, but it turns out I hate treadmills and elliptical machines with the fire of 1,000 suns. I tried their weight machines too, but it felt really awkward. Going through all this has taught me a valuable lesson: if you don’t like what you’re doing, you probably won’t continue to do it. Steve: You’re 100% right! We often tell people to exercise in a way they love and to do that as much as possible. That, and also strength training. But since you’re working with Coach Staci, I’m sure we’ll get to more of that soon. Was there a specific moment when you decided to ask for help? Emily: There was. I had just hit my highest weight ever. I was on the couch crying, looking through the subreddit r/progresspics (where people post before and after photos), and I was so frustrated. I felt like I was constantly trying to lose weight, making lots of good choices while still getting nowhere. I had been a member of the Nerd Fitness Academy for a while and had leveled up a lot of my choices, but the weight loss just wasn’t happening. Then, I saw that Staci was accepting clients for 1-on-1 Coaching, and decided to sign up. Which has been a game changer. In the past, I had a tendency to pick a shiny new program, try hard to be perfect, fail and burn out, and give up for a while until I found another shiny new program. Staci really helped me focus, pick myself back up when I fell, and keep going. Steve: I’m so happy to hear you hit it off with Staci. Can we talk a little bit more about your “perfectionism?” I think jumping from one program to the next is something a lot of people can relate to. Emily: Yeah, my perfectionism was really holding me back. I used to set ridiculously impossible goals. I’d do okay for a bit, then I’d have an eff it moment and eat half a package of Oreos. From there I’d spend the next two weeks spiraling in shame and frustration, wondering why I can never seem to stay on track. Then I’d vow to get “back on the wagon” and the cycle would begin all over again. I had to start where I was and learn to set teeny tiny incremental goals. Goals that I could still do even when everything felt impossibly hard. Goals like:
I had been trying to jump into a healthy lifestyle with both feet, when what I really needed was to baby-step my way there. So looking back, the most important change I’ve made is focusing on consistency over perfection: It doesn’t matter if my food log isn’t absolutely flawless, just that I log all my food as best I can each day. It doesn’t matter that every workout isn’t the most incredibly hard-core workout ever, just that I actually get myself to the gym three times per week. Keeping myself moving forward even when I feel like giving up is the absolute most important thing. Steve: Yes! You nailed two key points: Often it’s easier to make small habits you can stick with instead of changing every single aspect of your life all at once. The other is that consistency is the name of the game. No one is perfect, but a key characteristic of success is to keep going. Your response highlighted both ideas perfectly. What’s your workout program look like? What is Coach Staci having you do? Emily: Strength training. I lift weights on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday mornings first thing. I also go to yoga class on Monday after work. I LOVE lifting, it makes me feel like such a badass. Once I picked up a barbell for the first time, I was like “Okay, this is it. I found my favorite thing to do.” I’ve gone from basically just lifting the bar to a 195 lb squat, a 225 lb deadlift, and a 110 lb bench. Steve: I don’t know if you can fully understand how happy you just made me! I’m so pumped that Staci helped you find a love of strength training. Talk to me a little bit about nutrition. What have you done differently? What strategy are you following? Emily: Since I was constantly hungry when cutting calories before, we knew we had to keep my volume up. Which meant eating vegetables to meet my calorie goals. But I was convinced I didn’t like veggies. However, I decided to start an experiment. Every week I would pick up a vegetable I thought I didn’t like, and try cooking it a few different ways. If at the end of the week I still didn’t like it, that’s fine. I wouldn’t buy it again. The thing is, I found I actually DID like a bunch of different veggies. I just didn’t like the kind forced on me as a kid: boiled to death and soggy with no seasoning. Another thing that helped was making a food plan ahead of time. Planning helped me restructure my life and make the healthier choice easier, and the less healthy choice harder. For example: let’s say it’s Thursday evening after work. I had a hard day and I’m hungry, grumpy, and tired. I know that I’ll make the easiest choice available at the moment: Emily With No Plan hasn’t thought ahead, as though it’s a surprise that she has to feed herself every day. She could either figure out a healthy meal to make, probably have to swing by the grocery store and pick up ingredients, come home, prep everything and cook. Or, she could order delivery. Honestly, she’s probably going to order delivery. Emily With A Plan is prepared! She previously decided that dinner is chicken fajitas. There’s chicken thawing in the fridge and the veggies are washed, chopped, and ready to go. In the moment there’s no tough decision to make. Plus, it’s faster to just make the fajitas. She’s probably not ordering delivery. I’ve used this strategy a lot. I ate a ton of chips, so I stopped buying them. When I wanted them I would have to go to the store and buy a single serving. That’s a lot of work for like 10 potato chips. I ate a lot of cookies too, so I decided “I no longer keep store-bought cookies in the house.” If I want them I have to make them from scratch. I’ve actually made them only a handful of times since implementing this rule, which has drastically reduced my cookie consumption. Shifting the regular structures of my life in this way has allowed me to use my laziness as an advantage. If I make unhealthy choices too much work, I’m WAY less likely to choose them. Steve: That’s incredible. I made that same exact point in a recent article, “Super Simple Batch Cooked Chicken For Lazy People.” You really distilled down the argument on your example of fajitas. Also, your strategy on learning to like veggies is the exact one I used! Great work all around. What’s a typical day for you like now? Emily: A typical day for me now:
Planning ahead and setting up healthy habits has helped me so much: I don’t have to decide what’s for lunch or dinner, because that decision was already made. I don’t have to white knuckle my way past junk food at the grocery store while picking up dinner ingredients because they’re already in the fridge. I don’t have to decide to work out, because gym time is blocked out on my calendar. If it’s time to go to the gym, I just go. No decision, no skipping because I don’t want to, no internal drama. Just go. That also means when it’s not gym time, I don’t have to think about it or feel guilty that’s it’s been too long since I last worked out. I’ve set up the structure of my life to support healthy habits and remove opportunities for unhealthy behaviors. Steve: You really are crushing it Emily. Both you and Coach Staci should be very proud. Your appearance has changed? What else has changed about you? Emily: I have completely changed. You’re right, how I look has obviously changed, but I’m also way more confident now. I’ve proven to myself that I can do what I once thought was impossible. I can look my flaws square in the face and learn from them instead of running from them. I can rebuild my life from the ground up. I’m more assertive now instead of letting people walk all over me like I used to do. I’m way more energetic than I ever was before. And I’m more social because I have the energy to go out and do stuff. I’m like an entirely different person. Steve: I’m so happy to hear that. We often talk about how one improvement in life can lead to another, and then another, creating a chain reaction. I’m so happy you feel more confident as a result of your new habits. Okay, real talk: NF Coaching isn’t cheap. You’ve been a client for a year and a half. What makes you stick with it and keep investing in yourself? Emily: Coaching has definitely been worth the investment. Just knowing Staci is there in my back pocket, that she believes unequivocally I can do it, and she’s there with me every step of the way has been invaluable. She keeps me grounded and focused. She keeps me from getting distracted by shiny new programs. And when things get rough and I start to get overwhelmed, she helps me keep things in perspective and just keep trucking along. Interestingly enough, I’m actually better off financially now than I was before Coaching. Managing my calorie budget has helped me with my financial budget – there’s a ton of overlap. It’s helped me hone my long-term planning skills. Practicing the skill of not eating junk food even though I want it has helped me sharpen my ability to not buy things I don’t need. Both require trying to get the most out of limited resources. Both require putting long term goals before short term desires. Steve: I totally believe it. The financial and calorie budget analogy and overlap makes a lot of sense to me. You’re a clever one, Emily, and you’re okay in my book! Alright, I’ve got to ask: do you have any nerdy passions or pursuits? Emily: I read a ton of fantasy and sci-fi. My favorites are Name of the Wind, The Lies of Locke Lamora, and Way of Kings. I’m in three book clubs. I also love playing board games. I consider myself a Trekkie, but have also cosplayed as Kaylee from Firefly. Lastly, I just started playing D&D for the first time – my character is a kick-butt Druid. Steve: A love of fantasy and sci-fi, cosplaying experience, and repping a D&D character: your nerd credentials are in proper order. We may proceed. What’s next for you Emily? Where do you go from here? Emily: Two main goals:
Steve: I have no doubt you will rock a chin-up soon. You’ve been crushing everything else you’ve sought after. Best of luck Emily! And thanks again for taking the time to share your story with all of us! THE 6 KEYS TO EMILY’S WEIGHT LOSS AND LEVEL UP SUCCESSWe can all learn a lot from Emily. Losing weight and transforming yourself is tough. When someone around us does it, it’s worth analyzing their behavior to see if any lessons can be gleaned for the rest of us. Something we can ponder, and then take action with ourselves. Emily’s journey provides plenty of good examples. In speaking with her, I distilled six key traits that set her apart. Six behaviors that helped Emily succeed despite the odds against. Here’s what we can learn from Emily: #1) EMILY DIDN’T GIVE UP Emily had been trying to lose weight for years: Restricting caloric intake to super low levels? Check. Running mindlessly on treadmills? Check. At home workout videos? Double check. She tried all of it. And she didn’t like ANY of it. So she’d move onto the next “shiny new program.” What’s important is Emily never gave up. She kept trying new things. Then, when she started working with Nerd Fitness Coaching, she tried something different: picking up a barbell. Now, Emily loves strength training and feels like a badass for doing it. There’s no ONE way to get in shape, and Emily finally found something she loves and will stick with. The important thing is Emily kept trying until she got it right. Speaking of… #2) EMILY IS WILLING TO EXPERIMENT I love Emily’s willingness to experiment with vegetables. Vegetables are nutrient dense, full of fiber, and low on calories. If you’re trying to eat within your calorie goals, but don’t want to be “hungry and grouchy” the whole time, vegetables will be key. Emily was convinced she didn’t like vegetables. But she decided to test her assumptions and try some out. She did this by picking out one new veggie a week. If she cooked it and hated it, no big deal. She wouldn’t force herself to eat it again. But if she liked it…BOOM! A new vegetable could be added to the menu. Emily discovered she liked many different kinds of vegetables, as long as they were prepared correctly. Be open to experimentation. Try new things. Not everything you experiment with has to work. But some things you try just might. #3) EMILY BUILT A SYSTEM AND HAS A PLAN One of the true gems of Emily’s interview comes from the “Emily With No Plan” and “Emily With A Plan” comparison. She really nailed it. When you have a plan, like prepared meals for the week, you take all the guesswork out of “what should I eat?” Dinner time, which comes around every day, doesn’t have to be a surprise. Emily knows exactly what to eat because she planned it out over the weekend. And she never has to stress about not having supplies, because she picked those up too over the weekend. When it comes time to figure out what to eat, the easiest option available to Emily is the healthy meal she has planned for. The same strategy can be seen on her workout schedule: Tuesday morning? She’s up early crushing it at the gym. Wednesday morning? She’s sleeping in. Emily never feels guilty about waking up late, because it’s all part of her plan. Wednesday’s are her day to rest. The gym will be calling tomorrow. Make a plan. Put it on your calendar. Make your healthy habits automatic instead of worrying about what to do from one moment to the next. #4) EMILY DIDN’T LET PERFECT BE THE ENEMY OF GOOD In the past, Emily had let “perfectionism” derail her efforts. In her own words, Emily would find a “shiny new program.” She’d go all in, excited about her new endeavor. Then…life would happen. She’d miss a workout. She’d eat some Oreos. She’d order takeout. When this would inevitably happen, she’d have an “eff it” moment. Emily would abandon everything and “then spend two weeks spiraling in shame and frustration.” Then, she’d try again, have another “eff it” moment and the cycle would repeat. But not anymore. Today, Emily is consistent. If she wants to have some cookies, it’s okay! She knows tomorrow it’s back to strength training and the chicken fajitas she has ready to cook. No one is perfect. We all have moments where we stray from the path. The important thing is to not let one decision affect all future decisions: Don’t let some potato chips today stop you from going to your yoga class. Don’t let sleeping in and missing a workout this morning stop you from cooking dinner tonight. Don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.” #5) EMILY INVESTED IN HERSELF AND ASKED FOR HELP Emily had tried to get in shape many times before. And Emily had stopped trying just as many times. When Emily saw that Staci was accepting clients as part of NF Coaching, she decided to try again. But this time, she would ask for help. It’s okay to ask for help. Even if you have to invest your time or money to do so. You are not the first person to want to get in shape. Emily is not the first Rebel to transform herself. What makes them successful varies from person to person, but oftentimes it’s that they reached out for assistance. It’s okay to ask someone for guidance. Someone who has helped others do exactly what you want to do. Yes, you will most likely have to pay for this expertise. But oftentimes, it is indeed worth every penny. I’ve personally had an online coach for 4 years, someone who knows exactly how to help me reach my goals, and it’s the best investment I’ve ever made. Remember, you don’t have to make this journey alone. #6) EMILY IS HAVING FUN ALONG THE WAY I know it’s cliché, but getting in shape really is a lifestyle adjustment. Meaning this isn’t something you do for a week, a month, or even one year. It’s something you will do for the rest of your life. For this to work, you need to enjoy the journey ahead. And Emily is enjoying herself! She feels like a total badass when she deadlifts. And she should, because doing deadlifts is badass. Emily doesn’t dread picking up the barbell. She looks forward to it. That means she’ll keep doing it! Emily takes a yoga class because Emily likes taking yoga classes. Emily makes chicken fajitas because Emily likes chicken fajitas. Emily occasionally makes homemade cookies, because occasionally Emily likes making homemade cookies. You need to enjoy what you do, otherwise, you won’t stick with it. You need to have fun today, so years from now you’ll still be doing it. It’s a message I really push in the video “Want to get in shape? Think in days and years, not weeks and months” We are not making temporary changes, because they will only create temporary results. We are making permanent changes, so our transformations will be permanent. HOW WILL YOUR NEXT ATTEMPT BE DIFFERENT? BE LIKE EMILYI’m super proud of what Emily and Coach Staci have accomplished. And if you’re still reading this, I want you to know I’m proud of you too. You’re still reading, which means you’re still trying (see #1). You found your way to our strange corner of the internet and you’re part of the Rebellion. I’m so happy you’re here today. We’ll continue to be here for you tomorrow, next month, and years from now. No matter where you are on your journey, I would encourage you to think about what made Emily successful:
If you found yourself relating to Emily’s story, jumping from “shiny new program” to “shiny new program” without getting the results you’re after, maybe it’s time for something different. Depending on your current situation, our 1-on-1 NF Coaching Program might be the No matter what you do, here’s what I want you to take away from Emily’s story:
If you do those two things, I can almost guarantee you’ll be a healthier version of you in 12 months. Then maybe it’ll be your story on the website we’ll be sharing. And hey, maybe your journey will inspire change in someone else! -Steve PS: I want to give a special shoutout to Coach Staci, who helped turn Emily’s life around. Staci has guided and inspired hundreds if not thousands of Rebels and we are very lucky to have her on Team Nerd Fitness. If you want to see if we can help you level up your life, check out our 1-on-1 Coaching program. We’d love to talk to you, no matter what you end up deciding. via Blogger How Emily Started Picking up Barbells, Learned to Meal Plan, and Lost 65 Pounds! |