Articles about Fitness
My friends tell me it tastes like sadness.
My newest “Unscripted Chit-Chat” video is up on my Youtube Channel. If you follow this blog you’ve seen that in the Fitness Section I had an entire series of articles called “College Bodybuilder Tips” that were in the format of letters to a mysterious “K”, who I was giving diet and workout advice to. Well, in this video I talk to “K”–his name is Koby–and we chat about some of the advice I’ve given him over the years and about his success in going from 135 to 180 of lean muscle.
You’ve probably noticed that the internet has a lot of completely contradictory advice when it comes to health, exercise, and fitness. Even if you dismiss articles written by obvious charlatans looking to make a buck, there are still seemingly sincere experts who all say different things. This contradiction among experts gets amplified by non-expert bloggers and journalists who, of course, indiscriminately publicize every theory they get their hands on. In the end, it just looks like nobody knows what they’re talking about. So what’s going on? I think there is a simple answer rooted in a basic psychological problem with how people approach the internet. Namely, not everything is about you.
Usually I like to give people advice on diet based on what they already are eating, and what their goals are. There is no single diet that is correct for everyone. However, I also keep getting asked what my diet is, so here it is. A couple of notes before I go into it: First: […]
As an experiment, I measured my calorie intake daily, and my weight three times a day, for two months while going through a “cutting phase” in my workout routine. The resulting chart is pretty interesting. First: Notice that I stepped down my calorie intake about 200 calories every two weeks. My daily calorie intake is […]
How to choose a personal trainer.
Dear K***, There are a lot of people who will tell you that you shouldn’t compare yourself to other people. Well, that’s a load of bullshit. What matters is making sure you compare yourself to the right people, in the right way. I’ve always thought that people who say “Oh, you should never compare yourself […]
The term “musclebound” means more than just “overly muscular”. It has a technical meaning, too: a meaning that is based on gymnastics and geometry. This is one of my favorite little pieces of trivia, because it involves both fitness and mathematics. I remember hearing it a long time ago from a gymnast friend of mine […]
The New York Times article “Muscular body image lures boys into gym, and obsession” is uninformed and is likely to send mixed messages to parents and children. This first problem that caught my attention in this article is the statistics that it cites. “…more than 40 percent of boys in middle school and high school […]
Dear K***, You’ve been pushing yourself on your chest workouts, you’ve been resting and eating and sleeping and doing everything else right. Still, you feel like you’ve hit a “ceiling” you can’t get past. It’s time for me to let you in on a secret: even though you are focusing on your chest, it could […]
The rationale behind the Paleo diet is one of the stupidest pieces of nonsense I’ve seen in a while. But you may as well give it a shot: it might work for you. Although it’s been around for a few years, I only recently heard about it because a bunch of my friends all discovered […]
Dear K***, In your last letter you seemed very stressed out. Let me see if I can sum up what you were telling me: One day you look in the mirror and you think you look incredible. The next day, you look in the mirror and you think you look scrawny. Later in the week, […]
Dear K***, So you want to know my thoughts about steroids. Well, there is a point in time when every new bodybuilder entertains the question (to one degree or another): “Should I try steroids?” Some people dismiss it right away, some people do a little more research and consider it more seriously. But for most […]
Dear K***, It’s been about a month since you started the leaning or “cutting phase” of our workouts, so I thought I’d write to you and see how things are going, give you some more advice, and give you a little pep talk. First of all, I know that the schedule for changes in your […]
Dear K***, I know we’ve talked a little bit about the “long term-goals” of your bodybuilding. I think it’s time to reinforce some of those ideas, and talk more specifically about “bulking” and “cutting” phases of your workout. It’s important that you think about what you are doing in terms of years, not weeks or […]
Dear K***, I know that I’ve told you that you get one “cheat meal” every week. However, I still hear you asking questions like “Can I ever eat cake again?” and “Will I have to give up cheese forever?” and so on. Just because you are lifting weights and trying to get ripped doesn’t mean […]
Dear K***, I’m going to start by getting the really obvious response to your last letter out of the way. The obvious response is: you’re not fat don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure that’s what you get from anyone else if you tell them that you “feel fat.” You are ripped, you have a 6-pack, your […]
Dear K***, I just wanted to write you a quick note this weekend about how you should be thinking about eating during the holidays. This is important, because most people’s intuitions get this completely wrong and do exactly the worst thing they could possibly do for themselves. If you want to keep muscle and not […]
Dear K***, I want to take a moment to respond to the comment in your last letter, that you haven’t “gained or lost any weight yet.” You are on Week 3 of this workout and diet plan right now. Your body is adjusting to learning new exercises, and your body is just starting to get […]
Dear K***, Based on your last letter, I think we should start ramping up your calories faster than we originally planned. We still have to do this gradually, and intelligently. But with you being 22 years old, 6’2″ and 158 with not an ounce of bodyfat on you, we can’t afford for you to have […]
