6 Week Cut Progress

NOTE: Below, is re-blogged from my newsletter 1st Feb 2019.

I’m currently in the middle point of a diet for aesthetics. I’ve cut weight for fighting numerous times, but I’ve never followed a program specifically for aesthetics before. I have several  reasons for doing this.

 I feel that as a fitness professional there is a huge difference between being in the game 10 years growing constantly, and doing the same year over ten times. If you don’t try running the programs yourself how can you confidently implement them?

Maybe most importantly, the idea of being restricted in food (for comfort or socialization) and alcohol made me a little scared, to be honest. The idea of working a thirteen-hour day and then coming home and not being able to have something delicious made me uncomfortable. So, I felt this was something I had to do, we all know growth happens outside the comfort zone. Lastly, I need six pack abs if I’m ever going to destroy my enemies in the fitness world (not hyperbole).

I posted this photo recently on Instagram and I received a lot of positive feedback, for which I am very grateful. Also, all this encouragement I see as another layer of accountability, but even so, I felt the immediate urge to qualify it posting thIs comparison photo.

Posting this comparison photo I felt the immediate urge to qualify it. I wanted to say “hey you can still sort of kinda see the top two abs, or mention my recent squat/deadlift PR.” I felt the need to qualify looking puffy. I don’t really like the photo. Don’t like how I look, bad lighting (#fitspo is 85% lighting) but I think it’s important to share how much change can happen in 5 weeks. Also, I think it’s important if I’m going to LEAD you in your journey you understand I’m not a robot. I feel vulnerable, weak, and unsatisfied at times also. If I didn’t I wouldn’t be able to help you.
 

I wanted to say “Hey, you can still sort-of kinda see the top two abs,” or mention my recent squat/deadlift PR.  I felt the need to looking looking what I saw as puffy. I don’t really like the photo. I don’t like how I look, there’s bad lighting (#fitspo is 85% lighting), but I think it’s important to share how much change can happen in 5 weeks. That was a photo after completing week one of my diet and program. Also, I think it’s important if I’m going to LEAD you in your journey you understand that I’m not a robot. I feel vulnerable, weak, and unsatisfied at times. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to help you.

 THE DIET

I received several inquires to what the diet I’m doing includes. My knee jerk reaction was to explain it’s complexity with: “well you train like a Viking and don’t eat like an asshole, repeat to desired effect.” In all seriousness, well actually in all seriousness, DO THAT! But, to be more specific I simply tracked all my food, kept protein consistent, and slowly dialed down the calories for the energy macronutrients (fat & carbs). To get slightly more detailed I try to time carbs around my workouts. No foods are off limits except alcohol (the 5th food group).

For the most part everyone already knows how to get leaner. If I showed you grilled chicken and broccoli and then a plate of pasta, you know which is better for weight loss! Eighty percent of results from a weight loss plan is hitting the appropriate number of macro nutrients and total calories. A widely excepted rule of thumb that predates the world wide web, blogger “experts,” and skinny jeans is that you should have roughly one gram per pound of bodyweight. I don’t want this to turn into a discussion of protein, if you want to delve deeper look into the material published by Renaissance Periodization.

Also, I’m not drinking. This goes back to my main point that unless you want to get bodybuilding competition shredded, you already know how to lose weight. I especially already know! So, why am I successful (at the moment)? I have layers of accountability, I know why I’m doing this, and I have confidence in the program.

THE GIGGLE TEST

 Does your diet pass the giggle test? What do I mean by that? Well, if you tell someone your new cockamamie diet plan and their first reaction is a giggle it’s probably not the best idea. “Jill I’m only eating foods in blue packaging on even numbers of the the clock.” That being said, this diet will work at least at first. Because any diet that reduces the number of calories in versus out will work (for a time). Keto, let’s just cut the shit please. You don’t actually believe it’s a good idea you just want to be able to eat bacon wrapped avocados all the time.

LAYERS OF ACCOUNTABILITY

I have a coach. Yes, coaches need coaches, especially good ones! I have a very supportive girlfriend Cara (@captainstarbuck). As far as not drinking I told my girlfriend I was going to cut out alcohol on our anniversary until the project is done. Then on Christmas numerous people gave me bottles of whiskey. Which I asked Cara what that means people think? To which she replied: “well it’s because you’re like a man’s man, or they think you’re a functioning alcoholic, or a little of both.” Also, I now have this post on IG now I’m for my half-way mark, so I need to show change once I’m at 12 weeks. Next and maybe most important I paid money for this diet, I suggest you do too. This is isn’t even a sales pitch because I can’t legally tell you specific guidelines but I’m going to let you in on a secret I learned the hard way: people don’t respect things that are unconditionally free! So, throw down some cash. Even better keep a tally of all the money you’re saving by making your own meals and not drinking. Especially if you live in New York you’ll see this add up. Then get yourself something nice.

Also, postscript for next December my brand is Talisker.

FAQ's: When Is It Time To Switch Up My Routine

Knowing When it’s time to switch up your routine: the first two questions I have to ask are 1-“are you still experiencing gains/progress.” 2-“are you experiencing pain that is possible from an overuse injury.” The answer to the second question could be changing exercises. Exercises from different angles can hit the same muscles. But I like to think of the joints and angles of pressure put on them being like a drip of water on a stone, if the pressure and strain on the joints and bones is always at the same angle you might be wearing down that same spot over and over.

To the first question, “are you still experiencing gains?” If the answer is NO, Don’t immediately look to the workout itself, first think about other factors. Your workouts do not happen in a vacuum. You have all types of stress, and most likely inconsistencies in your recovery. I swear I can have an identical diet and training protocol from one week to another and let’s say one week I get 6 hours of sleep and the next I’m getting 8, I see significant differences. This example is highly subjective but I swear I see cuts and muscles more filled out with everything else identical but I’m just sleeping more l. In fact science supports this theory as well. So, don’t always look to just the workout, look at your whole human biological experience.

It might be time to mix it up if you’re not having fun anymore! If you’re not going to be a powerlifter you don’t necessarily have to straight bar bench press. Switch it up, depth jump push ups, TRX push ups, dumbbell work, and even the Jacobs Ladder hits the chest. If you aren’t going to be a powerlifter you don’t necessarily have to barbell squat. Everyone needs to do some sort of squat but the variation can change. My recommendation for general fitness is to cycle a different squat every 4 weeks unless someone has a specific goal of adding weight to a specific style. Personally I start a clients squat journey by teaching the front squat first. Reason being I feel this is the most intrinsically less risky and practical. Less risky because if form seriously breaks down the weight simply falls. More practical because many of my clients lift something up in front of them (heavy hag, object, or child) but rarely do they ever throw something on their back and squat it.

So to sum things up, it’s time to change things up in my opinion if you’re: hurting, not making progress, or bored. Other than that keep getting after it!

BOSU Shame

So rather than just saying a certain exercise or modality is stupid, which is easy (and fun), I have chosen to go into some depth as to why I feel the BOSU Ball Squat & deadlift should be viewed with scorn. English essayist and moralist Samuel Johnson said: “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.” I would argue that saying a nonsense exercise challenges your core strength is the last refuge of an incompetent trainer. 

The Dirty Secret

A large portion of fitness “professionals” are “slash trainers,” meaning that they don’t really train themselves and aren’t passionate about the subject. They have okay-ish physiques (maybe), one of the easier to acquire certifications, and they have another passion that is the main focus of their lives. Or, hey, it might just be that the circus wasn’t hiring that day (my case) or that Burger King required too much math, so, “Let’s be a trainer.” These people can often be seen playing on their phones while their clients flail around doing something next to meaningless. The result is also that effective means of training, especially ones that are difficult to teach, are passed to the side for low risk and lower reward moves. If you don’t know how to effectively program or explain the efficacy of an exercise such as the barbell squat or deadlift you can always throw someone on a BOSU ball, make them feel entertained, and take your paycheck. 

Efficacy of Training Balance

In and of itself, this is the subject of numerous studies which are not less than conclusive. First off, I believe there is never a reason to squat or perform any exercise focused on muscular development on the rounded portion of the BOSU ball. This teaches faulty movement patterns, and nearly always forces the trainee to collapse their ankles.

There are more effective ways to train balance and prevent injury through challenging synergist muscles (ones that assist the main muscle acting). Also, these exercises I’m about to list are great at pointing out asymmetry that might exist in your musculature left versus right. These are exercises where the foot can still be active and stable and adapting the body to asymmetrical loads similar to how they might need to be handled in real life and sport. A few examples are exercises like rear foot elevated split squats (a.k.a Bulgarian split squats), off-set deadlifts, and suit case carries. An important distinction being that balance is found by reinforcing postural integrity, meaning keeping the ankle-knee-hip organized in line, against an outside force. Similar to how you would have to pick up a heavy weight with one arm but not allow that to collapse your posture. One of my favorite tests for this is to progress from one single leg touch, to single leg deadlifts, to single leg rotational throws.

“Like, Core Strength, Bro”

I’ve heard the argument that unstable surface training activates more core musculature, thus burning more calories. This, frankly, is bullshit, pretty good bullshit, but bullshit none-the-less. Weight loss is a product of work output being greater than calories in. More core musculature is used squatting your bodyweight on a barbell, or even more core challenging, front squatting. Properly taught strength moves provide much more core stimulus than completion of a balance problem. 

Performing a lift on a BOSU or Indo Board  might be challenging. But is it challenging because you are taxing the musculature you want to develop or is it just a coordination puzzle? Also, squats and deadlifts are effective because your body is challenged to generate force production. If you take away your ability to do so with an unstable surface you have now negated the purpose of the exercise.

If your goals are to lose weight or gain muscle figuring out how to use weights far-far beneath sub-maximal on an unstable surface is as relevant as your goals as devoting 30 minutes of your training session to juggling. Often performing exercises on an unstable surface is used in physical therapy. I personally know this from rehabbing a severe tear of ligaments in my ankle. Physical therapy exercises have never been intended to drive aesthetic or performance adaptations. Which is what 99% of personal training clients are looking for and largely skewed towards the first of those two stated goals.

The Fallacy of Functionality

The term functional has become a bit of meme in fitness circles. In order for something to be functional it must have a function.  Are you going to be playing your sport on a wobbly surface or fighting someone in a row boat? I’ve regrettably seen hang cleans performed on unstable surfaces by competitive athletes. What is the purpose of the hang clean? It is to teach force production through triple extension. But when this exercise is performed on an unstable surface the weights that must be used are now ones that the athlete could probably bicep curl. So not only are you are practicing force production on a surface that does not mimic the field of play, you are now using weights that won’t drive the desired adaptation. 

#Themoreyouknow

I would encourage you to be ruthless in your exercise selection, if you cannot immediately and without doubt identify the purpose of an exercise in your routine, cut it. For the majority of you out there, you are balancing the gym with the rest of your life and you cannot afford fluff or modalities of dubious value. For competitive athletes, every second wasted on something that doesn’t produce quantifiable results could be used in recovery or increasing skill.  Remember it’s intelligent intensity that gets you the results you deserve.