دسته: بدنسازی

  • The “Yes And” Rule | Nerd Fitness

    The “Yes And” Rule | Nerd Fitness


    A few years back, I attended my friend Nick’s blowout 40th birthday party.

    As part of the celebration, he hired an improv comic, and we all had to participate in learning improv comedy.

    (I just felt the collective shiver of all the introverts reading this newsletter).

    We started tossing out fun scenarios and scenes to participate in, and we learned about the most important rule of Improv: “Yes and.”

    Two simple words, and the foundation for all of improv comedy:

    Whenever somebody comes up with a scene, sentence, or situation, the ONLY acceptable response is: “yes and”

    • Yes: Acceptance! I accept and acknowledge that whatever the situation is, no matter how absurd, to be true.
    • And: build! Like a tennis match, after your improv partner hits the ball to you, your job is to hit it back! Building on the situation or scene.

    For example, if your improv partner says, “I’m a space pirate” your response could be:

    • “Yes, and I’m the space police, you’re under arrest!”
    • “Yes, and I’m a first mate looking for a new crew, this is perfect!”
    • “Yes, and my name is Captain Hook, welcome to Pirates Anonymous.”

    The “yes and” rule is so crucial, because there’s nothing worse than a bad improv partner!

    Kind of like Liam Neeson in this short sketch with Ricky Gervais, (I laugh every time):

    The Yes And Rule for Life

    As a former overachieving “gifted child” who has quite the negative inner critic, I’ve worked hard on incorporating “yes and” into my life.

    The “yes” part is built around acceptance, which is something I’ve spent the past two years working to embrace.

    Check out my past essays on Acceptance and Wabi Sabi for more.

    It’s the “and” part I’ve focused on lately.

    As Dr. Kristen Neff points out on in her book Self-compassion, life is complex and so are humans:

    “Judgment defines people as bad versus good and tries to capture their essential nature with simplistic labels.

    Discriminating wisdom recognizes complexity and ambiguity.”

    Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. Things are never as good or bad as our brains think they are either.

    So despite the voice in our heads that wants to judge everything in black-or-white, yes-or-no, good-or-bad terms… We must remember that life is a beautifully complicated mess.

    Author F. Scott Fitzgerald once said:

    The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.

    One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.

    This is my task for you today.

    Is there a part of your life that feels black-or-white, and instead could use a bit of complexity?

    Nothing is as simple as it seems.

    Life is hard, and change is hard. AND you’re a good person who’s trying.

    Which means there’s hope. And hope is the warrior emotion.

    Also, please go watch that Liam Neeson skit.

    You’re welcome.

    -Steve

    PS: Need guidance and accountability to reach your fitness goals? Nerd Fitness has helped 10,000+ humans over the last 8 years with 1-on-1 online fitness coaching. Click here for more details.



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  • Things are about to get crazy

    Things are about to get crazy


    On December 19th, 2001, The Fellowship of the Ring hit theaters and nerd culture was forever changed.

    If you’re like me, you associate these movies with the holidays and are about to rewatch all three films (extended editions obviously).

    I was rewatching the Fellowship recently, and I had a funny thought.

    While they’re in the Mines of Moria, Gandalf is reading the final entry in the Book of Mazarbul, the diary of Balin and his fellow dwarves and their expeditions – and demise – inside the mines:

    We cannot get out:

    The end comes soon.

    we hear drums drums in the deep.

    They are coming…

    As I was watching this scene, I couldn’t help but laugh as I thought of current gym-goers worrying about the crowds coming in January:

    “They are coming…”

    Right now, millions and millions of people are ready for “new year, new me.”

    Many of those people – maybe yourself included – have decided January 1st will be the day to get back into the gym, or start your workout routine back up.

    I think this is GREAT!

    Studies show that having a “fresh start” or picking specific temporal landmarks like January 1st can be beneficial for making changes.

    There’s one problem though: “going to the gym regularly” isn’t one decision.

    It’s dozens of decisions that must be made:

    • Which gym are you going to join?
    • Will you get changed at home or in the locker room?
    • What’s the parking situation like?
    • What time of day works best for you?
    • What level of gym membership will you get?
    • Will you pick classes or train alone?
    • Which pieces of equipment will you use?
    • Do you know how to use that equipment?
    • Will you shower at the gym or at home?
    • How many times per week will you work out?
    • What if your equipment is being used?

    If you find gyms intimidating or anxiety inducing, doing ALL of this in January is like playing a video game on Legendary Difficulty:

    The equipment you want to use might be occupied.

    The parking situation might be a nightmare.

    The class you want to take might be full.

    You will look for any excuse to tell you why you can’t do something. If you’re intimidated by a gym or flustered because it’s overcrowded, then your brain will beg you to stay home and never join.

    I know right now, your brain is telling you “Wait until January 1st…” before you try again.

    That’s fine!

    However! If you’re willing to take a few steps NOW, Future You will have a much better chance at succeeding.

    So here’s the challenge…

    Join today, but don’t even work out!

    This is the PERFECT opportunity to join without the added pressure of ALL OF HUMANITY:

    This allows you to get all the EXTRA decisions out of the way:

    which gym, where to park, what time of day you’re going to go, etc.

    I’m a fan of Terry Crews’s advice for building a habit of going to the gym:

    “Go to the gym, and just sit there, and read a magazine, and then go home. And do this every day. Go to the gym, don’t even work out. Just GO.

    Because the habit of going to the gym is more important than the workout. Because it doesn’t matter what you do.

    You can have fun — but as long as you’re having fun, you continue to do it.”

    Try and think of these next two weeks as a beta test without expectation!

    There’s no workout routine to follow.

    You’re making sure you know where the equipment is and how it works

    You’re doing a dry run of what it would be like to work out in the morning or at night.

    You don’t have to beat yourself up for not being perfectly consistent.

    Instead, you’re just focused on building the toughest part of the routine now (getting in the car or walking to the gym and opening the door).

    Which means you can hit January 1st with momentum. And never underestimate how powerful momentum can be.

    I’m NOT above bribing you!

    A lot of people will join our Coaching Program in January, which is exciting!

    But just like joining a gym early has benefits, joining our coaching before the rush means less waiting, more time to get set up with your coach, and more momentum heading into the new year!

    We see this every year… which brings me to my two nudges for you.

    NUDGE #1: If you are on the fence about coaching, schedule a time to talk to a Team NF member this week.

    While you’re speaking with us, just mention “Fellowship” for $50 off your first month or $100 off our longer prepay plans.

    Learn More about Nerd Fitness Coaching

    Hopefully this nudge can help make your decision slightly easier, plus it’ll be easier for us to match you with the right coach before things get a bit more crowded in January.

    Oh, and if NF Coaching isn’t in the cards for you right now, no worries!

    NUDGE #2: To kick off the first week of January, we are running a free 5-day kickstart challenge here at Nerd Fitness, hosted by Head Coach Matt Myers. Simply click on the button below and sign up!

    Join the Free 5 Day Kickstart Challenge

    Matt will be tackling the number one reason why most people fail to follow through with their fitness and nutrition programs – and what you can do to make 2025 the year that things actually stick.

    Okay, back to watching Lord of the Rings!

    -Steve



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  • Don’t look back in anger

    Don’t look back in anger


    2024 is drawing to a close, so I wanted to hit you with one final newsletter before the chaos of 2025 kicks off.

    It’s that time of year where our brains will almost automatically look back on the past year.

    What went right, what went wrong.

    What we accomplished, what we failed to follow through on.

    If you’re anything like me, it’s easy to overindex on the “what went wrong” part, and feel all sorts of negative emotions around those things.

    We might look back with guilt at something we did or didn’t do. As I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, I’m somebody who has the most amount of “Catholic guilt” even though I’m not religious.

    I stumbled across a story a few months back that I’m still thinking about. Allegedly, there’s no word in the Tibetan language that directly translates to “guilt.” The closest possible translation is something closer to “intelligent regret.”

    I don’t speak Tibetan and I haven’t been able to track down a Tibetan speaker to confirm this, but I think it’s a beautiful sentiment that can help us as we move into 2025.

    Guilt can be corrosive and unproductive. But as Dan Pink points out in his book The Power of Regret, looking backward with the right kind of regret about things that happened or didn’t happen can actually be powerful and transformative for our future selves.

    So, rather than trying to live a life of “no ragrets” (the opposite of intelligence)…

    We can apply regret intelligently to how 2024 went.

    So, in honor of the band Oasis reuniting for the coming year, don’t look back in anger (still an all-time jam, by the way).

    Instead…let’s look back with curiosity.

    Look back with curiosity, not judgment.

    Take some time today, and look back on your year with curiosity, not judgment.

    Did you accomplish the things they wanted to accomplish? Great! I bet you learned something.

    Did your life go off the rails and you spent most of the year just trying to stay afloat! Great! I bet you learned something! Did you start and stop and bail on a goal repeatedly? Great! I bet you learned something!

    Write these things down. Notice the emotions you feel as you look back. Write down what you learned, and how that can inform future decisions or choices you make.

    Maybe you learned that you hate running, or that going Keto was an absolute failure, or that becoming a first-time parent really messed with your life entirely, or that we can’t stick to a morning routine.

    These are all things that happened. Now, we must decide what sort of emotion to apply to those things.

    Remember, the past isn’t set in stone, and some of these setbacks or failures might be the very lesson you needed to learn for Future You. They might be the catalyst for your next step forward.

    Remember, it’s NOT “I screwed up/failed, therefore I’m a lost cause…”

    It’s, “I screwed up/failed, and learned this lesson I can apply towards 2025.”

    How will 2025 be different?

    Next week, we’ll be kicking off our free 5-day challenge with coach Matt from Team NF.

    If 2024 didn’t turn out the way you wanted or hoped, I’m sorry.

    Life is weird and change is hard.

    Let’s make 2025 different! After all, if you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.

    If you want things to be different, let’s make that happen.

    The Nerd Fitness Rebellion will be with you all the way.

    Have a great holiday, and I’ll talk to you next week.

    -Steve

    PS: Here’s that sign-up one more time for our free 5-day challenge. Cheers!



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  • Growth over Comfort | Nerd Fitness

    Growth over Comfort | Nerd Fitness


    Stephen Wilson Jr. was a scientist working for Mars, Inc. (Yeah, the Candy company).

    One day, his boss pulled him into an office and said something that changed his life:

    “Stephen, you’re about to get promoted.”

    Normally a cause for celebration, this was instead meant as a warning by his boss.

    In a past life, Stephen had been a guitarist in a small indie rock band. He also spent his evenings writing songs.

    His boss knew Stephen was a damn good songwriter, and where he really belonged.

    He told Stephen about the golden handcuffs:

    “You’re in line for a promotion and they’re grooming you for the next level.

    And you’re kind of at a crossroads.

    Because if you take [the promotion], like I took it 30 years ago, your dreams of being a songwriter, they’re gonna be gone. This is going to consume every bit of you.

    Right now you can write songs and do this job, but 6 months from now I’m not sure you’re gonna be able to. So I just want to give you a warning.”

    That tiny voice in Stephen’s head, that had been there for years and years, started to get louder.

    6 weeks later, with that inner voice now at a deafening volume, he put in his 2 weeks notice, which confused everyone (except his boss and his wife).

    He started bartending and waiting tables to make ends meet while honing his craft, trying to get publishing deals in country music…while getting rejected for not writing “bro country” songs:

    He was told, “you write REAL songs. We can’t do nuthin’ with that…”

    Years later, after some modest success writing songs for other musicians, he finally worked up the courage and experience and clout to start recording his own songs.

    And last year, he finally put out his debut album, Son of Dad, which Rolling Stone called one of the best albums of 2023.

    Recently, Stephen put out a jaw-dropping cover of Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me,” which I have listened to approximately 10,000 times over the past month.

    (Seriously, please watch this video. It’ll give you goosebumps!).

    Golden Handcuffs vs Uncomfortable Expansion

    From 2008-2010, I also lived a dual life.

    I had my day job at Sixthman, helping promote and produce floating music festivals. But I also spent my nights and weekends working on a little website helping nerds get fit.

    My boss April and my mentor Andy (who owned the business) both knew where my heart was; they encouraged me to chase the uncomfortable future of trying to make Nerd Fitness into my career.

    16 years later, we’re still going strong!

    In Oliver Burkeman’s Four Thousand Weeks, he encourages us to ask a specific question when making decisions in life:

    “Where in your life or your work are you currently pursuing comfort, when what’s called for is a little discomfort?”

    Asking ourselves “what would make me happiest” will most likely lead us towards the short term, comfortable, safe option.

    Instead, we should be thinking which path will make us GROW as a person, or which version will cause us to SHRINK each week. We probably, deep down inside, know the answer to the question, if we have the courage to ask it.

    Burkeman’s advice:

    “Choose uncomfortable enlargement over comfortable diminishment whenever you can.”

    Yep, sometimes chasing “uncomfortable enlargement” doesn’t result in a songwriting deal, or a successful business. I’ve chosen the uncomfortable path and sometimes things don’t work out. But that’s part of the process, and at least it removes the potential for unhealthy regret!

    Which brings me to today’s mission.

    Let’s get comfortable with being uncomfortable

    Let’s chase uncomfortable expansion in 2025.

    • When we strength train, we force our muscles to get uncomfortable by lifting heavier and heavier weight – they respond by growing and adapting.
    • If we use food as a coping mechanism when we’re sad or angry or bored, addressing our relationship with food can be uncomfortable.
    • When we have uncomfortable conversations, we can finally deepen our relationships or stand up for the things that are important to us.

    In 2025, let’s ask the question:

    Where in your life are you snugly living in comfort and safety, when deep down you know the path of “uncomfortable enlargement” is what you really need to grow and help you get what you really want?

    You might not need to quit your job immediately, or go all-in on a new goal or change…

    But it could be worth asking yourself that uncomfortable question.

    Life is hard, and change is harder.

    Uncomfortable.

    Scary.

    Messy.

    But if you’re willing to say NO to comfort, it might be exactly what you need.

    -Steve

    PS: We’re doing a free 5-day workshop for people who are looking to build new habits that actually stick in 2025, it starts in a few days!



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  • What’s different this time? | Nerd Fitness

    What’s different this time? | Nerd Fitness


    Today is the most hope and optimism-filled day of the year.

    That’s great!

    Whatever goals or resolutions you’ve set for yourself, I’m excited for you!

    We’re all trying to better ourselves, and even though things haven’t worked out the way we wanted them to in the past, we hope this time will be different.

    Musician Nick Cave describes hope as “optimism with a broken heart,” and I think that’s beautifully accurate. We’re all trying to be different when change is so damn hard.

    If you’re trying to build a new workout habit or change the number on the scale this year, I salute you. Setting a goal to change is very commendable.

    But to give ourselves the best chance of accomplishing our goal, we must combine the goal with some self-reflection and self-awareness.

    Here are TWO questions to ask yourself as we begin 2025…

    Question 1: What’s different this time?

    I’m proud of you for starting again.

    But what’s different about this attempt?

    If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always got.

    The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.

    If you pick the same goal or strategy that you tried (unsuccessfully) in the past, the end result will be the same: another lost year of “why can’t I get my act together?”

    So, be deliberate about what’s different this time!

    Don’t just “go on XYZ diet” or “give up all sugar forever” or “train for a marathon” again, especially if you’ve tried those things before and couldn’t stick with them.

    Something has to be different this time:

    • Make fewer changes.
    • Pick ONE goal and focus on it.
    • Pick a different workout routine.
    • Pick a different diet or nutrition change.
    • Pick a different time of day to work out.
    • Recruit a friend to join you so you’re not doing it alone.
    • Make your new desired behavior beneficial or necessary.

    Prove to yourself you’ve learned something from your past attempts. Don’t let past failures be in vain – they showed you what doesn’t work for you.

    Try something different this time!

    Question 2: What are you afraid of?

    You’re full of momentum right now, and that’s great.

    But three weeks from now, life will happen, and something will go wrong.

    What has been your tendency when this happens in the past?

    We ask every NF Coaching Client before they start, “What are you most nervous about?”

    That answer is something they’re aware of as a result of their past attempts:

    Are you going to get busy and decide “to take a break until things slow down?” Great! Now you know when that little voice in your head says this, you can prepare for it, plan to do something differently, and decide that you don’t have to listen to that voice in your head.

    Are you going to have one bad day and go totally off the rails? Great! Now you know that when you have one bad day, you can forgive yourself, not look back in anger or guilt, and get right back on track.

    Are you going to give up even though you really really really want to push through? Great! This happens to all of us when motivation wanes after a few weeks. Consider adding a Ulysses Pact to guard against your weaknesses or making a bet with a friend to keep you accountable.

    NF Coach Matt Myers was recently on the Mental Golf Podcast with Josh Nichols – and at the 24:30 mark in the episode, Matt pointed out something to Josh that surprised him:

    “You told me before you started, ‘I know I’m going to come out of the gates HARD, but about 3 weeks in, I’m going to burn out and disappear.’

    And I said, ‘Thanks for letting me know,’ and I had all these alarms and alerts ready to check in with you repeatedly around the 21 day mark!”

    Josh had the self-awareness to know where he would screw up in the future, he and Coach Matt planned for it, and got over the hump together.

    Since then, they’ve worked together for two months (and counting), and Josh has only missed a single day of checking in and missing one day didn’t cause Josh’s normal “all-or-nothing” behavior to kick in!

    This time CAN be different

    We all set out to change, and even when we’re self-aware…

    We often bite off more than we can chew:

    Our goals and hopes often exceed the reality that we’re fallible, busy, complicated humans living unpredictable lives.

    That’s okay!

    If we’re aware of these things, if we can try differently…then even if this next attempt doesn’t work either, we can remove that strategy from the list of potential successful paths, and try again.

    That’s all life is anyway: try, fail, adjust, restart.

    -Steve

    PS: If you don’t want to go on this journey alone, I’d be honored if you check out the NF Coaching Program.

    Our coaches are awesome and we’d love to help you reach your goals. We’ve had a TON of sign-ups these past few days, which has me really excited to help so many new people.



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  • Bodyweight Dip 101 (How to Perform the Dip Exercise)

    Bodyweight Dip 101 (How to Perform the Dip Exercise)


    The parallel bar dip exercise is one of the best exercises for building upper body strength!

    Today you learn one of the most underrated exercises of all time: the dip.

    It’s something we remind our coaching clients not to overlook, and I’m excited to share the exercise with you today.




    Here’s what we’ll cover so you can learn the bodyweight dip:

    A quick note: we have compiled ALL of our strength training content into a comprehensive guide that will remove all the confusion and answer all the questions you have about weight training! Grab our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, when you sign up in the box below!

    What Is the Dip Exercise? What Muscles Does the Dip Train?

    The dip is a compound, bodyweight exercise.

    You grab two parallel bars, hoist yourself up, and then lower your entire body by bending your elbows.

    Bodyweight dips are a great exercise to include in an strength training practice.

    When you hear “compound exercise,” it’s referring to multi-joint movements that work several muscles or muscle groups at the same time. 

    The dip exercise trains your:

    • Chest
    • Shoulders
    • Tricep
    • Back
    • Abs

    You may be thinking, “abs?”

    Yep! You need to stabilize your body as you raise and lower yourself.

    Which is one of the reasons bodyweight dips are so great!

    Some would even argue that dips are the best chest exercise out there, even better than the bench press.

    There’s some logic to it.

    • When you think about it, the bench itself offers a lot of support during the bench press. So do your legs. 
    • With the dip exercise, your upper body is supporting your entire body. Thus a fuller workout. 

    Instead of isolating your chest for 5 exercises, your shoulders for 5 exercises, and triceps for 5 exercises, just do dips!

    How to Do a Proper Dip Exercise

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ltWzaptWcbc

    First of all, make sure you can do a dip. 

    Don’t hop up there and then lower yourself unless you’re fairly confident you can get through at least one of these things. We can’t have you tearing any muscles or falling on somebody, because that would suck. 

    Head to our progression plan if you can’t do a full dip yet. 

    Here’s how to do a proper dip exercise:

    1. Grab the parallel bars (or rings), and hoist yourself up. At this point look straight ahead, and contract your stomach muscles (just like when you do squats and deadlifts). If you’re keeping your abs tight for all of these exercises, you’ll never have to do a crunch again and you’ll still have washboard abs.
    2. Bend your knees if you like (so your feet are behind you), for stability purposes, but keep your head up and look straight ahead.
    3. Keeping your elbows at your side, lower yourself until your triceps are parallel to the floor. A lot of folks will recommend you go past parallel, but I think this puts too much strain on your shoulders at a weird angle and can cause injury/discomfort. I only go down to parallel and haven’t had any issues, so I’d recommend the same.
    4. Once you hit parallel, explode back up until JUST before you’re able to lock your elbows. By not locking your elbows, you keep the tension in your muscles and don’t jack up your joints. w00t.
    5. Now do another one. And then another!

    Those are dips.

    Keep your elbows as tight as possible, engage your abs, and hold your body in balance as you go up and down.

    A gif of Steve doing bodyweight ring dips

    Are you doing it right?

    Check your form by recording a video of yourself and matching it against the videos and gifs here. If it looks close then you’re doing great!

    Want to have an expert review your form? Our coaches can do just that in our spiffy app!




    What If I Can’t Perform a Dip? (Progression Plan)

    Have no fear, with a proper plan we'll have you doing dips in no time.

    If you don’t quite have the strength to do a full bodyweight dip, follow our progression plan below.

    You’ll be doing the complete dip movement before you know it!

    Level 1 Dip Progression: Knee Push-Ups

    Knee push-ups like this are a great way to progress to a regular push-up!

    If you’re just starting to develop your push muscles, our first stop will be knee push-ups. We’ll build your strength up so you can start doing…

    Level 2 Dip Progression: Push-Ups

    This gif shows Staci doing a push-up in perfect form.

    Can you do a push-up with proper form yet? If not, that’s our stop.

    Push-ups will help you develop chest muscles for doing proper dips. Only after you can do 20 proper push-ups should you consider trying to do a dip.

    Level 3 Dip Progression: Assisted Dips

    A resistance band is a great way to get started with this bodyweight exercise.

    It’s now time to do some dips! With a little bit of assistance…

    We’ll use a resistance band to help support your weight while you grow stronger. You can progress with weaker and weaker resistance bands until you feel comfortable trying a proper bodyweight dip.

    How about using an assisted dip machine?

    That’s a great option as well, though it may be harder to find one in your area unless you belong to a gym.

    A dip machine provides a consistent amount of assistance throughout the range of motion. While a resistance band gives you the MOST help at the bottom of the range of motion, and the least at the top. Depending on your goals, a dip machine can actually be BETTER at helping you slowly build strength across the full range of motion!

    Ultimately, we want you to use whatever you have available to perform the movement. Whether that’s a machine, a resistance band, or using your feet to help push off the ground, dips are a great way to build upper body strength!

    You can check out some brands to buy, and how to train with them, in our Guide to Resistance Bands.

    ALSO, if you find yourself getting stuck on “assisted dips,” you’re not alone.

    We work hand-in-hand with people like you to master bodyweight training in our Online Coaching Program. If you don’t know how to add dips into your workouts, or you just want somebody to give you the exact workout to follow every day, we got you!




    Tips and Tricks for Performing the Dip Exercise

    In this section, we'll make sure you don't make any newbie mistakes when doing dips.

    Here are some extra tips on getting better at dips:

    #1) Get your setup correct at the start.

    When people experience pain with their dips, it’s probably one of two things:

    • When your arms go too far back, they can close off the shoulder and start to cause pain.
    • If you allow your shoulders to round forward during the movement, it can again close off the area and create discomfort.

    #2) Don’t swing – this goes for practically every exercise. If you start swinging your body as you go up and down, you take the emphasis off the muscles you’re actually trying to work.

    Save swinging for the playground:

    This dog keeps his swinging to the playground.

    #3) Don’t flare out your elbows if you can avoid it – the more “out” your elbows are, the more emphasis on your chest. Elbows tight = emphasis on shoulders and triceps.

    #4) Don’t do half reps – again, this could be another universal rule. Challenge your muscles by bringing your triceps parallel to the ground, then make sure you extend arms to almost “elbows locked” at the top:

    You can see here that Steve is doing a complete rep when doing his dip.

    #5) Don’t go too fast  – you want to be slow and in control during your dip. When you go too quickly, proper form is often sacrificed. Make sure you train safely by going slowly…this isn’t a race!

    Variations on the Dip (Advanced Dip Moves)

    We'll show you some advanced dip variations in this section, so you can rock dips like this blue dude.

    Once you can do 3 sets of 15 dips no problem, you have a few options to ramp up the difficulty:

    #1) Add weight to your bodyweight dips by:

    My favorite method for doing weighted dips includes a special belt (shown here).

    #2) Go Slower: keep your abs tight, and lower yourself ridiculously slow.

    Your body will have to recruit every muscle in your chest, shoulders, and triceps (including all stabilizer muscles) to keep your body under control.

    #3) Try Ring Dips:

    The ring dip is a great way to build back and shoulder muscle.

    Lower yourself down until your chest touches the rings (yes, that low!), and then push up until you are in a straight arm support position.

    If you’ve never played with gymnastic rings before, the instability of the rings will provide a greater challenge than your standard dip station.

    You can also lower the height of your rings to utilize some support from your feet:

    The floor can help a lot when doing ring dips!

    Raise the rings higher and higher as you grow stronger and stronger. 

    Make sure you check out our “Guide to Training with Gymnastic Rings” if you’d like to learn more. 

    How to Do Dips at Home

    It's time to learn what triggers your habits

    If you’re training at your home gym, you can absolutely do bodyweight dips.

    Here are two variations to try:

    #1) Bodyweight Dips Between Two Chairs or Bar Stools:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjsbLgE3dvI

    This is all going to be about the chairs or barstools you can find.

    The important thing here is the stability of your furniture – don’t pick anything that’s wobbly. However, if you have a couple tall and sturdy chairs or bar stools, you can set them up on either side of you to perform your bodyweight dips.

    If they’re too high for you and you can’t quite get your feet on the ground for assisted dips, no problem. Just stand on a few books or a short stool to help you gain support.

    #2) Bodyweight Dips Off a Countertop:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u-hqQ15oSU

    Another great option is to perform dips on the corner of two sturdy countertops. As long as you can place your hands to the side so they can face forward, and you have plenty of room to maneuver between them, then you’re solid.

    One thing you should be careful with is bench dips, which could be done off of a couch:

    A gif of a woman doing a bench dip

    The trouble with this comes from your arms being behind you.

    As we covered in the “How to Do Pain-Free Dips” video above, this position is a common problem area for causing pain in bodyweight dips. If it hurts when trying the bench dip, stick to the other two home variations above.

    When Should You Do Dips in Your Workout? (Getting Started)

    This man clearly knows to "dip" when the occasion arrives.

    Now that you know how to do dips, let’s discuss when to do them.

    Unless you’ve been strength training for years and know what you’re doing, we recommend that you pick a full-body routine that you can do 2-3 times a week.

    So let’s build a full-body workout right now! 

    You want a workout routine that has at least one exercise for:

    1. Quads (front of your legs).
    2. Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).
    3. Chest, shoulders, and triceps: (“push” muscles).
    4. Back, biceps, and grip ( “pull” muscles).
    5. Core (abdominals and lower back).

    Dips would make a great addition to your “push” muscles (chest, shoulders, triceps).

    So a sample workout routine that includes dips could look like:

    1. Barbell squats: 5 sets of 5 reps.
    2. Barbell Deadlifts: 3 sets of 3 reps.
    3. Dips: 3 sets of 15 reps.
    4. Pull-ups (or chin-ups): 3 sets of 8 reps.
    5. Planks: 3 sets, 1 minute hold each.

    That’s all! 

    Do your full-body workout and then go play some Nintendo.

    Mario earned his video game time, because he did his dips earlier.

    Need some help getting started? 

    I have three great options to help you with your dip and strength training journey:

    #1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom strength training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:




    2) If you want an exact blueprint for crushing dips, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

    Try your free trial right here:

    3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. 

    Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating dips into your training:

    That should get you going on mastering the bodyweight dip.

    Alright, now I want to hear from you:

    Do you head to the gym to crush dips? 

    Are you currently progressing through assisted dips?

    Any tips or tricks we missed?

    Let us know in the comments!

    For the Rebellion,

    -Steve

    PS:  Want to learn more? Read the rest of our Strength Training 101 series:

    ###

    Photo source: Fitness time, Lost, Assisted Dip Machine, Blue benny, Maltz Challenge, The Harbor Divers of Stone Town, Visiting Friends.

    GIF source: Weighted dips, Bodyweight Dip, Bench Dips.

     



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  • The courage to listen to the lesson life is teaching you?

    The courage to listen to the lesson life is teaching you?


    I’ve been trying to do a few things differently in 2025.

    Specifically, moving towards moments or things that make me uncomfortable.

    (I don’t mean “times when I am in physical danger,” of course.)

    But rather, I’m going to run toward the things that my brain tells me, “This is uncomfortable, I don’t like this, avoid it at all costs.”

    The email I’m afraid to open. The conversation I’m afraid to have. The question I’m afraid to ask. The ability to be alone with my thoughts (yikes).

    When I reach for my phone or Netflix or Playstation controller to avoid being bored or uncomfortable or sad or guilty…

    I’m trying to build some discipline to pause first.

    To not avoid, distract, or entertain myself away from what’s really happening.

    To not zone out or run away, Monty-Python style.

    If I have the courage to sit there and really ask the question, “Why is this making me feel uncomfortable?” there’s valuable lessons to be learned.

    Lean into The Discomfort

    Author Pema Chodron lays out the following in her book When Things Fall Apart:

    “We regard discomfort in any form as bad news.

    …feelings like disappointment, embarrassment, irritation, resentment, anger, jealousy, and fear.​

    Instead of being bad news, these are actually very clear moments that teach us where it is that we’re holding back.”

    These things can be incredible teachers if we give ourselves the space to learn.

    But that’s quite the ask in 2025:

    Thanks to the internet and our phones and same-day delivery, we can spend every minute of every day hiding from nearly every single uncomfortable feeling in our lives. We never have to be bored, we never have to feel “bad,” we never have to address the elephant in the room.

    We can just swipe, click, tap, or disassociate to avoid any and all “bad” feelings.

    We can hide from them with endless entertainment and comfort (even if it keeps us from getting what we really want).

    Of course, those bad feelings don’t go away—they’re still there, and the things we’re avoiding will eventually need to be dealt with.

    When I try to hide from discomfort, I know I’m not actually avoiding it. I’m not keeping it boxed up.

    I’m trapped in Pandora’s Box with the monsters.

    Blaise Pascal, a 17th-century philosopher, said it best:

    “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

    These Feelings are Trying to Teach Us!

    Many feelings of discomfort are screaming to teach us something if we can reframe how we feel about them.

    As Chodron points out:

    “They’re like messengers that show us, with terrifying clarity, exactly where we’re stuck.

    This very moment is the perfect teacher, and, lucky for us, it’s with us wherever we are.”

    Life has a way of making that quiet, uncomfortable feeling get louder and louder until we can’t help but address it…

    But we can save ourselves quite a bit of time if we recognize the fear, lean in sooner, and recognize life is trying to teach us something.

    That’s my challenge for you this week.

    What if…

    We let ourselves be bored?

    We asked, “Am I really hungry, or am I just soothing myself with food?”

    We acknowledged we were scared or anxious or nervous and then asked (with compassionate curiosity) what was behind the feeling?

    Life is trying to teach us lessons every day.

    We just have to be courageous enough to be uncomfortable to see it.

    -Steve



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  • Eating a Plant-Based Diet: Safely Going Vegan

    Eating a Plant-Based Diet: Safely Going Vegan


    So you’re interested in eating only plants, eh?

    Well, you’ve come to the right place to learn all about it. I’ve seen many people over the years have success with a Plant-Based Diet.

    Truth be told though, I’ve seen many people also struggle with it too.

    (After all, donuts are “plant-based” and pizza just got declared “a vegetable”).

    There is definitely a right way and a wrong way to embark on eliminating animal products from your diet.

    Today, I’ll share with you how to safely and correctly follow a plant-based menu and still hit your goals.

    Now, although I’ve been running this site for 10 years, I may be drawing a large target on my back by diving headfirst into a topic I’ve thus far avoided.

    As a blogger, if you want to tenfold your hate mail, take a stance on a Plant-Based Diet.

    And saying ANYTHING about veganism – for OR against – is an easy way to get virtual produce tossed at you.

    Although most people discover Nerd Fitness through our guides on Paleo or Keto, we get SO many questions on how to eat a Plant-Based Diet that I figured I’d give my two cents.

    With pop stars and famous directors advising folks to try veganism, these inquiries are only going to increase.[1]

    So today, we are going to talk about how to eat a Plant-Based Diet safely.

    The right way, and the wrong way, to go vegan or vegetarian.

    BIG ASS CAVEAT: I’m not going to try to convince you to give up meat. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume you’re here because you’re interested in doing so, and want to know the best path through it.

    The politics, controversy (yes, I’ve read the China Study[2]), and geopolitical impact of veganism are beyond the scope of this article. I’m just a nerd who studies the hell outta health and wellness and sometimes wears pants.[3]

    So setting all the controversy aside, I want to explore the science and the “how to” for people who are heading down this path.

    • If you are going to eat a plant-based or vegan diet, what’s the best way to do it?
    • What are tips and tricks to make it sustainable?
    • Is it as easy as “stop eating meat?”
    • Is there any unsafe way to eat only plants?

    Let’s goooooo!

    WHAT EXACTLY IS A PLANT-BASED DIET?

    There are quite a few different versions of a Plant-Based Diet.

    It’ll be good to start with some definitions so we land on the same page.

    According to the Vegetarian Society, a vegetarian is someone who “does not eat foods that consist of, or have been produced with the aid of products consisting of or created from, any part of the body of a living or dead animal.”[4]

    So NO eating:  

    • Meat
    • Poultry,
    • Fish
    • Shellfish
    • Insects.

    Instead, vegetarians DO eat:

    • Grains
    • Legumes
    • Nuts
    • Seeds
    • Vegetables (duh)
    • Fruits
    • Fungi.

    Plants, more or less.

    “Vegetarian” can be a broader term for more specific examples of plant-based eating. Some examples would be:

    Lacto-ovo-vegetarians is someone who doesn’t eat animal flesh but does eat dairy and eggs. This is the most common type of vegetarian.

    Lacto vegetarians don’t eat eggs but do eat dairy.

    Ovo vegetarians avoid all animals products, with the exception of eggs.

    Vegans avoid all animal products, including dairy and eggs and even things like honey. If it came from an animal, it’s not a part of a vegan diet. Some even take it one step further and eat only a “raw vegan” diet, where the plants consumed are not cooked prior to consumption.

    The above are the most common forms of Plant-Based Diets, but there are others!

    A pescatarian is someone who consumes no animal products except fish and shellfish.

    A flexitarian is someone who follows a vegetarian diet a majority of the time, but who will occasionally eat meat.

    Now granted, neither pescatarians nor flexitarians are technically vegetarians because both contain animal products on the menu.

    However, they are mostly plant-based, so worth mentioning – especially if somebody is doing this in an attempt to be healthier.  

    There are many more considerations and labels, which can tackle a lot of the ethical stances around being vegan: not wearing animal products, the treatment of animals, etc.

    To be blunt, this is outside the scope of this article.

    I’m only interested in “If you are going to eat only plants, how do you do it?” So we’ll politely ignore clothing, testing, and captivity for this article.

    Which brings us to…

    WHAT DO YOU EAT ON A PLANT-BASED DIET? WHAT’S ON A VEGAN MENU?

    What you can or cannot eat on a Plant-Based Diet depends a lot on what kind of vegetarianism you follow.

    Eggs and dairy, for example, may or may not be included. It really comes down to what path you are choosing.

    There are some general food groups we can consider as universal no matter what form of vegetarianism you follow.

    A Plant-Based Diet will include the following foods:

    Whole grains. Rice, oats, barley, and buckwheat would all be examples of whole grains. Most vegetarian diets include a sizable amount of whole grains as their base.

    Vegetables. Of course, a vegetarian diet is going to include vegetables! And it should because vegetables are great for you! They’re packed full of nutrients, fiber, and generally low in calories. Most people could stand to eat more veggies. If you find yourself not being able to stomach greens, I got you. Check out this post for tips on how to turn around any vegetable hater.

    Legumes. Beans, lentils, and soy make up the legume family. If you’re following a plant-based or vegan diet, legumes would be a great way to get protein (more on this to follow).

    Fruit. Bananas, apples, and oranges all come from plants, so all are vegetarian-friendly. While high in fructose (sugar), they are also nutrient dense. Our general stance on fruit around these parts is to eat “in moderation.”

    Nuts and seeds. Again, they come from plants, so almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds are good to go on any vegetarian plan you pick. So is quinoa, which although is often thought of as a grain, is actually a seed. Mind=blown.

    Nuts and seeds, although high in fat and calories, are another great way to get protein on a Plant-Based Diet.

    No matter what type of vegetarian diet you pick, you’d be free to eat the above (provided they fit into your current nutrition goals – but I’ll get to that shortly).

    The below will depend on what kind of vegetarianism you are trying. We may be stepping into controversial waters (remember, don’t shoot the messenger) with the following:

    Eggs. Eggs are a great source of vitamin B12 and protein, which will become important in a section further down.

    Dairy. Whether or not you consume dairy will be determined by your specific strain of plant-based nutrition. On the one hand, it’s from an animal (moo). On the other hand, dairy can be full of nutrients that might be harder to source from only plants, like omega-3s and calcium.

    Fish. Look, I get it. Fish are animals, so technically not allowed on a vegetarian diet. However, if you eat a mostly-Plant-Based Diet that includes a little fish, it wouldn’t be too different from a Mediterranean Diet. There are a lot worse ways to eat than like the Mediterraneans. And as mentioned earlier, depending on who you talk to, being pescatarian could be a form of a Plant-Based Diet.

    That’s a lot of the major food groups when it comes to plant-based eating.

    So here’s all you need to remember:

    Whatever form of vegetarianism you may pick, stick to REAL food whenever possible.

    Pinto beans, asparagus, apples, and quinoa would all be examples of real food. These are nutrient-dense foods that will keep you full and energized throughout your day. Deep fried cheese balls, donuts and candy bars are examples of “plant based, but not real” food.

    And I’ll give out a warning on processed vegan junk food in a moment.

    For now, there may be a question you are thinking.

    It’s one of the most common ones we get when it comes to eating a vegetarian or vegan diet.

    WILL A VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN DIET HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

    …MAYBE!

    There are plenty of examples of people losing weight on a Plant-Based Diet.[5]

    However, there are also stories of the opposite where people gained body fat when going vegan.[6]

    However, anecdotal evidence isn’t science.

    What does the research say?

    If you look at studies on the subject, there’s nothing here that will surprise us: plant based calories count just as much as animal based calories.[7]

    There are some studies which show the success of veganism compared to omnivore diets for weight loss.[8] Then there are others showing that a diet including meat outperforms vegan diets for trimming body fat.[9]

    Depending on who you’re trying to impress, you can find six studies that say vegans will lose more weight than meat eaters, or half a dozen studies that show vegans will lose less weight.

    It honestly doesn’t matter, because when it comes to weight loss, it comes down to calories, calories, calories.

    Oh and calories. Did I mention calories?  

    Put blunty, if you’re not losing weight, you’re consuming too many calories.

    It doesn’t matter if they’re vegan or vegetarian or Paleo or certified organic. Check out our “Why can’t I lose weight?” article to learn the science behind why!

    Let’s get to the point: You’re here, you’re eating plants, and you want to lose weight. So here’s how to do it.

    If you typically ate a standard American diet filled with burgers and french fries, and then moved to salads? Yeah, I’d imagine that you would lose weight – simply because you’re now eating fewer calories than you were eating in the past.

    However, if you go from scarfing down normal burgers to scarfing down an Impossible Burger or a vegan burger? Maybe not.[10]

    Let’s take a look:

    • An Impossible Burger’s three-ounce patty has 220 calories.
    • A three-ounce regular beef patty has about 205 calories.

    The Impossible Burger is made with wheat protein, coconut oil, potato protein and heme (a molecule found in plants and animals). So it’s very calorically dense.

    Moral of the story: don’t assume that food without any meat in it will have fewer calories in it.

    While there are plenty of nuances, when it comes to weight loss, calories in and calories out plays a major role in whether or not you are successful.

    Just because something is vegan doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthy. As someone pointed out in our private Facebook Academy group, “Oreos are vegan.”

    If you don’t plan properly, you could be deluding yourself into thinking veganism will be a weight loss strategy.

    I know that adopting a new lifestyle can be challenging, especially if you’re really busy. Whether it’s veganism, a low-carb diet, or trying to build muscle, embarking on a new habit can be tough if you don’t know what to do.

    Weight-loss, no matter which strategy you pick, can be a hard road to follow.

    I want you to know that you’re not alone, we’re here to help. We offer a 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program to help busy people like you embark on complete life overhauls. We can help you with dietary changes, exercise, and accountability so you can create new healthy habits that fit into your chaotic day-to-day life!

    If you’re thinking about a Plant-Based Diet for weight loss, we can help you switch to a less restrictive diet over time. Slow and steady is our preferred approach.

    If you’d like to learn more, click on the big image below:

    DO I HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT GETTING ENOUGH PROTEIN WHEN EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET?

    Contrary to popular belief, you CAN get enough protein when following a Plant-Based  Diet.

    However, protein consumption SHOULD be something that’s prioritized if you’re trying to lose weight, build muscle, and be healthier. What we call “protein” is actually a combination of different amino acids. There are 20 or so amino acids that we use to build muscle and keep our organs functioning.

    Nine of these amino acids our body can’t produce itself, so we need to get them through food.

    Getting all nine is important, because these amino acids do everything from build and repair muscle tissue (which is HUGE for strength training), run our metabolism, and even help our genes function correctly.[11]

    All nine are found together in all forms of meat. When you eat a piece of chicken, you are getting all nine.

    When it comes to non-animal sources, most plants will generally be missing one or two of these nine essential amino acids.[12]

    Soy might be the best way to get all nine together in one plant; however, soy doesn’t seem to provide the same biological functionality as dairy or eggs.[13]

    You can overcome this small challenge easily by varying your dietary choices.

    Let’s look at the most common example:  

    • Beans are low in the amino acid methionine, while high in the amino acid lysine.
    • Conversely, rice is low in lysine but high in methionine.

    Eat them together, and you’ve covered any amino acid deficiency![14]

    To recap: if you eat some kind of unprocessed starch (rice, corn, potatoes, beans), combined with some fruits and vegetables during the day, you’ll be covered.[15] The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics explains “Protein from a variety of plant foods, eaten during the course of a day, supplies enough of all indispensable (essential) amino acids when caloric requirements are met.[16]

    Did you catch that caveat?

    As long as you are meeting your calorie requirements from “plant foods,” you’ll get all your necessary amino acids. But this only works if your calories are coming from plants, not cookies.

    I’ll say it again: EAT REAL FOOD.

    Eating a variety of foods will help build up a diversified nutrient profile, including amino acids. Oats with one meal, lentils with the next, and rice with dinner, for example.

    This would be a better strategy than just living off soy.

    And DEFINITELY better off than living off of Soylent Green…

    To recap this section: vegetarians can get plenty of protein. It just really depends on what they are eating.

    So why are we focusing so much on protein?

    Because, muscles.

    CAN I BUILD MUSCLE ON A PLANT-BASED DIET?

    Look in the right places and have the right conversations, and you’ll be able to find uber successful plant-based athletes that have built plenty of muscle.

    For example, Danielle Sidell is a CrossFit athlete who follows a 100% Plant-Based Diet:

    David Carter, a defensive lineman in the NFL, calls himself “The 300-Pound Vegan.”

    Let’s not forget about Jeremy Reijnders, another CrossFit athlete and vegan proponent:

    And one last example to round things out: Joe Venus, a vegan bodybuilder who gets anywhere from 80-180 grams of protein daily through big meals.[17]

    Putting on muscle with a Plant-Based Diet is certainly not impossible.

    If you analyze how these athletes eat, you’ll notice many similarities to other “omnivore” elite athletes, and a few places where they diverge:  

    Let’s look at a typical  day for CrossFit athlete Danielle Sidell:[18]

    “Typical breakfast is 2 slices of sprouted bread with vegan butter, half an avocado, mini fruit salad with strawberries, grapes and blackberries with peanut butter drizzled over the top and a cup of coffee.

    My snack before lunch is some roasted chickpeas and plain popcorn – it’s a really filling snack.

    For lunch I’ll do a serving of Beyond Meat’s chicken or beef crumbles with jasmine rice, a serving of veggies and another half of an avocado.

    For afternoon snack I’m typically on my way to the gym so I’ll have a banana, spoonful of peanut butter and a glass of unsweetened soy milk. I like soy and pea milk the most because they have lots of protein.

    After I workout I’ll do a shake with pea protein and dextrose. For dinner I’ll have a cup of some sort of beans, hummus for the extra fat, some sweet potato and another serving of something by Beyond Meat.

    Then for a snack I’ll do a whole bell pepper with hummus or a serving of beet chips.”

    Compare that to any other athlete, and you’ll find very similar strategies: get the correct amount calories for your goals, and eat plenty of plants. The only difference is protein sources! And protein is how you build muscle.[19]

    Again, it’s not impossible to get enough protein strictly from plants to build muscle, it simply takes foresight, some understanding of your macros, and planning. So although there is an observed correlation between muscle size and animal protein intake, we all know that correlation doesn’t equal causation.[20]

    Just because someone doesn’t eat meat, doesn’t mean they will have less muscle or smaller muscles. To put it another way: eating meat doesn’t necessarily lead to bigger muscles, either!

    To recap: if you are looking to strength train and build muscle on a Plant-Based Diet, It comes down to protein consumption, total calorie count, and training regiment!

    HOW MUCH PROTEIN DO I NEED TO EAT EACH DAY ON A PLANT-BASED DIET?

    At this point, you may be asking, “Steve, how much protein do these plant-based athletes have to eat? How much protein does it take to build muscle?”

    Great questions. There’s some debate on this.

    There are estimates that you need .8 of a gram to 1 full gram of protein for every pound (or 1.6-2g for every kg) you weigh.[21] Another study found it might be as high as 1.4 grams of protein for every pound you weigh.[22]

    I’d say 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass is a good solid number to shoot for if you are trying to build muscle. If you don’t know how to calculate your lean body mass – just go with 0.8 grams per pound (1.6 grams per kg) and adjust up or down from there depending on your results.

    Let me get to a more important point here: As with EVERY athlete pointed out above (Danielle Sidell, David Carter, Jeremy Reijnders, and Joe Venus):

    They all supplement with isolated plant protein for increasing protein intake without dramatically increasing calories or carbohydrates.

    Here’s why: Dr. John Berardi from Precision Nutrition points out, “You just can’t avoid carbs in a vegan plan.”[23]

    As you’ll recall, plants have less protein but more carbohydrates and more calories than animal sources:

    • 100 grams of black beans: 22 grams of protein in it. 339 calories, 63 grams of carbohydrates (16 grams of which are fiber).
    • 100 grams of chicken breast: 30 grams of protein. 165 calories, 0 grams of carbohydrates.

    The same size serving of black beans has less protein, twice as many calories, and more carbs compared to chicken. If your goal is weight loss, you need to be aware of your calorie intake.

    If you try to get the same amount of protein from black beans as you would from chicken, you’re going to end up consuming 2-3x the number of calories and a tremendous number of carbohydrates.

    That’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if you’re an athlete or strength train! After all, carbs aren’t evil HOWEVER…you could struggle with CERTAIN body fat percentage goals if you are going plant-based.

    That’s not judgment or a challenge or anything in between – it’s just reality.

    Dr. Berardi highlights the biggest challenge of strength training on a Plant-Based Diet: It’s not that you can’t bulk up. It’s that due to the inherent nature of how plant-based protein-rich foods are structured, you are potentially more likely to increase your body fat through overconsumption of calories:

    “I feel it’s actually going to be pretty easy to build muscle on a vegan plan – you just have to eat a lot of food. What’s probably difficult is getting super ripped.

    These foods have a high percentage of carbs compared to proteins and fats. It’s not a problem getting lean on a vegan plan. But to actually preserve muscle mass and be bodybuilder-lean, that might be a challenge.”

    The solution: if you consume more carbohydrates in order to hit your protein goals, then you’ll need to eat less fat to keep your calorie intake in balance.

    One goes up, the other goes down.

    This ensures total calories don’t increase to such a point that you start to put on fat.

    Is there a preferred ratio of macros? Sure…though your results may vary! Some people do better on a low-fat diet, while others do better on a high-fat diet. This is true of a Plant-Based Diet or any other diet!

    Hulda B. Waage, a vegan powerlifter, suggests those trying to strength train on a Plant-Based Diet aim for fat intake at around 15-20%, with protein at 20-30% and carbs at 55-60%.[24]

    For comparison, the International Society of Sports Nutrition generally will recommend fat intake to be around 30%.[25]

    The only consistent constant of successful athletes: Whether they’re high carb or low carb, high fat or low fat, they all prioritize adequate protein consumption. This can be aided by protein supplementation – covered in our next section!

    Your results may vary, because you are a unique snowflake.

    Our advice would be to track your macros and track your results – see how your body adapts and changes, and then adjust along the way!

    Before we wrap up this section though, it should go without saying that not only will you have to eat right to build muscle, you’ll also have to actually work out and train.

    We have a whole Strength Training 101 series on Nerd Fitness that can walk you through EVERY step of that process.

    Want to take it with you? Download our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, which will give you an exact plan to follow to build muscle and gain strength.

    Grab the guide free when you sign up in the box below and join the Rebellion!

    WHAT ARE SOME GOOD PLANT PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS?

    If you’re struggling to hit your protein intake goals for the day, it’s worth looking into a protein supplement.

    My go-to protein powder is whey, easily the most popular and efficient protein supplements you can take.[26] When I can’t hit my protein goals with my regular meals, I drink a whey protein shake to fill the gaps.  

    Whey is a dairy product, so would fall into the menu of a vegetarian, but not a vegan. If you’re going 100% plant-based, these are not the powders you’re looking for.

    You’ll have to forgo it.

    Here are our recommendations and suggestions for plant protein powders:

      • Pea protein. A solid choice for vegan protein powder comes from peas, specifically the high protein yellow split pea. A quarter cup (28 grams) will get you about 21 grams of protein, and run you about 100 calories. There’s some evidence it might be comparable to whey in building muscle.[27] NAKED Nutrition offers a great 100% pea protein powder you can check out.
      • Rice protein. A quarter cup of rice protein will contain 22 grams of protein and run 107 calories. Not too shabby. Plus, when you combine it with pea protein, you’ll end up with a complete amino acid profile needed for human growth.[28] A good brand to look into would be Growing Naturals.
      • Hemp protein. While it doesn’t have as much protein as pea or rice (one cup will have 12 grams of protein and 108 calories), what it lacks in this department it makes up for in its nutrient profile. Hemp protein is derived from the seeds of the cannabis plant, but it’s bred in such a way that it won’t have any THC. What it will provide you with though is a decent source of iron, zinc, and omega-3s, which are all things vegans tend to be deficient in (we’ll touch on all three later in our section on supplementation). Nutivia sells a good hemp protein if you are interested.

    If you want all three in a mixture (my recommendation), you can do it yourself or find a company like Vega that makes a blend of pea, rice, and hemp protein.

    You can mix any or all of these powders with almond milk, some berries, and oats for an awesome vegan smoothie. My friend Matt Frazier over at No Meat Athlete has some great vegan smoothie recipes for you to check out.

    Want some more recipes on how to prioritize protein on a Plant-Based Diet?

    Let’s do it!

    WHAT’S A PLANT-BASED DAY OF EATING LOOK LIKE?

    So we’ve laid out a few key foundational pieces of a healthy Plant Based Diet: :

    1. Plants contain plenty of protein if you know where to look.
    2. Plant based strength trainers need to plan their protein intake.

    Let’s break this all down and look at what a day of eating vegan – with adequate protein intake – looks like.

    We’ll keep it at .75 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass because it makes the math easy, and can help manage hunger/satiety.[29]

    Let’s calculate for a 200-pound male, who is 5 foot 9, and just started strength training frequently.

    Let’s also pretend this person just turned 35.

    If you’re keeping track at home, our newly created imaginary friend needs to eat 150 grams of protein per day.

    How can we get to 150 grams of protein, using only plants? With the help of some recipes from Fit Men Cook and Minimalist Baker, I’ll show you how:

    Breakfast:

    • Apple Pie Smoothie
    • Calorie: 485
    • Protein: 36g
    • Fat: 14g
    • Carbohydrates: 54g

    Lunch:

    • Spicy Peanut Butter Tempeh
    • Calorie: 608
    • Protein: 43g
    • Fat: 24g
    • Carbohydrates: 42g

    Afternoon Snack

    • Green Protein Snack Pack
    • Calorie: 117
    • Protein: 11g
    • Fat: 8g
    • Carbohydrates: 16g

    Dinner

    • Italian Veggie “Meatballs” & Spaghetti
    • Calorie: 498
    • Protein: 36g
    • Fat: 12g
    • Carbohydrates: 61g

    Late Night Snack

    BOOM! 150 grams of protein, with no animal products whatsoever.

    Total calories?

    2,024.

    If we calculate the needs of our imaginary 35-year-old male (who weighs 200 pounds and is “lightly active”), using our Total Daily Energy Expenditure Calculator, we know this comes in under the 2,522 calories recommended for weight maintenance:

    Nerd Fitness Total Daily Energy Expenditure Calculator

    Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
    0

    Your BMR is an estimate of the total calories burned a day, while in a state of rest.

    TDEE
    0

    Your TDEE is an estimate of the total calories burned during a single day, when exercise is factored in.

     

    Which means if this person eats like the above, he’ll build muscle and lose weight like a champ.

    Now, if this person was 145 pounds and wanted to bulk up, they would simply increase their calorie intake by following similar strategies as above. Not eating enough is an uber common mistake I see people make who are trying to bulk up.

    This example daily menu was chosen to show you, that with a little bit of thought and preparation, eating adequate protein is possible when following a Plant-Based Diet.

    You just have to plan carefully (that theme again).

    Did you notice something about all the foods we recommended? Not a whole lot of junk food to be seen.

    This was not an accident.

    COMMON MISTAKES WHEN FOLLOWING A VEGETARIAN DIET

    Throughout this article, I’ve been using the terms “vegan diet” or “veggie diet” and “Plant-Based Diet” interchangeably.

    At this point though, we need to differentiate.

    Pizza, fettuccine alfredo, bowls of sugary cereal, grilled cheese sandwiches, and calorie-bomb burritos can be vegetarian.

    Donuts, pasta, and bread can be vegan.

    Plant-based? Technically, sure.

    Healthy? Wrong!

    If your goal is weight loss and a healthy check-up at the doctor, eat plants. Full stop.

    You know the drill: vegetables, fruits, tubers, etc.

    Things that you can pluck from a tree or pull from the ground, clean, and then eat. Those are whole foods that will have a lot of the fiber and nutrients intact.

    Michael Pollan, the author of The Omnivore’s Dilemma, sums it up well: “If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don’t.”

    Now, I’m personally not saying to never eat pizza or donuts. Pizza and donuts are amazing. Just know that these processed, calorie-heavy foods are easy to overeat and are part of the reason for expanded waistlines.

    In other words, if you treat them as a treat, and know your calorie goals, you can make it work

    I’ll say it again: if you’re gonna be a vegetarian, please eat vegetables. Some of the unhealthiest people I know are vegetarian, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen them eat a veggie.

    This highlights one of the greatest mistakes people make when going vegetarian or vegan. They only think about what they are cutting out (meat), without actively considering what they are replacing those foods with.

    Remember our example about protein in plants vs. animal products:

    • If you’re gonna cut out chicken, make sure you start eating black beans as a replacement.
    • Also, remember that your plant-based replacement will likely have less protein and more calories than meat.

    If you are going to follow a Plant-Based Diet, you won’t have as much leeway as your omnivore friends. They can gobble down a serving of steak and receive 62 grams of protein from that piece of meat alone.

    62 grams of protein is almost half of the requirements of our imaginary friend from earlier.

    We had to figure out breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks to get us to 150 grams of plant-based protein. Compare this to an omnivore who could eat some eggs, steak, and a chicken salad and be pretty much at 150 grams of protein (and a lower calorie count too).

    That’s why the American Dietetic Association’s states “vegetarian or vegan diets” need to be “well planned.”[30]

    • In our sample day above, we ate 2,024 calories of plant-based food to get to our goal of 150 grams.
    • We calculated that our imaginary friend needed 2,522 calories per day to maintain his current weight. If he wanted to gain muscle and lose some body fat at the same time, he’d need to be in a caloric deficit to do so. Meaning less than 2,522 calories per day.

    When you do the math, because a pound of body fat equals around 3,500 calories, a 500-calorie per day deficit would result in 1 pound of weight loss per week for this person.  

    Unless of course, he overeats on donuts and OREOs and vegan burgers and pizza.

    So, minimize the vegan junk food and prioritize foods that will help you meet your goals.

    Another mistake I see vegetarians specifically make is simply replacing meat with buckets of cheese.

    Let’s go with another comparison:

    • 100 grams of cheddar cheese: 25 grams of protein and 416 calories.
    • 100 grams of chicken breast: 30 grams of protein and 165 calories.

    So be careful of just swapping out meat for cheese, because you’ll end up with less protein intake and more calories overall.

    Another common mistake we see over and over again is people just switching to “fake meat” when they start a Plant-Based Diet.

    Let’s dive into this with its own section.

    BE CAREFUL WITH “FAKE MEAT”

    Throughout this article, we’ve encouraged the consumption of REAL food.

    Vegetables, fruits, legumes, etc. As we mentioned, these are nutrient dense, low-calorie foods that can help with a healthy life.

    However, something we see time and time again over here at Nerd Fitness is rebels just switching “real meat” to “fake meat” when starting a Plant-Based Diet.

    This switch can be a big concern because some of these products are highly processed and full of additives and refined oils you want nothing to do with.

    Sometimes you’ll find a veggie burger whose patty is just mashed up black beans with a little onion. That would be fine!

    Most other times, you’ll find processed foods like tofurky, facon, and mock chicken nuggets that are quite unhealthy.

    Not all imitation meat is created equal.

    Here’s what you should be on the lookout for:

    TONS of ingredients. This would be a good rule of thumb for most food: be wary of foods that have a long list of ingredients. Things like “modified corn starch” or “hydrolyzed wheat gluten” should raise some red flags. It means the foods have been processed and then processed again. This can strip a lot of the nutrient content out of the food.[31]

    If they have to add “hydrolyzed wheat protein” to make a veggie sausage look and taste somewhere in the ballpark of a real sausage… eh, maybe skip it and just eat some lentils instead.

    They might not be “vegan.” Many veggie meats will include things like egg whites and casein (a milk protein) as binding agents and to increase the protein content.

    In my opinion, if you’re okay with this, perhaps you can just eat plain eggs without all the other added ingredients and preservatives.

    Watch out for sodium (salt) content. Sodium is often used as an preservative, so lots of processed food will include a decent amount of salt. We should note, this is also true of processed meats too.

    If you eat a lot of meat substitutes, you’ll likely be taking in a lot of salt too. Be aware of this and perhaps minimize salt intake with other foods to compensate.

    I asked one of our NF coaches, Kerry (a pescatarian), about some trusted brands to source meat substitutes. Kerry is a brilliant coach and only occasionally eats fish, so I knew she’d be a great source of knowledge on the subject.

    Here are some brands to consider when looking into a meat substitute:

    Beyond Meat. Both Kerry and CrossFit athlete Danielle Sidell mention Beyond Meat as a good source of meat alternatives. Their burger substitute is made out of pea protein and not too much else. You can find their products at many grocery stores.

    Hilary’s. Another brand with minimal ingredients in their products is Hilary’s. For example, one of their veggie burgers is beans, sweet potato, coconut oil, chillies, and a few other things. Not bad.

    Again, you can find their products in grocery stores.

    No Evil Foods. I’ve got to hand it to No Evil Foods. Their Comrade Cluck “No Chicken” only has seven ingredients, one of which is water.

    It should be noted, that most of their foods rely on wheat and gluten for protein. If you can process both find, No Evil Foods is a good option.

    That should get you started on some meat substitutes to experiment with.

    Also, we should discuss tofu and tempeh. They are both meat substitutes that are made from soy. These are generally minimally processed as well, so they’ll contain few ingredients outside of soy.

    They are also time tested.

    Folks in Asian cultures have been eating tofu and tempeh for centuries, providing them a good source of protein.[32]

    If you’re looking for meat substitutes, tofu and tempeh would be worth looking into.

    If you’re male and worried about soy disrupting your hormones and causing “moobs,” we dive into the science of that in our article “How to Get Rid of Man Boobs.”

    Okay, that about does it for our warning on fake meat.

    Let’s shift gears and start chatting about vitamins and minerals.

    WHAT SUPPLEMENTS TO TAKE IF YOU GO VEGAN

    If you are moving forward with a plant-based or vegan diet, based on our research we would recommend supplementing your diet with a few key things.

    I won’t get into it too much in detail here on whether people evolved to eat meat or not.[33] Again, trying to keep the inevitable amount of hate email to a minimum.

    In addition to the massive protein supplement section above, these are the supplements I would recommend:

    In my research, vitamins like B12 consistently comes up as a deficiency amongst vegans.[34] This is logical, because plants don’t need B12, so they don’t store it.[35]

    Vitamin B12 is critical for protein metabolization, meaning if you want your body running correctly, you really don’t want to be deficient in this essential nutrient.[36]

    I would hedge my bets and take a B12 supplement. It would be my number one recommendation (outside of eating REAL food) if you’re going vegetarian or vegan. Taking B12 came up multiple times as a recommendation for a Plant-Based Diet from our vegan rebels in the private Academy group.

    This B12 supplement is a good option.

    It’s not the only supplement worth considering.

    You could also consider taking an algae supplement, which is high in omega-3 fatty acids.

    Why omega-3s?

    1. Omega-3s have been shown to help fight depression.[37]
    2. The consumption of omega-3s has been linked to greater heart health.[38]
    3. Metabolic syndrome, which is tied to insulin resistance and obesity, is improved with the consumption of omega-3s.[39]

    Vegetarian folks generally have lower levels of these types of acids, because meat (fish specifically) is a great source for omega-3s – a food that isn’t consumed on a Plant-Based Diet. However, animals are not the only source for omega-3s. Again, I’d look into an algae supplement, like this one.

    Another supplement worth discussing: Vitamin D. We get it from the sun, and also by eating certain animal products. While some plants like algae do contain some Vitamin D, it’s most abundant in fish and dairy products.[40]

    Vitamin D helps us absorb calcium and also plays a critical role in our immune system.[41]

    However, because many of us spend time indoors, we can be deficient – though this is true of vegans and omnivores alike.[42]

    Simple solution: go out in the sun more frequently, and consider a vitamin D supplement in the winter months.

    Two other minerals worth discussing would be zinc and iron, because vegetarians are often low in both.[43]

    Here’s why:

    1. Most people get their source of zinc and iron through animal products.
    2. Phytates found in whole grains and legumes can block the absorption of minerals, including zinc and iron.[44] If you are cutting out meat, you are probably eating a lot of grains and legumes for your protein. So yeah…

    A supplement of both zinc and iron would be smart.

    It should be noted, that all supplementation becomes more important the more strict you are about avoiding animal products. If you eat eggs and dairy, you’ll get most of the nutrients you need, outside of those found in plants.

    Eggs contain omega-3s, B12, and small amounts of vitamin D. And while this is for sure debatable, there might be some ethical ways to purchase eggs.[45]

    That about does it for supplementation recommendations. If you want to do even more research, let’s turn you in the right direction.

    WHERE CAN I GET EVEN MORE INFORMATION ON EATING A PLANT-BASED DIET?

    There’s all sort of information for going vegan online.

    However, you need to be careful about who you trust. Some of it is garbage (no, broccoli doesn’t have as much protein as steak).[46] Although some of it is well researched and backed by science.

    Let’s point you to some respected advisors.

    BLOGGERS:

    • No Meat AthleteI mentioned my friend Matt Frazier earlier, but I would point him out as an authority on fueling an active lifestyle with plants. Check out his blog.
    • Rich Roll – Rich’s story on going from a stressed out, addicted businessman to an endurance athlete is incredible. Rich also fueled his entire transformation with nothing but plants. His posts and advice are interesting, popular, and inspiring.
    • Vegan Health – If you’re looking for well-researched articles, Vegan Health offers a lot of science-based advice on switching over to a Plant-Based Diet. I relied on their writing when researching this post.

    RECIPES:

    • Minimalist Baker – The blog Minimalist Baker offers great vegan recipes, using whole foods, with minimal ingredients. I included one of their recipes above.
    • Thug Kitchen – The site Thug Kitchen has a lot going for it. It’s funny. The recipes they offer are delicious. Plus, all ingredients found in their meals are plant-based. I will warn you, the language on the site is crude, but also adds to its charm.
    • Vegan Richa – If you’re on the hunt for some vegan recipes, head to Vegan Richa. They are Indian inspired and very flavorful. Forgoing meat does not have to mean forgoing flavor.

    That should help get you started with moving to a Plant-Based Diet.

    IN DEFENSE OF A PLANT-BASED DIET

    So you’re gonna adopt a Plant-Based Diet!

    Great. Good luck, soldier! Alright, let’s do this. I would encourage you to follow our recommendations here:

    #1 Eat Real Food

    If you’re going to be a vegetarian, eat actual vegetables. Don’t make it about what you are not eating (meat). Make it about what you are actually eating (plants).

    That’s why I’ve been using the term Plant-Based Diet. I want you to actually eat plants. Don’t let the fact that an Oreo is technically vegan make you lose sight of the fact that it’s highly processed and full of sugar.

    Eat a Plant-Based Diet.

    #2 Calories and Macronutrients Still Count

    Cutting out an entire major food group does not guarantee you will lose weight or be healthier. An Impossible Burger has more calories but less protein than a regular beef patty.

    Vegan does not equal “less calories.”

    Calculate how many calories you will need to make your goals (you can do so right here), and then make a plan on how to follow through.

    #3 Prioritize Protein

    Animal products are calorie for calorie the best sources of protein. You will have to put in extra effort to think about how you are getting your protein from plants.

    Also, you will end up eating a lot more calories trying to match the same amount of protein as found in meat (remember there are more calories in beans but less protein than chicken).

    Every meal you eat should have a solid source of protein: beans, lentils, oats, tempeh, etc. If you are strength training (which you should do), this is even more critical.

    Consider a protein powder like pea, rice, or hemp to add protein with minimal calories attached.

    #4 Meal Planning For the Win!

    Everyone should meal plan. If you’re trying to lose weight or just be healthy in general, knowing where your next meal is coming from is really important.

    If you are going to cut out a major food group, this is hyper-OMG-please-be-careful- critical.

    I will again mention that the American Dietetic Association’s states that Plant-Based Diets can be healthy if they are “well planned.”

    #5 Add Variation

    I mentioned earlier, that if you allow eggs and dairy, eating a Plant-Based Diet becomes much easier. You simply have more options to choose from when it comes to what to eat.

    Perhaps allowing small concessions with a Plant-Based Diet – like eating eggs – will make your diet more manageable and sustainable. This could be better than going vegan for 30 days and then giving up.

    #6 Supplement

    Make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need. There are things like B12 that just don’t find their way into plants.

    That’s why the Mayo Clinic advises those following a Plant-Based Diet to get checked for “vitamin B-12, iron, ferritin, calcium and vitamin D.”[46] Statistically, vegans come up often as deficient in these vitamins and minerals.

    I believe that all of us should eat plants (sorry, Carnivores, you won’t get me endorsing you fully). Fruits and vegetables are packed full of nutrients your body needs to thrive. So no matter which way of life you pick, eat plants!

    Do some push-ups.

    And, ah, be nice to each other?

    Debates on how we should eat can often get heated. Which can be understandable, because of the passion and ethical considerations driving people’s dietary choices.

    However, I’d recommend acting curious towards the other side. I wouldn’t recommend tying your identity to a style of food, but rather tying your identity to “I’m a curious person that learns new stuff and tries new stuff all the time.”

    No matter how someone else eats, don’t turn your nose up against them.

    Be nice, and let them do their thing. This can be true for veganism, Paleo, Keto, or an Intermittent Fasting protocol. If someone is trying something new, don’t immediately put them down for it. You may legitimately learn something from someone else’s way of life.

    Which hey, is a pillar of our philosophy here at Nerd Fitness: “Question everything.” Including the way you eat compared to others.

    I think that about does it for my advice on eating a Plant-Based Diet. In summary, stick to REAL food and think about a supplement or two.

    Now, I really want to hear from you! I know there are many vegan and vegetarian folks in the Rebellion.

    Can you share with us your experiences? Tips and tricks you follow to make it work? I’d love for the comments here to be a place where we can share honestly and openly.

    For the Rebellion!

    -Steve

    PS: Seriously, be nice. The internet has enough people being mad at other people they’ve never met.

    PPS: If embarking on a complete life overhaul stresses you out, we can help!

    I’ll again remind you of the Nerd Fitness Coaching Program! We work with busy people just like you level up their lives. Whether it’s through dietary advice (Plant-Based or not), creating workouts, or providing accountability, we are here to help you create a healthier version of you. Click right here to learn if we are a good fit for each other.

    ###

    All photo citations can be found right here.[47]





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  • Mobsters, Knights, and Samurai have a code. Do You?

    Mobsters, Knights, and Samurai have a code. Do You?


    In 2007, Italian police arrested Salvatore Lo Piccolo.

    This dude was an actual boss from the real life Sicilian Mafia.

    As they explored his house, they stumbled across what they believed to be their official “10 commandments” of their crew.

    In other words, “If you want to be a good mobster, follow these 10 easy steps!”

    1. No-one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it.
    2. Never look at the wives of friends.
    3. Never be seen with cops.
    4. Don’t go to pubs and clubs.
    5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty – even if your wife’s about to give birth.
    6. Appointments must absolutely be respected.
    7. Wives must be treated with respect.
    8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth.
    9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families.
    10. People who can’t be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn’t hold to moral values.

    These rules certainly don’t cover every single decision that every mobster needs to make every day, but they are rules that somebody can learn, internalize, and apply when they find themselves in a precarious situation and are unsure how to act.

    The Mob isn’t the only crew that has rules either.

    Ancient Samurai in Japan, had “Bushido” aka “The way of the warrior.” 8 rules for their personal code of conduct:

    1. Righteousness (Justice)
    2. Courage
    3. Benevolence (Mercy)
    4. Respect
    5. Honesty
    6. Honor
    7. Loyalty
    8. Self-Control

    Elsewhere, knights in medieval Europe had a “Code of Chivalry,” which covered things like “protection of the weak and poor, courtesy and respect, courage and military prowess.”

    Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator and his fellow soldiers always picked each other up with “Strength and honor.”

    In 300, Spartan Soldiers knew to “come home with your shield, or on it.”

    We have Rules for the Nerd Fitness Rebellion too!

    I bring up these rules because we might not be mobsters, knights, or samurai…

    But I bet adding some rules to your life could help.

    Rules can help us make decisions.

    Life is complicated, and our brains are capable of talking us into and out of various decisions.

    However, when we have a rule in place, it allows us to make a clear choice rather than agonizing over it.

    More importantly. We can make a rule ONCE, and then we don’t have to waste any brainpower or willpower on each decision later on.

    Here’s a quick example:

    Most of the successful popular diets are simply a list of rules that people follow that get them to eat fewer calories.

    • Intermittent fasting means “I only eat between noon at 8pm.”
    • The Paleo Diet means “I don’t eat anything a caveman wouldn’t eat.”
    • Vegan means “I don’t eat any products derived from animals.”

    I’m not saying any of these strategies above are better or worse than any others, either. I bring up these heuristics because they have helped many, and been unhelpful for many.

    Each person can come up with a set of aspirational rules that help them level up their lives.

    I certainly have “fitness” rules that I usually follow:

    I know when I follow these rules, “the Way of the Nerd,” I have a pretty good chance of staying fit, healthy, and feeling good about myself.

    I also have rules about interacting with the world and being a good human:

    These specific rules might not work for you, and that’s okay.

    They’re my rules.

    Your rules must reflect your situation.

    We Respect the Rules of Others

    Here’s another fun hack: we might not like all rules, but we tend to respect other people’s rules:

    our coworker offers you a donut, and you say “ohhhhh, I shouldn’t.” They might come back with “c’mon, live a little,” because they don’t want to be the only person eating a donut…

    But if you say “I have a rule that I don’t eat donuts on weekdays,” then you have a hard rule that you’re following, and your coworker will probably respect this.

    Some people might abstain from certain foods or drinks for religious or personal reasons.

    There’s no reason you can’t have rules for whatever damn reason you want to!

    What are YOUR rules?

    A good combination of aspirational, professional, and society-improving rules is a good place to start. Or heck, just one of each!

    Heck, even one for each can be a good place to start.

    These rules should be YOURS.

    Here are some ideas to help you get started:

    • At work “I do what I say I’m going to do, on schedule, or I tell my team ahead of schedule if I need more time.”
    • With friends, “I always send a thank-you note after being invited to something by a friend”
    • For health, “I only drink alcohol on Friday night and Saturday while watching college football”
    • For sleep, “I only watch 1 episode of TV per night. I stop playing video games and turn off social media at 8pm.”

    Start writing down some aspirational rules and see how it feels.

    I find the more specific and pass/fail the rules are, the more likely you’ll be to follow them.

    Rules that actually help you make the long-term right decision in tough situations. You know, those situations where your lizard brain says “eat the candy!” or “drink the drink” or “stay up late and doomscroll for 7 hours!”

    Rules can also be pre-emptive so you don’t end up in those situations in the first place.

    We can use technology, app-blocking software, or recruit our friends to help us stay true to our rules.

    Once you identify your rules, and actually write them down, keep track of how you’re doing with them.

    If you find yourself breaking your rules more frequently than not, it might be time to adjust the rules, do some deep thinking, or work with a therapist to start figuring out why and what’s going on.

    Remember, failure can be one hell of a teacher, and leaning into the fear is a great chance to learn the lesson life is trying to teach us.

    -Steve





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  • Why You Need a Big Why

    Why You Need a Big Why


    Entrepreneur Peter Barton was on top of the world.

    Until he wasn’t.

    Barton lived a life everybody dreamed of, took pretty damn good care of himself, and was a great husband and dad to his family.

    And then on one fateful day, his world was shattered:

    A terminal cancer diagnosis.

    Work became less important, other experiences stopped holding meaning; he tried to pick up the pieces while mourning a future he wouldn’t get to live. He wouldn’t get to see his kids grow up or grow old with his wife.

    Barton shared these thoughts and experiences in an absolutely heartbreaking book called Not Fade Away, and one paragraph has always stuck with me.

    One day, Peter’s body was wrecked, succumbing to the cancer, his head ached and his spirit was lower than ever. Defeated, he said to his supportive wife:

    “I just don’t see the point.”

    She replied, “So find one.”

    Finding the point became the point.

    Barton was given a life sentence, and chose to “find the point of life” by writing a book his children could read. A book that other people could read and analyze the meaning in their own lives.

    I was thinking of “finding the point became the point” while revisiting another of my favorite books, inspired by a recent episode on my friend Bretty McKay’s Art of Manliness podcast.

    Man’s Search for Meaning

    Victor Frankl was a holocaust survivor, psychotherapist, and creator of a type of therapy called “logotherapy.”

    After surviving the horrors of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, he wrote the first draft for his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, in nine days.

    He even planned on publishing it anonymously, but at the last second was convinced to attach his name to add some gravity to his story of survival.

    It has since gone on to sell 16+ million copies and be translated into 50+ languages.

    Frankl’s school of thought, logotherapy, is built around the idea that “the meaning of life is to find the meaning of life for each individual person. He often references Nietzsche’s famous saying:

    “He who has a Why to live for can bear almost any How.”

    Throughout this book, Frankl explains his thoughts and reflections on life as he watched thousands of people die or get murdered.

    What’s most striking in this short book is Frankl’s ability to find meaning and hope for humanity amidst one of the worst human atrocities ever committed.

    The second half of the book dives deeper into “logotherapy,” encouraging us to find our own specific “meaning”.

    “The meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour.

    >What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.”

    You might not be diagnosed with terminal cancer, nor suffer the atrocities of a concentration camp.

    But there’s probably been a point in your life where you’re asking, “Why the hell am I doing what I’m doing?”

    We might think asking the question means there’s something wrong with us. That we’re not living in the moment. That we need help.

    Frankl feels differently. He thinks asking this question is critical and healthy:

    “The greatest task for any person is to find meaning in his or her life.”

    What if having that uncomfortable conversation with yourself was actually part of the process?

    What if asking that question was the point?

    Your “Big Why”

    We talk a lot about “What’s Your Big Why?” here in the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

    If we think about it logically, we’re trying to force ourselves to do things we’re not wired (or required) to do.

    Of COURSE we don’t want to burn extra calories, get up early to exercise, and avoid stuffing our face with comfort foods.

    It requires extra effort, we have to feel hungry, we have to change our behavior. And our brains don’t want to do ANY of that!

    This might not be “meaning of life” type stuff…but it’s a really powerful reminder for helping us stay consistent when life will give us anything but consistency:

    • Why are we going to get up at 5AM and go for a walk when it’s cold outside?
    • Why do we say yes to salads and lean protein when cookies and donuts exist?
    • Why do we sweat (gross) and pick up weights (uncomfortable)?
    • Why do we force ourselves to breathe heavily and run a 5k or say yes to a yoga class where we feel deeply-self-conscious?

    We talk about this a lot with our coaching clients and members of the NF Community:

    Having a constant reminder of WHY we’re doing this can often be the thing that keeps us on track during those toughest moments after the motivation has worn off:

    Maybe we want to break the generational cycle of an unhealthy relationship with food we learned from our parents.

    Maybe we want our children to see that we can be a strong Mom, that it’s okay to sweat and push ourselves.

    Maybe we want to feel better about ourselves when we look in the mirror, or that we know we always feel better after a workout than we felt beforea workout?

    Your challenge this week is to ask yourself why you’re here:

    • Why are you willing to go through the uncomfortable thoughts and feelings that come with change?
    • Why are you willing to try to learn a new skill, or adjust how you eat?
    • Why are you willing to get up early and spend less time on your couch?

    Keep going deeper with your reasons. Keep asking “why,” and see what comes out.

    Write it down.

    Put it on a post-it note and stick one on your fridge, bathroom mirror, car dashboard.

    -Steve

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