It's no secret that the health and fitness industry is a constantly changing,hard to follow discipline. You can go buy five different fitness magazines right now and there is a great chance you will find contradicting articles in all of them.
From the way to train, the way to eat, the way to supplement, and the way to recover it seems that there is always some new trend or research to confuse the hell out of us. How do you know which is right? More importantly, how do we know which is right for you?
I wish I could give you that answer, but unfortunately I can't. It takes some time to get to know your body and how it responds to different stimuli. What works for you won't necessarily work for me and vice versa. I'm going through the struggle myself right now and I want to share with you some knowledge that I have gained recently that already lead to some pretty exciting results.
Back in May I posted about things I'm currently excited about (currently being the key word). In this post I'm going to list some new things I'm currently doing in my own experimentation to find the right mix to looking and feeling my best ever.
I no longer want to be the guy who looks the same as he did three, five, or even ten years ago. Being able to maintain a healthy weight and decent physique for over ten years is an accomplishment in itself, but my new desire to look and feel amazing over age 30 will take a little bit more attention to detail, focus, and sacrifice.
Here are a few things I'm trying that have definitely worked for me thus far and may work for you too:
1. Increased Fish Oil Supplementation - I used to take 2 grams a day and wandered what the heck it was actually doing for me. Sure it's great for the cardiovascular system, but I wasn't feeling that result. The true benefits of proper fish oil supplementation include: decreased inflammation, lower body fat, better skin, improved brain function, higher sex drive, and better recovery. I increased my dosage to 6-8 grams each day and I gotta tell you, I've been experiencing ALL OF these benefits.
2. Decreased (almost eliminated) Dairy Consumption - I used to drink close to a half of a gallon of plain old homogenized 1% milk a day...I now realize how truly harmful that was to my body. Studies have shown the negative effects of dairy on the body. Non-organic dairy is extremely inflammatory and has been linked to certain cancers and other illnesses.
Now to say I went cold turkey and quit dairy all together after drinking as much as I did would be crazy. I now only include organic milk in my oatmeal, coffee, and tea and stopped eating yogurt (I may consume some organic greek yogurt here and there). I only recently made this change and can't wait until I start to feel the benefits of it!
3. Decreased Carbohydrate Consumption - I've never done this before and I was worried about how miserable and worn down it would make me. I limit my carbohydrate consumption to cheat days, breakfast, fruits/vegetables and my #1 vice alcohol. This has been surprisingly easier than I thought it would be and it has had zero effect on my energy levels. This is by far the biggest contributing factor to my decreased body fat percentage and improved appearance in the mirror.
4. No More Program Hopping - It takes at least 4-6 weeks to find out if your fitness program works for you. Aside from nutrition, this is the main reason that people look the same as they did for years even though they train hard and often. They either program hop or do the same exact thing over and over and over again for years. Neither of those methods work. Plan to devote 4-6 weeks to a program, have a trainer or strength coach write the program for you, and STICK TO IT! Program hopping doesn't work.
5. Sprinting - Want to sweat, burn fat, and feel like an athlete? Just sprint baby! Either immediately after your strength training routine or on your non-strength training days plan to spend 15 - 25 minutes sprinting. Some methods are better than others; like outside versus the treadmill and hills versus the track. The bottom line is that it all works. Find your range and speed that you can challenge yourself with without risking injury and aim to increase those ranges and speeds each time you sprint. This has helped me feel stronger, makes "cardio" tolerable, and has helped me stay injury free when playing sports.
These five things (amongst others) have definitely helped me achieve some pretty cool and exciting results recently and I think they can help you too. It's always a challenge trying to find out how to improve the way you look and feel. Make it a goal to train, eat, and live smarter and it doesn't have to be so frustrating. Your body will tell you what is working and what isn't and if it doesn't, your mirror will!
You only get 1!
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