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I get multiple emails and messages per day asking:
“Steve, what should I do for a workout?”
Well, partner, today is your lucky day.
I’m gonna help build you a custom workout program, step-by-step!
After all, a workout should be developed around a person’s age, goals, nutritional strategy, free time, etc.
Not only that, but it’s easy to overcomplicate this process – there are an infinite number of exercises, sets, reps, and programs to choose from.
Now, if you’re somebody that wants to skip all of that, and JUST want to be told what exactly to do:
We build customized workouts for our Online Coaching Clients and would love to have you. We get to know your story and struggles, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan that fits your schedule.
Now, if you’re more of a “figure this stuff out on my own” kind of person – we’re going to dig into how to build your own workout plan today!
We’ve also created a free resource for folks who want to build their own workout but would love some more specific direction and instruction.
You can download our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, which covers all of this stuff in a single guide:
OKAY! Are you ready to start building your own routine and want to know how it’s done?
Great! Let’s do this:
As Coach Staci lays out in the video above, we need to answer a few key questions when designing a workout:
QUESTION 1: What are your goals?
Whatever your goals are, it’s good to write them down and be aware of what you’re trying to accomplish.
These goals will shape HOW you build your workout.
An effective way to create goals is by using the SMART method, which stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely.[1]
A SMART goal is a good goal.
QUESTION 2: How much time can you devote to exercise?
If you can do an hour a day, that’s fantastic.
But maybe you have a wife or husband, three kids, a dog, two jobs, and no robot butler…then maybe you only have thirty minutes, twice a week.
That’s fine too!
Also, break up your workout! According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), if you accumulate three 10-minute bouts of exercise throughout the day to total 30-minutes of exercise, then that is as effective as someone who does one 30-minute bout of exercise.[2]
Now, no matter how much time you have, developing the most efficient workout is crucial.
Why spend two hours in a gym when you can get just as much accomplished in 30 minutes, right?
Here’s the good news: weight training is the fat-burning prize fight victor, and efficiency rules all.
So whether you are building muscle or looking to lose weight, a strength training workout will get you the results you’re after (when combined with the right eating strategy!)
While we’re talking about time, let me quickly mention something important:
Proper expectations!
As we cover “How Fast Can I Get the Body I Want,” make sure you are thinking about your journey with a realistic timeline:
As we mention in that guide, here are some realistic timeframes for weight loss or muscle gain:[3]
QUESTION 3: WHERE do you want to work out?
Where you work out will largely determine if you are going to train with your body’s weight, or if you can start doing gym strength training.
If you’re paying attention here, you may notice I’m setting you up to work out no matter what your current situation is.
Why?
Because according to ACSM, the #1 reason people don’t exercise is:[4]
They don’t have time for it.
BUT, with the information I’m hitting you with, technically you should have no excuse for not exercising unless (you’re injured or sick).
After all, your workout:
Cool?
Cool.
RECAP OF QUESTIONS – At this point, we should have:
We can now start to build your workout routine, your daily workout plan, and your monthly workout schedule!
Let’s do it.
I like to follow the motto of “Keep it simple, stupid.”
(Note: I am not calling you stupid. You’re reading Nerd Fitness, which means you’re intelligent, good-looking, really funny, and most of all, modest.)
The best workout is the one that you actually stick with, and people make things FAR too complicated and try to target a bazillion different individual muscles with six types of exercises for each body part.
It’s exhausting, unnecessary, inefficient, and intimidating.
So keep it simple!
We’re going to pick 5 exercises, and get really strong with those movements.
This is the ENTIRE philosophy behind our Strength 101 series.
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.
You want a workout routine that has at least one exercise for your:
I have a trick for you: by targeting compound movements that recruit multiple muscles at the same time, you can build a full-body routine that uses only four or five exercises.
How’s THAT for efficiency!
A compound exercise would be the yin to the yang of the isolation exercise.
Think a push-up (compound):
Compared to bicep curls through a machine (isolation):
Compound exercises have been found to result in improvements in aerobic endurance, muscular fitness, and flexibility, since you’re recruiting all sorts of muscle groups at once.[5]
Where an isolation exercise would be a single-joint movement involving only one single muscle group, like the biceps, in our example above.
I will say, there is a time and place for implementing compound and isolation exercises.
We cover all this in our The 12 Best Compound Exercises For Beginners (How To Train Efficiently) guide.
Here is a quick breakdown of which compound exercises will work for each of those muscle groups:
Not sure how to do any of these movements? Want more examples?
Check out:
The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises You Can Do Anywhere!
Pick one exercise from each category above for your workout, and you’ll work almost every single muscle in your body.
Get stronger with each movement each week, and you have yourself a recipe for a great physique.
Here is an example of a great, effective simple gym workout:
You don’t need to make things more complicated than this!
(Not that we humans have a tendency to overcomplicate things to the point of paralysis and inaction…)
Ahem.
If you’re not sure how to do any of the movements above, click on their links for thorough write-ups and video demonstrations.
Pick one exercise from EACH category above, specifically ones that scare you the least, and that will be your workout every other day for the next week.
The great news: the above workout routine will work whether you’re looking to bulk up and build muscle OR if you’re trying to lose weight.
You simply adjust your calories consumed – which is 80% of the equation – and that’s how you’ll start to change your physique.[5]
Oh, and you’ll also need to think about macronutrient breakdowns (carbs, fats, proteins), like in our Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate:
But you can check out our Guide to Healthy Eating for more info on that.
STEVE’S BIG PIECE OF ADVICE: GET STRONG.
Get really good at these basic movements and focus on getting stronger each week (I’ll cover how below).
If you get really strong at squats, deadlifts, pull-ups, and push-ups, you will build an incredible physique to be proud of.
Plus, building strength with these exercises will also help in other areas such as improving your performance in sports, decreasing your risk of chronic diseases (e.g., CVD) and premature mortality (an early death).[6]
*mic drop*
**picks up mic**
Then, once you get confident in those movements, feel free to add some variety.
Why?
If you do the same exact routine, three days a week, for months and months, you might get bored, and start slacking…
Or you might hit a workout plateau.[7]
So if you find yourself getting bored, feel free to stick with the above ‘formula,’ but change the ingredients:
If you hit a plateau or find yourself getting bored, pick a different exercise to improve so you’ll stay challenged, and you’ll actually DO the workout!
Then, focus on getting stronger![8] (You are writing down your workouts, right?).
I know it’s really easy to overcomplicate this process as there’s an infinite number of exercises, sets, reps, and programs to choose from.
And yes, we have a solution for people that JUST want to be told what exactly to do: our uber-popular 1-on-1 coaching program pairs you with your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and develop a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life:
SIMPLE ANSWER: Not including a warm-up set or two, I recommend:
LONGER ANSWER – watch this video:
As we cover in our “How Many Sets and Reps?” guide, a “set” is a series of repetitions that you complete without stopping.
For example, if you drop down and do 10 push-ups right now, you just did 1 SET of 10 REPETITIONS (or REPS) of push-ups.
Got it? Cool.
Some general rule on repetitions you can follow as you’re starting to build your workout plan:
There are some other generally accepted ‘rules’ – as pointed out in Starting Strength – about how to determine how many reps you should target per set, based on your goals:
A 2015 study [10] called into question the best rep strategy for building muscle or size:
“It appears that high-intensity resistance (sets of 3-5 reps) training stimulates greater improvements in some measures of strength and hypertrophy in resistance-trained men during a short-term training period [compared to sets of 8-10 reps].”
What this means: Do not freak yourself out by worrying if you should do 4 sets or 5 sets of 8 reps or 10 reps.
Our advice would be to START with lighter weight and more reps as you learn the movement, and then decide if you want to stay at higher reps and lower weight or vice versa.
You do you, because either way will get you results!
The only thing you need to worry about: get stronger the next time you do that movement.
Either pick up a heavier weight, or do 1 more repetition than last time.
“JUST GIVE ME THE ANSWER!”
Keep your TOTAL (all exercises combined) workout number of sets for all exercises in the 15-25 set range, with 8-10 reps per set:
5 exercises total, each with 4 “work sets” is a good start.
Remember, the most important part is to get started – you’ll learn how your body responds and you can adapt as you go.
What you DON’T need to do: multiple exercises for each body part with 10 sets.
This will result in significant fatigue during your workout increasing your risk for sustaining an injury. It can also result in overtraining, in which you will experience a decrease in performance and plateauing (will not see muscular improvements).[11]
So calm down you eager beaver.
A BIG CAVEAT: How you eat will determine if you get bigger or stronger. Nutrition is 80-90% of the equation. So pick a range that feels good, and then focus on nutrition.
And if you don’t want to figure any of this out and just want to be told exactly how what exercises, sets, and reps to do, our online coaches can take care of that for you.
Keep it simple, you “smart, good looking, funny, modest person” you.
Below is a basic formula for you to determine how long you should wait between sets, but this can be adjusted based on your level of health.
The goal is to wait the least amount of time you need, but still rest enough that you can perform all reps of the next set safely and properly!
Here’s why that’s important:[12]
Adequate rest in-between sets will allow your body to regenerate energy, so you can execute the next set of reps with good form and technique, therefore, decreasing your risk of injury.
I’ll provide some guidelines for how long to rest based on how heavy you’re lifting (not rules set in stone!):
If you need more or less rest than the above recommendations, that’s fine.[13]
Do the best you can, record how long it takes you to rest between sets, and try to rest for shorter periods in the future.
Your body will adjust as you get stronger and healthier!
If you want more information on how much you should lift, how many reps, and when to scale certain movements or adjust your workout, check out our Strength 101: Everything You Need to Know.
It’s free when you join the Rebellion with your email in the box below:
We have a FULL resource on how to determine your starting weight for lifting, but I’ll give you the gist here.
The simple to learn but tough to implement answer:
“Lift enough so that you can get through the set, but not too much that you have NO fuel left in the tank at the end.”
How do you determine how much that is?
Trial and error.
ALWAYS err on the side of “too light” versus “too heavy” when starting out.
It’s better to say “I bet I could have done more!” instead of “that was too much, and now I need to go to the hospital!”
Plus, when you start working out, you’re actually programming your neuromuscular systems to do the movement correctly.[14] You can’t rush this, so it’s best not to start off too heavy.[15]
When is it time to move up in resistance?
The NSCA has a 2-for-2 rule that recommends:[16]
If a person can do two reps (or more) over their set goal, then they should increase the load.
How much should you increase weight by?
I will say, if you’re doing exercises with just your body weight, you need to make each exercise more difficult as you get in shape – once you get past 20 reps for a particular exercise and you’re not gassed, it’s time to mix things up.
That’s the key to “Progressive Overload,” as Coach Jim explains in this video:
Can you do 20 push-ups no problem? It’s time to start mixing them up to be more challenging. Pick a variation from this article and make yourself work for it!
20 bodyweight squats too easy? Hold some weights high above your head as you do the next set. Eventually, you can scale up to do exercises like the pistol squat:
Looking for more bodyweight exercises? Check out the list of our favorite 42 bodyweight exercises you can do anywhere.
And if you’re not sure how to scale bodyweight movements, or you are interested in mixing things up and want guidance…
Easy answer: 45 minutes to an hour.
Longer answer: If you’re doing 15-25 sets of total exercise (3-5 sets for your 5 exercises), you should be able to get everything done within that 45-minute block.[17]
Now, factor in a five or ten-minute warm-up, and then some stretching afterward, and the workout can go a little bit longer.[18]
If you can go for over an hour and you’re not completely worn out, try increasing the intensity.
Less time, more intensity, better results.
What if you don’t have 45 minutes?
Do the best you can![19]
What’s that? You want to build some cardio into your weight training.
That’s where this next section comes in.
Strength training in a circuit training workout is the most efficient way to burn fat when exercising:[20]
If you’re familiar with CrossFit, many of the workouts are built on circuit principles.
This is also the most effective way to make you involuntarily swear at inanimate objects because you’re so tired and beat up.
We’re going to cover TWO things here:
#1) SUPERSETS
The NSCA defines it as:[21]
A superset is performing two exercises in a row on two different muscle groups.
For example, you perform a set of squats, wait one minute, then do a set of dumbbell presses, wait one minute, then do your next set of squats, and so on.
Because you’re exercising two completely different muscle groups, you can exercise one while the other is “resting.”
You’re now getting the same workout done in half the time.
Also, because you’re resting less, your body has to work harder so your heart is getting a workout too. Jackpot.
Let’s see how this would play out in a sample workout:
#2) CIRCUIT TRAINING:
A circuit requires you to do one set for EVERY exercise, one after the other, without stopping.
After you’ve done one set of each exercise in succession, you then repeat the process two, or three, or four more times.[22]
I’ve written about multiple bodyweight circuits here on the site:
You can download our Beginner Bodyweight Worksheet too to help you get started:
We have also 15 FREE circuits you can follow in our big Circuit Training roundup guide!
And lastly, we love building circuit training routines for our Coaching Clients – and we’d love to build them for you too:
We get this question quite a bit, usually from overeager beavers who decide they are going to go from “sitting on the couch watching The Office on repeat” to “exercising 7 days per week.”
I would advise something different.
I mean you can still watch The Office…
…but you don’t need to be training 7 days a week!
We don’t want you burning out quickly and falling back to square one, a concern we mention in our guide “How Often Should I Work Out?“
Instead, focus on building proper habits and set a goal of 2-3 full-body workouts per week.[23]
For starters, your muscles don’t get built in the gym.
They actually get broken down in the gym, and then get rebuilt stronger while you’re resting…watching The Office.[24]
By giving your muscles 48 hours to recover between workouts, especially when training heavy, you’ll stay injury-free and get stronger.[25]
A Monday-Wednesday-Friday workout routine works well to ensure enough time to recover, especially when you are just getting started.
If you want to do Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, or Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday, great.
Personally, I stuck with a Monday-Wednesday-Friday full day routine for nearly 10 years and just focused on getting stronger with each movement.
These days, I train on Monday-Wednesday-Thursday-Saturday (my workouts on Wednesday and Thursday don’t work the same muscles!)
“But Steve, what if I WANT to exercise on my off days?” That’s fine!
Just pick “exercise” that’s fun for you, that won’t exhaust your muscles.[26][[26]]However, don’t forget that recovery is key to preventing injuries and allowing the body to rebuild itself after the stress of exercise. If you are looking to exercise on your off days we suggest that you cross-train. Cross-training involves engaging in a training routine or exercises that are different from what you normally would do. For example, if you always run for cardio, we would suggest that you change things up and go on the elliptical or bike. This allows you to stay active on your off days while also allowing the muscles that are always stressed from running to rest and recuperate. (Haff G, Triplett NT. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Fourth edition. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics).[[25]]
Also, here’s a lifehack: Program your workouts INTO your Google calendar (or Outlook).
You’re much more likely to do a workout that has been planned for in your work week!
Alternatively, you can hire a coach to program your workouts for you, so every day you know exactly what you need to do!
Last but not least, keep a workout journal!
As they say, that which gets measured gets improved.
You should be getting stronger, faster, or more fit with each day of exercise.
Around these parts, we say “Level up your life, every single day.”
So track and measure your progress!
Things to record for your workout:
If you see your numbers improving (more weight, faster times, etc.), then you’re getting stronger and gaining more lean muscle mass![27]
Woot.
Personally, I track all of my workouts in Evernote.
I note the sets, reps, weight, and date.
I have over 1,000 workouts in my folder, which makes it super simple to see what I did last month, or even last year, and to make sure I’m improving!
You can use an actual notebook, a bullet journal, an Excel spreadsheet, a workout app, or a Word document.
Don’t overcomplicate it:
Do this with a workout you’ve built, and you WILL get results. I promise.[28]
Here’s how to properly track your progress and set a new personal best every time you train.
If you’re looking for sample workouts to build off of, take one of the 6 Workouts in our “Gym 101” guide.
Or if you want a plan to follow, pick one of our 15 Circuit Training Routines!
If you want to build from scratch, great! Let’s break it down into easy chunks with this recap:
More often than not, when I email people back and tell them how to build their own workout, they generally respond with:
“Steve, can’t you just TELL me what to do? I’m afraid of building a crappy workout.”
Why we built THREE options for people like that:
1) If you are somebody that wants to know they are following a program that is tailor-made for their life and situation and goals, check out our Online Coaching Program.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Plus, NF Journey will build a workout for you!
Try your free trial right here:
3) Join the Rebellion (our free community) and I’ll send you free guides, workouts, and worksheets that you can read at your leisure.
We need good people like you!
I certainly encourage you to try and build your own workout routine.
It can really help you develop a sense of excitement and pride when you start to get in shape based on your workout!
If you have more questions, or have a workout program you’re really proud of, share it in the comments below!
-Steve
PS: Check out the rest of our beginner content. I promise, it kicks ass 🙂
###
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Want to go from a skinny guy to building muscle quickly? I got you.
I’ve spent my entire adult life trying to pack on muscle, and after years and years of trial and error, I finally cracked the code.
Today, I share that code with you!
This is a topic that is near and dear to me, because I’ve spent my life devoted to this stuff:
These are the exact tactics I’ve used, and the same strategies we use with our Online Coaching Clients.
This free guide is gonna get you started off on the right foot!
Here’s what we’ll cover in this ultimate guide (click to jump to that section):
INTRO:
NUTRITION:
STRENGTH TRAINING:
RECOVERY, TIPS AND TRICKS, NEXT STEP:
Growing up, I was always the scrawny, skinny weak kid.
There was a reason I dressed up like superman every other day for the first six years of my life:
Superman was strong, big, and powerful…and I wasn’t.
To this day, it’s still a big challenge for me to gain weight or build muscle.
When people tell me “must be nice to have been skinny growing up,” I explain that a killer flat top, my height (5’2″ until I was 16), four years of braces, and two Acutane treatments made sure I still got the full adolescent experience 🙂
When I was cut from the high school basketball team (which I thought was the end of the world), I signed up for a gym membership to get big and strong.
Within five minutes I had almost killed myself when loading up way too much weight for a set of bench presses.
Fortunately I survived, and thus began my love affair with strength training.
I spent the next six years training in a gym, reading every muscle and fitness magazine I could find, drinking protein shakes religiously…and had about 3 pounds of muscle gain to show for it.
I just assumed “I’m one of those people who can’t gain weight.”
It turns out, I was doing it all wrong.
After graduating college I moved to California, signed up for a gym membership, and received a few free personal trainer sessions.
Although I thought I had known it all (I had been training for 6 years in a gym! I read the muscle mags! I was in good shape already!), I still took the free sessions for the hell of it.
The trainer drastically simplified my workout and DOUBLED the amount of food I was eating.
I thought he was crazy, but I stuck with it.
In 30 days, I had put on 18 pounds (pictured below), increased the strength in ALL of my lifts, and felt more confident than I ever had before in my life.
That’s when the lightbulb when off in my head: there’s a better way.
And thus began a radical redefinition of how I thought the human body worked, how muscle was built, and where I needed to put my priorities.
Since then, I’ve spent seven years learning everything I can about how muscle is built.
A few years back, I took an epic 35,000 mile trip around the world, and despite not having access to a gym for 6 months, I managed to once again pack on even more muscle and get myself in great shape without once picking up a weight (pictured below):
Again, my world was turned upside down.
I learned that gyms are not a requirement to build muscle and get stronger, though a great gym workout can certainly speed up the process.
And after a few more years of up and down challenges, I had finally – jokingly – changed from Steve Rogers to Captain America (there’s a story behind this):
I’m still not the biggest guy in the world, nor will I ever be. I’m okay with that!
I’ve learned that anyone can pack on muscle, even skinny nerds like me.
If you’re skinny and want to get bigger, you’ll be fighting genetics the whole way, but do not let that deter you.
Anything is possible.
Today’s article outlines everything I’ve learned over the past 13 years of mistakes, successes, failures, and adventures.
As they say, muscle isn’t made in the gym, but in the kitchen:
If you want to bulk up, you’d be better off working out twice a week for 30 minutes and eating right, than working out 6 days a week and not eating properly.
I learned this the hard way.
I spent four years of college working out five days a week for 90 minutes a day trying to get bigger.
I drank protein shakes like I thought I was supposed to. I got a little stronger, but never bigger.
Why?
BECAUSE I DIDN’T EAT ENOUGH CALORIES.
When I get emails from people who lament the fact that they can’t gain weight, I always first ask about the person’s diet.
More often than not, that person thinks they are eating enough, but are definitely not.
Here’s the truth:
If you are not getting bigger, you are not eating enough.
Your body can burn 2000+ calories every day just existing (and then factor in exercise and, gulp, cardio – I’ll get to that in a minute), and you need to overload your system with calories in order for it to have enough fuel for the muscle building process.
Want to know how many calories you burn every day just existing?
Plug your stats into our TDEE (Total daily energy expenditure) calculator:
Click right here for our Metric calculator.
Note: we have used The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to create this calculator! [1]
For every person, the number of required calories for bulking up daily is different, especially when you factor in how much you move, fidget, and how much weight you need to gain:
I don’t love calorie counting (I prefer a “healthy plate” approach), but I think for a newbie starting out, tracking calories for a few days is a great place to begin.
So, track your calories using something like MyFitnessPal over a few days and get an average.
I bet you’ll discover you’re eating significantly less than you thought you were.
LEARN HOW MANY CALORIES YOU NEED TO EAT FIRST.
And then eat MORE!
Spend the next two weeks eating an additional 300-500 calories per day above your TDEE (which you calculated above) and see how your weight adjusts (and how you look in progress photos!).
If you are not getting bigger, add an additional 300-500 calories per day and repeat the process.
Depending on your training, genetics, how skinny you are, and how much muscle you need to gain, you can decide how much weight you want to gain each week.
Everybody’s results will vary, and thoughts are mixed on how quickly we can build muscle:
Regardless of how fast you bulk up, it might be helpful for you to gain weight by putting on some fat with your muscle!
Here are things to consider if you overeat WHILE strength training: extra glycogen, some fat, and water stored in your body can be a good thing for your confidence and get you headed down the right path.
So, don’t listen to the sites or programs that say “gain 40 pounds of muscle in two months!”
Unless you’re on the juice (‘roids, not Hawaiian Punch), it’s going to be a slow, long process.
Yes, it is possible to have incredible transformations in a short amount of time, like when I gained 18 pounds (8.1kg) in 30 days
This was due to strength training, overeating, protein, and extra water weight (from supplementing with creatine):
My advice: Rather than massive weight gain over a month, you’d be much better off gaining .5-1.5 lbs. (.25-.75 kg) a week, every week, for six months…and keeping the weight on!
Now, I know this stuff isn’t easy.
There’s nothing worse than spending 6+ months in a gym and doing what you think you SHOULD be doing, only to step on the scale and realize that you haven’t made any progress!
If you’re somebody that’s worried about wasting time, or you want to have an expert guide your nutrition based on your current situation, consider checking out our Online Training Program!
Let’s go through how you should be prioritizing your nutrition, nutrient by nutrient:
Let’s look at each of these individually:
PRIORITY #1: PROTEIN
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
As we cover in our “How much Protein do I need?”, claims for the amount of protein needed vary wildly from source to source (and athlete to athlete).
Here is our recommendation for protein consumption:
If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg).
If you’re an experienced lifter on a bulk, intakes up to 1.50 g/lb (3.3 g/kg) may help you minimize fat gain.
Let me simplify it for you: target at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight (2.2 grams per kg).
If you’re curious, from our healthy eating article, this is what a portion of protein looks like:
Also, here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
Want to get more protein? Consider protein shakes, like so:
PRIORITY #2: CARBS
After protein, in order for you to get bigger, you need to eat enough calories, and those calories should come from sources composed of carbs and/or fats.
Here are foods full of carbohydrates you can prioritize for bulking up:
To help you get better at eyeballing serving sizes:
1 serving of a starchy carbohydrate is 1 cupped hand (uncooked), or your two hands forming a cup (cooked).
Here are some images to help you learn proper portion sizes (thanks to SafeFood):
In addition to consuming carbohydrates from these sources, it’s okay to consume plenty of fruit while trying to bulk up!
You can read our full “Is fruit healthy” guide to learn more.
PRIORITY #3: FAT!
Fat is a macronutrient that you can eat that can help you reach your goals in the right quantity, as fat can be higher calorie and you can eat lots of it without feeling full.
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Science has recently come around on saturated fat too [4]. Once completely vilified, but now considered okay for moderate consumption.
Saturated fats can come from things like:
To help you gauge: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
For reference, this is a single serving of almonds (162 calories):
THIS is a serving of olive oil (119 calories):
As you can see, you can eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by eating lots of “heart-healthy” fats like nuts or adding more olive oil to your meals.
PRIORITY #4: VEGETABLES!
Last but not least, you need vegetables in your diet.
If you start to eat a lot more food, your “indoor plumbing” is going to really benefit from eating some high-fiber veggies with each meal:
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist.
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill your plate:
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER:
This plate and serving size stuff above is just to help you get started thinking about healthy food differently and in proper portion sizes.
TO RECAP, HERE’S HOW TO EAT TO BULK UP:
It really does come down to the following:
If you are not gaining weight fast enough, you’re not eating enough. Increase your portions of carbs and fats!
Whenever we work with coaching clients who struggle to bulk up, this is the area we target: adding more carbs and fats to each meal.
If you read the previous section, you know that we have some pretty specific “best practices” on how to bulk up.
However, there are multiple strategies that can also work, and I’d like to cover each of those here too.
Depending on your budget, your taste in food, and your goals, these strategies will work better for some than others.
#1) The “Healthy” Bulk
I have followed this method to great success multiple times (including right now).
Ultimately, I follow the “real food” principles whenever possible (good sources of quality meat, tons of vegetables, minimal amounts of gluten and processed carbs), but mixing in some specific items that are calorie/carbohydrate dense to reach my calorie goals for the day.
This is the exact strategy we lay out in the previous section of this article.
Speaking of quality calories – how I recommend doing this – receive your Get Bigger Shopping List and Bulk Up Cheat Sheet by putting your email in the box below:
#2) The “See Food” Diet
This is the diet I used to put on 18 pounds in 30 days.
Looking back at how I ate, I’m now grossed out.
But for me at the time, it worked (and got me interested in diet research).
If you are super skinny and on a tight budget, this might be your only option, and that’s okay!
Foods that are high in calories include:
Etc.
Whatever gets you to your caloric intake goal for the day.
When I put on my 18 lbs, I used to drink 3 CytoGainer shakes a day, because it was the easiest way for me to stay on target.
If you are training properly, a majority of these calories will go towards building muscle instead of putting on a lot of fat.
Steve’s thoughts: I’m not a big fan of this method much, as I’ve come to learn the quality of food is as important (if not more so) than quantity when it comes to your overall health, and we’re aiming for bigger AND healthier.
#3) GOMAD
Drink a gallon of whole milk every day along with your meals.
Sounds crazy, yup, but it works.
A gallon of whole milk is full of enough sugar, carbs, fats, and protein that when all said and done, results in 2400 calories consumed in liquid form.
Mix in vegetables and meat for healthy meals and you got yourself a simple to follow diet.
I’ve attempted this diet back in my younger days, and although my stomach hated me, I certainly had success with it, mostly because it was simple to follow and easy to understand.
#4) Paleo Bulk or Keto Bulk
Bulking up while following the Paleo Diet, or bulking while following a Keto Diet.
Yes, it’s possible to bulk while following either of these diets:
If you are eating Paleo, you’ll want to eat LOTS of carbs and fats from calorie dense foods like fruit, sweet potatoes, and nuts.
If you are going Keto, you’ll want to eat LOTS of fat from cheeses, nuts, oils, and so on.
If you have the budget and want to try it, go for it. You’ll be eating truckloads of nuts, avocados, and meat.
“WHICH STRATEGY IS BEST FOR ME?”
In our opinion, we’ve had the most success with Coaching Clients who adapt a “healthy bulk” strategy, #1 above.
It’s a focus on real food, sustainable increase in calorie intake, and can be adjusted easily by adding or reducing total portions of carbs and fats.
But hey, you do you, boo.
If you are struggling to consume enough whole foods every day, then here are some tips to help you reach your caloric goals to bulk up:
“WHAT SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD I TAKE TO BULK UP FAST?”
Most supplements are garbage
Plus, you should ALWAYS prioritize consuming real food over shakes and powders.
HOWEVER, if you are interested in bulking quickly, there are two I would recommend:
Outside of these two supplements, you really don’t need to prioritize supplementation, despite what the muscle magazines tell you! Hell, many of these muscle mags are OWNED BY SUPPLEMENT COMPANIES.
I’ll leave you with two more big suggestions on how to bulk up in this section:
#1) Liquid calories are your friend. Liquid calories can give us lots of calories without ‘filling us up,’ which is an easier way to consume enough calories every day without feeling overly full.
I personally get a huge chunk of my calories every day from making my own ‘Powerbomb Shake – from our Protein Guide
And here is the macronutrient breakdown:
I put all of this into a Vitamix Blender – yep, it was expensive, but worth the investment. This blender has been used twice a day for 8 years without a single issue.
If you need even more calories consider adding whole milk, coconut milk, or almond milk instead of water.
You can also add a shot of olive oil to add calories/fats to a shake in the quest for MOAR MUSCLE!
#2) Train your Body to Eat More: If you are cooking rice, each week try adding in an extra quarter cup when you cook it.
And yeah, you have to FORCE your stomach to accept more food, even when you’re not hungry.
This is not enjoyable, as you often feel like you’re going to explode.
However, just like it’s necessary to force your muscles outside of your comfort zone to get bigger, you need to force your stomach outside of its comfort zone until it adapts to accepting more calories.
So, start by adding a little bit more food each day and soon enough your stomach will expand.
When you strength train, your muscles are broken down and then get rebuilt stronger to adapt to the stress you have applied to it.
So every time you pick up a slightly heavier weight, you are increasing the challenge and forcing your muscles to adapt and get more resilient.
What I’m trying to say:
If you want to get bigger, focus on getting stronger.
As long as you are continually increasing the weights or increase the sets and reps you are lifting, your muscles will continually adapt to get stronger.
This is called “progressive overload” and it. is. everything.
Coach Jim walks you through the ins and outs of progressive overload in this video:
If you want to dive in more, check out our guide “What is Progressive Overload?“
Follow a progressive overload strategy and eat enough calories, and you will get bigger.
You have two approaches to consider while bulking up:
PATH A: BODYBUILDER BULK. Follow a bodybuilder-type routine that focuses on isolation exercises that chops your body into different segments and works each of them out once a week.
You may have seen something like this:
I think these routines are fine, and you might even enjoy them.
However, they do require a fairly large time commitment at the gym, and you’ll be training 5-6 days per week.
PATH B: STRENGTH AND MUSCLE. Focus on full-body routines that contain compound exercises like squats and deadlifts that give us the most bang for our buck.
Every time you train, most of the muscles in your body are getting worked out.
Specifically, this path has you focusing on getting really strong at these movements:
If you can focus on getting really strong with the above exercises, and eat enough calories, you will also get bigger in all of the right places.
Path B is something we’re bigger fans of compared to Path A, and it’s what we recommend to our Coaching Clients.
Specially, we find it to be safer and also more time-efficient: you’ll be training just 2-3 days per week on this path (instead of 5-6 days per week with Path A).
Mark Rippetoe (author of Starting Strength, a must-read for anybody interested in the above exercises) lives for old school barbell training (path B):
Why?
Because it works.
Just. Keep. Eating. And. Lifting.
As we cover in our “How to build muscle” article, here’s a sample routine you can follow NOW to start bulking up.
After you do your dynamic warm-up, do the following workout:
MONDAY BULK UP WORKOUT:
WEDNESDAY BULK UP WORKOUT:
FRIDAY BULK UP WORKOUT:
Get stronger and the rest will take care of itself.
NERD FITNESS RECOMMENDATION: Feel free to pick WHATEVER workout program you want from wherever. If you don’t want to follow the workout above, consider these sources:
If you’re curious, here are some commonly accepted strategies based on your goals for how many sets and reps you should do:
Now, don’t worry too much about which path is best.
Nutrition plays the most important role in bulking up, and any strength training plan will help you get bigger.
There are 3 studies I want to point out:
What this means: Don’t overthunk it.
What’s important is that you pick a plan and follow through with it while focusing on eating enough.
After a few months, you can reevaluate and then adjust based on how your body has changed.
On any of these days, feel free mix in bicep curls or tricep extensions or calf-raises at the END of your workouts.
Focus on the big lifts first and get stronger with them.
How much weight should you lift? For every one of the barbell movements above, I start with just the bar, and then add weight in 5lb increments each week.
It’s important to get form right and get your body used to the movement for when you start to lift heavy weight.
How long should you wait between sets? Again, don’t overthink it. Waiting 2-3 minutes allows you lift heavier weight, and thus makes you stronger.
Waiting 60-90 seconds puts more of an emphasis on muscular size and endurance (as you’re resting for a shorter period)…but don’t overthink it. Do the next set when you’re ready.
A piece of advice from 8-time Mr. Olympia, Lee Haney: “stimulate, don’t annihilate.”
Don’t destroy yourself for the sake of destroying yourself; stopping one or two reps short of maximum effort can save you from overtraining and potential injury – remember that muscles are built in the kitchen!
If you’re already overwhelmed and just want somebody to tell you what to do, you’re not alone.
I’ve had a coach since 2014 and it’s the best investment I make in myself every month.
Yes, you can get bigger and stronger doing exclusively bodyweight exercises.
Take a look at any Olympic gymnast: he is jacked, with giant muscles, all built with bodyweight exercises:
HOWEVER, it requires a very specific type of training regiment to see those results.
Studies show that weight training creates superior “bulk up” results compared to bodyweight training,[12] but that doesn’t mean bodyweight training isn’t beneficial.
Studies show that bodyweight training exercises can build muscle, but require a LARGE number of sets per rep. In other words, you’ll need to push yourself to absolute failure.[13]
So, here’s where the challenges arise:
Like with weight training above, you need to increase the difficulty in order for your muscles to adapt.
Because it’s often more challenging to add a few pounds to a bodyweight exercise to make it tougher – compared to putting a weight on a bar, you need to increase the difficulty of the bodyweight movement itself.
If you are trying to build size, you can also do sets where your rep ranges are in the 25-35 reps per set, and you are pushing your muscles to failure (woof):
I highly recommend beginners start to take a serious look at strength training with free weights; it’s much easier to record one’s progress, easy to add more difficulty (just add more weight!), and very structured.
You can ALSO mix in bodyweight training, which is what I prefer to do!
In fact, I personally believe the best routine mixes both weights and bodyweight training. I have been working with my online coach for 4 years, and I’ve packed on size by following a barbell + bodyweight training routine.
Weight training for my lower body, advanced bodyweight movements for my upper body.
Every day starts with either a squat, front squat or deadlift.
Here I am pulling 420 pounds at a bodyweight of 172 pounds:
Each workout also contains a lot of Olympic/gymnastic style movements and holds to build upper body strength.
Handstands too (read our guide on handstands):
And I just try to get stronger.
What it really comes down to is this: no matter what you have access to (a gym, barbell, dumbbells, or just a pull-up bar) you can find a way to build strength and muscle if you follow a plan and eat enough calories.
If you’re trying to bulk with just bodyweight, it might be worth enlisting the help of a coach to help you scale your bodyweight exercises correctly and in the proper sequence!
If you are skinny fat (you have skinny arms and legs but have a gut), there are three paths available to you:
We all want Door #3, right?
Here how to do accomplish both goals at the same:
If you follow a program with the right calories and strength training, you can both lose weight AND build muscle at the same time.
It’s how we helped NF Coaching Client Jimmy (these photos are 5 months apart):
Our advice: Get strong and eat a SLIGHT caloric deficit while consuming enough protein every day.
Get yourself down to roughly 12% body fat (~20% for women), and then start to increase the size.
By slimming down first, while building muscle, you don’t have to worry about buying BIGGER clothes first, only to then need smaller clothes once you start cutting the fat.
Then, once you decide to eat more and get bigger, if you notice your body fat percentage start to creep up, you can simply adjust until your body fat gets back in the acceptable range. Then keep building!
To recap, here’s what to do if you are skinny-fat:
Last but not least, the other important piece to this Triforce of muscle building:
Strength training, eating enough, and RECOVERY.
Your body builds and rebuilds its muscles during RECOVERY.
Our muscles generally need 48 hours or so to recover from its previous workout, so I do not recommend you do any serious strength training of the same muscle group on back to back days.
Feel free to do dynamic warm-ups or fun exercise if you feel like it doing some active recovery on off days, but I tend to take my off days OFF.
I might go for a walk (to Mordor!), but that’s about it.
A word about cardio: if you are serious about getting bigger and stronger, lots of long-distance cardio will work against you.
It’s something Coach Jim brings up in the video “7 things I learned adding on 50 lbs of muscle”:
Your body has to burn so many calories for your runs that it doesn’t get to use any of these calories in the muscle-building process.
If you love to run/bike, that’s cool, as long as you know it’s slowing (or halting) your progress.
So, cut back on the running or cut it out completely.
Try mixing in sprints and interval training if you want to keep the cardio up without having to do all of the crazy distance. You can always add it back in once you accomplish your weight gain goals.
A few words on SLEEP: You need more of it when you are building muscle.
It’s that simple.
Don’t be surprised if after a heavy deadlift day you find yourself wanting to sleep for 10 hours.
It might mean less TV or less video games.
Again, if you are serious about getting bigger and stronger, don’t neglect sleep.
QUESTION #1: “But I just want to get toned, I don’t want to get too bulky.”
That’s not a question, but I hear it all the time. Do NOT worry about getting too bulky. I’ve been trying to get “too bulky” my entire life – it takes years of concerted effort to pull that off.
I’m gonna guess you have 30+ pounds to gain before you’d ever even be considered “bulky.”
That means that if you struggle with weight gain, getting to the point where you are TOO bulky would actually be a good problem to solve.
As you start to put on weight if you ever find yourself getting a tiny bit too chubby, simply eat less at that point!
So, when in doubt, always err on the side of too many calories than not enough. If you’re not sure if you should eat or not, etc.
QUESTION #2: “But I don’t want to do that stuff, so I’m gonna do _____ instead.”
Again not a question. But hey, go for it. Give it a month, and see how your body reacts. If you’re getting bigger, stronger, and healthier, keep doing it.
If not, come back to this article and apply the lessons in here!
QUESTION #3: “I’m a vegetarian/vegan, can I bulk up?”
Absolutely. You just need to make sure you’re getting enough calories and enough protein in your system to promote muscle growth.
Beans and nuts have lots of protein; if you’re vegetarian you can still use dairy to your advantage (whey protein, whole milk, cheese, etc.).
If you’re vegan, then it’s slightly more of a challenge to get enough protein, but it can be done: almond butter is your friend 🙂
Check out our plant based protein suggestions.
QUESTION #4: “Should I do ___ reps and sets or _____ reps and sets?“
Either plan will get you there. It’s 90% diet anyways.
What’s important is that you pick a plan, you progress, you keep track of your results, and you consistently progressively increase the load that you are moving (be it your body’s weight or an actual weight).
QUESTION #5: “I want to get bigger and faster and have more endurance and flexibility ALL at the same time, can I do that?”
I hate to say it, but building endurance and getting bigger simultaneously is brutally difficult.
As I point out in “How to build any physique,” compare a marathon runner’s body with that of a sprinter or gymnast. Put the running on hold for a while, and focus on getting bigger: you’ll get there faster.
When you decide to mix running back in, keep your calorie consumption high and don’t forget to keep strength training!
You can still go for walks, and still get a good cardio workout by lifting quickly with minimal breaks between sets.
QUESTION #6: “Do I need to eat every three hours?”
Nope, you don’t have to:
In fact, there are actually some scientific benefits that can result from not eating all day and instead condensing it into a smaller window.
But eating more frequently might help…
If you struggle to get enough calories in your system, spacing out your meals might help you feel less full, or give you more opportunities to reach your calorie goal for the day.
I eat all of my calories between 12pm and 8pm, and still get bigger despite only eating 2 MASSIVE meals each day.
QUESTION #7: “But what about this other article? And this other thing I read? Which workout is the best workout?”
Don’t overwhelm yourself. Keep it simple. Get stronger, eat more food, sleep. Break this down into simple steps and goals that aren’t scary, and get started.
The best advice I can give you is to start and make adjustments along the way.
Track your progress, track your calories, and track your workouts.
If you are getting bigger and stronger, keep it up!
I know this stuff can be overwhelming, as I struggled with this stuff for YEARS before getting results.
It why after I started Nerd Fitness, I eventually launched a coaching program: to help people skip the years of mistakes I made!
This is a monster of an article, and your head probably hurts at this point.
If I can narrow it down to three main points:
If you made it this far, and you want more specific instruction and guidance, we have a few options for you:
1) If you are somebody that wants to follow a tailor-made program that’s designed around their life and goals, check out our popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself, check your form, and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) If you want a roadmap for home workouts, 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) Download our free Bulk Up Guide, which you can get when you sign up in the box below:
Lastly, I’d love to hear from you!
PLEASE leave your questions, eating or strength or otherwise below so we can answer them and become best friends and practice karate kicks in the garage:
How can I help you get bigger and stronger?
What part of this journey are you still struggling the most with?
What are your favorite bulking up foods!?
Share with your friends in the comments so we can all go buy it in bulk at Costco.
-Steve
PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our Bulk Up guides:
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photo source: Not Happy, Marina Pissarova © 123RF.com, magone © 123RF.com, Ekaterina Minaeva © 123RF.com, Morning run with the Fitbit, Inna Vlasova © 123RF.com, Viktor Hladchenko © 123RF.com; Olga Yastremska © 123RF.com; famveldman © 123RF.com; 167/366
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Before you fork out some cash for a personal trainer, read this guide!
It’ll help you spot the difference between a bad personal trainer and an AMAZING trainer.
And trust us, having the right trainer can make ALL the difference in the world.
There’s nothing worse than spending 6+ months in a gym (and thousands of dollars) with a trainer, only to step on the scale and realize that you haven’t made any progress.
It’s the worst.
I’ve worked with good trainers and bad trainers over the past 16 years, have worked with the same online personal trainer since 2014, and we have a team of 15 personal trainers on Team Nerd Fitness.
Long story short, we know our stuff, and we’ll give it to you straight.
Whether or not you want to check out our 1-on-1 Online Training Program, this guide is going to help you with all the details.
In this guide we’ll cover the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to personal trainers – both in-person and online:
As Coach Matt explains in the video above, the first question you need to ask when hiring a personal trainer: do they match up with your goals?
And yep, that means we’re going to have to pick some goals in the first place!
So start by picking your goals and then determine if the trainer you’re paired up with is the right fit for you. Like dating, you can meet somebody who’s amazing but not right for you.
If somebody is a competitive marathon runner, they might not be a great powerlifting coach, and vice versa.
So, start with your goals for finding a personal trainer:
These goals will largely determine the type of trainer you’re looking for.
MISTAKE #1: Not making sure your trainer has expertise in the area you want to train in.
Expertise in one area does not necessarily make them a good fit in another!
After that, you’ll want to think about what you NEED from your personal trainer:
Once you set proper expectations with what you want and how long you need a trainer for, then you can pick out one that hopefully will work for you.
Once you find a trainer you are considering working with, the next step should always be an in-depth conversation.
MISTAKE #2: Blindly accepting what your trainer tells you without making sure you fit together!
They SHOULD be listening to you completely and hear your full story.
They SHOULD ask about any past issues with injuries or experience with exercise. If you’re injured or have any deficiencies, they should know this so they can create a great program for you.
They SHOULD ask you about your nutrition. If they don’t ask about your nutrition, you’re going to be wasting your time.
They SHOULD practice what they preach. They don’t have to be an Olympian, but should have a healthy lifestyle.
They SHOULD tell you about their expertise and how they can help you. They should be able to share past successes of clients with you or point to their credentials and history of success.
They SHOULD set proper expectations. You won’t get ripped in a month, but they can let you know it could take many months to get in shape or build the right kind of habits.
That’s what to look for. These are the things we specifically focus on with our 1-on-1 online coaching program. We love helping people in a way that fits their lifestyle, at a pace that they feel great about, while actually having fun.
Beware the “entertainment exercise” trainers with a routine that isn’t catered to your goals.
MISTAKE #3: Thinking a workout is more effective because it’s confusing.
Many trainers just try to confuse you with needlessly complex movements, and put all their clients through roughly the same cookie-cutter plan.
Why? because they know it makes them look knowledgeable without actually needing to do something effectively:
“Now balance on this bosu ball while doing these dumbbell squat lunge curls and standing on one foot with your tongue out! Muscle confusion!
I hope you saved some energy for the row machine.”
Tough workouts are great, but remember that while it’s easy to get someone tired (“go do 100 burpees!”), it’s harder to help someone slowly improve and build momentum.
Sure, it might elevate your heart rate and tire you out, but if it’s not building towards your goals in a way that you couldn’t do at home, what are you paying for?
They might also have just obtained a basic certification and stopped their education there, relying on ‘conventional wisdom’ rather than doing the research and building the experience.
If your trainer says any of the following phrases, run for the high hills:
I have overheard all of these sound bites from real trainers in real gyms, and it made me weep like the Native American in the 1970s pollution ad:
Your trainer should be results-focused, not focused on scheduling you a new session and keeping you around.
I often see clients working with trainers for months and months and that client never looks any different.
The trainer is just interested in cashing another check.
Remember, your personal trainer works for YOU: Don’t let them build a program that doesn’t actually fit your needs!.
Do they adjust your workout to take care of any pre-existing injuries you may have, or do they just give you a cookie cutter workout?
Are they encouraging or helping you succeed in the way you want to be encouraged, or are they scrolling through Instagram models on their phones while you’re doing your sets?
Are they putting in the time so they can see you get results, or are they putting in the time so they can check the box and collect your money?
You’re paying money for this person’s expertise and attention – it’s not too much to ask to find somebody who takes those things seriously.
There are a wide variety of personal trainer certifications and other “credibility indicators.”
The more traditional path – a degree in exercise science or kinesiology may mean the trainer in question is knowledgeable about the human body.
However, that doesn’t speak to any experience they may or may not have coaching in real-world circumstances.
6 of the most popular personal trainer certifications are:
T-Nation provides a rundown of the pros and cons from a trainer’s perspective that we feel is also useful insight from a client’s perspective. Be sure to check them out if you want to learn more about what’s behind your trainer’s certification.
CrossFit certifications are completed in a single weekend. While a CrossFit certification does not make a trainer bad (there are plenty of excellent CrossFit coaches out there!), it does not guarantee excellence either.
Here are our thoughts on CrossFit.
A certification from NPTI – the National Personal Training Institute – is a credential gained from going to a full school on personal training (rather than attending a class or taking a test).
While no certification can fully promise excellence, we believe trainers with NPTI certifications are worth your consideration.
CAVEAT TO ALL OF THIS: Plenty of trainers who have NO certification are incredible, and plenty of other trainers have the most elite certifications and are terrible trainers.
MISTAKE #4: Blindly accepting a trainer’s credentials or discounting a trainer without certain credentials.
Certifications can be a starting point, but it shouldn’t be the determining factor.
One of the most important things to look for in your trainer isn’t a credential or certification at all, but real experience and an enthusiasm for helping you reach your goals.
For example:
Looking to powerlift or get into Olympic lifting? Look for someone who has successfully competed in their fields, or someone who actually coaches athletes who do compete!
Need to lose a lot of weight? Ask a trainer to share with you success stories from people who are like you.
In our view, finding a trainer with proven experience and a track record of performing or coaching (or both) in the area of your goals is the most valuable step you can take to ensure quality.
The credential is only a starting point.
Trainers aren’t cheap, but the benefits can be priceless.
Remember, you aren’t paying simply for their time with you. You’re paying for the years and years they’ve spent learning, training, and coaching.
It’s the years behind the certification that makes their time so valuable, so expect the cost of a trainer to be significantly more than the cost of a basic membership at your gym.
The cost of a personal trainer can vary dramatically depending on:
But you want specifics.
The average North American trainer charges $55 for an hour session.[1]
That’s an “average” so let’s break it down a little.
Here are the prices for working with a trainer in various capacities at my generic commercial gym in the NYC area (definitely on the more expensive end):
Is this pricing more or less than you expected?
Here is how much a personal trainer costs at:
Different trainers will have different qualifications and expertise, leading to vastly different training experiences.
This can be really important.
MISTAKE #5: Thinking “more expensive” automatically means “better results.”
Cost is not the right metric. VALUE is the right metric!
Depending on your goals and the results you’re after:
That’s why remembering your “get in shape” goals is critical when buying a personal trainer.
If you’re looking to do 5 sessions to improve your powerlifting technique, that’s different than hiring a trainer to be with you in person 3x a week to get you to the gym.
HOW TO THINK ABOUT HIRING A TRAINER:
You’re not just paying for an hour of somebody’s time.
You’re paying for their years of experience, schooling, training, and expertise.
You’re paying to outsource ALL of your fitness questions to somebody who knows what they’re doing.
Somebody who gives you the confidence you’re training correctly.
So instead of “I am paying this trainer for 1 hour, this is too expensive,” what you’re really paying for is confidence, momentum, and (hopefully) results.
As somebody who has worked with an online trainer since 2014, I would pay any amount of money to my coach (just don’t tell him that) because I love getting results after years of struggle.
How does an in-person trainer compare to our online coaching program?
Our pricing comes in at a less-expensive price than 4 sessions per month with a trainer.
In addition to building you a workout program for the month, we also help you with your nutrition, mindset, and goals, and answer all the questions you have.
There are very real pros and cons to hiring an online personal trainer, so make sure you read that next section.
So a trainer can be AMAZING and worth every penny, IF you have the right one who also takes an active role in your nutrition.
After all, workouts only make up 1-3 hours per week.
What about the other 165? That’s where the progress happens! And your coach should be helping you there too!
Warning: I’m going to be slightly biased in this area, but I’ll share the honest pros and cons of online training:
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s allowed me to prove an internet troll wrong and then lose 22 pounds in 6 months while getting super strong!
Here are the Pros to Online Personal Training:
#1) Freedom to fit your schedule. With an online personal coach, you can train when and where you want to fit your schedule – your coach builds the workout program for you ahead of time, so you can fit it in at your convenience.
Compare this to a traditional coach, and you’re at the mercy of their busy schedule. If they only have time Friday morning at 8am, and you’re not a morning person, conflict ensues.
#2) Persistent worldwide accountability. I’m borrowing this phrase from a NF Coaching Client, Jeff (his success story is great). No matter where in the globe you are, your online trainer comes with you.
Which means the accountability never stops. If you travel for work, your coach can plan for that and build you a special travel routine. Getting relocated for work? No problem – your coach will still be there.
#3) Nutritional guidance. With most traditional personal trainers, you engage with them only during your scheduled visits: they help you work out and that’s about it.
With an online personal trainer, you’re connected whenever you have access to the internet. And I would imagine that MOST online coaching programs, work with you on the most important part of the equation: eating healthier!
AKA everything that happens in the 23 hours outside of the gym.
#4) More cost-effective. Most in-person personal trainers are expensive, especially if you work out with them two or three times a week.
That’s because if your trainer is working with you, they can’t work with anybody else at the same time.
When you work with an online coach, because you aren’t training with them 1-on-1 in the gym, they can provide more cost-effective guidance.
When you factor in their availability via chat and their help on habits and your nutrition, you’re looking at a life-changing experience if you find a coach that fits your personality.
#5) It might be the only option. With so many gyms closing because of the pandemic, you might not even have much of a choice here. Here’s our guide to staying in shape (while staying inside) if you need to train from home.
When comparing online coaches versus regular coaches, I’m going to share the cons as if you have the option between a GREAT online coach and a GREAT in-person coach.
Neither of those is guaranteed.
Here are the cons of an online coach when compared against a real-life equivalent:
#1) Your coach can’t do the work for you. There’s nothing stopping you from skipping your workout and lying to your online coach that you did it. Nobody wins in this scenario, but I can totally see it happening.
So yeah, an online coach can’t pick up the weight for you, and they can’t yell at you to put down the donut. You have to do the work!
#2) No real-time feedback and instant form check. If you’re learning how to powerlift, or you’re going for a particular heavy lift, having a coach right there is HUGE.
They can tell you to move your squat slightly wider. They can guide you through the movement and consistently remind you – even when tired – to keep great form.
Although we do form check videos, where we have coaches and clients send clips back and forth to each other, it’s not the same as having somebody critique you in real-time.
If you’re looking to nail a particularly challenging lift, or learn a dangerous gymnastics move, working with a trained professional in person is invaluable.
#3) The value of sunk cost. If you pay for a month of online coaching, there’s nothing inherently motivating you to go to the gym when it’s cold and you’re tired – your coach can’t yell at you, and you’re not letting anybody down in the moment when you don’t make it.
Compare this to working with a real coach in person.
You paid $100 for a session, and if you don’t show up, that money is *POOF* gone. So you tell yourself, “I already paid for this, and my coach is gonna be mad, I should probably go.”
And then you go. And you’re so glad that you did.
Although your online coach can notice that you haven’t signed in on your app, and they can ask what’s going on, this is after the fact compared to an in-person coach getting stood up.
There’s a lot to consider when debating in-person training vs. an online personal trainer.
I wouldn’t say one format is clearly better than or superior to another. It really depends on what you’re after and the circumstances of your situation.
MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s truly been life-changing for me.
I had some goals that had evaded me despite a DECADE of effort, and it took a great coach to coax out the right strategy. It’s how I say (jokingly) that I went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.
And it was my coach’s programming that got me a 420-pound deadlift at a bodyweight of 172 pounds:
I’m not gonna set any powerlifting records, but I’m healthier, happier, and stronger each and every month, and I’m damn proud of that.
For somebody that can’t afford a top-of-the-line professional coach for each session, having an online coach to build your programming and guide your food choices is a verrrrry close second.
HERE’S MY ADVICE: Give your new personal trainer 5 sessions before making a decision that things aren’t working out (sessions are often sold at a discount in a package).
The first session is often exploratory, explanatory, and introductory, and the trainer needs to test your limits and movements to build upon that.
This isn’t a “get fit quick” strategy, but rather one that could take months and months for you to find the right person to aid you on your journey.
Don’t expect miracles in a day!
A few words of wisdom if you do hire a trainer:
DO NOT USE YOUR TRAINER AS AN EXCUSE: Too many people will hire up a trainer and give no effort in the gym or the kitchen.
Then, when they fail to see results they can turn to their friends and say “man, my trainer is terrible, THAT’S why I’m not losing weight/getting stronger/etc.”
This happens so much more often than you’d think. A trainer is a guide, like Morpheus.
You have to take the pill and walk through the door yourself.
MAKE CRITICISM CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Often when the trainer asks them to do something (walk every day, throw away junk food, eat a vegetable), the client/trainee comes back with 1,001 reasons why they can’t do that.
No compromise or discussion of possible solutions. This stinks.
Instead of saying “no,” offer an alternative solution and negotiate a plan: “I don’t really like broccoli, do you have a way to make vegetables taste better?”
In other words, don’t look for problems, look for solutions.
IF YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: Let them know and continue working with them.
The more information you can give them on your progress, the easier it will be for them to alter your program as you go on.
IF YOU DON’T ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: That’s okay too. Not all relationships end in marriages.
Some first dates suck, and some trainers aren’t what you need.
I think you can be honest with them and let them know that it’s not a good fit and you will not be continuing to work with them.
Good trainers at this point will ask what they could have done better.
Trainers who are simply after your money may guilt trip you or beg you to stick around. Try somebody new and keep the search going.
REMEMBER: this is a lifelong quest, and you’re on the hunt for a great guide to help you on your journey.
They won’t do the work for you, and they can’t work miracles.
Have proper expectations, do what you’re told, and this could be the best investment you’ll make in your entire life!
Trainers in the Rebellion, what did I miss?
Those who have had experience working with Trainers, any wisdom to share from your experience?
One final note: Going to a gym is intimidating, especially if you’re starting out.
If you are in a location where there aren’t any great trainers, you don’t have access to a gym, or you’re just not ready to work with somebody in person, consider checking out our Online Coaching Program!
Schedule a free call to learn more by clicking on the image below:
If you have questions about what you need to look for when it comes to training with a coach in person, or even questions about working with an online trainer, leave them in the comments below so I can chime in!
-Steve
###
photo: Decathlon, wikimedia: high five, Bicycle, Wikimedia: stretching, Amazing playground: bicycles and football
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One of the best exercises for you, whether you’re trying to build muscle or lose weight (or both) HAS to be the squat.
However, it’s also an exercise I see nearly EVERYBODY do incorrectly.
We do video form checks with every Online Coaching Client to make sure they’re squatting correctly, and we use a LOT of the same cues and instruction we cover in this guide!
So have no fear…
After reading this big ass squat guide (pun intended, I suppose?) – part of our Strength 101 series – you can start performing this compound exercise safely and effectively.
Click any link below or scroll down to read the whole guide:
Squats are one of the most foundational functional movements in our lives. Let’s talk about the benefits and why you should be squatting all the time.
#1) We’re designed to squat: We’ve been squatting since we were babies, but as we get older and sit in unnatural positions all day, our squat form goes from perfect to terrible.
Crap.
In many countries, people often sit in a full squat for hours at a time.
From an evolutionary standpoint – it makes sense that we are genetically designed to, and can be really good at – squatting.
Before modern-day furniture and technology, you didn’t stop sitting in a full squat once you got older like we do today…you continued squatting your entire life.
That’s why squatting is one of the key moves for functional fitness.
#2) Squats are a compound movement that recruits most of our muscles – this means it’s a movement that uses multiple muscle groups and joints (your hip and knee joints) to complete.
A simple bodyweight squat – which I’m demonstrating above – uses almost every muscle in the core and lower body.
If you add a dumbbell or barbell into the equation, I would even argue that they use every single major muscle group to complete.
In addition to every muscle in your “legs,” you need your:
Nothing is left out with this monster movement.
Because of the utilization of a large amount of muscle groups, squats cause your body to increase our anabolic hormone production, helping us lose fat and build muscle.[1]
#3) Squats will help strengthen your bones and your muscles (and your knees!), and can also increase flexibility.
Increasing the strength in your knees and hips (and entire body) reduces your chance of injury while doing both athletic movements and everyday life things (such as shoveling the driveway or standing up and sitting down).
And by learning to squat deeply, safely, you’re improving your range of motion and helping make you antifragile and protecting yourself against future injury.
Bazinga!
If your goals are to:
In short, squats are amazing.
(See what I did there?)
My name is Staci Ardison, I’m a Senior Coach at Nerd Fitness, and my life has been absolutely transformed by barbell training, which is why I’m so excited to share this guide with you.
Back in 2011, I could barely pick up a pink dumbbell, and now I regularly compete in powerlifting competitions.
Here’s a scene of my homemade squat rack:
I am so excited to teach you how to squat today, as I’ve taught tons of coaching clients how to get started too.
Let’s start off by taking a look at the bodyweight squat – the first move you should master before you add weight.
The setup for the squat exercise is incredibly simple.
I go over the setup and the full movement in this video:
1) Put your arms straight out in front of you, parallel to the ground. Keep your chest up and proud, and your spine in a neutral position.
2) Your weight is on your feet – it should be on the heels and the balls of your feet, as if they were pasted to the ground. You should be able to wiggle your toes the entire movement (though that’s not a part of squatting!).
3) Keep your entire body tight the entire time, your core flexed like you’re bracing to be punched in the gut!
4) Breathe deeply into your stomach, break at your hip and push your butt back. Keep sending your hips backwards as your knees begin to bend.
It’s important to start with your hips back, and not by bending your knees.
5) As you squat down, focus on keeping your knees in line with your feet.
Many new lifters need to focus on pushing their knees out so they track with their feet.
When your knees start to come inside the toes, push them out (but not wider than your feet).[2]
Make sure your knees aren’t moving inward toward each other through the movement – this is very common.
6) Squat down until your hip joint is lower than your knees (what we call “parallel” in the squat game). Note: if you THINK you might not be squatting deep enough, you probably aren’t!
Once at the bottom, it’s time to stand back up from your squat:
7) Keeping everything tight, breathe out and drive through your heels (keep the balls of your feet on the ground as well).
8) Drive your knees outward (away from each other) the same way you did on the way down, and squeeze your butt at the top to make sure you’re using your glutes.
Here is a video from us nerds at Team Nerd Fitness (with instructions from Jim, lead trainer at our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program) that will teach you good form on a bodyweight squat, including all the mistakes NOT to make:
Once you can do multiple sets of 15+ deep bodyweight squats with proper form, it’s time to move onto barbell squats!
If you are confident in doing bodyweight squats and want to work up to a barbell squat, follow our Gym Workout Level 4 Program, which includes dumbbell goblet squats, a good stepping stone to barbell squats:
The majority of the population has some sort of mobility issue (including myself!) that they are working on fixing.
We have LOTS of 1-on-1 coaching clients who are new to squatting, and it often comes down to ankle flexibility and hip mobility.
If you spend all day, every day, sitting in a desk chair, this might be you.
If you want us to help you fix your squat depth and start getting stronger, that’s what we’re here for!
#1) Find your squat rack! It’ll look something like this, with an unattached barbell:
A. Squat Stand:
B. Power Cage/Squat Rack:
C. Half Rack (Least favorite*):
*I don’t like Half-racks without adjustable safety bars – if you want to squat deep the barbell might hit the immovable bars! Not cool. Aim for the A or B options if you have the choice!
Note: a squat rack is NOT the same thing as a Smith Machine, where the barbell is attached to the machine, and slides up and down two bars:
You do NOT want a Smith Machine.
You need a completely unattached barbell in order to do a barbell squat properly and safely. Don’t squat in a Smith Machine.
#2) Set the height of the bar to be about the same height as your collarbone.
Not sure how to set the height of the bar? I got you:
If your options are either too high or too low, it’s always best to set the pins slightly lower than you need them.
You don’t want to have to get up on your toes to rack/unrack the bar, especially as the weight gets heavier.
#3) Decide if you are going to do a high bar squat, or a low bar squat. Either is fine, but there IS a difference:
The “Low Bar Back Squat” is the most common form done by beginners, general lifters, and powerlifters.
It’s also the form taught in Starting Strength, one of the best books for beginners on the market.
So we’ll be focusing on that version for the rest of this section:
#4) Always squat with just the bar to start – as we discuss in “How much weight should I be lifting,” even if you’re planning on squatting 500 lbs, always start with just the bar!
1) Facing the bar, step under it, and put your hands around it on either side of you.
For this type of squat in our example, we are going to want a thumbless grip, so that our wrists are properly aligned with our forearms.
The width of your grip will be dependent on flexibility, but generally, a narrower (hands closer to your shoulers) grip will help create a meaty shelf for you to place the bar on the muscles in your upper back.
If you lack the flexibility for the narrower grip (which is super common), start out wider, then slowly bring it in as you get more flexible.
See the difference here between a “high bar, wrapped grip” (Left) and “low bar, thumbless grip” (right):
And now time to DO A BARBELL BACK SQUAT!
Definitely watch the video above and listen to the instructions, and then read this description when you need to restart:
Not sure if you squatted deep enough?
Record yourself! 95% of the people I see doing squats in a gym don’t go deep enough!
Nervous about squatting correctly? Yes, I am a mind reader, and yes we can help you!
If you want an expert to check your squat form check out our 1-on-1 Coaching program. Our coaching app lets you record and send a video of your movement directly to your coach, who will provide specific feedback and build a custom program just for you.
Interested? Click below to jump on a free call with our team to see how our online coaching program will get you the results you’re after:
If you are going to squat, you have to know how to “fail” at squatting safely! After all, there’s nothing scarier than being stuck in the bottom of a squat movement and not knowing how to get out of there!
A squat is very different from a barbell deadlift in that aspect: if you fail on a deadlift, you just don’t pick up the weight.
If you fail on a squat, you’re trapped under a bar…with potentially a lot of weight on it.
This can lead to SERIOUS injury. So please, learn how to bail out of a squat safely before you start attempting to do heavy barbell squats.
This will help give you the confidence to push yourself and get stronger!
The squat is a basic movement, but those new to lifting often fall victim to a handful of common mistakes.
Let’s take a look at some of the big problems and how to fix it!
#1) Coming up on your toes with your knees forward during your squat
It’s important to keep your heels on the ground the entire time you’re squatting.
You should be driving down through your heels, and in order to do that, they need to be on the ground!
While some of your weight will be on the balls of your feet, you never want all of your weight to be on the balls of your feet or your toes.
You should be able to lift your toes up off the ground and wiggle them at any point and it shouldn’t change anything about your squat.
#2) Not going deep enough on your squats
Your squat should hit at least parallel (middle image above) – where your hip joint goes below the knee.
Depending on what you’re training for, you can go lower, but in order to maximize the muscles worked in the squat, it needs to be done to at least parallel or lower (you can see lower in the upper right image).
If you squat above parallel (a partial squat) you’re leaving the hamstrings out of the movement. This puts more pressure on the knee – the force put on your knee is actually reduced as you drop below parallel.
Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misunderstanding about squats and knee issues.
The deeper the squat, the more glutes that are activated as well.[3] This will result in more muscle being created from the squat, as shown by this infographic:
Now, a deeper squat is typically harder, both strength and flexibility wise.
However, depending on your goals, squatting to parallel may make more sense.
If you’re struggling hitting depth there could be many causes – you could have poor ankle mobility, tight hip flexors and/or hamstrings, weak glutes, or poor pelvic alignment (among many other things).
This is something we work closely with our coaching clients on, and often prescribe ankle and hip mobility drills to help clients reach proper depth on squats!
#3) Knee Positioning
When you squat, you want your knees to track along with your toes.
This means if you are looking down at your knees and feet, your knees should be aligned at the same angle as your feet throughout the movement.
This infographic shows you the correct knee position for a squat:
Everyone’s exact positioning is going to be slightly different, but they should not be on the outside or the inside of the foot.
#4) Back Positioning
Your chest should be up and your shoulders should be back, like you’re King Kong about to pound your chest proudly.
Your body should stay in this position the entire time.
You don’t want your shoulders to round forward, but you also don’t want to hyperextend your back either.
Keeping your spine in a neutral position will help your spine safe and build a strong foundation throughout the heavy squat movement.
#5) Head Positioning
Many coaches will tell their lifters to look up, as that is the direction in which you want to be moving, but this is actually the last thing you want to do.
Take a second quick and look at the ceiling (I’ll wait! 🙂 ).
Now, see that position your neck vertebrae are in? That is a very unsafe position for your spine to be in, especially when more weight starts getting included in the equation.
You also don’t want to be looking directly at the floor.
Look straight out in front of you the entire time, with your head in a “neutral” position. Your chin should be in a position where you could hold a tennis ball between your chest and your chin.
#6) Attempting to keep your shins vertical.
Unless there is a current underlying knee issue that would cause additional pain – the shin can and should go past vertical in the squat. This will often allow a deeper squat which will build more strength and stability in the knee.
A forward lean in the shins is also present when we engage in any number of daily activities such as walking up steps or standing up from a chair. Squat as deep as you are able, but do not focus on holding a vertical shin.”
#7) Too much weight on the heels/on the outside or inside of feet during your squat
When trying to fix coming up on your toes, or your knee positioning, it is common for people to focus so much on keeping their weight on their heels that they forget to keep the balls of their feet on the ground!
Some of your weight will still be on the ball of your foot – if you are truly only having weight on your heels, it’s pretty hard to balance.
To the same effect, if the inside of your foot or the outside of your foot comes up off the floor, this is also not a good thing!
How do you know if you’re making these mistakes? Simple!
Record yourself doing squats.
I do.
And so does anybody else who is serious about improving their squats.
Often we look VERY different than we think we look when doing an exercise, so having a video of the movement is often the only way we can improve.
If you can’t self-diagnose your squat challenges, let us help!
In this section, we’re going to go over some squat variations to help you improve your form and build confidence before hitting the free weights section of the gym.
If you’re struggling to do a squat correctly, don’t fret!
I’m going to teach you about…
BOX SQUATS!
Squatting to a box will help teach you to sit back and keep your weight on your entire foot, instead of squatting with your knees forward and up on your toes.
Squatting back to a box is also great for people who have bad knees and can’t do bodyweight squats anymore.
You can do box squats with a barbell as well, but for this explanation, we’re just going to keep it simple with bodyweight box squats.
In order to do this, find a box or a chair that is the right height so when you sit on it, you are at parallel with your squat.
Your options include things like step stools, milk crates, or the smallest box at the gym (there’s usually a set of plyo boxes, and the shortest is around 10″.)
The lower the box, the more it will help you develop stronger hips and low back – the box at exactly parallel will help you more with quad strength.
Set up exactly as if you were going to do a regular bodyweight squat, only standing about a foot in front of the box.
1) Breathe in deeply, brace your core, move butt back, and keep your knees in line tracking in the same direction as your toes and squat back until you sit completely on the box.
Don’t plop back on the box, make it slow and deliberate while keeping your entire body tight.
2) Now, don’t move! Think about your positioning:
Great, now stand up by driving your hips upward, don’t let your weight shift forward and onto your toes (drive through your heels!), shoulders and chest up, knees out keeping them lined up with your toes.
For your first few, feel free to sit on the box while you evaluate your positioning, but as you get better at them, sit back and then quickly stand up again.
You know you’re doing a good squat when you can stand back up from the bottom of a squat position without having to lean forward and use momentum to get up.
You can squat, touch your butt to the box, and then stand back up without having to shift your weight around!
KEEP THAT BUTT BACK!
If you’re up for a similar-but-different squat, try…
The barbell front squat!
A front squat moves the weight from behind you to in front of you, which requires different muscles and mobility in different places.
I personally alternate front squats and back squats on my leg days.
Make sure you read our full guide on how to do a proper front squat.
I know all of this can be overwhelming, so the important thing is that you START! I realize I sound like a broken record at this point, but I really want you to begin strength training today.
We created our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know, just for that purpose. I’d love to send it to you, because I know it’ll help you overcome any fears and confusion and have you getting stronger TODAY
Get it when you sign up in this box below – I’m excited to hear what you think of it!
In the video above, Coach Jim shows you how to perform the one-legged squat, also known as the pistol squat.
To perform a one-legged squat:
It’ll look something like this:
If this is too much, work on performing an assisted one-legged squat.
Perform an assisted one-legged squat by holding onto a doorframe, squat rack, rings or another stable object, then squat down on one leg as low as you can go.
Squats are awesome.
How awesome? Look at that woman above owning her squat before owning her putt!
Once you’ve mastered the Back Squat, give Front Squats a try!
And if you want to learn more about squats, or you’re looking to build more confidence before you get started, we have a few options for you:
1) If you are somebody that wants to follow a tailor-made program designed around their life and goals, check out our popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself, check your form, and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) If you want a snazzy app to teach you exactly how to start crushing squats, 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) Download our free Strength 101 Guide, which you can get when you sign up in the box below:
And I’d love to hear from you! PLEASE leave your questions, squat or fitness or otherwise below so we can answer them and become best friends:
What struggles do you have when trying to squat?
What questions do you have?
If you haven’t squatted before, what else do you need us to tell you to give you the confidence to start squatting TODAY!?
-Staci
PS: Be sure to check out the rest of the Strength Training 101 series:
PPS: I typed this whole article while sitting in a squat. Okay, no I didn’t, but that would have been cool.
###
photo source: Barbell Squat, spotpoint74 © 123RF.com, power rack, squat stand, squat rack, Otmar Winterleitner © 123RF.com
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness.
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So you want to gain weight fast (and safely)?
You’ve come to the right place, because this is what we do!
This guide covers the exact weight gain strategies I’ve used to go from my “before” (on the left above) to reach my “after” (on the right above). Believe it or not, that “before” photo is me after a DECADE of strength training and trying to get bigger.
It’s the stuff in this guide that finally allowed me to actually get results (the after).
It’s also exactly how we help our online coaching clients: nutritional guidance and workout plans that line up with their goals.
Oh, and if you sign up in any of the yellow email boxes throughout, you can download our “Gain Weight and Build Muscle” Shopping List and Cheat Sheet to hang on your fridge!
Let’s start putting on weight right NOW.
These are the 12 lessons I wish I knew when I started trying to get bigger (click to jump right to that lesson):
NUTRITION
STRENGTH TRAINING
RECOVERY
Let’s get to it!
As we cover in our “Ultimate Skinny Guy’s Guide to Bulking Up Fast,” there’s one rule you need to know above EVERYTHING else.
“If you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough food.”
It’s science and thermodynamics.
Allow me to explain: depending on your current size and level of activity, your body burns 1200-2500+ calories every day just doing all of its daily processes:
And dozens of other things. We burn a lot of calories just keeping the lights turned on.
Here’s the problem: because your body efficiently uses up all of the calories you consume every day, there are no calories left over to build muscle (or get stored as fat).
Want to know how many calories you burn every day? Check out our Total Daily Energy Expenditure TDEE calculator:
Use the metric system? I wish we did too here in the States! Click right here for our Metric calculator.
Note: we have used The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to create this calculator! [1]
Hooray! You now know estimates of your Basal Metabolic Rate (calories you burn existing) and TDEE (calories you burn while moving throughout the day)![2]
So, in order to get bigger, you need to eat ABOVE this TDEE number consistently.
That’s it.
This is the NUMBER ONE mistake skinny people make trying to get bigger:
We think we have an overly fast metabolism.
Although there is SOME variation with regards to metabolism variability, it’s insignificant when compared to the effect of the more important part of the equation:
We overestimate how many calories we’re eating each day, we don’t account for the calories we burn through movement or exercise, and there aren’t enough calories left over to create a “caloric surplus.”
And without that surplus, we’ll never gain weight or get bigger.
MY STORY: I had been training in a gym for 6 years without gaining size.
I then worked with a great trainer, who had me DOUBLE the amount of food I was eating.
I thought he was out of his mind.
Until I did it…and it worked.
I put on 18 pounds in 30 days [3], and I realized I had been severely undereating for my goals:
In order to gain weight, target an additional 300-500 calories above your Total Daily Energy Expenditure[4]:
Want to gain weight even faster? As long as you know you’ll also be gaining lots of fat, you can target 800-1000 calories above your TDEE.
Question: What about meal timing?
Does it matter WHEN I eat my meals?
“Can I eat now?”
Answer: “WHEN” you eat doesn’t matter nearly as much as “HOW MUCH” you eat.
Your body will process all calories efficiently[5], so focus on total calories consumed.
Depending on your schedule, you can:
It comes down to your personal preference. You might struggle to eat 3000 calories in 3 meals, so having 6 500-calorie meals throughout the day might make you feel less bloated and full.
Your results may vary!
See the next section for tips and tricks on WHAT foods you should eat to gain weight.
If you want somebody to help keep you accountable and help you actually bulk up safely and quickly, we have a pretty great online coaching program that has helped people reach their weight gain goals safely and quickly.
If you want to build muscle, target whole foods that come from high quality, high-calorie sources whenever possible.
Sure, you could obtain 3500 calories eating Taco Bell, Twinkies, candy, and Mountain Dew. However, this isn’t a good long term solution to gaining weight and building a good physique (goodbye health).
Trust me, I know. I put on 18 pounds in 30 days by eating meatball subs from Subway, drinking whole milk, eating McDonald’s, and drinking weight gainer shakes.
I certainly wasn’t healthy, and today I’m much more intelligent and knowledgeable about how to bulk up safely.
HERE’S HOW TO EAT TO GAIN HEALTHY WEIGHT:
We’re going to start building a Healthy Plate, like so:
The most important macro we’re going to focus on is protein.[6]. Studies show you’re more likely to put on the right kind of weight with a high protein diet compared to a low protein diet.
So that’s where we’ll start.
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
If you’re curious, from our healthy eating article, this is what a portion of protein looks like:
Also, here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
We’ll cover below the answer to the question “How much protein should I eat?”
In order for you to gain weight, you need to consume plenty of calories, so the remainder of those calories will come from carbs and/or fats.
Here are whole foods full of carbohydrates:
To help you get better at eyeballing serving sizes:
1 serving of a starchy carbohydrate is 1 cupped hand (uncooked), or your two hands forming a cup (cooked).
Here are some images to help you learn proper portion sizes (thanks to SafeFood):
In addition to consuming carbohydrates from these sources, it’s okay to consume plenty of fruit while trying to bulk up!
You can read our full “Is fruit healthy” guide to learn more.
Fat is a macronutrient that can help reach your surplus goals, as fat can be higher in calories. Plus, you can eat lots of it without feeling full.
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Saturated fats[8] can come from things like:
To help you gauge: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
For reference, this is a single serving of almonds (162 calories):
THIS is a serving of olive oil (60 calories):
As you can see, you can eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by eating lots of “heart-healthy” fats like nuts or adding more olive oil to your meals.
Last but not least, you need vegetables in your diet.
If you start to eat a lot more food, your “indoor plumbing” is going to really benefit from eating some high-fiber veggies with each meal:
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist:
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that you can choose:
“BUT STEVE, I REALLY STRUGGLE TO EAT ENOUGH CALORIES FROM WHOLE FOODS EVERY DAY!“
I do as well. It’s why I consume a good portion of liquid calories every day too.
It’s a surefire way to make sure you hit your calorie goals.
As I lay out in our massive Protein Shake Guide, creating high-calorie protein shakes to eat between meals can be the game changer:
Also, download our Skinny Guy Guide which has both lessons and a shopping list you can use to prioritize eating the right high calorie, high-quality foods!
Let’s answer the question: “How much protein do you need every day?”
The current international Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein is 0.4g per pound of body weight (0.8 g per kg of body weight):[9].
In our opinion, and as pointed out by this study[10] the RDA # for protein is too low and should be higher regardless of your body composition.
But you don’t care about that. You just want me to know how much protein to eat, right?
I figured.
Here is our recommendation[12]:
If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg).
If you’re going to be strength training while getting bigger, intakes up to 1.50 g/lb (3.3 g/kg) may help you minimize fat gain.[13]
Let me simplify it for you: target at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (2.2 grams per kg).
Provided you’re a healthy individual with a healthy liver, you don’t need to worry about eating too much protein[14] – you should be more concerned with eating too little protein.
Long story short: studies suggest you will not put on the right kind of weight without consuming enough protein!
Okay, so let’s talk portions. Here’s how much protein is in a palm-sized serving of food:
EXAMPLE TIME!
Let’s say you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg).
That would mean a day of eating could be:
As we cover in our Ultimate Guide to Protein Shakes, a protein supplement can help you reach your protein goals for the day.
Creating a high-calorie protein shake with foods like frozen fruit, oats, milk, and a scoop of protein can be huge.
It’s how I hit my goals every day!
MY STORY: I am currently bulking up, and according to my online coach, I need to eat 3200 calories with 240g of protein on workout days (I weigh 172 pounds).
That much protein and calories helps me do things like this:
After fasting until noon, here’s how I get 240 g of protein daily:
Total protein intake for me: 244 grams. Adjust to fit YOUR goals!
RECAP ON PROTEIN INTAKE: Target 1-1.5g per lb of bodyweight (2.2-3.3g per kg) while trying to gain weight. When in doubt, eat more.
If you are trying to put on a lot of weight, then carbs and fats are your friends.
They have a high-calorie count and you can eat lots of them without getting as full as some other things (like protein-rich foods).
Here are foods full of carbohydrates you can prioritize for bulking up:
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Once you know your Total Daily Energy Expenditure + 500 cal (for weight gain), and you know how many grams of protein you need to eat every day, then the remainder of your daily calories can come from carbs and fats.
Want even simpler info?
Target 2 portions of carbs, and 2 portions of fat in your meals.
Remember, our portions look like so:
If you’re not gaining weight, increase those numbers even more.
This is all about math! Not getting bigger = need MOAR food.
What about other foods like pizza, pasta, candy soda? Sure, you can get away with consuming less healthy things ON OCCASION (pizza, subs, etc.) but avoid fueling yourself with ONLY junk food.
If you’re not sure specifically what you should be eating for protein, carbs, and fats, download our “Get Bigger” Shopping List by putting your email in the box below:
Depending on your training, genetics, how skinny you are, and how much muscle you need to obtain, you can decide how much weight you want to gain each week.
Everybody’s results will vary, and thoughts are mixed on how quickly we can build muscle:
Now, depending on how thin you are currently, you might WANT to gain weight even faster and put on a bit of fat.
If you target 500 calories above your Calorie Expenditure every day, you’ll gain a pound a week.
If you target 1000 calories above your TDEE, you’ll gain 2 pounds per week:
Yes, it is possible to put on even more weight than that in a short amount of time, like when I gained 18 pounds (8.1kg) in 30 days.
This was due to consuming 1500 cal above my TDEE, heavy barbell training, targeting lots of protein, and carrying extra water weight (from supplementing with creatine):
My advice: Rather than chasing massive weight gain over a month, you’d be much better off gaining .5-1.5 lbs. (.25-.75 kg) a week, every week, for six months…and keeping the weight on!
So, how do you know if your efforts are working? Simple.
Taking measurements, take photos, and weigh yourself daily:
If the scale is moving UP, keep doing what you’re doing.
If the scale is NOT moving: EAT MORE.
If you’re ever unsure if you’ve eaten enough that day, eat more.
Once you start to get a good feel for how many calories you eat each day, try to eat the same meals to keep it easy.
Still convinced you can’t gain weight even after tracking things? Let us help. I too was convinced that it was my “fast metabolism,” until I learned from my personal trainer that I simply wasn’t eating enough.
Up until this point, we’ve only talked about the weight gain portion.
Do Steps 1-5 above, and you’ll put on plenty of weight.
HOWEVER, if you’re not also training correctly, you’ll just be getting fat, and not building muscle!
That’s where strength training comes in!
If you want to bulk up correctly, you need to be strength training with heavy weights and bodyweight movements.
As we lay out in our “Beginner Strength Workouts” guide, these are the BEST exercises you can do to gain weight:
Get as strong as possible with these exercises while eating enough calories and protein, and you will gain the right kind of weight! It’s how I bulked up correctly:)
Here’s a sample workout to gain weight, though you can follow our 6 level gym workout routine too.
WEIGHT GAIN MONDAY WORKOUT:
WEIGHT GAIN WEDNESDAY WORKOUT:
WEIGHT GAIN FRIDAY WORKOUT:
Here are some resources to help make heads or tails of the above:
Important point: don’t worry about isolation exercises like triceps extensions, shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, or crunches.
You can certainly do them, but only AFTER you’ve done your heavy lifts for the day!
All of the compound exercises listed here use every muscle in your body, and when you overload your body with calories and protein, those muscles will grow.
If you are going to get bigger, you need to consistently increase the difficulty with every workout.
Every time you train, your muscles break down and have to rebuild themselves.
You are teaching them to say “I must get bigger and stronger in case I have to do that again!”[16]
This is called “progressive overload,” and it’s the foundation of strength training.
So how do you progressively overload your muscles?
If you did 3 sets of 5 reps of squats at 95 pounds last week, go for 3 sets of 5 reps at 100 pounds this week!
Did knee push-ups last month?
Great, try to do regular push-ups this month.
Coach Jim breaks down the ins and outs of progressive overload for you in this video:
The trick with progressive overload is to continuously increase the challenge, and the best way to do that is by tracking your workouts!
Write down how you train, so that way you know exactly how to get stronger next time. I use Evernote on my phone, but you can use an old school notebook or whatever floats your boat.
Write down exactly:
And then next time?
Pick up more.
In addition to the protein shakes mentioned back in Rule #3, consider a creatine supplement – it allows your muscles to store more water – which will both help you potentially lift heavier and improve your performance in the gym!
If you don’t want to build your own workout routine, or you’re not sure how and when to scale up your workouts for the best results, let us build a routine for you!
Our coaches will build a workout program for your goals, and every day you can check your coaching app and know exactly what to do:
Muscles are made in the kitchen and while sleeping, NOT in the gym.
When you train, you are essentially ripping apart and breaking down your muscles.
Then, during the next 48 hours, as you are eating a caloric surplus and recovering, your muscles get rebuilt bigger and stronger.
For this reason, never exercise the same muscle before it’s ready.
In other words, try not to exercise the same muscle on two consecutive days.
Here are the best common practices for weight gain: Do a gym workout 3-4 days a week with a day off in between each (while consuming plenty of calories). This is plenty of training to promote muscle growth and weight gain.
Long story short: pick up a heavy weight in the gym 3-4 days a week for an hour.
Go HARD, go HEAVY.
And then come home, eat, and rest. If you are interested in doing some active recovery on your off days, that’s fine too.
Skinny people usually don’t need to train more, they need to eat and rest more!
You should get at least 6 hours of sleep to function as a human, but getting 7-8 hours of sleep will help aid in building more muscle.[17]
This study[18] also found:
“Inadequate sleep impairs maximal muscle strength in compound movements when performed without specific interventions designed to increase motivation.”
Think of it this way:
Building muscle is hard work, your body can use all the help (and calories) it can get. Your body is doing nothing but lying there and building muscle while you’re sleeping. [19]
If you are only getting 6 hours or less, you’re not going to get all the benefits of your exercising and diet, and not giving yourself the best chance to gain weight and grow bigger.
So don’t make these sleep mistakes!
We often spend quite a bit of time with our coaching clients working with them on their sleep and environmental habits! From turning off the TV an hour earlier to even becoming a morning person, we build fun missions and challenges for our clients around stuff like this to get results.
Depending on how you currently feel about running, this next sentence will either make you happy or miserable:
“Running might work against your efforts to gain weight and build muscle.”
When you run, your body uses up calories to fuel your runs. This leaves fewer calories left over to build muscle.
Now, nobody will refute the benefits of improved cardiovascular health, nor would I EVER tell you to not do an exercise that you find fun.
In addition, a 2016 study[20] showed that doing endurance training AND strength training actually created larger muscle hypertrophy in untrained subjects than just resistance training alone.
What this means:
If you’re somebody that runs and enjoys it, great!
If you’re trying to get bigger, here’s what I would recommend:
Is your SOLE focus on getting bigger? Do 3 things:
Interested in giving your heart a workout without steady cardio?:
Want to incorporate cardio the RIGHT way into your life, along with strength training, to start gaining weight?
Our coaching program builds custom programs to help people just like you reach your goals.
With all of this eating, you will probably put on some fat along with your muscle.
That’s okay!
You might even be skinny enough that a bit of extra “cushion” on you is a good thing!
If you are trying to put on MOSTLY muscle and minimal fat gain:
And then fine-tune it from there:
You’re trying to thread the needle of “only build muscle, don’t add fat” which is fairly advanced and challenging.
As this 2017 study points out[21], “Protein overfeeding or the consumption of a high protein diet may not result in a gain in body weight or fat mass despite consuming calories that exceed one’s normal or habitual intake.”
This is incredibly challenging, and you do run the risk of not eating enough to build muscle. In addition, you might build less muscle than had you consumed a larger surplus of calories.
Now, what if you’re “skinny fat?”
What if you have a gut/belly, and thin arms?
IF YOU ARE “SKINNY FAT”:
Then, once you get to a low enough body fat percentage that you can see some abdominal muscle definition, you can get back to bulking up.
These are the 11 rules I’ve followed multiple times in my life whenever I have decided to gain weight.
There’s a 12th rule I want to share with you too:
Build the habit of eating and exercise:
It’s important to build a system that sets you up for weight gain success.
It comes down to two things:
So do whatever you need to do to make those things happen!
Here’s my final piece of advice: If you want permanent success, stop thinking in terms of “How fast can I gain weight?” and instead think:
“What can I do today that feels sustainable enough that I can stick with it for a year?”
This is how I get results, and how you can use the tools and tips in this article to get results too. Build small habits that become permanent parts of your life, and the results you’ll get will be permanent too.
Now, if you’re somebody that wants even MORE guidance, and specific instructions to follow, I got you:
1) Our 1-on-1 online coaching program, work with a member of Team Nerd Fitness that gets to know you and your situation. We’ll provide expert guidance and accountability, a custom workout, and regular ongoing support:
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness 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) Sign up for our free email list, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! Join a few hundred thousand rebels just like you and I’ll send you a bunch of free guides too. I’m nice like that.
To recap our full article, here are the “12 Rules To Gain Weight Quickly”:
If you have more questions, please leave them in the comments below and I’ll gladly answer them when I get a chance!
You can do this.
Go eat something.
Learn how to do squats and deadlifts.
Do lots of push-ups and pull-ups.
And then eat some more.
-Steve
PS: If you want to read more about this stuff, make sure you check out the following in-depth resources too:
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photo credit: Marina Pissarova © 123RF.com, LEGO Grocery store, I love bread, pencil, W_Minshull Hardcore Stormies Hit The Gym, Speed
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“Can I get rid of my man boobs quickly and naturally?”
Awkward phrase? Sure.
But that’s not gonna get us to shy away from the topic here on Nerd Fitness.
We work on solutions to questions just like this with our Online Coaching Clients: awkward questions and challenging situations that are tough to talk about, but can be helped!
This is what we do, and we’re really good at it.
Today, let’s tackle the “moobs” situation head-on by covering all of the following in this MASSIVE guide:
Okie dokie, let’s jump in!
Let’s chat about some medical definitions, because it’ll help us put “man boobs” in some proper context.
Most men who struggle with “man boobs” or “moobs” are in this second category, and the “pseudo” means they don’t really have the condition “gynecomastia.”
There is no hormonal imbalance.
Instead, the body is just storing extra fat in the chest area.
I’ll mostly be talking about shedding body fat and building muscle to lose “moobs,” but I will also talk about gynecomastia and medical conditions later.
Next up!
Why do some men store fat in their chest?
We all process and store calories differently in our bodies.
And how our body stores excess calories is a critical concept for our discussion on “man boobs.”
If you eat more calories than you burn, day after day, month after month, year after year, your body has to do something with all that extra energy.
If we’re sedentary, more often than not, the body will choose to store that energy as fat to be used for later.
Depending on our genetics, our body might choose to store that fat in our butt, gut, thighs, or chest.
Probably a combination of all those things.
And for some of us, a large portion of that body fat deposits itself in our chest area.
And thus, man boobs.
So, in order to start reversing the process, we need to have a natural, two-pronged approach to tackling the “moobs” problem naturally and safely:
Exercise and nutrition.
Specifically, strength training and calorie restriction.
If you are somebody that wants EXACT instruction and a nutritional plan that is designed to help you reduce your man boobs, check out Nerd Fitness Coaching. We’ve helped people just like you do this the right way.
Fat and muscle are two different ‘systems’ in our body.
Fat sits on top of muscle, like oil on water.
When we target a specific area for weight loss, like with a Thighmaster, all we’re really doing is exercising the muscle underneath the fat on our thighs.
And don’t get me wrong – this is GREAT (the muscle, not the Thighmaster).
And yup, any exercise will result in calories burned – which is crucial when it comes to fat loss.
However, we need to think of the other system as well:
The fat resting on top.
So, the path to get rid of “man boobs” centers on three points:
Here’s why: strength training preserves the muscles we have (and can help build pectoral muscles).
Our body also has to rebuild the muscle that breaks down while we exercise, so it uses any extra calories we have to do that rather than storing it as fat!
Think of it kind of like the Sorting Hat from Harry Potter (come on, this is Nerd Fitness after all).
When we strength train, our body will act like The Sorting Hat and divert calories coming in to sit at the cool kids table (“Rebuild muscle!”) and not the “Store as fat” table.
It’s a message we really strike home in our video for Body Recomposition:
For more, check out our guide on “Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle At the Same Time.”
With a strategy of slight caloric restriction combined with enough protein and heavy strength training, we’re decreasing the body fat on top of our muscle, while also building up that same muscle underneath.
This results in tighter skin, with less padding (fat), stretched over firmer muscles.
And boom – confidence-boosting pecs that would make King Leonidas proud!
Said another way, we’ll be coming at “man boobs” from the outside and inside.
If we’re currently sedentary, the best form of exercise to help build a confidence-boosting physique would be strength training.
In our opinion, a strong guy is a healthy guy.
We’ll get you started in three areas:
In order to accomplish each of these goals, we’re gonna focus on building up strength in our PUSH muscles and our PULL muscles.
Our first stop will be push-ups, a foundational exercise for developing upper body strength.
We show the correct way to do one right here:
I don’t care if you need to do them from your knees or doing an elevated push-up:
KNEE PUSH-UP
ELEVATED PUSH-UP
We all start somewhere, and the name of the game is progressive overload – getting stronger with each workout!
In addition to the push-up, let’s consider the following as the best 5 Advanced Chest Exercises.
These are the types of exercises we build into the workout programs for our Coaching Clients looking to reduce chest fat and build up muscle in that area:
#1) Bench press (barbell or dumbbell).
If one piece of equipment is visually associated with a fitness gym, it would be a bench press. If you’ve never used one before, check out our guide on using a bench press safely right here.
#2) Incline bench press.
We can also work on an incline bench press to develop a more rounded-pectoral muscle that targets your upper chest.
#3) Overhead presses.
Not only can our pectoral muscles help push forward, they also get worked out when we do an overhead press.
Varying chest exercises is a good way to help attack all different sides and parts of our chest and build well-rounded pectorals.
Here’s a dumbbell variation if you can’t train with a barbell yet:
#4) Bodyweight Dips (ADVANCED)
Once we start to develop some serious strength, we can start to level up your advanced bodyweight training with bodyweight dips!
#5) Ring Push-Ups (ADVANCED)
It’s no secret I’m a fan of gymnastic rings. It’s hard to keep secrets when you write about how great gymnastic ring training is. I personally know of no better way to build upper body strength and muscle than with a pair of gymnastic rings.
As we cover in our “how to build your own workout” guide, make sure to do a push exercise in every workout to start building up pectoral muscles.
Again, start with push-ups.
Start doing them today.
Again, if you can’t do a regular push-up, a knee push-up is totally fine.
Just do them.
After you get cozy with push-ups, move onto the above advanced moves or follow some of the following workouts:
I asked the male members of our Nerd Fitness Prime about man boobs, and many have reported improving their appearance with these pectoral exercises.
Outside of improving man boobs, strength training will make every other aspect of your life better.
Bringing groceries in from the car, doing that thing that consenting adults do, and defending yourself against ninjas will all be much easier after strength training.
Now, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include two other exercises that can change your life:
These two basic barbell movements are the most ‘efficient’ exercises at building strength and burning fat.
They recruit your central nervous system and every muscle, joint, tendon, and bone in our body to get stronger.
In fact, if you could only do 4 exercises for the rest of your life, I would say:
Show me somebody who is super strong at those four movements, and I’ll show you somebody who has a great physique.
Seriously, don’t neglect those PULL muscles!
This exercise might seem counterintuitive: why work on your back muscles if we’re trying to build up the muscle in our pecs?
Balance and posture.
By building strength in our PULL muscles, we strengthen and tighten our back muscles. This will naturally cause us to pull our shoulder blades back and down into proper position, and give us a better posture.
If we ONLY do chest exercises, we’re more likely to get out of balance, which leads to contracted chest muscles, hunched shoulders, and poor posture.
Here are some options for building up our back muscles and improving our posture:
#1) Dumbbell Rows
#3) Pull-ups (here’s how to do proper pull-ups)
And if you can’t do a pull-up yet, here’s a great pull-up progression that will show you how to do assisted pull-ups to build up strength, like so:
Too long didn’t read: get strong, and your life will get better.
Build muscle in the right places, and it can help you reduce “man boob” problems.
Now, if you’re all:
“Steve this sounds awesome. I want to strength train, but damn man. I’m already self-conscious enough about my man boobs.
How the hell do I get enough confidence to go into a gym when I don’t know what I’m doing!”
Great question.
If you want expert guidance, form checks, and a custom build workout (and nutritional guidance) to help you transform your physique, we have a private, 1-on-1 coaching program that spurs nerds into action.
Also, you don’t even NEED a gym to train (it might sketchy thanks to the pandemic). Here’s exactly how to start working out from home.
Okay, we talked about exercise.
And I mentioned “nutrition” as a MAJOR component when it comes to weight and fat loss.
80-90% of “how to get rid of man boobs” will rest on how we answer the question: “what do I normally eat?”
TOUGH LOVE ALERT:
I can almost guarantee that your man boobs are NOT a result of a slow metabolism or genetics (outside of how your body stores excess body fat).
It’s due to the fact that you have been consistently overeating, day in, and day out, for years.
Once you’re done being mad at me and defensive about this, you’ll realize this is great news!
Why? Because it’s fixable.
You are not broken.
You simply need to change how you deal with food.
To do that, we’re going to focus on sustainable changes.
After all, temporary changes create temporary results.
And we want to get rid of man boobs permanently.
So, in order for us to lose body fat, we need to expend more calories than our body consumes, consistently.
Let’s put some numbers to this: 3,500 calories equals roughly one pound of fat.
So if we do the math here:
Remember this: a daily 500 calorie deficit compared to how we normally eat to lose a pound a week.
What does 500 calories look like?
Here are two examples:
Hopefully, those two dots above made your head explode.
“Steve, you’re saying that in order for me to counteract just sipping on a Mountain Dew while owning noobs in Fortnite, I’d need to run 5 miles?
I haven’t run a mile since gym class. And that was 15 years ago.”
Yup.
Nutrition is 90% of the equation when it comes to weight loss.
NINETY. PERCENT.
Okay, I don’t actually know the exact percentage, but 90% is dramatic enough.
I hope to get you to realize that changing your nutrition is the most important thing you can do to reduce “man boobs.”
Sure, exercise is important.
However, when it comes to creating a caloric deficit, it’s much easier to decrease calories consumed vs. increase “calories burned.”
Put a different way: would you rather pour out that Mountain Dew, or run five miles?
This is why Rule #4 of the Rebellion states “We understand that we can’t outrun our fork.”
Let’s tie together our discussion on “man boobs” with our philosophy on fitness: we’re eating too much, and our body is choosing to store these calories wherever it sees fit.
Unfortunately in this situation, it’s choosing to store them in our chest area.
We can’t change the past.
But we can change your future…and you won’t even need a wacky scientist.
This is why we’re gonna reverse the trend: eat a caloric deficit, consistently and permanently.
Over time, our body will respond by burning fat from certain areas, in a certain order (again, this is out of our control).
As oour body fat percentage drops far enough, it should start to remove the body fat from your pectoral area.
We have two paths forward.
PATH ONE: Count every single calorie consumed. Every meal and morsel is recorded, no matter what. We can use a food journal, a calorie counting app like MyFitnessPal, etc.
It’ll teach you a lot about the food you eat, and yourself.
As for how many calories we SHOULD eat, se our Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) Calculator.
It works, but boy is it challenging:
PATH TWO: follow our “simple plate” approach from our Healthy Eating Guide. Learn portions sizes, and start making slightly better choices. Focus on getting enough protein and veggies and cut back on liquid calories.
I know that overhauling one’s diet is easier said than done.
But it’s time to take a proactive approach to nutrition.
You’re reading this article because man boobs are a real problem for you – educate yourself on what you’re eating and work on cutting back on the calories!
And that’s what we’ll cover in the next section: what foods to eat that will help you reduce your calories without you being miserable.
The Nerd Fitness philosophy on diet can be written in four words:
Eat mostly REAL food.
I lay it all out in our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating, but come on.
Don’t act like you don’t know what “REAL food” is.
Real food is:
Food that grew in the ground, on a tree, ran on the land, swam in the sea, or flew through the air.
Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts are all great examples of REAL food.
This is what we should be eating, though we all know that.
Do you know WHY real food helps with weight loss?
Because if we stick mostly to REAL food, we’ll likely create a caloric deficit naturally.
But why tho?
The fine folks at WiseGEEK did an awesome post where they took pictures of what 200 calories of a certain food looks like.
200 calories of broccoli gets you enough broccoli to fill up an entire plate:
Or half a Snickers bar:
Yeah. And who eats half a Snickers and says “I’ll save the other half for later?”
Literally nobody.
If we want to create a caloric deficit consistently, focusing on REAL food is the answer.
Of course, I know a Snickers bar is way more delicious than broccoli – it was designed in a lab by scientists to be AMAZING!
And I’m not gonna tell you to never eat a Snickers ever again either.
Instead, we need to start being proactive about our food choices. If we’re gonna eat a Snickers, we better damn well be planning for that by reducing our calorie intake elsewhere.
And if the scale isn’t budging, and our man boobs aren’t getting smaller – we’re still eating too much!
Should we do the Mediterranean diet? Keto? Vegan?
Maybe!
They all follow the same premise: by changing the foods we eat, we’re more likely than not to eat a caloric deficit without struggling. Certain people respond better to certain diets than others.
I personally follow a mental model diet, summarized here:
These four points will help you on your journey to create a caloric deficit.
I know this is much easier said than done. After all, everybody knows they should eat more vegetables and yet 70% of the country is overweight.
Clearly, there’s more happening here than just “I need willpower and I need to try harder!”
Luckily you’re smarter than the average bear, because you’re reading Nerd Fitness:
If you’re struggling with portion control and challenges, jump fully into the NF community.
We cover human behavior and psychology to help you:
We’ve helped thousands of people like you here at NF, and we really focus on nutrition.
As we said, it’s 90% of the battle!
It’s why we created our 10-level nutritional system. Each level gets a bit more challenging and healthier, but you can progress at your own speed to make your changes stick!
I’ll send you the 10-Level Guide when you sign up in the box right here:
You don’t have to search far on the internet for the advice “avoid soy because it causes man boobs.”
It’s repeated so much, it’s assumed to be fact.
Is it?
The definition of gynecomastia (medical condition of man boobs) mentions “increased estrogen activity” as a major cause.
So when people say stay clear of soy, they’re worried about its impact on hormones like testosterone and estrogen.
Why the concern?
It comes down to a compound found in soy called “isoflavones.” Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which acts a little like estrogen, the central female hormone.
“Phyto” is derived from Greek and means “plant.” “Estrogen” is estrogen. So phytoestrogen more or less means plant-derived estrogen.
The fear of isoflavone rests with our bodies using this plant-like estrogen as actual estrogen. A report from Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology found that this is potentially possible.[4]
I should now note, we are about to wade into a controversial subject.
We’ll be careful and rely on good old-fashioned science and studies for guidance.
However, sometimes science can point us in a couple of different and contradictory directions. When this happens, it’s important to acknowledge the uncertainty.
Compounds in soy may act like estrogen in the body. Does this apply to men though? And do they cause “man boobs?”
A 2005 study out of The Journal of Nutrition did find a relationship between soy intake and hormone levels in men.[5] However, they concluded these to be “minor.”
In 2010, Fertility and Sterility tackled the question on whether soy had “feminizing effects on men.”
They found it didn’t.[6]
Their report stated:
Neither isoflavone supplements nor isoflavone-rich soy affect total or free testosterone levels.
The journal concluded:
There is essentially no evidence from the nine identified clinical studies that isoflavone exposure affects circulating estrogen levels in men.
Case closed?
Probably, but I’d be remiss not to mention the following:
There is one documented case published in Endocrine Practice, where a man may have given himself gynecomastia by drinking three quarts of soy milk a day.[7]
His gynecomastia went away when he stopped. Granted, this is anecdotal evidence, which is far from proof.
However, it is interesting and worth noting to round out this discussion. And as mentioned earlier, the ability for phytoestrogen to act as actual estrogen does seem possible…
“Steve, Just tell me: Should I ditch soy to ditch my man boobs?”
Well, as with anything, quantity and context matters. Virginia Miller, an estrogen researcher at the Mayo Clinic, told a Vice journalist:[8]
The amount of phytoestrogens in various soy products varies by process method.
Dr. Miller didn’t think it was too problematic to eat soy, specifically mentioning that:
Eating tofu is probably OK.
Interestingly, Miller suggested that BPA found in plastic is more harmful to our endocrine (hormone) system than eating or drinking soy.[9]
Confusing stuff.
In general, the consensus seems to be that as long as you don’t binge soy products, the amount of phytoestrogens found in a normal diet is fine.
If you have the actual condition of gynecomastia, soy is unlikely to be the root cause.
As more and more research is being done on this subject, this answer could change.
My opinion: this is a tiny piece of the puzzle…
…not the whole picture.
If we’re overeating terrible food every day, worrying about the soy we consume is missing the forest for the trees.
That’d be like…putting on a long sleeve shirt instead of a t-shirt for added protection, before driving 50 miles an hour into a brick wall.
Instead, maybe focus on wearing a seat belt, or better yet – not driving into the wall in the first place!
I swear that analogy made sense in my head before I typed it out.
Anyways – back to real specifics.
Here is the Nerd Fitness philosophy on soy: focus on total calories consumed and get that dialed in for consistently caloric deficit.
Only THEN, as our body fat starts to decrease, and we’re analyzing how our body responds to any and ALL types of food, see how our body responds to removing soy from our diet.
Want to have an expert guide you on this process? A fitness partner to help guide you on nutrition, including eliminating and then re-introducing certain foods? You can by checking out Nerd Fitness Coaching:
The only way to really know if you have gynecomastia is to go to a doctor.
They’ll be able to tell you (often with an ultrasound) if it’s a glandular breast enlargement or just fatty tissue.
They might also do some blood tests to check testosterone levels and female sex hormones like estrogen.
If you have an imbalance, gynecomastia could be a side effect. They’ll know for sure and can prescribe a treatment.
Also, they can verify that something very serious isn’t going on. In very rare cases, male breast enlargement can be a sign of cancer. Yes, men can get breast cancer.[10]
It should be noted: obesity itself is tied to increasing the development of real gynecomastia.
Excessive fat stimulates the body’s production of estrogen, spurring the growth of actual breast tissue.[11]
Said another way:
Pseudogynecomastia can turn into actual gynecomastia.
If you are diagnosed with gynecomastia, it’ll be between you and your doctor as to the next steps. I’ve seen men take one of three paths, as I’ve read anecdotes from our private support community for NF Prime:
If you’re concerned with “man boobs,” weight management is the path of action we’d recommend, whether you’re facing either gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia.
Reducing your body fat percentage can help keep your hormones in balance.
In addition, we’d recommend treating the root cause (poor nutrition and overconsumption of calories) instead of only treating the symptom (get rid of man boobs through liposuction).
Your unique situation is just that: unique.
I know many men who have treated pseudogynecomastia with diet and exercise, and I know others who are VERY thankful they had surgery to treat the symptom and are much happier as a result.
No judgment here. You do you, brother.
At this point, I bet you have an additional question: “Can hormone balance be affected in the opposite direction? By increasing testosterone?”
If you do suspect you have a hormonal imbalance, speak with your doctor. They can run tests and tell you exactly what is going on, why, and how to treat it.
I will not be digging into medically supervised testosterone therapy (which is above my pay grade, and between you and your doctor), here’s our guidance on naturally boosting your testosterone levels:
#1) Strength training. I know. A few sections ago I devoted an entire area to strength training.
However, if you are looking for a natural way to boost testosterone, strength training would be a good way to go about it.
One 2017 study found, that although temporary, testosterone levels were shown to: “acutely rise immediately following an acute resistance exercise bout.”[12]
Because of the short-term increase, consistency is key with resistance training and testosterone levels. That’s likely why “regular exercise” has been linked with increased testosterone overal.l[13]
#2) Stress. Cortisol is a hormone that is promoted by stress and reduces free testosterone levels (in addition to signaling for your body to store fat).[14]
The more stressed out we are, the lower our testosterone will be. What’s a cure? Being mindful.
Meditation practices have been shown to help control cortisol levels.[15] Want to start a mindfulness practice? Scope out our Nerd’s Guide to Mindfulness to get going.
Do you know what else is connected with higher cortisol levels and increased stress? Lack of sleep! If this is you, shut off Netflix and get to bed sooner.
#3) Overtraining. There can be too much of a good thing. Studies have found that both professional basketball and soccer players drop their testosterone levels by the end of a season.[16]
Which makes sense.
Tons of activity in a short amount of time gives no time to repair and heal. The same phenomenon has been found in ultra-marathoners.[17][[17]]That study on ultra-marathoners is right here.[[17]. Make sure you get plenty of sleep and schedule rest days.
#4) Eat red meat. Red meat is a great source of the amino acid carnitine, which has been linked to improved fertility.[18] Plus, it’s a good source of zinc, which has also been shown to help regulate testosterone.[19]
#5) Your results may vary. My friend Brett over at Art of Manliness did a 90-day experiment in which he doubled his testosterone levels through diet and strength training.
To be honest with you, even if you don’t have low testosterone levels, you should strength train, be mindful, and prioritize rest.
And maybe even eat a little red meat.
And yes, I read that study that says red meat will kill you. I don’t agree with the fear-mongering.[20]
If you want help with strength training, nutrition, or even starting a mindfulness practice, check out Nerd Fitness Coaching! We help men (and women) level up their lives by providing actionable goals and accountability.
So you have pseudogynecomastia.
And you’re interested in trying to do this the old-fashioned way before going down the route of surgery.
This would be my recommended path to everybody, though remember I’m not a doctor and I would recommend working with your doctor to put a plan in place together.
OUR NON-DOCTOR ADVICE FOR A DUDE TRYING TO GET RID OF MAN BOOBS NATURALLY:
I do want to stress, that many male members of NF Prime have reported improving their “man boobs” through the strategies listed in this article.
I’d love for you to join us in NF Prime if you’re seeking a positive group to help you on your journey.
We are dealt a certain hand from the genetic lottery: whether we gain muscle quickly or slowly, whether we lose our hair or not, and whether we store fat in our legs or in our chest.
We can get mad about it, or we can play the hand we are dealt.
Until somebody develops robot legs, I’m not growing any taller.
However, let’s not justify our internal excuses, or throw ourselves too big of a pity party.
What we do with our genetic fate, is completely up to us. And we have hundreds of thousands of people in the Nerd Fitness Rebellion who have overcome shitty genetics to transform themselves dramatically.
If you want 1-on-1 help to transform yourself, we got you!
The goal of this post is educational. To teach us how our body stores fat, and what can or cannot be done about it.
It’s more than okay to love yourself and also want to improve your physique.
Body positivity and wanting to look better are not mutually exclusive.
We’re all works in progress, and that’s great.
If you want to use this post to spur you to change, like cleaning up your diet or lifting some weights, awesome!
I’m glad Nerd Fitness can help lead you into action:
Want help knowing exactly how to progress from here?
I have MULTIPLE options for you. Pick the path below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness 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 in the box below and not only will you receive our free weight loss guide, but our step-by-step plan for starting a Strength Training practice:
I know it’s easier said than done to say “f*** the haters,” but seriously, f*** the haters.
Take your shirt off at the beach: you deserve to enjoy the sun and sea like everybody else.
We’re all a work in progress, and I hope this post helps you continue to work on yours!
-Steve
PS: No seriously, f*** the haters:
###
All photo sources can be found in this footnote right here [21]
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Want to build muscle like this guy?
(Leopard print unitard optional but encouraged)
In this guide, we’ll provide step-by-step instruction that will help you start building muscle immediately! Like, today!
We’ll explore:
That may seem like a lot of topics to cover. DON’T PANIC!
Because gaining muscle and strength really comes down to three things.
If you’re looking to start building muscle, getting bigger, and becoming stronger, these are the things you need to do:
I realize doing those three things is much easier said than done – I struggled with progress for a decade and know exactly what you’re going through if you’re feeling unsure.
You probably don’t have years to make the mistakes that I did, and you just want to start getting results today.
In addition to the free resources below, we also offer 1-on-1 Online Coaching, where you’ll get personalized instruction for your body type and goals, and professional accountability from a Coach on Team Nerd Fitness!
But enough of that, let’s get into the nitty-gritty of how to get started with strength training!
If you are going to build muscle, you’re going to need to lift heavy things.
This means you’ll most likely need access to a gym with a great free-weight section.
Sure, bodyweight exercises can be fantastic for weight loss and keeping the muscle you already have.[4]
But if you’re serious about weight training you’ll need a gym with a:
But we won’t completely nix bodyweight exercises, because ideally you’ll have a spot to do:
This space and equipment will help us be the most efficient, in order to apply the progressive overload principle to maximize your results.
Got access to a decent gym? If so, good, it’ll help us get started.
Because we’re looking to create functional strength and size, we’ll be doing lots of full-body routines with compound exercises that train multiple muscle groups at once.
They’re more efficient, they create solid growth and stimulation, and they will keep you safe.[5]
Why is that?
Well, when you spend all of your time doing isolation exercises on weight machines (ugh), you’re only working those specific muscles and not working any of your stabilizer muscles (because the machine is doing all of the stabilization work).[6]
On the other hand, when you do compound exercises like barbell squats, you work pretty much EVERY muscle in your body, setting yourself up to be strong and injury-free.[7]
Stay away from machines if you can and focus on dumbbells and barbell exercises.
If you’re going to do a full-body routine each workout (which is what I would recommend for ANY beginner), each routine can have one leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and a core exercise:
That’s IT. Don’t worry about adding in any machine shoulder shrugs, iso-chest flys, preacher bicep curls, calf-raises, whatever.
Learn these few exercises, get really good at them, and your entire body will get stronger and bigger. Focus each week on adding more weight to each exercise.[8]
For example, from one week to the next you could do:
If you do that, you’ve gotten stronger. Then, repeat next week. Eat right, and you’ll get bigger too.
Using the principles I’ve laid out in my “how to build a workout routine” article, here’s a three-day routine I’ve created for myself recently:
Each day has a leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and some core work.
Besides having rest and recovery days in-between MWF, adequate rest intervals have been established in the workout itself!
By following the leg exercise, push exercise, pull exercise, and core exercise routine you will maximize rest in-between each exercise, therefore, limiting muscular fatigue and allowing you to perform each strength training exercise to its fullest extent.[9]
I know what you’re thinking: that Steve is very clever.
While it’s possible to build out the perfect routine on your own, many of our Rebels end up spending hours and hours building something custom – only to realize it isn’t what they need (or isn’t effective) weeks and months later for their goals.
For people who want to avoid that altogether, we built the solution – our uber-popular 1-on-1 coaching program pairs you with your own Nerd Fitness Coach who will get to know you, your goals, and your lifestyle, and handcraft a workout plan that’s specific to not only your body, but also to your schedule and life.
Click on the image below to schedule a call with our team to see if we’re a good fit for each other!
We have a MASSIVE guide on the exact number of sets and reps (it’s where the video above comes from), but you can follow the basics here.
If you get bored, want to change things up, or you’re looking to bust through a plateau, you can do the following:
For example, I’ll do an overhead press in the following sequence:
The good news is that no matter which path you take (pure strength, size, or a mix of both), as long as you are adding weight each week – and eating enough – you WILL be getting stronger.[12]
ANY path will work, provided you are progressively overloading your muscles with an increased challenge!
Coach Jim explains it all for you right here:
Progressive overload involves exerting slightly more effort than last time (lift a heavier weight or do 1 more rep) consistently.
Your muscles will have to adapt and rebuild themselves to get stronger. So in order to see improvements, your training must gradually and constantly increase.
We just have to make sure we get the right pace!
According to Mike Rebold from Hiram College:
Keep in mind that if the overload increases too quickly, poor technique and injury may result. And if the overload progresses too slowly, improvements will be minimal or non-existent.
Slowly but gradually increasing your challenge could look like:
Get stronger, which is 20% of the puzzle. The other 80% is nutrition (which I cover later)!
As I said before, if you want even more info, you can head to our article “Determining the Correct Number of Reps and Sets” for a deep dive into the subject.
#1) Warm-up before exercising – don’t walk into a gym, slap 45-pound plates on the bar, and then start your routine.
Get your heart rate up and muscles warm first by doing a dynamic warm-up of jumping jacks, lunges, bodyweight squats, hip raises, push-ups, leg swings, jumps, etc.
After that, always start with doing a set or two of lifting JUST THE BAR.[13] Only then should you start adding weight for some warm-up sets before moving into your real sets.
#2) Have a focused form – if you’re doing a bodyweight squat incorrectly, you might develop bad habits.
However, if you do a barbell squat incorrectly with 405 pounds on your shoulders, you could do some serious damage. If you’re just starting out, check your ego at the door: start with a VERY light weight and make sure you are doing the exercise properly.
There is NO SHAME in starting with just the bar. You can always add more weight next week if this week is too easy.
#3) Stimulate, don’t annihilate – I try to always have one more rep left when I finish a set.
Some trainers will preach working your muscles to annihilation, but I think that’s just asking for an injury, poor form, and beyond-sore muscles.
Your muscles get built while resting, not in the gym, so don’t worry about destroying them completely each day you step in the gym – it’s not worth it.[14]
#4) Change up the time between sets – if you’re doing 3 sets of 5 reps of a really heavy weight, it’s okay to wait 3-5 minutes between sets – you’re focusing on pure strength here.
If you’re doing sets in the 8-12 range, try to keep the time between sets around a minute or so. This will affect your muscles in different ways.
For more, learn all about sets and rep ranges.
Just be consistent between sets and when doing the same workout between weeks to track your progress.[15]
#5) Don’t overdo it – More does not mean better in weightlifting. You don’t need to spend two hours in the gym, you don’t need to do 15 different kinds of chest exercises.
My routines last no longer than 45 minutes, I only do three or four sets (after warm-up sets) for each exercise, and it’s enough to stimulate muscle growth.[16]
Three routines a week is plenty too – you shouldn’t lift every day, as you need to give your muscles time to regrow bigger – remember muscles are made in the kitchen![17]
Less is often more – just make your routines really intense and exhausting.[18]
#6) Write down everything – Keep a training journal, and write down exactly how many sets and reps you did for every exercise.
That way, you can compare how you did this time with how you did last time. You’ll know how much more you need to lift this week to make sure you’re stronger than last week.
#7) Follow a routine, have a plan. The best thing you can do is have a plan to follow and stick with it![19]
We provide a free bodyweight routine, and a comprehensive gym training routine to get you started with strength training in our free guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. Grab your guide when you sign up in the box below:
If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up, this will be 90% of the battle.
If you’ve been lifting weights for a while “but can’t seem to gain weight,” then you are not eating enough – it’s that simple.[20]
I thought I was one of those people who just could never gain weight…and then I learned it was all diet, started eating 4,000 calories a day, and I put on 18 pounds in 30 days.
Yeah, I wanted to throw up from always eating along with three Muscle Milk shakes a day, but it worked.
Looking back I would have done things differently (so many calories and so much sugar/carbs), but after 6 years of exercising without putting on any weight, it was great to see so much progress in such a short period of time.
4,000 calories sounds freaking insane, right? I know.
It makes eating a full-time job.
You’ll always either cooking, eating, or cleaning up after yourself.
But if you really want to get bigger and you’re struggling to do so, then all of your effort is going to have to go into eating more, eating healthier, and eating ALL THE TIME.
I’ve since changed my strategies and gotten much more calculated in my approach. It’s how I (jokingly) went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.
Here are a few different techniques for weight gain:
PATH #1: Eat a lot of whatever – this was my first plan years ago: it’s cheapest, the fastest, but probably the least healthy.
Just make sure you get 200+ grams of protein a day and 3,500+ calories in any way that you can:
Whatever.
This is how I went from 162-180 pounds in 30 days. I’m not proud of how I ate, but it produced results and I remained healthy and strong.[21]
PATH #2: Eat a lot of “healthy” stuff – I did this once and put on about 10 pounds in 30 days. Lots of:
This works and is better for your insides than the previous method. Still relatively cheap, as tubs of oats, brown rice, and bread are inexpensive and can add on a lot of calories quickly.
PATH #3: Eat Paleo – I’ve tried this strategy too, and despite my best efforts to GAIN weight I managed to lose five pounds (all of which was fat).
It’s certainly possible to gain weight on the paleo diet (try adding in three big-ass Primal Shakes per day), but it is tricky and very expensive to get 4,000 calories of paleo-approved food daily. LOTS of nuts, eggs, sweet potatoes, shots of olive oil, and yams along with tons of chicken, grass-fed beef, fruit, and veggies.
PATH #4: GOMAD (Gallon of Milk a Day) – Obviously this method will only work if you’re not lactose intolerant.
Oh, and it has to be whole milk. You’ll definitely put on some fat, but you’ll build muscle and get really strong quickly – and then you’ll adjust the diet to thin out.
I’ve attempted this diet occasionally, as whole milk is certainly a fast path to tons of carbs, fat, protein and calories.
Plus, the calcium in the milk mike help.
Mike Rebold explains:
Milk is packed with a lot of calcium (300 mg per cup) and calcium is important because it regulates skeletal muscle contraction. In order to stimulate muscle contraction and produce force, calcium needs to be present and is responsible for stimulating something known as the sliding filament theory.[22]
If you go the GOMAD route, be prepared for your stomach and body to constantly feel bloated. Note: you can adjust the amount of milk you consume daily based on how your body responds.
“Which Supplements Should I Take to Build Muscle Quickly?”
As we lay out in our Nerd Fitness Supplement Guide, most supplements are a waste of money and completely unnecessary for building muscle.
However, there are two supplements that CAN BE helpful in building muscle quickly:
Are you vegan and trying to build muscle? Read our full article on how to go plant-based properly![25]
That’s going to depend on your situation – your age, how much you weigh now, how much you want to weigh, and how fast your metabolism is.
The only way to find out is to track your normal calorie intake for a few days, and then start adding on 500 extra calories per day for a week or two and see if you notice any changes.[26]
Want a rough idea of how many calories you should be eating?
Head right here for our calorie requirement calculator.
Bottom line: If you don’t see any change, then you need to eat more.
But if you really want to be bigger, then you are going to need to really dedicate yourself in the kitchen.
Unless you’re a genetic mutant, it’s incredibly tough to build muscle and strength without overloading your system with calories and nutrients.
Just keep eating.
I get this question all the time in emails, usually from guys who are 6 feet tall and 130 pounds.
Don’t worry, if you can’t gain weight now, putting on extra weight is going to be great for you.
Yes, you will put on SOME fat along with the muscle you’re building if you’re running a calorie surplus.
This is why picking the right amount of calories per day is important:
Everybody is different, so you need to experiment and find out what works best for you.[27]
Once you get to your desired weight (actually, aim for about 10-15 pounds heavier than your goal weight), you can scale back the calories, add in some extra sprints to the end of your workout, and keep lifting heavy – the muscle will remain, the fat will disappear, and you’ll be left with the body you want.
As Coach Matt explains above, you can actually build muscle and lose body fat at the same time.
You just have to be careful about how you do it.
We cover the subject in depth in the post, “Can You Lose Fat and Gain Muscle at the Same Time?”
This gist goes like this:
If you are eating enough protein, and have decent fat stores to pull from for energy needs, you can build muscle even while in a caloric deficit.
As long as you are resting (next section) and strength training (previous section), you can shed body fat while still putting on muscle.
Now, this only works if you have plenty of fat stores to pull from. Once you start to lean out a little, you’ll likely have to increase your calories to start putting on more muscle.
I recently added some strength (and muscle) while losing 22 pounds in 6 months.
Just remember, you can build muscle while losing weight if you:[28]
Let’s talk about that last one for a bit.
If you’re skinny and trying to bulk up and build muscle, avoid cardio like the plague (also avoid the plague).
Why?
Take a look at the best marathon runners in the world, and compare their physique to somebody like Usain Bolt, the best sprinter in the world – tons of muscle, power, and a body to envy.
There’s nothing wrong with EITHER body – we’re all awesome and are special and blah blah blah.
But you’re reading an article about how to build muscle fast, right? So focus all of your effort on building muscle![29]
You want all the calories you’re consuming to go towards “building muscle,” and not “fuel my run.”
I will admit that I’m biased against chronic cardio, but mostly because it bores me!
You can be far more effective when you focused on getting stronger and only do ‘cardio’ on things you enjoy – after all, your success will largely depend on your nutrition, NOT your cardio!
Personally, I spend three days a week in the gym, with each workout clocking in at 45 minutes.
I go for long walks on my off days along with a day of sprints to stay active, but I know that my muscles get built while I’m resting, not when I’m working out.
I really focus in on my workouts to make them as exhausting as possible, and then I give my body ample time to recover (while eating enough calories to produce a surplus).
If you’re lifting heavy, and eating enough, make sure you’re also getting enough sleep! 5-6 hours a night isn’t going to cut it – you need to get at least 8-9 hours of sleep per night for optimal muscle-building. Take naps too if you have the opportunity.
Sleep needs to become a priority, because while we’re asleep, growth hormone, a hormone responsible for regulating muscle growth is released.[30]
If you’re a big guy/girl trying to slim down, a little extra cardio might speed up your fat loss but if you’re not eating correctly, it might result in losing some of the muscle you already have.
Don’t worry about going for 10 mile runs on your off days – do 20-30 minutes of intervals or go run hill sprints in your park. The weight will come off more slowly, but you’ll only be losing fat, not fat AND muscle.
Once you hit your goal weight and the target amount of muscle mass, I’d recommend adding back in some cardio for your overall conditioning, but keep it varied (sprints and intervals). The focus is to keep building explosive muscle and not long, slow, boring muscle.
If you love going for long runs and aren’t going to give that up, I’m not gonna stop you. Just know that the long hours of cardio will severely inhibit your progress on building strength and size.[31]
This is a basic overview to get ya started. It really boils down to a few major things:
Simple to understand, tough to implement.
Trust me, I know – I’ve been battling this for the past decade.
If you made it this far, and you want more specific instruction, here’s how Nerd Fitness can help!
1) If you are somebody that wants to follow a tailor-made program designed to build muscle and grow strong, check out our popular 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program.
You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself, check your form, and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) If you want a snazzy app to teach you exactly how build muscle and strong, 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.
I’ll send you two free resources that will help you reach your goals: our massive Strength Training 101 guide and a Bulk Up Cheat Sheet and Shopping List.
So did I miss anything:
Any unanswered muscle building questions?
Do you have any tips or tricks I’m missing?
Any success stories from our community to share?
Post your questions in the comments and I’ll go ahead and answer them.
Let’s hear your strength and muscle stories!
-Steve
PS: Be sure to check out the rest of our Strength Training 101 series:
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All Photo Sources are found right here.[1]
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This High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) guide is probably the best interval training guide in the galaxy.
My justification for such a bold claim?
We’re really good at this stuff, AND we have dinosaurs and Muppets.
Plus, lots of great gifs:
We build custom interval training programs just like the ones in this guide for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients, including workouts for at home, the gym, or even while traveling.
In this Ultimate Guide to Interval Training, we’ll cover:
If you’re interested in starting a HIIT practice (which you are, ’cause you’re here), you may want to try our new app! It contains a fun adventure that will take you from sitting on your couch to a full HIIT workout – with plenty of benchmarks in between for you to find your groove. No guesswork needed, just jump into the app and follow it’s next steps.
You can sign-up for a free trial right here:
Alright, let’s do this thang.
In 2018, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) was ranked the number one fitness trend by American College of Sports Medicine.[1]
They wrote:
HIIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery and typically takes less than 30 minutes to perform.
Essentially, HIIT is just following a specific regimen where you vary your speeds and intensity throughout a shorter run, swim, bike, or row.
Any exercise can be a form of HIIT, but here’s a common routine:
Because everybody is busy and overwhelmed, fast results in the least amount of time is why most people discover HIIT.
Plus, you can do HIIT with just about anything, including a jump rope:
You may be asking, “Steve, just how short and intense are we talking about here? Also, your new haircut looks spiffy.”
Thank you, you’re very kind.
So let’s explore the pros and cons of intervals.
The 1996 landmark Tabata study demonstrated the benefits of extreme HIIT.[2]
Dr. Izumi Tabata, from Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports, was obsessed with interval training.
The doctor sought to see exactly what kind of gains were obtained from short, intense, periods of exercise. He conducted an experiment with Olympic athletes on stationary bikes and put them through intense bouts of exercise followed by short periods of rest.
The results were fascinating.
Tabata found:
That 6 weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training did not affect anaerobic capacity, but that 6 weeks of high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) may improve both anaerobic capacity and VO2max simultaneously.
Let’s translate that: compared to regular cardio, HIIT had a greater impact on improving BOTH:
Even crazier?
Tabata was able to demonstrate improvements in his athletes with just FOUR-MINUTE bursts.
So what’s happening here?
Simple: your heart is a muscle.
If you keep your heart beating at a constant rate, never expanding it outside of its comfort zone, it will never grow stronger.
By introducing chaos and pushing your muscles outside of their comfort zone, they must adapt and grow more resilient in order to survive.
Intense interval training challenges your heart by constantly forcing it outside of its comfort zone.
In other words: progressive overload – the same concept behind building strength.
Coach Jim explains 7 different ways to achieve progressive overload in this video:
Since Tabata’s 1996 study, many other trials have shown the positive impact of interval training.
Here are some of the benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training:
#1) HIIT for Weight loss. A study in the Journal of Obesity found participants were able to lose more body fat following a HIIT program compared to regular cardio.[3]
The Journal concluded:
HIIE (High-Intensity Intermittent Exercise) three times per week for 15 weeks compared to the same frequency of SSE (Steady-State Exercise) was associated with significant reductions in total body fat, subcutaneous leg and trunk fat, and insulin resistance in young women.
This makes sense, because other studies suggest high-intensity interval training burns more calories than a “steady state” workout.[4]
Revving up your effort requires more out of you, including calories.
Plus, interval training can take less time than steady-state cardio.
The average interval training workout is 20 minutes or less.
However, to confuse the matter, I should note that a meta-study (a review of multiple studies) found no real difference in fat loss between HIIT and steady-state cardio.[5] We’ll talk about this, and the impact of diet for weight loss, later.
#2) HIIT for lowering blood sugar. Managing blood sugar is really important for health, not just for diabetics.
Those trying to lose fat should be aware of their blood sugar and corresponding insulin levels.
The good news for our current discussion? HIIT has been shown to help lower and manage blood sugar levels.[6]
#3) HIIT for heart health. Touching on the “antifragile” topic again, HIIT has been shown to help with overall cardiovascular health.
It does so in the same way traditional endurance training does, but at a fraction of the time (almost half).[7]
Alright, let’s chat about how to actually do some interval training.
The key to HIIT is being able to go from “easy” to “difficult.” All sorts of different exercises can get you there:
HIIT is generally associated with running (aerobic), so we’ll devote this section to just that.
The easiest way to experiment with HIIT would be to run.
Here’s how to start with a basic HIIT running workout. Go to a park in your neighborhood. Warm-up with some light jogging, high knees, and mobility – leg swings, arm swings, etc,
And then begin your workout!
And BAM! You just did HIIT.
Don’t get disheartened if you find yourself stopping a lot during your first week of HIIT training.
You’ll be surprised how quickly you get better at this!
Also, “running” or “jogging” is subjective. Whatever walking fast means to you is great. Do that for your periods of intensity.
It should be noted, that the entire “Couch to 5K” concept rests on interval training through running.
It’s all broken down into “walking,” “jogging” and “running.”
If you’re curious, check out our in-depth Couch to 5k review. If you want to start interval training, “Couch to 5K” could be a good way to do it.
More of an indoor person?
Consider a treadmill, where it actually sets intervals for you based on your desired difficulty.
Just be careful on it…
We’ll be talking about machines a lot more in the next section, but a treadmill is all you need to do a HIIT workout.
Experiment with the speed and incline to find a setting that you would consider “intense.” Many machines can be programmed to flip between this and an “easy” setting.
And you know what that means… boom! It’s built for HIIT.
When we designed NF Journey (our awesome new app), we used an “intense” and “easy” interval switch for most of the workouts.
If you want, you can sign-up for a free trial right here to see what I mean:
There are a lot of different aerobic exercises for HIIT cardio.
For example, you could jump on a bike, which is like HIIT running but with wheels (duh):
Every spin class is based on HIIT cycling (SoulCycle, Flywheel, or even your local gym now has spin classes).
They’re popular for a reason, and you can make a friend or two!
Here are some more examples of interval training:
So far we’ve just been talking about aerobic exercises.
Let’s cover our other categories, of bodyweight and resistance.
“Steve, this all sounds great. But I hate running!”
Confession: So do I.
So I get my cardio in other forms!
Here are some bodyweight exercises to get going on HIIT:
Let’s now chat about some Weight Training Examples for HIIT:
To answer your next question: yes, you can also do circuit training as a form of HIIT.
Circuit training is going through a sequence of exercises, or stations, back to back.
Coach Lauren explains the ins and outs of circuit training in this video:
So in a circuit you could go from push-ups to pull-ups, back to push-ups, only resting briefly from one exercise to another.
Circuit training would be perfect to mix into a HIIT workout, since you can design your circuit to be very intense.
Check out our post for 15 Circuit Training Routines to choose from.
Plus, there’s a Batman workout hidden in there. You’re welcome.
We create custom HIIT programs for busy people like you that are ACTUALLY fun. If you’re looking for a supportive coach to guide you and tell you exactly what to do each day, we got you covered!
If you just want a beginner circuit to get started with, you can try out our Beginner Bodyweight Workout Routine. Plus you can download a free worksheet to track your progress with this circuit when you join the Rebellion below:
Oh, what’s that? You want to have even MORE fun while getting the benefits of HIIT?
Sure. Let’s think outside the box:
Basketball, tennis, soccer, and Ultimate (frisbee) are AMAZING styles of exercise that use interval training (it’s all start and stop!).
Run here, catch this, and wait for the next round to start.
That’s what we’re looking for in a HIIT workout.
So pick a form of FUN exercise that gets your heart racing faster and slower throughout the activity (yes, I suppose even THAT activity would count).
My guess is that you’re reading this article because you’re trying to get the most efficient “bang for your buck” when it comes to getting in shape.
And HIIT is a great form of exercise and COULD help with weight loss.
I will, however, lower some of these outlandish claims that exist in the media.
For example, Time magazine calls HIIT “miraculous” in one article.[8]
That’s a little much, even for me, who writes for a living on why you should work out and likes using hyperbole for effect.
Seriously, I’m better at it than ANYBODY ON THE PLANET.
Ahem.
Cardio, strength training, and HIIT all have many benefits.
But as I said earlier, a meta-study reviewed HIIT compared to steady-state cardio.
The results?
They found no real difference.[9]
As researchers noted:
Regular exercise is an integral component of long-term weight management. However, unless implemented in very large volumes, short-term exercise in isolation (including HIIT) is unlikely to produce clinically meaningful fat loss.
What’s that mean?
As long as your energy expenditure is the same (and you’re in a caloric deficit), steady-state cardio is equivalent to HIIT for fat loss.
In other words, if you want to lose body fat, how you eat will be responsible for 80% of your success or failure.
It doesn’t matter how many intervals you do – it’s not gonna help you lose weight if you don’t also fix your nutrition.
You can read our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating if you want more information, which will help you build a plate like this:
And if you want to download our free 10-level Nutrition Guide to help you fix your diet starting today, you can do so by signing up in the box below:
When it’s time to advance your high-intensity interval training, think about the following:
Maybe you start out doing 3 intervals of intense running.
Once it becomes routine, bring it up to 4.
Maybe you crank the resistance on your stationary bike to “8” during your intense interval. When it becomes normal, bring it up to “10.”
Maybe you do pull-ups for 20 seconds. When you’ve got a good handle on that, aim for 30 seconds.
This mindset will keep you advancing in interval training.
Consistency is the name of the game here. Even just doing a HIIT workout once a week will help you progress in all three categories.
For more ideas on how to improve workout consistency, check out this video from Coach Jim:
Oh, and if you want help along the way, don’t forget about our Online Coaching Program:
There’s a lot to consider when embarking on a HIIT practice.
No matter which routine you end up starting with, make sure you follow these words of wisdom:
Take it easy, focus on your form, and make sure to prioritize rest.
HIIT centers on doing intervals.
One moment it’s intense, the next you’re onto a short rest break.
A good way to know when it’s time to go from one sequence to the next is a timer. A loud “beep” can tell you when it’s okay to catch your breath or when you have to kick it in gear.
Here are 5 HIIT timers you can try out:
Also, we need to talk about interval timers. Most of the apps referenced are completely customizable.
For example, you can change the intense interval from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.
This is critical because it’s up to you to decide how long you can do intense vs. rest.
Generally, folks recommend one minute of intensity and then two for rest when doing HIIT.
However, this all depends on the individual, and exercises performed.
For example, burpees are tougher to do than jumping over a rope:
So feel free to make changes like 30 seconds of intensity and three minutes of rest. Make it your own.
Whatever way you chose to do HIIT, is fine, as long as you actually do it. The benefits of HIIT kick in when going HARD for you.
In other words, you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to get the benefits of HIIT.[10]
A light jog totally works. Just don’t do it in a mascot costume.
As we discussed, if you’re consistent, you’ll improve.
So don’t stress about where you have to start.
For now, download an app and get going. Ours will help you train with HIIT too:
Let’s power walk as our form of HIIT.
This is an example of a beginner HIIT workout we might prescribe for our Coaching Clients who are starting to train for their first 5K.
Let’s do seven intervals, two minutes each:
Total time: 20 minutes.
I want to stress, that you can do just about any exercise in exchange for this routine. Just minus “power walk” and add “push-ups and bodyweight squats”
It’ll still be a great HIIT workout.
“But Steve, that’s still multiple choice!”
Right, right… sorry. Stick to power walking! Done!
Do our power walking routine above. It’s a great place to start.
Remember, our goal at this stage is to “build the habit.”
We can work on “whoa, that was intense” later.
If you’re looking for EVEN MORE stuff to do, we have a few options for ya:
1) Check out our popular 1-on-1 coaching program. You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself and program your workouts and nutrition for you.
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness 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) Enlist in 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 interval training into your workouts.
There are a zillion ways to do HIIT, so don’t let the options paralyze you.
Pick one. Anyone. And get to it.
Interval training, in any form, is a solid fitness choice and a great practice to have in the workout arsenal.
Any questions?
Which HIIT workout style is your favorite?
Leave it in the comments below!
-Steve
PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our content on interval training:
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All photo credits can be found in this footnote.[11]
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness.
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“Steve, how many calories should I eat every day? I have goals!”
Great question.
Knowledge is power. So today, we are going to make you more powerful by calculating your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Of course, “knowing is half the battle.” The other half is using your newfound knowledge to achieve your goals!
Fortunately for you, we’ve helped thousands of Online Coaching Clients lose weight and get healthy, and TDEE is just one of many factors we consider when building a specific strategy for somebody’s goals.
Okay FINE, I’ll share the other factors and strategies below too.
Simply click on the section below for quick reading, though I’d recommend you read the whole enchilada to properly apply TDEE to your life:
Okie dokie, let’s jump right in.
We’re going to start off by doing some math.
Don’t worry, our robot calculator (beep boop boop) will do all the hard stuff for you.
We will need to know your height in inches, your weight in pounds, and an estimate of your activity level.
(Use the metric system? I wish we did too here in the States! Click right here for our Metric calculator).
Although you can adjust it, I want you to set your “Activity Level” as “Sedentary,” (I’ll explain why in a minute):
(Note: we have used The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to create this calculator! [1])
Hooray! You now know estimates of your BMR and TDEE![2]
You may be thinking, “Ah, Steve, what do either of these mean?”
I got you boo.
Make sure you write down your two numbers, and then move onto the next section.
If you’re already starting to get overwhelmed, have no fear! We help hundreds of men and women calculate their calorie goals, and we’d love to help you too!
Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the total amount of calories needed to keep your body functioning.
Body processes like breathing, cell production, pumping blood, and maintaining body temperature all burn calories.
This means that even when you sit perfectly still, you still use plenty of calories keeping your body in good working order.
To define BMR:
“Basal” more or less means “basic,” so you can think of BMR as the number of calories needed for basic daily functions.
Your sex, age, weight, and height will all affect the number of calories you need, which is why they are variables in our equation above.
The taller you are, or the more you weigh, the higher your BMR will be.
There is simply more of you to fuel: more blood to pump, more cells to produce, more body mass to transport and manage.
Your age will also factor in: the older you get the lower your BMR will be.
Roughly two-thirds of the calories you need each day go into keeping your body running.
The other third?
That goes into powering your motion.
You know, because going from one place to another requires energy. So does lifting stuff.
So let’s talk about Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) next.
Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) is an estimate of how many total calories you burn in a day.
Since your BMR includes the calories you need while resting, we’ll also need to factor in movement and exercise.
To do this, we’ll take your BMR and multiply it by an “Activity Factor.”
ACTIVITY LEVELS CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS THE FOLLOWING:
Sedentary (BMR x 1.2): You regularly have to tell Netflix you are still watching. You don’t intentionally exercise at all.
Lightly Active (BMR x 1.375): You casually stroll through your neighborhood a few times a week. On average, you walk for exercise about 30 minutes a day. Another way to think about this would be 15 minutes per day of vigorous exercise like running or lifting weights.
Moderately Active (BMR x 1.55): If we called the gym on a weeknight looking for you, they’d find you. This averages out to about one hour and 45 minutes of walking (for exercise, not going around your house) a day, or 50 minutes of vigorous exercise a day.
Very Active (BMR x 1.725): You work in construction during the day and you’re on the company softball team. This averages out to about four hours and 15 minutes of walking (again, for intentional exercise) a day, or two hours of vigorous exercise.
If you’re following along at home, you may notice that different Activity Factors can make a big difference in the calories burned.
Let’s use some numbers.
Suppose you’re:
You’re also wearing a recently ironed collared shirt and it looks great on you. It really brings out your eyes.
Awesome shirt or no awesome shirt, we know your BMR comes in at 1,882 calories given the variables we identified. Meaning you’ll need roughly 1,900 calories for basic bodily functions.
This is where things get interesting.
If you’re sedentary, we’ll multiply 1,882 (BMR) by 1.2 to get a TDEE of 2,258, which means you’ll need 2,258 calories to maintain your current weight, support bodily functions, and to walk around your house, to go from your car to your office, from your office back home, etc.
Let’s imagine a scenario where you are not sedentary. Let’s say you’re lightly active – you walk around your neighborhood a few times per week.
We take your BMR of 1,882 and multiply it by 1.375 to get a TDEE of 2,588.
”The difference between these two activity factors, in this case, is 230 calories. That’s equivalent to a single glazed donut.
Let’s keep going.
Let’s say you hit the gym a few times a week for strength training, and go on walks or do yoga on your off days.
This will push you into the moderately active category.
We’ll then take your BMR of 1,882 and multiply it by 1.55 to get a TDEE of 2,917.
The difference here between sedentary and moderately active would be 659 calories.
That’s an extra meal’s worth of calories!
For reference, here are some examples of things that are roughly 650 calories:
#1) A whole meal’s worth of Sicilian fish with sweet potatoes:
#2) One Big Mac® with Bacon:
#3) A large Orange Dream Machine® from Jamba Juice:
All three items above have the same number of calories, but they’ll vary widely in how full they’ll make you feel!
IMPORTANT NOTE: I’ve used the word “estimate” several times in this article and will continue to do so.
Although BMR and TDEE estimations are extremely helpful, they are still just that: estimations.
Hormones, genetics, medications, and macronutrient ratios all affect an individual’s calorie needs.
Said another way, it’s CRUCIAL that we take our BMR and our TDEE as a starting point, not the definitive “answer.”
It’s the place we can start from, and then adjust based on how our bodies respond!
As we’ve just seen, different Activity Levels can influence the TDEE greatly too.
So…
Most of us are bad at estimating our levels of activity.
Study after study demonstrates that people overestimate their levels of exercise and general activity.[3]
For example, one study concluded that:[4]
These results suggest that normal weight individuals overestimate energy expenditure (EE) during exercise by 3-4 folds. Further, when asked to precisely compensate for exercise EE with food intake, the resulting energy intake is still 2 to 3 folds greater than the measured EE of exercise.
Not only that, but our fitness trackers overestimate how many calories we expend through exercise too…some by as much as 90%![5]
This infographic shows how big of a difference those calorie discrepancies can be:
We think we’re working out “intensely” for 60 minutes, so we overeat, assuming we have lots of extra calories in our “daily budget” to spare.
However, when researchers look at stuff like heart rate, VO2 max, and calories burned, they determine that we actually only exercised “moderately.”
So yeah, don’t always trust your Fitbit:
Oh, and this is only one side of the equation. As I said, folks also UNDERESTIMATE how much they ate.
Regarding calories and food intake, folks consistently believe they eat less than they actually do.
Oh, and this is even true of dietitians, who are specifically trained on calories contained in different meals.
This study found that:[6]
The dietitians underreported their energy intake obtained from the food records by an average of 223 calories a day.
Again, these are experts in the field of nutrition.
What does this mean for regular people like you and me?
If you’re looking to lose weight, always underestimate your activity levels and overestimate your food consumption.
So when in doubt, choose the Activity Factor below your initial guess (i.e., instead of Moderately Active, choose Lightly Active).
This will give you a more accurate estimate of your caloric needs, and give you a larger margin for error when trying to lose weight!
The other thing to consider would be strength training.
As we mention in our “Lose Fat and Build Muscle” article, strength training requires A LOT of energy, not only for the exercise itself, but also for rebuilding muscle in the days following the activity.
That’s why Coach Matt highlights the importance of strength training in our video on body recomposition:
So when determining our activity level for our calorie calculator, we consider strength training to be “vigorous exercise” (as we highlighted above).
Another way to think of this: if it takes 30 mins of walking a day to be “Lightly Active,” 15 minutes of daily strength training would roughly be equivalent.
NOTE: if estimating your Activity Factor and TDEE is starting to freak you out:
Trying to pick and calculate the right amount of calories to consume can be stressful.
Especially if you’ve had trouble losing weight in the past. And that’s just the math part – we haven’t even got to the psychological part about how delicious pizza and ice cream are.
It’s actually the reason we created our uber-popular 1-on-1 Coaching Program. We sought to take all the guesswork out of getting in shape, by creating a program to tell you exactly what to do.
If you’ve read this far into the article, I imagine you are interested in learning your Total Daily Energy Expenditure for weight loss.
I also imagine you support my belief that The Shawshank Redemption is the greatest movie ever made:
I mentioned earlier that if you are having trouble losing weight, it’s because you are eating too many calories.
The TDEE we calculated above provides a decent estimate of the calories you require each day.
If the scale is staying constant – congrats! You’ve found your “calorie equilibrium.”
Your body is burning just as many calories as you’re consuming each day.
However, I’m going to guess you’re here because your goal is to see the scale go down!
In order for you to lose weight, you need to start reducing your total calorie intake, which then forces your body to start burning the stored fat you have for energy.
You’ve already calculated roughly how many calories you burn (your TDEE) on a daily basis, let’s see roughly how many calories you’re consuming each day too!
(If your weight is staying steady, then these numbers should be relatively close – provided your tracking is accurate!)
It’s this nerd’s humble opinion that the easiest way to track calories consumed is with an app.
We live in the future.
Use a smartphone and download one of the following to track your food intake:
You certainly don’t have to track your food forever.
But a solid week’s worth of data will help you get a sense of the food you are consuming, especially if you eat roughly the same food each day.
Not sure if you’re getting your portion sizes correct? Most people don’t. Consider a cheap food scale to educate yourself on actual portion sizes!
You can also check out our guide How to Portion Control, which will teach you how to use your hand to estimate calories:
The important thing is to compare your daily calories consumed to your TDEE.
To lose weight, your calorie consumption should be less than your TDEE.
(If you’re currently thinking, “But Steve according to my stats I burn way more calories than I consume, but I’m not losing weight!” I would read this.)
Some numbers to keep in mind:
Basic math suggests if you want to lose one pound of body fat in a week (a sustainable goal for some), you need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories a day. We can get there by:
When you consistently consume fewer calories than you burn, your body will have to start pulling from your stored fat for its energy needs.
Aka weight loss.
Let’s imagine that your TDEE is 2,500. This means you’d want to consume around 2,000 calories a day to lose around a pound per week.
As we discuss to great detail in “Why Can’t I Lose Weight,” sustained weight loss is largely a result of consistently managing the first half of the equation: “calories in.”
Said another way: it’s much more difficult to sustainably increase your Activity Level than it is to reduce the calories you consume.
After all, what’s more likely to become a lifelong habit? Changing your food choices, or going from being a couch potato to vigorously exercising 90 minutes per day?
So start by focusing on your food intake.
What’s the easiest way to eat fewer calories consistently? By prioritizing REAL food.
Why?
Because real foods are more likely to fill you up and satisfy your hunger while also keeping you under your calorie intake goal for the day.
Remember that example above comparing a full dinner vs a burger vs a shake:
The Nerd Fitness philosophy on diet can be written in six words:
“You’re smart. Eat more REAL food.”
I lay it all out in our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating, but again, you’re smart – you know what real food is:
Food that grew in the ground, on a tree, ran on the land, swam in the sea, or flew through the air.
Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and nuts are all great examples of REAL food.
This is what you should be eating more of.
The fine folks at WiseGEEK made an awesome post, where they demonstrated what 200 calories of various foods look like.
200 calories of broccoli gets you enough broccoli to fill up an entire plate:
Or half a Snickers bar:
Yeah…
By eating REAL food, you have a MUCH higher margin for error to stay under your calorie goal for the day.
Putting it all together: If you want to consistently be in a calorie deficit, focus on REAL food.
And yes, I know a Snickers bar is way more delicious than broccoli – it was designed in a lab by scientists to be AMAZING!
I’m not gonna tell you to never eat a Snickers ever again either.
Instead, start being proactive about your food choices.
If you want to eat a Snickers, plan for it by intentionally eating fewer calories earlier or later in the day.
And if the scale isn’t budging – you’re still eating too much!
Want help with any of this?
Many of our coaching clients found weight loss previously unattainable until one of our trained professionals objectively reviewed their life and provided actionable feedback.
Now, some of them have lost between 50-100+ pounds!
Should you do the Mediterranean Diet? Keto? Vegan? Paleo?
Maybe!
They all follow the same premise: they reduce or eliminate certain foods or macronutrients, making it easier to eat in a calorie deficit.
While all sensible diets will prioritize protein, some might limit carbs while others might limit fats. These differences come down to what works best for the individual.
So yes, any diet can help you lose weight in the short term – just remember that you need to stick with the changes permanently to make the results stick permanently!
After all, temporary changes create temporary results.
I personally follow a mental model diet, that focuses on real food most of the time, and occasionally includes some junk food. I plan my week of eating ahead of time:
#1) Limit your intake of processed food – it’s designed to be overconsumed.
Do you really think you’d be able to eat half of a snickers bar to limit yourself to 200 calories? Of course not. This argument is essentially the rationale for following a paleo diet.
#2) Eat veggies. Vegetables are nutrient-dense and light on calories. Because of all the fiber, they are also tough to overeat.
Imagine eating a plateful of broccoli.
Are you going for seconds? Probably not. So eat your veggies to help keep you full.
Hate vegetables?
I once was like you. Read “How to make vegetables taste good.”
#3) Be wary of liquid calories. Cut back on soda, juices, smoothies, and any beverage with calories.
Even most coffee orders (with sugar, cream, etc.) will have a ton of hidden calories.
All these drinks are sugar bombs since there is no fiber to balance out all the carbs you are consuming. Stick to water and unsweetened tea or coffee. Here are our thoughts on diet soda.
#4) Prioritize protein. Your body needs to use protein to heal and rebuild muscle after exercise.
Outside of repairing your body, protein will also work to keep you full and satiated: 400 calories of chicken will leave you wayyy more full than 400 calories worth of Gatorade.[9]
If you prioritize protein on your plate, you’ll be doing a lot of the heavy lifting on proper nutrition.
As we lay out in our epic “How Much Protein Should I Eat?” guide, some great sources of protein include chicken, eggs, beef, pork, fish, nuts, legumes, quinoa, and most dairy products.
These four points will help you on your journey to create a caloric deficit.
Disclaimer: this is all easier said than done. After all, 70% of the country is overweight. Don’t worry though, because most of them don’t read Nerd Fitness.
You do. This is like a strategy guide for life.
We’ve helped thousands of people like you here at NF, and we really focus on nutrition.
As we said, it’s 90% of the battle!
It’s why we created our own free, fun 10-level nutritional system. Each level gets a bit more challenging, but you can progress at your own speed to make your changes stick.
You can download our 10-Level Nutrition Guide when you sign up in the box right here:
Let’s recap this whole guide for you, with some actionable steps:
#1)Determine your BMR and TDEE. This will be critical for computing your caloric deficit. They’re good numbers to keep in mind during the whole experiment. Calculate your TDEE here.
#2) Track everything, as is, for one week. Log everything you eat. No judgment. If you eat five slices of pizza in a night, count every slice.
This step alone has helped many Rebels turn their lives around. Consider a food tracking app or online tracker to educate yourself!
#3) Compare numbers. Where is your current caloric intake at? How does this compare against your TDEE? If your intake is higher than your TDEE, you’re likely gaining body fat. We want to flip the equation.
#4) Create a consistent caloric deficit. The easiest and most sustainable way to do this is to eat REAL food. Mixing in strength training and fun cardio can help too.
#5) Track progress. Continue to track your calorie intake, to ensure you consistently expend more calories than you consume.
That’s it.
You can do this. I know you can because many of our readers have done it themselves.
Want help taking your next step after calculating your TDEE? I have MULTIPLE options for you. Pick the path below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 Coaching Program:
2) If you want an exact blueprint for how to eat better and get in shape, 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) Enlist in the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below when you download our free weight loss guide!
You can do this, and we got your back!
-Steve
PS: Seriously, how great is The Shawshank Redemption? I could quote that movie all day long.
But if you don’t agree…
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All photo citations can be found right here.[8]
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