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So it’s time to exercise, but you’re confined to a small space?

No problem!

In our Online Coaching Program, where I’m a senior coach, we help folks work out in whatever nook and cranny they may have available. Today, we’ll share these tips with you too.

A Nerd Fitness Coach can build you a workout for ANY room. Learn more here.

And no, we won’t make you shrink like Ant-Man to do your workout.

Here’s what we’ll cover today:

• How much space do you need to work out?
• What’s the minimum equipment needed to train?
• Small Space Workout Level 1: Get Moving
• Small Space Workout Level 2: Bring the Intensity
• Small Space Workout Level 3: May the Force Be With You
• Lessons from Tony Stark for “No Space” Workouts

Let’s jump right in!

How Much Space Do You Need to Work Out?

“Baby, air and light and time and space
have nothing to do with it
and don’t create anything
except maybe a longer life to find
new excuses
for.”

– Charles Bukowski

 

“Space, the final frontier” 

– James Tiberius Kirk

 

When it comes to working out in a small space, the first obstacle you have to overcome is your mindset:

You may find yourself thinking, “I can’t work out in this space.”

We want to flip this to “I get to be more creative in this space.”

This may seem like a minor change of perspective, but oftentimes the most important part of overcoming a challenge is adjusting our mindset. I see this over and over again with our coaching clients. 

Step 1 for our Small Space Workout is becoming okay with whatever room we may have to exercise. 

Step 2 is determining WHERE our actual Small Space Workout will take place.

That might lead you to a question:

How much space do you need to exercise and work out?

Answer: not much.

I grew up working out in a room not much bigger than a closet:

Which now acts as a storeroom. 

If you have enough room to do a plank, you’re good:

However, even if you can’t spread out for a plank, that’s okay. We can always use the small space itself for “equipment,” like with wall push-ups:

Speaking of, I can already anticipate your next question: 

What’s the minimum equipment needed for a work out?

As we cover in the Ultimate Guide to Working Out from Home, we can think of three tiers of no-equipment workouts:

• The floor
• The floor and a wall
• The floor, a wall, and a towel

The trick here is using our own body’s weight as equipment, which is known as “bodyweight training.” 

However, today we’ll also cover a few items you may want to buy, in case you want to build a small home gym.

But first, let’s talk about getting by with the bare minimum.

Small Space Workout Level 1: Get Moving

For the first level of our Small Space Workout, we want to keep it simple.

We’re going to focus on three different areas:

• The lower body
• The “push” muscles
• The “pull” muscles

That’s it.

To train our lower body in a small space, we’ll focus on squats and lunges.

If you’re just starting out, you can do assisted squats against a wall or chair:

We’ll follow the same idea for our lunges:

Once these become no thang, we’ll level up to regular squats:

Or regular lunges:

For our “push” muscles, you guessed it, it’s all about push-up variations.

We can start will simple push-ups against a wall:

To knee push-ups:

To regular push-ups:

If you want to make these even more challenging, you can use the wall to brace your feet to do elevated push-ups.

A sturdy stool or chair could also be handy here: 

For our “pull” muscles, this becomes a little tricker in a small space with no equipment.

But we can get by with two things:

• A towel
• A doorway

We’ll use both of these to perform bodyweight rows.

To use a towel for rows:

• Fold your towel twice over, hotdog style.
• Step on the towel with your front foot.
• Grab each end of the towel and pull yourself downwards.
• After your back gets parallel-ish to ground, lift yourself back up – that’s one rep.

It’ll look something like this:

The other option for our pull muscles, is to do rows from a doorway.

To perform a doorway row:

• Stand in front of your doorway and grab both sides.
• Place your feet a little closer to the doorway, so you’re leaning back.
• Sit back so you put weight on your arms.
• Pull yourself forward.

You’ll end up looking like so:

If you want to next level it, you can use your towel AND doorway for your rows too:

The towel might help you lean back even further, creating a more challenging exercise.

I walk you through how to use a towel for various pull exercises right here: 

If either of these starts to feel easy, try doing them with only one hand, like so:

Here’s what to do for your Level 1 Small Space Workout:

• Pick a lower body, a push, and pull exercise.
• Run through a circuit, doing about 10 reps of each. 
• Repeat until you get tired.

That’s it. Don’t overthink your workout. Just get moving.

When this starts to feel easy, move on to Level 2. 

Small Space Workout Level 2: Bring the Intensity

Once you get comfortable doing our lower-body, push, and pull exercises, there are a few things we can do to up the intensity.

For example, did you know you can do deadlifts with nothing but a towel?

The trick is to get your setup right, by pushing your hips back and chest out. Then you perform the same upward motion as you would in a normal deadlift.

I walk you through how to do a towel deadlift right here: 

I apologize if you rip your towel in half doing this because you’re so strong (but like, worth it).

The other cool thing you can do with towels? Chin-ups!

If you have a sturdy door and a couple of towels, you can use them as a chin-up alternative. 

Naturally, I have a video on doing towel chin-ups right here:

But you don’t need towels to do a Level 2 Small Space Workout.

Here are two ways to level up your “no-space” training:

#1) Think One-Sided

We’re going to do some unilateral training by working one limb at a time.

Squats no problem? How about a one-legged squat?

We can do the same thing with our push muscles, by doing one-arm push-ups:

#2) Change the Tempo

We have a couple of options here.

A) Slow down

By slowing down your cadence, you’re going to increase the time under tension of your muscles. That equals a tougher workout, which equals a win.

Have you ever taken a full 60 seconds to do a push-up? It’s gnarly:

B) Hold the movement.

The other option would be to hold your position at the top or bottom of an exercise.

For example, holding a chin-up at the top position:

Or holding a squat at the bottom position:

If you add a 10-second pause during each rep, you’re going to wear yourself out MUCH quicker, small space or no small space.

Small Space Workout Level 3: May the Force Be With You

Do you have access to a hallway that you can commandeer for a bit?

Then you can do our Star Wars Workout!

It’s designed to be done in a small space, like a hallway, or an escape pod.

At this level, if you were going to buy some equipment for a small home gym, my number one recommendation would be to purchase some resistance or exercise bands:

They don’t take up much space and can offer you a lot of versatility for Small Space Workouts. 

For example, you can do deadlifts using a resistance band:

Or presses:

Or rows: 

Boom!

There are your lower-body, push, and pull exercises we talked about earlier. Plus, we’re barely scratching the surface of all the exercises you can do with a sturdy exercise band. 

If you want some more ideas on how to train with bands, or which ones you should buy, check out our Ultimate Guide to Training With Resistance Bands. 

Lessons from Tony Stark for “No Space” Workouts

We’d all love a tremendous amount of space to work out. 

However, we work with whatever we have, whenever we can, wherever we are.

So remember, if Tony Stark can build a robot in a cave with a pile of scraps, then we can scrape together a workout with next to nothing as well.

Or build our own suits out of cardboard.

Which I’ve done.

Just remember, you got this.

If you want any help in working out in a small space, we got your back.

Here’s how to continue your training with Nerd Fitness:

Next Step #1) Our Online Coaching Program: if you want someone to design you a workout (like me!) for any small space, we got you!

You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

Next Step Number #2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts in any space, 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:

Next Step Number #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. You’ll meet individuals who train at the gym, in their cramped basement, or in outer space (that last one may or may not be true, but we do HAVE Rebels working out on boats in the middle of the ocean and even Antarctica!).

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, the Nerd Fitness Diet Cheat Sheet, and much more!

Alright, I want to hear from you:

Do you train in a small space?

What’s your “no space” workout look like?

Any tips or tricks for training in a phonebooth we should know of?

Let me know in the comments!

-Jim

PS: If you want any more help training at home with little to no equipment, check out:

• The Bodyweight Workout for Beginners (Train Anywhere)
• The 7 Best At-Home Workouts (No Equipment Required)
• How to Build a Home Gym

###

Photo source: iraevva © 123RF.com, Daniel Timothy Allison © 123RF.com, Petro Perutskyi © 123RF.com, lightfieldstudios  © 123RF.com, af8images © 123RF.com, Alexander Tolstykh © 123RF.com.

The post How to Work Out in Small Spaces (The “No Space” Workout) first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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Let’s learn how to jump rope!

Today we’ll help you get started, even if you’ve never touched a jump rope before (in fact, we’ll show you how to get going without one).

We specialize in helping beginners learn how to train, so you’re in the right place if you’re a little nervous about tangling yourself up.

Check Out Coaching

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• How do I jump rope? (Video for Newbies)
• The Nerd Fitness Jump Rope Workout (with Video Tutorial)
• The 13 best jump rope exercises
• How do I choose a jump rope? (Length and Type)
• Jumping “rope” without a rope (Jump Rope Alternatives)
• Where should I jump rope?
• Will a jump rope help me lose weight?
• How do I build a jump rope workout (next steps)

Cue the Rocky theme song… 

…and let’s do this!

How Do I Jump Rope? (Video for Noobs)

Coach Matt, from our Online Coaching program, guides you through learning how to jump rope in the video above.

Matt breaks down jumping rope into three parts: 

1. The Jump
2. The Arm Swing
3. Timing

First up…

#1) The Jump

First, let’s just practice jumping.

Stand tall, feet about hip-width apart. 

Then, practice jumping up and down in one spot.

Most of your power will come from your ankle and toes. It’s really more of a “hop” than jump. 

If you have trouble with this, Coach Matt recommends drawing some type of “X” or mark on the ground so you stay in one place. 

Another tip from Coach Matt: keep a little tension throughout your body. If you’re too loose, you might flail around a bit and get off your mark. 

#2) The Arm Swing

Your arms will remain mostly stable when powering the rope. We want to keep the movement narrow, mostly coming from your wrists.

The name of the game with jumping rope is “in control.” Swinging from the wrists will help you maintain control of the rope. 

Resist trying to rotate with a lot of elbow movement (try to keep them stable instead). 

For the position of your arms, you want your hands out roughly at the height of your hips. Your arms will go downward at about a 45-degree angle. 

To start, you might even just try getting the rhythm down with one hand:

Don’t even worry about jumping at first. 

Once you’re comfortable swinging from both hands, it’s time to think about putting it all together.

#3) Timing

When you first get going, go slow with the arms, and do two hops per one rope revolution. 

It looks like this:

When starting with this position, you might find your elbows flailing out a bit since they’re moving slow. So you’ll have less wrist control.

That’s okay. 

Once you get comfortable with the rhythm, try one hope per rope revolution to tighten it all up. You may find it easier to keep your arms and elbows stable moving faster. 

Here’s a great point from Coach Matt: as a beginner, the rope itself will be your coach.

If you hit your shins or toes with the rope, something went wrong. Maybe you hopped too high or your elbows went a little off.

No problem. Just accept that the rope is providing you with immediate feedback, and try again.

Getting the rhythm and timing down with a jump rope can be tricky, so hang in there and be patient.

Once you get the feel of it, it’s time to do some workouts. 

The Nerd Fitness Jump Rope Workout (With Video Tutorial)

Coach Matt walks you through 5 different levels of difficulty for your jump rope workout. 

If you’re familiar with High-Intensity Interval Training, you’ll notice it’s the strategy for our beginner jump rope workouts.

Let’s go over each level now.

Jump Rope Workout Level 1:

• Single Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds

Total time: 5 minutes

If this is too much, feel free to increase your rest period. Meaning you can rest for 45 seconds, no problem. 

For the next level, we’ll do the same moves, but we’ll increase your single under duration

Jump Rope Workout Level 2:

• Single Unders: 45 Seconds
• Rest: 15 Seconds
• Single Unders: 45 Seconds
• Rest: 15 Seconds
• Single Unders: 45 Seconds
• Rest: 15 Seconds
• Single Unders: 45 Seconds
• Rest: 15 Seconds
• Single Unders: 45 Seconds
• Rest: 15 Seconds

Total time: 5 minutes

On Level 3, it’s time to mix in double unders.

During our jump interval, you can do every other, so one single under followed by one single double under (1 jump, 2 rotations of the rope). 

If this is too tricky, do a double under for every four normal jumps.

Just try to keep it consistent, as this will help your rhythm. 

The mission with Level 3 is to get comfortable performing double unders.

Jump Rope Workout Level 3:

• Single/Double Under Mix: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single/Double Under Mix: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single/Double Under Mix: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single/Double Under Mix: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Single/Double Under Mix: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds

Total time: 5 minutes

Now that you’re at Level 4, it’s all double unders, all the time. 

We’re going to focus on building power, so we’ll do intervals for 15 seconds, then rest for 45.

Jump Rope Workout Level 4:

• Double Unders: 15 Seconds
• Rest: 45 Seconds
• Double Unders: 15 Seconds
• Rest: 45 Seconds
• Double Unders: 15 Seconds
• Rest: 45 Seconds
• Double Unders: 15 Seconds
• Rest: 45 Seconds
• Double Unders: 15 Seconds
• Rest: 45 Seconds

Total time: 5 minutes

With our last workout today, we’re bumping up the duration of double unders to 30 seconds, then resting for the same time. 

This might be challenging. 

Jump Rope Workout Level 5:

• Double Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Double Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Double Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Double Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds
• Double Unders: 30 Seconds
• Rest: 30 Seconds

Total time: 5 minutes

If single and double jumps get boring, have no fear.

We’ll cover additional exercises you can do to level up your jump rope game now. 

Feel free to mix and match any of the moves below into your workout.

After a while, your rest period might be normal hops, while your interval period can be one of these sweet moves. 

The 13 Best Jump Rope Exercises

Now that you have the basics down on how to jump rope, let’s cover some moves so you can expand your workouts.

#1) The Single Under

This is the most basic jump rope exercise. One hop per rope revolution, both feet together.  

Get this down before you move on from here.

#2) Double Single Foot Jumps

Once you get the single under down, try hopping on one foot.

To really test your balance, jump twice from the same foot. 

An example beat would go left foot, left foot, right foot, right foot, with one rope revolution between. 

#3) Kick Out Jumps

Here, you’ll alternate taking one foot forward every jump. 

So while your left is down, your right foot will be kicking out.

You’ll hop and switch feet between rope revolutions. This is trickier than it looks. 

#4) Jump Rope Jacks

Your feet will act as they would in a normal jumping jack, jumping wide apart every other hop.

Your arms will stay as they would during a normal single under, so it’s more of a “half jack.”

#5) Twist Jumps

This jump rope exercise is all about rotating your torso.

Your feet will jump together, but will be rotating about 180 degrees from left to right, twisting from your hip.

Your shoulders will stay firm, which will keep the rope in place. 

#6) Skiers

The feet will land together for your skiers, but one leg will be in front and the other will be behind. 

You’ll alternate leg positions between jumps, in a scissor-like motion. 

#7) High Knees

Alternate jumping from one leg to the other with your hops. The trick here is to bring your knees up high as you do so.

#8) Butt Kicks

These are much like your high knees, but in reverse, as you’re trying to bring your foot back to the point where it meets your glute (butt).

A good counter exercise for your high knees.

#9) Squat Jumps

If you want to really challenge your lower body, hold a squat position while doing your hops.

Your entire lower body will be engaged for this exercise.

#10) Squat Jacks

Just like the name would suggest, here we are combining our squat jumps with jumping jacks.

To do it, perform jump rope jacks, but land in a squat position when your legs are kicked out wide. 

This will get challenging quickly.

#11) Criss Cross Jacks

These are like jumping jacks, but instead of bringing your feet together, you cross one foot in front of the other. 

Your feet will go wide, then left in front of right, then wide, then right in front of left, then wide.

After some practice, you’ll get the coordination down. 

#12) Jump Rope Figure 8

We’re gonna have fun with this one.

This exercise has you doing four normal hops, followed by four twist jumps.

Here’s the fun part: when you rotate, bring your arms together and have the rope do a revolution on the side you’re twisting away from. Alternate to the other side, combining your twist, hop, and whip.

Don’t feel bad if this takes some practice. This is starting to get into the “jump rope tricks” territory. 

#13) The Double Under

This is one of the more advanced jump rope moves, as you need to swing the rope under you twice per hop.

Here’s a video on how to perform double unders:

If you get the double under down consistently, you’re no longer a jump rope noob.

Want a workout that will have you doing some of these jump rope moves? If so, check out our new app!

NF Journey will match a workout for you based on your experience level, and will also show you exactly how to use your jump rope.

No guesswork needed, just grab your rope and follow along with the app. 

You can sign-up for a free trial right here:

How Do I Choose a Jump Rope? (Type and Length)

There are a couple of things to consider when choosing a jump rope: type and length.

Let’s discuss both.

There are generally three types of jump ropes you’ll run into.

#1) Speed Ropes

This is the most common type of jump rope you’ll come across. It’s also what Coach Matt uses in his videos above. 

Speed ropes are lightweight, which will help when doing certain moves like the double under.

Coach Matt’s speed rope has a plastic covering, but occasionally you’ll find these with just the wire. This makes them even lighter. The danger here is that if you hit yourself…it’s with a bare wire…

Ouch.

WOD Nation has a decent coated speed jump rope that you can find.

#2) Beaded Ropes

This rope is probably what you used as a kid on the playground.

Beaded jump ropes don’t tangle as easily as speed ropes and weigh a bit more. 

They are also clunkier and will make double unders tougher, but the little bit of extra weight might make them easier for a beginner to handle.

Rogue Fitness has some pretty cool ones to check out. 

#3) Weighted Ropes

For more advanced jumpers, we have weighted ropes.

These can range from a one-pound rope to a six-pound rope.

Why the additional weight?

With extra weight added, your upper body gets a more intense workout.

If you’re a beginner, it’s probably best to skip these for now (hehe), but something to consider as you level up your jump rope skills.

For those interested, this is a decent weighted jump rope to buy.

The next question we want to answer: how long should my jump rope be?

The good news here: most jump ropes you purchase will be adjustable. 

When properly adjusted, step on your jump rope with one foot, and both handles should reach right around your armpit:

If it’s a little higher or lower than that, you may be okay, but you’ll likely need good jump rope technique to skip correctly.

How to Jump Rope (Without a Rope)

In the video above, Coach Jim walks you through 3 alternatives to jumping rope.

Just in case you want to get your heart rate up and you don’t have a rope around, or if you’re just getting started and haven’t quite got your rhythm dialed in.

Here are three alternatives for jumping rope:

Jump Rope Alternative #1: Marching in Place

This is as easy as it sounds, simply march in place. The higher you bring your knees, the more challenging this will become.

Jump Rope Alternative #2: Mountain Climbers

To do a mountain climber:

• Place your hands and knees on the floor.
• Place your right foot near your right hand, but extend your left leg behind you.
• In one motion, switch your legs, keeping your arms in the same position.
• Continue to switch your legs, attempting to keep your arms and back in a staple position.

Jump Rope Alternative #3: Hop in Place

And last but not least, you can simply hop in place for a jump rope alternative.

Where Should I Jump Rope?

The cool thing about a jump rope is that you can pretty much use it anywhere, as long as you have room to maneuver.

That doesn’t really mean you SHOULD jump wherever, as not all surfaces are created equal for jumping.

In the videos and gifs above, you’ll notice that both Nerd Fitness Coaches use mats for their jump rope practice.

This is a good idea. 

Jumping on a mat will put less stress on your joints, lowering your chance of injury. 

If you do jump on a harder surface like concrete or asphalt, it’s okay, just focus on less intense moves like single unders. You might want to save the fancy moves and double unders for when you have a more forgiving surface under you.  

The other thing to consider is your footwear. 

Something with good shock absorption will help as your feet make contact with the ground. 

You don’t necessarily need a running shoe, since you’ll be coming up and down from your toes. But you probably don’t want to jump barefoot either, because that rope hitting unprotected toes won’t be fun.

Here’s our guide on healthy feet that includes some general shoe recommendations. 

Will Jumping Rope Help Me Lose Weight?

If you’re trying to lose weight, a jump rope and one of the workouts above could be a great part of the plan.

The other part of the plan should be your nutrition!

As we lay out in our Coaching Program, throughout Nerd Fitness Prime, and our massive guide on “Healthy Eating,” we believe that nutrition is 80-90% of the equation for weight loss.

No joke.

It’s by far the biggest factor for success.

So will you lose weight jumping rope?

Definitely maybe!

If you fix your diet AND begin to incorporate a jump rope workout a few times per week, you’ll find yourself building muscle, losing fat, and getting stronger!

That’s because a jump rope will you train your:

• Calves
• Rear Deltoids
• Abdominals
• Quads
• Hamstrings

As long as you do it correctly:

My point is jumping rope needs to be part of a larger picture for weight loss. 

So how do you fix your diet?

Great question.

Whether you choose to follow a Keto Diet, Paleo Diet, Mediterranean Diet, or something like Intermittent Fasting, the best path will be up to your goals, your situation, and your habits.

Here are some basic tips though (as we cover in The 5 Rules of Weight Loss):

1. If your goal is weight loss, you have to eat less than you burn each day. This can be through eating less and burning more (from the resistance band workout above)
2. Processed foods and junk food make it really tough to lose weight: They have lots of calories and carbs, low nutritional value, don’t fill you up, and cause you to overeat.
3. Vegetables are your friends. If you don’t like veggies, here’s how to make vegetables taste good.
4. Liquid calories are sabotaging your efforts. Soda, juice, sports drinks: they’re all pretty much high-calorie sugar water with minimal nutritional value. Get your caffeine from black coffee or tea, fizzy-drink fix from sparkling water.
5. Eat more protein! Protein helps rebuild muscle and can help you stay under your calorie limit because it’s satiating and filling. Here’s exactly how much protein you should be eating every day.

Those tips should get you started, but if you want more specific instruction and guidance, check out the NF Coaching Program – Your Coach will build a routine tailored to your individual needs and what equipment you have available:

A Nerd Fitness Coach can guide your weight loss journey! Learn more here.

How to Build a Jump Rope Workout (Next Steps)

The only question left to answer with this guide is “When should you do your jump rope workouts?”

You have a bunch of different options for that, with a few considerations.

Here are 3 ways to incorporate workouts into your training:

#1) Jumping rope for warm-ups

All Nerd Fitness Workouts have a note to warm up before you start.

It can be five minutes of simple exercises like arm circles:

Or jumping jacks.

Do you know what else it can be?

Five minutes of jump rope! 

A short round of jump rope is a perfect warm-up for any workout you pick.

Is your gym closed? No problem, check out our guide The 8 Best at Home Workouts.

#2) Jump rope for active recovery

Active recovery is any gentle movement designed to help your muscles heal after training. 

If you hop with low intensity, a jump rope workout can fit this bill perfectly.

In between your strength training workouts, you can mix in some jump rope, stretching, or even a little yoga for active recovery. 

If you don’t want to jump with low intensity, you have another path.

#3) Jump rope as a full-body workout

With enough intensity, a jump rope can provide a great full-body workout.

You can up the intensity by working up to double unders or other advanced jump rope exercises. 

Or you can look into a weighted rope once you get the swing of things.

The other thing to consider would be circuit training, where you mix in jumping rope with some bodyweight exercises. 

Maybe you alternate burpees with your jump rope intervals. 

Lots of HIIT workouts include jump rope sessions, so you have tons of ways to bring your jump rope into your training.

Once you get your technique nailed down, the world will become your jump rope playground:

If you need any help pulling this all together, Nerd Fitness is here for you.

We have three great options for continuing your journey with us. 

Option #1) If you want a professional coach in your pocket, who can do video form checks, provide feedback, and adjust your workouts based on the equipment you have available, check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! 

For example, let’s say you find yourself stuck indoors during a pandemic, and you want somebody to custom-build you a workout program based on the furniture and equipment you have (like a jump rope). That’s where an online coach is a game-changer! 

Personally, I’ve been working with the same online coach since 2015 and it’s changed my life. You can learn more by clicking on the box below: 

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

#2) If you need a trigger to “get up and jump” check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). Plus, we’ll send you on an adventure that teaches you how to jump rope!

Try your free trial right here:

Option #3) Become part of 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 Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out from home” guides.

Alright, I want to hear from you and your experience with jumping rope! 

Do you train with jump ropes?

Any exercises or tricks we’re missing?

Are you one of those people who hasn’t touched a jump rope since grade school?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

P.S. If you’re looking for more ways to do interval training, check out The 20-Min HIIT Workout for Home. 

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It’s time to explore the Flexitarian Diet.

You may have questions like:

What is it? 

Why’s it so popular? 

Will it make me more flexible?

The answer to that last one is “nope,” but the others we’ll explore today!

Have no fear, you’re in good hands.

We analyze different diets in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so you’ve come to the right place to learn all about semi-vegetarianism. 

Is the Flexitarian Diet right for you? Maybe! Let our coaches help you decide.

Here’s what we’ll cover in our Beginner’s Guide to the Flexitarian Diet:

• What is a flexitarian? (Exploring “semi-vegetarians”)
• What do flexitarians eat? (The Flexitarian Diet Plan)
• How often do flexitarians eat meat? (The “flex” in “flexitarian”)
• Can cutting out meat help you lose weight?
• What are the benefits of being a flexitarian?
• Should I try the Flexitarian Diet? (Next steps)

Let’s get right to it!

What Is the Flexitarian Diet? (Exploring “Semi-Vegetarians”)

The Flexitarian Diet is a plant-based or vegetarian style of eating that allows for some animal products in moderation.

“Flex” comes from “flexible” and “tarian” comes from “vegetarian,” so a flexitarian is more or less a “flexible vegetarian.” 

In 2012, the term “flexitarian” actually entered the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as:

One whose normally meatless diet occasionally includes meat or fish.

Another way to think of flexitarians would be as “semi-vegetarians.”

This version of semi-vegetarianism was first formulated by dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, in her book The Flexitarian Diet. 

In Blanter’s word:

“You can think of this diet as a ‘vegetarian-ish’ way of eating since this plan touts the basic principles and benefits of a plant-based diet, along with the inclusion of some animal proteins to a lesser extent.”

The goal of the Flexitarian Diet would be to minimize or reduce the frequency of eating meat, without removing it completely. 

This is what separates flexitarians from normal omnivores: the former are actively trying to limit meat consumption. 

Flexitarians just don’t want to eliminate meat 100% (for health or personal reasons), so they allow some into their diet. 

What Do Flexitarians Eat? (The Flexitarian Diet Plan)

Since the Flexitarian Diet actively tries to reduce the consumption of meat, the meal plan will be predominantly plant-based. 

Plant-based food choices on the Flexitarian Diet plan include:

• Whole grains. Rice, oats, barley, and buckwheat would all be examples of whole grains. Most plant-based diets include a sizable amount of whole grains as their base.
• Vegetables. Of course, even semi-vegetarian diets are going to include lots of vegetables! And they should because vegetables are great for you! They’re packed full of nutrients, fiber, and generally low in calories. Most people could stand to eat more veggies. If you find yourself not being able to stomach greens, I got you. Check out this post for tips on how to turn around any vegetable hater.
• Legumes. Beans, lentils, and soy make up the legume family. When cutting out meat, legumes would be a great way to get protein (more on this to follow).
• Fruit. Bananas, apples, and oranges all come from plants, so all are vegetarian-friendly. While high in fructose (sugar), they are also nutrient-dense. Our general stance on fruit around these parts is to eat “stick to whole fruit, avoid fruit juices.”
• Nuts and seeds. Again, they come from plants, so almonds, cashews, and pumpkin seeds are good to go on any vegetarian plan you pick. So is quinoa, which although is often thought of as a grain, is actually a seed. Mind=blown. Nuts and seeds, although high in fat and calories, are another great way to get protein on a semi-vegetarian diet.

Have as much of the above as you like (assuming it meets your calorie goals).

I know you’re curious about meat consumption and the Flexitarian Diet

We’ll devote our entire next section to it.

Before we get there, let’s talk about foods that you might NOT want to build your flexitarian meal plan around.

Since the Flexitarian Diet is an attempt to eat nutritiously, it not only encourages the consumption of whole plants but also discourages the consumption of certain foods too.

When following a Flexitarian Diet, try to minimize:

• Processed meat: bacon, sausage, and bologna. Proponents of flexitarianism advocate for unprocessed meat like grass-fed beef, pasture-raised chicken, fresh fish, etc. More on this next section.
• Refined carbs: white bread, bagels, pasta, etc. These foods have much of their fiber destroyed during the refinement process, making them more like sugar during digestion. 
• Added sugar: soda, donuts, cookies, etc. Also known as “junk food.” Delicious, of course. But these foods are high in calories and low on nutrients, so they belong in the “rare treat” category. 

The above list likely isn’t too shocking. Most health sites (and us in our healthy eating guide) recommend these foods be eaten sparingly.

Now, it’s time to talk meat!

How Often Do Flexitarians Eat Meat? (The “Flex” in “Flexitarian”)

The answer to “How much meat can you eat on a flexitarian diet?” depends on who you ask.

There are lots of variations of semi-vegetarianism, meaning there are a lot of different answers to this question.

Dawn Blatner discusses different levels of meat restriction in her book The Flexitarian Diet, which we’ll review below.

Here’s the progression plan for The Flexitarian Diet:

• Beginner Flexitarian:
  • Two meat-free days a week
  • No more than 26 ounces of meat the remainder of the week
• Advanced Flexitarian: 
  • Three to four meat-free days a week
  • No more than 18 ounces of meat the remainder of the week
• Expert Flexitarian:
  • Meat-free five days a week
  • 9 ounces of meat allowed the remaining two days

For reference, a three-ounce piece of chicken breast is about the size of your palm:

Another popular form of flexitarianism comes from VB6 (Vegan Before 6:00) which is exactly what it sounds like: follow a vegan meal plan until dinnertime. 

Naturally, there’s a book about this one too, this time from Mark Bittman. 

Like Blatner, Bittman encourages the consumption of whole plants and discourages the consumption of junk food.

That’s not too surprising, because every diet encourages the consumption of whole plants and discourages junk food (well, not the Carnivore Diet or the Military Diet). 

Other than following a 100% plant-based diet until 6pm, Bittman offers no specific rules for VB6.

You do you.

This is going to lead us to a larger point: “flexitarian” is up to interpretation. 

Since there are multiple plans for semi-vegetarianism, how much meat you eat will really depend on your goals and motives.

Does Cutting out Meat Help You Lose Weight?

Many proponents of flexitarianism will claim it can help with weight loss:

• Mark Bittman created VB6 (Vegan before 6) after his doctor told him to lose some weight.
• Dawn Jackson claims her Flexitarian Diet can help those struggling with obesity.

However, anyone selling a diet book is gonna tell you it can help with weight loss.

What does the science say?

Since there’s no set-in-stone interpretation of what makes a “flexitarian” a flexitarian, it can be hard to prescribe any specific benefits to the diet.

This is a concern Emma J. Derbyshire brought up in a review of semi-vegetarian diets in Frontiers of Nutrition.^[1] Derbyshire states that before any formal recommendations can be done on flexitarians, “official definitions of these diets are needed.”

You need to know exactly what you’re researching before you can make heads or tails of what’s going on.

However, weight loss itself has been studied a lot, so we aren’t completely stumbling in the dark here.

As we address in our guide How to Lose Weight (The 5 Rules of Weight Loss), our bodies obey the Laws of Conservation of Energy and Thermodynamics: 

To lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume regularly. 

It’s about as close to fact as we can get in nutrition science.^[2]

Here’s the thing about meat: it’s actually pretty calorically dense, especially when you compare it to fruits and vegetables.

This is 200 calories worth of sliced turkey (thanks to wiseGEEK):

Here is 200 calories worth of Saltine crackers (which are vegan):

When comparing a plate of meat to a handful of crackers, you might think: “Steve, there’s no way those crackers will satisfy me, I’ll need to eat more food,” then you’d be right. 

It’s why focusing on foods that fill you up without being overloaded with calories can help with weight loss. 

Let me share one more example:

This is what 200 calories worth of broccoli looks like:

So, YES, if you replace your meat lovers pizza, chicken parm with pasta, and bacon cheeseburgers with mostly fruits, vegetables, and other whole plants, you’ll most likely lose weight. 

It comes down to total energy (calories) consumed!

This is something we bring up throughout our Guide for Plant-Based Diets: be careful about replacing calorie bomb meat products with heavily processed junk food.

You might end up with the same amount of calories (if not more), which means you’ll have no weight loss.

Because from a protein perspective, meat can be a great source of nutrients.

Let’s compare chicken against black beans, since legumes (beans) are some of the most protein-dense plants you can eat:

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

The same size serving of black beans has less protein, twice as many calories, and more carbs compared to chicken.

This isn’t to say you can’t get adequate protein from plants (we tell you exactly how to do it in our guide to vegetarianism), it’s just something you have to appropriately plan for!

All this to say: you can lose weight on a flexitarian diet as long as you burn more calories than you eat consistently. 

If semi-vegetarianism actually helps with that, great!

If not, no biggie, just try another path (here’s what I personally do).

Let me say that if you’re trying to lose weight and wondering if a flexitarian diet is the solution, I’m proud of you for at least THINKING about different nutritional strategies that might align with your lifestyle and goals. 

Lots of our coaching clients come to us with all sorts of different fitness questions, like what to eat and how to exercise, proving we all start from unique situations. The important thing is that you’re beginning to ask questions and looking for answers. 

If you want help on your journey, we’re here for you. Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program partners busy people just like you with a coach who will get to know you better than you know yourself.

A Nerd Fitness Coach can guide your weight loss and answer all your fitness questions! Learn more here.

What Are the Benefits of Being a Flexitarian?

There are all sorts of benefits from eating lots of plants.

Now granted, I’m on the record for stating I don’t buy into the claim that meat is inherently bad for you (we dig into it in this article). 

However, I’m also on the record for stating you should eat your fruits and veggies (scope out our Guide to Healthy Eating).

Let’s rap about the good things found in the plant kingdom:

• Fiber: studies have shown that eating dietary fiber (found in plants) can have loads of health benefits. Fiber from plants can help lower raised blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity, and help with digestive issues.^[3]
• Vitamins and minerals: plants contain vitamins E, C, K2, and calcium, to name just a few. You need these things to survive. 
• Antioxidants: there are all sorts of toxins in the modern world (air pollution, BPA in plastic, etc). Plants, and the antioxidants in them, can help defend against some of these pollutants.^[4]

When you start to factor this together, it makes sense to eat a lot of plants.

It also makes sense that people who eat a lot of plants, like flexitarians, tend to be in good shape.^[5]

Whole plants are high in nutrients and low in calories, making them ideal for creating an energy deficiency.^[6] Again, this is needed for weight loss.

Here’s where the debate rages on the internet: are people who follow a plant-based diet generally healthier than omnivores because meat is bad for you, or because vegetarians tend to eat more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods?^[7]

It’s hard to say.

More studies are rolling in every day, so I’m not going to declare a winner over the other.

I will say that I actually resonate with a “flexitarian” lifestyle, though I just call it “mostly healthy eating” = eat mostly plants, healthy sources of protein, and keeping total calorie intake under control. 

The moral of the story: eat lots of plants…and maybe a little meat. 

Should I Try the Flexitarian Diet? (Next Steps)

Sure!

Why not?

There are worse ways to eat than tons of plants with a little bit of meat.

Being a flexitarian is actually not too different than following the Mediterranean Diet.

It’s the same way of eating, just with a new name. 

Author Michael Pollan summed it up years ago with “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants.”

Truth be told, healthy eating is more or less the same no matter what you call it.

They just label it with different names to sell books. 

Here’s what every nutrition expert agrees on:

• Focus on whole foods
• Eat plenty of protein
• Make room on your plate for lots of vegetables
• Minimize the consumption of processed food or junk food

We lay all this out in our Guide to Healthy Eating, which I would encourage you to check out.

If this is the first time you’ve tried to “eat right,” or the 17th, it’ll help you make small lifestyle changes towards a healthy diet.

This is our preferred approach here at Nerd Fitness.

That will bring me to my one concern on adopting The Flexitarian Diet or any other strict form of semi-vegetarianism: if you change too much at once, it might be overly difficult and you’ll grow frustrated.

Frustration can lead to abandoning a new way of eating. 

We see it all the time here: people go Paleo or Keto for 21 days, hate it, then go right back to where they started.

Since they’re now demoralized from the experience, they don’t even try anymore, which is where the real harm comes in.

So try a small step today:

• Make dinner this week.
• Try eating one new vegetable.
• Hell, make it exercise-related and just go for a walk.

This might be better than changing everything at once giving up meat for most of the week.

No matter what you do now, start!

You can’t create new habits if you never get going, so pick something you’re going to work on and try it for a week. Then look back and review your progress:

• If you did the thing, keep going!
• If you didn’t do the thing, no problem! 

Make a smaller change this time and try again.

Want some help along the way? The perfect path on where to go from here and what to change?

You got it!

#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.

You can schedule a free call with our team so we can get to know you and see if our coaching program is right for you. Just click on the image below for more details:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn more here!

#2) If you want an exact blueprint leveling up your nutrition, check out Nerd Fitness Journey! Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

If you follow our Nutrition missions, you’ll learn to eat healthier while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.

Try your free trial right here:

#3) Become part of The Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get strong, and have fun doing so.

I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:

Alright, I think that about does it for this article.

Now, your turn:

What are your thoughts on the Flexitarian Diet?

If you follow it, when do you eat meat?

Any tips or tricks to make it sustainable?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: If you’re just starting to explore vegetarianism, make sure you read our Beginner’s Guide to Plant-Based Diets so you do it safely and effectively!

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GIF source: Book

The post The Flexitarian Diet Plan: The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Semi-Vegetarianism first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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