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It’s time to learn how to portion control!
There are all sorts of “tips” and “tricks” out there, but today we’re going to show you the best method.
What makes me so confident?
For many of our Online Coaching clients, we create portion control strategies for weight loss that don’t suck. Today, we’ll share them with you too!
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s do this thang!
As you might know from our “How to lose weight” guide, the key to sustainable weight loss is getting ourselves to consume fewer calories in a way that doesn’t make us miserable.
Because our brains and bodies are complicated emotional disasters, there are some tips and tricks we can implement to protect us from…ourselves.
All of these methods will work to some extent, and they’re good to keep in mind and also practice.
However, nothing will get more consistent results than actually learning the number of calories in the food you eat (Portion Control Tip #5)!
This is our number one recommendation for how to lose weight.
Study[4] after study[5] after study[6] shows that our bodies obey the laws of thermodynamics and that in order to lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume regularly.
However, as we point out in our Calories In, Calories Out guide, determining your exact “calories in” can be a real pain. Not only that, but many people with certain personality traits can become neurotic about tracking every single calorie. They worry if they go 1 calorie over their daily allotment.
So, what’s a nerd to do?
Unless you’re going to weigh out all your food (something I’ve done before) and be militant about tracking, is it possible to “track” your food with a high level of accuracy without having it take over your life?
The answer: yes, by getting darn good at estimating!
You already carry with you the best method for portion control.
Your hands!
Even if you have robot hands.
We’re going to use them to build a healthy plate, as shown above.
The “Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate” was originally published in our Guide to Healthy Eating, which was inspired by our friends over at Precision Nutrition.
We’re not going to worry about being exact.
It’s really hard to be precise anyway.[7]
However, using your hands as a tool for portion control provides a “good enough” strategy that can help your food intake:
As you can see, we’re going to focus our portion control strategy on:
Each macronutrient will correspond to an area of your hand, to give you a sense of what a proper portion size should be.
We’ve learned that using your hand as a guide is the most helpful strategy for portion control:
However, having an intuitive sense of what foods should be eaten in what portions will help you level up your healthy eating.
When in doubt, match the food in front of you to your hand and carry on.
Let’s break this down a little by talking about protein and veggies.
The above video is taken from Nerd Fitness Prime, as part of our NF Kitchen series.
In it, Coach Lauren and Justin discuss the two most important parts of every meal:
Here’s something that might seem counterintuitive: our #1 recommendation for portion control isn’t about limiting food. Instead, make sure you get a proper serving of protein and vegetables every time you sit down to eat.
In other words, when you begin your healthy eating journey, don’t even worry about nixing any specific food. Just make sure you are leaving plenty of room for protein and vegetables.
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm:
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
Not a meat-eater? Read our massive plant-based guide!
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist:
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill half your plate:
When it comes to learning portion control, start by making sure you eat enough protein and vegetables.
How much?
As we discuss in our protein guide, when building a plate aim for the following amount of protein:
For vegetables, in practice you can probably eat as much as you can stomach (the fiber will likely slow you down), but aim for about 2 fist fulls at most meals, or about half your plate.[9]
Don’t like veggies? I was once like you. Check out 10 ways to make vegetables taste good.
Here’s why you should prioritize protein and vegetables if you’re struggling with portion control:
In the video that kicks off this section, Coach Justin makes a great point: aim for a little better than you are today.
Meaning if you don’t really plan your meals at all, start by having ONE meal include a good protein source and some veggies.
So maybe you make chicken stir-fry this week.
Once you have that win under your belt, you can aim for doing a little bit more next week (TWO meals that include protein and veggies).
We’ll close out today’s guide with some more ideas on how to get going.
Before we get there, we need to talk about what else can go into your healthy plate.
After making room on your plate for protein and vegetables, what’s next?
As Coach Lauren and Justin mention in the Nerd Fitness Prime video above, it’s time to include some healthy carbohydrates and fats!
Depending on what fitness camp you find yourself in and your history of “dieting,” eating carbs and fats might make you nervous.
But as Coach Lauren points out, they have a purpose on our healthy plate! You just need to portion them out correctly.
A serving of carbohydrates is about two hands cupped together:
If it’s uncooked, it’s about half the size, so one cupped hand.
Examples of healthy carbohydrates:
You also want to make sure you’re including healthy fat in your diet too.
Fat is actually the most calorically dense macronutrient, so comparatively it’ll take up less room on your hand.
Here is a serving of fat, roughly the size of your thumb!
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
The reason people call it “healthy” is because the fat is unsaturated, although science has recently come around on saturated fat too in the correct amounts.[14]
We cover this in detail in our Guide to the Keto Diet.
Saturated fats can come from things like:
When it comes to portion control, we need to pay close attention to carbohydrates and fats, because this is where people have the tendency to overeat.
However, that doesn’t mean we want to completely ditch both food groups either.
Here’s why you need to eat these two macronutrients:
Just be careful here.
When we analyze the diets of our coaching clients who can’t seem to lose weight, it’s almost always because they are overeating carbs or fats.
If you find yourself in this group, take a look at your hand the next time you sit down to eat:
Remember: you don’t have to get this perfect. You just need to be pretty good most of the time.
Even just consciously thinking about if your portion sizes are under or over is a great start.
And as long as you are consistent with your measuring techniques, then you can adjust your portions based on your progress!
You might also find some special plates or containers helpful when serving yourself.
One hack Coach Justin uses is simple Tupperware containers to portion control his meals:
You can also use some glass containers too if you want to get fancy:
Don’t stress about finding the perfect container that exactly holds each macronutrient you need.
The point here is that you have a quick frame of reference for portion sizes:
Again, don’t stress if your container doesn’t fit this description exactly. We’re all working off estimates here, so let’s focus on the big picture.
These are some cool glass containers if you’re looking for something to buy.
An area of concern when attempting to portion control is dining out.
It seems like restaurants serve you twice the amount of food that you need.
Here’s what Coach Justin does in the situation: ask for a to-go box as soon as you place your order.
Yeah, it’s a little weird, but as soon as you get your food, place half of it in the container.
Boom! An extra meal for later.
Another thing to consider: restaurants want you to leave feeling full.
They often do this by piling on the carbs. Think extra bread, lots of rice, plenty of pasta, etc.
So it might make sense to split these portions in two, and you’re set for lunch the next day.
Also, if you get hungry after eating only half your meal, no problem. Just eat the other half. Even if you’re still at the restaurant.
The point is to consciously think about how much you’re eating. A break halfway through can be used as a decision tree:
Should I keep eating?
This question alone can help with portion control.
One last thing: we know eating out at restaurants is often a family or friend bonding experience, so we’d prefer you ENJOY the night. Food is more than just calories.
Just plan for it! If you eat a really large dinner for a celebration, eat slightly smaller portions for the next day or so and your body will be right back on track.
In the video above, Coach Lauren and Justin walk you through eating a Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate IRL (In Real Life).
It’s all well and good to build a healthy plate at home, but…
Here are some tips from the Coaches for portion control IRL:
The trick here is to pack in as many vegetables as you can. Yeah, you’re probably not going to get two fist fulls in, but you can squeeze in a lot of spinach, onion, sauerkraut, and tomato (yeah, it’s technically a fruit, whatevs) on your sandwich.
Boom.
You now have a turkey sandwich that matches our healthy plate strategy.
This can be a little tougher when everything is mixed together.
If you’re making it yourself, perhaps you measure out your hand portions as you cook.
Sure, maybe you’re doing less than two fistfuls of vegetables, and more than a cupped hand of carbs (beans).
It doesn’t matter. Again, the point is you’re putting a little thought into proper portions.
If you’re eating out and ordering soup or chili, maybe just think of the end product in mind:
“After portioning everything out, it should be about two fistfuls of food. So that’s what I’ll eat. Everything else I’ll take home.”
This is a little trickier because pizza is mostly bread (carbs).
But Coach Justin has a solution for this.
First, he eats something he’s proud of, like a salad.
Then he portions out his pizza, which if he uses his hand strategy, would be about two slices:
Is it perfect?
Nope.
Does it help Coach Justin reach his goals and allow him to still enjoy life?
Yep!
So experiment a little by creating some rough guidelines, see how you feel, and course-correct as you go.
Remember, any step you take on leveling up your nutrition is great.
If you don’t know where to start, I actually recommend you begin by not worrying about what to take OFF your plate, but instead what to add!
Make sure every meal you eat has a healthy protein source and a vegetable. Once you have that dialed in, THEN you can worry about portion controlling your carbs and fat.
If you need help along the way, we got you.
Here are three ways to continue your journey with Nerd Fitness.
#1) Our Online Coaching program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
As I said before, we teach portion control to our clients who struggle with overeating, so we’ll provide a non-judgmental expert to help you reach your goals.
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:
#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 portion control while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our 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 have any tips or tricks for portion control?
Do you use the hand strategy that we covered today?
What’s your biggest challenge with portion sizes?
Let us know in the comments!
-Steve
PS: If you’re just starting your weight loss journey, make sure you check out:
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If the sight of a plate of broccoli makes you gag, this post is for you!
We’ll turn any “Veggie Hater” into a “Vegetable Lover” by showing you how to make a plate full of greens not taste like a wet gym sock [1].
If you’ve been a picky eater your whole life (I didn’t eat veggies until 22!), our guide today will help level up your taste buds!
We work closely with our Online Coaching Clients to help them find their gateway vegetables, and I even picked our coaches’ brains to get their favorite tactics in this guide too.
By the end of this guide, I’m going to have you excited to eat vegetables, and ready to take the “NF Veggie Challenge”:
Alright, let’s do this.
As Coach Staci mentions above, eating a vegetable once a day is something we recommend all our coaching clients do.
Yeah, I know…you’ve probably been told since you were a toddler to “Eat your vegetables! They’re good for you.”
But do you really know WHY veggies are good for you?
Let me jump into a few reasons why they kick ass.
1) Vegetables are nutrient-dense. It should be no surprise that Popeye turned to a vegetable when he needed a power-up.
Think of vegetables as one of our body’s most efficient fuel sources: they are packed full of vital macro and micronutrients.
Just take a look at our article on how to eat healthy – it should be no surprise that vegetables take up half the plate in our “healthy plate” strategy.
Simply put: vegetables are the backbone of any solid diet.
2) They fill you up, without “filling you up.”
Ever seen what 200 calories worth of broccoli looks like (courtesy of WiseGeek)?
It’s the size of a grocery bag compared to 200 calories of a Snickers:
If you are feeling hungry but don’t want to overeat, choose a vegetable.
Kind of hard to overeat when you’re eating carrots or celery!
We’ve found this strategy is super helpful for those trying to lose weight. In fact, eating more veggies helped Brian lose over 75 pounds!
3) Veggies keep your body operating at max efficiency. Vegetables are a great way to keep your…um…indoor plumbing…functioning properly.
Adding a vegetable or two to each meal (or blending them up in a smoothie) is a great way to keep things working right.
Seriously: you will notice a considerable difference after adding veggies to your diet regularly.
4) They CAN be delicious! It’s all in how they are prepared. As a former veggie hater, I am now firmly on “Team Vegetable.”
A plate full of veggies used to make me want to gag, and now I’m thrilled at the idea of a plate covered in a cornucopia (what a great word, right?) of multicolored fruits and veggies.
“Ok, Steve, I know vegetables are good for me, but I just don’t like them. HALP!”
Here’s how you can get over your vegetable-aversion and get started.
When I was 22 I proudly proclaimed that I was mostly “carnivore” and boycotted veggies.
Essentially, I ate things like chicken, hamburgers, pizza, pasta, french fries, rice, and not much else.
In my mind, all vegetables were disgusting, but the reality was that I hadn’t really tried many.
Don’t be like me.
We’re going to stop saying “I don’t like vegetables!”
Instead, we’ll say: “I haven’t found a vegetable that I LIKE…yet.”
HOW I FOUND MY GATEWAY VEGETABLE: I started using “20 Seconds of Courage” to try a new vegetable whenever the stakes were low, even if it was a TINY amount:
MISSION #1: Commit to try and find your gateway vegetable.
Before any new vegetable experience, clear your mind, Neo.
Instead of ALREADY expecting to hate it, change your mindset.
Instead of “This is gonna be gross,” I said, “Let’s see!”
If you’re out to dinner with family and you see a veggie you want to try on your significant other’s plate, ask and try a small bite!
Want to try and prepare a new vegetable at home? See the next section.
What if you try a vegetable and it makes you gag? Who cares! You found a veggie you don’t like. I’m proud of you for TRYING it. On to the next one!
My gateway vegetable: Asparagus.
After trying some bacon-wrapped asparagus while out at a fancy steak dinner, I realized “hey, this is one vegetable that actually doesn’t taste terrible!”
Of course, it didn’t hurt that it was literally WRAPPED IN BACON!
Next, I tried crunchy asparagus without the bacon wrapping, and it was STILL delicious to me.
And thus, I had found my gateway vegetable.
For my first year as an omnivore, asparagus was the only vegetable I ate.
Once I had gotten over the mental block that “all vegetables are gross,” it was time to branch out and repeat the process with other vegetables.
Let’s do the same for you.
First and foremost, buying vegetables can be daunting:
For starters, here are just some of the vegetables that are Nerd Fitness approved.
MISSION #2: Pick ONE of these 25 vegetables and bring it home with you.
Who cares if you don’t know how to cook it yet. Pick one, and bring it home. Baby steps!
NOTE: we’re not counting tubers (potatoes and sweet potatoes), legumes (beans), or corn.
Those foods do have a place on our healthy plate (shown below), but today is all bout finding low-calorie, high-energy leafy vegetables.
1) PICK A FRESH VEGETABLE: Use this wonderful guide on how to select fresh and tasty veggies at the grocery store.
Don’t overthink this or panic: you’re more likely than not going to pick out good veggies (provided you’re going to a reputable grocery store), but having a bit of confidence in what you’re doing can help too.
Here are a few examples of what to look for:
Noticing a trend? You want FIRM vegetables, not soggy or squishy ones. Just start there, and look for the veggies that seem healthy to you. You can always get better at judging vegetable quality later.
2) CONSIDER PRE-CUT VEGGIES: If you’re worried about picking out fresh vegetables – I know this can be intimidating – look into buying pre-cut bags of vegetables! I personally love buying pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower, and bags of Brussels sprouts.
These are generally on the wall next to the fresh veggies, and might cost slightly more than the produce you bag up yourself.
That’s because a lot of the work is DONE FOR YOU!
I’m all for anything that reduces the number of steps between you and “veggies in your tummy:”
3) LEARN HOW LONG YOU HAVE TO EAT THE VEGGIE:
Once you’ve bought your veggies, use StillTasty.com, to figure out how long you can leave them in your fridge:
Generally speaking, you’ll be good if you cook a vegetable within 3 days of bringing it home: you can batch cook large quantities and then you’ll have MANY more days before the food goes bad.
If you’re NOT sure if you can still cook a veggie, or if it’s gone bad…give it a smell. If it smells funky, or you’re not quite sure…
Here’s a sentence my mom taught me when I started cooking for myself: “When in doubt, throw it out.”
Next time, just cook it sooner!
I can tell you eating rotten vegetables is NOT the path to liking them more.
4) CONSIDER FROZEN VEGETABLES: I always have multiple bags of frozen spinach on hand in my freezer, but it’s not because I prepare spinach regularly – I hide frozen spinach in my daily smoothies and I can’t even taste it!
In addition to frozen spinach, I also keep a few bags of microwaveable frozen veggies on hand too in case I need to quickly add a veggie to my healthy plate but don’t want to actually cook a vegetable.
I’m a huge fan of “steamfresh” bags or similar because preparing them is easy as hell:
Most of these only require you throwing the bag into the microwave, opening it, and putting it on your plate.
5) CHECK OUT CANNED VEGETABLES!
They might not be as fresh as regular veggies, and there might be preservatives added to keep them from going bad, but I’d prefer you trying out canned vegetables to no vegetables at all!
Popeye eats canned spinach and he turned out okay.
Honestly, I don’t care WHICH path you pick, or which vegetable you pick…as long you commit to picking one and bringing it home with you from the grocery store.
Even if you’re committed to trying more veggies (and I’m proud of you for that), it still might not solve the problem that you dislike the taste or texture.
This is the problem we encounter with many of our Online Coaching Clients: they are committed to eating vegetables, but they’re struggling with taste and texture.
Fortunately, we have a TEAM of Coaches with dozens of success stories from their clients who have learned to like vegetables with some clever tactics:
Essentially, it comes down to “hide them, blend them, pair them, or cover them!”
Here are our Coaching Staff’s 8 Favorite Ways to Make Vegetables Taste Good:
1) Change their state! I don’t enjoy raw broccoli nearly as much as I do steamed broccoli.
And that’s not even it’s final form! Give me a plate full of roasted broccoli covered in “Everything but the Bagel” seasoning from Trader Joes, and it’s Veggie Valhalla.
If you don’t like a particular vegetable yet, try preparing it a different way! From raw to steamed to baked to grilled to sautéed in bacon grease (see #4) to blended, you have so many options!
2) Blend them up! Add frozen spinach or kale to your protein shake smoothies. This is my personal favorite, and is part of the reason I get so many servings of vegetables every day.
Here’s my post-strength training workout smoothie:
Believe it or not, adding frozen spinach (or kale) doesn’t really change the taste AND you can get an extra serving of vegetables without trying.
That’s one extra daily serving of a super veggie!
3) Make a combo bite with a food you like: If you can learn to cook something like chicken stir fry, you can make sure that every vegetable bite also has plenty of rice and chicken.
You can do the same if you make mini potatoes, chicken, and broccoli. Get some of each on the fork with each bite for a really healthy plate!
Then, over time you can reduce the amounts of the other foods and increase the amount of the vegetable until you actually enjoy the taste of JUST the vegetable!
Here are some ideas to try to squeeze in some extra veggies with every mouthful of food:
4) Cover them in cheese! As we cover in our “healthy eating” guide, we have no problem with cheese in your diet, provided you’re keeping your calorie intake in line with your daily calorie energy expenditure!
If you want to sprinkle Parmesan cheese on some broccoli florets, go for it!
You can also melt some cheese onto your veggies!
Like anything you eat, just make sure you account for those calories in your planning!
5) Wrap it in bacon. Seriously. Bacon makes everything better.
Want to learn to like asparagus? Wrap it in bacon (see #5)!
Here’s another great way to eat some veggies add bacon (courtesy of Team NF Coach Staci):
6) Spice it up! You don’t need to just eat plain boring broccoli and steamed asparagus. Try adding some spices or hot sauce to your foods to change the taste.
Here are some of our favorites:
Here’s our guide to Spice Up Any Meal. Literally, for more.
7) Pretend they are other foods! There are lots of options like this:
8) Dunk them! Who needs chips? Pssh. You can dunk broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, or carrot sticks in hummus or guacamole.
Think of the vegetable as the delivery vehicle for your favorite dunking food!
9) Add small amounts of spinach, chard, or kale to your homemade chili or guacamole. You won’t notice the difference in the taste, and you’re sneaking extra vegetables into your meals.
I know a coaching client who got started with vegetables by adding them to low carb soups and his homemade chili.
10) Douse them in something you do love. Whether it’s ranch dressing, blue cheese, buffalo sauce, or any other sauce or condiment you enjoy, dunk those veggies and get those greens in your system!
Sure, If the sauce you’re using is really high calorie then this isn’t a long-term strategy, but we can work on that.
For now, we’re building the habit of eating vegetables. Use less sauce each week moving forward.
You can also consider lower-calorie dressings, sauces, and dips to spice things up. And you can never go wrong with hot sauce.
All of the above examples accomplish the same goal:
Getting more vegetables into your system.
This makes your stomach happy, your mother happy, and Popeye happy.
Want to work hand-in-hand (virtually) with a coach that will actually get you to eat your vegetables?
Need a brainstorm partner to find clever ways to “Trojan Horse” some veggies into your stomach?
“Okay Steve, just give me some options and tell me what to do!”
FINE!
Here are some easy and delicious options for getting started with your first vegetable:
#1) Steamed broccoli
Level 1: Steamfresh bag in the microwave: Steamfresh veggies come in a package that you can throw in the microwave for five minutes, add seasoning, and that’s it.
Add butter or any seasoning like salt and pepper, and eat it with a protein for a healthy meal!
Level 2: Steam broccoli yourself in the microwave:
Level 3: Steam broccoli on the stove:
2) Roasted vegetables. Works with bell peppers, asparagus, carrots, onions, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, etc:
Roasted veggies can taste very different from steamed and raw veggies (they get crispier and a little sweeter because they caramelize in the oven).
Take your pick of vegetable:
And make roasted veggies:
Don’t overthink this: You can use more olive oil or use less. You can use more salt or use less. You can leave them in there a few minutes longer. Just cut them up, drizzle, and plop them in!
Here’s my recipe for stupidly simple roasted asparagus:
DONE. Crunchy, delicious, and nutritious.
Plus, I felt like a 5-star chef!
#3) Sautéed Vegetables: Cooked on the stovetop! Simple, delicious.
Zucchini and squash both taste great with just a little oil and salt, and are super easy to prepare.
You can choose to:
Throw the slices into a pan with some olive oil on medium-high heat for about five minutes until they become soft and lighter in color.
All of these options can be paired with basically any protein for a delicious and healthy meal (or eaten as a healthy, stand-alone snack!).
If you attempt to cook a vegetable and burn them to a crisp and “fail,” I’ll still be proud of you. We all suck at stuff the first time, so the sooner we get those first few attempts out the way, we can get to “not sucky,” and then…
One day…
We’ll actually get pretty good at preparing vegetables!
“Steve! What are the best-tasting vegetables!?”
Great question.
You’re a unique snowflake, and so are your tastebuds.
They will evolve and change as you evolve and change.
So the best advice I can give you is to try lots of veggies, prepared lots of different ways.
Microwaved Brussels sprouts might be soggy and unappetizing, but take the same veggie, cooked in bacon fat and roasted in the oven?
MMMMMM!
So try multiple veggies, in multiple ways, as part of multiple meals. Keep trying until you find a variation you like!
A final note: the point of eating more vegetables is to fill your plate with low-calorie but nutrient-dense food. It’ll make you a healthier nerd, I promise.
If you’re still overwhelmed at the thought of eating veggies, or you’ve always struggled to stick to a diet for any meaningful amount of time, you are NOT alone.
It’s why we’ve created three key services that help people lose weight, get stronger, and live better:
#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: Get personalized nutrition advice that won’t scare you and handcrafted workouts from a coach that gets to know you. We’ve heard “this program is the first time I’ve ever been 100% honest with another human being about my struggles with food.”
#2) If you want an exact blueprint for eating more vegetables and upgrading 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 more greens while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Nerd Fitness 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:
NOW, Are you up for the Nerd Fitness Veggie Challenge?
For the next four weeks, I want you to try ONE new vegetable each week:
Leave a comment and let us know!
We’d love to hear from you:
If you hate vegetables, what are you taking away from today’s post?
Do you have a clever way to get more vegetables into your diet? Share please!
What’s keeping you from starting to eat vegetables, and how can we help?
-Steve
PS: Make sure you read the rest of our healthy eating content!
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The rowing machine – it’s so hot right now.
Rowing classes are everywhere. It’s easy to find professional and Olympic athletes hyping up the machine’s ability to provide a full-body workout.
All well and good…but how do you actually use the thing?
Well my friend, you’ve come to the right place to find out.
Many clients in our Online Coaching Program tell us they want to start rowing, but they don’t know how. Today, we’ll explain how we get them going with row machine workouts.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Alright, you ready?
Let’s row, row, row your rower.
In the video above, Coach Staci explains the ins and outs of using a rowing machine.
What? Who’s Staci?
Welp, she’s a Senior Coach here at Nerd Fitness and an all-around badass powerlifter.
She also knows a thing or two about using a rowing machine, since she’s gotten several CrossFit certs (they love the rowing machine at CrossFit).
If you’re going to learn about using a rowing machine, she’s not a bad person to talk to.
But first, let’s back up here a bit…
The rowing machine was originally invented for water rowers to train offseason.
You might hear the indoor rowing machine called an ergometer, or “erg” or “ergo.” They get this name since rowing machines often measure the energy produced from the workout in units of ergs.
They’ve grown in popularity, because of the many benefits offered by this one stationary machine.
For example, the rowing machine offers:
Alright, let’s now go over some terminology so you know what’s what with the ergometer.
When it comes to the rowing machine, there’s some vocabulary that would be worth discussing quickly.
First, let’s chat about the rower itself.
#1) Foot Plate – no matter the rower, there will be a place for you to strap your feet in.
You’ll want to set your feet so that the strap goes over the ball of your foot. This will allow you to have the most powerful stroke.
You should be able to lift your heel in this position.
#2) Handle – also called “the bar.” This replicates the handles of an oar.
Your hands should be approximately shoulder-width apart.
#3) Rail – the central beam of the rower, which allows the seat to roll forward and back.
#4) Display Monitor – while these will differ from model to model, the rower will normally have a screen to show some basic info:
Etc.
For the Concept2 model – the rower Coach Staci demonstrates above – you can hit any button and select “Just Row.”
This will be the easiest way to get going.
#5) The Damper – The lever on the side of the flywheel housing (or fan cage) that controls airflow.
The difference in Damper settings:
Think of this sort of like bicycle gears – it affects how the rowing feels but does not necessarily reflect the resistance:
We recommended you aim for a Damper setting between 3 and 5 (which is also where most competitive rowers have it).
Note: some indoor rowers use a water tank to create resistance, so any similar Damper setting controls the amount of water moving through the system. You can still use the same recommendations for damper numbers.
More on that here:
Next, let’s talk about some terminology for the sport of rowing itself.
Rowing has been around for centuries and a lot of the vocabulary has carried over to the indoor sport.
#1) Split
Split time refers to the time it takes to row 500 meters, also known as the “split per 500.” This will likely be shown prominently on your Display Monitor.
If the number goes down, it means you’re going faster! Woot.
#2) Strokes Per Minute (SPM)
This is also called Stroke Rating and it’s exactly what it sounds like: the number of strokes you take per minute.
A higher SPM doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going faster – you can also go faster by putting more power into each stroke.
#3) Paddle (or Rest)
Normally in the sport of rowing, you never stop completely. You just row or “paddle” a little bit easier.
Sort of like you do in HIIT workouts.
However, if you need to stop completely in your workout, don’t stress it. It’s fine to even get off the rower from time to time…it’s not actually a boat.
You do you.
Next, we need to discuss the four parts of the rowing stroke, but we’ll jump to a new section for that.
The rowing stroke is broken out into four parts:
It’ll look like this:
Let’s cover each.
This is the start of the stroke:
Like so:
This puts us in the ideal position to generate power.
As the name would suggest, this is where we’ll be driving and generating power for the stroke.
The order in which we generate power is key:
It’ll look like this:
They should blend smoothly right into each other, so a good reminder is:
A great drill to practice the Drive:
Start with JUST the legs:
THEN the legs and a slight backward lean with the body:
FINALLY, the legs, body, and arm pull together:
This can be done with or without the rowing handle.
Common mistakes with the Drive:
A) Pulling hard with the arms first. We’ll see the elbows bend early. This greatly decreases the amount of power we can put into the stroke.
We want to keep the arms straight and wait until the handle passes the knees BEFORE we first bend the arms.
B) Letting the body pull forward while we’re driving with the legs.
Instead, we want to keep a strong and stable midsection so that we can go smoothly from the leg drive to the body lean.
This will be our position after the Drive:
It’ll look like this:
A great drill to practice the Finish: just work on the arm motion.
Keep the legs extended and lean back slightly. Then pull with just the arms.
Common mistakes with the Finish:
A) Shrug the shoulders up by the ears.
This is often accompanied by bent wrists and chicken wing arms.
Instead, we want the shoulders down and the elbows closer to the sides, with enough space between the arms and body for a grapefruit to fit.
B) Pulling the handle too high – to the neck or face.
We want the handle down at the solar plexus, not up orbiting in the solar system!
C) Leaning back too far – we’re not trying to perform the one-person luge here!
We only need to lean back slightly, at about an 11 o’clock position.
This is how we return back to the starting position.
Common mistakes with the Recovery: Bending the legs too early when recovering from the stroke. You’ll know you’re doing this when you have to lift the handle up and over the knees.
Instead, wait for the handle to PASS the knees before fully bending the legs.
There you have it, the four parts of the rowing stroke.
You’ll get better at this as you go, I promise.
Rowing is like golf: the relentless pursuit of the perfect stroke.
One way to check your form would be to record yourself doing a rowing stroke.
If it looks close to the gifs and videos found in this guide, you’re doing great!
Oh, and if you want an expert to review your form, you can do so in our snazzy Coaching app.
You can learn more here:
A rowing machine can fit into our workout in all sorts of ways.
We can row:
If you want to give the rowing machine a whirl, including it as part of your warm-up wouldn’t be a bad idea. Since it’s a full-body exercise, it’s a great way to prep our body for the workout ahead.
To warm up with the rower, aim for about 5-10 minutes at a steady pace.
Once you get the hang of the rower, you can look to incorporate it with some of these ideas:
#1) Interval Training
Interval training or HIIT is all about flipping between intensity.
Going hard one moment, then resting another.
So after your warm-up, you could row intensely for two minutes, rest or “paddle” for a minute or two, then back to intensity.
A fun way to do this is to build up the duration and then pull it back with a “Meter Pyramid.”
To Row a Meter Pyramid:
If you start this off with a 5-minute warm-up, it’ll take about 37 minutes.
#2) Circuit Training
You could also mix in some other exercises as part of your rowing workout. Flipping between rowing and some bodyweight exercises, for example.
Here’s an example Row Machine Workout Circuit:
Repeat.
We could aim for 3-4 circuits here, but even 1-2 is a great start.
#3) Steady State
This is exactly what it sounds like: rowing at a constant pace.
After a warm-up, find a pace that you can stay with. Then stay with it.
A good frame of mind here would be about 50% of your effort, but don’t overthink this.
Put on a good podcast or your favorite playlist, find a Stroke Rate you can maintain for 10-30 minutes, and get rowing.
You can pretend you’re in a competition if it helps!
Also, mix and match! The important thing is that you’re doing some type of workout. Don’t fret if it doesn’t fit into the exact format you find here or on other websites.
For more ideas here, check out How to Build Your Own (Full-Body) Workout.
There you have it, my friend.
You now have everything you need to get started rowing.
Don’t overstress if you’re not doing anything 100% right as you start.
Like anything, you’ll get better at it as you go.
Plus, it’s not like you’ll be ejected into the water from an indoor rower.
But, if down the road you do want to take it outside, there are all sorts of leagues and clubs you can join.
It could be a great way to get out and make friends!
Granted, you’ll need SOME type of body of water around you, but if you live next to a lake or large river, there’s likely a team out there that would love to meet you.
Practice indoors for a bit, then take 20 seconds of courage to put yourself out there.
What’s 20 seconds of courage?
We explain it all to you in this video:
Oh, and if you want to continue having Nerd Fitness propel your journey, here are three ways we can help:
#1) Our Online Coaching Program: a coaching program for busy people to help them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier, permanently.
If ever you come across a snazzy piece of equipment and what to learn how to use it, your very own coach can help you!
Plus, they can guide your nutrition and help you level up all areas of your life.
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:
#2) If you want an exact roadmap for building a full-body workout, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app tells you exactly what days to exercise, what days to rest, and helps you track it all so you know if it’s working for you.
Interested?
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our Rebel Starter Kit, which includes all of our “work out at home” guides, our Strength Training 101 eBook, and much more!
Now, your turn:
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
###
Photo source: vadymvdrobot © 123RF.com, Legoland Somerville (Boston), indoor rower, nd3000 © 123RF.com, malkovkosta © 123RF.com.
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Strength training will change your life.
If you want to lose weight, gain muscle, and/or just look and feel better, strength training will do just that.[1]
In this comprehensive series, we’re going to cover EVERYTHING you need to know about getting strong.
By the way, hi. I’m Staci Ardison, Senior Coach for Team NF, with a 455 pound deadlift, and strength training has changed my life.
Here’s that deadlift by the way (at a bodyweight of 150 lbs):
I help men and women get strong with our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and in addition to this strength series, I’d love for our team to help you get strong too:
In this introduction to Strength and Resistance Training, we’ll cover:
This is also quite a lot to absorb, so we’ve combined this article along with the rest of our strength articles into a “Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know” guide.
Grab it free when you join the Rebellion by putting your email in the box below.
Life is EASIER when you’re strong:
Plus, whether you’re 100 lbs overweight or just need to lose the last 15, strength training is one of the most effective ways to burn fat and build muscle.[2]
Let’s get the long term benefits out of the way.
#1) Halt and even reverse sarcopenia: As we age our skeletal muscle deteriorates, which is a condition known as sarcopenia. Strength training has been found to reduce the negative effects of sarcopenia allowing us to maintain an independent lifestyle (and out of a nursing home) and live longer.[3]
#2) Prevent disease and degenerative conditions:[4a] Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women.
Strength training helps correct issues relating to cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and inactivity – all factors for heart disease.
Cardiologists are even starting to recommend strength training for people who have suffered a heart attack as little as three weeks after the attack.[4b]
#3) Improve the quality of life for people with: arthritis,[5] osteoporosis,[6] Parkinson’s Disease,[7] Down Syndrome,[8] lymphedema,[9] fibromyalgia,[10] who have recently had a stroke,[11] have had a spinal cord injury,[12] cancer survivors[13] and clinical depression.[14] Clinical exercise physiologists working with these special populations listed above strongly recommend incorporating strength training to slow down the progression of their disease or disorder, decrease their risk for other comorbidities, and decrease their risk for premature mortality.[15]
Now, in addition to making life easier LATER, strength training has a lot of great benefits right now.
#1) Lose weight, look good naked: You can find study[16] after study[17] after study[18] that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management when combined with “calorie restriction.”(eating fewer calories than you burn every day), such as greater fat loss and improvements in muscle mass. Additionally, the combination of these two behaviors also decreases one’s risk for the development of chronic diseases (e.g., CVD) and premature mortality.[19]
#2) Strength training can help increase your metabolism by speeding up your Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR).[20] It takes your body more calories to maintain muscle than it does to maintain fat!
#3) Strength training has a much greater level of excess post-exercise oxygen consumption than aerobic exercise.[21]
What does this mean?
When you finish a workout, your body needs to do a lot of work to replenish itself in order to bring itself back to a normal state (the way it was before you worked out). This takes a lot of energy, and some studies have shown that it can boost your metabolism for up to 38 hours after you finish your workout. If you do your resistance training quickly, minimizing rest intervals in-between sets, you can actually increase this effect.[22]
This is why it’s important to stay off of the phone in-between sets!
If you want to learn more about how to do this, check out our Guide to Circuit Training.
In addition to physical improvements, strength training will improve your next doctor’s visit.
#1) Strength training increases bone density, builds a stronger heart, reduces your resting blood pressure, improves blood flow, halts muscle loss, helps control blood sugar, improves cholesterol levels, and improves your balance and coordination.[23] This is all great news because this will decrease your risk of developing conditions such as osteoporosis, hypertension, and type 2 diabetes.
#2) Strength training will make you FEEL better: Not only will you find yourself with more energy and confidence, less stress and anxiety,[24] and a better overall mood,[25] but you’ll actually begin to think better (resistance training has been proven to help increase cognitive function[26]).
You may be asking how this is possible?
Strength training allows for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity to take place, which is the process of creating new neural pathways in the brain.
Plus, strength training also allows for certain neurotransmitters (e.g., dopamine) to be released that plays a role in brain health.[27]
And while training too close to bedtime can be a bad idea, exercising earlier in the day has been proven to help prevent sleep apnea and insomnia.[28]
But wait, there’s more!
I even improved my posture from strength training – when I started lifting, I was 5’4”. Now I’m 5’5.5”.[29]
This is also a major concern for today because of prolonged cell phone use, which finds people constantly tilting their head forward and down resulting in neck pain and faulty posture.[30]
#3) Last but not least, strength training is fun! Whether you are looking for the most effective 20-30 minute workout (to stay fit and look great naked), or are looking for a competitive sport that you can really get into, strength training can help you meet your goals.[31]
It’s easy and fun to see progress as you strength train, almost like leveling up (“You gained 100xp and +1 STR with your deadlift today”).
If you’re looking to improve in other areas (a sport, traditional cardio, or an activity like rock climbing), strength training is an easy choice! Strength training will help keep you injury free too.[32]
We have coaching clients from 18 to 80+, and we work on strength training with practically every single one of them due to just how many benefits it provides! We’d love to work with you too:
Trying to be balanced, I wanted to find studies of a single group of people who should not strength train.
But it didn’t go so well…
Oh, and if you think you’re too old, I promise that you are not.
And thus I’ve decided, not knowing you, you should probably strength train.
IMPORTANT CAVEAT: if you do fall into any of these special populations (e.g., paraplegics, children, pregnant women, etc.) it is imperative that you work with a qualified professional (e.g., clinical exercise physiologist, strength and conditioning coach, etc.).
These qualified professionals will perform a risk stratification and pre-assessments so they can start you off with the perfect training program that will improve your physical and mental health, and will decrease your risk for injury and prevent your condition from progressing to a more severe state.
Oh, and if you are already injured, you should check with a doctor[36] or physical therapist before strength training.
Long story short: EVERYBODY should strength train.
Robots too…probably.
It’s what we’re genetically designed to do: move around, push, pull, jump, and carry things.
“Strength training” of any kind can be explained by two things:
That’s strength training!
If you want 7 different ways to achieve progressive overload, watch this video:
All this means if you do 10 squats and 10 knee push-ups right now, you have completed a strength training workout.
Feel free to do this right now to give yourself a quick win.
And we’re back!
So what’s actually happening to our bodies when we strength train?
Let’s get on our magic school bus and learn about the wonders of muscles!
Here’s what you need to know your muscles and strength training:
We’ve got 642 muscles in our bodies (but who’s counting), and they all work together to help our bodies move, stand, and exist.
When you bend your arm, your biceps contract and your triceps do the opposite (elongate) in order to let your elbow bend.
Every muscle in your body works alongside other muscles to let you move and do things. In this particular example, the biceps is known as the agonist muscle and the triceps is the antagonist.
Strength training starts when you move your bodyweight (doing 10 push-ups), or pick up a weight (a 100 pound deadlift) that is beyond what your body is normally used to.
In other words:
Strength training finds you pushing your muscles outside of their comfort zone.
They “break down” and tear slightly during this workout, and then over the next 24-48 hours they rebuild themselves stronger and more resilient.[38]
This is the foundation of strength training, and it’s called hypertrophy, in which the individual muscle fibers packed into your muscles are growing larger in size.[39]
There are a few types of hypertrophy,[40] which you can nerd out about here (don’t worry, this won’t be on the quiz):
“Staci, what does this mean for me?” You might be wondering.
We cover exact strategies in our “How many sets and reps?” guide, but here’s what you need to know:
Strength train based on your goals!
If you are building your own workout:
Please note: each of these rep ranges are NOT exclusive – when you train in a higher rep range you’re not JUST getting size, you’re also getting strength.
And if you get really strong, it can also help you with size and endurance.
Don’t forget that no matter HOW you train, nutrition will be responsible for 90% of your results.
Three quick points (which we cover in more detail throughout the rest of this series):
#1) “How often should I work out?” For a basic strength program, working out 3-4 days a week is plenty.[41] This is one of those situations where more is not necessarily better.
#2) Recovery: The general rule is to wait 48 hours before working the same muscle group again. For example, if you trained your biceps and triceps today, then you should wait 48 hours before hitting them again. However, recovery is different for everyone depending on many different factors such as what the actual workout is, how old you are, your sleep quality, diet, and other recovery elements (such as massage, including the popular massage guns, foam rolling, and stretching).[42]
#3) Soreness after a workout: The day after an intense strength training workout – or 2 days after – you’re going to be VERY sore. This is called “Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness(DOMS)”. It’s a normal part of the process of repairing your muscles from the damage to the fibers you created while exercising. More recently, research evidence has found that the eccentric part of a lift, or the part of the lift in which the muscles are lengthening and stretching, produces the greatest degree of soreness.[43]
Expect to be more sore after doing an exercise for the first few workouts. As your muscles get used to that movement (and adapt to being put under stress), they will get less and less sore every time.
If you are sore, don’t skip the next workout!
That’s because:
The best way to alleviate soreness is to continue exercising.
This increases blood flow to the muscles and helps them heal.[44]
You can check out our Guide for Active Recovery for some tips on how to do that.
Already overwhelmed and just want to be told what to do? I hear you. It’s why we created our coaching program:
We get questions relating to weight loss and strength training all the time, and it’s a BIG part of this entire Strength 101 series.
Let me quickly address it here:
Fat and muscle are two different things – one can’t transform into the other.
We all have plenty of muscle right now (otherwise we wouldn’t be able to move, walk, sit up, etc.), the muscle is just hiding underneath a layer of body fat.
In order for us to lose weight and look better, we want to do two things:
And luckily, both of those things happen simultaneously through strength training!
So NO, you don’t need to lose weight first before you start strength training.
You will lose weight BY strength training (and keep the muscle you have).
You do NOT need to do hours of cardio for weight loss – weight loss is 90% a result of your nutrition. So honestly, you don’t need to ever set foot on a treadmill again (unless you WANT to).
Strength training will help you lose weight and look better IF you do two key things for effective weight loss:
As we cover in our “Why can’t I lose weight” article (full of fun Harry Potter references), combining a caloric deficit and strength training is magic:[45]
Just by doing those two things (get strong, reduce calories), all sorts of wizardry and witchcraft takes place in your body:
Yeah, you’re hearing me correctly.
Lose the body fat that sits on top of your muscles and you’ll make your muscles tighter and denser = look better without clothes on.
So how do you put this into practice?
Oh, what’s that? You just want somebody to tell you exactly how to train for your body, and how to eat for your goals?
Fine!
Check out our 1-on-1 Coaching Program – it’s helped thousands of people lose weight through strength training – and proper nutrition. We work with you on habit building and lifestyle design to actually get stuff done!
As we cover in our “am I too old to strength train” article, no – you are not.
I promise.
I cited dozens of studies above that show strength training is beneficial for people of all ages. And even for the frail elderly, studies have shown that drastic results are possible in just 10 weeks of weightlifting (for both men and women in their 70s through their 90s).[49]
In fact, weight training has also been shown to delay Alzheimer’s and stave off dementia.[50] As mentioned earlier, strength training allows for neurogenesis and neuroplasticity to take place, which is the process of creating new neural pathways in the brian. And, strength training also allows for the dopamine (i.e., neurotransmitter) to be released that plays a role in brain health.[51]
Research has also shown that older adults can safely engage in higher-intensity strength training resulting in improvements in strength, body composition, disease status, and independent lifestyle.[52]
So, if you think you might be “too old,” you’re probably the exact type of person that SHOULD be strength training!
Team NF’s Steve’s gramma is 89 and she strength trains. You are not too old!
We have plenty of coaching clients who are retired and just STARTING to strength train now in their 50s or 60s+. In fact one of our coaches, Kerry, is certified as a Functioning Aging Specialist, and you better believe she has her clients strength training!
By the way, if you are 90+ and reading Nerd Fitness, please email us at contact@nerdfitness.com – I’d love to hear from you 🙂
No (unless you are TRYING to get bulky).
Let me first address this from a women’s point of view, then I’ll get to the men.
“Fear of bulk” is one of the biggest myths surrounding women and strength training and it makes me a sad panda.
The images of “bulky” women that you are conjuring up are from bodybuilding magazines.
When I started strength training, I didn’t get bulky, I got lean:
And I’m just one example.
We have hundreds of examples here at Nerd Fitness.
These are women who strength trained to get strong and lean, not bulky. Like Leslie, who lost 100 pounds by getting strong:
Or Christina, who got strong as hell, lost 31 total inches, and now crushes sets of pull-ups!
That “bulky” look in women does not happen by mistake or overnight – we simply do not have the hormones necessary to get there on our own.
To achieve this look, women have to eat incredible amounts of food and consume incredible amounts of drugs.
When we strength train normally, without these supplements, we end up looking like athletes.
And for the men: if your fear is getting too bulky, you can rest easy. Steve, creator of Nerd Fitness, has spent his entire life trying to get “too bulky.” It was only after fixing his diet (and hiring an online coach) that he went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.
That’s right, strength training is only 10% of the “slim down or bulk up” equation. The other 90% is nutrition and total calories consumed.
“My focus is on running/basketball/quidditch and I need to stay slim! How do I strength train for this scenario?”
Studies have shown that strength training increases the endurance of your muscles.[55]
In fact, resistance training and weight training not only help to tune up an out of shape nervous system and increase the activation of motor units within your muscles, but also helps increase their overall endurance. More specifically, strength training can result in improvements in how much force muscles can generate and also how much fatigue they can resist leading to better exercise economy.[56]
Want to run your first 5K? Strength training will keep you injury free. One of our coaching clients, Aylette, used strength training to keep her injury free and she recently one a triathlon!
If you’re worried about getting too big, remember: there are many types of strength training (and alternate forms of strength training like acro yoga and rock climbing!), and size and strength don’t always go hand in hand.
You don’t ever have to set foot in a gym if you don’t want to.
Sure, gyms are great, as long as you join the right gym.
And we can also teach you how to train in a gym so you avoid that “lost sheep” feeling.
But they aren’t for everybody!
You can get really strong as hell doing just bodyweight exercises at home.
Remember how I talked about “progressive overload” earlier? That applies to bodyweight training too.
You just have to constantly increase the challenge your muscles face. Like moving from our Beginner Bodyweight Workout to our Advanced Bodyweight Workout.
And then advancing to handstands and even gymnastic ring muscle-ups.
You just have to keep challenging your muscles and get strong as heck.
Look at any gymnast, male or female – those physiques are built through bodyweight training!
To progress in bodyweight exercises, you need to start, so you have something to advance from. You can begin by trying our beginner bodyweight routine RIGHT NOW:
Do you know how to properly build a workout routine that has bodyweight exercises that properly scale up as you get stronger?
It’s super fun building your own program, but many people just want to follow a plan that they know is aligned with their goals. If you hate gyms and still want to get strong, let us help!
If you’re ready to start, fantastic.
We’d recommend a simple program to get your feet wet.[57] You know, to learn the movements, build some confidence and prove to yourself that you can DO this!
If you want to take the Next Step, here’s how Team Nerd Fitness (that’s us!) can help you:
1) Work with a professional Yoda! If you want confidence that you’re following a program that is tailor-made for your busy life, situation, and goals, check out our popular 1-on-1 Coaching Program.
You’ll work with a certified NF instructor who will get to know you better than you know yourself, keep you accountable, and help you reach your goals.
2) Join our amazing free community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! It’s free to join, and we provide you with free goodies like our Strength Training 101 ebook when you sign up:
3) Read ALL of the other amazing resources on Nerd Fitness. We’ve published millions of words over 800+ articles at Nerd Fitness that you can read, but these are the guides that will be the most helpful to you on your journey:
I don’t care which next step you pick, as long as you PICK a plan that works for you
Congratulations: You just made it through the first class of Strength Training 101!
What big questions do you have about strength training?
Has strength training worked for you?
How else can Team Nerd Fitness help you?
Now go pick up something heavy!
-Staci
PS – Please read part two, “5 Strength Training Workouts for Beginners!
PPS: Be sure to check out the rest of Strength Training 101 series too:
###
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Ugh, it’s time for yet another attempt at losing weight.
For some, losing weight is as simple as just looking at a vegetable.
For the rest of us mere mortals, it feels like running through quicksand.
Fortunately, helping people lose weight in a way that doesn’t suck is what we do!
And gosh darnit, we’re really good at it: we have thousands of success stories and 1 million+ people tune in each month for advice on this stuff.
We help our Online Coaching Clients lose weight without dieting, and these are the exact tactics we use.
I’m going to cover EVERYTHING you need to know about losing weight quickly, sustainably, and without hating everything.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
Let’s jump right in!
If you’re reading this guide, you probably:
Whether we try popular diets like the Paleo Diet to Keto, or Plant-Based, to Intermittent fasting (I do it), to terrible diets like the Military Diet, juice cleanses, or the Cabbage Soup Diet, we’re all looking for that master key that unlocks effortless weight loss.
Some of these diets are certainly more effective/healthy than others, but they all come down to two truths for losing weight:
Truth #1: Nearly every diet works in the short term.
Truth #2: Nearly every diet fails in the long term.
So why does every diet work in the short term?
Every diet you have ever tried has a clever way of restricting calories which leads to weight loss[1]:
99% of the reason why these diets result in short-term weight loss is that they get us to eat fewer calories.
The problems arise when we get to Truth 2:
“Nearly every diet fails in the long term.”
Put another way: “Temporary changes create temporary results.”
If somebody “goes Keto” for 60 days, they’ll probably lose weight, and might even feel healthier.
This is cool.
HOWEVER.
If they spend those 60 days dreaming of carbs, counting down the days until they can “go back to eating like normal,” they will put all of the weight back as soon as they stop their diet.
This is why I hate the term “diet” or “going on a diet”: In order for a diet to create permanent results, the diet needs to be adopted PERMANENTLY!
You’ll lose weight in the short term with any diet, so long as you reduce your calorie intake.
Today, we’re going to focus on weight loss that’s:
So, as you read about the 5 rules of weight loss below, I want you to be honest with yourself. You need to make changes you can stick with for at least a year.
If a change seems too drastic or too scary, start small.
Here’s how we help our coaching clients: we work with them to pick ONE change per week that we can implement: one less soda, try one new vegetable, etc.
In other words, we STOP thinking about “How many pounds can I lose in a month?” and instead “What can I do today that isn’t scary, but will make me better off a year from now:“
There’s only ONE big-ass rule you need to follow when it comes to weight loss:
Eat fewer calories than you burn.
(Yes, I realize this article has 5 RULES, but the other 4 all build on this one.)
Study[2] after study[3] after study[4] shows that our bodies obey the laws of thermodynamics and that in order to lose weight, we need to burn more calories than we consume regularly.
Every day, our body needs a certain number of calories to carry out its daily functions: making your heart beat, your brain function, getting your body to move, and all sorts of other stuff.
This is called your total daily energy expenditure, and you can calculate your TDEE here.
So, in order for us to lose weight, we need to find a way to tip the energy balance in favor of “burn fat, sucka!”
Simplifying this really complex topic, we need to eat less and/or move more to get our bodies to start using our fat stores for energy.
Unfortunately, that’s where the problems start.
We humans are REALLY good at:
When we accidentally eat more calories than we realize, and then burn fewer calories from exercise than we assume, we think we “can’t lose weight” because of our metabolism or genetics.
Nope.
It’s because we are eating too much.
And as we lay out in our MASSIVE Healthy Eating Guide, the most important factor in fat loss is eating fewer calories than you burn on a regular basis.
The best way to do that is to focus on the right kind of food:
These foods are full of vitamins and minerals while also lower in calories, compared to ultra-processed foods that are easily overconsumed.[6].
They fill us up but aren’t overly calorie-dense.
Which means we feel full while reducing our calorie intake.
If we can do this consistently and sustainably, we will lose weight.
To drive this point home, compare 200 calories worth of these two foods (courtesy of wiseGEEK):
200 calories worth of a bagel:
…and 200 calories worth of broccoli:
Which one do you think you’ll be more likely to accidentally overeat?
The bagel, duh. Who eats only 2/3rds of a bagel? Literally zero people.
So here’s how we’re going to lose weight: eat fewer calories without realizing it, and then burn extra calories without being miserable:
Let’s dig into these 3 things next:
If we want weight loss that doesn’t suck, we’ll want to build meals with foods that fill us up and make us feel good!
PART A) PRIORITIZE PROTEIN FIRST: Protein is fuel for our bodies to rebuild muscle. It’s also nutritious, delicious, and satiating.
How much protein should you eat? As we cover in our Protein Guide, aim for 1g per lb of bodyweight (2g per kg) every day (with an upper limit of 250g).
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
Not a meat-eater? Read our massive plant-based guide!
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm.
*The 4 oz serving is for an uncooked piece of meat. Cooking reduces about 25% of the weight, bringing it down to about 3 oz.
When building a plate, aim for the following amount of protein:
PART B) HALF OF YOUR PLATE SHOULD BE VEGETABLES: When it comes to weight loss, veggies can make the difference between success and failure.
Vegetables are nutrient-dense and low in calories. So you can eat lots of them and feel full without overconsuming calories (remember that mountain of broccoli was only 200 calories!).
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist, and 2 servings of veggies should take up ½ the plate!
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that can fill your plate:
“But Steve, I don’t like vegetables…yet!”
That’s cool, I didn’t eat vegetables until I was 22. Now, they’re a main staple of every meal I eat.
If this is you, read our guide on “how to make vegetables taste good.”
RECAP: In our quest for weight loss that doesn’t suck, we should focus on foods with fewer calories that still make us feel full, satisfied, and happy.
Always start with protein and vegetables, and then the rest of your plate can have fats and carbs.
Speaking of which…
If 3/4ths of our healthy plate is occupied by protein and vegetables, where do fats and carbs fit in?
You can still lose weight while consuming fats and carbohydrates, as long as they’re consumed in the right quantities.
Remember how I said earlier “we UNDERestimate how many calories we eat every day?”
Fat and/or carbs are almost ALWAYS the culprit.
Let’s discuss.
PART C) HEALTHY CARBOHYDRATES FOR THE WIN. Everybody loves carbs, but most people overeat this macronutrient without realizing it.
Here are some examples of healthy carbohydrates that are less likely to be overconsumed:
This is a list of REAL foods, minimally processed, that also have plenty of fiber[9].
This then puts them in the “healthy carbs” category: when consumed in appropriate amounts, these foods can help you feel full and give you energy and all that jazz.
Just make sure you know your portion sizes!
EVERYBODY accidentally overeats carbohydrate-heavy foods, even healthy ones, and then wonders why they aren’t losing weight.
To help you get better at eyeballing carb serving sizes:
1 serving of a starchy carbohydrate is 1 cupped hand (uncooked), or two hands forming a cup (cooked).
Here are some images to help you learn proper portion sizes (thanks to SafeFood):
PART D) DON’T FORGET ABOUT FAT!
Dietary fat used to be vilified, but now it’s considered a superfood by many.
Here’s the truth: dietary fat is neither a superfood nor evil.
It’s just a macronutrient that we can eat that can help us lose weight when consumed in the right quantity, or keep us from our goals if we eat too many calories of it.
Healthy fat can be found in foods like:
Saturated fats – consumed in moderate quantities[10] – can come from things like:
To help you gauge: a serving size of fat is roughly the size of your thumb!
THIS is a single serving of almonds (162 calories):
THIS is a serving of olive oil (119 calories, taken from Runtastic):
What about cheese? Cheese is fine, provided you consume a proper sized portion of it!
This is a portion of cheddar cheese (116 calories):
So bringing them all together, here’s the healthy plate for weight loss (from our Healthy Eating Guide):
If you prioritize protein and vegetables, while consuming appropriate amounts of fats and carbs, you’ll likely lose weight.
“But Steve, what about low-fat diets? Low-carb diets? No-carb diets?”
Low carb diets like Keto and Paleo are all the rage right now, but are they healthy and will they help you lose weight?
Maybe!
It depends on how your body regulates glucose (blood sugar)[11]:
Studies show that people who follow EITHER a low-fat OR a low-carb diet will lose weight, as long as they are in caloric restriction and can adhere to the diet for at least a year[12].
So, it comes down to: “which strategy are you more likely to stick with for a year or longer?”
If you think you can go Paleo or Keto or follow another low carb/low fat strategy for over a year, go for it.
Otherwise, make small changes!
MY ADVICE: Stick with changes that aren’t too scary. Work on reducing portion sizes or adding a new vegetable each week, and don’t get dogmatic, all-or-nothing about your diet!
If you can find a way to reduce your total calorie intake without being miserable, you WILL lose weight over time, AND keep it off.
There’s one other piece of the puzzle I HAVE to address.
Although exercise isn’t necessary for weight loss (nutrition being the most important part), I would HIGHLY recommend you exercise.
There are three forms of exercise that I’ll cover when it comes to weight loss, and ALL three of them are important:
#1) Fun cardio is doing any sort of exercise that gets you off your butt and moving.
It makes our heart healthier, AND it can serve as a reminder that we’re doing things differently now, and that we need to eat better so we don’t ruin our efforts!
(Whatever you do, DON’T say: “Welp, I exercised – and thus I earned this donut and Coca-Cola” – you’d have been better off NOT exercising and skipping the donut and Coca-cola).
Here are 40 fun ways to exercise without realizing it. Feel free to do a fun activity as often as you can!
#2) High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) burns more calories per hour than steady cardio, so you get more “bang for your buck” when it comes to efficiency.
If you’re limited on time and trying to burn more calories, 20 minutes of HIIT burns more calories than 20 minutes of steady jogging.
Here are 3 HIIT workouts you can do today, no gym required!
Both of these activities can help tip the energy balance in favor of “weight loss” when combined with calorie restriction.
When you’re in a “caloric deficit” for weight loss, the hope is that your body will mostly pull from fat stores, though depending on how you are exercising it will also break down muscle too.[13]
Said again: when you are eating a caloric deficit, your body will pull from both its fat stores AND existing muscle for energy.
From a physique and health standpoint, obviously we’d prefer that we don’t break down muscle when in a caloric deficit, and instead get our body to use ONLY fat stores.[14]
Your goal in fitness shouldn’t only be “weight loss,” despite the common vernacular used.
The goal instead is to reduce body fat while also keeping the muscle you have (or even building more muscle).
Which brings me to the most important form of exercise for weight loss:
#3) Strength training is the prizefighting champion when it comes to weight loss.
You can find study[15] after study[16] after study[17] that shows you the benefits of strength training for weight management, when combined with calorie restriction.
Let me explain it here quickly, borrowing from Harry Potter:
(You know, the wizard.)
At the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, when each student arrives they put on the “Sorting Hat,” an actual hat that determines which House (group) that child will join for his/her time at Hogwarts.
The hat acts like a traffic director:
“Harry, you will go to Gryffindor! Draco, you will go to Slytherin!”
Your body operates in a VERY similar fashion: every day, it receives new calories (when you eat), and it needs to decide what to do with them!
It’ll sort those calories into one of three Houses:[18]
A: Burn for Fuel.
B: Rebuild Muscle.
C: Store as Fat.
There’s a number of calories your body burns each day just existing: to keep your liver functioning, your heart pumping, your brain operating, and so on – it burns a good chunk of calories just keeping the lights on.
Here are two quick examples (from our BMR calculator!):
When you start strength training, actual wizardry starts to happen.
When you do push-ups and pull-ups or do a strength training workout, your muscles are “broken down” during the exercise itself, and then they rebuild themselves stronger over the next 24-48 hours.
Guess what happens during those 24-48 hours?
Your body diverts as many calories as possible to “Rebuild Muscle!”
It also diverts additional calories to “Burn as Fuel” to handle this increased “muscle rebuilding” activity.
Which means two amazing things:
There are significantly fewer calories available for “Store as Fat.”
AND THEN IT GETS BETTER.
When you consume fewer calories than your body burns each day, strength training will cause your body to get even more efficient.
Your body can pull from “Store as Fat” to make sure all the work still gets done, including your daily functions as a human, and rebuilding the muscle.
This is the Tri-wizard cup[19] of physical transformation victory:
This would be a “win-win-win” according to Michael Scott, Regional Manager, Dunder Mifflin Scranton.
So NO, you don’t need to lose weight first before you start strength training.
You will lose weight BY strength training (and keep the muscle you have).
BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER: Regular strength training is the most efficient type of exercise to do for losing fat and looking great naked
Adding in intervals or fun exercise on your off days is a fantastic supplemental activity to strength training.
Want help learning how to strength train? You can absolutely build your own workout, or you can work with one of our coaches who can create a custom program that’s specific to your goals and lifestyle.
We’ll even make sure you’re doing the movements correctly via video, because we’re nice like that 🙂
The 5 Rules above gives you the best chance to lose weight in a way that doesn’t suck.
Changing your nutrition is like playing a video game: if you attack too many high-level bad guys at once, you’re going to lose.
Instead, you’re better off picking 1-2 smaller bad guys (changes) that you know you can win, and level up slowly.
THAT’S how you make changes that stick.
No more temporary dieting for temporary results!
Permanent changes create permanent results.
Here are 25 other quick tips that are supplementary to the above important ones!
1) Consider low-carb OR low-fat diets. Studies show BOTH low-carb and low-fat diets will result in weight loss, IF you can stick with it.[20]
Lots of people lose weight quickly on low carb, but they also tend to abandon the diet. You don’t need to do Keto or Paleo if you don’t want to.
2) Consider intermittent fasting. Fasting helps you reduce your calorie intake by limiting your daily eating window – it entails simply skipping meals or occasionally fasting for 24 hours.
It affects men and women differently, but has tons of benefits and is backed by science. Read our Guide on Intermittent Fasting. I’ve been skipping breakfast since 2014!
3) Minimize liquid calories. Beverages with calories in them are probably sabotaging your weight loss efforts.
Cut out the sodas and lattes and high-calorie smoothies (unless you account for them in your calorie goal!). Stick to sparkling water, black coffee or tea, or other zero-calorie beverages.
4) Cut back on alcohol. Yes, you can still drink alcohol and lose weight, but you still need to account for the calories, of which there might be many!
And if you make poor food choices while drunk, it’s going to be tough to lose weight. Read our guide on alcohol and stick to low-calorie beer, whiskey neat, or vodka with club sodas.
5) Know your condiments and cooking oils. Just because you’re eating grilled chicken and vegetables doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to lose weight!
If those foods are smothered in sauces or covered in 1000 calories of healthy olive oil, the calories still count! Keep an eye on the sauces and oils you use to cook with.
6) Know your next meal. Most of our coaching success stories plan in advance what their next meal is.
Because it’s a pre-made decision, it removes emotion and makes them less likely to make a bad choice while hungry, sad, or angry.
Think of it this way: you can still eat unhealthy foods with this strategy because you plan ahead and can eat a healthy meal before and after. No harm done!
7) Look at restaurant menus before going. Restaurants serve notoriously large portions of food, often with hundreds of hidden calories.
Give yourself the best chance to succeed by looking up the menu online before going and decide BEFORE you get there.
Also, consider taking HALF the entree and boxing it up for an additional meal (a tip we mention in our Guide to Portion Control).
8) Eat the same foods over and over. The healthiest, most successful coaching clients we have tend to eat the same handful of meals over and over.
Once you learn portion sizes and calorie counts of your favorite meals, you’re much more likely to eat within your goals for the day.
9) Learn to batch cook. Read our guide on batch cooking! If you can prepare all your healthy meals ONCE at the start of the week, you’ll set yourself up for success.
Why? Because now your default, easiest, laziest option is to simply reheat and eat the food you have at home – much less work than ordering takeout or driving to fast food! Win-Win-Win.
Here’s how I batch cook chicken for the week:
10) Employ the “Never 2 in a Row” rule. If you ever eat an unhealthy meal, simply make the next one healthy.
One bad meal doesn’t ruin a day, so letting an unhealthy breakfast derail you for the rest of the day isn’t smart.
Simply eat a healthy lunch and get right back on track.
11) Ask “What would Batman do?” If you’re not sure what you should eat, ask what would Batman do.
A study showed that children were more likely to pick an apple instead of candy when instructed to ask this question.[21]
And we’re all kids at heart, right?
12) Track your calories. If you can’t lose weight, it’s most likely because you’re accidentally eating more calories than you realize. Use an app or spreadsheet and track your food for a week.
You can calculate how many calories you burn every day too.
13) Weigh your food (advanced): STILL not losing weight? It’s time to get your portion sizes fixed too.
Get a cheap food scale and weigh your food for 2-3 days. Doing this, I discovered I was eating an extra 400 calories without realizing it.
14) Eat more slowly! If we’re not careful, we can eat more than we realize because we eat too quickly for our body to understand it’s full!
Tactics to help with this include consciously working on chewing your food more frequently before swallowing.
Studies show eating slowly can help reduce calorie intake.[22]
15) Use smaller plates and forks! If we have big plates and big utensils, we’re more likely to pile more food on our plate AND consume it more quickly.
Throw out your big plates and get smaller ones. Get smaller utensils, and you’ll trick yourself into eating smaller portions without realizing it.
16) Don’t “Eat AND [activity].” Just “eat.” We eat more food if we’re eating while doing something else (watching TV, scrolling through our phones, etc).[23]
Why don’t you try JUST eating? Enjoy each bite. Savor the food. Make it an experience. You’ll tend to eat less.
17) Stop snacking. All calories count. Instead of snacking throughout the day, why not eat 3 regular sized meals that you truly enjoy?
As we cover in our Guide to Intermittent Fasting, it doesn’t matter WHEN you eat, it only matters HOW MUCH you eat. Not snacking between meals gives you more leeway during your actual meals!
18) Seek professional help if necessary. If you struggle with your relationship with food, consider reaching out to a therapist or doctor.
We believe mental health is really important here at Nerd Fitness, and we know food can be an emotional trigger for lots of people that struggle with their weight. You don’t have to do this journey alone!
19) Fidget more! From tapping your toes to getting up frequently, fidgeting (small micromovements) can burn hundreds of additional calories per day.[24] It all counts. So get wiggling!
20) Move more. From parking farther away at the grocery store to taking the stairs instead of the elevator, do whatever you can to MOVE MORE!
Get a cheap fitness tracker and try to get more steps than you normally do.
Important note: don’t rely on the tracker for calories burned (they’re all notoriously inaccurate, some by as much as 90%[25]).
We show you just how inaccurate these fitness trackers are for calories burned in this infographic:
However, these devices are often a great ‘trend tracker.’ Do more than you did before and you WILL get results.
21) Find ways to exercise in a fun way! ANY sort of movement helps, so check out our 40 ways to exercise without realizing it.
Dance, yoga, wrestling with your kids, rock climbing, hiking, it all counts! Just like your parents told you when you were a kid, “Go outside and play!”
22) Get strong as hell. Pick up heavy weights.
Our bodies have to burn tons of calories to recover from a heavy strength training session.
Plus, you get to keep the muscle you have and burn the fat on top of those muscles.
As Coach Matt explains in the video below, that’s how you lose weight AND gain muscle at the same time:
23) Hack your Batcave: We are creatures of our environment, so use that to your advantage! Stop relying on willpower, and instead get smarter.
Increase the steps between you and the activity you’re trying to avoid (eat junk food), and decrease the number of steps between you and the NEW activity you want to do more of (eat healthily):
24) Surround yourself with people who are healthier than you. We’re the average of the 5 people we associate most with.
Join a running club. Eat lunch with healthier people than you at the office.
We subconsciously adopt the traits of the people around us, so use that to your advantage!
25) Forgive yourself. We are all flawed. If you eat a bad meal or have a rough weekend, who cares?!
The month is not ruined. Make the next decision a healthy one and get right back on track. Remember “never two in a row.”
I know this is a lot to absorb, so don’t beat yourself up if you’re totally overwhelmed!
If you want help implementing these tactics and supercharge your weight loss journey, that’s what we do best. Click below to learn more!
As Coach Jim mentions in the video above, there are MANY factors that are involved in how quickly you can lose weight.
However, we can discuss some of the big variables.
First Week Weight Loss Expectations: Depending on how poorly you eat now, if you swap out unhealthy food for protein and veggies – reducing your calorie intake significantly – you might lose as much as 10 lbs (5 kgs) in your first week.
It’s awesome to see the scale drop by that much in the first week, but it’s important to note that this type of weight loss won’t be typical week to week.
If you normally eat a lot of carbs and sodium, your body is carrying a lot of extra bloat and water weight. When you switch to mostly protein and veggies, you’ll lose TONS of water weight and some fat initially.
We’ve seen many Coaching Clients lose 5-10 pounds in their first week, again mostly due to the reduction of water weight with SOME fat loss.
First Month Weight Loss Expectations: Depending on how strict you are with your nutrition – you can lose 1% of your body fat, or 0.5-3 pounds per week after that (heavily dependent on how much weight you have to lose).
We have seen people (who have a lot of weight to lose) lose 20 pounds in their first month, mostly due to large water weight reduction in the first week, with a steady consistent drop after that.
(Curious how quickly you can lose weight? Use our Total Daily Energy Expenditure TDEE Calculator.)
There’s nothing wrong with losing weight quickly, provided you’re doing it in a healthy, SUSTAINABLE way – like following the rules and strategies laid out in this article.
Quick weight loss doesn’t guarantee long-term success.
It comes down to making PERMANENT changes!
If somebody reduces their calorie intake by 1000+ calories a day, they might be so damn hungry and angry all the time that they abandon their journey after a week or two.
This is bad news bears.
They would have been better off reducing their calories by 200 calories a day for 6 weeks, and then by another 200 6 weeks later, and so on.
We want sustainable, permanent weight loss.
So it doesn’t really matter how much weight you lose in your first week or first month, but rather how much weight you have lost after 1 year, and how you feel after that year.
As we cover in our “Why can’t I lose weight?” guide, this is a lifelong journey. You should think of this as a lifestyle adjustment – not a temporary diet change
Put your focus on building the habits and fixing your environment. Focus on the changes you can make on a day to day basis, and with each meal.
And over time, your weight WILL drop in a way that’s sustainable and healthy.
“STEVE JUST TELL ME EXACTLY WHAT TO DO TO LOSE WEIGHT QUICKLY.”
Fine! But you don’t need to yell at me like that!
Here’s what I would do if I needed to lose weight quickly but ALSO didn’t want to hate life:
I’ll leave you with some final words of wisdom: this is NOT all or nothing.
If you can implement just ONE change and stick with it, that’s a victory. That’s better than doing 10 things and giving up after a month.
I know I just threw a LOT of information at you. But I hope that you can implement this stuff in your day-to-day routine, because it WILL lead to sustainable weight loss ad change your life.
If you are looking for more guidance, support, and instruction, we have 3 options for you to level up:
#1) JOIN OUR COACHING PROGRAM: We provide nutritional guidance, constant feedback and support, customized workouts for your goals, and keep you accountable wherever you are.
We are really good at this stuff and would love to help you reach your goals.
#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) Join The Rebellion (it’s free)! Sign up for our biweekly newsletter and join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion!
I’ll send you tons of free nutritional guides and bonuses to help you get started on your journey today.
Sign up below:
If you were just trying to start building healthier habits and lose weight sustainably, instead here’s what I would do:
Make 1 change per week.
Change ONE meal a week, or cut back on ONE soda. Make a change that’s so small that it doesn’t make you sad or scared.
And then repeat.
What’s the ONE change you’re going to make this week to make your weight loss journey SLIGHTLY easier?
-Steve
PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our Sustainable Weight Loss Content:
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The Inverted Bodyweight Row is one of the BEST, simple, most effective exercises you can do for your “pull” muscles.
If you’re trying to get to your first pull-up (or even if you are already doing pull-ups), it’s a must.
That’s why we program them in when designing workouts for our Online Coaching Clients.
Today, I’ll explain exactly why (almost like you were in our program).
As part of our Strength 101 series, this guide will cover everything you need to know about this awesome exercise:
Let’s do this thing!
You’ve probably heard of the regular barbell row. You pick up a barbell, bend over at the waist (keeping your back straight), and pull the weight up towards your chest.
It looks something like this:
This can be a great exercise, but improper form could cause complications or you might not have access to a barbell and plates.
Luckily, the bodyweight row (or inverted row) takes care of all of that.
By the way, I’ll be using “bodyweight row” and “inverted row” interchangeably in this article.[1]
To-may-to, To-mah-to.[2]
When doing this movement, you only need a bar to lean back from and your body weight. There’s also no extra stress on your back, like with a traditional barbell row.
As an added bonus, you get a decent core workout too.
I know, that’s worth celebrating…
Think of it like this: “bench press” is to “pushing” as “inverted row” is to “pulling.”
Balance FTW!
Why the inverted bodyweight row is so great:
I’m a huge fan of compound exercises (like the squat and deadlift, pull-ups and push-ups), and I’m also a huge fan of exercises that don’t require expensive machines or lots of extra bells and whistles.
If you’ve been doing bench presses regularly, start doing an equal amount of work with your pull muscles to stay in balance and away from injury.
Oh, and if you want to eventually be able to do pull-ups THIS is the exercise you need to add into your routine until you can do a full pull-up.
When we created our pull-up adventure in Nerd Fitness Journey, we start off by teaching rows. If you want, you can try the app right now (for free):
Let’s start with the people who have access to a gym (see a no-gym variation here):
If this movement is TOO difficult, no big deal, we just need to back up a few steps.
Set the bar higher so that when you lean back, your body isn’t down on the ground; maybe it’s only at a 45-degree angle.
We’ll walk you through a row progression right here.
Here’s Staci again demonstrating it at a higher angle:
By setting the bar higher, it takes more of your body’s weight out of the equation.
As you get stronger (and/or lose weight), you’ll be able to drop the bar until you’re parallel when pulling yourself up.
I grabbed a video of Senior Coach Staci from Team NF demonstrating a bodyweight row with gymnastic rings, but the instruction you’ll get in the video will really be helpful too.
Let’s provide a blueprint on how you can level up your inverted bodyweight rows.
At first, just start doing some rows in your doorway:
This will help you start training your “pull” muscles.
Still utilizing your doorway, you can use a towel to lean back even further to increase the challenge here:
Coach Jim walks you through setting up your towel row in this video, “No chin-up bar?? No problem!“
Check out our Guide for Pull-up Alternatives for more.
Next, try doing an inverted row, but set the bar high so it’s easier to perform:
Once your inverted rows become easy, lower the bar to increase the challenge:
If you place your feet in the air, you’ll make this exercise even tougher:
If you really want to up the difficulty of your inverted rows, try doing it with a little bit of weight attached to you:
If you are building your own workout plan, you can mix in bodyweight rows wherever you normally do your pull exercises (pull-ups, pull-downs, rows, etc.).
When I go into a gym, my time is extremely limited, and I’m working towards developing strength.
Here’s a sample two day split for me:
Both days work my full body, I can do a full routine in less than 40 minutes, and I’m building strength.
On the rows, aim for 3 sets of 10. We cover this in our “sets and reps” article, but you can never go wrong with 3 sets of 10!
If you can’t do that, do 3 sets to however many reps you can do, and build your way up to 3 sets of 10.
Once you can do that, put your feet up on a chair, throw some weights in a backpack, put it on reverse (so the bag is hanging in front of you), and then do the rows.
You got this!
Overwhelmed? I personally know how that feels. It can be scary embarking on a strength training practice for the first time.
Are you doing your moves correctly? Should you be lifting more weight or less? What do you eat to reach your goals?
We created the Nerd Fitness Coaching program to tackle these questions directly. Your own coach will get to know you, build a program based on your experience and goals, and check your form on each movement (via video):
Just because you don’t have access to a gym doesn’t mean you can’t work out your back, you just need to get VERY creative.
Here’s how you can do Inverted Bodyweight Rows at Home:
PATH ONE: Use your kitchen table. Or your desk. Be very careful with this one.
Lie underneath your table so your head and shoulder are sticking out above it.
Grab the table edge with an overhand grip, and pull yourself up (just like it’s explained above).
Warning, don’t pull the table over with you, and make sure you don’t break the thing!
PATH TWO: Get a really thick wooden dowel or pipe, something strong enough to support your weight. Lie it across two of your kitchen chairs, and then lie down underneath it.
Make sure it’s sturdy, and the bar isn’t going to break/move on ya, and pull yourself up.
Don’t forget, you want to stay in balance.
If you don’t have a pull-up bar and gymnastic rings, find a way to do some bodyweight rows whether it’s between two chairs or under a table.
You’re smart, get creative!
This should allow you to start mixing in bodyweight rows into your Strength Training Routine!
Any more questions about the inverted bodyweight row?
Leave em below!
-Steve
PS: Our new app Nerd Fitness Journey will walk you through doing simple rows, all the way up to a full pull-up! Instead of worrying about what to do next, simply follow the workouts built into the app!
PPS: Be sure to check out the rest of the Strength Training 101 series:
You can also get the guide free when you sign up in the box below and join the Rebellion!
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Let’s start training with resistance bands!
Whether you got exercise bands in the mail from Amazon, or they’ve been sitting in your closet since the 80s, you’ve finally decided it’s time to learn how to use the darn things.
Either way, you’re in the right place!
That’s because we specialize in home workouts. Our Coaches build custom training programs for whatever equipment you might have available (or even “no equipment”).
If you have a set of resistance bands, today we’ll show you how to put them to good use.
Here’s what we’ll cover:
It’s time to join the Resistance…
…band movement.[1]
After you watch the video above (featuring Matt Shortis, a lead trainer in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program), here’s a quick recap with the repetitions of the workout here:
This Beginner Resistance Band Workout is what’s called a circuit (you can learn all about circuit training here).
That’s just a fancy term for doing a workout like so:
Your long-term goal should be to do 3 full circuits back to back for a complete workout.
If you can only go through it once or twice, that’s okay too!
And if you need to take a break at any time between sets or after a circuit, do it! You do you.
Whatever you do, don’t skip your warm-up. Even if you don’t do the sequence above, make sure you get your heart rate up a little before jumping in.
Here’s another short sequence you can do to warm up:
Next, let’s go over each move covered in our resistance band workout (and warm-up) in detail.
Here’s each exercise covered in the Beginner Resistance Band Workout:
Tip from Coach Matt: If it’s too difficult to keep your arms straight, loosen and widen your grip on the band so it becomes less taut.
Tip from Coach Matt: Resist the urge to have the resistance band “snap” you back up. Do this by slowly controlling the movement.
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure you stand up straight during this movement. Over time this exercise will help improve your posture.
Tip from Coach Matt: If this seems too easy, you could use two exercise bands, increasing the resistance.
Tip from Coach Matt: Stand up straight and push up as tall as you can. Reach high during the movement and try to take up space.
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure you pull with your arms during the movement, which will engage your back.
Tip from Coach Matt: Keep your chest up and tall. You want the band to pull with your arm, not your entire body (resist the urge to rotate your torso).
Tip from Coach Matt: Keep your chest up, towards the anchor point of the resistance band.
Tip from Coach Matt: Make sure the band has some tension in it during the start. You want resistance from the band during the entire movement.
Tip from Coach Matt: The point of this exercise is to feel it along the obliques (side torso), so make sure there’s enough tension in the band during the entire movement.
In the Resistance Band Workout above, Coach Matt showed you how to handle two types of resistance bands: loop bands and tube bands.
Let’s go over these and other resistance bands you may come across.
Much like the name would suggest, loop resistance bands consist of one single band formed in a loop.
They don’t have handles and are more strap-like than chord-like.
Not only can you use these in the exercises covered above but you can also use them to help perform bodyweight exercises like assisted pull-ups or assisted bodyweight dips.
You can check out our guide The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises for more on this topic.
For purchase, Grebest has a loop band that isn’t too shabby.
Tube resistance bands will often have handles or carabiners at the end (which you can attach a handle or anchor to). You might also hear these called “fit tubes.”
As Coach Matt showed you, every exercise in our Resistance Band Workout can be done with a tube band, so they’re ideal for creating a home gym.
The other cool thing about these bands: you can attach two of them to the same anchor and handle, increasing the amount of resistance. There’s really nothing stopping you from doing a third band either, which means they can really help increase your strength.
Mini-bands are like loop bands, but smaller, thinner, and wider.
They are often used for lateral movements, by placing them above your knees or ankles.
This offers more resistance to the movement, further activating your hips and glutes.
Rogue carries some tube bands that some of our coaches use.
Therapy bands are long (up to 6 or 7 feet) and thin, almost like a sheet.
They do not loop, although they can be tied together to form a loop.
Like the name would suggest, therapy bands are often found in rehabilitation centers, used to help strengthen muscle after someone has gone through an injury.
They’re generally “light” on the resistance offered, making them ideal for someone looking for a low-impact exercise.
Therapy bands offered by Hoocan are pretty decent and can be found on Amzon.
No surprise here: these bands look like a figure 8, with handles on top and bottom.
These bands are great for many of the pull-apart exercises we covered earlier, and can also be used like the mini-bands to activate your hips and glutes, by placing each leg through one of the loops.
SPRI has some bands you can find on Amazon.
Let’s discuss a few tips so you can make the most of your resistance band workout.
#1) Do not use the band if you notice cracks or tears.
Seriously, just buy another one. You do not want a resistance band snapping on you while in use.
#2) If you need more resistance, add another band.
The tube resistance bands with carabiners are great for this because you can pretty much always add another band between your handle and anchor.
#3) When anchoring your bands to a door, make sure the door pulls away from you.
You don’t want to accidentally force the door open, which could result in injury or hurt feelings.
#4) Maintain band tension throughout the exercise.
When starting every exercise covered here, you want a little tension at the start of the movement. This will help keep your muscles engaged during the entire exercise.
#5) Be careful what you anchor your bands to.
While a band may fit around a tree, the rough surface could wear down your band, causing it to snap. Check the surface, and if your bands come with anchors, use those.
In the video above, Coach Matt walks you through using a resistance band to do pull-ups.
It’s not the only exercise where a band might prove helpful.
Here are some “assisted” exercises where a resistance band may prove helpful:
#1) Assisted Dips:
#2) Assisted Chin-ups:
Just like the pull-up above, but your palms face you.
If you’re trying to lose weight, a few resistance bands and the workout routine 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 training with resistance bands?
Maybe!
If you fix your diet AND begin to incorporate our resistance band routine a few times per week, you’ll find yourself building muscle, losing fat, and getting stronger!
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):
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:
The only question left to answer here is this: when should you do your resistance band workout?
As I discuss in our guide, How to Build Your Own Workout Routine, I generally recommend newbies complete a full-body workout two to three times a week.
When we say “full-body,” we want a sequence that will hit the following:
As you see, the Resistance Band Workout covers all these, so feel free to run through this sequence a few times a week. Just make sure you don’t train on consecutive days (you build muscle while resting).
On your “rest days,” you can look into doing some active recovery, yoga, or fun movement.
If you can only get yourself to work out once a week, that’s okay! Let that become normal, then we can brainstorm ways to squeeze in an extra day.
Building the habit of working out is our goal today. We can worry about maximizing “gainz” down the road.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about maximizing gainz.
Now the only thing left to do is start!
Here are some options for next steps with Nerd Fitness:
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 equipment and furniture you have. 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:
Option #2) If you want an exact roadmap for getting fit, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Plus, we have Missions specifically designed to help you train with your resistance bands!
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 Exercise Bands!
Do you rock resistance bands in your workout?
Any band exercises that I’m missing?
Any product recommendations that need to be shared?
Let me know in the comments!
-Steve
P.S. If you are trying to stay at home, check out:
P.P.S. Because I have to:
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PHOTO SOURCE: Loop Bands, Tube Bands, Mini-bands, Therapy Bands, Figure 8, The road to rehabilitation, Exercise with bands, Exercise and sunglasses, Home Sweet Home, Sunset.
GIF SOURCE: Mini-Band,
The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness.
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