Tag: fitness

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

Well, you’ve come to the right place to learn all about it. 

We’ve helped many of our clients embark on a plant-based diet and there is definitely a right way and a wrong way to go vegan or vegetarian. 

Is a Plant-Based Diet right for you? Maybe! Let our coaches help you decide.

Here’s what we’ll cover in our guide to removing animal products from your diet:

• What is a plant-based diet?
• What foods can you eat on a plant-based diet?
• Will a plant-based diet help me lose weight?
• Will I get enough protein on a plant-based diet?
• How to build muscle on a plant-based diet.
• Calculating protein requirements for a plant-based athlete. 
• What are some good plant protein supplements?
• What’s a plant-based day of eating look like? (A Vegan Meal Plan)
• Common mistakes when following a plant-based diet (Beware of “Fake Meat”)
• What supplements should a vegan take?
• Trusted resources for embarking on a plant-based diet.
• Getting started with a plant-based diet (Next Steps)

Alright buckeroo, let’s get ready to do this thing. 

WHAT EXACTLY IS A PLANT-BASED DIET?

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

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

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

So NO eating:  

• Meat
• Poultry
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Insects

Instead, vegetarians DO eat:

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

Plants, more or less.

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

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

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

Ovo vegetarians avoid all animal products, except eggs.

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

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

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

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

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

However, they are mostly plant-based, so worth mentioning.

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

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

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

Which brings us to…

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

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

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

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

A Plant-Based Diet will include the following foods:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The below will depend on what kind of vegetarianism you are trying. We may be stepping into controversial waters with the following:

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

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

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

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

So here’s all you need to remember:

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

Pinto beans, asparagus, apples, and quinoa would all be examples of real food.

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

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

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

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

WILL A plant-based DIET HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT?

…MAYBE!

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

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

However, anecdotal evidence isn’t science.

What does the research say?

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

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

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

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

Oh and calories. Did I mention calories?  

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s take a look:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Have a Nerd Fitness Coach guide your nutrition and weight loss!

WILL I GET ENOUGH PROTEIN ON A PLANT–BASED DIET?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s look at the most common example:  

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

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

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

Did you catch that caveat?

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

I’ll say it again: EAT REAL FOOD.

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

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

And DEFINITELY better off than living off of Soylent Green…

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

So why are we focusing so much on protein?

Because, muscles.

HOW TO BUILD MUSCLE ON A PLANT-BASED DIET

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Great questions. There’s some debate on this.

As we point out in our Protein 101 Guide, there are estimates that you need .8 of a gram to 1 full gram of protein for every pound (or 1.6-2g for every kg) you weigh.^[21] Another study found it might be as high as 1.4 grams of protein for every pound you weigh.^[22]

I’d say 1 gram of protein for every pound of lean body mass, is a good solid number to shoot for if you are trying to build muscle. 

You can also play with THE NERD FITNESS PROTEIN CALCULATOR right here:

 

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

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

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

As you’ll recall, plants have less protein than animal sources:

• 100 grams of black beans: 8.5 grams of protein in it. 131 calories, 24 grams of carbohydrates (8.5 grams of which are fiber).
• 100 grams of chicken breast: 30 grams of protein. 165 calories, 0 grams of carbohydrates.

The same size serving of black beans has a third of the amount of protein for roughly the same calories. If your goal is weight loss, you need to be aware of your calorie intake.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One goes up, the other goes down.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT ARE SOME GOOD PLANT PROTEIN SUPPLEMENTS?

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

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

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

You’ll have to forgo it.

Here are our recommendations and suggestions for plant protein powders:

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

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

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

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

Let’s do it!

WHAT’S A PLANT-BASED DAY OF EATING LOOK LIKE? (A VEGAN MEAL PLAN)

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s also pretend this person just turned 35.

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

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

Breakfast:

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

Lunch:

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

Afternoon Snack

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

Dinner

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

Late Night Snack

• Hummus and Toast
• Calorie: 316
• Protein: 19g
• Fat: 16g
• Carbohydrates: 24g

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

Total calories?

2,024.

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

This was not an accident.

COMMON MISTAKES WHEN FOLLOWING A PLANT-BASED DIET

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

At this point though, we need to differentiate.

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

Donuts, pasta, and bread can be vegan.

Plant-based? Technically, sure.

Healthy? Wrong!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s go with another comparison:

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

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

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

Let’s dive into this with its own section.

BE CAREFUL WITH “FAKE MEAT”

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

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

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

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

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

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

Not all imitation meat is created equal.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Again, you can find their products in grocery stores.

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

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

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

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

They are also time tested.

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

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

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

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

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

WHAT SUPPLEMENTS SHOULD A VEGAN TAKE

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

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

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

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

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

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

This B12 supplement is a good option.

It’s not the only supplement worth considering.

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

Why omega-3s?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Here’s why:

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

A supplement of both zinc and iron would be smart.

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

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

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

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

There are all sorts of information for going vegan online.

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

Let’s point you to some respected advisors.

BLOGGERS:

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

RECIPES:

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

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

GETTING STARTED WITH A PLANT–BASED DIET (NEXT STEPS)

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

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

#1 Eat Real Food

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

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

Eat a Plant-Based Diet.

#2 Calories and Macronutrients Still Count

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

Vegan does not equal “fewer calories.”

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

#3 Prioritize Protein

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

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

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

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

#4 Meal Planning For the Win!

Everyone should meal plan.

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

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

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

#5 Add Variation

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

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

#6 Supplement

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

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

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

Do some push-ups.

And, ah, be nice to each other?

Debates on how we should eat can often get heated.

This can be understandable, because of the passion and ethical considerations driving people’s dietary choices.

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

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

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

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

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

Want some help going forward from here? Well, since you’ve been nice this whole time, I’ll give you my top three recommendations for next steps:

#1) Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching program: we have many clients who consider themselves vegetarian/vegan and we’ve helped them make better food choices, stay accountable, and get healthier.

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

Our coaching program changes lives.

#2) Check out NF Journey, our fun habit-building app that helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally). 

You gain access to this app through Nerd Fitness Prime.

Learn more about Nerd Fitness Prime!

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

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

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

Can you share with us your experiences?

Tips and tricks you follow to make it work?

Any go-to plant-based recipes?

I’d love for the comments here to be a place where we can share honestly and openly.

For the Rebellion!

-Steve

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

###

Photo Source: Expedition, Protein Powder, Ketchup, What’s up, doc, Vectored Vegetables, Assortment of beans of different varieties, IMG_1409, Green Protein Powder, Vegetable, IMG_0784, Weight Loss, Frankenstein, Scientist, Which newspaper today, Tomatoes; Danielle Sidell, Jeremy Reijnders, Joe Venus

GIF Source: Rabbit, Pokemon, Sheldon, Oreo, Scared Rick, Banana, Seesaw, Wrong, Kirby, dog sunbathing, Produce, Magnifying Glass, Scale, The Office, Sheep.

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So you wanna learn about the Paleo Diet, aka “the Caveman Diet,” eh?

Paleo is one of the most popular diets on the planet (up there with the Keto Diet), and I bet you have questions.

Welp, I got answers, my friend!

In addition to helping people “go paleo correctly” with our Online Coaching Program, we also create epic guides like this one that cover all the basics.

Is Paleo right for you? Maybe! Our coaches can help you decide:

Below in this guide, I’m going to give you the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the Paleolithic Diet (click to go right to that section):

INTRODUCTION TO PALEO:

• What is the Paleo Diet and how does it work?
• Will I lose weight on the Paleo Diet?

WHAT CAN I EAT ON THE PALEO DIET?

• What can I eat on the Paleo Diet? (Paleo Diet Rules)
• What CAN’T I eat on the Paleo Diet?
• Can I eat grains on the Paleo Diet?
• Can I eat dairy on the Paleo Diet?
• Can I eat cheese on the Paleo Diet?

SHOPPING LIST AND EATING PLAN

• Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of foods on the Paleo Diet
• What does a typical day look like on the Paleo Diet?
• Paleo Recipes & Paleo Resources.

IS PALEO DANGEROUS?

• Is the Paleo Diet dangerous?
• Who shouldn’t do the Paleo Diet?
• How to do the Paleo Diet safely.

Now, this guide is SUPER long, so we took the liberty of converting it into a nicely designed guide for easy consumption (not literal consumption, unless you print it on bacon).

Grab your Beginner’s Guide to the Paleo Diet free when you sign up in the box below:

If you can actually apply the rules of the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.

As the great Mr. Flintstone once said, “Yabadabadooooo!”

What is the Paleo Diet and How does it Work?

Oh lord, another “diet.”

I know, it sounds like a fad/marketing ploy, but The Paleo Diet isn’t really a “diet,” and it’s actually quite logical when you think about it.

Here’s the ENTIRE diet in a nutshell:

“If a cave person didn’t eat it, neither should you.”

As the theory goes, tens of thousands of years ago, before Nike, Cap’n Crunch, and Healthy Choice meals, our ancient ancestors thrived as hunter-gatherers.

Although it’s been a really long time, our genetics haven’t changed that much since then.

And yet…these days we’re overweight, out of shape, stressed out, unhappy, sleep-deprived, and dying from far too many preventable diseases due to lifestyle choices.

So what the hell happened?

Agriculture!

And then delivery and Netflix.

A few thousand years ago, humans discovered farming, the agricultural revolution took off, and we advanced from hunter-gatherers to farmers.

We settled down, formed societies, and the human race progressed to what we are today. Which is obviously great for a number of reasons:

• Not getting eaten by wild animals
• Electricity
• Automobiles
• Nintendo

The problem is that our bodies never adjusted properly to eating all the grains and sugar that we’re now consuming.

As paleo guru Robb Wolf puts it, think of a 100-yard football field:

The first 99.5 yards are how long Homo-Sapiens spent as hunter-gatherers. As they became REALLY good at hunting and gathering our bodies adapted to that lifestyle over thousands of years.

That last half-yard represents our species after the agricultural revolution, where our diet has shifted (but our genetics haven’t).

So, instead of loading up on meat, vegetables, and seasonal fruits, we’ve become a species “dependent” upon grains – bread, pasta, rice, corn, and so on.

66% of us are overweight, 33% are considered obese, and those numbers are only getting worse.^[1] 

Clearly, something’s not right, and we need to fix it.

The Paleo Diet is an effort to go back to our ancestral roots.

To start eating how we’re biologically designed to eat, allowing us to tap into our genetic potential and start living healthier immediately.

While this video is pretty hyperbolic, it does a pretty good job of explaining the Paleo Diet in a few minutes:

To recap the rules of the Paleo Diet:

1. Only eat foods a caveman would eat
2. See Rule #1

Note that it doesn’t mention calorie counting or meal timing or macro tracking.

That’s part of the popularity of this diet: eat paleo-approved foods when you’re hungry, and that’s it.

Will I Lose Weight on the Paleo Diet?

This is the question we get above all else:

“Will the Paleo Diet help me lose weight?”

Probably. If you can actually apply the rules of the Paleo lifestyle, you can get some pretty solid results.

It’s helped many people achieve jaw-dropping transformations, including my friend Saint, (whose story you can read here):

Or Staci from Team NF, a Senior Coach in our 1-on-1 Coaching Program):

The Paleo Diet will work for weight loss…provided you actually get into a caloric deficit.

You need to have the right mindset, you need to focus on the right foods, and you need to structure your environment so that you’re not tempted to backslide and abandon the Paleo Diet after a few days.

However, it has nothing to do with what Fred Flintstone ate or didn’t eat.

It comes down to science and thermodynamics.

As I point out in our article on How to Lose Weight: What’s the Perfect Diet (For me?), if you want to lose weight:

1. Eat fewer calories than you burn every day.
2. Want to also be healthy? Eat mostly real food.

Want to KEEP the weight off?

Add #3: Do those two things consistently for a decade.

Here’s WHY you’ll lose weight on the Paleo Diet: 

1. You’re only eating meat, fish, veggies, fruits, and nuts. These are foods that are full of nutrients, will make you feel full, but don’t have nearly as many calories as junk food.
2. You are completely eliminating calorie-dense, often nutritionally deficient, unhealthy foods. This means no grains (pasta, bread, rice), no dairy, no beans. It also means no soda, no candy, no sugar.

And yup. When you only eat real food and avoid all unhealthy food, you’re more likely than not going to run a caloric deficit – and thus lose weight.

Let me share a really obvious example.

200 calories of broccoli gets you enough veggies to fill up an entire plate:

Or… 200 calories will get you exactly 1/2 a Snickers bar:

Look at that: nobody can eat that much broccoli, and nobody only eats half a candy bar!

My point is this: by eating Paleo-approved foods, you’re more likely than not to eat fewer calories than you did in the past automatically, which can lead to weight loss.

I dig into this in even greater detail in “Why can’t I lose weight?” but it all comes down to “calories in, calories out.”

So YES, the Paleo Diet MIGHT help you lose weight.

You just need to eat fewer calories than you burn every day (Here’s how to calculate your Total Daily Energy Expenditure). And that is easier when you are eliminating foods that people tend to overeat:

• Candy
• Soda
• Pasta
• Bread
• Dairy

But that’s all about what we’re eliminating. What are we keeping!?

what Can I eat on The Paleo diet?

In order to follow the Paleo Diet Lifestyle, here are the foods that are Paleo-approved:

• Meat* – steak, ham, pork, bison, boar.
• Organs – liver, kidneys, heart.
• Marrows – seeing a theme here? Eat ALL parts of the animal!
• Fowl – chicken, duck, hen, turkey…things with wings that (try to) fly.
• Fish – cod, tuna, salmon, and so on.
• Eggs – Look for omega-3 enriched cage-free eggs.
• Vegetables – spinach, broccoli, kale, carrots, peppers, zucchini, onions, etc.
• Oils – minimally processed, derived from plants: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil.
• Fats: ghee, lard, or other animal fats.
• Fruits – apples, pears, bananas, grapes, strawberries.
• Nuts – almonds, walnuts, cashews, and their respective butters (almond butter is so good!)
• Tubers – Sweet potatoes and yams.

*If you can, aim for grass-fed beef and organic fruits and vegetables. But don’t go break the bank with your food purchases. Just do the best you can. 

As the Paleo Diet explains: Pick any of the foods from that list and eat as much as you want of them.

You might have noticed that a lot of the foods above are loaded with fat. And depending on what your mom told you growing up, you might think fat is the devil.

So let me address that right away…

Does Eating Fat Make You Fat?

If you’re cutting back on carbs, that means you’ll need to fill the void in your diet with the most controversial macronutrient:

Fat!

It’s gotten a bad rap over the past number of decades, so companies have been doing everything possible to make everything low fat and “healthy!” (while adding all sorts of preservatives, chemicals, and sugar).

Yup…cut out the fat, increase the carbs….and look where THAT has gotten us.

Why has fat been vilified? Rather than get into the politics of it myself, I’ll let Gary Taubes, author of the incredibly thorough and well-researched Good Calories, Bad Calories take over.

As he discusses in an article he wrote for the New York Times a decade ago:^[2]

These researchers point out that there are plenty of reasons to suggest that the low-fat-is-good-health hypothesis has now effectively failed the test of time.

In particular, that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980’s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma. (Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period.)

They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failures, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades.

Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be expected. ”That is very disconcerting,” Willett says. ”It suggests that something else bad is happening.”

“Low fat” foods were created to follow conventional wisdom that fat made you fat (which as stated in the above article doesn’t stand up to scrutiny).

When a company makes a low-fat food, they remove the fat and have to replace the flavor with something.

That “something” is usually sugar (and often more calories).

Crap.

So, according to Taubes and Paleo folks, fat has been vilified and the real focus should have been on sugar and carbs all along.

Because healthy fats are valuable additions to our diet. 

Here are some examples of Paleo-Approved Healthy Fats:

1. Avocados
2. Almond (and almond butter)
3. Fatty cuts of meat
4. Walnuts
5. Coconut oil
6. Olive oil

In the Paleo Diet, fat makes up a large portion of one’s diet.

If you’re worried about consuming fat and how it will affect your cholesterol, read our Full Guide to Cholesterol.

WhAT Foods Can’t I eat On the Paleo Diet?

If you are looking to strictly follow the Paleo Diet, then you can’t eat foods that did not exist back in “Caveman times.”

Why?

Because – as advocates of the diet point out – cavemen couldn’t eat those foods because they didn’t exist. There was no way to create cereal and candy – you could only eat what you found or hunted.

So, that’s what the Paleo Diet advocates as the reason for avoiding these foods. And it serves as a good mental model to check with yourself: “Could a caveman have eaten this meal?”

And when you start to answer this question, you identify the foods that you’re not allowed to eat on the Paleo Diet:

• Grains like pasta, cereal bread, and rice
• Dairy like milk and cheese
• Candy, cookies, ice cream, and other processed foods

The Paleo Diet also almost completely eliminates sugar outside of fruit. No candy. No soda. No powdered donuts. Yup, even the mini white ones from the grocery store where you can eat like 100 of them (accidentally, of course).

Many studies have shown that an incredible number of diseases and lifestyle issues can be reversed by cutting out sugar and processed foods.^[3]

But I understand grains and dairy are a bit more complex.

Let me explain:

Can I Eat Grains on the Paleo Diet?

Unfortunately, nope.

The Caveman reason why: Grains require some amount of processing, and thus Cavemen would not have eaten them.

The science and psychological reason why: we have a tendency to overeat grains and the other “no-no” foods on the Paleo Diet. They are calorically dense, nutrient deficient, and they can wreak havoc on some people’s blood sugar levels.

This leads to a sugar rush followed by a crash, which can lead to more emotional or hungry overeating…and the process starts again.

Rather than me explain that part with thousands of words, just watch this three-minute video – “Why You Got Fat:”

Let’s get into some more reasons Paleo advocates suggest avoiding grains: most contain gluten and lectins.

What are they and what’s wrong with them? I’m so glad you asked:

• Gluten is a protein found in things like rye, wheat, and barley. It’s now being said that much of our population may be gluten-intolerant (hence all the new “gluten-free!” items popping up everywhere). Over time, those who are gluten intolerant can develop a dismal array of medical conditions from consuming gluten: dermatitis, joint pain, reproductive problems, acid reflux, and more.^[4]
• Lectins are natural toxins that exist in grains to defend against consumption! Yup. Grains have evolved to keep themselves from being eaten by us. These lectins are not a fan of our gastrointestinal tract, and they prevent the tract from repairing itself from normal wear and tear. This can cause all kinds of damage.

Long story short: many people cannot process grains properly, and they are usually the food that causes people to eat too many calories. So by eliminating grains from your diet, you’re more likely than not going to eat fewer calories without counting calories.

That’s a Paleo win!

Do I Need to Avoid Carbs on the Paleo Diet?

Not necessarily.

That depends on your goals and your body – you are a special snowflake!

Some people function well on a high fat, low carb diet.

Others function better on a high-carb, low-fat diet.

Personally, I function better on a higher carb, lower fat diet (which is how I lost 22 pounds in 6 months).

I will say the Paleo Diet is USUALLY a Low Carb diet, and large quantities of carbs are not required for somebody to be healthy on a regular diet.^[5]

After all, carbs aren’t evil – they’re just…carbs.

Here is the logic and psychology behind why the Paleo Diet is low carb:

On a typical Western diet, we consume plenty o’ carbs, and our bodies convert those carbs to a sugar called “glucose.” This is our body’s preferred method of fueling itself.

In the absence of carbs to create glucose to fuel our bodies, we have to do a few other things instead:

• Transform stored fat into glycerol and fatty acids (this process is called lipolysis).
• Burn fatty acids for energy or transform the fatty acids into glucose for energy (this is called gluconeogenesis)
• In the absence of glucose (through fasting or following a Keto Diet), your body can create ketones for fuel (called “ketogenesis”).

We’re going to focus on the forms of weight loss NOT related to “ketogenesis.” Unless you are avoiding all carbohydrates while going Paleo, or you are doing long fasts, you most likely won’t be in ketosis while going Paleo.

We do cover “Paleo vs Keto: Which is Better” if you’re deciding between the two.

Back to weight loss and Paleo: when you cut back on carbs, and thus most likely ALSO cut back on total calories consumed, you are creating a caloric deficit in your body.

And eat a consistent deficit over a long enough time period, BOOM caveman weight loss.

So, fewer carbs = less glucose in your system, less sugar crashes, less “hangry” moments, and smaller chance of overeating = fewer calories consumed on average.

If you’re worried about adherence to the diet, I understand – it’s the toughest part of Paleo – sticking with it!

Knowing what to eat is part of it, but following this fairly restrictive lifestyle in a modern environment surrounded by cookies and candy and bagels and pasta is really difficult!

If this whole “Paleo, Carbs, and Weight Loss” thing is stressing you out, you’re not alone!

In fact, people like you are the reason we created our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!

We work with busy people like you to structure a complete life overhaul: handcrafted workout routines, accountability, mindset changes, and nutritional strategies.

Can I eat Dairy on the Paleo Diet? Can I eat Cheese On the Paleo Diet?

This also depends. Strict Paleo folks tend to stay away from it – a portion of the world is lactose intolerant, and those that aren’t usually have at least some type of an aversion to it.

Why? Because hunter-gatherers didn’t lug cows around with them while traveling – milk was consumed as a baby through breast milk from their mother, and that was it.

So as Paleo-stans will tell ya, our bodies weren’t designed for massive dairy consumption.

There is evidence that some adaptation to dairy has taken place throughout the years, specifically with people with ancestry in herding cultures, but this is not the majority of the population.^[6]

Paleo purists will avoid dairy like the plague, while other paleo-ish people have found that consuming dairy in its various forms work for their genetics, goals, and lifestyle.

“What about Cheese? Can I eat cheese on the Paleo Diet?”

You do you, boo. But if you’re going Strict Paleo, then unfortunately cheese is OUT too.

If you’re just looking to lose some weight while following a “mostly Paleo” lifestyle, then adding some high-quality cheese into some of your meals can be okay.

Some cheeses will tend to have lower amounts of lactose or casein – the parts of dairy that can cause digestion challenges.

So, if you’re not sure your body is processing dairy properly, remove dairy from your diet and only introduce it back in when you’re ready to see how your body responds.

If you’re not losing weight while eating a “Paleo + Dairy” Diet, you’re still eating too many calories.

Consider cutting out dairy and see how your body responds.

For reference, this is a portion of cheddar cheese (116 calories):

Paleo Diet Shopping Guide: List of Foods on the Paleo Diet

Because I like you as a person, I’ve created a printable Paleo Diet Shopping List PDF you can bring with you to the grocery store to help you decide what to buy and what to avoid.

Simply right-click on the image below and save as:

Feel free to print this out and bring it with you to the grocery store. If you happen to run into somebody else who has ALSO printed out this sheet, feel free to high-five each other while singing Baltimora!

What is a Typical Day Like on the Paleo Diet?

Here is an example of a typical day on “The Paleo Diet”:

• Breakfast: Omelet with spinach with fresh fruit.
• Lunch: Grilled chicken, kale, and avocado salad with vinegar and olive oil.
• Snack: Apple slices and almond butter.
• Dinner: Steak with asparagus and sweet potato fries.
• Dessert: Strawberries and a piece of 85% dark chocolate.

That doesn’t sound so bad, right?

Make sure you check out our Paleo Diet Recipes and Resources section too for more options.

Start with a good protein source with each meal (eggs, steak, chicken, fish, pork), and then add a vegetable or fruit.

That’s it.

If you feel hungry constantly, understand that changing up a diet can cause a body a few weeks of adjustment.

Remember, your body is learning to operate on both fewer calories AND fewer carbs – depending on how low carb you go this could be a DRAMATIC change.

And this is often referred to as “carb flu,” and it can be miserable! Your body might take multiple weeks to adjust to these new habits.

Going from a processed, high sodium diet to a paleo diet you will very often end up eating too little sodium, which is an essential nutrient.

So if you’re feeling tired all the time, try adding some salt to your food or consider an electrolyte supplement – this is what we recommend with our Keto readers too.

Is the Paleo Diet Dangerous?

The post Paleo Diet Beginner Guide: 7 Things To Know Before Eating Like a Caveman! first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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It’s time to learn about The CICO (“calories in, calories out”) Diet!

You probably have questions like: 

Steve, does CICO work? 

Will counting calories help me lose weight?

Okay, what the hell IS a calorie?

Well my friend, you’ve arrived at the right place!

I’ve been writing about this stuff for 13 years, and our team of nerdy experts help our Online Coaching clients with all types of diets (including CICO). We are really flippin’ good at it!

Is CICO right for you? Maybe! Let our coaches help you decide.

Here’s what we’ll cover to answer the question: “What is CICO?”

• What is the CICO Diet plan?
• Is losing weight really about calories?
• Does calorie counting work? (CICO and weight loss)
• The problem with CICO (Humans are bad estimators)
• Tips for sustainable weight loss (Next steps)

It’s time to get started!

What Is the CICO Diet plan?

“CICO” stands for “Calories In, Calories Out.”

The CICO Diet is a weight-loss strategy where the participant tries to tip the balance of what they eat (calories in) against what they burn (calories out).

That’s pretty much it.

It doesn’t really matter what food you eat, because there are no restrictions on any specific food groups with CICO. 

It also doesn’t matter what exercise you do (if any).

As long as you get the equation right, and the calories you eat are lower than the calories you burn on a daily basis, you’re good to go.

The CICO Diet is really simple and has helped quite a few people lose weight. 

This is likely why the CICO Diet has grown in popularity in the subreddit r/loseit. 

Is Losing Weight Really About Calories?

Yes. Losing weight actually does come down to burning more calories than you consume.

It’s about as close to fact as we can get in nutrition science.^[1]

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

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

With this knowledge, it makes sense to design a diet specifically around this principle: match the calories you eat (in), with the calories you expend (out).

No other food rules need to apply:

• Forget about Keto and low-carb.
• It doesn’t matter if a caveman ate it.
• Who knows what the Mediterraneans ate anyway?

As long as you meet your calorie goal, you can forget about the rules of any specific diet.

This appeals to me personally, because I’ve created my own guidelines for how to eat, and I don’t pledge allegiance to any particular dieting strategy.

Because I’m a mind-reader, I know your next question is likely…

Does Calorie Counting Work? (CICO and Weight Loss)

In principle, CICO works.

In practice, it becomes a little more complicated. 

Okay, fine, A LOT more complicated.

That’s because a lot of things influence “calories in.” 

Ditto for “calories out.”

Let’s break some of this down.

Here are some of the things that impact “Calories In:”

• Appetite: how hungry we are is going to drastically affect how many calories we consume. Hormones, body composition, and our tastes and preferences will all impact our appetite.^[2] 
• Calories absorbed: the preparation of food will affect the bioavailability of calories. For example, cooking starches (like potatoes) generally increases the calories available.^[3] Your own individual gut microbe can also influence the amount of energy extracted during digestion.^[4] So will the macronutrient content of the food you eat.
• Psychological considerations: your stress levels, sleep quality, and certain conditions like PCOS can all impact the regulation of hormones, which can influence your metabolism and appetite.^[5]

Oh, and all of the above assumes we’re actually tracking calories accurately. Which pretty much nobody does. Ever. But I’ll get to that shortly. 

And remember, this is only half of the equation.

Here are some of the things that impact “Calories Out:”

• Energy burned while resting: your Basal Metabolic Rate is a count of how many calories you burn at rest and will be controlled by your age, weight, height, biological sex, muscle composition, etc. 
• Energy burned through Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT): do you fidget a lot? That increases your NEAT, or the energy you burn doing stuff other than exercising. Think tapping your feet, twirling your hair, using your hands when speaking, etc. Even just an hour of this kind of movement can accumulate an extra 300 calories burned.^[6]
• Exercise: of course, how much you intentionally exercise will impact your calories out, although perhaps not as much as most people think (more on this later).

This is only scratching the surface on what determines “calories in, calories out.”^[7]

The important thing to consider here is that none of the above invalidate the basic premise of an energy deficit being necessary for weight loss. 

These factors will just influence one end of the equation or the other. 

For example, let’s chat about protein and CICO:

• Eating plenty of protein has been shown to help keep people feeling full and satiated.^[8] So lots of protein can help folks lose weight, not because it changes the requirements for weight loss, but because it might allow them to get through the day less hungry (lowering their “calories in.”)
• Adequate dietary protein can help with building and maintaining muscle.^[9] The more muscle someone has, the more calories they’ll need to maintain it (raising their “calories out.”)^[10]

Read our guide “How much protein should I eat?” for more on this subject.

To recap this section: from a biological perspective, eating fewer calories than you burn is 100% necessary for weight loss. 

But all sorts of things impact the number of calories we eat and the number of calories we expend. 

This is going to lead us to…

The Problem With CICO (Humans Are Bad Estimators)

The majority of the problems people have with CICO is that it allows nutrient-deficient food to enter the diet, only limiting “how much.”

They’ll argue that people should be eating fruits and vegetables, lean protein, avoiding processed foods, and blah blah blah… 

We all know this. 

You don’t need someone else telling you to eat your veggies.

This isn’t the problem with CICO. 

The problem with CICO is it’s really hard to estimate “calories in” and “calories out.”

Like, REALLY hard. We humans are TERRIBLE at it. 

Take “calories in” or how much we eat: people generally UNDERestimate how many calories they consume by about 30-40%.^[11] Even dieticians, who are specifically trained in nutrition science, underestimated how much they eat.^[12]

“That may be true Steve, but don’t worry about me. I read the label on everything I buy so I know exactly how many calories I’m eating.”

Well, are you aware that the FDA allows a 20% leeway on total calories identified on packages?^[13] Meaning that 100 calorie drink of Orange Juice might actually be 120?

If you’re a food manufacturer, which way are you going to lean towards? Especially when you know people might scrutinize the calories of your nutrition label in an effort to lose weight.

This isn’t just paranoia: this study found that packaged snack food generally contains MORE calories in it than advertised.^[14]

Yeah…and remember, this is only half of the equation. 

It’s about to get even worse.

People are also really bad at estimating “calories out.” 

When folks self-assess how many calories they burned by exercising, they’re generally WAY OFF, by as much as 50%!^[15]

Oh, and those fitness trackers we wear?

They’ve been shown to be inaccurate, some by up to 90%!^[16]

That’s why we made this infographic on tracking “calories out”:

This is the main problem with CICO: we’re stuck with educated guesses for “calories in” and “calories out.”

So we underestimate the calories we eat by 40%. And then we overestimate how many calories we burn by 50%.

No WONDER we think our metabolism is broken if we can’t lose weight!

The truth is we’re unknowingly eating too much, and/or moving too little.

Ugh.

Heck, even how many calories you need a day (your baseline or Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is an estimate, something we acknowledge in our calorie calculator, which you can play with right here:

THE NERD FITNESS CALORIE CALCULATOR

 

In summary: balancing “calories in against calories out” is really all quite messy when you get right down to it.

Does that make all this hopeless?

Not even remotely.

But it does give us some context if you can’t seem to lose weight.

Tips for Sustainable Weight Loss (Next Steps)

This post is not made to dissuade you from trying The CICO Diet.

I actually encourage everyone to track their food and calories for one week, because it’s often an eye-opening experience on how much they’re truly eating.

If possible, take a few days and use a cheap food scale instead of just eyeballing it. You’ll be shocked about the actual portion sizes of some foods!

When it comes to sustainable weight loss, here at Nerd Fitness, we encourage two paths:

• Make small tiny changes towards “real food” (like the Nerd Fitness Healthy Plate above).
• Make small tiny changes towards a strength training practice.

Both of these strategies can dramatically – and positively – influence “calories in” and “calories out” respectively.  

In our Guide to Healthy Eating, we explain why every website tells you to eat vegetables (which we also tell you): vegetables are full of nutrients, contain lots of fiber to keep you full, and are generally low in calories.

Eating lots of vegetables, or “real food,” will help you naturally lower “calories in.”

How about another example to think about? Here are 200 calories of a blueberry muffin:

Compare it to 200 calories of broccoli (Thanks to wiseGEEK):

Which one do you think you’re likely to accidentally overeat for your calorie allotment?

Right.

For our other strategy, the Strength Training 101 series explains why growing strong is important for fat loss: 

Building muscle takes a lot of calories (and so does maintaining it).

In other words, a stronger version of yourself will require more calories.

And will be able to escape from jail easier. 

This will naturally raise your “calories out.”

The trick with it all is the “make small tiny changes” bit.

We’ve seen over and over that small steps (eating one new vegetable a week, a simple bodyweight workout) create momentum. Over time, these small changes are the keys to permanently getting healthy.

The entire Nerd Fitness Coaching program is based on this premise.

So what should you do now? Pick a small change and get going!

Here are some options for a healthy new habit:

• Calculate an estimate of how many calories you need (knowledge is power, even if it’s an approximation)
• Learn proper portions for some of the food you eat
• Serve one new vegetable with dinner this week
• Start a walking practice (even just 5 minutes at first is great)
• Try a simple beginner strength training workout (here’s one you can do in your living room)

The most important thing you can do now: start!

The exact “small tiny change” doesn’t matter so much, just pick one you feel comfortable with and get going! Once that habit becomes sustainable, pick a new one! And so on and so on…

We’ve seen it time and time again here that this is the true path towards success.

Boom!

Still here? Want some more guidance? An exact plan to follow on where to go next?

Alright, you got it, but only because you’ve been nice this whole time.

Here’s how Nerd Fitness can help:

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

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

#2) If you want a roadmap for getting in shape, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app will help you exercise and eat better, all while you build your very own superhero.

Interested?

Try your free trial right here:

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

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

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

Now, your turn:

What are your thoughts on The CICO Diet?

Do you have a strategy for balancing “calories in” and “calories out”?

Think I’ve got it all totally wrong? 

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: Make sure you read the rest of our content on sustainable weight loss:

• The 5 Rules of Weight Loss
• Why Can’t I Lose Weight?
• Which Diet is Right for Me?

###

GIF Source: Millhouse, Barney Thumbs Up, Joker, A Beautiful Mind, Leo “duh,”

Photo Source: A Surprise Performance Appraisal, Against the Current, There is always a bigger fish, Dim Sum Trike, miam miam, 

The post What is the CICO (Calories In, Calories Out) Diet? How to Count Calories for Weight Loss first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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I know plenty of people who hate exercise but WANT to find a way to like it.

And that’s what today’s post is all about:

Exercising in a way where life doesn’t suck AND helps you reach your goals.

Luckily, this is exactly what we do for a living!

• “Exercise” sucks! Do this instead:
• 40 ways to exercise without realizing it.
• Next steps, and my personal challenge to you:

I know what it’s like to hate exercise, and ALSO want to lose weight and see results. Ugh.

We’ve built an entire company and community around helping people overcome these obstacles – our Online Coaching Program helps people find exercises they love, and also how to make the right nutritional choices.

We are all on a unique journey and we’d love to help you with yours!

Exercise doesn’t have to suck. Let our coaches help you level up your life!

ExercIse Sucks. Do This Instead.

“But Steve, I don’t like to exercise!”

While some are like Odie and love to run around all day, others are like Garfield and feel like they must be allergic to exercise.

I hear this every day, and I’m not surprised.

After all, I think “exercise” sucks too.

Which is why we’re gonna focus on exercise that doesn’t feel like exercise!

After all, nutrition is like 90% of the equation. 

Exercise is merely a supporting actor, which is why we don’t ever NEED to spend time doing exercise we hate.

We’ve already talked extensively on Nerd Fitness on how to eat nutritiously, so I won’t hash that out here.

So let’s talk about exercise.

Sure, it would be great if we all strength trained 5 days a week and got super strong, but the reality is most of us don’t have that time – or the desire – to hit the gym.

And more importantly – the best exercise program is the one you actually do!

And thus today we’re going to focus on TWO key elements of getting more exercise in our lives:

#1) FIDGETING:

Did you know ‘fidgeting’ (aka “small micromovements”) can account for up to 350 additional calories burned per day?

Per the New York Times:

Overweight people have a tendency to sit, while lean ones have trouble holding still and spend two hours more a day on their feet, pacing around and fidgeting, researchers are reporting in findings published today.

The difference translates into about 350 calories a day…

350 extra calories burned per day ain’t no joke!

As we cover in our “How many calories should I eat every day?” guide, burning an extra 350 calories per day can result in sustainable weight loss and maintenance over time for many.

Not only that, but when you factor in inertia (an object at rest tends to stay at rest, and object in motion tends to stay in motion), it paints a pretty interesting picture:

We spend our lives trying to be more “efficient.” What if the key to weight loss is to be LESS efficient?

From standing up more frequently to parking FARTHER away from the grocery store, every additional step or movement counts. Today’s guide shares TONS of ways to get yourself used to moving more frequently.

I’m actually air drumming and shuffling my feet as we speak!

#2) FUN EXERCISE:

Who cares what the optimal workout is?

Unless you have a very specific physique you’re trying to build, ANY exercise is good exercise.

From dancing to yoga to climbing to roughhousing with your kids, it all counts.

This brings me to today’s point:

Exercise is a bonus. Exercise helps your heart get stronger, can help build muscle, usually gets you outside the house and absorbing vitamin D, and brings you a litany of other health benefits. Also, any additional calories burned is a bonus!

Exercise can help us make fewer unhealthy food choices. Instead of “I earned this” you can start telling yourself: “If I’m going to exercise regularly, I might as well make it worth it by eating right too.”

Daily exercise is a constant reminder that we are leveling up our lives – that we should continue to make other good choices or we’re practically wasting our time.

This is the type of stuff we focus on – with personalized instruction, with each of our online coaching clients.

Some clients are learning Olympic lifting, while others are simply focusing on taking the stairs more and tracking their food.

We are all on a unique journey and we’d love to help you with yours!

Our coaching program makes getting healthy fun. Seriously! Learn how we can help you on your journey:

40 Ways to Exercise Without Exercising

#1) Hiking, especially with friends – Strap on a pair of shoes, get out of the comfy confines of your hobbit-hole, and go explore the world around you!

Make sure you follow our Beginner Hiking Guide on how to find a hiking spot near you, what shoes to wear, what to bring with you, and more.

#2) Walking – No time to hike? Go for a simple walk. Even a 15-minute brisk walk is enough time to get close to a mile walked, which gets you one step closer to Mordor.

Do you have a 30-minute meeting at work? Have a walking meeting instead. Steve Jobs was known for doing this.

You should know Tim, a member of our Nerd Fitness community who lost 50 pounds – while injured – just by fixing his nutrition and going for long walks every day!

I’m proud that Tim used the philosophies laid out in our online courses under Nerd Fitness Prime to get his results!

#3) LARP – Live Action Role Playing. Might seem silly to those on the outside, but to those playing, it’s an amazing adventure that reminds us how awesome our imaginations are.

Also, depending on the game, you could be wearing a heavy costume, swinging heavy weaponry, and running for your life!

#4) Rock Climbing – I love rock climbing. It’s one of the best arm/back/forearm workouts in existence, you get to feel like a badass when you reach the top of the wall, and all climbing routes are graded so you can level up the challenge as you get stronger/fitter/better.

It’s a fit nerd’s dream!

#5) Geocaching – If rock climbing is a fit-nerd’s dream, then geocaching is an adventure nerd’s dream brought to life. Become a real-life treasure-hunter (Lara Croft? Nathan Drake? You decide!), and get a great workout in while you’re at it.

Or, if you’re truly nerdy, you can do some Digital Geocaching with Pokemon Go or Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

#6) Dancing – Ever tried serious swing dancing? You’ll be sweating within ten minutes. How about hip-hop? Drenched in sweat, and sore as hell the next day.

Zumba? Tango? Flamenco? You’d be surprised at what you can sign up for and what will elevate your heart rate.

#7) Roughhousing with your kids. I don’t have kids, but when I do, you can bet your ass I’ll be the dad out rolling around in the backyard with them. Don’t forget what it’s like to be a kid – it keeps you young.

I really enjoyed this article from Art of Manliness on the importance of roughhousing!

#8) Climbing on stuff – A few years back, I attended a great conference, Midoricon, and I was walking through the woods with NF Rebel Joe (No, not THAT Joe).

It was awesome to see this guy, having lost 100 pounds since finding Nerd Fitness, explore the woods like it was no problem: climbing on stumps, balancing on fallen trees, climbing trees, and more. 

We work with LOTS of Coaching Clients to get them outdoors and help build them “fun climbing programs” that burn tons of calories but don’t really feel like exercise.

Let us build a fun “playout” program that helps you get stronger and lose weight without needing a gym! Learn more:

#9) Martial arts – Be honest. You watched The Matrix, you heard Neo go “I know Kung Fu” and you wanted to be able to one day say the same thing.

Whether it’s Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Tae Kwon Do, Karate, or Capoeira (breakdance fighting, seriously), there’s a martial art out there that will make you feel like a badass.

And might help you defeat your archenemy. 

#10 Consider a standing desk – Although we all know that correlation does not prove causation, it’s no surprise that there’s a strong correlation between sitting all day and an unhealthy lifestyle.

Why not fix your posture, strengthen your legs, get more “fidget time” in, and spend the day being more productive with a standing desk? I have THIS desk and it allows me to switch between sitting and standing.

If you don’t want to stand all day, make sure you read up on our guide, “how to survive sitting all day in an office.”

#11) Have an active meeting – Hat tip to Charlie Hoehn on this one. If somebody wants to meet up with you for coffee, suggest something active: throwing a baseball, tossing a frisbee, going for a hike – anything that gets you up and moving.

I say yes to pretty much anybody that invites me to play golf. Wink wink.

#12) You know… that thing that consenting adults do?

Yeah. Do that.

Self-explanatory.

Moving on…

#13) Clean! – Ugh, nobody likes to clean the house/apartment. It’s not my favorite thing to do. So I instead make a game out of it.

I see how much I can accomplish with a single song blasting at max volume, while probably also dancing. I also CRUSH podcasts while doing the dishes.

Of course, after getting through one song, I figure “welp, I’ve already started, might as well keep going.”

#14) Try handstands – This is a fun activity that builds up some serious arm and core strength and will leave you sweating bullets after even a few minutes.

So go find a park, go do handstands, cartwheels, somersaults, and whatever else makes you feel young again.

Here’s our guide on How to Do Handstands.

#15) Parkour – Our Beginner’s Guide to Parkour is one of the most popular on Nerd Fitness. I don’t care how old you are, there’s no reason you can’t get started with rolling around in your yard and vaulting over picnic tables and bike racks.

Or, you can do it in your office:

#16) Playout – Is Parkour too serious for you? Try a playout! Spiderman was on to something – climbing walls, swinging from skyscrapers, and popping flips around the bad guys.

You might not be able to swing between buildings, but you can definitely visit a playground in your area and get creative!

#17) Adult gymnastics – In the same vein as parkour, gymnastics will help you build some of the BEST real-world strength you can get with any type of exercise, and it’s all done in a playful way without a single weight being picked up.

Swing from rings, somersault, flip onto pads, and more.

There are gyms all over the country.

#18) Yoga – Build flexibility and strength, plus learn to freaking relax.

There are a million kinds of Yoga, including awesome stuff like Acro-Yoga, baby goat Yoga (not kidding), and Yoga with beer.

Sign up for a few different kinds and see which one lines up the best with what you’re looking for.

#19) Play video games that make you active – Beat Saber. DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) counts too. Just Move. Anything that gets you off your ass and moving!

Oh, what’s that? You’re playing a normal game like Grand Theft Auto V? Make a rule that you can only play while standing up, or that you have to do 10 push-ups every time you die.

That’s what I do to keep myself from spending twelve hours on the couch in marathon gaming sessions!

#20) Play on a playground – Go down the slide, swing across the monkey bars, climb the rope all, balance on the balance beam.

Create an obstacle course for yourself and see how quickly you can get through it.

You can even work out on a playground too:

#21) Play a musical instrument – Did you know playing musical instruments can burn a boatload of calories too?

I imagine this is doubly true if you’re dancing around like Taylor Davies playing the violin.

#22) Join a Rec League – New in town? Want to be active and meet people? Join a co-ed kickball, softball, or tennis league.

You get to exercise AND it’s a great way to meet new people through exercise!

#23) Bike to work – I know there are a lot of Rebels in our community who dropped a bunch of weight by making one change: they biked to work, or biked to their friend’s house, or started biking generally.

You get from Point A to Point B, you save money on gas, and you get a workout.

Plus, you can do it with friends!

Here’s our Guide to Biking if you want some help getting started. 

#24) Play a childhood game – What games did you play as a child? Capture the flag? Kick the can? Simple tag?

Get a few friends together and give it a try – it will be the most fun you’ve had in a while!

#25) Park at the far end of the parking lot – Every step counts.

Every tiny decision that is slightly different than the “OLD you” counts.

IT ALL COUNTS when it comes to burning more calories than you consume every day.

Getting in shape doesn’t have to be miserable. Learn more:

#26) Take the stairs. It’s only two flights! And we are designed to move. You can do this.

Sure, you’ll get winded the first handful of times. But it eventually becomes routine.

And it all counts! Make a game out of it.

#27) Crush audiobooks while “exercising.” This is called ‘temptation bundling.‘ Pair something you love with an activity you’re trying to do more of.

But I bet if you could only listen to Harry Potter (for the 600th time) while walking on a treadmill, you’d be more likely to get to the gym.

#28) Build stuff. Whether you’re building a fort with your kid in the backyard, or trying to figure out why you have 5 extra screws in that IKEA dresser you’re putting together, building stuff involves lots of moving and bending and picking up and maneuvering.

Warning: you’ll swear no less than 100 times building furniture. Earmuffs! 

#29) Sit in a squat, or pike position on the floor while watching TV. No, not leaning against the couch. Sitting up actively engaging your core!

You can also do some sort of stretch or movement like these bodyweight exercises during commercials (or in the 15 seconds between Netflix episodes!)

#30) Impromptu dance parties. Kids or no kids, I find that great Disney songs are fantastic for bringing out your inner child.

Blast the tunes, dance around the house, and be absurd. WHO CARES! As a wise woman once said…”Let it gooooooo.”

#31) Go for a walk while on the phone. What if you just decided you had to stand for all of your phone calls?

For starters, I know many people who do phone interviews while standing because it makes them more alert and a better guest.

Next: you’re gonna get so many steps in while on the phone without realizing it!

#32) Having an impromptu picnic. Instead of sitting and gorging yourself at the dining room table, why not eat on the floor?

Grab a blanket or a towel, eat in your living room or head out into the backyard, and make it a picnic!

You’ll need to adjust your posture and seating style constantly.

#33) Sit in a squat. We cover this in our “How to squat” guide, but sitting in a deep squat – often for long timeframes – is built into us as a species! We’ve just become soft from sitting in chairs all day long.

I try to accumulate 15 minutes of “squat time” each day – sitting in a squat while reading a chapter in a book, or journaling, or answering an email with my laptop on the ground.

Here I am sitting in a squat while reading Level Up Your Life (available online and in bookstores nationwide!)

#34) The “Pull-up bar Tax”. Get yourself a door-frame pull-up bar. Put it on a door that you have to cross through regularly.

And every time you go through, you have to do either 1 pull-up, 1 negative pull-up, or 10 seconds of hanging from the bar.

Can’t do a pull-up yet? Learn how to get your first pull-up or chin-up.

#35) Lasers around the house. Set up colored string pulled tightly across your kid’s rooms or in certain hallways, and you have to go over and under the lasers each time you traverse the hallway.

Don’t touch the lasers!

#36) Climb a tree. Your level of safety and ability on this will be dependent on your experience here, but I remember climbing trees like a monkey as a kid and loving every minute of it.

Even if it’s just hanging from a tree branch or trying to scramble up to a low branch, it can be a great way to “exercise.”

#37) The floor is lava. This is both great for exercising around your apartment, for a fun date night or night with the kids, and for playing True American. Though one is slightly more healthy than the other.

#38) Casual Parkour. From avoiding cracks on the sidewalk to balancing on curbs, or jumping from tile to tile, or hopping up onto a bench and then back down, it all counts!

Just get yourself to move differently than you would have otherwise! We are currently working with a woman who has lost 100-pounds through our Coaching Program, and her exercise is all “fun parkour in the woods behind the house!”

Let us build a weight loss program for you that’s ACTUALLY fun! Learn more:

#39) Literally fidget more! Yes, from tapping your toes to music and twitching your legs to the beat of the music. Getting up and sitting back down. Doing laps around your office.

You don’t need to get a standing desk or treadmill desk, but there’s a definite correlation between those that can’t sit still and body composition.^[1]

#40) Your kid is a backpack! From piggyback rides to playing horsey, staying active with your kids is really powerful in instilling a love of fitness in them.

If you’re a badass mom like Brownwyn – a success story from Nerd Fitness Prime, you can even do pull-ups while your kid holds on!

Here are more tips on how to work out as a whole family.

Challenge yourself to Have fun: Next Steps!

If you are looking for more guidance beyond the 40 Fun Exercise Suggestions above, we have three options to continue your journey:

1) Join our epic Online Coaching Program! We create personalized programs for each customer based on their lifestyle, goals, and personality. From parkour in the park to just walking more with your children, or even “becoming a badass powerlifter,” we cater each experience to each person.

Learn how we make exercise fun and actually get results in our Online Coaching Program:

2) If you’re looking for a bunch of fun ways to exercise, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you move more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

We assign fun missions daily to get you to exercise in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise…because it’ll feel like a side quest instead.

Try your free trial (no credit card needed) right here:

3) Enlist in The Rebellion (it’s free)! Sign up for our biweekly newsletter and join the Nerd Fitness Rebellion!

I’ll send you tons of free guides and bonuses to help you get started on your journey today.

Sign up below:

No matter which path you pick above, I want you to commit to trying something new, or doing something different, at some point in the next week:

• Say yes before you can say no. Stop saying “I don’t have time” and realize you do. Stop saying “I can’t afford it” and find a way to make it a priority. Do all of this before you can talk yourself out of it. The best way to do that?
• Commit in advance. Put down a deposit and make an investment in yourself. I pre-paid 6 weeks of swing dance lessons. Having already paid for it, I knew I’d be just throwing my money away if I didn’t attend.
• Go with a friend. I went to my swing classes alone, which forced me to further develop my social skills, but if you happen to be TOO afraid to attend a class, get a friend to drag you there.
• Expect to suck. If you are learning a new skill, expect to suck at it. You’ll get better as long as you remember to…
• Have fun. Remember, we could get hit by a bus tomorrow. Every day above ground is a blessing, so enjoy it!
• When in doubt, move more.

That one thing you always wanted to try but have been putting off?

Today’s a good day to get started. Just take that FIRST step.

Google classes in your city. Find a site that focuses on beginners, and read about it. If there’s a place to pre-pay or make a deposit, do it.

And then go.

Use 20 seconds of courage if you have to.

What’s the one new thing you’re going to try this month?

-Steve

###

photo credit: Reiterlied 02/52 – Confidence, JD Hancock Garfield, treadmill fall, Denes Paragi © 123RF.com, It’s Always Autumn: Lazer Hallway, lzflzf © 123RF.com

The post 40 Fun Ways to Exercise (Without Realizing It) first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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A handstand is one of the coolest exercises ever, but it’s also one of the most advanced moves to learn.

Fortunately, you’ve come to the right place.

Today you start your journey to the Upside-Down!

Ah, not that Upside-Down…we’ll keep you in this dimension.

We’ve helped many of our coaching clients achieve their first handstand and today we’ll share with you how it’s done with this guide!

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach help you get your first handstand, step-by-step! Learn more here.

We’ll treat it like a video game, progressing you from complete noob to Level 6: Handstand Master. 

We’ll go over the following (click to flip to that section):

• Are handstands good for you?
• Do handstands build muscle?
• The secret to performing a handstand.
• Handstand Progression Warm-Up Routine (DON’T SKIP)
• Level 1 Handstand Progression: Quadruped Rocking
• Level 2 Handstand Progression: Hollow Body
• Level 3 Handstand Progression: Crow Pose
• Level 4 Handstand Progression: Wall Walk
• Level 5 Handstand Progression: How to Bail out of a Handstand
• Level 6 Handstand Progression: How to Do a Handstand
• 4 Tips and tricks for doing handstands.

The tutorials ahead are from our premium course Nerd Fitness: Handstands, which you gain access to under a Nerd Fitness Prime membership. I would encourage you to check out if you like what you see here.

Alright, brace yourself to get flipped-turned upside down.

Are Handstands Good for You? (3 Reasons Why Handstands Rule)

At Nerd Fitness we LOVE handstands like Eleven loves waffles.

Here are 3 reasons why handstands rule:

#1) Like other bodyweight training, there’s no excuse. If you have room to stand up, you have room to practice handstands.

#2) It recruits DOZENS of muscles in your body.

From arm strength to wrist mobility to core strength to shoulder mobility and muscular endurance, handstands do it all.

When you are trying to balance, it makes your body work as one complete unit.

#3) It scares you – yes, that’s a positive. We grow outside our comfort zone and for many people, just the thought of a handstand is enough to make their palms sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, vomi…

…nevermind.

The point is that the handstand is just as much of a mental challenge as it is a physical one.

How scared do you think this guy gets on a regular basis?

That’s Coach Jim!

Master of the NF Fitness Universe, and our lead trainer for our Handstands Course and Nerd Fitness Coaching. You’ll be seeing a lot of him in today’s article because Jim can do handstands in his sleep.^[1]

The Secret to Performing a Handstand

Sure, we need to build strength to support ourselves upside-down, but even that hurdle is overblown.

A proper handstand actually starts to feel easy. 

That’s because once you’re balanced and aligned, it becomes uber-efficient. Just as you don’t exert yourself much if you stand straight with good posture, a good efficient handstand is the same way… it will soon start to feel effortless.

Actually, the biggest hurdle to overcome – especially at the beginning – is the mental fear.

The voice/feeling in the back of your head that says “you could get hurt doing this!” SCARY!

And I won’t sugar-coat things, you CAN hurt yourself working on these skills… but it’s no different than if you walked into the gym first day, slapped 315 lbs on the bench press, and gave it a go.

Or went out and tried to run 13 miles without training.

The exercise itself isn’t dangerous, unless you attempt TOO much, too quickly.

If you wouldn’t load up a bar to deadlift 500 lbs on your first day in the gym, why do so many people just kick and fling themselves up into a handstand, failing repeatedly, hoping one day they’ll “get” it?

So…

There’s a smarter way!

How do we overcome this fear and keep ourselves safe? Just like learning any other fitness skill: slow, easy, successful steps!

These small victories accumulate over time to bring us to our goals safely while having a lot of fun.

Are you ready to learn?

Sweet, we’ve got you covered. Read on for ways to safely progress to handstand mastery!

Handstand Progression Warm-Up Routine

For any handstand exercise, there is going to be a significant amount of stress on the hands and wrists. So, it’s important you stretch and warm things up.

Here is a video from our NF Handstands course going over some of our favorite wrist stretches to prepare to get upside-down. Go through each stretch about 10 times.

Let’s spotlight a few of these Handstand Warm-Up exercises:

#1) Forward and Back Wrist Stretch:

#2) Lifted Palms Wrist Stretch:

#3) Reverse Palm Stretch:

#4) Backhand Palm Stretch:

#5) Upside Down Wrist Stretch:

The trick with wrist stretches is to move in as many different ways as feels comfortable. Feel free to make the warm-up your own!

The shoulders are another stressed area in the handstand. There are several ways we can prepare them for work

A few rounds of jumping jacks:

Or arm circles

That will get the blood moving and the area ready.

From here, we’ll begin our journey leveling up your Handstand Progression.

We’ll start by having you work with some balance drills and some positional drills.

Nothing too crazy, and in fact some of these might seem TOO EASY. That’s fine! That’s what we want, remember?

We’re using small victories to motivate us. Landing on your head is not a great way to motivate anyone.

Ouch.

Want someone to build you a custom made progression plan for doing your handstand? Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program will do just that, plus your coach can review your movements through our app so you’ll know your training correctly and safely.

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach create a custom plan for achieving handstands!

Level 1 Handstand Progression: Quadruped Rocking

You may be thinking that feeling the balance of a handstand is going to be brutally difficult.

Not so!

We can start quite easily on our hands and knees in the quadruped position.

From here, we will simply rock forwards and backwards on our hands.

Seem familiar?

If you did the wrist mobility we described above, it’s the same motion!

Isn’t that handy?^[2]

As you are rocking back and forth, feel where the weight rests in your hands.

• When you rock back, it sits more in the heel of your hands. 
• When you rock forward, you’ll feel it in your knuckles and fingertips.

Where do we want it in the handstand?

Right around the knuckles.

This is a balanced spot – similar to the balance you find when standing. You don’t sit all your weight on your heels, and you don’t lean all your weight forward, gripping your toes hard into the ground, do you?

Find and feel that balance when you rock.

When should you move on to Level 2 Handstand Progression? 

Now would work!

Level 2 Handstand Progression: Hollow Body

The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. It will help to give your handstand a good shape.

Do you need to master the hollow body to master the handstand?

Not necessarily, as there are plenty of handstands out there that are a bit banana-shaped.

But the hollow body will help you create a more efficient position.

#1) Start by laying down a yoga or exercise mat on the ground and laying on the ground face up.

#2) Think about pressing your lower back down into the ground and engaging your midsection like you’re coughing. You should still be able to breath!

#3) Once the midsection is set, tuck your knees to your chest and hold your shins like you’re getting ready for a wicked cannonball.

#4) Holding the shins will help you maintain that lower back and midsection position.

Still feeling good? 

Then try rocking!

• Rock your body forward and back slightly from the upper back to the lower back, like a rocking chair. 
• Head and feet stay off the ground. 
• If you are stable then you should move as one unit.

If you need more of a challenge, reach your arms by your ears, keep the knees tucked, and rock some more.

Without the hands holding the shins, the midsection really has to keep engaged in order to give you a smooth rock.

With any of these positions, work to rock for a full 15 seconds under control. 

Once you can do so with arms extended, progress up to Level 3.

Level 3 Handstand Progression: Crow Pose

To enter Crow Pose, move forward from the Quadruped Rock position so that your knees are on the outside of your arms. You can even bend the elbows a little and rest your legs on them.

Rock forward in the same manner as before, putting a little more weight on the hands and a little less weight on the feet.

Important: this isn’t Assassin’s Creed… We are not making a leap of faith here!

Don’t jump!!! 

We are simply looking for less and less weight on the feet.

Take things slow and easy – rising up on the toes when you can. When you are ready to pick the feet up and hold yourself off the ground on just your hands, it should come naturally.

Be sure to grab into the ground hard to hold and control yourself, and feel free to put down a pile of pillows or mats in front of you if you should fall!

Once you’re able to get both feet off the ground comfortably and safely, it’s time for Level 4 Handstand Progression.

If you find yourself stuck at the crow position or any other level, we are here to help! 

Our coaches can review your progression and form to help you advance onto the next level!

Have a Nerd Fitness Coach guide your handstand and fitness journey!

Level 4 Handstand Progression: Wall Walk

In this level, we’ll get started working toward something that actually looks like a handstand!

All we’re trying to do with this exercise is support our bodyweight on our straightened arms (just like the front plank or push-up).

So, the first level of this exercise is to simply get yourself up into the top of a push-up and hold. If that’s too hard, put your hands up on an elevated surface and/or rest on your knees and hands instead.

Once this is mastered, level up by simply lifting your hips in the air into a down dog position!

From here, it’ll be a matter of getting your feet onto a higher and higher surface.

Note: putting your feet up something even a few inches off the floor counts – small steps!

You can use something as simple as bumper plates:

As you progress, add more bumper plates (or whatever you’re using) so your feet are higher and higher.

Once you are supporting yourself with your feet on a high box, try walking your feet up the wall. (Think of it like a really tall box!)

Be careful at this step: Be sure you have enough energy to walk back down safely and second, that you don’t walk too close to the wall and risk flipping onto your back!

See the next section on pirouettes to safely exit these wall walks if you happen to “go over!”

With each of these variations, we’re looking to build up to a solid 15 seconds under control before moving forward.

Once you’re at the point of lying vertically against the wall, you’re on your way to leveling up to a full handstand! 

But first, we need to talk about how to bail safely.

Level 5 Handstand Progression: How to Bail out of a Handstand

As you start to get better with Wall Walks, and you practice getting closer and closer to completely vertical while upside down, there’s going to be instances where you start to “tip over.”

In order to safely return your feet to the ground, you’re going to want to do what we call a pirouette:

How to bail out of a handstand:

• Get into a wall handstand.
• Shift your weight to one arm (the planted arm), allowing the other arm to move.
• Drive one leg into the wall (the one that’s on the same side as the planted arm), and lean the opposite leg forward.
• Gravity pulls you around, and lets you lower your feet to the floor safely.

This is one of the most important skills you can learn as you develop your handstand practice, as it will allow you to safely exit any handstand without any risk of injury as you develop your balance!

Once you feel comfortable bailing out of a handstand, my dear rebel, it is time for Level 6!

Level 6 Handstand Progression: How to Do a Handstand

We are now ready for you to try a handstand!

It’s going to come down to you slowly but surely leaving the safety of the wall.

First, just try to take one leg off the wall during your wall walk:

When you’re comfortable taking one leg off, trying switching them!

The objective is now is to switch your legs in a slow, smooth manner – one lifts off the wall while the other simultaneously moves back to the wall. 

Once you get comfortable with this, it’s time to take both legs off the wall!

BOOM! Your first handstand!

Are you doing it right?

A good way to tell would be to record your handstand practice and review it against the videos here to check your form.

Want to have an expert review your form? Check out our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program! Our spiffy mobile app lets you send a video of your handstand directly to your coach, who will provide feedback so you can perfect your technique.

They’ll also build a workout program that’s custom to your situation, which will have you doing handstands like Luke Skywalker in no time!

Have your Nerd Fitness Coach build you a handstands workout and check your form! Click here to learn more!

4 Tips and Tricks for Doing Handstands

Nothing beats patience and hard work, but there are a few tips and tricks we can provide that will allow you the best chance for success.

#1) Make sure you go through a proper warm-up: We’ve given you several options for the wrists and shoulders. Not only will a warm-up help prevent injury, but it will get the muscles and joints properly prepared to get the most out of your training.

#2) Prioritize Your Handstand: You can work the skill on its own time, and it won’t interfere or be interfered by anything else, but what if you’re doing other exercises during your workout?

When do you do your handstand? When you’re training in a swamp?

The best time to work the balancing drills (like your wall walk) is at the beginning of your workout, after you’ve warmed up.

These skills require concentration and a fresh focus to really benefit and progress with them.

Trying to balance after you’ve exhausted yourself with a tough cardio session is an exercise in futility (pun intended).

The best time to work the positional drills (like your quadruped rock) would be sometime during your strength session, and before your cardio.

These drills are not as dependent on completely fresh muscles, but we still don’t want to try and hold ourselves upside-down after a grueling workout.

#3) Don’t do too much, too soon.

We’ve mentioned this a million times because it’s so important. Taking on too much too soon is a way to develop bad habits and possibly injure yourself.

Ouch again.

Take your time! Enjoy and really master each step!

#4) Take it Easy: In the same vein, we want to look for success.

What do I usually see when people practice handstands: Someone kicking up 100 times and kinda getting a handstand once or twice.

How much sense does that make?

While we might not be batting 1,000 with all our attempts, but we should be looking to successfully complete around 8 out of 10 attempts. If we’re not? Then we might have taken on too much, too soon!

Let’s wrap up this guide and give you some next steps for your handstand practice.

The 5-Minute Rule: Practice Handstands Every Day and Be Amazed at What Happens

Commit to 5 minutes a day. That’s it. But do it every day.

I’ll see a lot of people go all-in for a single handstand session, and then not touch the skill for a week or more.

Dan Gable once said”

“If it’s important, do it every day.”

Now, this is a simplification, but with handstands, this is ESPECIALLY important.

When you first start out, your arms and shoulder may only be able to do 5 minutes before they are DONE.

Doing them for a short time each day is the best strategy to improve strength, endurance, and balance.

Want help progressing with handstands from here? I’ve got 3 great options for you!

#1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to complete handstands, get stronger, and even eat better, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

#2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Have questions you need answered? Join Nerd Fitness Prime!

Nerd Fitness Prime contains at-home exercise routines, live-streamed workouts with NF Coaches, a supportive online community, and group challenges.

Plus, you’ll gain access to all our online courses, including Nerd Fitness: Handstands, which will help you become a master at flipping upside down!

Learn more about Nerd Fitness Prime!

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

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

Alright, your turn:

Have you ever tried to kick up into a handstand?

What’s the one thing holding you back?

What questions can I answer?

-Steve

PS: One day I’ll be able to type articles like this while doing a handstand. 

Jim, our lead trainer for Nerd Fitness Coaching, makes it look so easy:

###

Photo sources:^[3]

The post How to Do a Handstand: Get Your First Handstand in 30 Days first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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Before you fork out some cash for a personal trainer, read this guide!

It’ll help you spot the difference between a bad personal trainer and an AMAZING trainer. 

And trust us, having the right trainer can make ALL the difference in the world.

There’s nothing worse than spending 6+ months in a gym (and thousands of dollars) with a trainer, only to step on the scale and realize that you haven’t made any progress.

It’s…

I’ve worked with good trainers and bad trainers over the past 16 years, have worked with the same online personal trainer since 2014, and we have a team of 15 personal trainers on Team Nerd Fitness.

Long story short, we know our stuff, and we’ll give it to you straight.

Whether or not you want to check out our 1-on-1 Online Training Program, this guide is going to help you with all the details.

Learn how an online personal trainer can change your life :

In this guide we’ll cover the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to personal trainers – both in-person and online:

• #1) What do you need from a personal trainer?
• #2) How to find a good personal trainer.
• #3) What are the signs of a bad personal trainer?
• #4) What certifications should a personal trainer have?
• #5) How much does a personal trainer cost?
• Pros and cons of hiring an online personal trainer.
• How to hire a personal trainer: next steps. 

What do you need from a personal trainer

As Coach Matt explains in the video above, the first question you need to ask when hiring a personal trainer: do they match up with your goals?

And yep, that means we’re going to have to pick some goals in the first place!

So start by picking your goals and then determine if the trainer you’re paired up with is the right fit for you. Like dating, you can meet somebody who’s amazing but not right for you.

If somebody is a competitive marathon runner, they might not be a great powerlifting coach, and vice versa.

So, start with your goals for finding a personal trainer:

1. Are you trying to lose 300 pounds? 20 pounds? Get to 10% body fat?
2. Are you trying to get stronger or hold your first handstand?
3. Do you want to become a competitive powerlifter?
4. Are you looking to run your first 5k?
5. Do you just want to get in shape, feel better, and enjoy exercise?

These goals will largely determine the type of trainer you’re looking for.

MISTAKE #1: Not making sure your trainer has expertise in the area you want to train in.

Expertise in one area does not necessarily make them a good fit in another!

After that, you’ll want to think about what you NEED from your personal trainer:

1. Are you looking for a powerlifting coach to show you the basics (squat, deadlift, bench) so your form is right? Just a few sessions up front and a few later down the line to confirm you’re on the right path might suffice.
2. Are you new to working out or looking to kick start your first 2 months of training with 2 sessions per week to keep you disciplined?
3. What type of person are you? Do you need more hands-on guidance throughout your workouts, or more space to take ownership and thrive on your own? Do you need somebody who will cheer you on or do you need tough love from somebody to call you on your bullshit?

Once you set proper expectations with what you want and how long you need a trainer for, then you can pick out one that hopefully will work for you.

Get matched with a coach that fits your personality!

How to find a good personal trainer

Once you find a trainer you are considering working with, the next step should always be an in-depth conversation.

MISTAKE #2: Blindly accepting what your trainer tells you without making sure you fit together! 

They SHOULD be listening to you completely and hear your full story.

They SHOULD ask about any past issues with injuries or experience with exercise. If you’re injured or have any deficiencies, they should know this so they can create a great program for you.

They SHOULD ask you about your nutrition. If they don’t ask about your nutrition, you’re going to be wasting your time.

They SHOULD practice what they preach. They don’t have to be an Olympian, but should have a healthy lifestyle.

They SHOULD tell you about their expertise and how they can help you. They should be able to share past successes of clients with you or point to their credentials and history of success.

They SHOULD set proper expectations. You won’t get ripped in a month, but they can let you know it could take many months to get in shape or build the right kind of habits.

That’s what to look for. These are the things we specifically focus on with our 1-on-1 online coaching program. We love helping people in a way that fits their lifestyle, at a pace that they feel great about, while actually having fun.

Exercise doesn’t need to suck! Click to learn about our Online Coaching program:

What are the Signs of a bad personal trainer?

Beware the “entertainment exercise” trainers with a routine that isn’t catered to your goals.

MISTAKE #3: Thinking a workout is more effective because it’s confusing.

Many trainers just try to confuse you with needlessly complex movements, and put all their clients through roughly the same cookie-cutter plan.

Why? because they know it makes them look knowledgeable without actually needing to do something effectively:

“Now balance on this bosu ball while doing these dumbbell squat lunge curls and standing on one foot with your tongue out! Muscle confusion!

I hope you saved some energy for the row machine.”

Tough workouts are great, but remember that while it’s easy to get someone tired (“go do 100 burpees!”), it’s harder to help someone slowly improve and build momentum.

Sure, it might elevate your heart rate and tire you out, but if it’s not building towards your goals in a way that you couldn’t do at home, what are you paying for?

They might also have just obtained a basic certification and stopped their education there, relying on ‘conventional wisdom’ rather than doing the research and building the experience.

If your trainer says any of the following phrases, run for the high hills:

• “Yeah you don’t want to squat too low – it’s bad for your knees.”
• “Use this machine; it’s safer for you than free weights” (unless you have an injury)
• “Yes, you should be using mostly your back. That’s why it’s called the back squat”
• “These (ab) exercise will burn fat from your stomach in no time” (You can’t spot reduce fat.)

I have overheard all of these sound bites from real trainers in real gyms, and it made me weep like the Native American in the 1970s pollution ad:

Your trainer should be results-focused, not focused on scheduling you a new session and keeping you around.

I often see clients working with trainers for months and months and that client never looks any different.

The trainer is just interested in cashing another check.

Remember, your personal trainer works for YOU: Don’t let them build a program that doesn’t actually fit your needs!.

Do they adjust your workout to take care of any pre-existing injuries you may have, or do they just give you a cookie cutter workout?

Are they encouraging or helping you succeed in the way you want to be encouraged, or are they scrolling through Instagram models on their phones while you’re doing your sets?

Are they putting in the time so they can see you get results, or are they putting in the time so they can check the box and collect your money?

You’re paying money for this person’s expertise and attention – it’s not too much to ask to find somebody who takes those things seriously.

What certifications should a personal trainer have?

There are a wide variety of personal trainer certifications and other “credibility indicators.”

The more traditional path – a degree in exercise science or kinesiology may mean the trainer in question is knowledgeable about the human body.

However, that doesn’t speak to any experience they may or may not have coaching in real-world circumstances.

6 of the most popular personal trainer certifications are:

1. NSCA: National Strength and Conditioning Association
2. ACSM: American College of Sports Medicine
3. NASM: National Academy of Sports Medicine
4. ACE: American Council on Exercise
5. NPTI: National Personal Training Institute
6. CrossFit

T-Nation provides a rundown of the pros and cons from a trainer’s perspective that we feel is also useful insight from a client’s perspective. Be sure to check them out if you want to learn more about what’s behind your trainer’s certification.

CrossFit certifications are completed in a single weekend. While a CrossFit certification does not make a trainer bad (there are plenty of excellent CrossFit coaches out there!), it does not guarantee excellence either.

Here are our thoughts on CrossFit.

A certification from NPTI – the National Personal Training Institute – is a credential gained from going to a school for personal training (rather than attending a single class or taking a test).

While no certification can fully promise excellence, we believe trainers with NPTI certifications are worth your consideration.

CAVEAT TO ALL OF THIS: Plenty of trainers who have NO certification are incredible, and plenty of other trainers have the most elite certifications and are terrible trainers.

MISTAKE #4: Blindly accepting a trainer’s credentials or discounting a trainer without certain credentials.

Certifications can be a starting point, but they shouldn’t be the determining factor.

One of the most important things to look for in your trainer isn’t a credential or certification at all, but real experience and an enthusiasm for helping you reach your goals.

For example:

Looking to powerlift or get into Olympic lifting? Look for someone who has successfully competed in their fields, or someone who actually coaches athletes who do compete!

Need to lose a lot of weight? Ask a trainer to share with you success stories from people who are like you.

In our view, finding a trainer with proven experience and a track record of performing or coaching (or both) in the area of your goals is the most valuable step you can take to ensure quality.

The credential is only a starting point.

Trainers aren’t cheap, but the benefits can be priceless.

Remember, you aren’t paying simply for their time with you. You’re paying for the years and years they’ve spent learning, training, and coaching.

It’s the years behind the certification that makes their time so valuable, so expect the cost of a trainer to be significantly more than the cost of a basic membership at your gym.

Learn more about our Online Coaching program!

How much does a personal trainer cost? Are Personal Trainers Worth it?

The cost of a personal trainer can vary dramatically depending on:

• Where you live (in an expensive city, small town, etc.).
• The quantity and duration of your training sessions.
• What kind of training you are looking for.

But you want specifics.

The average North American trainer charges $55 for an hour session.^[1]

That’s an “average” so let’s break it down a little.

Here are the prices for working with a trainer in various capacities at my generic commercial gym in the NYC area (definitely on the more expensive end):

• 4 sessions per month: $95 per session = $380/month
• 8 sessions per month: $85 per session = $680/month
• 12 sessions per month: $79 per session = $948/month

Is this pricing more or less than you expected?

Here is how much a personal trainer costs at:

1. Global Gyms: Most big box gyms offer personal training:
   • LA Fitness: you can expect to pay about $60 per session.
   • 24-Hour Fitness: it’ll be about $80 per session.
   • Anytime Fitness: as little as $35 a session.
2. Luxury Gyms: If you go to a more upscale gym like Equinox, expect to pay “luxury” prices of $110+ an hour.
3. In-Home Personal Training. If you don’t want to head to the gym, you can actually have a personal trainer come to your home. The cost on this could be all over the place, but a rough average would be about $65 for an hour session.

Different trainers will have different qualifications and expertise, leading to vastly different training experiences.

This can be really important.

MISTAKE #5: Thinking “more expensive” automatically means “better results.” 

Cost is not the right metric. VALUE is the right metric!

Depending on your goals and the results you’re after:

• $30 per session might be overpaying for a crap trainer who gives you a generic workout and doesn’t care about you. 
• $100 per session might be a STEAL if it’s an amazing trainer that gets to know your life and your personality, motivates you in the way you need to be motivated, and helps you get past a plateau when you stall.

That’s why remembering your “get in shape” goals is critical when buying a personal trainer.

If you’re looking to do 5 sessions to improve your powerlifting technique, that’s different than hiring a trainer to be with you in person 3x a week to get you to the gym.

HOW TO THINK ABOUT HIRING A TRAINER: 

You’re not just paying for an hour of somebody’s time.

You’re paying for their years of experience, schooling, training, and expertise.

You’re paying to outsource ALL of your fitness questions to somebody who knows what they’re doing.

Somebody who gives you the confidence you’re training correctly.

So instead of “I am paying this trainer for 1 hour, this is too expensive,” what you’re really paying for is confidence, momentum, and (hopefully) results.

As somebody who has worked with an online trainer since 2014, I would pay any amount of money to my coach (just don’t tell him that) because I love getting results after years of struggle.

How does an in-person trainer compare to our online coaching program?

Our pricing comes in at a less-expensive price than 4 sessions per month with a trainer.

In addition to building you a workout program for the month, we also help you with your nutrition, mindset, and goals, and answer all the questions you have.

There are very real pros and cons to hiring an online personal trainer, so make sure you read that next section.

So a trainer can be AMAZING and worth every penny, IF you have the right one who also takes an active role in your nutrition.

After all, workouts only make up 1-3 hours per week.

What about the other 165? That’s where the progress happens! And your coach should be helping you there too!

Learn more how our Online Coaching Program can help you actually hit your goals!

SHOULD I HIRE AN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER? WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF AN ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINER?

Warning: I’m going to be slightly biased in this area, but I’ll share the honest pros and cons of online training:

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s allowed me to prove an internet troll wrong and then lose 22 pounds in 6 months while getting super strong!

Here are the Pros of Online Personal Training:

#1) Freedom to fit your schedule. With an online personal coach, you can train when and where you want to fit your schedule – your coach builds the workout program for you ahead of time, so you can fit it in at your convenience.

Compare this to a traditional coach, and you’re at the mercy of their busy schedule. If they only have time Friday morning at 8am, and you’re not a morning person, conflict ensues.

#2) Persistent worldwide accountability. I’m borrowing this phrase from a NF Coaching Client, Jeff (his success story is great). No matter where in the globe you are, your online trainer comes with you.

Which means the accountability never stops. If you travel for work, your coach can plan for that and build you a special travel routine. Getting relocated for work? No problem – your coach will still be there.

#3) Nutritional guidance. With most traditional personal trainers, you engage with them only during your scheduled visits: they help you work out and that’s about it.

With an online personal trainer, you’re connected whenever you have access to the internet. And I would imagine that MOST online coaching programs, work with you on the most important part of the equation: eating healthier!

AKA everything that happens in the 23 hours outside of the gym.

#4) More cost-effective. Most in-person personal trainers are expensive, especially if you work out with them two or three times a week.

That’s because if your trainer is working with you, they can’t work with anybody else at the same time.

When you work with an online coach, because you aren’t training with them 1-on-1 in the gym, they can provide more cost-effective guidance.

When you factor in their availability via chat and their help on habits and your nutrition, you’re looking at a life-changing experience if you find a coach that fits your personality.

#5) It might be the only option. With so many gyms closing because of the pandemic, you might not even have much of a choice here. Here’s our guide to staying in shape (while staying inside) if you need to train from home. 

When comparing online coaches versus regular coaches, I’m going to share the cons as if you have the option between a GREAT online coach and a GREAT in-person coach.

Neither of those is guaranteed.

Here are the cons of an online coach when compared against a real-life equivalent:

#1) Your coach can’t do the work for you. There’s nothing stopping you from skipping a workout and lying to your online coach that you did it. Nobody wins in this scenario, but I can totally see it happening.

So yeah, an online coach can’t pick up the weight for you, and they can’t yell at you to put down the donut. You have to do the work!

#2) No real-time feedback and instant form check. If you’re learning how to powerlift, or you’re going for a particular heavy lift, having a coach right there is HUGE.

They can tell you to move your squat slightly wider. They can guide you through the movement and consistently remind you – even when tired – to keep great form.

Although we do form-check videos, where we have coaches and clients send clips back and forth to each other, it’s not the same as having somebody critique you in real-time.

If you’re looking to nail a particularly challenging lift, or learn a dangerous gymnastics move, working with a trained professional in person is invaluable.

#3) The value of sunk cost. If you pay for a month of online coaching, there’s nothing inherently motivating you to go to the gym when it’s cold and you’re tired – your coach can’t yell at you, and you’re not letting anybody down in the moment when you don’t make it.

Compare this to working with a real coach in person.

You paid $100 for a session, and if you don’t show up, that money is *POOF* gone. So you tell yourself, “I already paid for this, and my coach is gonna be mad, I should probably go.”

And then you go. And you’re so glad that you did.

Although your online coach can notice that you haven’t signed in on your app, and they can ask what’s going on, this is after the fact compared to an in-person coach getting stood up.

There’s a lot to consider when debating in-person training vs. an online personal trainer.

I wouldn’t say one format is clearly better than or superior to another. It really depends on what you’re after and the circumstances of your situation.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: I’ve been working with an online trainer since 2014, and it’s truly been life-changing for me.

I had some goals that had evaded me despite a DECADE of effort, and it took a great coach to coax out the right strategy. It’s how I say (jokingly) that I went from Steve Rogers to Captain America.

And it was my coach’s programming that got me a 420-pound deadlift at a bodyweight of 172 pounds:

I’m not gonna set any powerlifting records, but I’m healthier, happier, and stronger each and every month, and I’m damn proud of that.  

For somebody that can’t afford a top-of-the-line professional coach for each session, having an online coach to build your programming and guide your food choices is a verrrrry close second.

Start training and get results today. Learn more about our Coaching Program!

How to hire a personal trainer

HERE’S MY ADVICE: Give your new personal trainer 5 sessions before making a decision that things aren’t working out (sessions are often sold at a discount in a package).

The first session is often exploratory, explanatory, and introductory, and the trainer needs to test your limits and movements to build upon that.

This isn’t a “get fit quick” strategy, but rather one that could take months and months for you to find the right person to aid you on your journey.

Don’t expect miracles in a day!

A few words of wisdom if you do hire a trainer:

DO NOT USE YOUR TRAINER AS AN EXCUSE: Too many people will hire up a trainer and give no effort in the gym or the kitchen.

Then, when they fail to see results they can turn to their friends and say “man, my trainer is terrible, THAT’S why I’m not losing weight/getting stronger/etc.”

This happens so much more often than you’d think. A trainer is a guide, like Morpheus.

You have to take the pill and walk through the door yourself.

MAKE CRITICISM CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM: Often when the trainer asks them to do something (walk every day, throw away junk food, eat a vegetable), the client/trainee comes back with 1,001 reasons why they can’t do that.

No compromise or discussion of possible solutions. This stinks.

Instead of saying “no,” offer an alternative solution and negotiate a plan: “I don’t really like broccoli, do you have a way to make vegetables taste better?”

In other words, don’t look for problems, look for solutions.

IF YOU ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: Let them know and continue working with them.

The more information you can give them on your progress, the easier it will be for them to alter your program as you go on.

IF YOU DON’T ENJOY WORKING WITH YOUR TRAINER: That’s okay too. Not all relationships end in marriages.

Some first dates suck, and some trainers aren’t what you need.

I think you can be honest with them and let them know that it’s not a good fit and you will not be continuing to work with them.

Good trainers at this point will ask what they could have done better.

Trainers who are simply after your money may guilt trip you or beg you to stick around. Try somebody new and keep the search going.

REMEMBER: this is a lifelong quest, and you’re on the hunt for a great guide to help you on your journey.

They won’t do the work for you, and they can’t work miracles.

Have proper expectations, do what you’re told, and this could be the best investment you’ll make in your entire life!

Trainers in the Rebellion, what did I miss?

Those who have had experience working with Trainers, any wisdom to share from your experience?

One final note: Going to a gym is intimidating, especially if you’re starting out.

If you are in a location where there aren’t any great trainers, you don’t have access to a gym, or you’re just not ready to work with somebody in person, consider checking out our Online Coaching Program!

Schedule a free call to learn more by clicking on the image below:

If you have questions about what you need to look for when it comes to training with a coach in person, or even questions about working with an online trainer, leave them in the comments below so I can chime in!

-Steve

###

photo: Decathlon, wikimedia: high five, Bicycle, Wikimedia: stretching, Amazing playground: bicycles and football

The post How to Find a Good Personal Trainer or Coach: 5 Mistakes to Avoid! first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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This High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) guide is probably the best interval training guide in the galaxy.

My justification for such a bold claim?

We’re really good at this stuff, AND we have dinosaurs and Muppets.

Plus, lots of great gifs:

We build custom interval training programs just like the ones in this guide for our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Clients, including workouts for at home, the gym, or even while traveling.

Want a HIIT workout program you’ll actually enjoy? Learn more:

In this Ultimate Guide to Interval Training, we’ll cover:

• What is interval training? What is HIIT?
• What are the benefits of HIIT? Why should you do interval training?
• What’s an example of interval training? How to do interval running.
• How do HIIT workouts work?
• What are the best HIIT exercises?
• Is HIIT good for losing weight?
• Getting started with interval training.
• Mistakes to avoid when doing HIIT.
• HIIT timer recommendations.
• Our interval training workout recommendation.

If you’re interested in starting a HIIT practice (which you are, ’cause you’re here), you may want to try our new app! It contains a fun adventure that will take you from sitting on your couch to a full HIIT workout – with plenty of benchmarks in between for you to find your groove. No guesswork needed, just jump into the app and follow it’s next steps.

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

Alright, let’s do this thang.

What is Interval Training? What is HIIT?

In 2018, High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) was ranked the number one fitness trend by American College of Sports Medicine.^[1]

They wrote:

HIIT typically involves short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery and typically takes less than 30 minutes to perform.

Essentially, HIIT is just following a specific regimen where you vary your speeds and intensity throughout a shorter run, swim, bike, or row.

Any exercise can be a form of HIIT, but here’s a common routine:

• Jogging lightly for three minutes.
• Pushing yourself harder for a minute (run or sprint).
• Repeating this cycle 4 more times.

Because everybody is busy and overwhelmed, fast results in the least amount of time is why most people discover HIIT. 

Plus, you can do HIIT with just about anything, including a jump rope:

You may be asking, “Steve, just how short and intense are we talking about here? Also, your new haircut looks spiffy.”

Thank you, you’re very kind.

So let’s explore the pros and cons of intervals.

What are the Benefits of HIIT? Why Should You Do Interval Training?

The 1996 landmark Tabata study demonstrated the benefits of extreme HIIT.^[2]

Dr. Izumi Tabata, from Japan’s National Institute of Fitness and Sports, was obsessed with interval training.

The doctor sought to see exactly what kind of gains were obtained from short, intense, periods of exercise. He conducted an experiment with Olympic athletes on stationary bikes and put them through intense bouts of exercise followed by short periods of rest.

The results were fascinating.

Tabata found:

That 6 weeks of moderate-intensity endurance training did not affect anaerobic capacity, but that 6 weeks of high-intensity intermittent training (HIIT) may improve both anaerobic capacity and VO_2max simultaneously.

Let’s translate that: compared to regular cardio, HIIT had a greater impact on improving BOTH:

• Aerobic increases (endurance).
• Anaerobic increases (power).

Even crazier?

Tabata was able to demonstrate improvements in his athletes with just FOUR-MINUTE bursts.

So what’s happening here?

Simple: your heart is a muscle.

If you keep your heart beating at a constant rate, never expanding it outside of its comfort zone, it will never grow stronger.

By introducing chaos and pushing your muscles outside of their comfort zone, they must adapt and grow more resilient in order to survive.

Intense interval training challenges your heart by constantly forcing it outside of its comfort zone.

In other words: progressive overload – the same concept behind building strength.

Coach Jim explains 7 different ways to achieve progressive overload in this video:

Since Tabata’s 1996 study, many other trials have shown the positive impact of interval training. 

Here are some of the benefits of High-Intensity Interval Training:

#1) HIIT can burn lots of calories in a short amount of time.

Revving up your effort requires more out of you, including calories. 

One study backed this up, finding HIIT burned about 20-30% more calories than regular cardio.^[3]

The researchers stated:

These data suggest that individuals can burn more calories performing an HIIT session  than spending the same amount of time performing a steady-state exercise session.

The name of the game here is “intensity.” The more intense you go, the more calories you’ll burn.

#2) HIIT for lowering blood sugar. Managing blood sugar is really important for health, not just for diabetics.

Those trying to lose fat should be aware of their blood sugar and corresponding insulin levels.

The good news for our current discussion? HIIT has been shown to help lower and manage blood sugar levels.^[6]

#3) HIIT for heart health. Touching on the “antifragile” topic again, HIIT has been shown to help with overall cardiovascular health.

It does so in the same way traditional endurance training does, but at a fraction of the time (almost half).^[7]

Alright, let’s chat about how to actually do some interval training.

What’s an Example of Interval Training? How to Do Interval Running

The key to HIIT is being able to go from “easy” to “difficult.” All sorts of different exercises can get you there:

• Aerobic (cardio).
• Bodyweight (strength training).
• Resistance (weight training).

HIIT is generally associated with running (aerobic), so we’ll devote this section to just that.

The easiest way to experiment with HIIT would be to run.

Here’s how to start with a basic HIIT running workout. Go to a park in your neighborhood. Warm-up with some light jogging, high knees, and mobility – leg swings, arm swings, etc,

And then begin your workout!

• Run/jog at a brisk pace for 30 seconds.
• Jog/walk at a slower pace for 2 minutes.
• After your rest, shoot for another 30-second run/jog.
• Continue until you get tired or after about ten “push/rest” intervals.

And BAM! You just did HIIT.

Don’t get disheartened if you find yourself stopping a lot during your first week of HIIT training. 

You’ll be surprised how quickly you get better at this!

Also, “running” or “jogging” is subjective. Whatever walking fast means to you is great. Do that for your periods of intensity.

It should be noted, that the entire “Couch to 5K” concept rests on interval training through running.

It’s all broken down into “walking,” “jogging” and “running.”

If you’re curious, check out our in-depth Couch to 5k review. If you want to start interval training, “Couch to 5K” could be a good way to do it.

More of an indoor person?

Consider a treadmill, where it actually sets intervals for you based on your desired difficulty.

Just be careful on it…

We’ll be talking about machines a lot more in the next section, but a treadmill is all you need to do a HIIT workout.

Experiment with the speed and incline to find a setting that you would consider “intense.” Many machines can be programmed to flip between this and an “easy” setting.

And you know what that means… boom! It’s built for HIIT.

When we designed NF Journey (our awesome new app), we used an “intense” and “easy” interval switch for most of the workouts.

If you want, you can sign-up for a free trial right here to see what I mean:

How do HIIT Workouts Work? (More HIIT cardio to choose from)

There are a lot of different aerobic exercises for HIIT cardio.

For example, you could jump on a bike, which is like HIIT running but with wheels (duh):

Every spin class is based on HIIT cycling (SoulCycle, Flywheel, or even your local gym now has spin classes).

They’re popular for a reason, and you can make a friend or two!

Here are some more examples of interval training:

1. Elliptical. If it has a dial for resistance, it can be used for interval training. For a couple of minutes, go on low resistance (0-2 level). Then crank up the resistance for one minute (up to 8-10). Repeat this process 12 times, which will give you a 20-minute workout.
2. Stair Climber. Much like the elliptical, alternate between periods of low intensity for two minutes, then one minute for high intensity. The difference with the climber is the dial will control the speed of the stairs. Be careful.
3. Rowing Machine. Start with a two-minute warm-up. On minute three, row like you’re being chased by the Kraken for a full 60 seconds. Then catch your breath. The rowing machine might be hard to do for a full 20 minutes, since it’s a lot of upper body. Shoot for ten minutes at first.
4. Jumping Rope. Jumping rope is a full-body exercise. Also, it’s fun. There’s no dial here, your own body controls the pace of the jump. Follow the same two-minute easy, one-minute intense as above. Jump rope can also be done with friends!

So far we’ve just been talking about aerobic exercises.

Let’s cover our other categories, of bodyweight and resistance.

What Are the Best HIIT Exercises? (Two Other Forms of Interval Training)

“Steve, this all sounds great. But I hate running!”

Confession: So do I.

So I get my cardio in other forms!

Here are some bodyweight exercises to get going on HIIT:

• Burpees. Stand up, then squat down, kick your legs out, do a push-up, bring your legs back in, and explode up into a jump. Try to do 20 repetitions, then rest for two minutes. Repeat until you hate yourself:

• Push-ups. For 20 seconds, do as many push-ups as possible. Rest. Then do it again. If you’re worried about proper form, check out our push-up guide and watch this:

• Pull-ups. Same idea as above, do pull-ups for 20 seconds, then rest. If you can’t do a pull-up, we got you covered in our pull-up progression guide:

Let’s now chat about some Weight Training Examples for HIIT:

1. Kettlebell swing. For ten minutes, do 20 kettlebell swings on every minute.
   This will be intense, and worthy of congratulations when you’re done. Check out our 20 Minute Beginner Kettlebell Workout for everything you’ve ever wanted to know about kettlebells.
2. Battle ropes. If your gym has battle ropes, they’ll be a great tool for HIIT. For intensity, the amount of slack in the rope determines the load. The more slack on the rope the tougher, and more intense, the workout. Also, don’t get stuck in just up and down movements. Some variation will help target different muscles.
3. Weight lifting. The critical piece will be moving from one exercise to another quickly enough. For example, hustling from the bench press to the lat bar: we call this circuit training!

To answer your next question: yes, you can also do circuit training as a form of HIIT.

Circuit training is going through a sequence of exercises, or stations, back to back.

Coach Lauren explains the ins and outs of circuit training in this video:

So in a circuit, you could go from push-ups to pull-ups, back to push-ups, only resting briefly from one exercise to another.

Circuit training would be perfect to mix into a HIIT workout, since you can design your circuit to be very intense.

Check out our post for 15 Circuit Training Routines to choose from.

Plus, there’s a Batman workout hidden in there. You’re welcome.

We create custom HIIT programs for busy people like you that are ACTUALLY fun. If you’re looking for a supportive coach to guide you and tell you exactly what to do each day, we got you covered!

Exercise doesn’t have to suck. Learn more about our coaching program!

If you just want a beginner circuit to get started with, you can try out our Beginner Bodyweight Workout Routine. Plus you can download a free worksheet to track your progress with this circuit when you join the Rebellion below:

Oh, what’s that? You want to have even MORE fun while getting the benefits of HIIT? 

Sure. Let’s think outside the box:

Basketball, tennis, soccer, and Ultimate (frisbee) are AMAZING styles of exercise that use interval training (it’s all start and stop!).

Run here, catch this, and wait for the next round to start.

That’s what we’re looking for in a HIIT workout.

So pick a form of FUN exercise that gets your heart racing faster and slower throughout the activity (yes, I suppose even THAT activity would count).

Is HIIT Good for Losing Weight? Is Interval Training Good for Losing Weight?

My guess is that you’re reading this article because you’re trying to get the most efficient “bang for your buck” when it comes to getting in shape.

And HIIT is a great form of exercise and COULD help with weight loss.

I will, however, lower some of these outlandish claims that exist in the media.

For example, Time magazine calls HIIT “miraculous” in one article.^[8]

That’s a little much, even for me, who writes for a living on why you should work out and likes using hyperbole for effect.

Seriously, I’m better at it than ANYBODY ON THE PLANET.

Ahem.

Cardio, strength training, and HIIT all have many benefits.

However, a meta-study reviewed HIIT compared to steady-state cardio, specially looking at fat loss.

The results?

They found no real difference.^[9]

As researchers noted:

Regular exercise is an integral component of long-term weight management. However, unless implemented in very large volumes, short-term exercise in isolation (including HIIT) is unlikely to produce clinically meaningful fat loss.

What’s that mean?

As long as your energy expenditure is the same (and you’re in a caloric deficit), steady-state cardio is equivalent to HIIT for fat loss.

In other words, if you want to lose body fat, how you eat will be responsible for 80% of your success or failure.

It doesn’t matter how many intervals you do – it’s not gonna help you lose weight if you don’t also fix your nutrition.

You can read our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating if you want more information, which will help you build a plate like this:

And if you want to download our free 10-level Nutrition Guide to help you fix your diet starting today, you can do so by signing up in the box below:

Getting Started with Interval Training

When it’s time to advance your high-intensity interval training, think about the following:

1. Frequency. This would be the number of intervals in your workout.
2. Intensity. How hard are you going in each interval?
3. Time. How long are your intervals and rest periods?

Maybe you start out doing 3 intervals of intense running.

Once it becomes routine, bring it up to 4.

Maybe you crank the resistance on your stationary bike to “8” during your intense interval. When it becomes normal, bring it up to “10.”

Maybe you do pull-ups for 20 seconds. When you’ve got a good handle on that, aim for 30 seconds.

This mindset will keep you advancing in interval training.

Consistency is the name of the game here. Even just doing a HIIT workout once a week will help you progress in all three categories.

For more ideas on how to improve workout consistency, check out this video from Coach Jim:

Oh, and if you want help along the way, don’t forget about our Online Coaching Program:

Want a program that adapts to your progress each month? Learn more:

Mistakes to Avoid When Doing High-Intensity Interval Training

There’s a lot to consider when embarking on a HIIT practice.

No matter which routine you end up starting with, make sure you follow these words of wisdom:

1. Ease into it. As the saying goes, “you must walk before you can run.” The importance is building a HIIT practice. If you need to go “less intense” before progressing to “intense,” that’s fine. It’ll help build your aerobic capabilities (endurance), which will be important when working on intensity. Start with walking.
2. Keep proper form. Doing your movements correctly will help prevent injury. Here’s how to run properly. This is even more critical in your later intervals, where you may be exhausted and tired. If you find yourself breaking form, go ahead and slow down. Intense isn’t worth an injury.
3. Get rest. Our bodies actually build muscle while we are resting. So take some “off days” from your HIIT practice. Want to stay active on these days? Do some fun exercise!

Take it easy, focus on your form, and make sure to prioritize rest.

HIIT Timer Recommendations

HIIT centers on doing intervals.

One moment it’s intense, the next you’re onto a short rest break.

A good way to know when it’s time to go from one sequence to the next is a timer. A loud “beep” can tell you when it’s okay to catch your breath or when you have to kick it in gear.

Here are 5 HIIT timers you can try out:

1. Runtastic. Don’t let the name fool you, this free app is for more than just running. You can customize for many different interval workouts, depending on what exercise you go with. And the interface looks slick.
2. Seconds. It’s free and customizable to any form of HIIT. It can also integrate with your music, which is pretty sweet.
3. Seven. If you’re new to HIIT, Seven would be a good app for you. It’s free, plus it has illustrations for exercises. You also get to customize your own virtual personal trainer, which may be the future of fitness. The bots are coming…
4. Sworkit. First off, it’s a clever name (taken from “Simply Work It.”) Second, it’s free. Third, it can display your workout, goals, and calories burned. I like it.
5. J&J Official Seven Minute Workout. This free app from Johnson & Johnson is actually really awesome. It has premade workouts you can choose form based on your fitness level, or tweak them to make it your own.

Also, we need to talk about interval timers. Most of the apps referenced are completely customizable.

For example, you can change the intense interval from 120 seconds to 90 seconds.

This is critical because it’s up to you to decide how long you can do intense vs. rest.

Generally, folks recommend one minute of intensity and then two for rest when doing HIIT.

However, this all depends on the individual, and the exercises performed.

For example, burpees are tougher to do than jumping over a rope:

So feel free to make changes like 30 seconds of intensity and three minutes of rest. Make it your own.

Whatever way you chose to do HIIT, is fine, as long as you actually do it. The benefits of HIIT kick in when going HARD for you.

In other words, you don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to get the benefits of HIIT.^[10]

A light jog totally works. Just don’t do it in a mascot costume.

As we discussed, if you’re consistent, you’ll improve.

So don’t stress about where you have to start.

For now, download an app and get going. Ours will help you train with HIIT too:

I hate multiple choice. Pick a HIIT workout for me!

Let’s power walk as our form of HIIT. 

This is an example of a beginner HIIT workout we might prescribe for our Coaching Clients who are starting to train for their first 5K.

Let’s do seven intervals, two minutes each:

1. Warm-up. For three minutes, walk at an easy pace.
2. Intervals. For the first 60 seconds, power walk, like you’re trying to beat someone to the front of the line at Starbucks.
3. For the next 60 seconds, just walk.
4. Repeat six more times.
5. Cool down. You can do some more light walking, or a little bit of stretching here would be great.

Total time: 20 minutes.

I want to stress, that you can do just about any exercise in exchange for this routine. Just minus “power walk” and add “push-ups and bodyweight squats”

It’ll still be a great HIIT workout.

“But Steve, that’s still multiple choice!”

Right, right… sorry. Stick to power walking! Done!

How to Start Interval Training now

Do our power walking routine above. It’s a great place to start.

Remember, our goal at this stage is to “build the habit.”

We can work on “whoa, that was intense” later.

If you’re looking for EVEN MORE stuff to do, we have a few options for ya:

1) Check out our popular 1-on-1 coaching program. You’ll work with our certified NF instructors who will get to know you better than you know yourself and program your workouts and nutrition for you.

Our coaching program kicks ass. Let us help you reach your goals!

2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!

Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Try your free trial right here:

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

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

There are a zillion ways to do HIIT, so don’t let the options paralyze you.

Pick one. Anyone. And get to it.

Interval training, in any form, is a solid fitness choice and a great practice to have in the workout arsenal.

Any questions?

Which HIIT workout style is your favorite?

Leave it in the comments below!

-Steve

PS: Make sure you check out the rest of our content on interval training:

1. The HIIT Workout for Home
2. How to Do Tabata Sprints
3. Should You Do Couch to 5K?

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All photo credits can be found in this footnote.^[11]

The post 3 HIIT Workouts for Beginners: Start Interval Training and Sprint Running! first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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