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You’re here to learn about supplementing with creatine.

Perhaps you’re wondering: what exactly does creatine do? Should I take creatine to get strong?

We weigh the pros and cons of different supplements as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, so you’ve come to the right place to get the lowdown on taking creatine.

Should you take creatine? If so, when and how much? Let our coaches help you decide!

Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s guide:

• What is creatine?
• What does creatine do? (An introduction to ATP)
• What are the benefits of creatine?
• Is taking creatine safe? (Is creatine bad for your kidneys?)
• How to train on creatine
• Common mistakes when taking creatine
• What is the best creatine to take? (Brand recommendations)
• How much creatine should I take?
• When should I take creatine?
• Should I supplement with creatine? (Next steps)

It’s a lot to cover, so let’s jump right in!

What Is Creatine?

Creatine is a naturally occurring substance found in muscle tissue.

Right now you have creatine, specifically creatine phosphate, in your body. All vertebrate animals do.  

Yes, even corgis.

Think of creatine as an energy reserve your body taps into when it needs a boost. Or like an extra energy tank in Metroid or Mega Man.

Our bodies naturally produce creatine in our liver, pancreas, and kidneys.

We also obtain it from certain foods, because all vertebrate animals contain creatine in their muscles.

So if you eat meat, you are getting extra creatine in your diet. Red meat in particular (beef, lamb, bison), has the highest levels of dietary creatine.

(Don’t eat meat? Cool. Read our plant-based guide.)

Outside of diet, people often supplement with creatine. It’s one of the more popular supplements taken, and in fact, is THE most popular supplement taken amongst college athletes.^[3]

The reason people supplement with creatine:

The more creatine you consume – whether through nutrition or supplementation – the more will be found in your muscles.

Why should you care? What does creatine do, exactly?

What Does Creatine Do? (An Introduction to ATP)

Science time! To discuss supplementing creatine with any justice, we need to talk about ATP.

All cells rely on adenosine triphosphate (ATP) for energy. It’s our body’s energy currency.

Sort of like “Mana” in World of Warcraft or Magic: The Gathering, ATP is a fuel tank for doing awesome things like running, doing pull-ups, or summoning lighting.

But much like “Mana,” ATP can be replenished only so quickly by your body. With intense enough exercise, you’ll use more ATP than your body can produce. Which means you’ll run out.

It’s why people can only sprint at 100% maximum effort for a short amount of time. You just plain run out of juice, or ATP.

Depending on how you are exercising, your body will replenish its ATP through one of three ways:

• Less than 10 seconds, for exercises like short sprints or heavy lifting, ATP is replenished with creatine phosphate stored in muscle tissue.
• 30 seconds to 2 minutes, for activities like swimming a few laps, ATP is replenished with glycogen found in your muscles.
• Greater than 2 minutes, ATP is replenished with oxygen and glucose. You can think of endurance activities for this stage.

I get it, there’s a LOT more to it than that (The three systems often blend into each other, so it’s not so clear cut).^[4]

Why I bring all of this up: your body can quickly convert creatine to ATP (in seconds).

This means the more creatine you have stored in your muscles, the longer you can utilize the phosphagen system – short and intense energy – to produce ATP.

It’s math:

• The more creatine you consume, the more will be found in your muscles.
• The more creatine you have in your muscles, the longer you should be able to sprint at max effort (or lift heavy, etc.).

Granted, there’s a point where your muscles become saturated with creatine and your body can’t hold anymore.

We’ll talk about dosage and absorption rates shortly. But first…

What Are the Benefits of Creatine?

There is good evidence to suggest that creatine supplementation does, in fact, allow for longer periods of intense exercise by helping to produce more ATP. ^[5]

One such study found that supplementing with creatine for 28 days allowed users to increase their bike sprint by 15% and bench press performance by 6%.^[6]

This is generally why people supplement with creatine. If you can produce more energy for more intense exercises, you can workout harder.

• Instead of stopping at 10 reps because of exhaustion, perhaps you can squeeze out that 11th rep if you are storing more creatine.
• Normally you slow down your sprint at 10 seconds, but now you keep going until 12.

If you’re looking to improve physically, being able to achieve one more rep or just a few more seconds of a sprint can be critical.

Creatine has a boatload of other benefits too:

#1) Cell signaling. Creatine has been shown to increase satellite cell signaling, which helps your body communicate its “needs” better. I personally picture a little cell crying out “help me, I’m broken” when thinking about cell signaling. However, improvements in cell communication can have an impact on muscle repair and growth.^[7]

#2) Cellular hydration. Creatine helps your muscles retain water, which helps them work more efficiently.^[8] Hydrated muscles perform better than dehydrated muscles, so creatine as a performance enhancer seems appropriate.

#3) Muscle growth. Creatine supplementation has been shown to increase the hormone IGF-1, which is needed for muscle growth.^[9] In fact, the International Society and Sports Nutrition states “Creatine monohydrate is the most effective ergogenic nutritional supplement currently available to athletes in terms of increasing high-intensity exercise capacity and lean body mass during training.”^[10]

Don’t get thrown off by the “creatine monohydrate.” We’ll talk about types of creatine shortly. Just know that creatine has been shown to aid in muscle growth.

#4) Brain health. While not technically a muscle, your brain stores creatine. Can more stored creatine help with brain health?

There is research and evidence that suggests some conditions like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and epilepsy can all be helped by supplementing with creatine.^[11] A creatine supplement might also help with memory and cognition in the elderly.^[12]

Also, I have to highlight this study linking creatine supplementation with working memory and intelligence.^[13] This makes sense because your brain also uses ATP, which remember, creatine helps produce.^[14]

All of these studies are going to lead to a natural question…

Is Taking Creatine Safe? (Is Creatine Bad for Your Kidneys?)

The use of creatine has been “extensively studied,” which makes my job of recommending it easy.^[15]

The International Society of Sports Nutrition analyzed over 500 studies on creatine usage and concluded:

“There is no scientific evidence that the short- or long-term use of creatine monohydrate has any detrimental effects on otherwise healthy individuals.”  

However, we should acknowledge there is anecdotal evidence that taking creatine can cause: ^[16]

• Kidney damage
• Dehydration
• Diarrhea
• Upset stomach

Kidney damage would be the most serious of these, let’s talk about that specifically for a moment.

Again, no study has been able to verify the claim of organ damage, and kidney function with creatine supplementation has been looked at specifically.^[17]

However, if you have a history of kidney problems, it might be a good idea to talk to a doctor before you start supplementing with creatine. Better safe than sorry.

The other concern would be dehydration and diarrhea, which actually might have an easy cause and solution.

I mentioned earlier that taking creatine can help with muscle hydration. Because your muscles are holding onto more water, this leaves less water for other places. So if you start taking creatine, you should also increase your water intake!

Shoot for 16-18 ounces of water (a half-liter) for every 5 grams of creatine you take. We’ll devote an entire section to dosage in just a moment.

It should also be noted, that being dehydrated puts extra stress on your kidneys. It can also cause diarrhea.

Drink water.

How to Train on Creatine

The reason creatine is so popular is because of its impact on athletic performance.

For you to receive most of the benefits of supplementing creatine, you’ll need to work out. The creatine won’t lift that barbell for you.

The interesting thing about creatine: nearly any type of physical performance has been linked to improvement when combined with creatine supplementation.

For example…

Supplementing with creatine has been shown to improve:

#1) Strength training. If you’re looking to grow strong, you need to lift heavy. Taking creatine has been shown to increase muscle strength.^[18] In other words, taking creatine can help you lift slightly heavier or slightly more.

If you do this consistently, you could start to achieve gains faster than you would without creatine supplementation.

This is the number one reason people take creatine.

#2) Endurance. Despite creatine’s popularity for strength training, it can also be used as a tool for endurance athletes. That’s because creatine has been shown to increase glycogen stores.^[19] If you remember our example from earlier on different metabolic ways to replenish ATP, you’ll recall that glycogen is a medium to long term energy source.

Meaning the more glycogen you have, the longer you can run. If you’re looking into improving an endurance sport, creatine might be worth checking out.

#3) Recovery. Creatine has been shown to help reduce inflammation and muscle soreness.^[20] Shorter recovery times, means you can get back to training sooner. More gym time can equal a stronger you.

No one likes being overly sore. Creatine may help a little here.

When you start to learn more about creatine, it makes sense why so many athletes take this supplement.

However, I do need to mention that a majority of the benefits of creatine supplementation kick in with the conjunction of a regular exercise practice.

Supplements must be combined with a good solid workout! You don’t get big muscles or faster speeds from only protein and creatine.

They need to be combined with a proper training program!

If you’re not quite sure how to get going, I’ve got a few resources for you.

• The first is our Beginner Bodyweight Workout. It’s a circuit – where you quickly go from one exercise to the next – that you can start doing tonight in your living room or basement or spaceship. It’s one of our most popular routines here at Nerd Fitness, and it’s something you can do from your own home. No gym required. Or…
• Follow our 6 level Gym Workout Program if you DO have access to a gym. It’ll help you get started with strength training.

If you want someone to help guide you – and hold you accountable – we can help with that too!

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

Common Mistakes When Taking Creatine

So far this article has more or less come out as an advertisement for creatine supplementation.

While there are a lot of great benefits of creatine, and not much in the way of studies showing harm, we need to talk about one potential downside.

Bloating.

Since creatine helps you retain water, you might feel a little bloated after taking it. Granted, hydrated cells perform better. But it can still be uncomfortable and cosmetically unappealing to hold onto a bunch of water.

The dosage and timing of taking creatine might be a factor, which we’ll talk about soon.

However, if bloating continues to the point that it’s interfering with your life, stop supplementing with creatine.

Speaking of creatine challenges, there’s also the fear that taking too much creatine could upset your stomach.^[21]

We’ll get to proper dosage of creatine in just a moment, which might solve this.

It should be noted, that certain types of creatine are sold as “anti-bloating” and “easy on the stomach.”

Let’s talk about types and brands of creatine right now, by looking into these claims.

What Is the Best Creatine to Take? (Brand Recommendations)

Creatine actually exists in multiple forms. We’ll go over each one briefly, plus give our recommendation on which type to take.

We’ll then leave you with a brand or two to try out.

First, some different types of creatine:

#1) Creatine Monohydrate is the most common, and thus the most studied form of creatine.

It’s essentially a creatine molecule and a water molecule combined.

This would be the form of creatine we recommend. When we discuss the benefits and safety of creatine, we mean creatine monohydrate, because it’s the form that ends up being used in research.^[22]

If there is a downside to creatine monohydrate, it would be that your body might have trouble absorbing all of it.^[23] Which means you can pee a lot of it out. When people sell other types of creatine, they’ll generally claim their version has a better absorption rate.

#2) Creatine Ethyl Ester is thought to be absorbed into the body easier than creatine monohydrate. There may be some evidence that this is true.^[24]

However, when it comes to body composition, creatine monohydrate still looks to be superior.^[25]

#3) Creatine Hydrochloride is another form of creatine that is touted as being absorbed easier than creatine monohydrate. You’ll also see claims that it won’t make you bloated.

Early evidence may back some of the claims of better absorption rates, but I would hold off on this form of creatine until more studies are done on its safety.^[26]

#4) Buffered creatine attempts to solve the stomach issues that are anecdotally reported as a side effect of creatine consumption. This form of creatine is mixed with an alkaline powder, with attempts to make it easier to digest. So far studies on the results of these benefits are mixed.^[27]

Again, for now, I’d avoid buffered creatine until the research concludes its safety.

Hopefully, I convinced you to stick with creatine monohydrate. Again, it’s the most tested version of creatine there is, which makes it the most recommended.^[28]

Want some recommendations on brands?

The brand of creatine monohydrate I personally take: Bulk Supplements.

• dotFIT is another good brand for you to check out.
• MyProtein also carries a good choice.

Both of those are creatine monohydrate options.

If you are going to take creatine, take creatine monohydrate. This leads to the next question…

How Much Creatine Should I Take?

The question “How much creatine should I take?” will lead us to the topic of Creatine Loading.

The theory on Creatine Loading goes like this:

At first, you’ll want to take more creatine so your muscles start storing it in greater quantities. Then you can taper off, as your muscles will already be saturated to their max with creatine phosphate.

Studies have shown this is the most effective way to increase creatine levels in muscle.^[29]

Note, your results may vary, though the strategy below is well researched. Do what works best for you! I’m no doctor, nor do I play one on TV.

Here’s how to Creatine Load: 

• For 5 days, consume 20 grams of creatine per day to ‘load’ your muscles.
• After this period, then you can go to 3 to 5 grams of creatine per day.

If you’re concerned about taking 20 grams of creatine a day (more is not necessary or beneficial), the other strategy would be to just take 3 to 5 grams of creatine a day. In three to four weeks your creatine stores will be full.^[30]

If you have stomach issues with 20 grams a day, forget about loading. Stick to 3 to 5 grams a day and you’ll be fine.

This is the strategy I employ: 5 grams of creatine on training days mixed in a small amount of water, consumed like a shot, immediately following my workout.

This leads us to…

When Should I Take Creatine?

Studies demonstrating the best time of day to take creatine are mixed.

When it comes to “Should I take creatine before or after my exercise?” this study showed it didn’t really matter.^[31]

It might be up to your personal preference on whether to take creatine before or after your training.

However, there is evidence you should take creatine somewhere close to when you exercise.

One study split subjects into two groups.

• The first supplemented with creatine immediately before and immediately after their exercise.
• The other took creatine first thing in the morning and again at night.

The experiment found the first group gaining the most muscle and strength.^[32]

I would recommend taking creatine either before or after your training practice. Maybe split your intake and do a little bit of both. Take a mixture with you to the gym, start drinking it before working out and finish it right after.

On rest days, when you take creatine matters less. The point of taking creatine on a rest day is to keep the creatine phosphate content of your muscles raised for when you do workout next.

Take it whenever it is convenient on rest days. But take it close to when you work out on a training day.

Should I Supplement with Creatine? (Next Steps)

You don’t need to supplement with creatine.

If you’re eating a varied diet that includes a little bit of meat, you’ll be consuming and building plenty of creatine.

Our stance at Nerd Fitness: if you have a healthy diet, you don’t need to worry about any kind of supplementation. Eating nutrient-dense foods like vegetables, fruits, and meat will provide you with all you need to thrive.

However, if you are strength training and looking to maximize your gains, a creatine supplement might be worth looking into.

• There’s decent evidence in support of it allowing people to increase their athletic performance.^[33]
• All the downsides of creatine don’t appear to be supported by the data.^[34]

To be fair, more long-term studies will be welcome on the safety of creatine supplementation.^[35]

And just to be safe, if you have any history of kidney trouble, make sure you talk to a doctor first before you start supplementing with creatine.

Okay, I think that about wraps up the article on creatine.

…still here? Perfect!

I have some great recommendations on where you should head from here. A perfect next step as you progress on your fitness journey:

#1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom weight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:

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

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

#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. 

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. 

Now I want to hear from you:

Do you have experience taking creatine?

What results did you see?

Does it sound like I’m being sponsored by the supplement industry?

Or am I not praising creatine enough?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: If you’d like to learn more about our stance on the supplement industry, make sure you read “What Supplements Should I Take?”

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The post The Ultimate Guide to Start Taking Creatine (What is Creatine?) first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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All of us have plenty of stress in our lives.

After the last couple of years, your stress level may have quadrupled.

If you find yourself responding by “stress eating,” know that you are not alone.

One of the top issues faced by clients in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program is emotional or stress eating. And yep, the global pandemic only made it worse.

You’re not alone in this. Learn how a Nerd Fitness Coach can help.

Today, we’re going to show you exactly how we address emotional eating with our clients, including when it’s – GASP – actually okay to stress eat. 

Here’s what we’ll cover in today’s guide:

• What is stress eating? (a video from NF Kitchen)
• What causes stress eating? (Lesson #1: Playing Detective)
• How do I stop mindless eating? (Lesson #2: The Stress Response Menu)
• How common is stress eating? (Lesson #3: Learning Self-Compassion)
• Is it ever okay to stress eat? (Next steps)

Let’s jump right in.

What Is Stress Eating? (A Video from NF Kitchen)

The above video from Coach Justin comes from the Nerd Fitness Prime “Mindset” video series. 

Justin covers three important lessons I want to highlight, but before we do that, we should ask ourselves a question: 

“What exactly is stress eating?”

Stress eating is consuming food in response to negative emotions like fear, anger, or sadness.

When we stress eat, food is being used to solve a problem. Now, unless we’re actually hungry, it’s likely a problem that food itself isn’t meant to solve.

That’s stress or emotional eating.

Here’s what compounds the whole problem: stress eating itself can make us feel guilty. We often feel terrible once our spoon hits the bottom of the pint of ice cream.

This can drive more negative emotions, which can trigger even MORE stress eating.

And the pattern continues.

We’ll talk about ways to break this cycle in a moment, but before we do, we need to create some tools to identify it in the first place. 

What Causes Stress Eating? (Lesson #1: Playing Detective)

You may have been surprised in our video above when Coach Justin gives permission to stress eat.

Counterintuitive and seemingly counterproductive, I know. But this is going to be important for two reasons.

How to Approach Stress Eating:

Step #1: we need to curb the guilty feelings about stress or emotional eating. 

I started this guide off by highlighting the frequency of stress eating amongst our Online Coaching clients. 

You are not the only one struggling with this.

Most humans do.

And robots with human-like emotions and taste buds

We’ll come back to this idea again, because ending the shame of emotional eating will be critical for moving forward. 

Step #2: allowing ourselves to stress eat will help us learn why we do it.

We’re going to be playing detective here, to see if we can piece apart your actions and routines.

At the end of the day, our lives are a cumulation of habits. Stress eating is one such habit.

So let’s learn about it!

To do so, we’re gonna record some Emotional Eating Notes. 

During an episode of stress eating, it’s important to ask:

• What am I doing?
• What am I feeling? (Both physically and emotionally)
• What am I thinking about?
• What time is it?
• Where am I?
• Who am I with?

Also, gauging these at different times can be helpful too.

How is your stress looking:

• An hour or two before the eating episode?
• Right before it?
• During it?
• Right after it?

The purpose of these Emotional Eating Notes?

To look for patterns!

Perhaps you’ll notice some of the following:

• “After my recent Tuesday morning conference call, when I got grilled by my company’s leadership, I grabbed some chocolate chip cookies. This happened the week before too.”
• “Around 2pm, when I get the ‘afternoon slumps,’ I normally grab a Coca-Cola. This little boost gets me through the end of the day. This is almost a daily practice.”
• “Last Sunday evening, when thinking about the start of the workweek, I had a couple glasses of wine. When looking back at my notes, this takes place at the end of most weekends.”

We’re looking for patterns to help us understand what drives our stress eating. 

The most important thing about this process: withholding judgment.

We’re looking at our notes for clues into our psyche. Whatever we captured is okay.

If you order pizza every Thursday after talking with your overbearing mom (of course, she means well), step one is to recognize it.

Oftentimes, this awareness step alone can help shift behavior. “Oh, I’m reaching for a beer like I normally do after ending my workday. Typical Me.”

After creating some notes on what spurs our emotional eating, it’s time to think about some alternatives for coping with stress.

How Do I Stop Mindless Eating? (Lesson #2: The Stress Response Menu)

After documenting what sets off our stress eating, we need to formulate a plan on what to do when our anxiety rises.

That means it’s time to build…a Stress Response Menu!

Our Stress Response Menu will be a list of actions or activities you can do to de-stress outside of eating.

Ideally, you’ll do them before an eating episode, but they can be done during or after the fact too.

In other words, if you only realized you were stress eating when your hand reaches the bottom of the Doritos bag, no problem, you can do your stress response activity right then. 

The purpose of the Stress Response Menu is to reward yourself with a small moment of self-love, whenever your anxiety levels are too much.

Examples for a Stress Response Menu:

• Close your eyes and take five deep breaths (Coach Justin’s go-to move)
• Drink a large glass of water
• Take a short walk
• Go listen to one of your favorite songs
• Do a quick stretching routine
• Write in your journal
• Play with your dog
• Shout at the sky

The more the activity from your Stress Response Menu can match your personal goals, the better. 

In other words, if you’re trying to build muscle, some push-ups might be the perfect de-stressor. 

Just make sure it’s something you won’t dread doing. 

A combination of a “de-stressor” and a “reward.”

This is important, as Coach Justin mentions that many of his clients only reward themselves with food. The self-love they practice only takes place in the kitchen. 

Our menu above will help us develop some more options, not solely based on food.

To make the most of your Stress Response Menu:

#1) Make the activities short and easy. 

You should feel confident that you can do every item on your list. So avoid activities that will take longer than 10 minutes to complete. 

Also, set yourself up for success by hacking your Batcave:

• If you’re going to journal when stressed, keep your diary open on your work desk.
• If you’re going to drink water before any emotional eating, keep your full glass  near you. 
• If you’re going to take a short walk, keep your kicks near the door.

Don’t set yourself up for failure by picking overly complicated or burdensome activities.

#2) Place your Stress Response Menu somewhere visible. 

Once you make your list, print it out and place it in your kitchen or pantry (or wherever you typically stress eat). 

You could also write out a couple of your favorite activities and attach them to your refrigerator. 

If it’s right in front of you, it’ll be harder to ignore (however, it’s okay to ignore it from time to time, as we aren’t striving for perfection).

Just please don’t write it and then stick the list in the junk drawer that opens to another dimension.

You never can find anything in that drawer.

#3)Track your usage of the Stress Response Menu. 

This will help us in two ways:

• First, by tracking your usage, you’ll start to feel better about using the SRM. You’ll see an accumulation of all the times you successfully deployed a stress response, helping you visualize the momentum you’re building. 
• Second, the data will help you understand your patterns of emotional eating. Maybe five deep breaths steered you away from ice cream but the large glass of water did not. You can then use this information to update and revise your response plan.

For the first point, Coach Justin has his clients keep a “Jar of Awesome.”

Every time they have a small win in the day, like taking five deep breaths instead of chugging soda, they place a marble or small token in a jar. After a while, the jar will have a decent amount of marbles or “small wins” in it.

This will then stand as a visual reminder of all the progress being made, proof of their ongoing wins.

Want to start a “Jar of Awesome” with a NF Coach? Learn more here!

How Common Is Stress Eating? (Lesson #3: Learning Self-Compassion)

The American Psychological Association has found that about a third of Americans respond to stress with food.^[1] 

This research was done BEFORE our global pandemic.

So if you find yourself binging in response to the stress of our global pandemic, know that you are not alone here.

Our coaching clients, and the NF Coaches themselves, have all found themselves turning to food and alcohol for comfort during quarantine. 

Heck, recently I mindlessly devoured an entire tub of Animal Crackers too. It was only when the bag was gone did I understand what just happened.

Many of us, even fitness “experts,” are prone to stress eating.

Now, don’t take this as a free pass to stress eat. 

If the behavior goes against your goals, it’s something we want to work towards improving.

But there’s a reason they call it “comfort food.” Food can often be used to make us happier, pandemic or no-pandemic. 

At the end of the day, we’re all emotional bags of meat on this floating hunk of space rock, and we’re doing the best we can. 

Give yourself a bit of a break, my friend.

You’re here, you’re reading, and you’re trying. That’s great!

This will bring me to my last point with our handy guide:

Is It Okay to Stress Eat? (Next Steps)

There are times when food is the perfect response to stress.

It’s something Coach Justin mentions in his video.

“Stress eating” might be appropriate if: 

• After a long workday, a glass of wine with cheese helps you unwind.
• To celebrate the coming of the weekend, you have an ice cream party on Friday night.
• The week already seems long, and it just started, “Taco Tuesday” might help you survive until Friday.

The important thing here? 

“We are making a choice.” 

We are choosing to deal with stress or anxiety with food. By making it an intentional activity, we can remove the guilt around emotional eating.

Food can be fine as a reward, as long as it’s us controlling the behavior, and not the food itself.

In addition, if we can recognize the action (or plan for it), we can then adjust our calories before and after and not go off the rails. 

(You can calculate your recommended total daily calorie intake here, by the way!)

If it seems like you aren’t quite there yet, start with your Emotional Eating Notes and your Stress Response Menu.

Even just the process of taking notes on specific episodes of stress eating may be enough to slow down the behavior.

Remember, no matter what happens:

• You are not a bad person if you stress eat.
• You are not a bad person if you forget to take notes.
• You are not a bad person if you ignore your Stress Response Menu.

You are not a bad person (unless you’re a Death Eater, but come on, you know what side you’re on). 

If you need any help along the way, we are here for you.

We have three specific paths to continue with Nerd Fitness:

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

As I said before, “stress eating” is the number one issued faced by our coaching clients, so we know exactly how to help recognize and address the habit.

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:

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

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

If you follow our Mindset missions, you’ll learn to de-stress while earning XP! Sah-weeeet.

Try your free trial right here:

#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

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

Alright, I want to hear from you:

Have you been stress eating more over the last year?

Do you have any tips or tricks to interrupt the pattern?

What’s your favorite way to de-stress?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

P.S. Make sure you check out A Nerd’s Introduction to Mental Health for more.

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Today we’re going to tell you exactly how to restart your fitness journey.

Whether this is the first time you’ve had to “respawn” or the 50th, you’re in the right place.

We help folks restart their exercise or nutrition routines as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program…and we’re really freaking good at it! Today, we’ll share with you the same strategies we deploy with them.

This time can be different. Learn how a NF Coach can help.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why It’s Okay to Start Again
• Restarting Step 1: Forgive Yourself
• Restarting Step 2: What Went Wrong?
• Restarting Step 3: Change a Variable
• Restarting Step 4: Respawn
• Restarting Step 5: Supercharge Your Results
• Get Back in the Fight (Next Steps)

Let’s do this.

Why It’s Okay to Start Again

So you fell off the wagon already.

Welcome to the club.

It’s called “being human!”

There are like 7 billion of us.

So how did I know you probably fell off the fitness wagon already?

Because statistically speaking, MOST people have already abandoned or missed out on a lot of the resolutions they’ve set for 2022.^[1] Seriously.

However, have no fear. Since we treat life as a videogame around these parts, we’re all very comfortable with restarting or “respawning.”

First, we must…

STEP 1: FORGIVE YOURSELF

I heard a podcast interview recently about a man who had made a huge realization through seeing a therapist.

Specifically, their therapist asked them “Would you talk to somebody the way you talk to yourself?”

I bet the answer is a RESOUNDING “No.”

Nobody deserves that kind of abuse.

We’re often our own worst critic and our own worst enemy:

Do you know that voice in your head, that one calling you a loser or a failure?

Treat the voice in your head like a roommate. You don’t HAVE to listen to their advice!

“Oh you think I’m a piece of s** and that’s why I can’t stick with a workout routine?

I disagree strongly.

I might have some faults, but I’m here, and I’m still trying!

So, thanks but I’m good. I’m just gonna get back to work.”

You’re reading this, which means you’re trying. Forgive yourself. Then move on.

As Coach Matt explains in the video below, “self compassion” is really important when attempting to fulfill New Year’s resolutions:

STEP 2: ASK WHAT WENT WRONG?

Your goal of working out 2 hours a day and only eating Keto failed after three weeks.

Congratulations!

You conducted an experiment that did not have the results you expected.

That’s neither a good nor a bad thing. Like any other experiment, it just… IS.

So write down specifically what your experiment entailed. 

What did you try to do?

• I was going to exercise every day.
• I was going to run a mile each morning.
• I was going to eat strictly Paleo every day.

Look at your list: this is a combination of variables that don’t work for your lifestyle.

IMPORTANT POINT: Learning from the millions of people that have come through Nerd Fitness over the past decade, my guess is that your experiment didn’t work out for one of two reasons:

#1) Your goals were too vague:

“I should exercise more this year” – For how long? How often? What kind of exercise?

#2) You tried to change ALL the things:

• Eat 1,800 calories a day – instead of your normal 3,000.
• Go running 5 days a week – when you don’t exercise at all now.
• Get 8 hours of sleep a night – when a normal night is 5.

So instead of turning your Fitness Switch “Off” from this unrealistic pace, maybe you just turn it down to a “5” so you can keep going:

STEP 3: CHANGE A VARIABLE IN YOUR EXPERIMENT

You’re reading this guide, which would lead me to believe you’re interested in trying again to lose weight and get in shape.

To avoid getting the same results, we need to change the variables in the experiment to try and get different results.

You know…

For your next attempt consider adjusting one of the following variables.

Remember, any good experiment has accurate measurements for their changing factors! You don’t just put “some uranium” in a nuclear reactor. You know the exact amount.

We need to be exact with your variables.

Let me give you some suggestions:

#1) Change the exercise variable: 

Did you actually enjoy the exercise you attempted? If you discovered that you hate running, great! Never do that again. “Exercise sucks,” so I would pick something you actually enjoy.

#2) Try a substitution rather than addition: 

ADDING a brand new exercise routine into a busy schedule can be really challenging. Fortunately, you can focus on substituting or adding in a way that doesn’t take up more time: nutrition! How you eat is 80-90% of the weight-loss equation, and you’re already eating every day. So focus on substituting a vegetable for fries once a week, or swapping sparkling water for soda. You can also keep a food journal and change up your breakfast twice a week.

#3) Adjust your “win scenario”:

I get it. You were able to train in your home gym for the first few weeks of this year, going for at least an hour.

But THEN…work got busy. And you only had 30 minutes, which wasn’t enough time to get through your workout. So why not set the win scenario at “30 minutes,” or “15 minutes,” or just “1 exercise”? Lower the bar!

This is a 10-year journey we’re on here, so the exercise itself is not nearly as important as building a routine of working out that fits into your life. Lower the bar for what a “win” scenario is.

Example: if you roll out your yoga mat for 1 set of 1 exercise, it counts as a win. Doesn’t matter if did a full hour workout or just a 5 minute set of push-ups.

It all counts.

Remember, we just don’t want your Fitness Dial hitting “0.”

STEP 4: RESPAWN, GET BACK IN THE FIGHT

When you play a challenging video game, you’re going to die. A lot. (I died literally thousands when playing Hollow Knight, one of my favorite games in recent memory).

What happens after you die in a game?

You respawn, and try again!

You’ve learned a new tactic or pattern. You have a new technique. You’ve uncovered a secret. Or you’ve just gotten better. So you try, again.

And again.

And again.

And when you finally succeed?

Nirvana. Adulation. Pure joy.

There’s no shame in failing when it comes to weight loss. We have hundreds of stories of people who kept failing, but kept reading and trying, and then finally – something clicked.

And that next attempt is the one that changed their life’s path. Like Joe, who made like a dozen weight-loss attempt until he changed the right variable and got results:

So try again today.

Keep these things in mind when restarting your fitness journey:

1. Change your nutrition variable – try calorie counting instead of Paleo or vice versa.
2. Change your workout variable – try strength training instead of running.
3. Focus on building the routine by making the ‘win scenario’ super small.

Write down your plan, and start executing.

STEP 5: SUPERCHARGE YOUR RESULTS

I know hacking your experiments to get better data isn’t exactly “scientifically smart” or “morally responsible,” but I’m the one writing this guide and I have more important stuff to say. So you’re just gonna have to deal with it.

Once you start your new experiment, here’s how you can stack the deck in your favor:

#1) Write everything down. Write down your workouts. Write down what you eat. Treat it like a science experiment, and you’re collecting data! Plan ahead. Be PRO-active (“I will do Strength Training Workout A at 4pm and tonight I’ll have roasted chicken and bacon-wrapped asparagus) instead of RE-active (“What should I do for exercise right now?” and “Ah, what’s for dinner? Oooh, Burger King!”)

Coach Staci provides some additional tips in the video How a Journal Can Help Us Make Our Goals:

For more strategies here, check out our guide Tracking Your Fitness Progress.

#2) Recruit allies to your team. Don’t go this alone, as you’re more likely to succeed based on the people you spend time with and hang around. So recruit allies. Start spending more time with healthy people that empower you (even virtually), rather than unhealthy people that enable you and drag you down. Join a running group online. Find a lifting “accountabilibuddy,” or someone you can check in with.

#3) Hire a professional.

There are two types of coaches worth the investment:

• An in-person trainer if you are looking to supercharge your form on specific exercises like Olympic lifts, squats, deadlifts, etc. An in-person trainer can be good for people that need the accountability of somebody they’ve paid to meet them in the gym. Although to be honest, with the ongoing pandemic, gym availability and safety can be hit or miss.
• An online coach that represents mobile, worldwide accountability. I’ve had a coach for 7A years and it’s changed my life. Knowing that I have a workout and nutrition strategy to follow each day is game-changing.

As Coach Matt explains below, sometimes “outsourcing” help can be a real game-changer when trying to get in shape (or back in shape):

GET BACK IN THE FIGHT

An old mandrill named Rafiki once taught me: “Yes, the past can hurt. But you can either run from it, or learn from it.”

Okay maybe he taught that to Simba in The Lion King, but I too learned the same lesson:

TO RECAP:

#1) Forgive yourself. You wouldn’t talk to somebody else the way you talk to yourself. So have some freaking compassion! You’re trying.

#2) Identify what experiment you JUST tried. Write down what you believe went wrong over the past few weeks. Congrats – you found a strategy that doesn’t work.

#3) Pick a new path, try a different variable. A good scientist meticulously tracks their data and writes down their hypothesis. I would change one of the following:

• Exercise: do less – focus on building the routine and doing it consistently. Here’s how to exercise in a way that doesn’t feel like exercise.
• Nutrition: change less. If you couldn’t stick with a diet for 3 weeks, it was too restrictive. Try a different path. For help, check out our Guide to Healthy Eating. It’s designed to build on one small tiny improvement over time.
• Win scenario: don’t let “perfect” be the enemy of “good.”

#4) And then try again.

Oh, and for #5 (“Supercharge your results”), I have two perfect ways to help you respawn today:

A) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program.

Many of our clients kept respawning for years, and it was only when working with a trained professional that they finally learned how to maintain progress.

Our Coaching program changes lives. Learn more here!

B) If you want an exact blueprint for getting in shape, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Plus, there’s a nice shiny button you can press so you can respawn in our app whenever you want! No judgement, restart whenever.

Try your free trial right here:

Alright, that does it for me today.

For the Rebellion!

-Steve

PS: If you want more tips and tricks on how to stick to your goals this year, check out 5 Hacks to Effortlessly Build Healthy Habits in 2022.

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Photo Citation: Oh My Goodness! Shut Me Down, The Iron Giant, “Hello, old friend. Is he ready for me?”, Happy Halloween!!, At the blacksmith’s (Part 2), Medieval Blacksmith

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Today I’m going to help you achieve your first push-up!

Yep, I know that sounds super confident.

But it’s because I have a push-up progression plan that’s helped loads of clients in our Online Coaching Program crush their first push-up. 

We help people get their first push-up and we’re really good at it. Learn more:

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• What’s the best push-up progression plan?
• 4 push-up variations (to progress to a full push-up).
• What is the proper form for a push-up?
• 2 “must-do” exercises for achieving a full push-up.
• The “Get Your First Push-up” Workout Plan.
• Getting your first push-up (Next Steps).

Follow our guide and you’ll be doing “Earth Downs” in no time:

Let’s get started.

What’s the Best Push-up Progression Plan?

As I discuss in the video above, the most important part of your push-up progression plan: consistency.

Yeah, I know, there’s nothing too earth-shattering there.

But no matter what your current strength level is, the best way to work towards a push-up is to train your push muscles consistently. No matter where you’re starting today.

This is how our friend Mason went from wall push-ups to regular push-ups, then all the way to diamond push-ups.

Oh, and he lost like 70 pounds along the way too!

I’ll discuss push-up variations you should start with in the next section. Plus, we’ll wrap up today’s guide by discussing just how often you should train your push muscles.

Just remember, if you want your first push-up (and you should, cause push-ups are awesome), then you’ll need to be consistent with our push-up progression plan.

Cool?

Cool.

Our first stop on the Push-up Progression Plan: finding a push-up variation for you to become comfortable with. Something you can do about 8-10 reps with, for about 3-4 sets.

To start, you’ll probably train with an elevated push-up variation:

These will be easier than a regular push-up, since the higher the elevation, the less of your body’s weight you’ll be lifting during the movement.

Conversely, if you were to elevate your feet, you’d actually be lifting more than a regular push-up:

Let’s provide a rough breakdown of the percentage of your body’s weight lifted for different elevations of push-ups.^[1]

The Percentage of Body Weight Supported by Our Hands During Push-Ups:

• 4’ Elevated Push-up (Wall): 9%
• 3′ Elevated Push-up (Countertop): 20%
• 2′ Elevated Push-up: 36-41%
• Knee Push-up: 49%
• 1′ Elevated Push-up: 54%
• Regular Push-up: 64%

The strategy behind our push-up progression plan is to slowly move you down to the ground, lifting more and more of your own weight as you go.

Think of it like gaining XP in a video game, so one day you’ll be able to tackle the final boss: the floor.

It might help to pretend there’s a witch below it. 

Alright, let’s show you exactly how to do some of these push-up variations.

4 Push-up Variations (to Progress to a Full Push-Up)

The push-up variations below can be thought of as benchmarks.

If you can’t complete 8-10 reps, nbd.

We’ll have you train at the level below and you’ll move up before you know it.

Here are 4 variations for our Push-up Progression Plan:

Push-up Progression Level 1: Wall Push-ups

Place your hands on a wall about chest weight (roughly 4′, 48″, or 122 cm). Bend your arms and get as close to the wall before pushing back up.

Push-up Progression Level 2: Waist-High Push-ups

Place your hands on a surface about waist high (roughly 3′, 36″, or 92 cm). Bend your arms and touch your chest to the surface before pushing back up.

Push-up Progression Level 3: Knee-High Push-ups

Place your hands on a surface about knee high (roughly 1.5′, 18″, or 46 cm). Bend your arms and touch your chest to the surface before pushing back up.

Push-up Progression Level 4: Knee Push-ups

Hold yourself up on your hands and knees, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to knees. Lower down to the ground before pushing back up.

FINAL BOSS: Push-ups!

You made it to a push-up!

Are you doing them correctly?

Our next section will dive into the correct form, since this is a guide on getting your first proper push-up (I wouldn’t hold out on you).

But first, you may be asking yourself a question: when do I progress up to the next level?

For that, I’d recommend downloading our new app (it’s free to try out).

Nerd Fitness Journey will guide you through a workout routine specifically designed to help you get your first push-up, with benchmarks and signals on when to move up. 

Plus, you get to earn actual XP so you level up your very own superhero!

You can give it a free test drive right here:

What Is the Proper Form for a Push-Up?

The video above walks you through the correct way to do a proper push-up, and also includes a few well-placed jokes from yours truly.

Here’s how to complete one perfect push-up:

• With your arms straight, glutes clenched, and abs braced, steadily lower yourself until your elbows are at a 90-degree angle or less.
• Try to keep your elbows relatively close to your body, and keep note of when they start to flare out as you get tired.
• Once your chest (or nose/chin) touches the floor (or your arms go down to a 90-degree angle), pause slightly and then push back up until you’re at the starting position.

Here are 4 common mistakes with push-ups:

#1) Make sure you keep your elbows in. Often, beginners will flare out their elbows when doing a push-up.

A good way to think of this, is you want your body to appear more like an ARROW from the top, not a T.

This infographic on the proper push-up form shows you want I mean:

#2) Keep your head in line with your body. We don’t want your head shifting forward, which could put unnecessary stress on your neck and prevent a full range of motion.

#3) Keep your hips in line with your body (no sagging). We want you in one straight line as you push your body up and down:

#4) Attempt to do a full range of motion with your push-up (as long as it’s pain-free). Shoot to come all the way down, so your chest is touching the ground or the object you’re doing push-ups against.

If you want more help here, we have a full guide on how to do proper push-ups, (including advanced variations to try).

Exercises For Achieving a Full Push-Up

There are two exercises that will go a long way towards achieving your first push-up:

1. Push-up Negatives
2. Front Planks or Top of Push-up Holds

First, let’s talk about push-up negatives.

“Negative” in exercise terminology generally means only doing half of a traditional rep, normally lowering the movement.

To do a Push-up Negative: 

• Hold yourself up at the top of a push-up, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to feet.
• Lower down and touch the ground, then let the knees rest on the ground to help you push back up.
• You can do a push-up negative from an elevated surface too.

Next, let’s talk about Front Planks or Holding at the Top of a Push-up.

This is important for a few reasons:

• Builds a strong midsection. A sturdy core will help a lot when doing push-ups.
• If you can’t hold the top of a push-up position, doing one complete rep will prove almost impossible.

Holding a plank might be tough for you, so let’s talk about a few variations you can experiment with.

Hold Level 1: Knee Planks

Hold yourself up on your forearms and knees, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to knees.

Hold Level 2: Front Planks

Lie on the floor with your forearms flat, making sure that your elbows are aligned directly under your shoulders.

Engage your core and raise your body off the floor in a straight line from head to feet, keeping your forearms planted. Try not to let your hips rise or drop.

Hold Level 3: Push-up Hold

Hold yourself up at the top of a push-up position, with the body in a straight line from shoulders to feet.

If you follow the Push-up Challenge in NF Journey, you’ll notice that pretty much every workout ends with a type of one of these holds, since core strength is so critical for push-ups.

Oh, and if you want to just try Nerd Fitness Journey to see what I mean, you can do so right here:

The Push-up Workout Plan

Remember earlier when I said the name of the game with push-up progression is consistency?

To show you what I mean, it’s time to build a workout for conquering push-ups.

I’d recommend three workouts a week for a Push-up Progression Plan, with a rest day between.

Could be Monday-Wednesday-Friday or Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday.

As long as there’s a day off between workouts, it’s fine.

Oh, and if you can only do two workouts a week, that’s okay too. Just do the best you can (even once a week).

The “Get Your First Push-up” Workout is:

• A Warm-Up
• 3 or 4 sets of a Push-up Variation for 8-10 reps
• 2 or 3 reps of a Push-up Negative
• 60 second Plank or Hold

Let’s dive into each of these a bit more.

Step #1) Warm-up

• Arm circles: 10x/way
• Wrist stretches: 5/side

Arm circles for push-ups will look like this:

Wrist stretches for push-ups will look like so:

You can always do a more formal warm-up routine, but just make sure you include some variation of these two moves.

Step #2) Train with a Push-up Variation

Earlier, we went through 4 variations that will help you get your first push-up.

After your warm-up, you should train with one of them.

For our Push-up Progression Plan, I want you to alternate between two variations:

• On Day A, do 3 or 4 sets of a push-up variation that you can do 8-10 reps in.
• On Day B, do 3 or 4 sets of a push-up variation that you can do 5-8 reps in (so a harder variation).

For example:

• On Monday maybe you do 3 sets of waist-high push-ups for 10 reps.
• Wednesday, you can do 3 sets of knee-high push-ups for 8 reps.
• Then Friday, back to the waist-high variation.

Step #3) Do a Negative

After you train with your push-up variation, I want you to attempt 2-3 reps of a negative push-up.

If these are too tough, simply do an easier variation, like knee push-up negatives:

Any of the 4 variations we discussed earlier can be done as a “negative.”

These negatives will be important, as they’ll go a long way towards building strength for a regular push-up.

Step #4) Plank/Hold for 60 seconds

We’re going to end our “Get Your First Push-up” Workout with a hold:

• Front Plank
• Holding the Top of the Push-up

Choose whichever variation you like, but attempt to hold the position for a full minute, with as few sets as possible.

If you need to break up the 60-second hold, you could:

• Do three sets of 20 seconds each.
• Do two sets of 30 seconds each.

Just aim to go longer and longer as you go. If you can’t make it to a full minute, don’t stress. Just work on holding a knee or elevated plank.

These holds will help strengthen your core, which will be critical for doing push-ups with proper form.

Oh, and if you want someone to modify this workout for you (let’s say you also want to do some HIIT for fat loss) our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program can do just that.

Plus, your coach can review your movements through our app so you’ll know your training correctly and safely.

You’re not alone on this journey. Let our Online Coaches help you conquer your first push-up!

How to Achieve Your First Push-up (Next Steps)

That should give you everything you need to get started with the push-up progression plan.

Remember…

The “Get Your First Push-up” Workout is:

• A Warm-Up
• 3 or 4 sets of a Push-up Variation for 8-10 reps
• 2 or 3 reps of a Push-up Negative
• 60 second Plank or Hold

Do this three times a week, with a day of rest between workouts, and you’ll be good to go.

As you continue on the Push-up Progression Plan, remember to keep pushing harder. We want you slowly but surely increasing the challenge of the workout (known in the biz as “progressive overload.”)

This could be:

• Adding another rep (8 reps of waist-high push-ups to 9)
• Adding another set (3 sets of knee push-ups to 4)
• Moving up to a more difficult variation (waist-high push-ups to knee-high)

Oh, and if you need any help along the way, I gotcha boo.

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

#1) Our Online Coaching Program: perfect for someone who wants an expert (like me!) to design the right path for conquering push-ups. We’re all different, so why not have a coach guide you through a program that’s custom-made for you?

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

Our coaching program changes lives. Learn how!

#2) If you want an exact blueprint for crushing push-ups, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Plus, our 6-week Push-up Challenge has helped quite a few Rebels achieve their first push-up!

Try your free trial right here:

#3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion. You’ll meet individuals from all different walks of life, all of whom are trying to level up their lives. 

Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our “Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know” guide, which will teach you exactly how to grow strong enough to rock push-ups:

Alright, I want to hear from you now:

Can you do a proper push-up?

If not, what level are you on?

Are we missing any helpful suggestions for a beginner?

Let me know in the comments!

-Jim

PS: Check out the rest of our guides on doing push-ups:

• How to Do Push-Ups with Correct Form
• Steve’s 7 Favorite Push-Up Variations
• 5 Common Push-Up Mistakes

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Photo source: Gecko push-up; Figure push-up; 102, 103, 104…; doll push-up, push-up sunset;

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So you want to learn about the best core exercises?

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

We help men, women, and intergalactic bounty hunters grow strong as part of our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program, and we always put an emphasis on core muscles when we build client workouts.

Are you training your core muscles correctly? Let our coaches help you decide!

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• Why is training your core muscles important?
• What are the best core exercises for beginners? 
• How can I strengthen my core at home?
• The 5 best core exercises
• Core exercises to avoid (skip the sit-ups)
• “What exercise burns the most belly fat?” (Best core exercises for weight loss)
• How to build a core workout (Next steps)

Alright buckeroo, let’s do this thang!

Why Is Training Your Core Muscles Important?

You use your core muscles for just about everything:

• Getting out of bed in the morning? Not without a sturdy core.
• Pushing a grocery store cart across the parking lot? Your core will make that happen.
• Fighting off ninjas who just discovered your secret identity? Karate kicks require a strong core.

You get the gist.

So what exactly do we mean when we say “core”?

Contrary to popular belief, your core isn’t just your abs.

Some of the muscles found in your core include:

• Erector spinae: this is the muscle around your spine and helps you stand up straight.
• Rector abdominis: better known as your “abs.” 
• Obliques: these are found on the sides of your torso and help you twist (and shout).
• Gluteal muscles: also known as your “glutes” or “butt” or “bum” or “ass” or – okay, you get the point –  which connects your legs to your core.

You might also hear your core referred to as your “trunk.” Same thing.

The core muscles really are the foundation of the human body. And much like building a house, when it comes to fitness, you need to start with a strong foundation.

This is why we focus on building a strong core with each of our coaching clients. 

A Nerd Fitness Coach can guide your strength training! Click here to learn more!

What Are the Best Core Exercises for Beginners? How Can I Strengthen My Core at Home?

If you’re just starting your fitness journey, we won’t make you jump into the deep end quite yet. 

Here are the Best Core Exercises for Beginners:

#1) Plank

Your entire core is engaged in a plank, as you stabilize yourself in a straight line (don’t sink)! 

If you can’t quite support yourself into a full plank, have no fear, you can start with…

#2) Knee Plank

Just like a regular plank, but you have your knees for support. Start with these until you can do the real thing.

#3) Hip Bridge

The hip bridge will activate the glutes and the rest of your core as you bring your body up.

#4) The Hollow Body Hold

The hollow body is one of the best ways to engage the midsection and stabilize the body. We utilize the hollow body exercise as part of our strategy for getting your first handstand.

Once you get comfortable holding the position, try…

#5) The Hollow Body Rocking

These 5 exercises will go a long way towards developing serious core strength.

“Steve, these moves are easy peezy. What are some advanced core exercises?”

I thought you’d never ask.

The 5 Best Core Exercises

Now the real fun starts.

Here are The 5 Best Core Exercises:

#1) Squats

Squats? Yes, squats. 

Squats train just about every muscle in your core (and lower body). Your core is engaged as you stabilize yourself up and down. If you don’t currently train with squats, start with a simple assisted bodyweight squat:

You can also read our full guide on how to perform squats to level up your game.

#2) Deadlifts

We’re big fans of the deadlift around these parts. Not only is it a core exercise, but it’s really an EVERYTHING exercise (lower body, core, and upper body). 

Senior Coach Staci credits performing deadlifts to her visible abs:

If you want a strong core, start performing deadlifts.

#3) Push-ups

Just like how a plank forces you to stabilize your core, a push-up will do all that and more as you push yourself up and down.

How’s your push-up form? Most people do them incorrectly.

Read our full guide on how to do a proper push-up to hone your technique.

#4) Pull-ups

Yes, pull-ups are an upper-body exercise. But you’ll engage your core as you hoist yourself up. The more you keep your body in control (don’t flail about as you go up and down), the more you’ll train your core.

Can’t do a pull-up yet? No problem, read “How to Get Your First Pull-Up in 30 Days.”

#5) Knees to Elbow

This will challenge your core like you wouldn’t believe. The slower you go, the more intense it will be.

Bonus Core Exercise: Toes to Bar

This is an advanced move, but a great core exercise that only requires a pull-up bar!

Are you doing these moves correctly?

A good way to check would be to record a video of yourself and match it against the gifs and videos here. If they look close, you’re doing great!

The other option would be to have a trained professional review your form, which we can do in our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program!

Our spiffy mobile app lets you send a video of your training 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 can improve your core strength!

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

Why You Shouldn’t Do Sit-Ups

You may have noticed that we haven’t covered sit-ups in our guide on the best core exercises.

This is 100% intentional. You don’t need to do sit-ups.

In fact, there’s an argument you SHOULDN’T do sit-ups at all.

Sit-ups can be hard on your back.^[1] They’re also an incomplete exercise, as they don’t work out your entire core (stomach AND lower back). 

So skip the sit-ups. 

Instead, I’d recommend you go with a Reverse Crunch:

“What Exercise Burns the Most Belly Fat?” (Best Core Exercise for Weight Loss)

There’s a common belief that if you simply do enough crunches or sit-ups, you’ll get a flat stomach.

I hate to break it to you, but this isn’t true.

It’s something I bring up in the article: “Can You Actually Banish Belly Fat?” 

You cannot spot reduce fat on your body:

• Not on your thighs.
• Not on your love handles.
• Not on your stomach. 

This is why the Thighmaster is a joke:

Depending on your age, weight, sex, and genetic makeup, your body will lose fat in a certain order, from certain parts of your body, that you can’t control.

Here are some things to consider:

• Everybody has abdominal muscles. Yep, even you! They might be tiny, or weak, but everybody has 6-pack abs. They might just be hidden under a layer of fat. No judgment, just reality.
• Fat does NOT turn into muscle – they are two different things. Like oil and water, fat sits on top of muscle. You could have ridiculously strong abs ready to pop out, but if they are buried under a lot of fat, no amount of exercise will give you a flat stomach or make those abs pop, because it doesn’t address the fat on top of your muscles.
• A flat stomach only appears when you have a low enough bodyfat percentage. The reason there are 1,000,000,000 ab workouts on YouTube is that people know there’s BIG money in the ab-industry for people desperate to get a flat stomach! And ab exercises are much easier to market as exciting than “eat better, get strong, move more, for a long long time.”

So if you want a flat stomach or six-pack abs, we need to create a plan for sustainable weight loss. 

I know, WAY EASIER SAID THAN DONE.

Have no fear, I have a couple of resources for you:

• How to Lose Weight Without Dieting (The 5 Rules of Weight Loss): you’ve probably been on a diet before. You might even be on a diet right now. We discuss why they generally don’t work (temporary changes create temporary results) and provide a less conventional but more permanent solution (tiny changes for the win).
• Our 1-on-1 Online Coaching Program: many of our clients spent years yo-yoing their weight, going from one diet to another. It’s only when working with one of our coaches that they were able to achieve sustainable weight loss. 

Want to lose weight without hating life? Learn how we can help.

How to Build a Core Workout (Next Steps)

Now that we know how to perform the best core exercises, you know what time it is?

It’s my favorite time.

It’s time to build a workout routine!

Woot.

As Coach Staci advises in the video below, we recommend beginners strength train two to three times a week with a full-body workout:

That full-body workout will hit:

• Quads (front of your legs).
• Butt and hamstrings (back of your legs).
• Chest, shoulders, and triceps: (“push” muscles).
• Back, biceps, and grip ( “pull” muscles).
• Core (abdominals and lower back).

We just went over what you should do for that last segment, “core”. 

What should you do for the others? For ideas, read our guide: “How To Build Your Own Workout Routine.”

That will help you build a practice to grow strong.

Don’t get startled by my comment that you should train “two to three times a week.” If you can only do a full-body workout once a week, that’s WAY BETTER than none a week.

Once you get the practice going, we can always work to increase the frequency later. 

The most important thing you can do today: start!

Want a little help getting going? The perfect next step on what you should do now?

No problemo!

Here are 3 options on how to continue with Nerd Fitness:

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

Option #2) If you want an exact roadmap for getting fit, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).

Plus, we have Missions specifically designed to help you achieve a strong core.

Try your free trial right here:

Option #3) Join the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.

Sign-up below and receive our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It includes step-by-step instructions for the Best Core Exercises covered in today’s guide. 

Alright, enough from me. Your turn:

Do you agree with my list of the best core exercises?

Do you think I’m missing any?

Am I completely off base on my position on sit-ups?

Let me know in the comments!

-Steve

PS: Many of the exercises covered today came from our post “The 42 Best Bodyweight Exercises.” Give it a read if you’d like to start training without a gym!

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GIF Source: kung fu challenge

Photo Source: Morning run with the Fitbit, Core muscles, LEGO Ninjas, Sit-Ups, Mario gang, Handstand in Desert, Laughing Buddha, 

The post Blog first appeared on Nerd Fitness.

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