Every project is an opportunity to learn, to figure out problems and challenges, to invent and reinvent. So, you’re on board with the idea of tracking your calories and macros to gain muscle and lose fat.
You read my “Macros 101” article and learnt how to set your nutritional targets. You started tracking and saw some good results. But then, a few weeks in, you think you’ve hit a plateau. And now you’re wondering, “Do I need to change anything?” To be honest with you, tweaking a client’s macros or calories is usually my last port of call. Often, a much more effective solution is to review your approach to tracking. After all, you haven’t been doing it for that long, so you may have yet to master some tips and tricks to make this system truly work for you. In this article, I’m going to share five tracking hacks that always help my clients overcome their first plateau. If you’re ready to master tracking, keep reading.
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Without data you’re just another person with an opinion. In the third and final instalment of this multi-part series on bodyweight data and dieting, I’m going to tackle the following topic: How do you make adjustments to a muscle gain phase based on your bodyweight?
Before we dive into this subject, I want to point out that the most important component in a muscle gain phase is your training, not your diet. Your diet can only help you gain muscle if you’re giving your body the necessary stimulus to grow muscle, a stimulus that only training can offer. If you eat in a caloric surplus, but you don’t train, you can eat all the protein you want… but the only mass you’ll be putting on, sadly, will be fat. So, before you read the rest of this article, make sure you have a solid training program, and that you’re consistent with it. The goal is to turn data into information, and information into insight. In Part 1 of this article series, I explained:
In this second part, I’ll explain how to interpret and utilise your bodyweight data from the beginning to the end of a fat loss phase in order to diet and maintain the results successfully. As stated in the previous article, the only data that matters in the context of muscle gain and fat loss is your bodyweight average per week and/or per month, which is what I’ll be referring to in the rest of this blog post. Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions. To achieve any goal, you need to collect and analyse data.
Without it, you wouldn’t know
In other words, without data, you can’t make the right adjustments to your plan. You could still accomplish your goal, but you’d probably run into one of these two scenarios:
However, having data isn’t enough to secure effective and efficient results. Inconsistent and unreliable data, or data that you’re interpreting incorrectly, can be just as damaging as the absence of it. For example, with fitness goals such as fat loss and muscle gain, a common mistake is to focus too much on day-to-day fluctuations on the scale, which are normal, and too little on your average weight increases or reductions over a longer period of time, which is what matters most for these fitness endeavours. This multi-part article series will provide you with the knowledge to assess your bodyweight data in order to achieve fat loss or muscle gain. In Part 1, we’ll delve into:
In the rest of the series, we’ll cover how to adjust your diet and training protocol in response to changes in bodyweight. Positivity, confidence, and persistence are key in life, so never give up on yourself. If you’ve been reading this blog since 2019 (hats off to you, OG Reader!), you might remember “Hardgainer, Now What?”, an article I published in January 2019.
Over two years later, I decided it was high time to revamp the original post, tackling the topic from a new perspective: What are some key aspects of training and nutrition, which hardgainers typically struggle with, and which could have a dramatic impact on your physique? First of all, a hardgainer is someone who thinks they struggle to build muscle or to put on any weight at all. They usually look like the typical “skinny kid” and believe they have “bad genetics” for muscle growth. I view myself as a hardgainer and, at some point in my bodybuilding journey – and sometimes to this day – I’ve had all three of the issues I’m going to cover in this article. What’s more, over these past years working as a coach, I noticed that many clients who wanted help building muscle, were facing similar hardships. So I’m going to share:
Ready for the brain gains? |
Nikias TomasielloWelcome to my blog. I’m an online fitness coach with a passion for bodybuilding, fantasy, and bread. Want to work with me? Check out my services!Archives
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