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The Muscle Gaining Mistake EVERYONE Makes (And What To Do Instead)

The Muscle Gaining Mistake EVERYONE Makes (And What To Do Instead)

by | Oct 2, 2022 | Blog, Diet

You’ve lost the weight you wanted to lose. But now, you want to gain a bit more muscle while maintaining your fat loss.

You’ve got your workouts all set, you’ve adjusted your macros, you’ve increased your calories…

You’re feeling good.

You’ve felt yourself even starting to get stronger this first week.

Then…you step on the scale.

DUN DUN DUUUUUN…

You’ve gained weight!

You feel yourself starting to freak out and you want to instantly slash your calories and change everything.

But DON’T!

You’ll only sabotage yourself.

This is why it may be key you STOP weighing yourself if you want to focus on building muscle.

 

Back Away From The Scale:

When you’ve worked hard to get leaner, to lose weight, it can be a mental battle to see that scale start to go the other direction.

But it most likely will.

This isn’t even due to pounds of muscle piling on OR fat immediately being gained.

Changes simply don’t happen overnight.

And especially the more training experience you have, the slower you’re going to pack on those muscle pounds!

Often this scale fluctuation up at the start of your muscle gaining phase is simply due to you coming out of a deficit and even increasing your carb intake.

Full glycogen stores mean also water weight being gained.

And this will cause a quick increase on the scale.

With every gram of glycogen stored comes 3-4grams of water weight.

Basically this means when you CUT carbs, you can deplete your glycogen stores to lose up to 6.6lbs or about 3kg pretty instantly.

And you can also GAIN as much just as quickly.

Not to mention with the hard training sessions, you may find that inflammation within your body increases – again leading to weight gain.

So if you want to truly focus on building muscle, you need to put away your scale for a bit.

Not to mention, you may want to even consider a slight diet break after a fat loss phase to really create that new set point and have your body fully adapt to your new leanness level so you feel more confident in maintaining your results before you move into that muscle building phase.

So…If You Can’t Use The Scale, How Can You Make Sure It’s Muscle And Not Fat?

When your focus shifts to building muscle, you want to have ways of actually measuring how much muscle you’re building.

The hard part about measuring body comp is, many more accurate tests aren’t easily available and are super expensive making it harder to do consistently OR they are less accurate home handheld devices super impacted by hydration levels even.

Every tool has its downsides. And while you can make things work by using tools repeatedly to at least see progress from previous measurements even if the measurement isn’t the same as a reading by another tool, two very simple ways to also track at home are…

– Progress Pictures
– Measurements

Progress pictures are a great way to see changes in body recomp over time. Just make sure to take them from multiple angles as you may be making strides, but in areas you don’t see or care about first.

And when you do take pictures, take them first thing in the morning, ideally in the exact same place. This way lighting is consistent so you can’t feel like you look worse or better just because the light has changed. And you haven’t consumed anything to impact how you look.

Note that even pictures will change at times DAILY due to muscle tissue damage and inflammation. After a hard arm workout, you may find your arms aren’t as defined the next day.

It’s key with EVERY measurement we watch trends.

Another great way to track progress is with measurements.

I recommend taking measurements of the areas you want to grow BUT also the areas that are lean that you want to stay lean.

By comparing lean area measurements over time, you can watch for fat being gained, while you can also track growth in the areas you are working to build muscle.

Just make sure you’re consistent in where you are measuring and when you are measuring.

Just like the scale, how we look in our photos and even our measurements can change over the course of the day with food consumption and training!

Whatever tools you do decide to use to measure, make sure to use them consistently and track trends over time, not getting discouraged with slow results or ups and downs.

Slow results are truly REAL results.

SUMMARY:

It’s key we realize that the scale doesn’t show the full picture.

And even seeing a gain over time on the scale can mean better body composition.

If you gain two pounds of muscle and even lose a pound of fat, you’ll see that scale increase despite a fantastic improvement in your body recomp and even fat being lost while you’ve gained muscle.

So if you want to truly focus on building muscle, it may be time to ditch the scale and really stay focused on those daily habits, progress pictures and measurements.

Remember if you’re tracking what you’re doing, you should be able to trust in the process as you have a clear picture of what you’re doing to adjust over time!

If you’re looking to learn how to fuel according to YOUR needs and goals, check out my Macro Hacks!

–> Learn More About The Macro Hacks

15 FAT LOSS TIPS That Changed My Life

15 FAT LOSS TIPS That Changed My Life

by | Apr 17, 2022 | Blog, Diet, fat loss-featured

Struggling to lose weight? Need that little tip to kickstart your results?

Well let me save you a lot of wasted time and effort experimenting to find what works and share 15 tips I’ve found to make all the difference in my results.

CHECK OUT THE FULL VIDDEO BLOG BELOW:

1: Working In Foods You Love First

For me this is dessert.

Often the thing we love most is the least healthy for us so we cut it out first. But we need to do the opposite and actually PLAN IT IN FIRST to work everything else around it and create a lifestyle balance.

When we cut out the foods we love, we sabotage ourselves. Restricting them just leads to us wanting them more and ultimately binging on them and falling off our plan.

Work in the foods you love so you want to stay consistent with the healthy lifestyle you are building!

2: Quality Does, And Doesn’t, Matter

Obviously whole natural foods are best for our health.

But you can STILL overeat healthy foods.

If you’ve been frustrated not seeing weight loss results while thinking “My diet is healthy and clean,” realize that your portions could still be off.

And we also need to stop making ourselves feel guilty for enjoying some not so quality foods as we strike the balance right for us.

Follow the 80/20 rule, consuming whole, natural, nutrient dense foods 80% of the time while still enjoying the not as quality foods you love.

And remember, portions still really matter!

3: It’s Not Forever

Nothing works forever.

While we want to make true habit and lifestyle changes, we need to realize that our needs and goals will change with time and our diet and exercise routines will need to adjust and adapt as well.

You’re building a foundation with the changes you’re making but you can’t get so tied to something you aren’t willing to adjust with time.

Focus on truly LEARNING the fundamentals and basics so you understand how things work for you so you can adjust as you need when your lifestyle and goals change.

4: Keep It Simple, Butthead

It’s so easy to get caught up in all of the options out there. And it isn’t stupid to want to overcomplicate things.

But we do need to keep it SIMPLE if we want the best results. As the more details we add all at once, the more our attention gets divided and the harder we make it on ourselves to dial in the big picture plan, which matters most.

We’re being a butthead, and I mean that as a slight term of endearment, if we start worrying about details like meal timing and supplements and best foods for fat loss before we first simply get consistent with our workout routine while dialing in our overall macros and calories for the day.

So set a few big picture things to start with and get consistent with before you worry about anything else!

5: Stop Overcorrecting

We’re human.

There will be days that don’t go as planned, days we just aren’t motivated, days that we just “mess up.”

But instead of feeling guilty, instead of trying to do more the next day to make up for it, we just need to get right back to those habits.

We need to do what we can as soon as we can to just MOVE FORWARD.

It’s like if we get a flat tire, we don’t slash the other three! Nope. We fix the flat or call a tow truck so we can get moving forward as fast as possible. Don’t make the situation worse.

Don’t try to do more to correct it as that will also often backfire.

Just move forward.

6: Focus On Strength Training Over Cardio

Our workouts should be about more than just burning calories. So while we may burn more calories in a single cardio session over a strength session, this shouldn’t really be our focus.

Training is about becoming functional stronger and moving our best.

And if we want to really improve our weight loss efforts, we need to focus less on how many calories we burn in a single session and more on how we can increase our lean muscle mass to raise our metabolic rate and burn more calories even at rest.

So focus on strength training to actually see better results faster, especially as we get older. Since it becomes harder to build and retain lean muscle, we want to do everything we can to promote better muscle hypertrophy!

7: You Can’t Just Listen To Your Body

We wouldn’t be struggling to lose weight if we could just eat intuitively. Intuitive eating needs to be learned.

So if you’re trying to achieve body recomposition, you won’t be able to just listen to your body and eat according to its cues.

Our body don’t like change and they believe the state they’ve been in, the weight you’ve been at, is normal. So your body will resist any weight loss efforts.

You’ll feel hungry.

There will be mental struggles as you make changes to habits you’ve always done.

But change requires change.

8: There’s No Quick Fix

Plain and simple, change doesn’t happen overnight. And even expecting to reverse 10 years of weight gain in a single year, is truly overnight results.

The longer we’ve had the weight on, the longer we’ve been repeating habits that don’t work, the longer it will take to see changes.

And often the closer we get to our goal, the slower the progress will be especially if we are trying to see true fat loss and not just quickly lose weight on the scale through glycogen depletion and water weight being lost!

So get ready to focus on consistency over doing more to get results faster. We can’t out exercise or out diet time!

9: Recovery Is Key

Often we try to do more by training longer and harder and cutting out more from our diet.

But often the MORE we really need is more rest and recovery.

Those “easy” recovery sessions, when we relax and sleep and de-stress, that is when we are actually repairing and seeing the benefits of our hard training sessions and changes in macro ratios.

Without recovery time, you are just going to keep beating yourself down instead of ever allowing your results to build up!

So prioritize sleep. Plan in rest days. Do that rehab work! It may not “feel” beneficial but it is truly what makes your hard work add up!

10: Avoid Restriction

Often we cut out more in an attempt to get results faster. But all this does is make our habits unsustainable.

It’s what makes us feel like we just don’t have the discipline, self control or willpower to see the results we want.

When really we just aren’t being realistic. We aren’t basing things off of our needs and goals.

Don’t focus on cutting out. First focus on small swaps that feel like the smallest changes and realize there can be a balance.

Even start by doing the MINIMUM, knowing results will snowball.

11: Be Active

The more you do, the more you do. And when we stay active, we often want to do more things that keep us moving in a positive direction.

It’s much easier to get lazy and eat extra crap when you’re just lazing around.

So get moving.

Go out for walks. They’re a great way to burn more fat and get in more movement without stressing your body.

But get active and stay.

Especially the leaner you get and closer to your goal you get, as you’ve been in a deficit for longer, the more your body may actually move less to conserve energy.

Be conscious of this and make sure to make an effort to stay active throughout the day!

12: Macros Over Calories

Macros matter most for sustainable results. The ratio you use may impact the calories right for you and impact how full you feel.

And higher protein ratios can help prevent unwanted fat gain if you are in a surplus while helping aid in muscle mass retention during a deficit.

Actually high protein ratios are the only ones shown to even help you build muscle while in a deficit.

So let your macros then dictate how you dial in your calories. Don’t just focus on calories in vs. calories out!

13: You’re Not An All Or Nothing Person

Often we think if we can’t do everything at once, there is no point in doing anything.

This not only gives us an excuse not to start but it makes us feel like we’ve failed if one thing doesn’t go as planned.

But results don’t happen because of what we do when we are perfect. From doing more for a week.

They happen because we stick with the minimum consistently day after day.

Remember that small changes build. And that the more we can ingrain one habit, the easier it becomes to replicate even on days we don’t feel like it.

So focus on those small changes and set some minimums you know you can hit so results can snowball.

14: Stop Doing More

The simple fact of the matter is, you can’t out exercise or out diet time.

And often the more we try to rush results, the more we simple deplete our self control and willpower so we can’t stay consistent long term.

Many of us have repeated this restriction, binge, guilt cycle.

We do so much, burn ourselves out with the restriction, end up binging, feel guilty, fall off, then can’t get back on track for a bit and even dig ourselves more of a hole to crawl out of.

Focus on small sustainable changes. Realize results simply take time and get ready for the long haul celebrating those daily habits as wins themselves.

And I saved the best for last…

15: Tracking

I know people hate on tracking for being restrictive, tedious, boring, annoying, time consuming, frustrating.

But what we measure, we can manage.

Tracking gives you an accurate picture of what you’re doing both diet-wise and in your workouts so you can make accurate adjustments.

If you want to create the right portion sizes for you without having to cut out the foods you love, you need to track.

If you want to make sure you’re getting stronger and progressing in your workouts, you need to track.

So as unsexy and annoying as it is to start, it truly is the best way to avoid wasting time and know what is and isn’t working!

SUMMARY:

So if you’ve been struggling to see results, start with even just one of these tips as your focus and BUILD. Because the hardest part is getting started and the more you do, the more you’ll want to do.

We just often need to get that ball rolling!

Ready to create your own recipe for results?

–> The 3-Step Recipe For Fabulous Fat Loss Results

Why You’re Not Losing Fat (3 Step Plan)

Why You’re Not Losing Fat (3 Step Plan)

by | Dec 26, 2021 | Blog, Diet

Are you being honest with yourself?

It’s not that we intentionally “lie” to ourselves about things, but all too often we are looking back at our habits with rose colored glasses.

We miss the inconsistencies.

We let hard work be mistaken for training with purpose.

We’ve focused on doing MORE over following a strategically designed plan and systems.

As much as we want there to be a magic pill, there isn’t one.

And there is no one magical move, magic macro ratio, magic ANYTHING that is going to give us instant results.

That’s why I wanted to share with you the main reason I feel we so often don’t see the results we want and how to overcome it, but I do just first want to remind you how important it is we take that step back to honestly assess.

It’s easy to get caught up in how we “feel” we are doing.

But feelings aren’t data.

Especially because we CAN actually be working really hard and not seeing the results we want.

Working harder though doesn’t translate always into CONSISTENCY with that hard work though.

Too often we are “good all week” only to end up falling off on the weekends.

And that inconsistency can really add up.

One day can throw you out of a deficit if you’ve been trying to create a smaller deficit throughout the week.

Missed workouts, when you’ve DESIGNED for a specific schedule, can really add up.

We need to be honest with ourselves and our implementation of systems.

It’s why tracking to give us that outside perspective can be key.

This honest assessment can also help us stick with our plan for long enough for results to add up.

Because simply not sticking with something for long enough is truly why we most often don’t see the results we want!

We simply can’t out exercise or out diet time.

And so often we give up on a plan or program before we’ve truly given results time to build.

Sometimes we’ve even seen results but don’t feel like they are happening fast enough so go in search of another, faster, fix.

And this constant hopping from thing to thing is what prevents results from snowballing.

Because often when we don’t “feel” like things are happening, they are!

And over time those small changes build upon themselves to lead to big results.

So if the true problem is that we don’t get consistent with something and stick with it for long enough, how can we help ourselves actually commit to a plan long enough for time to work its magic?

Here are 3 tips to help you stay consistent and give results time to snowball:

#1: Give yourself end dates.

We don’t do well with “forever.”

Not only does it lead to us often not feeling motivated to get started, but it makes it easy to slack when there is nothing driving you to have a specific result by a specific time.

If you think about the times you truly were the most committed, it was when you had a big event you were working toward.

By setting those end dates we motivate ourselves to fully commit and commit until that day in time.

We can then, at that point, reassess how everything is going.

Even if you don’t have a big event you’re working toward and you know your ultimate goal will take awhile, set strategic end dates to give yourself a chance to assess how everything is going.

If you know you’re going to stick with something until that point, it will make it easier to even trust the process and not be looking to change things up before then.

#2: Set goals that aren’t just your ultimate goal and track progress toward them.

Many of us have been told we need to set habit goals. We need to celebrate completing the boring daily tasks that we know we need to do if we want to reach our ultimate goals.

But it’s hard to stay motivated by these simple tasks, especially after you do them for a week or two.

That’s why you want to set goals you know will complement your ultimate goal while being quicker to complete or see progress toward.

If you have 50lbs to lose, and you know you often struggle to stay motivated to go to the gym, set a gym performance goal.

What is one move you’d like to be able to do?

Would you like to be able to lift a certain amount? Run a certain distance? Cycle at a certain pace?

Set a performance goal that you know will motivate you to want to do the habits that will lead to faster progress toward your weight loss goals!

Then make sure to track your progress with a set plan in place!

You need to have that clear progression to know what is and isn’t working and then you want to track your progress toward your goals so you can see those changes over the week!

That progress forward will help keep you motivated to do what you know will lead to your other goals as well!

#3: Stop the all or nothing attitude.

Often in our desire to see results faster, we try to do a billion things at once.

We try to work harder and do more over finding something sustainable we can do long-term.

If you want to help yourself stick with something long enough to see results, you need to honestly assess your lifestyle, needs and goals and base your routines and habits off of them.

As unsexy as small changes are as they don’t often lead to the immediate earth-shattering results we want, they are what ultimately add up to the greatest results long-term.

Too often we overestimate how much we can accomplish short-term and underestimate what we can accomplish long-term with consistency.

So as much as you want something now, realize that attitude is what has ultimately lead to you never sticking with something long enough for results to truly snowball.

Yes you see those dramatic results, but then you also see that quick plateau or weight regain.

Find ways to make small changes based on what you’re currently doing and even at times embrace doing the minimum when you otherwise would do nothing!

Remember that it isn’t just about going full steam ahead when times are perfect, which, let’s face it, with life they often aren’t.

It’s about also finding ways to be BETTER than you would usually during the times you aren’t motivated and can’t do the perfect plan.

SUMMARY:

So often we hold ourselves back by simply not sticking with a program long enough. And then we also start to ignore the inconsistencies that happen.

Take an honest step back and reflect on what you’re doing.

Then set some end dates to constantly assess your programming and keep you motivated while allowing results to build. In each of these time frames, outline some performance goals you know will keep you consistent in those habits and working toward your ultimate weight loss goal. And then embrace doing the minimum. Be realistic instead of feeling like it has to be all or nothing.

Remember, you simply can’t out exercise or out diet time!

Eat the foods you love, train with a routine that fits YOUR busy lifestyle, and see the fabulous results you deserve…It’s that simple! (Note that doesn’t mean “easy.”)

LEARN MORE…

–> The RS Formula And 3 Pillar System

How To Build Muscle And LOSE FAT at the same time

How To Build Muscle And LOSE FAT at the same time

by | Oct 17, 2021 | Blog, Diet, muscle-featured, Workouts

When you think about gaining muscle you think about a “bulking” phase.

And all too often for people this calls to mind images of people stuffing their faces with all sorts of foods.

You need to eat big to get big right?!

While, yes, a calorie surplus is key to gaining muscle, too often a “bulk” often becomes the perfect excuse to pig out and way overeat.

And this often leads to a lot of unwanted fat gain as you put on muscle.

This unwanted fat gain means you will then at some point have to go into a CUT to get rid of the fat and lean back down.

And when you cut, if you don’t do it super slowly, you’re most likely going to lose some of the muscle you worked hard to gain anyway.

So the question is…can you gain muscle WITHOUT gaining fat?

Is it possible to bulk in a way you don’t really need to then do an extreme cut to lean back down after?

The answer is YES.

By being precise in how we go about gaining muscle and taking the time to do it right, we can ultimately gain muscle without packing on the fat.

That’s why I wanted to share 3 tips to help you gain muscle without gaining fat.

But before I dive into the tips, I do just want to discuss calorie intake and whether you ACTUALLY even need to be in a surplus first to gain muscle…

Do You Really Need A Calorie Surplus To Gain Muscle?

The answer to this is…It depends.

And part of what it depends upon is your current level of leanness and even training experience.

If you’re just beginning your weight loss journey and have a good deal of fat to lose while also wanting to put on muscle, you’ll actually find that a small calorie DEFICIT works to your advantage. Especially if you focus on a higher protein ratio.

By putting yourself in a small calorie deficit, while focusing on protein, you can lose the unwanted fat while not only retaining but even gaining muscle.

If you instead put yourself in a calorie surplus, you’d potentially, yes, build muscle, but not see the body recomposition or fat loss results you want.

By creating a small deficit, you can lose fat AND gain muscle.

So even think just a small deficit of 100-300 calories off of maintenance.

However, if you’re already lean, a calorie surplus will work to your advantage.

BUT this doesn’t mean adding 1000s of calories to your daily intake.

Often a more moderate surplus is best while still maintaining that focus on protein.

When you’re leaner you want that surplus to ensure you have readily available energy to fuel your training sessions so you can create progressive overload and help your muscles repair and grow.

If you don’t have that positive energy balance, you risk catabolizing lean muscle, which will hinder your gains.

A newbie lifter though does have more growth potential than someone who’s been training for awhile so may go on the higher end of a “moderate surplus” if they’re lean to start.

But you still want to be mindful of your surplus as more calories doesn’t mean faster muscle growth. Any excess energy, aka extra calories, you consume your body doesn’t need will simply be stored as fat.

So while you will want to set your calorie intake to start a few hundred calories over maintenance, you don’t need to create any crazy surplus to see results.

Generally speaking in the range of 100-400 may be more than enough above maintenance to see amazing results.

Once you have figured out your calorie intake, you then want to consider these 3 tips to help you dial in both your training plan and your diet to assist in gaining muscle without gaining fat.

 

3 Tips To Help You Gain Muscle WITHOUT Gaining Fat:

#1: Don’t Fear Carbs. Dial In Your Macros.

If you want to add muscle without gaining fat, you can’t ignore the importance of the macro breakdown you use. And you may even find you cycle ratios as your training routine changes.

By focusing on macros over just the calories in vs calories out, you can help yourself avoid gaining unwanted fat.

And while focusing on protein should be the first thing you do, going slightly higher in protein if you’re in a deficit than you would when you’re in a surplus, you also can’t ignore the importance of CARBS.

Low carb is all the rage right now, especially for weight loss. But carbs play an important role in promoting the most efficient muscle gains.

You want the immediate energy to fuel your workouts so you can train hard without fatiguing as easily. This allows you to really fully benefit from your training routines.

Carbs have a protein sparing effect.

They create an anabolic environment that protects your lean muscle while giving you the fuel you need to rebuild after your training sessions.

If we don’t have sufficient readily available energy, protein will be used instead. And, especially if you’re already lean, this means your body will even start to break down muscle tissue to use as immediate fuel.

So consuming enough carbs is key to helping you protect your lean muscle, support muscle growth and recover faster from your training sessions.

And the more active you are, often the more carbs are even necessary to help with body recomposition and fat loss.

So while you may fear carbs because you saw a quick change on the scale due to glycogen and water weight being stored, you need this fuel if you’re serious about those muscle gains.

This scale change due to full glycogen stores is NOT fat being gained. So be prepared for that weight change if you are increasing carbs to go into more of a muscle building focused phase!

#2: Use A Variety Of Rep Ranges.

If you want to lose weight, you can actually do so by simply adjusting your diet.

While training makes it easier, and has been shown to be key for long-term success, you can truly lose weight without changing your activity.

BUT if you want to gain muscle, you’ve got to create a clear plan of action for the gym.

Now the question that often comes up is, “How many reps and sets?”

Do I do lighter weights and more reps or heavier weights and fewer reps?

The simple fact of the matter is – If it challenges you, it will change you.

So while yes, lifting weights makes it so much easier to gain muscle, you can achieve gains even using bodyweight moves by creating progression through tempos, range of motion, instability not to mention simply advancing moves in different ways.

The key is creating that new challenge strategically.

Now in terms of the reps and sets you use…

Well that really depends on so many factors, but the simple answer is USE A VARIETY or rep ranges to get the best results.

This can actually help you even increase training frequency over the week if every workout isn’t leaving you completely destroyed and help you utilize all three drivers of muscle growth.

Program in heavy compound lifts to start a few workouts in that 1-5 rep range. This can help you build maximal strength to lift more even in other moves. And it can help you really apply loads to those big muscle groups to challenge them. The more weight you can move overall, aka the stronger you are, the better the gains you’ll see. So doing some lifts focusing on building strength can improve your muscle gains.

Then program in some other compound accessory exercises to address those muscles further, working in that 6-15 rep range or the traditional hypertrophy rep range. This can help you really continue to challenge those stronger muscles.

To finish you may want to add in some more isolated moves working in that 15-20 or strength endurance rep range even. These moves may create more metabolic stress or they may be moves that isolate smaller muscles where you can only create so much challenge through loads alone.

By working in these different rep ranges, using different types of moves and even tools, you can even better utilize the different drivers of muscle growth as well – from muscle tissue damage to mechanical tension and metabolic stress.

But just remember, whether you’re working in the 1-5 rep range or the 15-20, no loads should feel light. You should always feel like you can’t do more weight in the given rep range, even focusing on working down in the assigned rep range over the week while increasing loads!

#3: Play With Meal Timing.

Meal timing is one of those things I think should oddly be the LAST of your worries BUT I also think it can be a really powerful tool to use to your advantage when working to get the most efficient muscle gains without gaining fat.

I just want to note that you should not stress over your meal timing, especially to start. If you hit your macros and calories overall for the day, you’re going to see results.

So do not stress if one day you can’t adhere to your ideal meal timing.

However, because making sure our muscles have the fuel they need to recover, repair and rebuild is so key, tweaking our meal timing can be super helpful.

Taking in some carbs pre workout can help really prevent any extra muscle tissue breakdown and allow our muscles to efficiently utilize the protein to build.

You have that immediate fuel to power through a tough workout and you immediately replenish those depleted glycogen stores after for the protein sparing effect.

By also consuming protein pre and post workout, you ensure your body has what it needs to rebuild when it is primed to do so.

A big main reason to eat post workout is actually to create an insulin response.

Insulin is an anabolic hormone, meaning it helps promote muscle growth and spiking it halts protein breakdown while encouraging protein synthesis.

Preventing protein breakdown can also aid in recovery.

Basically, post workout your body is primed to use the calories you give it to rebuild so some sort of post workout fuel can be good to help you build muscle and recover.

A simple carb source is key to replenish depleted glycogen stores and help you create that insulin response to build muscle, reduce soreness and help your body recover more quickly.

Fast digesting proteins and simple carbs are ideal.

Especially the older we get, because we don’t utilize protein as efficiently, the more we can benefit from taking in more protein, closer to 40 grams of protein, post workout.

Now what about Intermittent Fasting and fasted training?

You can 100% do IF and gain muscle. However, fasted training may not be ideal if your focus is truly on gaining muscle.

Studies have shown that even moderate glycogen depletion may impact performance.

So if you are training fasted, you may not be able to push as hard as you would had you had full glycogen stores. And being able to create that progression is key.

Not to mention you do risk your body seeking out energy from other sources, breaking down protein and muscle tissue for energy depending on the length of your fast and the fat stores available.

Especially if you are in a deficit, but really want to focus still on building lean muscle, be careful of fasted training.

So if you do choose to do IF consider breaking your fast prior to your training with even a small snack if muscle hypertrophy is your primary focus!

SUMMARY:

While it is possible to gain muscle and lose fat or achieve body recomposition, don’t expect results overnight. Especially the longer you’ve been training the longer it will take often to create those changes.

And as strange as it sounds, when it comes to body recomposition, slow results are often the REAL results.

So while you may want to do what you can to rush the process focus on staying consistent even when it feels like things aren’t building!

Achieve your ideal body composition and lasting results with a workout and diet routine that actually fits YOUR lifestyle.

Learn more about my 3-Part RS System…

–> The RS Formula