Tag: muscle growth

3 Body Transformation Training Strategies You Need To Be Using

Post author By Remson
Post date October 17, 2018

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3 Body Transformation Training Strategies You Need To Be Using

I’m sure you’ve seen some really drastic before and after pictures floating around, especially on instagram. On the left would be a guy or gal, flabby, bad posture, and an unenthusiastic facial expression to match. Then on the right is the same person, lean, tanned, and standing tall with a smile from ear to ear. You may look at images like that and think WOW I wonder how they did it!?

As a coach myself with over a decade of experience, I’ve figured it out. We know the diet has to be on point, but no matter how good your diet is, you won’t be able to make that transformation without the right type of training. There’s many different ways to train, but to make a real physique transformation there are 3 strategies you need to be using in order to see consistent results.

1- Rep Goals

The rep goal strategy is where you set a specific amount of reps with a set amount of weight. An example of this would be setting a goal of 24 reps at 185lbs within 3 sets on the bench press. That comes out to 3 sets of 8 reps if you were to do the same amount of reps on each set. Reaching your rep goal serves as an indication that you can go up in weight. You’re not ready to go up in weight if you don’t reach the rep goal.

Using this strategy is one of the best ways I’ve found to track your strength progress without doing 1 rep max tests. This is particularly a good idea for anyone in there first few years of training. You may not care too much about strength, but you will not build muscle without gaining strength.

2- AMRAP (As many reps as possible)

Doing AMRAP sets is how you get the absolute most out of a workout. Not only does this stimulate crazy muscle growth, but it also puts you in serious fat burning mode. There’s 2 main ways to use this strategy and its important to know when and with what type of exercise.

Last set AMRAP

This is ideal for the strength training portion of your workout, especially in combination with the rep goal strategy. Get as many reps as possible on that last set and see how far beyond your rep goal you can get. There’s no reason to stop short.

Body weight training

When using body weight exercises to build muscle, the most important factor is reps. The amount of muscle you build with body weight training is directly correlated to how many reps you can do. As a bonus, this also has a cardio training effect which will result in improved stamina and fat loss.

3- Super Sets

A super set is when you do 2 exercises back to back with little to no rest time between them. This is a smart way to improve time efficiency in your workout, train lagging muscles,, and increase the frequency of how many times you train a muscle group in a week. Here’s a few super set examples.

Lower body Training

Squats & Calve Raises
Stiff Leg Deadlift & Leg Curls
Lunges & Single Leg Hip Bridges
Banded Crab Walks & Hip Bridges

Upper Body Training

Chest Press & Bicep Curls
Rows & Tricep Extensions
Overhead Press & Reverse Flies
Lat Pull Down & Side Delt Raises

Plug in 1-2 super sets towards the end portion of your workouts to maximize muscle growth. Using all 3 of these strategies in each workout is a real game changer, trust me.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, power building

Nutrition & Supplements

Successfully Overhaul Your Diet In 3 Simple Steps

Post author By Remson
Post date October 13, 2018

Tribe By Noire

Successfully Overhaul Your Diet In 3 Simple Steps

I’m writing this because in the fitness and wellness industry, we put way too much emphasis on DIETS. Every time you turn around someone’s pitching a keto diet, a paleo diet, a blood type diet, juice cleanse, etc. Let’s back up a second, get real, and ask ourselves one simple question, “What about just adopting simple eating HABITS?”

The only way your diet works for you is if it’s comprised of practical eating habits that you can sustain. This means not being a slave to your food, not going to bed hungry, and not being crushed by cravings. Let’s talk about these 3 simple steps that will allow you to get your diet on track successfully.

Step 1 - The Observation Phase

Before you start making any changes you first have to identify exactly what you need to change. You may think you’re eating too much when in fact you’re eating too little. You may be eating the right amount of calories, but just making the wrong food choices.

Take a week to track your current eating habits and develop some self awareness. Doing this is a real wake up call. You can start this process by downloading an app on your phone called My Fitness Pal, or chronometer. My fitness pal is a bit easier to use, but chronometer gives you way more information on what you’re eating.

At this point you don’t need to worry about making any changes, just log what you’re eating. By the end of the week you’ll have plenty of data to look at to see where your problems are. Here’s a few things to look out for.

Does your calorie intake fluctuate up and down drastically?
Is your saturated fat, sugar, and cholesterol intake really high?
Is your fiber, vitamin, and mineral intake really low?

Step 2 - The Mapping Phase

Once you can clearly see where the holes are in your diet, you can start mapping out how you would ultimately want your diet to look. Make a simple list of nutrition goals like this.

Set a reasonable calorie goal that you can stay within 5% of.
Set a reasonable balance in your macros according to your fitness goals.
Have a list of at least 5 categories of food that you target daily.

Choosing a calorie goal – First you’d want to find out what your maintenance caloric intake is. Finding out your basal metabolic rate (BMR) will give you that number. You can download a mobile app on your phone for that or google “basal metabolic rate calculator” for the easiest way to do it.

If you want to lose weight, targeting 15% below maintenance calories would be a good idea. However, if you’ve been already under eating habitually and not losing weight, a calorie deficit is not going to be of much use.

If you want to gain weight, targeting 10% above maintenance calories would be ideal. Typically going further above that would cause you to gain unwanted body fat.

Setting macro goals – Typically the best macros are the ones that give you the most variety in your diet, while still getting you to your goals. For example, this is what that may look like.

Carbs – 50-55%
Protein – 20-25%
Fat – 30-20%

Carbohydrate and fat intake will vary from person to person, but in regards to protein calculation, 1 – 1.8 grams of protein per kilogram of lean mass would be the range to stay within. Getting above or below will result in a pretty unbalanced diet.

Targeting food categories – This would more than likely be the simplest place to start because its the least technical. All you’d really need to do is pick 5 food categories that are the most beneficial and make sure you eat foods from each of them daily. Here are the categories I suggest.

Veggies
Fruit
Nuts/Seeds
Legumes
Grains

Ideally each meal should incorporate at least 3 of these.

Step 3 - The Implementation Phase

Finally, implementation is done best when its done gradually. Too much at one time becomes overwhelming and food cravings will likely get the better of you. My advice is that you make 1-2 changes a week and see how you do. If you can stay consistent with those changes for the week, add more improvements. Here’s what some of those changes may look like.

WEEK 1

Eat 2-4 cups of fresh greens daily
Track each meal daily

Week 2

Eat 3.5 servings of legumes daily
Reach but do not exceed calorie goal by more than 10%

Week 3

Eat at least 3 servings of fruit daily
Drink at least 64oz of water daily

Week 4

Eat at least 1-2 servings of nuts and seeds daily
Reach your macros daily

Its easy to focus on getting rid of all the bad stuff from your diet, but that requires a focus on all the negative stuff in your diet. That focus on the negative is not good if you’re trying to take a more positive approach to life.

A good alternative is the process of elimination through addition. Focus on adding the good stuff first. You don’t have to deny yourself some of that cake right now, just save it for the end of the day AFTER you’ve eaten all the most beneficial meals first. That way its like a reward for good behavior.

Eventually the food cravings will die out and you’ll have more self discipline.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diet strategies, fat loss, muscle growth, nutrition plans, plant based diet, weight loss

Fitness & Training

Developing Strength 1st Before Hypertrophy Training

Post author By Remson
Post date July 2, 2018

Tribe By Noire

Developing Strength 1st Before Hypertrophy Training

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The correlation between strength & mass

Most of us understand that there is at least some sort of correlation between strength and muscle size, but the question is, if you want to gain muscle size, what’s the most effective way to do it. The strongest people we see tend to have the most muscular bodies, so by that logic we should just train for strength right? That sounds reasonable enough, but the more you study the science on this topic, the more complicated the answer becomes. Stay with me for a bit here as a break down and explain the process.

the 3 steps of physique building

1. cutting phase

Ideally you want to get to your ideal body fat while gaining muscle at the same time. This is especially easier to do for people who are new to the gym. Doing cardio and fancy complicated exercises to get you winded is not really what I advise because we want to cut, not deflate. Instead you’d want to take the fundamental movements like squatting, deadlifting, pressing, and rowing, and do them with some fairly high rep sets like 16-20 reps. Throw some giant sets and super sets in there and you’re good to go.

2. strength phase

Once you’ve cut down to your ideal body fat level, or at least close to it, you need to start developing a real foundation for strength. The primary reason for this is that muscle grows primarily to facilitate strength and force production. Getting stronger increases your capacity for muscle growth. A strength phase of training has 2 primary objectives, which are to increase strength and quantify strength. This phase of training is going to be with pretty low volume with sets typically not exceeding more than 10 reps. By the end of your strength phase you should know your 1 rep maxes for each fundamental lift. Your 1 rep maxes will be the basis for step 3. 8-12 weeks at a time is good duration for this phase.

3. mass phase

This phase is all about hypertrophy, which is the scientific term for increasing muscle mass. Unlike most training programs, this type of training is not focused on increasing the amount of weight you’re lifting in each set. The focus is increasing the amount of reps or sets, from week to week. I suggest working with weight that is either 70% of your 1 rep max, or in between 60-80% of your 1 rep max. The rep ranges I would suggest here are 6-8, and for accessory exercises I would suggest 10-12 or 16-20 reps.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, mass gain, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

3 Steps To Build Your Ideal Body In The Gym

Post author By Remson
Post date January 20, 2018

Tribe By Noire

3 Steps To Build Your Ideal Body In The Gym

When I say “build your ideal body” I’m referring to a natural, athletic, healthy, human form. Its up to you how lean or muscular you want to look, and how large you want certain muscles to be, but achieving that look in an efficient time frame all boils down to these 3 steps.

For the specifics on how to do this, keep reading below.

Step 1 - The Cutting Phase

The cutting phase is just a simple and sexy way of saying body recomposition phase. I have to make it clear that I am not advocating for cutting in the traditional sense of weight loss. The goal is specifically to reduce BODY FAT not just any ol’ weight loss. You don’t want to lose a lot of weight, but not really lose much body fat because that’s how you end up in the skinny fat category. If you already are in the skinny fat category, give this article a look here.

The cutting phase should be a hypertrophy specific style of training. This style of training will get you to build muscle as you reduce body fat. This is important for building that ideal body you want, fast! In my experience, clients have been able to drop 4-6% body fat in 4 weeks in this phase. Clients who need to lose a lot of weight, lose and average 6-8 lbs a week. Here’s some examples of what that would look like.

4 Week Routine

Day 1

Goblet Squat

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Stiff Leg Deadlift

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Walking Lunges

1 set x 100 reps

Open To Close Hollow

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Row

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Lat Pull Down

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Chest Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Shoulder Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Day 3

Goblet Squat

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Stiff Leg Deadlift

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Walking Lunges

1 set x 100 reps

Open To Close Hollow

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4

Barbell Row

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Lat Pull Down

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Chest Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Shoulder Press

3 sets x 10 rep min – 20 rep max

Start with a weight you can do a maximum of 20 reps with
Increase the weight by 5-10% each set
Do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) on each set, with a minimum of 10 reps each set
Rest for 60-90 seconds in between each set

Step 2 - The Strength Phase

After you’ve completed the cutting phase and have dropped a considerable amount of body fat, you should start a strength training program. Even if your goal may not necessarily be to get as strong as possible, this is still a key phase in reaching your ideal body. There are 3 main things that your strength phase should achieve.

Develop a good foundation of strength
Improve your strength capabilities
Accurately quantify your strength

This style of training focuses on a much lower amount of reps, but the weight will be considerably higher. Each training day should revolve around the main compound lifts such as the barbell squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, and row. This type of training will also get you to increase muscle mass and drop body fat as well even though those are not the primary focuses here.

Here’s an example of what this type of training routine would look like.

4 Week Routine

Day 1

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Back Squat

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squat

3 sets x 12 reps per side (last set AMRAP)

Supine Leg Raise Arc

4 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Row

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Bench Press

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Dumbbell Incline Press

3 sets x 12 reps (last set AMRAP)

Barbell Bicep Curl

4 sets x 12 reps (last set AMRAP)

Day 3

Barbell Overhead Press

4 sets x 8 reps (last set AMRAP)

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell S. Arm Row

4 sets x 12 reps per side (last set AMRAP)

Prone External Knee Tuck

4 sets x AMRAP

Start with a weight you can only do 12 reps with
Increase the weight by 5-10% each set
Do as many reps as possible on the last set
rest for 2 minutes in between each set
Increase the weight each week by 5-10% each week
Decrease the amount of default reps each week by 2 reps
Cut the amount you lift by 30-50% on week 4 to deload

Document all sets and reps and weight you used throughout this process. Week 3 will be the toughest week where you lift the most weight. To calculate your new one rep maxes, download an app called 1 Rep Max on your phone. Input the heaviest weight you did and how many reps you completed. The app will do the calculations for you.

Step 3 - The Mass Phase

The key focus in this phase is filling out your frame by building new lean muscle mass. For guys this would be a concentration on developing the back, chest, shoulders, arms, and thighs. For women the concentration would be on developing the lower body with an emphasis on glutes and hamstrings.

This training phase requires a hypertrophy specific program where the amount of sets and/or reps increase over time. The weight should be around 65% of your 1 rep max (1RM). You should be able to calculate your 1RM and percentages using the data from your strength phase. Ideally, you’d target each muscle group 2-4 times per week in order to fully maximize results. An effective training split for this could be full body, or an upper lower training split.

Here’s some examples.

4 Week Routine (Men's)

Day 1 (Lower body)

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2 (Upper body)

Barbell Row

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Incline Bench Press

5 sets x 8 reps

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Barbell Curl

4 sets x 8 reps

Day 3 (Lower body)

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Deadlift

4 sets x 8 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4 (Upper body)

Barbell Row

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Incline Bench Press

5 sets x 8 reps

Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Barbell Curl

4 sets x 8 reps

4 Week Routine (Women's)

Day 1

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps per side

Alternating Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 2

Barbell Deadlift

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Close Grip Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell Chest Press

4 sets x 8 reps

Day 3

Barbell Squat

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

4 sets x 8 reps per side

Crossbody Jack Knife

3 sets x AMRAP

Day 4

Barbell Deadlift

5 sets x 8 reps

Barbell Hip Bridge

4 sets x 12 reps

Close Grip Pull Up

4 sets x AMRAP

Dumbbell Chest Press

4 sets x 8 reps

Start with 65% of your 1 rep max
Add 1-2 reps to each set every week for 3 weeks
rest for 90 seconds – 2 minutes
Cut the amount of reps down by 30% on week 4 to deload

Phase Duration

The length of each phase depends on what your goals are, and what your level of fitness is. Typically the cutting phase could take anywhere from 8-12 weeks. The strength phase can be done 4-8 weeks at a time and the mass phase can be run continuously over a period of 3-6 months. Do your best to maintain a low body fat percentage throughout the mass phase in order to avoid frequent cutting phases.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

Sets & Reps Guide To Physique Building

Post author By Remson
Post date November 21, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Sets & Reps Guide To Physique Building

With each exercise, you’d do a given amount of repetitions (reps) and you do that amount of reps for a given amount of sets. For example if you’re doing bicep curls, you could be doing 3 sets of 10 reps, or 3×10. If that sounds confusing for you, think of it as 30 reps divided into 3 sets.

When considering how many sets and reps to do in your training routine you have to consider a variety of different aspects.

What is your training goal?
What muscle fibers are you targeting?
How much time do you have to train?
How much training volume do I need?

Sets & Reps For Muscle Building

In order to effectively increase muscle mass, you need to maximize tension and muscle fiber recruitment during each exercise. There are a few options for getting this done, but in regards to sets and reps there’s 2 options.

Use a heavy load with less reps.
Use a moderate to light load with more reps.

The heavier loads will increase your strength and target your type 2 muscle fibers, which have the greatest potential for size development. Ideally the heavy lifting should come at the beginning of your training session. Lifting heavy after already being fatigued will limit training performance in these big lifts, thus limiting the results.

The moderate to lighter loads will target your type 1 muscle fibers. Training these muscle fibers will increase muscular endurance, blood flow, and improve stability. These lifts are secondary to your heavier lifts being that they perform better under sustained fatigue. An added bonus to training these muscle fibers is the drastically increased blood flow to the muscle that creates “the pump”.

Effectively training both muscle fiber types in the most strategic way will really maximize muscle growth as well as improve strength and performance. Here’s a quick example of what this looks like.

PRIMARY EXERCISES

8 Reps

6 Reps

4 Reps

SECONDARY EXERCISES

20 Reps

16 Reps

12 Reps

Optimal Rep Ranges For Muscle Building

The most common method used for building muscle is choosing a specific number of reps for each set. An example of this would be 1st set for 10 reps, 2nd for set 8 reps, 3rd set for 6 reps. This can work, but a major problem here is that rigidly sticking to the amount reps can cause you to leave a lot of training intensity on the table. Let’s say the goal is 8 reps, but you’re able to squeeze out 12 reps, did you maximize training intensity on that set if you stopped at 8? Did you maximize muscle tension?

If training intensity and maximal muscle tension is what creates the results we want, then the reps should facilitate the focus, not BE the focus. This is why rep ranges are ideal. An example of this would be 3 sets where each set has a rep range of 10-6. Start with a weight that you know you can get a maximum of 10 reps with. Increase the weight on each set and do as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in each set.

Both increasing the weight on each set and striving for the maximum amount of reps each set will allow you to get the most out of every workout. When you put everything together in a full training routine, this is what it look like.

1ST TRAINING DAY

Barbell Squat

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Deadlift

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Hip Bridge

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Walking Lunge

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

2nd Training Day

Barbell Overhead Press

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Barbell Bench Press

3 Sets x 8-4 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Incline Press

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Lateral Raise

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

3rd Training Day

Barbell Row

3 Sets x 8-4 (AMRAP)

Weighted Pull Up

3 Sets x 8-4 (AMRAP)

Barbell Pull Over

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

Dumbbell Reverse Fly

3 Sets x 20-12 Reps (AMRAP)

*NOTE

This just serves as one example of this rep scheme idea just to give you a visual of what it looks like. This is a great setup to follow, but there are many others that also work really.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, muscle growth, training strategies

Fitness & Training

The Push / Pull / Legs Body Part Split Explained

Post author By Remson
Post date November 14, 2017

Tribe By Noire

Push Pull Legs Training Split Explained

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Push-Pull-Legs Split Explained

There are many different types of training splits to choose from, but right now I’m going to put some focus on one of my absolute favorites. The push, pull, legs training split is a favorite of mine, not just for the results I’ve gotten from it, but also for what its done for my training clients.

Here’s a few ways to tell if this training split is for you.

You’re only able to train 3 days per week.
You get bored with a conventional body part split.
You’re an athlete who practices a sport multiple times a week.
You’re a natural lifter trying to build an impressive physique.
You want to do powerlifting or powerbuilding.

How This Training Split Works

The push pull legs training split is divided into 3 primary training days. On the push training day, you train all of the muscles that produce or assist in pushing movements. These muscles are typically the ones you use in bench pressing, shoulder pressing, and abs. On the pull training day, you’d train all of the muscles that are opposite from pushing. This would be the muscles that you use during rows, pull ups, and deadlifts. The leg day is reserved for all of the muscles you have from the waist down. The primary exercises on the leg day would be squats, lunges, deadlifts, and hip bridges.

In my personal experience and with clients, the best physique results come when the 1st day is legs, 2nd day is push, and the 3rd day is pull, with a rest day between each. Leg day is the most demanding, so prioritizing it on day 1 allows you to come into the gym fresh and fully recovered. Push I put at number 2 rather than pull because push day typical doesn’t call for the use of any of the muscles from leg day.

Here’s some quick examples of how it would look.

LEGS

Squat

Deadlift

Hip Bridge

lunge

PUSH

Shoulder Press

Chest Press

Tricep Dip

Abs

PULL

Row

Pull Up

Bicep Curl

Reverse Fly

How Many Exercises Per Training Day

The answer to this question really depends on what your focus is and what your strengths and weaknesses are. Typically I think in terms of primary and accessory. So as an example, if the focus on push day is to develop bigger, shoulders, you would do 2 – 3 exercises for that muscle group. The Primary exercise would be a barbell press, single arm dumbbell press, and lateral raises. Then you’d use 1-2 exercises for chest triceps and abs. Over all, you’re looking at 5-8 exercises per training day.

Push Pull Legs For Powerlifting

Powerlifting revolves around the big 3 barbell lifts, bench press, squat, and deadlift. This is perfect for a 3 day training split because you can now have each training day dedicated to improving a specific lift. This means you can focus on strength, technique, and volume all at the same time. An important factor for natural lifters is the emphasis on recovery. Having more rest days means you get to go all out on your training days and see consistent gains without reaching burnout.

Here’s an example of what training days would look like.

DEADLIFT

Barbell Deadlift

Single Arm Row

Single Arm Farmers Carry

Hanging Leg Raise

BECH PRESS

Barbell Bench Press

Dumbbell Incline Press

Half Kneeling Single Arm Press

Prone Tricep Press

SQUAT

Barbell Back Squat

Barbell Hip Bridge

Goblet Reverse Lunge

Prone External Knee Tuck

Cardio Conditioning

Cardio is a whole other topic on its own, but to keep things simple I’ll just tell you what I and my clients have seen the most results with. If you’re trying to lose body fat and gain muscle at an optimal rate, while still having a life outside of the gym, do 20 – 30 minutes of high intensity cardio conditioning a week. This can be sprinting, battle rope drills, burpees, etc. You can do this on training days, or non training days. I personal stick to 4-8 minute conditioning sessions 2x per week.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, muscle growth, power building, powerlifting, training strategies

Nutrition & Supplements

Carbs Weight Loss And Insulin Resistance Explained

Post author By Remson
Post date August 18, 2017

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Carbs Weight Loss & Insulin Resistance Explained

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Its a popular belief that carbs and sugar cause weight gain, insulin resistance, and diabetes, but according to peer reviewed scientific studies, it turns out that’s not really the case. I’ve put together this article to clear things up on this topic and explain what actually causes insulin resistance, and the steps you can take to fix this issue. Here’s the breakdown.

What is insulin resistance
What causes insulin resistance
Possible signs of insulin resistance
How to fix insulin resistance

What Is Insulin Resistance

Insulin resistance is directly associated with type 2 diabetes, but being insulin resistant doesn’t always mean you’re diabetic. There are varying degrees of insulin resistance and as this condition worsens, diabetes occurs. So here how it works.

There are certain types of cells that operate primarily on glucose from carbs and sugar. These types of cells are muscle, liver, and brain cells. When glucose enters the blood stream, insulin is released from the pancreas. That insulin then carries the glucose to these cells. The cells have insulin receptors that are responsible for opening up the cell and allowing the glucose to enter. The problem with insulin resistance is that the cell’s insulin receptors stop working, which in turn doesn’t allow the glucose to enter.

What Causes Insulin Resistance

If these cells primarily rely on carbs and sugar for energy, then how can carbs and sugar be the thing causing insulin resistance? Doesn’t make much sense does it? Now if we take a look at the dysfunction in the insulin receptors of these cells, things start to make more sense. It turns out that when the cell is full, the insulin receptors will not respond. Upon further study, scientists have discovered lipotoxicity to be the issue with these cells. Lipotoxicity is a metabolic syndrome that results from the accumulation of fat in tissue cells that are not meant to store fat.

The next question of course would be, how does fat get stored in muscle cells. The short answer is that a diet high in saturated fat causes lipotoxicity. Take a look at the standard American diet. Typically its high in fatty foods like meat dairy and eggs, which are loaded with saturated fat and cholesterol. Even the foods that people consider to be high carb like pizza, and donuts are high fat foods. Its because of this misunderstanding that people find it easy to demonize carbs.

Fat takes much longer for us to use as energy which makes it so much easier for our body’s to store as fat. As a response people go to extremes like high fat low carb diets like the keto diet. The problem with this is that the worlds most nutrient dense foods are fruit, vegetables, grains, legumes, and seeds, which are high in carbs. The subject of diet has become so warped that people believe that taking the bun off of a cheeseburger is a great weight loss strategy.

Possible Signs Of Insulin Resistance

In my 11 years of experience as a coach and from the research I’ve done, I’ve noticed commonalities with insulin resistant people. See if you experience any of these issues when you eat carb heavy foods.

Sluggishness
Bloating
headaches

Also frequent light headedness and urination can also be an indication of insulin resistance.

How To Fix Insulin Resistance

Intermittent Fasting

Fasting is known to be one of the best methods of healing the body. Of course raw fasting can be really tough for most people and unsustainable overall. However there is a way to make fasting much more practical and sustainable. That method is intermittent fasting. This is where you have a 6-8 hour eating window and a 16-18 hour fasting window. This change to your eating schedule can be maintained on a daily basis. The reason why the fasting works so well for improving insulin sensitivity is that the fasting window allows you to use fat for energy at a much higher rate. This is how you can start draining that lipotoxicity out of your cells.

Whole Food Plant Based Diet

Cutting the saturated fat and cholesterol out of your diet and replacing them with nutrient dense plant based whole foods will allow your digestive tract to heal and drain the lipotoxicity out of your cells. I specified whole foods because these are the most ideal foods for the human species. These foods contain the essentials to the human diet in the ideal ratios. Plant based foods also contain fiber which regulate blood glucose and cholesterol levels. This goes a long way towards protecting against insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes.

10-15% Fat

Most people don’t have a clear understanding of what a low fat diet actually is. An ideal low fat diet is where your fat intake makes up for 10-15% of your total macros. This method combined with a whole food plant based diet high in starchy foods has actually reversed type 2 diabetes.

Citations

SATURATED FAT PRODUCES INSULIN RESISTANCE

SATURATED FAT & CHOLESTEROL ARE HARMFUL TO INSULIN PRODUCING BETA CELLS

KETOGENIC DIETS DO NOT HAVE A METABOLIC ADVANTAGE

https://www.medpagetoday.com/cardiology/prevention/59018

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags diabetes, diet strategies, fat loss, insulin sensitivity, muscle growth, plant based diet, vegan diet tips

Fitness & Training

Top 3 Strategies For Building Lean Muscle Mass

Post author By Remson
Post date August 11, 2017

Top 3 strategies for lean muscle mass building

Tribe By Noire

Top 3 Strategies For Building Lean Muscle Mass

There are all kinds of different opinions on how to build lean muscle mass. To be honest with you, any strategy can work if you do it for the right amount of time. The catch is that even the greatest strategy will ultimately stop working over time. The smart strategy is to have not just one, or even two, but have 3. Let’s get into the top 3 strategies of lean mass building.

1

Increase The Amount Of Weight

Muscle size will increase as you become stronger. The reason for this is because your body has to adapt to heavier weight . A good example of strength training would be to 5 sets of 5 reps. The idea is that you stick with the same amount of sets and reps, but week after week you increase the amount of weight.

Week 1

5×5 @ 135 lbs

Rest 2-3 mins between each set

Week 2

5×5 @ 155 lbs

Rest 2-3 mins between each set

Week 3

5×5 @ 175 lbs

Rest 2-3- mins between each set

Week 4

5×5 @ 195 lbs

Rest 2-3- mins between each set

This strategy can work for a few consecutive months, as long as you include deload weeks. For those of you who don’t know, a deload week is a training week where you significantly reduce training intensity to recover from training stress. Basically just lift light that week. Ultimately though, this strategy will stop working due to the fact that strength progress will slow down and it will become impossible to continue adding weight to the bar.

2

Increase The Amount Of Training Sets

Muscle size will grow in order to accommodate a greater training volume. Your training volume basically implies the quantity of repetitions you do rather than the quantity of weight you lift. A good example of this training volume strategy would be increasing the amount of sets you do with a given weight from week to week.

Week 1

5×8 @ 135 lbs

Rest 1-2 mins between each set

Week 2

6×8 @ 135 lbs

Rest 1-2 mins between each set

Week 3

7×8 @ 135 lbs

Rest 1-2 mins between each set

Week 4

8×8 @ 135 lbs

Rest 1-2 mins between each set

This strategy can work for a few months as well, but eventually you will have to change strategies because it will be impossible to continually keeping adding sets. Attempting to do so will result in workouts being excessively long and over training which leads to a decrease in muscle mass as well as performance.

3

Increase The Amount Of Training Reps

This strategy is an alternative way to increase training volume. The goal with this strategy is to gradually increase the amount of reps you do in a given set. Unlike strategy number two, this method doesn’t require you to increase the amount of sets you do. The amount of sets you do should actually decrease, which would serve as an indication that you’re strength and muscular endurance is improving. This strategy especially works with body weight exercises like push up and pull ups. Its also a very effective way to train arms, or any single joint muscle.

Week 1

100 rep goal

Complete in 6 sets

Rest 15-30 secs between each set

Week 2

100 rep goal

Complete in 5 sets

Rest 15-30 secs between each set

Week 3

100 rep goals

Complete in 4 sets

Rest 15-30 secs between each set

Week 4

100 rep goal

Complete in 3 sets

Rest 15-30 secs between each set

Before you try this strategy, BE WARNED, this is an intense method and takes tremendous will power. Squeezing out every last rep you can, burns like crazy. Eventually though you’ll have to ease off of this type of training because it can lead to over-use injuries because of the build up in inflammation in the muscle tissue.

Tracking Performance & Channging Methods

Driving muscle is a matter of manual transmission. You gotta know when to switch gears. One of the most common things I’ve seen people do is stick with a certain training method to the point that their progress stalls. The easiest way to avoid this is to track your progress really closely. Typically the first 3 months that you follow a given strategy, you’ll see pretty good results. After that 3 month mark, things can start to slow down. That slow down in progress is an indication that its time to make a change.

In my experience, using two different strategies from opposite ends of the spectrum yield the most results, with minimal sacrifice. The way I would advise you to do this is by splitting your workouts up into 2 phases. The 1st phase would be the low volume heavy lifting, and the 2nd phase would be the higher volume with lighter loads. In most cases this is best way to get the most benefit out of every training session. Here’s what it would look like.

Session 1

Phase 1 (Low Volume/Heavy Weight)

Barbell Back Squat

Phase 2 (High Volume/Low Weight)

Dumbbell Goblet

Prone Leg Curl

SESSION 2

Phase 1 (Low Volume/Heavy Weight)

Barbell Bench Press

Phase 2 (High Volume/Low Weight)

Dumbbell Incline Press

Seated Row

SESSION 3

Phase 1 (Low Volume/Heavy Weight)

Barbell Deadlift

Phase 2 (High Volume/Low Weight)

Barbell Hip Bridge

Prone Leg Curl

SESSION 4

Phase 1 (Low Volume/Heavy Weight)

Barbell Overhead Press

Phase 2 (High Volume/Low Weight)

Lat Pull Down

Face Pull

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, mass gain, muscle growth, power building, powerlifting, training strategies

Fitness & Training

The Most Important Training Factor For Muscle Growth

Post author By Remson
Post date June 8, 2017

Tribe By Noire

The Most Important Training Factor For Muscle Growth

You can go on google right now and type in “the best way to gain muscle” and all types of different answers will pop up. This is one of the reasons why most people have no idea what to do. What I aim to do here is simplify this topic as much as possible. I’m going to give you just ONE thing to focus on. So let’s talk about the most important training factor for muscle growth.

Focus On The Muscle Contraction

Focus on the muscle contraction! Sounds simple enough right? You see, training just serves as a form of stimulation, so greater stimulation naturally leads to greater gains, assuming you’re eating the right foods and sleeping enough. What I’ve come to notice in my years of training clients is that most people don’t really have this understanding, so they never really focus on the contraction of the muscle they’re targeting. Maybe you’re guilty of this also.

What To Do When You're Not Feeling It

Its actually pretty common for people, especially beginners to not really feel the muscle working. The reason for this is a lack of what we gym rats call “The Mind Muscle Connection”. You have to develop a connection between your mind and whatever muscle your targeting. This can pretty difficult to do during complex movements. Pretty common examples of this are.

Not feeling your butt, or hamstrings during a squat or deadlift.
Not feeling your lats and mostly feeling your biceps in a row or pulldown.
Only feeling your shoulders in a chest press.

If you identify with any of these examples, I’d advise you to take some time out in the beginning of your workout to do some isolation exercises that specifically target those dormant muscles. Some examples of that would be.

Hip Bridges and/or Donkey Kicks to target glutes.
Single Arm Lat Pulldown with a lateral torso flex to target lats.
Neutral Grip Cable Flys to target pecs.

*Become a member at Tribe By Noire to get video tutorials for all of these exercises and more. Extensive training programs are also included.

Take your time with each rep while performing isolation exercises to get the most benefit to your mind muscle connection.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fitness tips, mass gain, muscle growth, power building, training strategies

Fitness & Training

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

Post author By Remson
Post date May 8, 2017

Tribe By Noire

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

One of the most common mistakes that people make in the gym is setting cardio as priority number one. The first thing most people do when they first enter the gym is hop on a treadmill, elliptical, or recumbent bike. In a society plagued with overwhelming levels of obesity, cardio becomes an obsession, due to the belief that its the best and quickest way to lose weight. The truth is, resistance training should be priority number one if your goal is weight loss, and body re-composition. Let’s talk about 3 reasons to not do cardio before lifting.

Lifting is way better than cardio for weight loss

First lets talk about cardio and its primary focus. The purpose of cardio is implied in the name “cardio” as in training your cardiovascular system. There is great benefit to improving your cardio performance, and you’ll even lose some weight from it, but primarily focusing on cardio for weight loss will cause you to neglect training the bodily systems that use the most fat for energy.

Its during rest and other low intensity activities where you burn the most fat. This is why cardio activity like running isn’t the best for fat reduction and definitely not good for your knees. You’re better off walking long distance rather than running. During your workout, your body will use carbs for energy which brings me to my next point. If fat is mostly used during rest, it would be wise to prioritize the activity that causes the most energy usage after the workout (rest). That activity is weight lifting, or resistance training in general.

The reason for this is recovery. It takes longer and requires more energy for the body to recover from lifting than cardio does. I wouldn’t tell you to completely cut out cardio, but if you’re gonna do it, do it at the end of your workout, or on days where you’re not lifting.

3 Reasons To Not Do Cardio Before Lifting

Cardio Before Lifting Will Hurt Your Training Performance

You only have a certain amount of energy to give within your workout, so you don’t want to be wasting it on cardio if you’re trying to build muscle and drop body fat. Lifting or any type of resistance training only builds muscle if the muscle is challenged and stimulated enough. You won’t be able to really challenge your muscle enough if you’re fatigued.

Cardio Before Lifting Will Hinder Movement Quality

When I say movement quality I mean muscular function and range of motion. The reason why this happens is because pre-exhausting the body will cause certain muscles to not fire with the amount of force that they are supposed to. For example, running can cause fatigue and tightness of the quadriceps and calve muscles, often results in excessive stress at the knee joint, hip, and lower back. This will not only hinder movement and create discomfort, but it often results in various injuries.

Cardio Before Lifting Can Lead To Over Training & Muscle Loss

Overall work volume is a big component to effective training. One of the fatal flaws that hold most people back from their fitness goals is doing too much! Doing cardio and then pushing your body through a rough lifting session on a consistent basis can lead to over training and muscle loss. A lot of work and not enough recovery leads to frustration and often causes people to lose motivation and quit. For more info on how over training works, read this.

The Perfect Warm Up

As far as warm ups go, the best way to warm up is to work your way through a couple of dynamic mobility exercises that specifically prep the muscle groups you’ll be using in that training session. For example, if you’re going to be doing legs, prep and get blood flow to the muscles that move your hips, knees and ankles.

Tribe By Noire

I’ve created this platform to help you become the most powerful version of yourself through fitness, plant based nutrition, and mindset coaching.

Tags bodybuilding, fat loss, fitness tips, muscle growth, powerlifting, training strategies, weight loss, weightlifting