Strength and Conditioning by Santo Chiappetta

10/22/2024

When it comes to fitness and health, we’re too caught up in losing—

“I lost 10 lbs,”
“I lost 3 inches,”
“I cut out carbs.”

Sure, that’s all fine, but what are you gaining from that process?

Focusing on loss creates a loser mentality—literally.

You’re stuck thinking about what’s gone. But what if we flipped the script?

Instead of saying:

“I lost 10 lbs,”
say,
“I gained the ability to climb stairs without gasping for air.”
“I lost 3 inches,”
say,
“I can now bend over to tie my shoes without struggling.”
“I stopped eating carbs,”
say,
“I eat carbs knowing they fuel me to crush my workouts.”

When you focus on what you’re gaining, you shift your entire perspective. You start to celebrate your progress, abilities, and improved quality of life—things that actually keep you motivated long-term.

It’s not about loss; it’s about what you’re achieving. So, start emphasizing the gains, and who knows, you might even enjoy the process this time around.

10/15/2024

Protein can be the deciding factor when it comes to:

- How hungry you're feeling
- Hormone production & management
- Stress management
- Energy levels
- How well you recover from workouts
- Your progress toward your fat loss goals

The challenge is, most people aren't getting enough of it, because they're either getting it from sub optimal sources, or they're simply not getting enough of it.

One thing all of my clients who work with me say is how much of a difference increasing their protein intake has made when it comes to improving their stress & anxiety management in high-stress/pressure situations, amongst many other benefits.

If you'd like a copy of this guide, comment

"ME"

Below, and I'll be happy to share it with you so you can start to reach your:

- Protein
- Fat loss
- Muscle building

Goals!

08/29/2024

Do you think it's possible to eat carbs at night and lose weight?

Like = yes : share / explain if no!

08/26/2024

What's one thing you're procrastinating on right now? P.S. right now, this post is my last ditch effort to procrastinate 🫣

01/28/2024

it's 12:15pm on Jan 28, 2024.

Im writing this so when this day comes around next year or in a facebook memory I can look back & appreciate this moment.

I'm programming for my clients for the week, and just got off the phone with a friend.

Bella's laying on the bed curled up in to a croissant & I'm looking forward to the week ahead.

If you told me when I was 15 years old, making the decision to step into the gym to start boxing would have lead me to eventually coaching & doing what I'm doing, I would never of been able to see how that would be the case.

I'm feeling an immense amount of gratitude right now.

Not because everything is perfect, but because I know that I'm doing everything I can to find the areas of opportunity to improve my circumstance to get me closer to my long term goals everyday.

I hope in reading this, it sparks feelings of gratitude or provides an opportunity to reflect on how things are for you (and my future self) & how you have so much to be grateful for.

- Santo

01/12/2024

If you're still aimless in your goals, thoughts & approach to 2024, take a look at this article I wrote on my website for how to set yourself up to set goals!

There's only 50 weeks left in the year, make the most of them !

Your friend/ family member asks you: “Hey what are your goals coming up for 2024?!” And you fall for it Every. Single. Time. You tell them your goals, and the response you get? A response as if you’ve already achieved them! An outpouring of words of validation, support & affi

06/16/2023

Say it louder for the people in the back !!!

None of this is easy.

The calorie deficit, the protein, the walking, the going to bed early, the strength training…

You can’t rely on motivation to get you through because you won’t always feel motivated.

Especially after the initial excitement of following a plan for the first few weeks.

Yes, motivation is important, and you should do as much as possible to maintain motivation.

But you have to accept the fact that you will NOT always feel motivated.

Some days you’re not going to want to work out.

When that happens, examine what’s going on.

Sometimes you’ll realize you might have overdone it recently and rest is the better choice.

Maybe you’re running on an hour of sleep due to an emergency - fine, skipping a workout would be justified.

Or maybe you’re sick or injured - yeah, don’t f*cking work out in that situation.

But sometimes you’ll realize “oh, nothing’s happening, I just don’t wanna work out right now.”

In that situation, say to yourself “OK, I don’t wanna work out, but I’m gonna do it anyway.”

And then go f*cking do it.

Sure, you can try reminding yourself of the reasons you’re working out - “I want to be stronger.” “I want to model good habits for my kids.” “I want to be around for long enough to see grandkids.” - but you are simply not going to want to work out on some days.

Work out anyway 🤷‍♂️

You need to be consistent enough for long enough for these habits to become deeply engrained - if you keep stopping when you’re not motivated, you’ll never form the habit.

Why would that be a problem? Because you need these habits in place to both lose the weight AND keep it off. These are long-term habits, so you need to make the effort.

This is the “secret” of those who maintain their results for a long time - they get it done even when don’t feel motivated.

And you know what… sometimes the workout you do when you’re not motivated becomes an AWESOME workout.

You won’t regret making the hard choice of working out. But you’ll probably regret the easy choice of not working out.


Thanks .chiappetta for our inspiring conversation last night.

09/26/2022

If you're in a sh*t mood, eat some carbs
The sooner we stop demonizing nutrition, the sooner we'll have people actually figure out a way to get to a place where they actually understand how their body needs to be fueled.
First & foremost, you've gotta get 1 gram per pound of bodyweight.
-
Second, at LEAST 20% of your calories have to come from fat for basic hormonal function.
-
Third, you need to get you some carbs.
When you pair your carbs with protein, you can actually help yourself get into a place where you're calmer & in a better mood because you have energy you can burn more readily for higher intensity workouts, as well as mood regulation via serotonin.
The fitness industry pushes you to eat more protein, and that's not wrong; but it's mostly to accommodate for a lack of movement that people have in their day. You wont want to eat anymore & you'll feel "full" from always having a protein full stomach, but is that really the long term solution?
In the short term, most people see an initial drop in weight because carbohydrates need water to be metabolized (that's where the "hydrate" part comes in) but after that initial decrease, it's alot tougher to maintain and double down on that no carb life.
Pair that with all that extra protein, building more muscle making you need more calories, it gets you more often than not to a place where you're spinning your wheels.
-
If you're feeling like your energy levels are crapping out or you're "bonking" by the end of your day, it might be time to introduce some proper carbohydrates into your life like fruit, rice, oats, and veggies.
The other issue, is that most people associate "carbs" with foods like pizza, bread, and things that are also super high in fat.
If you adjust your movement to need the things you want to eat, you won't have to restrict yourself from them 👆
If this helped you, feel free tonshare it with a friend who needs to hear it. If you need more info or want to chat, send me a DM.
Stay fed, friends !

09/04/2022

Knowledge is useless if it's not implemented appropriately.

Consuming more information won't change your lack of application to what you already know.

Basics are the foundation to which elaborate intricacies & details can stand/thrive on.

If the base is weak, the shorter your peak ☝️

08/21/2022

What are your go to's?
Other notable mentions are:

Contemplate life
Stare at the clock
Day dream about beef