Strength and Awesomeness

12/12/2020

The most recent global estimates show that 1 in 4 (27.5%) adults & more than 3 in 4 (81%) of adolescents DO NOT MEET the recommendations for aerobic exercise, as outlined in the Global Recommendations on Physical Activity for Health.

The 2020 WHO guidelines suggest that some physical activity is better than none, and more physical activity is better for optimal health outcomes.

The current guidelines strongly recommend 150-300 mins of moderate intensity activity or 75-150 mins of vigorous activity or a combination of both.

Beyond the aerobic physical activity guidelines stated above, the WHO also recommends participating in muscle-strengthening activities at moderate or greater intensity on 2 or more days a week for additional health benefits.

To help reduce the detrimental effects of high levels of sedentary behaviour on health, you should aim to exceed the above recommendations.

For all age groups, gender, and special groups such as people living with disability & chronic conditions, pregnant & postpartum women, the benefits of doing physical activity & limiting sedentary behaviour outweigh the potential risks.

Any potential risks whatsoever can be managed/reduced by starting slow & gradually increasing the amount & intensity of physical activity.

There is moderate certainty evidence that the relationship between sedentary behaviour & all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease & mortality varies by amount of physical activity.
Higher amounts of physical activity can attenuate the detrimental association between sedentary behaviour & health outcomes.

These recommendations are slightly different among older adults, children, & special populations. If you belong to those categories, please read the detailed guideline on www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240015128

TL;DR: In Bro-Terms:
• Do some combination of low & high intensity cardio > 200 mins a week in any form/frequency/bouts.
• Lift weights & get jacked. DUH 🙄
• Strong, fit, & healthy people are less likely to die early from stupid diseases.
• Even if you have no time/energy/tooth/limbs/etc. try getting some exercise.
• Train harder than last time.

03/12/2020

Some people are too busy in finding THE PERFECT WAY to start training to ACTUALLY START TRAINING.

There are of course people on the opposite end of the spectrum who have been training for over a decade and still don’t know how to perform basic exercises properly, but we’re not talking about them here.

We’re talking about the people who discover the gym & then discover youtube, & then follow 50 different channels to learn how to build muscles, lose fat, get stronger, become a millionaire, find a cure for cancer & conquer the Universe, all at the same time.

I understand that having a good start with proper knowledge can speed things up in the long run, but there’s no knowledge that can beat experience. A large part of training involves figuring out what works the best for you, and no amount of youtube videos and podcasts can teach you that.

There are way too many training programs, exercise tutorials, diets, etc. available on the internet which will confuse the hell out of you, unless you have developed the ability to filter through bu****it and extract wisdom; this ability requires experience.

Get started with what you have and what you know now. As you keep training, you’ll have plenty of opportunity to figure out things on the go.

Acquiring knowledge can happen parallelly. And a large part of knowledge is knowing how to apply it, which unfortunately doesn’t happen on your couch.

The first 1-2 years of training is to just f**karound in the gym.
You’ll make gainz by just being around dumbbells and picking them up once a while.
And if you wanna do things “properly”, you can literally pick any random free training program off the internet and run it to almost max out on your novice gainz. The real training starts after this, & you’ll not just have enough muscles by now, but also the knowledge & skills to design your own training program, or purchase the right template, or hire a coach.

Lifting weights and eating food is simple, safe and easy.
Don’t overcomplicate things and delay the onset of the precious gainz 💪

24/07/2020

It’s Flex Friday, so here are some facts about Muscles because you can’t flex knowledge 🧠

If you’re a beginner lifter who cares for only strength or fUnCtIoNaL FiTnEsS, and your muscles are not visibly or measurably getting bigger over time, you’re messing up somewhere! 🧐

I understand that you don’t care about just bigger muscles, but bigger muscles are not a bad thing if you care about strength or function. Nearly every single function of your body can be done in a better way just by increasing your muscle mass.

A larger cross-sectional area of muscles can produce a larger force when all else is equal. It can not just overcome a greater resistance a.k.a move big weights for strength sports like powerlifting, strongman, etc., but it can also overcome a smaller resistance faster a.k.a makes you more powerful/explosive if you’re a track and field athlete or are into other sports which requires any sort of athleticism. 🏃🏸🏋️🏑

Some people like to be anti-muscles and claim that it slows their athletes. No Karen, a bigger engine doesn’t slow down a car. 🤯

What if you don’t care about any of the above? You’re just a regular guy who doesn’t give a s**t about any sports, gym, etc. You still need them to live a healthy life, because Sarcopenia. Feel free to Google that.

What if you’re a woman who thinks that you’ll look ugly and bulky with extra muscles? Well, beauty is subjective, but objectively, you’re never gonna be too muscular, even if you wanted to! 💃

Now that you know why you need bigger muscles, here’s the how:

Get really strong in the exercises involving the basic movement patterns, such as

1. Squat variations.
2. Horizontal and Vertical Pulls such as Rows, Deadlifts, Pullups.
3. Horizontal and Vertical Pushes such as Bench Press and Overhead Press.
and 2-3 isolation exercises for each of the muscle groups that are not very effectively targeted by the above such as Biceps, Triceps, Abs, and Calves.

Eat at a slight surplus, keep your protein high.

And always remember to flex them guns every Friday 💪

03/08/2019

03/08/2019

16/07/2019