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Showing posts from September, 2022

How to Use the Mindful Eating Hunger Scale

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How to Use the Mindful Eating Hunger Scale Have trouble determining what hunger and fullness feel like? Keep reading to learn how to use the Mindful Eating Hunger Scale to determine your hunger cues. It sounds so simple, right? Eat when you’re hungry and stop eating when you’re full. But in reality, this oftentimes can be a lot easier said than done. There are so many day-to-day factors that can complicate these cues. From stress levels to work schedules and emotions, it’s so easy to confuse hunger cues with other cues.  Getting to know your own hunger and satiety cues can help clear up this confusion. It gives you the power to identify and address other cues accordingly.  Mindful Eating Hunger Cues When eating mindfully, hunger cues are utilized to designate not only when to eat, but also how much. Our cues essentially let us know what we’re in need of as well as when. Food is the body’s primary energy source. It’s what allows us to think clearly, build muscle, pump blood, breat

Research Roundup #20: Optimal Rest Intervals, “Overtraining,” and Alcohol after Workouts

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It’s estimated that there are over 2+ million scientific papers published each year, and this firehose only seems to intensify. Even if you narrow your focus to fitness research, it would take several lifetimes to unravel the hairball of studies on nutrition, training, supplementation, and related fields. This is why my team and I spend thousands of hours each year dissecting and describing scientific studies in articles, podcasts, and books and using the results to formulate our 100% all-natural sports supplements and inform our coaching services.  And while the principles of proper eating and exercising are simple and somewhat immutable, reviewing new research can reinforce or reshape how we eat, train, and live for the better.  Thus, each week, I’m going to share three scientific studies on diet, exercise, supplementation, mindset, and lifestyle that will help you gain muscle and strength, lose fat, perform and feel better, live longer, and get and stay healthier.  This week, y

Ep. #970: The Best of Muscle For Life: Natural Bodybuilding, Training After a Break, & Productivity Tips

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube In this installment of the Best of Muscle For Life, you’ll hear hand-picked clips from three popular MFL episodes: an interview with Eric Helms on natural bodybuilding, a monologue on getting back in the gym after a long break from training, and a motivational episode with my top tips on increasing productivity. S ome people—my favorite people—listen to most or even all of my podcasts, but my wizbang analytics tell me that while many listeners tune in on a regular basis, they don’t catch every installment of Muscle for Life and thus miss out on insights that could help them do at least a little better inside and outside the gym. That’s why I do “best of” episodes that contain a few of the most practical and compelling ideas, tips, and moments from the more popular episodes I’ve published over the years. This way, you can learn interesting insights that you might have otherwise missed and find new episodes of the sho

Sumo vs. Conventional Deadlifts: Which Is Better for Gaining Muscle and Strength?

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There are several deadlift variations, but two of the most common are the conventional deadlift and the sumo deadlift.  As such, people often pit them against one other and argue over which is more effective for gaining muscle and strength. While many fitness gurus have waded in on the sumo deadlift vs. conventional deadlift debate, it’s often hard to tell whose opinions are based on science or personal preference and anatomy.  This article is different. We’ll look at what science says about the pros and cons of both of these exercises so you can decide which one is right for you. Table of Contents What Is the Conventional Deadlift? How to Conventional Deadlift What Is the Sumo Deadlift? How to Sumo Deadlift Sumo Deadlift vs. Conventional Deadlift: What’s the difference? Range of Motion Muscle Activation Safety Sumo or Conventional: How to Choose the Right Deadlift for You Experience Hip Structure Anthropometry Preference Conclusion What Is the Conventional Dead

Ep. #969: Paul Hough on High-Intensity Interval Training (Everything You Need to Know)

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube Paul Hough joins me to talk about high-intensity interval training (HIIT). I’ve written about HIIT plenty before, but I wanted to get Paul on the podcast to do a deeper dive on the subject. And HIIT is the subject of one of the chapters in his new textbook, Advanced Personal Training , which aims to turn science into applicable practice for personal trainers. So in this episode we’re chatting all about what HIIT is, how to do it correctly, and even whether you should do it at all.  In case you’re not familiar with Paul, I recently shared a webinar I recorded with him for students at Oxford Brookes University in the UK, where Paul is a Senior Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science. Not only is he a fellow author, but he’s worked with elite-level athletes in tennis and Formula One, and published several studies in academic journals. In our discussion, we chat about . . . What HIIT is (and how to test if you’re

Ep. #968: 12 Diet and Exercise “Hacks” That Actually Work

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube   I’m offering a slew of diet and exercise “hacks” that will immediately boost your results. “Hacks” are usually hogwash, but in this case, I’m sharing simple tips and tweaks that can make a big difference in your nutrition and training. Listen to this podcast and let me know your thoughts!   Timestamps: 0:00 – Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef : https://ift.tt/nCvlF25 3:47 – What are some diet hacks? 6:43 – What are some exercise hacks?  Mentioned on the Show: Want 125 quick, easy, and delicious “fitness friendly” recipes? Get The Shredded Chef – https://ift.tt/nCvlF25 What did you think of this episode? Have anything else to share? Let me know in the comments below! The post Ep. #968: 12 Diet and Exercise “Hacks” That Actually Work appeared first on Legion Athletics . https://ift.tt/LjpWC8E September 26, 2022 at 06:00PM Legion Athletics

How Rachele Used Thinner Leaner Stronger to Lose 4% Body Fat

The post How Rachele Used Thinner Leaner Stronger to Lose 4% Body Fat appeared first on Legion Athletics . https://ift.tt/mFLY4rA September 25, 2022 at 06:00PM Legion Athletics

Ep. #967: Q&A: Cutting Without Counting Macros, “Incomplete” Proteins, Intermittent Fasting, Rep Ranges, and More

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Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube Can you successfully cut without counting calories or macros? What are my thoughts on intermittent fasting? Is MSG bad for you? How do you gain strength without size? What’s a reasonable amount of “incompete” protein in your diet? Should you eat fewer calories on rest days? All that and more in this Q&A podcast. This podcast is a Q&A, but it’s a bit different from the kind you’ll typically find here on Muscle For Life. In my usual Q&A episodes, I take a question from email or Instagram and then fully answer it in an episode of the podcast every week. However, over on Instagram , I’ve started doing weekly Q&As in the stories, and it occurred to me that many podcast listeners might enjoy hearing these questions and my short answers. So, instead of talking about one thing in an episode, I’m going to cover a variety of questions. And keep in mind some of these questions are just for fun. So if you wan

Ep. #966: Sal Di Stefano on Fear and Propaganda in the Fitness Industry

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Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Listen on YouTube I’ve had various non-fitness related discussions with my pal Sal Di Stefano (of Mind Pump Media fame) here on the Muscle For Life podcast, but this time we’re combining topics. In this interview, Sal and I chat about the intersection of culture, politics, and health and fitness, and how fear is used to manipulate people. Sound interesting?  I don’t want to spoil the discussion, but we cover all sorts of subjects like propaganda in the fitness industry and controlling people with misinformation, toxic masculinity, claims about protein and the environment, veganism, the “body acceptance” movement, government and “conspiracy theories,” and we even speculate on what the future of fitness culture and manipulation in fitness industry might look like. In case you’re not familiar with Sal, he’s a co-host of Mind Pump Media, one of the top fitness podcasts out there. He’s also an author, coach, and repeat guest on my