lose Fat - Gain Strength - Build Muscle. 6 reasons its not happening. 6 ways to make it happen.

6 Reasons you might not, Be Losing Body Fat

1. You're not in a calorie deficit: I know its annoying, but a calorie deficit is non negotiable, its fundamental. To lose mass (fat is the mass you want to lose) we need to be consistently using more than we are bringing in on average.

2. You're too aggressive: Yep we know we need a calorie deficit and that means less food, but most people overkill this and just cut out too much, and no this doesn't cause starvation mode (it doesn't exist). But hunger, bad moods, brain fog and fatigue will end your 'motivation' and your diet before the results arrive. Studies have shown how over restriction can result in subsequent over consumption thus eating too little can cause an overfeeding effect and this ends up negating that fundamental rule above.

3. Scale focus: Thinking weight loss should happen on the clock each morning. It doesn't, the human body is as complex as our mind. You can be losing fat even though the scale isn't moving, The body is always managing Water, glycogen, sodium and hormonal balance and these can greatly effect bodyweight, and eating EVEN less is the most disruptive response to this.

   Also don't check your weight before and after training unless you're trying calculate how much the contents of your bottle weighed, its now in your belly, so you'll weigh what you did before plus that, nothing to do with fat or muscle.

4. Poor Sleep: Inadequate sleep disrupts everything! hormones that regulate mood, appetite and actual fat storage, when I'm tired, hungry and grumpy id rather stick my fork in my eye than eat a salad. That makes things problematic.

5. Chasing calorie burn: Exercise is AMAZING! But Just like a lack of food, overkill of exercise runs into problems too. Exercise is great because of what it provides NOT what it takes away. I'm genuinely sorry to tell you this, but I don't care how many calories you burnt training, I care how productive you have been. And to be productive you need energy.

6. Not Enough Strength Training: Building or at least maintaining muscle tissue whilst losing fat is crucial. Relying on cardio has its drawbacks and too much can cause problems, find a balance between cardio and strength training.

6 Ways to make fat loss happen

1. Manage sleep and stress: Poor sleep disrupts hunger hormones (ghrelin and leptin) and increases cortisol, this makes fat loss harder, largely due to how it alters your perception, motivation and behaviors. Try this; No caffeine after midday, a balanced evening meal that contains a little bit of carbohydrate, then get your but to bed! You don't need another episode of love island! Every hour before 11 is worth much more. Hot bath, Epsom salts, read some fiction get some...sleep. And no alcohol isn't useful, it's just nice, its also detrimental. Wake up not feeling like death and you're giving yourself a chance.

2. Foundational meals: keep it simple and create some stability by really nailing those 3 (usually) meals throughout the day. When you do that you negate the need for satellite foods, your body no longer has to shout at you to get energy between meals or require caffeine and sugar just to make it through. Try this; 3 meals of appropriate calories, protein focused and filling. In most cases this usually ticks the calorie deficit and protein boxes without much brain power.

3. Simple tasting Volume foods: when building those foundational meals - keep it simple and choose your foods wisely, Protein increases satiety and helps preserve muscle during a deficit, and has a higher thermic effect, so make protein the focal point of your diet Then add on Simple tasting volume foods (read my article on volume foods) rather than density foods - think more greens, root veg, beans and lentils instead of pasta, bread and cheese etc. And get rid of those nuts you snack on, they great for crossing the arctic on foot, terrible for getting protein. Keeping the foods simple stops us consuming hyperpalatable foods we are likely to gorge on.

   TIP; Try low fat Greek yogurt and some fibrous fruit as a snack - high protein, low calorie, very filling, tastes good = dieting super combo.

4. Flow state - stop overthinking!! Honestly, I think you all know way more than you realise, the waters get murky because we read so much information, some is good, most is unnecessary. I'm telling you nothing revolutionary, eat good food, not too much, do some TOUGH exercise 2 to 4 times per week, be much more active, especially if you have a sit down job! whatever plan you choose, it needs to be repeated consistently for weeks. If once a week you're simply too tired and unmotivated, fatigued and grumpy, your approach is likely too extreme. So back off and create some flow. being savage in your consistency beats extreme measures.

5. Practice some form of tracking:  There's debate for and against tracking calories, but one thing is for certain, having some data can be eye opening. Having the data wont do a thing, its how you use it. But Imagine you couldn't see the price of anything or didn't know how much was in your bank account, same goes for calories. Try: keeping a journal, using some tracking software for a few weeks at least, it can be really insightful.

6. Incorporate Strength Training: You know if you diet without strength training, the majority of weight loss can be muscle, which means a weaker smaller version of ourselves that doesn't look much different because we haven't actually lost body fat. By strength training You'll be keeping or even possibly building muscle. which means any fuel your body wants to take for energy will be fat and not your gains. Now you look WAY different! and you're stronger, fitter and faster! Obviously we can help with that!

   

   
   

6 Reasons you might not Be Getting Stronger

1. Poor Form: Using improper technique (half reps or using lots of momentum) not only risks injury but also prevents muscles from being effectively trained through the whole movement, this disrupts both muscle gain and movement efficiency which are 2 of the 4 main pathways by which we get stronger.

2. Ego lifting and maxing out: 1 Rep maxes are for testing and not training. We can all get drawn into the battle of pushing that extra kilo but failing a lift or hitting a real deal 1 rep max costs exponential energy for the mind, body and nervous system. This can leave little energy left for meaningful amounts of training, recovery or adaptation to occur.

3. Not growing muscle: All else being equal, bigger muscles have more potential to produce force. Better technical efficiency and more muscle is the foundation of getting stronger, once you've learned how to use the muscle you currently have, some new muscle will only help.

4. Not training hard enough: For muscles to get strong, they need an appropriate stimulus, and those little dumbbells' aren't going to cut it. It requires a significant amount of tension on the muscle to trigger a response or teach your muscles how to work under heavier loads. We are talking tough but good sets not ego lifting.

5. Not Consistent enough: The best lifters and the best results are saved for the most savage, and the most savage are the most consistent not the most intense. Consistency of sessions, effort and rep quality simply mean more practice, more stimulus and more adaptation, less burnout or injury.

6. insufficient calories: A lack of total energy will impact function, recovery and repair as well as mindset, all of which will negatively affect strength. Protein being absolutely vital for repair and growth, carbohydrate is cornerstone for energy especially for tough training and recovering and fats will support caloric intake and hormone production an d overall health.

   
   
   
   

6 ways to help you get stronger

1. Focus on skill instead of strength: Strength is the specific skill of lifting a heavy weight in a particular way. so focus on getting very good at it. Master the movement to teach the muscles you have how to coordinate and contract together under a barbell. That's why I stress - "tough but good sets". Grinding every set and rep ingrains poor form as each rep isn't a carbon copy. When water is concentrated on a small spot for long enough a gorge is created. You're bar is the gorge, your reps are the drops. Practice robot reps.

2. Ensure Adequate Protein Intake: Consume sufficient protein to repair and rebuild muscle tissue, which is fundamental for strength gains. 1g per lb of lean body mass is sufficient in most cases. Is it a pain. maybe, but it's doable with a tiny bit of effort and its impactful enough to make it worth it.

3. Get 7-9 Hours of Quality Sleep: Muscle recovery and central nervous system repair are crucial for strength. Let alone your motivation to get to the gym, Get your sleep!

4. Follow a Structured Training Program: random workouts that are nothing more than a sweat fest really grind my gears! You need to repeat movements and weights, to do the reps and sets over and over. Is it boring? Maybe it is, but is it more boring than wasting your time? Getting stronger definitely isn't boring for long! Adhere to a well-designed program that follows the principles of progressive overload (read my article on Progressive overload) and includes the movements you want to get stronger in or at least find a gym that will do that for you...ahem. We can help!

5. Incorporate Regular Deloads/Recovery Weeks: Periodically reduce training volume or intensity to allow your body to fully recover and prevent burnout, this gives your training process longevity and maintains motivation leading to continued strength gains over time.

6. Be the savage. The savage is consistent, disciplined, calm and works very hard.

   don't skip sessions lightly, you just give yourself permission to do it again and that mentality bleeds into everything, how you train is how you do everything. Hit your sessions even when you're feeling "meh", trust me they'll be some of the best ones. Eat your food, Hit Your all reps and sets with skill, work really hard, follow the plan and don't do a 1 rep max because you got bored. The most savage isn't the one making the most noise, the most savage is the one with their head down doing the work over and over.

6 reasons you might not be Gaining Muscle

1. Adapt, you have, adapt your training must. What once challenged you now feels easier — not because the workout changed, but because you did. That’s the result of adaptation. But if your training stays the same while you become more capable, progress stalls. To keep improving, your training must rise to meet your new level — with more load, volume, or intensity. Progress is a moving target, and staying still is falling behind.

2. Not Eating Enough: You can't build a house without raw materials. Muscle growth is an energy-intensive process and unless you're brand new to lifting or have lots of fat to lose, a calorie deficit will stop it in its tracks.

3. Insufficient protein Intake: out of those raw materials protein is key! You are literally built if the stuff, Protein is the building block of muscle. You need to consume enough for repair and growth.

4. Lack of intensity: Your muscles need a reason to grow. If you're not consistently challenging and stressing them more, they won't adapt.

5. Poor Sleep & Recovery: Muscle growth primarily occurs during rest. Inadequate sleep and recovery hinder this process.

6. Too much ego: Yes you need stress to stimulate growth. But stop with the 1 rep maxes, how much mechanical stress can you accumulate in 1 rep vs 3 sets 10?? And when you fail that lift it costs even more! That's lots of precious energy you could have used developing.

7. Inconsistent Training: Sporadic workouts won't provide the continuous stimulus needed for significant muscle gain.

   
   
   
   
   
   

6 Ways to help muscle growth happen.

1. Eat like its your job!!!: To build new tissue, you need to eat more calories than you burn, and it needs to be consistent. Doesn't matter how good your training is. A high carb - low fat diet is the number one approach for muscle gain with the lowest fat accumulation. Expect to need to eat around 250 to 500 extra calories per day to build muscle at a decent rate. Pair that with adequate protein intake and you'll be on your way - Consume at least 1g of protein per lb. of bodyweight daily to support muscle building. if you Work hard in the gym, eat a calorie surplus and consume enough protein you will build muscle.

2. Progressive overload: What you did in session 1 doesn't cut it now, you are a different animal. The goal of training is to create a stimulus your body isn’t fully prepared for. In response, your body adapts . What was once hard, becomes easy, you need to find hard again. This is progressive overload in action, you lift heavier weights because you're stronger, so you must keep up with your new capabilities. we do this by following a program that plans it out, over time you need to move the needle, slowly, bit by bit by bit, an extra rep, a few kg's or another set only when you're capable. Training is a glacier moving forward not an avalanche crashing down. A well thought out program has this at its core.

3. Practice muscle building reps: Still bouncing the bar off the chest or half repping those squats. Lets fix; The Perfect Muscle-Building Rep isn't Building muscle isn't just about moving a weight its a recipe with a few ingredients; it's about a controlled stress that forces your body to adapt. This is what we call the perfect rep, broken down into three phases:

    * SLOW: A controlled, 1-3 second eccentric phase where the muscle lengthens under load. This maximizes Time Under Tension and creates the micro-damage needed for growth.

    * STRETCH: Gently move into the full range of motion, feeling a loaded stretch in the muscle. This powerful stimulus, known as stretch-mediated hypertrophy, is key to building new muscle.

    * STRONG: Accelerate the weight back to the start. This powerful concentric phase recruits the most muscle fibers and builds the strength you need to lift heavier over time. By focusing on these three principles, every rep becomes a purposeful, muscle-building rep, ensuring you get the most out of your training.

4. Optimal Sleep & Recovery: As above Get 7-9 hours of quality sleep nightly, as muscle repair and growth primarily occur during rest.

5. Master the basics: Aiming to progress in the big basic compound lifts is quite simply The cornerstone of resistance training and builds a great foundational base of good technique, strength and muscle that will cover the main movement patterns and every muscle of the body. So practice the basics and make them a staple part of your training. The big basics = Squat, Deadlift, Bench press and Pull ups.

6. Maintain Training Consistency: Adhere to a structured workout schedule week after week to provide the continuous stimulus required for muscle hypertrophy.

   Finding a way to train the you enjoy even love makes this happen. But sometime you have to put the work in 1st, see the fruits of your labor and then guess what? when you see progress you begin to enjoy. But be disciplined, don't skip sessions lightly, take some pride in your routine and yourself. as I describe above - Be the savage

   I'll repeat - "The savage is consistent, disciplined, calm and works very hard.

   don't skip sessions lightly, you just give yourself permission to do it again and that mentality bleeds into everything, how you train is how you do everything. Hit your sessions even when you're feeling "meh", trust me they'll be some of the best ones. Eat your food, Hit Your all reps and sets with skill, work really hard, follow the plan and don't do a 1 rep max because you got bored. The most savage isn't the one making the most noise, the most savage is the one with their head down doing the work over and over."

   
   
   
   

Be the savage.

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