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It’s like everywhere I look and everywhere I go,
I’m seeing other coaches tryin’ to steal my flow,
But it ain’t no thang ‘cuz see all my lifter bros,
Pick me up and brush it off, and it helps to make me grow…
– Snoop (probably)
If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.
Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.
Each Friday’s N.W.A. Newsletter will have 3 parts:
- A Nutritional Tip to help make your diet healthier and easier to stick to.
- A Workout Tip to help make your training sessions more effective and fun.
- An Attitude/Mindset tip to help you strengthen your greatest asset – your mental toughness.
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I will also give you my single favorite piece of social media content from AF over the past week and link to it on either Instagram or Twitter.
Without any further ado… let’s get started, shall we?
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N.W.A. Nutrition Tip Of The Week
Everyone wants to “hack their metabolism”.
But nobody wants to actually do what it takes to move the needle.
I’m going to keep this tip short… the idea of “hacking” anything is just silly.
If there were true “hacks”, we would all know them by now.
The only real “hack” is to work hard every day, every week, and every year.
You’re going to need to live the “fit life” if you want to have a fit and muscular body.
BUT if your goal is to increase your metabolism, there are actually 2 ways to properly do it:
- Move more
- Eat more protein
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That’s IT.
The ONLY 2 ways to significantly increase your metabolism in any meaningful way.
Let’s tackle “eat more protein” first… it’s more straight forward.
Protein is tough for us to digest.
Our bodies need to work hard in order to process dietary protein.
So hard, in fact, that up to 25% of protein’s calories are used up in the digestive process.
If you’re eating 1,000 calories worth of protein each day, your body only “thinks” you’re using 750 calories (up to 250 of those calories are used in the digestion process).
This is what makes protein so powerful on a diet.
Add in the fact that it’s super filling, and it helps to keep your muscle around, and it’s a no-brainer that you should be eating more protein.
Now… the “move more” part… this one is a bit tougher…
Your metabolism is made of 3 parts:
- Your BMR (basal metabolic rate) – this is how many calories you require just to exist (the # of calories you would burn by laying in bed all day)
- Your calories burned via activity – this one is obvious.
- Your NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) – the number of calories you burn from non-exercise movement.
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The first 2 on this list – your BMR and calories burned via activity are straight forward.
If you want to burn more calories from your BMR, gaining muscle is one of the best ways to do it.
Granted, it’s not as big of a difference as you might think.
For each pound of muscle you gain, you burn around 8 extra calories per day.
Gain 10 pounds of muscle, and you burn 80ish more calories each day naturally.
(And 10 pounds of muscle is a verified SHIT TON for a natural lifter – and 80 calories is the size of a small apple… really not much).
Burning calories via activity is a great idea as well; this is where you really move the needle.
Get your steps up into the 8-10k range per day if you can.
Park far away from the store.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Get a treadmill desk.
You may have to get crafty; we live in a sedentary, tech driven society.
But it CAN be done, if you’re dedicated to it.
Your NEAT is a true wild card.
Are you “fidgety”?
Do you find your leg shaking back and forth right now as you’re reading this?
Do you get “antsy” when you sit too long, and get up to move around due to excess energy?
If so, you probably have a higher NEAT than most – studies show fidgety people who don’t like to sit end up burning 300-500 more calories per day than people who don’t mind sitting and “vegging” for long periods of time.
It may be reductionist, but “move more” is excellent advice.
It’s far and away the best way to “hack” your metabolism.
Get your protein in, and get moving, and watch the pounds come off of you quickly.
N.W.A. Workout Tip Of The Week
Sure, I want to look good naked.
Imagine being 60 years old, and being the same weight you were when you were 30 years old.
You’d feel pretty good about yourself, right?
That’s a pretty sweet accomplishment – most people gain a lot of weight as they age.
My hat’s off to you!
Buuuuut not so fast, kemosabe…
Are you lifting weights, with intensity, with your full body?
And have you been that entire time?
Because if not, there’s a good chance you’re actually not in as good of shape as you think you are…
When we hit 30 years old, each decade, we lose about 5% of our muscle mass naturally if we don’t strength train.
So, while you might be at “the same weight as you were in college”, your body composition has drastically changed for the worse.
Let’s break this down and do some math…
Let’s say you weighed 180 pounds and you were 15% body fat at the age of 30.
That means you have 153 pounds of “non-fat body mass” and you have 27 pounds of body fat.
Not too shabby – 15% body fat is lean and healthy (20% body fat is generally accepted as the “healthy” threshold).
But you aren’t weight training… so starting at age 30, you lose:
5% of your muscle mass from 30 to 40.
5% of 153 ~ 8 pounds of muscle.
At age 40, you have 145 pounds of muscle on your body.
You are now 19% body fat, and you’re trending in the wrong direction.
This is what happens to your body when you’re sedentary, and it’s scary as hell…
Fast forward another 10 years… and now you’re 50 years old and you lost another 5% of your muscle mass.
5% of 145 ~ 7 more pounds of muscle mass gone.
At age 50, you have 138 pounds of muscle on your body.
You’re now 23% body fat, and you’re out of the “healthy” range.
You are starting to develop insulin resistance and other metabolic diseases.
Your risk of cancer shoots up, and your health is in jeopardy.
And you still weigh the exact same weight you did when you were 25 years old…
In another 10 years, at the age of 60…
5% of 138 ~ 7 more pounds of muscle mass gone.
At age 60, you have 131 pounds of muscle on your body.
Even though you still weigh 180 pounds, you are now 27% body fat.
You have gained 22 pounds of pure body fat in the last 30 years, and your muscle has deteriorated.
You have high blood sugar, and you may be starting to lose your mobility.
Yikes.
That is some pretty scary stuff…
It gets even worse after 60…
When you hit 60, you no longer lose 5% of your muscle mass per decade… that number skyrockets to 12%!
12% of 138 pounds of muscle = a whopping 17 pounds of muscle mass gone in 10 years!
When you hit 70, you’re now down to 114 pounds of muscle on your body, which means you are 36% body fat.
Even though you “still weigh the same” as you did in college… you are clinically obese.
Your quality of life is impaired.
You can no longer move around and play with your grandkids like you wish you could.
You have diabetes and are likely on numerous medications.
All because you “didn’t have time” to strength train…
If that doesn’t frighten you, there’s something wrong with you.
The good news is all of this can be reversed by lifting weights.
All of it.
You lift weights AND stay at the same bodyweight, and you will be close to 15% body fat, even at the age of 70, which is a remarkable achievement.
But it doesn’t happen by accident.
It only happens by hard work.
I’m not sure about you, but I’m aiming for strong and robust well into my Golden Years, not old and frail.
Lifting weights isn’t just for flat abs and flexinb biceps.
It’s for living your best life, from here on out.
Looking to regain your youth and vigor?
Our community will give you all that and then some, just take a look at the hundreds of people we’ve helped.
You can get your 1st month of Full Access: Anyman Fitness for just 20 bucks at this link.
N.W.A. Mindset Tip Of The Week
I saw an article last week that really made me raise an eyebrow.
The article said studies have shown exercise is up to 1.5 times more effective for curing anxiety and depression than medication OR therapy.
Here’s the link if you’d like to have a read.
I’ve had some issues with mental health in the past.
I’ve been medicated for short stints, and I’ve seen therapists.
In my own experience, I agree whole heartedly with the article at hand.
Exercise was WAY more effective than talking to someone, or popping a pill.
At least for me (not to discredit anyone who uses those other methods at all; sometimes medication is necessary to function, I understand that fully and support you if that’s the case).
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from having occasional difficulties with my own mental health, it’s this:
Improving your mental health is an active endeavor, not an inactive one.
Here’s what I mean by that…
When we get anxious or depressed, often we think we need to “get our minds right” before we can move on with life.
We get paralyzed by our own fears and insecurities.
We think what we need is the “perfect way to think about things” and we get trapped in our own heads.
If only we could find the “right book” or listen to “the right meditation” or talk to “the right therapist”, then we’ll start to feel better.
In my experience this just sends me further down the rabbit hole, and it never helped a damn thing.
On the other hand, taking action and building up small wins each day helped me tremendously.
When I’m feeling “off” mentally, I double down on what I KNOW will move the needle.
Things like:
- Lifting weights consistently
- Walking as much as possible
- Getting sunlight and getting out of the house
- Hydrating with water
- Getting as much sleep as possible
- Eating healthy foods and refraining from junk food
- Eliminating alcohol and marijuana
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When I do those healthy things for myself, it does a few things for me.
First, I feel accomplished and satisfied for putting in a good day’s work.
Second, I feel like I’m taking steps in the right direction.
Third, I feel exhausted and tired from all the exercise, which in turn helps me sleep.
The last thing I try to do to right the ship is easy… I try not to “dwell” on my mental health.
This is one of the biggest things I personally believe therapy does wrong (in many instances, not all).
Thinking too much is what causes anxiety and depression for lots of us (for some, it’s a chemical imbalance, but I’m talking lower key mental health issues here).
I once heard it said like this:
If you dwell on the past, you’ll be depressed.
If you dwell on the future, you’ll be anxious.
If you focus ALL of your energy on doing good things for yourself TODAY, you will be focused on the present, and ultimately be happy.
If you’re not taking care of yourself physically, you can’t expect yourself to have sterling mental health.
Take care of your body first, and your mind will follow.
It’s nice to see science begin to catch up to what lots of us “fitness dudes” have understood for a long time.
Fitness isn’t just about looking great at the beach.
It’s about mastering ALL aspects of your life – the physical, the mental, and the spiritual.
If you’re struggling with anxiety or depression, start taking active, healthy steps towards a new you immediately.
You’ll be shocked at what a huge difference it makes.
Looking for motivation and killer results?
You can check out our testimonials page here to see what kind of results you can expect from our program. We’ve worked with everyone from NYT best selling authors, to business owners, to teachers, to stay at home moms and dads (and grandparents!).
And you can get your 1st month of Full Access: Anyman Fitness for just 20 bucks at this link.
One Favorite Social Media Post Of The Week:
3 strength training sessions per week for 45 minutes is all you need to get into fantastic shape, boost your testosterone, shred fat, and build muscle.
If you can’t commit to something so simple, you don’t have the right to complain that you’re obese and weak.
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Anyman Fitness N.W.A. Newsletter.
I’ll be back next week.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best,
Coach J
Anyman Fitness
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Client Testimonials and Results
Since we chatted about mental health today, it’s only right we feature Kanye today… I know he’s said some horrendously outrageous and awful things (and there’s no excuse for what he’s said… I just hope the man gets the help he needs. I feel badly for him. He truly is a musical genius. (NSFW – language)