Subscribe to the NWA Newsletter Here
Fallin’ back on that bench with a swag-ified lifter lean,
Gettin’ funky at the gym like an old batch of collard greens.
– Dre (probably)
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.
.
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?
|
|
N.W.A. Nutrition Tip Of The Week
It’s no big secret that eating protein is one of the most (if not THE most) important nutritional piece you can follow.
Protein is the KING of the macronutrients for a few reasons:
1. It reduces hunger and is the most filling macronutrient.
2. It helps to build/maintain muscle over time and promotes recovery.
3. It has a built-in metabolic advantage (25% of protein’s calories are used in the digestive system.
These 3 facts make eating more protein a no brainer.
You should ALWAYS be striving to eat as much protein as possible – at least 1 gram per pound of lean body mass you have.
For a rough estimate of how much protein you should be eating, take your “holy sh*t, I look incredible” weight, and eat about that many grams each day.
I ran across a super interesting article this week.
The article talks about the causes for overeating in America, and it specifically looks at protein and its effects on satiety/hunger.
Processed foods are everywhere, and on average, more than half of our daily calories come from ultra-processed foods in a bag, a box, or a can.
Most of these foods are woefully short on their protein amount.
Many foods people consume for breakfast have zero protein – bagels, muffins, cereal… they’re basically either pure carbs, or carbs with some fat and no protein whatsoever.
The article goes into a theory called The Protein Leverage Hypothesis, and it seems entirely plausible to me.
According to The Protein Leverage Hypothesis, our bodies are biologically seeking protein – we NEED it to maintain our health over time.
Since (on average), we eat 50% or more of our foods from low-protein, processed options, we never feel satisfied and are always hungry.
And our bodies are primed to eat until our protein requirement is hit… so we don’t ever get full, and we just keep eating… and eating… and eating…
More research has to be done in order to see if this hypothesis is true, but I can guarantee you eating protein in high quantities is universally the first step towards losing fat and being a healthier person.
If I could count the number of times we’ve seen clients come our way, increase their protein number to an appropriate amount, and be SHOCKED by how full and satisfied they are… well… I could probably retire!
Here’s the article if you’d like to have a read – I found myself nodding along to nearly every word.
N.W.A. Fitness Tip Of The Week
I’ve been getting a repeated question in my inbox/DM’s lately:
“Hey, Jason, I’m <x> years old, is it too late for me to lift weights and gain muscle?”
It seems many of us think our time has passed, so to speak.
Especially if we’re a bit older (think 45 and up).
We feel like we “missed our window” and we won’t be able to get into decent shape from resistance training.
I’m here to tell you that question is a poor one.
A very poor one.
You can ALWAYS build strength and muscle, at ANY age, regardless of your past fitness history.
In fact, there have been countless studies on muscle gain/growth on 70+ year olds.
And every single time, they gain strength, gain muscle, and improve their health for the better.
Sure, when you’re in your 20’s or 30’s, you may think the purpose of lifting weights is to look good naked.
And I’m not gonna lie, it’s a pretty solid benefit of lifting hard regularly.
But the REAL benefits of strength training come a bit further down the road…
The difference between a 70 year old who’s been fit and active their whole lives versus one who has been sedentary is shocking.
Becoming frail as you age isn’t a requirement.
If you want to keep your body young, you need to use it regularly.
You need to strength train with intensity – as power output is closely correlated with muscular strength, bone density, and overall balance/fitness levels.
But let’s say you’re 70 currently, and you’ve never lifted before.
Are you a lost cause?
Should you just throw up your hands, and wait for your body to break down?
Absolutely NOT, my friend.
Now, are you going to look like Arnold?
No, you won’t.
But will you be a better version of yourself than you used to be?
ABSOLUTELY.
And at its very core, this is what resistance training is all about.
It’s not about 500 pound deadlifts.
It’s not about 18″ biceps.
It’s not about 6 pack abs, 48″ chests, or anything else.
Above ALL, it’s about improving yourself, and seeing those improvements in cold, hard numbers in front of you.
There’s something psychologically rewarding about seeing your lifts climb and your body become stronger.
And of course, it’s physically rewarding as well – lifting is arguably the BEST thing you can do to feel, look, and move like a younger version of yourself.
If you’re sitting around thinking your “time has passed”, think again.
And if you’re thinking you’re too late – just remember, you’re never too late to be a better version of yourself.
Period.
N.W.A. Mindset Tip Of The Week
Anyman Fitness Coach Sean Clifford had a GREAT post on social media (Twitter) last week.
It went like this…
“My neighbor called me ‘crazy’ for running on winter nights…
My Dad called me ‘manic’ for walking in the rain…
I got gawked at rucking down the road with 100 pounds strapped to me…
But no one ever batted an eyelid when I was stuffing my face day in and day out.”
It was a great Tweet – here’s the link to it if you’d like to check it out for yourself (and give Coach Sean a follow while you’re at it!).
And it begs the question… why is this sort of a thing so common when you start to work on yourself?
I’ve gone through this, too.
I’ve had people call me weird.
Crazy.
Obsessed.
Tell me I need to “live a little”.
I even once had a co-worker say to me, “I would never want to look like you” after I lost 80 pounds of body fat.
I didn’t really care, though… I just shot back, “Don’t worry man, you won’t” and left it at that.
Repeat after me – when you see someone working hard to get in shape, there should be ONE thing you say to them:
“Awesome job; keep up the good work!”
And that’s it.
NOTHING more needs to be said.
Some people have thicker skin than others. They don’t mind when someone interjects their unwarranted opinion.
But what if YOUR comment was the one that caused someone to be self conscious?
What if YOUR comment upset someone to the point where they just said, “You know what, you’re right, I’m being stupid… I need to stop all this exercising and working out…”
How would you feel then?
How would you feel knowing you caused someone to stop exercising, and your immature comment was the catalyst?
Granted, these are usually “magic mirror” moments.
The person making the snide comment is just trying to feel better about their own lack of exercise.
But still… is it really necessary?
It’s a tired and cliched piece of advice, but if you can’t say something nice, then it’s always best to not say anything at all.
One Favorite Social Media Post Of The Week:
Whenever I see someone with a full sugar soft drink, it always blows my mind.
Just 200+ calories of straight sugar, with zero nutritional value and a sh*t ton of chemicals.
It’s pretty much hands down the worst thing you can consume and LOTS of people drink them daily.
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
Read the N.W.A. Newsletter Archives
Client Testimonials and Results
Forever a classic; this track will never not make me think about 7th grade basketball. We all had our Discmans on before every game, listening to this album… (NSFW – lyrics)