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With so many people in the gym you see,
It’s kinda hard to grab a bench or your favorite machine,
But I… somehow someway keep making those crazy ass gains like every single day.
– Snoop (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.
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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
I’m not sure who needs to hear this… but the idea of “net carbs” is a scam.
Seriously, no joke – there’s no nutritional scientific proof “net carbs” are even a thing.
The idea of net carbs is simple.
The thought is since our bodies can’t process fiber (and we excrete it out), each gram of fiber negates 1 gram of carbohydrates.
Meaning, if you’re eating something that has 20 grams of total carbohydrates but it also has 12 grams of fiber in it, your body only digests 8 grams of carbohydrates (20 – 12 = 8).
While this sounds plausible and it’s sure to sell plenty of protein bars, there’s just one issue… it’s not true!
The FDA doesn’t regulate claims about net carbs, and companies know this and take advantage of it.
Have you ever tasted a delicious protein bar and wondered how it tasted so good with only “1 net carb” in the bar?
Here’s what’s actually going on…
First, there are plenty of carbs in the bar in order for it to taste that amazing.
Second, the company adds in fiber, but not fiber like you think…
Getting fiber into your diet is a wonderful idea BUT it’s best done with whole food fiber, or a fiber supplement at least.
But the problem is… real fiber tastes a bit like cardboard!
So, to get around this, companies add isomalto-oligosaccharides (IMO for short) to their food products.
That’s a big, fancy word for a ultra-processed fiber that has almost none of the gastrointestinal benefits of real fiber.
But it tastes a heck of a lot better than whole psyllium husks, so into the food it goes… and you are none the wiser…
If you’re watching your carbs, be sure you know and understand this.
We always tell our clients to track their *total* carbs and to forget about “net carbs”.
It’s a silly marketing gimmick, and nothing more.
I suggest you do the same.
N.W.A. Fitness Tip Of The Week
I’m going to be making 2023 the year of the machines!
But not in a Terminator way… hopefully anyways…
For the last 6 months, I’ve been using a grueling dumbbell and barbell program and I wanted to mix it up and try something new for this year.
I LOVE barbell and dumbbell training, but I won’t lie – it becomes extremely taxing to push the weights every single workout and strive to get your numbers up there.
I’m pleased with where I ended – I was dumbbell bench pressing with the 115’s, and dumbbell rowing with the 130’s – both personal bests.
But I was starting to dread my workouts, and when that happens to you, that’s a cue you should start a new type of training program.
I’m going to be starting a brand new training program I created for Full Access: Anyman Fitness called “Machine Muscle Madness”.
This program is 100% machine based other than a few, small dumbbell movements (nothing taxing, though).
I’m 2 weeks into it so far and I LOVE it for a few reasons.
First, machines really allow you to torch your muscles with minimal risk for injury.
With free weights, you need to be careful to show perfect form, even when the weight gets super heavy.
If you don’t, you’ll eventually get dinged up and you’ll need to take time off to recover.
Second, machines allow you to easily push all the way to failure and beyond.
Using dumbbells and/or barbells, your central nervous system quickly becomes fried when you do that, and (again) you risk injury pushing past failure unless you have a skilled spotter.
But not with a machine… with a machine, you can hit failure over and over and over again, and you can quickly recover from it.
And third, machines are flat out fun!
That’s always an important part of training.
It requires a lot less mental anguish to train hard with machines.
Every time I load up a heavy barbell or dumbbell, I have to get mentally “psyched up” for the set.
You really don’t need to do that with a machine… you can just hop on and push yourself to the limit without needing to pump yourself up.
There’s an argument to be made that using barbells and dumbbells will help you build strength more rapidly than machines when you’re first starting out.
But once you’ve built a base of strength and/or you put some “gym miles” on you, don’t sleep on machines – they’re a great way to gain muscle and tax your body, while minimizing your injury risk, and also making your workouts fun.
If you’d like to try “Machine Muscle Madness”, you can join us for Full Access: Anyman Fitness here.
If you choose the monthly membership, you can use the coupon code “30FREEVIP” to get your first 30 days on the house.
N.W.A. Mindset Tip Of The Week
Since it’s January, the gym is a super busy place right now.
Everyone is getting back into the routine, and working hard on getting the holiday “fluff” off of them.
If this is you, and you just re-started your health and fitness regimen, I have 4 HARD truths for you that I want you to take to heart.
First, it will take longer than you think to get into great shape.
We all see fancy “30 day” transformation pictures.
Heck, I even post ours on social media from time to time.
But let’s be real… for every “30 day” transformation, there’s thousands of people who don’t look drastically different 30 days into a new fitness regimen.
This stuff takes time.
And effort.
And patience.
Relax, and enjoy the process.
The time will pass anyways.
Second, there are going to be days where you want to quit.
A LOT of them. It will happen regularly, if I’m being honest with you.
You MUST disregard that voice in your head telling you to skip the gym and grab fast food.
You MUST keep going, even when you don’t want to.
You MUST stop relying on “motivation” – nobody is motivated to train hard and eat right 100% of the time – it just doesn’t work like that.
People who get into exceptional shape take care of business, whether they want to or not.
Third, not all your friends and family will be supportive of your new lifestyle.
It sucks, but it’s a part of getting into great shape.
You’ll get comments like “you’re too skinny” or “you need to live a little”.
You might even get mocked for eating healthy at a social event.
Just remember, you’re doing this for YOU, not for someone else.
Anyone who’s being negative about you trying to be healthy is simply being insecure about themselves, and nothing more.
Your healthy new lifestyle is making them reflect on their own shortcomings.
And lastly, the ONLY way you can lose is to quit.
That’s it.
That’s literally the only way you WON’T get into exceptional shape.
You simply need to have one good day, and do everything you can to repeat that day as many times as possible.
It’s that easy, and that hard as well.
But as long as you don’t quit…
And you keep grinding…
And you keep working hard each and every day…
You’re guaranteed to win eventually.
Fitness is the only domain on earth that only requires hard work and effort, and nothing else.
So be sure you bring that to the table daily.
The good news about these 4, HARD truths?
You can do it.
I know you can.
I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen who have made a dramatic transformation with Anyman Fitness and said, “I didn’t even know this was possible for me!”
It happens all the time.
And with the proper approach, and hard work, you can be one of those with a killer before and after picture by the end of 2023.
You got this.
Get out there and get it!
One Favorite Social Media Post Of The Week:
The great thing about nutrition?
You can’t bullshit your body.
If you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough calories.
If you’re not losing weight, you’re eating too many calories.
No bullshit, you gain and lose on what you consume, period.
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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This is one of my favorite tracks to play while training, you can’t not get fired up listening to this bad boy… (NSFW – lyrics)