It was a clear, black night,
A clear, white moon,
Me and my boys were at the gym,
Tryin’ to get big soon…
– Warren G (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 week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.
Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…
Without any further ado, let’s get started..
N.W.A. Tip Of The Week
Almost all of my clients have a (first) goal of losing body fat.
Although it requires a bit of discipline, fat loss is fairly straight forward.
If you eat in a consistent calorie deficit, you’ll lose weight.
It’s crazy to me that there are people out there who discredit the Laws of Thermodynamics.
But those people have been silenced with the rise of GLP-1’s and peptides like Reta.
Turns out, the “calories matter” people were right after all – it’s not our environment, our hormones, or anything else that’s making losing weight difficult.
It’s a matter of eating more than we think we are.
Many of my clients have a secondary goal of building muscle.
Muscle building is not a simple, straight forward task.
It’s nothing like fat loss; it requires a game plan, and ruthless execution.
It also takes time – fat loss is measured in weeks and months; muscle gain is measured in months and years… and in many cases, decades…
Nobody ever “gained muscle” by accident.
However, people lose weight by accident all the time – going through trauma, being sick, or experiencing a stressful time period can diminish the appetite and cause weight loss.
I train in a commercial gym – Lifetime Fitness.
There are people I see in the gym every day who lift weights all the time and never gain any muscle – they always look the same, year after year.
Since muscle building is an intentional process, and requires you to really dial everything in properly, I’d like to give you the Top 5 Muscle Building Mistakes you can make.
Use this as your checklist – if you’re trying to gain muscle, avoid these like the gospel:
Mistake #1: Not using perfect form and a full range of motion while lifting.
Studies consistently show using a complete and full range of motion while lifting weights, and putting the muscle through a full stretch and contraction produces the best muscle growth response.
And yet, at the gym, you will find many people who have fallen in love with doing “half reps” over and over and over again, never using the full ROM.
Your repetitions should be smooth, and allow for a full stretch in the eccentric/lengthening position.
And then, an explosive, controlled, full contraction in the concentric/shortening position.
Every rep should be like this, without fail.
You should also be focusing intently on the muscle you are working and showing perfect form.
No “hoisting” the weight when it gets heavy; if you cannot properly control the weight, lower the weight (do not ego lift).
Your goal is not “to move a weight through space” – that is the goal of a powerlifter.
If you’re trying to gain muscle, you are not a powerlifter, you are a bodybuilder.
A bodybuilder’s goal is to use the weight as a tool to stimulate the muscle and create a growth response.
Stimulation doesn’t happen unless the muscle itself is directly worked – no cheating, no using momentum, no kipping pull ups, etc.
Show perfect form and smooth, full repetitions at all times.
Mistake #2: Not striving to get stronger and increase performance each session, and chasing “the pump” instead.
“The pump” is not something you should set out to achieve – it should be a byproduct of your workouts.
Yes, it is important to create metabolic disruption at the cellular level.
But that’s not your goal when you’re in the gym.
Your goal is to get stronger every session; not end the workout “pumped up”.
If you are not gaining strength regularly at your training sessions, you are not gaining muscle, period, point blank.
Which reminds me…
Mistake #3: Not closely tracking your workouts and using progressive overload.
You should know exactly what you are going to be doing in the gym before you walk in the door.
And I’m talking the exercises, sets, reps, and weights you will be using as well.
That only happens when you’re on a real training program and closely tracking everything you do.
Know what exercises you will be doing, and the order you will be doing them in.
Know what weights you used the last time you did that workout, and if you achieved your reps last session.
If you achieved all your reps the last time you did that session, up the weight a little bit (usually 5 pounds).
If you didn’t achieve all of your reps last session, keep the weight the same and strive to get a few more reps this time.
Rinse and repeat – forever and ever, amen.
Mistake #4: Not pushing yourself to failure (or very close to it).
Your body doesn’t know if you did 5 reps, or 10 reps, or 15 reps, or even 25 reps.
But it does know if you pushed your muscles to failure.
The actual rep range you use matters much less than if you taxed your muscles to their fullest capabilities.
This means continuing to rep out until you cannot perform one, more repetition with a full range of motion.
Most people do not train with this level of intensity.
They stop when they hit an arbitrary number of reps, like “10”.
They stop when it first starts getting tough or difficult.
They stop when it begins to “burn”.
They stop when they get tired and fatigued.
You must push harder than that if you want to gain muscle – gaining muscle is extremely difficult to do.
Your body doesn’t “want” to add extra muscle tissue – it wants to stay the same, in homeostasis.
You need to force your body to grow by really pushing the limits of your strength and capabilities.
You can leave “1 rep in the tank” and stop a bit short of failure…
BUT if you are relatively new to training, and you don’t know what “1 rep in the tank” feels like, pushing to absolute failure is the best idea for you.
IYKYK on that one…
Mistake #5: Not using long enough rest periods (because you’re not pushing hard enough in your workouts).
This one is related to #4… if you are using short rest periods – you are not resting nearly long enough to recover properly.
Unless, of course… you’re not pushing your sets hard enough…
Rest periods that are “too short” are anything less than 3 minutes on compound movements (pushes, pulls, squats, etc) or 90 seconds on isolation movements (curls, triceps, shrugs, calf raises, lateral raises, etc).
It’s a “red flag” when a client tells me “Hey, Coach J, I don’t need to rest the entire time, can I start my next set before my rest timers are up?”
That question instantly tells me they aren’t pushing themselves hard enough to gain strength and muscle.
Your rest period should feel like a legitimate “time warp”.
When it begins, you should be gasping for air after your last set.
You should be breathing hard for the first 60-90 seconds of your rest period.
Your muscles should be recuperating and recovering the entire time.
At the end of your rest period, you should be thinking, “Oh wow, that 3 minutes flew by…”
If you are truly training with enough intensity to gain muscle you should not be able to “go again” after just a minute or two.
If you are, and you don’t need your full rest periods, you need to train harder.
BONUS MISTAKES: Not focusing on your diet, recovery, and supplements…
The “little things” are important when trying to gain muscle as well.
Are you eating enough to fuel your workouts and properly recover?
(You cannot gain muscle in an aggressive deficit.)
Are you getting enough protein and carbs at regular intervals?
(Do NOT “fast” or “go Keto” if you are trying to gain muscle – eating is anabolic).
Are you getting ample sleep?
(At least 7 hours per night.)
Are you minimizing alcohol?
(Alcohol disrupts the muscle gaining process.)
Are you taking creatine monohydrate powder?
(At least 5 grams per day, every day.)
Are you getting 8-10k steps in per day, minimum?
(Movement will accelerate recovery and improve your overall training output.)
The “little things” matter when it comes to muscle building.
Be sure to take care of those little things – it will make an enormous difference.
There is nothing more satisfying than gaining muscle.
Yes, fat loss is fun, but muscle building is a serious process that not everyone achieves.
It requires hard work and dedication, and it takes a long time…
For reference, when I first dedicated myself to fitness, it took about 3 months before someone said, “Hey, you’re looking leaner!”
It took about 4 years before someone said, “Hey, you’re looking more muscular!”
4 years.
But that’s what makes it so satisfying.
It’s intentional, process driven hard work.
Just avoid the mistakes above, and focus on the long game here, and you’ll do very well.
I currently have a few spots open on my personal, 1:1 roster for coaching.
I team up closely with my 1:1 clients and we work together on an individualized approach for success.
Here’s an example from a recent 1:1 client who lost 68 pounds in my program:
To learn more about this unique, “All In” experience, tap here and fill out this quick form – it will go directly to my email inbox.
Looking forward to speaking with you.
More AF Content From Around the Web:
I’m not sure who needs to hear this, but if you never feel hunger, you’re not losing fat.
In fact, odds are good you’re putting on sloppy weight.
Hunger is a natural response, and it should be welcomed, particularly in a fat loss phase.
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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