Tag: muscle
Fat vs. Muscle Weight: How to Tell the Difference
Many exercisers judge their progress by their body weight. Religiously they hop on the scales, hoping to see their weight moving toward their goal. Whether you want to build muscle or lose fat, stalled scales can be a source of frustration, leaving you wondering if you need to change your diet or your workout – again.
Here’s the problem with relying on your weight to assess your progress: the scales cannot differentiate between fat, muscle, or any of the other substances that make up your total body mass.
As such, you could be succeeding despite the reading on the scale. For example, you could lose fat, gain muscle, and your weight remains unchanged. This may look like a failure on paper, but in reality, it will have a significant impact on how you look, feel, and perform.
In this article, we discuss the differences between fat and muscle, and how to really tell if you are making good progress.
An Introduction to Body Composition
When you get on your scales, whatever device you are using measures your total body mass. This includes whatever clothes you are wearing and any food in your digestive system.
Broadly speaking, your body mass can be broken down into two components:
Fat mass
Fat-free mass (FFM)
The relationship between your fat mass and FFM mass is generally referred to as your body composition, which is expressed as a percentage. This percentage, e.g., 15%, is the amount of your total weight that’s made up of body fat. The remaining percentage is deemed to be your fat-free mass.
Your FFM can be sub-divided into several more components, including:
Water
Skin
Organs
Bones
Substrates and chemicals
So, when you lose or gain weight, the quantities of any of these components could have changed. For example, you could be more or less hydrated, have more or less glycogen (stored glucose) in your liver and muscles, or have lost bone mass.
Your weight can even fluctuate throughout the day. Most people gain and lose several pounds each day. For example, you may weigh less after a workout because of dehydration but more after a meal because of the undigested food in your stomach. Most people are lightest on waking and heaviest at the end of the day.
However, none of these transitory changes means you’ve gained or lost muscle or fat. Instead, the only thing that has changed is your body weight. This is akin to weighing yourself naked and then fully clothed.
Because of all these potential variables, your weight is an unreliable indicator of your body composition. Instead, you need to be able to differentiate between changes in fat and fat-free mass. Body composition changes are MUCH more important than your body weight and tend not to fluctuate as much.
Related: FFMI Calculator: Find Your Fat Free Mass Index
Body Fat Basics
In simple terms, body fat is stored energy. When you eat too much food, your body converts it into fat for later use. Fat cells are called adipocytes, and body fat is stored as adipose tissue.
Cosmetologist Using Caliper To Measure Body Fat
Then, if you fail to consume enough food and have insufficient energy, your body will release and burn body fat for fuel. It’s estimated that one pound of body fat contains around 3,500 calories.
However, body fat is more than just an inert substance your body can use for energy; it’s also an organ with several additional functions. That’s why very low body fat levels are often considered unhealthy and can even be dangerous; you NEED body fat to live and function correctly.
The additional functions of body fat include:
Shape
Insulation and temperature regulation
Protection of internal organs, including the brain
Storage and utilization of vitamins A, D, E, and K
Protein utilization
Hormone regulation, e.g., production of the satiety hormone leptin and the hunger hormone ghrelin
Body fat can be classified according to where it’s located in your body – visceral and subcutaneous (1). Visceral fat is stored around the internal organs and is considered to be a risk to health. Visceral fat is also known as belly fat and can only be accurately detected by MRI or CT scan.
In contrast, subcutaneous fat is found between the skin and muscles and presents less of a health risk than visceral fat. You can see and even pinch subcutaneous body fat. You also store a small amount of fat in your bone marrow.
Body fat can be divided into two more categories – white fat cells and brown fat cells.
White fat makes up the majority of fat in adults and is used for energy and energy storage. Brown fat, on the other hand, is mainly used for thermogenesis or heat production. Babies have a lot of brown fat and use it to stay warm in infancy, while adults tend to have less.
Because of its myriad functions, a certain amount of body fat is deemed essential, and lowering your body fat below this level could harm your health.
The percentage of essential body fat is:
2-5 percent for men
10-13% for women
While athletes can achieve very low levels of body fat, e.g., for bodybuilding competitions, they usually only maintain this level of extreme leanness for a few days or weeks. Then, out of season, they return to a more sustainable and healthy body fat percentage.
Try: Body Fat US Navy and Body Fat Skinfold Calculator
Muscle Basics
There are three types of muscle tissue in the human body. Each is highly specialized and has specific functions. The three types of muscle tissue are:
Cardiac muscle – found in the heart
Smooth muscle – used to make tubes and organs
Skeletal muscle – responsible for movement
Of these three, skeletal muscle is the most important for body composition.
There are over 600 muscles in the human body, ranging from huge to tiny. For example, the gluteus maximus is the biggest skeletal muscle, the sartorius is the longest, and the stapedius, an auditory muscle, is the smallest. Some muscles are very well known, such as the biceps, while others are much less so, such as the quadratus lumborum.
Muscles are contractile, meaning they shorten to produce force. Innervated or controlled by motor nerves, muscles cross joints and are connected to your bones by tough fibrous cords and straps called tendons. Muscles are made up of bundles and bundles of muscle fibers. The smallest contractile unit of a muscle is called a sarcomere.
Broadly speaking, there are two types of muscles:
Tonic
Phasic
Tonic muscles produce low amounts of force for long periods to maintain your posture. They’re the endurance muscles of the human body. In contrast, phasic muscles produce force intermittently and on demand to produce movements. Phasic muscles tend to be more powerful but are quick to fatigue.
All muscle fibers fall into one of three types:
Type 1a – also known as slow twitch muscle fibers. Type 1a fibers are red in color and have an excellent blood supply. They are very enduring but are not very strong, and nor do they have much potential for hypertrophy or growth.
Type 2b – also known as fast twitch muscle fibers. Type 2b fibers are white and have a relatively poor blood supply. They’re very powerful but also tend to fatigue quickly. They have the greatest potential for hypertrophy.
Type 2a – this type of fiber is trainable and adapts to the demands placed on them. They can become like type 1a or type 2b fibers depending on the kind of workouts you do. They can switch back and forth between jobs as required, e.g., if you quit lifting weights and take up running.
Your muscle fiber mix is determined by your genetics. Some people are slow-twitch dominant and naturally good at endurance activities such as long-distance cycling. Other people are equipped with more fast-twitch fibers and tend to be naturally stronger, faster, and more muscular.
Regardless of this, because of type 2b fibers, you can always train and improve your strength or endurance despite the dominance of one particular fiber type. However, your potential is limited by your genetics, which is why some people are better at certain sports than others.
Fat vs. Muscle – The Differences
Now you know a little more about fat and muscle, let’s take a moment to compare these two types of tissue:
Contractility
While you can flex and contract your muscles, you cannot contract fat. This is why someone can be big but weak or small but strong.
Sure, strongman competitors and some powerlifters carry a lot of body fat, but beneath that fat are some massive muscles. Many heavyweight lifters believe that “it takes mass to move mass,” and the extra weight can be helpful in dragging and pushing events.
Summary: Muscle contracts, while fat does not.
Blood Supply
Muscle tissue has e very good blood supply, even those muscles deemed to be fast twitch. This ensures they receive a steady supply of oxygen, and that carbon dioxide, the by-product of aerobic respiration, can easily be removed.
Blood supply increases with training, so even more, oxygen can be delivered to the working muscles. This is achieved through capillarization, which is the increase in the number of capillaries (thread-like veins) that supply the muscle.
Adipose tissue also has a blood supply. However, it tends to be lower than for muscle tissue.
Summary: Both muscle and fat have a blood supply. However, the blood supply to muscles tends to be greater.
Metabolic Activity
Metabolic activity is the amount of energy your body burns at rest. It’s also known as your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, and is expressed in calories per 24 hours. A higher BMR can make it easier to lose or maintain a healthy body weight and body fat percentage.
Muscle is more metabolically active than the same amount of fat. For example, it’s estimated that a pound of muscle uses 4-7 calories per hour. In contrast, a pound of fat uses just two (2).
As such, depending on body composition, two people who weigh the same can have very different resting metabolic rates, with the more muscular person burning more calories per 24 hours, even without added physical activity. This explains why some muscular people need to eat more to maintain their weight.
Summary: Muscle tissue burns 200-300% more calories than fat.
Density
Contrary to what many people believe, muscle is not heavier than fat, and a pound of fat and a pound of muscle both weigh one pound!
However, muscle IS denser than fat. This means a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat. Because of this, you can lose fat, gain muscle, and completely change your clothing size despite your body weight remaining relatively unchanged.
Fat has a density of about 0.9g/cm3, and muscle has a density of 1.06g/cm3 (3+4). So, if you put one pound of muscle and one pound of fat on a scale, there would be more fat than muscle.
Summary: Muscle is roughly 10% more dense than fat. As such, fat takes up more space than the same amount of muscle.
How to Tell If You Are Gaining or Losing Fat or Muscle
Because of things like fat vs. muscle density and how changeable your body weight can be, it’s clear that the scales are not a reliable way to assess your progress. In fact, the scales can tell you are failing when, in fact, you are knocking it out of the park and making significant changes to your body composition.
So, how can you tell if you are gaining or losing fat or muscle? Use the following strategies and discover the truth.
Get a body composition assessment
Body composition assessments determine your body fat percentage. There are several assessment options to choose from, all offering varying degrees of accuracy. But, at the end of your test, you will have an estimate of your body fat percentage.
Assessment options include:
Monitoring your body fat percentage over the coming months will reveal if you are losing or gaining fat or muscle.
You’re gaining weight but losing inches
Gaining or maintaining weight while losing inches, e.g., around your hips or waist, is an excellent indicator that you are shedding fat while building muscle. Remember, muscle is denser than fat, so fat takes up more space on your body. The process of losing fat while gaining muscle is often called recomping.
Read more about recomping here.
You’re getting stronger
Strength increases are a good indicator that you’re building muscle. After all, muscle is contractile tissue, whereas body fat is not.
However, you can also get stronger because of improved neurological function and better lifting technique. That said, if your lifts are increasing from week to week, it’s a safe bet that at least some of your progress is due to increased muscle mass.
Conversely, while the occasional bad workout doesn’t mean much, if you are getting consistently weaker, you could be losing muscle. Although, consistent training should make this less of a likelihood.
Your muscle definition is improving
Has the outline of your abs started to emerge? Can you see some separation between your quadriceps or deltoids? Are your veins more visible? Congratulations – this strongly suggests your body fat percentage is starting to fall.
Most of your body fat is subcutaneous, i.e., between your skin and muscles. As your levels of subcutaneous body fat decrease, there will be less tissue between your skin and your muscles, so the underlying musculature will become more visible.
The best way to see and track this is with progress photos.
Remember, though, your definition will worsen if you gain body fat. So, if your abs and veins are fading away, it may be because your body fat levels are starting to rise.
Changes in clothing size
Your clothes are an excellent way to measure your progress. For example, if your pants are getting loose around the waist, it’s safe to say you are losing fat. Conversely, if they’re getting tight, you are probably gaining fat.
Your belt notch is often a much better indicator of body composition changes than your scales.
Body composition assessments are the most accurate way to determine if you are gaining or losing fat or muscle. However, you can also use things like your clothing sizes, gym performance, and definition to assess your progress.
While these things aren’t as quantifiable as body composition testing, they will tell you subjectively if your muscle and fat mass are changing, which is something the scales cannot do.
Fat vs. Muscle Weight – FAQ
Do you have a question about fat vs. muscle weight or body composition? No problem, because we’ve got the answers!
1. Can I lose fat and build muscle at the same time?
Contrary to what many people think, you can gain muscle while losing fat. As you know, fat and muscle are entirely different things, and they exist independently. As such, you can burn fat for energy and use that energy to work out and build muscle.
However, it is worth noting that pursuing these two goals simultaneously often means slower progress than focusing on one goal at a time, i.e., bulking and then cutting.
2. What is the ideal body fat percentage?
The ideal body fat percentage varies from person to person. For example, a competitive male bodybuilder may get their BF% as low as five percent for a competition. In contrast, a heavyweight powerlifter could be strongest with their body fat at 30%.
As such, your body fat percentage should match your goals. That said, the accepted fat percentages by gender and age are:
Sex
Age
Low
Normal
High
Very High
Female
20 – 39
< 21
21.0 – 32.9
33.0 – 38.9
39
40 – 59
< 23
23.0 – 33,9
34.0 – 39,9
40
60 79
< 24
24.0 – 35.9
36.0 – 41.9
42
Male
20 – 39
< 8
8.0 – 19.9
20.0 – 24.9
25
40 – 59
< 11
11.0 – 21.9
22.0 – 27.9
28
60 – 79
< 13
13.0 – 24.9
25.0 – 29.9
30
3. Is it possible to be fat and fit?
Having a high body fat percentage doesn’t mean you can’t be fit. There are many examples of overweight athletes performing incredible feats of strength and endurance. Football, baseball, wrestling, boxing, and field athletes are often heavy, and yet they compete at the highest level of their chosen sports.
That said, there is a massive difference between being fit and being healthy. Fit means you can handle the demands of your chosen activity, while healthy means the absence of disease. As such, it’s entirely possible to be fit but unhealthy.
For example, being over-fat can increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, all of which can shorten your life.
So, yes, you CAN be fat and fit, but it’s much harder to be fat and healthy.
4. What is the best body recomposition workout and diet?
Body recomposition involves losing fat while building muscle. Invariably, achieving these goals consists of a combination of strength training, cardio, and an intelligent diet.
Strength training is critical for maintaining or increasing muscle mass and is usually involves a bodybuilding-style program. Cardio helps burn fat by expending additional calories. In addition, your diet needs to support training, recovery, and muscle growth while reducing your calorie intake to promote fat burning.
While it’s beyond the scope of this article to tell you how to achieve body recomposition, you can read all about it in these two articles:
5. What are the best exercises for burning fat and building muscle?
The best exercises for body recomp are challenging, burn a lot of calories, and provide plenty of overload for the target muscles. They are usually compound in nature, meaning they use multiple joints and muscles together.
Good examples include:
Squats
Deadlifts
Bench press
Overhead presses
Pull-ups/chin-ups
Exercises that combine two or more movements are also good options for body recomp. Examples include:
Front squat to push-press (thrusters)
Clean to overhead press
Sumo deadlift high pull
Burpees
Clusters (squat clean and thruster)
Read more about the best body recomp exercises here.
Fat vs. Muscle Weight – Closing Thoughts
While there is nothing wrong with keeping track of your body weight, the scales don’t tell the whole truth about your progress. In fact, they can be very misleading and even make you think your workouts and diet are failing you.
That’s because the scales cannot tell the difference between fat and muscle weight, and, as you know, these are very different substances.
Tracking your body composition is much more accurate and will reveal far more about your progress.
So, stop living and dying by your daily weigh-ins. Instead, pay more attention to how your clothes fit, your waist measurement, your gym performance, and your muscle definition. Better yet, get a body composition assessment and discover your true body fat percentage.
After all, your weight doesn’t really matter, and it’s what that weight is made up of that counts.
References:
Mittal B. Subcutaneous adipose tissue & visceral adipose tissue. Indian J Med Res. 2019 May;149(5):571-573. doi: 10.4103/ijmr.IJMR_1910_18. PMID: 31417024; PMCID: PMC6702693. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6702693/
University of New Mexico: Controversies in metabolism https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/metabolismcontroversy.html
Abe T, Thiebaud RS, Loenneke JP. The mysterious values of adipose tissue density and fat content in infants: MRI-measured body composition studies. Pediatr Res. 2021 Nov;90(5):963-965. doi: 10.1038/s41390-021-01376-y. Epub 2021 Jan 27. PMID: 33504969. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33504969/
Ward SR, Lieber RL. Density and hydration of fresh and fixed human skeletal muscle. J Biomech. 2005 Nov;38(11):2317-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2004.10.001. Epub 2004 Dec 30. PMID: 16154420. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16154420/
Losing 50 Pounds in 6 Months: Tips and Tricks To Achieve Your Weight Loss Goals
Most people join a gym or start dieting to lose weight. However, most of these folks quit the fitness lifestyle before meeting their weight loss objective. There are several reasons for these weight loss lapses.
Failing to set a weight loss goal is one of the biggest reasons most people never make progress. You must have a definite objective and a plan to achieve it before you embark on your fitness journey.
Ask a newbie in your gym about their fitness goal, and they probably reply with ‘lose weight’ or ‘build muscle.’ However, these goals are too vague to set you on the right path. Your fitness goals must be more actionable and specific to push you in the right direction. For example, you must switch from ‘lose weight’ to ‘lose 50 pounds in six months.’ The new goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound.
The new goal gives you the exact amount of weight you must lose in a particular period. Before we go any further, let’s take a step back. Most dieters have no idea what to expect from a weight loss program. They know they need to lose weight but are unsure of what is attainable.
Tell a newbie exerciser that he must lose 50 pounds in six months, and they will look like they’ve seen a ghost. In this article, we will give you 23 tips for losing 50 pounds in six months. Additionally, you’ll learn about how much weight you should aim to lose safely in a given period. There is a lot to cover, so sit tight and read on.
23 Tips For Losing 50 Pounds in Six Months
Losing 50 pounds in 26 weeks might sound impossible to people struggling with weight loss. However, it is entirely possible with the right approach. Here are the 23 tips for weight loss that will help you see the needle budge in the right direction:
Set Realistic Goals
Most people falter on the first step of their weight loss journey as they have no clue about setting an achievable goal. Some people start exercising without a specific goal, whereas others begin with a vague objective.
Your weight loss goal should be realistic, objective, and actionable. Trying to lose too much weight too soon will lead to disappointment, and most people in this category drop off their weight loss journey as they are overwhelmed with the big numbers staring them in their faces.
You must break your main objective into smaller goals to make your weight loss journey less intimidating. Furthermore, checking smaller goals off your list each week will work as positive reinforcement and keep you motivated.
Related: Weight Loss Target Date Calculator
Run a Calorie Deficit
You must enter a calorie deficit to shed excess weight, meaning you have to burn more calories daily than you consume. However, most people have no idea how many calories they should cut out from their diet to lose the spare tire.
It is believed that you can lose a pound weekly if you cut 500 calories from your daily diet. Similarly, reducing 1,000 calories from your diet will help you lose two pounds each week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends limiting your daily calorie cut to 1,000 kcal to keep your weight loss journey gradual, steady, and sustainable. [1]
Cutting 1,000 calories from your daily diet will help you lose 50 pounds in 25 weeks (2 kcal X 25). Notably, six months roughly consist of 26 weeks, meaning you can safely lose 52 pounds in half a year. This proves that our goal of losing 50 pounds in six months is attainable and safe.
Notably, you don’t have to cut 1,000 calories exclusively from your diet to enter a deficit. If this was the case, losing two pounds every week would be near impossible for folks consuming 2,000-2,500 kcal daily.
To achieve the 1,000-calorie deficit, you should cut 500 calories from your diet and burn the remaining 500 calories through an exercise program. This is why following an effective diet and exercise program is a must for achieving your weight loss goals.
Nutrient-Dense Foods
You must follow a personalized diet program to meet your weight loss goals. Plus, your diet should consist of nutrient-dense whole foods as they are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which keep you feeling full throughout the day.
Depending on your dietary preferences, your meals should comprise veggies, fruits, grains, non-starchy carbs, and a source of lean protein. Furthermore, you must reduce your sugar intake to limit visceral fat buildup.
Controlling your portion sizes can help ensure you don’t overshoot your calorie intake goals. Invest in a food scale or measuring cups to ensure you eat the correct portions of each food. Additionally, switching to smaller plates and bowls can help curb the risk of overeating.
You must also develop the habit of reading nutrition labels before buying packed foods. It will ensure that you only buy foods that fit your macro goals and stay away from ‘dirty calories.’ Whole foods are generally lower in calories than processed and junk foods, making them a perfect fit for your weight loss journey.
Calculate Your BMR
The role of basal metabolic rate (BMR) is often overlooked in a weight loss program. BMR determines the calories your body needs to accomplish its most basic (basal) life-sustaining functions. BMR is often used interchangeably with resting metabolic rate (RMR).
Your BMR depends on multiple factors, including age, body size, amount of lean muscle tissue, gender, genetics, etc. According to the BMR calculations, a 25-year-old, 180-pound, 5-foot-10-inch male burns 1,910 daily calories when not working out or moving around.
To lose a pound of body weight weekly, this individual will have to cut 500 calories from his diet, meaning he’ll be consuming 1,410 daily calories. Furthermore, if this individual wants to shed an additional pound, he should burn an extra 500 calories during an exercise regimen.
Alternatively, you could determine your average daily calorie intake using a calorie-tracking app, such as MyFitnessPal, by analyzing your calorie intake for the last five days. Once you have your average calorie intake number, deduct 500 calories from your diet by reducing your serving size across all meals or skipping a meal. This will help you lose a pound of body weight weekly.
Remember, everyone is built differently and responds to different stimuli uniquely. Finding the right amount of calories to cut from your daily routine might require some trial and error.
Related: Weight Loss Calculator
Reevaluate Your Macros
Understanding the three macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats) is a must for fitness enthusiasts. You must limit your carb and fat intake during a weight loss program and follow a protein-rich diet.
Notably, many people consider carbs their arch-enemies in a weight loss program. However, cutting out carbs entirely from your diet will be a blunder as your body relies on glycogen (which comes from carbohydrates) as its primary energy source.
Minimize the intake of refined carbohydrate foods such as white bread, white rice, pasta, baked goods, sugary drinks, sweets, and junk food. You must consume at least 130 calories daily to maintain your overall health and performance. [2]
According to a study, your macronutrient split should be between fat (40%-20%), carbs (35%-65%), and protein (25%-15%) to promote weight loss. [3]
Exercise
Although exercising is not mandatory on a weight loss program, working out three to six days a week can help speed up your results. A 150-pound individual can burn around 500 calories in about 40 minutes if they maintain a 12-minute mile pace (5 mph).
You must include cardiovascular and strength training into your training regime for optimal weight loss results.
Cardio
Your training sessions should consist of aerobic and anaerobic workouts to optimize weight loss. Furthermore, HIIT workouts (high-intensity interval training) are incredibly effective at burning calories. They are also usually shorter than conventional cardio workouts, making them an excellent fit for people with busy schedules. [4]
Strength Training
Many people leave gains on the table by staying away from the free weight section during their weight loss program. Strength training helps burn calories during a workout and increases your metabolic rate, which enables you to burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re physically inactive. [5]
Check Out: Calories Burned Running Calculator
Hire a Nutritionist and Personal Trainer
Contrary to what most people think, designing a diet program falls out of the scope of practice for a certified personal trainer. While a personal trainer can help you with a personalized training plan according to your physical fitness levels, limitations, and goals, you must seek a registered nutritionist’s help for a customized diet plan.
You could ask your trainer for a dietitian’s reference. The nutritionist and trainer can work together to streamline your training and recovery program and maximize your output.
You could design a training and diet program on your own; however, it will require significant trial and error. Hiring a nutritionist and trainer can help save you a tremendous amount of time, effort, and money in the long run.
Furthermore, a personal trainer can help you build a solid training foundation by teaching you the correct exercise form, which can lower your risk of injury.
Lifestyle Changes
Your weight loss program should not be limited to your diet and training program. Losing 50 pounds in six months demands a lifestyle change. You must make healthier choices in every aspect. For example, always take the stairs instead of the elevator, eat more vegetables and fruits in each meal, and go to bed on time each night.
You should also clear out all the junk food from your kitchen cupboard. Remember, what is in the cupboard, will eventually end up in your stomach. Minimize the chances of going off track by snacking on junk food.
Furthermore, you must keep moving throughout the day. Schedule a 5-10 minute walk break every couple of hours. Setting a 10,000 daily step goal can push you to walk more throughout the day. Notably, 10,000 daily steps can be a little overwhelming for most people; you could start with a 5,000-step goal and slowly build on it.
Hydrate
Water is your best friend on a fat loss program. During your cardio exercises, you’ll lose a lot of water through sweat, increasing your risk of dehydration. You must drink at least a gallon of water throughout the day to keep yourself hydrated.
It also has several other benefits, such as regulating your body temperature, protecting your tissues, spinal cord, and joints, helping excrete waste through perspiration, urination, and defecation, improving digestion and blood oxygen circulation, boosting cognitive function, and enhancing skin quality.
Furthermore, drinking water throughout the day will keep you feeling satiated, which will reduce your probability of feasting on junk food. You should drink a glass of water before meals when you feel extra hungry, as it will help curb your appetite. [6]
Stay Away From Fad Diets
The fitness community regularly witnesses new fad diets that promise mind-boggling results. Some of these diets include the boiled egg diet and the cabbage soup diet.
Fad diets rapidly gain popularity, but they are equally quick to disappear. Since these diets encourage extreme dietary choices, some people believe that fad diets can help them achieve their weight loss goals faster.
Most fad diets claim extraordinary results; however, they have little to no scientific evidence backing them. Sticking to a fad diet can not only lead you to a weight loss plateau, but it can also cause chronic health issues as these diets comprise restrictive and imbalanced eating patterns, such as eliminating entire food groups or severely limiting calorie intake. Plus, the weight loss achieved through fad diets is often not sustainable.
You must only follow a diet protocol with scientific research supporting it and a proven track record.
Fasting
Fasting is one of the best ways to enter a calorie deficit and lose weight. The rise of intermittent fasting has breathed new life into fasting. Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating. [7]
You could choose between several intermittent fasting (IF) protocols depending on your preferences and schedule. The 16/8 method is the most popular IF schedule; it involves fasting for 16 hours daily and eating during the remaining eight hours.
Besides its weight loss benefits, intermittent fasting can improve insulin sensitivity, help fight against chronic inflammation, improve heart health, boost cognitive function and immunity, and reduce the risk of cancer.
In contrast to the typical diet programs that dictate what you should and shouldn’t eat, an intermittent fasting program focuses on your eating schedule. Although your dietary choices aren’t restricted on an IF plan, you should stick to healthy dietary choices to speed up your weight loss progress.
Do Not Starve
In defiance of popular opinion, you aren’t supposed to starve yourself on a weight loss program. Going too harsh on yourself during a diet can lead to developing a negative relationship with food, where you might experience feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety, or fear related to food and eating.
A negative relationship with food can have the opposite effects on your weight loss progress as it can result in a pattern of disordered eating habits such as binge eating, purging, or using food as a coping mechanism for emotional stress. Further, it can have negative consequences on your physical and mental well-being.
Starving can also hamper your performance in physiological and psychological tasks as it can leave you feeling weak, drained, and exhausted throughout the day. Even on a weight loss program, you should eat small but regular meals throughout the day if you are not following a fasting protocol.
Plan Your Meals Ahead of Time
Leaving your meals to chance is a sure-shot way of falling off track on your weight loss journey. If you want to lose 50 pounds in six months, planning at least a week’s worth of meals in advance will help minimize your risk of giving in to cravings and sticking to your diet. It also saves you the stress of coming up with meal ideas on the fly.
Planning your meals helps you meticulously break down your calorie goal into an ideal macro split. On the other hand, if you enter a restaurant feeling insanely hungry, you’ll probably end up ordering the most unhealthy dish on the menu. Remember, you must control your environment and not be controlled by it.
Plus, planning your meals can save time and money by reducing the need for last-minute meal decisions. It allows you to buy your food in bulk, significantly reducing your grocery bill. Not to mention, it also minimizes food wastage.
Reduce Stress
Chronic stress is one of the biggest factors behind weight gain. Stress increases cortisol production in your body, leading to increased body fat stores.
Many people resort to eating unhealthy and binge eating junk food when stressed, leading to a bulging waistline.
If all this isn’t enough, chronic stress increases your appetite and can interfere with your sleep. It can also lead to decreased physical activity, contributing to weight gain and difficulty losing weight.
Exercise, meditation, and yoga are some of the best ways to manage cortisol levels, combat stress, and improve overall health and well-being. Seek a medical professional’s help if you cannot control your stress levels with these three methods.
Supplements
Adding a fat-burning supplement to your routine can help speed up your weight loss progress by increasing your metabolism, suppressing your appetite, boosting the fat-loss process, and blocking dietary fat absorption.
Notably, the effects of a fat-burning supplement can change depending on its ingredients. You must thoroughly analyze a supplement’s ingredients before making a purchase.
Whey protein supplements can boost your metabolism and curb your appetite by keeping you feeling full throughout the day. Furthermore, protein supplements will ensure you don’t lose muscle mass during your weight loss program.
Natural supplements, such as caffeine and green tea extract, can also help expedite your fat loss progress. Plus, caffeine can temporarily boost your metabolism by up to 16% over one to two hours, which can help burn more calories. [8]
You must consult your healthcare provider before starting a new supplement. Also, you should favor natural fat burners over synthetic formulas to ensure safe weight loss and that the weight doesn’t come back on shortly after stopping the supplement.
Cheat Meals
If losing weight was easy, flabs would be a thing of the past. Most people start craving junk food a few days after starting a weight loss diet. When discussing a weight loss diet with a newbie, their first questions usually revolve around permitted weekly cheat meals.
Although six months is a long time, you must stay away from cheat meals to achieve your goals and avoid derailing from your weight loss journey.
Plus, if you do eat a cheat meal, you must account for its calories. Deduct the excess calories you consumed in your cheat meal from your weekly calorie goal. Since eating a cheat meal on this program can be a hassle, we recommend avoiding junk food until you meet your objective. Cheat meals can also increase your cravings as calorie-dense, highly palatable foods can stimulate your brain’s reward centers.
Sleep
Sleeping seven to eight hours gives your body enough time to recuperate, helping you shed excess weight. Getting a good night’s sleep is especially important for exercisers and folks with a hectic schedule.
It is no secret that getting adequate sleep each night can help you wake up feeling fresh and energized. Focusing on your recovery will help you perform better in your workouts and reduce your risk of injury.
Sleep deprivation can increase cravings for unhealthy foods, resulting in overeating and weight gain. There is a high probability that you will end up at your favorite fast-food restaurant for dinner if you are fatigued because of a lack of sleep.
Furthermore, a lack of sleep can spike ghrelin levels (hunger hormone) in your body and decrease leptin levels, which can increase your appetite and make it harder to lose excess weight. Besides the hunger hormones, sleeping for seven to eight hours daily can improve your body’s hormone balance.
Alcohol
Alcohol can be detrimental to your weight loss journey. It is packed with empty calories, meaning alcohol has no nutritional value, and the calories you consume through alcohol will end up as body fat.
Alcohol can increase your appetite. Not only that, it makes it harder to resist unhealthy food choices, leading to overeating. This is one of the reasons why you’ll never see grilled chicken breast as a bestseller in a pub. Fries, pizzas, and beer are a match made in heaven — the unhealthy kind.
Alcohol can also disrupt your sleep, wreaking havoc on your recovery and weight loss progress. Waking up tired can negatively affect your motivation to follow a healthy lifestyle, which can lead you to eat junk food and skip exercising. If losing 50 pounds in six months is a priority for you, you should stay away from alcohol until you meet your weight loss objective.
Track Your Progress
Tracking your fitness progress is underrated. Putting your goals on paper will give you a sense of urgency. Furthermore, most people that track their progress also have detailed daily and weekly action steps to help them achieve their objectives.
You don’t need fancy tech to track your progress. A pen and paper or the notes app on your phone will work wonders. Before starting progress tracking, you must write down your weight loss goal, “lose 50 pounds in six months,” on the first note.
Track all your details, including body weight, body measurements, meals, workouts, weights used, sets, reps, and RPE for each exercise. You can use a calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal to count your calories.
Tracking your progress ensures that you are heading in the right direction. It also allows you to steer your ship in the right direction as soon as you find out that you are heading down the right path or if your weight loss progress is unsatisfactory.
Find a Support System
A support system can be a game changer in achieving your physique transformation goals. Most people think exercising is a one-person sport and overlook the importance of a support system.
A supportive system can help you stick to your goals and pick you up when you lack motivation. Your support system can consist of your family and friends. Furthermore, you could also make friends at your gym who can keep you accountable a part of your support system.
Your closest circle plays a crucial role in your transformation journey. If your best friends eat out five days a week and like partying until late, you’ll probably end up giving up on losing 50 pounds in six months.
The right company can help help you achieve your goals by sharing their own experiences and resources, such as healthy recipes and exercise tips.
Consistency
Losing 50 pounds doesn’t happen overnight. You must set realistic goals, make necessary lifestyle adjustments, follow a personalized diet and training program, and stay consistent with them until you achieve your objectives.
Most people lose a few pounds relatively quickly in the form of water weight; however, they soon hit a weight loss plateau and give up on their weight loss goals. A physique transformation will test your grit and determination. Only the people that have the courage and the perseverance to put in the work even when they do not see the needle budge in the right direction will succeed.
You have to be consistent with every aspect of your lifestyle to achieve your transformation goals, including your diet, training, sleeping, and hitting the gym at the same time every day. Slacking in any area can lead to suboptimal results.
A physique transformation program involves several rounds of tinkering. After every two to four weeks, you must analyze your progress and make necessary adjustments.
Practice Mindfulness
Weight loss is as much a psychological challenge as it is physiological. You must remain mindful and conscious of your lifestyle to achieve your objectives.
Paying close attention to your thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations at every moment is crucial to controlling your environment and ensuring it doesn’t control you. Practicing mindfulness can help recognize the triggers that lead to unhealthy eating habits. It will also help you monitor the self-talk that may lead you to skip a training session.
Conscious eating can help avoid overeating and consuming excess calories, aiding in maintaining a caloric deficit. Incorporate mindful practices, such as meditation, yoga, exercise, and journaling, into your daily routine for a more positive mindset and reduce stress.
Be Patient
The proverb ‘patience is a virtue’ is apt for a physique transformation. Most people give up on their weight loss goals after losing patience, as it can take too long. For example, losing 50 pounds in six months is not a short-term goal. Only a handful of people have the poise to stick to a strict diet and training program for 25 weeks.
Furthermore, losing too much weight too soon can be healthy. Some people use fad diets to drop a significant amount of weight in a short period; however, this weight comes back on just as quickly after you stop following the radical diet.
You must avoid the temptation of following crash diets or engaging in excessive exercise, as it can hinder your progress and increase your risk of injury. Instead, focus on making sustainable lifestyle changes that you can follow for the long term that will help you achieve your goal physique.
Also read: How To Lose 1 Pound a Day: Shedding Pounds Made Easy
Frequently Asked Questions
Do you need to exercise to lose weight?
You must be in a calorie deficit to shed excess body weight. Exercising for weight loss is not compulsory, and you could lose weight just by cutting calories from your daily diet. However, combining working out with a calorie-restrictive diet can help expedite your weight loss results.
Is losing two pounds of body weight each week by cutting 1,000 calories safe?
The CDC recommends losing 1-2 pounds weekly to ensure your weight loss progress is gradual, steady, and sustainable. Cutting 500 calories from your diet will help you lose around a pound of body weight each week. Similarly, deducting 1,000 calories from your daily calories can result in shedding two pounds weekly.
However, you should not cut 1,000 calories from your diet. You must cut 500 calories from your diet and burn the remaining 500 calories through exercise. Remember, you must consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting a new diet.
Can I continue my weight loss journey after losing 50 pounds in six months?
Depending on your starting weight, you might experience your weight loss progress tapering close to the end of the program as your body gets used to your new diet regimen. Ideally, you must give your body a little break from dieting after six months and switch to a maintenance diet. Sticking to the same diet for a prolonged period can lead you to a plateau. Take some time off from dieting, regroup, and begin your weight loss program again after a 2-4 week break.
Note: The content on Fitness Volt is for informative purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice to diagnose, prevent, or treat health problems. If you’re suffering from a health issue, are pregnant, or are under 18 years old, you should consult your physician before starting any new supplement, nutrition, or fitness routine.
Wrapping Up
From optimizing your diet to increasing your physical activity, this article provides you with 23 wholesome tips and tricks that will help you in losing 50 pounds in six months and start living a healthier, happier life.
Following these weight loss tips is easier said than done. Adhering to these demands requires a strong mindset, determination, and patience. Remember, you might experience quick weight loss in the initial part of your weight loss journey; however, your progress might seem like it is stalling after you have shed your water weight. Nonetheless, you must keep your head down and put in the work. The results will follow.
Best of luck!
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Losing Weight.
Johns Hopkins Medicine. (n.d.). Carbohydrate Goals.
Sacks FM, Bray GA, Carey VJ, Smith SR, Ryan DH, Anton SD, McManus K, Champagne CM, Bishop LM, Laranjo N, Leboff MS, Rood JC, de Jonge L, Greenway FL, Loria CM, Obarzanek E, Williamson DA. Comparison of weight-loss diets with different compositions of fat, protein, and carbohydrates. N Engl J Med. 2009 Feb 26;360(9):859-73. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa0804748. PMID: 19246357; PMCID: PMC2763382.
D’Amuri A, Sanz JM, Capatti E, Di Vece F, Vaccari F, Lazzer S, Zuliani G, Dalla Nora E, Passaro A. Effectiveness of high-intensity interval training for weight loss in adults with obesity: a randomized controlled non-inferiority trial. BMJ Open Sport Exerc Med. 2021 Jul 20;7(3):e001021. doi: 10.1136/bmjsem-2020-001021. PMID: 34367654; PMCID: PMC8292807.
Bellicha A, van Baak MA, Battista F, Beaulieu K, Blundell JE, Busetto L, Carraça EV, Dicker D, Encantado J, Ermolao A, Farpour-Lambert N, Pramono A, Woodward E, Oppert JM. Effect of exercise training on weight loss, body composition changes, and weight maintenance in adults with overweight or obesity: An overview of 12 systematic reviews and 149 studies. Obes Rev. 2021 Jul;22 Suppl 4(Suppl 4):e13256. doi: 10.1111/obr.13256. Epub 2021 May 6. PMID: 33955140; PMCID: PMC8365736.
Stookey, J.D., Constant, F., Popkin, B.M. and Gardner, C.D. (2008), Drinking Water Is Associated With Weight Loss in Overweight Dieting Women Independent of Diet and Activity. Obesity, 16: 2481-2488. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2008.409
Welton S, Minty R, O’Driscoll T, Willms H, Poirier D, Madden S, Kelly L. Intermittent fasting and weight loss: Systematic review. Can Fam Physician. 2020 Feb;66(2):117-125. PMID: 32060194; PMCID: PMC7021351.
Hollands MA, Arch JR, Cawthorne MA. A simple apparatus for comparative measurements of energy expenditure in human subjects: the thermic effect of caffeine. Am J Clin Nutr. 1981 Oct;34(10):2291-4. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/34.10.2291. PMID: 7293955.
How To Lose 1 Pound a Day: Shedding Pounds Made Easy
Most people would be willing to shed a few pounds at the drop of a hat. Losing weight not only makes you look better, but it can also reduce your risk of contracting chronic health issues. These benefits make losing weight alluring, and it is also what sells gym memberships.
However, the weight loss process can be slow and meticulous, and most people do not have the patience to stick to a weight loss program in the long run. This is also why fad diets that promise significant weight loss in a short period are such a hit.
‘How to lose 1 pound a day’ is a common question personal trainers get asked by beginners. Before we dive into this subject, let’s get the record straight. Losing a pound each day is not entirely safe or sustainable. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends limiting your weight loss to 1-2 pounds weekly to keep your physique transformation journey gradual, steady, and sustainable. [1]
According to JAMA, you must burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound of body fat. As you can probably tell, burning 3,500 calories daily is not sustainable, safe, or even possible for most folks. Furthermore, a pound of body fat doesn’t necessarily translate to a pound of body weight. [2]
Losing a pound each week means a daily weight drop of 0.14 pounds, which is a far cry from the goal of shedding a pound each day. Also, weight loss doesn’t happen overnight. It might take up to a couple of weeks before a beginner starts seeing progress after switching to a weight loss program.
Prerequisites For Losing 1 Pound a Day
You must enter a calorie deficit to lose weight, meaning you must expend more calories than you consume in a day. You could achieve a calorie deficit by eating less or exercising more. A balance of both is ideal for losing a pound a day.
Remember, each individual is built differently and will react uniquely to different diets and training stimuli. There is no way to promise a pound of weight loss each day for everyone. For example, your results might differ from your training partner’s.
The tips mentioned in this article will help streamline your weight loss process and ensure you get the best bang for your buck.
In this article, we go over the 15 most effective tips to shed the spare tire. We have also included five training programs to ensure optimal weight loss. To ensure your safety, we won’t recommend radical steps. Contrarily, we will only recommend ways that will help achieve safe and sustainable weight loss in the long run.
Sticking to these steps will help you achieve your body weight goal and promote a healthy lifestyle, which will pay dividends in the long run.
15 Steps To Lose 1 Pound a Day
Sadly, there is no magic pill that will help shave off a pound from your belly each day. Losing a pound a day is an ambitious goal that demands commitment, effort, and patience. The tips mentioned below will help you make sustainable lifestyle changes and improve your overall health and well-being:
Hydrate
Cutting water is one of the fastest ways to shed body weight. It is common to lose a few pounds in a single day by dehydrating yourself.
Most fitness models start cutting water 2-3 days before a photoshoot. It helps them get diced and achieve crisp conditioning. Professional bodybuilders take this a step further and use diuretics to get in shape for competitions. However, hobbyist lifters and the general public should stay away from these methods, as they are unsafe and unsustainable.
Plus, once you resume your regular water intake, you will rapidly regain the weight you had previously lost.
Prolonged dehydration can cause headaches, delirium, confusion, fatigue, dizziness, dry mouth, and constipation. Left untreated, it can contribute to kidney stones, kidney failure, and heatstroke, all life-threatening illnesses. [3]
Tip: Water Intake Calculator
Stay Away From Fad Diets
Many people flock to fad diets, such as the boiled egg diet and the cabbage soup diet, that promise significant weight loss in a short period. However, these diets have little to no scientific evidence backing them. Most of these diets gain popularity rapidly but are equally quick to disappear.
Most fad diets require you to completely cut out some food sources, which can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Sticking to an imbalanced diet for an extended period can lead to chronic health conditions, which can worsen over time.
While choosing a diet, you must analyze if it follows a balanced approach to nutrition. Cutting out certain foods from your diet can result in developing a negative relationship with food, which can make matters worse. Plus, the weight lost through radical diets often bounces back as soon as you switch to a regular diet.
You must consult your healthcare provider before starting any new exercise or diet program, especially if you are dealing with any health issues.
Patience
After your body starts adjusting to the changes, you will experience rapid weight loss in the initial days in the form of water weight. However, you might hit a plateau if you don’t consistently change your diet and training program.
Furthermore, setting more realistic objectives can assist you in cultivating more patience and perseverance in the process. For example, you could change your weight loss goal from losing one pound daily to losing 4-5 pounds in a month. This new goal is achievable and safe.
Checking off a monthly weight loss goal can help keep you motivated. It will also act as a reinforcement that you are on the correct path.
Count Your Calories
Calorie tracking is a must if you want to lose weight. You cannot just eat whatever you like and hope for a weight loss miracle. Based on your current weight, you must set a daily calorie consumption goal to meet your target body weight.
You could determine a calorie goal for yourself by using a TDEE calculator. Alternatively, you could use a calorie-tracking app like MyFitnessPal to account for your average calorie intake.
Log your meals in the calorie-tracking app to find out your macronutrient (carbs, proteins, and fat) split. Most calorie-tracking apps have a robust food and recipe database, which makes tracking your meals easy and convenient. Some apps also come with a barcode scanner for tracking the calories of packaged foods.
Enter a Calorie Deficit
After determining your average daily calorie goal, you must enter a deficit to lose weight. Cutting 500 calories from your diet will result in a one-pound weekly weight drop. Similarly, cutting 1,000 calories will help you shed two pounds a week.
For example, if you consume 2,200 calories daily, you must shift to a 1,700 kcal diet to shed the spare tire. Cutting 1,000 calories from a 2,200-calorie diet is not recommended. If you want to shed two pounds weekly, you should cut 500 calories from your diet and burn the remaining 500 calories through exercise.
Eat Nutrient-Dense Foods
On a weight loss diet, you must get your calories from nutrient-dense whole foods, such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, non-fat and low-fat dairy, fish and seafood, unprocessed lean meat, and skinless poultry, nuts, and legumes.
Avoid empty calories such as alcohol, sugar-laden beverages, and highly processed foods. Eating nutrient-dense whole foods will keep you feeling full and supply the necessary nutrients to your muscles throughout the day.
Fiber is often overlooked in a weight loss diet. Folks following a 2,000-calorie diet should have at least 28 grams of fiber daily, as it helps with macronutrient absorption and getting the most nutritional value out of your food. It also promotes gut health, reduces bloating and the risk of constipation and diarrhea. [4]
Follow a Personalized Diet Plan
No two people will react to the same diet and training program the same. Your training partner might lose more weight than you while eating the same food and doing the same exercises as you. How your body responds to training and diet depends on multiple factors, including genetics, age, gender, body weight.
You must follow a suitable macronutrient split according to your body type and goals to fast-track your progress. Plus, you must plan your meals in advance to ensure you don’t fall off your diet regimen. Dedicate a day of the week to prepping meals; it will reduce the possibility of you ordering junk food from your favorite fast-food restaurant when you are starving and have nothing to eat at home.
To lose one pound a day, you must also watch your portion sizes. Using smaller plates and cutlery can reduce your meal size and calorie intake, helping you take inches off your waistline. You must eat your favorite healthy foods throughout the week to reduce cravings.
Though not necessary, you can also use dietary supplements, such as a whey protein supplement and fat burners, to help with your goal of losing one pound a day.
Avoid Binge Eating
Snacking on junk food is one of the biggest reasons for weight gain. Folks that do not follow a diet plan are at a higher risk of bingeing on snacks throughout the day. Following a structured diet plan keep you satiated and lowers your cravings.
You must avoid high-calories beverages. It is very easy to overshoot your daily calorie goal by chugging on sugar-laden drinks without even realizing it. Plus, you must switch to low or zero-calorie substitutes when and where possible. Making small changes in your diet can lead to big results in the long run.
When snacking, choose healthy snacks, such as mixed nuts, Greek yogurt and berries, and apple slices with peanut butter.
Read also 7 Ways To Stop Binge Eating
Stay Consistent
Consistency is key in a weight loss program. To lose a pound a day, you must be consistent with your daily meals, workouts, and sleep schedule. Consistency is even more crucial when you have a shorter timeframe to work with.
When you are consistent with your diet and training program, your body burns fat more efficiently. Furthermore, staying consistent with a fit lifestyle minimizes the risk of gaining excess body fat and improves your overall health and well-being.
Choose Healthy Fats
Many people blame fats for their excess body fat. However, this assumption is faulty. Consuming healthy fats is essential for optimal body functioning and health. Furthermore, it provides your body with essential nutrients and promotes the feeling of fullness, reducing your overall calorie intake.
Nuts, seeds, avocados, and fatty fish should be the primary sources of fats in your diet. Fats can help reduce inflammation and improve insulin sensitivity, leading to better weight management.
However, you must ensure that you choose healthy fats over unhealthy fats. Staying away from processed and fried foods can help reduce the risk of chronic diseases, such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes while promoting overall health.
Tip: Use Fat Intake Calculator
Stress Less
When you are stressed, your body releases the cortisol hormone into your bloodstream, which makes you hold onto body fat. Chronic stress is one of the leading causes of weight gain and increases the risk of health issues like high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes. Increased cortisol levels can also increase appetite and cravings for unhealthy foods. [5]
Chronic stress can also hamper your motivation to train, eat healthily, and stay consistent with a fit lifestyle.
To lose a pound each day, you must keep stress at bay. Meditation, yoga, and exercise are among the best ways of combating stress. Nonetheless, you must consult a healthcare professional if you are dealing with high levels of stress and are unable to control it using these three methods.
Try Fasting
Fasting is an incredibly effective method of shedding body weight. Intermittent fasting (IF) is a rage among fitness enthusiasts. It involves cycling between voluntary fasting and non-fasting. The 16/8 protocol is the most popular IF method, involving fasting for 16 hours a day and eating in the remaining eight-hour window.
Beginners should start with easier fasting protocols, such as the 14/10 method. It involves fasting for 14 hours and a 10-hour feeding window. Advanced lifters can opt for the ‘OMAD’ protocol, which involves eating one meal a day. Fasting protocols with longer fasting windows are more effective at helping you lose a pound each day.
Get Enough Sleep
Sleeping for at least seven to eight hours is essential to allow your body enough time to rest and recuperate. Since losing one pound a day requires you to follow a stringent diet and training program, you must take your recovery just as seriously.
Get ready for what we are about to say next. It is so polarizing that ‘the hardest workers in the room’ might lose sleep over it. Ready? Here we go — don’t hesitate to hit the snooze button. Alarm clocks have a snooze button for a reason. They help you get in the much-needed sleep.
Quality sleep helps balance your hormones, which can help control hunger, satiety, and metabolism. Fatigue due to a lack of sleep increases your risk of feasting on junk food and skipping exercise.
Workout
Although you could lose a pound a day just by cutting your calorie intake, it is not sustainable or healthy. Engaging in cardiovascular and strength training can help speed up your weight loss progress and tone your muscles. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an incredibly effective way of promoting weight loss while keeping your workouts short and exciting.
You must follow a personalized training program to optimize your weight loss, meaning you should choose a workout regimen based on your experience level. Punching up your weight class can lead to burnout and increase your risk of injury. Regular exercise can also help regulate hormones related to appetite and metabolism, such as insulin and cortisol.
Move More
Besides sweating it out in the gym, you must ensure that you are constantly moving throughout the day. A sedentary lifestyle increases your risk of contracting chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and hypertension.
Set a daily step goal for yourself and reorganize your day to ensure you hit your objectives. You could start with a 5,000-steps-a-day goal and make your way up to walking 10,000 steps daily.
Tip: Try Walking Calorie Calculator
5 Workouts To Lose 1 Pound a Day
Following a balanced training program that includes strength and cardiovascular training will optimize your weight loss. We will focus on HIIT workouts in this article to lose one pound a day.
HIIT Workout 1 — Tabata Workout
Tabata workouts include doing eight rounds of 20 seconds of strenuous exercise followed by 10 seconds of rest. Perform each exercise for eight rounds before switching to the next exercise.
Eight rounds of exercise, including working time and rest, will add up to four minutes. Three exercises in this Tabata workout and two recovery periods will take you 14 minutes to complete.
Exercise
Sets
Time (in seconds)
Rest (in seconds)
Burpees
8
20
10
Recovery
60 seconds
Jumping Lunge
8
20
10
Recovery
60 seconds
Spiderman Plank
8
20
10
Many people compromise their form during a HIIT workout to make the exercises easier. However, doing this hampers the effectiveness of the lifts and increases your risk of injury.
HIIT Workout 2
The second HIIT workout in our quest to lose one pound a day includes a balance of strength training and cardio exercises. You will need a pair of dumbbells to perform this workout. This workout comprises performing two rounds of the following circuit:
Exercise
Time (in seconds)
Rest (in seconds)
Close-Grip Chest Press
30
30
Leg Raise
45
30
Squat Hold
45
30
Renegade Row
30
30
Plank
45
30
Dumbbell Overhead Press
30
30
Thruster
75
30
High Knees
45
120
Rest for 30 seconds between exercises in the circuit. You are allowed a two-minute rest between circuits. To stick to the rest duration between exercises, keep all the equipment near you before starting the circuit.
Since the rest durations between exercises are short, use that time to take your position for the next lift. You must complete this workout within 20.5 minutes.
HIIT Workout 3 — EMOM
Every minute-on-the-minute (EMOM) workouts are an underutilized form of HIIT workouts. In an EMOM workout, you must complete an exercise within 60 seconds. Your goal with EMOM exercises is to complete each exercise as quickly as possible as the remainder of the 60 seconds is used as rest between exercises.
Time
Exercise
Reps
Minute 1
Dumbbell Squat
15
Minute 2
Renegade Row Push-Up
20
Minute 3
Squat Jump
15
Minute 4
Sit-Up
20
Minute 5
Burpee
10
Complete the 15 dumbbell squats as quickly as possible without slacking on your exercise form. Use the remainder of the minute as your rest before moving on to the next exercise at the beginning of the second minute.
HIIT Workout 4 — AMRAP
In the following workout, you must complete as many reps as possible (AMRAP) of the following exercises within nine minutes. AMRAP workouts are excellent for competitive folks. In these workouts, there are no defined rest durations. You can take as long as you want between exercises to rest. Furthermore, you can also break an exercise to catch a breath. Your ultimate objective is to complete as many reps as possible within nine minutes.
Exercise
Reps
Butt Kicks
100
Jumping Jack
80
Mountain Climbers
60
Side-To-Side
40
Abdominal Row
20
After completing 100 reps of butt kicks (50 right side and 50 left side), move onto the jumping jack without stopping for rest — if you can. The total number of reps you can complete will be your final score. Challenge your friends to beat your score. You can also set your score as a benchmark for yourself and try to beat it in a subsequent workout.
HIIT Workout 5 — Ladder Workout
When used correctly, ladder HIIT workouts can melt fat off your body. The rep structure of a ladder workout is like climbing a ladder. You start with a few reps and work up to high-rep sets. The rest between exercises increases with the total number of reps. Like in real life, you must also come down a ladder. After performing the set with the highest number of reps, work towards the small rep sets. Also, you must do all of this within a specific time limit.
In this HIIT ladder workout, you’ll perform two exercises on a single ladder rung. For example, for this workout, you will perform one rep of the wall ball and dumbbell thruster before moving on to the two-rep wall ball and thruster.
Exercise and Reps
Rest (in seconds)
1 Wall Ball and 1 Dumbbell Thruster
0
2 Wall Ball and 2 Dumbbell Thruster
10
3 Wall Ball and 3 Dumbbell Thruster
15
4 Wall Ball and 4 Dumbbell Thruster
15
5 Wall Ball and 5 Dumbbell Thruster
20
6 Wall Ball and 6 Dumbbell Thruster
20
7 Wall Ball and 7 Dumbbell Thruster
25
8 Wall Ball and 8 Dumbbell Thruster
25
9 Wall Ball and 9 Dumbbell Thruster
30
10 Wall Ball and 10 Dumbbell Thruster
45
After completing 10 wall balls and dumbbell thrusters, continue back down the ladder as far as possible within the remaining time.
Note: The content on Fitness Volt is for informative purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice to diagnose, prevent, or treat health problems. If you’re suffering from a health issue, are pregnant, or are under 18 years old, you should consult your physician before starting any new supplement, nutrition, or fitness routine.
Wrapping Up
Many people follow fad diets to help them drop their body weight quickly. However, most of these extreme methods are unsafe and unsustainable. To lose one pound a day, you must focus on making lifestyle changes that promote weight loss while improving your overall health.
Although the 15 healthy lifestyle tips and five workout routines detailed in this article might not make you drop a pound daily, it will put you on the right path to sustained weight loss. Now that you have all the knowledge you need to shed the spare tire, go ahead and put it to good use. Best of luck!
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021). Losing Weight. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/losing_weight/index.html
Wishnofsky M. CALCULATION OF DIETS. JAMA. 1957;163(5):384–385. doi:10.1001/jama.1957.02970400056024
Taylor K, Jones EB. Adult Dehydration. [Updated 2022 Oct 3]. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2023 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK555956/
Miketinas DC, Bray GA, Beyl RA, Ryan DH, Sacks FM, Champagne CM. Fiber Intake Predicts Weight Loss and Dietary Adherence in Adults Consuming Calorie-Restricted Diets: The POUNDS Lost (Preventing Overweight Using Novel Dietary Strategies) Study. J Nutr. 2019 Oct 1;149(10):1742-1748. doi: 10.1093/jn/nxz117. PMID: 31174214; PMCID: PMC6768815.
McEwen BS. Neurobiological and Systemic Effects of Chronic Stress. Chronic Stress (Thousand Oaks). 2017 Jan-Dec;1:2470547017692328. doi: 10.1177/2470547017692328. Epub 2017 Apr 10. PMID: 28856337; PMCID: PMC5573220.
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The Ultimate Guide to Male Body Types (Ectomorphs, Mesomorphs, and Endomorphs)
If you’re a guy who works out, you know the type of body you want. In fact, you’ve probably got a crystal clear image in mind of your ideal physique, maybe based on the body of a fitness influencer or pro bodybuilder. But do you know about your body type? If you don’t, you’re probably going to end up disappointed. You see, if your body type doesn’t align with that of the body you’re chasing, you’ll never get there.
Knowing your body type is about more than just drawing similarities to your goal physique. It also affects your workouts and your nutrition. Unless you identify your body type, you’re essentially shooting in the dark. In this article, we’ll provide the knowledge you need to identify your body type and how to use that knowledge to tailor your training and nutrition to your body type.
The 3 Body Types
The concept of body types is a relatively new phenomenon. Scientifically called somatypes, it is the creation of a 1940s psychologist named William Sheldon. He proposed that every human body, male and female, can be separated into one of three basic classifications, which he called:
Ectomorphs
Mesomorphs
Endomorphs
Pure ectomorphs are tall, skinny, and generally awkward. They have small joints and narrow hips. Pure mesomorphs are strong, muscular, and lean, with an impressive natural shoulder girdle-to-hip ratio. Pure endomorphs have shorter limbs and carry more body weight. They have narrow shoulders and wide hips.
Very few people are a pure somatotype. A rating scale between 1 and 7 for each somatotype produces a three-digit somatotype rating. People with a ‘normal’ body type will have a somatotype of 444.
Men and women have different body shapes and somatotypes. Men have been described as apples, while women as pears. This relates to the tendency of women to store excess body fat on their hips and buttocks while men collect it around the abdomen.
The key thing to appreciate is that your genetics predetermines your body type. So, you cannot go from being an ectomorph to a mesomorph, no matter how hard you work out. But you can maximize your physical development potential within the bounds of your body type.
To understand what that means, let’s consider a famous example of each of the three body types.
Frank Zane: The Ultimate Ectomorph
Frank Zane / Instagram
Frank Zane is a hall-of-fame bodybuilder who is recognized as the inspiration for the ‘Classic Physique’ division. Zane has a typical ectomorph body. With a small bone structure and long limbs, he was never going to be mistaken for a mass monster. In fact, his highest onstage weight was 190 pounds, at a height of 5’9”. Still, he went on to claim three Mr. Olympia titles and was one of only three men ever to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger — who was a classic mesomorph, by the way!
How did he do it? Zane worked with what he had. Rather than focusing on getting bigger and bigger, he developed the most aesthetic, streamlined, and ripped physique of his era.
Ronnie Coleman: A Classic Mesomorph
Ronnie Coleman / Instagram
Eight-time Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman was built to pack on muscle mass. In fact, when he first walked into the MetroFlex Gym in Arlington, Texas, the gym owner, Brian Dobson, thought Ronnie was already a veteran bodybuilder. However, Ronnie had only been training for a few months in a home gym. Yet, he had broad shoulders, a narrow waist, low body fat levels, and dense muscle, marking him a classic mesomorph.
As a result, he dominated the pro bodybuilding world of the ’90s, claiming eight straight Mr. Olympia victories.
Jay Cutler: A Typical Endomorph
Jay Cutler / Instagram
Jay Cutler is remembered as a mass monster — and as the man who put a halt to Coleman’s Olympia reign. Yet, if you look at pictures of Jay in his teens, you’ll see that he has a classic endomorph physique, stocky and broad, lacking the natural shoulder-to-hip differential of a mesomorph. He was also prone to putting on body fat.
Yet Jay learned to work within his body type and, through hard work, grit, and determination, was able to forge the physique that took him to four Olympia titles.
How to Determine Your Body Type
So, how do you work out what body type you have? Even though no person is 100% one body type, your body will fit into one of the three categories more naturally than the other two. Here are the physical characteristics to check for to identify which body type you are:
Ectomorph:
You have long, lanky muscles
You struggle to gain weight, including body fat (even when you eat junk food)
It is easy for you to lose weight
You have small bones (you can probably put your hand around your opposite wrist)
You look lean in the mirror but have little to visible muscle mass
Your chest is flat
Your shoulders may be bony
Mesomorph:
Wide shoulders
Narrow hips
V-shaped upper body
Able to gain muscle and lose fat easily
Naturally strong
Endomorph:
You are carrying too much body fat, especially around your middle
You have a big appetite
It’s hard for you to lose weight
Very little muscle definition
In addition to the above, here’s a quick multi-choice test to help you determine your body type. Simply answer 1, 2, or 3 to the following:
Question One: When you try on a new pair of jeans, do they feel:
Snug but not too tight in the butt?
Loose in the butt?
Tight in the butt?
Question Two: Clasp your hand around your opposite wrist. Do the middle finger and thumb:
Barely connect?
Overlap?
Not touch?
Question Three: Would you say that you have:
A V-shaped upper body?
A lean, beanpole torso?
A pear-shaped frame?
Question Four: measure your chest with a tape measure. Is it:
37-44 inches?
Less than 37 inches?
More than 44 inches?
Question Five: Would you say that your metabolism is:
Fast but you can still build muscle?
Too fast to build muscle?
Slow?
Question Six: Do you find it:
Relatively easy to gain fat-free muscle?
Hard to gain either fat or muscle?
Quite easy to gain both muscle and fat?
Question Seven: Would you say that your torso is like a:
Inverted triangle?
Rectangle?
Square?
Question Eight: Is your rib cage:
Thinner than your wider collarbone?
Narrower than your collarbone and hips?
As thick as your collarbone and hips?
Now add up your total score. If your total is 12 or below, you are a mesomorph. If it’s between 13 and 19, you are an ectomorph. A score of 20 or above puts you in the endomorph category.
Body Type & Personality
When William Sheldon propounded his body type theory in the 1940s, he added a controversial aspect that has been lost along the way. Sheldon connected the three different body types with distinct personalities. In his 1954 book Atlas of Men, he wrote about these personality traits, stating:
Ectomorphs are quiet, shy, introverted, and reserved. They tend toward artistic pursuits.
Endomorphs tend to be relaxed, sociable, fun-loving, and peaceful.
Mesomorphs are assertive, aggressive, domineering, and competitive. [1]
Sheldon’s correlations between body type and personality type have since been discredited. However, it has been shown that general stereotypes exist in society that aligns with his writings. As a result, overweight people (endomorphs) are seen by others as more genial, fun-loving, and warm than skinny (ectomorphic) or muscular (mesomorphic) people. Likewise, muscular people were seen as more in control and dominant than overweight or skinny people.
In 1961 a couple of researchers named Wells and Siegel set out to show that Sheldon’s theory about body type personalities was more to do with people’s perceptions than reality. They showed four silhouette drawings (the three somatotypes and an ‘average’ male physique) to 120 people and asked them to rate each body type over 24 traits, including such things as lazy, energetic, intelligent, and talkative.
The study’s results were very much in line with Sheldon’s trait associations. However, they were not backed up by actual experience. People were just as likely to be lazy or energetic regardless of their body type. This showed that the theory was based on stereotypes rather than real-life observations. [2]
The bottom line is that your body type has nothing to do with your personality type.
Training For Your Body Type
Having identified your body type, you can now tailor your workouts to suit your body. Let’s break down the key considerations for each type:
Training For Ectomorphs
If you are an ectomorph, you must maximize every minute on the gym floor. That’s because you do not have energy, or calories, to waste. Therefore, you should skip the cardio section and head directly to the power racks. Focus on the big compound exercises that have been proven to deliver the best band for your buck. Here are six basic mass-building exercises that you should include:
Squat
Deadlift
Pull-Up
Bench Press
Military Press
Bent Over Row
Keep your rep range between 6-12 reps. Pyramid your sets so that you increase the weight and lower the reps on each set. Here’s an example of what this might look like on squats:
Set One: 12 reps (135 pounds)
Set Two: 10 reps (155 pounds)
Set Three: 8 reps (160 pounds)
Set Four: 6 reps (165 pounds)
Perform four sets of each exercise with a decent amount of rest between sets (90-120 seconds). This will allow you to put in maximum effort.
Your basic mindset as an ectomorph should be to get in, work like hell, and then get out. In other words, your workouts need to be short and intense.
If you are a beginner trainer, start with full-body training for the first six months. Choose one exercise per body part and do four sets of reps, done in pyramid style. Here’s a sample workout for an ectomorphic beginner:
Squats: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Lunges: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Bent Over Row: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Military Press: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Alternate Dumbbell Curl: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Lying Triceps Extension: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Calf Raises: 4 x 12/10/8/6
After six months, you can transition to an upper body – lower body split.
Related: Ectomorph Workout: The Skinny Guy’s Training Guide
Training For Mesomorphs
As a mesomorph, you must establish a good balance between fat-stripping cardio and mass-building weight training. Your cardio workouts should involve both steady-state and high-intensity interval training. Do two sessions of each per week.
Steady-state cardio can be done on a rowing machine, elliptical, or treadmill for 20-30 minutes. When it comes to HIIT training, stationary biking, running on a treadmill, and rowing are really effective options. After a warm-up, perform eight twenty-minute sprints with ten-second rest periods between them.
While you can do your steady-state cardio before your weight training sessions, I recommend doing your HIIT training on your weight training off days. That’s because these sessions are very intense and may impact your muscle-building workouts if done on the same day.
As a mesomorph, your body is naturally better suited to resistance training than an ectomorph or an endomorph. That’s why, as a beginner, you can jump directly into a split routine program. As a personal trainer, I often use a three-day on, one-day off program with beginner mesomorphs. A combination of compound and isolation exercises works best for mesomorphs.
Mesomorph workouts should be around an hour long and consist of 15-20 sets. Your rep range should be a little wider than for an ectomorph workout, going as high as 20 reps and as low as five reps. Here is an effective three-way split workout I use with my personal training clients:
Day One: Chest / Triceps
Dumbbell Bench Press: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Incline Fly: 3 x 12
Dips: 3 x 12
Lying Triceps Extension: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Triceps Pressdown: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Day Two: Legs / Shoulders
Squat: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Lunge: 3 x 12
Leg Extension: 3 x 12
Glutes Kickback: 3 x 12
Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Cable Side Lateral Raise: 3 x 12
Day Three: Back / Biceps
Pull-Up: 3 x 8-12
Bent-Over Row: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Seated Cable Row: 3 x 12
Barbell Curl: 4 x 20/12/10/8
Close-Grip Pull-Up: 3 x 8-12
Related: Mesomorph Workout & Diet Program
Training For Endomorphs
When it comes to strength training, an endomorph workout will look pretty similar to that of an ectomorph. The emphasis will be on compound exercises that maximally stimulate the working muscles and allow you to lift the heaviest weight. The difference is that, whereas the ectomorph needs to minimize their calorie burn, the endomorph needs to do the opposite. As a result, endomorph workouts should be significantly longer and involve a wider rep range.
The big difference between ectomorph and endomorph workouts comes down to cardio. As an endomorph, you must burn off the excess calories stored as body fat on your frame. To do that, you should perform cardio workouts 4-5 times per week.
The most effective form of fat-burning cardio is high-intensity interval training, which was mentioned in regard to mesomorph cardio. One of the great things about this form of cardio is that, while it burns a decent amount of calories during the workout, that calorie burn continues in the hours after you leave the gym. That’s due to what is known as the after-burn effect, by which extra oxygen is needed by the body to fuel the cells after the workout. [3]
A new endomorphic trainer should follow a full body routine for the first six months. Here is a sample beginner workout for endomorphs:
Squat: 5 x 20/15/ 12/10/8
Lunge: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Leg Extension: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Dumbbell Bench Press: 5 x 20/15/ 12/10/8
Bent Over Row: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Military Press: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Side Lateral Raise: 3 x 12
Alternate Dumbbell Curl: 5 x 20/15/ 12/10/8
Lying Tricep Extension: 5 x 20/15/ 12/10/8
Cable Crunch: 4 x 30/25/20/15
Standing Calf Raise: 4 x 12/10/8/6
Related: Endomorph Workout and Diet Program
Nutrition For Different Body Types
Making adjustments to the way you eat is just as important as your differentiated training based on body type. In fact, having trained many people of every body type over the past thirty-five years, I’d go as far as to say that eating for your body type is even more important than how you train. Unless you tailor your diet to your somatotype, you will never get close to your potential.
Nutrition for Ectomorphs
As an ectomorph, your number one nutritional goal should be to end each day in a caloric surplus. That means you have supplied all the calorie energy your body needs to carry out its functions and have extra calories left over to build new muscle tissue. Of course, those extra calories need to be the kind that will promote muscle gain — protein and complex carbohydrates.
To get into the caloric surplus, you need to eat more food. That can be challenging and, at times, uncomfortable. At the start, you will probably feel bloated. But your body will soon adapt, and you’ll start to feel more comfortable.
Before you can consume more calories than your body needs each day, you first need to know what that maintenance number is. Here’s an online calorie calculator that will help you work it out.
Having established what your daily caloric maintenance level is, you should increase it by 500 calories. Let’s say that your maintenance level is 2,400 calories. To be in a position to gain muscle, you need to increase that number to 2,900 calories per day.
Now, let’s talk about what those calories should consist of. The ideal macronutrient muscle-building ratio is:
Carbohydrates: 55%
Protein: 30%
Fats: 15%
Having established what your calorie and macro goals are, you now need to stick to them. That means tracking your intake. Not tracking food consumption is the biggest mistake that ectomorphs make. Simply put, this is too important to be left to chance.
The most convenient way to track your calorie and macronutrient intake is by using a food-tracking app. Here are three popular apps that I recommend:
MyFitnessPal
Fitbit App
I recommend discovering the foods that you really like, and that also fit with your macros and then using them as your mainstay. Too often, people try to vary their food choices too much that it becomes too complicated. The key to success is to make it as easy as possible by eating pretty much the same foods day in and day out. That might seem boring, but remember that your goal here is to build muscle, not entice your taste buds.
4 Nutrition Tips for Ectomorphs
Here are four nutrition tips to help ectomorphs build muscle:
Drink Your Calories
A helpful tip that I give to my ectomorphic bodybuilding clients is to drink a decent portion of their calories each day. It is easier to drink calories than it is to eat them. It is also more convenient to whip up a protein shake than to cook a chicken breast. Even better than a protein shake for you as an ectomorph is a weight gainer shake. A weight gainer will have a higher carbohydrate and total calorie count than a protein shake. You can use it as a complete meal replacement or post-workout shake.
Here’s what you should throw into your blender to make your weight gain shake:
Milk
Oats
Whey protein
Peanut butter
Frozen fruit
Eat Every Three Hours
You must eat every three hours. So, if your first meal is at 7 am, you should eat again at 10 am, 1 pm, 4 pm, and 7 pm. You can have the same number of calories in each meal (by dividing your caloric goal by 5) or have three larger meals and two smaller ones. I recommend trying both to see which works best for you.
Reduce Other Energy Expenditure
Apart from your gym workouts, you should do as little as possible to burn calories. That means no basketball on the weekends and no runs in the woods. Having worked to consume those extra calories, you need to preserve them for building muscle.
Have A Post-Workout Shake
After the workout; your body needs protein and carbs. To get them, have a 3:1 carb-to-protein ratio post-workout shake within an hour of your workout. Check on the product label for branch chain amino acids (BCAAs), glutamine, creatine, fast-acting carbs, and whey isolate protein.
10 Great Food Choices for Ectomorphs
Here’s a sampling of excellent food choices to help ectomorphs meet their nutrition goals:
Carbohydrates:
Brown rice
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Brown pasta
Whole meal bread
Protein:
Fish
Eggs
Protein powder
Eggs
Chicken breast
Fats:
Walnuts
Almonds
Avocados
Eggs
Coconut oil
Nutrition for Mesomorphs
As a mesomorph, you have a muscle-building advantage. But that won’t mean anything unless you can maintain a caloric surplus. Those extra calories beyond what you need to function are required for protein synthesis. That means that, just like the ectomorph, you need to know your maintenance calorie level. Use this online calorie calculator to find out what that number is.
As a mesomorph, you don’t have to be as aggressive as an ectomorph in terms of your caloric surplus. I recommend that you aim for a 250-calorie surplus. So, if your maintenance level is 2,400 calories, you should aim to consume 2,650 calories per day.
You should separate those calories over 5-6 meals per day, spaced three hours apart. Here’s a suggested macronutrient breakdown:
Carbs: 40%
Protein: 30%
Fats: 30%
You’ll notice that the carbs are down while the protein is up compared to the ectomorph macros. That’s because, as a mesomorph, you are more likely to gain fat weight if you let your crabs and fats get too loose. Mesomorphs also tend to get better results with a slightly higher protein intake. Aim to take in one gram of protein per pound of body weight.
Your post-workout shake should have fewer carbs in it than the shake of an ectomorph. I recommend looking for a brand that has a 2:1 carb-to-protein ratio. It should also contain glutamine, BCAAs, and creatine.
As a mesomorph, you will benefit from the same protein, carb, and fat food choices as an ectomorph.
Nutrition for Endomorphs
As an endomorph, you have the challenging task of losing body fat and putting on muscle simultaneously. To do this, you must be very strict about what you eat. Like ectomorphs and mesomorphs, you must create a caloric surplus to provide the fuel to build muscle tissue. But you need to ensure that all those calories are clean, with limited carbs and as little sugar and unhealthy fats as possible.
Once again, you need to establish your daily caloric maintenance level. Go here to find it. Now add 200 calories to that number. So, if your maintenance level is 2,400 calories, set your daily intake at 2,600 calories.
Ectomorphs tend to have a higher level of insulin sensitivity than ectomorphs or mesomorphs. As a result, they have a slower rate of fat oxidation due to more insulin having to be released to transport glucose. You should, therefore, carefully regulate your carbohydrate intake. As far as possible, stay away from simple carbs. Refined grains should also be on your no-go list. The carbs you should consume are fruits, green leafy vegetables, and whole grains.
While you should obviously stay clear of unhealthy fats, your healthy fat intake should increase. Healthy fats will keep you full, helping prevent cravings and cleansing your digestive system. I recommend the following macro breakdown:
Carbs: 25%
Protein: 35%
Fats: 40%
Here are half a dozen smart, healthy fat choices for endomorphs:
Avocado
Almonds
Seeds
Fatty Fish
Dark chocolate
Full-fat yogurt
Body Type Training & Nutrition Summary
Subject
Ectomorph
Mesomorph
Endomorph
Weight Training
Low-Volume
Moderate-Volume
High-Volume
High-Intensity
Moderate-Intensity
Low-Intensity
5-8 reps per set
8-12 reps per set
10-15 reps per set
Total Weekly Training
4 hours
5-6 hours
7-8 hours
Weekly Split
2 days on/1 day off
3 days on/1 day off
2 days on/ 1 day off
Rest Between Sets
90-120 seconds
60-90 seconds
30-60 seconds
Cardio Split
No cardio
30-60 minutes
60 minutes
3 times per week
4-5 times per week
Diet
Carbs: 55%
Carbs: 40%
Carbs: 25%
Protein: 25%
Protein: 30%
Protein: 35%
Fats: 20%
Fats: 30%
Fats: 40%
Wrap Up
If you’re not training and eating according to your body type, then you are operating in the dark. In this article, we’ve outlined how to identify which of the three body types you fit into and what that should mean for your training and nutrition plan. We’ve also learned that while you can’t change your body type, you can maximize its potential to build an awesome physique. If you’re an ectomorph, you’ll never be mistaken for Ronnie Coleman in his prime. But you do have the potential to be your version of Frank Zane — and that’s pretty impressive!
References
Sheldon, W. A. (1954). Atlas of men, a guide for somatotyping the adult male at all ages. Harper.
Wells, W. D., & Siegel, B. (1961). Stereotyped somatotypes. Psychological Reports, 8, 77–78. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1961.8.1.77
Ito S. High-intensity interval training for health benefits and care of cardiac diseases – The key to an efficient exercise protocol. World J Cardiol. 2019 Jul 26;11(7):171-188. doi: 10.4330/wjc.v11.i7.171. PMID: 31565193; PMCID: PMC6763680.
What To Eat To Bulk Up For Skinny Guys: The Ultimate Guide
Skinny, beanpole, rawboned, scrawny, bony, lanky, skeletal, twiggy, gaunt, fragile, delicate, hollow-cheeked, as thin as a rake, skin-and-bones, sticklike, size-zero, emaciated, pinched, undernourished, underfed, rangy, spindly, gangly, gangling, gawky, spindle-shanked, starveling, and macilent. It would be safe to say that the world tends to be unkind when labeling underweight individuals.
Do you want to know the synonyms for ‘jacked’? Shredded, rugged, sturdy, muscly, stout, well-built, hefty, powerful, and lusty. If given a choice, most people would want to be a part of the latter group.
Ask a bro at your gym about putting on size, and they’ll tell you it is the easiest thing in the world. However, this is not always the case. Bulking up is simple in theory but difficult in execution. Although most of us know that we need to eat more to build muscle mass and size, it is only a piece of the puzzle.
You must stay in a calorie surplus to build muscle, meaning you must eat more calories daily than you expend. At the same time, these calories must come from nutrient-dense sources. Eating junk food and chugging sugar-laden aerated drinks can get you to your daily caloric goal, but in the long run, it will lead you toward obesity and other health issues.
A basic understanding of nutrition and how it plays a role in achieving your fitness goals is vital to be successful in your fitness journey. It will help you avoid fad diets and ensure you get the best bang for your buck.
In this article, we discuss the basics of bulking for skinny guys, including the nutrition breakdown, and lay down 15 nutrient-dense high-calorie foods to help you hit your daily caloric goals.
What is Bulking Up?
Contrary to what most people believe, bulking and weight gain are not the same thing. In a weight gain program, your only objective is to get from your current weight to your goal weight. However, in a bulking program, you must also gain muscle mass and improve your physique aesthetics.
Bulking up requires a combination of increased caloric intake and weight training exercises. During a bulking-up program, you want to add muscle mass to the body while minimizing fat gain.
Bulking is the name of the game for skinny guys wanting to add muscle mass. It requires consuming a high-calorie and protein diet and engaging in strength training exercises to stimulate muscle growth.
Besides helping you develop muscle size and strength, bulking up has several other benefits, including boosting metabolism and immune system, better nutrient absorption and energy levels, and improving overall health. Unlike the ‘dirty bulking’ diet, the nutrient-dense foods listed in this article will also avoid health issues, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure. [1][2]
Although most people know they need to enter a calorie surplus to add size and strength, they are clueless about the foods they should add to their diet plan. If you are one of these people and are looking for answers, you’ve come to the right place. This article contains 15 high-calorie foods to help skinny guys build size and strength.
Overview of the 15 Best Foods For Bulking Up
We have put the nutritional information of the 15 foods into a convenient table with their serving sizes, calories, protein, carb, and fat content, to help you make the right dietary choices:
Food
Serving Size
Calories
Protein (in grams)
Carbohydrates (in grams)
Fats (in grams)
Whole Milk
1 cup
150
8
12
8
Cheese
1 oz
110
7
1
9
Nuts
1 oz
170-200
4-6
3-5
14-18
Avocado
1 medium
300
3
17
25
Peanut Butter
2 tbsp
200
8
6
16
Brown Rice
1 cup
220
5
45
2
Sweet Potato
1 medium
100
2
24
0.2
Whole-Grain Bread
2 slices
200-250
8-12
36-48
2-5
Dried Fruit
1 oz
100-120
0-1
25-30
0-1
Salmon
3 oz
150
17
0
9
Chicken Breast
100 gram
165
31
0
3.6
Beef
3 oz
180
22
0
10
Granola
1 cup
400-500
7-9
66-80
12-16
Quinoa
1 cup
220
8
39
3.5
Weight Gainer Shakes
1 serving
1,000-1,300
45-60
200-300
2-6
15 High-Calorie Foods For Skinny Guys To Bulk Up
Given below is a list of lean protein, fruit, nuts, and vegetables that will help underweight lifters bulk up:
Whole Milk
Whole milk is an excellent source of calories, protein, carbs, and fats. It is versatile and convenient; you could include milk in any of our meals throughout the day. It is also easily digestible.
Furthermore, skinny guys trying to bulk up can also include yogurt and curd in their grocery list. You can pair them with your three big meals or eat them as a snack anytime throughout the day.
A cup of whole milk contains 150 calories, eight grams of protein, 12 grams of carbohydrates, and eight grams of fat.
Cheese
Cheese is another dairy product that should be a part of a skinny individual’s dietary routine. This nutrient-dense food comes in different shapes and sizes, making it perfect to add to a wide variety of dishes.
Mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar, Swiss, feta, goat cheese, and cottage cheese are a few different types of cheese whose protein, carbs, fat, and calorie content can change depending on their making process.
One ounce of cheese delivers 110 calories, seven grams of protein, one gram of carbs, and nine grams of fats.
Nuts
Nuts are packed with fats and are a convenient source of the macronutrient. Besides fats, nuts contain a healthy amount of protein and carbs. You can also add seeds to your daily serving of nuts to make things more interesting.
Almonds, cashews, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, Macadamia nuts, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds are some of the most popular nuts and seeds. You can add nuts and seeds to your meals or grab them as a snack.
Depending on the type of nuts, one ounce serving of nuts contains 170-200 calories, 4-6 grams of protein, 3-5 grams of carbs, and 14-18 grams of fats.
Avocado
Avocado is popular among fitness enthusiasts as a high-quality fat source. This fruit primarily contains monounsaturated fats, fiber, and vitamins, which can help reduce the risk of blood pressure, regulate glucose levels, promote healthy blood lipid profiles, and improves insulin sensitivity.
Avocado is mostly added to salads or consumed by itself. You could also add avocados to smoothies for a quick high-calorie meal. Also, a guacamole dip is an excellent option for folks looking for a healthy spread.
One medium-sized avocado contains 300 calories, three grams of protein, 17 grams of carbs, and 25 grams of fats.
Peanut Butter
Peanut butter is a staple in most fitness enthusiasts’ cupboards. Although peanut butter is mainly eaten for its fat content, it also contains a healthy dose of protein and carbs. You could also add peanut butter to shakes and smoothies for a delicious snack.
Some alternatives to peanut butter include almond butter, cashew butter, and hazelnut butter. You could switch between these alternatives to keep your meals interesting. However, ensure that these butter are not laden with artificial sweeteners and sugar. Prefer organic peanut butter over the others.
Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain 200 calories, eight grams of protein, six grams of carbs, and 16 grams of fats.
Brown Rice
Brown rice is a complex carbohydrate that is an excellent energy source for the body. Carbs are the most crucial macronutrient during the bulking phase. Brown rice’s versatility makes them an excellent food to add to any meal and fill a calorie void.
A cup of brown rice includes 220 calories, five grams of protein, 45 grams of carbs, and two grams of fat.
Sweet Potato
This food is packed with complex carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals. It is one of the few inherently delicious foods in a healthy diet. You could consume sweet potato as a side in your main meals or as a snack.
A medium sweet potato packs 100 calories, two grams of protein, 24 grams of carbs, and 0.2 grams of fats.
Whole-Grain Bread
Whole-grain breads are delectable and highly versatile. They contain a high-calorie content in a small serving size. Most people eat bread in their breakfast. However, you could add it to any of your meals.
Unlike refined white bread, whole grain bread contains the entire grain, providing a wealth of vitamins and minerals. Whole-grain bread also digests slower than white bread, providing a constant energy supply throughout the day.
Two slices of whole-grain bread contain 200-250 calories, 8-12 grams of protein, 36-48 grams of carbs, and 2-5 grams of fats, depending on the brand.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is a nutrient-dense snack that is easy to transport, has more shelf life than fresh fruit, and is easy to carry. It contains a good amount of carbs, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Almonds, cashews, raisins, apricots, dates, and prunes are a few types of dried fruit. Dried fruit is also great for satisfying your sweet cravings. However, dried fruit contains more concentrated sugar than fresh fruit. You must consume dried fruit in moderation, as excessive intake can lead to high sugar intake and digestive issues.
An ounce of dried fruit contains 100-120 calories, 0-1 grams of protein, 25-30 grams of carbs, and 0-1 grams of fats.
Salmon
Salmon is the go-to seafood for most lifters. This high-quality protein is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and is an excellent food choice for folks looking to build muscle and improve overall health. Since salmon is a quick-absorbing source of protein, consume it right after your workout for the best results.
Three ounces of salmon contains 150 calories, 17 grams of protein, zero carbohydrates, and nine grams of fat.
Chicken Breast
The good old chicken breast is one of the best foods for building muscle mass without adding body fat. You could consume chicken breast during your lunch or dinner and ideally after your training session.
A 100 grams serving of chicken breast consists of 165 calories, 31 grams of protein, zero carbs, and 3.6 grams of fat.
Beef
Beef is rich in protein and essential amino acids, which can help build muscle mass. It is also a good source of iron, zinc, and vitamin B12, improving overall health and vitality. Choose lean cuts of beef, such as sirloin, flank, or round steak, to limit your fat intake.
A three-ounce serving of beef contains 180 calories, 22 grams of protein, no carbs, and 10 grams of fat.
Granola
Granola is an often overlooked complex carbohydrate in a bulking regimen. It is an excellent breakfast food and snack that is made from a combination of oats, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits. Granola also contains a healthy dose of fat and protein, making it a well-rounded food source.
A cup of granola generally comprises 400-500 calories, 7-9 grams of protein, 66-80 grams of carbs, and 12-16 grams of fat.
Quinoa
Quinoa is one of the few plant-based foods with a complete protein source, meaning it contains all of the essential amino acids the body needs to build muscle. It is a must-have in every vegan diet. You can add quinoa to salads, stir-fries, or as a side dish.
A cup of quinoa delivers 220 calories, eight grams of protein, 39 grams of carbs, and 3.5 grams of fats.
Weight Gainer Shakes
Weight gainer shakes are a godsend for folks who have difficulty meeting their nutrition goals through whole foods. A serving of a weight gainer can contain between 200-300 grams of carbs and a decent amount of protein. You could also use a whey protein supplement instead of a mass gainer, as per your macros.
Depending on the brand, a 300-400 gram serving of a mass gainer supplement delivers a monster 1,000-1,300 calories, 45-60 grams of protein, 200-300 grams of carbs, and 2-6 grams of fat.
Tip: Calculate your recommend daily protein, carbs and fat intake.
Nutrition Planning For Bulking Up For Skinny Guys
Now that you know about the 15 high-calorie foods to help skinny guys bulk up and build muscle, it is time to put the knowledge to work. Here are some nutrition planning tips to help you in the process:
Calories
Skinny folks must use a calculated approach to enter a calorie surplus to add size and strength. Your goal should be to eat 300-500 additional calories daily. Bumping up your calories by 500 kcal will help you gain a pound of weight each week, which is a sustainable and healthy approach to bulking up. [3]
Macronutrient
After arriving at a daily calorie goal, you must break it down into a suitable carbs, protein, and fats ratio to achieve your goal physique. A 40-30-30 split (40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats) is one of the most reliable macronutrient ratios for building muscle mass and strength while limiting fat buildup.
Here is an oversimplified step-by-step process for setting a calorie and macronutrient goal to bulk up for skinny guys:
Use a calorie-tracking tracking app, such as MyFitnessPal, to calculate your daily average calorie intake for the last five days.
Bump up your calorie intake by 300-500 calories.
Break down the calorie goal into a suitable macronutrient split.
Alternatively, you could use our online calorie and macronutrient calculators for this process.
Design a diet using the 15 high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods mentioned in this article.
Remember, you might need to tweak your diet plan for the first few weeks until you find something that works for you. Seek expert help if you have trouble designing a diet plan; it will save you a lot of time, effort, and money.
Wrapping Up
Skinny folks must enter a caloric surplus to build muscle and strength. However, you must remember that all calories are not created equal. Although dirty bulking is more convenient (and delicious), it can lead to excess body fat and chronic health conditions.
Skinny guys must add the 15 high-calorie, nutrient-dense foods mentioned in this article to their grocery list and follow a customized training program to bulk up sustainably, improve their overall health and physical performance, and achieve the physiques of their dreams.
References
Troesch B, Biesalski HK, Bos R, Buskens E, Calder PC, Saris WH, Spieldenner J, Verkade HJ, Weber P, Eggersdorfer M. Increased Intake of Foods with High Nutrient Density Can Help to Break the Intergenerational Cycle of Malnutrition and Obesity. Nutrients. 2015 Jul 21;7(7):6016-37. doi: 10.3390/nu7075266. PMID: 26197337; PMCID: PMC4517043.
Drewnowski A. Impact of nutrition interventions and dietary nutrient density on productivity in the workplace. Nutr Rev. 2020 Mar 1;78(3):215-224. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuz088. PMID: 31889196.
Cleveland Clinic. “High-Calorie Foods and Snack Ideas to Gain Weight.” Cleveland Clinic, 2020, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/16555-snack-ideas-for-weight-gain. Accessed May 8, 2023
Related:
5 Back Workouts for Women: Bring the SexyBack!
Most women want an hourglass figure. However, some girls mistake an hourglass figure for a tennis racket figure. These ladies spend considerable time working on their booties but almost always overlook a vital aspect of achieving their dream figure — a shapely back. Ladies that want to rock a strapless dress or tank top must prioritize training their backs. Plus, a shapely back can add to your physique aesthetics by making your waist look smaller.
To build a curvy figure, you must incorporate back workouts into your training regimen. Your back workouts should have a balance of rowing exercises, such as barbell rows, dumbbell rows, seated cable rows, and horizontal pulling movements, such as lat pulldowns, pull-ups, etc.
After your legs, your back is the second-biggest muscle group, meaning your back workouts will be as brutal as your lower body training sessions. Plus, since it is a large muscle group, it will help burn more calories than the small muscle group workouts. If you feel fresh and energetic after a back workout, know that you didn’t go all-out in that training session.
Unlike smaller muscle groups like the biceps, which have only two muscle heads, your back consists of several muscles, such as the latissimus dorsi, rhomboids, teres major and minor, trapezius, posterior delts, and erector spinae. Furthermore, your back is divided into two portions — upper and lower. You must train your back from different angles, using different grips for overall posterior chain development.
In this article, we go over the back anatomy, the five best back workouts for women, the importance and benefits of building a strong back for women, and tips to make the most of your workouts.
Back Anatomy
Understanding your back anatomy can help you program an effective back workout and ensure there are no weak areas in your back. Here are the back muscles you should know about for building an eye-catching backline:
Back Anatomy Muscles
Latissimus Dorsi
Latissimus dorsi, or lats, are the biggest back muscle. A pair of developed lats can accentuate your V-taper. They are located on both sides of the middle and lower back and are responsible for moving your arms down and toward the body.
Teres Major and Minor
These are present at the back of the shoulder and are responsible for rotating the arm and stabilizing the shoulder joint.
Rhomboids
They are located on your upper back underneath the trapezius muscle and between the shoulder blades. They help maintain a good posture and stabilize your shoulder blades.
Erector Spinae
These are a group of muscles present on both sides of the spinal column. As their name suggests, they help maintain an erect spine and allow for bending and twisting movements. The erector spinae is also referred to as the lower back.
Posterior Deltoids
Although the posterior or rear delts are located on your back, they are mostly trained in a shoulder workout. They help move your arm backward.
Trapezius
The trapezius muscle is located over the back of the neck and shoulders and extends down to the middle of the back. It helps moves the head and shoulder blades. Many people train their traps in a shoulder workout.
Best Back Workouts For Women
Our goal with these workouts is to build a toned back that looks amazing and improves your overall health and fitness. We have included five workouts in this article for ladies at different experience levels. The resistance band back workout is perfect for when you don’t have access to a gym.
Beginner Back Workout For Women
Women that are just starting their fitness journey should perform foundational exercises that will help them build a solid base and improve their mind-muscle connection. Your focus with this workout will be to drill each movement until you know them, like the back of your hand.
Seek expert advice to learn the correct technique for performing these exercises. Hiring a personal trainer can expedite your learning process, lower your risk of injury, and fast-track your progress.
Advanced Back Workout For Women
Ladies with at least a few months of lifting experience should graduate to the advanced back workout. Use an assisted pull-up machine or a spotter if you cannot perform bodyweight pull-ups.
You’ll also be doing rear delt flyes for the rear delts and barbell shrugs for the trapezius muscle in this workout. Expect this workout to take between 45-60 minutes. However, keep your rest durations between sets limited to 30-60 seconds to maintain a high training intensity.
Machine-Only Back Workout For Women
Machines follow a fixed movement trajectory, which can help you focus on establishing a mind-muscle connection and achieve muscle-ripping pumps. Plus, machine workouts take less time than free-weight workouts, which is a boon for lifters on a tight schedule.
You can swap the GHD back extension with a conventional back extension if you lack the posterior chain strength to perform the exercise. Focus on contracting your muscles with each rep to get the most out of this workout.
Resistance Band Back Workout For Women
The resistance band back workout is an excellent place to start for beginners and when you are traveling. Contrary to what most people think, you don’t always need free weights or machines to build a chiseled physique. Resistance bands help maintain constant tension on your muscles throughout the motion, helping induce hypertrophy.
We recommend using loop bands for this workout; grab the heaviest bands you can find. Furthermore, you’ll be performing a higher number of reps in this workout than in the other workouts to ensure you’re not leaving anything in the tank.
HIIT Back Workout For Women
HIIT, or high-intensity interval training, workouts consist of short periods of high-intensity exercises followed by periods of rest or lower-intensity exercises. A HIIT workout aims to push your body to its maximum capacity in a short period. It is a great training protocol for breaking through strength and muscle plateaus. Furthermore, it is perfect for folks that can only dedicate 30 minutes to a training regimen.
You’ll perform five rounds of this HIIT workout. Do each exercise for 30 seconds and rest for 10 seconds after completing a movement. You are allowed a 60-second rest after completing each round.
Read more: HIIT Workouts for Women: 6 Best Workout Plans, Benefits, and Pro Tips
Back Workout Tips For Women
Follow these tips for carving a head-turning back:
Focus on Form
Beginners must prioritize lifting with the correct form instead of chasing heavy weights. Using a picture-perfect form maximizes an exercise’s muscle and strength-building potential and reduces the risk of injury.
Plus, focus on contracting your target muscles with each rep. Going through the motions for the sake of it won’t cut it. Slow down your rep tempo if you have trouble establishing a mind-muscle connection.
Progressive Overload
Progressive overload is the name of the game when it comes to building muscle mass. You could make your workouts harder and increase your training volume and intensity by lifting heavier, doing more sets and reps, shortening your rest duration between sets, or incorporating advanced training techniques like super sets, drop sets, intraset stretching, rest-pause sets, etc.
You must gradually increase the demands placed on your muscles. It will challenge your muscles to adapt and improve, leading to gains in strength, muscle size, and overall fitness.
You Don’t Have To Reinvent The Wheel
Many exercisers tend to do too much too soon. These people think that doing out-of-the-box exercises will speed up their progress. However, this is not the case. You don’t have to join a cult or follow a charlatan to build a chiseled back. The exercises mentioned in this article are all you need to develop a shapely back.
Nutrition and Sleep
You cannot out-train a bad diet and recovery program. You must back your workouts with a balanced diet to optimize muscle growth. Further, a seven to eight-hour sleep is a must as it allows your body enough time to rest and recuperate between workouts.
Since the back is a large muscle group, perform one of the workouts mentioned in this article weekly. As you gain more experience, you could perform two weekly back workouts to expedite your back growth. However, avoid doing more than two back workouts a week as it increases your risk of overtraining.
Change Grips
Performing the same exercise with a different hand grip can target your muscles differently. For example, you could do a barbell bent-over row with an underhand or overhand grip. You could also perform the seated cable row with a supinated, pronated, or neutral grip to train your back from different angles.
Why Building a Strong Back is Important For Women?
Incorporating back workouts into your training regimen entails the following advantages:
Improves Aesthetics
Building a bigger back can add to your physique aesthetics. It can create an illusion of a smaller waist and broader shoulders, which are essential features of an hourglass figure. A diced back will also make you look stunning in backless dresses and tank tops.
Promotes a Better Posture
Most of us spend the majority of our days hunched over a computer or phone screen. Training our backs can help improve our posture by strengthening the muscles responsible for maintaining a proper upright position. Plus, back exercises can increase back flexibility and mobility, which can help pull the shoulders back, open up the chest, and align the spine in its natural S-shape curvature.
Helps Burns Calories
Your back is the second-biggest muscle group. Performing an intense back workout that involves compound (multi-joint) exercises can spike your heart rate, helping you burn a decent amount of calories. Plus, back workouts help increase overall muscle mass and boost metabolism, both of which lead to a higher calorie expenditure even when you are physically inactive. However, if your goal is to burn more calories, you should follow the HIIT back workout listed in this article.
Boosts Functionality
Most back exercises are functional movements that improve overall strength, mobility, and stability. Your back plays a crucial role in many everyday activities, such as lifting, carrying, and bending, as well as in sports and other physical activities. Balanced back workouts improve your performance in all these activities while reducing your risk of injury.
Help Alleviate Lower Back Pain
Training your spine-supporting muscles (erector spinae) in your back workout can help alleviate and reduce the risk of lower back pain, especially in women with large breasts or those that remain seated for most of the day.
FAQs
How can women build a toned back?
Building a chiseled back requires following a balanced back workout focusing on building muscle mass and strength. Perform one of the workouts given in this article weekly for 12 weeks to see noticeable back development. You could also switch between the workouts to add variety to your training regimen.
Should men and women follow different back workouts?
No exercise is gender specific. The workouts in this article can be used by men and women alike. With that said, girls don’t need to worry about building a cobra back like their male counterparts. The ladies don’t produce enough testosterone to build the same amount of muscle mass as men.
How to program a back workout for hypertrophy and strength gains?
The number of sets, reps, and exercises you perform and your workout intensity will depend on your training goals. Perform 3 sets of 8-12 reps of an exercise and rest 60-90 minutes between sets if you want to build muscle mass. On the other hand, do 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps of an exercise with 2-5 minutes of rest between sets if you want to maximize strength. [1]
Wrapping Up
To carry the heavy burden of the world, you must have a strong back. The five back workouts for women listed in this article will help improve your posture, boost your functional fitness and calorie expenditure, and enhance your physique aesthetics.
These workouts are apt for women of any experience level. Furthermore, the HIIT back training session is great for ladies on a tight schedule. Pair these workouts with a balanced recovery program for optimal results. Best of luck!
References
Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.
Bicep Curl Drop Set: Pump Your Guns and Maximize Muscle Gain!
The biceps are arguably the most loved muscle group. It is common to hear people skip leg days, but you’ll never hear of anyone missing arm day. Although the biceps curl ranks high on every lifter’s favorite exercise list, only a few have guns worth showing off.
The biceps is a small muscle group, and most lifters rely on curls (an isolation exercise) to add inches to their arms. Nonetheless, only a few succeed.
Usually, exercisers oscillate between doing too little and too much in their arms training regimen. While the first technique lacks training intensity to spark new muscle tissue growth, the latter leads to overtraining. Furthermore, both these techniques lead to a training plateau.
This is where the drop sets come in. Drop sets help increase your training intensity by adding more sets and reps to your training regimen, helping ignite new muscle growth and break through plateaus. Drop sets boost muscle growth by significantly enhancing your target muscle’s time under tension.
To build biceps that surpass people’s imagination, you must put in the work that most people cannot fathom. The bicep curl drop set is a step in the right direction.
The drop set is an advanced training technique that is not for the faint of heart. “Muscle-ripping pump” is a popular term in training jargon. Most lifters throw it around like it’s nobody’s business. The truth is that most trainers have never experienced a “muscle-ripping pump,” unless that is, they try the drop set.
In this article, we go over everything you need to learn about the biceps curl drop set to build bigger and stronger pythons, including the definition, step-by-step instructions, sample biceps drop set workout, its benefits, and tips to make the most of them.
What is a Drop Set?
A drop set is an advanced resistance training technique that helps spark hypertrophy by shocking your muscles through an uptick in training intensity. In a drop set, you perform an exercise with an appropriate weight for the desired number of repetitions, then lighten the load by 10–30% and perform another set to failure without pausing for rest between sets.
The number of reps you will perform will depend on your training objectives. Research has shown that performing 1-3 sets of 8-12 reps of an exercise with an appropriate weight is optimal for building muscle mass. On the other hand, 3-5 sets of 1-5 reps are ideal for building strength. [1]
Training for muscle failure in two non-stop sets fills your muscles with blood and lactic acid, which stretches the fascia and supplies your muscle fibers with the required nutrients for muscle growth.
You could also do a double drop set to take your muscle pumps to the next level. A double drop set involves dropping weights twice in the same set. To do a double drop set, complete a set to failure, lighten the load by 10-30%, and do another set; complete the round by doing another set after reducing the load by 10-30%.
Here is a sample barbell biceps curl double drop set using 95 pounds:
Set 1: 12 reps [95 pounds]
Set 2: Failure (8-12 reps) [85 pounds]
Set 3: Failure (8-12 reps) [65 pounds]
While performing a drop set, you must ensure that you’re following a picture-perfect form. Using momentum or a sleazy form increases your risk of injury as your muscles are already fatigued. You must stop your set as soon as you notice your form slipping.
How to Perform a Biceps Curl Drop Set
The drop set technique can be used for any biceps curl exercise. For the sake of this article, we’ll consider the dumbbell biceps curl. Drop sets require more logistical planning than traditional dumbbell curl sets. Hence, you must ensure that you already have everything you need by your side before you begin the drop set. Stopping to look for weights drops your training intensity and will hamper your muscle-building potential.
Use the following pointers to incorporate the biceps curl into your training schedule:
Choose The Weight
Most lifters are confused about the weights they should be lifting on the biceps curl drop set. While some people bite off more than they can chew, exposing themselves to an injury, others undersell themselves, leaving gains on the table.
As a rule of thumb, you should start your drop set with a weight that allows you to complete 8-12 reps of an exercise with the perfect form. Then, you must not lighten the load by more than 30% for the drop set to ensure optimal small-twitch muscle fiber stimulation. You must choose a weight that allows you to complete 8-12 reps in the drop sets.
For example, if you perform the first set of a dumbbell bicep curl with 45-pound dumbbells, you can only drop the weight to 30 pounds for the drop set. You can then use 20-pound dumbbells for the double-drop set.
Decreasing the weight in small increments (5-10%) can limit the number of repetitions you can perform. You must, however, ensure that you fail in the 8-12 rep range to induce hypertrophy and improve your muscle endurance.
Setup
Many lifters make the mistake of starting the bicep curl drop set without the proper engagement. While doing the dumbbell bicep curl drop set, you should have the 2-3 sets of dumbbells you will use around you and in your reach before starting the exercise.
Looking for dumbbells for your drop sets in the middle of your set will hamper your training intensity. If you wait too long between sets, you’ll end up recruiting your fast-twitch muscle fibers instead of the slow-twitch fibers, beating the purpose of this advanced training technique.
Plan
To make the most of drop sets, you must program them into your workouts strategically. Plan your workouts a week in advance so that you don’t end up using drop sets more than once in a workout and twice a week. Using this training technique too frequently can result in overtraining, increasing your risk of injury and leading you to a plateau.
Training Experience
The ‘advanced’ in advance resistance training technique exists for a reason. Beginners must resist the temptation of using drop sets in their workouts. Furthermore, you should only use it in exercises you have mastered. Experimenting with drop sets in a lift you are still learning increases your risk of injury.
Sample Bicep Curl Drop Set Workout
Given below is a biceps workout that involves a superset of dumbbell biceps curls:
In this workout, we have programmed the drop sets at the end to end the workout on a high. Start with the heaviest dumbbells and do as many reps as possible. Without resting between sets, switch to lighter dumbbells and curl to failure. Lighten the weights again, and work to failure without stopping for rest.
Benefits of Drop Set
Adding the drop set advanced training technique to your exercise regimen entails the following advantages:
Helps Build Muscle Mass
A 2018 study found that drop sets delivered more muscle gains by stimulating slow-twitch muscle fiber growth than the conventional sets during a six-week resistance training protocol. [2]
Drop sets are an incredibly versatile training principle. You could use them in any workout and for any exercise. You can do a drop set at the start of a workout to pre-exhaust your muscles, in the middle of the workout, or at the end to finish your training session with a mind-numbing pump.
Drop sets fill your muscles with blood and lactic acid, which stretches the fascia around the muscle and delivers the required nutrients to the muscle tissue for growth.
Improves Muscle Endurance
Our muscles consist of two types of muscle fibers — slow and fast-twitch. Although conventional strength training exercises are great for engaging fast-twitch muscle fibers, they do little to nothing for the slow-twitch fibers. The slow-twitch muscle fibers are endurance-based, meaning they require a greater time under tension than the fast-twitch fibers to fire up, and this is exactly what the drop sets deliver.
A study published in The Journal of Sports Medicine and Physical Fitness found that a single set of drop set can lead to better muscle gains than three sets of a conventional resistance training exercise. [3]
Time Effective
Drop sets are a great way to get a lot of work done in a short period. Folks that have hit a plateau and need to up their training volume but cannot afford to spend another 30-45 minutes in the gym should turn to drop sets.
Most drop sets take 15-20 seconds to complete. Lifters that generally do 15 sets in a workout can boost their training volume by 20% just by doing three drop sets of an exercise. Not to mention the insane training intensity that can be achieved using this training principle.
Bicep Curl Drop Set Tips
Here are some bicep curl drop set tips to get the best bang for your buck:
Exercise Type
Prefer doing drop sets in isolation exercises like the biceps curl that focus on a single muscle group. Since compound exercises have multiple moving parts, the risk of injury is significantly higher while doing drop sets.
Lifters tend to compromise on their form on compound lifts like the squat when fatigue starts to set in, increasing their odds of injury. It is easier to bail on a bicep curl drop set rep than to get out of a squat mid-rep.
Sets
You should not do drop sets for more than one exercise in a workout, as it can cause muscle overexertion, increasing your risk of injury. Furthermore, avoid doing more than double drop sets at a time.
Notably, ‘run the rack’ is another advanced training technique that is growing in popularity and involves lightening the load until you lift the lightest weight on the rack. It is a drop set variation that should be reserved for advanced athletes. The high volume and intensity of multiple drop sets can result in a lousy form and an unprecedented strain on your muscles, multiplying your injury odds.
Frequency
Since drop sets are so effective in delivering a muscle pump, many lifters tend to overdo them, increasing overtraining risk. Overtraining affects your central nervous system, and depending on your genetics and recovery program, it might take you months to come out of this phase.
You must limit drop set use to one exercise per workout. Furthermore, avoid performing drop sets more than twice weekly to allow your muscle enough time to recover from your high-intensity workouts.
Are Bicep Curl Drop Sets Safe?
Drop sets are an advanced resistance training technique and should not be used by newbies and rookie lifters. As you start incorporating drop sets into your training regimen, it should be done under an expert’s supervision to minimize the risk of injury.
You must then choose an appropriate weight and exercise for the drop set. Use a weight you can control for 8-12 reps per set and an exercise you have mastered. Doing drop sets on an unfamiliar exercise puts you in a delicate position, and a slight misstep can lead to an injury.
Wrapping Up
The bicep curl drop set is an advanced resistance training technique that will push your limits and challenge your muscles like never before. It will increase your training intensity by increasing the time under tension, helping you avoid and break through a training plateau.
Rookie lifters should start with the conventional drop sets, whereas more advanced lifters can utilize the double drop sets to fill their guns with blood and lactic acid. Finally, you must strategically program the drop sets into your biceps training routine. Doing too much too soon can lead to overtraining, which can stall your growth.
References
Krzysztofik M, Wilk M, Wojdała G, Gołaś A. Maximizing Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review of Advanced Resistance Training Techniques and Methods. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019 Dec 4;16(24):4897. doi: 10.3390/ijerph16244897. PMID: 31817252; PMCID: PMC6950543.
Fink J, Schoenfeld BJ, Kikuchi N, Nakazato K. Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength. J Sports Med Phys Fitness. 2018 May;58(5):597-605. doi: 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06838-4. Epub 2017 Apr 26. PMID: 28474868.
Fink, Julius & Schoenfeld, Brad & Kikuchi, Naoki & Nakazato, Koichi. (2017). Effects of drop set resistance training on acute stress indicators and long-term muscle hypertrophy and strength. The Journal of sports medicine and physical fitness. 58. 10.23736/S0022-4707.17.06838-4.
Contrast Sets for Maximal Muscle Growth
Contrast Sets for Maximal Muscle Growth
Goal of contrast sets: Increase total power potential through utilization of dynamic/explosive exercises combined with compound strength movements. And of course maximize muscle growth.
The traditional path to building muscle is 3-4 sets of 6-12 reps for 4-6 different exercises. Do this consistently while prioritizing your sleep and protein intake, and you’ll see noticeable gains. While this approach is proven to be effective, overtime it can lead to stagnation or even regression in a lifter’s program due to the lack of strength and power development.
Why Strength and Power Matters for Muscle Mass
When it comes to building muscle, an athlete should prioritize getting stronger and increasing their total power output. Strength training combined with dynamic/explosive movements results in increased muscle fiber recruitment and CNS (central nervous system) stimulation. An increase in muscle fiber recruitment results in greater potential for hypertrophy.
Since power is the fast display of strength, you can’t be powerful without being strong first. Or as Louie Simmons said, you can’t shoot a cannonball out of a canoe.
Power = Force x Velocity OR Strength x Speed
Power potential enhances neurological efficiency and your ability to generate force quickly. Force is dependant on your ability to recruit the high threshold motor units (HTMU) required for a specific movement pattern (1). So in order to stimulate these HTMU, power/explosive training should be incorporated into your programming.
One of the most tried and true methods for increasing total power output is using what’s known as contrast training or contrast sets.
What are contrast sets?
A contrast set is a strength movement followed by a dynamic/explosive movement. The strength exercise involved in this pairing acts as a “primer” for the explosive movement. By performing a max or sub maximal effort lift for 2-4 reps, your CNS is “heightened” and your ability to express force in the form of a dynamic movement pattern is enhanced. This is what’s known as post-activation potentiation.
Post activation potentiation is a theory that states that the contractile history of a muscle influences the mechanical performance of subsequent muscle contractions (2). The idea isn’t to fatigue your muscles with long duration exercise, but instead utilize higher loads for fewer reps to enhance subsequent muscle performance.
Most traditional “bodybuilding” rep ranges fail to enhance the lifter’s neural drive or total power output. Overtime, the lifter may experience plateaus or regressions in their strength and muscle “gains” since they’re not exposing their muscle fibers to a higher degree of output.
What’s more, our power and cognitive function decline as we continue to age. So it’s imperative to incorporate explosive and dynamic exercises into a lifter’s program to not just delay the inevitable effects of aging, but to improve intramuscular coordination.
Contrast sets don’t just make you more powerful, they lay the foundation for hypertrophy gains to continue (especially as we age).
Training Guidelines for Contrast Sets
Focus on building strength first. Remember, power is strength x speed. You can’t display strength quickly if you’re not strong! Contrast sets are reserved for those who have been lifting consistently and have a solid foundation of strength. This is an advanced training method.
Always warm-up. I know, you want to just to get into it. I get it. Even so, make sure you warm-up beforehand. You’ll get more out of your training.
Use similar movement patterns for exercise pairings. For contrast sets to work, both of the exercises should be similar (to a degree) in terms of movement pattern while utilizing similar muscle groups. For example, it wouldn’t make sense to do a heavy bench press and then squat jumps. Instead, something like explosive push-ups or med ball tosses would pair well with a bench press given the movement and muscle recruitment similarities.
Lift 80-85% of your 1RM for 2-4 reps. This is a general guideline. The idea of the strength movement is to treat it as a strength movement for maximal muscle fibre/CNS recruitment before performing the following explosive exercise. It wouldn’t make sense to do 10 back squats and pump a bunch of blood to your legs before box jumps. That’s how you fuck yourself up (sorry CrossFit).
The strength movement should be no longer than 10-15 sec in duration. Piggybacking of that last point, the initial strength movement is meant to “excite” or “heighten” your muscles and nervous system, not completely gas them out.
Move the weight FAST. To quote Louie again, you can’t move a heavy weight slowly. It may look like it’s moving slow, but you need to be thinking fast. Focus on lifting with maximal effort and moving the weight as fast as possible during the concentric portion of the lift with optimal form and technique.
Do 2-4 reps for the explosive/dynamic exercise. Your ATP levels (your muscle’s energy source) deplete rapidly as you perform high intensity activities like plyometric or ballistic training. Fewer reps will allow you to focus on quality and
Only do contrast sets 1-2 x per week. Training for power has a toll, and the fee is hefty. 1-2 contrast workouts per week is plenty. Be sure to recover between sessions with good sleep and eating.
Don’t immediately jump into the explosive exercise. This is a general rule of thumb when I program supersets for most of my clients anyway, but this especially applies to contrast sets. You don’t want to do the subsequent explosive exercise huffing and puffing or in a state of fatigue. Your form will break down and you won’t perform to your potential. This isn’t a race and you don’t get a medal for sprinting to the next exercise as fast as you can. Take at least 10-15 seconds to regroup before performing the second exercise. But note that taking too long of a break between exercises can be detrimental to your performance as well since your “heightened state” (aka post activation potentiation) begins to fade roughly beyond 15 sec.
Recover between contrast sets. Contrast sets pair a strength movement and an explosive exercise together, which means it takes a lot out of your body (and nervous system). Rest at least 3-5 minutes (maybe even slightly longer) between sets.
4-6 total contrast sets for 1-2 different pairings is plenty. Top that off with 1-2 small accessory exercises (delts, biceps, triceps…whatever you’re training that day) and you’re good to go.
Examples of Contrast Sets
A1. Box Squat x 3
A2. Box Jump x 2
Both movements are knee-dominant lower body exercises in a bilateral setting, so the pairing here makes sense.
B1. Heavy Sled Push x 20 yards
B2. Sprint x 40 yards
Ever push a heavy ass sled? It sucks. But it’ll make you tough and pack meat on your legs. The heavy sled followed by a sprint is a good pairing since both movements involve projecting the body forward unilaterally (one leg at a time).
C1. Bench Press x 2
C2. Explosive Push-Ups x 4
You should be doing more push-ups. Everyone should be. Try doing a heavy bench then some explosive push-ups and thank me later. You’ll get stronger and your shirts will fit better.
D1. Deadlift x 3
D2. Kettlebell Swing x 4
Both are hip-dominant hinging patterns with similar muscle recruitment in the glutes, hamstrings, and muscles surrounding the core/lower back.
E1. Deadlift x 2
E2. Overhead Med Ball Throw x 2
An overhead med ball throw pairs well with a heavy deadlift since it involves extension of the knees and hip (both seen in the deadlift), but in an explosive setting.
Summary
Contrast training or contrast sets are one of the best ways to develop power and induce hypertrophy as we continue to age given the neurological benefits associated with it.
References
STRENGTH; Joe Defranco, Jim Smith. 2014; 287
Robbins DW. Post-Activation Potentiation and its Practical Applicability: A Brief Review. J Strength Cond Res. 2005; 19: 453–458
5 Best Ways of Fixing Muscle Imbalances
If you’re like most mortal beings, there are high chances that you have at least one muscular imbalance. Your right bicep might be bigger than the left or your right quad might be more striated than the left.
Before we begin, let us tell you that there is nothing wrong with muscle imbalances, and you shouldn’t panic if you have one. Muscle disproportions are a common phenomenon. If you are right-handed, there are high chances that your right limbs are stronger than the left.
Start Your Exercises With The Weaker Side
Every individual has a particular side he starts his exercises with. For example, you might always start with your right side when performing exercises like the dumbbell bicep curls, walking lunges, bent-over dumbbell rows, etc.
Our minds get into an overdrive mode as soon as we lift the weights and we subconsciously begin a set with the same side every time. If your mind-muscle connection isn’t great, you might start to develop a muscle imbalance over time. If you’re suffering from the problem, it’s time to switch your starting side.
Unilateral Exercises
Unilateral exercises are the lifts where you perform the desired numbers of reps on one side before switching sides. In the orthodox exercises, there are chances of the dominant side taking over which can lead to the weaker side lagging.
This technique allows you to effectively isolate one side of the body and control the total training stimulus. You’ll also be able to establish a better mind-muscle connection as you only need to focus on one muscle at a time.
Raise Your Training Intensity
When some people notice a muscle imbalance, they reduce the work they do with their dominant side. This is a noob mistake. Doing this isn’t going to fix your muscle imbalance. It’ll only make your stronger side weak and the lagging side weaker.
Following on from the point above, you should start with the weaker side first and you can let it determine the amount of work your stronger side does. Doing this will stop it from outworking the weaker side.
Do Additional Work on the Weaker Side
One of the most effective ways of fixing a muscle imbalance is to put more miles on the weaker side. For example, if you perform 10 dumbbell curls on your stronger side, you should perform 12 on the weaker until the muscle imbalance curve flattens.
On the other hand, you could also increase the load on your weaker side while performing the same number of reps on both sides. For example, perform 10 reps using a 20lb dumbbell on the stronger side and a 22.5lb dumbbell on the lagging side.
Go to the Root of the Problem
Finally, you need to figure out what is causing the muscle imbalance. If you don’t get to the root of the cause, it’s highly likely that it may occur again in the future at some point. The issue generally is with your training technique, occupational activity or mobility.
Once you know the problem you can work on improving your technique, flexibility or mobility. Working on that area which will help ensure the imbalance doesn’t come back after you’ve fixed it.
Which is your favorite exercise? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.
5 Reasons Why You’ve Stopped Gaining Muscle
Reasons Why You’ve Hit A Plateau
Not seeing gains even after working out regularly can be as frustrating as sex without climax. No matter how fun, exciting and tantalizing the process might be, you want to see the final result.
Everything is meaningless without the outcome because that’s why we start something in the first place. Enough with the sex references – let’s talk about the main reasons why you’re not seeing an improvement in your physique.
Mortifying Training Program
Most people make the mistake of following the same exercises over and over again. Why do we need new exercises, you ask? Remember how walking from a grocery store to the car with a handfull of bags felt hard for the first few times but became second nature by the 5-6th time?
This is exactly what happens with resistance training. Your muscles grow bigger and stronger when you perform new exercises. If you aren’t constantly shocking your muscles with new exercises and training techniques, your progress with halt.
Diet?
When people start working out, most of them see some gains irrespective of their diet and training programs. The progress with an unstructured approach makes them feel like all they need to do is lift a little iron and they’ll keep seeing gains for eternity – until they don’t.
If you haven’t already taken out the time to learn about a balanced diet, it’s time you should get familiar with macro and micronutrients and counting calories. Eating high carb and protein, and a fat-restricted diet should be your goal if you want to put on quality muscle mass.
Loving Thy Comfort Zone
Look around your gym and you’ll probably see someone lifting weights that they’ve been lifting for months. The irony is that these people are disappointed when they don’t see the needle budge in the right direction.
You should always plan on doing more than what you did the last time in the weight room. Nothing meaningful ever comes out of being inside your comfort zone. Once you start pushing yourself, you’ll realize how much your body is capable of.
Indiscipline
Being indisciplined is one of the biggest gains killers. Many people fail to realize this but it is called a training ‘program’ for a reason. Once you sign up for a transformation, you can’t afford to miss a single training session or meal.
You need to have a fixed training schedule – the time at which you reach the gym and how long you train for daily shouldn’t change depending on external variable factors like going out for dinner with friends and family or even work.
Being Wolverine
Although the number is too small, some people hit a plateau because they have been overtraining and don’t give enough time to their bodies for recovering and recuperating from their workouts.
Unlike Wolverine, you can’t recover from a training session just by looking at your sore muscles. For optimal recovery, your goal should be to sleep for at least 7-8 hours every night.
You should also consider using recovery supplements if you feel that your muscles are too sore for too long. If muscle gain is the lock, a balanced diet, training and recovery program is the key.
What is your current and goal body weight? Let us know in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.