Apples are Bad for you!

Everything you eat is bad for you!

The above statement isn’t quite true, it should read everything you eat CAN be bad for you. But, in the same way it can be bad for you, it can also be good for you. That’s right! EVERYTHING you eat can be good for you.

What’s good and what’s bad? 
To answer this you don’t look at the micronutrients the food provides, nor do you look at the macronutrients, you don’t even consider whether it is homemade or not. The key feature to making a food good or bad is looking at it within the context of the entire diet. 

Without context you cannot say something is healthy, unhealthy, good or bad. So if you ask me, ‘is this a good thing to eat?’ I will say, ‘it depends on the rest of your diet’. It seems annoying at first, can’t their just be good and bad foods. Those good foods cannot make us fat, they make us big, strong, lean, toned and all that great stuff we want. This simply isn’t the case.

Take an apple, apples are good right? They’re high in fibre, micro dense and contain few calories.

How an Apple can be bad for you
That’s right, I am going to tell you how an apple can be bad for you, yes an Apple! Right so to make this qualification you know what we need? Context.

Take Alex, he is looking to drop some fat before his holiday. Alex likes apples and he has been told they are good for him, so he grabs one whenever hungry.

In Alex’s eyes apples are always good, they can’t stop his progress. Well that is where Alex thought wrong. Sure maybe 1 or 2 apples were fine, but if Alex ate enough they would take him out of a calorie deficit and even take him into a surplus.

If Alex did this consistently apples could literally be stopping him losing weight, and could even make him gain fat, and in that case for Alex’s goals those apples were bad.

Apples can stop you losing fat and even make you gain it.

How Ice Cream can be good for you
No way, ice cream, processed, full of sugar and fat, ice cream can never be classified as good for you? Wrong. It can, given the right context. This is where what at first seemed annoying, is actually a blessing.

Take Michelle, she is also trying to drop weight. Michelle knows that she needs to be in a calorie deficit to do this. Michelle also knows that micronutrition is important, she makes sure to eat mainly wholesome, nutritious food. 80% of her diet consists of that typically ‘good’ stuff.

Michelle also knows that if she restricts herself from certain foods, she ends up breaking her diet and binging. Michelle has a sweet tooth and loves ice cream. Each day she consumes a small bowl of ice cream with berries, enough to satisfy her sweet tooth, but not so much to take her out of calorie deficit or deprive her of micronutrition. That ice cream is good!

Ice cream allows Michelle to be consistent, and is in the context of a calorie deficit and micronutrient dense diet. Ice cream can allow you to drop fat.

The Bigger Picture
Don’t miss the entire diet and lifestyle for the one off meal choices or foods. Or in other words, don’t miss the forest for the trees. That means look at the bigger picture and this means viewing these things in context. Given the right context any food can be described as good or bad, as shown above.

The Bottom Line
To make sure you are eating only foods that are good, you need to make sure they are taking you towards your goals. Everyone should be seeking to be healthy, that means you want to get in sufficient micronutrient dense foods. Once you have eaten enough of these, so long as you remain within your overall nutritional limits for your goals, you can eat anything you like.

To get a better idea about how much your body needs and what exactly each macronutrient does for you be sure to check out my articles Need to know nutritionPart 1 and Part 2.

Why Sir Mix Alot is right

(_E=MC2_)

Above is a Smart Ass, it isn’t an ordinary butt, to be an educated bottom is a great thing, and as we are being brainy lets start calling them glutes. The glutes are one of the most underrated muscle groups by your typical gym goer, but they perform many vital roles for powerlifters, bodybuilders, footballers, gymnasts, men and women…the list goes on.

What role do the glutes play?

• Help with knee stability.
• Secure the joints of the lower back, helping prevent pain.
• Extend the hips.
• Externally rotate the hips.

So we can see the glutes really have some vital roles, not only do they play a major part in sprinting, lunging, squatting, deadlifting etc. but they help keep us healthy by securing our knees and lower back.

Plus in the words of Sir Mix Alot “my anaconda don’t want none unless you got buns, hun”….

How to build a Smart Ass
So now we know how important the glutes are I am going to go over how to maximise their development. According to Bret Contreras your weapon of choice should be the hip thrust. Bret does a terrific video explanation that can be viewed here.

The Hip Thrust
To get better glutes than average, you need to do more than the lay person. Great glutes require work and sacrifice, hip thrusts are not the most glamorous or comfortable exercise, but they work the butt like nothing else.

Here is your step by step guide on performing the hip thrust:

1. You will need a bench, barbell and a pad or matt. Get some olympic size weights on the bar, place the bench against a secure platform.
2. Get down into position, placing your back against the bench, just below your shoulder blades. Get the pad and place it around the barbell. Roll the bar over yourself and rest it on your pubic bone
3. Your stance wants to be around hip to shoulder width apart, with toes forward or pointing slightly out.
4. Wedge yourself into this position, that means get nice and snug, and before you begin the lift take a deep breath and brace your core.
5. Make sure you push through your heels, by raising up onto you heels you may find you get more glute activation.
6. Be sure to fully extend, locking out the hips.
7. Shins should remain roughly vertical at the top of the lift, do not allow your knees to extend over your toes.
8. Make reps fluid and smooth and control the negative portion of the rep, coming to mid-air or all the way to the ground.
9. Really focus on pushing with the glutes and hold the final rep at full extension for 3-10 seconds.
10. You performed a successful round of thrusts :).

You can programme this lift into your workouts in many different ways, just like any exercise, you can do straight sets, pyramid sets, rep max sets or plus sets etc. I recommend whatever you do you periodise this exercise, to help develop the glutes best.

For example: Week 1 – 3×15, Week 2 – 4×10, Week 3 – 5×5 and repeat.

Now you have one key move that will take you towards building that Smart Ass! There are a huge number of varieties, all brilliant in their own way.

Join Team Revive in the current trend that is the #hipthrustselfie and thrusting, Sir Mix Alot, your spouse and lifts will thank you for it #ReviveStronger

Further Reading:

• Losing Fat is Hard 
• The Importance of Context
• Why You Need a Coach 

How to [Eat Pizza Daily] & Stay Lean

Achieving Adaptability

The person who can eat anything they like, and often does, without any problems, can consume the most amazing food combinations without any issues.

This individual must have amazing metabolic health and adaptability. Everyone has this ability (bar those rare few with dietary misfortunes) to eat everything and anything, yet remain healthier than ever.

Achieving Amazing Metabolic Health

Your metabolism is a wonderful thing, it is incredibly adaptable and will change according to what it is given. It’s simply the total sum of energy burnt by our bodies. Whether it be brushing your teeth, digesting food, lifting weights or keeping you warm, all of these things add up to be your metabolism.
So how do we make our metabolisms amazing, so we can eat pizza daily? The most important thing you can do is to not restrict food intake needlessly. If you are constantly eating less than your body needs, your metabolism, being the adaptable bugger it is, will adjust downwards, meaning you will burn less total energy. So make sure to eat well, and by well I mean do not needlessly restrict intake.

Another simple addition to the above can be to move. It doesn’t need to be a load, but please avoid being sedentary for long periods of time. The largest component of our metabolic burn is our Non Exercise Activity Thermogensis or NEAT. This is the energy used for all movement outside of formal exercise, so it is the walking to the shops, cleaning our rooms and getting down in the bed room. That stuff really adds up! Stop laughing…

To take it a step further you can further ramp your metabolic rate up by implementing a few dietary changes. Protein out of all the macronutrients takes the most energy to be digested. So by changing the macro composition of our diet we can increase our metabolic rate. Also make sure you’re eating in a balanced way, that means not restricting any foods unnecessarily. Our body loves carbs, they provide the best fuel for us to perform exercise. You should be eating them if you want to get the most from your training.

And finally there is exercise, most people think that this has a dramatic impact on our total energy burn, but as I said previously NEAT is the biggest factor. However, it is an important aspect of having amazing metabolic health. I am going to start with the exercise to avoid, and that is slow, utterly boring, steady state cardio. That stuff really aint going to to do much for your metabolism. Our bodies will adapt to it in a jiffy, one month you might be burning 300 calories doing an incline walk for 30 minutes at 5mph, the next month you will definitely be burning less.

You want to be purposely increasing the intensity, volume and or distance of your chosen exercise. This way your body is continually adapting upwards, and you’ll be getting stronger and fitter. However, this is where the catch 22 comes in, now you’re fitter and stronger, that means you’ll burn less energy doing day to day activities. BUT, you can now perform at higher intensities, recover faster and handle more work all of which leads to burning more calories. Don’t over think it, do exercise, make sure to get outside of your comfort zone. 

So now you have the knowledge of how to get amazing metabolic health, how do you go about achieving amazing adaptability?

Amazing Adaptability

Remember how I said our bodies are incredibly adaptable? This can work against us, I am going to show you how. If you eat an all vegetable diet, you will adapt to that, if you eat an all meat diet, you’ll adapt to that. If you eat an all raw food diet, you will get sick if you consume cooked food. If you want to consume wonderful worldly combinations of any food and remain healthy, you need to adapt to the modern food environment and be able to handle pretty much anything.

Do you really want to feel like crap when you eat out, or go to a friends for dinner because you’re not eating your special diet food? On the other hand, do you want to get stomach ache when you eat any sort of vegetable, due to only being used to eating processed food? No of course not. You want to be healthy, and have it all.The number of people who can eat whatever they want without becoming fat or ill doesn’t need to be just a ‘lucky’ few.

How do we get to that point? It really is simple; be sure to eat a diet that is varied, that means it includes processed foods, high fibre foods, calorie dense foods, low GI carbs, high GI carbs, you get the picture.

Now You are an Adaptable Metabolic Animal

If you follow the above, you will have the digestive and metabolic machinery to annihilate anything. You want to do your best to feed yourself well, be active and eat a varied diet that consists of mainly wholesome nutritious foods but with the occasional meal out, bowl of ice cream and take away pizza.

Go eat some great food, get out of breath, enjoy life and #ReviveStronger

Further Reading:

• Body Fat set point – fact or fiction?
• 2 Rules to a getting a 6 pack
• Why we suck in the short term

K Ponti – ‘I’m learning and participating in my own physical development’

K Ponti, what were your goals when signing up with me?

I have always struggled losing weight since I was a teenager. Additionally, I’m a really busy guy. I work 40+ hours in a sedentary office job and commute an hour to and from work daily. In my off time I tend to my family, girlfriend, and friends and I am also a musician, often having strange hours and eating schedules. I had been training on my own for a couple years but I kept running into training plateaus or injuries and would get set back months at a time.It felt like a grind and I decided I would look into getting an online coach.

 I was interested in working with Steve because he seemed to be a refreshing alternative to the ego-driven, fat-shaming coaching I typically ran into in the United States. Our focus has been two-fold: to cut my body fat down, and to gain strength to compete in a powerlifting meet.

What reservations if any did you have before we started working together?

I was worried it may be a scam (but I’m paranoid), I was worried I wouldn’t see results, and I was worried I would have to give up flexibility in my life around food.

How was I able to help you with your reservations?

Steve never skipped a beat. He started adapting things to me right away. I like that there are several different ways to get towards my goals and that it is always an option to try something different if things aren’t working. Also, Steve has a good understanding and compassion for the psychological aspect of this.

I’m a really busy guy, and Steve has worked with me to find routines that fit my schedule, lifestyle, and ability, and always tells me he can change things up if something does not work. And he’s always been very accessible. I can send him an email and he gets back to me within the day despite being across seas. Also, in the rare occasion I can’t reach Steve, I have access to the Team Revive community and can run my questions by them. They are a positive bunch of folks and I’m happy to be a part of that learning community.

In point form, can you list your achievements training with me thus far?

• Lost a lot of fat, dropping 14lbs.
• Stronger and with improved form, despite injuries and a caloric deficit.
• More knowledge about my own body.
• New eating habits that will sustain me in my long-term health.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

Steve is incredibly body-positive, non-shaming, encouraging, and focused on helping me reach my goals. He also has an incredible amount of knowledge that he is willing to share, and for me that’s what sold me: I’m not a mindless robot being told how to eat and how to train, I’m learning and participating in my own physical development, which is empowering.

I’m stoked with how my body has been progressing and with how much strength I’ve gained in such a short amount of time. I have more knowledge about my own body, and have gained new eating habits that will sustain me in my long-term health.

Steve is truly a pleasure to work with and I would recommend him to other male and female strength athletes, and anyone looking to transform the way they think about dieting and health.

I look forward to the next phase of my training and competing in a powerlifting meet this next year!

K Ponti came to me seeking to drop fat without it impacting his strength, but further to that he wanted to learn. His application form was incredibly detailed and I could tell he had put a lot of time and effort into his training a nutrition already. I changed things up pretty quickly, dropping his previously high fat intake and prioritising carbohydrates. Also K Ponti was doing a horrible cardio protocol 6 times a week, which I dropped right down as well. I am so proud of the results we have achieved together, it hasn’t been without its hardships but through K Ponti’s positive attitude and hard work we have got through it. I can also proudly say that when/if K Ponti decides to take the reigns of his own nutrition and training he has the knowledge of how to successfully do so.

Interested in online coaching? You can check out what I have to offer here.

The Supplement All Hardgainers Need

Struggling to gain weight? You need to consume more calories. Simple fact is, if you are not consuming more than you are burning, you ain’t gonna put on size son. I have found the ultimate solution to every hardgainers problem; sugar laden soft drinks. Fruit juices, ‘full fat’ Coke, none of that ‘diet’ sugar free rubbish.

If I catch any dude in the gym who says ‘I eat loads but never put on weight’ I am gonna hand them a coke. Why?

1) Sugary soft drinks contain a lot of calories. As said before you need to consume more calories than you burn if you want to gain weight. Liquid calories such as those from fruit juices or even better lucozade are very easy to consume and they are macronutrient dense.

2) They have no impact on our appetite. Studies have shown that people who drank full fat variety soft drinks didn’t compensate by eating less later on. That means they ate what they normally would and had these drinks on top of that. For the hard gainer this is mega handy, it means you can effortlessly increase your calorie intake.

3) Sugar sweetened soft drinks can increase our consumption. Yup they can actually make you eat more than you normally would, a double whammy for weight gain. Studies have even shown that if you feed people the same number of calories in sweet form rather than sugary drink form you’ll compensate and eat less. So as a hard gainer you are better off drinking your sugar than eating it.

So there you have it, sugary drinks are not just easy to consume in addition to our diet, they actually make us eat even more. Hence why they are the hardgainers solution, they ultimately will lead to weight gain.

What can we learn from the above?

Sugary drinks if awesome for hardgainers, those actively seeking to put on weight, who have a hard time eating enough, are therefore pretty awful for the rest of us.

1) They are ’empty calories’. They provide zero micronutrition, unless of course you opt for a fruit juice, but you would still be better off eating the whole fruit. Plus by eating the whole fruit you get fibre, which is very important for a healthy digestive system.

2) We don’t get any fullness from them. I suspect due to the lack of fibre and the ease of digestion our bodies don’t compensate for their consumption. This means we could easily end up over consuming total calories for the day and putting on weight.

The Solution

Right now I hope if you are a hardgainer you are sipping on a can of Coke, but anyone else reading this you are hopefully thinking sugary drinks are a no no. However, there are some ways around this fact.

1) If you track your nutrition they can be incorporated. The fact is our bodies might not be good for compensating for the sugary drink, but if you actively track your calorie intake then you will force a compensation. This is how a lot of my online clients drop fat, gain muscle and get in terrific shape, we track our nutrition. This also means we can enjoy everything and everything, just not always the amount we want. This approach to dieting is called flexible dieting or some know it as IIFYM (if it fits your macros).

2) Milk does get compensated for. Any liquid drink that contains milk or milk proteins has shown to be the equivalent to food. So our bodies do compensate for those calories by eating less. So please do not stop drinking milk.

3) Drink diet drinks. In the video below, that I made years ago and probably look and sound like an idiot, I explain how the current scientific studies don’t show any reason why we cannot drink diet sodas in moderation. Personally I drink a can of Pepsi Max once or twice a day. This also gives us a solution to those who currently drink sugary drinks and want to lose weight. Switch to a diet variety. A simple switch of 2 cans of Coke vs. Diet Coke would save you around 300 calories, if you drank 2 a day, over the course of a week that would save you 2100 calories, enough to spur weight loss.

Further Reading:

– If you want to gain Lean Muscle mass effectively or Lose Fat guaranteed then these two articles will get you in the right place Need to know nutrition Part 1 & Need to know nutrition Part 2 Practical Application.

– If you want to know how anything can be health or healthy given the right context then this article is for you The Importance of Context.

What we can learn from stinky cheese

Who Moved My Cheese?

Recently my dad recommended I read the book Who Moved my Cheese? He said it really opened his eyes, and thought I would benefit from it. So having just read the book, it did really make me think, and now I want to share it with you.

Imagine something you love, hold onto and cherish, this is your cheese. You work hard for this thing you care for so dearly, and feel you deserve it because of this.

Now imagine a situation in which the cheese is no longer there. No more cheese. It isn’t coming back, you can’t work harder to bring it back. It has gone, vanished, poof no more cheese.

What do you do? – this is the killer question.
I’m going to make it super easy and give you the answer right here: search out new cheese, life moves on and so should we. Sure we love our old cheese, it brought happiness.

Finding new cheese will be scary, but this is short lived. Trust me, the longer you leave hoping your cheese will return, the harder and scarier it will become. So act sooner rather than later. Once you move past fear, you’ll feel free and will enjoy yourself much more.

Plus you can make this process much easier on yourself. You can keep smelling your cheese, reassessing the situation as you go. By being proactive you will make finding new cheese dead easy. You will be ahead of the pack, and find better cheese.

Embrace change, just think change brings the potential of better things. Think you have it good now, you love that cheese, but think of a better cheese. By imagining yourself with new, better cheese, you will lead yourself to it.

Think about being productive, not just active. Sure consistency is brilliant, but if you consistently do something that is bringing no results, your simply being active for the sake of being active. However, if you change your ways, and make all your activity move you closer to new cheese, you’re being productive.

So who the hell cares who moved the cheese? Because, living in the past will not bring it back. Finding out who moved the cheese won’t bring it back. The cheese has gone. Search out new cheese, because life moves on and so should we.

I will tell you something, having someone to guide you to your new cheese can help a lot. Imagine the cheese is the body you always wanted, no doubt every time you reach that killer bod, you want more. A coach can lead you to that new cheese much faster, and will make sure you are proactive and productive in all your actions.

Hannah Davies – ‘adapted things to suit me’

Hannah, what were your goals when signing up with me?

I wanted to gain control over my eating habits and go onto a productive training programme.

What reservations if any did you have before we started working together?

I was worried that I may become obsessed with my eating and feel stressed by this. Furthermore, due to handing over control of my training, which I love I was worried I would enjoy it less.

How was I able to help you with your reservations?

Initially when we started I began tracking macro’s, however this brought out feelings of obsession and stressed me out. You were able to produce a system that stopped me stressing and kept my nutrition on point.

Also when developing my training programme you discussed with me your suggestions and allowed me to have my own input. I could then incorporate some of the exercises I love.

In point form, can you list your achievements training with me thus far?

• Control over my eating.
• Furthered my education in regards to nutrition.
• Faster progress in the gym, seeing positive strength increases.

I have really enjoyed working with Hannah, she presented new challenges that I had not encountered before. We got round these challenges together by developing a method of nutrition that she could understand, do easily and still be accountable towards. Furthermore, we made sure that her training was productive but also importantly something she would enjoy doing. I have seen Hannah become more and more confident in both aspects and I am very proud of what we have achieved to date.

Interested in online coaching? You can check out what I have to offer here.

So You Want To Become A Master?

Becoming a Master

Right so you want to squat like a boss, deadlift like yoda and bench press better than anyone else, you want to master these lifts. I do to, and so do my clients, so you are not alone and I am going to share with you how to progress over closer to lifting mastery.

Key to Masterhood
To become a master we must first know what is required, we must find the best and most efficient form for our anatomy. For some this might be ass to grass when squatting or maybe it’s just to parallel, just like you may be better suited for a sumo deadlift rather than conventional. So find out what form works best for your body. I am going to assume you have already addressed any mobility issues, if not, you cannot become a master.

Everyone is different, therefore one persons technique mastery may look starkly different to someone else’s. This is the principle of Individuality, and it springs up all the time when considering exercise and nutrition. Now we know this, I can take you through some steps to becoming a master mover.

Step 1 – Grease the groove
First things first, you need to get in some work. We all know the common saying ‘practice makes perfect’ and well it is completely true. And this is what I mean by grease the groove, if you want to improve your form at something, you need to practice practice practice. So don’t expect to master the squat by doing it once a month, by increasing the frequency you do the lift the better chance you have at ironing out any inefficiencies.

I like to think about this in terms of travelling down a stream into the ocean, at first there is not much room to manoeuvre, however as you keep going you eventually enter out into the ocean, making getting around easy. Just like any movement, at first it feels wrong, and is uncomfortable, but as you work at it, it gets easier and easier. So you want to become a master? Increase the frequency you perform the lift. 

Step 2 – Know how much you can take
Next up we must be recovered if we are going to do any exercise properly. Think of it like a machine, if it is not well oiled and in good nick you wouldn’t expect it to work efficiently. So we must take care of our recovery if we are to master movements.

Therefore, we must know our training level, if you are new to the gym then you will not be able to recover as fast as someone who’s been lifting years. So the less time you have been training the less total volume of work you can get in effectively. You can learn more about this in a previous article I wrote Picking your training volume.

Further to this you must also get your nutrition and other lifestyle factors nailed. Get in sufficient protein to recover with, and carbs to fuel your workouts, but also make sure to get enough sleep. So you want to become a master? Nail your nutrition, get enough sleep and manage your training volume according to your training experience. 

Step 3 – Consistency, consistency, consistency
The final step is made pretty clear, be consistent. People who are over achievers are because they get it right over and over again. So make sure if you decide to pursue mastery, do it for a decent stint of time, and keep at it. Don’t expect it to come from random weeks of dedication.

Furthermore, you need to be damn disciplined. You cannot let your form diminish, you need to perform the lift as if your coach is there watching you every-time. So you want to become a master? Do not let your form slack. 

I have written about mastery before in my article 4 Steps to Learn Anything, and consistency is damn important.

Great technique allows strength to be expressed effectively. As I said before, not everyones technique will be the same, individual body dimensions, leverages, strengths and weaknesses will dictate what technique is most effective for you.

So now you know how to become a master, go get it and #REVIVESTRONGER

‘Macro Friendly’ Protein Brownies

This is another one of those ‘I bloody love that food, but it just doesn’t really fit in my diet’ recipes. I aint gonna lie, brownies are amazing, sugar, butter, chocolate, all the chocolate, they’re delicious, soft, gooey. Just yum. But one little brownie can set you back 300 calories and normally 15g of fat and minimal protein or micronutrition. So this is one of those recipes, where obviously it isn’t as good as the real thing, but it isn’t bad either, and it is full of goodness.

What you’ll need:

• 100ml Skimmed Milk (any liquid would do)
• 20g Protein Powder (I recommend a whey or mixed protein)
• 240g black beans (any bean will work)
• 30g Philidelphia Lightest (optional)
• 45g Flour (can be reduced)
• 1 Medium Egg (can be switched to egg whites)
• 5g Cocoa Powder (optional)
• 4g Baking Powder
• Sweetener of your choosing
• Additional goodies e.g. oreos, chocolate chunks, kitkat (optional but a no brainer)

How To Do It:

1. Add all the ingredients to a blender and BUZZ.
2. Add all ingredients to a lined baking tray.
3. Cook in a 200 degree oven for 20-30 minutes.
4. Take it out and delve a knife into the middle of it, if it comes out pretty much clean, you’re good to go.
5. Leave to cool.

What You’re Getting From It:

• A massive brownie.
• 42g Protein, 55g Carbohydrates, 14g Fat (18g Fibre) – 532Kcal (without additional goodies)
• Eggs ‘natures multivitamin’ containing antioxidants helping protect our eyes, choline a powerful nutrient for brain function and a high quality amino profile.
• Beans one of the best natural sources of fibre on the planet. I recommend everyone gets a minimum of 25g of fibre, and in general 10% of their total carb intake (eating 300g of carbs, get in 30g of fibre minimum).

If you liked this you will want to check out the following:

• 5 Ingredient Protein Pancakes
• 5 Steps to Ramp Up your metabolism (so you can eat more!)
• The Perfect Diet
• 5 Minute Protein Cake
• Joghurt – 2 ingredient mega volume protein jelly

If you enjoyed this or any of the above please share the love!

Protected: Bodybuilding Posing Guide

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Password: