Tips of the week Tips: How should you cheat?

1. the slimmer you are, the more often you can cheat

But don't force it. Calling a binge a cheat meal and using it as an excuse to eat a bunch of junk food is not the way to get lean and muscular.

2. cheat meals should only be planned when you are trying to build mass

During this phase, cheat meals once a week or once every two weeks are fine depending on your goals and body fat percentage.

3. you don't need cheat meals if you eat large amounts of food regularly

You will definitely get all the good calories you need to grow in this case. And you won't feel hungry for junk food. In fact, a good way to determine if you're eating enough good foods each week is to ask yourself if you have cravings for cheat foods. If so, then you need more calories throughout the week. From a scientific perspective, this makes sense because chronic overeating causes the brain to release satiety hormones and these hormones tell the hunger centers of the brain to "shut up."

4. minimize the frequency and/or size of your cheat meals if your body fat percentage is over 20%

Basically, the more excess body fat you have, the more excess food will be channeled towards your body fat stores instead of your muscles. So if you are fat, you should minimize your cheat meals.

5. don't use cheat meals or cheat days while you're trying to lose fat

I know, I know, you've heard over and over about "fueling the metabolic fire" or nonsense like that, but simply put, it's nonsense. Psychologically, it's very hard to stay disciplined during a cheat meal. After weeks of dieting, taste buds that have already given up all hope are brought back to life. Every time you cheat during a diet, it will be harder to resist temptation the next time.

6 From a psychological point of view, there is no sensible reason for a cheat meal

One meal will not revive a dieter's dormant metabolism. Sure, the metabolic rate is ramped up for a few short hours after a big meal, but this thermogenesis is disproportionate to the large amount of calories you're stuffing into yourself at once.

The final message is that it is okay for some people to eat a cheat meal. Others, however, should avoid it. Know which group you belong to.

Tip: Complete this 15-minute pull-up test

Build your biceps (finally) with this progressive weekly workout

By Paul Carter

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-take-the-15-minute-chin-up-test

If curls are the only thing you do for your biceps, you'll never build big arms. Hypertrophy is not a localized process. It is systemic. For this reason, a big healthy meal of pull-ups will do more for your biceps growth than a dessert of dumbbell curls.

Try this:

15 minutes of pull-ups

1. Perform pull-ups for 15 minutes, pausing when needed. Write down how many pull-ups you can do in 15 minutes.
2. Here's the key: do this once a week and try to beat your performance from the previous week each week.

Note: Vary your grip as needed during the 15 minutes. You can start with the standard grip - an underhand grip with your palms facing your body and your hands close to medium distance apart. When you get tired, switch to a neutral grip with your palms facing each other. If your pull-up bar does not allow a parallel grip, you can also put a V-grip over the pull-up bar.

If you're one of those 70 kilo guys who can do 4,000 pull-ups in one set, then use enough extra weight so that you can only do about 15 reps on the first set. You can still do direct arm training on another training day for dessert, but eat your fill of a hearty meal of pull-ups to really feed your biceps.

Tip: Use this exercise to sprint faster

Want to be able to run like a cheetah? Then you need more squats, deadlifts and box jumps. You need this exercise for horizontal strength.

By Simen Rise Aaslund

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-this-exercise-to-sprint-faster

Fact: Sprint speed makes it necessary for you to get stronger in the horizontal plane. Moving a weight from top to bottom (vertically) will not make you much faster.

What most people do wrong

Many athletes focus on squats, lunges, deadlifts, Olympic weightlifting exercises and variations of box jumps to increase their sprint speed. All of these exercises involve vertical force production - moving a weight vertically in space in a standing position.

Horizontal force is generated when you lie down horizontally and then produce force against gravity. Here are some of the best exercises for this:

• Pull-Through(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAd6CRsJZ8)
• Back extensions
• Reverse hyper or glute ham raises
• Hip Thrusts

Knowing that horizontal strength is most important for speed may lead you to believe that gluteus and hamstrings are the most important muscles, and you are absolutely correct. EMG activity and joint angle forces show that the strength of these muscles is a good indicator of speed.

Horizontal force = speed

Your ability to produce horizontal force is closely related to your speed. Horizontal force production is more important than vertical forces for both acceleration and maximum speed.

Sure, there are vertical forces in sprinting due to the effects of gravity on your body, but these do not increase as speed increases and faster sprinters do not show a greater ability to produce vertical force than slower sprinters. Of course, vertical exercises have their place in a balanced program, but those who need to get faster should focus on horizontal exercises like hip thrusts.

Tip: Dare to do this half mile from hell challenge

Grab some kettlebells or dumbbells, find an open area and see what you're made of.

By Martin Rooney

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-take-the-half-mile-of-hell-challenge

This 'walking' challenge will test your true limits. If you don't know where your trapezius is, then this challenge will be the best anatomy lesson for you. Here's the half mile from hell challenge.

The execution:

1. Get a pair of 32kg kettlebells, a 28 kilo kettlebell and a 24 kettlebell. If you must use dumbbells, use two 32.5 kilo dumbbells, one 27.5 kilo dumbbell and one 22.5 kilo dumbbell. Get into a range where you can run 35 meters without having to turn around.
2. Take the 32 kg kettlebells and walk 35 meters and back.
3. Take the 28 kg kettlebell in one hand and run 35 meters back and forth with an empty hand, switching hands after 35 meters.
4. Finish the set with the 24 kilo kettlebell in one hand overhead and the other arm in the air for 35 meters. Switch arms on the way back.
5. Pause where you need to and repeat for a total of 4 reps.

That's 840 meters and just over half a mile. The aim is to complete this test in less than 15 minutes. If it takes you longer than 15 minutes, stop after 15 minutes and record the distance covered.

Note: If you haven't done distance runs like this before, start lighter with shorter distances and more or longer breaks.

Tip: Try the ultimate chill pill

This natural adaptogen has been shown to reduce excessive cortisol levels caused by stress or hard training.

From TC Luoma

https://www.t-nation.com/supplements/tip-try-the-ultimate-chill-pill

Restore your calm

If you're tired of living with mental or physical stress and elevated cortisol levels, give rhodiola, the adaptogen superstar, a try.

Stress, anxiety, nervousness or whatever you want to call it is just crap. Few of us have been spared the trembling hands, racing pulse and lingering nervousness caused by anxious anticipation of the future.

Your hormones switch into turbo mode. Cortisol levels rise and so does epinephrine - both chemicals that prepare your body to run away from whatever is stressing you out. The problem, however, is that you can't run away from mental stress because it's not caused by a lion, a bear or a robber with a gun. This stress is often with you all the time.

Since you can't run away, your body continues to produce these chemicals. It's like continuously playing the strings of a guitar hard enough that it eventually goes out of tune, but instead of just playing a few wrong notes, your body starts poisoning itself until eventually every system of the body is affected.

What we need in such a situation is something that restores calm and balance, something that Russian scientists in the sixties of the last century called an adaptogen.

Rhodiola Rosea

Adaptogens improve the ability to adapt to stress. One of the most effective is Rhodiola Rosea, a plant that grows in different cold regions of the world. Instead of increasing the levels of one chemical or another, the active ingredients of this plant (salidroside and the group of rosavins) have a controlled, system-wide effect in the body. They virtually retune the instrument - the body - so that it can function harmoniously again.

Rhodiola is the ultimate chill pill. It works by reducing the negative effects of cortisol, which in addition to contributing to the physical manifestations of stress, also brings long-term negative consequences such as inflammation, increased fat build-up around the waist and the inability to build muscle.

In addition to combating cortisol, Rhodiola interacts with hormones and neurotransmitters such as serotonin, while counteracting the catecholamines responsible for the fight or flight mode. Generally speaking, stress begins to decrease.

A favorite of athletes

Rhodiola has even been shown to increase levels of beta-endorphins, giving it a mild opiate-like effect. It is also a favorite of athletes who use it to counteract the physical stress caused by extreme training, which often manifests in the same way as mental or psychological stress.

If you're tired of living with stress and don't have the time for stress-relieving techniques, try Rhodiola. Make sure you use a product that is standardized to at least 1% salidroside and 10% rosavins.

Tip: The 10 Minute Legs Challenge

Test your front squats, deadlifts and balls with this unique workout

By Martin Rooney

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-the-10-minute-leg-day-challenge

Want to try something different with cardio? Ditch the treadmill and head to the squat rack instead. Use this strength training combo to lose fat and build muscle.

The front squat & deadlift challenge

The execution:

1. Use 60 kilos for the front squats and 100 kilos for the deadlift
2. Perform 5 repetitions of each exercise directly one after the other without resting between exercises. Repeat this superset eight times. Pause if necessary but remember that the clock is ticking.

That's a total of 80 repetitions and 6400 kilos in a short period of time. The goal is to complete this challenge in under 10 minutes. If you need more than 10 minutes, stop after 10 minutes and write down the number of repetitions. Beat this result next time.

Notes

• Adapt the training weights to your fitness level.
• If you have not trained this way before, halve the training session during the first few weeks.
• Make sure you are using good exercise form before worrying about increasing speed or intensity.

Tip: Perform this exercise first thing on back day

Some of your back muscles are functionally shortened. Performing this exercise first will get these muscles ready for a smooth, heavy workout.

By: Dr. John Rusin

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/training/tip-do-this-exercise-first-on-back-day

Perform a stretching exercise before any heavy pulling exercise on back day. This preparatory exercise will bring your body back to a normal posture by putting you in the opposite position to the one you are likely to spend most of the day in.

By far the most effective exercise in this regard is pulldowns with arms extended and its variations. This exercise involves isolation of the latissimus dorsi. In most cases, this is functionally shortened. A stretch at the end with a maximum concentric contraction can work wonders.

Pulldowns with outstretched arms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcVDItawocI

Pulldowns with extended arms are based on internal tension. When you use a cable pulley, it's less about the external load you place on the tissue and more about how you build tension through the full range of motion.

So make sure you leave your ego at the checkroom and do this exercise for the feel and the pump.

Source: https://www.t-nation.com/diet-fat-loss/tip-how-to-know-if-you-should-cheat

By John Berardi, PhD