Fitness & Training Feed

It's Extreme, But I'll NEVER Eat These 7 Foods Again!

Eat like an athlete here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW Trying to eat healthier in 2026? Before you overhaul your diet, take a closer look at the foods you already consider healthy. In this video, I break down 7 foods and food choices I'm reconsidering, from bananas in smoothies and whole grain bread to canned soup, artificial food dyes, farm-raised salmon and yogurt. Some are personal preferences. Others raise questions about ingredients, processing and whether you're getting the benefits you expect. Whether you want to lose body fat or build muscle, a healthy diet goes beyond counting calories. I'll explain my reasoning and what to look for when choosing foods. First up: bananas. Are bananas bad for you? Do bananas make you fat? Bananas can fit into a balanced diet and a fat loss meal plan. The issue discussed here is what happens when you blend them into a smoothie alongside certain beneficial plant compounds. A 2023 study investigated how polyphenol oxidase, an enzyme abundant in bananas, affects the availability of flavanols in smoothies. Under the conditions tested, the banana smoothie substantially reduced the measured availability of these compounds compared with the control. That is more specific than saying bananas destroy every antioxidant in your shake. If you're choosing smoothie ingredients to maximize flavanol intake, this research gives you something to consider. Eating a banana separately is a different question. Next, we look at whole grain bread and comments from Dr. Robert Lustig about food processing. Terms such as "multigrain" and "made with whole grains" can make a loaf sound healthier without telling you how much whole grain it contains. Check the ingredient list, fiber content, added sugar and serving size instead of relying on the front of the package. Grinding a grain into flour does not automatically stop it from being whole grain. However, the structure and processing of a food can influence how it is digested. The takeaway is to compare breads carefully and choose options that support your nutrition goals. Bread doesn't have to disappear from your diet to get lean. Then comes white bean soup and a personal experience I won't forget. After eating it shortly before a severe gastrointestinal illness, I developed an aversion that still makes it difficult to enjoy. That explains my decision, but it doesn't make white beans a bad food. It also opens a discussion about soup labels. With canned soup, pay attention to sodium and the number of servings per container. If the nutrition information is listed for one serving and you eat two, your actual intake is twice the listed amount. Compare options, look for lower-sodium varieties and consider what else you're eating that day. Convenience can fit into healthy eating, but knowing what is in the entire portion matters. Artificial food dyes are another topic in this video, including Blue 1, Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40. Research has examined whether synthetic food colors can affect activity and attention in some children. That doesn't mean every dye causes ADHD or that every brightly colored food causes cancer. My preference is to question ingredients added mainly for appearance and choose alternatives when practical. We also discuss farm-raised salmon and how feed influences its pink color. Pigments such as astaxanthin can be included in salmon feed, and they are different from the synthetic dyes discussed above. Watch for the reasoning behind my preference and a closer look at how food is produced. Finally, we look at yogurt and Dr. Lustig's comments about the gut health benefits people expect from it. Yogurts differ in added sugar, protein and culture information. If you're buying yogurt for its nutritional value, take a moment to compare those details. A health claim on the package is a reason to investigate, not a substitute for reading the label. You don't have to copy every food decision I make. Use this video to ask better questions about your diet, understand the difference between a personal aversion and a research finding, and eat better in 2026. Research Referenced: Polyphenol oxidase and flavanol availability in smoothies: https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2023/fo/d3fo01599h Review of blue food coloring and ADHD symptoms in children: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36262950/ For more videos on healthy eating, foods to avoid, fat loss nutrition and building muscle, subscribe to ATHLEAN-X. For a workout program and meal plan to put your goals into action, visit the link below. Jeff Cavaliere, MSPT, CSCS, served as head physical therapist and assistant strength coach for the New York Mets. He earned his Master of Physical Therapy and bachelor's degree in Physioneurobiology from the University of Connecticut and is an NSCA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.

How Often Should You Work Out? (EXPERIMENT)

Get 2 weeks free of our fitness coaching app here: https://bws.plus/27a How many days a week should you work out to build muscle — and is a 6-day workout plan in the gym actually better than training 3 days a week? We put over 200 lifters through a 10-week experiment comparing a 3-day vs 6-day push/pull/legs split, plus a third group that packed the full 6-day volume into three full-body workouts. The results reveal some important lessons about how often you should work out, how many times a week you should work out each muscle group, and when more training stops paying off. Here's what we found, what the best workout split actually is, and how to tell if some of your sets are being wasted. 0:00 - Why More Should Be Better 0:56 - The 200 Person Experiment 6:04 - The Results 10:23 - What You Should Do STUDIES & REFERENCES Training Volume and Frequency https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-025-02344-w Pacing and Anticipated Workload https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-014-2872-3 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4234941/ Supervised VS Unsupervised Training https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37789670/ Higher vs Lower Volume Supervised Study https://sportrxiv.org/index.php/server/preprint/view/810 Disclaimers: Jeremy Ethier is not a doctor, physical therapist, or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jeremy Ethier will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.

The Best & Worst Peptides (Ranked)

Peptides are everywhere, so let’s rank them. Only one is in S tier. Semaglutide, aka ozempic, works for weight loss by activating GLP-1 receptors, which makes you less hungry. But! You will lose muscle if you don’t lift weights and eat enough protein, and nausea and diarrhea are quite common. People who are already lean shouldn’t use it to get shredded in my opinion but It is safe for overweight people when prescribed by a doctor. In the right context: A tier. Tirzepitide. Same idea, except it activates 2 receptors, which makes you even less hungry and causes even more weight loss. A tier. Retatrutide activates 3 receptors which causes even more weight loss but it isn’t FDA approved yet so, B tier for now. BPC-157 (“the wolverine peptide”) claims to heal injuries. With BPC, there was 50% more blood vessel formation in legs with an injury, but… that was in rats. And it’s only been studied in … 30 humans. Ever. The anecdotes are strong, but most injuries heal on their own so it’s hard to know if it’s the BPC that’s working. Until we get more science and quality control, low C-tier. For anti-aging, Epitalon and MOTS-c have mechanisms for longevity but they’ve only actually been shown to extend lifespan in flies, mice and rats. No reliable human studies. And sourcing is sketchy. F tier. NAD+ is the most popular longevity “peptide”, but it’s not actually a peptide, it’s a co-enzyme. The human science is really weak anyway. D tier. The last one isn’t technically a peptide either, but it is in S tier. It makes you look fitter, healthier, it can heal injuries, and help you live longer... exercise.

17 Foods That Make it EASY To Get Lean (AND STAY THAT WAY!)

Want to know what to eat to get shredded, build muscle, and stay lean all year? In this video, I’m sharing 12 foods I eat every day that make my diet easier to follow and help me maintain six pack abs without giving up the foods I enjoy. Get Lean and Stay Lean Here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe to this channel here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW If you’ve been looking for the Jeff Cavaliere diet plan or wondering how to eat like ATHLEAN-X, this is a look at the foods behind my daily eating plan. I’ll explain what I eat, why I choose it, and how these foods fit into a muscle building diet that supports hard training while keeping calories under control. Getting lean takes more than finding the right foods. Your total calories, protein intake, workouts, and consistency all matter. But choosing meals that satisfy your appetite and taste good makes it easier to stick with your nutrition plan long enough to see results. Here are some of the foods I rely on every day. My breakfast starts with egg whites. They give me a convenient source of protein without adding many calories or much fat. When your goal is to get ripped while maintaining muscle, having an easy way to include protein at breakfast helps you start the day on track. Egg whites also leave room for other foods in the meal without making it difficult to manage your overall calorie intake. Oatmeal is another staple of my daily meal plan. It provides carbohydrates to fuel my workouts, along with fiber that helps make breakfast more satisfying. I use plain oatmeal so I can control what goes into it instead of relying on varieties with added sugar. If you’re wondering what to eat to be lean, a breakfast you enjoy and can prepare consistently is a great place to start. I drink skim milk with breakfast and use it in my oatmeal and protein shake later in the day. It supplies protein and calcium while keeping calories lower than the same amount of whole milk. Because I consume it several times throughout the day, that difference helps me keep my diet aligned with my goals. I also choose milk fortified with vitamins A and D. Cinnamon is a simple addition that makes my oatmeal taste better without needing a lot of added sugar. That matters because a diet for abs should include meals you look forward to eating. Small choices that improve flavor can make a healthy eating plan easier to repeat, and repetition is a big part of staying lean year-round. Greek yogurt is one of my go-to lunch foods because it’s convenient, versatile, and high in protein. It already contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein source. I like adding chia or pumpkin seeds for extra texture and nutrients. Pay attention to the variety you choose, since protein, calories, and added sugar can vary between products. I’ve said plenty of times that I have a sweet tooth. Instead of expecting that to disappear, I make room for a dessert I enjoy. For me, that means a portion of frozen yogurt that fits my daily calorie intake. The amount and toppings matter. Having six pack abs doesn’t require eliminating dessert, but it does require being aware of how those choices fit into your overall diet. Chicken, fish, and lean cuts of red meat are regular parts of my eating plan. I typically build my main meals around a serving that provides approximately 30–50 grams of protein. Getting enough protein helps support muscle growth and maintenance, making it a priority whether I’m focused on building muscle or staying lean. Different seasonings and preparation methods keep these meals from becoming repetitive. Yes, I eat pasta. Carbohydrates have a place in a meal plan to get ripped, especially when you’re training hard and want to support your performance. Pasta gives me a food I enjoy and a practical source of workout fuel. Portion size and what you add to it matter. I make it fit my nutrition goals instead of assuming I need to cut it out to get a six pack. Vegetables like broccoli help round out my meals with fiber, vitamins, and minerals. They also add volume to my plate, which can make a meal more satisfying when I’m managing calories. A muscle building nutrition plan needs to support more than your protein target, and vegetables are a consistent part of how I do that. Watch the full video for all 12 foods and the reasons I include them in my daily diet. Whether you want to build muscle, lose body fat, or find a meal plan to get lean, the goal is to develop eating habits you can maintain. You don’t need to copy every food on my plate. Use these examples to build meals that fit your preferences, support your training, and make consistency easier. For a structured workout program with a day-by-day meal plan, check out the ATHLEAN-X website through the link above. Subscribe for more videos from Jeff Cavaliere and ATHLEAN-X on muscle building nutrition, fat loss, how to get lean, and training for six pack abs. Turn on notifications so you never miss a new video.

Do This AFTER Every Workout (NON NEGOTIABLE!)

If there was one thing that I would recommend that everyone do at the end of every workout, it's a single exercise that serves a dual-purpose of not only building muscle, but protecting the shoulders as well. In this video, I am going to show you how the facepull is the perfect exercise to end your workouts with and why you should be doing it, regardless of what muscles you trained that day. Fix Your Imbalances Here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe To This Channel Here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW Too often do I see gym-goers focus solely on the front side of their bodies, not just with their aesthetics, but their health as well. The back side of the body is often neglected, simply because you cannot see it in the mirror. This leads to heavy imbalances, not just with muscular development, but with posture as well. When you focus all of your muscle building efforts on the front side of your body; yes you might create a well developed chest or arms, but at what cost? When your muscle building efforts are directed to the front side off your body, you ignore the muscles that need to be strengthened in order to maintain proper biomechanical function and posture. More often than not, the muscles on the anterior side of the body are tight and the muscles on the backside are weak, unable to perform their proper functions. The facepull fixes that, especially done at the end of every workout. However, the face pull can be done with two purposes; hypertrophy and neuromuscular reeducation. Whether you treat this exercise as a muscle building effort or a corrective exercise, there is a very specific way for this face pull exercise to be done. Instead of grabbing a standard rope, you want to use an extended rope (2 ft) or two standard ropes to perform the movement. This is because a single standard-sized rope won't allow you to get your arms wide enough to get the most out of the exercise. When you pull the rope towards your face, you should be able to create a 90 degree angle with your elbows. Think of it as performing a double front bicep pose. Getting your arms this wide allows for proper activation of the muscles and tendons of the rotator cuff To properly achieve this position, you will need to grab the rope(s) with your thumbs up, contrary to the popular idea that your grab the rope(w) with an overhand grip. When your pull the rope(s) back toward you, your ending position should have your thumbs pointing back behind you. The other key to this exercise is to prevent your shoulders from shrugging during the movement, especially when you pull the rope(s) towards you. The facepull is designed to build and strengthen the muscles that surround your shoulder and your upper back. We can continue doing this by either pausing for 2-3 seconds in the contracted position. We can further build upon this by performing an overhead trap raise like you see in the video. This will do a great job of neuromuscular reeducation and help to reset your upper back. This will benefit not just muscle strength and size, but function as well. It will also help to correct your posture which has likely suffered from the high amounts of anterior focused training. When it comes to when you are supposed to perform a facepull, either as a hypertrophy exercise or as a corrective exercise, it depends on your split. 2 days a week means one day for building muscle and one day for correction. 3 days, I prefer 2 corrective sessions compared to 1 muscle building session where they alternate (corrective / hypertrophy / corrective). 5 days a week, again, I want you to alternate with a greater focus on the neuromuscular reeducation. It would look this - corrective / hypertrophy / corrective / hypertrophy / corrective / corrective. If you want to build muscle, fix your posture, or do both at the same time and think peptides are insane; then there really is no better exercise to get the job done than the facepull. There's a reason I've fallen in love with this exercise and I think that you would greatly benefit from including it in your training. For complete step-by-step training programs that tell you exactly what exercises, sets, reps, and techniques to use to build muscle while training like an athlete, visit: https://athleanx.com Subscribe to ATHLEAN-X for more workouts, exercise tutorials, strength training tips and step-by-step training advice: https://youtube.com/user/JDCav24 If you've seen an improvement from doing face pulls, leave a comment below and let me know how this amazing exercise has helped you and your body.

Peptides Are Insane

Download MacroFactor 2 weeks free: https://bit.ly/jeffmacrofactor (use code JEFF) I have two things that will help you crush your fitness goals: 1. My Free Training Program Quiz: https://jeffnippard.com/pages/quiz (figure out which program is best for you) 2. My Smart Nutrition App: http://bit.ly/jeffmacrofactor (Use code JEFF for a free 2 week trial) ── In this video, I take a deep dive into the world of peptides to find out which ones actually live up to the hype. I break down the science behind popular fat loss peptides like semaglutide, injury recovery peptides like BPC-157, and anti-aging peptides like epitalon, looking at what works, what the risks are, and where the evidence falls short. Timestamps: 0:00 - Peptides are insane 1:19 - What are peptides and what do they do? 2:57 - Chapter 1: The Fat Loss Peptides 11:22 - Chapter 2: The Injury Healing Peptides 15:04 - Chapter 3: The Anti-Aging Peptides Post Credits: Editing - Cat Senior Graphics - Joseph Bullivant, Pat Carriere, Ishaan Mahtani, Cat Senior Sound Editor - Iain Toms Assistant Editors - Juampa Galarza References: Semaglutide https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2032183 GLP-1 Usage https://news.gallup.com/poll/696599/obesity-rate-declining.aspx Oral Semaglutide https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40934115/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37385278/ Tirzepatide https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2206038 Retatrutide https://investor.lilly.com/news-releases/news-release-details/lillys-triple-agonist-retatrutide-delivered-powerful-weight-loss Semaglutide Safety https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38679221/ Energy Balance Model https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9071483/ Semaglutide and Lean Mass Loss https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11611443/ BPC-157 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/310460258 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34324435/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39325560/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40131143/ Many Injuries Heal with Time https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34874323/ Telomeres and Aging https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35777725/ Epitalon / Epithalamin https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14523363/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10517-006-0365-z Social Relationships https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2910600/ Exercise, Smoking, and Body Weight https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6207481/ Sleep https://academic.oup.com/sleep/article/47/1/zsad253/7280269 Alcohol Consumption https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2802963

I Tested 30 Ab Exercises - You Only Need These 2

Start your free 2 week trial of BWS+ here: https://bws.plus/26a What is the best ab workout and the best ab exercises? In this video I'm tested 30 popular upper ab exercises, lower ab exercises, and all kinds of ab workouts to find what is actually best. Sit-ups started poorly: they're easy to load, but the floor limits the stretch and EMG showed the hip flexors taking over through the second half. Crunches reduced that hip-flexor involvement, but still couldn't provide a deep stretch. An ab mat or rolled-up towel fixed that and pushed it to A-tier. Next, crunches on a lat pulldown machine. The unassisted version gave stability and a deep stretch but was very hard. With the cable assisting, Dennis went from being unable to do a clean rep to a set of 10 — our first S-tier exercise. Next, the lower abs. Technically, your abs are one continuous muscle, so you can't truly isolate your upper and lower abs. But certain movements did seem to place more demand on different fibers. Whether that actually leads to more growth in one region hasn't been directly studied, so it's still a hypothesis rather than an established fact. Standard lying and hanging leg raises performed poorly because the hip flexors did most of the work. Straightening the legs made it worse: ab activation increased only slightly while hip-flexor activity jumped 40%. The fix: instead of just raising your legs, curling your pelvis into a C-shape brings the abs in. A bar behind the body added stability, and a Captain's Chair gave the same option when grip was the limit. Planks can teach beginners to brace and stabilize the spine, but they don't stretch the abs or move through a full range of motion, and they're hard to overload. The RKC plank nearly tripled my ab activation through full-body tension but shares the same limits. Then, harder movements. The dragon flag produced the highest upper- and lower-ab activation yet, but that doesn't necessarily make it the best exercise for building abs. The abs work almost maximally to hold the body rigid, not through a deep stretch or full range of motion. The Garhammer hold was interesting. Hanging your hips off a bench and holding your legs near the bottom puts the abs under huge tension while stretched. Some newer research in other muscles suggests stretched-position isometrics might produce similar muscle growth to full-range-of-motion reps. But the hold is hard to overload and still lacks a full range of motion. Turn the hold into Garhammer raises and you get the deep stretch, progression, and movement we want. They also produced the best lower-to-upper-ab activation ratio we'd seen so far, earning them S-tier. Reverse crunches offered a more beginner-friendly alternative. Adding an ab mat or rolled-up towel lets the abs stretch farther at the bottom — also earning this version S-tier. We also tested the usual ab workout moves: the ab roller, bicycle crunches, V-ups, butterfly kicks, mountain climbers, and dead bugs. Most were limited by hip-flexor involvement, a lack of stretch, or no way to overload them. Finally, cable crunch variations. Regular kneeling cable crunches are easy to progressively overload but give little tension in the stretch and let you cheat by moving your hips. Facing away from the cable fixes both. On the lat pulldown machine, facing away, raising the seat pad for support, and opening into a full stretch made one of the most stable setups in any abs workout at gym. After all 30, my best ab exercises if I could pick just 2: for the upper abs, both should use face-away lat pulldown cable crunches. For the lower abs, beginners should use reverse crunches with an ab mat, while advanced lifters should use Garhammer raises. 0:00 - 1:29 Sit-Ups 1:29 - 2:04 Crunches 2:04 - 2:41 Crunches with Ab Mat 2:41 - 3:30 Unassisted Lat Pulldown Crunch 3:30 - 3:56 Assisted Lat Pulldown Crunch 4:38 - 5:22 Lying Leg Raises 5:22 - 5:44 Hanging Leg Raises (Bent-Knee) 5:44 - 6:28 Hanging Leg Raises (Straight Leg) 6:28 - 7:27 Hanging Leg Raises (Curved Pelvis) 7:27 - 8:39 Hanging Leg Raises (With Bar) 8:39 - 9:20 Captain’s Chair Leg Raise 9:20 - 9:59 Plank 9:59 - 10:50 RKC Plank 10:50 - 12:12 Dragon Flag 12:12 - 12:29 Front Lever Raises 12:29 - 13:56 Garhammer Hold 13:56 - 14:37 Garhammer Raises 14:37 - 15:22 Reverse Crunch 15:22 - 15:51 Reverse Crunch With Ab Mat 15:51 - 16:53 Ab Roller 16:53 - 17:38 Bicycle Crunches 17:38 - 17:45 V-Ups 17:45 - 17:52 Butterfly Kicks 17:52 - 17:59 Mountain Climbers 17:59 - 18:31 Dead Bugs 18:31 - 19:17 Kneeling Cable Crunches 19:17 - 19:41 Kneeling Cable Crunches (Facing Away) 19:41 - 19:56 Standing Cable Crunches (Facing Away) 19:56 - 20:45 Lat Pulldown Cable Crunch 20:45 - 21:27 Lat Pulldown Cable Crunch (Face-Away) 21:27 - Final Results

How Bodybuilding Workouts Evolved From 1900 To Now

More Pullups in Your NEXT Set (GUARANTEED!)

Want to do more pullups? Whether you can currently do 2 pullups, 5 pullups, 10 pullups or you're trying to reach 15, 20 or even 25 unbroken reps, the fastest way to increase pullups is not simply trying harder on every set. In this video, I’m going to show you exactly how to do more pullups by fixing six common mistakes that make every rep harder than it needs to be. Do more pullups with programs here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe To This Channel Here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW If you’ve been searching for how to increase pullups, how to get better at pullups, how to improve pullup strength or how to do more pullups in a row, this is where you want to start. Most people assume their problem is a lack of back strength. Sometimes it is. But very often the bigger issue is inefficient setup, wasted movement, poor body position and failing to use the strongest muscles possible to perform the exercise. The first mistake is starting the pullup too loose. Hanging passively from the bar can create instability through the shoulders and shoulder blades, forcing you to waste energy before the rep even begins. Instead, engage the lats before you pull. Think about creating a slight backward angle rather than simply hanging straight down. This helps set the shoulder blades, turns on the lats and puts you in a much stronger position to initiate every rep. Next, look at your elbows. If your elbows are directly in line with your body when viewed from the side, you may be missing a better pulling position. Getting the elbows slightly out in front places the shoulder closer to the scapular plane, gives the lats a better stretch and helps you produce more pulling strength while keeping the shoulder in a more comfortable position. The third mistake might be the biggest reason you can’t do more pullups: energy leaks. If your legs are dangling, your knees are bent, your feet are crossed behind you and your body is moving around under the bar, you are making yourself feel heavier. Keep your legs together, knees straight, quads tight, glutes squeezed, core braced and feet slightly out in front. This creates one rigid line of force and can instantly make pullups feel easier. Mistake number four is what you are doing with your hands. A shoulder-width grip is a strong starting point, but the real key is the direction of force. Instead of only thinking about pulling straight down on the bar, think about pulling down AND inward at the same time. Squeezing the hands toward each other while you pull can recruit more of the muscles that help adduct the arms and create a stronger, more stable pull. The fifth mistake is attacking the bar with the wrong target. Stop thinking only about getting your chin over the bar. Instead, think about driving the upper sternum toward the bar. Reaching with the chest rather than collapsing forward with the chin helps keep your torso open, your back engaged and your line of pull more efficient. You do not have to touch your chest to the bar. The goal is to use the sternum as your target so you stay tight and powerful. Finally, if you really want to know how to do more pullups, you have to stop treating pullups differently from every other strength exercise. Progressive overload matters. Just as you would add weight to a bench press to get stronger, weighted pullups can help build the strength needed to make bodyweight pullups easier. Add weight for lower-rep sets, then remove the weight and immediately perform bodyweight reps as a drop set. Over time, your weighted reps and bodyweight pullup numbers can climb together. So if you have ever asked how to do more pullups, how to increase pullups fast, how to get better at pullups, how to improve pullup form, how to build pullup strength, how to increase pullup reps or how to do 20 pullups, start with these six corrections. Fix your setup. Engage the lats. Get the elbows in the right position. Eliminate energy leaks. Pull down and in. Lead with the sternum. Then add weighted pullups to progressively build strength. The goal is simple: make every rep more efficient, then build the specific pulling strength needed to increase your pullup max. Pullups are one of the best bodyweight exercises for building your back, lats, biceps, grip and upper body. The stronger and more technically sound you become, the easier it is to add reps and break through a pullup plateau. If you want a complete step-by-step plan designed specifically to help you increase your pullups, check out the PULLUP OR SHUT UP program at ATHLEANX.com. Train like an athlete here: https://athleanx.com Subscribe to ATHLEAN-X for more workouts, exercise tutorials, strength training tips and step-by-step training advice: https://youtube.com/user/JDCav24 If this video helps you do more pullups, leave a comment with the number of unbroken pullups you can do right now and the number you are working toward. Then come back after using these techniques and let me know how many reps you added.

STOP, You're Training Your Chest All Wrong!

STOP, You’re Training Your Chest All Wrong. If your chest workout is built around doing the same traditional sets, resting two or three minutes, and then repeating them again, you may be wasting a lot of reps that aren’t doing nearly as much for muscle growth as you think. Build a chiseled chest here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe To This Channel Here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW In this video, I’m showing you a different way to train your chest using a hypertrophy technique called effective reps. The goal is simple: spend less time doing the easier reps that only get you to fatigue, and more time doing the hard, high-effort reps that are most responsible for stimulating new muscle growth. To demonstrate how effective reps work, Jesse performs dumbbell bench press sets in two different styles. First, he performs a traditional set with a weight that causes failure somewhere around the 10 to 12 rep range. The first several reps are relatively easy. The real challenge doesn’t begin until the final reps, when effort rises sharply and every repetition becomes a grind. Instead of resting two or three minutes and fully recovering before another traditional set, Jesse rests only about 15 to 30 seconds and gets right back into the dumbbell bench press. Because he has not fully recovered, he reaches those difficult reps almost immediately. Rather than spending another six or seven reps just trying to get back to the point where the set becomes hard, nearly every rep now demands a high level of effort. This is a rest-pause style of training designed specifically for hypertrophy. It is not how I would train for maximal strength or power, where longer rest periods and high-quality reps are important. But if your goal is to build a bigger chest, increase muscle size, and make your chest workout more efficient, this technique gives you a new way to structure your sets. The first set is what I call the ignition set. Choose a weight that makes you fail somewhere around 10 to 12 reps. That set gets you to the level of fatigue necessary to begin accumulating effective reps. After that, rest only 15 to 30 seconds, perform another set to failure, rest briefly again, and continue accumulating reps until you reach your target number. For example, you might perform 20 effective reps on the dumbbell bench press. Your ignition set does not count toward those 20. After the short rest, you might get 5 effective reps, then 4, then 3, and continue chipping away until you reach 20 total effective reps. If your reps begin dropping to singles or doubles, reduce the weight slightly and continue. This same strategy can be used to create an entire chest workout. You could perform 20 effective reps on the dumbbell bench press, move to an incline bench press to target the upper chest differently, then use cable crossovers, and finish with weighted or paused dips for another intense chest-building stimulus. Instead of thinking only in terms of 3 sets of 10 or 4 sets of 12, you can begin programming your workout around the number of truly challenging reps you want to accumulate. This can also help answer one of the most common questions lifters ask: how do I get a bigger chest when my current chest workout has stopped producing results? Sometimes the answer is not adding more exercises, more sets, or more total time in the gym. Sometimes it is changing the quality and effort of the reps you are already doing. Effective reps require honest effort. If you stop a set too early, the entire method loses its purpose. With lighter weights and higher-rep sets, this becomes even more important because so many of the early repetitions are simply getting you closer to the reps that matter. If you choose a lighter weight, you still need to take the set close enough to true muscular failure for those final reps to become meaningful. At the end of the video, you’ll also hear Josh Brolin and Chris DiStefano discussing this ATHLEAN-X effective reps approach on the Joe Rogan Experience. They talk about shortening the rest period, getting back into the hard reps faster, and how this style of training changed the way they think about building muscle. If you have been searching for a new chest workout, a new way to build a bigger chest, how to get a bigger chest, how to build chest muscle faster, or how to make your dumbbell bench press more effective, try using effective reps and see how different your next workout feels. Remember, building a bigger chest is not just about doing more work. It is about making more of your reps count. For complete step-by-step training programs that tell you exactly what exercises, sets, reps, and techniques to use to build muscle while training like an athlete, visit: https://athleanx.com If you found this chest workout technique helpful, leave a comment and let me know whether you’ve ever used rest-pause training or effective reps before.

I Gave Him Fake Steroids For 100 Days

Start a free 2 week trial of the BWS+ fitness and nutrition app here: https://bws.plus/25a What happens if you take fake steroids for 100 days while believing they’re the real thing? Ray had been lifting for more than a decade and was convinced he needed steroids to build the body he wanted. For the next 100 days, Ray followed a science-based training and nutrition plan while believing he was enhanced. What looked like a steroid transformation was actually a natural bodybuilding experiment and gym transformation — tracked with DXA scans, blood work, and strength tests to see whether the steroid placebo effect could influence performance. Disclaimers: Jeremy Ethier is not a doctor, physical therapist, or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jeremy Ethier will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, or illness. Click below to subscribe for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/jeremyethier/?sub_confirmation=1

STOP, You're Training Your Biceps All Wrong!

If you want to know how to build bigger biceps, how to get bigger biceps, or how to build big biceps that look thicker from every angle, this video shows you why simply doing more curls may not be the answer. You can perform barbell curls, dumbbell curls, preacher curls, hammer curls and cable curls every week, but if the mechanics are wrong, you can still leave biceps growth on the table. Get the exact workouts and programs used by physical therapist Jeff Cavaliere here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe To This Channel Here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW The biceps are not just elbow flexors. The biceps brachii also plays an important role in supinating the forearm, which means turning the palm upward. If you ignore that function and simply move a weight from the bottom of a curl to the top, you may be completing the rep without getting everything you can out of the muscle you are trying to build. In this video, I break down the most common biceps training mistakes that can keep your arms from growing and show you how to fix the way you perform your curls. One of the biggest mistakes is allowing other muscles to dominate the curl. When the shoulders drift forward, the elbows travel too far, the wrists bend excessively or momentum starts swinging the weight, the biceps can lose the tension you thought you were creating. Heavy curls are not automatically bad, but using more weight only helps if the target muscle is still doing the work. Whether you are doing a barbell curl or dumbbell curl, think beyond simply getting the weight to your shoulders. Keep the tension where it belongs, control the eccentric on the way down, and use a range of motion that lets you challenge the biceps without turning the movement into a full-body exercise. Supination is another major piece of building bigger biceps. If you are using dumbbells, actively turn the palm up as you raise the weight and continue trying to supinate near the top. This helps you train one of the true functions of the biceps instead of treating every curl like nothing more than elbow flexion. Grip position can also change what you feel. A hammer curl is a great arm exercise, but it shifts more emphasis toward the brachialis and brachioradialis because the forearm stays in a neutral position. Those muscles matter for bigger arms, but if your goal is maximum biceps development, you still need curls that allow you to aggressively supinate the forearm. Shoulder position matters too. The long head of the biceps crosses the shoulder joint, so where your upper arm sits changes the position of the muscle. Incline dumbbell curls challenge the biceps with the arm behind the body, while other curl variations place the arm more in front of the torso. A complete biceps workout should not rely on one curl angle forever. You also want to stop ignoring the eccentric portion of your biceps exercises. It is easy to focus entirely on curling the weight up and then let it fall back down. Instead, control the lowering portion of every rep. The negative is another opportunity to keep tension on the biceps and make the set more productive. Progressive overload matters, but overload is only useful when you are progressively overloading the muscle you intended to train. If every increase in weight causes more hip drive, shoulder movement and swinging, you may be getting better at moving the weight without getting better at training your biceps. This is especially important if your biceps are not growing despite plenty of arm training. Before adding more sets of curls, look at how you are performing the sets you already have. Better biceps training often comes from better execution, exercise selection, stronger supination, controlled eccentrics and keeping tension on the biceps through the rep. The takeaway is simple: stop judging a biceps exercise only by how much weight you can curl. Judge it by how effectively you can load the biceps, maintain tension, use the functions of the muscle and progressively challenge those mechanics over time. When you clean up your curl form, the same exercises can suddenly feel completely different. If your biceps have stopped growing, your arms look flat from the front, or you simply want to know the best way to build bigger biceps, start with the fixes shown in this video. You do not necessarily need more biceps exercises. You need to get more out of the right ones. For a complete step-by-step workout program designed to build muscle while improving exercise technique, head to https://athleanx.com and use the program selector to find the ATHLEAN-X plan that best matches your goals. For more videos on how to get bigger biceps, how to build bigger arms, the best biceps exercises, biceps workout mistakes, proper curl form, dumbbell curls, barbell curls, hammer curls, preacher curls, incline curls and muscle growth, subscribe to ATHLEAN-X and turn on notifications so you never miss a new video from Jeff Cavaliere.

STOP, You're Training Your Triceps All Wrong!

If you want to know how to build bigger triceps, how to get bigger triceps, or how to build big triceps that fill out your shirt sleeves, this video shows you what you may be missing. You can do tricep pushdowns, close grip bench presses, skull crushers, overhead extensions and kickbacks, but if you are not putting the long head of the triceps under tension in the right positions, your arms can still look flat from the side and lack the thickness you are after. Fix Flat Triceps Here - http://athleanx.com/x/fix-flat-triceps Subscribe To This Channel Here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW The long head is the largest head of the triceps and one of the biggest contributors to overall upper arm size. If your goal is to build bigger arms, you cannot just add more tricep exercises. You have to challenge the long head in both positions where it can work hardest: with the arm overhead in shoulder flexion to create a strong stretch, and with the arm driven back behind the body into shoulder extension to create a hard shortened-position contraction. In this video, I break down the most common triceps training mistakes that keep people from getting bigger triceps and show you how to fix each one. First, we look at the skull crusher. Most people lower the weight toward the forehead and think they are maximizing the stretch on the long head. The problem is that the upper arm often stays too far in front of the body. By allowing the arms to angle farther back behind the head and then keeping that upper-arm position fixed while bending and straightening the elbows, you can place much more tension on the long head of the triceps. Next is the tricep push away. This exercise can be great for building big triceps, but only if the line of pull is right. If the arms finish too low and become almost parallel to the rope, tension drops. The fix is to finish with the arms higher so the forearms stay more perpendicular to the cable. I also show you the step-through push away, which lets you use more weight, create controlled momentum on the concentric, and then overload the eccentric while still getting a strong overhead stretch. The third exercise is the dumbbell overhead tricep extension, or power bomb. This is one of the most popular exercises for anyone trying to get bigger triceps, but shoulder mobility and elbow position can ruin it. When the elbows flare wide, elbow range of motion gets shorter and the triceps lose tension. By setting an incline bench behind you, you can reduce the shoulder-flexion demand, keep the elbows more forward and close to the head, and still get a deep stretch on the triceps without forcing the shoulders into an uncomfortable position. Stretch-focused tricep exercises matter, but they are not the only exercises that matter. To fully develop the long head, you also need movements that take the arm behind the body and place the triceps in a strongly shortened position. That is where the Wolverine pulldown comes in. Because the long head crosses the shoulder joint, it also helps extend the arm behind the body. The Wolverine pulldown combines a pulling motion with elbow extension, allowing you to pull the elbows tight to the body and then drive the hands behind you for an intense contraction. This complements your overhead work and helps create more complete triceps development. Finally, we fix the dumbbell tricep kickback. Kickbacks get criticized because they are often done badly. As fatigue sets in, the lower back rounds, the elbows drop, and the exercise becomes a weak elbow extension. The solution is to perform the kickback face down on an incline bench. The bench stabilizes your torso, removes the low-back limitation, and lets you deliberately drag the elbows behind the body before extending the dumbbells. This ensures every rep starts from the position that maximizes contraction of the long head. If your triceps look flat, your arms do not fill your sleeves, or you feel like your triceps have stopped growing even though you train them consistently, this video will show you how to build bigger triceps by improving exercise selection, setup, range of motion, arm position and tension instead of simply doing more sets. The biggest takeaway is simple: if you want to know how to get bigger triceps, train the long head in both a stretched position and a fully shortened position. Combine both and you give yourself a better chance to build thicker, fuller triceps. If you are searching for how to build big triceps, how to build bigger arms, the best tricep exercises for mass, the best tricep exercises for the long head, or how to grow your triceps faster, start by fixing the mechanics shown here. For a complete tricep workout, check out the Perfect Triceps Workout on this channel. If you want step-by-step training programs designed to build muscle with better mechanics, visit ATHLEANX.com. Subscribe and turn on notifications so you never miss a new ATHLEAN-X training video.

How to Lose Every Type Of Stubborn Fat

Get 2 weeks free of your personalized training and nutrition plan here: https://bws.plus/24a Why does stubborn fat disappear quickly from some areas but refuse to budge from others? In this video, I share how to lose belly fat and other frustrating problem zones, including how to get rid of belly fat around your sides, what to do about lower belly fat, and even how to lose side belly fat that hangs on longest. I rank five of the most stubborn fat-storage areas from easiest to hardest to lose, using real DXA scans, research, and transformations to show why each area behaves differently — and the training and diet strategies that can help. LINK TO THE PAST DIET VIDEO MANSON AND MELODY FOLLOWED: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z9cd8jJqELw First is visceral fat. This is the deep fat stored around your organs — and unlike the stubborn fat you can see, it can be surprisingly high even in people who look lean or muscular. A 2023 review of 84 randomized trials found vigorous aerobic exercise and HIIT ranked among the most effective exercise approaches for reducing visceral fat. Resistance training alone helped, but combining lifting with cardio ranked much higher. Still, the single most reliable driver of visceral-fat loss is a calorie deficit. Simply cutting back on sugary and high-fat foods while adding cardio may be enough to start. Next is face fat at 3/10. Sometimes a "fatter" face isn't more fat; it's water retention. Cutting back on takeout and processed foods can reduce that water retention quickly. For actual face fat, your face is often one of the first places you'll notice progress while dieting. Manson did it without initially counting calories by eating more whole, home-prepared foods and replacing calorie-containing drinks like bubble tea and lattes with calorie-free options. Upper-body fat gets a 6/10. After analyzing more than 100 DXA scans from people we've worked with, I noticed women's arm body-fat percentage averaged about 3.1 percentage points above their total body-fat percentage, while men's arms averaged about 4.2 percentage points below theirs. For men, more upper-body fat seemed to collect around the chest. But losing fat isn't the only way to improve these areas. Building the muscles underneath can make them look firmer and more defined. For the back of the arms, overhead extensions can help build the triceps long head. For the chest, incline dumbbell presses and machine flyes with a slight forward lean can help build the upper chest. Combine that with a calorie deficit, one fist-sized serving of lean protein at each meal, and around 8,000–10,000 steps per day. Love handles are much tougher: 8.5/10. One reason may involve the balance of alpha- and beta-receptors in fat cells. Research found deeper visceral fat had close to a 50/50 split, while subcutaneous fat had roughly 60% of the more resistant receptors and 40% of the more permissive ones. You can't spot-reduce love handles, so how to lose side belly fat really comes down to lowering your overall body fat while building a stronger V-taper to make them look smaller. Lateral raises for your shoulders and pull-ups for your upper back can create the appearance of a narrower waist. To actually lose the fat, you still need to reduce overall body fat. You typically won't notice much progress until below around 20% body fat for men and 30% for women. At this stage, tracking calories becomes much more useful. A rough starting estimate is body weight in pounds × 10–13 calories. Finally, lower-belly fat gets a 10/10. For many men, lower belly fat is the very last area to lean out. Luke still had lower-belly fat at around 15% body fat despite visible upper and middle abs, and most men who don't genetically store less fat there may need to reach roughly 10–12% body fat for the area to really lean out. The leaner you become, the fewer calories your body naturally burns, so maintaining the same deficit can require eating a little less, moving more, or adding cardio. But pushing too aggressively can increase the risk of losing muscle. A useful upper limit at this stage is body weight in pounds × 0.007 for weekly weight loss. And before chasing that final pocket of lower-belly fat, ask whether getting that lean is actually worth it for you. Even around 10% body fat, there can still be a little lower-belly fat left to obsess over. Disclaimers: Jeremy Ethier is not a doctor, physical therapist, or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jeremy Ethier will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death. 0:00 - 3:40 VISCERAL FAT 3:41 - 5:36 FACE FAT 5:37 - 8:23 UPPER BODY FAT 8:24 - 10:50 LOVE HANDLES 10:51 - 13:18 LOWER BELLY

5 Bodyweight Exercises That Fix 95% of Your Problems

22 Days to More Pullups - https://athleanx.com/morepullups Subscribe to this channel here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW If you are looking for 5 exercises that fix 95% of your problems, then you’ve come to the right place. In this video, I am going to show you 5 different exercises that will help to deal with the common problem areas in the body as well as working on those stiff and achey joints so you can feel loose and pain free throughout the day. The first exercise up a pushup variation done to target very specific problem areas. If you have bad posture, rounded, tight, achey shoulders and low back problems, this hand-release superman pushup will address those areas immediately. By extending the arms straight out in front, you are promoting overhead shoulder biomechanics and thoracic extension. When it comes to bad posture, we often have trouble getting our arms overhead, especially due to rounding of the thoracic spine. If we can get thoracic extension, we can promote good posture. It's important to note that we often neglect the muscles on the backside of our body, which leads to weakness which then leads to poor posture and biomechanics. When it comes to addressing the lower back, we often have a weakness in the lumbar spine area. We focus most of our efforts on building size and strength of the lats, but the muscles of the lower back, when weak, can become painful. By lifting our legs off the ground in this superman pushup, we are directly strengthening the muscles of the low back. The second exercise that will fix 95% of your body's problems is a combination between one of my favorite mobility exercises and one of my favorite ab exercises. The bridge and reach over will again promote thoracic mobility, helping to alleviate some of the postural problems you may have. On top of that, though, this part of the combo will also help to strengthen the glutes. Weak glutes often contributes to dysfunction like anterior pelvic tilt and low back pain. Therefore, if we can strengthen the glutes while working on the posture of our upper body, we will be setting ourselves up for postural success and a life without chronic pain. The second half of this combo features the heels to the heaven exercise or swiper. Swiping your hands underneath your low back while you perform this exercise will give immediate feedback that you are doing the movement correctly. If you can't swipe your hands underneath, you are not getting your pelvis off the ground. This means that you are likely using your hip flexors instead of your lower abs to initiate the movement. The third exercise that you should be doing in an effort to fix 95% of your problems is another combination that mashes up a bodyweight squat and static reverse creeping lunge. Here we will again address thoracic extension as you will need to stay as upright as possible during the entire movement. This can be reinforced by folding your hands and holding them against your sternum - your knuckles should be facing the ceiling at all times. Squat down and pause, from here, step back one leg into a reverse lunge, return and step back the other leg. This combo is extremely effective at targeting hip stability because of the unilateral nature of the lunge portion of the exercise. Stronger hips will lead to better balance as well as preventing back pain. Most sources of low back pain don't come from your back directly, but weakness in the muscles of the hips like the glute medius. The next exercise is a home variation on one of my favorite exercises that I find to be extremely beneficial when it comes to training the upper body and correcting any deficiencies we may have. The doorway facepull. Simply press against the door frame with the back of your hands and pull your upper body forward until you feel the muscles in your upper back and rear delts engaging. This exercise will strengthen the muscles of the upper back that often get neglected, along with the rear delts and the rotator cuff (thanks to the external rotation present within the exercises form itself). This might be one of the most effective exercises for correcting posture and promoting shoulder health and there is a reason that I continue to program the gym and home version of this exercise whenever I can. Be sure to watch the video to the very end to see the final exercise that will help fix 95% of your problems. If you are looking for a complete workout routine and meal plan to compliment your flexibility and mobility routine, be sure to head to athleanx.com and check out the program selector tool. It will take you just minutes to find the exact plan that fits your current goals and will help you to build ripped athletic muscle quickly. For more home stretching routines and the best stretches for your hips, back and shoulders be sure to subscribe to our channel here on youtube via the link above and remember to turn on your notifications so you never miss a new video when it’s published.

Your Chest Won’t Grow Until You Fix THIS

Build a Muscular Chest Here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe to This Channel Here - https://bit.ly/2b0coMW If your chest won’t grow no matter how much you bench press, this video explains the REAL reason your pecs may not be responding and what you can do to finally build a bigger chest. I’m breaking down chest growth, pec activation, bench press technique, chest genetics, dips, pushups, cable presses, fly variations and the mistakes that can keep your shoulders doing the work instead of your chest. A lot of guys assume a lagging chest simply needs more weight, more exercises or more volume. But if you’ve been consistently bench pressing for a long time and your pecs still aren’t growing, the problem may not be effort. It may be that your chest is never becoming the dominant muscle in the exercises you’re using. The bench press should absolutely be a foundational chest exercise. If you haven’t been bench pressing consistently for at least a year, you may simply need more time building strength and improving your technique. For many lifters, the anterior delts and triceps dominate pressing movements. You may be moving impressive weight without creating enough tension in the pecs. That’s why chest adduction exercises can be so important. Exercises that bring the arm across the body can help you learn how to contract the pecs more effectively and carry that chest activation into your pressing exercises. Cable crossovers and cable flys are great options. If you don’t have a cable machine, a dumbbell floor fly can be a useful alternative. I prefer the floor fly to a traditional dumbbell bench fly because the floor limits the bottom range and can reduce the vulnerable position of the shoulder. But activation is only part of the story. At some point, chest genetics and skeletal structure matter too. The width and length of your clavicles and your overall frame influence how much total muscle mass your chest can visually carry. That doesn’t mean you should blame genetics. Different lifters simply have different ceilings and chest shapes. The goal is to maximize YOUR pec development by building the lower chest line, improving thickness through the middle pecs and developing the upper chest so you create that fuller shelf near the clavicles. You do this by training the chest with intent instead of treating every chest exercise like a strength test. One major change is to separate strength training from hypertrophy focused chest training. Let the barbell bench press be a strength exercise if that’s where you perform best. Then use other chest exercises with lighter weights, slower reps and more control to make the pecs do the work. On a dumbbell bench press, try pausing at the bottom of each rep. Keep the shoulders back and think about initiating the press with the chest instead of simply driving the dumbbells upward. That brief pause can help eliminate momentum and force you to create tension with the muscle you’re trying to grow. The same idea applies to dips. Dips can be an excellent lower chest exercise, but only if you perform them correctly. If your shoulders roll forward as you press up, you may be shifting stress away from the pecs while putting the shoulders in a less favorable position. Slow the movement down, maintain control and initiate the rep with the chest. Another excellent option is the cable bench press. This doesn’t replace the regular bench press. Instead, the cables pull slightly outward, forcing the pecs to contribute more strongly through their adduction function. For someone who struggles to feel their chest, this can be a game changer. And if you train at home with no equipment, you can still improve chest activation with pushups. Slow the pushup down. Don’t just think about pushing your body away from the floor. Think about lifting your sternum as you press and squeezing the pecs to move your torso upward. That can make a pushup feel completely different. If your chest won’t grow, don’t automatically assume you need more weight, more sets or more exercises. First make sure your pecs are contributing the way they should. Improve your mind-muscle connection, control the eccentric, slow down your reps, use exercises that reinforce horizontal adduction and stop letting the shoulders dominate every press. If you’re looking to build a bigger chest, increase pec activation, improve your bench press technique, grow your upper chest, build your lower chest or finally fix a stubborn chest that refuses to grow, these principles will give you a much better path forward. For complete ATHLEAN-X training programs designed to build muscle and increase strength, visit athleanx.com at the link above. If your LOWER CHEST is the problem, watch the Lower Chest Solution next. If your UPPER CHEST won’t grow, watch the Upper Chest Solution next. Subscribe to ATHLEAN-X and turn on notifications so you never miss a new video.

If You Love Eating But Want Abs, Do This For 30 Days

TRY 2 WEEKS FREE OF MY TRAINING AND NUTRITION APP HERE: https://bws.plus/23a DOWNLOAD THE FREE 30 DAY GUIDE HERE: http://builtwithscience.com/fillingdiet What if you could lose fat while eating huge meals, never counting calories, and rarely feeling hungry? To test that, I built the world's most filling diet: a volume eating plan that swaps calorie dense foods for high volume low calorie meals and low calorie foods big enough to keep you full in a calorie deficit. It's a meal plan to lose fat, full of fat loss meals that make fat loss easy. Two experienced lifters followed it for 30 days. Manson started at 24.7% body fat and Melody at 32.5%. They followed three rules: three meals a day from an oversized bowl; at least one lean protein, one high-volume food, and one measured serving of fat per meal, with no snacks; and fill the bowl to the top. Fats were capped because they are calorie dense foods that pack far more calories into less space. The foods were picked to give a lot of food for few calories. This is the logic behind volume eating: 200 calories of shrimp is far more food than 200 calories of steak, and low-calorie produce makes even bigger portions than trail mix, rice, or pasta. As the stomach fills, stretch receptors in its walls respond to the expansion and signal fullness. The same stretch principle drives gastric bypass surgery, which averages 12 to 18 pounds of fat loss in the first three months; my theory was that creating a similar fullness effect through food volume might produce a comparable rate of fat loss without surgery. The first week showed how differently they approached the same plan: Manson chased convenience, repeating strawberries, shrimp, and eggs while barely touching vegetables, whereas Melody kept experimenting with new meals. After one week both were down about three pounds - early proof the calorie deficit was working. To push fullness further, I added three more strategies. The first was carbonation: with every meal they drank a diet soda or other carbonated drink. Research comparing carbonated water with still water found carbonation produced a bigger rise in fullness that lasted almost an hour. Manson said it helped his cravings; Melody just found her meals harder to finish. By Day 15, Manson was down six pounds and Melody five. Manson worried the fast loss might cost him muscle. Every meal had lean protein and both kept training progressively; their strength was rising - encouraging, but only the final scans could confirm muscle was preserved. The second strategy was broth: one meal a day included roughly one to two cups, before the meal or as soup. In one study, people ate about 20% fewer calories when they started with a low-calorie soup. Combined with carbonation, these high volume low calorie meals stayed under roughly 500 calories. Then the scale stalled. With high-sodium broth daily, my theory was that temporary water retention was masking continued fat loss - and a week later the bump reversed. By around Day 20, a bigger issue emerged: fullness and enjoyment aren't the same. Manson was sick of the same foods and craving beef, rice, and fried chicken, while Melody's variety made the plan easier to tolerate, though cravings, family meals, and barbecues still tested her. The final strategy was eating more slowly with a tiny fork and spoon. More bites meant longer meals, the idea being that more time eating leaves you fuller and more satisfied. Both found it frustrating, but Manson ended up dropping from three meals to two because he couldn't finish all the food. By the end, Melody was rarely hungry and could see her upper abs, and Manson was seeing clear changes too. Both named shrimp a top food; Manson's top strategy was the small utensils, Melody's the carbonated drinks. The final DEXA scans told the story. Melody lost just over eight pounds, almost all fat, dropping from 32.5% to 29.7% body fat. Manson lost 10.4 pounds, 10.2 of it fat, dropping from 24.7% to 20.7%. Neither lost muscle. For these two, huge portions of low calorie foods produced substantial fat loss while making hunger almost irrelevant. But killing hunger didn't kill the other challenges of dieting: monotony, cravings, convenience, social situations, and food variety still mattered. 0:00 - 3:15 : The Diet Rules 3:16 - 6:08 - Week 1 & Recipes 6:09 - 10:28 - Week 2 10:29 - 14:30 - Week 3 14:31 - 17:20 - Week 4 17:21 : Final Results Click below to subscribe for more videos: https://www.youtube.com/jeremyethier/?sub_confirmation=1 Disclaimers: Jeremy Ethier is not a doctor, physical therapist, or a medical professional. Always consult a physician before starting any exercise program. Use of this information is strictly at your own risk. Jeremy Ethier will not assume any liability for direct or indirect losses or damages that may result from the use of information contained in this video including but not limited to economic loss, injury, illness or death.

If Your Shoulder Hurts, FIX These 7 Exercises Now!

Train Without Pain Here - https://athleanx.com Subscribe to This Channel Here - https://bit.ly/2b0coMW If you have any kind of a shoulder pain, you're probably looking for the 7 most troublesome exercises for a bum shoulder. In this video, I am going to go over what those 7 troublesome exercises are if you are dealing with a bad shoulder (or shoulders for that manner). Not only that, but I am going to show you how to manage those exercises so that you can keep training and getting gains without the pains. When it comes to working out with shoulder pain, I know that there are 7 exercises that are troublesome. Does that mean you should stop doing them altogether? Or is there something that can be done to mitigate the pain while still getting the benefits of the exercise? As a physical therapist and someone that has bad shoulders myself, I can tell you that avoiding these exercises altogether is not the solution. The first exercise that could be a problem with shoulder pain is one you might not immediately think of and that's the pullup. In the case of a labrum tear, this can be one of the most aggravating exercises. The fix here is to depress your shoulders - create distance between your ears and your biceps as you hang from the bar. When you are lowering yourself down from the top of the pull-up, there are 2 things you need to do. The first is to slow yourself down as you descend. The second is to never disengage the packing of your shoulders throughout the rep. This will let you keep getting the benefits of the pullup without aggravating a compromised labrum. The next troublesome exercise for a bum shoulder is an obvious one that, again, you shouldn't be skipping. That is the bench press. Most people experience shoulder pain or shoulder discomfort on the bench press when they use a barbell. That is because of the fixed arm position of the arms when using the bar. If you are going to use a barbell to bench press, then you will want to take a more narrow grip. This will help with elbow positioning in preventing you from flaring your arms out to the sides (incurring greater internal rotation) as well as activating the lats to stabilize the press. In many cases, I would say that if a barbell bench press is causing shoulder pain, then you're likely better off switching to dumbbells. This will allow freedom to tuck the elbows as much as needed to avoid shoulder pain. The key here is to go slow to create greater stability. If there is one exercise you should skip altogether when it comes to working out with shoulder pain, it would be the upright row. It's just not a good exercise due to its ability to create shoulder problems in the first place (such as with impingement) and any benefits it has when it comes to shoulder growth can be mirrored by another, safer exercise. In this instance, simply opt to perform a dumbbell high pull instead. The added benefit of external rotation at the top of the rep will help prevent impingement and promote healthy shoulder mechanics. We don't only have to focus on the upper body to find exercises that will be tough on a creaky shoulder. As a matter of fact, the king of leg exercises, the squat, can be a big problem if you don't have the right shoulder mobility. I'm specifically talking about the low bar squat, which requires a lot of shoulder external rotation to get into the proper position. However, we have some simple fixes so you can still squat without pain. If low bar squatting is what you want to do, try a wider grip for less shoulder mobility demand. Otherwise, you can switch to a high bar squat or a front squat, which will still have a heavy impact on your leg growth. Now, I've heard time and time again that if you have bad shoulders, you shouldn't do dips. I disagree. I think you just need to pay attention to how you are performing the exercise. The first thing to take note of is that you should be taking the same tip from the pullups when it comes to depressing your shoulder blades - keep your shoulders back and down throughout the entire movement. On top of that, stick your chest out. A proud chest will make sure your chest is taking the brunt of the work instead of the shoulders. Don't think you need some extreme amount of stretch at the bottom of the rep either. Cut your depth a little short to where you are getting some stretch on the pecs without aggravating your shoulder pain. Finish watching the video to the very end to see the rest of the 7 most troublesome exercises for a bum shoulder. If you're looking for a complete workout program designed to help you build muscle without pain or injury, visit athleanx.com. Every ATHLEAN-X program has been designed by a licensed physical therapist to ensure safety in the process of meeting your fitness goals. For more videos on working out with injuries, injury prevention, and injury rehab; be sure to subscribe to the ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you never miss a new video.

How I’d Get "6 Pack Abs" If I Were Starting All Over Today

Get a Flat Stomach Here - https://athleanx.com/flatstomach Carbs List Here - https://athleanx.com/carbs Subscribe to This Channel Here - https://bit.ly/2b0coMW If you want to get 6 pack abs, there are a few things you need to get right. In this video, I’m breaking down 13 of my best tips for getting six pack abs by combining smarter nutrition, better ab workouts, and more effective exercise technique. You cannot build a visible, ripped six pack by focusing on ab exercises alone. You need to train the muscles correctly while also lowering body fat through a sustainable nutrition plan. The first tip starts where your day begins. After going several hours without water while you sleep, you may wake up mildly dehydrated. Drinking 16 to 20 ounces of water shortly after waking can help you rehydrate before training, eating, or starting the rest of your day. Proper hydration supports exercise performance, energy, and the quality of your ab workouts. Whether your goal is to lose belly fat or perform better in the gym, staying hydrated matters. Next, pay attention to the order of your ab exercises. Start with lower ab exercises that require you to move the legs or pelvis. These movements are often more demanding and require greater control. Save top-down movements, such as crunch variations, for later in the workout. This lets you perform the hardest exercises while your abs are fresh and your form is still strong. When it comes to nutrition for six pack abs, use a simple plate strategy to control portions without counting every calorie. Imagine your plate as a clock. Fill the largest portion with fibrous carbohydrates such as vegetables. Fill the next largest portion with a quality source of protein. Use the smallest section for starchy carbohydrates, then include a modest amount of dietary fat. This makes it easier to build balanced meals and stay consistent with your fat loss goals. For a complete list of better carbohydrate choices, visit https://athleanx.com/carbs. During your ab workouts, stop focusing only on how many reps you complete. Make every repetition count. A fast, careless rep that creates little tension in the abs should not count the same as a controlled contraction. Slow the movement down and focus on feeling the abdominal muscles do the work. Quality contractions will do more for building defined abs than racing through sloppy repetitions. On lower ab exercises, think about lifting the pelvis rather than simply lifting the legs. Moving the legs without curling the pelvis can allow the hip flexors to take over. When possible, squeeze the knees together to engage the adductors. This can improve pelvic stability and create a stronger contraction in the lower abs. For upper ab exercises, imagine a line running across the bottom of your ribcage. Try to fold your torso over that line. Focus on lifting the shoulder blades off the floor by contracting the abs instead of pulling on your head or neck. This can make top-down ab exercises safer and more effective. Your diet can also include a few simple additions that may support fat loss when used consistently. Green tea, cinnamon, and red pepper flakes are easy additions. I personally use Ceylon cinnamon in oatmeal and red pepper flakes in different foods throughout the day. None of these will give you abs by themselves, but small habits can support a stronger nutrition plan when combined with training, calorie control, and consistency. Breathing is another important part of ab training. If you push your abdomen outward every time you exhale, you may reinforce a distended appearance through the midsection. Instead, tighten the waist by engaging the transverse abdominis as you breathe out. Think about drawing the abdomen inward while maintaining control of the movement. With practice, this can become automatic and improve your control of the core. The rest of the 13 tips for getting 6 pack abs are covered in the video. Watch the full breakdown and let me know which tip helped you most. Getting abs is not about finding one magical exercise or following an extreme diet. It comes from combining effective ab workouts, better technique, proper hydration, smart food choices, portion control, and a plan you can follow long enough to see results. The goal is not simply to lose weight. It is to reduce body fat while building strong, visible abdominal muscles. If you are looking for a complete meal plan and workout program designed to help you get six pack abs while building ripped athletic muscle, visit athleanx.com using the link above. Every ATHLEAN-X program includes training and nutrition guidance to remove the guesswork and keep you progressing. For more videos on how to get abs, the best ab exercises, effective ab workouts, and more; be sure to subscribe to the ATHLEAN-X YouTube channel and turn on notifications so you never miss a new video.

Stop F*cking Up Lunges (SAVE A FRIEND!)

FREE Total Body Program Here - http://athleanx.com/tbfree Subscribe to this channel here - http://bit.ly/2b0coMW The lunge is one of the top leg exercises you can include in your workouts, but it is also one of the exercises I see performed incorrectly every day. In this video, I am going to show you how to do lunges with proper form to build bigger quads, glutes, and hamstrings without unnecessarily beating up your knees. It is not just which exercises you do, but how you do them that matters most. Step 1 of this lunge tutorial is choosing the right direction: Most people automatically step forward when performing lunges. The problem is that the forward lunge can place more stress on the knee because the lead leg leaves the ground and has to absorb force when the foot lands. If your knees are irritated or you cannot control the landing, this can turn a great leg exercise into a painful one. The reverse lunge is often the better option. By stepping backward, the working leg stays planted throughout the rep. This lets you control the movement while avoiding the abrupt loading that occurs when stepping forward. You still train the quads, glutes, and hamstrings, but with mechanics that are more comfortable and repeatable. If you prefer forward lunges, consider walking lunges. Instead of stepping forward and then pushing backward, continue into the next rep. This improves the movement pattern, though it does not completely remove the extra stress when the lead foot hits the ground. Step 2 of this lunge form guide is getting your foot placement right: One of the most common lunge mistakes is stepping as though you are walking on a tightrope. When both feet remain directly in line, balance becomes the main challenge instead of building your legs. Step back and slightly out to create a wider base of support. To determine how far back to step, reach with the toe of the back foot. Once the toe contacts the ground, stop moving backward and lower straight down. This creates a repeatable setup based on your leg length while keeping the hips stable. Step 3 of this reverse lunge tutorial is stabilizing the hips: As you step backward, rotate your shoulders slightly toward the front working leg. This subtle turn helps lock the pelvis into position and limits wobbling at the hip. A small turn is enough to improve stability so you can focus on training the legs rather than fighting for balance. Step 4 of this lunge how-to is choosing which muscles you want to target: The angle of your torso changes the emphasis of the exercise. Keep your torso upright during a reverse lunge to place more focus on the quads. Maintain a tall posture, drop straight down, drive through the front foot, and return to full hip extension. If you hinge forward slightly at the hips, you create more of a sprinter lunge position. This increases the loading on the glutes and hamstrings. The lean should come from the hips rather than rounding the lower back. The right torso angle depends on whether you want to emphasize the anterior or posterior chain. Step 5 of this lunge form breakdown is selecting the right weight: The way you load the exercise should match your torso position. For a glute and hamstring focused lunge with a forward lean, dumbbells held at your sides are a great choice. They let you hinge without forcing the weight away from your body or stressing your lower back. For a more upright, quad focused lunge, you can use dumbbells, a barbell across your back, or a weight held in a goblet position. The implement should support the mechanics of the variation instead of fighting against them. Step 6 of this lunge tutorial is knowing how deep to go: A full-depth lunge allows the back knee to descend toward the floor while the front foot stays planted and the torso remains controlled. The back knee can lightly touch, or kiss, the ground, but it should never crash into it. Control the descent and use the contact only as a depth reference. Your range of motion may be limited by your hips, calves, Achilles tendon, or ankle mobility. If tightness prevents you from reaching the floor without losing position, stop at the deepest range you can control. Do not pitch your torso forward just to look like you reached greater depth. Work within the mobility you have and improve it over time. Now that you know how to do lunges correctly, you can build stronger legs while avoiding the mistakes that commonly lead to knee pain and poor balance. Step backward and slightly outward, control the descent, choose the right torso angle. For step-by-step programs that show you how to perform every exercise correctly, head to athleanx.com and use the program selector to find the ATHLEAN-X training system that matches your goals. For more how-to's and tutorials, be sure to subscribe to this channel here on YouTube and remember to turn on your notifications so that you never miss a new video when it's published.