How many times have you heard someone say they are going to cut back on their coffee consumption?
Oftentimes coffee is victimized to cover up poor lifestyle, nutrition and exercise habits. Are you tired due to your reliance on coffee or because you only slept 5 hours the night before?

Unfortunately, there can be a large variance in body composition results depending on the testing method used. There are certain procedures that are referenced as gold standard (most accurate tests possible under reasonable conditions), consisting of skinfold assessments, DEXA scans, and hydrostatic weighing. However, a popular method that is not acknowledged as gold standard is bioelectrical impedance, used frequently in bodyweight scales and InBody scans.

Eating vegetables is a win, regardless of whether they are fresh or frozen. However, there may be some points to consider when choosing between the two. Contrary to popular belief, the nutritional value may actually be lower in fresh compared to frozen vegetables! Let us explain…

The truth is… unfortunately it’s impossible to hit your macros to a T. This is because nutrient information panels are created based on averages of averages for certain foods and their respective macronutrient, micronutrient, and total energy content. Therefore, to most people’s surprise, the macros and calories listed on a back of a packet can actually deviate by a whooping 20% compared to their true amount!

When walking down the aisles of the supermarket, what entices you to buy certain products over others? In most cases you can’t smell the product… or see through the packet… so usually you’re influenced by the BIG BOLD LABELS saying “I’M HIGH IN PROTEIN! PICK ME!” *drops into basket without checking the macros or ingredients*

Most individuals who embark on a health and fitness journey strive to positively change their body composition and build more muscle mass. However, there’s arguably nothing more frustrating than feeling as though our results don’t reflect our level of effort and time spent invested in the gym.

There’s no doubt that as competitors we all look forward to peak week! After months of hard work dedicated to dieting, training, blistering our feet while posing and the like, it’s exciting to reach the home stretch before show day! However, bear in mind that this is a week where you should generally be doing LESS, not MORE, in the context of your entire contest prep.

Healthy vs unhealthy, good vs bad, nutritious vs non-nutritious - these are the kind of ideologies that some companies rely on in order to sell their products

Given how much information there is regarding nutrition on the internet, knowing what, when, and how much to eat each day can be very confusing. Therefore, we’ve done our best to simplify things for you by creating this FDOE framework!

For many years short rest periods of 30-90 seconds have been touted as being superior to longer rest times (>2 minutes) for the purpose of hypertrophy. We can totally understand this line of thinking. It FEELS like you’re working harder by reducing your rest time, heart rate is likely higher, and you may even obtain a more intense pump! It makes sense that this would be better for muscle gain, right?

While this celebratory homestretch before show day holds much anticipation and excitement, peak week shouldn’t be interpreted as “magical”. Rather, peak week should be seen as putting the finishing touches on a canvas, not trying to paint the Sistine Chapel in seven days…

When it comes to enhancing exercise performance we understand that it’s easy to get caught in the weeds. Supplement protocols, superfoods, anabolic windows and the like can unfortunately blind us from what’s most important – nailing the basics.

Branch Chained Amino Acids (BCAAs) refer to three of the nine essential amino acids, these being Leucine, Isoleucine, and Valine. Over the years the consumption of BCAAs around the exercise window has gained immense popularity, with claims that supplementation can improve exercise performance, endurance, recovery, reduce appetite, build muscle, and even enhance mental focus. However… scientific evidence to back-up these claims is severely lacking, and the overall consensus is that BCAA supplementation is unnecessary.

The quality of a diet isn’t determined by what you exclude... but rather the variety of foods that you choose to INCLUDE!

The sport of bodybuilding encompasses SO much more than just training and nutrition!

Tracking “To The Gram” Isn’t Mandatory. Nutrition is often viewed in a black and white context; however, we like to view nutrition in different shades of grey. The dietary strategies someone chooses to implement should be unique to them, therefore the approach they take really does “depend” on the context.

If you ask any passionate bodybuilder to elaborate on their “why”, they’re highly likely to explain that living this lifestyle isn’t solely for the purpose of building muscle mass.

It goes without saying that a calorie deficit is required for weight loss. However, there’s arguably nothing more frustrating than embarking on a weight loss journey, THINKING you’re in a calorie deficit, yet watching the scale stay stagnant.

It can be easy to understand the appeal of fast-tracked weight loss. Why diet for 15 weeks when you can get the job done in less than half the time? Rapid results don’t come with any negative consequences, right? Not necessarily…

Bodybuilding is a competitive sport, and those who succeed at the highest level do so for many reasons. Therefore, if you aspire to be a top-level athlete yourself, take the time to identify common characteristic traits shared amongst your greatest idols.