Did you know that more than 50% of the adult population across the globe struggles with weight loss? And while many people associate weight loss with workouts, it is more important to understand more about the food you consume.
Now if you’re one of the aforementioned, then here’s an eye-opener for you: Weight loss or any other fitness goal is 80% diet and 20% exercise! Take a moment to let that sink in.
Now we know diet is not just about the food you eat but the lifestyle choices you make and thus it gets extremely tedious for many to stick to a routine for long.
So you tell me...
Are you always on diet but not literally “on diet”?
Are you browsing the internet rather than meeting a nutritionist?
Are you trying to follow your favorite influencers’ routine?
Are you drinking sugary drinks in the name of “healthy drinks”?
Okay! I can imagine you’re nodding your head to these.
There are over 50 different types of diets available and yet people struggle to find the suitable, sustainable, and simplest of them all, that is eating to a calorie deficit.
What can help is choosing a diet plan that syncs with YOU and your lifestyle and not the other way round?
While some have their own reservations about following a diet plan or hitting the gym, some just don’t have the time and hence it gets extremely important to have the perfect MEAL PLAN rather than a diet plan.
But how do I decide on the best transformation routine/plan?
There are three major things that should be considered while deciding what food you should consume:
Hence, for effective results, we should take into consideration not just the above-mentioned factors but also the diseases, or medical conditions, hormonal imbalances, etc. that a person might have.
How do I eat to a calorie deficit?
Simply put, it is when a person consumes less than the actual calorie requirement to perform the daily functions smoothly. Ideally, it is advised to cut down 500 calories, for instance, if a person consumes 2000 calories per day then they should cut it by 500 and consume 1500 calories instead.
How do I calculate that?
(You asked it not us. So here’s the math.)
The most commonly used formula is the Harris-Benedict equation.
You first need to calculate your BMR and then multiply it with how much movement you do per day.
BMRxActivity factor
How will this work?
It’s a butterfly effect.
What are my other options?
According to nutritionists, there should be a different diet plan for different bodies (cause one diet doesn’t fit all!)
But to write down a few, we have:
Diet name |
What is it actually? |
Pros+Cons if any |
Considerations |
Intermittent fasting |
You fast for 16 hours a day and only eat for a duration of 8 hours. |
Pros- Good option as you may not have to give up on your favorite items. Cons- Not for everyone. |
You need to avoid this diet if you’ve diabetes or are breastfeeding or have any kind of eating disorder. |
Low carb diets(Keto, LCHF diet, etc.) |
You basically restrict your carb intake for protein and fat. |
Pros- Good for weight loss, regularised blood insulin, and cholesterol levels. |
In some rare cases, this diet can lead to a fatal metabolic condition called, ketoacidosis. |
Paleo diet |
Eat whole foods, fruits and vegetables, seeds, meat, and nuts. |
Pros- Reduces heart risks and cholesterol. Has a high content of protein. |
Can lead to calcium and other deficiencies as it restricts the intake of dairy, whole grains, and legumes. |
Dash diet |
Not exactly a weight loss diet but is designed to prevent high blood pressure. |
Pros- Good for your heart and mental health, lowers the risk of breast and colorectal cancer. |
A low salt intake can lead to high insulin levels and heart attacks, so people with heart diseases and diabetes should avoid following this diet plan. |
Plant-based diet |
Go vegan and cut down on all forms of food coming from animals or factories. |
Pros- Environment sustainable and helps in keeping you holistically healthy. |
People with Vitamin, zinc, Omega -3, calcium deficiencies should consult their physician before following this. |
Bottom Line:
Putting your meal and yourself on a check can be tricky and should be done after consulting an expert or after fully understanding your need. Though something might work well for someone, it may not work for you so always be mindful of the choice you make and don’t just follow the trends.
But in general, people have seen results after going calorie deficit, as it helps with sustainable results and is easy to blend in with any lifestyle.
]]>If you are planning to become a CrossFit athlete, then pulling strength must be your priority. The most common exercise to enhance your pulling strength is pull-ups. Today we will provide you a comprehensive guideline that will help you in performing your first full up with proper progression.
Let us get started!
Keep one crucial point in mind that never start bodyweight exercises without proper stretches. Exercises like pull-ups require the full potential of your upper body. Without appropriate stretching, your muscles will be in rest that will ultimately restrict you from giving your best. The best option to open up your body is to perform CrossFit mobility exercises. It will awaken your muscles as well as a great way to warm up your body.
It is time for you to get serious, grab a pull up bar. Make a firm grip and keep your hands outside of the shoulders width. Wait! Do not pull yourself up yet.
Start from hanging on the bar because most of the time, your upper torso is ready to perform more reps, but your hands get tired. Take an initial step of 10-sec timer. Hang for 10 seconds and increase the time after every round. Perform the same action for one week.
Make sure after one week, you can hang more than 30 seconds.
Chair assisted pull up is an easy and fundamental step towards the proper pull up. Grab a chair or stool, place it near to your pull up bar. Make a firm grip on the bar, keep one foot on the chair, and pull yourself up. While going down, bend your leg that is on the chair. While going up straighten that leg again.
Perform the same cycle again and again for three days. It will improve your formation.
Once you have mastered chair Assisted pull up move towards this step. Remove the chair and make a grip on the bar. If your feet touch the ground, push and jump up. Use the force of the jump to go up and perform your pull-up.
Note: If your feet do not touch the ground, you can place a supporting item.
Now, you have built up your arm strength, you know the formation, and you know how to go up. Let us remove all the support and start with the internal strength.
Hold the bar outside of your shoulder width and push yourself up with the strength of your arms and shoulders. Make sure your chin goes above the bar then slowly come down.
Note: Do not move your legs or take any support from them.
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You might have seen various types of physiques in the gym doing CrossFit. How do you think a skinny or a healthy person is surviving such a dominating training (CrossFit)? All thanks to Scaling because, in Scaling, a person modifies the intensity of the WOD according to his/her fitness level. Hence, it is the reason everybody can become a part of CrossFit.
All the WODs and exercises have a scaling option. For example, if you are into weightlifting, then lift a lighter weight and perform more reps, and if you are in bodyweight exercises, then use extensions like an elastic band to perform exercises like pushups, squats, and pull-ups more effectively.
Drag each exercise to a limit when each targeted muscle starts trembling.
If you think scaling is only meant for beginners; then you are wrong because even Professional Crossfitters also use this technique. CrossFit is a robust training, and joint pains are common. Hence, Athletes cannot skip their days just because of some pain. Therefore, they adapt Scaling and make their day challenging.
Some days are different from others, for example; Fever, not enough intake calories or proteins, consumption of alcohol, and many more. In these types of situations, your body is unable to give its best, and ultimately there is a reduction in strength. In these types of situations, Scaling is the best option to adapt. You can complete your WOD according to your current strength.
Sometimes you have to learn new exercises and trust me CrossFit includes complex ones. In this situation, it is better to scale; it will avoid the chances of injury. Moreover, it will be easier to become an expert in the formation of the exercise.
In Scaling, you can not only decrease the weights, but you can also reduce the total number of rounds. OR keep the rounds the same and reduce the number of reps. You can follow any combination that makes you feel comfortable during your workout.
Do not lose hope; learn to scale.
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Let us get started!
Crossfit is an extensive training hence always warm up the targeted muscles. In Handstand pushups, the major targeted areas are shoulders and wrists. Consequently, before directly moving towards your handstand pushups start by warming up your targeted areas.
Keep your body near to a wall; it would not let you fall backward. Moreover, the wall will give you some support that will improve your balancing skills.
Note: Do not always stay near to the wall; you have to keep improving your skills. Once you can perform a proper handstand pushup, skip the support. Perform the handstand with no support near to your body.
While performing your handstand pushup, you have to put tension on multiple areas of your body. Otherwise, you are just performing reps.
Try the above tips, and you will surely be able to perform ultimate handstand pushups.
]]>Cardio-respiratory training is the best way to lose fat as well as to enhance aerobic capacity. Aerobic capacity is an ability to use oxygen as fuel to improve physical activity. Many people are into Aerobic capacity, but most of them are not doing it right. Hence, today we will provide you some details through which even a novice person can improve its Aerobic capacity.
The most important thing to do is to have fun, so clean off those shoes get some fresh air and feed those lungs and get your heart pumping. And always remember live by the motto, "Let Me Be Great"
]]>If you want to dominate your WOD, it is crucial to perform Crossfit Mobility exercises before the main workout. Double Unders are a fascinating exercise of CrossFit Mobility because it targets the whole body. However, this exercise is not an easy one, especially for beginners. Hence. Today we will provide you a short guide that will convert your broken Double Unders into fascinating ones.
If you want to improve your Double Unders, then it is necessary to be an expert in Single Unders (In Single Unders, the ropes pass from your feet once when you make a normal jump). Hence, take an initial step, Start from 50 Single Unders without any pause or delay.
It will build up the coordination of your hands with your feet. Moreover, it will enhance your stamina to perform Double Unders.
The perfect jump is the most crucial point of Double Unders. Put the rope aside and start Penguin Jumps. In Penguin jumps, you will make a higher jump while patting your hips twice. If you are patting before your feet are on the ground, then you are doing it right, otherwise, jump higher.
The speed of your rope depends on the movement of your wrists. Hence, start improving your wrists because it is the only hurdle left. Make Penguin Jumps and this time instead of patting move your wrists twice.
Do not expect to perform frequent Double Unders in one drill. Hence, start from performing one, perform one Double Under and stay stable for 1 sec. Keep repeating this procedure until you have completed 50 Double Unders. It will help your brain to adapt to the new exercise. Moreover, your body will also be able to coordinate better.
Note: Do not let your knees get bent or your legs lean forward.
If you are at this point, then your jumps are perfect, formation is excellent, wrist movement is fast, and coordination is excellent. Now perform your Double Unders, make five rounds, and each round contains five reps.
Live by the motto...LET ME BE GREAT!
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Those of us in the fitness community are constantly striving for perfection. We want to get bigger, stronger, learner, faster, and better overall each day. We spend countless hours in the gym, tweaking and re-tweaking workouts and reaching for ways to nurture our bodies to achieve true greatness. This is something that I think the majority of us can agree upon.
But somewhere along the line a new "sport" was created and it was coined "Crossfit". It’s grown from a very small movement that has ballooned into something GREAT that I'm sure founder Greg Glassman could have never imagined. But here we are in 2016 and the Crossfit Games are broadcasting on ESPN, millions of amateur and pro athletes participate each year and thus with most great big achievements comes many distractors, "haters" and naysayers.
Since I started Crossfit in 2008, I've heard more jokes characterizing one for of athleticism and achieving a fit lifestyle than any other sport I've observed. We have all head jokes about bodybuilders not being able to reach into their pockets. We've heard jokes about aerobics and popular dance fitness activities and how they are overacted and serve you very little in achieving your fitness goals. But Crossfit is in a lane of its own. People harass and offer critiques of Crossfit unfairly and normally without just cause. Sure a Kipping pull-up looks crazy until you understand it. Sure conventional wisdom would tell you to not do 30 Snatches, or 55 Deadlifts or combination of both in a short period of time. BUT with that said there was once a time that people recommended you eat raw eggs and run like Rocky if you want to reach your fitness goals. Sure that may work as well but knowledge, programming and proper coaching will give you all you need to build on Crossfit and reach your fitness goals. Crossfit like any other fitness program will have some who are injured, some who will excel, some who will fail and many that fall in between the lines. The bottom line is Crossfit is a great community and you should give it a try before deducting your conclusion.
For me functional fitness made more sense, it resonated with what I thought was logical. Not to mention I love the family atmosphere you get in a Crossfit box, a group of people competing each day, not necessarily with me but with who they were yesterday to help reach greatness. Let’s not forget what I love most and what I think is greatest attribute of Crossfit is the varying WOD (Workout of the Day). Each day you walk into the box you have no idea if you are going to row 2K meters, run 2K meters, do 50 pull-ups, 100 wall-balls, 30 power-cleans, 50 clean and jerks or a combination of other Olympic Lifts, Power Lifts, Gymnastics or endurance activities.
At the end of the day though fitness is a lifestyle we all must choose, I chose Crossfit and you can choose the big box gym. It does not matter really as long as you are challenging your body to get stronger, faster, and better overall and sharing what you are doing with others.
Committing yourself to fitness is one of the greatest accomplishments you can ever achieve...Whatever you decide to do just remember to live by our motto at Best Fit Apparel.
"Let Me Be Great"
Listen folks its no secret that the New Year brings New Promises that we all make to ourselves. These resolutions can be constructive and give us the feeling of being able the capture our goals. The problem is we often lose focus and motivation shortly after we being. The question is Why? And what can we do to change it?
I can promise you something that you may not realize. If you were to ask you favorite professional athlete be it Crossfit, Bodybuilding, Powerlifting, Football, Basketball or any other sport why is it so easy for them to remain fit they will on one accord look at you like you're CRAZY! Why? Because the journey to and maintaining a high level of fitness is a constant challenge. You are not the only one who craves pasta. You are not the only one that wants to sit alone on the couch and eat ALL the candy, cakes and pies. You are not the one that secretly wants to go to the buffet and let loose. The difference is these people are able to focus more on the big picture than on the small joys we all crave. These are the people who truly earn cheat meals or even cheat weeks. Not people like you and me who eat clean Monday morning, afternoon and night and declare we deserve a treat before bed.
So what does it take? Well first of all it does not take a magical beginning of a New Year. It does not take waiting until Monday, or after the holidays or vacation. It takes a 3 siimple steps that I'll cover below;
1.) The Big Picture.
This is a critical step, as it sets the pace and picture of the finish line. The Big Picture is something that is highlighted a great deal in 'How Successful People Think' by John C. Maxwell. John challenges his readers to cultivate the Big Picture in order to manifest it. But for the sake of health and fitness The Big Picture should be a short term goal that will act more like a benchmark. This can be go the whole week without getting lunch with your co-workers, go to the gym 3 days this week, throw away sweets. Small steps will accumulate, just remember while you are patting yourself on the back for reaching one goal the next goal should already be on the horizon. And don't get me wrong having a long term goal is not a bad thing, but don't allow the long term goal to be the sole goal or it will be very easy to lose focus.
2.) Be Selective with Your Advice.
In this age of social media and 24/7 information its easy for any and everybody to claim to be an expert. But a good friend once gave me perfect advice. Don't listen to people who are not doing what you want to do. In other words don't take financial advice from someone who is broke, business advice from someone who has not worked in business or health and fitness advice from someone who has not made it a major part of their advice. Everyone will tell you what you should and shouldn't eat, how you should and shouldn't work out, etc. But, if this person is not living the lifestyle you want to live then their advice should not be considered gospel. The age of social media and 24/7 information is at our fingertips. Take it a step further and do research. What works for my body may not work the same for your body. But I promise you investing time in learning first hand will take you much further on your journey to fitness then a friend at the water cooler will ever do.
3.) Recognize you will fail, maybe a lot, maybe a little but you WILL fail.
Often we see the finished product, we see the Rich Froning on the podium or the Super MVP QB. We don't see the days of scars, tears, pain, falling, failing, giving up and contemplating quitting. So you star on 1/1/18 full of gusto and ready to take on the world and get the "perfect" beach body. 1/7/18 you are starting to lose motivation and by 1/16/18 you are "taking a break." Don't give up on yourself it will happen to the best of us. Refocus and adjust the Big Picture if necessary and recognize its an eternal challenge to reach your health and fitness goals.
If you live by our motto the sky will always be the limit, so remember
"LET ME BE GREAT"
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The goal to achieve gains in the gym is commonplace for most members. But the lagging piece that we often neglect or forget is the importance of treating our muscles to movements that will improve their recovery, growth and most importantly minimize damage and injuries. In the world of Crossfit mobility is used a great deal but from my personal experience its still something glossed over by many and minimally emphasized by coaches. We treat it as more of a cusp to the real workout rather than an important component and vital piece to the puzzle.
I'll be the first to admit I'm guilty. I HATE mobility only exceeded by my hate for box jumps, wall balls and running. Mobilty is the reason any WOD that requires I go shoulder to over head I'm hindered a great deal. But my lack of interest and ability to hold my attention is the reason I continually ignore my issues.
In 2017, I challenge all members of the fit community to make a quick trip to google and search for mobility resources. There are countless sites that offer great information to attack this challenge. I have two that I personally use and intend to use far more often and that's MobiltyWod and RomWod.
Both of the resources work very well and have easy plans to follow for a low cost. Of course YouTube is full of free information as well. The important step is to treat Mobility like leg day or chest day, Murph or DT. Approach them as challenges that will only lead to more gains, more reps, more accomplishments and more satisfaction.
This fitness journey is multidimensional. Fitness, Food, are always mentioned but lets make space for mobility there as well for without this piece you will spend more time injured, more time stagnant and most importantly more time NOT making gains, and NOT getting better.
The choice is yours but for me its simple. Let's Be GREAT!
]]>Cardio training vs. weight training? This is a question asked many ladies looking to stay healthy. A lot of women shy away from weight training completely, because of the fear of getting too bulky and looking like a man. Whoever told you that weightlifting is only for extreme bodybuilders wanting to be the next Arnold Schwarzenegger, simply knows nothing about weightlifting. The myth that weightlifting makes girls bulky just simply isn’t true. There are so many beautiful women that weight train daily.
Too many ladies, when they the think of weight training, their minds picture a bodybuilder or power-lifter. These athletes train to move high volumes of weight for a very specific goal. The type of training athletes like that do, will naturally bulk you up and get you much stronger. Not all weight training is this way. You need to understand that moderate weight at moderate volume is such great exercise for the body to not only tone muscle but also burn fat.
We all agree that cardio exercises such as running burn fat. But did you know that weightlifting does the same thing? Another very important fact you should realize is cardio training will burn fat along with muscle.
Weight training, however is a fat burning tool while also building muscle.
Now don’t get carried away and think that I’m saying cardio focused workouts are bad for you. Some of the fittest looking women on earth do workouts that are full of cardio-based exercises. Take a look at the ladies at the CrossFit Games. What I am saying is there are benefits to both styles of training. Cardio training is great for the heart, lungs, and weight-loss when used in moderation. Notice the word, moderation. Look at many professional long distance runners. None of them have wiggly arms or floppy bellies. They look as if they have no fat at all! But notice how much muscle they have, or should I say how little. If you’re only doing cardio routines you will not be using a lot of your muscles’ potential. This tells your body that those muscles aren’t needed. Then the body will take the unneeded muscle and turn it into fat. This is very common in marathon runners because so many of them only do cardio.
You need a balanced amount of both styles of training in your workouts. Like anything else in life, balance is important. If all you are doing is weight training everyday then yes you are going to build muscle and get bulkier. This leads to more of the bodybuilding tract. With cardio training, if this is all you do then yes, you are going to burn fat, but at the same time taking away from your muscle. Having a proper balance of both of these in your fitness journey will ensure you are both burning fat and staying strong. CrossFit does this really well as this program has workouts designed that are cardio intensive while also using weights. You’re getting the best of both worlds in one workout!
If the goal is to be a fit lady living a healthy lifestyle, then adding some weight training into your routines is a must! Stay STRONG, stay HEALTHY, and stay BEAUTIFUL.
]]>Baltimore, MD – (November 10, 2015) -- New and exciting fitness apparel company that launched its new site in July 2015 is releasing new fashion for the Fall/Winter season. The new apparel includes hoodies, hats, long sleeve t-shirts and leggings. The clothing is designed to meet the comfort and fashionable demands of both amateurs and professional athletes. The label targets those who want fun and interesting apparel to wear to the gym. Best Fit Apparel is designed and made to be comfortable and motivating to keep you pushing forward toward your fitness goals. They specialize in t-shirts, hats and tank-tops for both men and women. Our new site http://www.bestfitapparel.com is already receiving great reviews from our members.
The timing is perfect for the holiday season as our discounts and sales for the holiday season will begin on 11/16/15 with some products discounted up to 50%. The fitness apparel is the perfect gift especially to help keep those New Year’s Resolutions intact.
“We are excited about our new designs as our team has worked tirelessly to share some of our favorite mantras with the world” said Sid, Creative Assistant. More than just a brand Best Fit Apparel is a movement. We are a movement of individuals who hope to improve each day and share their intent with the world. When going to the gym or working out at home everyone has what they consider to be their favorite apparel for the workout. The designs behind the team at Best Fit Apparel is for those who want comfortable and reliable apparel to meet fitness needs. The company was built and designed by a team of fitness fans at multiple levels. While there are many brands that offer fitness and athletic apparel none offer the unique designs of Best Fit Apparel.
“Our goal was to grow organically by offering a reliable options that were fun and interesting to our customers” said Clinton Jiggetts, Founder and Creative Director. The fitness industry is huge and only growing as more people see the value in living a fit and healthy life. Our Best Fit brand is designed to give our client’s access to apparel that reflects their fitness principles, beliefs and convictions. We believe in sharing our motto, “Let Me Be Great”.
About Best Fit Apparel
Our brand began with a simple goal to make the best T-shirt. We wanted a shirt that can be worn to the gym, or a casual night out. Founded in 2014, by Clinton Jiggetts, Best Fit is a brand built for you. We are a brand designed to meet the demands of the novice gym member to the professional athlete. Our apparel is top quality and can fit every mood before, during and after the gym. We are headquartered in Maryland and are a team of gym junkies who love maintaining our motivation and new gear always helps. We believe everyone as the innate ability to create greatness within them. We have no time for those who elect to keep others from progress. We live by the motto, “Let Me Be Great”.
Media Contact:
Clinton Jiggetts
443-424-8199
http://www.bestfitapparel.com
]]>To my own surprise I suddenly realized something that I did not see happening. I feel in love with everything to do with the fitness community which lead me to where we are today. There are many brands available for one to wear in the gym. Some brands are international and well known by many because pro-athletes and professional sport organization brandish their products. Some are only known to smaller communities of like thinking individuals who are dedicated to some sport, activity, or event that unites many under one mind-state.
Our brand is for EVERYONE and we mean EVERYONE from the novice obese individual who made a commitment to change their life. To the intermediate gym or activity fan who often thinks about ways to improve how they perform day to day. To the Semi-pro and pro athlete we are here to support all of you. Rather you can do 1 push up or 100 push ups you are somebody and you deserve everything you earn.
Our brand is built to be a bridge for everyone a bridge for anyone and a tool to share your addiction to one goal and that's getting better each day.
We live by our own credo, our own mission statement and our own motto. Its a simple 4 word phrase that declares your ultimate goal every time you enter the gym, walk on the field or court, enter the studio or anywhere in between.