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It’s easy to see why food preservation would have been critical to our ancestors’ survival. Being able to store food to eat later meant they were protected against unsuccessful hunts and less-than-fruitful gathering. Moreover, they could migrate into regions where access to fresh food varied by season.

Drying was probably one of the earliest methods of food preservation paleolithic humans discovered, no doubt quite by accident. There’s evidence that our ancestors were drying food to preserve it as early as 10,000 to 12,000 BCE.^{1 2} Along the way, they also learned how to ferment, smoke, and use ash, salt, fat, and even peat bogs to keep food from spoiling. Each of these methods works in its own way by discouraging the growth of microorganisms that cause food to go bad. In the case of dehydrating, microbes require water to proliferate. No water, no rotting.

As food preservation methods go, drying, or dehydrating, has several advantages. Dehydrated food is shelf-stable and lightweight, making it a space-efficient and energy-efficient option—no refrigeration required. It’s perfect for homesteaders, parents, hikers, and backpackers who want to make portable, healthy snacks and meals to reconstitute later.

For DIYers, dehydrating is a great way to get started with home-preserving. It’s simpler than canning or fermenting (although those are easy to learn, too, so don’t be intimidated). Here are the basics to help you get started.

Methods of Dehydrating Food

By far, the most foolproof way to dry food is with a countertop dehydrator. Dehydrators work by using a combination of low heat and air circulation to remove moisture. An inexpensive dehydrator only costs about 40 dollars (USD), but you can spend ten times that or more on a top-tier model.

If you don’t want to invest in yet another kitchen appliance, however, you have options:

1. Sun is nature’s food dehydrator. This is what our ancestors used, after all. Sun drying works best in hot climates with low humidity. Food safety experts only recommend sun drying for fruit and herbs. Vegetables don’t have enough naturally occurring acid or sugar, both of which help resist molding and spoiling.
2. A related method is air drying, which doesn’t involve direct sunlight. Think bundles of herbs or hot peppers hanging from the rafters to dry. This method also requires low humidity and good airflow. Air drying is the preferred method for some types of dried meat like biltong.
3. Use your oven. This isn’t the best method because most ovens don’t have a low enough heat setting. The recommended temperature for dehydrating food is 140 degrees Fahrenheit (60 degrees Celsius), but a typical oven won’t go below 170 degrees. Ovens also don’t circulate air unless they have a convection setting. Still, you can make it work in a pinch, but you have to pay attention to avoid cooking your food instead of drying it.

Choosing a Food Dehydrator

Overall, food dehydrator appliances will deliver the most consistent results, and they’re suitable for all types of food. If you’re thinking about making your own snacks or backpacking meals, it’s worth picking one up.

Besides price, you’ll also want to consider size and materials. Many dehydrators use plastic trays, but you can pay more for stainless steel. Alternately, you can purchase inexpensive silicone mats or use parchment paper to prevent your food from touching the plastic trays if that’s something you care about.

You might also want to pay more for a model that offers different temperature settings. Although you can dehydrate pretty much anything at 140 degrees Fahrenheit, you may find you get better results with slightly cooler temperatures for herbs and vegetables and warmer temperatures for meat and seafood.

What Are the Best Foods to Dehydrate? Anything You Can’t Dehydrate?

You can dehydrate just about anything, but fruits, vegetables, herbs, and meat are the most common for home-drying. Legumes and grains are also dry-able, but that’s probably not a big selling point for Primal folks. Dried legumes are already readily available, anyway.

Foods that don’t dehydrate well are those that contain a lot of fat:

• Fatty meats
• Avocados
• Dairy products*
• Nut butters
• Olives (When you see dried olives, they’re usually salt-cured and/or preserved in oil, not just dried in the traditional sense.)

*For backpacking meals or stocking your pantry, purchase commercially dried and pasteurized milk, cream, buttermilk, butter, and cheese powders. Dairy-free folks can look for dried coconut milk powder instead.

Eggs can be dehydrated at home, but salmonella is a concern. Because egg powder is also readily available online or at camping supply stores, this is another one I recommend purchasing.

And did you know you can also dehydrate dairy-free, egg-free, low-fat sauces? Great news for those of you who can’t imagine backpacking without your favorite ketchup to put on your scrambled eggs! Make “ketchup leather” to throw in your pack, and you’re good to go.

Dehydrating Food How-tos

Where to Start: Dehydrating Basics

The whole point of drying is to discourage bacteria and mold, so make sure to start with clean food, utensils, and work surfaces.

Optionally peel fruits and vegetables, then remove any damaged or bruised spots. Slice produce and meat into thin, uniform slices no more than ¼-inch thick (about 6 mm), or dice produce small. Either way, keep the pieces as consistent as possible to ensure even drying.

Place food in a single layer on the dehydrator trays. While you can put more than one type of food into a dehydrator at one time, keep them separated so that you can take them out at different times depending on how quickly they dry.

Make sure you remove as much moisture as possible without cooking or overdrying the food. Be patient. Dehydrating takes anywhere from a few hours for something delicate like kale chips to 24 hours or more for jerky or dehydrated bone broth.

Once your food is fully dried, let it cool for about an hour, then transfer it to an appropriate container.

Below are tips for drying different types of foods. I recommend looking up instructions the first time you dehydrate something new to double-check technique and timing. Note that these guidelines assume that you’re going to be consuming your dried food within a matter of months. If you’re stocking up for the apocalypse, you’ll need to follow additional steps to prepare your food for longer-term storage.

How to Dehydrate Vegetables

Before drying vegetables, blanching is recommended to preserve flavor and texture. This involves briefly exposing the vegetables to hot water or steam to deactivate enzymes that lead to spoilage. This step is not necessary if you are starting with frozen vegetables, as they were blanched before freezing.

After blanching, dry the vegetables using a clean towel. Optionally season them at this time—if you’re making kale or zucchini chips, for example—but use a light hand since flavors get concentrated during dehydrating.

Table 2 here offers recommended times for blanching and dehydrating various types of vegetables. You’ll know your dried vegetables are ready when they become very crisp and you can easily snap them.

Make homemade greens powder: Dehydration is a fantastic way to use up spinach, kale, or chard, plus greens that might otherwise go to waste such as carrot tops, beet greens, and broccoli leaves. Thoroughly dehydrate and cool the greens, then blitz them in a blender or food processor. Store the powder in a jar and add it to smoothies, soups, and baked goods.

How to Make Dried Fruit

For best results, pretreat fruit with a quick dip in an ascorbic acid (vitamin C) solution. Pick up vitamin C capsules at any store and mix 1 teaspoon of ascorbic acid powder per 2 cups of water. (One teaspoon equals six 500mg capsules.) Soak fruit for 3 to 5 minutes, then drain, dry, and dehydrate. A similar method using a sulfite dip is recommended for long-term storage.

Fruit can take anywhere from 6 hours to 48 hours to dry depending on the size and type of fruit. You’ll know it is dry when it becomes tough and leathery. Dried fruit won’t become brittle like dried vegetables.

Dried fruit needs to be conditioned before storage. This extra step helps distribute any leftover moisture evenly between the pieces of fruit to deter molding. Place the cooled dried fruit into large glass containers, leaving some space at the top. Set the containers in a warm, dry place, and give them a shake once or twice per day to keep the fruit from sticking together. If you notice any condensation in the container, the fruit needs to be dehydrated further. After a week, it will be ready to store.

Make fruit leather: Blend your fruit(s) of choice into a puree with a squeeze of lemon juice to preserve the color. You’ll need solid plastic or silicone tray liners to dehydrate the puree. Pour the puree into a thin layer and spread it as evenly as possible. Dehydrate until you can touch the fruit leather without leaving a dent. It will still be sticky.

How to Make Dried Meat and Beef Jerky

Drying meat is a little finickier, so I definitely recommend following a recipe, but here are some things you need to know to get started:

• Start with lean cuts of meat and trim off as much visible fat as possible. Slice meat thinly.
• The USDA recommends precooking meat to 160 degrees Fahrenheit (71 degrees Celsius) before drying to reduce E. coli risk.³ For max flavor, marinate the meat before drying.
• For poultry or fish, it’s easiest to start with canned options, which are already precooked. Otherwise, cook thoroughly before drying.
• You can dehydrate cooked ground beef or turkey, but typically you’d add breadcrumbs to keep the meat from becoming too hard. A Primal-friendly option is to use gluten-free breadcrumbs.
• Dehydrate meats at 145 degrees Fahrenheit (63 degrees Celsius). Depending on the thickness and type of meat, this could take anywhere from 6 to 12 hours or longer.

In addition to the drying methods offered above, I’ve seen recipes for making jerky in an air fryer. I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m interested to know if it works. Leave a comment if you’ve tried it.

Drying Herbs

Herbs are quick and easy to dry in a dehydrator. They don’t require any special prep except a quick wash. Removing the leaves from the stems isn’t necessary, but you can if you want.

If your dehydrator has different settings, use a lower temperature for herbs, ideally between 95 and 125 degrees Fahrenheit (35 to 50 degrees Celsius). They’ll only take a few hours to dry.

Yes, You Can Dehydrate Bone Broth!

If you’re starting with homemade broth, cool it first and remove any excess fat from the top.

Place the broth in a saucepan and boil it down until it becomes the consistency of gravy. Transfer it to the dehydrator using silicone sheets, like when making fruit leather. Spread it into a thin, even layer, then dehydrate. Because you’re starting with something so wet, it can take two or three days, or even longer, to dry completely. Check it periodically to smooth out any thicker spots, and optionally flip it once it is solid enough to handle.

Once it’s fully dried and cooled, use a high-speed blender or food processor to grind it into the consistency of coarsely ground coffee, then store in a jar in the freezer.

How to Store Dehydrated Food

Once your food is dried and cooled, it’s time to store it. The name of the game is keeping air and moisture out. You can do that with food-safe silicone bags, mason jars, metal cans, vacuum sealers, and so on.

According to the National Center for Home Food Preservation, dried foods should be used within four months to a year.⁴ I’m aware that many homesteaders and survivalists store theirs for years—sometimes a decade or more. That’s probably safe under ideal conditions (food is properly pretreated, dehydrated, and stored in airtight containers at cold or moderate temperatures). Researchers at BYU say, for example, that dried apples stored in airtight cans or foil pouches with an oxygen absorber can last 15 to 30 years.⁵

Do your own research here, but whatever you do, don’t mess around with meat. The USDA states that homemade jerky is only good for one or two months.⁶ Commercially made jerkies stay fresh for up to a year, and canned meats will keep much longer.

To extend your dried food’s shelf life even more, stick it in the freezer. As with any frozen foods, make sure everything is tightly sealed in freezer-proof wrapping or containers, as trapped air leads to freezer burn.

For long-term storage, you can also purchase desiccant packs—you know, those little paper packets that come in your store-bought beef jerky and say “do not eat.” They are usually filled with non-toxic silica gel that absorbs some of the remaining moisture. Preppers and survivalists apparently store food in mylar bags with desiccants for many years with no issues. That’s beyond what we’re discussing today, but desiccants can be useful for extending your dried food’s shelf life even if you’re not stocking a bunker.

Just Try It!

Now that you know the basics, give it a try for yourself. The National Center for Home Food Preservation is a great resource for beginners. Start with one or two simple items like dried apple slices or kale chips. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll want to start preserving all that extra produce from your garden or CSA box.

Let us know in the comments what your favorite thing to dehydrate is. Favorite appliance? Any foods we simply must try dehydrating?

Dehydrating Food FAQs

Is dehydrated food as nutritious as fresh food?

Evidence suggests that, similar to freezing, dehydrating largely maintains the nutritional value of the original fresh food, with a few minor differences here and there. It may even improve the bioavailability of certain nutrients.⁷ Drying does concentrate any sugars, though, so pay attention if you’re counting calories or carbohydrates.

What are the best foods to dehydrate? Worst foods to dehydrate?

You can dehydrate most foods: fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, seafood, nuts, legumes, grains, and even things like bone broth, ketchup, and marinara sauce. Fatty foods aren’t suitable for drying at home because the fat will become rancid. These include fatty meats, avocado, nut butter, olives, and dairy products.

How does a dehydrator work?

Dehydrators work by using low heat and circulating air to remove moisture from food without cooking it. Moisture allows harmful microorganisms to grow and cause the food to spoil. Removing the moisture causes those microorganisms to go dormant so food stays fresher longer.

How long does dehydrated food last?

The answer depends on the type of food and storage method. Dehydrated fruits and vegetables will last from four months to a year, while homemade beef jerky should be eaten within a month or two. They all last much longer when you keep them in the freezer.

The post Dehydrating Food at Home: How to Get Started appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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The bench press is Julius Maddox’s domain, and with another recent impressive feat, it doesn’t look like that’s changing any time soon. On April 24, 2022, the powerlifter locked out a 318-kilogram bench press (700-pound) for four unbroken reps — a new personal record (PR).

Check out a video of the lift below, courtesy of Maddox’s Instagram profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Julius Maddox (@irregular_strength)

[Related: Tamara Walcott Notches 151.95-Kilogram Bench Press (335 Pounds) For 2 Reps]

Maddox powers through the set with relative ease. Three spotters are present to help Maddox, but they never intervene. For the lift, Maddox donned a lifting belt and wrist straps. 

A Promising Rivalry

Outstanding feats on the bench press are nothing new to Maddox. To date, he has never recorded a squat or deadlift during a sanctioned competition, as he exclusively focuses on his bench press prowess. The focus paid off for the powerlifter when he captured the current all-time world record holder with a 355-kilogram bench press (782.6 pounds) at the 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Hybrid Showdown III.

His next feat is to become the first man to bench press 800 pounds raw in a sanctioned competition. 

Maddox’s rival, Daniel Zamani, is the first man to bench press 800 pounds, raw. The Iranian powerlifter notched the feat with a 365-kilogram raw bench press (804.7-pound) during a training session on February 21, 2022. As both men compete as superheavyweights, if Zamani had finished the press during a competition, he would’ve supplanted Maddox’s record. 

Maddox and Zamani were to square off in a bench press battle for supremacy at the 2022 Iron Wars V, but for undisclosed reasons, that never happened.

The 800-Pound Barrier

The pair have also spent some of their recent time polishing up their work with other lifts. 

In the two months since Zamani captured the unofficial bench press record, he’s been sharing videos of himself on Instagram grinding away with his deadlift. While adorned in lifting straps, the Iranian athlete has pulled as much as 345 kilograms (749.8 pounds). 

Meanwhile, Maddox recently hit a 351.3-kilogram (775-pound) squat while using a Kabuki Transformer Bar during a training session. Notably, he didn’t wear a lifting belt or knee sleeves for the lift. 

For Maddox especially, his squat was likely only a temporary break en route to climbing the 800-pound bench press mountain. Given his recent progress, it might only be a matter of time before the powerlifter joins Zamani in the hallowed territory. If or once that happens, the remaining elephant in the room will be whether Maddox and Zamani finally go head to head in a meet for the all-time world record. At the time of publishing, there are no plans in the works. 

While Maddox continues to set PRs, the powerlifting world is certainly ready for an official round of this promising bench press rivalry. 

Featured image: @irregular_strength on Instagram

The post Powerlifter Julius Maddox Crushes 700-Pound Bench Press for 4 Reps appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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On April 24, 2022, the World’s Strongest Man (WSM) organization announced that Rauno Heinla withdrew from the 2022 WSM, set to take place at the end of May. A couple of hours after the news broke, Canadian Mitchell Hooper was announced as Heinla’s replacement. 

Heinla last competed in this event in the 2011 WSM. This year was to mark the Estonian athlete’s formal return to the competition. He addressed the reason for the withdrawal in a post on his Instagram profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rauno Heinla (@rauno_heinla)

[Related: 2022 World’s Strongest Man Reveals 30-Person Lineup]

In the post’s caption, Heinla writes that he had to spend some time in the hospital following a recent 536.6-kilogram Silver Dollar deadlift (1,183 pounds). It’s undoubtedly an unfortunate turn of events for the strongman. 

“In short, what happened [was] bad luck this time,” Heinla writes. “I did a Silver Dollar deadlift and got a problem with [my] stomach. I was three days in a hospital [and] will not specify details.”

Heinla did not dwell on his unexpected misfortune of missing his second-ever WSM competition. After taking some needed time off, he’s already looking ahead and staying positive.

“Now I need [to] take easy two months and then will be starting again [on my] roads to my goals,” Heinla writes. “And my goals are still big.”

Heinla’s last professional competition was the 2022 Europe’s Strongest Man in early April 2022. He finished in 12th place, while Oleksii Novikov won the event. 

Twenty-six year old strongman Mitchell Hooper is set to take Heinla’s place, per a quick announcement from the WSM organization. 

Here is the updated 2022 WSM roster with Heinla’s withdrawal and Hooper’s addition:

2022 WSM Roster, Updated

1. Tom Stoltman (United Kingdom) — Reigning WSM Champion
2. Brian Shaw (United States) — 2021 WSM 2nd place
3. Maxime Boudreault (Canada) — 2021 WSM 3rd place
4. Mitchell Hooper (Canada)
5. Pavlo Kordiyaka (Ukraine)
6. Rob Kearney (United States)
7. Gabriel Peña (Mexico)
8. Kelvin de Ruiter (Netherlands)
9. Kim Ujarak (Greenland)
10. Mark Felix (United Kingdom)
11. Pa O’Dwyer (Ireland)
12. Shane Flowers (United Kingdom)
13. Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf (Australia)
14. Bobby Thompson (United States)
15. Aivars Smaukstelis (Latvia)
16. Adam Bishop (United Kingdom)
17. Evan Singleton (United States)
18. Eythor Ingolfsson Melsted (Iceland)
19. Konstantine Janashia (Georgia)
20. Charles “Trey” Mitchell (United States)
21. Mika Törrö (Finland)
22. Peiman Maheripourehir (Iran)
23. Luke Stoltman (United Kingdom)
24. Bobby Thompson (United States)
25. Kevin Faires (United States)
26. Nedžmin Ambešković (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
27. Gabriel Rheaume (Canada)
28. Martins Licis (United States)
29. Gavin Bilton (United Kingdom)
30. Oleksii Novikov (Ukraine)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Rauno Heinla (@rauno_heinla)

[Related: 2022 Giants Live Strongman Classic Reveals Lineup]

Hooper at a Glance

With all things considered, Hooper is relatively new to the professional strongman scene. 

According to his website, the 26-year-old Hooper broke out when he deadlifted 475 kilograms (1047.2 pounds) while weighing under 140 kilograms. Hooper did not disclose his equipment for that pull. Hooper also recently won the 2021 Static Monsters Worldwide (SMW) competition, where he initially notched a new world record total of 665 kilograms (1,466 pounds) — between the axle deadlift and the overhead log press.

Notably, following the 2021 SMW, Hooper writes that he felt he didn’t properly lock out a 200-kilogram log press (440.9 pounds). As such, he withdrew the press from his record total because he didn’t feel it was worthy of a world record. His 465-kilogram Axle deadlift (1,025 pounds) from the event remains in place. 

In other near-term ambitions, Hooper says he’d like to break the current deadlift world record at the 2022 Giants Live Open and World Deadlift Championships (WDC), which will take place on August 6, 2022.

2018 WSM Champion Hafthor Björnsson possesses the deadlift mark to beat with a 501-kilogram pull (1,104.5-pound), set at the 2018 World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS). 2017 WSM Champion Eddie Hall is the only other member of the exclusive deadlift club, with his precise 500-kilogram (1,104.5-pound) pull set at the 2016 Giants Live event. Both men wore lifting straps, a lifting belt, and deadlift suits for their respective pulls. 

At the time of publishing, Hooper has not publicly acknowledged his new place in the 2022 WSM. Nonetheless, it will be his first-ever WSM competition, where he’s assuredly hoping to make an impression. 

The 2022 WSM will take place on May 24-29 in Sacramento, CA. 

Featured Image: @rauno_heinla on Instagram

The post Strongman Rauno Heinla Withdraws From 2022 World’s Strongest Man, Mitchell Hooper Takes His Place appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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When someone decides to burn fat, they often think it means surviving on a carrot and three lettuce leaves each day while jogging to and from work. Fortunately, neither of those is necessary. While you need to pay close attention to nutrition and implement a consistent, focused training plan for fat loss, you’ll get much better results when you avoid burning the fat loss candle too hot on either end.

Here’s how to set up an effective and efficient plan to burn fat without burning yourself out.

How to Burn Fat

• How the Body Burns Fat
• Train to Burn Fat
• Eat to Burn Fat
• Recover to Burn Fat
• Sample Fat Loss Training Program

How the Body Burns Fat

One of the most important details to keep in mind when working to burn fat is a central theme that will determine the right and wrong plan. To drastically change and improve your physique, your focus needs to be on “fat loss”, not “weight loss”.

While the difference may seem like mere semantics, it’s the type of detail that influences your approach to nutrition, your workout routine, your rate of progress, and other factors that dictate results.

Weight loss is simply changing the number on the scale. Bodyweight most commonly and most quickly decreases from basic fluid loss (anyone who’s gotten sweaty on a hot day or had a run-in with bad seafood has experienced the effect). This type of change is only temporary and often self-correcting, with the body re-gaining any “lost” weight as soon as fluids are replaced.

“Weight loss” also doesn’t distinguish fat loss from muscle loss. Catabolism, or burning muscle tissue, will decrease strength, performance, and energy, and it also changes your physique to appear less muscular. Weight loss with a high degree of muscle loss creates a soft and un-toned appearance. 

Fat loss, specifically, is when your body burns adipose tissue — body fat. This is the type of loss that can remain indefinitely unless the fat itself is regained (which it won’t be, unless it was lost with an unsustainable plan and you crank the calories back up).

Fat loss can only occur when your caloric intake is less than your caloric output. (1) Regardless of the diet details, if you’re taking in too many calories, your body cannot lose fat. However, because the goal is to burn fat, certain steps need to be taken to preserve lean muscle tissue. That comes from balancing just enough calories being eaten (diet) with just enough calories being burned (exercise).

Understanding Your Metabolism

Your metabolism is the way your body processes, burns, or stores calories. An improved metabolism makes fat loss that much more likely. One surefire way to boost your metabolism is to focus on building and preserving lean muscle mass.

Muscle is one key factor in setting your body’s resting metabolic rate (RMR), or the amount of calories your body burns without you even trying to burn calories. People who talk about having “a slow metabolism” or “a super-fast metabolism” sometimes have actual genetic factors at work, but their lean muscle tissue is also a significant influence on their resting metabolic rate.

A coordinated plan with a specific approach to nutrition and training has been shown to be optimally effective for preserving lean muscle while burning fat, improving RMR. (2)

Insulin Sensitivity and Insulin Resistance

Many people think insulin is synonymous with blood sugar levels or managing diabetes. That’s only one part of the insulin story. It’s an incredibly influential hormone that your body uses in a variety of processes.

Insulin is released in response to eating carbohydrates (like sugar) and it can determine if those calories are used for fuel or put into storage as body fat. Insulin also plays an important role shuttling amino acids into cells to build new muscle. (3)

Because insulin plays so many critical roles, the body’s response to insulin is also critical. The body can either be “insulin sensitive”, which encourages insulin to choose calorie burning and muscle building, or the body can be “insulin resistant”, which encourages insulin to prioritize calorie storage (fat gain).

Several factors can determine the body’s level of resistance or sensitivity, including some genetic components. However, a combination of diet and exercise has been shown to reduce insulin resistance and lead to improved body composition. (4)(5)

How to Train for Fat Loss

When you think of training for fat loss, you probably think of countless hours on the treadmill daily or light weight, high-repetition exercises to “carve detail” into muscles. You can skip right over those two extremes, but you will have to do some cardio in addition to some weight training to get the best results.

Resistance Training for More Muscle and Less Fat

Your training and nutrition need to be aligned properly for optimal results. That means, when your goal is burning fat, you can’t reduce calories while also following a lifting program designed to squat 600 pounds. Your nutrition will be insufficient to allow recovery and the training sessions will be, essentially, wasted.

With that said, weight training combined with a fat loss diet has been shown to improve results compared to dieting alone. However, weight training combined with cardiovascular training and a fat loss diet has been shown to be even more effective. (6)(7)

To accommodate cardio training and overall recovery, a weight training workout should be performed three or four days per week. This requires either training the whole body in each workout, alternating upper body and lower body workouts each day, or following a push/pull/legs split (training the pushing muscles of the chest, shoulders, and triceps in one session; the pulling muscles of the back and biceps in the next; and all of the leg muscles in another workout).

Prioritizing two to four sets of six to 12 reps for most exercises will allow sufficient training stimulus without excessive overall stress, and will help to preserve muscle mass during a calorie-restricted fat loss plan.

Cardio Training is Essential

Aerobic training like walking, running, or biking is typically associated with fat loss training. The popular thinking is, if you want to burn fat, you have to do some kind of cardio. And that’s fundamentally correct.

An abundance of research has shown multiple benefits to using cardiovascular exercise (in a variety of intensities) as part of a fat loss plan, ranging from straightforward calorie burning during the workout to reduced hunger after training — a welcomed side effect when calories are reduced. (8)

Cardio training, when combined with weight training, has also been shown to produce greater health benefits than either method on its own. (9)

Training (weights and cardio together) for a total of four to seven hours per week has been shown to provide significant fat loss and health benefits. (10) The exact number being dependent on a few factors, most notably the training intensity. High-intensity training cannot be performed for the same duration as lower intensity training, but the net effect is comparable.

Performing cardio exercise for 20 to 60 minutes, three or four days per week, is an effective approach when combined with weight training. Sessions can be either low to moderate intensity, like walking or biking, for longer durations or higher intensity workouts, like sprints, for shorter durations.

For overall recovery and optimal performance in each workout, either alternate days of only weight training with only cardio, or perform a cardio session immediately after lifting weights (to avoid negatively affecting the weight training stimulus).

Performing cardio on an empty stomach first thing in the morning is one popular, though mildly controversial, approach. Some lifters believe exercising without a prior meal may lead to muscle loss, but this has shown to be inaccurate and not a significant concern. (11)

The effects of fasted cardio are comparable to non-fasted cardio, so perform whichever fits best into your individual weekly schedule. (12)(13)

How to Eat for Fat Loss

The phrase “eating for fat loss” could just as easily be “not eating for fat loss”, but rather than focus on the restrictive part of a nutrition plan designed to burn fat, let’s focus on what you can have.

Calories: Not Too Many, Not Too Few

The quintessential aspect of a fat loss diet is reduced calories. People switch to “diet food” like zero-calorie beverages, plenty of vegetables, and none of the decadent desserts that might’ve become too familiar.

While some degree of calorie restriction is unavoidable, cutting too many can be counterproductive. For sustainable, efficient fat loss, reducing your intake by 500 to 700 calories per day has been repeatedly shown to be an ideal target. (14)(15)

Dieting with a larger deficit is a short-term, relatively short-sighted approach which may initially seem like a great idea as pounds are shed rapidly before the body quickly rebels, progress grinds to a halt, and weight begins to return despite a drastic calorie deficit and consistent training routine. (16)(17)

The previously recommended training guidelines should be compatible with a 500 to 700 calorie deficit. If excessive fatigue or poor recovery become limiting factors, adjust the training routine to reduce volume (removing exercises or sets) before adjusting calorie intake.

Protein Intake is Key

For burning fat, as with building muscle, protein may be the most crucial macronutrient. It’s not only essential for muscle preservation, but it’s also been shown to improve satiety (curb hunger) and increase thermogenesis (calorie-burning).

As a critical and versatile nutrient, protein intake should always be kept relatively high, anywhere from 30% to 60% of total daily calories. (18) A similar, if simplified, approach to calculate total daily intake is to aim for approximately one gram per pound of bodyweight. That continues to be a reliable, multi-purpose guideline regardless of the goal.

Ideal food sources will be predominantly animal-based proteins (beef, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, etc.), although vegetarian alternatives have been shown to be comparable when other macronutrients and total calories are accounted for.

One potential issue to be aware of is the inherent fat content of animal proteins and the fat or carbohydrate content of vegetarian proteins. To reduce overall calories, either opt for lower fat/lower carb protein sources or be sure to incorporate the food’s entire calorie into your daily plan.

Don’t Be Confused By Carbs

Many lifters believe that cutting carbs — an energy source for your body — is the single most effective way to reduce body fat. While they can certainly deliver results, low-carb diets have been repeatedly shown to be as effective, not necessarily more effective, compared to other plans (like a low-fat diet, for example). (19)

One benefit of a fat loss plan which includes sufficient carbs is generally higher energy levels which can be channeled into harder workouts, which can translate to more calories burned per session and a greater overall training stimulus.

On the flip side, one big benefit of a lower carb diet is the simplicity. Carbs are relatively easy to spot in a kitchen or on a menu — grains, bread, rice, potatoes, sugar-coated anything. This makes it much more simple to adhere to, compared to protein and fat combinations which may be less obvious — butter in a sauce, oil in a salad dressing, fat in a piece of steak, etc.

“Low carbs” is typically considered anywhere from 5% to 30% of daily calories from carb sources, or up to one-half (0.5) gram per pound of bodyweight per day.

Optimal carb sources, regardless of total daily carb intake, are ideally relatively fiber-dense and relatively low sugar to increase overall satiety without excessive calories. High sugar, low fiber foods are often unsatisfying and considered “empty calories.” Whole grains, legumes, potatoes, rice, fruit, and vegetables are preferred options.

Fats Don’t Make You Fat

If going low-carb is simple because they’re easy to find, going low-fat is simple because they’re so calorie-dense. In a comparable serving, fats deliver more than twice as many calories as carbohydrates, making them an extremely efficient way to reduce total daily calories. (There are four calories in a gram of carbs and protein and nine calories in a gram of fat.)

Reducing fat intake delivers more “bang for the buck” in terms of affecting total daily calories, making it an appealing choice for dieters looking to focus on a single dietary change.

An added benefit of a lower fat approach is improved cardiovascular health and comparable fat loss relative to a higher dietary fat intake. (20)

Maintaining fat intake to 20% to 35% total daily calories or roughly one-third (0.3) gram per pound of bodyweight per day is sufficient to encourage optimal hormonal and cardiovascular health while allowing fat loss. (21)

Food sources should include both animal fats (naturally occurring in protein sources) and minimally processed plant sources including avocado, olive oil, or coconut oil.

Everyone Wants a Cheat Meal

Some people become eager for a cheat meal or cheat day before completing their first full week on a fat loss plan. This type of lax dietary adherence might not seem like a good omen for significant results but, when used strategically, cheat meals may actually be beneficial.

During a calorie restricted diet, several hormones in the body try to adapt to the new physiological environment. One of the hormones, leptin, is responsible for controlling hunger. The longer or more intense the dieting, the less leptin your body produces.

By sporadically and deliberately spiking calorie intake above normal (no longer in a deficit), leptin level may be temporarily boosted, which may help adherence to the fat loss plan. (22)

If that sounds too good to be true, it’s because it might be. Research has also shown that cheat meals may actually lessen adherence to the initial diet plan and encourage poor nutritional behaviors. (23)

So, if hearing the phrase “cheat meal” gets you more riled up than Roger Rabbit hearing “shave and a haircut,” you’re probably not going to handle it well. You should stick with your well-designed plan and save the strategic cheating for another time. Focus on making the foods that responsibly fit into your daily macros taste better. You don’t have to eat bland food, you just need to eat lower-calorie foods. 

How Many Meals Per Day?

One popular technique to burn fat is to increase meal frequency, eating multiple smaller-sized meals throughout the day rather than fewer, relatively larger meals.

Because insulin can be spiked during a meal and dropped low between meals, the intention is to maintain stable insulin levels throughout the day by minimizing the highs, lows, and duration between spikes. Increased calorie-burning and satiety are also expected due to eating more often.

Research has shown that, while there may be some potential benefits to having a meal roughly every two to three hours, there is no conclusive, significant benefit. (24) Eating anywhere from one to six times per day has been shown to deliver comparable results. Choose an approach that suits your schedule and overall nutrition plan.

How to Recover for Fat Loss

Recovery is as important for burning fat as it is for building muscle, especially since your body is operating with reduced fuel sources. Here’s how to make sure you’re avoiding burnout and maximizing results.

Plan Your Rest Days

Considering the weekly training time split between weights and cardio, you’re likely performing some type of exercise nearly every day. While the activity is different each session, cumulative fatigue can become too much to recover from without a day or two off unless the training program is extremely well-planned.

One effective approach, especially when alternating weight training days with cardio-only days, is to deliberately incorporate lower intensity cardio exercise into your cardio exercise programming. This serves as a type of “active recovery” and encourages results without significantly tapping into recovery resources. (25)

Less Sleep, More Fat

Getting enough sleep is important under ideal conditions. When training intensely with restricted calories, getting enough quality sleep becomes even more important.

Research has shown that impaired sleep can reduce metabolism, increase cravings, affect hormone levels, and impact cognitive ability. (26) Aim to get as close as possible to the time-tested eight hours per night.

Sample Fat Loss Training Program

There are countless ways to design a training plan to burn fat. As long as the general guidelines for weight training, cardio, volume (sets and reps), duration, and recovery are followed, it’s hard to go wrong. Here’s one way to set up a week in the gym. The plan in the kitchen is all up to you.

Sunday

Low-intensity cardio exercise (walk or bike), 60 minutes.

Monday

• Front Squat: 4 x 6-8
• Barbell Row: 4 x 8-10
• Incline Bench Press: 4 x 10-12
• Triceps Pressdown: 3 x 10-12
• Barbell Curl: 3 x 10-12 

Tuesday

High-intensity cardio exercise (run or bike), 20 minutes.

Wednesday

• Pull-Up: 4 x 6-8
• Dip: 4 x 8-10
• Romanian Deadlift: 4 x 10-12
• Lateral Raise: 3 x 10-12

Thursday

High-intensity cardio exercise (run or bike), 20 minutes.

Friday

• Dumbbell Shoulder Press: 4 x 6-8
• Single-Arm Dumbbell Row: 3 x 8-10
• Reverse Lunge: 3 x 8-10
• Hanging Knee Raise: 4 x 10-12

Saturday

Low-intensity cardio exercise (walk or bike), 60 minutes.

Tracking Progress

A plan to burn fat is only successful when you know, without a doubt, that you’re actually burning fat. For the most comprehensive data, use a variety of methods.

A once-per-week weigh-in is an excellent starting point. Even though you don’t want to focus specifically on “weight loss,” fat loss is a specific form of weight loss. If the scale isn’t dropping one to two pounds per week (an ideal and sustainable rate of progress), your daily calories are likely too high. (27) Be sure to weigh-in under identical conditions each week. Something as simple as slight dehydration, a large recent meal, or a change of clothing can skew the results.

Weekly progress pictures can be more objective than simply looking in the mirror, especially when comparing a timeline of progress with several weeks worth of selfies. Again, repeat the same conditions (same outfit, same lighting, same pose) to maintain consistency and make progress easier to monitor.

The last objective measure is, literally, tape measurements. Tracking points may include your neck, upper arm, torso or mid-chest, navel, hips, upper thighs, and calves. It’s not uncommon for certain areas to lose fat at different rates. Like photos, collecting several weeks of data and comparing them in hindsight can help to showcase results.

Body fat percentages, while seemingly useful, are too inaccurate, complicated, or inconvenient to repeat on a regular basis. If your bodyweight is slowly decreasing, and your pictures/measurements are steadily improving, and your performance in the gym is improving or holding relatively steady, your body composition is on the right track.

Fat Loss Wrap-Up

Whether it’s a ramp-up to summer, an upcoming vacation, or if it’s just finally time to crackdown and make a serious push to burn fat, you’re armed with all the info to get results. The good news is that there are plenty of different paths all leading to the same goal. The only thing left is to choose a plan and put in the work.

References

1. Strasser, B., Spreitzer, A., & Haber, P. (2007). Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. Annals of nutrition & metabolism, 51(5), 428–432. https://doi.org/10.1159/000111162
2. Stiegler, P., & Cunliffe, A. (2006). The role of diet and exercise for the maintenance of fat-free mass and resting metabolic rate during weight loss. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 36(3), 239–262. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200636030-00005
3. Fujita, S., Rasmussen, B. B., Cadenas, J. G., Grady, J. J., & Volpi, E. (2006). Effect of insulin on human skeletal muscle protein synthesis is modulated by insulin-induced changes in muscle blood flow and amino acid availability. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism, 291(4), E745–E754. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpendo.00271.2005
4. Torjesen, P. A., Birkeland, K. I., Anderssen, S. A., Hjermann, I., Holme, I., & Urdal, P. (1997). Lifestyle changes may reverse development of the insulin resistance syndrome. The Oslo Diet and Exercise Study: a randomized trial. Diabetes care, 20(1), 26–31. https://doi.org/10.2337/diacare.20.1.26
5. Ross, R., Janssen, I., Dawson, J., Kungl, A. M., Kuk, J. L., Wong, S. L., Nguyen-Duy, T. B., Lee, S., Kilpatrick, K., & Hudson, R. (2004). Exercise-induced reduction in obesity and insulin resistance in women: a randomized controlled trial. Obesity research, 12(5), 789–798. https://doi.org/10.1038/oby.2004.95
6. Miller, T., Mull, S., Aragon, A. A., Krieger, J., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2018). Resistance Training Combined With Diet Decreases Body Fat While Preserving Lean Mass Independent of Resting Metabolic Rate: A Randomized Trial. International journal of sport nutrition and exercise metabolism, 28(1), 46–54. https://doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.2017-0221
7. Ho, S. S., Dhaliwal, S. S., Hills, A. P., & Pal, S. (2012). The effect of 12 weeks of aerobic, resistance or combination exercise training on cardiovascular risk factors in the overweight and obese in a randomized trial. BMC public health, 12, 704. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-704
8. Schubert, M. M., Desbrow, B., Sabapathy, S., & Leveritt, M. (2013). Acute exercise and subsequent energy intake. A meta-analysis. Appetite, 63, 92–104. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2012.12.010
9. Schroeder, Elizabeth C et al. “Comparative effectiveness of aerobic, resistance, and combined training on cardiovascular disease risk factors: A randomized controlled trial.” PloS one vol. 14,1 e0210292. 7 Jan. 2019, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0210292
10. Swift DL, Johannsen NM, Lavie CJ, Earnest CP, Church TS. The role of exercise and physical activity in weight loss and maintenance. Prog Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;56(4):441-447. doi:10.1016/j.pcad.2013.09.012
11. Hackett D, Hagstrom AD. Effect of Overnight Fasted Exercise on Weight Loss and Body Composition: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology. 2017; 2(4):43. https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk2040043
12. Aird TP, Davies RW, Carson BP. Effects of fasted vs fed-state exercise on performance and post-exercise metabolism: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2018 May;28(5):1476-1493. doi: 10.1111/sms.13054. Epub 2018 Feb 23. PMID: 29315892.
13. Schoenfeld, B. J., Aragon, A. A., Wilborn, C. D., Krieger, J. W., & Sonmez, G. T. (2014). Body composition changes associated with fasted versus non-fasted aerobic exercise. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-014-0054-7
14. Champagne CM, Broyles ST, Moran LD, et al. Dietary intakes associated with successful weight loss and maintenance during the Weight Loss Maintenance trial. J Am Diet Assoc. 2011;111(12):1826-1835. doi:10.1016/j.jada.2011.09.014
15. Byrne NM, Meerkin JD, Laukkanen R, Ross R, Fogelholm M, Hills AP. Weight loss strategies for obese adults: personalized weight management program vs. standard care. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2006 Oct;14(10):1777-88. doi: 10.1038/oby.2006.205. PMID: 17062808.
16. Tremblay, A., & Chaput, J. P. (2009). Adaptive reduction in thermogenesis and resistance to lose fat in obese men. The British journal of nutrition, 102(4), 488–492. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114508207245
17. Rosenbaum M, Leibel RL. Adaptive thermogenesis in humans. Int J Obes (Lond). 2010;34 Suppl 1(0 1):S47-S55. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.184
18. Hansen, T. T., Astrup, A., & Sjödin, A. (2021). Are Dietary Proteins the Key to Successful Body Weight Management? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Studies Assessing Body Weight Outcomes after Interventions with Increased Dietary Protein. Nutrients, 13(9), 3193. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13093193
19. Chawla, Shreya et al. “The Effect of Low-Fat and Low-Carbohydrate Diets on Weight Loss and Lipid Levels: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.” Nutrients vol. 12,12 3774. 9 Dec. 2020, doi:10.3390/nu12123774
20. Lu, M., Wan, Y., Yang, B., Huggins, C. E., & Li, D. (2018). Effects of low-fat compared with high-fat diet on cardiometabolic indicators in people with overweight and obesity without overt metabolic disturbance: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. The British journal of nutrition, 119(1), 96–108. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007114517002902
21. Zello G. A. (2006). Dietary Reference Intakes for the macronutrients and energy: considerations for physical activity. Applied physiology, nutrition, and metabolism = Physiologie appliquee, nutrition et metabolisme, 31(1), 74–79. https://doi.org/10.1139/h05-022
22. Kolaczynski JW, Ohannesian JP, Considine RV, Marco CC, Caro JF. Response of leptin to short-term and prolonged overfeeding in humans. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1996 Nov;81(11):4162-5. doi: 10.1210/jcem.81.11.8923877. PMID: 8923877.
23. Murray SB, Pila E, Mond JM, Mitchison D, Blashill AJ, Sabiston CM, Griffiths S. Cheat meals: A benign or ominous variant of binge eating behavior? Appetite. 2018 Nov 1;130:274-278. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2018.08.026. Epub 2018 Aug 23. PMID: 30144490.
24. Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA, Krieger JW. Effects of meal frequency on weight loss and body composition: a meta-analysis. Nutr Rev. 2015 Feb;73(2):69-82. doi: 10.1093/nutrit/nuu017. PMID: 26024494.
25. Ortiz, R. O., Jr, Sinclair Elder, A. J., Elder, C. L., & Dawes, J. J. (2019). A Systematic Review on the Effectiveness of Active Recovery Interventions on Athletic Performance of Professional-, Collegiate-, and Competitive-Level Adult Athletes. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 33(8), 2275–2287. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002589
26. Capers PL, Fobian AD, Kaiser KA, Borah R, Allison DB. A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the impact of sleep duration on adiposity and components of energy balance. Obes Rev. 2015;16(9):771-782. doi:10.1111/obr.12296
27. Garthe I, Raastad T, Refsnes PE, Koivisto A, Sundgot-Borgen J. Effect of two different weight-loss rates on body composition and strength and power-related performance in elite athletes. Int J Sport Nutr Exerc Metab. 2011 Apr;21(2):97-104. doi: 10.1123/ijsnem.21.2.97. PMID: 21558571.

Featured Image: augusto mendoza / Shutterstock

The post Everything You Need to Know About How to Burn Fat appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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This recipe for baked pork chops seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and served with sautéed escarole is a fantastic way to add some flavor to your usual dinnertime meal while still keeping it quick and easy!

If you’re not familiar with these ingredients, Chinese five spice powder is a blend of—you guessed it—five different spices: star anise, fennel seeds, peppercorns (traditionally Szechuan peppercorns), cloves, and cinnamon. It really punches up these pork chops, giving them both a little heat and a sweet aromatic flavor.

You might know escarole as a salad green, but like most greens, it’s capable of so much more than that. In this recipe, a hint of vinegar, a pat of butter, and a scant drizzle of maple syrup turn escarole into a warm side dish that’s perfect with pork. It’s a bold medley of sweet, salty, and pleasantly bitter flavors. The bitter flavor of escarole can be a “love it” or “hate it” thing. This recipe is meant to woo the haters and please those who enjoy escarole’s natural bitterness.

A very large head of escarole wilts down to four small servings when cooked. Plan to serve another side with the meal, or, if you really love escarole, cook two heads instead of one.

Chinese Five Spice Baked Pork Chops with Sautéed Escarole Recipe

Serves: 4

Time in the Kitchen: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
• 2 bone-in pork chops with fat cap, about 1” thick
• ¾ tsp Chinese five spice powder
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 head escarole, chopped and washed well
• 1 Tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1-2 tsp maple syrup

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

Sprinkle the five spice powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of the pork chops.

Heat an oven-safe skillet on your stovetop over medium-high heat. If your pork chops have a nice fat cap, place the pork chops in the pan sticking straight up with fat touching the pan. This will render some of the fat into the pan, which you can use to sear the chops. Otherwise, heat the avocado oil in the pan.

Once hot, place the pork chops in the pan and sear for 2 to 3 minutes until browned. Flip over and repeat on the other side.

Place the pan in the oven and let the pork chops bake until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius). Transfer the pork chops to a rimmed plate, pour half of the pan juices on top of the pork, and set aside.

Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the vinegar and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the vinegar begins to bubble and starts to evaporate, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the coconut aminos and maple syrup. Stir until combined, then add the escarole.

Sauté the escarole for a few minutes, until the leaves are tender. Avoid overcooking the escarole because it can develop a slimy texture when cooked for too long. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the pork chops alongside the escarole and your favorite root veggie, like roasted delicata squash.

Nutritional Information (1/4 of recipe):

Calories: 288
Fat: 22 g
Total Carbs: 2 g
Net Carbs: 1 g
Protein: 20 g

Print

Chinese Five Spice Baked Pork Chops with Sautéed Escarole

---

• 
  Author: Mark’s Daily Apple
• 
  Total Time: 35 minutes
• 
  Yield: 4 servings
• 
  Diet: Gluten Free

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Description

Baked pork chops seasoned with Chinese five spice powder and served with sautéed escarole add fantastic flavor to your usual dinnertime meal while still keeping it quick and easy!

---

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Primal Kitchen Avocado Oil
2 bone-in pork chops with fat cap, about 1” thick
¾ tsp Chinese five spice powder
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
1 head escarole, chopped and washed well
1 Tbsp coconut aminos
1 Tbsp butter
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1–2 tsp maple syrup

---

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (190 degrees Celsius).

Sprinkle the five spice powder, salt, and pepper on both sides of the pork chops.

Heat an oven-safe skillet on your stovetop over medium-high heat. If your pork chops have a nice fat cap, place the pork chops in the pan sticking straight up with fat touching the pan. This will render some of the fat into the pan, which you can use to sear the chops. Otherwise, heat the avocado oil in the pan.

Once hot, place the pork chops in the pan and sear for 2 to 3 minutes until browned. Flip over and repeat on the other side.

Place the pan in the oven and let the pork chops bake until they reach an internal temperature of 145 degrees Fahrenheit (62 degrees Celsius). Transfer the pork chops to a rimmed plate, pour half of the pan juices on top of the pork, and set aside.

Heat the pan again over medium-high heat. Add the vinegar and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. When the vinegar begins to bubble and starts to evaporate, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the coconut aminos and maple syrup. Stir until combined, then add the escarole.

Sauté the escarole for a few minutes, until the leaves are tender. Avoid overcooking the escarole because it can develop a slimy texture when cooked for too long. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the pork chops alongside the escarole and your favorite root veggie, like roasted delicata squash.

• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 30 minutes
• Category: Main dish

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1/4 of recipe
• Calories: 288
• Sugar: 1g
• Sodium: 571mg
• Fat: 22g
• Saturated Fat: 8g
• Trans Fat: 0g
• Carbohydrates: 2g
• Fiber: 1g
• Protein: 20g
• Cholesterol: 73mg
• Net Carbs: 1g

Keywords: Baked pork chops, Escarole, Five spice pork chops

The post Chinese Five Spice Baked Pork Chops with Sautéed Escarole appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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You don’t win two Classic Physique Olympias without stellar genetics, a partner who lets you live in the gym, and a gritty work ethic. 

On April 21, 2022, bodybuilder Breon Ansley shared a demanding leg workout that seemingly asked everything of his lower body on his YouTube channel. At the same time, he revealed that his next competition would be the 2022 Tampa Pro, which will take place on August 5-6, 2022, in Tampa Bay, Florida. 

Recently, Ansley detailed his decision to retire from the Classic Physique Division following the 2022 Classic Physique Olympia. Notably, Ansley maintained that he would change aspects of his upcoming training with a new “master plan.” The idea behind the new plan was to allow him to leave the division at his best.

As Ansley clarifies in his recent video, this leg workout is a part of that vision. Here’s a peek at one of Ansley’s first public steps on the road to his final Classic Physique Olympia competition.

Ansley’s Legs Workout

Ansley opens by offering a disclaimer that this routine is about a focus on high volume rather than lifting staggering amounts of weight. Nonetheless, he seemingly can’t hold in his excitement, saying, “We’re gonna make the intensity crazy.” 

Leg Extension & Lying Hamstring Curl

• Leg Extension: 2 x 6 | 1 x 10
• Lying Hamstring Curl: 1 x 6 | 1 x 7 | 3 x 8

Ansley wastes no time establishing a rapid pace by super-setting leg extensions and lying hamstring curls. He says that he limits rest between sets to optimize the results. 

30 seconds, 40 seconds, that’s about it. That’s all we need. 

Research backs up Ansley’s assertion. One study showed that athletes who integrated supersets into their strength training saw significant gains in training efficiency and metabolic activation over a relevant time period.

However, someone like Ansley is a seasoned professional. By that same token, it was important for those with less experience not to overdo their limited rest, super-setting as it could lead to unnecessary fatigue and eventual muscle damage. (1)

Smith Machine Squat & Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat

• Smith Machine Squat: 2 x 5 | 1 x 9
• Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squat: 1 x 9 | 1 x 11 | 1 x 15

Ansley turns to another superset, splitting his time between squats on the Smith machine and bodyweight Bulgarian split squats. He continues to praise the merits and benefits of supersets in the process. 

“We love to make it the most difficult we possibly can,” Ansley says. “When we make it that challenging, that means our body looks that much better, looks that much more powerful. The more challenging you make it, the more ‘wow factor’ you have.”

That aside, Ansley might have utilized the Smith machine squats rather than the traditional barbell variation because of one specific distinction. Balance and stabilization are lesser concerns on the Smith machine in contrast to a free weight lift, letting an athlete freely and safely challenge their leg muscles. In turn, that potentially leads to a more efficient workout.

When training for volume like Ansley, increased efficiency is an understandable ask. That efficiency might even prevent eventual injury. As one study maintains, one of the most common ways an athlete can injure themselves in their training is a combination of poor technique and overuse of a specific muscle. (2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Breon Ansley (@breonma_)

[Related: Bodybuilder Shaun Clarida Breaks Down An Intense Arms Workout]

Sissy Squat Machine (Bodyweight)

• Sets and Reps: 1 x 5

Next in line for Ansley is one short, five-rep set on the Sissy Squat Machine — which locks an athlete’s feet and calves into a vertical position while seated to perform the Sissy Squat better. Here, he explains that an emphasis on squeezing in between reps is imperative. 

“If I’m leaning on the pad and squeezing back here, I get that full contraction way at the top here by the hip flexor,” Ansley says. “We want the whole quad to be connected.”

Squeezing during quad workouts can be crucial as research shows it’s one of the more consistent ways to build girth and strength. (3)

Walking Barbell Lunges & Sissy Squats (45-pound plate)

Ansley promised intensity. Naturally, he follows with one superset of walking lunges with a barbell and sissy squats while holding a 45-pound plate. 

“We like to hit everything equally as hard, equally as intense, and get some volume out of all those muscle groups, equally.”

Standing & Seated Calves Machine 

The bodybuilder finishes his extensive leg workout by hitting his calves with another superset on a standing calves machine and a sitting calves machine. 

• Standing Calf Raise: 1 x 5 | 1 x 8
• Seated Calf Raise: 1 x 5

On to the 2022 Tampa Pro

After his 2022 Tampa Pro reveal, Ansley says that he weighs 197 pounds at the moment. By the time that event rolls around, he wants his weight cap to be 180. He will feature in the Classic Physique division at the competition. 

If his new master training plan continues to unfold as expected, Ansley may fare well in Tampa Bay come early August. 

References:

1. Weakley, J.J.S. et al. (2017). The effects of traditional, superset, and tri-set resistance training structures on perceived intensity and physiological responses. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2017 Jul; 117(9): 1877–1889.
2. Aicale, R., Tarantino, D. Maffuli, N. (2018). Overuse injuries in sport: a comprehensive overview. Journal of Orthopaedic Research and Surgery. 2018 Dec; 13: 309.
3. Lehecka, B.J., Turley, J., Stapleton, A., Waits, K. The effects of gluteal squeezes compared to bilateral bridges on gluteal strength, power, endurance, and girth. PeerJ. 2019; 7: e7287.

Featured image: @breonma_ on Instagram

The post Bodybuilder Breon Ansley Shares a Killer, High-Volume Legs Workout appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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Research of the Week

Less meat, more anxiety.

Breathing right is anti-viral.

Time restricted feeding increases locomotion.

BMI and mortality in the elderly.

Population and dietary changes in ancient Sicily.

New Primal Kitchen Podcasts

Primal Kitchen Podcast, Episode 27: Farming’s Future with Force of Nature Founders Robby and Taylor

Primal Health Coach Radio: John Berardi

Media, Schmedia

Texas troopers face body composition requirements.

So whole milk isn’t allowed but strawberry milk is just fine (unless it’s Vegan Friday).

Interesting Blog Posts

Beware of “evidence-based” preschool.

Steak-based diet. What do you think?

Social Notes

Funny how that works.

Fruit wants to be eaten.

Everything Else

How can you help?

Cheese is not like heroin.

Geologic catastrophes preserved through ancient oral traditions.

Things I’m Up to and Interested In

Interesting: Inflammation isn’t always a problem.

The more things change…: Great Atlantic article from the 1800s could have been written yesterday.

Interesting article: Time restricted eating “doesn’t work.” Will expand later.

Important question: Do statins really work?

Troubling: Mysterious hepatitis on the rise in children.

Question I’m Asking

What’s the story of your life?

Recipe Corner

• Prosciutto chips.
• Crispy chicken skins.

Time Capsule

One year ago (Apr 16 – Apr 22)

• 8 Aerobic Workouts That Aren’t Running, Cycling, or Swimming— What else to do.
• Sustainable, Eco-Friendly Kitchen Updates— Good updates.

Comment of the Week

“That dog food study was, indeed, infuriating. The craziest part was that dogs eating a raw meat diet fared better than those on the vegan diet, but the researchers decided to conclude that the vegan diet was better anyway.”

-Absurd stuff, Karen.

The post New and Noteworthy: What I Read This Week—Edition 174 appeared first on Mark’s Daily Apple.

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On April 20, 2022, Fergus Crawley put himself in rare company when he became the 184th person to lift the Dinnie Stones in Potarch, Aberdeenshire.

The Dinnie Stones are two granite stones with different weights that athletes pull with the Jefferson deadlift variation (where they straddle the weight and keep it between their legs). The aim is to hold up the stones for as long as they can. They also have the option to farmers carry them as far as possible. The larger Dinnie Stone weighs 188 kilograms (414.5 pounds), while the smaller stone checks in at 144 kilograms (317.5 pounds) for a total weight of 332.5 kilograms (733 pounds). 

Check out a video of Crawley’s legendary lift below, via his Instagram profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

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A post shared by Fergus Crawley (@ferguscrawley)

[Related: Watch Strongman Jean-Stephen Coraboeuf Log Press 155 Kilograms (341 Pounds) For 3 Reps]

Crawley dons a kilt and lifting belt for the lift. He uses a staggered stance and chalks his grip on the round metal handles of both rocks. Given the triumphant moment, he flashes an appropriate smile to the camera as he finishes the lift. 

History of the Stones

According to Liftingstones.org, the Dinnie Stones tradition began in the 1830s when stonemason Robert Dinnie had a job maintaining the Potarch Bridge. He initially attached iron rings to the stones to use them as counterweights on his scaffolding during any work on the bridge.

His son, Donald Dinnie — a 21-time Scottish Highland Games Champion (1856-1876) — was the first recognized person to carry the Dinnie Stones across the bridge’s width in 1860. 

Sometime in the early 20th century, around World War I, someone lost the stones. Scottish author David Webster eventually found them next to the River Dee in Scotland, with one of them missing a grip. 

Following Webster’s rediscovery, a litany of athletes worldwide made attempts to lift the restored Dinnie Stones. However, they could only manage the feat while wearing wrist straps. In 1972, Jack Shanks was the first person to lift them bare-handed again, more than a century after Donald Dinnie. 

In the years since, lifting the Dinnie Stones has almost become a rite of passage for strength sports athletes.

Brett Nicol holds the world record for the most-ever lifts of the stones with over 400 successful attempts as of November 2021. Meanwhile, strongman Kevin Faires possesses the world record for the farthest Dinnie Carry when he took the stones a distance of 25 feet and eight inches during the 2022 Rogue Record Breakers (RRB). 

A Dream Comes True

According to the caption of Crawley’s post on Instagram, lifting the Dinnie Stones was the equivalent of him fulfilling a childhood dream. When he heard of the tradition an approximate decade ago, the Scottish athlete made it a mission to one day travel to the site of the stones and join a very exclusive club. 

332kg/730lbs of history, heritage, and simply: weight — in my hands as a real symbol of why I enjoy training the way that I do.

Crawley was not the only inductee into the historical pantheon of successful Dinnie Stone lifts. His coach, Jonny Pain, was present with Crawley and also pulled the stones. 

About Fergus Crawley

A former accomplished powerlifter turned hybrid athlete (a specialization in strength and endurance), Crawley now regularly performs endurance challenges for charity to raise awareness for men’s mental health issues. As of December 2021, in a partnership with the Movember Foundation, Crawley has raised a total of £100,225 ($132,511) to help this cause. 

Crawley’s next formal competition will be the CELTMAN! Extreme Scottish Triathlon, which is part of the XTRI World Tour® — a series of triathlons across the globe in parts of South America, Asia, North America, and European countries like Scotland. Those will begin on June 18, 2022. 

Perhaps Crawley’s lift of the Dinnie Stones will act as a catalyst to thrive during the event. 

Featured image: @ferguscrawley on Instagram 

The post Hybrid Athlete Fergus Crawley Is the Latest Person to Lift the Famed Dinnie Stones appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

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The pull-up is the meat and potatoes of any back workout. It’s one of the few exercises that nearly every experienced lifter agrees is essential for building a foundation of size and strength. You’ll find it performed and praised by bodybuilders, strength athletes, and traditional sports athletes due to its wide benefits. 

This battle-tested exercise is unique since it delivers a stronger back and abs for huge carryover to almost every other major lift. Plus, bigger muscles in the back, shoulders, and arms will improve any physique. All while using only your bodyweight. You don’t need a gym to find plenty of gains.

• How to Do the Pull-Up 
• Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid
• Benefits of the Pull-Up
• Muscles Worked by the Pull-Up
• Who Should Do the Pull-Up
• How to Program the Pull-Up
• Pull-Up Variations
• Pull-Up Alternatives
• Frequently Asked Questions

How to Do the Pull-Up

Pull-ups are a great addition to any strength program. The simple movement of lifting yourself up to a bar will provide a great range of benefits that assist in general strength, posture, and core stability. 

Step 1 — Hang From a Bar

Start hanging from a straight bar with your core stabilized to prevent your body from swaying. Set your hands so they’re a smidge wider than shoulder-width using a pronated (overhand or palms down) grip. To maintain balance and coordination, you can cross one foot over the other at your ankles.

Form Tip: When stabilizing your core, imagine someone is about to punch you in the stomach. The initial flinch of tightening your stomach will place you in an effective bracing position.

Step 2 — Pull Your Chest Towards the Bar

Take a breath before beginning to pull yourself towards the bar. Pull your shoulder blades together to recruit your upper back muscles. Maintain that squeeze while bending your elbows to raise your body. Exhale throughout the movement. Lean back very slightly on the way up.

When your neck is near the bar, you’ve completed the concentric (pulling) portion of the rep. In the top position, your torso should be angled slightly backwards with your elbows near your ribs.

Form Tip: To improve muscle coordination and muscle fiber recruitment, pause at the top for one or two seconds.

Step 3 — Lower Under Control

Start the eccentric (lowering) portion of the rep by extending your elbows to lower your body. Breathe in and keep your core engaged. Do not swing to create momentum between each rep. Keep your legs hanging directly down.

Form Tip:To improve the quality of each rep and prevent any swaying, lower yourself over two seconds and pause at the bottom before beginning the next rep.

Pull-Up Mistakes to Avoid

The pull-up is a basic bodyweight exercise, but there are several common technique errors to avoid in order to build strength and muscle while reducing joint strain.

Not Using a Full Range of Motion

The half-rep pull-up is an all too common issue seen in many gyms. Some lifters smash out rep after rep while only descending halfway down before rushing straight back to the top. When it comes to maximizing strength and muscle gains, these half-reps are counterproductive.

The shortened range of motion reduces the muscle’s time under tension, which can reduce muscle growth and strength development.

Avoid it: Leave your ego at the door and focus on quality reps over quantity. Lower yourself into a fully stretched position before re-engaging your muscles to lift yourself back up.

Excessive Swinging

Stabilizing the body is crucial for minimizing stress on the shoulder joint. If you are trying to build strength and muscle, using an excessive amount of swinging is not going to help and may make things worse in the long run.

CrossFit training has popularized “kipping pull-ups”, a specific exercise variation which has the trainee deliberately swing the lower body back and forth throughout each rep. This generates momentum which helps to perform high-rep sets and turns the back-building pull-up into a full-body exercise. Kipping is a specific technique used for a specific purpose. It’s also a deliberately learned skill, it’s not meant to be an accidental way to perform basic pull-ups.

Avoid it: Focus on the core-engaging cue explained in step one of the setup. While hanging and before pulling, flex your stomach as if you were about to be punched in the gut. Maintain this ab tension throughout each rep.

Benefits of the Pull-Up

The pull-up is a second-to-none vertical pulling exercise. When performed correctly, it can emphasize the development of strength and muscle across the entire upper body, support overall posture, and help general shoulder and upper back mobility.

Getting Bigger and Stronger

Because so many muscles are involved in the exercise, the pull-up delivers a serious bang for your buck. This one movement builds muscle through the entire back, shoulders, and arms. Even the abs get a solid workout. It is also a very easy exercise to progressively overload (make more challenging, often with added weight), which makes the exercise ideal for building strength. 

Carries Over to Multiple Exercises

The pull-up recruits and builds muscles which play key roles in many other lifts. Strengthening these support muscles translates to improvement in other exercises. For example, strengthening the lats, upper back, and middle back can carryover to the bench press where you need to retract your shoulder blades into the bench to create stability and control when pressing a heavy weight.

Better Grip Strength

While there are specific exercises to build a stronger grip, simply performing the pull-up strengthens your forearms and grip without additional wear and tear that may occur from more grip-focused exercises like the deadlift. Because you’re hanging from the bar supporting your bodyweight during each set, your grip strength is being consistently trained from the first rep to the last.

Muscles Worked by Pull-Up

The pull-up is a compound movement, meaning it involves multiple joints and recruits multiple muscle groups at once. Here’s a breakdown of the muscles worked by the pull-up.

Latissimus Dorsi

The lats are the largest back muscle, attaching at the upper arm and along the spine near the lower back. They serve two primary functions. First, they bring the arm closer to the body from out to the side. Second, they bring the arm closer to the body from out in front. This is why the lats are heavily activated when your arms begin overhead and pull down and in to raise your body during a pull-up.

Upper Back

The upper back (generally including the rear deltoid of the shoulder, the trapezius, and the rhomboids) functions to control movement of the scapulae (shoulder blades) and to support the shoulder joints under muscular stress, particularly in the bottom portion of the pull-up.

Trapezius

While sections of the traps fall into the “upper back” category, the trapezius is a large muscle on its own and serves a big role during pull-ups. The middle portion of the traps help to pull your shoulders back while extending your elbows behind you while also stabilizing your shoulders when you move your arms.Your lower traps are crucial to many other lifts and are highly activated during pull-ups. (1)

Biceps Brachii

The biceps are composed of two heads: a long head commonly referred to as the “outer” and a short head referred to as the “inner.” Both muscle heads originate at the scapulae and insert on the radius bone of the forearm. The biceps play a relatively smaller, but important, role during pull-ups to complete the top part of the movement. They are more significantly activated and play a larger role in the chin-up variation.

Lower Back

The muscles of the lower back, or lumbar spine, have been shown to be recruited during pull-ups even though they aren’t moved through a significant range of motion. Because these muscles control your torso bending at the hips, they work during the exercise to maintain a stable core position and keep a straight line from your shoulders to your knees or feet.

Rectus Abdominis

The abs are surprisingly worked to a very significant degree during pull-ups. While most lifters are more familiar with the abs’ role in flexing your torso in a curled position, they’re highly activated to maintain a stiff, solid torso. Similar to the lower back, the abs work to prevent bending at the hips.

Who Should Do the Pull-Up

Training for Bodyweight Strength

Many bodyweight training-focused lifters consider the pull-up to be an essential test of strength. Because strength is a skill, if you want to improve your pull-up numbers, you need to get better at the exercise itself. This skill comes from repeated efforts, rep after rep.

Training for Muscle

To increase muscularity, the pull-up should be a recurring movement in your workouts. The activation of multiple muscles combined with a long range of motion provide a muscle-building stimulus that very few upper body exercises can match. 

How to Program the Pull-Up

The pull-up can be programmed with a variety of sets, reps, and tempo schemes. The exercise is ideally performed at the beginning of your workout. This will make sure your body has the energy required to perform this comprehensive movement without sacrificing your technique or increasing injury risk.

Weighted, Low Repetition

To maximize basic strength in the pull-up, completing four to six sets in the three to six rep range is the place to start. Use a weight that leaves you with at least two reps left “in the tank” to avoid reaching muscular failure. A rest period of three to five minutes between each set will ensure you lift with maximum effort.

However, to ensure proper technique, you should only add weight once you can comfortably handle moderate to high-rep sets using your bodyweight. 

Unweighted, Moderate Repetition

To ensure growth in the working muscles, three to four sets in the six to 12 rep range will increase overall training volume, which is beneficial for building muscle. (2) The multiple sets and reps also allow you to improve your pull-up technique.

Modified Cluster Sets

Some lifters, especially beginners, may not be able to perform pull-ups for multiple sets of multiple reps. Even performing one or two reps may be challenging. This is where cluster sets are beneficial. Cluster sets allow a lifter to perform multiple low-rep “mini-sets” (or clusters) with a heavy weight while avoiding excessive muscular fatigue. You can apply the same technique to bodyweight pull-ups.

This modified cluster set method will have three sets of three reps in one cluster (if you can currently perform four or five reps with good form). Perform three reps, rest for 15 to 30 seconds, perform another three reps, rest for 15 to 30 seconds, and perform a final group of three reps. That entire series is one set. Take two minutes rest before repeating two more sets.

Because three sets of three cluster reps is comparable to performing nine reps in a single set. This will allow you to get stronger, maximize the recruitment of high-threshold muscle fibers (specialized muscle fibers which improve power output), and increase total working volume which can lead to more muscle.

Note: If you cannot perform three reps with good technique, you can use the cluster set method while performing one or two reps per cluster. 

Pull-Up Variations

The basic pull-up is staple in many experienced lifters’ routines, but simple variations can be used for specific goals. Even after you’ve mastered the pull-up, you can implement some of these variations into your training.

Negative Pull-Ups

To perform negative pull-ups, you will need to stand on a box or bench under a pull-up bar. Take hold of the bar with a basic shoulder-width grip and jump up to get your chin above the bar.

Take at least five seconds to lower yourself into the stretched position. Once fully stretched, put your feet on the box again, return to the top position, and repeat until you hit your target rep range.

Chin-Up

One of the most basic pull-up variations is simply reversing your grip. By grabbing the bar with a supinated (underhand or palm-up) grip, you more directly recruit the biceps.

This makes the exercise fit very well into a specific arm workout or it can add “extra” arm training to your back workout.

Wide-Grip Pull-Up

The wide-grip pull-up requires grabbing the bar several inches wider than shoulder-width. Pull yourself up as high as possible and lower yourself under complete control.

The different grip changes the arm position overhead, which changes the range of motion and puts the lats, upper back, and biceps under a different angle of stretch, which creates a unique training stimulus.

Pull-Up Alternatives

You might not be ready to complete a full set of pull-ups, which is no big deal because we all start somewhere. The first priority is understanding the prime movers involved in the pull-up and how to strengthen them. The muscles most activated in the pull-up are the lats, mid and lower traps, biceps, and your core. (3) The following exercises will help you build strength in these important muscle groups.

Scapula Pull-Ups

Scapula pull-ups can help strengthen your grip and lower traps which both play a large role in performing the full pull-up effectively.

Start by hanging from the bar with a shoulder-width grip. Keep your shoulders “shrugged” down away from your ears. Without bending at your elbows, pull your scapulae downwards while pulling your body up. It’s a very short but impactful range of motion. Hold for a slight pause at the top and lower yourself slowly by allowing your scapula to “open up” until you are at a full stretch.

To progress, start by increasing the amount of reps done in each set until you can handle 12 to 15. Once mastered, this exercise can be used within your general warm-up sequence before full pull-ups.

Kneeling Lat Pulldowns

The kneeling lat pulldown will help strengthen the lats, core, and biceps. Use a cable machine, kneeling on the ground while mimicking the exact same starting position as you would for the pull-up.

Keep yourself upright with your glutes flexed to provide stability and increase core activation. Every muscle must remain tight from the ground up.

To progress, you can introduce one and one-half reps — one full rep includes pulling all the way down, releasing the weight halfway up, pulling down again, and releasing to a full stretch. This is a great technique that can be used to emphasize the tension placed on the muscles from both the start of the pull-up and the end of the pull-up.

Inverted Row

The inverted row will help to strengthen the pulling strength of your lats, core, and arms while also emphasizing the mid-traps and upper back. A Smith machine is perfect for this exercise since you can easily adjust the height of the bar while also being in a stable, fixed position.

To progress, lower the height of the bar to adjust leverage and increase the challenge. Eventually you can elevate your feet to put your entire body into a more horizontal position.

Banded Pull-Ups

The banded pull-up is a great way to improve your muscle coordination from a neurological standpoint since strength is a skill built on repetition. (4) The banded pull-up is going to allow you to better prepare yourself to perform the concentric (pulling) portion of the movement since the bands will assist your strength in the bottom position.

Attach a resistance band to the top of a bar and get yourself into position with the band supporting your body, either with bent knees or keeping your legs straight.

To progress, make your way up resistance bands offering less resistance until you are ready to perform your pull-ups with full bodyweight.

FAQs

Can I get a six-pack from doing pull-ups?

No single exercise can give you a six-pack. That can only be achieved through a reduction in body fat, fat loss-focused training, and a calorie-controlled nutrition plan.

With that being said, pull-ups may help with improving the final look of your abs because they are heavily recruited during the exercise, as explained in the muscles-worked section. Pull-ups are an awesome and overlooked exercise for training your abs. You can expect a more prominent set of abs once you do get lean enough.

When can I start performing weighted pull-ups?

The exact timeframe can vary from individual to individual since some people are capable of performing pull-ups in a very short time. However, once you can accomplish three to four sets of 12 reps using your bodyweight, you’ve likely built the technique, coordination, and strength to tackle low-rep weighted pull-ups.

How many times per week should I perform pull-ups?

For building strength and muscle, and taking into consideration the recovery ability of the involved muscle groups, performing this exercise twice per week will be the best place to start. (5) Make sure to give yourself at least two or three days rest between workouts.

For the purpose of getting more technique practice and perfecting this movement, you can implement bodyweight pull-ups as a part of your general warm-up for upper body workouts or even for workouts where a back-focused exercise like the deadlift may be performed. The aim for this technique training would be not to fatigue your back muscles, but to mobilize and activate the associated muscles that are going to be used in those workouts..

References

1. Youdas JW, Amundson CL, Cicero KS, Hahn JJ, Harezlak DT, Hollman JH. Surface electromyographic activation patterns and elbow joint motion during a pull-up, chin-up, or perfect-pullup rotational exercise. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Dec;24(12):3404-14. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181f1598c. PMID: 21068680.
2. Schoenfeld BJ, Contreras B, Krieger J, et al. Resistance Training Volume Enhances Muscle Hypertrophy but Not Strength in Trained Men. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2019;51(1):94-103. doi:10.1249/MSS.0000000000001764
3. Hewit, Jennifer. (2018). A Comparison of Muscle Activation during the Pull-up and Three Alternative Pulling Exercises. Journal of Physical Fitness, Medicine & Treatment in Sports. 5. 10.19080/JPFMTS.2018.05.555669.
4. Ochi, E., Maruo, M., Tsuchiya, Y., Ishii, N., Miura, K., & Sasaki, K. (2018). Higher Training Frequency Is Important for Gaining Muscular Strength Under Volume-Matched Training. Frontiers in physiology, 9, 744. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.00744
5. Schoenfeld, B. J., Ogborn, D., & Krieger, J. W. (2016). Effects of Resistance Training Frequency on Measures of Muscle Hypertrophy: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 46(11), 1689–1697. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0543-8

Featured Image: UfaBizPhoto / Shutterstock

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Nick “The Mutant” Walker is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to building his strength and muscles. On April 20, 2022, the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBB) Pro League bodybuilder destroyed 180-pound incline dumbbell presses for 10 reps. 

Check out the set below, via Walker’s Instagram profile:

 

 

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Nick “the Mutant” Walker (@nick_walker39)

[Related: Bodybuilder Shaun Clarida Breaks Down An Intense Arms Workout]

Walker doesn’t take notable pauses on the lift until the last couple of reps, when his spotter supports his elbows to help finish the set. Walker completed the incline dumbbell presses seated on a weight bench while wearing wrist straps and a lifting belt. 

Walking the Walk

Walker boasts an extended, impressive resume of accomplishments in an almost decade-long career. To date, his most significant achievement might be a first-place finish at the 2021 Arnold Classic in the Open division. Notably, he’s only been an IFBB pro since the 2020 North American Championships, where he earned his Pro card with a first-place mark in the Super Heavyweight division.

That apparent late-earned distinction hasn’t stopped the 27-year-old Walker from making noise in the bodybuilding sphere all around. Here are some of the more notable results of his career thus far:

Nick Walker | Notable Career Results 

• 2014 National Physique Committee (NPC) Junior Nationals (Middleweight) — 2nd place
• 2015 NPC Northeast Summer Classic (Middleweight) — 1st place
• 2016 NPC USA Championships (Welterweight) — 2nd place
• 2016 NPC South Jersey Championships (Heavyweight) — 1st place
• 2017 NPC National Championships (Heavyweight) — 6th place
• 2017 IFBB North American Championships (Heavyweight) — 6th place
• 2018 NPC USA Championships (Middleweight) — 3rd place 
• 2018 NPC National Championships (Middleweight) — 6th place
• 2018 Caribbean Grand Prix Pro Qualifier (Light Heavyweight) — 3rd place
• 2019 NPC South Jersey Championships (Heavyweight) — 1st place
• 2019 NPC USA Championships (Heavyweight) — 2nd place
• 2020 North American Championships (Super Heavyweight) — 1st place | Earned Pro Card
• 2020 Chicago Pro (Open) — 4th place
• 2021 New York Pro (Open) — 1st place 
• 2021 Arnold Classic (Open) — 1st place
• 2021 Mr. Olympia (Open) — 5th place

A Singular Focus

Including these dumbbell presses, Walker’s recent training is related to his focus on the 2022 Mr. Olympia. Walker has previously stated he will not feature in any other upcoming competitions this year save for that meet. His focused competitive thought process is connected to a desire to improve upon a fifth-place finish at the 2021 Mr. Olympia. 

While it doesn’t appear to be a significant obstacle to his goals, Walker recently changed coaches. Up until early November 2021, Matt Jansen was Walker’s coach through most of his bodybuilding career. Jansen undoubtedly played a significant role in Walker’s recent first-place, Open division triumphs at both the 2021 New York Pro and 2021 Arnold Classic. The two men did part ways amicably, per a post on Jansen’s Instagram profile. 

Walker’s new coach, Dominick Mutascio, now has the task of helping the bodybuilder achieve an improved result during his second-ever Mr. Olympia this coming December. Walker will have to overcome many big names when it comes time to step onto that stage, including reigning Open division champion Mamdouh “Big Ramy” Elssbiay, Brandon Curry, Hadi Choopan Hunter Labrada, and perhaps even Shaun Clarida. 

What the near future holds in store will likely be related to Walker’s continued progress with his new coach. The 2022 Mr. Olympia will take place on December 15-18, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. 

Featured image: @nick_walker39 on Instagram

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