Quinn the Mighty

Many people complain that they do not have enough time to exercise. They say they are busy with work, family, school, sports, etc. Most of the time this is just an excuse.

You do not need to spend countless hours at the gym to transform yourself and get great results. Many great strength training routines only require exercising three times per week for an hour each workout. In this articles, I present five tips to help you make time for exercise.

1. Make an appointment. Schedule your workout each week by adding it to your business calendar just as you would any other meeting.  This way you cannot schedule another meeting or activity at the same time. Making your workout an appointment each week will also provide more motivation to get to the gym.
2. Wake up earlier.  An early morning workout is a great way to wake yourself up and start the day.  All you need to do is wake up half an hour earlier and shower at the gym, and you will free up about an hour of time for working out.
3. Watch less TV and spend less time on the computer.   Many people waste countless hours in front of the television and on the computer.  Limit the amount of time you spend in front of the television by only watching your favorite show each day.  Avoid channel surfing.  Whenever you go on the computer, set a time limit and stick to it.  If you are having trouble, try keeping a timer on your desk next to your computer.



4. Home gym.  A home gym can be a time saver because you do not have to commute to the gym and can workout any time you want.  Additionally, you do not have to wait for or share any equipment.
5. Make your workouts efficient.  Strength training with isolation movements and performing low-intensity steady state cardio–such as long distance running–is inefficient and wastes your time. 
   • When strength training, use mult-joint, compound exercises. Movements such as the squat, deadlift, overhead press, power clean, chin-ups, and bench press work all the major muscles in your body and will give you the most bang for your buck.
   • Perform high intensity cardio. High intensity forms of cardio, such as interval training and Crossfit workouts, will burn more fat and can be performed in less time than traditional low intensity cardio.

Leave a comment and let me know your tips to help make time for exercise.

In my How Many Calories to Eat to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I recommend eating at least 20 times your body weight in calories each day to gain weight. Some people - such as those who have a fast metabolism or those who are naturally skinny - will need to eat even more calories.

It can be difficult to eat so many calories and so much food each day. Here’s a list of a few tips that can make it easier to eat more calories.

1. Eat more meals. In my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I recommend eating 5-6 meals per day. If you are trying to gain weight, you may need to add more meals. Eating 6-8 meals per day allows each meal to be smaller and thus easier to eat.
2. Track your calories. Most people who struggle to gain weight think they are eating enough calories, but actually are not. Use a food log or web sites such as Fitday and Nutrition Data, which are free resources to track the number of calories you are eating each day.
3. Eat calorie dense food. Some foods are more calorically dense than others. For example, one cup of spinach contains 7 calories while one cup of almonds provides 815 calories. Here are some healthy, calorically dense food choices:
   • Nuts. Nuts are good sources of healthy fats and protein. They are also easy to take with you and eat as a snack.
   • Brown rice and whole wheat pasta. Both brown rice and whole wheat pasta are calorically dense and are healthy sources of complex carbohydrates.
   • Avocados. Avocados are a great source of healthy fats and each avocado is almost 300 calories.
   • Olive oil. Olive oil is another healthy fat and can be used while cooking or added to salads and vegetables. One tablespoon of olive oil is 120 calories.
4. Plan. You can make it easier to eat more calories by planning ahead.
   • Grocery list. Prepare a grocery list of all the foods you need for the week before you go to the supermarket. Make sure you always have food available at home.
   • Cook your food in advance. Choose a day or two each week to cook most of your food. I usually cook all my food on Sundays and Wednesdays. I will prepare all the chicken breast, rice, pasta, and hard boiled eggs I need for the next few days.
   • Carry food with you. When you go to work or school, you will need to take food with you. Also, make sure you have at least one backup food item in case a meeting runs long or you get stuck at school.
5. Eat protein. In my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I recommend eating 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. So if you weight 185 lbs, you should aim for 185 grams of protein per day. Good sources of protein include ground beef, steak, chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, and cottage cheese.



6. A gallon of milk per day. If you are having trouble eating enough calories and gaining weight, try drinking a gallon of whole milk per day. A gallon of whole milk has over 2300 calories and is easier to consume than the same amount of calories in whole food.
7. Monitor your progress. Weigh yourself each week in order to make sure you are gaining weight. If you are have not gained any weight, try increasing your daily intake by 200-500 calories. Wait another week and see if you have gained weight. If not, continue increasing your calories until you gain weight.

Pull-ups are one of the oldest resistance exercises known to the human race.  The pull-up is a great upper body exercise, but it is also one of the more difficult exercises for beginners.  In fact, many novices cannot do a single pull-up.  This raises the question: how can you get better at pull-ups when you cannot do any?  In order to answer this question, I will present two methods to improve your pull-ups.

Pull-up overview. The pull-up is an upper body exercise that involves the lattissimus dorsi muscles (the “lats”), the rhombodius, the teres major, the serratus group, and the rotator cuff muscles as well as your forearms and grip.  In order to do a pull-up, you will need a pull-up bar set to the correct height.  Many gyms have them on the crossbars at the top of the power racks.  You can also purchase a pull-up bar to install in a doorway for a home gym.

Pull-ups and chin-ups.  There are two versions of the pull-up.  The first is simply referred to as the “pull-up” and refers to the version when your palms are facing away from you.  The term “chin-up” refers to the version when your palms are facing towards you.  The chin-up has more bicep involvement and hence is easier to do.

Getting started.  The first thing you need to do is stop using the lat pull-down machine and the pull-up assistance machine.  The former is not as efficient as the methods I present below and the later changes the exercise completely.  Since the chin-up is easier to do than the pull-up, you should start with it.

Jumping chin-ups.  The first method is known as a jumping chin-up.  You should lower the bar or use a high enough stool so you can reach the bar with your feet still in contact with the ground/stool.  You will use a jump to get the movement started.  Only use as little jump as necessary to do the movement.  You should lower yourself slowly and under control to get the most out of the negative portion of the exercise.  Repeat the exercise for as many reps as you can properly lower yourself under control.

Band assisted chin-ups.  The second method will use elastic fitness bands to help you complete a chin-up.  Some gyms carry these, but you may need to purchase some at your local sports store or online.  You attach one side of the band to yourself or your belt and the other side to the chin-up bar.  The band will be stretched and you will feel it pulling you up.  Now grab the bar with your palms facing toward you and complete a chin-up.  If you are still not able to complete a chin-up, you will need to use a stronger band.

I prefer the jumping chin-up method for most people, but if you feel you are cheating too much with the jump, the band assisted method can be useful.  Use these methods until you are able to complete a single chin-up on your own.

Moving away from assisted chin-ups.  Once you reach the level where you can do at least one complete chin-up without any assistance or jumping, you should modify the workout.  Start with as many unassisted chin-ups as you can do and then use the jumping or band assisted methods to complete the remaining reps you are aiming to complete.

Once you can do five complete chin-ups without any assistance or jumping, you no longer need to use these methods for chin-ups.  You should focus on doing more chin-ups, doing weighted chin-ups, and start improving your pull-ups.  However, you may need to use the methods listed above when you first start doing pull-ups.

One of the most common nutrition questions people ask is “how many calories should I eat?”.  The answer is based on what your current goals are.  Someone looking to build strength and muscle mass will need to eat more than someone looking to burn fat.

Take a look at the three goals below and determine which one is your current goal:

1. Building strength and muscle mass.  When building strength and muscle mass, you will need to be eating more calories than you are burning.  Often, with this goal, you will want to be gaining weight.
2. Re-composition.  During re-composition, you attempt to lower your body fat percentage while still building muscle and burning fat.  You will not be able to lose fat as quickly as if that were your main goal; nor can you build strength and muscle mass as fast as if it were your main goal.  During a re-composition phase, people typically maintain their current weight.
3. Losing fat.  If your goal is to burn fat, then you will need to be burning more calories than you are eating.  During a fat lose phase, most people end up losing weight.

Formulas.  Once you determine your goal, you can calculate the number of calories you need to eat each day using the simple formulas below.  In each formula, you will multiply your current body weight (BW) by the given number to determine the number of calories to eat each day.

Remember, these formulas are just estimates for the number of calories you should be eating.  Start with whatever result you get with the formula.  Try this for a week or two and see if are making progress toward your goals.  If you are, continue with the current number of calories.  If you are not making progress towards your goals, add or subtract 200-500 calories and try again for another week or two.  It may take a few weeks to find the correct number of calories.

In the formulas below, BW stands for your current body weight.

Gain weight with BWx20. For example, if you weigh 185 lbs and are trying to build muscle mass, you will want to eat 185×20 = 3700 calories each day.

Maintain weight with BWx18.  If you wish to maintain your weight of 185 lbs, you will want to eat 185×18 = 3330 calories each day.

Lose weight with BWx16.  In order to lose weight at a body weight of 185 lbs, you will need to eat 185×16 = 2960 calories each day.

Making adjustments.  As you progress towards your goal, you will need to adjust your calories every so often.  For example, if you are working towards losing fat, you may plateau or reach a point where you are no longer making progress.  After a week or two of no progress, you will need to readjust your caloric intake by 200-500 calories.

Tracking calories.  Now that you know how many calories to eat, you need an easy way to keep track of how many calories you are eating each day.  The best approach is to keep a food journal of everything that you eat.  There are several websites that can help with this. Both Fitday and Nutrition Data are free resources to track the number of calories you are eating each day.

Several readers have contacted me and asked for a list of healthy foods to build muscle and burn fat.  Although I gave several tips in my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I do not list many specific foods.  So I decided to write this article to list most of the healthy foods I keep in my kitchen.

When you go to the supermarket, there are two things you should keep in mind:

1. The healthiest foods are typically found along the perimeter of the store.  For example, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, eggs, meat, and fish all appear along the perimeter of my local supermarket.
2. If a food is brought into your house, you will eventually eat it.  This means that in order to eat healthy, you should only bring healthy foods into your household.

Fruits and Vegetables.  With fruits and vegetables, I like to purchase whatever is in season.  Right now I have the following fruits in my kitchen:

• Oranges
• Clementines
• Apples
• Bananas
• Tomatoes
• Apricots
• Peaches
• Blueberries
• Strawberries

I also keep the following vegetables:

• Spinach
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Cauliflower
• Sweet potatoes

Meat, poultry, and fish.  There are plenty of other meat options besides chicken breast when eating healthy.  Here are a few I purchase:

• Lean ground beef
• Eye of round roast
• Bison
• Chicken breast
• Salmon
• Tilapia
• Tuna
• Shrimp

Dairy and eggs.  When purchasing dairy products, you will notice several versions available based on the amount of fat.  I purchase non-fat and low-fat versions when my goal is to burn fat and I buy the higher fat versions when I am building muscle and need more calories.  Here are a few dairy and egg products I keep in my refrigerator:

• Milk
• Cheese
• Cottage cheese
• Omega-3 Cage free eggs
• Egg whites

Grains, breads, and oats.  I only keep grains, breads, and oats that are complex carbohydrates.  I avoid products that contain added sugar and high fructose corn syrup.  Here is what I keep in my cabinets:

• Brown rice
• Lentils
• Bulgur wheat
• Whole grain tortillas
• Rolled oats

Nuts and oils.  Nuts and oils are a good source of healthy fat.  Oils are also useful for cooking and adding some extra flavor to your vegetables.  I keep the following in my kitchen at all times:

• Almonds
• Cashews
• Olive oil
• Natural peanut butter
• Pam cooking spray

Beverages.  As I mentioned in my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I try to avoid non-calorie containing beverages.  I currently consume the following beverages:

• Water
• Green tea

Fill your kitchen with the healthy foods listed above and you will be on your way to building muscle and burning fat.

In my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I recommend eating 5-6 small meals per day.  Not only does eating often help increase your metabolism, but it also helps you avoid cravings by keeping you full throughout the day.

Plan ahead.  Eating 5-6 small meals per day requires that you eat every 2-3 hours.  In order to do this successfully, you must plan ahead.  I recommend having at least two backup plans in case something happens unexpectedly.

For example, last week I had a meeting planned from 2-4pm.  I had a meal at 1:45pm before my meeting; so I knew I would need to eat again around 4pm.  I also knew the meeting might run long.  So I had two backup plans ready:

1. I brought some mixed nuts with me to the meeting in case I needed to eat something on the spot.
2. I had a spare protein shake at my desk.  When we were given a five minute break, I could go back to my desk and drink my shake before continuing the meeting.

Go slowly.  It can be overwhelming to switch from 2-3 large meals per day to 5-6 smaller meals per day.  In order to get to 5-6 meals per day, you will need to gradually increase the number of meals you eat each day.  Start off by eating 4 meals per day.  After about a week, increase this to 5 meals per day.  Give yourself a week or two to adjust and then increase your meals to 6 per day.

Split the meals.  One of the easiest ways to add smaller meals is to just split up your existing meals.  For example, instead of eating a large sandwich for lunch, cut the sandwich in half.  Have half an hour early and have the other half 2-3 hours later.

Eat more snacks.  If you are having trouble splitting up your meals you can try to reduce the size of each meal and add some snacks throughout the day.  For example, continue to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but add in snacks between breakfast and lunch and between lunch and dinner.  Some good snack ideas include:

• Protein shakes
• Mixed nuts
• Fruits such as apples, oranges, and bananas
• Salads
• A small or half sandwich

There is no excuse for not eating 5-6 small meals per day.  If you have any tips for eating 5-6 small meals per day, leave a comment below and let others know.

In my 7 Nutrition Tips to Build Muscle and Burn Fat article, I recommend always eating breakfast.  After fasting for 8+ hours, your body is in need of energy and nutrients.  If you are not in the habit of eating breakfast or find food unappetizing in the morning, then start with a small snack and build up to a larger breakfast.  A good breakfast will wake you up and make you more alert throughout the day.  Studies have shown that eating breakfast can also increase your metabolism.

The recipes below are actually templates for creating your own meals.  You will want to adjust them to your individual needs and goals:

• Building muscle.  If you are working on building muscle, you should be trying to consume more calories.  You will want to use large portions and calorie dense alternatives in the recipes.
• Burning fat.  If you are burning fat, you need to watch how many calories you consume.  You should be aware of the serving sizes and may want to leave a few items out.

Power oatmeal.  Oatmeal is a healthy way to start the day.  Oats are a nutritious carbohydrate source and also a good source of fiber.  They can be made on the stove or in a microwave, if you are in a hurry.  Prepare the oatmeal to your liking, then add any of the following:

• Protein powder.  Adding protein powder to oatmeal gives the meal a good source of complete protein.  Also, some protein powders will add additional flavor.  I have found that a vanilla flavor will not change the taste of oatmeal much, but a chocolate flavor will make the oatmeal taste as if it were prepared with chocolate milk.
• Fruit.  Almost any fruit goes well in oatmeal.  I like to use blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, or bananas.
• Flax seed.  Flax seed is a good source of omega-3 fat and fiber.  I like to add a tablespoon of ground flax seed to my oatmeal.
• Peanut butter.  I do not care for peanut butter in my oatmeal, but others swear it tastes great.  This can be useful, if you are trying to add more calories to the meal.

Omelet.  I can eat an omelet any time of day.  The eggs provide a great source of protein and there are hundreds of different types of omelets that all taste different.  I like to use a mix of eggs and egg whites when making an omelet.  Egg whites do not contain the yolk and hence contain less calories.  You should use more egg whites when you are trying to limit your caloric intake.  Here are some things I enjoy adding to my omelets:

• Vegetables.  Almost any vegetable will go well in an omelet.  I enjoy spinach and broccoli the most.
• Meat.  Many people enjoy small slices of ham in their omelets.  Steak works well too.
• Cheese.  Adding cheese to an omelet is a good way to add more calories to the meal.

There are many more options as well.  Some types of omelets that are easy to make include a ham and cheese omelet, a spicy Santa Fe omelet (with pepper jack cheese and salsa), and a spinach and mushroom omelet.

Super shake.  A shake is quick to make and can be consumed while you are on the run.  Just add your chosen ingredients to the blender and blend to the desired consistency.  I always start my shakes off with a serving of protein powder, some milk, and ice.  From there you can add a variety of ingredients:

• Fruit.  Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries, bananas, pineapples, and peaches all go well in shakes.
• Vegetables.  Adding spinach and broccoli to shakes is a good way to increase your vegetable intake.  Be careful not to add too much or the shake will become bitter.
• Yogurt.  Yogurt can add more calories to the shake and improve the taste.

With these 3 breakfast ideas, you no longer have an excuse for not eating breakfast.  Share some of your favorite breakfast ideas in the comments below.

A common mistake made by many people who first start a strength training program is not getting enough rest and recovery between workouts.  Some people even attempt training 7 days a week!  After about a week of this, they start to feel sore and fatigued all the time.   Although I admire their enthusiasm, they need to understand what happens to their body when they engage in strength training. 

Strength training actually breaks down and damages your muscle.  You actually will leave the gym weaker than when you went in.  Your body is resilient though, and it repairs and rebuilds itself stronger than before.  If you give your body time to recover, the next time you go back into the gym, you should be a little bit stronger because your body has adapted.

The important part to emphasis here is that your body grows and repairs itself when you are not in the gym.  You need to give yourself sufficient time to recover between workouts.  This articles explores various recovery methods that you can do to decrease recovery time and reduce soreness between workouts.   

Static stretching.  Static stretching after a workout is a great way to aid recovery.  Not only will you feel less sore the next day, but stretching after a workout can also increase flexibility.  You should stretch both the muscles you worked and the antagonist muscles.  So if you worked your hamstrings that day, you should stretch both your hamstrings and your quads. 

Post workout nutrition.  After you workout, you want to get nutrients into your muscles quickly.  Many people drink protein shakes after a workout, but post workout is also a great time to consume carbohydrates.  Good carbohydrate sources after a workout include oatmeal, brown rice, sweet potatoes, yams, and dextrose.  The carbohydrates will replace muscle glycogen, which was used up in the workout.

Soft tissue work.  Foam rolling helps bring blood into the muscles.  This will promote muscle growth and recovery.  I recommend getting a foam roller for the larger muscles and using a tennis or lacrosse ball for the smaller areas. 

Hydrotherapy.  Contrast showers and ice baths can aid recovery by increasing the amount of blood in a region.  This helps bring vital nutrients into the muscles and will help you recovery quickly.

• Ice baths.  If you have access to an ice bath, take advantage of the opportunity.  Get in the ice bath and stay in as long as you can up to 5 minutes.  Then take a long warm shower letting the water hit the muscles you worked. 
  
• Contrast showers.  When you are in the shower, first turn the water as cold as you can stand it for 15 - 30 seconds.  Next turn the water as hot as you can stand it for 15 - 30 seconds.  This is one cycle.  Repeat for 3 - 6 cycles.  Again, let the water hit the muscles you worked.

Low intensity cardio.  Low intensity cardio gets the blood flowing, which allows more nutrients to flow into the muscles.  This also can help pull the lactic acid out of the muscles.  Do not overexert yourself; a brisk walk will work just fine. 

Sleep.  Sleep is the most important tool you have to aid recovery.  When you are sleeping, your body’s repair system goes into overdrive.  You should aim for at least 8 hours of sleep a night.  The quality of sleep is also important.  If you are tossing and turning all night, then you are not going to wake up feeling refreshed and recovered. 

Napping.  Most people do not have the luxury of taking a nap during the day, but a short nap after a workout is a great way to aid recovery.  Even just a 30 minute nap, can help reduce soreness. 

You might not be able to use all these methods, but try adding one or two into your current routine.  If there are any other methods of recovery that you use, let me know about it in the comments. 

Everyone likes to talk about the newest training programs and all the latest supplements, but the most important part of building muscle and burning fat is your diet.  Most people who fail to build muscle or lose fat do so because they fail to follow a healthy diet.

Part of the trouble is the amount of misinformation and contradictory statements being made about nutrition.  There are so many fad diets and so called research studies that it can be quite confusing.  Take for example, the low fat diets, the no carb diets, the low carb diets, and the “don’t eat anything” diets.   

Although there is a lot of contradictory information out there, nutrition experts agree on several key points.  I’ve summarized these key points, into the following 7 nutrition tips:

1. Eat every 2-3 hours.  You should aim for 5-6 smaller meals everyday.  Not only does eating often help increase your metabolism, but it also helps you avoid cravings by keeping you full throughout the day. 
   
2. Eat breakfast.  After sleeping for 8 hours, your body needs fuel to start the day.  A good breakfast will wake you up and make you more alert throughout the day.  Studies have shown that eating breakfast can also increase your metabolism. 
   
3. Only drink non-calorie containing beverages. The healthiest beverages are water and green tea.  To keep yourself away from soda and other calorie-dense beverages, try keeping a water bottle or thermos with you at all times.  I also find it convenient to keep a water bottle on my desk at work. 
   
4. Eat lean protein with every meal.  You need protein to build muscle and recover from strength training.  Protein is also thermogenic and can help increase your metabolism.  A good rule of thumb is to try and get 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.  So a 160 lb man would want to aim for 160 grams of protein per day.  Good sources of protein are meat, fish, poultry, eggs, egg whites, milk, and cottage cheese.
   
5. Eat whole, unprocessed foods.  Avoid heavily processed foods.  Processed foods contain trans fat, corn syrup, and preservatives.
   • Whole food sources include fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, eggs, meat, fish, poultry, and oats.
   • Processed foods include chips, bagels, pizza, canned meat, and frozen dinners.
6. Eat healthy fats.  Try to get at least 25% of your daily calories from healthy fats.  Good sources of healthy fats are meat, nuts (such as almonds, cashews, and walnuts), peanut butter, olive oil, avocados, flax seeds, fish, and fish oil.  You want to avoid trans fat, vegetable oils, and corn oil. 
   
7. Consume fruits and vegetables with every meal.  Fruits and vegetables contain antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.  Some of the healthiest are spinach, broccoli, carrots, oranges, apples, and berries.

Your goal with these 7 tips is to follow them 90% of the time.  If you are eating 6 meals per day (which is 42 meals per week), then you can cheat on 4 meals per week.  The same is true for drinks.  Try to drink water and green tea 90% of the time and save soda and alcohol for the other 10%. 

Most people can achieve their health and body composition goals by just following these tips.  If you are just getting started, spend a few weeks implementing the basics with these tips.  After you have followed these recommendations for at least 3 months, then you can look into more specific diets and nutrition systems.