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Issue #57

1) Free weights + bands = no more plateau.
2) Can you burn enough calories with exercise?
3) The 8-step routine to get fit and strong at home.
4) Exercise of the week: Box Jumps.

Read time: 4.2 minutes

Hey Disciples of Steel!

This newsletter is like a private course delivered right to your email, I don’t hold anything back, and I want you to know as much as I do about physical training.

As you’ve noticed, it’s also completely free, and I thought you might want to know why.

The short answer is it’s my purpose to teach.
The longer story is one of frustration.

People started asking me for fitness advice over 2 decades ago, and I’ve always given them straightforward answers.

I always told them the simple truth.
How to eat, how to exercise, I told them to walk more etc.
But they didn’t like it.
Why? Because it was as hard to do as it was simple to understand.

And it was easier not to believe me. To them, I had to have a secret—a shortcut.
But as you know, there is none.

The more I trained and understood what I was doing right, the more simple my advice became, and the less they believed it.

Was I upset that I wasn’t listened to? A little bit.
But I was far more frustrated to see them ignore solutions that I knew could change their lives.

I wanted everyone to know how it’s done, and believe they could do it too!

That was long before social media gave us the opportunity to have personal channels.
But now I have this outlet and I can finally share my knowledge with the world, even if it only reaches a lucky few like you.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being here.

Ask The Coach

If you need help or have a question about your training, all you have to do is use the message box, and I’ll reply to you personally.
There’s no catch, so please do not hesitate to ask for help!
When you share your challenges with me, it helps me get better too, it’s always a win-win situation. 🤜🤛

1. Free weights + bands = no more plateau.

Here’s how adding resistance bands to your lifts can help you break through plateaus.

Ever noticed how weights feel much lighter when you’re reaching full extension?

Example: when bench pressing, it is much easier to push when your arms are almost fully extended than it is when you initiate the movement with the bar on your chest.
The more you extend your arms, the more strength you feel.

Exercises like this are said to have an ascending strength curve.
And as you probably guessed it, your muscles don’t work as much at the end of the repetition as they do at the beginning.

That’s when bands come into play.
The more you extend a band, the heavier it feels.
That’s the exact opposite.

When you attach bands to a bar or another piece of equipment, it helps make the resistance more constant and equally engages your muscles throughout the movement.

This is a great way to increase strength and break through plateaus.

Try it with squats, bench press, shoulder press, or leg press.
As always, make sure you train at your level, keep it safe, and this technique will surely make you stronger!

2. Is it too hard to burn calories through exercise?

I can’t agree 100% with the statement that it’s harder to burn 200 calories than not to eat them.

I don’t disagree either, I just think it’s subjective.

Personally I find it harder not to eat. I’d rather have that snack and suffer for 30 minutes on a stairs machine than stay hungry for 5 hours.

People often compare the number of calories burnt through exercise with the total calorie intake to make it seem insignificant, but I think it’s misleading.

Remember you only need a deficit of a few hundred calories to lose weight, and losing 100 or 200 calories from exercise does help reach that deficit and does make a difference.

Example: your calorie daily requirement is 2000 and you need a 400 calorie deficit. If you compare 200 calories burnt from exercise to 2000, it seems very little, but it’s actually half of the deficit you’re trying to reach.

So yes, the calories you burn through exercise do matter.
I hear things like: “I used to run for 30 minutes until I realized it only burned like 300 calories.”
🤦🏻
300 calories is great!

As long as you keep track of everything, the easiest way is to use both diet and exercise. You don’t rely solely on exercise because it’s impossible, but you don’t starve yourself either because it’s not sustainable.

And sometimes, it’s really easier to burn those calories for an hour than to resist eating them in the first place.

3. The 8-step routine to get fit and strong at home.

So you took the leap.
You renovated that spare room, set up the perfect home gym, and let your gym membership expire.

But now it’s time to use it and you start coming up with the same excuses as before.

Are you going to stay out of shape or follow my step-by-step routine?
Good choice. 👍🏼👇🏼

1)     Write your workouts for the whole week on a whiteboard.
2)     Decide on a regular workout time.
3)     Set up your space in advance (example: do it in the morning if you work out in the evening).
4)     Start listening to workout music 2 hours before you train.
5)     Find a pre-workout drink you enjoy.
6)     Follow the same warm-up routine every time (here’s mine).
7)     Reward yourself once you’re done.
8)     Track your progress on your favorite app.

Don’t cheat with number 7 – no workout, no treat.

This is not going to make your workout easier, but it will get it done and that’s all we need to get you in the best shape of your life!

4. Exercise of the week: Box Jumps.

This is actually what I call a fitness box jump, and it’s probably the version you’ll see most often in workout programs.

What makes it a “fitness” box jump?
Two things: I bend my knees more, and I spend extra time preparing for the jump.

In contrast, plyometric exercises for sports are usually done with less time spent loading, they’re faster and more explosive.
Their purpose is to increase power and reduce reaction time.

Our goal here is to develop power and introduce plyometrics progressively.

As a beginner, you might need to bend your knees more in order to jump as you may not have enough strength in your calves and Achilles tendons yet.

And make sure to focus on landing softly to reduce the impact on your joints.

This exercise can serve as an introduction to more athletic work once you’ve built enough leg strength, but it’s also a great finisher after leg day if your goal is to increase muscle mass!

Click this link for the full YouTube video and instructions.

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I hope you found some useful tips and motivation in today's edition.

Please share your feedback and help me improve my content for everyone!

A great way to do this is by sending me a message with a personal question you have about training.

Thanks for reading and see you next week!

- Nico

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