Beyond Barriers

Never thought I'd be interviewing one of my idols so soon in my journey.But if you believe you can achieve anything!Me and Kodi had a super fun filled podcast it was absolutely hilarious!We also hit on topics of nutrition, supplements, training methods, and so much more!Full video drops on YouTube and Apple Podcasts tm at 1pm eastern standard time!The audio will be dropped on buzzsprout tm at 1 pm eastern standard time!Make sure to go check it out!

Calories and macronutrient intake meeting out specific needs is our primary recovery method.If we had a pyramid or hierarchy of what is most important. This would be at the bottom being your foundation.I know what you're thinking too but I get my protein in. I'll be fine! Well no you won't.If you're hitting your protein but in a hypo-caloric state (calorie deficit) you can experience20% calorie deficit shown to decrease protein synthesis by 19% following a meal.500 k cal deficit for 5 days decreased protein synthesis by 27% and resistance training only restored rates to resting levelsIncreased rate of protein used as fuel source (incensed rate of protein degradation)Decree in mTOR signaling (contributes protein synthesis), Increase in AMPK signaling (contributes protein degradation)We can have the right protein amount but if we don't have our other macro nutrients in check we won't be hitting our calories.Finding out energy expenditure and matching that with your proper calorie needs is the primary thing that drives your results.All other nuance stuff is inferior to hitting your proper calorie mark for whatever your goal is.

SPECIAL GUEST PODCAST EPISODE!

Should you bulk, cut, or maingainFirst off all of this depends on your goals. If you're looking to bodybuild I would say maintaining is not the way.You will see slower progress and if you're looking to be serious about the sport you're going to want to be taking your off season seriously and GROWING.That doesn't mean eat everything in sight and throw out a plan though.Take a calculated approach to your off season just like you would prep. It won't be as rigorous but you want to have a method and plan to progress.Don't let yourself get sloppyBut don't get complacent and caught up in being “lean “ year round.If you're looking to maintain aesthetics and you workout for stress relief, fun, and to boost your confidence I would say maingaining is the way.My definition of maingaining would be eating at maintenance calories or doing a lean bulk-Ive done tons of videos on maintenance calories but a way to roughly calculate your maintenance calories is by using BMRBMR = 10 X YOUR BW IN LBSEx: 10 X 200 lbs = 2,000 kcalThen multiply your BMR by your activity factor to get your maintenance calories2,000 X 1.3 acitvty level (SEDENTARY PLUS 3-6 DAYS OF WEIGHT LIFTING) 1.3-1.6Activity factors range fromSedentary plus 3-6 days weight lifting week 1.3-1.6Lightly active plus 3-6 days o weight lifting week 1.5-1.8Active plus 3-6 days if weight lifting 1.7-2.0Very active plus 3-6 days of weight lifting 1.9-2.2Now to bulk you want to 10-20 percent calories additionUpper end for beginnersLower end for advancedYou should expect between 0.25-0.5% weight gain each weekTo cut you want a 20-30% calories reductionLower end for low body fat and advanced level ( these individuals usually have more muscle mass so they need a less decrease in food to start so that muscle sticks around better)Higher end for high body fat and beginnersShould expect 0.5-1.0% weight loss per weekSo again to overview bulking is the way to go in the offseason as a bodybuilder and obviously cutting would be prep but those numbers would vary/be different depending on the athlete (PED usage, genetics, etc.)If you're working out to maintain quality of life, have fun, and just be jacked and shredded id say maingaining would be the way for you year round but its whatever floats your boat!ReferencesJ3 University Nutrition ModulesLenzi, Jaqueline L.1; Teixeira, Emerson L.1; de Jesus, Guilherme1; Schoenfeld, Brad J.2; de Salles Painelli, Vitor1,3 Dietary Strategies of Modern Bodybuilders During Different Phases of the Competitive Cycle, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: September 2021 - Volume 35 - Issue 9 - p 2546-2551 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000003169Schoenfeld BJ. The mechanisms of muscle hypertrophy and their application to resistance training. J Strength Cond Res. 2010 Oct;24(10):2857-72.Wilson J, Wilson GJ. Contemporary issues in protein requirements and consumption for resistance trained athletes. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2006 Jun 5;3:7-27.Wilson GJ, Layman DK, Moulton CJ, Norton LE, Anthony TG, Proud CG, Rupassara SI, Garlick PJ. Leucine or carbohydrate supplementation reduces AMPK and eEF2 phosphorylation and extends postprandial muscle protein synthesis in rats. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Dec;301(6):E1236-42.Moore DR, Robinson MJ, Fry JL, Tang JE, Glover EI, Wilkinson SB, Prior T, Tarnopolsky MA, Phillips SM. Ingested protein dose response of muscle and albumin protein synthesis after resistance exercise in young men. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009 Jan;89(1):161-8.Wilson, J. M., Lowery, R. P., Joy, J. M., Andersen, J. C., Wilson, S. M., Stout, J. R., ... & Rathmacher, J. Wilson JM, Lowery RP, Joy JM, Andersen JC, Wilson

Choose your hard

Today I am diving into why recovery is so important and the different factors of recovery! I hope everyone is having an amazing day!TUNE in if you have an extra 15 minutes today because this is an AMAZING EPISODE full of juicy INFO!Sources:J3 University Lesson: Fatigue/Recovery/AdaptationMcGlory, Chris et al. “Skeletal muscle and resistance exercise training; the role of protein synthesis in recovery and remodeling.” Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) vol. 122,3 (2017): 541-548. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00613.2016Yamagishi, Takaki1,2; Babraj, John1 Active Recovery Induces Greater Endurance Adaptations When Performing Sprint Interval Training, Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research: April 2019 - Volume 33 - Issue 4 - p 922-930 doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000002787

Things I wish I knew about training when I first started my fitness journeyTraining approach's are tools Drop sets, progressive overload, etcInstagram workouts are for cloutConsistency is keyMuscle confusion is BS in my opinion to a certain extentFood is more important than trainingJust because you train like your favorite athlete doesn't mean you'll look like them your body has a different anatomy and make up...aka muscle insertions etcThere is no way to alter your muscle structure you can enhance its actual shape but you cannot train your way into changing the way that your a muscle is in reference to your physiologyFORM AND STRENGTH GO HAND IN HANDDO your OWN RESEARCH TAKE EVERYTHING WITH A GRAIN OF SALT

 Learn to LOVE what you HATETo be a champion you have to learn to love what you hateTo be successful you have to learn to love what you hateTo start that business you have to learn to love what you hateRECONDITION YOUR MIND TO LOVE BEING UNCOMFORTABLEWhen life starts throwing tough situations at you stop saying WHY ME and I CANTSTART SAYING WHY NOT ME and I CANTo be a champion you're gonna have to love hard workTo be successful you're gonna have to love long daysTo be wealthy you gotta learn to love budgeting and savingTO be great or successful at anything in life you have to love what you might HATEYOU have to be willing to be uncomfortable to GROWyou have to actually want to be uncomfortable because you know you're growing fro those painful situationsSO if you're ready to quit don't get started If you're not ready for pain don't get startedIf you're not ready to be told NO and YOURE NOT GOOD ENOUGH by a million different people a million different times DONT GET STARTEDIf you aren't ready for long nights and early mornings BY YOURSELF DON'T GET STARTEDIf you aren't ready for THE GRINDDON'T GET STARTED  LEARN TO LOVE THE PROCESS  ITS CALLED A GRIND FOR A REASON  THIS SHIT ISN'T EASY  ITS NOT SUPPOSE TO BE  YOU HAVE TO GRIND IT OUT EVERYDAY  WHEN YOU'RE DOWN  WHEN YOU'RE STRESSED  WHEN YOU WANT TO  QUIT  THAT WHY ITS CALLED THE GRINDIts not going to be easy and its not going to be a paved road like OKAY GO DOWN THIS PATH AND DO THIS AND YOU WILL MAKE ITITS GOING TO BE HARDBUT THATS WHAT SEPARATES THE TRUE CHAMPIONS FROM THE REGULAR PEOPLECHAMPIONS LOVE WHAT OTHERS HATE  THEY LOVE THE PAIN  THEY LOVE THE GRIND

Wanna build your upper chest?Implement some incline movements!Your chest is made up of four different muscles!The pectoralis major, pectoralis minor, serratus anterior and subclavius.The pec major is going to be the largest muscle of the four.Therefore more development you have in this area of your chest.The bigger it will look.How to target your Pec Major (Upper chest more)?INCLINE MOVEMENTS!

BEYOND BARRIERS PODCAST EPISODE 4: ITS ALL ABOUT MINDSET-Will be available WEDNESDAY 8 AM EST on BUZZSPROUT for FREE-But will also BE DROPPING THE LINK ON MULTIPLE POSTS HEREManifesting your dreams! It's all about your mindset

Nutrition is Everything When it Comes to Body Fat Percentage and Physique GoalsFood is fuel guys... If you aren't putting quality food into your body your not priming/fueling it to grow or shred fat or whatever your goals are.If you have no gas in your car are you going anywhere?... NO you're not.If you don't have the proper calories/nutrition (your fuel) for your body (your car) you're physique isn't going anywhere.

Things I wish I knew before I started my fitness journey!Talking about all the stuff that I wish people would have come right out and said when I started pursuing a better physique.I love this industry but it has become full of individuals to spit out false information or straight up lie. They then promise results to people because they have a huge platform and essentially use them as a cash cow.So here are the things I wish I knew when I started my fitness journey!1: FOOD IS KEY2: DONT FOCUS ON THE SCALE3: THIS STUFF TAKES TIME4: FOCUS ON FORM, STRENGTH, and HYPERTROPHY… not just one or the other5: INSTAGRAM WORKOUTS WONT MAKE YOU OR BREAK YOU6: PEDS ARE COMMON IN THIS INDUSTRYThank you all for the continued support and tuning into my little Ted Talks!I LOVE YOU GUYS ❤️Coach Alistair

Hey guys this is Episode 2 of the podcast! Were going to be discussing the five most important factors in training and nutrition to help build lean muscle mass!5 Tips to Build Lean Muscle MassDo resistance training at least 4 times a week. I would say 5-6 times a week is best but that all depends on training intensity and your life schedule as well. When doing your training I recommend either a “Bro Split” or a PPL scheme. THe “Bro split” is your normal isolation split aka having a chest day, back day, shoulder day, arm day, and leg day once a week. The PPL split is push pull legs which I like to operate on more of a six day schedule if i'm utilizing this split. For example, Monday: push, Tuesday: pull, Wednesday: legs, Thursday: rest, Friday: Push, Saturday: Pull, Sunday:Legs, Monday: Rest. I like to operate this split on a six day schedule because it gives my body ample rest after three hard days of training.Eat at least 4-5 clean meals a day. I recommend chicken, lean beef, egg whites, and any type of fish for your protein sources when looking to build lean muscle (you're going to want to consume at least your body weight in grams of protein per day if not more to  build lean muscle). For your carbohydrate sources I recommend sticking to red potatoes, sweet potatoes, jasmine white rice, and basmati white rice. For your saturated fats you're only allowed to cook food in olive, almond, avocado oil. You could also implement whole avocado, peanut butter, or almond butter as a healthy saturated fat when looking to build lean muscle. Focus on lifting in about an 8-12 rep range with controlled reps. Hypertrophy (muscle growth) is all about getting blood into your muscle. The ideal amount of reps (scientifically proven) is around 8-12 reps. Again slow and controlled because the more controlled and slower the rep the more time under tension that certain muscle has. The more time under tension muscle has the more the muscle is going to GROW.Calculate your macros and find the optimal amount of calories intake you need to gain muscle. THIS ONE IS KEY! If you are eating intuitively and wondering why you might have hit a plateau… then this I would say is your next step. One can only get so far in their physique while intuitively eating. Your body is a machine and if you want it to run like one then you must be conscious and consistent with your calorie intake.Don't expect muscle to just come in a week or two of dieting and training. It takes time and consistency. Little progress always adds up to major progress IF YOU ARE CONSISTENT. Stick to your diet and training program If you have one. If you don't I recommend formulating one for yourself or seeking out help from a personal trainer or online fitness coach.

This is the very first Beyond Barriers Podcast! This podcast is going to be about fitness, nutrition, how to stay motivated, how to actively pursue being the best version of you, some bro stuff, and just talking about how to create a better life for yourself! I love you guys and can't thank you enough for the support! Couldn't make the impact I wanted if it weren't for y'all so thank you! Have an amazing day guys! Keep pushing, never look back, and NEVER FUCKING GIVE UP!