Natural PNBA athlete Dillon shared the benefits of ashwagandha, including boosting testosterone and muscle growth. 

Most of your gym gains will come from your workout and proper nutrition. However, certain supplements have been proven to boost strength and muscle growth, and ashwagandha is one of them. Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA) athlete Dillon listed the many benefits supplementing with ashwagandha provides. 

Dillon competes in the PNBA Men’s Physique pro division. In a social media post, Dillon says that ashwagandha can lower stress and anxiety, improve your heart health, control blood glucose levels, boost testosterone, and help you build strength and muscle. 

Dillon’s full IG post below lists the benefits of ashwagandha and shows him doing cable rope tricep extensions and flexing his triceps. 

 

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A post shared by DILLON // HEALTH & FITNESS (@dloweflex)

What Is Ashwagandha? 

Ashwagandha is an herb derived from plants in Asia and Africa. Ayurveda, Indian alternative medicine, uses this herb as a natural remedy. You can take ashwagandha as a capsule or powder or even a gummy. It’s been shown to relieve stress, increase energy, and boost cognitive function.  

Furthermore, many gym enthusiasts and bodybuilders will take it to boost their workout performance. Studies have shown that ashwagandha effectively builds muscle and strength (1). And this study found a 14.7% increase in testosterone production after supplementing with the herb (2). 

Ashwagandha Benefits

• Lower stress and anxiety
• Improve heart health 
• Control glucose 
• Boost testosterone 
• Gain strength and muscle  

Other ways to boost testosterone naturally include consuming foods high in zinc and magnesium and avoiding or limiting unhealthy lifestyle factors such as drinking too much alcohol. PNBA Hall of Famer Chad Martin has a complete list on optimizing T production naturally. Testosterone is vital for maximizing your gains in the gym. So the more testosterone you have, the more muscle you’ll build. 

Natural Bodybuilding and Supplementation  

As a natural bodybuilder, it’s imperative to take natural supplements to gain an edge in the gym. Of course, steroids boost T production. But steroids and other performance-enhancing (PEDs) can have side effects. And PEDs are prohibited in natural bodybuilding. Therefore, natural bodybuilders only take natural products. 

For example, the 2021 Natural Olympia reigning Men’s Physique Open pro champ William Long takes ashwagandha and many other natural supplements, including multivitamins.

William Long’s Supplements

• Greens Formula
• Fiber
• ZMA
• Fish Oil
• Whey Protein
• Pre-workout
• Vitamin C
• Ashwagandha
• Vitamin D3
• Fat Burner

The INBA PNBA league follows the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) guidelines–you can view their 2022 complete list of banned substances here. 

Recommended Ashwagandha Supplement

Nutricost Ashwagandha Gummies

Nutricost Ashwagandha Gummies

Great tasting, convenient, and an effective form of ashwagandha to really help you recover, grow, and improve your overall health.

Shop Nutricost

When it comes to finding a good ashwagandha supplement, you cannot go wrong with the gummies from Nutricost. Each serving of Nutricost’s product delivers a potent 1200mg equivalent of Ashwagandha, meticulously sourced from a concentrated 30:1 Ashwagandha extract at 40mg strength. Not to mention, you know exactly what you are getting, as to ensure the utmost quality and safety, Nutricost Ashwagandha Gummies undergo rigorous testing conducted by independent, ISO-accredited laboratories.

Check out the full Nutricost Ashwagandha Gummies review!

Recap

Undoubtedly, your diet and exercise regimen is the most critical components to building a fantastic physique. However, certain supplements do help with your natural bodybuilding journey. For example, this is a natural herb that will help you boost strength, muscle growth, and testosterone levels. 

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more natural bodybuilding tips!

References

1. Wankhede, S., Langade, D., Joshi, K., Sinha, S. R., & Bhattacharyya, S. (2015). Examining the effect of Withania somnifera supplementation on muscle strength and recovery: a randomized controlled trial. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 12, 43. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12970-015-0104-9
2. Lopresti, A. L., Drummond, P. D., & Smith, S. J. (2019). A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Crossover Study Examining the Hormonal and Vitality Effects of Ashwagandha ( Withania somnifera) in Aging, Overweight Males. American journal of men’s health, 13(2), 1557988319835985. https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988319835985

The post Natural Bodybuilder’s Secret Supplement to Boost Testosterone and Gains: Ashwagandha appeared first on Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network.

Fitness expert Jeff Nippard shares 3 work out tips to spend less time in the gym without hurting your workout quality. 

When you think of the biggest excuse people give for not working out, what is it? If you said, “I don’t have time,” then you’re correct! Not having enough time to workout is often the excuse people give when they’re not making it to the gym. We all live busy lives, some busier than others. So it can be overwhelming and hard to find the time you need to workout and hit your fitness goals.

The good news is that there are strategies you can implement to complete effective workouts in less time. Bodybuilder, powerlifter, and fitness guru Jeff Nippard shares 3 tips on Instagram that you can use to complete efficient workouts and save time. 

Jeff Nippard is a Canadian natural pro bodybuilder and international-qualified powerlifter. And he holds a Bachelor of Since in biochemistry. He won the 2012 Mr. Junior Canada title and has grown a massive social media following since then, where he’s regarded as an influential fitness expert. 

If you have followed Jeff Nippard, you’ll know he strongly believes you can do great workouts without spending too much time in the gym. He knows that people live busy lives, and it’s unrealistic for everyone to give a couple of hours of their day to the gym. Therefore, he’s been creating content for the general public, teaching them how they get quick, effective workouts throughout the week. Nippard coins this as “minimalist training,” which Nippard says can be done in under an hour. Keep reading to learn his three time-saving tips to sculpt your physique to Greek God status. 

Drop Sets

The first tip Nippard gives to save time and crush workouts is to incorporate drop sets. A drop set is when you perform a set until failure, then lower the weight by 10-30% and rep the weight until failure again; there is limited to no rest between sets. Studies show including drop sets in your training plan can improve muscle hypertrophy (growth) (1). Nippard stated:

“Drop sets are a great way to squeeze more effective volume into a shorter time frame. That’s because they allow you to get in more reps close to failure without killing time by resting between sets or doing a bunch of lower-tension reps that aren’t close to failure. For drop sets, I’ll usually hit failure once for around 10-12 reps, drop the weight back by 30-50 percent and then go to failure again. Drop sets are best reserved for machine exercises that can be taken to failure safely and should be kept for the last set of an exercise.”

Jeff Nippard on Antagonistic Superset Workouts

Nippard also said you should incorporate antagonistic supersets if you want to finish more in less time without hurting your workout performance. Supersets are when you do two back-to-back exercises with little to no rest (2). And antagonistic supersets are when you do two exercises subsequently of opposing muscle groups—for example, performing a set of barbell curls for biceps and then cable tricep extensions for triceps with no rest. 

Nippard says you’ll run into issues with supersets of the same muscle group exercises. Therefore, he recommends antagonistic supersets. The fitness expert said:

“They are a great way to squeeze more sets into a shorter time frame, however, there’s an issue. If you superset exercises that train the same muscles, those muscles will not be able to recover sufficiently in between supersets, meaning you won’t be able to handle the same load/volume. For this reason, it is generally smarter to do supersets that train antagonistic (“opposite”) muscles like biceps + triceps or chest + back.”

The 2014 Canadian national bench press record holder said you can also do “separated supersets.” He says this is when you perform supersets of different muscle groups—for example, performing a set of leg presses and seated lateral raises. 

 

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A post shared by Jeff Nippard (@jeffnippard)

Reduce Sets But Increase Weight

In addition to supersets, Jeff Nippard says focusing on increasing your weight lifted rather than increasing the sets you do will save you time and result in ample muscle growth (3). Nippard claimed:

“Research shows that even just 1-4 sets per muscle per week, taken to failure, will result in measurable muscle growth. If you’re limited on time, consider dropping your volume back and pushing your sets all the way to failure (or at least within 1 rep or so of failure). Failure is the point where you couldn’t possibly get another rep with good technique, no matter how hard you tried.”

He went on to say:

“In weight training, there’s always a trade off between volume and intensity (effort). The more volume you do, the lower intensity should be (to ensure recovery). The less volume you do, the higher intensity should be (to provide a sufficient growth stimulus). Since lower volume workouts are faster, doing lower volume training with a higher intensity may be the single most effective way to cut down on training time without significantly cutting down on your gains.”

 

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A post shared by Jeff Nippard (@jeffnippard)

Wrap Up

Not everyone has the schedule of a bodybuilder to put in 2-3 hours of workouts 5-6 days a week. That doesn’t mean you can’t still get quality workouts in, though. Incorporating drop sets, antagonistic sets, and reducing your sets to focus on lifting heavier weights are all effective strategies to complete an explosive workout in less time. If you follow these 3 Jeff Nippard “minimalist training” workout tips in this article, you’ll crush any fitness goal by spending no more than 45 minutes in the gym. 

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more workout tips from fitness experts!

References

1. Varović, D., Žganjer, K., Vuk, S., & Schoenfeld, B. J. (2021). Drop-Set Training Elicits Differential Increases in Non-Uniform Hypertrophy of the Quadriceps in Leg Extension Exercise. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 9(9), 119. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports9090119
2. Peña García-Orea, G., Rodríguez-Rosell, D., Segarra-Carrillo, D., Da Silva-Grigoletto, M. E., & Belando-Pedreño, N. (2022). Acute Effect of Upper-Lower Body Super-Set vs. Traditional-Set Configurations on Bar Execution Velocity and Volume. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 10(7), 110. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports10070110
3. Ralston, G. W., Kilgore, L., Wyatt, F. B., & Baker, J. S. (2017). The Effect of Weekly Set Volume on Strength Gain: A Meta-Analysis. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 47(12), 2585–2601. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-017-0762-7

The post Jeff Nippard’s 3 Hacks for More Efficient Workouts in Less Time appeared first on Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network.

GSP does pushups on his fingertips with a slow eccentric to challenge his strength and stability. 

Your core is more than just where your six-pack abs and obliques reside. It stabilizes your pelvis and spine and enhances your athletic performance. MMA fighter Georges St-Pierre recently uploaded a video of him training – with movements that heavily focused on his core – for explosive power and stability, which we’ll break down below. 

GSP is a Canadian mixed martial fighter, widely considered one of the greatest in history. Although he retired in 2019, the two-division (welterweight, middleweight) UFC champion is famous for staying in shape and recently discussed how boosting his testosterone naturally in his 40s helps with that. Fans anticipate the return of “Rush,” although an upcoming fight with Nick Diaz had to be canceled due to both athletes’ injuries.

In this video uploaded to X, formerly Twitter, the athlete shows excellent stability and power-increasing moves. Georges St-Pierre looks shredded in his forties, as we saw when he unveiled his physique recently. So, we’ll look at his power and stability-increasing exercises and the best way to use them to maximize gains. We also share tips on increasing your power and stability while examining Georges St-Pierre’s training. 

Georges St-Pierre’s Training Routine 

 

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A post shared by Georges St-Pierre (@georgesstpierre)

In the video above, Georges St-Pierre did four exercises during training that improved his stability and power. However, the MMA champion featured in The Hurt Business points out that time is no longer on his side as he ages. Let’s dive into the exercises he uploaded on social media. 

Seated Box Jump

The seated box jump is a plyometric exercise for your lower body. Research shows that when combined with resistance exercises, plyometric exercises can increase muscle strength and power (1). 

Seated box jumps work on your posterior chain muscles, targeting your glutes, hamstrings, quads, calves, and hip flexors. Seated box jumps force you to channel your explosive power by exploding through your legs to jump. You can also turn this into an endurance-based exercise with a low enough box. Then, you can focus on doing many jumps with limited rest. But the higher the box height (like GSP’s box in the video), the more force is required, focusing more on power output. 

When doing seated box jumps, your nervous system is ignited to give you strength gains. This exercise uses a push-type force and is a great way to maintain elasticity in your tendons as you age. Georges St-Pierre showed his insane lower body power with this exercise, jumping to a great height from a short distance.

Swiss Ball Kettlebell Reverse Fly on GHD Machine

Georges St-Pierre did the reverse fly, holding kettlebells in both hands and balancing on a Swiss ball set up on a GHD machine. St-Pierre did each rep at a fast tempo and went through a great range of motion. 

The Swiss ball kettlebell reverse fly is a free weight and fitness ball routine. This exercise primarily targets your core and middle back but recruits your shoulders, specifically your posterior delts. When done on a GHD machine, the stability needed for this exercise goes through the roof. As a result, it builds the core muscles, including your abs and obliques. Moreover, the concentration required to stay stable can help you focus better and improve your mind-muscle connection, leading to more muscle activation (2). 

Swiss Ball Prone Horizontal Adduction on GHD Machine

Right after, St-Pierre stays in the same position, utilizing the Swiss ball and GHD machine to perform prone horizontal adductions. The Swiss ball prone horizontal adduction works on your posterior muscles — rhomboids, trapezius, and posterior delts. These are the muscles that move your shoulders during adduction. Doing this routine on a Swiss ball also challenges your stability and strength, increasing them gradually.

Swiss ball prone horizontal adductions help to improve your posture by strengthening your shoulder and back muscles. This exercise, however, also recruits your arms and works on your core. Research shows that prone exercises on a Swiss ball are great for your back and core muscles (3). GSP did horizontal adductions after doing a reverse fly with kettlebells using the same setup.

Fingertip Pushups

 

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A post shared by Georges St-Pierre (@georgesstpierre)

GSP rounded up his exercising in this video with fingertip pushups. Fingertip pushups are an advanced variation of the conventional pushup. As the name suggests, it requires pressing your entire body up using your fingertips as the base. This exercise isn’t beginner-level and requires great strength and stability. 

The main muscles targeted with this exercise are the chest, shoulders, and triceps. They’re also great for building your forearms and improving your grip strength. GSP did each rep with a slow eccentric to put his pectoralis muscle under more time under tension. 

Mixed martial artists often do this exercise to improve their muscular functioning and the conditioning of their hands. The reason why it’s effective is because it builds the connective tissues of the hands, which, of course, play an important role in combat sports. This will make your hands denser and better at handling stress over time, which can help with throwing punches and grappling. 

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more athlete workouts!

References

1. McKinlay, B. J., Wallace, P., Dotan, R., Long, D., Tokuno, C., Gabriel, D. A., & Falk, B. (2018). Effects of Plyometric and Resistance Training on Muscle Strength, Explosiveness, and Neuromuscular Function in Young Adolescent Soccer Players. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 32(11), 3039–3050. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000002428 
2. Calatayud, J., Vinstrup, J., Jakobsen, M. D., Sundstrup, E., Brandt, M., Jay, K., Colado, J. C., & Andersen, L. L. (2016). Importance of mind-muscle connection during progressive resistance training. European journal of applied physiology, 116(3), 527–533. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-015-3305-7 
3. Escamilla, R. F., Lewis, C., Pecson, A., Imamura, R., & Andrews, J. R. (2016). Muscle Activation Among Supine, Prone, and Side Position Exercises With and Without a Swiss Ball. Sports health, 8(4), 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/1941738116653931

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Brian Shaw trains with Gordon Ryan to improve his grappling.

Four-time World’s Strongest Man Brian Shaw recently trained with Brazilian Jiujitsu world champion Gordon Ryan. Having retired from strongman competitions, Shaw is seeking out different ways to spend his free time. It appears becoming a powerful human weapon is high on that list. With athletes like Francis Ngannou and Hafthor Bjornsson leaving their sports for boxing, Shaw transitioning to MMA isn’t too surprising, but certainly exciting.

One of the most respected strongman athletes in the sport, Brian Shaw has carved out an impressive legacy for himself. With four World’s Strongest Man titles under his belt, Shaw is tied for the second most wins in the prestigious competition. The only person to win five titles is Mariusz Pudzianowski who went on to compete in mixed martial arts. Now like his predecessor before him, Shaw wants to compete in MMA.

A New Journey

After announcing his intentions to compete in a mixed martial arts bout in 2024, it appears that Brian Shaw is going all out in his training. Ever since training with former UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, it was clear that Shaw had an appreciation for MMA. He has already been improving his striking skills, now Shaw is intent on building his grappling abilities.

Looking to sharpen all his abilities, Brian Shaw has enlisted the help of jiujitsu world champion Gordon Ryan. Considered by many to be the best no-gi grappler of all time, Ryan can take Shaw’s skills to a new level.

Jiujitsu Training With The Best

Recently Gordon Ryan took Brian Shaw through some high-level grappling training.

NEW TRAINING VIDEO IS LIVE ON YOUTUBE WITH @gordonlovesjiujitsu

I had a great time learning from the best and being able to roll around with @jiujitsugiant and @mobility_monster74was awesome!

Head over to my YouTube to check the full video out!

 

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A post shared by Brian Shaw (@shawstrength)

With Gordon Ryan in his corner, Brian Shaw could really make some great strides in grappling. Who knows, with fellow veteran strongman competitors Eddie Hall and Mitchell Hooper set to battle in MMA, we could see Shaw battle other strongman athletes in the future.

Are you excited to see Brian Shaw compete in MMA?

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

Featured Image Courtesy of Instagram

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The Buff Dudes train Brock Lesnar style.

YouTubers Hudson and Brandon White AKA the Buff Dudes try their hand at the workout that turned WWE star Brock Lesnar into a UFC heavyweight champion. By the end of the grueling circuit-style training, the Buff Dudes found themselves humbled by the experience.

Getting prepared for a mixed martial arts contest is unlike anything else. Not only do you have to learn a bevy of different martial arts styles, but you must also condition your mind and body for the contest. The physical conditioning required to tattle it out for 15 or 25 minutes is immense. You must build up both your aerobic and anaerobic systems to have the cardio to push through and perform explosive movements, including kicks punches wrestling, and grappling.

To hold the UFC championship, one must be able to push through 25 minutes of wall-to-wall action. When Brock Lesnar was the UFC heavyweight champion, he had to prepare his body for 25 minutes of battle. In preparation, for the contest, he would put himself through a circuit training that included, a wide variety of explosive exercises. While weight training has its place, cardio is king when it comes to combat sports.

Hoping to replicate the former UFC champion’s winning routine, the Buff Dudes Hudson and Brandon White decided to undergo a grueling conditioning circuit of 25 different exercises.

The Circuit Training

The training consisted of five different rounds of five different exercises for a total of twenty-five. The Buff Dudes took footage of Brock Lesnar prepping for competition as inspiration for the training. The brothers would perform each exercise for one minute, five in a row without breaks until the allotted five minutes concluded. The brothers took a one-minute break between each round.

Round One, Fight!

The first round was a pushing round which consisted of of Spiderman pushups, plyometric pushups, banded punches, sled pushing, and medicine ball pushups.

“The simplest of tasks become impossible once you start to hit that fatigue,” said Brandon White. “It’s all about working through that fatigue, training that body past its breaking point. I feel like I’m already reaching that breaking point.”

“Seeing some of the footage of Brock training, it looked extremely difficult, but now actually trying out, it is so much more difficult than I originally thought it was going to be.”

Round Two

The second round of the Brock Lesnar circuit was all about pulling motions. Pulling motions focus on activating the posterior chain, the back is the main focus of development. The exercises for this round included elevated inverted rows, rope pulls, sled pulls, bag twirls, and jumping pull-ups.

Round Three

Brock Lesnar needed more than just strength to win and defend his UFC title. The third round consisted of purely cardio-based exercises. The round consisted of the assault bike, sit-out drills, SkiErg, treadmill, and then the assault bike again.

Rounds Four and Five

The fourth round consisted of a hybrid of push and pull exercises. The focus was on explosive movements for each exercise. The exercises included past parallel pushups, one-armed battle ropes, band pulls, wall ball sprawl (combining wall ball slams and pushups), and med ball transitions. Round five was another cardio-based round which left the Buff Dudes destroyed.

After the workout concluded the brothers were humbled by the experience gaining a newfound respect for Brock Lesnar.

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News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

Thumbnail courtesy of YouTube 

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Elon Musk trained with MMA legend Georges St-Pierre.

Former Twitter head and Tesla CEO Elon Musk recently posed for a photo with MMA legend Georges St-Pierre, podcast host Lex Fridman, and famed jiujitsu coach John Danaher after an apparent training session. Musk recently made headlines after the notion of a potential fight with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg hit the internet.

Former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre reached out to Elon Musk when the rumored fight with Mark Zuckerberg spread across the web. St-Pierre sent Musk a message over Twitter offering to help train the billionaire for his potential match with Zuckerberg.

Ok, let’s do it

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 27, 2023

Elon Musk responded to the MMA legend, apparently taking him up on the offer. In his usual straightforward manner, Musk simply responded with, “OK, let’s do it.”

While there is no actual video footage of their training, a recent photo surfaced showing Elon Musk alongside Georges St-Pierre. The two were also alongside popular podcast host Lex Fridman who is an avid martial artist in his own right. Interviewing a number of individuals from different backgrounds and disciplines, Fridman has had the pleasure of engaging in one on one talks with both Musk and St-Pierre in the past. Rounding out the crew was genius jiujitsu coach John Danaher, a man with a brilliant mind for martial arts as well as philosophy.

Unexpected Team Up

The four men were all smiles in the photo that spread across social media like wildfire. The always humble Georges St-Pierre made a post about the training on his Instagram, adding in the self-deprecating humor he’s become known for.

Great training session with 3 men I really admire.

Combined IQ in this photo is 1000.

« Not including me »

 

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A post shared by Georges St-Pierre (@georgesstpierre)

Lex Fridman also Tweeted about the training. Elon Musk was quick to respond in his own show of self-deprecation.

Really fun! The obvious conclusion is that I need a *lot* more training.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 3, 2023

While the fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk is just a rumor at this point, Dana White seems to be adding fuel to the fire. The UFC president recently made a post teasing the fight with promotional apparel.

Zuckerberg vs Musk – who you got?

 

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A post shared by UFC (@ufc)

There may be a whole lot of hype surrounding the potential matchup, but as of now, nothing is confirmed. We’ll just have to wait and see if the training Georges St-Pierre offered Elon Musk will actually be put to use.

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

The post Elon Musk Trained With Georges St-Pierre, Lex Fridman, and John Danaher appeared first on Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network.

Jeff Nippard provides insight on the research behind metabolic rate

When it comes to your metabolism, this plays a large role in your fitness goals. A faster metabolism helps people lose weight more rapidly, while a slower one helps keep the pounds on. Well known strength coach and internet personality, Jeff Nippard, uploaded a video to YouTube on June 11, 2023 that dives into the science behind human metabolism. He explains what actually works and what doesn’t when it comes to boosting your metabolism. 

If you have made an attempt to lose weight or drop body fat in the past but not had the results you desired, then perhaps utilizing one or more of these strategies just might be what you need to start getting that progress and shedding that unwanted body weight.

What is Your Metabolism?

Before we dive in on Jeff Nippard helping you boost your metabolism, it should probably be defined. The term “metabolism” refers to all of your body’s active regulatory processes. These processes can include things such as chemical reactions like digesting food, utilizing oxygen, or burning calories.

In the fitness industry, a person’s metabolism refers to their basal metabolic rate (BMR), which is how many calories they burn just by being alive combined with how many they burn through exercise.

Everyone’s metabolism will differ from someone else’s, sometimes more severely than others. For example, if you weigh 180 pounds and consume 2,000 calories a day, the reactions you have may be completely opposite of what someone of the same weight would experience if they ate the same amount. The reason for the difference is chalked up to a few things, such as genetics, sex, diet, or exercise.

How to Boost Your Metabolism

Throughout his video, Nippard shows the studies and then breaks down the available research into three different categories: 

• What (probably) works 
• What might work
• Which practices aren’t well-supported

Now, let’s explore the options that he believes have actual evidence-based support when it comes to boosting metabolism.

Gain Muscle Mass

Just one pound of lean skeletal muscle burns roughly three times more calories per day, and that is by simply existing, than a pound of fat does. With that knowledge on the table, Nippard states that one of the most reliable ways to increase your daily metabolism is to build some muscle mass.

Nippard throws out some math suggesting that adding 30 pounds of muscle mass would increase your metabolic rate by almost 200 calories per day. 30 extra pounds is a staggering amount for some folks, particularly women, and especially because it is muscle. But, keep in mind that muscle mass does a lot more than just burn a few extra calories.

How It Can Be Done

An increase in muscle mass will improve your body composition, improve your strength, and even help to stabilize your joints.

So how can you put on that extra muscle mass?

• Start a resistance training program 
• Employ progressive overload to continue challenging your body and promote muscle growth
• Eating a caloric surplus will speed up the muscle gaining process (but can also increase fat)

If you’re new to hitting the weights you more than likely do not need to consume massive amounts of food to add muscle. As long as you stick to a solid diet and workout routine, hitting the weights a few times per week, you are able to get the “newbie gains” and put on muscle pretty quickly. Proper supplementation can also greatly help.

Eat More

When you restrict your food intake for an extended period of time, your metabolism actually tends to slow down a bit. Less food coming in means the body has less “work” to do in terms of breaking food down and utilizing it for your energy. This process is commonly referred to as “metabolic adaptation”.

Nippard argues that by dieting down slowly you can actually combat the effects of slower metabolism. Eating more food than you otherwise might and aiming for a moderate rate of weight loss rather than a quick and drastic drop should help you keep your metabolism up and running as usual.

How It Can Be Done

Nippard encourages that when you are trying to lose weight, you should lose no more than 1% of your total bodyweight per week.

Here’s how to precisely measure your weight loss:

• Use a calorie calculator to see how many calories you burn daily
• Subtract a specific amount from that number to create a caloric deficit (this depends on how much weight you can lose in a week)

From here, you’ll need to do some quick math.

• For a person that weighs 150 pounds, one percent of body weight is a one-and-a-half-pound weekly ceiling
• One pound of fat is said to be 3,500 calories, so a pound and a half pounds of fat is made up of 5,250 calories
• To lose one percent of your body weight over a week, divide that number by seven and get a 750-calorie daily deficit as your metabolic “ceiling”

While it may not literally elevate your BMR, taking a slower and careful approach to your energy balance can help you to avoid the negative effects of metabolic adaptation (starvation mode).

Losing weight too quickly can yield many negative effects such as:

•  Muscle loss
• Chronic fatigue
• Hormonal dysfunction

NEAT

Your metabolism is made up of internal factors that are out of your control, combined with your overall activity level. That activity is then divided into two different categories: dedicated exercise and something else known as non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT). 

NEAT can be thought of as the energy that your metabolism burns to physically keep your body up and running. Something as simple as playing video games will burn these calories. 

How It Can Be Done

You may not have the bandwidth to spend more time in the gym in an attempt to boost your metabolism, training for hours upon hours like the Golden Era bodybuilders, or honestly you just do not want to do that. However, Nippard suggests you can boost your metabolism by enhancing your NEAT. 

Enhancing your NEAT can be done through small, simple lifestyle adjustments to your daily habits. These adjustments can include:

• Parking as far away at the store
• Taking the stairs rather than the elevator
• Pacing around while on a phone call instead of sitting
• Opt for a standing desk if you can
• Hand wash dishes rather than use the dishwasher

You may think the only time you burn calories is when you exercise, but that is not the case. You can enhance your NEAT through just making small adjustments, and in turn boost your metabolism.

Other Metabolism Boosting Options

These options we have discussed are never truly guaranteed, and maybe you want to go above and beyond, which there are options for. Other metabolism boosting options include things such as:

• Drink more water
• Eat more spicy foods
• Utilize a weighted vest more

These practices may result in small or inconsistent increases in metabolic rate, however Jeff Nippard doesn’t regard them as substantial enough to hang your hat on. On the contrary, these popular “metabolism-boosters” do not have the support of the scientific community (according to Nippard):

• Green tea
• Sauna
• Cold plunges
• Eating more frequently

These options have long been regarded as great ways to get boost your metabolism, but do not have scientific support. So, there is no harm in trying them but do not expect the best results.

Metabolism Boosting Wrap Up

Jeff Nippard utilizes science to explain what works and what doesn’t regarding popular trends in the fitness industry. When it comes to boosting your metabolism, there are plenty of options that are thought to work, but may not be as effective as you think, and Jeff Nippard provides plenty of options that have scientific support.

Do you agree with Nippard’s methods?

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more workout tips to start 2023 off strong!

References

Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. (2023, May 6). Metabolism. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/science/metabolism

professional, C. C. medical. (n.d.). Metabolism: What it is, how it works and disorders. Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21893-metabolism

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My personal keto experience.

The Ketogenic diet has been gaining a ton of popularity in recent years. While there have been many low carb diets that have influenced the masses as of late, the keto diet has really made a major impact and with good reason. The keto diet works and that’s not just hyperbole. In this article, we will discuss our first hand Keto Diet experience and if it is an effective fat loss program. 

A Whole New World of Options

In the past when I needed to cut weight for fights or even now when a fighter needs advice for shaving off those last few pounds, the keto diet has always been the answer. The initial switch from rice, potatoes, beans, and other carb filled products to fats like oils, avocados, and nuts was a bit daunting. You basically throwaway everything that you’ve grown to love and replacing it with foods that just aren’t the same.

Being keto means embracing fats which is something so many people seem to get wrong. Fats are demonized mainly because they are so calorie dense, not because they’re horrible for you. Yes, there are the trans fats that you want to avoid at all costs, but coconut oil and avocados will actually do your body good rather than the reverse.

The options you have at your disposal may at first seem limited, but that’s why you have a little thing called a brain. Research is required to do keto the right way. You can easily get caught up in the pitfalls of eating way too much protein while on the diet which will push you right out of the sweet spot of ketosis. Ketosis is when your body switches over from using carbs for fuel to fats. If you spend too much time eating chicken breast and not enough time consuming oils and nuts then you’re probably doing something wrong.

Entering Ketosis

With my experience first entering ketosis I noticed having a very dry sensation. What does that mean? Well, whether you’re drinking a few sips or all the water your body can handle, it always felt as if you’re just constantly dry. For whatever reason, there was a constant feeling of never getting enough water. But that’s only one man’s observation after all. I venture to bet that every person will have a different experience initially.

Energy Levels

In terms of the energy levels, there have been talks that lifting heavy or doing explosive work on a keto diet is ill advised and could be taxing on the body. Considering that the average person gets most of their energy through carbohydrates, switching over to fats as your primary fuel source does feel a bit different. Initially you’re going to feel sluggish, there’s no doubt. After passing the first hurdle however, life gets better and the suffering passes.

A keto diet during fight week and when you’re just living your everyday life can be considerably different. On fight week sodium intake is put in check. That means you’re not going to be slogging down barrels of salt while you’re trying to cut water weight.

Sodium holds onto water which means kicking the table salt to the wayside. If you’re simply trying to lose fat however, the sodium intake is less of a worry. That doesn’t mean pour a mountain of salt on your food, but it does mean you don’t have to be nearly as strict as a fighter or bodybuilder getting prepped for competition.

Results

As far the results go, water weight melts off of you like butter (another fat source to be embraced on keto by the way). When you add the high fat, moderate protein, and low carb method to your diet along with vast quantities of water, you’ll watch as your body dumps out the extra fluid. That said, we have to understand that water weight and fat are entirely two different things.

Water weight comes back easily which means if you hop on the keto diet for a week, see crazy results, get lazy and stuff your face with garbage, you can expect to see the pounds come right back.

Whenever I cut weight for a fight it was less about getting fat off forever and more about getting the water out of my system while still holding onto my muscle. Hind sight being twenty-twenty however, putting back all of the water I had lost the week prior over night wasn’t perhaps the smartest approach.

In fact, after one massive twenty pound cut within one week, I packed back on the pounds by eating whatever I pleased. I thought to myself “I’ve been disciplined enough for the last several weeks, no big deal in celebrating a bit.” Little did I know that would end up throwing my metabolism off the rails and pack a good deal of fat onto my frame.

If you’re looking to keep the results of your hard work and dedication then you need to stay strict and maintain the diet for an extended period of time. It also means having a plethora of choices at hand so you won’t fall off the wagon due to lack of options. This may be a bit of “broscience” but by sticking to the game plan for a short time and throwing it all out the window, it ensured that the results would go up in smoke.

The secret to success on the keto diet is by looking at it as a lifestyle choice rather than just some fad you’re looking to take up. Staying in ketosis for a long range of time will ensure that you’re not just dropping water weight, but that you’re burning fat as well. But that requires something else.

Training on Keto

Can you lose fat and maintain muscle on a keto diet alone? Yes, that’s totally possible. That said, it works even better if you’re training hard to maintain your muscle mass. Staying active, primarily with resistance training, explosive movements like heavy bag work and sprints, while adding some steady state cardio like walking or jogging into the mix will blast fat easily while you’re in ketosis.

Some people believe you can grow weaker while on a keto diet, but really it’s about what you’re fueling up on. If you have some grass-fed ground beef or steak with avocado and nuts, you’ll be surprised just how explosive and powerful you’ll feel on keto. It’s all about training smart and meal planning intelligently if you want to make strength and muscle gains.

Long Term Use

So can you stay on the keto diet long term? Well, I’ll say so far so good. being sure to understand your options is a big deal with this diet so you’ll need to game plan in order to keep up. But just from personal advice, give yourself a refeed day after about two to three weeks of being on the diet. That means reintroducing carbs back into your diet which will both boost your metabolism while at the same time satisfying those urges and cravings you could be having.

If you start a refeed in the first week, it could be a slippery slope which could lead to binging. Instead you should make smart carb choices while sneaking a cheat meal in there somewhere. We’re all human, so we need a little break from things once in awhile.

While you could follow a keto diet indefinitely, it would be a good idea to alternate between a traditional macro approach and a keto diet every other week or at your leisure. Variety is the spice of life after all and being limited to fifty grams of carbs all the time can become a bit unrealistic at times. All in all, it’s an effective diet that requires a lot of diligence and patience to follow, but will get you the results you desire.

For a more scientific in-depth look at how the keto diet can be effective for bodybuilders, make sure to check out Dr. Jacob Wilson’s researched breakdown on the diet and many other insights on bodybuilding nutrition with Generation Iron Plus.

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The post The Personal Keto Diet Experience: Is It The Best Fat Loss Program Out There? appeared first on Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network.

Georges St-Pierre recently revealed his testosterone boosting secrets.

Former two-division UFC champion Georges St-Pierre revealed the secrets to boosting his testosterone in his 40s, and it is without PEDs. The Hurt Business star spoke on how he maintains his fight-ready shape in retirement and how he’s able to train pretty much every day. In this article, we will detail how George St-Pierre maintains vitality and increases testosterone with his daily routine. Has GSP found the fountain of youth?

One of the most decorated mixed martial artists in the sport’s history, Georges St-Pierre, commonly referred to as GSP, was once arguably considered the pound-for-pound greatest fighter on the planet. After ruling over the UFC’s welterweight division for several years, GSP took some time off from active competition.

RELATED: Watch George St-Pierre among the best MMA fighters in the world in the feature film documentary – The Hurt Business.

He would return years later to challenge then-UFC middleweight champion Michael Bisping for the title. In an entertaining showdown with the brash UK native, GSP would score an impressive third round submission victory.

Since officially retiring from MMA competition, Georges St-Pierre has moved on to acting. Appearing in a number of Marvel projects, including Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Falcon and The Winter Soldier, GSP has established himself as an actor who can both recite his lines as well as do the more physically demanding roles.

GSP Testosterone Secrets

Now in his early 40s, Georges St-Pierre still possesses an incredible physique. The former two-division UFC champion has been able to maintain his ripped fighting form even in retirement. The MMA star says consistency is key.

“I try to work out pretty much every day,” he says. “I don’t work out hard every day, but I try to do, like I said, a little a lot, rather than a lot a little. Consistency is key.”

But there’s more to maintaining his physique than just getting in the gym day after day. Testosterone is a thing after all and with GSP in his 40s, that means the hormone is decreasing year after year. But there are ways to not only stave off the effects of hormone change but actually boost testosterone levels.

So what’s his secret? It appears that GSP has found the fountain of youth and yes the solution does involve actual water.

Every morning GSP takes a cold plunge which boosts his testosterone.

“I love my ice bath too. It gives me a good rush of adrenaline and helps boost testosterone,” said St-Pierre. “When I do it first thing in the morning it helps me through the day. If I want to enhance my quality of sleep, I take an ice bath just before bed. I mix hot and cold therapy. So I go ice bath, jacuzzi, ice bath, jacuzzi.”

Benefits of Cold Plunge

There are many benefits to doing a cold plunge. Submerging yourself in an ice bath can have anti-inflammatory relief, increases positive immune response, and parasympathetic nervous system stimulation. With so many proven benefits from taking the cold plunge, products like the Ice Barrel have become an invaluable tool for athletes and the average person who does intensive exercise and training.

According to the science, cold therapy has also shown incredible benefits in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms.

Ice Barrel

Ice Barrel

Ice Barrel provides the most accessible and effective cold therapy solution for those wanting to take their recovery to the next level.

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Inflammation Support

Cold therapy reduces inflammatory responses throughout the body and stimulates the body to heal and increase recovery.

Pain Management

Cold plunge therapy has proven to help with reducing pain symptoms. The reduction of swelling and pain have had strong benefits to recovery for strength sports athletes.

 

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So with all these immense benefits, it’s a no-brainer for any athlete to utilize this fantastic tool. GSP is already proving that these cold plunge benefits are no fluke.

So what do you think of Georges St-Pierre and his testosterone boosting secret?

For more news and updates, follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

News and Editorial Writer at Generation Iron, Jonathan Salmon is a writer, martial arts instructor, and geek culture enthusiast. Check out his YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and Sound Cloud for in-depth MMA analysis.

The post Georges St-Pierre Reveals Secret to Boosting Testosterone in His 40s appeared first on Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network.

Tony Blauer shares his self defense training philosophy – how learning to control your psychological fear will transform your ability to fight and succeed.

Tony Blauer is a mixed martial artist and a self defense trainer who has been teaching since 1979. He is considered a pioneer in self defense circles – largely because of his philosophy and psychology behind training and teaching self defense. This philosophy has allowed him to influence three decades of self defense, martial arts, combat sports, military and law enforcement individuals and communities. Presented by Generation Iron and Barbend – on this week’s episode of The Mike O’Hearn Show, Tony Blauer explains his F.U.C.K. fear system and how it can transform not only your combat abilities but your success in life.

Some of you may not know Tony Blauer by name – but his teaching style and philosophy has been influencing many in the worlds of stunt, combat, and mixed martial arts. He has spent over 40 years studying danger, violence, and fear to create and pioneer an innovative system for physical combat and self defense.

As a lover of Bruce Lee, Mike O’Hearn invited Tony Blauer onto the podcast to talk about Blauer’s origins in discovering mixed martial arts and self defense. What unfolded, as is often with martial arts, was a deeper discussion about the psychology behind combat, specifically fear, and how to psychologically master fear in order to defend not only against outside threats – but the mental threats within yourself. Let’s jump into it.

RELATED: Explore the deepest look into MMA fighting in the feature documentary The Hurt Business starring Jon Jones

F.U.C.K. Fear

During their conversation about self defense, Tony Blauer keeps returning to the concept of fear. What is the reason we want to learn self defense? To protect ourselves. Why do we want to protect ourselves? Because we don’t want to be afraid.

However, Tony Blauer takes that concept a step further. Rather than the combat training being a tool to remove fear, he trains his students in psychologically mastering fear first. This mastering of fear allows a person to be more confident in their training – and become a better martial artist.

But this mastering of fear goes beyond combat itself. It’s what helps us succeed as people. Fear makes us doubt or perhaps avoid chasing our dreams. Fear might limit us from become a true great or a champion athlete. Tony Blauer posits that every legend he has met in his life, whether it be athletic or business, became an icon because they mastered their fear.

Of course, this is easier said than done, which is why Tony Blauer has dedicated over 40 years to understanding fear, human psychology, and how he can integrate it into his self defense and martial arts training.

Tony Blauer likes to share something called the F.U.C.K. Fear System. This acronym stands for – Face it. Understand it. Confront it. Know it.” These are the steps in mastering your fear. Only once you face your fear can you understand it. Only once understanding it can you confront it. And only once you have confronted it can you go beyond understanding and truly know your fear.

Tony Blauer explains that fear can never be completely removed. In fact, someone who is not afraid at all is more ignorant than a hero. However, if you can know your fear and master it – then you can be more confident in all of your goals and endeavors. This includes martial arts and combat sports. This also includes bodybuilding.

When you may wonder to yourself, “What separates a great bodybuilder from a legendary bodybuilder?” Odds are it isn’t the secret training principle or magic pill or specific steroid regimen. It’s that this legendary individual was able to master their fear in a way very few can. It’s intangible. That’s what makes becoming a legend so hard.

Tony Blauer hopes that with his unique self defense training courses – he can help more people reach the potential for that kind of legendary success.

 

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Does the mind trigger the body? Or the body trigger the mind?

What comes first, motivation or hard work? Can you use physical exercise to eventually convince yourself to be motivated? Or do you need to find motivation in order to stay consistent with your training?

This is a question Mike O’Hearn asks Tony Blauer during their interview conversation. Blauer believes that the mental more often than not comes before the physical. He uses the concept of injuries to prove this point.

If you suffer from an injury, you may suffer from what Blauer calls “injury PTSD.” You are now more afraid (there’s fear again) to push yourself in the gym. What if you accidentally re-injure yourself?

Tony Blauer explains how you need to do the mental work to overcome this in order to bring yourself back to confident and consistent training. However, he also expresses that physical actions can help achieve mental harmony.

Using the injury example again, Tony Blauer explains how you can learn alternate techniques in training to avoid putting pressure on that weaker post-injury body part. You can learn how to change the way you live your day to day life through action to prevent becoming re-injured. This, in turn, will eventually help you become more mentally at peace with the “injury PTSD” and eventually more confident during training once again.

Sometimes habits can help change our very psychology. Other times, we need to master our psychology in order to break a habit. It works both ways. The hard part is learning which is best for you in any given situation.

Wrap Up

Mike O’Hearn and Tony Blauer go into quite a deep conversation about all things self defense, combat sports, and psychology. More than we can cover in this recap. So make sure to watch the full episode of The Mike O’Hearn Show above. And don’t forget to check back every Friday for new episodes only on the Generation Iron Fitness Network or where ever you listen to podcasts.

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