Bodybuilding and traveling while living in Japan (GetFitJP)

Winter can b e a brutal month.  Ever felt tired for no apparent reason. It's just one of those days when you woke up on the wrong side of the bed and your energy levels are just so low that you have no motivation to even get out of bed or go to work. I think we've all experienced these days some of us a bit more frequently that we'd like to admit. External factors can also play a role in influences when we have these low energy days. One major factor that affects a lot of people is the season. During the warm summer months or fall and spring, people are much more likely to get out of bed and go for that morning run. People are more motivated to leave work and head straight to the gym because the weather isn't screaming at them telling them to find shelter. Winter is a very hard month for a lot of people, myself included. It is painstakingly hard to find the energy and the willpower to face the cold and do what needs to be done. During this season your body ...

Macros is a term we use in the bodybuilding and sports sphere to refer to the macro-nutrients we consume. macro-nutrients can be broken down into three categories, they are; protein, carbohydrates and fats. When it comes to building muscle, your macro-nutrients matter. They need to be checked and rechecked as you progress. A bad macro-nutrient profile will lead to weak or no gains while a good balanced macro-nutrient profile will lead to you maximizing your gains. To put this in perspective, I was always going to the gym and exercising but I had never had a solid six pack or shredded muscles. That was no fault of my workout plan, because while I was always a gym rat I was also a very active sports player. I did rugby, track and mixed martial arts growing up. In my younger days I thought eating a lot of food would translate to better muscle gains, but I was wrong, yes the bro science you here at the gym is crap. Eating a lot of the wrong foods only resulted in me gaining a bigger ...

Bulking vs Lean bulking It's that time of year again where bodybuilders magically transform into soft round Pillsbury Dough boys. You'll see them walking around the gym looking over weight, don't be shocked. Winter or as body builders call it is bulking season. It's the time of year were bodybuilders put away their food journals and food scales and replace them with carbs and snacks. But why do they do this? What is the reason why bodybuilders would sacrifice their hard earned abs. Well the answer is simple, muscle. They do this to put their buddies in a favorable state to gain more muscle for next year. Bodybuilding is an art and if done currently can produce beautiful results. For bodybuilders instead of paint and pencil our tools for sculpting our bodies are food and dumbbells. We use these two things to manipulate our bodies to grow. During bulking season otherwise called off-season we use this time to bulk up. During this bulking phase our bodies are not in...

As a personal trainer one of the most frequently asked questions I get from clients is "How can I lose fat from my stomach and thighs". If I had a dollar for every time I was asked that question I could probably afford a new plane ticket to my next vacation spot. With the majority of my clients being women I can see why they would want to know if this is possible. Especially with photoshopped images running rampant on the internet with beautiful women with curves and with women with just the right amount of fat in all the right places. Women see these images and aspire to be like those women. Sadly it always breaks my heart when I answer them that no, you simply can not lose fat from specific areas in your body. Belly and thigh fat are notorious for being the most stubborn and difficult to lose. If you or any of your friends are struggling with this then don't worry, you are not alone. Both men and women struggle with this problem. Even I struggled with this issue w...

  Supplements are a tricky issue for many people looking to start their journey towards a healthy life style. I get it, with the new wave of organic eating and living a healthy life style taking pills to assist your progress seems a bit like cheating. However that is not the case for all supplements. Science has come a far way and we would be robbing ourselves of the benefits of these supplements if we decided to fear them.  That being said I do believe in first educating yourself first before you consume anything. Do your own research and make your own conclusions first before moving forward. That is what I did. When I was younger and even now I read up on many supplements out there now on the market. I tried many of them as well. Some worked and others were just a waste of money. Here are the supplements that I currently take. Creatine: Creatine is a substance found naturally in your body especially in muscle cells. Creatine can improve health and athletic pe...