Both strength training and cardiovascular exercise have their own specific advantages. Cardio is usually linked to weight loss and improving muscular endurance while strength training is thought of as a workout only for those wanting to get buff. While these generalizations are somewhat true, you shouldn't limit yourself to only...
1. Eat Everything in Sight. If you tell someone that you're having trouble gaining weight, they immediately tell you to start eating everything you see regardless of how healthy it is. Hamburgers, cupcakes, pizza, candy bars and coke are all OK because they are all high in calories. Eating everything...
1. Not Counting Calories. To get big you need to eat more calories than you burn. If you don't do this simple, most important step, you won't gain weight. If you aren't gaining weight and think you're eating as much as you can, count your calories and you'll see that...
Fats, carbohydrates and proteins are a group of nutrients known as the macronutrients. Macronutrients are the body's source of energy (calories) fueling daily activities, exercise and recovery from injuries. Protein is a special macronutrient because unlike fats and carbs, it provides the building blocks for all tissue within the body....
When I first started The Calorie Project, my ultimate goal was to gather enough data in order to analyze the relationship between calorie intake, energy expenditure, weight and body fat. Fully understanding these relationships would allow me to gain, lose or maintain weight more precisely without having to guess the...
In Part 1 of The War on Bulking, I discussed the mentality of the typical bulker. This "do anything to gain weight" attitude negatively impacts health. Though many bulkers claim to be healthy, their actions suggest they are much more concerned with gaining unlimited amounts of body weight than...
I subscribed to the bulking theory of doing whatever it took to pack on as much weight as possible for quite awhile. This dangerous bulking mentality allows you to get away with a lot. While pretending to be healthy, you eat as much as you want, follow few, if any...
One of the most important "secrets" to reaching any diet or exercise goal is counting calories. Whenever I tell people to count their calories, I hear complaints about how tedious it is. Some people insist they accurately estimate their calorie intake and don't need to count. Others don't understand the...
Before smartphones and apps, counting calories was tedious. I started counting calories back in 2006 using Excel Spreadsheets. In mid-2012, I found an app called MyFitnessPal which made counting calories "fun." Instead of using spreadsheet functions, I could simply scan a bar code, enter the serving size and let the...
A hard gainer is someone that finds it nearly impossible to put on muscle or weight no matter how much they eat. These people are cursed (or blessed) with a very fast metabolism that seems to instantaneously adjust and burn off any extra calories that are taken in as part...
