WordPress community – What is your opinion on popular weight loss apps?

I’m specifically asking about healthy wage, sweat coin, and achievement. All promise to pay you for activity and weight loss.

Feel free to comment and discuss any fitness app you’ve had experience with in the past.

Finding The BEST SUBJECTIVE DIET

Hey all!  It has almost been six months since I started lifting and the journey to being at peak physical condition has turned out to be most like a roller coaster.  It’s had its ups and downs, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

..and although I’ve written a lot about exercise, my Crohn’s disease, lifting weights, and nutrition I have never actually sat down and mapped out what will work best for ME.  Keep in mind when reading today’s post that what works for me may not work for you, and that finding a proper diet is probably more of a subjective issue than something that is objective, i.e. clearly defined and universally set in stone.

So the best subjective diet…What is it!?

While I cannot get into all of the details today about nutrition and science, I will dive into finding what works best for me and possibly a Subjective Diet Format (SDF) that works for anyone trying to decide upon their ideal dietary needs.  I will be posting every day this week with new information on diet that will help us all find out what works best for us.

So if this week is like a seminar on diet, consider today the introduction.

..and as I said, I will start by identifying factors that will best help me find a diet that is subjective to me.

For starters,

I am 21, I am lifting weights for about an hour every day, I am highly active, I am slightly overweight with a body fat percentage around 15 to 20%, and I have crohn’s disease.

So we can conclude that I am highly active and I should probably look the part, but I am not quite cutting it!  Which is possibly what I need to do…a cut.  So that leads me to assume that I should be dropping my caloric intake.

After doing a Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) calculator, I have found that I need about 3,000 calories a day to be at maintenance.  For the means of losing fat and looking my best, I will have to eat about 2,500 calories a day and continue my activities.

I have also figured in my Crohn’s Disease, and I should eat less processed food to make those 2,500 calories a day more nutrient dense and fulfilling.

Here is how I added all of this up into what I am calling my Subjective Diet Format:

1. Age
2. Activity Level
3. Body weight, fat percentage, and height
4. Any health conditions

It’s really all pretty simple and I think it was a good outline for me to use my basal metabolic rate along with remembering my Crohn’s Disease.

I hope this helps you and tomorrow we will go a little more in depth!

 

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Leave Gotham For Gains

Just as Christian Bale left Gotham to undergo serious soul searching and to receive training from Liam Nielson, I have to ditch the hit TV show Gotham to work out more effectively and commit to my own journey.

I think that sometimes we become so wrapped up in fantasy that we don’t live out our lives. It can be fantasy, or some idealistic picture you have in your mind. But the way to make things happen is to ditch the fantasy and make reality happen.

Make reality happen!

I’m not saying you should fight crackheads with your underwear over your pants, but I do think you could ditch the remote and pick up a dumbbell!

  
Image courtesy of joyreactor.cc

Or don’t pick up a dumbbell, but do something. Do something that will ultimately strengthen you and prove resourceful to your own Hero’s Journey.

To those of you who don’t know, The Hero’s Journey is your own call to adventure. It is an outline made of all heroic narratives, like BATMAN!, by Joseph Cambbell. If you’d like to read up on the Hero’s Journey, I found a great webpage on it here. 

Find Balance To Become More Fit

There is a lot of talk in the fitness world regarding weight training vs cardio, diet vs exercise, and paleo vs vegan!

All of this crazy talk about which side of every fitness debate you should choose, but you should probably try to choose…

All of the above!

Weight Training or Cardio

Weight training is an excellent way to increase strength and can be used for hypertrophy.  By lifting heavy weights and working out consistently over a period of time, you will achieve great results.  Weight training has also been proven to actually strengthen your structural integrity and protect your joints, as long as you are lifting with proper form.

Cardio is an excellent way to increase endurance and burn fat.  By running or walking, or riding a bike consistently over a period of time, you will achieve great results.  I’ve also, personally, noticed that when I go for a run and do some cardio I manage to work out a lot of the stress I have.  It seems that we hold a lot of tension in our bodies and some intense cardio like running could be just what you need to go the extra mile(see what I did there?).

Basically, if you choose to do both for a period of time you can be a strong person with nice, tone muscles with barely any fat and you can be as calm as can be!  What’s not to love about that?  I notice when I’m just lifting weights, I’m often angrier and it isn’t enough activity to keep me from gaining fat at any amount of calories.  If I simply rely on cardio, I become fairly skinny and in the past it caused my joints to suffer.  Here’s a picture of me running cross country my junior year:

Running from all the gains I didn’t have 😉

Now we have another end of the spectrum

Diet VERSUS Exercise

Should I do a lot of exercise and train frequently or should I just drop my calories below my basal metabolic rate(BMR) and wait patiently for the fat to fall off?

You should do both!  Some of us are just genetically wired for losing weight to be difficult.  I know that I put on weight somewhat easily.  If you drop your calories a little bit, and add some form of exercise you will lose weight and you will lose it faster.  I also mentioned earlier that I experienced cardio as something that was therapeutic for me in the sense that it reduced stress.  Those benefits are also great and I think that having reduced stress due to some form of exercise will help you stay positive during all the trials and tribulations associated with losing fat.

Paleo vs Vegan

This one was more of a joke! (haha) Anyways, I don’t really see the need in following any kind of fad diet unless you really believe it has some sort of profound effect on you.

If you choose not to eat meat and dairy because of ethical or dietary reasons, go vegan and be happy! If you choose the exact opposite route and want to eat bacon and cheese, go ahead cavemen!

Do what makes you happy with yourself when it comes to dieting and do your research.  If it’s anything extreme just make sure you follow a doctor’s advice and get your blood work done.

But with dieting, as well as the rest of this post, just find balance.  I don’t see the need to cut out anything I like as far as food goes, and neither should you.  To join in on the conversation with dieting, click here.

Overall, find balance in your life with fitness and nutrition and you may become a happier, more healthy version of you.

Join The Conversation on DIETING

JTC

Join The Conversation!

I want to know how you diet.

I have tried many diets on my own and experimented with my calories and macros to see what works for me, and I believe I found what works!  I, personally, can eat about 2300 to 2500 calories a day and still lose fat as long as I am slightly active.  I eat a high amount of protein in my diet with fat as a byproduct and I strategically place my carbs at the beginning of my day and after workouts.

When I border on eating too many calories or when I decide to take a cheat day, I simply add more cardio to burn the calories that I added.

Please let me know in the comment section down below what you do!  I want to hear everyone’s view on diet and exercise, and how you have found what works best for you!

Thanks,

Christian!

The Key To Climbing to the Top and Why YOU Should Do It Today

I always try to make posts that I hope can help my viewers and subscribers, and so I usually try to leave the point of focus off of myself. The problems or help guides that I post may be something I found useful for me, but I write it out to you.

The truth is, I write a lot of things out to you that I wish I had known a long time ago.  There’s always so many things I wish I had known two years ago or three years ago and the only thing I can do now is pass what I know down to people who are high school age, or any age really.  If I can be anything, I can try to be like a big brother. 

And so today I want to tell you what has been on my mind.  I want to tell you what I did today and what really has me thinking about life and success.  Again, I’m doing this because I want to motivate you.

Work

I went into work today and, as usual, I wasn’t really happy.  It’s not that my job is very hard and it is not like anyone treats me bad there either, but today has been extremely different.  While I’m thankful for the job, I realized that it’s a stepping stone for me.  I need the job at the moment because I have debt to pay.  My plan is to go back to school for nutrition and be well on my way to success(for those of you who don’t know, my name is Christian Boyles, and I have a lot to say to you about my battle with Crohn’s and how I want to help people with nutrition, click here or here).

As I said, I walked into work today and immediately I felt depressed.  In that moment, it is just draining to think that I want to help people with nutrition and training, but I’m at a Walmart stocking soda.  Again, I’m thankful for the job I have but I know I am meant to do much more.  

“…I am meant to do much more.”  

So I got off work, got home, and began to think.  Honestly, I was still depressed.  It was almost like I was in kind of a funk, but then I realized that there are things in life that you have control over and there are things in life that you don’t.  And I know one thing for sure!  I can’t help it that I grew up without a lot of money to help me with an easier transition through college.  I can’t help it that all of that happened and it led me to where I’m at today.  But there is something I can do.  

I can acknowledge that I am far better off than I was a year ago, and I am moving in a much more positive direction.

I have to credit my current success to three things:

1. Incredible People in my Life – If it weren’t for my great-grandmother who raised me, I wouldn’t be who I am today.  If it wasn’t for my mom giving me tough times, I wouldn’t be who I am today.  It was the challenges that my mother presented in my youth and the love that my great-grandmother gave me that ultimately molded who I am today.  And it’s not like everything going on in my life is a direct result of two people.  It seems that there are always people who come and go, but they are like shooting stars.  You see them for a moment and it’s a beautiful site, like looking up at that night sky, because they can really do something positive in your life that can really impact who you will become.
2. My Personality – This is 100% the most conceited thing I have to say.  However, if I wasn’t as nice to people then I know they wouldn’t have been so nice to me.  I have always tried to be good to people, and it has always worked out well for me.  I try to give my best to those around me and it always seems that I attract people that are kind and want nothing more than to see me succeed.
3. I Found my Passion after Bad Things Happened – As I mentioned in some of the hyperlinks above, I have Crohn’s disease.  This disease has always been a challenge for me.  It has made me so sick that I’ve thought I was dying at times and I have definitely had my fair share of spiritual experiences.  I have asked questions like “Why me?” I have thought about my life and re-evaluated multiple times.  It wasn’t until the last time that I got sick that I said “Enough is ENOUGH!”  I knew right away that this time would be different.  I knew that if there’s a God or some rule to our universe, that He or It was leading me to confront my problems and make something positive of it.  At least that is how I chose to view the situation.  I finally decided that I am passionate about health and wellness, and living the best life possible.  I decided that I would begin writing this blog and reaching out in an effort to reach as many people as I can.

And of course, this morning, I realized that today is the day.  I realized that today is always the day to do your absolute best.  There is never a better day than today.  You don’t have to wait until tomorrow, and you don’t have to take time to plan things.  If there is something you love, and if there is something positive that you have to give the world…….then go out and do it.

So that is why, today, I have written this long post.  I’ve written this in hopes to inspire, and also because this was needed.  I try to give you content everyday, but today was the day for something special.  And every day should be..

Counting Macros VERSUS Eating Healthy

You want to be in the best shape of your life!  You also want your routine to be sustainable and to keep the gains you get over time.  There’s a new way of dieting, or I should say non-dieting, called IIFYM.  IIFYM stands for “If It Fits Your Macros.”

The idea is that you count your macros and focus on getting all of your proteins, fats, and calories.  This actually works, because you are simply calorie counting to the extreme.

It’s fun to tease at the idea of eating a PopTart or a Snickers bar and saying, “So what? It fits my macros” but let’s think about how that would work.  Basically, when eating something unhealthy like poptarts or candy, you are taking up space for nutritional calories and macro-nutrients you can get from nice, lean foods.

On all of my fitness tracking apps, they recommend only 80 grams of fat a day.  Imagine eating some fast food on one of your days.  It may fit your macros, but how much fat does it have?  Probably too much.  You’ll end up eating half of your daily macros in one meal.  This leads to making things difficult and you’ll end up having to eat leaner foods throughout the day.

In conclusion, I think IIFYM is a good idea because at first it’s fun to toy with the thought of eating unhealthy and then you realize you can’t.  You realize you can’t eat out much or eat a lot of junk food and still make it fit your macros.  The best thing about IIFYM is that you’ll become more aware of how much of each macro your foods have and of the caloric content.  You’ll wind up knowing what’s leaner and how to eat in moderation.

If It Fits Your Macros and eating healthy aren’t two different choices.  They’re two sides of the same coin.

Have a great day and thanks for reading.  Please subscribe to my website, MAXED OUT MUSCLES! 🙂

Ultimate PUMP Workout – Chest and Back

You don’t want just any pump!  You want the ultimate pump.  You want to look so big that you can finally go to brosciencelife‘s website and buy a “Don’t Spot Me.  Watch Me” t-shirt.  You want to look huge in one of them shirts, so you don’t want to just wear the shirt.  You want to rock that shirt, and look jacked in that shirt.  You have only two options:

A) Don’t buy the shirt, or buy it and look small.

B) Lift some heavy weights and build some alpha-type muscles that you will need to show some good size in that shirt!

Here is a chest and back workout that will not only make you feel great!  It will also tear down your muscles and make them ready for growth in just the way you are wanting them to.  Here is what you can do:

Chest:

3 sets of incline at 60% for 10 warm-up reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

3 sets of decline at 60% for 10 warm-up reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

3 sets of dumbbell incline at 60% for 10 warm-up reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

3 sets of flies at 60% for AGAIN 10 warm-up reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

2 sets of weighted pushups at 50% for 10 reps, and then at 80% for 5 reps.

Back:

If you’re doing a front and back split like me, then you may mix these around with your chest workouts if you wish.  I do my dead lifts right after I finish my inclines and declines so that I can get done with the rack as soon as possible, and get out of other peoples’ way.

2 sets of dead lifts at ten warm-up reps of 135 lbs, and your second set at whatever you can do for 5 to 8 reps.

3 sets of shoulder press at 60% for 10 warm-up reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

2 sets of shrugs at 60% for ten reps, and then 90% for 5 reps.

3 sets of lat pull-downs at 60% for ten reps, 70% for 5 reps, and 80% for 5 reps.

Lastly, I like to do wall stands as it seems to be pretty hard for me to do and I wouldn’t mind building enough upper body strength to do push ups without my legs or to walk on my hands!

I sincerely hope that you found this list helpful and that you can use some of the workouts I mentioned in your own chest and back days.  Better yet, I hope you try my workout.  Thanks for reading and please subscribe to Maxed Out Muscles.

Are You Confident Or Insecure? Rep It Out!

“I try my best to leave my ego outside,” is what one of the most jacked, aesthetic guys at New Leaf Fitness said the other day.  It’s a common idea, but not one that a lot of average people would expect to hear from a daily gym-goer, meat head, or serious bodybuilder.

“Oh really?!  Keep my ego outside of the gym…There’s no way you have ever done that,” is what I’d expect some of my own critics to say to me.  However, he really did say that and so would I.  The truth is that working out is a great way to please your ego and make you more self-confident, but what happens when you are bloated with self-esteem issues and pride?

Do you:

A) Always attempt lifting a weight that is far too much for you?

B) Constantly check yourself out in the mirror?

C) Only give your mirror muscles a work-out?

D) HAVE to lift as much as the other guy at your gym who has probably been lifting for years?

E) Constantly think about supplementing your “gains” with steroids or pro-hormones?

If YOU said yes to any of the above questions, then you may need to take my friend’s advice and leave your ego outside.  Luckily for you, a big part of lifting weights is building character values such as discipline and humility. Here is a short list of things I compiled during today’s workout that may help YOU succeed at your gym-going endeavors.  Not only that, but these tips may help you succeed at life in general:

• Practice humbling yourself when speaking to other people.

Keep a smile on your face and try not to talk about yourself too much!  If you make it about them you’re happy to listen to them, then you are well on your way to getting that ego of yours on lock down. This carries on into the gym, where you’ll notice that you are happy to listen to more experienced lifters who want to give you advice.  You may even become more apt to initiate the conversation.  You may wind up asking them how to improve your form or how you should go about seeing better results.  Over time, a well developed sense of humility can only make others more likely to help you on your fitness and life endeavors.

• Make sure that your mentors are humble.

You want to be humble!  You want to listen to the advice older, more experienced people have for you.  You also know that if you hang out with losers, you’re more likely to be a loser.  Be careful about who you surround yourself with and who you take advice from.  This is a bit more challenging, but be a little selective when looking for advice.  Respect everyone and at times respectfully disagree, but make sure you don’t allow someone to give you serious self-esteem issues.

• Try working out solo!

A lot of people don’t like to work out alone, and oftentimes there are plenty of good reasons for that.  Maybe you like to lift heavy and need a spotter.  Maybe you need the extra boost of support from a friend to get into the gym.  However, if your spotter and you work out in a way where you get seriously too competitive then it may be time to fly solo.  I’m not saying competition is always a bad thing. However, if you are so competitive with your gym buddy that you’re constantly worried that he/she can curl more than you then it may be damaging your self esteem and causing you to lift too much too soon.  Try working out by yourself with good amounts of TUT(time under tension) and progressive overload.

• Wear baggy clothes that don’t show your muscles.

A sweatshirt, maybe?

It’s not always a bad thing to inspect yourself and make sure that you are making some serious gains. However, if you’re checking yourself out for 75 minutes and lifting for 60 then it may be time to take action.  Some sweats would be a great option as that’s appropriate gym gear!  You know what I mean…as long as you don’t cut the sleeves off! 😉

All of this was just my advice and my personal opinion.  Keep in mind that working out is awesome, and it’s good for you.  I hope that you see a lot of impressive gains and that you have genuine self-confidence, discipline, and humility.

Have a great day!  Please subscribe to my blog via email, wordpress, or twitter for updates of my new posts.

Keep lifting folks.

The Liebster Award! (and MORE!)

As the title suggests, I was nominated for the Liebster Award! That’s really exciting for me and I am extremely grateful of BOTH people who nominated be; those great WordPress bloggers are A Little Corner Of Me and MyMemoirs. Both of their blogs are excellent and I’d highly recommend you check them out if you’re looking for a good read!

The Liebster Awards

These awards only have a few rules: 

1. Thank the blogger who nominated you with a link back to his/her blog
2. Answer the questions asked by the nominator
3. Nominate bloggers with under 500 followers
4. Create 10 questions for the nominees to answer.

I have a lot of questions to answer, since I was nominated by two bloggers….so here goes! 😉

1. Why are you blogging? I began blogging because of my love of fitness and the personal transformation I went through by dealing with a stressful life due to Crohn’s Disease. I discovered what worked for me, and it is my dream to reach out to millions of people who need help with nutrition and exercise.
2. For those who haven’t encountered your website before, how would you summarise your website in a sentence or two? Need some advice on diet and nutrition, or do you want to get involved in a community with like-minded people with fitness goals? Then MaxedoutMuscles is the site for you.
3. What you would say is the most important aspect of life and why? If you cannot think of just one, give a few 🙂 There are definitely many. A few examples would be faith, love, sincerity, and passion. I’d prefer not to get more detailed because really those words have a lot of meaning.
4. For what you currently blog about, are you planning on blogging about other stuff as well? If so, what? I’ve been blogging about fitness and sometimes I go a little off track. If I decide to make another portion of my blog, I think it would be on current events. I always loved The Daily Show and would like to look at news stories in a satirical fashion.
5. What would you say is your favourite cuisine? I don’t eat cuisine, unless Lean Cuisine counts 😉
6. How would you describe your time at school? Did you enjoy it? What were your favourite subjects? If you are at school, then change the tense to present =P hehe I liked some things about school! I was somewhat popular but I don’t like that people are only around each other there because they basically have to be. When I go back to school, I’ll be studying nutrition so I know I’ll meet like minded people who, with which,  will mutually enjoy each other’s company.
7. What, in your opinion, is the best blog post you’ve made? If you cannot think of one, give a few 🙂 Honestly, it’s always the newest one. I try to come up with good ideas and be interactive with you guys. Right now, this is my favorite post because of all the work I put into it.
8. Is there something about you that not many people know about? It can be a very simple thing. Like for example, for me, i am very good at knocking into people when i’m walking on the streets xD very embarrassing ;P I’m mostly an open book. I don’t think there is much about me that is ever a secret.
9. What is your Myer Briggs Type Indicator? If you don’t know what that is, take the test here! It said I’m the “Campaigner” or ENFP-A!
10.  What do you like doing in your free time? Ok, DON’T say blogging xD, i know it’s tempting to say that =P Working out and reading books on nutrition and anatomy.

The questions above were from “MyMemoirs”. Now for the questions from “A Little Corner of Me.”

1. Who is your least favourite book character? Probably Huckleberry Finn. I just found those books kind of boring and he wasn’t as witty as Tom Sawyer.
2. What is your tip for staying motivated? Make sure that what you are working on is something you are passionate about! If you are passionate about it, it will be easier to be motivated.
3. What recently surprised you? I started getting over a thousand views a day on this site! That was crazy. It’s dipped back down but still pretty good.
4. If you could change one thing, what would it be? I guess a little extra money to start off wouldn’t hurt, but really I don’t think I’d change anything.
5. Are you always hot or cold? I change all the time. I’m not usually comfortable though!
6. Is there a food you loathe? I cannot stand olives!
7. Dog or cat person? Definitely a dog person.
8. Favourite film quote? “Life’s not about how hard you can hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward,” -Sylvester Stallone, Rocky 6
9. Where do you want to be in five years? In Florida, on the beach.
10. Can you remember a memory from when you were 10? My grandfather passed away when I was ten, but that’s sad. I also remember looking at a girl I liked back then from my front porch, but I was too shy to say anything.

Here is who I am nominating, and it is much deserved for them:

Pixie Annie!

Spartan Daddy!

DK1Way!
Athlete On Steroids!
TLizzy!

I deeply apologized if I missed anyone on this list because there are honestly a lot of you who deserve an award for amazing content! 

Also!!! Here is this week’s video! It ties in with this post so I hope you watch it. 

Edit:

I forgot to add ten questions so here they are, for all of the people I nominated.

1. How long have you been blogging?
2. Do you enjoy blogging?
3. Why do you blog?
4. What is your favorite food?
5. What is your favorite subject to talk about?
6. Do you lift?
7. Cardio?
8. Nutrition?
9. Are you having a good day?
10. What would make today better?