Win the Body War

You win the body war by walking away. Away from the scale, society’s elusive beauty standards, and other people’s opinions.

Easier said than done, right? I’ve found that it helps if you have something to walk towards. For me, that was getting strong.

The desire to get strong is a game changer. Instead of focusing on what you can’t eat so you shrink, you focus on the fuel you need to grow. Instead of spending hours doing cardio to burn calories, you spend the majority of your gym time strength training to build muscle. Your attention shifts to growth.

If you embrace getting physically strong, you will find that you become mentally strong. There’s something about rising up with a ton of weight on your back. It sends a signal to your mind that yes, I can. Yes, I can do hard things. Yes, I can persevere. No, you can’t keep me down.

No matter where you are on your journey, start today. 

There are three main legs holding up the strength stool: strength training, fueling your body, and recovery. Let’s look at all three.

(Click to enlarge.)

Strength Training

Below are some possible workouts for building strength. You’ll notice that each one has a push, pull, squat, and hinge movement, as well as a glute bridge or hip thrust. Together, the first four movements will hit all your muscle groups. The last, the glute bridge/hip thrust, is there because it specifically targets the glutes. And who doesn’t want a great ass? It’s a power house, keeps you warm, and can knock anyone who gets too close back in their lane.

Where are the core exercises? Everywhere. Your core is being put to work by stabilizing your body as you go through these motions.

What about cardio? You do need some cardio—it’s good for your heart and lungs, it clears the mind—but it doesn’t warrant more than a few of sentences: Find something you enjoy that works for you. Could be walking, swimming, biking, running, tennis. Aim for 20-30 minutes most days. Enough said. Eyes on the prize: getting strong.

The first three workouts should be performed on nonconsecutive days, two or three times a week (ex: M, W, F).

For the fourth workout, perform Upper and Lower on alternating days, taking days off as needed.

For all workouts, try to hit some single leg work (lunges, step-ups, single leg RDLs) at least once a week. Do 2-3 sets of each exercise, with enough reps that the last few are challenging. If you’re using weights, pick a weight that allows you to do roughly 8-12 reps. Most of these exercises can be easily googled. I included links to a couple that might not be very common.

  1. Workout One, no equipment, novice

    • Push: Push-ups, kneeling or against a wall

    • Pull: Reachers (Reachers - YouTube), supermans, or towel rows (Towel rows - YouTube)

    • Squat: Body weight squat or lunges

    • Hinge: Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs), either weightless or holding whatever you’ve got (soup cans, kid’s backpack, bag of soil)

    • Glute bridge

  2. Workout Two, dumbbells only, intermediate

    • Push: Push-ups (traditional, knees up) or dumbbell press (bench or Arnold)

    • Pull: Rows (bent over or upright)

    • Squat: Goblet squat or lunges

    • Hinge: Romanian Deadlifts (RDLs)

    • Glute bridge with dumbbell on hip points

  3. Workout Three, gym, advanced

    • Push: Press (bench press or Arnold press)

    • Pull: Rows (bent over rows or seated cable rows or upright rows) or pull-ups (assisted or free)

    • Squat: Squat (back, front, whatever you prefer), leg press, or lunges.

    • Hinge: Back extension, reverse hypers, or RDLs

    • Hip thrust with barbell (use a pad to protect your hips)

    • Abduction

  4. Workout Four, gym, advanced

    • Upper Body

      • Bench (dumbbells provide greater freedom of movement)

      • Chest flies (cables if available)

      • Pull-ups

      • Rows in the horizontal plane (bent over, seated cable, etc.)

      • Face pulls or reverse flies

      • Shoulder dumbbell tri-set: Arnold press, upright rows, lateral raises

    • Lower Body

      • Squat or hex-bar deadlift

      • Lunges or step-ups

      • Back-extension or RDLs

      • Reverse hypers

      • Hip thrust

      • Abduction

Fuel

Rather than view food as an adversary, view it as a tool that supports your training and nourishes your body. When putting together a meal plan, aim for:

  • Protein: Roughly 0.7 – 1 gram of high-quality protein per pound of body weight, spread out over the day. Think of it as a steady protein drip. You need protein to build those muscles.

  • Fats: About 20-30% of your daily calories should come from fats. Minimize fats around your training so that they don’t interfere with carbohydrate and protein absorption. You need fats for optimal hormonal health, as well as for pulling vitamins and minerals into your cells.

  • Carbohydrates: Fill in the remainder of your daily calories with carbohydrates concentrated around your training so you can crush your workouts. Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day so that you get plenty of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) and fiber to keep your body humming along like a well-oiled machine.

Stick to mostly real foods, made with ingredients a second grader would recognize. 

Recovery

Take at least one day off a week, get seven to nine hours of sleep a night, and stay away from people who stress you out (seriously).

The above is just a spring board. Have any questions, feel free to contact me!