BuiltByBarbells

Providing Evidence-Based Scientific information regarding all things training & nutrition. Follow me on instagram @Builtbybarbells_

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Results - The Big Picture...

Results are great. That's why we train. But results are NOT everything. So you're 8% bodyfat year round? Brilliant. But in order to sustain that you're eating less than 2000 calories per day and are performing cardio several times per week on top of your weight training and you feel like death. As a result of this prolonged caloric restriction you also frequently binge. Perfect. The pinnacle of both mental and physical health right there. 

Now sure in some contexts, such as an athlete going through a Competition Preparation for their sport they are just going to have to 'suck it up' as not feeling great is often part of the process. Although I have never competed (and therefore understand my limitations on discussing this topic), being a competitive athlete is a COMPLETELY different animal than simply being an average gym goer (not that one is better than the other by any means). 

As a competitive athlete you WILL have to do things from time to time that you do not enjoy and do make you feel like shit (at least in the short term) to achieve your goal(s) but these are ALWAYS short lived periods of times and are sacrifices you accept as an athlete and therefore is not what I am discussing here. 

So to rap this up, if something you consider to be 'progress' actually takes away from your happiness and enjoyment in life how can that truly be considered to be 'progress'? Food for thought.

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A 'Healthy Diet' vs A 'Fat Loss Diet' - The Two Are Not The Same Thing...

Many people whom have fat loss goals assume eating 'healthily' will result in bodyfat loss and yet fail to understand that eating 'healthily' and eating to lose fat, although certainly not mutually exclusive, are actually not the same thing. Fat loss occurs as a result of a caloric deficit (eating less calories than your body requires to maintain your current bodyweight) and therefore eating 'healthily' does not directly ensure that this occurs. Eating 'healthily' does however carry a huge benefit (outside of obviously feeling better due to having a more micronutrient dense diet etc). That benefit being that many 'healthy' foods are often very low in calories (although certainly not all) therefore are able to be consumed in large quanities whilst at the same time consuming very few calories therefore making it far easier to ensure you are in a caloric deficit and therefore losing fat. Fat loss is not magical. All fat loss diets work well for one reason: They have you in a caloric deficit. The way in which they ensure you are in a caloric deficit differs from diet to diet but nevertheless this is the common trait amongst all diets.

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Defining Your Level Of Training Advancement...

Most people assume that if you are fairly strong you are an Advanced athlete and the opposite for if someone is fairly weak. That isn’t necessarily true. Many of you will be familiar with the book Practical Programming For Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe and how he goes about determining training age and this is something often missed by people.

So for those who haven’t read Rippetoes’ book he essentially breaks down training advancement into 3 distinc levels: Novice, Intermediate and Advanced. Nothing new there then. But how do you determine which category YOU fit into? By the rate in which you can progress.

As a Novice trainee you can make rapid ‘gains’ in both strength and muscle mass. Novices are known for being able to increase the weight they have on the bar several times throughout a single week. Hence why full body 3x per week programs are brilliant for novices.

As an Intermediate Trainee you can look to progress on a week to week basis. The honey-moon phase is over and gains begin to slow a little but nevertheless significant increases in strength and size can occur, the time frame in which you are looking at these changes occuring in just becomes slightly longer.

As an Advanced Trainee you are completely screwed. Well, not quite lol. At this point you will be very close to your genetic potential and thus further progression becomes incredibly difficult and a far longer process. You may look to make slight strength gains from month to month and as for physique changes? Increase that time frame even more so.

Obviously things are not quite as black and white as this but this is certainly applicaple for the most part. Don’t make painfully slow progress if you are capable of progressing far quicker. Live up to your potential.

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'Healthy' & 'Natural' - Bullshit Buzzwords...

Everywhere you turn you hear words such as 'healthy' and 'natural' but what do these words even mean and are they something worth focusing on? For the most part these words are just buzzwords. People hear 'healthy' and 'natural' and they are instantly more inclined to purchase an item that has been marketed as being exactly that. Have you ever wondered why companies use such words on labels so frequently? Perphaps because there job is to get you to buy their stuff? Aquiring an education on nutrition is far more difficult than to just eat things that you are told are 'healthy' and 'natural' and therefore as a result is typically not the option most people go for. Now, although it shouldn't come across in this way it's probably worth saying nevertheless, health should be a huge priority for everyone and i am certainly not saying that health isn't important because it most deffinately is. I'm just saying don't be fooled by companies who are just trying to sell products by using buzzwords as marketing tactics. If you are considering purchasing something that is claimed to be beneficial for you and yet your overall lifestyle and diet isn't particularly conducive to good health perphaps you should realign your prorities and make sure you have the big things in place before you start worrying about little things.

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Why Once Per Week Bodypart Training Splits Are Suboptimal - The Importance Of Training Frequency...

I'm well aware this topic has been covered many times in the 'evidence-based fitness community' but there are still people unaware of the importance of training frequency and this is whom this post is directed towards, primarily atleast. Prior to the popularity and wide-spread use of anabolic steroids the popular training style was full-body routines. This is the style of training that created most of the great pre-Arnold era drug-free bodybuilders. So how exactly did the common use of steroids change the style of training that was popular for bodybuilders? Now just to preface, i am by no means an anabolic steroids expert, although i ironicaly know more about these substances than many users, but that's another post in and of itself. One of the main roles of anabolics steroids is extending the time frame muscle protein synthesis (MPS) is elevated following a training session. As a drug-free lifter MPS returns to baseline (meaning your body is no longer having a positive effect from your training session, i.e growing and getting stronger) approximately 36-48 hours after training. Anabolic steroids as a result of extending the time frame MPS is elevated allows you to benefit from a given training session for far longer than a drug-free lifters approximately 36-48 hours therefore technically training each muscle group only once per week for the enhanced lifter is far more effective (although still not optimised, again, another post for another day). However as for the drug-free lifter you are simply wasting approximately 5 days per week where you could otherwise be growing or getting stronger due to your lack of bodypart training frequency. So for practical recommendations, STOP training each muscle group only once per week if you not an enhanced lifter. Instead you should aim to train each muscle group between 2-3 times per week (yes, even legs). More frequency equals more gains, just don't attempt to double your training volume by doing the same session twice per week. That would probably not be the best idea.

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Supplements - The Biggest Scam In The Fitness Industry...

Let's cut to the chase. Supplements for the most part are bullshit. Yep, blanket statement and no explanation (typical gym bro-like statement) but here me out. The supplement industry is a multi-billion dollar industry created off selling lies. They use enhanced, yes guys on a lot of anabolic steroids, to market there products and be the poster boys of there companies. Now do these poster boys often use the products they are endorsing? Sure. But come on, what's really causing these guys' 'gains' here? The super-special combo-blended Creatine Pure Natural Muscle Builder... or the Anabolic Steroids? One of which we know is highly effective for producing the results these same supplements are often claimed to do. So are there are supplements that are actually worthwhile buying? Sure, but i can count them on one hand. And as a side note: if any supplements are shown to truly work outside of the ones i am about to list they often turn out to be laced with Anabolic Steroids or other illegal stimulants and are very quickly taken off the market (but often not before a lot of people have bought and used them, we all know which pre-workout supplement i'm refering to here). So the supplements i recommend that do more than burn a whole in your wallet: •Whey Protein (you don't need to spend an extra £20 for the Optimum Nutrition or USN protein, you're just paying for a logo). •Fish Oils. •Vitamin D3 (for those in countries with little sunlight or exposure to sunlight). •Creatine Monohydrate. •Caffeine pills to use pre-workout (if you choose). •*POSSIBLY* BCAAs' if you are someone prepping for a bodybuilding competition, otherwise you don't need them. Beyond this list there is not much point in you purchasing them as the likelihood of them actually doing anything is incredibly poor. If you have any supplements you think i should have included feel free to comment below your reasonings (please be logical) and i'll gladly discuss with you.

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Why Being A 'Qualified Personal Trainer' Doesn't Necessarily Mean You Should Be Coaching People...

Now i know this is going to be controversial and that’s fine. For those of you who don’t agree feel free to comment below a logical arguement and i will gladly discuss this with you. For those of you who don’t agree and don’t wish to have a productive conversation, be butthurt. It’s your choice to read what i have to say. 

Let’s be honest, anyone with a basic level of understanding of exercise science, nutrition and human physiology could pass a personal training course blindfolded. Now i’m certainly not ignorant to the fact that there are several levels of personal training qualifications but my point is still the same. I do not believe simply having a qualification that *says* you are qualified to coach people actually means you are truly qualified to coach people. Case and point: look at most personal trainers. Or even better, ask them what the term Periodization means (it doesn’t necessarily have to be periodization though as i doubt you would be limited by terms to ask that they likely do not know the meaning of). Periodization is such a basic training programming term and the fact it very frequently *isn’t known* by people who are ‘qualified personal trainers’, and certainly even less frequently known how to apply the principles periodization refers to, is a real worry. 

Being a coach (or certainly a good one) requires you to be constantly improving the level of knowledge you have and the services you provide to clients. If you however believe that due to the fact you possess a piece of paper that states you are 'qualified to coach people’ means you no longer require to continue your education on your own then you are the type of personal trainer i am refering to. 

I certainly don’t profess to be the best coach by far. I’m well aware i have a lot to learn and that’ll come with time however what i do know is that my level of understanding of the forementioned topics the majority of coaching requires is to a level that is acceptable to coach people and as for my 'people skills’, they’re not too bad either (depending on who you ask lol). That isn’t meant to sound arrogant, it’s just the truth. Before you consider hiring a personal trainer just because they are 'qualified’, ask yourself what that piece of papers truly means.

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Calories & Macronutrients - Nutrition 101

I tend to not put out as much content on topics such as this due to it having been discussed a lot in the circles of people i follow, however there are still those who don't know these terms and how to apply them so this is for those people. Calories are the large units of energy that we attain through food. Calories are comprised (made up) of Macronutrients. Macronutrients are the nutrients we consume in large quanitites which are Protein, Carbohydrates & Fats (& technically Alcohol). The amount of calories you consume will determine whether you gain, lose or maintain your current weight. Should you wish to manipulate your bodyweight you are going to want to manipulate the amount of calories you consume per day. Should you want to manipulate your body composition (i.e not only lose bodyweight but ensure that bodyweight loss is infact primarily fat & not a combination of fat & muscle) you are going to want to manipulate your macronutrient intake also (along with performing resistance training, although most reading this likely do so already). So how does each Macronutrient actually make up the calories we consume? By the following... Each gram of; •Protein contains 4 calories, •Carbohydrates contains 4 calories, •Fat contains 9 calories, •Alcohol contains 7 calories. In my next Nutrition post i'm going to be discussing how to optimise your macronutrient intake based on your goals😊✌🏻️

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Why Following A Training Program Is *Essential* To Maximise Progress

If you are someone new to the gym or have even been training for a while already, following a well written training program is going to be essential to maximise your training progress.

I’m not saying you cannot progress pretty well without having a program in place, especialy anyone new to the gym because at this stage honestly anything will cause you to grow and your 1RM to increase due to the fact you are completely untrained. But for those of you outside of the novice stage you are going to find it increasingly difficult to make much measureable progress by just ‘winging it’ at this point. Although yes novices will be able to progress pretty well by just training hard and being consistent this doesn’t mean they still wouldn’t massively benefit from following a training program, it just isn’t going to be quite as essential for producing progress at this stage. You’re just going to spend twice as long to achieve the same progress as someone following a well structured program.

There comes a point for many who do not follow well structured training programming where they believe they have reached their 'genetic potential/ceiling’ and are just spinning their wheels when really they are simply lacking well structured, periodised training programming and very likely an optimised nutrition protocol to aid in their progression, although that’s a whole other post in itself. Going to the gym is one thing, ensuring you maximise your time spent there and thus the progress you are capable of making is something else.

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The Purpose Of My Blog?...

So first to give a little introduction as to who I am... My name is Bailey Foulston and I am an Online Training & Nutrition Coach and Novice Drug-Free Powerlifter from the UK (England). My purpose for this blog is to provide you with as much value and informative, evidence-based content to help you attain your goals as effectively as possible while cutting out the bullshit. I'm not here to sell you on the latest fad diet or 'detox' product, in fact I'm not here to sell you on anything. If there's one thing I'm trying to sell you on it's that hard work when used intelligently will always trump hard work alone. I'm also here to provide REAL value. To provide you with the knowledge to free yourself from the fear mongering 'carbs make you fat' bullshit the media and other unreliable sources of information claim. If you're looking to learn more and educate yourself on all things training and nutrition then feel free to like, follow, share this post as it will help others alike find this post. Also, feel free to follow me on instagram @baileyfoulston.