Socially Greek

The place to find whats hot and whats not in the fitness industry.

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Young LA is up next

Young LA is a fitness clothing brand which also sells weightlifting accessories such as belts and wrist wraps. The brand has signed some of the most popular influencers such as Soosh, James English, and Marco Spasiano to name a few. This brand was made to bring fashion and a clean looking style which you can wear to the gym and the club. Signing these popular influencers is reaching across so many different platforms and groups across the fitness industry. Young LA prides themselves on having great quality in their clothing. Their clothing is mostly basic with a little flare but the comfort is always top notch. The release drops sell out so fast as it is a highly wanted in the fitness world. The limited items in the releases is what is going to take them to the moon.

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Knee pain is something which everyone experiences at some point in their fitness career and can be fixed. Many people go into the gym and start lifting right away without a proper warmup causing pain. This pain can be avoided by warming up with simple movements such as walking, running, or even step ups to get the legs moving and increase blood flow. Many people also use improper technique when doing any squat movement and this too can cause knee pain. Working with experienced lifters will help with form as well as taking time out of your everyday workouts to work on technique with little to no weight. Take some extra time out of your day to do these little things and your knee pain will disappear. 

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If you are tired of meal prepping and able to spend a little extra money, you need to try Factor meals. I did the 6 meals per week which came out to about $12 per meal. The macros on each meal are incredibly high in protein and extremely low in fat. The variety of meals they have are endless from meatloaf to banana nut pancakes and they are delicious. They are also very beneficial if you are a busy person since they can be made in the microwave under 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The container they come in is also very easy to use and leaves you with no dishes to clean up afterwards. All in all I think the Factor meals are great, but just a little too pricey to order every week.

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Hotspot in Houston

With Alphaland recently opening in Houston, Texas. It is now a hotspot for gym goers all around the world. Your favorite fitness influencers workout there as well, bringing in even more business. Downtown Houston has great food spots and exciting night life. Theres no wonder why the fitness industry is booming there at the moment. Houston, Texas is the new Los Angeles for people looking to get in the fitness industry as well as people already in it. If you’re looking to be an influencer in the industry, Houston is a great place to meet others looking to do the same. Collaborating in videos and other content will allow you to reach different fan bases and offer them a different look at living a healthy lifestyle. 

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I attempted the six time Mr. Olympia winner Phil Heaths leg day and I regret it big time. It has now been 3 days and my legs are still jello. This workout is not your dads leg day and consists of leg extensions, leg press, hamstring curls, walking lunges, rear squats, and even hack squats. Every exercise is done in 4 sets of 8-12 besides hack squat and hamstring curls which is 7 sets of 10-12. I was not able to complete the 7 sets simply because my legs were in pain from the amount of volume. This workout really humbled me and opened my eyes to what these guys go through to get what they want. 

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want to get shredded abs for summer?

Tired of doing endless crunches and sit ups without seeing any progress? Well you should know that abs are made in the kitchen! Eating in a caloric deficit is what’s going to make your abs show the most. Most people think working out core will just create rock hard abs. However, doing core exercises is beneficial for all your other lifts which involve your core, allowing you to move more weight. It is highly beneficial for athletes to work their core to help them perform better in their specified sport. But, if you’re looking to get a shredded six pack, you need to drop body fat in order for the abs to pop.

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There are various opinions about whether hard gainers exist or not but it just depends on how you look at it. I would say a hard gainer is someone with a speedy metabolism which therefore burns more calories than the average person. I am a hard gainer myself and somedays end up burning over 4,000 calories. That would mean I would have to take in 4,000 calories just to maintain my current body weight. As an athlete, I am trying to gain weight and put on muscle which is hard to do compared to the average person who does not have to eat as much. A tip I have learned to help with this is to always tell myself at the end on each day that I need to take in an extra 200 calories to makeup for the extra calories burned as a hard gainer. Even if you do not reach your calorie goal that day, you will take in another 200 which you wouldn’t have.

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Meditation

A method very overlooked to maintaining and creating a healthy lifestyle is meditation and visualization. You may think of hippies or monks when hearing the word meditation but many high level athletes use it in their daily lives for various reasons. It is a great way to start the day or even give you a mid day refresher whenever your feeling anxiety or just want to relax. Meditation can be done in many forms such as lying down just breathing or sitting up in a chair visualizing what you want. A clear mind is a dangerous weapon and meditation is a great way to accomplish this. It may be difficult to focus the first couple times, but through practice the breathing and focus will come to you like second nature.

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Inaka Power is an up and coming fashionable fitness wear brand making a name for itself in the fitness industry. The brand was created by IFBB pro Shawley Coker and is on a steady rise. They have multiple warehouses and are even part owners of the Alphabet gym in Houston, Texas where they have their very own retail store. They sponsor some of the most famous influencers in the industry and work with many other big named people. They sell anything fitness from weightlifting straps to t shirts. Shawley Coker also has a podcast called Inaka Power Radio with his co owner Ant which also helps drive up impressions and gets the name out there. I can see this brand becoming a staple in many lifters wardrobes in the near future.

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Finding a balance

It can be hard trying to balance your healthy lifestyle all the time with your social life. Many people at a young age miss out on gains because they are either drinking too much or not getting the recovery or meals in they need to grow after a long night out. On the otherside of the spectrum is those who are on go mode 100% of the time and end up burning themselves out. Finding a balance to help you optimize your mental and physical gains is a major key. Do not be afraid to hang out with your friends on a Friday night if you earned it and are still going to be able to get after it the next day. These little breaks from the full on go mode will allow you to relax and put your mind at ease, even if it is only for a little. Everything in moderation.

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Protein Oats are a perfect way to start your day or even enjoy a midday snack. The macros on these are too good to be true judging by the taste. Step 1. Pour oats into a bowl and add some water without flooding the oats. Step 2. Put bowl into the microwave for 1 minute. Step 3. Add a scoop of your favorite protein and mix it up. You may need some more water to help the protein mix evenly. Step 4. Add peanut butter for the healthy fats and mix it up. Step 5. You can now add any fruit toppings you would like, I suggest blueberries. Step 6. You can now top it off with some honey or even low calorie syrup for some extra sweetness. 

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Struggling to stay Natty

The new age fitness scene is full of people looking to get in great shape fast. Working on your physique takes a lot of work and time as well as recovery and correct nutrition to get to where you want to be. Looking at your favorite social media influencers who are shredded year round and look insane because they are more than likely taking some sort of PED. This can become tempting to many people, especially the youth who want to look like their favorite influencer and live their flashy lives. You have to remember these influencers workout for a living and do not have to go to school or work everyday and revolve everything round the gym, nutrition, and recovery. Take your time, the results will come eventually as you learn to love the process.

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Whoop band on the rise

I recently had received my Whoop band 4.0 and it is a total game changer. For starters, the band is so lightweight and comfortable that I barely notice I'm wearing anything at all. Being an athlete I figured I had to see what they hype was around the band since I have seen so many others with one. My favorite feature is seeing the amount of strain I put on my body daily and the amount of sleep I need to optimize my recovery to perform again the next day. This band helps me not overtrain but to be able to find what my body can and cannot handle. It also helps with my nutrition by seeing how many calories I burn on a daily basis so I know how much I need to eat in order to maintain my current body weight. All in all, it was a great purchase and I would recommend the band to anyone who takes their fitness seriously.

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Start getting the most out of your workouts

Recovery is something many young athletes over look and think is not needed because they are invincible. Any sort of training is the stimulus while recovery is where the real gains are made. I made the same mistake as many others did by overtraining on the regular. Pushing my body to its limits without eating right and hydrating was not allowing my muscles to maximize their growth. This is a small group of people who may be experiencing the overtraining problem while others do not train enough or get their proper protein in. To maximize muscle growth, you should take in one gram of protein for every pound of your body weight. 

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WANT TO HAVE A BACK LIKE BAKI? Retract your scapulas on pull ups and pulldowns in order to activate your lats to the fullest. This simple cue will take out muscles not needed for the exercise and allow the back to move the weight in order to grow and build like Baki. Rack pulls should be done heavy for the lower back, I like these more than deadlifts since they are a lot safer. The cable pullovers to failure are a perfect burnout exercise to get the most blood flow into your lats making for a great pump before leaving the gym. 

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Old school Vs. New school

The old school way of training and bodybuilding makes me think back to a simple time where man picks up weight, and man puts down weight. These old schoolers would rely mainly on compound lifts such as bench squat and deadlift with their big metal plates. Todays new schoolers need to have the nicest machines which make every exercise as “optimal” as possible. My eyes light up when I see a gym with metal machines and weights all over the place rather than nice and pretty machines where everything is squeaky clean. The new school athletes are going against the old school approach with making rep ranges for every exercise and trying to save energy for later sets. The old schoolers must have done something right with how they turned out and I believe people should not overthink training and do it because they enjoy it.

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Anabolic grocery shopping tips!

Want to start eating healthier and put on lean muscle without giving up the foods you love? Here are some tips and tricks I use in my weekly stop at the grocery store. A tough part about eating clean is giving up the sweet stuff, although you do not have to if you choose the Oikos yogurt which comes in a variety of fruity flavors. This yogurt is low in fat and high in protein making for a perfect snack. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so why not choose egg whites over whole eggs because of how fatty and high in cholesterol whole eggs are. An alternative option for breakfast can be protein oatmeal which consists of protein powder, oats, and almond milk. This breakfast is almost like a desert which can be topped with sweet fruits and honey. Now when it comes to dinner, you can still have your tacos, just choose the 93% lean beef rather than the 75% which is way higher in calories as well as fats. These are just some easy tips to help you get started in the right direction!