BTW, in case people are confused I am recommending that you count calories. All I said was to not count macros, there's a difference. You need to know if you're in a deficit or surplus and just guessing won't cut it. So just count the calories in your head throughout the day (takes 5 seconds to do) and you're good.
Do YOU think counting macros is essential? I want to hear your feedback! In my honest opinion, as long as you are eating good foods and are within your TDEE objective, you will make flawless gains. I also believe that precision is not necessary unless you are trying to compete on a bodybuilding stage. You can easily maintain 10-20% bodyfat without counting macros.
AlphaDestiny nope never counted calories and all my lifts go up 5lbs a week and my weight is increasing slowly so I'm just guessing my diet is fine. Eat a balanced diet and everything else sorts itself out.
AlphaDestiny I personally agree with you and don't care about macros I just eat well and drink a ton of water. Fuck preworkouts and protein power. Just do the basics: Hard Work, Food, and Water. Simple as that.
AlphaDestiny Hey Alex IF i run NE 2x a week... if i just do 1 SET on each exercise in the program while training bjj like a madman... Will it retain My muscle and strenght??? I Will just do this for 4 weeks...? Thnx
I'm working on to improve myself, it's been 12 days already and I didn't touch a single candy.. I will introduce some raw milk into my diet, eat shit tons of butter, sardines, I'm sure this will take care of it.
I have talked to people that "can't lose weight but eat healthy"... And when you ask them what they eat, they might say things like, smoothies, trail mix, dried fruit, whole grains, stir fry, salads, etc... Yet, they have no idea how many kcal they are really getting since these can all be very calorically dense foods, and can easily push them into a surplus. And same goes for "hardgainers" unable to put on weight. They might be eating way less than they think since they are eating "clean". After eating 1.5 cups of rice, 200g chicken, 150g mixed veg, they might be stuffed, and maybe only eat 1 other meal for the whole day and end up only eating like 1600 kcal that day (when really they need 3000 kcal or more). Counting macros and familiarizing oneself with portion sizes is a good idea for anyone who isn't an "intuitive eater". If someone is struggling to gain weight, or lose weight, they can benefit from tracking macros for a period of time until they are comfortable free styling their nutrition. Also, while they are at it, they can look into their micronutrients and make some adjustments so they are getting all their micros within healthy range as well. It actually alarming how many people have no idea how nutrition works.
When I first started to work out, I tracked calories and macros. But it was mostly to just get an idea in my head of how much of what is in what. After a few months, I just estimated and went with the way I felt that day. I think counting at the very beginning is helpful. It helps you get into the right mindset
Well, this is how I got to 8-9 % about 6 months ago. I lowered carbs bellow 150g and bumped fats to 100 and it made losing fat effortless (without suffering any side effects).
MACH -IV pretty simple really, key is to not shave. Sometimes you think you have poverty beard genetics but sometimes this isn't the case, some hairs just take a lot longer to grow and fill out.
If I don't trim mine it looks bushy asf. 1/4 of the hair continues to gro after a certain point and the rest takes longer. I keep trimming it sp it never gets long haha
I somewhat agree but mostly disagree. the reason I count my macros and daily calories is so that I can learn more about nutrition and my body's individual differences. like through tracking I have learnt that I can eat a higher percentage of protein, less carbs and stay leaner whilst still having all the energy I need, something that other people might not be able to do. I also learnt that I need to keep my fat intake a bit higher than most people or my hormones start playing up for example when u start tracking macros and calories u learn if you are under eating or over eating. or if u are not eating enough protein or carbs or fats also it allows me to bulk and cut slowly and gradually, it teaches me what to expect in food so I can make better choices it allows me to eat 80/20. 80% clean and 20% dirty, that way I don't feel like I'm missing out on all the junk food we all love but I know I'm not overdoing it I advocate strongly that everyone start counting calories and macros and then over a period of months u will be able to stop counting and just eyeball things pretty accuratly if u take the time to educate yourself during the tracking period. hope that makes sense also tracking is really not that difficult at all, it's literelly like 20 mins of your day if u add it up and there is plenty of shortcuts u can do to make it be even quicker and yeh tracking it not 100% accurate but it doesn't need to be imo. I would guess I'm like 90-95% accurate and that's close enough, if my daily calorie intake is off by 100 calories it won't make a huge difference really lastly the skill u develop in terms of manipulating macros is really helpful. like I used to eat alot of chicken breast because of the low fat content, but when I started tracking I realised I could easily eat the much preferred chicken thighs and the extra fat came as a benefit really as I would just BBQ it and it equaled out just like pan frying chicken breasts but it tasted better. hope that made sense overall I would definitely say tracking calories and macros has improved my quality of life and made dieting so much easier
I agree with you that you don't need crazy precision to notice progress. IMO counting macros is too anal and OCD. Total daily calories are way more important than micro managing minute details. But I actually track my total calories and protein because it helps keep me accountable to eat enough food to reach my goals. I've always struggled to make solid progress when I did not actively track my nutrition.
Alex just wanted to say congratulations on the beard. I know it's been a struggle for you and you've been insecure about your facial hair from your past videos and I'm so happy it's finally filled in, best wishes xxx
I think you've never talked about forearm strength standards Like 90 lb hammer curl x 5,forearm barbell curl to the front 200 lbs x 10 ect Any thoughts on that?
acsnowboarder13 As the guy said below me, unless you are cutting and eating large amounts of vegetables I would not worry too much as eating certain vegetables actually burn calories because of the amount of chewing involved...Hope this helps
well indeed. the only hard thing for me to do is to be in a surplus every day. it's like I have to force feed every day. I can do that nay be twice a week. but then I automatically go in a deficit. so how you do that every day?
Idk man..I eat plant based and I'm told to get more protein & fat in. If I don't try to get it on purpose then I only get about 70-90g protein a day and 25-35g fat..
nice video alex, any advice on how to stay motivated to keep working out? the music suggestion really helps but the songs gets old after a while lol when I get to the gym im all hyped to lift, but 6-8 months later it goes from enjoyable to feeling like boring work. I missed the blood tingling sensation few hours after working out. lmao im sure you know that feeling
I'm never bored of working out, I love it. Maybe your system is just boring. I recommend concurrent and rotating exercises weekly. Also find goals that truly motivate you
Alex please read this. Have you tried progressive range of motion barbell rows?? I tried it today just out of curiousity and it feels fucking glorious, yet I've never heard of anyone doing them. You would place the bar on pins about 1/3 of the way up and row. The upper back pump is like nothing I've ever felt.
Did you put olive oil into the whole foods category? Oil is like sugar, it's just refined macro nutrients void of nutrients. Oil has a lot of health problems.
zukodude487987 Where did you hear that? Most decent oils are a great source of omega 3, not to mention having adequate fat in general is key to producing healthy amounts of testosterone, and keeping healthy brain function
A lot of people waste to much time fine tuning their food intake yet hardly put any work at the gym and wonder why they see no results, then they get frustrated and waste more time on perfecting their intake. I'm a truck driver, I eat about 5-6 times a day, I hit gym on my lunch break, slowly, but keep getting gains!!
If your tracking your calories, which is a 110% must, than why not calculate protein, carbs, fat. 99% of people use my fitness pal. So you simply weigh your food on the food scale, plug it in and boom, done. Tracks my calories, but also all the other stuff as well. I always track everything, and I also been more strict, on sodium, potassium, fiber, vitamin A percent, vitamin C percent, etc. I have found my gains in the gym, but more importantly, that my body is looking a lot better as well. I have year around 6 pack abs and am very lean at 181lbs, currently slow bulking to 205lbs
Just seems like a waste of time. I calculate all my calories manually in my head. Why do people have to rely on technology so much? If I eat 4 slices of bread and each are 100 calories, I manually total that to 400. That number will stay in my head until I eat another meal, by which it will then increase. No need to plug anything in, it takes 5 seconds of mental math to accomplish
yes for simple things like bread. If you have a chicken breast, a bowl of rice, and say a glass of milk, what are your calories. Now keep in mind. If you are bulking you want to eat about 250 calories over your maintence intake. Well lets just say you randomly say the chicken breast has 100g, instead it actually has 150g. So instead of of 120 calories that you thought it actually has 180 calories. Ya big woop 60 calories, but that is one food item. You do that with 4 pieces of food and boom your wrong. Lets say you think the rice is 200g instead of 265g, well you just lost another 40 calories or so. And the milk u under estimate that too well you lost more. Its the small 30 calories, that add up to a ton. I had a friend who thought he was bang on with his nutrients, and he was pretty darn close. We added it up, and he was off by 400 calories at the end of the day. So instead of bulking, he was actually in a deficit. Doesn't matter how close or good you think you know your calories, if you don't weigh your food, you will always be off. If everything was as simple as 1 piece of bread being 100 calories, we wouldn't need to weigh foods, but for foods such as spaghetii, rice, chicken, milk, fruits, vegetables, etc. you got to
I stopped counting macros because it made me go crazy and I ended up having more cheat meals. I can eat clean food without counting macros and its easy for me and I stay on the diet longer without any cheat days and Im so much happier.
You count the calories....it takes 5 seconds to do. A piece of bread may be 100 calories. You had four slices? That's 100x4=400 No need to look at the fat, protein, and carb intake. If your food is clean you will automatically have the macros set.
Do u recommend that i just do one of his programs in NE 2x a week or do my own ? I dont have any weakness i just want to get stronger on all parts except squats
if you have enough experience and knowledge, make your own NE just apply the principles- that's what is so cool about NE you can customise it a lot and never get bored it's good shit!
Baris BANDDESTINY Are you a novice? If so I would keep exercise selection very basic and rotate every 4th week.. Rotating the band tensions would be a very simplistic way for you to do things and likely help prevent weaknesses from occurring altogether... Hope this helps
I think it's good to count for a few months just to know how much u eat on a regular basis, then after u got experience u can just rely on that instead of counting.
counting macros I lost 15 lbs of fat, got a six pack, and INCREASED STRENGTH ! ( 150 lb chinup for example.) while on 2800- 3000 calories a day. First time I ever I used a food scale for everything since I mostly eat whole foods. I lose weight too quickly when on a cut and have always lost strength. I also increased my protein from .9 to 1.3g/pound.
SUPER MAN Why chose just one? That's the point of concurrent periodisation, for arguments sake though I would say cheat rows are more specific to upper back gains and pull ups are great for lats due to the stretch... Hope this helps
Alex should a beginner do 2 or 3 days per week training? I'm back to beginner level after a long break due to motivation but Tuesday to Thursday is a huge gap that I can't fill in for training time so do you think I could run your novice program Friday - Monday? Without a significant loss in beginner gains
AlphaDestiny wow thanks bro, I sent u the receipt. It's really cool to see someone in UA-cam fitness who actually cares about their fans and helps them out, most other dudes wouldn't do this
Alex when recomping should I just count my calories on my days when i eat at deficit and just go by feel on my surplus days and eat as much carbs as possible?
you might be short on digestive enzymes if you're having to force feed yourself. gregg valentino recommends digestive enzymes as the most important part of supplimenting nutrition. amylases, hydralases, lipases, proteinases. its in one of his older videos.
Not really bro. It's called look at the nutrition label and do mental math. It takes 5 seconds to do in your head. Not sure why everyone relies on technology nowadays
A great sport but not my cup of tea. I won't be discussing Oly lifting on this channel. As far as building a nice physique, that's subjective to you. I think it can definitely get you nice legs, delts, and traps.
Alex, I have hyper mobility syndrome I'm pretty sure. I have hyper mobile knees, wrists and elbows. My wrists and knees hurt all the time but elbows don't. How do I stop the pain or something? I tried squatting today and stopping at the top where my leg is straight but isn't locked out and it didn't hurt much, just a slight pain. Same thing for deadlifts, seems like I can stop a little before lockout with my knees and it's still full range of motion but reduces pain. Is this basically all I should do? Should I go to the doctor? I can't even stand or walk for a minute without my knees starting to hurt. It doesn't really hurt as long as I don't lock them out but do you know how awkward that is? Try stand without locking out your legs, even if I'm doing that and my legs are straight it just feels uncomfortable. Any ways as you have hyper mobile elbows a response or something to give me advice on what to do would be great. Btw just hit a 285lb deadlift PR today, I know that sucks but I'm still happy with it as I'll obviously hit 300lbs and then 3 plates soon.
I also have this syndrome and don't experience problems in the gym. You need strong tendons and ligaments (do partials, concurrent periodization, compound exercises, etc), and you need to do lots of connective tissue work. For squats I suggest doing it off a box to manually stop ROM, and for pressing exercises lock out like a NORMAL person would. No need to extend to the hypermobile level.
AlphaDestiny the thing about squats is the reason I lift is to try get strong to try powerlifting. This is why i don't want to do box squats as they aren't really the same as a normal squat. Thanks for the reply and I'll take your advice on the other things though, my elbows never really hurt but I'll stop them at straight from now on any ways. Also I can touch the ground with the palms of my hands while my legs are straight, is this like hyper mobile back or something? If so maybe that'll explain why my back sometimes gets sore even when it's straight doing daily tasks.
How do you guys eat 2000 calories really clean? My diet is KINDA CRAPPY now as I have moved away from fitness. Breakfast: cereal (70g) total 266 + 300ml skimmed milk ~150 cals. Lunch: 150g boiled rice ~ 200 cals with homemade chicken curry (very low fat as there is less than 1g of oil per large serving), each serving around 140g of chicken so at most 400 cals. Snack: 300ml milk with 2 biscuits = ~ 320 cals Dinner: 100g Boiled pasta/w sauce and lean chicken breast ~ 600 cals. Total:416 + 400 + 320 + 600 = 1722. Bad diet, every meal fills me up although I am trying to maintain my physique by doing home upper (x2) lower (x2) split. Eating very clean, I doubt I would get to 1500 cals. Tried when cutting and I was eating around 1400 cals and I was pretty much full after every meal.
I always count my macros in my cut and also in my bulk but a bit less strict , but this video is some real talk. Your totally right , if you eat clean foods in a surplus the macros will fal in place.
But who knows if you’re getting 40 percent this or that. that’s why people count. The regular population doesn’t realize how much they’re eating. I worked out for a couple of years got into great shape but that the amount of work I put in was not showing on my body. Because I was always over eating. Even if it’s good foods you can become fat. Count your shit and get lean as fuck.
Alex, what if I want a big deadlift AND big traps. Do I do both deadlifts and heavy rack pulls? That's gna be rly hard on my cns. or are deadlifts good enough?
Терорист Талибан If you still want a big deadlift you can incorporate block pulls at 2,4 and 6 inches to get maximum carryover to deadlift whilst hitting the traps with heavier weight... Hope this helps
Is your new book NE an improved version of your 2015 book "The Alpha Body". I reached intermediate with your novice and I also have the old book bought. So what's best for intermediate: the old one or the NE?
Q&A: Yo, Alex, I'm currently running a full body program 3x/week as a novice; however, I would like to incorporate special leg exercises for taekwondo and forearm exercises. To prevent the full body sessions from becoming too lengthy, I'm contemplating an upper-lower split or push-pull split, but I wonder which would suit me better so forearm work and special leg work dont detract from the main strength exercises.
Hi Alex! I have bought your NE program like a month ago, I have noticed you have upgraded it considerably - is the new version avaibke for those who bought the originals, or it is considered a new purchase and I'm fucked? Either way nice insights as always. Eating clean became a habit for me, but I never wrapped my fingers around macros.
Absolutely, send me an email with your receipt attached and I'll take care of you right away. You are going to LOVE the new overhaul. 458 pages, new chapter, new strength training strategies, and hundreds of additional special exercises.
Looking forward to it! Will be great help once I switch from your novice program. So far so good, I enjoy the exercises and I make constant progress on them, and I'm getting bigger.
The best way? Eat in a calorie deficit of 10%. Once you plateau, reduce by 10% again. Eventually you will be where you want. If you want to do another route, check outalpha.com/recomp
Questions for Q&A; Not a fan of the tricep overhead extensions, but I love calisthenics, will weighted dips act as a substitute? Doing weighted chin ups I really feel my triceps worked after the sets, is this normal? Thanks
I don't understand why people think of iifym or "clean eating" as opposites, you can still enjoy both at the same time and get lean or gain weight,, provided how many total calories you eat
I personally have trouble with willpower and always end up eating way too much if i don't track macros I find it easy as hell to track, and i track fairly roughly nowadays because it's easy to eyeball the portions of things after years of tracking
I don't pay attention to macro breakdowns either. The only two things I really track are protein and overall calorie count. That's it. Also people kill themselves trying to eat clean 100% of the time and burn out. Embrace flexible dieting. Eat clean 70% of the time, and enjoy yourself the other 30%. If you're hitting cals, you'll still be where you want to be.
If you're already calculating your TDEE and making sure you're hitting it, the amount of work needed to actually set macros if so small. Seems weird to count calories, but not macros which makes up the calories.
Start with the standard neck curl, which is placing a weight plate on your forehead and curling your neck. 4x25 is a good starter with 5lbs. Build from there.
Awesome video, man! Totally needed this mindset to stop worrying so much about my macros, thanks a lot! Oh, and congratulations for your beard, it's looking better haha 👌🏽 thanks again
Legendary Winner Generally foods high in fibre, protein and micronutrients man. I would buy foods in bulk as it can be cheaper such as pasta, potatoes,lean meats... Hope this helps
Mindtomusclefitness thanks man. Yeah I'm gonna start eating healthy. Problem is I don't know how to cook. Going to college in a couple days and I'm not sure what's the best way to cook. I'm actually 50 minutes from my home so I go home on weekends and I could cook all my foods at homes and bring them all there. What do you think. Where can I learn to cook easy foods
Legendary Winner I would stick to foods that are easy to cook in bulk, such as chicken and potatoes, pene pasta with tuna and sweetcorn... These are foods that are extremely easy to cook. If you ever need advice you can visit my site (link in profile), I also have my email there. Good luck
Hey Alex, I am cutting weight and I still have about 20 pounds max to lose. Problem is, since I do intermittent fasting and I really like it for its overall health benefits, I have hard time reaching my calories (about 1600-1800) with clean foods because I get full quickly. Since I work late, I can only eat twice a day and have nuts as snacks. Should I force myself to finish my meals? Thanks!
Although I agree with you that being super specific isn't necessary it's also not difficult to give yourself minimum macro numbers to try and hit. Like if you use myfitness pal and count your calories then it's easy enough to just swipe across and check your doing okay on your macros. I give myself a minimum protein intake to hit and I almost always hit it. I also recommend clients to have a minimum fat intake goal for hormonal reasons but that numbers usually super low so it's kinda hard to not hit that. If I don't hit my minimum protein intake one day I dont really care - like you said it's the calories that's the most important thing overall.
How many meals do you eat per day? For 2 years I was bulking hard eating only 2 meals a day and I fucked up my digestive system permanently, I would expect you aren't as dumb as I was.
alex i got a question, i've seen some of your intensity vids where u dont train chest on same day as shoulders , do you think its a good idea to also include maybe an isolation movement for the chest just to train it a bit? maybe alternate per week, say bench 1 week , next week OHP and alternate like that? that way i get some protein synethesis on the chest too lel
Bro I think u have an evaluated shoulder "the left one" or it is a genetics if it's not just check a therapy to avoid any shoulder injury I have the same problem and I am fixing it right. keep the good work. 👍💪
Totally agreed. I never count macros. And since I cut out meat and dairy, I never get fat. Being vegan is ideal for bodybuilding, because you never have to cut and bulk. As long as you stay slightly above maintenance, you can still make crazy muscle and strength gains and be lean year-round. Not to mention being infinitely healthier and unconstipated compared to meat eaters. Cheers Alex, you're content is excellent. #CrueltyFreeGains
I agree and I disagree. First, I agree because last year when I living in uni a fire occurred and we wasn't able to use our kitchen. For MONTHS, and I mean MONTHS, I was trying to lose body fat and I was following the general rule being calorie deficit is equal to bodyweight in pounds times 10. No changes occurred. But funnily since I wasn't able to use my kitchen, I was eating less and my body dropped to 10% and for the first time. On the contrary, I disagree because some people wanna lean bulk. So they do not want to "over do it".
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For me its about Protein intake & Calorie Intake. The fats and carbs will fall into place if I hit those 2 things.
MosesGainz fuck do you comment on every video?
Same that what eric helms recommends in the muscle and strength pyramid books under the great tier of lifestyle tier. It makes it easier
MadDog eat like a horse but clean foods tho?
MosesGainz Hodge twins said this ages ago...
MosesGainz that's what I've been doing and I've been seeing great results
It goes back to the "make fitness an addition to your life, not your life". And counting macros seems pretty damn OCD and tedious.
Casper The Friendly Ghost Lol thats what happen to me when I first started lifting.
we all get body dismorphia at one point or another.
tru
Exactly if i tried to live like that id give up by week 3
BTW, in case people are confused I am recommending that you count calories. All I said was to not count macros, there's a difference. You need to know if you're in a deficit or surplus and just guessing won't cut it. So just count the calories in your head throughout the day (takes 5 seconds to do) and you're good.
AlphaDestiny healthy foods in caloric deficit/surplus. Gotcha
full day of eating brother!
unknown entity YES!!!!!
would watch
Do this and for one time just show your macros for this one video
looking alot better with a fuller beard and hair m8.
Do YOU think counting macros is essential? I want to hear your feedback!
In my honest opinion, as long as you are eating good foods and are within your TDEE objective, you will make flawless gains. I also believe that precision is not necessary unless you are trying to compete on a bodybuilding stage. You can easily maintain 10-20% bodyfat without counting macros.
AlphaDestiny nope never counted calories and all my lifts go up 5lbs a week and my weight is increasing slowly so I'm just guessing my diet is fine. Eat a balanced diet and everything else sorts itself out.
AlphaDestiny I personally agree with you and don't care about macros I just eat well and drink a ton of water. Fuck preworkouts and protein power. Just do the basics: Hard Work, Food, and Water. Simple as that.
AlphaDestiny Hey Alex IF i run NE 2x a week... if i just do 1 SET on each exercise in the program while training bjj like a madman... Will it retain My muscle and strenght??? I Will just do this for 4 weeks...?
Thnx
Probably. I recommend doing ramping sets in your case
I'm working on to improve myself, it's been 12 days already and I didn't touch a single candy.. I will introduce some raw milk into my diet, eat shit tons of butter, sardines, I'm sure this will take care of it.
I have talked to people that "can't lose weight but eat healthy"... And when you ask them what they eat, they might say things like, smoothies, trail mix, dried fruit, whole grains, stir fry, salads, etc... Yet, they have no idea how many kcal they are really getting since these can all be very calorically dense foods, and can easily push them into a surplus. And same goes for "hardgainers" unable to put on weight. They might be eating way less than they think since they are eating "clean". After eating 1.5 cups of rice, 200g chicken, 150g mixed veg, they might be stuffed, and maybe only eat 1 other meal for the whole day and end up only eating like 1600 kcal that day (when really they need 3000 kcal or more). Counting macros and familiarizing oneself with portion sizes is a good idea for anyone who isn't an "intuitive eater". If someone is struggling to gain weight, or lose weight, they can benefit from tracking macros for a period of time until they are comfortable free styling their nutrition. Also, while they are at it, they can look into their micronutrients and make some adjustments so they are getting all their micros within healthy range as well. It actually alarming how many people have no idea how nutrition works.
When I first started to work out, I tracked calories and macros. But it was mostly to just get an idea in my head of how much of what is in what. After a few months, I just estimated and went with the way I felt that day.
I think counting at the very beginning is helpful. It helps you get into the right mindset
in other words, eat right so you don't have to worry about eating right.
Finally! Someone else feels the same. Fuck macros
Dalton Deacon lol wtf do you know you skinny shit
easy man
Well, this is how I got to 8-9 % about 6 months ago. I lowered carbs bellow 150g and bumped fats to 100 and it made losing fat effortless (without suffering any side effects).
Do a FULL DAY OF EATING VIDEO PLEASE!
Yo Alex, do you think you'll ever do more videos about your personal life? Great content btw
would be awesome and interesting, story time with Alex
yo great collab with omar! good luck man and keep up spreading great content!
can i get fitness goals wirhout counting calories?
Counting macros is unnecessary. Non-negotiable.
Fuck macro advice. Make a damn video about that glorious beard
Beard video coming soon
MACH -IV
pretty simple really, key is to not shave. Sometimes you think you have poverty beard genetics but sometimes this isn't the case, some hairs just take a lot longer to grow and fill out.
If I don't trim mine it looks bushy asf. 1/4 of the hair continues to gro after a certain point and the rest takes longer. I keep trimming it sp it never gets long haha
I somewhat agree but mostly disagree. the reason I count my macros and daily calories is so that I can learn more about nutrition and my body's individual differences. like through tracking I have learnt that I can eat a higher percentage of protein, less carbs and stay leaner whilst still having all the energy I need, something that other people might not be able to do. I also learnt that I need to keep my fat intake a bit higher than most people or my hormones start playing up
for example when u start tracking macros and calories u learn if you are under eating or over eating. or if u are not eating enough protein or carbs or fats
also it allows me to bulk and cut slowly and gradually, it teaches me what to expect in food so I can make better choices
it allows me to eat 80/20. 80% clean and 20% dirty, that way I don't feel like I'm missing out on all the junk food we all love but I know I'm not overdoing it
I advocate strongly that everyone start counting calories and macros and then over a period of months u will be able to stop counting and just eyeball things pretty accuratly if u take the time to educate yourself during the tracking period. hope that makes sense
also tracking is really not that difficult at all, it's literelly like 20 mins of your day if u add it up and there is plenty of shortcuts u can do to make it be even quicker
and yeh tracking it not 100% accurate but it doesn't need to be imo. I would guess I'm like 90-95% accurate and that's close enough, if my daily calorie intake is off by 100 calories it won't make a huge difference really
lastly the skill u develop in terms of manipulating macros is really helpful. like I used to eat alot of chicken breast because of the low fat content, but when I started tracking I realised I could easily eat the much preferred chicken thighs and the extra fat came as a benefit really as I would just BBQ it and it equaled out just like pan frying chicken breasts but it tasted better. hope that made sense
overall I would definitely say tracking calories and macros has improved my quality of life and made dieting so much easier
For me what I noticed is when I don't count my macros I feel weak and miss my calories, but if I count my calories I hit PRs and get stronger
Joe Ski calories and macros are two different things
Joe Ski calories/ macros. pick one
I agree with you that you don't need crazy precision to notice progress. IMO counting macros is too anal and OCD. Total daily calories are way more important than micro managing minute details. But I actually track my total calories and protein because it helps keep me accountable to eat enough food to reach my goals. I've always struggled to make solid progress when I did not actively track my nutrition.
I've literally just scrapped my macro counting after this advice lol It was pissing me off doing it the last 5 weeks 😂
adam o'neill waste of time IMO.
Glad I found ur channel bro. Real rational and smart stuff!👍🏼
Alex just wanted to say congratulations on the beard. I know it's been a struggle for you and you've been insecure about your facial hair from your past videos and I'm so happy it's finally filled in, best wishes xxx
I think you've never talked about forearm strength standards
Like 90 lb hammer curl x 5,forearm barbell curl to the front 200 lbs x 10 ect
Any thoughts on that?
Fotis Rokanis those are pretty high standards friend. If we're talking strict then no way do you need that strength before reaching good forearms.
I was talking about the hammer curls,but they were just off the top of my head.I don't think they are unreachable,but you may be right
Fotis Rokanis 200x10 barbell reverse curl will prolly guarantee jacked forearm flexors but I don't see 99.9% of the population ever getting there
No not reverse curls,forearm curls,Or I should say wrist curls.Basically the exercise where you curl your wrist
90 pounds hammer curls is pretty realistic imo.
Best fitness channel on youtube bro, keep going.
if i was just cutting using calories what if im getting like 80g of protein for the day. wouldnt i loose all kinds of gains?
how do you prefer to count calories when eating clean? and how do you track calories for vegetables and stuff?
veggies = roughly zero
acsnowboarder13 As the guy said below me, unless you are cutting and eating large amounts of vegetables I would not worry too much as eating certain vegetables actually burn calories because of the amount of chewing involved...Hope this helps
well indeed. the only hard thing for me to do is to be in a surplus every day. it's like I have to force feed every day. I can do that nay be twice a week. but then I automatically go in a deficit. so how you do that every day?
Idk man..I eat plant based and I'm told to get more protein & fat in. If I don't try to get it on purpose then I only get about 70-90g protein a day and 25-35g fat..
What size is that shirt bro???
Man I feel like your soo underrated for the value you put out your UA-cam channel really is growing though brotha one day you’ll be at 1 million +
JUST DISCOVERED YOU YESTERDAY AFTER YOU WERE ON OMARS CHANNEL . loving the content.
nice video alex, any advice on how to stay motivated to keep working out? the music suggestion really helps but the songs gets old after a while lol when I get to the gym im all hyped to lift, but 6-8 months later it goes from enjoyable to feeling like boring work. I missed the blood tingling sensation few hours after working out. lmao im sure you know that feeling
I'm never bored of working out, I love it. Maybe your system is just boring. I recommend concurrent and rotating exercises weekly. Also find goals that truly motivate you
you have a bush at the left of your beard that is standing out lol
anyway, great vid i couldnt agree more with you!
Keep up the good work bro
Yeah I see it. Gonna trim that shit asap lol
Alex please read this. Have you tried progressive range of motion barbell rows?? I tried it today just out of curiousity and it feels fucking glorious, yet I've never heard of anyone doing them. You would place the bar on pins about 1/3 of the way up and row. The upper back pump is like nothing I've ever felt.
Never tried it on rows tbh, but I could see why it would work.
Did you put olive oil into the whole foods category? Oil is like sugar, it's just refined macro nutrients void of nutrients. Oil has a lot of health problems.
zukodude487987 where the hell did you hear that from????
I mentioned it as a fat source. If someone wants to put olive oil on their food or some type of avocado paste that works.
zukodude487987 Where did you hear that?
Most decent oils are a great source of omega 3, not to mention having adequate fat in general is key to producing healthy amounts of testosterone, and keeping healthy brain function
A lot of people waste to much time fine tuning their food intake yet hardly put any work at the gym and wonder why they see no results, then they get frustrated and waste more time on perfecting their intake. I'm a truck driver, I eat about 5-6 times a day, I hit gym on my lunch break, slowly, but keep getting gains!!
If your tracking your calories, which is a 110% must, than why not calculate protein, carbs, fat. 99% of people use my fitness pal. So you simply weigh your food on the food scale, plug it in and boom, done. Tracks my calories, but also all the other stuff as well. I always track everything, and I also been more strict, on sodium, potassium, fiber, vitamin A percent, vitamin C percent, etc. I have found my gains in the gym, but more importantly, that my body is looking a lot better as well. I have year around 6 pack abs and am very lean at 181lbs, currently slow bulking to 205lbs
Just seems like a waste of time. I calculate all my calories manually in my head. Why do people have to rely on technology so much? If I eat 4 slices of bread and each are 100 calories, I manually total that to 400. That number will stay in my head until I eat another meal, by which it will then increase. No need to plug anything in, it takes 5 seconds of mental math to accomplish
yes for simple things like bread. If you have a chicken breast, a bowl of rice, and say a glass of milk, what are your calories. Now keep in mind. If you are bulking you want to eat about 250 calories over your maintence intake. Well lets just say you randomly say the chicken breast has 100g, instead it actually has 150g. So instead of of 120 calories that you thought it actually has 180 calories. Ya big woop 60 calories, but that is one food item. You do that with 4 pieces of food and boom your wrong. Lets say you think the rice is 200g instead of 265g, well you just lost another 40 calories or so. And the milk u under estimate that too well you lost more.
Its the small 30 calories, that add up to a ton. I had a friend who thought he was bang on with his nutrients, and he was pretty darn close. We added it up, and he was off by 400 calories at the end of the day. So instead of bulking, he was actually in a deficit. Doesn't matter how close or good you think you know your calories, if you don't weigh your food, you will always be off. If everything was as simple as 1 piece of bread being 100 calories, we wouldn't need to weigh foods, but for foods such as spaghetii, rice, chicken, milk, fruits, vegetables, etc. you got to
Solid advice! One of the best fitness channel
I stopped counting macros because it made me go crazy and I ended up having more cheat meals. I can eat clean food without counting macros and its easy for me and I stay on the diet longer without any cheat days and Im so much happier.
Yeah its simple, just have a clean and sustainable diet, and adjust on that, if i start to gain weight, adjust, small changes go along way
can you tell us what you might normally eat throughout 1 day.
Hey man, where did you get this shirt at? It's badass
Local mall
if you arent tracking your macros then how can you know if you are in a deficit or surplus then?
You count the calories....it takes 5 seconds to do. A piece of bread may be 100 calories. You had four slices? That's 100x4=400
No need to look at the fat, protein, and carb intake. If your food is clean you will automatically have the macros set.
Alex can I just do a band cycle on NE 2x a week instead of rotating exercises ? So I go from miniband,monstermini,light and THEN switch exercise ?
Baris BANDDESTINY yes that's fine as we'll. He use to do that on the deadlift when he tried to increase it.
Do u recommend that i just do one of his programs in NE 2x a week or do my own ? I dont have any weakness i just want to get stronger on all parts except squats
Baris BANDDESTINY yes if that's your main goal.
if you have enough experience and knowledge, make your own NE just apply the principles- that's what is so cool about NE you can customise it a lot and never get bored it's good shit!
Baris BANDDESTINY Are you a novice? If so I would keep exercise selection very basic and rotate every 4th week.. Rotating the band tensions would be a very simplistic way for you to do things and likely help prevent weaknesses from occurring altogether... Hope this helps
what about how many protein u need daily.
I think it's good to count for a few months just to know how much u eat on a regular basis, then after u got experience u can just rely on that instead of counting.
You should do a beard transformation vid.
what about how much protein u need daily
counting macros I lost 15 lbs of fat, got a six pack, and INCREASED STRENGTH ! ( 150 lb chinup for example.) while on 2800- 3000 calories a day. First time I ever I used a food scale for everything since I mostly eat whole foods. I lose weight too quickly when on a cut and have always lost strength. I also increased my protein from .9 to 1.3g/pound.
Yo Alex if u had to choose one back exercise for a better back, would u choose heavy cheat rows or heavy weighted pullups?
SUPER MAN Why chose just one? That's the point of concurrent periodisation, for arguments sake though I would say cheat rows are more specific to upper back gains and pull ups are great for lats due to the stretch... Hope this helps
How are you supposed to follow your TDEE though?
Alex should a beginner do 2 or 3 days per week training? I'm back to beginner level after a long break due to motivation but Tuesday to Thursday is a huge gap that I can't fill in for training time so do you think I could run your novice program Friday - Monday? Without a significant loss in beginner gains
Hey bro I bought it, and i got an email from PayPal showing me my receipt, how do I access the PDF now? Do you send it to me?
The email should have the link attached to it, just click it and you'll be redirected to the download.
AlphaDestiny it doesn't, can u just email the PDF to me? I can prove my purchase I'll send you the email from paypal
Yes do that and I will take care of you
AlphaDestiny wow thanks bro, I sent u the receipt. It's really cool to see someone in UA-cam fitness who actually cares about their fans and helps them out, most other dudes wouldn't do this
Alex when recomping should I just count my calories on my days when i eat at deficit and just go by feel on my surplus days and eat as much carbs as possible?
you might be short on digestive enzymes if you're having to force feed yourself. gregg valentino recommends digestive enzymes as the most important part of supplimenting nutrition. amylases, hydralases, lipases, proteinases. its in one of his older videos.
Yeah but if you don't calculate anything how do you make sure that you are in a calorie surplus ?
Merzali i just count you're calories. And eat around TTE. Might of spelled it wrong.
I said calculate calories. You don't need to count the macros too.
AlphaDestiny I know but you will have to use MyFitnessPal and scan your food and ending up counting your macros anyway lol
Not really bro. It's called look at the nutrition label and do mental math. It takes 5 seconds to do in your head. Not sure why everyone relies on technology nowadays
Great content brother hope ur subcriber base grows u got good content
Hey alex, what do you think of Olympic weightlifting and do you think it can help you get a good physique?
A great sport but not my cup of tea. I won't be discussing Oly lifting on this channel. As far as building a nice physique, that's subjective to you. I think it can definitely get you nice legs, delts, and traps.
Alex, I have hyper mobility syndrome I'm pretty sure. I have hyper mobile knees, wrists and elbows. My wrists and knees hurt all the time but elbows don't. How do I stop the pain or something?
I tried squatting today and stopping at the top where my leg is straight but isn't locked out and it didn't hurt much, just a slight pain. Same thing for deadlifts, seems like I can stop a little before lockout with my knees and it's still full range of motion but reduces pain. Is this basically all I should do?
Should I go to the doctor? I can't even stand or walk for a minute without my knees starting to hurt. It doesn't really hurt as long as I don't lock them out but do you know how awkward that is? Try stand without locking out your legs, even if I'm doing that and my legs are straight it just feels uncomfortable.
Any ways as you have hyper mobile elbows a response or something to give me advice on what to do would be great. Btw just hit a 285lb deadlift PR today, I know that sucks but I'm still happy with it as I'll obviously hit 300lbs and then 3 plates soon.
I also have this syndrome and don't experience problems in the gym. You need strong tendons and ligaments (do partials, concurrent periodization, compound exercises, etc), and you need to do lots of connective tissue work. For squats I suggest doing it off a box to manually stop ROM, and for pressing exercises lock out like a NORMAL person would. No need to extend to the hypermobile level.
AlphaDestiny the thing about squats is the reason I lift is to try get strong to try powerlifting. This is why i don't want to do box squats as they aren't really the same as a normal squat. Thanks for the reply and I'll take your advice on the other things though, my elbows never really hurt but I'll stop them at straight from now on any ways.
Also I can touch the ground with the palms of my hands while my legs are straight, is this like hyper mobile back or something? If so maybe that'll explain why my back sometimes gets sore even when it's straight doing daily tasks.
Anyone know how tall this guy is?
Yo Alex, after reaching bear mode, will u maintain it or cut to show people the drawbacks of being shredded?
Dude where did you get that shirt? You totally rock that!
The local mall
Love this channel. Keep it up!
How do you guys eat 2000 calories really clean? My diet is KINDA CRAPPY now as I have moved away from fitness.
Breakfast: cereal (70g) total 266 + 300ml skimmed milk ~150 cals. Lunch: 150g boiled rice ~ 200 cals with homemade chicken curry (very low fat as there is less than 1g of oil per large serving), each serving around 140g of chicken so at most 400 cals.
Snack: 300ml milk with 2 biscuits = ~ 320 cals
Dinner: 100g Boiled pasta/w sauce and lean chicken breast ~ 600 cals.
Total:416 + 400 + 320 + 600 = 1722.
Bad diet, every meal fills me up although I am trying to maintain my physique by doing home upper (x2) lower (x2) split.
Eating very clean, I doubt I would get to 1500 cals. Tried when cutting and I was eating around 1400 cals and I was pretty much full after every meal.
Will I make more gains following NE 3x/week vs the regular 2x/week template?
Hard to say. One thing I can confirm is that it's not significant
I always count my macros in my cut and also in my bulk but a bit less strict , but this video is some real talk.
Your totally right , if you eat clean foods in a surplus the macros will fal in place.
But who knows if you’re getting 40 percent this or that. that’s why people count. The regular population doesn’t realize how much they’re eating. I worked out for a couple of years got into great shape but that the amount of work I put in was not showing on my body. Because I was always over eating. Even if it’s good foods you can become fat. Count your shit and get lean as fuck.
Alex, what if I want a big deadlift AND big traps. Do I do both deadlifts and heavy rack pulls? That's gna be rly hard on my cns. or are deadlifts good enough?
Терорист Талибан If you still want a big deadlift you can incorporate block pulls at 2,4 and 6 inches to get maximum carryover to deadlift whilst hitting the traps with heavier weight... Hope this helps
Yo a weird question but is there any GPP standard?
Baris BANDDESTINY mile under 6 minutes, 20 minutes 5k
Alex how do I calculate band tension by myself?
Put the band through a dumbbell or have someone step on it,keep it on the height you're gonna use them and step on a scale
What Fotis said. I recommend a luggage scale
Is your new book NE an improved version of your 2015 book "The Alpha Body". I reached intermediate with your novice and I also have the old book bought. So what's best for intermediate: the old one or the NE?
Naturally Enhanced hands down, like it's literally no comparison. Comparing apples to oranges here
Alex so What is your suggestion? beginner ? 5*5 ?
Beard gains! Congrats bro you deserve it
Q&A: Yo, Alex, I'm currently running a full body program 3x/week as a novice; however, I would like to incorporate special leg exercises for taekwondo and forearm exercises. To prevent the full body sessions from becoming too lengthy, I'm contemplating an upper-lower split or push-pull split, but I wonder which would suit me better so forearm work and special leg work dont detract from the main strength exercises.
Kcal in kcal out thats so true
Hi Alex! I have bought your NE program like a month ago, I have noticed you have upgraded it considerably - is the new version avaibke for those who bought the originals, or it is considered a new purchase and I'm fucked? Either way nice insights as always. Eating clean became a habit for me, but I never wrapped my fingers around macros.
Absolutely, send me an email with your receipt attached and I'll take care of you right away. You are going to LOVE the new overhaul. 458 pages, new chapter, new strength training strategies, and hundreds of additional special exercises.
Looking forward to it! Will be great help once I switch from your novice program. So far so good, I enjoy the exercises and I make constant progress on them, and I'm getting bigger.
Alex, what would be the best way to get from 25% to 20% body fat? Running NE by the way, Thanks man
The best way? Eat in a calorie deficit of 10%. Once you plateau, reduce by 10% again. Eventually you will be where you want. If you want to do another route, check outalpha.com/recomp
Questions for Q&A;
Not a fan of the tricep overhead extensions, but I love calisthenics, will weighted dips act as a substitute?
Doing weighted chin ups I really feel my triceps worked after the sets, is this normal?
Thanks
IMO you won't get all the long head benefits
I don't know why but I can't wait for your beard to fully grow and you to shape it nicely. it's been a heck of a journey😂😂😂
are you natty dude?
+Jeremy Franklin Whitfield I've been training for 7 years now. of course. my physique is definitely attainable naturally without drugs.
I don't understand why people think of iifym or "clean eating" as opposites, you can still enjoy both at the same time and get lean or gain weight,, provided how many total calories you eat
I personally have trouble with willpower and always end up eating way too much if i don't track macros
I find it easy as hell to track, and i track fairly roughly nowadays because it's easy to eyeball the portions of things after years of tracking
I don't pay attention to macro breakdowns either. The only two things I really track are protein and overall calorie count. That's it. Also people kill themselves trying to eat clean 100% of the time and burn out. Embrace flexible dieting. Eat clean 70% of the time, and enjoy yourself the other 30%. If you're hitting cals, you'll still be where you want to be.
I like you, you speak the strength training truth just the channel I've been looking for!
If you're already calculating your TDEE and making sure you're hitting it, the amount of work needed to actually set macros if so small.
Seems weird to count calories, but not macros which makes up the calories.
Yo alex as intermediate lifters do we test our new 1rm after 8weeks ? and after 4weeks if u are advanced?
How can I start neck training. I'm new to the channel
Start with the standard neck curl, which is placing a weight plate on your forehead and curling your neck. 4x25 is a good starter with 5lbs. Build from there.
AlphaDestiny sweet bro thanks
How do u get your abs to show up w/ out lowering ur fat lvls?
Watch my recent Q&A video I address that
Which once? You have alot of Q&A.
Awesome video, man! Totally needed this mindset to stop worrying so much about my macros, thanks a lot! Oh, and congratulations for your beard, it's looking better haha 👌🏽 thanks again
How high of a caloric surplus i need?
What foods can I eat? Where should I buy them!!!
Legendary Winner Generally foods high in fibre, protein and micronutrients man. I would buy foods in bulk as it can be cheaper such as pasta, potatoes,lean meats... Hope this helps
Mindtomusclefitness thanks man. Yeah I'm gonna start eating healthy. Problem is I don't know how to cook. Going to college in a couple days and I'm not sure what's the best way to cook.
I'm actually 50 minutes from my home so I go home on weekends and I could cook all my foods at homes and bring them all there.
What do you think. Where can I learn to cook easy foods
Legendary Winner I would stick to foods that are easy to cook in bulk, such as chicken and potatoes, pene pasta with tuna and sweetcorn... These are foods that are extremely easy to cook. If you ever need advice you can visit my site (link in profile), I also have my email there. Good luck
Hey Alex, I am cutting weight and I still have about 20 pounds max to lose. Problem is, since I do intermittent fasting and I really like it for its overall health benefits, I have hard time reaching my calories (about 1600-1800) with clean foods because I get full quickly. Since I work late, I can only eat twice a day and have nuts as snacks. Should I force myself to finish my meals? Thanks!
Although I agree with you that being super specific isn't necessary it's also not difficult to give yourself minimum macro numbers to try and hit. Like if you use myfitness pal and count your calories then it's easy enough to just swipe across and check your doing okay on your macros. I give myself a minimum protein intake to hit and I almost always hit it. I also recommend clients to have a minimum fat intake goal for hormonal reasons but that numbers usually super low so it's kinda hard to not hit that. If I don't hit my minimum protein intake one day I dont really care - like you said it's the calories that's the most important thing overall.
How many meals do you eat per day? For 2 years I was bulking hard eating only 2 meals a day and I fucked up my digestive system permanently, I would expect you aren't as dumb as I was.
go for avocados. olive oil is skewed towards omega 6 so your ratio to omega3 will get fucked.
meocats very true! You wont even need fish oil or whatever other crap supplements
alex i got a question, i've seen some of your intensity vids where u dont train chest on same day as shoulders , do you think its a good idea to also include maybe an isolation movement for the chest just to train it a bit? maybe alternate per week, say bench 1 week , next week OHP and alternate like that? that way i get some protein synethesis on the chest too lel
how do I accurately find out my TDEE?
Experience
you can be off in your counting simply based on fiber content. since it affects absorption in the gut.
Love the energy and no BS persona. Reminds me of another fitness UA-cam channel..... lol. Keep it Up
what channel?
Bro I think u have an evaluated shoulder "the left one" or it is a genetics if it's not just check a therapy to avoid any shoulder injury I have the same problem and I am fixing it right.
keep the good work. 👍💪
Bro I'm holding a phone in my right hand which makes it lower, no worries. I have a slightly lat imbalance but nothing serious
that great man hope you always safe great video as usual
Omar 3P my left shoulder is much higher than the other and it hurts sometimes,how did you fix yours?
Totally agreed. I never count macros. And since I cut out meat and dairy, I never get fat. Being vegan is ideal for bodybuilding, because you never have to cut and bulk. As long as you stay slightly above maintenance, you can still make crazy muscle and strength gains and be lean year-round. Not to mention being infinitely healthier and unconstipated compared to meat eaters. Cheers Alex, you're content is excellent.
#CrueltyFreeGains
I agree and I disagree. First, I agree because last year when I living in uni a fire occurred and we wasn't able to use our kitchen. For MONTHS, and I mean MONTHS, I was trying to lose body fat and I was following the general rule being calorie deficit is equal to bodyweight in pounds times 10. No changes occurred. But funnily since I wasn't able to use my kitchen, I was eating less and my body dropped to 10% and for the first time. On the contrary, I disagree because some people wanna lean bulk. So they do not want to "over do it".
David Michael but if you're eating clean, you won't have to worry about over doing it.
Marchie Monroe You can eat clean all day and still turn a lean bulk into a dirty bulk....You make no sense. A calorie is a calorie.
Yo alex, can u make a video about Dumbbell vs Barbell. Gor example Dumbbell bench vs barbell bench. Thanks