About a year or so ago I planned on during a nutrition seminar focusing on the needs of teenagers and those seeking to best improve physical fitness for athletic performance and general well-being. What follows is a breakdown of what I had planned to discuss with a message for parents first, and then teens.
Over the past year+ I have executed a nutrition / training plan that has culminated in some substantial physique changes. Moreover, I have continued to learn and refine my skills as a coach within the process. I am going to share that process, including many sub-topics of reference, in hope that you may find value or benefit from them. Feel free to skip to and read what you feel applicable or of interest, and for those seeking a more elaborate walkthrough I have linked a video where I discuss my cutting / peaking process in detail including what metrics I tracked and adjustments made along the way.
75 Hard is a program developed by Andy Frisella. Andy is a motivational speaker, entrepreneur, and supplement company owner. He believes that ‘mental toughness’ is the way for all of us to live a better, more productive life. Andy prefaces that it is NOT a fitness program, but rather a transformative mental toughness program. It has been publicly available since March 2019 and has had a recent resurgence in 2021. Estimates have it amassing 200+ million views on social media via hashtag references. Its popularity is undeniable, but the challenge is based on very little scientific research and rather upon Andy’s anecdotal viewpoint from his own journey.
As concerns over sugar and obesity rise, a variety of sugar alternatives have become available that address America’s sweet tooth and expanding waistlines.
If the movie Gremlins taught us anything it is that we all know better than to feed a mogwai after midnight. Even the creatures themselves (or at the least the more intelligent specimens) seem to understand the wages of 3 am pizza: complete metamorphosis. Unfortunately, some dietary prescriptions purport similar fear in humans as to what will happen to our bodies if we consume carbohydrates beyond a specific time of day. Most commonly I have heard of cutting off carbohydrate intake after 8 pm. Nutrition myths, misunderstandings, and flat out inaccurate information tend to have a way to live on.
