Lightning Round!

The two most common methods are: 1) Just jump in and start lifting — watch some videos on YouTube and give it a go, or 2) Get help from someone else by working out with them or paying a professional to guide you. Both are viable and both have their pros and cons. Not all professionals are good and not everybody can be safe at the start on their own. The most important thing is to start and create healthy habits that can always be refined later.

You don't. Motivation is fleeting. It comes and goes and sometimes the only thing that can be done is to do it anyway. Habits, discipline and just being downright stubborn are sometimes the only things that keep a person going.

Yes, in specific populations. The most common one is someone who is new to training. However, the longer a person has been training the less progress will be made overall if both goals are being sought simultaneously. There comes a point where prioritizing one and then the other will net greater results than trying to do both at once.

Yes. Sleep deprivation reduces recovery and muscle growth. It adds stress. It reduces cognitive capabilities. It increases injury risk. It is linked to increases in certain diseases. Sleep disruption disorders are linked to greater risk of cancer. Sleep is incredibly important and without it you will not progress as far physically as you would have if you had the amount needed.

Compromise where you can and don't when you can't. Committing to training 5 times a week instead of 6 will not make too much of a difference. Getting skillful with intuitive eating will allow more eating out. Recognizing that in a pre-contest/meet phase, outside life needs to take a backseat for the best showing possible. Preparing family and friends for when you're in a depleted state or times where you can't go out to eat is also key to keep their expectations realistic.

Yes. The ideal is to lose fat and not lose muscle. The greater the rate of loss, the greater the likelihood that muscle is being lost along with the fat. It's impossible to put finite numbers on what is too much because it is highly variable from person to person, but in general — losing 0.5–1.0% of body weight per week is usually ok.

This purely depends on your definition of bulky. However the more important bit of information here is to recognize how hard muscle gain actually is. The major flaw is that someone new has the impression that getting bigger is something that happens quickly. It is not. The absolute best pro natural male bodybuilders can hope to gain maybe 1–3 pounds of muscle per year. Natural female bodybuilders even less than that. Most likely the answer is no — you will not get too bulky.

As many as your schedule, sanity and recovery will allow. The vast majority should not do heavy weight training 7 times a week. But 6 days would be the "on paper" best answer. However, depending on training modality, intensity and recovery capabilities it may be much more feasible to train 3–5 times per week. All will make you progress, but technically speaking the greater the training volume/intensity, the greater the progress.

There is no best workout split for everyone. The best workout split for you will hit every muscle as soon as they are recovered. The degree to which splits can be customized is extremely high. For example, a personalized split may be training back twice a week, chest twice a week, quads twice a week but then deviate to calves 4 times a week, forearms 3 times a week, hamstrings 3 times a week, etc. The only limitations are time, travel, amount of times able to train a day, and how recovered a person is both locally and systemically.

No. This is a great way to get in trouble in terms of mental fatigue, overtraining, higher injury risk and if taken to the extreme could result in a dangerous health situation. The research supports minimal change in muscle growth with sets taken anywhere between 0–3 reps away from failure. However, progression must take place over time so intensity should increase to get closer to 0 reps from failure before tailing back to 3 reps from failure.

There is no one best exercise for any body part. Depending on the goal, person, anatomy, personality, or equipment available the answer could be just about anything. Some exercises are more likely to be very beneficial but there is no singular best exercise. A lot of people claim the Squat is the single best exercise and for many it just may be. However — would you really claim to a double above-the-knee amputee that a Barbell Squat is the best exercise? No.

Toning doesn't exist. Ok, seriously — toning is a term that gets thrown around but very few people understand what it entails. It's a combination of muscle gain and fat loss. The most common thing to hear is "I want to tone my arms." But what about the rest of the body? Then when you ask someone how to tone their arms the answer is usually "oh well I do curls and tricep kickbacks" but without any effort or attention to diet and an overall plan. What this really means is the person is asking about spot reduction. Spot reduction does not work for 99% of people in 99% of situations. Instead, commit to muscle gain or fat loss while retaining muscle. The latter is the closest to "toning" in the way most people want.

No. There are some ingredients that may help but realistically the amount they do is much less than just getting enough sleep, being recovered for the workout, and being mentally ready to train. A lot of the benefits of pre workout are placebo. However — the placebo effect is real. If you feel it helps your workout then that belief may be enough to make it worth it.

For many people, yes — but not for the reasons that first come to mind. Creatine Monohydrate is the only type of creatine that has been researched enough to make any kind of reliable claims. Yes, it helps with muscle growth and strength especially in people with small to no red meat in their diet, but there are many cognitive benefits as well. Easy example — it helps offset some of the negative effects of sleep deprivation.

If you eat a very varied diet complete with multiple servings of fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, dairy, and everything in between then it is very likely that a multivitamin is not needed. However, as an insurance policy a basic multivitamin may be a good idea. But if someone's diet is very limited, that is when the word "need" becomes potentially true.

There is no best fruit or vegetable. It's important to vary your sources to ensure a complete profile of micronutrients is ingested. Limiting your fruits/vegetables to one or two types will create a hole in vitamins/minerals that can generally be fixed by having a large variety in the diet.

In general, animal sources have a more complete amino acid profile that can be utilized by the human body. Chicken and beef are the general preferred sources but there is nothing wrong with incorporating other sources as well. If someone only eats vegetarian sources of protein, they may need to be eaten in greater quantities to have the same results as animal protein sources.

Every type of fat has some purpose. However, some are better to limit than others. To keep it very general — saturated fat should be less prevalent in the diet and healthy sources high in Omega 3, DHA and EPA are good. Examples of good fat: olives, olive oil, salmon and avocado. The #1 example of a less nutrient-dense fat: butter. Just remember that fat is very calorie dense and too much adds into caloric input very significantly.

Every type of carb has some value to be eaten at some point. It depends on when it is eaten and what it is eaten with. There is benefit to having really simple fast-digesting carbs after a hard training session with some lean protein. Whole grains and starchy sources can be great for sustained energy when eaten with proteins and fats. As long as the carb eaten matches the goal of the meal which fits into an overarching program, then the requirements for it being a "good" carb source are fulfilled.

Depends on your goal, size and sources of protein. Assuming maximizing muscle (regardless of caloric surplus, maintenance or deficit): 0.8–1.0g per pound of body weight is adequate with animal sources. If the only sources are plant-based, then upping to 1.0–1.2g per pound would be advisable. If you're very lean, then 1.0–1.2g per pound with animal sources and 1.2–1.4g per pound if purely plant-based.

The one you can stick to that accomplishes your goal. Whether it's a caloric surplus, maintenance or deficit, if the diet can be adhered to without too many drawbacks then it is doing what it should. The more advanced the person is and the higher the level of the goal they have, the more stringent and particular the diet must be.

Yes. What tricks people into thinking that it isn't is they neglect to respect the amount of variables that can change the "calories out" category. Two people of the exact same weight can vary in terms of calories out by thousands based on their physical activity. That is how marathon runners can consume so much but barely weigh 100 pounds. An unfortunate example would also be various diseases or medications that cause people to gain weight without changing anything about their diet or activity.

Depends on so many factors. Are you trying to gain, lose or maintain weight? How active are you? Are you standardizing physical activity each week? Do you stand at your job? Sit? Manual labor? The variables are ginormous. So ditch the calculators that try to tell you. Track every calorie. Weigh consistently and then compare calories in relation to weight change/non-change. That's how you get the answer.