Taking things one meal at a time 🍲

Happy Thursday Three!

Here are this week's coaching tip, exercise tutorial and question to ponder for the week.

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I. Coaching tip

Taking things one meal at a time 🍲

Nutrition is a funny old topic where often, the extremes hog the spotlight. It seems you either go all-in or don't bother with a never-ending list of absolute statements.

• Some people swear by intermittent fasting as the best way to lose weight.

• Others believe that tracking your calories and macros is the only way to succeed, or else you're doomed to fail.

• Some argue that animal protein is terrible for your health and should be avoided at all costs.

• Certain diet plans require a weekly bulk cook to maintain consistency; otherwise, you are just not committed enough.

• Then, there are those who believe [insert food] is the devil and must be avoided at all costs.

It’s not to say that any of these strategies don't work. For some, they are a perfect fit, but for others - and I would argue for the majority - they are a dumpster fire. For starters, they all revolve around making drastic and aggressive changes.

It’s all or nothing. Which, in my experience, leads to a lot more "nothing."

But it doesn't have to be this way. You could take your new diet, habit, or idea for a test drive before going all-in.

Instead of tracking every meal, every calorie, every day, maybe start by just tracking breakfast for a week or two?

Instead of planning every meal this week, plan just one.

Instead of avoiding all carbs like the plague, reduce them from one meal..

It may feel less exciting, but the test drive gives you a chance to see what works and what doesn't and helps you make an informed decision on whether this is a good fit for you or not.

You can start by changing things one meal at a time.

II. Exercise Tutorial

The pull-up is a tough cookie.

The key to mastering bodyweight exercises like the pull-up is breaking it down into easier variations to build confidence, competence, and strength.

An excellent variation to consider is "negative reps". This variation focuses on the lowering part of the lift while using help for the "up" phase.

By controlling the lowering phase from the top, we get stronger. Eventually, this strength transfers to the difficult part of the exercise, in this case, the pulling up.

Check out this guide to learn how to do it.

III. Question to Ponder

Being punished or having fun.

"Training is something that should be enjoyed.” Pavel Tsatsouline

​You don't have to love all of it, but you should enjoy most of it.

What three things do you enjoy about your current training programme, and what's one way you could do more of that?

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P.S. If you enjoyed this week's Thursday Three, share it with a friend.

Thanks,

Jamie