Articles & Guides
Learn how to build muscle, burn fat and stay motivated.
Lying Labels: Exposing the Truth on Calorie Counts
I have a PhD and I still find nutrition labels confusing at times. In fact, I wanted to dig deeper into this topic, so on my own website I hired someone to do some serious digging. This article is a condensed version of what we learned in our investigations. First, a little history lesson. Nutrit...
Are You Losing Muscle Because Of Cortisol?
Ever wondered why all those hours in the gym is failing to bring you results? Well it’s probably got something to do with Cortisol and after reading this article you should have an understanding of exactly what this hormone does and what you can do to minimise its negative effects. What is Cortis...
Looking To Be A Beast? Part 1: Goal & Nutrition Planning
Looking to be a beast? Maybe just get in shape? Perhaps loose the gut and get back in to those old pants that you swore you'd wear again? Maybe you have gone through a pregnancy and want to drop the last ten pounds of baby weight you gained? Whatever your goals, there is a way to go about reaching t...
A Look at 4 Food Myths
Science can be confusing. Over the last several decades, we’ve seen one scientific study after another telling us which foods are healthy, and which aren’t. Often, the studies are contradictory. But some of these studies linger on long after they’ve been disproved. The general public continues to ta...
A Look at Protein Foods: Eggs
This article will break down the macronutrient numbers and ratios, vitamin/mineral content, and sodium/cholesterol content for eggs. The debate over which protein foods are best for natural bodybuilders can be a heated one, and is beyond the scope of this article. This article presents raw data, and...
Lean Bulking Machine: Maximize Lean Muscle Growth & Minimize Fat Gains
The process of building muscle isn't just about sets, reps, consistency and progressive overload. To pack on lean mass you also need a bulking diet that delivers. Moving iron without moving a fork is like running uphill in the mud. You might get to the top eventually, but it's going to take a whole...
Lean Bulk Diet Plan - 10 Pounds In 2 Months
This is the meal plan that helped me add 10 pounds of muscle to my frame in only 2 months, going from 185 to 195 pounds. I must mention that I follow Shelby Starnes quite a bit. He has made amazing progress over the last few years and I have adapted my current plan from his methods. Lean Bulk Die...
Understanding Carbohydrate Sources & Timing With Kris Gethin
Don’t fall into the low/no carb trap diets that starve your muscles of glycogen. It’s no secret that appropriate carbohydrate intake is paramount to how you perform in the weight room, but timing them correctly ultimately determines how well you will achieve your goals. So, we got Kaged Muscle CEO,...
Kris Gethin's 10 Minute "Muscle Mush" Bulking Breakfast
It’s no secret. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Whether you’re looking to cut or bulk, you’ve got to feed your body the nutrients it needs to take on the day and build lean muscle mass. With that said, what constitutes a good, balanced breakfast? Who is there better to have inform u...
Ketogenic Meal Plans: Lose Fat, Preserve Muscle
Physicians introduced the ketogenic diet to the Western world in the 1920s as a treatment for epilepsy. However, this highly effective diet quickly gained popularity within the fitness community as a method to maximize fat loss and preserve muscle mass. The ketogenic diet is built around the concept...
Ketogenic Diets: Why Experts Missed the Boat on this Fat Loss Fail
Key Points The science behind ketosis What is a ketogenic diet and how is it different from a low carb diet? A look at the research: how ketosis affects performance What results can you expect on a ketogenic diet? Mistakes to avoid when following a ketogenic diet Why k...
My Journey As A Gluten-Free/Low-Allergen Bodybuilder Part 3
Carbohydrate Coma: Carbs to Avoid, and Their Alternatives I ate 15 bananas per day. Count them: 15. Towards the end of summer 2009, I had become (possibly because of my gluten sensitivity) intolerant not only to gluten-containing foods, but also any kind of potato, red meat, and poultry. This int...
My Journey As A Gluten-Free/Low-Allergen Bodybuilder Part 4
Low-Allergen Lowdown: Gluten-Free Diet and Groceries! During this article series, I have detailed the various aspects of gluten sensitivity/intolerance, and offered up my experiences regarding how to live and body build with the condition. To quickly sum things up, gluten sensitivity is basically i...
My Journey As A Gluten-Free/Low-Allergen Bodybuilder Part 2
Glutenus Maximus: Part II - Dining Out It was one of my first times eating anything but rice at a Chinese restaurant since I had started eating gluten-free. My dad, thinking of ordering me the “egg noodles,” asked the woman taking our order if there was gluten in the recipe. In hindsight, she had...
Is It Healthy to Eat the Same Foods Every Day?
When people find out that I have a Master’s Degree in nutrition and conduct nutrition research, they tend to ask me, “So, what should I eat?” More often than not, they are seeking a simple list of “healthy” or “clean” foods that will instantly give them the results they want. Aside from the fact tha...
A Look At Intermittent Fasting And Muscle Building
Extremism, extremism, extremism; the wonders of the fitness industry. It never ceases to amaze me how there apparently cannot be a middle-ground when it comes to bodybuilding. It's either high-intensity interval training (HIIT) or low-intensity, steady-state (LISS) cardio; it's either high-carb diet...
In-Depth Look at Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the human body’s key source of energy, providing 4 calories of energy per gram. When carbohydrates are broken down by the body, the sugar glucose is produced; glucose is critical to help maintain tissue protein, metabolize fat, and fuel the central nervous system. There are differe...
The Importance of Frequent Meals
We all hear so often and have read it a million times about the importance of providing our body with proper nutrients and nutrition, in order to complete daily tasks, physical activities, training and exercise in a day. Despite the knowledge we still hear about people who skip meals for dieting rea...
IIFYM: A Complete Overview Of "If It Fits Your Macros"
As time evolves so does our knowledge of the way the human body works, and one thing that has been hotly debated lately is whether or not the “if it fits your macros (IIFYM)” movement in fitness/bodybuilding subculture is really a proper, healthy way of dieting. I’m generally disinterested in fixati...
The Ideal Ratio of Bulking to Cutting for Hardgainers
Building an impressive physique takes time. Even the most genetically gifted need to train consistently to really stand out. Of course, the typical hardgainer will have to be even more persistent and patient. Muscle growth is a relatively slow process. It is certainly much slower than fat loss. Thus...
"I Spike" - How The Spike Diet Can Help You Lose Weight Forever
Anyone who has ever lost weight with a diet knows that it’s nearly impossible to keep the weight off after you have lost it. I think the term yo-yo dieter fits the majority of us, and until recently, it had been the story of my life. The number one thing I learned in my many years of failed diets wa...
Hypoallergenic: My Journey As A Gluten-Free, Low-Allergen Bodybuilder
My great aunt, my aunt, my sister. Multiple people in my family, with a hereditary disease that I promised myself, as an invincible teen, I would never give in to. In November 2007 during my sophomore year of college, I decided that I wanted to pursue bodybuilding as a lifestyle, rather than as a s...
How to Be Successful with Your New Year’s Diet
Let me begin by extending my sincerest congratulations. If you are reading this you have successfully survived 2016 (that is award worthy by itself) and you have also survived the New Year’s zombie hoard at the gym. The swarm of people wandering around looking at equipment they’ve never used. Wearin...
Nutrition Basics: How to Set Up Macronutrients with John Jewett
When starting out in powerlifting and bodybuilding, I was misguided in many ways when trying to set up my diet. I would read about different calorie calculations or what the “experts” recommended, and the numbers never matched up. Some sources suggested a low fat diet while others said a ketogenic d...