The Jtrain's Recommended Equipment for Weightlifting

When it comes to lifting weights and bodybuilding, the accessories you bring to the gym can be just as important to your success as the bigger areas of focus (nutrition, exercise choice, form, etc.). I've discussed to some degree the importance of the more aesthetically-focused accessories that one can bring to the gym, such as the tank tops and clothes one could wear, but today I'd like to focus on the items one could bring to the gym that can improve lifts and make lifts safer.

Source: getmobilefitness.com

I'm going to highlight the equipment that I believe to be (kind of) essential, what each piece of eqiupment would be used for, and my recommendations on what to look for when purchasing said equipment. So let's get into it!


GLOVES

Every now and then, I come across someone who wants to tell me for whatever reason that wearing gloves while lifting weights makes you less of a man. Each time, I fail to associate the ignorance of such a comment with any form of actual logic or concrete data.

Look guys, gloves are a great invention for those of us who lift weights intensely and often. If someone wants to believe that decreasing the amount of friction and pain one feels absent a barrier between skin and weight handles increases the hypertrophy, fullness, and stress on muscle groups that have absolutely nothing to do with your hands.....let them be ridiculous.

Why do I love gloves? Because they completely take away any premature stopping of my lift due to pain felt while lifting heavy weight in my hands over the course of the set. If you drop the weights or stop lifting prematurely due to pain because you thought for whatever reason you were being tough or cool for going barehanded..........then you did not achieve the optimum reward from that set. The only thing you optimized when compared to someone who uses gloves is the amount of time it will take you to form calluses on your palms, which.....congratulations I guess?

Source: libertyglove.com

Gloves don't stop you from having calluses, as I can prove from showing you what my palms look like, so long as you're still pushing your maxes and lifting with itnensity. They merely let you focus 100% on the lift and not other variables that won't improve your gains.......and that's one thing I'm always looking for in a lift.

What gloves are good for:

So what are lifting gloves good for? Well, pretty much any exercise. They're a really great piece of equipment for weightlifting in the broad sense of the word. Other pieces of equipment are more specialized for different muscle groups in my opinion, but in general you can't go wrong using gloves for any exercise where you have to grip something.

What to look for when buying gloves:

In all honesty, if you lift weights consistently and with intensity you'll go through gloves like a box of tissues during cold season. I can't tell you how many gloves I've had to lay to rest on a seemingly monthly basis.

But there are some steps you can take to slow this effect from happening.

First off, many people purchase the $10 black Harbinger gloves which, don't get me wrong, are a pretty solid choice starting off in bodybuilding and weightlifting. These gloves however get DESTROYED very fast and you'll be replacing them often.

In my opinion, bite the bullet and get some really nice gloves that run you close to $30. It's one of those things where cost starts being directly proportional to quality, and having gloves that last you for a while will pay for themselves in the long run. Also, make sure YOU enjoy wearing the gloves. Different gloves have different materials that may aggravate your hand or have odd padding placement that you don't really enjoy and therefore should have no business wearing. I personally use gloves made by a company called Bionic. Find the right one for you!

Source: dickssportinggoods.com

*Side note about gloves: WASH THEM. You do not want to neglect washing your gloves, since your hands also sweat during a workout. This could result in a fowl odor when taking them off. Make sure you wash them on a consistent basis!*


LIFTING STRAPS

Lifting straps are another great piece of weightlifting equipment. They're cheap and effective. They can be used in place of gloves if you like a more light-weight less bulky on the hand feel. They take some getting used to though when it comes to securely wrapping them around bars for both of your hands.


Source: shopify.com

What lifting straps are good for:

I mainly use lifting straps on back days and for exercises that require an intense amount of pulling, as opposed to pushing, the weight. When working out back and doing exercises that require heavy pulling, your grip tends to slip easily and you stop lifting before acheiving proper exhaustion. Straps help with this becuase they shift the pulling from the fingers to the wrist, and give you a more secure lock around the handle of the weight or machine. It is due to instances like these, that straps should be used in place of gloves. I also like to use straps on exercises where I am not moving weight and having them hang down on my sides, like during lunges.



Source: ukfitnesssupplies.co.uk

What to look for when buying lifting straps:

The beauty with lifting straps is that they are VERY inexpensive....and durable. I've had the same pair of lifting straps for about 2 1/2 years now that cost me $3 at a local sporting goods store. When shopping in the exercise areas of sporting goods stores recently though, I've found that lifting straps have gotten more expensive and intricate, maybe to increase the incentive for the stores to stock them. I haven't seen $3 straps since I bought mine. However, you can probably go to your local hardware store and find the same material straps are made out of and create your own easily for a really efficient price.


LIFTING BELTS

Lifting belts are pretty cool. I've bought one, but actually never use it since I don't deadlift or squat often. You may have seen many different variations of them worn in the gym, like by those douchebags who wear them during their ENTIRE workout, but they all basically serve the same purpose of wrapping tightly around the lumbar portion of your spine to give you more support in areas of stress during certain workouts. They compensate for potentially bad form and give more support to prevent injury.


Source: olympicweightsetreview.com

Like I said, I don't really use a lifting belt, though I have in the past. If you have really good form during workouts that stress your lower spine, you should be alright. However, this may be difficult if you're lifting very heavy weight during exercises like deadlifts and squats. A little more support during sessions of super heavy lifting may be of benefit.

What lifting belts are good for:

Stabilizing the lumbar portion of your spine during sessions of heavy lifting that may stress this area.




Source: worldfitnessnetwork.com

What to look for in a lifting belt:

I'll state right off the bat I'm not an expert. However, I believe it's super important to look for a belt that snugly fits around your lower back while securely stabilizing your back during workouts. I purchased a belt that was around $30, but more specialized belts exist that can cost you a lot more.


SHOES

I wouldn't say that shoe choice is of massive importance to the bodybuilder, unless you really get anal about it and want to buy those shoes that offer thick back soles that are important during certain exercises like squats. In fact, some exercises benefit from having NO shoes, such as deadlifts (or so I'm told).



Source: ibrahimhusain.com

However, for those of you out there who are focused more on the cardio side of things, shoe choice is VERY important for foot health. Shoes are kind of like car tires. The more you use them, and the bigger the beating you give them, the more often you'll need to change them out to keep the rest of the machine running optimally and free of breakdown and unnecessary stress. Depending on how old your shoes are and how often you use them, you can seriously increase the stress and possible subsequent injury on your feet which may hinder your progress as you quest towards acheiving your fitness goals.

What to look for when buying a shoe:

Many things go into finding the right kind of shoe for you and what your fitness goals are.

When you run, are you a heel striker or ball striker? Do your ankles pronate when you run? Are you flat footed? These are all things you need to keep in mind when purchasing the right kind of shoe. Sometimes cushioned shoes are better, other times having a shoe that can flex is right for you. Furthermore, look for shoes with a grayish insert on the side that supports your foot and compensates for any pronation your heel might have if your heels overpronate.

Source: dickssportinggoods.com

I also think it's important to note that in my experience as an injury prevention epidemiologist who works around specialists who have studied shoes, that minimalist shoes and barefoot running do not in fact offer a significant amount of benefit when compared to cushioned / traditional shoes. In fact, you often times have to train your feet to be able to handle running in such shoes. Take that into account when making your decision.



And that's just the equipment that I think is most essential in terms of helping you stay safe and acheive an optimal workout. If you haven't already tried any of these pieces of equipment out, try one or all of them and see if it benefits your workout at all!

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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Is Microwave Cooking Safe?

As many of you are probably aware, bodybuilding is a game of doing things to extremes. And one of the extremes that bodybuilders go to in attaining the bodies of their dreams, is with their nutrition. I've stated many times across previous posts the importance of nutrition, but I'm not really sure I've talked about aspects of the preparation of the food that bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts eat. So in this blog post, I'd like to touch upon a topic that many bodybuilders are familiar with, which also happens to be a hot button topic in the health world: microwave cooking.

Source: wordpress.com

Recently, I've come across many articles on the internet, as well as overheard many of my friends, highlighting their distrust of microwave cooking and how it could potentially be hazardous to your health. Many people are afraid that, by cooking their food in a microwave oven, they are blasting harmful radiation into their foods that can lead to detrimental health outcomes like cancer.

As many fitness enthusiasts, especially bodybuilders, are aware, cooking massive amounts of food and eating often makes the use of a stovetop / oven constantly an impractical reality. Show me a person who argues with me about how I should bust out a pan, wait for the stove or oven to heat up, and then proceed to cook the huge meals I have to eat every day in the 2-3 hours I have left in the day after working out for 2.5-3 hours, and I'll show you someone who doesn't understand that food needs to be prepared quickly and efficiently to realistically be able to consume all the food required to build an aesthetically pleasing body while maintining all of the other variables that go into achieving fitness goals. It's never about taste and presentation to a bodybuilder, so why convolute the process with unecessary extra steps? To me, and probably to most other serious bodybuilders, I am concerned with only one thing when it comes to food preparation: the fastest point between the raw ingredients and the end process of making them safe to eat.

Source: raisethebarphotography.co.uk

With that said, microwaves become an important asset to bodybuilders. While I concede that there are in fact bodybuilders who cook on stovetops for a lot of their meals, microwaves are still heavily incorporated in the lives of those who need to eat often, and who would much rather batch cook their food and reheat it throughout the day due to a busy lifestyle that makes allocation of time to cook every meal conventionally a ridiculous expectation.

So are microwaves killing bodybuilders and people who like to use them often? Let's dive deeper into the subject to help us better understand and possibly solve that problem.

Heat and Heat Transfer

What is heat, and how is heat generated? In the world of physics, heat can be defined (I think) as the energy generated from rapidly moving atoms within a substance. The degree of heat is determined by how rapidly the atoms and molecules in said substances are moving. Temperature is a measure of how much heat an object has.



Source: fi.edu

Heat transfer is the generation, movement, and transfer of the thermal energy / heat from one physical entity to another. On an atomic level, heat transfer occurs when the excited atoms and molecules of one substance come into contact with the other atoms and molecules of the same substance or a different substance. Heat travels from a hot substance to a cold substance due to the loss of energy from contacting and exciting a less excited atom / molecule. A substance can also absorb heat without an increase in temperature due to a phase change (solid to liquid, liquid to gas, etc).

Source: fau.edu

In the culinary world, thermal engineers have developed products (ovens, stovetops, microwaves, etc) that rely on differing forms of heat transfer to heat up food products for consumption. Differing forms of heat transfer are used in such products, and can range from such heat transfer methods as conduction, convection, radiation, and even phase change (source: wikipedia).

Traditional Types of Cooking

So how does heat transfer differ between traditional (non microwave) cooking methods?

Source: aos.wisc.edu

In traditional cooking, using a stovetop or oven, heat is radiated from a stovetop burner to a pan, or radiates off of the walls of an oven. Both methods heat foods from the outside in.

How a Microwave Works

A microwave is different from traditional types of cooking methods in that it uses microwaves to penetrate deep into the object you're trying to cook and cooks it from the INSIDE out simultaneously. Microwaves lie between radio waves and infrared radiation on the electromagnetic spectrum. The commonly used frequency for microwaves are 2.45 gigahertz (GHz). Waves of this frequency are actively absorbed by fat, sugar, and water molecules (source: howstuffworks.com).

A microwave uses a mini vaccum tube / magnetron to generate the energy needed to heat food, a waveguider to guide the wave towards the direction of the food, and a container to safely house the microwave radiation.


Source: research.fuseink.com

Since our food is made mostly of water, microwaves can heat food by taking advantage of the dipole (containing both a positive charge and negative charge) properties of water molecules. They do this by shooting microwaves, whose waves contain electric and magnetic fields that causes said waves to change directions rapidly, at the food. When the microwaves hit the water molecules contained within the food, the water molecules try to align with the electric field. Since the electric field is constantly changing direction, the water molecules are constantly moving back and forth, rubbing up against other water molecules, and thus generating heat. You can watch a fantastic overview by youtube user "engineerguyvideo", which is posted below.

Source: Youtube User-engineerguyvideo 

Types of Radiation

So will the radiation from microwaves kill you and make you grow an extra arm out of your eyeball? Aside from the fact that, as seen above, all forms of cooking are in their own way different types of "radiation", I think that this is a good time talk about two main types of radiation that you should become familiar with.



Source: wikimedia.org

Ionizing Radiation

Ionizing radiation is a type of radiation that can "knock off" or "ionize" atoms off of molecules and generate ions. In other words, ionizing radiation is so powerful that it can rip off electrons from the electron shell of atoms.

Biological structures like deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) can be severely damaged by this kind of ionization and can lead to the dreaded health outcome known as cancer.....since the blueprints for making your biological structures have now been damaged and unable to be properly processed during DNA replication or protein synthesis.




Source: serc.carleton.edu

Types of ionizing radiation include x-rays, gamma rays, and ultraviolent light (like in sunlight) (source: Enivironmental Protection Agency).


Non-Ionizing Radiation

Non-ionizing radiation is radiation that doesn't produce enough kinetic energy when passing through matter to generate charged ions, and only have enough energy to change the rotational, vibrational, or electronic valence of atoms and molecules (source: wikipedia). The effect of non-ionizing radiation on living tissue is not yet fully known, but has not yet been shown to be as harmul as ionizing radation.


Source: 0.tqn.com

Types of non-ionizing radiation can include low currents, extremely low frequency waves, radio waves, microwaves, and infrared waves.


Safety of Microwave Radiation

Microwaves do not emit ionizing radiation, so microwaves cannot strip electrons from the atoms of substances that they are trying to cook. Since sunlight, fluorescent light, incandescent light, and white light DO contain ionizing radiation, it is my understanding that you are just as much in harms way laying outside to tan or sitting under your office light as you are microwaving your food. Microwaves are just better at penetrating your food deeper, but uses energy in much the same way that stovetop, oven, and fast food heating lamps use energy to cook your food.  

 
Safety When using a Microwave

So where do I stand in the debate on whether or not microwaves are safe to use or not? What are my recommendations?

Personally, in my almost 4 years of bodybuilding I can tell you that I've used a microwave almost as much as I've used a dumbbell. Every day I'm cooking / reheating multiple items for consumption to hit my macros and attain success and gains in my physique. At this point in time, I can tell you that I do not feel any detrimental health effects or outcomes that I feel are in direct correlation to my microwave use.

And that's the kind of thing you need to keep in mind before shunning something. I often find myself frustrated as an epidemiologist when I see so many people on social media draw a definite conclusion in their minds from ONE study, or ONE source......whether credible or not. To me, multiple resources, personal experience, and heavy research into the mechanics (biological and technical) of any given topic, whilst also freeing yourself of any bias, should be thoroughly investigated before you draw any difinitive conclusion for yourself about any given topic.

When looking at detrimental health outcomes, ESPECIALLY with dietary studies, it's extremely difficult to deduce the effects any given "thing" is having on someone's health. Was it the microwave that lead you to have a particular disease? Or was it the other covariates you decided not to focus on, like the amount of processed foods you were eating, the additives you put in the food, or other lifetyle habits like drinking and/or smoking? These are all things you need to take into account.
However, you wouldn't want to microwave food for too long as overheating food may decrease the nutritional richness of a food (I think). But that can be said for ANY form of cooking with heat. It's also important in my opinion to heat your food in containers that are deemed safe for microwaving (which should be said on the packing somewhere), as you do not want leachate from containers to contaminate your food while heating. Glass and ceramic containers, paper plates, towels / napkins, and wax / parchment papers are examples of microwave-safe containers (source: realsimple.com).

Source: ecx.images-amazon.com

 

So is microwave cooking safe? Perhaps. I don't believe that it's extremely unsafe for cooking your food though. I don't believe it's going to turn your food into a toxic waste site or cause you to suddenly sprout wings and fly through your window. Do some thorough research removed from bias and come up with your own conclusion!

-Jtrain


------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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Nutrition Hacks - Weaning Off Foods

Food is an addiction. You laugh at that statement now, but after a session of critical thinking, you start to realize just how intense your attachment to food really is. Try saying no to a food you enjoy eating every day and pay attention to the mental dilemma and anxiety you start to feel all over your body and into your very soul as you prolong the time you deny yourself of it. Then notice the calm and joy you feel once you give your body what you want. That's addiction my friends.

Source: breathelhc.org

Food can be / is just as addictive as hard drugs. The only reason the general population doesn't talk about it in such a light so intensely is because the harmful and detrimental effects aren't necessarily as pronounced and aren't readily seen right away, and because food is so deeply integrated into our human psyche, so essential to who we are and life as a whole, that those who we would need to perpetuate the idea of denial of great tasting foods enjoy food themselves....and are therefore blind to the severity and importance of the topic.

To conquer nutrition is to conquer your greatest enemy........yourself. Your body is so perfectly engineered to store calories and make you lazy that it can completely incapacitate you, crush your soul, come up with every justifcation in existance, and even create alternate realities in your mind to make you believe that eating that cupcake is a matter of life or death and /or not a big deal.

Food is also engineered to be addictive. The ingredients put into many of today's processed foods are made specifically to make you crave them more and thus eat more. Said ingredients make your taste buds go absolutely ballistic and fast track you on your way to a broken diet. With such options available in excess all around us, along with the discussed propensity of the human body to want to store as many calories as possible, we are set up for nutritional health failure and a poor bodily aesthetic.

While many people I know are focused on taking instagram photos of the weights they lift and the workouts they do as though that were the most important aspect of a fitness routine, I've always been on team nutrition (I wonder if there's a hashtag for that on Twitter?). I've always felt that the road most necessary to travel on your way to fitness goal accomplishment is the road of nutrition. Unfortunately, it's also the hardest and scariest road to travel.



Pictured Here: EVERY FREAKING GIRL ON MY FACEBOOK FEED
Source: 24.media.tumblr.com
 

But fear not fitness warriors. I've played this game for a long time. I've come up with a plan to every so often make a post on things that I've for years called "nutrition hacks". What is a nutrition hack you might ask? I'm glad you asked that, and if you didn't you should have....because they're great.

A nutrition hack is a way of doing something centered around your nutrition that can be either mental or physical that forces or tricks your mind to stay on track towards your fitness goals, and allows you to eat (at least mostly) clean. I've developed a bunch of these over the years that have worked for me, and I'd like to start sharing them with you. So let's get into my first nutrition hack!


WEANING FOODS OUT OF YOUR DIET

So you've woken up one morning and told yourself, "TODAY'S THE DAY! I'M GOING TO CHANGE MY LIFE AND EAT HEALTHY FOREVER!". The first day goes by pretty well, and you start posting statuses and telling all your friends how your life has miraculously become better.
And then your body realizes what you're doing and you're suddenly face deep into a bucket of fried chicken with chocolate syrup and a side of fries and a large soda.

Mmmmmmmmm....
Source: robynsonlineworld.com

 

So what happened? Why can't you just change the way you eat automatically? There are a lot of analogies I can use here, but one of my favorites is the one where I compare one's eating habits to a wagon being pulled down a steep hill.

I don't know if you did this as a kid, but imagine yourself being pulled really fast down a steep hill by someone as you're sitting in a wagon. As you get to the bottom, imagine that person trying to turn the wagon to the right or left. If the person suddenly pulled the wagon you're sitting in at a sharp right angle as you continue to roll down the hill, you will fly off of the wagon and crash into the ground. Conversely, if that person slowly started to turn, you would stay in the wagon and eventually have a smooth stop at the bottom of the hill.



Source: bespence.files.wordpress.com

 

It's the same with nutrition. If your body is used to outrageously tasty high sodium, high sugar, and high fat foods, it's going to be calibrated to expect those foods all the time, especially if you do the same things every day that exposes you to those foods. The way to combate this in my opinion, is to KEEP eating those foods in the same quanitities, while decreasing, i.e. weaning, the amount you intake every so often and never increasing back up to the original amount you ate before decreasing to the amount you're currently eating.

The amount you decrease the food(s) you're trying to kick and the period you choose as the time you will again decrease the amount is arbitrary and completely up to you. Choose a time period you know you can stick to and an amount that you don't think will make you go insane and relapse back into gorging yourself with said food.

Before I started bodybuilding, I would eat Wendy's about 3 times a week.....because it's absolutely delicious. Once I started to get heavily invested into bodybuilding though, I realized that the food I was getting at Wendy's was obviously not going to help me attain the bodily aesthetic I was questing for. Had I abruptly stopped eating Wendy's all together however, I would go into withdrawls and, when I did go back, order more of the food to compensate for the amount I quit eating all of a sudden (such is the way of the human mind).

Realizing this, I decided to CONTINUE eating Wendy's 3 times a week for at least two weeks....even if I didn't want to. The fact that I forced myself to eat it when I didn't necessarily want it also helped me not really look forward to it or crave it anymore. My protocol went something like this:

2 Weeks - Wendy's 3 times a week

2 Weeks - Wendy's 2 times a week

2 Weeks - Wendy's once a week

After 2 weeks of Wendy's once a week - No more Wendy's


Your times and quanitities may vary

I was actually astounded by how well this process worked. I believe now that a lot of bodily functions (like food cravings and sleep cycles) and routine changes (like getting into bodybuilding and / or fitness) require a period of adjustment, or a weaning phase. Going from outrageously great tasting food to plain chicken breast and salad is like going from kissing a person you're attracted to to all of a sudden only hugging them. You need time to adjust to the process and reset your mentality. You may look tough and inspirational in the beginning, but bodybuilding and fitness is the marathon of marathons. It's how well you consistently put in the work and dedication that matters, and setting your mind up in the right way to optimize that takes time.

So instead of suddenly kicking a food you're trying to get out of your diet, trying slowly weaning yourself off of it. Don't just dive right into completely eliminating things from your diet. Is it better to eat as clean as possible? Absolutely. But learning to slowly accept and eventually stay super dedicated to a diet is better than diving hard into it and suddenly crashing equally as hard.

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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Bodybuilding and Figure Techniques for Thanksgiving and the Holidays

Ah yes, it's that time of year again. The holiday season! Aside from the soul-crushing characteristics of winter, I really enjoy this time of year. Everything's festive, people are happy, and there are some great family gatherings to look forward to.

And as I'm sure is the case with most of your family gatherings, there will be plenty of food to be had and eaten. Especially with Thanksgiving coming up in just a few days!

Source: allianceabroad.com

While this is a wonderful thing for most people, those of us who are constantly thinking about the decisions we make with food and how it will affect our bodily aesthetic can experience the anxiety of what to eat and what not to eat on festive occassions and said family gatherings.

But fear not champions of fitness and aesthetics! I'm here to offer you my experience and advice for getting through your holiday meals without the guilt, as well as offer some techniques and gameplans you can use to make the most out of your family meal and make it a net positive (mostly) for your caloric, macro, and nutritional needs on the day.

Holiday meals can quickly get out of hand, but they can also be a powerful ally, as there are a lot of great food options that can help put you closer to your goals. So here are some tips / foods you should look out for  this Thanksgiving / holiday season that you can use to help maximize your goals and enjoy the boutiful food choices in front of you!


EATING TIPS

To clarify, a lot of these eating tips will be centered around what MY experience / traditions are with my family and household. Your circumstances my certainly differ, but I believe a lot of these tips to be fairly universal:


Pace Yourself

There will be tons of options the first time you step up to the dinner table. You'll see tons of really satisfying foods that you are going to want to attack immediately. But hold on there champ. You don't need to turn your stomach into a supermarket your first go around, and you don't need to plow it down right away. Get a moderate amount of food, and enjoy each bite. Take time to enjoy this bounty of food you have just been graciously given. Take in the moment. Talk with your relatives. Let the food actually make it to your esophagus before you're ready to rush back for seconds. Eating too quickly will make you want to go back more and more often, and thus open up any tendencies for overeating. Take your time.


Pick foods that will help your macro requirements

Holiday foods, especially during Thanksgiving, offer bountiful amounts of food that are great for hitting your macronutrient requirements. In fact, a lot of these food choices are foods that you would typically find in a bodybuilder's diet.

The most obvious example is the turkey. I believe I've discussed turkey in a previous post on nutrition and protein sources. To refresh, what you need to know about turkey is that it is a super lean meat with tons of protein. You can get tons of protein from turkey without eating too much of it and breaking your caloric bank for the day. For those of you intersted in putting on muscle, be sure to hit the turkey hard....but of course don't go overboard. You wouldn't want to eat more than a pound of turkey on the day...which would more or less equate to 100g of protein give or take a few grams. However, if you plan on making turkey your primary source of protein / exclusively what you'll be eating for the day, then you can and should of course eat more to fill your protein needs.

Source: livefitwithstephanie.com

At my holiday gatherings, deviled eggs are also a popular option. In my opinion,  you don't really want to go for what's inside the deviled eggs (the yellow part), as it typically contains a lot of extra ingredients that will break your diet. Instead, I eat just the egg whites. I've also discussed egg whites before, and what you need to know is that they are essentially pieces of pure protein with a great amino acid profile with practically no calories per 5 grams of protein (if memory serves me correctly, you're looking at about 25 calories per whole egg white).

There might be other protein options at your Thanksgiving table. Be on the look out for other pieces of whole meat, like your chicken breasts, beef products, and bean / legume dishes as well.

Source: cdn2-b.examiner.com

For carbs, sweet potatoes tend to be a very popular option at holiday gatherings. That's target number one to me at holiday gatherings. Sweet potatoes are a fantastic complex carb source for bodybuilding. You'll probably also have rice and grain options at your table. You can also eat as many fibrous carbs as you want in the form of salads and leafy greens.

For fats, I would recommend just eating the residual fats that come along with the foods that you are eating. Chances are the people who cooked your food added some form of fat or calorically dense ingredient, and it's a macro you definitely don't want to be overeating. You also don't need so much of it that you need to seek out the foods that are high in them.


Load up on whole foods / high fiber foods

I'll get into the toppings / etc in a second, but be sure that the foods you decide to eat have very little of them on them. What I mean by that is that you want as little ingredients on your food as possible, so that you don't over eat on the calories. You don't need to drown your turkey in whatever condiment or topping / dressing that is available to you. Enjoy the whole ingredients. When you become liberal with the residual ingredients, you start inviting excess calories to the party that you will be unable to account for. The less screwed around with the ingredients, the better you'll be able to ballpark the effect it's having on your body.

Source: golfdigest.com

Also, aim for high fiber foods, like beans, brown rice, and definitely the vegetables. They will fill you up quickly and make you less inclined to want to continue eating.


Watch the toppings

Very important concept here folks. Sure, the 4 oz of turkey you're eating may have like 120-150 calories in it, but the gravy swimming pool you just threw it in could make that number skyrocket in no time at all.

Source: sogoodblog.com

Try to avoid the toppings / dressings / dips / etc. Try enjoying the food as it is. If you absolutely need to put stuff on your food, try a conservative amount first and see how you like it. Also, consider putting said sauce on the side and dip your food into it. Or, better yet, dip your utensil into said sauce and then go over to the food you are eating.


Take small portions each time

Another important concept. A good strategy you can employ is to only take a small amount of the foods you want to eat. Doing so will make it so that you're constantly going back and forth to the dinner table. That might get old for you after a while, and thus you may be less inclined to go back. You'll pay more attention to your body and ask yourself if it's really worth going back. You'll also be less inclined to overeat since the chances are there isn't anymore food left in front of you. As a lot of people know, leaving food on your plate as you're sitting there in front of it will make you more inclined to want to keep eating it. Not a good thing if you're watching your figure.

Source:img.webmd.com/

Don't drink your calories

Don't just use this technique for holiday gatherings, but use this technique ALL the time if you're bodybuilding or watching your figure. You should never drink your calories, as liquid calories will never fill you up as adequately as whole food will, and it's easy to blow up your caloric intake for the day in less than a minute. I understand that there are people out there who actually enjoy drinking alcohol for whatever reason, and that there might be some delicious sparkling apple cider with your name on it.....but pump the breaks on the drinks guys. You can take your diet from zero to destroyed in a very short amount of time. Stick mostly to water, with the occassional drink. And when you drink your drink of choice, drink it in moderation and small portions.

Source: i.dailymail.co.uk

FOODS TO LOOK OUT FOR (GOOD / BAD)

The Good:

Here are some popular Thanksgiving / holiday foods to look out for (biased towards protein...but your goals could be much different):

Turkey - High in protein. Lean meat. Calories aren't that high.

Sweet Potatoes - A nice starchy complex carb. Needs very little to make it taste good.

Salad / Leafy Greens - High in fiber and typically high in nutrients. You can eat as much as you want.

Deviled eggs without the yolks - Pretty much just solid blocks of pure protein for not that much of a caloric hit.

Source: igourmet.com

Just be smart with your decisions guys. I know you pretty much know what foods would be better for you. Use common sense and don't let your mind control your body into making terrible food decisions.


The Bad:

Here is a list of the foods you should avoid during your holidays....but you should probably avoid them any time of the year...regardless

Cakes and Pies - Tons of calories per slice. And a lot of those calories are empty. A nuclear bomb to all the hard work you've done towards your nutritional goals.

Alcohol - Don't even get me started. Screws with protein synthesis, empty calories, makes you lose control. No nutritional benefit whatsoever. I don't care what you have to say about red wine. I'll probably have to write a post on this in the near future.

Candies - Simple sugars with no nutritional value. Loaded with carbohydrates that can easily be converted straight to fat.

High Fat Toppings and Dips - Very easy to pour the stuff on for toppings, thus leading to an overload of calories very quickly. As for dips, can you really only dip just once? Same concept applies. The only real exception MIGHT be salsa, but even so, the items you typically use to dip are not nutritionally sound either.

Source: www.4eagleexpress.com

With these techniques and ideas in mind, you should be able to enjoy your holiday within reason. It's important for you to prioritize the things in your life, and to ask yourself whether one day of excess is worth the added excess of work you'd need to do to get back on track. I'm not saying you can't have ANY fun during the holidays, as you should, but keep in mind that, as I've alluded to many times, life is a balance. The amount of fun you have this holiday season eating food is directly proportional to the work you'll have to do afterwards to work it off and stay back on track. Just be smart about it. Find that balance of fun and discipline to attain the closest you can possibly be to the best of both worlds.

Have a great Thanksgiving you guys!

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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A Discussion on the Theory of Muscle Toning

Tell me how many times you've heard somebody, especially the ladies, say something like this:

"I don't want my muscles to get too big, I'm just trying to tone them."

Insanely low weight with insanely high reps for incredible muscle tone!!!!
Source: healthlob.com

.....Or something along those lines anyway. 

Personally, I've come across countless people in my years of bodybuilding and going to the gym who, upon discussion of what their fitness goals are, seem to believe this perpetuated theory that giving your muscles practically non-existant resistance and doing reps until you're blue in the face will stimulate your body into creating firm (but not large) muscle with great definition.......i.e. "tone" the muscle.

I don't want to pick on the ladies but, let's face it, this is a pretty gender-specific topic. Most guys who are interested in muscle manipulation aren't typically inclined to NOT want increase their muscle size and look aesthetically masculine and intimidating. So please excuse me if this blog post comes out sounding sexist in any way. This topic just tends to heavily overlap with one gender more than the other. I assure you that I'm not trying to single out and insult a particular gender here.


There is No Such Thing as "Toning"

Let's just go ahead and get it out of the way. Toning does not exist. There is no scientific phenomenon of your musculature and muscular development that will distinguish other muscular responses from something exclusively determined to be "toning". I think that the muscle firmness, tightness, and adequate size are the results of many other responses and lifestyle changes that actually do exist and are actual muscle training responses. In particular, I believe that what most people mistake as "toning" are the result of 3 bodybuilding phenomena:

Muscle Pump:

This touches on the "firmness" and modest increase in muscle size aspects of muscle toning. When lifting weights, especially when targeting specific muscle groups, the body rushes blood and bodily fluids to the muscle being stimulated. The result is an increase in muscle size and firmness from a filling of the muscle. One could confuse this with "toning", if they believe that such a thing exists, but in fact it's actually what bodybuilders and weightlifters refer to as a "pump". It's only increased muscle fullness from bodily fluids being rushed into the muscle group and will actually end within an hour after working out.

Source: vhlab.umn.edu



Nutrition / Leanness:  

This is another important concept to consider when concluding that you are "toning" your muscles. When individuals decide to workout, they often times also start to change the way that they eat. The definition that many people talk about when trying to "tone" their muscles is not a result of anything known as toning but rather the result of removing bodyfat from changing your nutritional scheme to one conducive for weight loss to achieve a lean physique. The only way to increase your definition is almost exclusively through dietary fat loss, with development of your muscles through weightlifting exercises thrown in. None of these concepts are related to anything called toning. 

Source: awakentheabswithin.com

Weight Training:
While I do not believe in any phenomena called toning, the techniques employed by those who workout with the notion that it does in fact exist do have some merit.

If the goal for working out is to increase muscle size and definition, a great concept to incorporate into your weight lifting routine is to aim for high repetition sets (high repetition = muscle failure for a given lifting exercise at 12-15 repetitions). However, the weight still has to be heavy enough to stimulate your muscles to grow. Weight that is too light will not provide a proper stress / load on the muscles, and thus a proper stimulus won't be achieved for muscle growth. Swinging around light weight violently and for an absurd amount of repetitions will not burn fat either. If you wish to burn fat, focus on nutrition first and supplement it with cardio. Weight training isn't optimal for this. Furthermore, lifting weight that is nowhere near heavy enough will result in a wasted workout from a weightlifting perspective. 


 

Source: tcpersonaltraining.com

 


Myths Surrounding Muscle Growth in Genders

Alright, now let's get into something I've been wanting to talk about for a while. This is where it gets pretty gender specific.

I've stated that I have had countless people tell me that their goal is muscle toning. But I've had just as many women tell me that they are terrified of putting on slabs of muscle like men are capable of, and do not want that kind of aesthetic. I think that's where the latching on to the "toning" craze comes from, because it offers women some idea of an ideal cap to muscle growth while also keeping the leanness that they also desire. But let's get into some flaws with this way of thinking.

WOMEN DO NOT PRODUCE ENOUGH TESTOSTERONE TO GAIN THE SAME MUSCLE MASS OF A MAN OF THE SAME HEIGHT AND BUILD. It is important for you to understand that. Women are women and have feminine features because they produce more estrogen than testosterone. A woman can only become heavily muscular, to the levels of a male of equal build, if they supplement with testosterone through synthetic hormone usage. If you are a natural bodybuilder, or are weightlifting without the use of steroids / sythetic hormones, you will always have a cap on how much muscle mass you are able to gain.

Source: newimageshealthcare.com

This means that for women especially, the amount of muscle mass you could theoretically put on is much more limited to that of a male. You can work out and lift weights until you're blue in the face, but chances are you will never get to a level of muscularity that is overly dramatic and masculine or doesn't fit with your frame.

So to say that you are working out in a way that isn't conducive to growing large amounts of muscle will moreso limit your progress than build your aesthetic to something you want. By not stressing your muscles fully, and constantly pushing yourself to the maximum in the gym while weightlifting, you are impeding an already slow process and in turn will not see optimal results, and will take much longer to see any progress at all.


 "Muscle Toning" does not exist, and one should never build a workout routine around this myth. Muscle fullness and size, along with muscular defintion comes from dedicated weightlifting with proper stress on the muscle, along with sound nutrition that loses enough fat to see the muscle definition that you currently have. One should always push their weight maxes for maximum muscle growth. Women are not able to gain an outrageous and unwanted amount of muscle due to their lack of testosterone and excess of estrogen unless they are supplementing with synthetic hormones / steroids. Be careful not to spin your wheels in the gym with inadequate stress on the body that lead to a wasted workout.

-Jtrain


 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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Shaving - The Big Bad Blog Post About Staying Well-Groomed

 

Is this a bodybuilding / wellness blog? Absolutely. Does this topic have anything to do with any of those? Well, kind of. I like the focus of this blog to be on fitness, nutrition, and positive aspects of well being, and I think topics that focus around the appearance of one's self is somewhat related to that. Whether you agree or disagree however, this is a topic I've been really wanting to talk about for quite some time, and am excited to finally get to do so!

Source: realmenbarbershop.com

I don't want to say the whole "I used to be like most people" thing, because I think it's extremely obnoxious and condescending to people who just might not know any better about any given topic. However, when it comes to shaving, most people use either an electric razor, a disposable razor, or one of those heavily marketed mach-whatever blades that promise to clean your house and brew you a cup of coffee in the morning on top of giving you the "closest shave possible". But I think there are better and cheaper alternatives to shaving that you might want to explore before continuing to use any of the above mentioned items.

If you're one of those guys who takes pride in never shaving and growing a rainforest on your face, then this post is obviously not for you. I totally appreciate and respect the fact that beards and moustaches look really good on a lot of guys, but for those of us who believe their own personal facial aesthetic is most fully optimized by a clean-shaven look, read on!

In this blog post, I'd like to get into the different tools of the trade when it comes to cost-effective and efficient shaving. While this post might have some value for the ladies, the focus will be mostly on male facial shaving. I'm also going to advocate turning to traditional forms of shaving, as I feel I've been "awakened" to the glory that is old-fashioned shaving with a double-edged (DE) safety razor and/or a straight razor due to their effectiveness, cost efficiency, and "intimacy" in the experience.


Things to Consider Before Shaving

Before you start shaving, here are some things you should always be congizant about:

1) ANYTHING that touches your face needs to be properly cleaned

• This goes for your hands, the blades, and ESPECIALLY the towels you will use. Bacteria grow on surfaces over short periods of time, and reusing items that are not thoroughly cleaned invite infection and acne / breakouts to the party....which you don't want. Be sure that your face / body is thoroughly washed as well. Use a new towel every couple of days, wash your hands before shaving, and use rubbing alcohol to clean the blade before every shave. When drying your face, NEVER rub your face. Blot dry. If you rub, you can potentially spread around bacteria that can lead to infection and breakouts.

Source: walmartimages.com

 2) Make sure the hair you are going to shave is soft / heated with hot water

• This is why it's optimal to shave after coming out of the shower. Hair that has been soaked in warm / hot water is softened and not as stubborn when you run a blade through it. The comparison of shaving after soaking in hot water and completely dry is akin to cutting a warm stick of butter compared to cutting a cold stick of butter. You're asking for a lot of difficulty when you shave dry and without any prep-work to the hair follicles. Also, be sure to heat the blade with warm water before the shave and in between each series of shave passes.

 

Source:web-images.chacha.com

3) Change your blades often

• This is one reason why using the Gillette Mach series or any comparable company's "advanced" razors are not efficient. But I'll get to those later. It is important to replace your blades often to ward off infection, and to have a sharpened blade that easily does the job as opposed to a dulled-out overused blade that will give you tons of problems while shaving. If a blade falls on the floor or in the sink, CHANGE IT IMMEDIATELY. It's not worth the risk of infection. 

Source: charlesnicholls.co.uk

Types of Razors and their Uses

Disposable Razors

I know what you're thinking. Cheap, doesn't get the job done, and will do more harm than good.. But hold on a second. I think that disposable razors definitely have their place in one aspect of shaving. If for no other reason, they are great for one thing: shaving areas other than the face.

Source: pics2.ds-static.com

The face is a different beast when it comes to using products or taking a blade to it for some reason. It is more delicate and sensitive than the skin on other parts of the body (i.e. torso, arms, legs, back, etc.). So you have more freedom to not take as much time worrying about the damage you'll do (but please do still be careful). The skin around the body is more resilient against abuse, and therefore won't take the delicate protocol that I'll explain once I get into facial shaving.

Disposable razors are great in that they are very cost-effective and get the job done when you want to say, shave your chest to bring out the definition in your upper body, or simply want to clean up what's growing wildly on your body. Since those body parts cover a larger portion than your face, the razors are worn out a lot quicker than if you were to use it for facial shaving. That's why it's good to have a razor you can throw away nonchalantly and buy in mass quantity, if you need to shave larger areas often.

The same rules as previously stated still apply here though. Do not use the same blade often, and make sure it's fresh / clean. Run under hot water to heat the blade up a bit. For bodily shaving, a raking motion is ok....but is definitely not a technique I would advise for facial shaving. If you CAN go in solid straight lines that don't back track though, that is definitely preferred.

Summary: Great for body shaving. Cheap and cost-effective. Able to be replaced easily.


Multiple-Blade "Advanced" Razors

Oh man, don't even get me started.

For the longest time I used these razors because they were and still are marketed so well in trying to make people believe it's the only game in town. The only way for a great shave. That you'd have to be STUPID not to use these razors. I realize now however, that I was literally just throwing my money into the trash can.

Guys, 5 blades aren't better than 3 blades. 3 blades aren't better than 1 blade. IN FACT, increasing the amount of blades increases the chances of ruining your face when you shave with these. The fact that the refill cartridges cost so much means that a lot of people will let the same blade sit and grow a bacterial utopia, ready to invade the face the next time its owner thinks they're a little more hairy than they'd like....not to mention the continual use that will lead to a dulled blade. There is literally no upside to using these unless you like wasting money, and do not respect your face at all. They are a scam. Highway robbery without a gun.

It kind of reminds me of a funny MADtv skit from way back in the day:

Summary: Do not use. Better alternatives exist.


Safety Razors and Straight Razors

The best option in my opinion for facial shaving. You spend a very reasonable amount of money to get started, and they almost immediately pays for themselves.  

Straight razors differ from safety razors in that straight razors are essentially a handle with a fold-out bar that holds a whole razor blade for you to shave with. Other straight razors actually have the blade permanently attached to them that requires a leather "strop" that must be used to sharpen the blade before each use.

A straight razor

Source: boker.de

 

A safety razor is a metal device shaped like a classic razor that loads a razor blade into it and has more protection against cuts than a straight razor would. Safety razors can be single-ended (SE) or double-ended (DE), indicating how many sides expose a razorblade.

A safety razor

 Source: customshaving.com

These razors really turn shaving into an amazing hobby. You really feel a sense of ownership in using and maintaining your safety razor. You can choose the razor brand of your choice, depending on which one works best for you in terms of the level of sharpness you are looking for and your skin's sensitivity. Replacing razors cost you literally pennies, and investing $10 into high quality blades can last you for an entire year. This gives you quality sharpness for a close shave, and the efficiency and hygiene that comes with being able to replace your blades often.

Straight razors are for the more advanced shaver. I would recommend starting out with a safety razor before going all in on a straight razor.

Summary: My preferred method of shaving. Cost-effective, efficient, and gives an unmatched level of shave.


Other Equipment

Badger Hair Brushes

If you're going to go all in on the old-fashioned style of shaving, I highly suggest you spend the money in getting a badger hair brush. Similar brushes come in nylon (I think), as well as boar's hair and other material, but badger hair is good in that it can hold the right amount of moisture to load your creams and soaps with, while also being firm enough to exfoliate and bring out the hairs on your face to be ready to shave. They are also soft enough as to not damage your face. I can't really speak to a particular brand (I've been using Escali), but a quick google / amazon / etc search will point you in the right direction. Consider also getting a stand that holds your safety razor (if you go that route) and badger brush so that it doesn't lay in a place where it can get contaminated and is able to hang dry.

Source: tweezerman.com

Shaving Soaps / Shaving Creams

Here is where you can really start to make the shaving experience your own. Shaving soaps and creams come in a variety of scents, and you can mix and match to suit your preference during the experience. Shaving Soaps and creams are what you load your badger brush with to create a lather to apply to your face to help the razorblade glade across your face as you shave.

Source: cdn1.bigcommerce.com

I can't really speak to the EXACT difference between shaving soaps and shaving creams, but soaps tend to be more slippery, clear, and may be cheaper than creams. Creams on the other hand, are more lathery, don't glide as well as soaps, and can be more expensive. The two may also be fortified with different things (such as aloe vera) to add beneficial ingredients to your face as you shave.

Personally, I load my badger brush with both a shaving soap AND a shaving cream. It's amazing. The brand I would recommend for shaving soaps is Colonel Conk, while I would Recommend Taylor of Old Bond Street for creams.

Source: cdn.classicshaving.com

Cleansers, Toners, Exfoliators, and Moisturizers

Let's take it to an even greater extreme shall we?

All three aspects of the shave are important (the pre-shave, the shave, and the post-shave). This is definitely true for the post-shave. This is the cherry on top of the process you just put your face / body through. It's also extremely important. You just ran a blade across your face and potentially nicked / cut yourself in the process. It's time to not only make your face feel even more like 100 bucks, but to also prevent infection and adverse effects that may come with what you just did.

I suggest using toners, exfoliators, and moisturizers for your face. This doesn't go just for shaving, and I will write a post in the future discussing them in further depth. In the mean time, here's a rundown of what each does and the products I recommend:

Cleansers:

As stated, it's important to make sure your face is clean before proceeding to shave it. Do not use a cleanser that completely strips away the oil in your face, and be cognizant of what works for your face. When your body is stripped of too much oil, it reacts by producing more oil that can clog pores and cause acne.

Source: skinfo.com

This is why many people opt for a sensitive skin cleanser. Personally, I don't even use a cleanser that has alcohol at all, and recommend using the foaming facial cleanser by Cerave.

Toners:


Toners clean your face. They remove dirt, dead skin, makeup, etc. They also give your face a nice firming quality, for a healthier look. They are also gentler than many facial soaps and cleansers. For shaving and every day use, I recommend witch-hazel toner by Thayers.



Source: images.iherb.com

Exfoliators:

Exfoliators remove dead dry skin and expose healither younger cells to give your face a healthy young glow. Kind of like a toner, with more of an emphasis on removing dead skin. Exfoliators can be physical (sugar / mineral scrubs), or chemical. Chemical exfoliators with beta hydroxy acid (BHA) can help fight razor bumps that some people get after shaving. I recommend Paula's Choice exfoliator, but cheaper alternatives are also available. When shaving, it's probably best to use a chemical exfoliator, since you're more concerned with hygiene and not so much smooth skin. 



Sources: wasmachtheli.com



Moisturizers:

Used to lock in moisture on your face and body (moisturizers do not add moisture to your skin). This is helpful in that dry skin actually promotes acne development. As stated, when you strip away the oils of your skin via alcohols and other products that you put on your face, your body reacts to the dryness by producing more oil for your skin. This in turn may cause pores to be clogged by this oil production and in turn cause acne to develop.

Source: walmartimages.com

There are some great moisturizers out there. For daily use, I recommend using a moisturizer that also has sunblock (with a good SPF...around 30 or so), as UV radiation can be a big culperate in facial aging. Neutrogena's "Visibly Even" moisturizer is a great product. For nightime use, you don't need UV protection, so you don't need a moisturizer with sunblock. For the night, I recommend Cerave PM facial moisturizer.

Source: pics1.ds-static.com

How to Shave

Alright, now let's get into the shave! Here are the steps you need to take for the best shave of your life:

1) Loading the brush

•  Make sure your face has been properly soaked with warm water. Blot dry your face with a clean towel, leaving your face not wet, but damp / moist.
• Wet your badger brush with warm water and "flick" the excess water into your sink. If you want, you can also rub some of the water across your face for more softening of the hair follicles.
• Open your shave soap container if you opted for shave soap. Swirl the badger hair brush inside clockwise and counter-clockwise until the soap starts to lather and "load" onto the brush.
• If you are using / also using shave cream, take a pea-sized amount (a q-tip end / fingertip amount) and put it on top of your badger brush.
• Find a clean bowl / holder and put a few dabs of water inside. DO NOT PUT TOO MUCH WATER. Swirl until a lather starts to generate. If there is no lather and the soap and / or cream is too thick, add a little bit of water. If you added too much water, load your brush with some more soap or cream.
• DO NOT....UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, FILL YOUR SINK WITH WATER AND DIP YOUR TOOLS IN THERE. A lot of people do this when shaving, but it is another great way to spread bacteria all over your face since since sinks are often times used to spit toothpaste into, clean items, etc. Run all tools under fresh water from the faucet.

Youtube Channel: geofatboy

2) Lathering your face

• After you have swirled your badger brush into a nice lather, bring it up to your face and rub in a swirling motion to get all of the hairs / bring them to the surface. Go across the cheeks, under the nose and lip, and neck. 

Youtube User: PallMallBarbers

3) Shaving

• There are different names for the directions you choose to shave in. Take a close look at your hairs to see what direction they grow in. The facial hair on the face is often times growing downward, while the hair at the bottom of the neckline is often times growing upward. Shaving in the direction of the hair growth is called "with the grain", while shaving in the opposite direction is called "against the grain", and shaving perpendicular to any hair growth is called "across the grain".
• You DO NOT have to apply a lot of force. If you try to control the blade, it WILL punish you for it, and you will pay for it..........with blood. Simply let the weight of the razor glide through the hairs as you shave each time. If you are using a safety razor, tilt / angle the razor so that you feel the razor blade properly angled to catch your hair for optimal shaving. 
• Start by shaving WITH the grain. Angle your face so that whichever part of your face you are shaving is nice and taught to allow proper gliding and shaving of the razor and the hair follicles. Use nice, straight, long motions, and never go over what you've just shaved in a single set of passes. Do 1-3 passes before running the blade under water to better expose the blade again for more passes. With the grain might be different for different people depending on how your hair grows. You don't necessarily need to follow the same order in terms of direction of passes either (I just personally recommened with, against, and across the grain ordering), so find what works best for you.



Source: photobucket.com

 

• Lather again with the same badger brush you loaded, and repeat the process with against the grain and across the grain passes. Note: When doing across the grain passes, you might be best served only doing it for the part of your face ABOVE the neckline. That has been my experience anyway. I go twice with the grain for the neckline.
• Once you've finished doing your passes each way, wash your face first with warm water and a clean towel to get rid of all of the excess lather residue. Then, wash your face again with cool / cold water. Pat dry
• Once you have patted your face dry, use cotton balls to apply toner, exfoliator, and moisturizer.....in that order.
• Enjoy your new fresh-feeling face!!

Youtube User: Geofatboy

Shaving can be an important aspect of grooming and maximizing your aesthetic. It can be a very personal experience that will leave you feeling nice and fresh. I highly recommend that if you haven't already invested in the straight razor / safety razor / old-fashioned shaving method for your face, that you give it a try today. You won't be sorry. Also, if you haven't tried using disposable razors to maximize the aesthetic of other parts of your body, you could give that a go as well to stay well groomed. Give it a try!

-Jtrain

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*Have a question about natural bodybuilding / fitness / nutrition / stress? Need some advice? Email me at jtrainfitness@gmail.com and I will answer it on this blog! Be sure to enter your email to receive alerts for when the next blog post has come out, and be sure to tell your friends about this blog! Follow me on twitter @jtrainfitness and tell your friends to do the same!*
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