Beary Strong

What Makes A Good Exercise?

Don’t get lost in the exercise jungle, make an informed decision.

If you step into a good gym, it is quite possible to get overwhelmed by countless possibilities to train. Different machines, barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells, bodyweight exercises, there is much to choose from and you have to select an exercise for your training program. What makes a good exercise? What is “the best” exercise to grow your chest/booty/biceps? Read on to make an informed decision the next time you hit the gym!

The Sunday Roast: Pork Belly

A crunchy, fatty, comforting treat

Are you ready to plan your Sunday roast? This time I suggest a nice pork belly roast. Veggies roasting underneath a beautiful piece of meat, sucking up all those flavours … that’s a meal for kings. And a nice crackling, so crunchy that you hear someone eating it even when you are in another room. What you need for this? Just a little time and some humble ingredients!

The Hypertrophy Range Myth

Outdated but still usefull.

The idea of repetition ranges is pretty old, dating back at least to the ’50s. It’s the concept that training with certain weights and therefore repetitions elicits different adaptations like strength, muscle building and endurance. And on the first glance this makes perfect sense, as you get better at what you train. But if you followed the fitness industry for some time, you find conflicting ideas of what makes muscle grow the fastest. So grab a protein shake, put on the “Conan” soundtrack and let’s have a closer look.

Insulin Sensitivity and Diet Patterns

Has the endless discussion about low-carb vs. low-fat come to an end?

On my way to horse-riding I’ve been listening to a great podcast by Danny Lennon with Prof. Christopher Gardner on a recently published paper with the title “Effect of Low-Fat vs Low-Carbohydrate Diet on 12-Month Weight Loss in Overweight Adults and the Association With Genotype Pattern or Insulin Secretion” . I would like to give you some insights in the research findings as well as write down some of the thoughts Prof. Gardner expressed in the podcast.

Why I Don’t Like Meal Plans

Implement lifetime strategies for diet success.

Good old meal plans … I’ve almost forgot about them, but whenever I browse a fitness magazine, they catch my attention. Out of curiosity I start reading them and I am always amused about them: if it is a meal plan in a men’s magazine, you feel taken back to the old bro science ages of chicken breast, white rice and steamed brokkoli. If it is a meal plan for women, I see plenty of smoothie bowls, porridge, pasta and woefully low amounts of protein. I mean I get it, meal plans seem to be an easy solution for weight loss, but I think you can do better!

Six Good Reasons Why You Should Do Bodybuilding

…and why you are actually a bodybuilder without knowing it.

My first approach to a gym was as a couple of years after moving to Vienna in 2005: I wanted to do something for my physique and since the only sport I was doing was horse-riding, I decided to subscribe to a commercial gym. In those days I would never have admitted I was doing bodybuilding. To be honest I’ve been laughing at the -in my eyes- over confident bros posing in front of the mirror, sipping protein shakes and grunting and screaming during their sets. Well, life happens, and now I am a broette doing exactly the same stuff. But if you think about the definition of “bodybuilding” I was already doing it ten years ago: I did exercise to lose fat and gain muscles. And if you are training to lose weight, get in shape, tone up (whatever you want to call it) and not for performance in a specific sport you are a bodybuilder too. Don’t like it? I’ll try to convince you of the opposite 😉 .

To Flex Or Not To Flex: Keeping Your Spine Healthy

Will rounding your back kill you?

Posture and form for everyday movements and during exercise got a lot of attention over the last years. Depending on whom you listen, you get a wide array of statements. From “it doesn’t matter” to “don’t do this, you will die” you will find someone from each camp defending his beliefs almost religiously. I want to give you a quick and easy understandable summary of what science has to say about the controversial topic of flexing your lumbar spine.

Foodies Welcome

Why being a foodie will help you getting fit.

Being a foodie can be a blessing when you are dieting. However, many people cannot imagine this being an advantage. You instantly think about all the delicious, extremely energy dense, highly palatable foods that will be most likely be a no-go for a long time to come. Sure, your diet will have to change if you want to change your body, but this process doesn’t have to suck. How is that even possible? I’m glad you asked! Read on, embrace your foodie-ism and delve in.

Breakfast Pulled Beef

Easy peasy meal prep for even the most stressed cooks.

As temperatures get a little lower (which I am extremely happy about), and autumn peeking around the corner, I am in the mood for something different for breakfast. Something warming, comforting and hearty, keeping me satieted many hours. I like my easy cheesecake, but now I’m not cutting anymore and can afford to eat something different. However, even if you are cutting at the moment, this recipe could be for you: you just have to be smart about the cut of meat to use.

Every Little Counts

The importance of being honest to yourself and your coach.

Tracking macros is a very powerful tool to change your eating habits and reach your body composition goals. However it has a big fault: the human nature. We’re no robots and life can hit us hard and disrupt even our best laid out plans. If it was that simple, dieting would be incredibly easy, you just fill out your macros every day and everything will be fine. But what happens when we slip?