Things the weight room taught me...
Enlightened Culture Podcast
I love the weight room. The weight room is similar to life. It is full of pain, suffering, failures, disappointments and setbacks. Many people avoid these things because the mind just wants you to be comfortable. If you want to build your body you got to break down your muscles but you soon realize the gym is much more than building muscle. Suffering is just part of the journey but we got to learn to embrace it. It will make us a better human being and you will quickly realize that life is much more than fame, vanity, material stuff. Things the weight room taught me : 1. Genetics don't matter...
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Fundamentals of building muscle
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Building muscle takes a lot of hard work, patience, discipline, and sacrifice but if you follow these fundamentals you will reach your goals quicker. However, don't expect to see results overnight. Fundamentals of building muscle: 1. Lift weights - this is obvious, you need to break down your muscle in order for them to grow bigger 2. Eat protein - Protein helps repair and maintain muscle. Try to eat whole food to stay full for a longer period of time. Stay in a calorie deficit if you want to slowly build muscle and burn some fat. Intermittent fasting will help. 3. Sleep/ Recovery - The body...
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How to build lean muscle
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Building lean muscle is not hard but does require a lot of work. The real question is what are you willing to sacrifice in order to get the body transformation you want. This is going to involve hard work, discipline, and a lot of patience. Don't believe the fitness industry and the 6 pack influencers who drive Lamborghni's because they are selling an image. The fitness industry is just trying to sell us supplements and most of them are taking performing enhancing drugs. Eat good whole meal foods, drink water, lift weights, walk, pray, be grateful, laugh, cry, think... Everything starts in the...
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Recovering from gym injury...
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Injuries are part of the process. Obviously it sucks when you look forward to lifting weights but you physically can't. The best we can do is try to prevent injuries with stretching etc. I'm 5' 10 and weigh 145 lbs and I've been cutting calories for the last 5 weeks. I started at about 156.4 lbs and have dropped 11 lbs with a cut of around 500 calories a day. I recently injured my thumb and I felt popping in my thigh so I took some time off to recover. Ive been running a Bulgarian inspired program for the last 4.5 months and it has got me to the strongest I have ever been. I have been focused...
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2000 Calories Full Day of Eating
Enlightened Culture Podcast
I'm 5 ' 10 and 150 lbs right now. I started this cutting phase on August 3rd at 156.4 lbs. My maintenance calories are about 2,650 calories and I cut about 500 calories. I feel like this requires a lot of mental toughness because sometimes you feel hungry. Just remember you aren't starving yourself but you will feel hungry. In the morning I take krill oil and drink a tea with ginger, lemon, and turmeric and do intermittent fasting until my first meal which is usually around 1- 2 pm. Drink a lot of water because that helps with the hunger. This a full day of eating 2000 calories. Dont forget to...
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Purpose over Pleasure
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Many people don't truly ever enjoy their life once they become adults because they never find their purpose. Being programmed from a young age and being told what to believe in kills our creativity, confidence, and belief so we never actually pursue the real things that gives us satisfaction in life. It's up to us to realize that time is passing and each day that goes by is another day we can't get back so we might as well risk it and try to become what we want in this life. God gave each one of us a vision in life and its up to us to put in the work and create the blueprint in life. I would...
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Road to 315 LBS Squat
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Ever have a goal that seems so far away like a 315 lb squat? Being a skinny ectomorph made me think reaching that goal was nearly impossible. Whats your goal? If you don't have a goal/plan you won't get were you want. When I started my weight lifting journey I didn't have a concrete goal but i knew I wanted to get stronger. Don't over complicate things because then you will never get started. Start small and you will build yourself up with discipline. That goal is going push on the days you want to quit. I'm slowly working my way up to a 315 lb squat. You just got to put in the work.
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Control your breathing
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Just put in the work. When you start feeling the pain or anxiety make sure you take deep breathes. The mind wants you to quit when the weight starts to feel heavy. Our bodies have a fight or flight response but if we breathe properly we will be able to think and react more clearly. If you want to get better you have to show up and do the same boring work. It's not pretty but the results will come. Here I do 220 lb squat x 10. Road to 315 lb squat at 155 lb bodyweight.
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Pain = Growth
Enlightened Culture Podcast
Pain = Growth. The sweat dripping down your face, that heart pumping fast, blood flowing through your veins, and that burn you feel on the last rep is whats is going to make you stronger. You are either going to grow from this or it's going to make you bitter. Learn how to control your breathing because thats how you manage that pain because it is only temporary. Once you make it to the other side you are going to be proud of yourself to see how far you came.
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Why do you lift weights?
Enlightened Culture Podcast
What's your reason? why do you lift weights? Your reason will push you during the difficult times. It will help you build discipline because when you don't want to show up it will remind you why you do it.
info_outlineGrowing up as a young kid I discovered sports and I loved playing them! Sports is like life because it teaches about failure. I don't understand how the NCAA doesn't pay college players, most of them won't even make the league so they will never make the big dollars and the talented ones usually come from poverty. Sports are fun but we got to be aware that they were created to distract us from the truth. The system wants us to get a job and enjoy the entertainment so we don't start asking questions. It's a cycle and if we don't understand it we will get stuck here for life. Sports are great in my opinion it just depends how you spend your time. Skateboarding culture is fun too!