Since launching our app we’ve let people to chat with us for help. Even though we’re a small team and tiny in comparison to the big brand fitness apps we have took the unusual step of ploughing as much resource into helping people via chat as we can.
It’s fun for us, often surprisingly good for our members and we’re building a reputation for always being there for our users. No matter what stage they’re at, having someone to talk to helps solve problems and concerns with their training and nutrition fast.
We thought it’d be fun to share the top 10 questions we get asked over and over and the answers we give… some you may not expect.
1. How many protein shakes do I need per day to lose fat?
Firstly, we don’t recommend you always replace meals with protein shakes. Yes, shakes are a great way to increase your daily protein intake, but nutrition should always come first and you don’t want to become reliant on a less natural form of protein. 1–2 shakes per day is more than sufficient at BOOSTING protein intake for your total daily macro needs of protein. However, by having more shakes…won’t result in more fat loss. It’s more likely to result in fat gain.
2. Do I really need to weight train to build muscle?
Firstly, you can build muscle with bodyweight only training, the issue is that it’s a lot harder to do so, especially for people who have trained before. In order to create the right amount of tension and force with just bodyweight, would take more advanced movements than just push ups and bodyweight squats. Bodyweight and cardio are both great ways to get lean and drop fat, but weight training will boost your total daily calorie burn and physically change the shape of your body too.
P.S. ladies you won’t look like a man.
3. What steroids should I use?
We don’t provide advice around the use of anabolic hormones nor do we advocate the use of them. It’s just not our bag.
We can help get you on a great gym plan, with the nutrition to go along with it (which is personalised to you) and help coach you through it. This we know will give excellent, sustainable and safe results.
4. I want to grow big and lose belly fat
Lots of people would like to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. However, doing both at once is harder than you’d think.
The reason for this is that to lose fat you often have to be in a calorie deficit (eating LESS calories than you burn), while gaining muscle requires a calorie surplus (eating MORE calories than you burn off)
This is why we advise people to stick to one goal and see it through. Once done we help with what plan to do next based on progress made.
5. What supplements I should take?
The main thing to remember is that supplements were made to ‘SUPPLEMENT’ your diet. They aren’t the answer to your goals and will not get better results than solid nutrition. Yes some supplements can work, but you’d be surprised at how many are just marketing gimmicks. We are happy to advise you on supplementation however and will only recommend ones that are backed with solid research.
6. I just want bigger glutes and toned abs
We all have personal goals, some more specific than others. It’s great to have something to aim towards and you may even have certain areas of your body you really want to work on.
You’ll find that our plans are always balanced and not just aimed toward training one/two muscle groups each time. Certain plans may have you training different muscle groups twice or three times per week, but you’ll still attack the rest of your body too as maintenance. This will avoid injuries, imbalances and over-training of certain areas.
Please do not make the mistake of exclusively training the area you want the most change to occur. We want you to progress, not regress.
7. I don’t like training legs
Leg day is by far the most beneficial days in your training week. By choosing to avoid them you could could end up with imbalances in your upper to lower body composition. Training legs burns a load of calories being a huge muscle group, but it can also benefit the rest of your body due to the hormonal response you get from training them. If you want well balanced results…train legs.
8. Why does the plan not have more arm days?
Similar answer to the glutes and toned abs one. You need plans that avoid any imbalances or injuries. We don’t want to provide gimmicky plans with false claims. Yes, there may be plans with slightly more arm days in, but you’ll still find that it hits your whole body.
9. I want the fastest plan to build muscle/burn fat
Simple truth…it isn’t going to be quick and it isn’t going to happen over night. Those who have already seen results often preach about how important consistency and perseverance is. If you want results bad enough, you’ll have to put the work in and stay true to your goal, long after the moment you decided you wanted to do it. Small, sustainable results over time, keep chipping away and you’ll get there. Quick fixes often result in quicker downfalls. Nothing worth having comes easy.
10. I want to train like crazy for 7 days a week
Who wouldn’t love to be hitting the gym each day…after all it can be like a church for some people, a place to get away and feel good about yourself. The reality is that unless you have a well balanced plan that also takes into consideration your recovery, mobility and the tapering of your workout volume up and down, you’ll probably end up gassed and low on energy. Training can be a big strain on your central nervous system, so recovery and having rest or active recovery days are extremely important. Muscles aren’t made in the gym.
If you need anymore advice around your training, nutrition or recovery, talk to us in our iOS app anytime or hit us up on our website www.gymplanapp.com
