Start with the Negative

Here are the 5 best articles I found today on the subjects of fitness, weight training, diet, and building muscle:

1. Sleep as a Catalyst for Fat Loss
2. 5 Fats You Shouldn't Fear
3. 5 Essential Nutrition Tips to Gain Energy, Feel Good, and Look Better Than Ever
4. The Curse of Stress, and How to Break It
5. How Assisted Pullups Make You Better At Pullups

I can tell you with 100% certainty that a) you need to eat good healthy fats to burn bodyfat and b) sleep and stress cause a whole lot of issues.

So get those in order if you want to build lean muscle and strip off bodyfat.

For most people, 7 to 9 hours of uninterrupted sound sleep is sufficient.

Is it optimal? I don't know. Let your body be your guide. Listen to what it's telling you.

For #5, I know this works – for any resistance exercise.

In fact, if you can't even do an assisted dip or pullup, do the negative!

When I first started weight training, one of the exercises I wanted to do but couldn't was the parallel bar dip. I could not press up from the down position. So I used my 12 year-old ingenuity, and rather than give up, I improvised.

Now, I didn't know WTF I was doing, but it worked.

I knew I could lower myself, if even just six inches. But doing so, for reps, built my strength. Soon enough I could lower myself to the fully-stretched position.

Of course, I still couldn't push myself back up.

But over time, I got stronger and was soon able to do one full rep! YAY!

When I wanted to do one-arm pullups, of course, I couldn't. So I went back to the (knowledge) well and did what I did with dips: I started in the up position, doing a pullup with both arms, then I let go with one and held it (isometrics), then lowered myself as slowly as possible.

In time, I was able to complete not just one one-armed pullup (with either hand) but several.

It works. You have to outsmart gravity and the exercise apparatus.

Start with the negative! You will get positive results.