At first glance competing in bodybuilding can seem incredibly enticing, and it’s understandable that some people want to dive right into a prep! However, it’s important to recognise that those who experience the greatest long-term success and enjoyment in this sport have spent many years prior learning, practicing, and refining the art of training and sports nutrition.

It’s certainly not uncommon for people (especially in the fitness community) to weigh themselves each morning. However, it’s important to understand the context of WHY certain numbers are looking back at you, and not to let your mood be heavily dictated if they’re a few decimal points above or below your previous weigh-in.

By now we’ve probably all heard the benefits of consuming a diet moderately-high in protein - but at what cost? This infographic aims to illustrate the cost per serving of 30g of protein from popular protein sources, as well as their respective caloric value.

We know that there are a number of VERY important factors when it comes to training performance. Total energy intake, sleep, and hydration status all have the potential to make or break a good workout. However, digestibility and gastrointestinal comfort is a variable that is often overlooked when it comes to peri-workout nutrition.

Bear in mind that tracking and making progress can mean different things to different people. It might involve building strength in the gym, improving your relationship with food, or implementing time-management strategies to reduce stress. However, for most individuals an element of tracking progress will involve taking progress photos – because it’s incredibly motivating to SEE that your hard work is paying off!

There’s no denying that having a strong one rep max is incredibly impressive! It can also be fun to test and compare your strength progression over time. HOWEVER, is it really a useful measure for those purely focused on muscle gain (aka bodybuilders)? Ehhh… probably not!

Naturally, different foods will have different nutrient compositions, and these milk types are no exception. Dairy (cows), soy, almond and oat are four of the most popularly consumed milk products, and there are some considerations when it comes to their macro and micronutrient content. For example, oat and soy milk are higher in calories compared to dairy and almond per cup.

Experiencing signs of food focus is a completely NORMAL response to dieting, and it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Undergoing a prolonged deficit and pushing the body past a comfortable “set point” will inevitably cause an individual to start dedicating more of their cognitive power and time to food. From an evolutionary standpoint this is an intelligent phycological response when the body recognizes deprivation, and it’s fundamental for survival.

When setting out to achieve a health and fitness goal, most of us are willing to financially invest in methods that can make the process more efficient and enjoyable. In the case of food selection, this might entail purchasing more expensive items that contain less calories and are more volumous than their original replicates.

There’s no denying that portraying a strong work ethic is advantageous to achieving your goals. However, when it comes to health and fitness, it’s a fairly common misconception that more is always better. “Just because you can” implement a particular technique, protocol or strategy, doesn’t mean it will be the most conducive to achieving your goals in the long-term.

WPC, WPI and Casein are all derived from cows milk and are exceptionally high-quality sources of protein that will support muscle growth and recovery. Per 30g serving, all three varieties provide >2.5g of leucine, the primary amino acid required to stimulate muscle protein synthesis.

Who else is a creature of habit when it comes to their nutrition? Often we can find ourselves consuming identical meals on a day-to-day basis whether it be due to convenience, taste or poor culinary skill.

If you make a large financial purchase, you may need to sacrifice spending in other areas if you want to keep your bank balance in check. However, if you’re strategic and take advantage of “discounts”, you may be able to enjoy (basically) the same product for more than half the “price”! As a result, you can be left feeling satisfied, happy, and not concerned that you need to be scarce spending in other areas of life to achieve your goals.

Macro tracking is a skill, and just like any other skill it requires practice and refinement to become efficient and accurate. Downloading the app is one thing, but becoming proficient is a different ballgame altogether. There are so many bells and whistles that MFP can quickly become daunting and confusing.

Plants are AWESOME and there’s no doubt about it – they’re dense in micronutrients and phytonutrients, provide a diversity of dietary fibre, they’re an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, and are usually quite hydrating too! However… when it comes to obtaining adequate protein purely from plants… there can be quite a few caveats to consider.

Gluten-free foods have one specific purpose – to remove gluten from the diet!

Did you know that the protein in eggs have a biological value of 100? This makes them one of the BEST sources of protein on earth! A biological value of 100 means that 100% of the protein in eggs can be used for protein synthesis, compared to a biological value of ~70 for plant proteins. An average egg has 6 grams of protein and packs in all 9 essential amino acids, making them a complete protein source.

When you think about nutrition, cooking oil probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind. However, it’s a product that many of us use on a daily basis and therefore has an impact on our nutrition. Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is our number one choice because it’s a great source of healthy monounsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and other phytonutrients such as hydroxytyrosol!

One of the main barriers that stop individuals from exiting the pre-contemplation phase of committing to a caloric deficit is the assumption that certain food sources need to be eliminated. There’s no doubt that we would be hesitant of changing our dietary habits too if it meant eating plain, sauce-less pasta and empty bowls of cereal!

Attend any local fitness club and you’re likely to observe people shortchanging their progress by not training with adequate intensity. Reps in reserve versus training to failure has been a popular debate for a few years in the fitness community.