Welcome back to the Daily Dumbbell, where we’re coming at you fast and furious like a honey badger that sometimes just doesn’t feel like it. But usually does!

We have a longer feature today and a new section! Let us know what you think at the bottom 🙂 

Let’s dive in!

Transformation Tuesday

Lets talk transformations today.

Specifically, how we tend to view physical transformations. In a world captivated by cinematic workout montages where our fearless protagonist undergoes a miraculous body transformation in a matter of weeks, it's time to step out of the movie reel and into the reality of fitness.

The Traditional View:

The idea that crushing ourselves in the gym, sweating buckets, and engaging in epic High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) sessions will magically morph us into fitness demigods. A metamorphosis—a caterpillar turning into a butterfly, if you will.

The actual process of sculpting your physique involves two distinct pathways:

• Building Muscle

• Shedding Body Fat

You can think of them in financial terms. Building muscle is your income. Your body fat is like your spending.

The more you earn, the more you can save/spend. There’s technically no limit to how much you can grow your income, but it’s usually a slow process. It’s hard work.

Cutting your spending is much easier. But there’s a limit to how much you can cut. And after a certain point you start to feel the pain and it can become unsustainable.

There is some interplay here in how they interact. But they are two distinctly separate strategies.

The Old Plan:

Work our asses off in the gym. Eat Clean. Watch our body transform.

The New Plan:

Dedicate time to building muscle. Then dedicate time to losing fat to reveal that muscle.

First, let's dispel a few myths perpetuated by the fitness industry. Starting with the jargon—building "lean muscle." Here's the secret: muscle is inherently lean. There's no such thing as "fatty muscle" or "bulky muscle." It's just muscle. When bodybuilders embark on their infamous bulking phase, it's not that they're birthing "bulky muscle."

They're attempting to maximize muscle growth and you can’t do that without adding at least a little bit of fat.

Next, there's the cult of HIIT—the fervent belief that it's the fat-melting sorcery we've all been searching for. While it's true that HIIT sessions have their merits, let's debunk myth #2: the mystical "fat-burning zone."

Spoiler alert—it doesn't exist. Even if it did, it doesn’t matter. Because your body will just prioritize replenishing your fat stores as soon as you eat. The only way to lose weight (fat) is to be in a sustained calorie deficit.

You don’t take fat off with an hour long workout. You take it off by eating less over the course of a week.

** Eating “cleaner” can accomplish that (getting you into a deficit) if it’s your preferred way to do it, but it isn’t necessary.

It's akin to managing your finances. If you put $500 from each paycheck into your savings, it doesn’t matter if you end up taking it back out to pay bills. Similarly, torching fat during exercise won't yield lasting results. You have to maintain that caloric deficit.

We’re going to say a very bad 6 letter word here… but it’s what matters for both your finances and your calories: Budget.

Whether it’s your finances or your calories. Budgeting is the key.

Remember, a drastic deficit may lead to muscle loss—a tragic loss of your hard-earned gains. So, when embarking on your fitness journey, recalibrate your mindset. It's not about miraculous metamorphoses; it's about building, cutting, and making deliberate choices.

Embrace the duality of building muscle and shedding fat—two parallel tracks to sculpt the masterpiece that is your body. 🏋️‍♂️💪🍏

The Terrible Twos…day

We all hate the 2nd day of the week. It isn’t the start of a fresh week, the blank slate is gone. We’re not halfway to the weekend, it isn’t quite hump day. It’s the terrible twos…day.

With that in mind, here’s some fun nonsense to get you through:

No Newsletter tomorrow! Enjoy your hump day and we’ll be back with another serving of edutainment on Thursday!