Key Takeaways

I’ve been churning out content on my Instagram page and through my weekly newsletter. However, many of you don’t follow me and aren’t subscribed to my newsletter. You should totally do that (just click here for Instagram and here for the newsletter). Regardless, if you only check the site and don’t keep up with me on other mediums, I don’t want you to miss out on all the fun. So, here is a conglomeration of the fitness facts, tips, and stories I’ve shared this past week. Enjoy.

Full Story

Q: “Hey John, do you think I shouldn’t have white rice as a main part of the carbs I get daily? I was doing reading on how to get rid of stubborn belly fat and this was mentioned because it has a lot of carbs and starch?”

A: No, no, a million times no.

The client who asked me this question, let’s call him Kyle, is a very smart man. That’s why I was shocked and appalled that he would believe this myth.

Let me be very clear - the type of carbs you eat, whether they’re simple, complex, processed, unprocessed, white, blue, or purple, do not directly affect fat loss.

You lose fat by eating less calories than you burn. Sure, it may be easier to do this when you choose mostly high fiber, minimally processed carbs as opposed to getting them all from Tootsie Roll Pops and syrup, but it still comes down to calories. In fact, it’s even possible to lose fat while eating a Big Mac every day.

For more on why carbs don’t cause fat gain, check out this article on the topic here.

You can train you heart, burn fat, and reduce risk of disease in just 6 minutes

If you’re busy, cardio can turn into cardiNO faster than you can say, “elliptical.”
🚷
Believe me, I know. I wouldn’t mind spending 45 minutes or an hour a few times/week toiling away on the bike, but who has time for that?
⏰
Toddlers and retired folk, that’s who.
👶🏻
Because analytics tell me I have an unfortunately underwhelmingly small toddler audience (small in number, not stature), I’ll tell you how to get your cardio done IN 6 MINUTES OR LESS.
—————————————-
The BENEFITS:
•
•Increased endurance and athletic performance
•Improved heart health
•Better blood sugar control
•Reduced risk of disease
•And more!
🏃‍♀️
—————————————-
The WORKOUT:
•
•Hop on a bike, rower, air dyne, elliptical, or any other machine you can sprint on without blowing out your hamstrings
•Warm up at moderate pace for 1 min
•SPRINT - as hard as you possibly can - for 20 sec
•REST - 10 sec
•REPEAT X8 rounds (4 total minutes)
•Cool down for 1 min
✅
6 minutes, including warm up and cool down. DONE.
————————————
Let me be clear - this workout should not be your go-to, exclusive cardio for the rest of your life.
👵🏼
Moderate intensity, “Zone 2” cardio (something like walking on the incline treadmill at a conversational pace) has independent heart health benefits - ones you won’t get from this 5 minute thrasher.
💓
However, for BUSY days, weeks, and months of your life, this is a fantastic option for staying in shape.
🚴‍♂️
Remember, just because you can’t see your heart doesn’t mean you shouldn’t train it!

Be patient with fat loss and muscle gain

“Patience is a virtue” is the message I’ve preached to a few of my fat loss clients this week. In this world of instant gratification, it’s easy to get frustrated if you don’t see results immediately after working out, eating a vegetable, or sleeping an extra hour. Unlike the sleep, significant change won’t happen overnight.

Two of my clients, let’s call them Sally and Adam, have been working at fat loss for many months with little change on the scale. They pushed through the frustration and these past few weeks their progress has skyrocketed. They are hooked.

Hold on tight and keep pushing until you see results. When you do, you won’t want to stop. Trust me.

How to train biceps for optimal gains

My name is John Solokas and I’m a bicep-curl-aholic.
😥
Ever since my teeny tiny bicep vein poked it’s head out of my 15 year old pencil arms, I’ve been hooked.
👋
Barbell curls, cable curls, flexing in the mirror, you name it - if it involves bringing my wrist closer to my shoulder, you can count me in.
————————————————-
Sure, it may not be the most functional or important, but I absolutely love training arms.
😍
At the start, you could find me toiling away with hundreds upon hundreds of curls. Today, I take a more scientific and efficient approach.
🔬
Here’s how to MOST EFFECTIVELY train your BICEPS.
———————————————
As you know, we have 3 main drivers of muscle size:
1️⃣Mechanical tension - heavy weight, 4-8 reps, longer rest (2-4 minutes)
2️⃣Muscle damage - slower tempo, 6-12 reps, moderate rest (90 sec - 2 min)
3️⃣Metabolic stress - higher reps (12-30), shorter rest (60 - 90 sec)
•
If you want to develop any muscle, you should be training with all 3 strategies (for more about these, check out a FULL EXPLANATION linked in my bio)
•
This includes the biceps! That’s right, if anyone tells you to train only with high reps and light weight to “tone” your arms - run far away as quickly as your little legs will carry you.
🏃‍♀️🏃🏃‍♂️
—————————-
A BONUS tip for bicep development - use movements with varying ELBOW position.
🤳
Take a 2nd look at my examples. I performed exercises with:
•
•Elbows by my side (barbell curl)
•Elbows in front (chin ups)
•Elbows behind shoulder (incline curl)
•
This is beneficial because it works all of the bicep muscles (yes, there’s more than one!) You have THREE “bicep muscles”:
•
•Long and short heads of biceps brachii
•Brachialis
•Brachioradialis
•
No need to get into the weeds, but by varying your elbow position you can optimally target each muscle, resulting in a bowling ball biceps.
🎳
——————————
Any burning questions? Just let me know!

Wrap Up

I hope you learned something today. If you enjoy my weekly updates, I’d love for you to share the website with your friends and family.

As always, please give me any feedback. What do you want more or less of? Any other suggestions? Just let me know at solokasfocus@gmail.com.

Have a strong week,

John