Archive for the tag - 21s

It’s Not What You’re Eating; It’s What’s Eating You.

April 28, 2015 By

Hello Davey,

The reason I’m reaching out to you is because I’ve hit that point in my life where I am ready to make some major changes. Right now, I am 20 (I’ll be 21 on Apr. 26th), I weigh 259 and I’m about 6ft. I’ve always been the big kid that everyone bullied, and I always used that as an excuse to justify my over eating. Now, I’m tired of justifying my excuse, and I’m ready to change it. What advice do you have for someone who is just starting out in the gym and starting to eat well?

Thanks,
Jayden

Change is possible!

A dramatic before and after: Change is possible!

Hey Jayden,

Thank you for your email and congratulations on taking the first step.

When we increase our food intake as a way to cope with negative emotions, it’s called emotional eating. For a lot of people, food can become a distraction from painful feelings, and overeating results. As such, I once heard someone ask: Are you unhappy because you’re overweight… or are you overweight because you’re unhappy?

In other words, sometimes it’s not what you’re eating; it’s what’s eating you.

As I’ve said so often before, losing weight isn’t as simple as moving more and eating smarter. Yes, both diet and exercise are important. But we must also examine the relationships in our lives - and, perhaps most importantly - the relationship we have with our body. As such, the best advice that I can give is to seek out professional help by finding a psychotherapist in your area. There’s no reason for you to do this alone.

Whatever diet and exercise plan you choose to follow (of course, I recommend The Davey Wavey Weight Loss Program), you’ll be encouraged to increase physical activity and decrease your calorie consumption through a healthier, proportioned nutrition plan. My advice is to lean into whatever changes you’d like to make; don’t make big changes too quickly. We are creatures of habit, and big changes are rarely sustainable. This means going to the gym once or twice a week (at least, at first) rather than six times a week. It might mean 30 minutes of exercise per day instead of 90 minutes. As these changes slowly become habits, you can gradually increase your commitments.

Someone bullying or hurting you isn’t a reason to further hurt yourself. Overeating and weight gain are preventing you from living the healthy, vibrant life that all of us deserve. Congratulations on taking your life back.

Love,
Davey

P.S. If you’d like to get started with The Davey Wavey Weight Loss Program, use discount code “YouTube” to save 25% during checkout.

Filed Under: Weight Loss Tips Tagged With: ,

Blast Your Biceps with 21s!

August 2, 2010 By

Basic bicep curls are a great way to build stronger arm muscles. When performed properly - and as part of a comprehensive fitness program - you’ll get results. There’s no doubt about it.

As such, when I train my biceps, I primarily stick to variations of the basic bicep curl. But every now and then, I like to really step things up and shock my system. There’s a great exercise called “21s” that does just that. Here’s how you do it:

  1. Grab a set of dumbbells or a barbell.
  2. Stand with good posture and an engaged core, as though you were going to perform a basic bicep curl.
  3. Curl the weights up just halfway. In other words, stop when your forearms are parallel to the floor; you’re performing the bottom-half of a bicep curl. Do 7 of these.
  4. Now, perform the top-half of a bicep curl. Start halfway up, where your forearms are parallel to the floor. Curl all the way up to your shoulders. Do 7 of these.
  5. Lastly, perform 7 full bicep curls. Start with your arms fully extended down, and curl all the way up to your shoulders. By the time you complete your last repetition, you will have performed 21 curls - hence the name.

Because you’re doing 21 curls, you will probably have to curl less weight than usual. I curl 40 pound dumbbells, for example. But when I perform 21s, I usually use 25 pound dumbbells. Find what works for you.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Filed Under: Arms, Biceps Tagged With: , ,