Plant-based Bodybuilding

October 24, 2016 by

As I recently shared, I’m currently transitioning towards a plant-based diet. My decision to do so was by and large for cardiovascular health concerns. Studies show that those on a plant-based diet are half as likely to be diagnosed with heart disease as well a whole list of issues. Since I’ve made the switch, I’ve gotten a lot of surprise from friends, family, and even clients. Fitness and exercise is my bread-and-butter. I workout everyday and help others achieve the fitness outcomes that they’re shooting for. So when I casually let slip that I’m doing so on a plant-based diet, the general reaction I get is generally like

shocked shock michael cera scott pilgrim vs the world

Sometimes like

HULU parks and recreation shocked amy poehler shock

And occasionally like

shocked dinosaurs stunned earl sinclair shock

Needless to say, people don’t get it. How could a plant-based diet provide me with the proper amount of protein for my physically rigorous lifestyle?!? Even more, a lot of people imagine how meat could actually be harmful for you.

Now, I’m not trying to tell anyone how to eat. I have specific reason for switching to a plant-based diet. If you would like to continue eating meat, awesome. To help explain my rationale for a plant-based diet, I’ve pointed a number of folks to the below video by Dr. Greger, author of the New York Times Bestseller How Not to Die:

As a rule of thumb, excess cellular growth is not so good for the body. The more times a cells copies itself, the more likely a cell is to get incorrectly copied, and the more likely we are to receive tumors, which may be indicative cancer. Heavy, I know. The thing is that many individuals, like myself, aim for extra cellular growth in the form of gaining muscle mass.

Those who eat a plant-based diet are known to exhibit less of the growth hormone IGF1. This is great because it’s correlated with a decreased risk in cancer, but at the same time it would seem that less of a growth hormone would make building muscle mass an unreachable goal. As it turns out that this isn’t the case.

For more information on Plant-based diets, check out this piece in

Thanks for viewing! If you have any thoughts or comments, feel free to drop me a line.

If you haven’t already heard, I’m trying to raise $300 for the Miami Rescue Mission. Checkout my GoFundMe to learn more.

Bryan Lockley

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Goatees for Good Eats

September 29, 2016 by

I recently started a GoFundMe called Goatees for Good Eats. The aim of the campaign is two-fold: to raise funds for the Miami Rescue Mission so that they can provide more meals to those who need them most and to spread awareness about homelessness.

It costs $2.00 to pay for a meal at the Miami Rescue Mission. Our target goal is $300 for an extra 150 meals.

Help men, women, and children this spring.

Miami Rescue Mission

The humorous twist is that I won’t shave my goatee until we hit that goal. As much fun as it is having a goatee, I would like to shave it off before sometime next year. To be honest, I’d love to shave it off by the end of October. So the more quickly we can raise these funds the better! If you want to contribute but are unable just have to donate money, you can still help out in a couple of ways:

1) Have a goatee? A beard? A great mustache? Take a picture of you and your amazing facial hair, Tweet it @BryanLockley32 with your name and city, and I’ll post it on the GoFundMe page. One lucky facial hair submittee will receive a gift card to BestBuy once the goal is reached. 

2) Don’t have great facial hair? That’s alright. You can still help out by sharing the GoFundMe link or by sharing this blog post. Again, that will help us not only raise funds, but also spread the word on homelessness and what people can do help reduce it.

That’s it! If you can pitch-in in any way, I would really appreciate it and so would all of those that whom you would be helping out.

Around Miami-Dade County over 4,000 individuals are homeless. That’s 4,000 people who are left on the fringe of society. That’s 4,000 people who desperately need help to reach their potential.

As someone who’s been in the world of personal training and nutrition for much of my life, I know it can be hard to push yourself (let alone push yourself to your limits) without enough food.

In 2015, the Miami Rescue Mission provided over 995,000 meals to those who needed them most. With your help, the Miami Rescue Mission will be able to provide another 150 more meals.

Thank you!

Bryan Lockley

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Is Group Exercise More Efficient Than Solo Exercise?

March 5, 2015 by

Exercise and the effort to get in better shape seems to be getting more and more complicated as the years go by. It seems as though there’s a new article coming out every week that contradicts previous articles and just sows more confusion about the most effective time to exercise, what we should eat while trying to get in shape, and which new diet fad really is the easiest way to lose that winter weight! One of the more recent developments in the world of fitness is group exercise classes and the “tribes” that are created from them. While the “tribe” aspect is really just a clever marketing scheme aimed at small groups of those who are passionate and think similarly when it comes to exercise, they’re becoming more and more of a reality in the exercise world thanks to companies like Soul Cycle and Crossfit.bryan_lockley_workingout

The traditional form of exercise is going to the gym alone and just working out and then leaving. People who work out like this are called lone wolves and they prefer the privacy that comes from working out alone and following your own routine with no regard for what others want to do. While some people say that joining a tribe that exercises in a way you love is the best way to go about losing weight and getting healthy, others think that the lone wolf approach is better because it forces you to rely on yourself and keep yourself motivated.

At the end of the day, people need to figure out the best way to exercise (it is, after all, the reason those articles keep getting written). So which is the most effective form of exercise? Well like so many other questions, it depends on the person and what they’re looking to accomplish. Those who need a group to keep them focused and motivated on exercising should probably find a tribe of like-minded individuals to exercise with. The only caveat is that these tribes are jokingly referred to as cults for a reason; they can be all consuming and take over your life. People who join tribes definitely shouldn’t close themselves off to making friends and taking full part in the activities, but they should also make sure that they don’t become absorbed and change as a person. People who have the motivation and know what to do should probably go the lone wolf route of exercise. There is no need to join a tribe (other than to make friends and have fun) if you have the motivation and know-how to exercise by yourself. The support system isn’t needed and you might not want to workout alongside everyone else if you don’t like the exercise they’re doing. Either way though, as long as you’re exercising and getting healthy then you’re on the right track!

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

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How to Maximise your Fitness Band

January 28, 2015 by

Fitness bands are becoming a more and more common accessory amongst both people who are in control of their health and those who are looking to start getting healthy and need the extra support. While they all seem to promise results and an easier way to keep track of your fitness and health, people still seem surprised when the weight doesn’t just fall off and when they need to actually put effort into their weight loss efforts. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you maximise your fitness band experience.

  1. Monetary Motivation: One of the best motivators for anyone trying to accomplish anything is money. Everyone loves to make money but people seem to hate losing money even more and so it makes a great motivator for weight loss. People always seem to have issues doing what they know is good for them (like exercise) and so the threat of monetary punishment is frequently enough to help tip the scales in favor of being healthier. There are a number of websites and apps that will create commitment contracts that stipulate how much money you would lose if you don’t meet your daily or weekly goals. Use these to add extra incentive to your health kick!
  2. Don’t Over-Complicate and Accessorize: One of the greatest things about fitness trackers is that they’re so easy and convenient to add to your daily routine. With that in mind, if you over-complicate the addition of your fitness band in your daily routine then you run the risk of making it a much less effective weight loss tool. Keep it simple and make sure that the addition of your band is as natural and seamless as possible to make sure that there are no excuses for using it properly.
  3. Be Realistic: One of the most disheartening things when trying to lose weight is failure or not reaching your goals. Keep it simple and keep those goals reasonable and realistic so that you can reach them and use that pride to further motivate you. Weight loss takes time and so don’t sprint out the gate during what will become a marathon.
  4. Support, support, support: Don’t do this alone. So many fitness bands have websites or apps attached to them that have a large and incredibly supportive community. No one will make fun of you for trying and these groups can be the extra kick you need to help boost your weight loss efforts into overdrive. Use them!

Hopefully these tips will help you use your fitness band better and help your weight loss goals! If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

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2015’s Hottest Fitness Trends

January 2, 2015 by

2014 is dead and gone and with it are all of our failed New Years resolutions and the shame that came with them. 2015 is now here and with it come all of the same resolutions as 2014 but with a side of shame and a possibly some extra inspiration. To help all of those out there looking to lose weight, gain muscle, and get healthy, here are two hot new fitness trends that should help keep the pounds off and your goals in reach! These new trends are less about just gaining muscles and getting ripped and more about overall health and happiness.

BODY WEIGHT TRAINING:

This is the first trend that is picking up steam in the health world for a number of reasons including ease of access. Body weight training means exactly what it sounds like: using your own body as weights and for resistance when it comes to training. While this sort of training has been around for a while, it is getting more and more popular. The use of your own body means that this sort of training is perfect for people who don’t have time to go to the gym or who don’t have equipment. Your body follows you everywhere and so it can be used for training anywhere that’s appropriate. The lack of equipment also means that there is less of a chance for injury because the only weight you’re using is weight you can control. With the ability to workout anywhere and use any number of devices and immobile objects to help you, this training is rightfully getting more and more popular.

FUNCTIONAL TRAINING:

Function training can be seen as a natural and logical progression of body weight training. With less of a focus on muscle mass and more of a focus on posture, breathing, balance, and flexibility, functional training can be used for exercise as well as physical therapy having to do with muscles and joints. This has also become more popular because it is easier and more beneficial for the elderly and they’re taking a renewed interest in their health. People who work at desks are also adopting it to help with posture issues and back problems.

These are just two new exercise trends that are starting to gain steam and there will be so many more as the year progresses. If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

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