It's the first episode of 2018, and what could be a better way to kickoff the new year than going over how to plan out your athletic goals and set yourself up for success? In today's episode, Jeff, Andrea, and Alberto discuss the importance of setting your goals early, and how to adjust your yearly [...]
What factors contribute to muscle-loss when dieting? How important is the timing of your carbohydrate intake? What exactly are "leverages", and how does altering them affect your training? Picking-up at the end of last week's episode, Brad, Andrea, and Eric work together to answer the remaining questions. Topics range from: nutrient partitioning, to acceptable exercise [...]
Welcome to Q&A session 4! In today's episode, all five coaches work together to answer 10 subscriber asked questions. Topics range from: appropriate usage of drop-sets, to manipulating your body-fat set point, eliminating loose skin, maximum recoverable volume, "adrenal fatigue", and more. To expand your knowledge base and acquire additional resources to aid you in [...]
Pumpkin pie, turkey, wine...what could be better? The holiday season is a great time of year for many people, bringing with it: time off work, more time with those they care about, and mom's special yams. In today's episode, Jeff, Andrea, and Alberto discuss what this time of year is like for those who have [...]
When does the recovery diet end and the offseason begin? How does someone know when they are "recovered"? As the 2017 competitive season draws to a close, these questions linger in the minds of many competitors. With the previously accepted guidelines (i.e. reverse dieting) being vastly different than what we now know to be more [...]
One of the greatest aspects of physique sports, is the ability to be able to participate in them well into the later decades of life. At the age where most traditional sports stop, one's performance in bodybuilding is still peaking. In today's episode, Andrea, Alberto, and Brad discuss how things have changed in their athletic [...]
Would you like to learn how to design nutrition protocols for yourself or your clients? Wondering where to start and how to make future adjustments? You're in luck. In today's episode, Eric, Andrea, and Jeff sit-down to discuss the methods they use for setting up nutrition protocols for their athletes. The coaches cover: what data [...]
Similar to how tracking body-weight is useful for assessing fat-loss, tracking your training is valuable for assessing muscle-growth and strength-gains. In today's episode, Eric, Andrea, and Brad sit down to discuss how to track your training. The group go over in great detail the systems they use personally and with their athletes to track training [...]
While the fitness industry is often lumped into one big category, in actuality it has many different facets. Some companies choose to build their brand using over-night miracle workers, while others seek to establish themselves through providing time-tested knowledge. In today's episode, Andrea, Eric and Alberto discuss the concepts behind creating a lasting brand in [...]
While having a relatively sedentary occupation has its benefits when it comes to bodybuilding and training performance, it also comes with its fair share of drawbacks. In today's episode, Andrea, Jeff and Alberto discuss the various pros and cons of being a "bodybuilding desk-jockey". Each of the coaches go through what their training and dieting [...]
Off-season weight-gain. I can already see the cringe on many of your faces as I write this sentence. For a sport that draws people in who want to look better, the periods of weight-gain, higher body-fat percentage and resulting uncomfortable self-image are often found in the small print. In today's episode, Jeff, Brad and Andrea [...]
We've all been here before...We're in the gym training and look over to see the person next to us doing something we would consider to be "abnormal" or "sub-optimal". This could be anything from half-squats, to eccentric bench-press training, to static-holds. However, before we judge too quickly, are there actually some situations where these approaches [...]
Welcome back to Q&A session #3! In today's episode, Eric, Andrea and Jeff answer 5 subscriber asked questions on the topics of: advice for serious but non-competitive lifters, reverse dieting to "fix" a slowed metabolism, the effects of Olympic lifting on muscular hypertrophy, coaching your spouse, and guidelines for minimal calorie and fat intake while [...]
For some this question will come as a total shock. For others, it will align with very similar thoughts and concerns they've had themselves. In today's episode, Andrea, Brad and Alberto discuss the "lifestyle" as well as the division of bodybuilding. While it's quite clear that the bodybuilding "lifestyle" is growing, what is happening to [...]
One of the biggest misnomers in the fitness community today, is that IIFYM or "If it fits your macros" is synonymous with the term "flexible dieting". While tracking macros can be a form of flexible dieting, this isn't always the case. In today's episode, Andrea, Eric and Alberto discuss the current state of nutrition within [...]
In this week's episode, Andrea, Brad and Jeff discuss the pros and cons to training at home. Both Brad and Jeff are high-level athletes who utilize the efficiency of having a home-gym, to balance their life demands with serving their athletic goals. Each coach describes in detail, the equipment, size, and location of their home-gym. [...]
In this week's episode, Andrea sits down with Jeff and Alberto to discuss their current contest-preps. The group go back and forth comparing and contrasting the similarities and differences, between the two protocols. Topics covered include: Nutrition, Training, Cardio, Competition Schedules, Body-Weights, Predicted Peak-Week Strategies, and more. Along with discussing the technicalities of their programming, [...]
Why would a coach hire a coach? This concept may sound a little strange at first, however if you think about it, the rational is quite sound. People who hire coaches do so, because they want to get better themselves. Even if they have the knowledge and skills, having a coach to consult with, and [...]
Nutrition is supportive. If your goal is to build-muscle and get stronger, it doesn't matter how "perfect" your nutrition is, or how much protein you eat, your potential for muscle-growth will be limited. A properly designed training program is essential. In today's episode, Eric, Andrea and Jeff discuss all of the variables which play a [...]
Ever wondered about the "behind the scenes" operations of 3D Muscle Journey? In today's episode, Andrea, Brad and Alberto talk about the various communication methods they use to best support their athletes. Topics include: What information is collected prior to working with a new athlete, how their weekly coaching system works, and the rationale and [...]
How would you define a mini-cut? If someone asked you what the purpose of a mini-cut was, what would you say? In today's episode, Eric, Andrea and Alberto answer these questions, and more. The coaches cover pretty much anything you could ever want to know about mini-cuts: Should they be slow or aggressive? What is [...]
In this week's episode, Andrea, Brad and Jeff sit down to talk about the initial stages of a bodybuilding career. Topics addressed, include: Issues with wanting to complete before having enough training experience, learning the "tools" while you aren't in a deficit, letting go of "the number", having realistic expectations, and the importance of patience. [...]
In today's episode, Andrea and Eric are joined by Steve Taylor, the team 3DMJ Registered Dietitian. Eric interviews Steve on a variety of topics related to the field of dietetics. These include: What the process is like for becoming an RD. What sets an RD apart from a "nutritionist". And how Steve has found his [...]
After a full month of traveling, the 3DMJ coaches are back with another Q&A session. This week, Andrea, Alberto and Jeff sit down to answer five subscriber asked questions, regarding: – Deloading guidelines – Minimizing sleep disturbances while dieting – How to determine which division is best for you – Low self-esteem and bodybuilding – [...]
In this week's episode, Eric, Alberto and Andrea sit down together to answer an array of 3DMJ subscriber asked questions. Do we need to worry about setting a leucine target when dieting? What has made the coaches stay natural, in-light of the high prevalence of drug usage in the sport of bodybuilding? What are the [...]
It's easy to read the quote, it's much harder to actually live the philosophy. In today's episode, Jeff, Andrea and Brad discuss each of their own personal philosophies, and how these philosophies have lead them to pursue their passion, rather than take the "safer" route. In especially great detail, the group discuss Andrea, whose addition [...]
What does it mean to be "evidence-based"? What else besides research reviews, meta-analysis and individual studies, fall into this category? Once we have the evidence, how should we go about actually applying it? It today's podcast, Eric, Andrea and Alberto talk about the up and coming era of evidence-based bodybuilding, within the natural community. Although [...]
"Success is in the details." As a high-level athlete, the details matter. Not all of them, but some. Some details matter a lot, and others not so much. But which ones? In today's podcast, Brad, Andrea and Alberto go over just this. What details/variables actually matter when it comes to "getting the most out of [...]
The way in which we identify ourselves is the way we behave, derive our sense of self-worth, and spend the majority of our time and focus on. Identifying ourselves as an athlete can be very beneficial, however, if it is the only "hat" we wear, and if our identity is centered solely around our awards, [...]
Regardless of how it's done, contest prep dieting is tough. We're hungry, tired, stressed and at some point, even loading up the bar becomes a struggle. With all of that said, there are still ways to help mitigate our drops in performance, loss of sleep, and progressively increasing hunger levels. How? Well that is exactly [...]
