Are you a college student going on Spring Break? Or someone escaping the cold winter for a warm getaway? Want to lose a few pounds before your trip?

I've got the 7-Day Challenge for you! Starting January 21st, I'll be hosting a challenge on Facebook for people that want to shed some fat for spring using the techniques that I talk about in this episode, but diving much deeper into your habits, environment, and mindset around nutrition and training.

If you're interested, send me a message on Facebook (Nick Boleto) or Instagram (nick_boleto) and I'll add you to the group!

In this episode I'll cover:

-My dieting "fails" and why I'm so confident about my current approach

-The difference between Flexible Dieting and IIFYM (if it fits your macros)

-"Staple Meals" vs. Meal Plans (the problem with flexible dieting)

-The 80:20 rule and the importance of discretionary calories for long-term diet adherence

-How to determine your calories and macros for sustainable fat loss

Hussein Kasim, former strength and conditioning coach for West Ham United FC's academy team and owner of Force: Elite Athletic Performance, joins me to discuss a myriad of topics including:

-The funny story behind how we became "acquainted" (hint: it was not under the friendliest of terms)

-The state of YouTube fitness, how it brought us together, and why neither of us create content or follow anyone on that platform anymore

-Hussein's transition from a career in graphic design to architecture to strength and conditioning

-How to overcome injuries with a psychological and physical approach

-Long-term athlete development and Hussein's tenets to youth strength and conditioning

-Training and nutrition considerations during the month of Ramadan (or anyone that is following a strict fasting protocol)

Connect with Hussein on Instagram @coach_kasim for his professional account or @lebanese_papi where you'll find pictures of his daughter and his amazing shoe collection.

My highest engaging Instagram post of all of 2018 was one in which I talked about "my code" and how it had helped me overcome anxiety and optimize my fitness and my business. I got so many comments and DMs about it that I decided to make this episode where I dive deep into each rule and explain exactly how it helps me in hopes that you create your own code to help you dominate your fitness and your life.

If you enjoy this episode and want to take things to the next level and develop your own "code" to live by, shoot me a DM on Facebook (Nick Boleto) or Instagram (@nick_boleto).

Your prayers: answered! For millennia, experts and gurus have argued what the best rep range for building muscle is and it has DIVIDED the fitness industry.

There are the "gym bros" who insist on the 8-12 rep range as the "golden zone" and if you DARE leave it, you'll stay small forever.

Then there's the new school, evidence-based community that start every sentence with "well the research states that..." who say ANY rep range will work.

In this episode, I'll explain why both parties are right, but why I ultimately agree with one - backed by science and long-term anecdote.

I'll also discuss the direction of correlation between muscle and strength - does more muscle cause more strength or does the strength comes first and THEN the muscle.

I talk about "hard sets," what they are, why they're important, and how you can start using fatigue to your advantage in your training. In this discussion, I'll talk about some of the limitations of research and why not all of the conclusions drawn can be applied to you.

Enjoy and feel free to connect with me on Instagram (@nick_boleto) and Facebook as well (Nick Boleto).

I am joined by Katie Feeley, the co-owner of Power Plant Gym in Aston, PA and we talk all things related to women and fitness. Katie shares her journey of navigating the fitness industry, not only as a woman, but as someone who studied Political Communication of all things while in school. She discusses in great detail what kind of obstacles she feels women need to overcome to establish themselves as an authority in the field and what specific steps she has taken herself.

We then dive into training considerations for women and how, despite all of the articles you may have read that state otherwise, it's not all that different from training men. Generally, women can tolerate a bit more volume and a bit more frequency, and, especially when it comes to Strongman (Katie's sport of choice), their technique may need to be a bit different. But that's about it. We also go into the psychology of training athletes and how the stereotypes of training women and how they are motivated just aren't good enough.

Connect with Katie on Instagram @katiefeeleystrength, on Facebook (Katie Majewski Feeley), and check out Power Plant Gym @powerplantgym on Instagram and Power Plant Gym on Facebook as well!

Last week, I put up a poll on Facebook and Instagram asking you guys what your primary goal for the start of 2019 was and the overwhelming majority of you want to get stronger!

I want to help you put together a plan to do exactly that, so go grab a pen and paper, pour yourself some water, maybe a nice cup of coffee, and get ready to put some work in to ensure you do just that.

In the next 30 minutes, I am going to help you:

Get extremely clear on what your definition of “stronger” is, what your goals are, and create a vision for yourself

Understand exactly who you have to become in order to accomplish these big goals you lay out for yourself, both in the day-to-day and in the long-term with a couple of brief, simple exercises

Challenge your thinking about your environment because so many people think they are trapped where they’re at, but I guarantee there are small changes you can make TODAY

Enhance your circle of influence. This includes who you need to invite into your life to raise you up, but also figuring out who you need to cut out of your life as well; those that pull you down are often MORE powerful than those that pick you up

Create a list of rules of things you WILL NOT under ANY circumstance do as well as a moral code that will guide your daily habits

Devise a plan to actually get you stronger. What should and shouldn’t you be focusing on in your training?

Take MASSIVE action in not just your plan and all of these items, but taking it all a step further and getting the accountability and support you need to get it all done.

Connect with me on Instagram: nick_boleto

Add me as a friend on Facebook!

Today I'm getting back to my roots and discussing how I recommend training for athletic performance and how it differs from the training and nutrition of a strength athlete. For much of my schooling and practically all of my professional experience, this was my life, so it was great to provide you all with my prospective. In this episode, I discuss:

-Nutrition protocols for athletic performance, particularly for collegiate athletes and how to adjust them for the sport and goal of the individual as well as the time of year

-What to focus and, just as importantly, NOT focus on in the weight room: what movements are "essential," which I may or may not use and why not, and accessories I think damn near every athlete should have in a program as well as a brief discussion on periodization

-Finally I get into the non-weight room training that you'll do including plyometrics, high-intensity running, moderate-intensity running, agility, and technique work

Connect with me on Instagram after the episode @nick_boleto

Today I am bringing you an interview with my friend and client Mike White. He is an elite powerlifter in the USPA with a 1,694lb total at 21 years old. He is the current intern coordinator over Olympic Sports at James Madison University and will be pursuing a Master's in Nutrition and Physical Activity starting in the fall of 2019 in hopes of becoming a Registered Dietician. He has contributed to published, peer-reviewed research and is starting to work for USAW doing data analytics in January. Mike is arguably the most qualified person in the field of exercise science that you have never heard of and he brings amazing insight in this episode.

Mike was not always on the fast track to success and was not a natural at powerlifting. He's been training since he was 14, competing since he was 16 and has worked hard to get to where he is in powerlifting. He also was a straight C and D student for much of college, but he has turned it around big time. In this episode, we discuss how to balance training and social life, especially as someone in their early 20's, how to choose your friends, find proper mentors, and develop a proper mindset to overcome mediocrity.

If you want to connect with Mike further, follow him on Instagram @powerliftah as he preps for his next competition coming up in April 2019!