People often go to the gym to accomplish certain fitness goals. Believe it or not, it isn’t a general consensus that gym guys want to build huge muscles and gym girls want to lose fat. I for one, do not workout to aim for a bigger and more muscular body; I go to the gym simply because I want to stay fit --- of course, we all know that the body comes with it, but I am not looking to get as strong as a powerlifter or as big as a bar bouncer. I am eyeing just the average fit guy look.

With this, I decided to set my fitness goals and came up with my own workout and diet plan, hence the birth of the Titan Workout. I am more of the type of guy that wants minimal adjustments with my current lifestyle outside of the gym, so I don’t diet that hard all the time.

But then again, that’s just me. We all differ in our opinions and reasons as to why we workout. I wrote this article to provide some tips on programming and dieting depending on your fitness goals.

Here are some common fitness goals and some tips on how to achieve them:

Goal – Fat Loss

If you are looking to lose fat, a 45-minute cardio routine 4-5 times a week could help. Alternatively, you may want to reduce your carb or fat intake (depending on your diet program) but ensure that you are getting a sufficient amount of daily protein.

Goal – Building Muscle

If you are looking to build muscle but not really worried about getting a little fat, adding at least 200 calories to your daily calorie intake could work. Eating too much wouldn't make muscle building faster, so just eat according to what your body really needs. If you do not see results after a month, try adding another 200 calories per day and see if that works.

Goal – Getting Stronger

To get stronger, you have to be beating your own records every now and then. If you have been benching 200 pounds and you are looking to hit 240, you can try out a low-rep scheme to gradually increase your PRs until you reach your target goals.

Goal – Get Fit (Not Necessarily Strong)

You can do cardio, calisthenics, weight lifting, or any other exercise that you want without worries. Just make sure that you are not straining your muscles because of your active lifestyle.

Goal – Bigger [Insert Muscle Name Here]

This one's simple. If a certain body part is lagging, hit it hard. Increase the intensity of that body part until you see it grow.

Of course, a combination of the right diet and the proper workout would be your sure way to success. Just remember to rethink why you are working out in the first place for you to determine how you should plan your fitness success.

Got something to share? Feel free to post your comment below.

Are you starting out with strength training and would like to find a program that can help you get stronger and build a decent amount of muscle? Have you been training for years and you feel like you have hit a plateau with your training program? Then, the Titan Workout is perfect for you.

The Titan Workout combines both strength and muscle hypertrophy training principles. It was built especially for people that are looking for a manageable but really beneficial workout. Combined with a proper diet, the Titan Workout is sure to do wonders in a couple of months no matter what your current level of training is.

Here's the training program:

This workout should be done at most 3x a week, preferably on an MWF schedule. Remember that you are doing this program often, so you should be careful on lifting too much weight that you'll never be able to recover until the next workout.

The idea of having a full-body workout instead of isolation is really simple; compound movements hit more muscles in a single workout than isolation. Since beginners and intermediates more likely have spent less than 2 years in the gym, they are still getting noob gains. Hitting all muscles in your body 3x a week could help maximize this benefit.

As for a diet plan, it would be depending on your goals. If you are looking to add muscle, increase your food intake a bit. If you are looking to lose fat, cut the carbs by 20 grams a day; just make sure that you are not reducing your food intake too much. I will be posting my own nutrition plan in a couple of weeks, so stay tuned!

This would be RZR Fitness' 1st ever supplement review. One of my primary goals in creating this website is to provide honest reviews of supplements that you can buy on the market. The first supplement that I will be reviewing would be the one that I personally used for a couple of months.

Promatrix 7 probably is an unfamiliar protein powder brand to people residing outside of the Philippines. It's a Filipino brand consisting of several protein sources giving 5 stages of protein absorption as opposed to whey's 1-2 hour absorption rate. Absorption of this protein could take up to 7 hours as indicated on the package.

The Price
At 1,600 pesos (approximately $38) for a 5-pound bag. Promatrix 7 by far is the cheapest protein powder that I have purchased in my 4 year journey to fitness.

Taste
This protein brand comes in 2 flavors (strawberry and chocolate). The strawberry flavored Promatrix 7 tastes a bit like chocolate ice cream while the chocolate flavored variant is reminiscent of soy milk with chocolate. Both flavors taste good in their own ways. The taste is good but if you're looking for richer flavor, you can spend around $20 more to get other brands like Optimum Nutrition or Musclepharm.

Protein Score
For ~21g of protein per serving, and a serving costing less than 25 pesos (~.40 USD) Promatrix 7 I believe is one of the best protein powders around that's worth every penny. In the Philippines, it would cost around 30 pesos for 4 eggs, a tad bit higher for one scoop of Promatrix 7.

The Verdict
Let me put it this way --- if it isn't worth it, why are people lining up to buy it? Cheap protein powder doesn't have to taste bad, and it doesn't have to compromise on quality either. I would recommend this supplement for people who are on a tight budget and are looking for a cheap protein source other than eggs. Kidding aside, I'd personally give this supplement a 4.5/5 star rating. It's not perfect but hey, considering that you can purchase it at an insanely low price, it definitely is worth trying out.

This basically is my honest review of Promatrix 7. I'll be posting reviews of other supplements that I have taken and will take in the near future.

The weekend is coming and everyone must be really stressed on a hard week's work. Here is something we found to lighten you guys up. Since this is a fitness website, we decided to look for some of the funniest gym fails ever and we came across this video that gave us an extremely hard laugh.

Warning: Do not attempt to reenact anything that you'll see on this video.

Watch this video from Dubai Self Defense:

Stronglifts 5x5 is a strength training program developed by a guy named Mehdi that follows Reg Park's training principle of progressive overloading and short but heavy workout sessions. As the program's author claims, it is the most effective way to get stronger at a fast pace. Each workout session takes around 45 minutes and it utilizes the top 5 compound workouts (squats, bench press, shoulder press, barbell rows, deadlifts).

Basically, the program is split into 2 workout sessions:

Workout A

5x5 Squats

5x5 Bench Press

5x5 Barbell Rows

Workout B

5x5 Squats

5x5 Shoulder Press

1x5 Deadlifts

You will alternate between the 2 workouts on an MWF training schedule.

Personally, I think the program is suitable for beginners and intermediate lifters who are looking to improve their personal PRs fast. The idea of progressive overloading trains your muscles to adjust to heavier weight at a faster pace. While they say that size and strength aren't equal, it would be safe to assume that you'll grow bigger doing Stronglifts but probably not bodybuilder-sized.

However, I do not see the idea of starting with an empty bar if you already are an experienced lifter. Also, doing only 3 exercises per workout session can be good if you have a strict schedule, but a bit boring if you a have a lot of free time to spend at the gym. You can spy on chicks running on the treadmill while you rest since they typically will take around 1.5-3 minutes after each set later on in the program.

If you are looking to get stronger and you are not in a rush to get bigger, I would recommend that you try this program out. However, if you are more aimed at size and aesthetics, Stronglifts 5x5 definitely is not for you. Remember, Stronglifts is not the only way to train. There are several other training programs that you can try for you to know what suits you best.

Click here to learn more about the Stronglifts 5x5 Program.

By definition, calisthenics is a type of exercise that utilizes only the body and minimal or no equipment. While you will need pull-up bars, parallel bars, ropes, etc. to do some calisthenics exercises, the idea is that the resistance will come from your own bodyweight.

Most bodybuilders hate this type of exercise and prefer weights over doing calisthenics. Most people, especially gym freaks believe that calisthenics cannot make you strong and eventually build muscle. I hate to burst the bubble but after a year out of the gym and working out at home using my homemade pull up bar and parallel bars, I have become stronger than I could ever imagine.

Well, enough of the introduction, here are my tips for beginners who want to start their calisthenics journey:

1. Compound is better
Unlike with weights where you work specific muscle groups on a given day, whole body calisthenic routines every other day is much better for bodyweight exercises. Most bodyweight movements like pushups for example target several muscle groups at once (in this case, your chest, delts, triceps, lats, and your abs). However, you can try splitting your training once you are in the intermediate or advanced levels of calisthenic training or if you are no longer progressing with full body routines.

2. You are competing against yourself, not with any other person
Most people envy their friends who can do 20 push ups even if they were previously untrained. While some people are genetically gifted, you could be one of those people who are not. Do not force yourself to break records in a short timespan; remember that what's important is that you are making decent improvement, no matter how slow. Forcing yourself into doing hard exercises will only cause you to exercise with bad form and could lead to you getting injured.

3.  Rest is just as important as working out
While calisthenics only focuses on exercises that utilize natural body movements, your muscles would still fatigue after a hard day's exercise. Make sure that you give your muscles plenty of time to recover before you work out again. Not getting enough rest could hamper muscle recovery and could do more damage than good. If you are feeling very sore or you feel like you are losing strength after each workout, you might want to rest and recover a bit more.

4. Your diet plays a big factor  
If you are looking to get lean and "toned", exercising everyday wouldn't help if you are eating too much. While it is true that muscle is built by exercising, you need to maintain a good diet to get fit. I personally am a believer that "junk food" is ok as long as you keep it to a minimum. Depriving yourself with the good stuff will only make you binge eat, and it could get disastrous. I would recommend that you get a food logging app to record your daily food intake and see when you can snack a chocolate bar. Always remember that sweets contain sugar, which is a carbohydrate. You can reduce your carb intake for the day to pave way for a snickers bar without feeling really guilty about it.

5. Progress, progress, progress
Once you are strong enough, workouts can get too easy for you. Always look for ways to progress. You can wear a weight vest while you push ups or if you prefer to be a purist, you can try declined pushups and eventually progress to doing one-arm pushups. The idea is to find ways to make every workout a bit harder than the last. Even 1 additional rep per week can make wonders for you.

These are just some of the tips that I can share to people who want to try living a healthy life with calisthenics. I might post some workout routines soon. Good luck on your calisthenics journey!