Advanced Fitness | Best Fitness Guide

Getting in shape can be a real daunting task. Where to even begin? Especially if you're a little clueless as to what to do when you finally get your behind through the doors of your local gym, getting the results can be a real challenge. BuzzFeed challenged two average joes (a dude and a girl) two aim high -- and we're talking about Chris Evans' Captain America and Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow ripped. Here's what Evan and Kelsey looked like before their transformation: What Chris Evans's personal trainer Steve Zim immediately noticed was bad posture, but also the fact that both of them had a great starting point -- something definitely to keep in mind when judging the "after" pictures. With the help of amino acid and melatonin supplements, they hit the gym. And they hit it hard. Trainer Steve got them to not only do rough days of isolated exercises focusing on areas like the glutes and shoulders (in Evans's case), he subjected them to a speci...

This article was originally published on AskMen UK. It’s 28 October 2016 – a grim, drizzly night in Bethnal Green, east London. Yet inside York Hall, temperatures edge towards tropical; the air thick with lager, sweat and Paco Rabanne. There’s anticipation, too, as after a volley of bruising Muay Thai encounters – some seasoned fighters, others up-and-coming – a competitor most accurately described as a ‘wildcard’ marches towards the ring. As the crowd roars its approval, it’s clear this boxer’s a local. But with a professional record of 0-0-0, how he’s wrangled a main event berth at one of Britain’s most treasured venues, remains a mystery. Slipping between the ropes and lifting a gloved fist to acknowledge the sell-out audience, the fighter’s identity adds a layer context to proceedings. It also serves to makes things even more confusing. It’s Idris Elba . Star of The Wire , Luther , and just-about-everybody’s top pick to be the next Bond. What the hell is...

Over the past few years, it seems like glutes have become the new abs, and squats the new [ insert favorite ab exercise ]. In many circles, nearly every other post on Instagram is someone showing off his or her squat, extolling the virtues of the squat, or a squat-related #progresspic (Yay!). They aren’t wrong to do so. Squats are great for everything from athletic performance to aesthetics. There should be no debate that the squat is one of the most important exercises in the gym. But there is an obvious disconnect when the majority of the time, people are performing only the barbell back squat, or even a variation on a Smith machine – a whole other article is needed for the latter. The back squat is by no means the only squat variation you should be doing, nor is it the most appropriate for everyone. Many people jump right into back squatting and end up with improper mechanics and awful depth. Or they only back squat and then hop on some isolation leg machines where they are ...

The Dad Bod Project is AskMen editor Ian Taylor’s attempt to take a pre-emptive strike on his misshapen, doughy torso before he becomes a father. He’ll be charting his efforts in weekly articles that cover the workouts, nutrition and black-belt time management required to get into shape, stay fit and beat the dad bod. Back in 2012, beer in hand, I watched Greg Rutherford jump into the history books. I was inside London’s Olympic Park on Super Saturday, when he took gold for Great Britain alongside Mo Farah and Jess Ennis-Hill. It was incredible. What’s even more amazing is that today, that same man – the owner of two Olympic medals and the current world long jump champion – is having a good look at my glutes. Something’s not right with them. Under Greg’s instruction, I’ve been lunge-walking back and forth across the gym floor and he’s watching closely, pointing out imbalances and giving me tips to improve my form. My left glute is turning in slightly when I plant...

Winter is in full swing, which can only mean one thing: bulking season! But where do you start? The big guy at the gym with the weight belt around his bulging midsection told you to eat everything in sight. But you did that once and it didn’t go exactly as you hoped. You looked a few months’ pregnant and sleepwalked through the day. You know you need to be in a calorie surplus to gain mass, but it shouldn’t be one long trip to the buffet. If you aren't consuming enough calories, muscle growth will stall, but that doesn't necessarily mean the more you eat the more muscle you'll grow. Ever since the 60s, bodybuilders have included bulking and cutting phases. However, bodybuilders from the 60s and 70s relied on steak, whole milk, and eggs. They ate a ton of it, but it was still good nutrient-dense food. Nowadays, that’s been misconstrued to an all-out “dirty bulk with a focus on fast food, pizza, donuts, and pop tarts. RELATED : This Four-Week Bodybuilder-Themed Arm ...

There's nothing worse than getting your arse to the gym and feeling like you're too tired to put in the work. But sometimes, going at 100mph 24/7, leaves even the smuggest gym bro feeling spent. But there is a secret to crushing that lifting session or that mid-afternoon meeting that actually happens between your sheets? It's true: sleep can have a major impact on your performance, according to Dr Mikhail "Mike" Varshavski, known to his 2.2 million Instagram followers as simply " Doctor Mike ." "When you get a full night’s sleep, which can vary from 7 to 9 hours for different individuals, it's been proven that all aspects of performance increase," he says. "Not only do you become quicker, faster, but your concentration greatly improves." But what happens when you can't necessarily nail seven hours night after night? That's when a focus on quality reigns supreme over quantity. Quality, or deep sleep, is when your brain is...

Whether you’re looking to create your own training plan, or having a coach create it for you, there are a number of factors that need to be taken into consideration to make sure the program supports your goals. Things like exercise selection, the weight you use, sets, reps, etc., all play huge roles in determining the effectiveness of your programme. And while those things are all very, very important, there’s one thing equally as important, yet often overlooked, or even forgotten. I’m talking about rest periods. Why Are Rest Periods Are So Important? Look around most commercial gyms and you might notice a lot people are pretty liberal with their rest periods. Texting, Facebooking, Instagramming, and conversations with friends all dominate the activity between people’s sets. Now, what you do with your rest period time is your business. But when it starts hurting your gains -- or worse, other people’s gains because you can’t shut up -- then I have a problem. The biggest dri...