Eat More When You Exercise

142lbs (belt is 7lbs) added weight chin-up in the photo (video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B3w3s_8D8S7/) - you have to eat more "than you burn" in order to gain ability. People have this false notion that exercise should be accompanied by starvation and food reduction; but the opposite is true. While improving abilities, one should be adding food. 

I planned today as a rest day, but felt increasingly good through the morning, such that I wanted to test pull-up strength. 52lbs went up easy. 97lbs was a smooth 5, almost 6 reps. 142 juuuust missed. So I nailed one chin for the heck of it. When I was training high rep pull-ups this summer I couldn’t do this. In fact, now, bodyweight is higher. "Wait, what!?", you may be thinking, "how are you heavier and improving at pull-ups?"

I’m eating in surplus. Weight may go up; but strength WILL go up. In fact, that’s the only way appreciable strength and size will ever be gained after being a beginner. The musculature which most people think they want requires a level of eating they aren’t ready to entertain. People are unfortunately mostly aligning exercise with reductions in food; but in a solid 12 month fitness program, at least 6 of those months should purposely be in caloric surplus in order to increase bone density, improve performance, and make denser tendons, ligaments and muscles.