Soreness Isn’t the One

“Azad, do you mind altering the Tuesday workout. I didn’t feel ANYTHING the next day, I want to feel like I’ve worked”.  I’ve had this request on multiple occasions. It’s not something I’ve made up for this post.  People want to feel sore from their workouts and to wear that as a badge of honor […]

Eat 1 Less Roti a Day – Small Change, Big Impact

If you can find a way to decrease caloric intake without feeling like crap, your chances of success are greater because it’ll be easier to stick with it over the long run. – Christian Thibaudeau Let’s suppose someone eats 3 Rotiya every night as part of their family meal and they have a few pounds […]

Should You Lift with Light Weights or Heavy Weights?

There’s no such thing as light weight – you should always lift heavy and challenge yourself for the given rep range. I’ll explain in more detail below. Some definitions to begin with Reps (repetitions) – One complete motion of an exercise Sets – A group of consecutive reps Top Set – The last and heaviest […]

The Most Important Dieting Word Nobody Mentions – Adherence

Adherence is a term you’ve probably never heard of before. But if I said to you your success dieting was all down to adherence, does that make it sound more important?  Adherence is essentially your ability to stick to something. So dietary adherence is your ability to stick to your diet and it’s highly important. […]

Checklists for Optimal Results & Celebrating Small Wins

Some Context I’m sharing these because it’s important for you to understand what’s in your hands and what isn’t. You hitting 10,000 steps today or 120g protein is totally in your hands. Losing 5kg fat in a month isn’t necessarily. It’s really important you are able to check your efforts against a list so you […]

The Only Home Workout Routine You’ll Ever Need

What you’ll need: A mindset for self improvement Some resistance bands (super cheap and lightweight way to workout anywhere) A TRX suspension trainer (you can use a rolled towel hooked around a door too) Pullup bar (ideal for back training and a great place to hook up your TRX) A slider (you can use a […]

A Case for Protein Shakes

I’ve been thinking about my protein intake a lot recently. It probably falls within the 1.6g – 2.2g per KG bodyweight range daily but isn’t where it should be at the upper end of that range. That’s how you should be looking at these ranges if you don’t eat animal products, you should be aiming […]

Don’t Forget Bodyweight Exercises

Don’t be fooled by the simplicity of bodyweight exercises. It feels like the second we get a gym membership we forget about the humble pushup. I started off my whole fitness journey with home workout and doing pushups until I crashed nose first into the floor with failure. As soon as I joined a gym […]

3 Dumb Things I Used to Believe

1) I need to lift in the 8 – 12 rep range for muscle building This is something I actually picked up from my personal trainer course when I got certified and it is something that has only recently been reviewed in some solid research.  The research actually shows this range is much larger than […]

Why I Always Recommend Weight Training

I recently had a conversation with someone about his fitness progress and also asked about his partner and how she was getting on too. She was someone I was working with previously on beginner strength and trying to get used to using weights to help her body composition. She was trying to increase muscle tone […]

Common Conversations I have

The following are common conversations I have had with people about reaching their fitness goals.     The guy who can’t gain any weight. (assuming they’re already weight training and trying to gain muscle)   Guy: I just can’t gain any weight.   Azad: No problem, I’m sure I can help, how does your current […]

Common Fitness Myths Debunked

A significant portion of the time I spend on fitness consultations with people around the world is spent debunking current notions and fitness myths. The beauty of doing so today is that everything can be looked into with a quick google search and there’s plenty of research available on exercise, fitness and nutrition. This is […]

The Number On The Scale Isn’t Everything

For years I’ve been encouraging people that the number on the scale isn’t everything. This is usually something I say once clients ring me concerned about not moving on scale weight on this weeks weigh in. I encourage them, explain the possibilities and the fact there’s much more to look at. Hopefully they leave the […]

Incorporate Roti Into Your Fitness Journey

You may have read my previous article about roti. If not you can read it here. Unfortunately there’s still a huge stigma around eating roti whilst being on a fitness journey. ‘you can’t eat roti because it’s all carbs’ ‘I had double butter chicken (or daal makhani) instead and left the rotiya because, you know… […]

British Asian Podcast – Azad Singh

I love podcasts! I listen to them daily in the car or during work hours. It was amazing to be featured on one with Sat Mann who hosts the British Asian Podcast (http://www.britishasianpodcast.com) We discuss everything from how I got started with fitness, social media, veganism and my experience training people. You can hear it […]

You Are Probably Not Training Optimally

 If you are doing chest on a Monday and following up the rest of the week with a body part split, you are not training in a way that is supported by the latest science as being optimal for muscle and strength building. You’re not training optimally. If you want more out of the time […]

My Client Jatin’s Journey

Ever since being a qualified personal trainer I’ve worked with numerous people, both one to one and online, who have had confidence issues in their personal life as well as in the gym. My client Jatin was no different.   We actually met through one of his friends and roommates who was already my client […]

Eating Roti and Your Fitness Goals

You’ve probably heard it before, remove roti from your diet if fat loss is your goal. I’m here to tell you roti is nothing to be afraid whilst on a fitness journey and eating it will not automatically slow your results. Let’s break down the nutrition… A single roti has around 120 calories, 15g carbs, […]

Get Leaner This Summer With These 5 Tips

Summer is here and most of your reading this are probably in pursuit of getting leaner for a holiday or event. Not ideal, it’s kinda late. Getting lean (reducing your body fat percentage) should be an endeavour you’re always working on regardless of season, however here’s 5 tips to help you get leaner this summer. […]

Reflecting On 8 Years In The Gym

I began working out in a gym in December of 2008. I’ve tried many things, made mistakes, learnt a lot, got qualifications and even found a passion and living from the gym. Recently I’ve been reflecting on 8 years in the gym and everything I’ve experienced, hopefully you’ll pick up a thing or two. Ever […]

The GO HARD Method To Better & Stronger Abs

Now most of you reading this probably aren’t working your core region nearly enough. No, I’m not talking about a few crunches or poorly done sit-ups at the end of your session. I’m talking deep core muscles which will help your performance and probably keep you from experiencing back pain. These muscles are hit somewhat […]

VegPlanet Magazine Interview – Azad Singh

So, I was interviewed and featured in an Indian magazine catering for vegetarians and vegans. You can subscribe and read more over at – www.vegplanet.in. Here is the VegPlanet interview. Name: Azadbir Singh AthwalAge: 25Sex: MaleProfession: Personal Trainer 1. Why did you, as a bodybuilder, quit meat & dairy products and become a vegan? I […]

The Only 5 Exercises You Need

So having been in the gym for 8 years now I’m finding that the more experienced I get, the less substance my routines contain. For that and many other reasons I’ve tried to help you with the only 5 exercises you need to get aesthetic and athletic. If you haven’t yet viewed the video check […]

Deadlifts are The KING!

All hail the ? Put down your EZ bar and learn to deadlift correctly. Lifting stuff off the floor is about as real world and applicable as it gets – a basic human movement. Deadlifts are the king and here’s why you should be doing them. Deadlifts. Nothing tests your strength like Deadlifts. Challenging every […]

The Worst Routine I’ve Ever Created!

As a personal trainer I’ve designed many routines and plans. In excess of hundreds! I don’t know how other strength coaches or trainers feel but I find it quite hard to program for myself. This brings me onto this squat everyday routine that I created (and did for quite a while before giving it up). […]

Good Sleep Beats All Supplements

You may have heard the quote ‘if you snooze, you lose’. I’d argue the contrary, ‘if you don’t snooze you lose’. I can’t stress enough the importance of sleep for you to reach your fitness goals. Not only to reach fitness goals but general health.Believe me, good sleep beats all supplements! For the last month […]

Where Do Vegans Get Their Protein?

Before I go onto writing a list of vegan protein sources, I think it’s important to address a few protein related questions and concerns which people usually have.    Firstly you may have seen the image that broccoli contains more protein per calorie than steak. That is technically correct but it’s mainly a trivial fact. […]

7 Things I’d Go Back and Tell Beginner Azad

There are things we can all look back and say we did wrong. Call it the power of hindsight. The beauty of consulting a strength coach or personal trainer is not only are they qualified, but they’ve hopefully been through more training experience and have had more sets and reps of hindsight. I know I […]

Weightlifting Benefits Everyone

What do you think of?If I say weightlifting, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? Probably a few brawny wrestlers from the WWE or Arnold Schwarzenegger. Although they lifted weights and you could argueArnold begun a huge successful career from the use of the dumbbell, weightlifting is far more. Let’s rewind for a second…Before […]

9 Reasons Why You Aren’t Gaining Muscle

Muscle trouble? Training becoming robotic? There are many benefits associated with achieving slabs of new muscle tissue, making it a desirable choice for many. However it is a long and hard process. Are you having trouble putting on size? Below are 9 reasons why you aren’t gaining muscle. 1. You aren’t lifting heavy weights Needless to […]

7 Reasons to Acquire More Muscle

Despite not being able to last longer than our fatter counterparts through an ice age, in most other scenarios muscles are the answer! Here’s 7 reasons to acquire more muscle. 1. It looks fantastic… Toned – muscle! ‘Toned’, is a word thrown around by many in the health and fitness world, what it actually refers […]

11 Physical Benefits of Exercise

Exercise physically improves our bodies. Might sound like common sense right? But not really. Here’s 11 physical benefits of exercise! 1. Your posture improves Nothing says ‘time and effort in the gym’, like a great upright posture. This carries over from simple activities such as walking to certain exercises where posture is essential such as […]

Interview – Sikh Bodybuilding

The interview is for sociological research which attempts to look at Sikh identity and Masculinity through a study of Sikh Bodybuilding and Gym Culture among Sikh men. Thanks to Amanjit Kaur Ahuja for approaching me and allowing me to use the content of the interview.       What motivated you to start going to […]

Want Instant Results?

Our minds have become fine tuned towards instant results and instant outcomes, unfortunately the same can’t apply for instant health and fitness. Living in a modern, digital and generally fast-paced time we have become accustomed to getting things we expect quite instantaneously. Especially if we look at things in context at a wider time scale. […]