A few months back we had Kel Mitchell on Rapzilla for an interview. He was speaking about his new book ‘Blessed Mode: 90 Days to Level Up Your Faith’. In much of the promo leading up to the release, it showed Kel getting his “superhero” on.
This led us to ask about his fitness regimen.
*Note: Kel Mitchell is not a health expert. What works for him, may not be best or work for you. If you are new to fitness, perhaps ask your doctor first.*
His answer was pretty simple:
“90% of working out and fitness is food. Eating lifestyle, portion control, drink a lot of water, calisthenics…pullups, dips bars.”
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So let’s unpack it.
3 Exercise & Fitness Tips:
90% of working out and fitness is food. Eating lifestyle, portion control
He’s pretty close here. Many people approach fitness with the 80/20 rule, which means 80% is diet and 20% is exercise. Although the numbers aren’t an exact science, there are merits to approaching fitness in this way. According to Very Fell Fit, “It is based on the fact that it is easier to consume calories versus burning calories.”
“weight loss is achieved when you take in fewer calories than you burn. To shed one pound, you need to burn or have a caloric deficit of about 3,500 calories. Why 3,500? Because it is equal to about one pound of fat. To create this deficit, yes, you could try your hardest to burn that much during workouts, but it would be much easier to cut out calories than to run 10 miles a day, burning only 500-700 calories,” reports the Mayo Clinic.
In other words, eat smarter, work harder!
Drink a lot of water
Water keeps your body hydrated and moving when it’s working hard. In fact, much of the fatigue or exhaustion felt when exerting yourself can be linked to improper hydration.
There were a number of Major League Baseball players this past season that complained of lingering muscle pulls and soreness. It was found out that some players were not drinking enough water.
“In one hour of exercise the body can lose more than a quarter of its water. Dehydration leads to muscle fatigue and loss of coordination. Without an adequate supply of water the body will lack energy and muscles may cramp. So, drink before, during and after a workout.
Lean muscle tissue contains more than 75 percent water, so when the body is short on H2O, muscles are more easily fatigued. Staying hydrated helps prevent the decline in performance, strength, power, aerobic and anaerobic capacity during exercise. So, when your muscles feel too tired to finish a workout, grab a drink of water before getting back to it.”
Calisthenics…pullups, dips bars
Calisthenics encompasses a variety of body weight and motion moves that use numerous muscle groups and sometimes even full body. While weights are for more targeted and maximum build results, calisthenics builds a more lean, refined, body-controlled power dynamic. For weights, think bodybuilder and for calisthenics, think gymnast or parkour.
Within calisthenics, pull-ups and even chin-ups are known to build incredible upper body strength as it targets the back and biceps with a bit of abs, chest, shoulders, and triceps depending on the form. Dips are more for triceps and a bit of shoulder. Both exercises work to stabilize your body and could also focus on core strength if tightened.
The best part about calisthenics is the creativity. You don’t need any equipment necessarily. You can use a chair for dips, hang from the monkey bars at the gym for a pull-up, do some pushups, etc. Your body is the equipment. Read more about the benefits and other ways to do calisthenics here.
Something to listen to while working out:
Kel putting his workout plan into action:
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