Q&A Part I: Creatine Causing Death, Starting Youtube, Macronutrient Talk

Mm-hmm. Before I do these Q&As, you gotta get pumped, you know. You got, you gotta be in the mood to create some content, you know. You gotta give off good energy, gotta keep people listening. So, alright, let's do this. So I posted a Q&A thread on my Instagram, that is @roblipsett. If you're not following me there, it's just criminal. And we got 272 questions as I up right now. It's Wednesday evening, so let's get stuck into it. Alright, let's go. First question: I'm a nerd. What's your favorite nerdy topic or subject outside the fitness world? Well, in school my favorite subject was art. I got a B1, which for, you know, a subjective module, it's not too bad. But nowadays, the art form that I'm interested in is film and photography. You know, I really appreciate a good— some good editing, like some good content. Like, honestly, that really appeals to me. And photography, you know, I bought a proper camera a while ago, and so that's something I'm trying to teach myself at the moment and get better at that. So film and photography, something I'm very interested in. What is your training split? What body parts do you train and how often? Right now it is this, but in the past for a long time I have followed a legs push-pull program, which is up on my website, just saying. So yeah, both these splits are just 6 days a week, hit everything twice a week. So as long as frequency and volume is equated, it's not going to make a significant difference. So just, you know, it's really just down to personal preference after that. What job did you have before becoming a fitness YouTuber, and did you always know what you wanted to do? Keep up the good work, bro. I worked for a nutrition company, and my role was operations executive, but it was 9 to 6, Monday to Friday, with 20 days off a year, and I just ain't about that life. Did I always know what I wanted to do? No, absolutely not. But I always wanted to come do different things, but it was always kind of something entrepreneurial. Tips for teens under 18 to lift and not damage any ligaments or bones and things like that? Just ensure your form is bang on and don't be an ego lifter. First ever car? My first ever car that I bought was a BMW 3 Series 318. I'll put a picture of it here. But just because it was a BMW doesn't mean it was good. It was actually a piece of shit. But the first kind of vehicle that I owned was an Oviedo moped, 2001, silver. Just driving around. I think I was like 15 or 16 at the time. Picked up so many bitches on that thing. I absolutely loved it. Thought I was the shit. And that was my first vehicle. I went to the moped store, said fuck it. Salesman's like, what up, what's your budget? And I'm like, honestly, I don't know nothing about mopeds. He said, I got the one for you, follow me. Ooh, it's too real. What's the best weekly split if you train 4 days a week? In my opinion, it would be 2 days upper, 2 days lower. So upper, lower, upper, lower, and get that frequency in. A lot of people are like, "Oh no, I can't train legs twice a week." Pfft, come off it. If you train your upper body 2 to 3 times a week, you can train your lower body more than once too. Did you have any fears when you first started on YouTube and your own business? No, not really, 'cause at the time, you know, I was working full-time and I just kind of gradually edged into doing my own thing. That's what I would suggest if you plan on starting your own business or YouTube channel. Just, you know, don't fucking quit your job and take the leap until, you know, you've got a good foundation set out for you. For someone trying to grow their fitness page, what would be the biggest piece of advice you would give for gaining a following and keeping their followers engaged? This is like something that really deserves its own video, so comment down below if you'd like me to do, you know, a full video on growing your own social media. Not like— I am so far from where I want to be, and like I'm nowhere near the top, but you're just putting that out there. But you know, I do have some good tips. Without going too into things, you know, this is Q&A, gotta keep it moving. Be unique, set yourself apart. Like, there's— everyone's got a fitness Instagram now, you know, everyone's the same. So do something, be unique, do something different, you know, keep people's attention. Don't be afraid to like get out there and, you know, say things that other people wouldn't say and stuff like that. But that just all comes back to being unique and different. So yeah, and consistency and quality as well. But now we're really just going too into things. So yeah, possible video on its own there. Are you "Are you going to be doing any subscriber workouts in the future? Keep up the good work, man." Yeah, I want to get one sorted within the next 2 weeks in Dublin, like in the city centre, like maybe in one of the Fly Fits or Raw or something. "What was your initial reason for starting YouTube? Was it to gain more offers of sponsorship, and did you just find it easy to gain better offers from setting one up?" Well, to answer your second question first, yeah, obviously, like, having a YouTube, being able to speak to the camera, it's very appealing to brands. So yeah, you know, that has helped massively with sponsorships. But no, I did not start YouTube to just get sponsored and stuff like that. You know, you shouldn't. That's not the reason to start it. The reason I started was, you know, I watched a ton of YouTube, a ton of different fitness YouTubers, and I just liked the lifestyle they had in general. And so that I said, hey, you know, I want a piece of the action. So that was the reason. And just, just the general lifestyle of them, you know, interacting with people all over the world and stuff like that. Does height have anything to do with gaining muscle? A lot of small lads get very big easily compared to lads being 6'2" and over. This is a good question, and you know, yes and no. Basically, you know, muscle building is going to depend on like your genetics and, you know, the effort you put in and stuff like that. But someone who's 6'2" can, you know, put on 5 pounds of muscle just as easy as someone who's 5'8". But it is going to look a lot more impressive on the shorter person because that 5 pounds is more compact. You know, it's kind of more concentrated and less spread out. So that 5 pounds of muscle, it'll come just as easy, but it'll just look bigger on the shorter person. Macro ratio you use— you shouldn't go off ratios, you should go off calculations. So like, for example, you know, the typical 1 gram per pound of body weight for protein and so on. But, um, again, you know, I could— there's a lot of debate there, and like, there's a lot of ranges for the calculations. So maybe that's another video. Is the aspartame in some diet minerals that bad for you, or bad for you at all? And the current evidence we have on that says, you know, it's fine in moderation. I will link all that here. You can check it out on examine.com. If some further evidence comes out showing that it's, you know, really bad for you, then I won't recommend it. But right now it looks to be absolutely fine. How do you fit in going out and drinking with your diet macros? Hmm, wouldn't it be great if I had an entire video dedicated to that? And to be honest, I really don't I don't do it that often. What did you make of Neil Francis blaming John O'Lomu's death on creatine? That was just gutter journalism at its finest. One of my friends actually got the top comment on the post on the independent.ie, so this is pretty much my thoughts on it here. Please, people, stop getting your nutrition information from the mainstream media. It's just clickbait. It's literally like going to a mechanic instead of a doctor. It's just— just don't do it. The article was— Absolute hogwash. How do you feel about people approaching you in the gym or in public? I really like it. I love when someone comes up to me and says, hey man, I like your videos. But I hate when people just stare at me in the gym. It makes me feel so uncomfortable. If you're staring at me, please just come up and say hello. It honestly makes me so awkward when people just look at me, and I'll be more than happy to talk to you. Does it matter what time you train in the day? Like, if I train at 7 in the evening, I would only get one post-meal 'in probably compared to training earlier and getting a full day of eating in after training, which is more beneficial? Thanks.' People need to understand, like, I could literally answer 90% of the questions I get on nutrition with just focus on your daily macronutrient intake and train when it suits you best and when it personally allows you to train at your best. You like training in the evenings, you feel better, do that. You like training in the mornings, Say it again. And just focus on your total daily macronutrient intake. Unless, like, you know, you have these people and they're like, you know, they're not elite-level athletes, they're not advanced bodybuilders, and they're worrying about their post-workout shakes and all that. And it's just like, oh guys, you know, you're missing the forest for the trees here, or however the saying goes. So many questions can just be answered with track your total daily macronutrient intake, eat your meals when you personally find it best, when your schedule your schedule allows it, and train when you personally prefer to. So just focus on the bigger things. Alright guys, so I'm going to split this Q&A up into 2 parts. That is part 1, so I am going to love you and leave you for 24 hours, and then same time tomorrow, the next part, part 2, will be up. So until then, just do your best to keep it real. I'll see you tomorrow. Also, special announcement, nearly forgot, as of today, right now, while I'm recording this, it is the 25th of November, Wednesday. Black Friday is in 2 days, so 27th November, there'll be a big sale on my website which I've never done before. So yeah, I'm kind of excited to see how that goes. It'll be on clothing and plans and, you know, services in general. So, uh, yeah, Friday, lipsandfitness.com, check it out.