Archive for the ‘Build Muscle’ Category

Have you ever heard that losing fat is 90% diet and 10% training?  Well, that’s the formula for losing weight, which is a very different goal than losing fat!  Most fitness experts or trainers will tell you that your diet is the most important component in your pursuit of a fat free body but that is only half the equation.  Simply cutting calories without exercising or even worse, doing the wrong type of exercise, doesn’t just burn fat.  It burns fat and MUSCLE!  So you will weigh less but your body will be weak and soft instead of lean, ripped and hard.  And you will be what we all try to avoid in the fitness world – a skinny fat person.

The fact is the way you train is every bit as important for fat loss as the way you eat.  Unfortunately, when most people think of exercising to lose weight, they think of aerobic activities, such as biking, running, swimming etc.  And while all burn lots of calories, which is important, if  like most people you have trouble sticking to a diet, but when it comes to burning pure FAT, long moderate, boring aerobic activity is simply overrated!

Below are 3 reasons why:

1.  Your body adapts to cardio.
The more you do cardio, the more efficient your body becomes at burning fat for fuel, causing you to burn fewer calories from your fat stores each time you exercise.

2.  It takes longer.
When your body adapts to aerobic activity, your workouts have to last increasingly longer in order to burn the same amount of calories.  This not only increasing the amount of time you have to spend working out but also increases the chances of your body breaking down its own muscle for fuel instead of fat!

3.  The benefits are temporary.
Slow moderate aerobic activity does not increase the amount of fat you burn after your workout.  This is known as the “afterburn.” This is an important concept I talk about in my new book “Rapidly Ripped-The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!” Your metabolism returns to normal shortly after stepping off the elliptical or treadmill.

THE MOST EFFECTIVE WAYS TO LOSE YOUR FAT!

The best way to get rid of unwanted body fat is hitting the weights.  The key is knowing exactly how to train to accelerate the rate at which your body burns fat, without sacrificing any of your hard earned muscle!  The first step is to forget about training individual body parts.  Instead of arms on one day and shoulders on another, and chest on yet another, think of your body as one large muscular unit and try to work as many muscles as possible in each resistance training session.  This is one of the key strategies behind The Rapidly Ripped Ultimate Fat Burning Workout. The concept of full body workouts combined with supersets and giant sets is KEY to your fat burning success!

Studies show the more muscle you stimulate in a workout, the greater the boost to your metabolism for the next 24-48 hours (a process we mentioned earlier known as the “afterburn”).  This means your body is continually burning fat at an increased rate long after your workout is over-even while you’re watching TV, driving to work or even sleeping!

So are you ready to start lifting or following the Rapidly Ripped Ultimate Fat Loss Workout DVD? Remember to aim for three full body workouts a week, resting a day in between to fully recovery.  Since you’re working your entire body each session, you want to avoid doing back to back workouts, in order to give your muscles time to recover for your next workout.  For ultimate fat loss, I suggest on alternate days you follow a short 20 minute HIIT cardio program. (More on this in my next post)

Here are 4 key points you must follow to maximize your FAT LOSS workout and get the most out of your muscles during each session.

1.  Use Free Weights.
Machines are designed to target individual muscle groups and will this will actually reduce to total amount of muscle involved to move the weight.For example, a leg extension machine works one muscle group: the quadriceps.  A  free weight squat, however, hits more than 250 muscles!

2.  Stand don’t Sit (whenever possible)
Nothing shuts off muscle involvement like lying or sitting down.   For example, a standing biceps curl is generally better than a seated curl because your back, hips, leg and even your toe muscles have to work to keep you standing, therefore burning more calories.

3.  Choose multi-joint, compound exercises.
Always pick exercises that force you to move at more than one joint.

Examples:
The Squat – involves the hip and knee joint,
The Bench Press – involves the shoulder and elbow joint.
The Bent over Row – involves the shoulder and elbow joint.

These  BIG lifts require a tremendous amount of energy, stimulating the release of muscle-building and fat burning hormones that will accelerate your fat loss and muscle building results.

4.  Go Heavy and aim for slightly heavier weights each week.
Conventional wisdom use to suggest that that we use high-rep, light weight workouts to help us lose fat and get ripped.  In reality, low-rep, heavy weight workouts burn more calories and also work more muscles, increasing the ever so important “after-burn” once you are done with the workout.  So you are burning calories and losing fat at an increased rate all day long – even at rest!  Low repetitions and heavy weight workouts also help preserve more of your muscle and have a much greater protective effect on your muscle, preventing it from being used for energy and ensuring that your weight loss comes purely from FAT! (not your hard earned muscle!)

The bottom line when lifting weights or performing body weight movements to lose fat is stick to 5-12 reps, using the heaviest weight that allows you to complete each rep in good form.  Perform 3-5 sets of 4-6 exercises per full body workout.

Bonus Tip:

If your ultimate goal is to incinerate the fat off your body and get ripped, you’ve got to keep rest periods between sets to a minimum.  Ideally 30-60 second rest at the most.  Research has shown that workouts that incorporate heavy weights and short rest periods not only challenge your body more during the workout itself, but also lead to a much more dramatic spike in the production of fat-burning hormones afterwards!

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of  Rapidly Ripped -
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner

The world’s most effective dieters are competitive bodybuilders.  Here are few proven bodybuilding methods to burn fat while retaining lean muscle!

1.  CUT CALORIES

Keep daily calories right at your caloric break even point or daily calorie burn.  Your caloric break even point is the number of calories needed to maintain your current body weight.  Competitive bodybuilders stay right at their caloric break-even point and then engage in high-intensity weight training and cardio to create a slight energy deficit.

BONUS TIP:  Keep a food Journal
For a week, record every bit of food you eat and include the type of food, how it was cooked, what was added, and exact amounts.  Keep track of your calories per meal and total calories for the day.  Write a sentence or two about how you feel after every meal in terms of energy, alertness, hunger etc.  Once you’ve established how many calories you’re eating each day, slash this amount by 10-15% to accelerate fat loss.

2.  ALTER FOOD SELECTION

It matters very much which foods you select to fill your calorie allotment.  Certain foods -those loaded with sugar- have a terrible effect on insulin.  However, eating protein has a positive effect on insulin while refined carbohydrates have  a detrimental effect. Sugar is the number one enemy of insulin control.  Be aware of insulin and choose you foods wisely.

BONUS TIP:  More Protein, Less “Bad” Cards
Try to eat about 1 gram of protein daily per pound of body weight.  So if you are a 180 male  and are eating six small meals a day,  each meal should contain around 30 grams of protein.  Also make sure you eat nutrient dense carbohydrates, brown rice, oatmeal, yams, vegetable etc., and limit the nutrient sparse carbs, orange juice, white bread, sugar, all processed foods etc., to avoid disrupting your insulin stores.  And be sure to include a protein source (chicken, turkey, fish, lean beef, eggs, cottage cheese etc.) and complex carb source in each meal, as suggested in the Rapidly Ripped Program.

3.  EAT OFTEN

Eat small portions often.  This multi-meal eating strategy is an irreplaceable cornerstone component of a bodybuilder’s fat slashing strategy, as explained in the Rapidly Ripped Program. For best results, spread out the consumption of your daily caloric allotment.  If your daily allotment is 2700 calories, it is better to ingest six small 450 calorie meals instead of the traditional three big 900 calorie meals.  Small frequent meals consumed every 3 hours are less daunting on your digestive system, are digested more efficiently, more nutrients get absorbed more efficiently by your body, and keeps you in a positive nitrogen balance, the ultimate anabolic state, for maintaining lean ripped muscle.

BONUS TIP:  Fit in 5-6 small meals per day

Eating frequently keeps your insulin levels consistent, thereby giving you better energy and helps you with your appetite control and fat loss. Plan for a pre- and post-workout snacks-like Myoplex Shakes, Bars or other balanced protein /carb, healthy snacks- to give you energy to work out and replenish your glycogen stores.

4.  WEIGHT TRAINING AND HIIT CARDIO ARE NOT OPTIONAL

A competitive bodybuilder runs, jogs, does elliptical work or does other types of cardio workouts.  They also lift weights, eat light, and eat often,eliminate alcohol, sugar and refined carbs and generally avoid foods that spike insulin levels.  As a result of this ultra-active lifestyle and the consistent repeated exercise combined with small, precise frequent eating, the bodybuilder develops a lightning fast metabolism and becomes a fat-burning machine!

BONUS TIP:  Fat-Burning Workouts and Eating Strategies

Order the Rapidly Ripped Program for the ultimate fat burning workout and eating strategies.

By Charles Damiano
Nutrition and Fitness Expert
Bestselling author of “Rapidly Ripped” –
The Ultimate Fat Burning System for Life!
Body-for-Life 2004 Grand Master Champion Winner