Author: MuscleReview

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Fat Loss Tips

I’ll follow up my muscle building tips post with a few fat loss tips.  I’ll tackled the two major factors–diet and exercise.

1. Diet

Remember that at least 90% of your fat loss results are a direct result of how well you have complied with your diet.  While training methods do matter, the diet is going to be the most important factor in whether or not you lose fat.

*A good diet keeps you in a negative calorie balance for most of the time, meaning you are burning more calories than you are consuming.

*Most will find that manipulating your carbohydrate intake leads to much better results.  I’m referring to low carb approaches, etc.

*Intermittent fasting is a simple and effective way to achieve a negative calorie balance.

*It’s good to have a cheat day/meal in order to give yourself a break and boost your metabolism.

2. Exercise

Exercise serves the purpose of burning some extra calories and (in the case

of resistance training) preserving (or building) lean muscle mass.

*Traditional steady-state cardio (like walking or riding a stationary bike at the same speed) has

the advantage of being relatively easy to do.  It can be done by those who are unable to train intensely (or done by those who are fatigued from resistance training).

*Resistance training (weight lifting) has the advantage of preserving or building lean muscle mass.  Any decent fat loss program should have a resistance training component.  Body weight training also falls in this category for those who don’t have access to weights.

*High intensity interval training (HIIT) has several advantages, such as burning a high number calories in a relatively short amount of time.  It also seems to have some hormonal advantages, such as temporarily blunting appetite.

 

Muscle Building Tips

The Deadlift

I’m going to start off with a few basic muscle building tips for beginners. These are a few steps I recommended to a new trainee who was asking for advice on a forum. Here are five good bits of advice:

1. Work on getting stronger in the basic, compound lifts.

Your program should be based on movements like squat, deadlift, etc. These lifts pack on the muscle and help you build your overall foundation for a big, powerful physique.

2. Eat a nutrient dense diet and increase your protein intake.

You’ll need to eat more protein than the average person in order to build muscle. About .75 grams of protein per lean lb. of body weight should be enough. Some will recommend a lot more, but I’m not sure it is really necessary (especially after reading Brad Pilon’s book on protein). The rest of your calories should be coming from complex carbohydrates and healthy fats.

3. Be sure to get adequate rest, which includes adequate sleep.

You grow while you rest–not while you lift. Be sure you are giving your muscles enough time to recover between training sessions. A muscle usually requires 48-96 hours to fully recover, which is one reason I really like three day splits (training 3x/week). You should only be training 3-4 times a week; no more than that.

Try to get at least 8 hours of sleep at night so you can fully recover. Sleep deprivation will work against you.

4. Concentrate on good form.

Be sure you are executing your lifts with proper form. Watch some YouTube tutorials or get someone to teach you. Don’t sacrifice good form in order to lift more weight–you’ll end up inuring yourself and that will make you even weaker in the long run.

5. Prioritize diet and training over supplements.

Get your diet and training in order before you start taking supplements. Most bodybuilding supplements are a complete waste of money in the first place, so don’t make them a priority. Invest your time and money in the right food and training program–supplements come only after you’ve got other things in order.