Two guys gain the same amount of muscle over a 6 month period of time. Both guys are exactly 6'3", 190 pounds and both are at the exact same body fat level. They both put on 6 pounds of muscle in 6 months, yet one guy looks outstanding and the other looks almost visibly the same as he did 6 months earlier. How can this be? How can two guys be at the same low body fat level and put on the same amount of muscle and look drastically different?
[Here is an outstanding example of muscle density. Notice how this athlete has compact, dense and an angular look to his muscles? This is much different that the typical rounded puffy bodybuilding look. This angular compact look is much more impressive than big and bulky.]
Gaining Muscle "Where You Want it" Matters Most
If someone came up to me and offered me $1 million dollars to put on 20 pounds of muscle in 12 months, here is what I would do. I would concentrate on the "big" lifts like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses. I have no doubt that I could put on 20 pounds of pure muscle in 12 months. The problem would be that at least 15 of those 20 pounds of muscle would be added to my legs, butt, and hips. The rest of that weight would be spread evenly over the rest of my body. Here is the weird thing…visually, I wouldn't look drastically different.
Gains Spread Over Your Entire Body Make a Small Impact
The irony about gaining muscle evenly over your entire body is that it creates a slightly bigger version of what you already look like now. Each muscle will look a little better individually, but as a whole package you won't look much different. In fact if you gain muscle in your dominant muscle groups at a quicker rate than your weak muscle groups, you will take a step backward visually.
I Think the Idea of Just Sticking to the Basics is a Mistake
The common advice of just sticking to the big lifts like deadlifts, squats, and bench presses is great if you just want to add mass and don't care what you wind up looking like. In fact, this is your quickest route to putting on a lot of weight. The problem lies in the fact that you are hoping that everything will look right after all the weight is added. I have seen beginners use this approach time and time again and wind up having the "professional wrestler" look…big butt, upper legs, hips, big around the mid section, massive traps…you get the idea.
"Want a Bigger Chest, Then Get Bigger Legs!"…I Disagree!
I have read this statement dozens of times when it comes to increasing the size of a muscle. Many experts claim that the fastest way to put muscle on your chest and arms is to put a bunch of mass on your legs, hips, and butt. The problem is that your legs hips and butt will typically grow at a much faster rate than your chest and arms. So compared to the rest of you body, your chest and arms are proportionally smaller.
[Just a quick video intermission to break up the post. Some old school techno..."Children" by Robert Miles...one of the best trance songs ever recorded.]
Muscle Specialization: A Smart Way to Create a Desired Look
As discussed before, adding 6 pounds to your shoulders, arms and chest can transform the way you look. Spreading that same amount of muscle over your entire body, not as visually impressive. The only way to insure that this is accomplished is through muscle specialization…focusing the majority of your efforts on 1-2 muscle groups, while just maintaining everything else.
Higher Volume on Muscles That You Want to Grow
I like the approach of increasing the volume of muscles that you need to grow and backing WAY down on everything else. If you want a bigger chest with a special focus on increasing your upper chest, then dramatically increase the volume on various incline presses, incline flyes, hammer strength machines, etc. To compensate for that increase in volume, back off a bit when it comes to some of your other body parts.
How Much Volume for Targeted Muscle Groups?
You can go as high as 15-20 sets per workout for muscle groups you are trying to add size to. You can even setup your workouts so that the targeted muscle group gets worked more often than the other muscle groups. I also suggest using a combination of free weights, cables, and machines when aiming for muscle growth.
How Much Volume for Everything Else?
This is tougher to answer, because it depends upon your genetics. I have some friends that never have to work their calves because they are naturally huge. I never do sets for traps or lower chest. For the most part you want to work each muscle group at least a little each week. My suggestion would be to pick 1-2 exercises for 3-5 sets of 5 reps…and do maybe 12-20 total sets per body part each week to maintain. You could probably get away with less than this.
I Recommend Doing This in 2-3 Month Bursts
What I think works best is to specialize for 2-3 months on a body part, then have a more balanced routine for a 1-2 months (as a precaution to insure that you don't neglect the other muscles). What you will find is that you can systematically build an ideal physique by giving selective attention to body parts that need extra work.
Note: I realize this is really general info. I am working on an entire premium (low-cost) report that covers building muscle while staying lean and ripped through the entire process. I will launch it in January, but you will have to be on my newsletter to access this. To get on my newsletter, you just need to click the banner below and download "Vacation Body Blueprint". If you have already downloaded this, you're good.
Tags: Muscle Building, bodybuilding, building muscle, free weights, gain muscle, hammer strength, muscle groups, techno, upper chest, vacation body blueprint, weak muscle group
Back in January I launched a Beta release (just to my newsletter) of a muscle building course I created called "Visual Impact". I did my best to keep it low key and didn't post it on my blog or anything like that. My goal was to expose this course to a small group and get their feedback and then make an improved version and then create the final product. I sent out a survey a couple of months after this Beta release and to my delight, almost everyone who bought it was still following the program and getting solid results. This is practically unheard of when it comes to fitness information products. Most people start a program and 2-3 weeks later move on to the "next greatest thing". I am proud to say that wasn't the case with my program.
[A big focus of this program is adding muscle quickly, but not too much muscle. If you gain too much muscle it is hard to fit well into stylish clothes. Looking stylin' is just as important as adding muscle. Who wants to live in sweat pants or workout gear?]
A Three Phase 6 Month Muscle Building Course
This course is mainly targeted towards guys. Women can get value too, but would most likely want to adjust the phases to insure that they don't gain too much muscle. They would want to focus a bit more on phase II and phase III and probably limit phase I (this will make sense in a second). Here is a breakdown of the three phases:
Phase I:Quick muscle gains, by focusing in the higher rep range and limiting rest periods in between sets. This creates "cumulative fatigue"…where each set builds upon the previous set. The growth in this phase is largely due to sarcoplasmic hypertrophy. This is an increase in the fluid (sarcoplasm) within the muscle cells.
Phase II:"Hardening up" the muscle gained from phase I while continuing to increase muscle mass (but now at a slower rate). We are focusing now in the mid rep range with longer rest periods. Each set is separate from the previous set and now we are maximizing tension and avoiding "cumulative fatigue". This rep range and rest schedule builds actual muscle fiber (myofibrillar hypertrophy).
Phase III:Pure density training for maximum definition while purposely avoiding further muscle growth. You will be doing sets in the 2-4 rep range and rest long enough in between sets to lift heavy weights. There will also be a focus on HIIT to lose any excess body fat. This isn't a bulk and cut program, but you will simply try to get really lean in this phase.
Bonus Phase: This is a strategy used after a period of time in phase III to get what I like to call the "Shrink Wrap Effect". You begin this phase 3 weeks before an event or vacation. This will make the skin tight around the muscles for maximum definition…and this is long lasting (NOT like carb-depleting and carb-loading).
[Click Here ---> Visual Impact Muscle Building and head down the page to video #3. This will show you a video I made explaining the "Shrink Wrap Effect" in more detail.]
I Tried to Give Away Great Content on the Sales Page
I guess I hate to be seen as a salesperson. I wanted people to come away knowing at least a little more about getting the lean "Hollywood Look" from visiting my sales page whether they decided to purchase the product or not. If people decide to get the full-blown course, then great…but if they didn't decide to buy I wanted them to be a little more knowledgeable than before they hit the page. I also tried to keep the page pretty simple and clean like the blog, so this content would be easy to find.
I Don't Want to Be Overly Promotional on My Blog…
…So I will wrap this up.
Head on over and watch the 4 videos, because it is valuable content similar to a good blog post: Visual Impact Muscle Building. If you decide to buy then "thanks" and if you just decide to watch the videos, that is cool as well. I am pumped at the response from the Beta testers and believe you will get a lot out of this course if you do decide to invest in it.
What is Included? The main "Visual Impact Muscle Building" ebook is 75 pages including a Q & A section from the Beta testers. The "Exercise Demonstrations" ebook is 227 pages with photos. It is extremely well organized with click navigation (pretty darn cool). The "Printable Workout Charts" ebook is a printer friendly version of each phase of the workout. It is basic on purpose and designed to save ink and paper.
How Much Does This Cost? I priced this at $47. I wanted to keep this around the cost of just one session with a personal trainer. The product is being sold and delivered through Clickbank, so that means that you can pay with any major credit card or Paypal. It also comes with Clickbank's 60 day guarantee.
Note: I apologize about the lack of posts on this blog lately. I try to get a minimum of 1 post per week…I plan on doing so beginning next week. Thanks for being a reader of this blog…I appreciate it!
Tags: Main, hollywood look, muscle building course, muscle growth, muscle mass, visual impact, visual impact muscle building
I felt the need to discuss muscle recovery here, because I think many people get this part wrong in their training. Many magazine and sites would have you believe that the more experienced you are, the better your levels of recovery. That is true to an extent but as a trainee gets stronger, the training stress increases as well. In fact, the closer you get to your genetic potential the tougher and heavier you must lift to see a change in strength (or muscle size if you are trying to increase muscle mass). Advanced lifters have a much greater need to cycle intensity than beginners. A beginner can gain strength each and every workout, with less time in between sessions.
[I always appreciate good photos even if they don't relate to the topic. 2010 has just begun and I think this will be know as the decade of neon! Old retro 80's stuff is coming back big which means neon is going to make a comeback. Back in the mid-to-late 80's black lights were very common place...great for making your teeth look white...bad if you forgot to use a lint roller.]
Advanced Trainees Need Bigger "Stresses" to the Body
In Mark Rippletoe's and Lon Kilgore's masterpiece on strength training, "Practical Programming for Strength Training", they talk about what happens as an athlete becomes more advanced. An advanced lifter must push their body much harder to achieve a positive adaption than a beginner…
"Unlike beginners or intermediates, advanced and elite
trainees need large amounts of intense work to disrupt
homeostasis and force adaptation. This means that the stress
required for progress will creep nearer and nearer to the
maximal tolerable workload that the body can perform and
recover from. An elite athlete who is doing ten sets of squats
and making progress may not make any progress with nine sets
and may "overtrain" by doing eleven. The window for progress
is extremely small." – Rippletoe & Kilgore
Stress to the Body VS Ability to Recover
As a trainee becomes more advanced, his recovery level does increase. This is what is talked about in fitness magazines and in many other fitness books. What people fail to mention is that in order to make positive progress, the stimulus and stress to the body must increase as well. In fact, the stress to the body winds up increasing at a faster rate than the ability to recover.
Supercompensation (Improving After Recovery)
A beginner doesn't need a massive stimulus to make progress…and because of that, they can recover quickly and gain strength or muscle (supercompensation). For intermediate and advanced athletes thing look different…they sometimes need more than one workout to give the body a big enough stress to improve…
"In the novice, a single training stimulus results in supercompensation in 24 to 72 hours, just in time for the next training session. For the intermediate trainee, multiple training sessions in a week are required to induce supercompensation. For the advanced trainee the cumulative effects of weeks of training are needed to induce supercompensation in a month's time or longer." – Rippletoe & Kilgore
What This Means & How You Can Use This Knowledge
I hate to make things too complicated, but here's how you can use this knowledge. If you are beginner you can expect to make consistent strength gains and muscle gains from workout to workout. An intermediate will cycle intensity (usually a heavy day alternated with a more moderate day seems to work well). An advanced lifter who wants to lift really heavy weights, will want to use a schedule of periodization (beyond the scope of this article).
Why You Shouldn't Be Afraid to "Go Light"
Most of us will never reach the level of an advanced lifter, so no need to make things too complex. What I suggest is to simply lift light weights on the days where the bar feels heavy in your hands. You should know within 1-2 sets of your first lift, if your body hasn't achieved supercompensation from the last workout. Don't worry that you will lose strength, muscle size, or muscle tone by backing off a bit…this is actually the way to experience positive results over time in your lifting.
Most of Us Won't Need to Worry About This As Much
This site is about just adding a natural level of muscle to achieve the lean look…like men and women in Hollywood. You don't need to stress the body to-the-max to reach this level. You can do this by simply gaining strength slowly over time while losing body fat.
[This is a funny commercial from "GQ" Magazine. A tiny bit of swearing at one point, but that still qualifies for the PG-13 rating of my site. Love this Billy Idol Song...good for some cheesy Karaoke for sure!]
The Law of Diminishing Returns and Muscle
I am a firm believer in the fact that most people will put on their "natural" level of muscle mass within just 6-9 months of training following a solid workout plan. Every pound of muscle gained after that simply takes magnitudes more effort than that initial muscle gain. My advice is to add a bit of muscle if you haven't trained and get that part "out of the way". After those 6 months, spend the rest of the time fine tuning your muscle by getting stronger without increasing in size…get great abs, increase muscle definition, etc.
Note: For those who do want a great strategic muscle building plan, get on my newsletter (by downloading "Vacation Body Blueprint"). I will make an announcement later this week. I'm working on a book that will help a lot in this regard.
Tags: Muscle Building, body fat, gain strength, gaining strength, getting stronger, GQ, muscle definition, muscle mass, periodization, strength gain, strength training, vacation body blueprint
Mention the term "muscle tone" on many of the major bodybuilding forums and prepare to get flamed. I don't spend much time over on those sites unless I notice a surge of traffic coming from a forum to this blog. Typically I upset someone for challenging their locked in notion of getting in shape. A member of one of those forums will then post something inflammatory about a particular post of mine. Then I get a few dozen homophobic and sexist comments sent my way (the owners of those forums must be proud). This post will address the term "muscle tone" and why I use it on a regular basis, despite being a pet peeve of the bodybuilding forums.
[Just another creative photo for you. Mannequins can be kind of creepy, but that is what gives them their charm.]
Thank God for Mark Rippetoe and His Book!
I owe my understanding of how to tone a muscle to Pavel Tsatsouline's work Power to the People. I read this amazing book back in the late 90's and it changed my approach to lifting for muscle tone forever. While I think that book is pure gold, Mark Rippetoe explains how to improve muscle tone perfectly in his book, Practical Programming for Strength Training.
The modern fitness industrys concept of toning muscles is speciousit might sound cool, but it lacks any tangible and definable meaning. The term muscle tone or tonus describes an electrophysiological phenomenon, a measure of ionic flow across muscle cell membranes. It can be thought of as the muscles readiness to do anaerobic wort. The more fit the muscle, the more electrophysiological activity it exhibits at rest. Lack of exercise leads to poor tone, aerobic exercise improves tone a little bit, low-intensity weight training improves tone more, and high-intensity training improves tone the fastest.
"High Intensity Training Improves Tone the Fastest"
Heavy strength training is what increases muscle tone (it is what I have been saying for close to 3 years now). It creates a muscle with greater residual tension while in a rested state…meaning the muscle is firm and defined while at rest…more "toned". Here is the rest of Mark's quote about muscle tone…
As a test, go poke the traps or quads of an elite weightlifter at rest, if shell let you. Theyll he hard as rock. The same muscles of an elite road cyclist at rest will be firm, but not hard. Then compare the athletes muscle tone to that of a sedentary person. The results will he quite enlightening. Most exercise programs that claim to improve muscle tone are actually lower-intensity hypertrophy programs and are only moderately effective for improving muscle tone. If tone is the goal, strength is the method.
Low Body Fat Reveals Your Muscle Tone
The guys in the bodybuilding forums have a really basic understanding of how to create a defined look. They believe that you can't "tone" a muscle. They are flat out wrong and could learn a thing or two about muscle physiology, how the nervous system is tied into lifting, etc. It is true that you need to lose body fat to reveal your muscle tone…but the muscle tone displayed can vary greatly depending upon a number of factors. Bottom line, it isn't just about building a muscle and then getting to low body fat levels to create a defined look (which is what many would have you believe).
Muscle Tone is a Function of the Nervous System
As Mark Rippetoe states, muscle tone is an "electrophysiological" phenomenon. Getting stronger is also largely a function of the nervous system. The greater the nerve impulse to a muscle…the stronger it contracts and the greater force that muscle will generate. As a muscle becomes stronger, your nervous system becomes more efficient at sending strong signals to that muscle. Over time, the muscle will have a greater "ionic flow" even at rest…AKA greater "muscle tone".
Note: I was pretty shocked by the prevalent homophobic tone of a particularly large bodybuilding forum. I guess that is what is considered cool on that site. I consider this the same as racism. I can't believe this stuff still exists. There are much better places to learn about getting in amazing shape without the hate and disgusting comments (I'll get off of my soap box now).
Tags: Muscle Tone Strategies, aerobic exercise, bodybuilding, getting stronger, low body fat, muscle tone, nervous system, Pavel Tsatsouline, power to the people, strength training
I have just spent the past hour jumping around to some of my favorite fitness blogs. A few guys touch on the idea of gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time. A common practice in some circles is to "bulk up and cut down". I'm not a fan of that approach, because it just doesn't make sense to me to put fat on your body on purpose. What I want to do in this post is point out a few fitness experts who have similar beliefs. I also want to hear feedback from other people who have successfully or unsuccessfully gained muscle while getting lean.
[One of my favorite activities is dock diving in the summer and then laying in the sun to dry off. Honestly, if I crafted a "perfect day", this activity would be included...even better in the Caribbean where this picture was taken (not by me). Look at the color of that water...Wow!]
Gaining Muscle While Losing Body Fat. I Used to Be a Skeptic.
In the past I was brainwashed to believe that muscle gains required an excess of calories. Over the past 2-3 years I have changed my thinking completely. At most, I would recommend a really slight calorie excess for a short period of maybe 2 months. This goes against long-held beliefs as far as gaining muscle is concerned. Luckily, I have been exposed to some brilliant minds who are on the cutting edge in thinking when it comes to muscle gain, fat loss, etc. Let's examine some posts and thoughts by some of these guys.
* Martin Berkhan – of "Lean Gains"
Martin Berkhan is a freak show when it comes to staying lean…but I mean that in a good way. Like me and quite a few others, he likes to use intermittent fasting as a way of staying lean year round. Martin believes that there should be minimal fat gain when adding muscle. The title of his blog, Lean Gains, says it all…maximizing muscle gain while minimizing fat gain. Here are some quotes from his site:
…cycling between overfeeding (training days) and slight underfeeding (rest days) is another excellent strategy to remain lean regardless of your goal. The benefits are not only physiological, but also behavioral.
My comments: I have done this in the past with success. I have noticed these days that I just need to do a maintenance calorie day mix with an underfeeding day 1-2 times per week (basically what Eat Stop Eat teaches). I could certainly see the benefit of adding in some slight overfeeding especially if someone was far from their genetic potential in adding muscle.
…I've never been a fan of the bulk and cut approach. An approach often taken to the extreme by some of my peers, with the net result being that they only look decent during the summer months.
My comments: This is something that I have addressed a lot on this site. Why look good for just 2-3 months a year? Plus it is just healthier to avoid having a lot of extra fat on your body in the first place. One more thing I would add is this: People who use the "bulk and cut" approach more often than not underestimate how much fat they have to lose. This usually means they don't get lean until summer is almost over. There are others, who always seem to be stuck in "bulking mode" and never get lean.
A Video Intermission…
[My girlfriend just showed me a great clip from Pearl Jam's 2000 tour. I won't spoil it for you. It is one of the coolest and inspirational things I have seen done at a concert. I just had to share it.]
Over the past couple of years I have had both of these guys do guest posts…I did a collaborative ebook on supplements with them…they have made a few videos for this blog, etc. These two are WAY ahead of the curve when it comes to health and fitness. Many of their ideas are probably too far "out there" for people to take in right away. Here is a link to a video that John Barban made for this blog: Nutrition Plays A Small Role in Building Muscle Mass Controversial Video. I agree with him that muscle gain is largely an issue of training and not so much about diet (at least not as big of a part of diet as many would have you believe).
Here's that video John Barban made for this site…
[There is a lot of wisdom in this video. If you have never watched it, do yourself a favor and take a few minutes and listen to what he is saying. Good info!]
So…I won't quote Brad or John in this post, but I wanted to link to a video they made to prove a point. Brad Pilon wanted to prove a point about how supplement companies and fitness magazines can mislead us. He shows how you can gain 8 pounds of lean mass in one workout. I enjoyed the video and the webinar was outstanding. Anyway…both Brad on John are big on the idea of gaining muscle while losing body fat.
* Tom Venuto – of "Burn the Fat Blog"
Tom Venuto isn't someone I quote often, but he writes well thought-out posts over on his blog. He also has one of the best selling fitness ebooks of all-time (I think it was one of the first ebooks I ever purchased). Anyway…his latest post is aimed directly at the question of…how to gain muscle and burn fat at the same time. I suggest that you take the time to read the post in detail, but here are the parts that really jumped out at me.
…what if most days of the week you were in a deficit for the entire day, and on some days you were in a surplus? If so, then isnt it possible that over the course of the week, youd have a small net gain of muscle and loss of body fat a a result of the caloric fluctuation?
My comments: Tom has a slightly different viewpoint on muscle gain than John Barban, but suggests days of calorie deficit mixed with days of surplus. Eat Stop Eat preaches a related concept and this is close to what Martin Berkhan does as well. Tom also suggests timing your meals around your workouts in this quote…
…its entirely possible that you might pass through periods of within-day surplus where you were in a highly anabolic state (for example, you eat the biggest, highest carb meal of the day after your workout), and you were in a deficit the rest of the day.
Isnt it possible that you could gain a small amount of muscle during those anabolic hours, while losing fat the rest of the day? Granted it might only be grams or ounces – but what if you kept that up for a week? A month? Three months?
My comments: This is a strategy that I have seen people use with success. Tom also points out the 4 "X Factors" that make it possible for some people to gain muscle and fat at the same time without having rely on this nutrition strategy. His article explains the factors that need to be in place for this to happen.
So No Need to Add Fat When Gaining Muscle
All 3 of these guys have slightly different beliefs and approaches, but the main thing is that they help people gain muscle without gaining body fat. In my opinion in makes sense to learn from those who will teach you to get the results you want. I am constantly in learning mode and enjoy reading from sharp minds who are pushing the envelope.
Note: So what has your experience been with gaining muscle and losing fat simultaneously? Have you ever tried the "bulk up and cut down approach"? Would love to hear about some of your experiences in the comment section!
Tags: Main, adonis effect, brad pilon, calorie deficit, eat stop eat, fasting, fitness experts, gain muscle, john barban, lose fat, tom venuto
