The Best Way for Serious Bodybuilders to Attack Their Fat Loss Goals

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Sep 292011

Beginner bodybuilders are often primarily concerned about building as much muscle as they can, as quickly as possible. That being said, at some point in time, if they are successful, they will have built a significant amount of muscle mass and will will want to reduce their body fat percentage in order to increase their muscle definition and get chiseled abdominal muscles.

One of the biggest mistakes that I made as an intermediate bodybuilder was implementing fat loss programs that were focused solely on shedding body fat as fast as possible with little regard for the effect it would have on all of my hard earned muscle growth. This ultimately led to my losing a large percentage of the muscle tissue that I had worked so hard to build. If you are worried that your fat loss regimen may be eating away at your muscles, don’t worry. I am going to share with you how you can effectively lower your body fat percentage while maintaining your current level of muscle mass – and maybe even continue to build muscle as you work on cutting fat.

Why Most Fat Loss Diets Kill Your Muscles

The world of fat loss is ridden with extreme diets that promise to help others lose fat as fast as possible. People are always looking for more efficient ways to do things and I am no different. However, it is important that you understand that extreme fat loss comes at a steep cost, and that cost is the catabolic effect of lacking nutrition that leads to losses in muscle mass. This is obviously a nightmare of any serious bodybuilder and should be avoided at all costs. So, this begs the question, “how do we successfully lower out body fat percentage without losing muscle mass?”.

Well, I am going to tell you…

The Secret to Shedding Body Fat While Retaining Muscle

The key to maintaining all of your muscle mass when following a fat loss cycle lies in a controlled form of nutrition manipulation. When you are ready to start focusing on fat loss and learn how to gain weight, you will simply reduce your daily caloric intake by about 250 calories from what you were previously consuming while working on bulking up. You will follow this new caloric allowance for a full week and then decrease by another 250 calories if your body fat percentage has not decreased. If your body fat does decrease after a week of following this specific nutrition plan, you will continue to supply your body with the same number of daily calories until it no longer leads to a measurable amount of weekly fat loss.

By monitoring your nutrition, and adjusting as necessary, you are successfully able to guarantee that you are maintaining a slight caloric deficit that will allow you to slowly lose your excess body fat without depriving your body from the nutrition it needs to sustain your current levels of muscle mass. I will admit that losing fat in this manner will usually be slower than using more extreme methods of caloric deprivation, but having the ability to retain most of your muscle mass will be extremely valuable to your long term bodybuilding success – especially when it comes to your overall gains in size and strength.

Bodybuilding Nutrition for Fat Loss – The Right Way

If your only goal is to lose weight and reduce your body fat percentage, then by all means, go ahead and use extreme dieting techniques to reach your fat loss goals. However, if you are like me, you will want to hold on to every bit of muscle mass as possible – even when working on shedding unwanted body fat. Making slight nutrition modifications to maintain a relatively small caloric deficit is the best way for bodybuilders to attack their fat loss goals while continuing
to maintain, build and develop their muscles as they continue towards their ultimate goal of having as much lean  muscle mass as possible.

 

Posted by Kim at 4:40 am  Tagged with: , ,

York C301 Cycle Review and Ratings

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Sep 282011

York Fitness is one of the leading brands when it comes to affordable and trustworthy exercise bikes, and their latest model is no exception.  This new indoor stationary bike is called the York C301 Cycle and it is a very good product for people who want to improve their fitness levels, plus be motivated on a daily basis to beat their previous times and continue to improve their times.

LCD Computer Display for Feedback

This is all due to the impressive on-board screen display which comes as an extra with the York C301 exercise bike – it sits just above the handlebars and offers instant data feedback on your cycling including heart rate and pulse measurements, your speed and distance, the amount of calories being burned, and how long you’ve taken to complete a virtual course.

User Settings and Work Out Options

In addition to that the York C301 Cycle comes with eighteen different user programmes including one manual option plus twelve pre-set, and four heart rate controlled settings – this means you will never get bored as you can always set yourself new challenges each day and strive to achieve something new.

Powers Straight into the Mains

Powering the York C301 is simple, as it plugs straight into the mains power and is ready to go.  Space wise you won’t need too much room as it measures 106cm long by 59cm wide and is only 139cm high.  It can also take the maximum user weight of 150kg and is a very sturdy exercise bike.

Alternatives to the York C301 Cycle

If the price point on the York C301 Cycle is too much for you then you might consider looking at the slightly cheaper sister model which is called the York C202 Cycle.  It comes with slimmed down functionality and is not as feature-rich – however, it still comes with all the high quality workmanship and finishing that you would expect from a York Fitness exercise bike.

Both the York C301 Cycle and York C202 Cycle can be purchased online from popular stores such as Amazon, and there are also comprehensive exercise bike reviews on the Exercise Bike Planet website (Google them for more information).

Conclusion on the York C301 Exercise Bike

If you are serious about fitness and are prepared to put some solid work in this year then the York C301 Cycle could really be the thing you have been waiting for.  It’s robust, high quality, and an effective fat burning piece of home gym equipment that isn’t too far off the quality you would expect in a professional gym.

Posted by Kim at 8:46 am  Tagged with: , ,

Four Simple but Effective Abdominal Workout Tips

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Sep 272011

Almost everyone wants to have perfect looking abdominal muscles. Because of this, people do all means possible to achieve the six pack look. But, because there are so many recommendations out there on how to get ripped abdominals, it is oftentimes difficult to figure out which ones work and do not. Here are some very simple but effective tips to follow if you are aiming for great looking abs.

Increase your Metabolism
Metabolism refers to the process in which your body uses up the calories you consume. With an increased metabolic rate, you are able to quickly burn the layers of fat on top of your abdominal muscles. In order to increase your body’s metabolic rate, it is best to eat frequent meals in small quantities. This helps program the body not to save calories and instead spend more of it knowing that it will get refueled in the next few hours.

Perform two Major Exercises
There are two main exercises that you can can add to your weight training workout routine. Surprisingly, they are not abdominal exercises. The two exercises are squats and dead lifts. Both of these exert plenty of tension and pressure in the body and cause huge hormone spikes which help in muscle building. Moreover, they also work on large groups of muscles such as the shoulders, back, leg and abdominals. Other minor exercises that are helpful if you are working out in a gym are bench press, calf raises, shoulder presses and seated rows. Abdominal exercises are also essential in building abs.

Spend Less Time in the Gym
This is a confusing tip but a very helpful one. This means that you shorten your workout sessions but make each one as intense as possible. To do this, shorten your rest period between exercises and sets. You can also alternate your workout by doing cardiovascular exercises every other day. Also, you have to give your body enough time to rest because this is the only way that your muscles will recuperate and grow.

Proper Diet
The effect of exercise is always best when combined with diet. In building muscle, increase the amount of protein you take. This will ensure that you do not shed off your muscle mass. Lower protein intake might break down your muscles and be utilized as energy source. Consequently, this will slow down your metabolic rate. Also, check your calorie intake. Finally, try to have lower the amount of fat you eat.

Posted by Kim at 5:17 pm  Tagged with: , ,

Power yourself into shape with a home fitness machine.

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Sep 192011

Everyone knows that they should be looking after themselves and keeping in reasonable shape, but often it’s hard to find the time to commit to a new fitness regime at the gym. It’s often a lot easier to workout at home, as any exercise routine can be fitted in as and when you have time.

The home fitness market has developed into a multi-million dollar industry, and it’s not hard to see why – there’s a huge variety of different machines and contraptions that all promise to whip you into shape in no time at all. If you are just starting out, though, it’s probably best to focus on improving your overall fitness first of all before buying a specialist machine that will concentrate on a specific muscle group.

Most fitness stores will have a good range of treadmills and crosstrainers for sale, and it’s these that you should be looking at for your first purchase. They will both give a fantastic all-over workout and will exercise a huge variety of muscle groups. They will also give an aerobic workout, which is when you raise your heart rate and oxygen intake for a sustained period – by doing this for twenty to thirty minutes, three times a week, your body will start to burn calories and you should begin to lose weight.

These machines can be a little on the large side, and it’s often best to have a space dedicated to them. If you have a spare room, that’s ideal – if you can leave the machine set up and ready to go, you can jump on and do some exercise whenever the mood takes. If you haven’t got enough space to spare, then you should check out the space-saver versions of these machines and most stores will have easy-to-store crosstrainers and folding treadmills for sale alongside the regular machines.

By concentrating your first couple of months on either of these machines you should make a good improvement in your general health – once you have a good base to work from, you can then start to look at other machines or weights to target specific muscles that you want to build. It’s important, though, not to run before you can walk – it’ll be easier and more enjoyable to improve your physique once you’re fit enough to sustain a reasonable level of intensity workout.

Posted by Kim at 12:52 pm  Tagged with: , , ,

The real benefits of exercise for weight loss

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Sep 162011

Staying healthy and keeping fit is a great way to encourage your own wellbeing and mental health. In fact all in all it just makes everything feel better and will help you to be happier. But the critical part of that process starts with getting the body you desire – i.e., losing weight.

Losing weight requires a lot of different changes, diet is the obvious one of course – but exercise is in my opinion the best way to promote a healthy body and it can even help you to keep the will power to stick to a healthy diet.

The benefits of exercise

Many dieters fail to stick on track for long enough to discover the benefits of a healthy lifestyle; if you switch from an unhealthy diet to a healthy one, you get healthier (duh!) and as a result, you start to feel healthier, more energetic and more positive about your healthy lifestyle.  You can increase your metabolic burn by adding oilganic.com essential oils before a workout topically.

The great thing about exercise is that even if you don’t lose the weight as fast as you might hope, you will notice the health benefits much sooner – and that really helps with your motivation.

The pitfalls

Now I like to do quite a lot of exercise, because I really enjoy it. But a while back, when I first decided to change my lifestyle I really went all out and that was a mistake. As a new dieter it is really important to find types of exercise that you enjoy and to ease into it. If you push yourself to do something you don’t enjoy you will quickly burn out and lose the motivation.

Another mistake that many people make is to overestimate how many calories you actually burn. Exercise burns calories but the real benefit is the health boost and the psychological impact which helps you to stay on track with a healthy diet. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you can eat unhealthily just because you are spending 30 minutes a day jogging – you will just undo all of your hard work!

Summary

If you have a fairly sedentary lifestyle it can be really hard to make that initial effort to go out and do it – especially if you don’t enjoy it. But I genuinely believe that everybody can find some form of exercise that they actually enjoy.

If you can find some activity that you look forward to doing and if you keep up the effort, at least a couple of times a week, you will soon start to feel the benefits and you will feel optimistic and enthused to start living a fitter, healthier lifestyle.


Posted by Kim at 2:44 pm  Tagged with: , , ,
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