So, here's some little facts about muscle and fat:
Muscle is not related to fat. You can't turn fat into muscle, and muscle does not break down into fat.
The phrase "toning up" is bollocks. You're either building muscle or losing fat, or both. What you're talking about is body recomposition.
It is quicker to lose fat than to build muscle (unfortunately).
You can be slim but still be fat. This is called skinny-fat. In effect, small measurements but no muscle mass meaning you still look soft and flabby. This is what most ex-fat dieters become because they haven't exercised in years.
There's approximately 3500 calories in 1lb of fat, so it does take time to come off!
If you want to look emaciated like a marathon runner, then by all means, spend all your gym time on the treadmill. If you want more muscle and a good beach body, then you simply need to throw weights around. This applies to both genders. If you're concerned about cardiovascular fitness, then do some running after your weights session, not before. Don't waste your energy by doing it first. Get those muscles worked first.
If you can put on a few pounds of muscle PER YEAR, then you're doing well.
Getting defined abs is more about losing fat than exercising your stomach muscles, although that will help. Really, to show your abs, you want to get down to single-figure bodyfat percentages.
If you're overweight, don't bulk, just be in a small calorie deficit and train hard. If you're really skinny and have little muscle mass then eat a touch less and train hard. Either way, go hard or go home.
Now, i know I'm only just starting out at the gym, but the same applies to me as it does to you.
I am literally working my arse off. In fact, i'm a little sore today, this is normal if its muscle ache, just need to rest up on my off day today and work through it tomorrow. Do not try to work through an injury though.
Rest up between gym sessions, allow time for repair and growth to maximize your gains. Maybe even attending the gym three times a week might be too much. It may be that twice a week is optimal. I will test that theory out soon enough.
Hope this is useful to some of you!
Muscle is not related to fat. You can't turn fat into muscle, and muscle does not break down into fat.
The phrase "toning up" is bollocks. You're either building muscle or losing fat, or both. What you're talking about is body recomposition.
It is quicker to lose fat than to build muscle (unfortunately).
You can be slim but still be fat. This is called skinny-fat. In effect, small measurements but no muscle mass meaning you still look soft and flabby. This is what most ex-fat dieters become because they haven't exercised in years.
There's approximately 3500 calories in 1lb of fat, so it does take time to come off!
If you want to look emaciated like a marathon runner, then by all means, spend all your gym time on the treadmill. If you want more muscle and a good beach body, then you simply need to throw weights around. This applies to both genders. If you're concerned about cardiovascular fitness, then do some running after your weights session, not before. Don't waste your energy by doing it first. Get those muscles worked first.
If you can put on a few pounds of muscle PER YEAR, then you're doing well.
Getting defined abs is more about losing fat than exercising your stomach muscles, although that will help. Really, to show your abs, you want to get down to single-figure bodyfat percentages.
If you're overweight, don't bulk, just be in a small calorie deficit and train hard. If you're really skinny and have little muscle mass then eat a touch less and train hard. Either way, go hard or go home.
Now, i know I'm only just starting out at the gym, but the same applies to me as it does to you.
I am literally working my arse off. In fact, i'm a little sore today, this is normal if its muscle ache, just need to rest up on my off day today and work through it tomorrow. Do not try to work through an injury though.
Rest up between gym sessions, allow time for repair and growth to maximize your gains. Maybe even attending the gym three times a week might be too much. It may be that twice a week is optimal. I will test that theory out soon enough.
Hope this is useful to some of you!
Dear Cambridge Diet Guy,
ReplyDeleteI am writing to you from Mentorn TV, an independent production company based in London, responsible for a huge diversity of output from Question Time to hard hitting documentaries like Reggie Yates: Teen Gangs. We are currently producing a documentary for Channel 4 on Male Body Image. The programme will be fronted by Alex Brooker, star of the hugely successful Channel 4 series The Last Leg, who has taken an interest in the subject for personal and societal reasons.
Within the programme Alex will be investigating the changing ideals of men and how they perceive their bodies and their image. He wants to understand why men are now just as concerned, if not more so, than women in terms of their perception over their bodies and image, what this is doing to the male psyche, and why this change has happened over the last decade or so. Alex has always seen himself as slightly overweight. So as part of this process he will be trying to lose weight to get leaner and healthier but also sculpt himself, as he hopes to build self-esteem along the way and to get a real and first-hand experience of what modern men now put themselves through to look good.
Alex will be meeting a variety of people along the way, including experts from the media, scientists, as well as those who have first-hand testimony of what the drive to improve your looks, and how the rise of male vanity has affected the modern man.
Alex is going to start his diet by doing the master cleanse, maple syrup detox diet, as he feels it is important to detox, but also thinks it will give him that initial dramatic weight loss he is looking for before he begins training in earnest. As such he would like to speak to people who have done diets similar to this, and the Cambridge Diet seems to fit along the same lines, and so I wondered whether you might be interested in taking part?
I have no doubt you are very busy, so it would be great to have an initial chat to see if you might be interested in taking part, and to discuss things in greater detail. We are filming the sequence on the 29th April so it is rather an urgent request unfortunately.
Should you have any further questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.
Best Wishes,
Eddie Hutton-Mills
T: 0207 258 6707