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6 Steps To A Fat To Muscle Makeover by Gregg Gillies |
Okay, so fat doesn't turn into muscle and muscle doesn't turn into fat. But you can build muscle and burn fat, completely reshaping your body from a before picture into an after picture that you can be proud of. So how do you do it?
Stay off the scale. The fact that you can gain muscle and lose fat is one of the reasons I stress to people not to follow the scale. Body composition (% body fat) and how you look in the mirror is a lot more important than what the scale says. The scale lies. You could train hard and eat right and build five pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of fat and what will the scale say? That you still weigh the same. This leads to frustration, even though you've made good progress.
Reduce your calories gradually. If you are looking to lose fat, don't make huge calorie cuts. This will kick your body into starvation mode, reducing your metabolism and making it more difficult to burn off the fat. Instead, you should reduce your calories slowly, making reductions every week or two in order to prevent this metabolic slowdown and allow your body to burn fat at an optimal rate.
Vary your caloric intake. This is another way to outsmart your body and continue to lose body fat without lowering your metabolism. By varying you caloric intake every few days instead of eating the exact same amount of calories every day, you can keep the starvation mechanism in check and continue to burn fat.
Train with weights. Training with weights does a number of things for your fat loss. Weight traiing itself burns calories. In addition, unlike aerobic exercise, weight training increases the calories you burn at rest for up to 39 hours after your workout. In addition, the more muscle your body has, the more calories you burn each day.
Incorporate high intensity interval training into your workout.
A brief explanation of this training is that you do just that - train in intervals, by alternating a brief period of
exercise with a brief period of rest.
And the overall length of your workout are much briefer in duration than your typical aerobic sessions.
A great interval training program is jumping rope. You may need to practice a bit on this one. After a brief warm up, I will jump rope as fast as I can for about 10-20 seconds, followed by a slower cadence for about half a minute.
This form of interval training is brutal and will get your heart rate up fast! You won't last long on this program.
Always warm up before starting your intervals. If you're not in the best of shape break into it lightly, starting with more low or moderate intensity cardio. You might also want to check with your doctor. No
sense in getting hurt right when you start your interval training.
Eat More Fat
Getting enough of the good fats will help you lose fat, build muscle, and recover faster from your workouts. In addition, it has myriad health benefits, including being good for your heart.
Good fats include: polyunsaturated (especially Omega-3's), such as those from fish and nuts, as well as monosaturated fats, such as those from peanut butter, olive oil, egg yolks, and fish oil.
Incorporate this tips into your health and fitness plan and watch your body transform.
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| See other articles posted by Gregg Gillies |
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| About the author: |
| Author Photo |
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| E-mail Address |
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| WebSite |
http://www.tnafitness.com |
| About the author |
Gregg Gillies is the founder of http://www.buildleanmuscle.com
His articles have appeared in Ironman Magazine. He has written two books
and is a regular contributor to Body Talk Magazine. Check out his fitness blog at http://www.tnafitness.com |
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