How Body Fat Hides Your Muscle Mass
Are your muscles hiding under your body fat? I see many men who can bench press the building but they have dangerous levels of belly fat and overall body fat. How does that happen?
You can even be skinny with high body fat. You may also be normal weight obese. You are obese if you have too much body fat.
The Body Fat Problem
A very strong guy at the gym asked me one day, "how do I burn off this belly fat, low back fat and get ripped?"
My quick answer to him (I was working out) was to cut out sodas, donuts, candy, sugars, etc. and to drink only water and unsweetened drinks for starters.....and to base his daily calorie intake on his basal metabolic rate, daily activity and goals.....I didn't go too much into his workouts because I wanted to watch him.
After a few observations and some more questions (about 2 weeks time), I knew what 3 Steps he took to get a Strong Body with High Body Fat:
1. What I saw was: walking on a treadmill at a "snail's pace" for 30 minutes one day a week.That's better than not walking but he wasn't burning many calories or fat with that routine.
2. He worked out hard with the weights and usually lifted heavy. Traditional exercises like the bench press, squats, shoulder press, rows and leg press were included in the routine. He worked out with very low intensity and he frequently talked to friends for 5-10 minutes between some sets.
3. Even though he worked out 4-5 days a week (usually strength training), he ate more calories (bad food) than he burned on a regular basis. A caloric surplus will cause you to gain weight. So, he kinda looked like a strong dough boy.
Answers to His Body Fat Problem
a) Eat right--meaning whole, natural foods with quality calories. Whole, natural foods have one ingredient, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. And, they are many times nutritional and low-calorie.
Drink mainly water and unsweetened drinks like green tea.
b) I have a feeling this guy has been doing the same workout forever. Your body adapts to your workouts. When this happens, you need to vary your workout routines and intensity.
Do different lifts for the different body parts, such as substituting bench presses with stability ball dumbbell presses or doing step-ups and lunges instead of squats. A shorter, more intense 30-minute full-body circuit weight workout will work better than a 1 hour weight workout when you are trying to burn body fat.
Do full-body circuit strength training, whether lifting heavy or light (including bodyweight exercises). He also needs to add full body core exercise to his workouts. And, he should save the socializing for after his workout.
c) Speed up the cardio with 20-minute interval sessions (2-3 times a week).
Use intervals for cardio and you will burn fat faster and start to see your body lean out sooner. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a proven effective fat-burning cardio exercise method.
Also, HIIT is the best way to burn fat, while saving muscle mass, in the shortest amount of time. This type of cardio will also give you superior heart health compared to long, steady-state cardio.
Doing this type of cardio will burn more calories and fat during and after your workout. Exercise Post-Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) causes your body to burn more calories and fat after a tough workout. Your body has to work harder to get back to its pre-exercise state. Fat burning and metabolism can increase for up to 48 hours after your workout.
Too many long, traditional 1 hour cardio sessions wastes away your muscle mass, can have a negative impact on hunger and stress hormones which can cause increased appetite and cravings for sugary and other fatty foods.
How about you? What are your workouts like? Don't expect great fat loss and weight loss results if your workouts are always low intensity. You may also need to change your eating habits.
Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workout Book below and start shaping your body faster! There are 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. You will also get fat-burning menus!
You can even be skinny with high body fat. You may also be normal weight obese. You are obese if you have too much body fat.
The Body Fat Problem
A very strong guy at the gym asked me one day, "how do I burn off this belly fat, low back fat and get ripped?"
My quick answer to him (I was working out) was to cut out sodas, donuts, candy, sugars, etc. and to drink only water and unsweetened drinks for starters.....and to base his daily calorie intake on his basal metabolic rate, daily activity and goals.....I didn't go too much into his workouts because I wanted to watch him.
After a few observations and some more questions (about 2 weeks time), I knew what 3 Steps he took to get a Strong Body with High Body Fat:
1. What I saw was: walking on a treadmill at a "snail's pace" for 30 minutes one day a week.That's better than not walking but he wasn't burning many calories or fat with that routine.
2. He worked out hard with the weights and usually lifted heavy. Traditional exercises like the bench press, squats, shoulder press, rows and leg press were included in the routine. He worked out with very low intensity and he frequently talked to friends for 5-10 minutes between some sets.
3. Even though he worked out 4-5 days a week (usually strength training), he ate more calories (bad food) than he burned on a regular basis. A caloric surplus will cause you to gain weight. So, he kinda looked like a strong dough boy.
Answers to His Body Fat Problem
a) Eat right--meaning whole, natural foods with quality calories. Whole, natural foods have one ingredient, such as fresh fruits and vegetables. And, they are many times nutritional and low-calorie.
Drink mainly water and unsweetened drinks like green tea.
b) I have a feeling this guy has been doing the same workout forever. Your body adapts to your workouts. When this happens, you need to vary your workout routines and intensity.
Do different lifts for the different body parts, such as substituting bench presses with stability ball dumbbell presses or doing step-ups and lunges instead of squats. A shorter, more intense 30-minute full-body circuit weight workout will work better than a 1 hour weight workout when you are trying to burn body fat.
Do full-body circuit strength training, whether lifting heavy or light (including bodyweight exercises). He also needs to add full body core exercise to his workouts. And, he should save the socializing for after his workout.
c) Speed up the cardio with 20-minute interval sessions (2-3 times a week).
Use intervals for cardio and you will burn fat faster and start to see your body lean out sooner. High intensity interval training (HIIT) is a proven effective fat-burning cardio exercise method.
Also, HIIT is the best way to burn fat, while saving muscle mass, in the shortest amount of time. This type of cardio will also give you superior heart health compared to long, steady-state cardio.
Doing this type of cardio will burn more calories and fat during and after your workout. Exercise Post-Oxygen Consumption (EPOC) causes your body to burn more calories and fat after a tough workout. Your body has to work harder to get back to its pre-exercise state. Fat burning and metabolism can increase for up to 48 hours after your workout.
Too many long, traditional 1 hour cardio sessions wastes away your muscle mass, can have a negative impact on hunger and stress hormones which can cause increased appetite and cravings for sugary and other fatty foods.
How about you? What are your workouts like? Don't expect great fat loss and weight loss results if your workouts are always low intensity. You may also need to change your eating habits.
Be sure and download your Free Bodyweight 500 Metabolic Fat Burner Workout Book below and start shaping your body faster! There are 3 levels: beginner, intermediate and advanced. You will also get fat-burning menus!
