calories Archives - X-REP.COM

How to Cheat on Cheat Day

Q: First I want to thank you for creating your X-treme Lean e-book. What a bargain for so much great information! I’m already starting to see lines in my abs after applying many of your suggestions for only a few weeks. One question: You call for at least one so-called cheat day a week. Do I have to eat junk food on those days?

A: Despite the term ” cheat day “, no, you don’t have to eat junk food. In fact, for those who have trouble controlling the amount of junk they eat once they get a taste, it’s best to steer clear. Those addictive-personality types will binge and undo a lot of the fat-loss progress they may have already achieved. [Read more…]

3 Shocking Fat-Burning Facts

It’s the time of year when body-conscious folks are working to look their best for summer. A flat belly is great, and etched abs can really grab attention—but there’s nothing like phenomenal abdominals WITH overall muscularity and rugged rippedness.

The problem is, most people fail to even get to the first level—a flat, no-fat midsection. Why? It usually has something to do with the following 3 fat-burning facts you should be aware of. Knowing these will help you succeed in exiting the Chub Club and joining the Buff Brigade… [Read more…]

Etch In Your Abs as You Pack On Muscle

Q: I just got Jonathan’s Size Surge e-book, and it looks great. I’m ready to try it. My problem is that I still need to lose some fat. I also have the X-centric Mass Workout, and that e-book says that negative-accentuated sets can help get rid of bodyfat. Can I do the Size Surge program, but instead of 2 all-out sets per exercise, do one of those sets in NA style for more fat burning? I really want to see my abs.

A: For those not familiar, negative-accentuated sets have you use one second on the positive stroke and six seconds on the negative. So on bench presses, you would lower to your chest in six seconds, then fire the bar off your chest to the arm’s-extended position in one second… [Read more…]

Top 5 Fat-Loss Blast-Off Tips

It’s not easy getting lean—at least for most people—which is why fast fat loss is always a hot topic. Most of you reading this probably want to uncover your abs sooner rather than later…

[Read more…]

Use Cheat Days During Your Ripping Phase

Q: I read in one of your newsletters a while back that you guys use cheat days on your diets during your ripping phase. I can’t seem to get myself to do that. I’m very focused, and slacking just isn’t in my nature. Is it really necessary?

A: We’ve tried it both ways—with cheat days and without—and we’ve found that adding in 50 to 100 grams of carbs one or two days a week makes a significant fat-burning difference. It’s both psychological and physiological. Here’s an excerpt from our X-treme Lean e-book that explains…

[Read more…]

Ripped Abs: Your First 3 Steps

Q: I’m sick of being soft and blubbery. I really want to see my abs, but I’m not sure where to start. Do I just start working out harder and wait for them to appear? Please help.

A: When we get “soft and blubbery,” usually over the winter (Steve’s pic at left below), our first step to getting ripped abs for the warmer weather is to stop eating crap…

[Read more…]

8 Tips to Drop Fat and Build Mass—Summer’s Coming Fast

Q: The first day of [meteorological] spring slapped me in the face. My abs are gone and I feel “loose,” as in soft. I need to drop fat, especially around my middle, and add some hard muscle—like right now. How do I get it going and see abs?

A: Don’t panic. You still have about 12 weeks until summer. But because fat-loss is a slow process—if you want to hold and even gain muscle—you need to start NOW.

[Read more…]

The Truth About Losing Fat and Gaining Muscle

Q: From all I’ve read and experienced, losing bodyfat is all about reducing calories. If you take in fewer calories than you burn every day, you lose weight; if you take in more calories than you burn each day, you gain weight. To me, that means The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout has to require reduced calories or it can’t work. But then there’s nothing left to build muscle. I’d really like to know the truth about losing fat and gaining muscle. Comments?

A: Your energy equation is exactly why the Fat-to-Muscle program works. It can create a fat-burning calorie deficit, but not by forcing you to run extra miles every day; it stokes your metabolism so you use more energy, or fat, even at rest…

[Read more…]

X Factor Interview, Part 2

Note: The X Factor Interview is an excerpt from Iron Man Magazine.

What if you could pack on a solid five pounds of muscle almost every month? What would you look like one year from now? Are you kidding? Your physique would be outrageous! Radically different and unrecognizable because of so much extra muscle hanging off your joints. Well, in my estimation, Jonathan Lawson added at least five pounds of muscle to his already advanced physique in only one month—not one year, one month—and he’s been training for about 15 years. Add to that the fact that he did it while he was on a a low-calorie diet, and you can see the enormous muscle-building implications for you—especially if you’re not limiting calories, as he was. (Could you add even more, like 10 pounds of muscle, in one month if you followed his lead? Who knows?) [Read more…]