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Your #1 Step to Fast Fat Loss

Jonathan and Steve flexing abs

Q: I need to lose 20 pounds. I’ve gained a bit of a gut during this interesting year, and I have a goal to lose it in two to three months. If I succeed, I should look pretty good for spring and summer. Is that possible? What’s the number-one thing I should do to get it going? I’m stoked to see abs, so I’ll starve if I have to.

A: Well, the first thing you should NOT do is starve by making a huge calorie cut. That’s the big mistake most people make due to excessive motivation and/or impatience. A giant calorie reduction all at once sends your body into starvation mode. That preserves fat and burns muscle tissue—which then slows down your metabolism to a crawl. Not what you want… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: burn fat, diet tips, fast fat loss, fat burning, fat loss, fat loss tips, lose fat, lose weight, metabolism, spring body, summer body, training tips, weight loss

Realistic 1-Month Weight Loss

Becky Holman before and after - Fat-to-Muscle Facts and Photos

Q: Do you think I could lose 20 pounds in a month? I’ll be honest, I slacked off during the stay-at-home order where I live, and my weight suffered because of it. Oops! I want to be in a somewhat healthy looking condition during the summer. I want the fat off, as it’s killing me to see this gut! And summer’s already under way. Help?!

A: Yes, you could technically lose that much weight in a month, but most of it would be water and muscle—and you probably wouldn’t look better or feel healthy—in fact, you’d feel like crap and look worse than you feel right now. We’re all impatient when it comes to changing our bodies, and especially when it comes to weight loss, but the best strategy is gradual and steady, even when there’s a short deadline like the one you’ve set… [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic fasting, becky holman, eat stop eat, fat loss, gain muscle, healthy weight loss, intermittent fasting, lose 20 pounds, lose fat, triple-shredded, weight loss

Overtrained? Try This for Instant Muscle Gains—No Layoff Necessary

Q: I’m starting to drag at the gym, and I don’t look forward to my workouts anymore. I’m starting to think I’m overtrained. I haven’t grown in a while, but I DON’T want to take a layoff. Even backing off to low-effort workouts sounds like a bad idea because I don’t want to lose my gains. What should I do?

A: Boy, does that sound familiar. We always tell trainees that they need a break to regenerate and keep the growth process rolling, but they never take one (and neither do we—bad). That’s an easy way to end up overtrained. [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10, belly fat burn, burn fat, fat burning, fat loss, GH release, john hansen, lose fat, mitochondria, Mr. Natural Olympia, muscle gains, myofibrillar growth, overtrained, overtraining, sarcoplasm, sarcoplasmic growth

Big-and-Ripped Tips: Size Surge, Fat Purge

Vascular arm curling

Q: I’m really stoked about using the Size Surge program. A friend at my gym said he used it last winter and put on 12 pounds of muscle after only 8 weeks. My question is about burning fat while on the program. I don’t want to get fat, but I know I have to eat big to get big. You’ve said that X-centric [or negative-accentuated] sets can help burn more fat. Can I work those in somehow to Size Surge?

A: Absolutely! We try to use X-centric sets throughout the winter to help keep the lean machine revved so abs don’t completely disappear.

In fact, if you’re going to use the original heavy-training version of Size Surge—as opposed to the moderate-weight 4X version we’ve talked about—the X-centric sets will help you burn more fat AND expand the muscle sarcoplasm for extra mass. That’s important because heavy training tends to neglect that important anabolic “layer.” [Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: big and ripped, Casey Viator, Colorado Experiment, fat burning, fat loss, lose fat, muscle-building, negative-accentuated style, Size Surge, t-boosting, testosterone, Truth About Testosterone, x-centric

Get Ripped Now: Your Muscle-Beach Action Plan

Jonathan Lawson outside

“Man, you look incredible—amazing abs!” Who doesn’t want to hear compliments like that when peeling off your shirt at the beach, pool, or lake? Make a promise to yourself: You’re going to get ripped and look better than ever this year…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: abs, beach body, biotrust, cheat days, cutting, fat loss, fat-to-muscle workout, free protein, get ripped, growth hormone, high-definition workout, lose fat, low-carb protein, muscle beach, physique, triple-shredded, x-traordinary abs, zig-zagging calories

Best Mass Moves for High-End-Hypertrophy Hits

Q: I just started using the 30-20-15 [TORQ] method on one exercise for each muscle. I do the other exercises as regular sets or 4X. The higher reps really feel incredible. What a great pump and deep fiber hit. My question is, Which exercise is best for 30-20-15—midrange, stretch or contracted?

A: As we’ve mentioned before, the angle of pull is different on each of midrange, stretch, and contracted exercises, so fiber activation can be unique as well.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4X, 4x mass workout, anabolic fasting, blood flow blockage, brad pilon, burn fat, eat stop eat, fat burning, fiber activation, fiber recruitment, get ripped, high-end hypertrophy, hypertrophy, intermittent fasting, lose fat, mass moves, muscle synergy, muscle-building, occlusion, physique, pump, steven j. fleck, strength building, stretch overlaod, tension overload, TORQ, William J. Kraemer

4 Intense Fat-Loss Tips

Jonathan Lawson doing cardio on stationary bike - Cheat to Get Ripped

Q: I need to lose fat quickly, and I’ve been reading a lot about interval cardio training. I want to try it, so how would you suggest I work it into my program? I just started using the Heavy/Light 10×10 Workout based on one of your recent newsletters that made it sound great.

A: As we’ve said, high-intensity interval cardio is like doing another leg workout, so you must be cautious. For those who don’t know what HIIT is, a good example is sprinting the straight-aways and walking the curves on a running track.

You’re alternating anaerobic work, all-out sprints, with active rest, walking. Studies show that it’s an exceptional way to burn bodyfat for a number of reasons…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 10x10 workout, aerobic, anaerobic, boost testosterone, cardio, catabolism, cortisol, fasted cardio, fat loss, fat-loss tips, fat-to-muscle workout, frank rich, high-intensity interval training, hiit, intense fat-loss tips, interval cardio, interval training, lose fat, massthetic, muscle detail, sprints, steady-state cardio, testosterone, triple-shredded, weight loss, x-traordinary abs, x-treme lean

2 Tricks to Get You Ripped—With More Muscle Too

Q: Looking in the mirror, I see that somehow I’ve gotten very fat. I go to the gym, but I guess my eating has been out of hand for too long. Is there anything I should concentrate on during my workouts to help lose the fat? I plan to do cardio after every weight workout, something you’ve suggested. I desperately want to be ripped enough to see abs!

A: First, get your diet under control. You must start eating clean—cut down the junk—and get on an anabolic-meal schedule. Your best bet will be a typical bodybuilding diet, so eat at least 25 grams of protein at six meals a day. Try to eat every two to three hours, and get some carbs too—enough to refill muscle glycogen stores, which is about 200 grams a day. If you need examples, see X-treme Lean; it contains our complete meal-by-meal diets to help you get ripped…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: 4x sequence, abs, anabolic diet, anabolic hormone reset, anabolic hormones, bigger, bodybuilding, Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, diet, fat burning, fat-to-muscle, GH, GH release, granite abs, growth hormone release, heavy pyramids, high-reps, lose fat, metabolism, microtears, more muscle, muscle trauma, negative-accentuated, pyramids, ripped, stronger, testosterone, triple-shredded, ultimate fat-to-muscle workout, x-traordinary abs, x-treme lean

Muscle On, Bodyfat Gone

Q: I got your 4X Mass Workout 2.0. I love the [higher-rep] TORQ method and 4X combo workouts. I feel it working already to put some muscle on—the burn is intense. Question: I’m now trying to drop fat and build muscle, so will those [higher reps] help, or should I include negative-accentuated [X-centric] sets too?

A: Bodybuilders of yesteryear often used higher reps before contests for fat burning, but experts later said that was foolish. Why? Because high reps cannot “etch in” cuts. Or can they?…

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: biotrust, body fat, bodyfat, bodyfat gone, fat burner, fat burning, fat loss, fiber trauma, free protein, lose fat, low-carb protein, myofibrils, stretch overload

Eye-Popping Muscle Detail with High Reps?

Q: I heard that you guys prescribe high-rep sets to etch in muscle cuts. That’s wrong. I’m a certified personal trainer, and I learned that high reps do not make a muscle more defined. You can only do that with diet to thin your skin.

A: You’re correct that higher-rep sets don’t “etch in muscle cuts” per se; however, as we discuss in our Fat-to-Muscle e-book, high-rep sets, 15 to 20, do heighten muscle burn, and that lactic acid surge can increase growth hormone output. [Can J App Phys. 22:244-255. 1997.] GH has been shown in research studies to be an extremely potent fat burner. In other words, it thins the skin by reducing subcutaneous fat—and that eventually gives you more muscle detail.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: X Files Tagged With: anabolic, anabolic hormones, belly fat burn, blood-flow, bodybuilders, bodyfat, burn fat, Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology, capillary bed expansoin, continuous tension, fast-twitch, fat burning, fat loss, fat-to-muscle, fat-to-muscle workout, fiber splitting, full range of motion, growth hormone, high-rep sets, high-reps, igf-1, insulin, insulin-like growth factor, jerry brainum, lactic acid, lean, lose fat, max force, mechano-growth factor, metabolism, mitochondria, muscle burn, muscle detail, muscle growth, muscular growth, occlusion, POF, positions of flexion, rep range, ripped, spot reduction, stretch overload

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