Sep 10, 2009

“Is It Actually Possible to Gain Muscle And Burn Fat At The Same Time?”

Hello Friends,

I want to give you this article by Jon Benson.
It's a very good article and his system really works!

Here we go.

“Is It Actually
Possible to Gain
Muscle And Burn
Fat At The Same
Time?”

You Can Do It...
If You Apply These 3 Tips!

By Jon Benson
Bestselling Author of 7 Minute Muscle

I remember a friendly argument with my co-author of
Fit Over 40 Tom Venuto. It all started when I told Tom how
I was eating and training for my last peak. A peak is where
you lower your bodyfat and try to maintain as much muscle
mass as possible.

“There's just no way I could ever get in shape eating and
training like that,” says Tom. “Sure you could man...what
are you, a mutant?” Tom fires back, then me, then Tom....and
so it goes. (I really didn't call Tom a mutant. That was creative
liberty.)

So why are so many fitness pros like Tom freaked out about
my training and nutrition plan? Simple: I claim it burns
fat while building muscle at the same time.
Every
time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it's
“biologically impossible” to gain muscle on a hypocaloric diet
(a diet low in calories) I just laugh.

I do more than make claims—I have proved this to be true
many times. I've had my bodyfat hydrostatically measured
during several peaks. In all but one I showed an increase of
muscle mass and a decrease of bodyfat during a 12-16 week
period. The one time I didn't show an increase in muscle mass
when I was training the most in the gym. That may not make
sense right now, but it will in a moment.

I share my 7-minute workout
routine in my latest book. There's a
link to 7 Minute Muscle at the end
of this article.

The most I have ever gained was 14 pounds of muscle over a
six month period of time while, at the same time, decreasing
my bodyfat from 18% to 6.9%. The pictures in this article
were taken about four-six weeks out from my last peak in
November 2007 where I broke the 6% mark. And, at 44,
I GAINED an additional four pounds of muscle during my
peak that I held throughout the entire cycle. I wish I would
have measured my bodyfat before I hit the 7% mark.
I guarantee you I gained at least 7-8 pounds of muscle over
the course of my peak.

Keep this in mind: I'm a 44-year-old former fat guy who does
not take any fat-burning drugs or steroids for muscle mass.
I was eating only 2-3 times per day. I was not doing hours of
cardio. And...of all things...my best workouts were under 20
minutes. More like 15.

I look pretty good for a natural bodybuilder who used to be
clinically obese. I won't win the Mr. Olympia in my lifetime,
but that's okay. Most of you reading this article could care less
about looking like a real mutant. That wasn't creative liberty.
I think drugged-up 300-pound guys, to quote Vince Gironda,
look like "bloated sausages."

Okay, I'll come clean. I admire competitive bodybuilders for
their drive and passion for excellence. But I do not admire
their common sense. I should know—I tried it for a while.
However, I never actually competed. Came close, but no cigar.
While I have a good flow to my physique, I have a few genetic
flaws that will never fly when standing next to a guy doing
tons of drugs and whose never been fat a day in his life.
Frankly, I really detest bodybuilding shows. A few years ago
I wrote a pretty funny article about that whole gig. It's an
exercise in futility to me.

The funny thing is that most people assume I'm a competitive
bodybuilder when I'm in top shape (which is most of the year.)
I have 17-inch arms, a huge back, good natural leg development
and pretty good shoulders.

This is not a fluff piece to tell you how great I am. I'm not.
I have plenty of genetic weaknesses, trust me. I gain fat at the
drop of a hat. I walk by a doughnut shop and gain a pound. But
the fact remains that most people lose muscle on a diet. Those
who don't know how to diet lose far more muscle than fat!
So when a guy in his 40s claims he can build muscle AND lose
fat...well, eyebrows will raise.

Back to my friend Tom for a moment. Mr. Venuto's system
kicks ass. He's a great bodybuilder. If I ever wanted to get
down to 2.5% bodyfat I might have to actually do MORE
work than I do now. Give me a freakin' break. Like I really
want to do that—get into an ultra-ripped condition that I can
only hold, literally, for a matter of hours. No thanks.

But I love to look CLOSE to
the condition of a competitive
bodybuilder. For me, that's
about 7% bodyfat with ample
muscle mass, but not enough
to make folks toss their cookies.
Yep, that's me (left) in a hotel
room. Fresh out of the shower.
I'm such a professional, eh?
This was about two weeks prior
to the picture at the top.
My muscle mass increased and
my bodyfat decreased in a span
of about 17 days.

So how does this work?
Can anyone do it? Yes...but you have to have the right
combination of factors.

Most fitness pros will tell you that you have to increase your
calories in order to gain muscle. In order to gain weight, this
statement is true. But most people do not want to merely
gain weight—they want to gain lean muscle and burn bodyfat.
My System will work great for gaining bulk if that's what you
want. Just eat. A lot. I wish I had that problem!

For the rest of us—men and women who want to lose fat and
build shapely muscle at the same time—a bit of metabolic
trickery is involved.

First, what is a calorie? A calorie is nothing more than a
measurement of energy or heat. Your body requires energy
and heat in order to survive. All food has a specific
measurement of energy we call calories.

SImply stated, in order to lose stored energy, or bodyfat,
we need to decrease the amount of ingested energy, or
calories. A slight reduction in calories is essential to burn
bodyfat—there's no way around that. Now, if you want to
gain muscle, doesn't it make sense that you have to increase
your calories in order to pull it off?

Yes, it makes perfect sense. But its wrong. Flat-out, absolutely
dead freakin' wrong.

Listen up: As long as you have fat to burn, all the
energy you need for muscle can come from your
body's stored energy.
What do you think all that fat is for?
Energy! We just want to use that energy to repair the body
after exercise and build lean tissue by tapping into that
unwanted bodyfat.

There are three key steps in order to trick the body into doing
two seemingly opposite things at the same time; burn fat and
build muscle. First, you have to stimulate the body to increase
its muscle mass. You do this through weight training. However,
train TOO LONG and all that extra energy from your stored
bodyfat will go to keeping your central nervous system from
crashing. Your body will shift all of that energy and then some
into the metabolic processes we call "survival mode" faster
than you can snap your fingers. It will try and make sure your
metabolism stays high enough to survive. That's one reason
diets fail—the metabolism crashes because calories are too low
AND because you are exercising too much.

Brief but brutal training is the key. I cover the BEST way to
do this in my new book. It's killer...and it only takes 7
minutes to do. (Advanced trainees can use the 14-21 minute
plans if they want.)

Step two is to lower your calories. How do you manage to do
this without starving the muscle? Keep the protein and fats
high. Healthy fats are best, although some saturated fat is
okay unless your doc says no. (Most doctors know next to
nothing about nutrition. Hopefully yours is smarter.)

Now, here's a great trick: Overeat slightly cooked or raw
vegetables. Try to eat as much as you can. Literally force-feed
yourself, especially at night. This trick fools the mind into
thinking it has more food than it actually does. The power of
the mind over the body cannot be overemphasized. My new
book has an entire chapter dedicated to this...and wait until
you read it. I cite several studies on how top athletes are
using their minds to change their body and their performance.

Step three: Walk. The more the better. You clear out the
toxins, get the blood flowing, help rid lactic acid from the
system, and burn fat all at the same time. I walk about 20
times longer than I train with weights because I love it so
much. It's my number one fat-burner.

So, let's recap:

1. You can burn fat and build muscle. The energy required to
build the muscle mass comes from stored bodyfat.
2. This only works if you keep your protein and fats sufficiently
high AND if you do not overtrain in the gym. The shortest
workout possible is the best. Stimulate the mind and body to
"build muscle" and it will.
3. Walk as much as you can. Walking before eating in the
morning helps you burn even more bodyfat.

Now, if you want to build more muscle in less time while you
burn bodyfat, pick up 7 Minute Muscle today. It's guaranteed
to work for you. Try my System for 60 days and prove it to
yourself. This is not just an “e-book.” My complete System
comes with the digital PDF book for instant download plus
SIX instructional videos (digital format; instant access).
It shows you everything you need to know to build muscle
in just 7 minutes a day.


Hope you liked the article and if you did, go ahead and order
his book "7 Minute Muscle".
There is a full 60-days Money Back Guaranty, so you have
nothing to lose but everything to gain.

To Your New Body
Jorma Persson





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