No Nonsense Newsletter October/November/December 2005
Challenge: How To Add Muscle And
Lose Fat... At The Same Time
By: Sayif Saud
| The most important bodybuilding lesson I’ve learned to date is that although training is important, nutrition is key. Adding muscle is a difficult task by itself. But, adding muscle and losing body fat at the same time is a far greater challenge. |
My goal during my first year in bodybuilding was to just keep the scale moving forward. Back then I didn’t think of weight in terms of good weight (muscle) and bad weight (fat). All weight was good – or so I thought. Then I dieted down for my first show.
All of sudden I wasn’t so fond of all that weight. I quickly realized that the more body fat carried in the off-season, the more I would have to work to take it off in my pre-contest phase. Huge fluctuations in weight are probably not that great for your health, but I can tell you for sure that the more fat I have to lose for a contest, the harder it is to retain muscle mass. Keep your nutrition under control in the off-season. Remember, you can’t flex fat.
Now, I stay lean in the offseason.
Twenty pounds over my
competitive weight is my limit. By
staying lean in the off-season, I find
I do not lose strength as I get closer
to a contest. Not only that but I
actually gain lean muscle while I
lose body fat due to my high
protein intake and the right
supplementation. I actually have a
higher energy level throughout my
workouts. Here’s the lesson –
"maintain low body fat levels in the
off-season to maximize muscular
gains."
Training
Before I give you the specifics of my nutrition and supplement program, I first want to touch on training. I keep my training regimen the same in the off-season up until the day of the contest. I believe that the core lifts are essential. They are the best for gaining in the off-season and they’re the best for maintaining during my pre-contest phase of training.
Leg day - heavy squats are a must, Squats stimulate the quads, hamstrings and glutes like no other exercise. Your leg muscles are used to carrying your body-weight all day, every-day. To make them grow you must stimulate them with heavy squats using a full range of motion. As a precaution, I do perform light leg extensions to pump blood in the knees and I stretch for at least five. minutes prior to squatting. Don’t kid yourself by using more weight than you can handle. Use as much weight as you can squat to parallel in perfect form – and no more.
For chest, my favorites are incline bench presses and dumbbell movements. I switch them up weekly to avoid stagnation. Dead lifts and chins are the mainstays of every back session, because I believe these are the two best exercises for building a wide, dense back. I stick with military and dumbbell presses for delts and incorporate front, side, and rear laterals. Curls and close grip benches are my favorite arm movements.
When putting together a program, you must take a hard, honest look at your self and use the muscle prioritization theory. Basically this means allotting the most time and energy to your weakest muscle groups. Your personal training program requires individualization. Your weak areas won’t be the same as mine. A good place to start is to take a look at some of the training splits in Beverly’s No Nonsense Newsletter and BodyMuscle Journal. Another great tool I found was the search engine on their website. Go to www.bodybuildingworld.com, click on "Search Beverly" at the top, then type in "chest training" for example and you’ll get 95 results. Another great resource is your own past training experiences. Take notes of your workouts – especially your good ones and use them to draw up your new "game plan".
Core training is essential for
gaining muscle in the
off-season and maintaining
muscle pre-contest
Keep in mind that you need to continually improve in your training sessions in at least one of these three areas - the amount of weight lifted, reps in a set, or shorten your rest between sets (See the sample training program I’ve provided at the bottom of the page).
Monday: Quads, Hamstrings Quads: Warm Up: Leg Extensions, Squats, Hack Squat, and Heavy Leg Extensions Hamstrings: Stiff-Legged Dead Lift, Lunges, and Hamstring Curls |
Tuesday: Chest, Triceps, Calves, Abs Chest: Incline Presses (Dumbbell-Barbell), Incline Flies (Flat Flies/Alternate), and Cable Crossovers Triceps: Close Grip Bench Presses, Tricep Pushdown, and Dips Calves: Standing Calf Raises, and Seated Calf Raises Abs: Crunches (5 sets of 25), and Hanging Leg Raises (3 sets of 15) |
Wednesday: Rest Day: Minimize physical activity |
Thursday: Back, Biceps, Calves Back: Chins, Dead Lifts Lat-Pulldowns, and Dumbbell Rows (Alternate With Barbell Rows) Biceps: Barbell Curls, Hammer Curls, and Concentration Curls (Alternate With Machine Concentration Curls) Calves: Standing Calf Raises, and Seated Calf Raises |
Friday: Delts, Calves, Abs Delts: Military Presses, Dumbbell Presses, and Super Set: Side, Front and Rear Dumbbell Laterals Calves and Abs (Same as Tuesday) |
Sat/Sun: Rest |
A common mistake that many people make is training a body part when they are not properly recovered from their previous training session. This is like taking two steps forward and three steps back. Your training tears down the muscle, it repairs itself during rest days and that is where the growth occurs. Remember, your body grows outside the gym not in it! If for example your chest is still sore but it is time to hit it again in your weekly rotation, I advise taking one more day of rest; you will allow your body to recover, therefore allowing more time for growth. Overtraining is all to common, no matter how bad you want to train, you have to listen to your body and respond accordingly, that is smart bodybuilding.
Nutrition:
As I stated earlier diet is the key to bodybuilding success. I eat the same type of foods off-season as I eat precontest; I just eat larger portions offseason. Here is a sample Lean Gain- Fat Loss nutrition plan:
Meal #1 2 whole eggs plus 4 egg whites 6 oz chicken breast or lean ground beef 1-cup oatmeal before cooking 3 EFA Gold Meal #2 3 scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein or Ultra Size, 2 TBS Heavy Cream in 12-16 oz water (or I use less water and make a pudding) Meal #3 8 oz chicken (before cooking), turkey, or fish 6 oz sweet potato or 1 cup cooked brown rice 1 cup vegetables (broccoli, etc.) or salad with 2 TBS. Low Cal Dressing Meal #4 (same as for meal #2) Meal #5 10 oz lean beef, chicken, turkey, fish, or sirloin steak 2 cups non starchy vegetables 3 EFA Gold Meal #6 6-8 oz of lean ground beef 2 cups of non-starchy vegetables During pre-contest, I cut my portions and maybe drop my sixth meal depending on my progress. |
Supplements:
As far as supplements go, I love Muscle Provider. Muscle Provider allows me to get the quality protein I need when I am on the go. It mixes easily which is so convenient when I am in class or at the library and can’t get home. I also use Creatine Select and Glutamine Select all year round. These two products make me recover so much faster from my workouts, which is crucial when you’re on a tight schedule. (Did I mention I’m a law student?)
I’ve been working with Beverly for four years now. I am plain and simple a Beverly athlete. I wouldn’t have had the success I have had and learned as much as I have about competing if it wasn’t for the experience of the Beverly team. Every Beverly team member I have worked with has been not only an expert in bodybuilding nutrition, but also an accomplished athlete.
With Beverly’s help I went from a lightweight my first show to a middleweight the next year and now to a light-heavy weight, scoring wins in each of the respective weight classes. I gained eleven pounds of competitive weight from last year to this year while coming in leaner using Beverly products. This year I plan to compete in the Collegiate Nationals. I’m working with Mark Ritter who has been a national champ a couple times over including winning his class at the collegiate nationals a couple years back. With such great people in your corner how can I go wrong! The bottom line is that Beverly products and their staff are the best out there.
Beverly products I use are: Ultra 40 liver tabs These contain B-complex vitamins with natural iron increase my energy levels and help me get a great pump while increasing my protein intake.
Mass AminosAre great when I am on the run, I know I am getting the best-utilized form of quality protein quickly and easily. I also like to take Mass tablets while working out to maintain a positive nitrogen balance in the body while dieting.
Muscle Synergy
Is a great product, this product gives me great strength, energy, and awesome pumps during my training sessions.
Super Pak
Is a must all the time, I know I am getting all the vitamins and minerals I need to support my body.
In conclusion, whether you are striving for a national title or just want to look good by the pool, proper diet and supplements is key. Why waste your time training if you do not improve your nutrition? Year after year I see the same people in the gym putting in time and effort and forging little to no change in their physiques. If you are going to invest time and effort into training, do yourself a favor and be sure you have the proper nutrition and supplements to garner the best results.
