Getting That Lean

I need help and am open to all opinions and suggestions…I am just overwhelmed by all the information out there…

What do you suggest to obtain a lean physique apart from the obvious of reducing nutrient intake of fats and carbs…and upping protein?

Compound exercises - squats, deadlifts, those that engage many muscles? etc
unilateral variations of these exercises to increase core utilisation?
would that mean, for example in a deadlift using a pair of dumbells simultaneously, or holding a dumbell in your left or right arm and then repeating for the other side?
And would you recommend interval training?

Please help…!

As far as exercises go your spot on with compound movements the bigger the muscle the more energy your using… You can lower rest time inbetween sets to keep your heart rate high and make sure your burning cals, but that will sacrafice weight poundages which will sacrafice strength and hypertrophy gains… Its really all about eating healthy… FUCK THE WORD DIET… Get that word out of your head and focus on being a healthy person making smart food choices for life and you will be a lean SOB.

Dont stress over all the info there is out there sure you need to educate yourself and this site is where its at but dont stress about it, take it one day at a time… Like Stan McQuay says Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is your body.

Getting that lean isn’t about a specific training program… You constantly have to adjust it depending on how much you need to lose because your body is going to plateau. You dont want to go from 3000 calories a day to 1500 overnight (not that you ever need to get that low to lose weight). Gradually drop calories in your diet, pick a good weight loss program (I like CT’s 10x3 program personally) and definitely throw in some HIIT cardio a few times a week - most trainers recommend 3 days of it!

Getting that lean and staying that lean isn’t a program - its a lifestyle. If you’re hitting the gym hard and on a regular basis, then you need to be taking a closer look at your diet.

  • AB

I Agree its a lifestyle change. You want to be lean go with those big complex lifts I like “10x3” for fat loss its a great program!

This is probably the most important thing you will ever read!..

YOU CANT OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET

So get yourself a good diet program like the “t-dawg 2.0” diet and get yourself a program “10x3” for fat loss and get to work

PS: Cardio can make or brake you! So be careful with it you can overdoo cardio very easaly! This can lead to muscle loss and you body adapting to high amounds of cardio!

www.warpspeedfatloss.com

Low-carb, low-calorie healthy nutritional plan combined with strength training, weighted EDT-style circuits, interval training and steady-state aerobic training in a 28-day plan that could help you lose 10-20lbs.

If you’re not already in shape or haven’t lifted for a while, then this may be too extreme for you.

I’m on day 10. I’m trying to get to single-digit bodyfat, so this is a good short-term plan for me as I only need to lose about 8-10lbs of fat to achieve my goal.

[quote]jl06agac wrote:
What do you suggest to obtain a lean physique apart from the obvious of reducing nutrient intake of fats and carbs…and upping protein?[/quote]

Increasing the amount of muscle you are carrying.

Beginners often think that the “formula” for leanness is cutting kcals and doing more cardio – and all they get for their efforts is a smaller but NOT leaner version of themselves.

If they instead focused solely on increasing muscle mass AND actually made solid progress along the way, they would find that increased LBM = increased metabolic activity = increased ability to get and stay leaner.

[quote]Dave.F wrote:

This is probably the most important thing you will ever read!..

YOU CANT OUT TRAIN A BAD DIET

[/quote]

Words to remember! And Nate hit some good stuff as well, if you’re not already in decent shape, you’re not magically going to find the perfect program to ter it all up. If you’re truly a beginner, then you will need some overhaul to your daily regime. Eventually, yes, a controlled carb, lower cal diet with intense training will give you a finished look, but if you have nothing to show you’ll just end up looking like a skeleton.

S

thanks for the advice,

How would my training schedule outlined below work for FAT LOSS and putting on LEAN MASS?

these are my physical stats recorded in Jan 2008, since then I have done a marathon so I believe my weight and body fat have gone down slightly. I think my muscle mass was 44%

Height -187cm
Weight - 79kg
BMI - 23.9
Body Fat 14.8%
Resting Heart Rate - 78bpm

Currently my training regime consists of compound exercises - 5 sets of 5 (my 1st stage of periodization) hitting major muscle mass groups by doing squats, deadlifts, pull ups, bent over rows, press ups etc I am trying to integrate one limb versions of these exercises to really test my core and work out imbalances in strength etc.
I also throw in olympic exercises - snatches, cleans, jerks etc. And
interval training 3times a week for 20 minutes(I try not compromising the mass I have gained by running too long) .

WHAT DO U THINK/suggest?

If i converted your stats correctly, your 6’1" and 174lbs.

I think most people would agree that you probably shouldn’t be cutting.

Im in a similar situation; im 5’10" and 190lbs, and I probably shouldn’t be cutting either.

But that doesn’t mean you and I have to give up on our dreams of looking good nekid.


When i started my transformation, I started by doing as much research as possible.

Go to the authors section, and look through every article by John Berardi. Theres some very important stuff in there.

What its gonna come down to for diet for people like us, is increasing calories, while carb cycling. You basically want to add as much muscle while minimizing fat gain, or even losing a little.

Even with the increased calories you probably wont add much weight, but if you can at least maintain your weight while losing fat that will be good.

As for training, there are a ton of options. You just gotta find what works for you. If youve been doing 5x5, then 10x3 might be a good choice. Im liking “real fast fat loss” its fun and is working a lot of areas I have weaknesses in.

Hope all of this helps… Ask any more questions you have.

Im currently in week 3 of my program, and my weight hasn’t changed, but I have definately lost some fat, so I must have gained some muscle as well.

Good luck.

What if ur not exactly a beginner, but just really out of shape the last year or so?
if u need to lose a substantial amount of fat, will the 10x3 program work?

[quote]jackabstrakt wrote:
What if ur not exactly a beginner, but just really out of shape the last year or so?
if u need to lose a substantial amount of fat, will the 10x3 program work?[/quote]

I think you kind of missed the point of the previous posts. It’s not necessarily a specific program that’s the magic answer.

You said you’re out of shape for the last year or so. That’s your first step. Get back in the gym. Get back into shape. Are you eating right? Get those things worked out first.

Go ahead and use 10x3 for fat loss, it’s a good program, but it’s not some special program that will give you magic results.

im not after a ‘magic program’, i think ive just been overwhelmed by all of the specialst routines/diet on this site claiming they are the best for losing fat.Ok the v-diet produces amazing results, but iv read that a good base of muscle is needed first, also, it is more effective YOU HAVENT GOT THAT MUCH WEIGHT TO LOSE (the guy in the physique clinic for example).

The 10x3 program seems really good, but is it as effective if u have a whole load of weight to lose? if u have a huge bf % (mine is massive 35%) iv searched through the site and have yet to find a program/diet regime thats specifically for the REALLY overweight guy.

believe me i know there is no magic workout. i just want to maximise my results because iv only got like 6 months. im not looking for a miracle, just the most effective regime.
:slight_smile:

[quote]jackabstrakt wrote:
im not after a ‘magic program’, i think ive just been overwhelmed by all of the specialst routines/diet on this site claiming they are the best for losing fat.Ok the v-diet produces amazing results, but iv read that a good base of muscle is needed first, also, it is more effective YOU HAVENT GOT THAT MUCH WEIGHT TO LOSE (the guy in the physique clinic for example).

The 10x3 program seems really good, but is it as effective if u have a whole load of weight to lose? if u have a huge bf % (mine is massive 35%) iv searched through the site and have yet to find a program/diet regime thats specifically for the REALLY overweight guy.

believe me i know there is no magic workout. i just want to maximise my results because iv only got like 6 months. im not looking for a miracle, just the most effective regime.
:)[/quote]

If you have a huge amount of weight to lose, just worry about being consistent with eating right and exercising. You don’t need to worry about the details till you get closer to being lean.

[quote]jackabstrakt wrote:
im not after a ‘magic program’, i think ive just been overwhelmed by all of the specialst routines/diet on this site claiming they are the best for losing fat.Ok the v-diet produces amazing results, but iv read that a good base of muscle is needed first, also, it is more effective YOU HAVENT GOT THAT MUCH WEIGHT TO LOSE (the guy in the physique clinic for example).

The 10x3 program seems really good, but is it as effective if u have a whole load of weight to lose? if u have a huge bf % (mine is massive 35%) iv searched through the site and have yet to find a program/diet regime thats specifically for the REALLY overweight guy.

believe me i know there is no magic workout. i just want to maximise my results because iv only got like 6 months. im not looking for a miracle, just the most effective regime.
:)[/quote]

I understand being overwhelmed by all the information on this site. There is great information here though.

10x3 for Fat Loss is a good program and I don’t think it would be wrong to use in your situation. I just caution against jumping into things too quickly since you are getting back into shape. Don’t try to do too much at once, but at the same time, if you feel like you can handle it, more power too you. Go for it!

Just make sure your diet is in order. I think any of the programs on here will work if your diet is right.

At 35% bf a few simple changes to your diet can get you down to the 20% range i think.

  1. Cut out any calorie containing beverages. You may think you had a good day diet wise, but if your drinking in 2000 calories of soda, beer, milk etc. you are not going to lose weight.

2)cut out alcohol(if you drink) Since it is a depressant it slows down your whole body, also most drinks contain a ton of carbs, and are consumed late at night. Even one night a week of 4-6 beers can make the difference from losing 2-3 lbs a week to staying fat.

3)limit breads/pastas to before noon. Some people disagree, but I’m on the side of the fence that thinks if you eat them in the morning your body will use at least some of those carbs as energy throughout the day, so if you can’t lay off the carbs, eat them for breakfast, and eat them in moderation.

  1. eat breakfast. No matter what. Every Day.

Just making a few changes can really make a huge difference. I have personally seen people give up drinking soda and lose 10 lbs without working out. Diet makes that big of a difference.

[quote]jackabstrakt wrote:
What if ur not exactly a beginner, but just really out of shape the last year or so?
if u need to lose a substantial amount of fat, will the 10x3 program work?[/quote]

Really out of shape? Then you are a beginner. A beginner in fat loss training.

No no no i’m 20yrs old and around 12/13%

i read into some articles regarding motor neurons, and muscle fibre. I am going to try and gear my training towards targeting maximum neuron and muscle fibre recruitment. Low reps many sets to spur muscle growth and burn fat, good idea?

Not to be a dick, but do people even read the friggin articles here at all???

I thought this was a thread I posted in yesterday that had the exact same question. Turns out this is a brand new thread.

There are probably dozens (if not more) of articles here on fat loss alone.

IMO, you should read Refined Physique Transformation by Christian Thibaudeau.

[quote]jp_dubya wrote:
jackabstrakt wrote:
What if ur not exactly a beginner, but just really out of shape the last year or so?
if u need to lose a substantial amount of fat, will the 10x3 program work?

Really out of shape? Then you are a beginner. A beginner in fat loss training. [/quote]

I weight trained consistantly for 2 1/2 years. Not an expert-far from it- but not a beginner. My diet fell away to shit and i stopped in the gym because I was working away, and didnt have access to anything. No excuse, I know, but thats what happened. Im really out of shape because in the better part of a year, I’ve put on nearly 50lbs- and I had the size king mentality before-I ate pretty clean, but loads on it and only worried about putting on muscle, not bothereing if i was putting on fat, so i was always around 20-25 lbs overweight.

You are right in that I am coming back to training after a pretty long layoff, but i wouldnt consider myself a beginner.