Thank God for Mark Rippetoe and His Book!

I owe my understanding of how to tone a muscle to Pavel Tsatsouline's work Power to the People. I read this amazing book back in the late 90's and it changed my approach to lifting for muscle tone forever. While I think that book is pure gold, Mark Rippetoe explains how to improve muscle tone perfectly in his book, Practical Programming for Strength Training.

“The modern fitness industry’s concept of “toning” muscles is specious—it might sound cool, but it lacks any tangible and definable meaning. The term “muscle tone” or tonus describes an electrophysiological phenomenon, a measure of ionic flow across muscle cell membranes. It can be thought of as the muscle’s readiness to do anaerobic wort. The more fit the muscle, the more electrophysiological activity it exhibits at rest. Lack of exercise leads to poor tone, aerobic exercise improves tone a little bit, low-intensity weight training improves tone more, and high-intensity training improves tone the fastest.

"High Intensity Training Improves Tone the Fastest"

Heavy strength training is what increases muscle tone (it is what I have been saying for close to 3 years now). It creates a muscle with greater residual tension while in a rested state…meaning the muscle is firm and defined while at rest…more "toned". Here is the rest of Mark's quote about muscle tone…

As a test, go poke the traps or quads of an elite weightlifter at rest, if she’ll let you. They’ll he hard as rock. The same muscles of an elite road cyclist at rest will be firm, but not hard. Then compare the athletes’ muscle tone to that of a sedentary person. The results will he quite enlightening. Most exercise programs that claim to improve muscle tone are actually lower-intensity hypertrophy programs and are only moderately effective for improving muscle tone. If “tone” is the goal, strength is the method.”

Low Body Fat Reveals Your Muscle Tone

The guys in the bodybuilding forums have a really basic understanding of how to create a defined look. They believe that you can't "tone" a muscle. They are flat out wrong and could learn a thing or two about muscle physiology, how the nervous system is tied into lifting, etc. It is true that you need to lose body fat to reveal your muscle tone…but the muscle tone displayed can vary greatly depending upon a number of factors. Bottom line, it isn't just about building a muscle and then getting to low body fat levels to create a defined look (which is what many would have you believe).

Muscle Tone is a Function of the Nervous System

As Mark Rippetoe states, muscle tone is an "electrophysiological" phenomenon. Getting stronger is also largely a function of the nervous system. The greater the nerve impulse to a muscle…the stronger it contracts and the greater force that muscle will generate. As a muscle becomes stronger, your nervous system becomes more efficient at sending strong signals to that muscle. Over time, the muscle will have a greater "ionic flow" even at rest…AKA greater "muscle tone".

Note: I was pretty shocked by the prevalent homophobic tone of a particularly large bodybuilding forum. I guess that is what is considered cool on that site. I consider this the same as racism. I can't believe this stuff still exists. There are much better places to learn about getting in amazing shape without the hate and disgusting comments (I'll get off of my soap box now).

A Quick Description of Partial Reps

Basically performing just a portion of a repetition is a partial rep. Doing the top half of a bench press is a a partial rep, as is just doing the bottom part of a curl. You may have seen people perform 21's, which is doing 7 reps of the top half of a lift, 7 reps of the bottom portion, and then 7 full reps. Well this is NOT the way I recommend you perform partial reps.

A Quick Overview of True Muscle Definition

Just filling in people new to the site. Want to increase the definition (tone) of a certain muscle? Then increase the strength of that muscle without increasing the size of that same muscle. How can a muscle get stronger without getting bigger? Low volume, low rep strength training will allow a person to develop a more efficient nervous system…sending stronger impulses to the target muscle without breaking down the muscle fiber. Low rep training is more of a "nervous system" thing and less of a muscle breakdown deal.

Developing a More Efficient Nervous System is Key

Bruce Lee is a great example of someone who trained their nervous system to generate peak output. Because of this, he had an incredible level of strength and muscle definition. If he would have trained for mass as well and put on 30 more pounds of muscle, he wouldn't have achieved that same degree of muscle tone.

[I've always wanted an excuse to put up this "one inch punch" documentary. This shows Bruce Lee's ability to generate power.]

Lifting Heavy Weights is Just One Way to Get Stronger

Lifting weights is just a way to measure how hard your muscle is contracting. Typically your muscles must contract harder when you lift a heavier weight. The better you get at contracting a muscle hard, the more strength that muscle will demonstrate. It is possible to get stronger with light weights, by contracting your muscles "as if" the weight is ultra-heavy. This takes practice, but I have a post on this here: Lift Light Weights for Low Reps to Gain Strength and Muscle Definition.

You Can Actually Get Stronger Without Lifting At All!

I am sure most people have heard of isometric exercise. This basically is the contraction of a muscle without any movement (like pushing against a wall that won't budge). I don't do many isometric exercises except for planks. The reason for this is that it is hard to measure how hard the muscle is contracting with an isometric exercise. You can definitely increase muscle definition with isometric exercise as well as strength, but it is hard to measure progress.

Partial Reps As A Way to Measure Isometric Contractions

Say you are doing some sort of machine bench press. You can set up the seat or the handles to where you are just doing the last 3-4 inches (the lockout) of the press instead of the full rep. If you set up the machine this way you can use a significant amount of weight. Slowly press the weight and increase tension until the weight moves. As soon as it moves it isn't an isometric contraction, but lock out the weight anyway. Return to the start point and weight one full second. Push again increasing the tension over time until the weight moves again. Lock it out and then return to the starting point. You are only going to do 3 reps, insuring that you pause 1-2 seconds between each rep.

The Key is to Make this Feel Like a Pure Isometric Contraction

You don't want to try and shoot the weight up, you are squeezing and increasing the tension until the weight moves. This is a safer way to lift. You will find that you are able to handle some pretty heavy weights as you get more efficient at this way of lifting.

Here's the Best Tricep Definition Exercise That I Know Of

The Partial Bench Press in a Power Rack. There aren't that many people who will be able to do this exercise because it requires a power rack. Basically slide a bench into a power rack, and put the Olympic bar on the safety catch bars. Set the safety bars so that the Olympic bar is just 3-6 inches below lockout position. Do a light warmup set of 3 reps. Then move on to a weight that is your estimated max bench press. It will be a breeze to do 3 reps with this. Do 4-5 more sets and slowly add weight. You will find that after a few weeks, you will be able to put up some serious weight.

Always Followup With a Full Range Lift

You don't want to risk limiting flexibility or shortening of the muscles, so make sure to follow up this isometric partial with a similar full motion lift. What you will find is that these full range lifts will seem really light. When I've regular bench pressing after doing these partial bench presses, the regular bench press seemed 30 pounds lighter in my hands.

You Don't Want to Do This Year Round

This is a good technique to do 1-3 times per year for 4-6 weeks at a time max. If you do this too much it will irritate your joints. I typically add these in when my body fat is a bit lower than normal. If you are at a low body fat level you will quickly see a dramatic impact on your physique. Those partial bench presses will make your triceps and shoulders look like granite.

Experiment With Different Exercises

This works really well with just about any pressing nautilus type machine. A really good bicep exercise is to kneel next to a bench and rest a dumbbell on the bench. Put the dumbbell in one hand and rest your forearm and the dumbbell on the bench. Your forearm and upper arm are forming a 90 degree angle. Contract your bicep until you are able to lift the dumbbell off of the bench. You will do three reps and resting a second or two in between each rep. Since you are basically starting the rep from the strongest leverage point of your biceps, you will work up to really heavy weight. This blows away concentration curls for bicep definition.

Note: This type of lifting is just something to keep in your bag of tricks. You can certainly reach your goals without doing these, but if you belong to a gym and want to try something that will give your muscles a kick in the butt, give this method a shot!

["Don't hate us because we are beautiful. We are just trying to help make the Internet a prettier place."]

Did You Know that Body Fat Increases Your Metabolic Rate?

Seriously…one pound of fat burns an additional 2 calories per pound per day. So if you gained 10 pounds of fat, you will burn another 20 calories per day. Obviously if fat loss is the goal, you wouldn't want to gain more fat to increase your metabolic rate. I just wanted to throw this out there to let you know that things aren't always as simple as they seem.

How Many Calories Are Burned Per Day Per Pound of Muscle?

Muscle burns an additional 6 calories per day. I actually quoted 12 calories per day in my earlier post, but with further research it looks like 6 is the more accurate number. People don't agree on the exact number, but 6 looks like a good average. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has it close to 5 and I've seen other studies where it is a bit higher. Bottom line…muscle doesn't increase your metabolism THAT much.

Let's Put This Into Perspective

If someone loses 20 pounds of fat, they will burn 40 LESS calories per day. A 10 pound muscle gain would burn 60 calories per day. A person who had this type of body composition change would burn a grand total of 20 more calories per day! If that same person lost 20 pounds of fat and gained 20 pounds of muscle, they would only increase their daily calories burned by 80 total calories! Not exciting at all!

How Many Calories Burned to Lose a Pound of Fat?

It takes 3,500 calories burned to lose a pound of fat. An extra 20 calories per day isn't going to make a dent in your body composition. It isn't even significant! All of that time devoted to gaining muscle could be put towards cardio and the results would blow the "muscle gain" approach out of the water.

Cardio and Calorie Deficit is a Direct Route to Fat Loss

You can easily burn 600 calories doing hard cardio. Since you aren't trying to build muscle, you can also reduce your daily calories 600 under maintenance level and hold on to the muscle while losing weight. So this cardio and diet combination can burn an additional 1,200 calories per day (I realize that this is vastly simplified…I just didn't want to make this post too technical). This is 60 times as many calories burned compared to the body composition example listed above cause by gaining muscle.

I Realize That Cardio and Diet Aren't Exactly 60 Times Better

Obviously I didn't take into account the calories burned doing extra lifting and all the other variables. The main point I wanted to make is that gaining muscle to burn body fat is not the quickest way to getting a defined body. If you want to burn fat, focus on burning the calories directly (hint: cardio). Just because it sounds cool to say…"gaining muscle helps increase your metabolism and burns more calories around the clock"…doesn't mean it is an effective strategy.

High Insulin Levels Stop Fat Loss and Cause Weight Gain – It is impossible to have high levels of insulin in your system while burning fat at the same time. Think about that. If you eat a meal that has too high of a Glycemic Index, your blood sugar will spike, causing a large release in …

The Principle of "Cumulative Fatigue"

Have you ever heard of cumulative fatigue? I'm surprised it isn't addressed more often in the bodybuilding world, because it is crucial to gaining muscle quickly. I am not into gaining excessive muscle so I do my best to avoid this when working out. Basically cumulative fatigue is taking short rest periods in between sets, so that the muscle isn't fully recovered before hitting the next set. Each set builds upon the previous set. If the rest periods are too long, then less fatigue occurs. If your goal is to build a muscle, then you need to fatigue it with a high volume of sets. Shorter rest periods maximize the fatigue and as a result it creates a great condition for muscle growth to occur.

High Tension NOT High Fatigue for Muscle Definition

Muscle definition is maximized when strength is gained without a corresponding increase in muscle size. Think about that for a second…what must occur if you get stronger without getting bigger? Well…the muscle has to contract harder. True lasting muscle tone is a result of an efficient nervous system…getting stronger without getting bigger. An example of this type of muscle tone is an Olympic gymnast. They need to have very efficient muscles, not large muscles.

Rest Longer in Between Sets to Generate Maximum Tension

Since you are not striving for maximum fatigue while training for tension, you can rest a bit longer in between sets. When lifting for maximum tension you want your nervous system fully charged up to deliver strong impulses to the target muscle. Feel free to rest up to 3 minutes in between sets to generate high tension in the muscle. Note: You probably don't need to rest a full 3 minutes in between sets. The first few sets of an exercise, you may just want to rest a minute or two. Just let your nervous system rest a bit to charge up for the next set. I sometimes rest up to 3 minutes in between my last set or two on a day I'm lifting heavier than normal.

Cumulative Fatigue Occurs In With "Reps" as Well!

A bodybuilder typically does reps in a non-stop fashion. Each rep builds upon the previous rep and fatigues the muscle. The ideal set for building mass is when a muscle fails around the 6-12 rep range. Bodybuilders often will do forced reps to fatigue the muscle even further. Another reason bodybuilders like to do continuous reps is that it creates a "pump" in the muscle as well. The combination of creating a pump and fatiguing the muscle is ideal if building muscle mass is your goal.

Pausing In Between Reps for Maximum Tension

If you pause for a brief moment in between reps, you allow your nervous system to charge back up a bit. This slight moment of rest allows you to contract the muscle a bit harder for the next rep than if you did a continuous set without rest. You can almost think of a each rep as a separate entity when training for maximum tension…the reps really aren't building upon each other like in a typical mass building set.

High Tension Training Feels Different Than Fatigue Training

When I first began doing high tension training, I left the weight room and barely felt like I got a good workout in. My muscles didn't feel tired and they weren't really pumped up. They actually felt energized to a certain extent. Also…I didn't get sore the following day, or the day after that. This type of training feels nothing like what a typical lifting session feels like. The great thing is that you have a ton of energy to "kill it" with cardio. You will also get stronger at a surprising rate without getting bigger.

Brief High Tension Training & Intense Cardio…a Killer Combo

Since muscle fatigue isn't part of the equation in high tension training, you don't have to worry about a high volume of sets and reps. To be honest, you can work a muscle group well with a 6-10 total sets. Even with slightly longer rest periods, your workout should be pretty brief. This will give you more time and energy to really burn some calories doing intense cardio. This additional cardio is going to strip away body fat to reveal the dense and toned muscles created by high tension training. This creates a very impressive physique that is extremely defined without being bulky or "puffy" looking.

Note: Circuit Training and Turbulence Training have short rest periods, but use a different energy system than resistance training for mass in the 6-12 rep range. These types of training methods are basically a way of doing interval training with weights vs sprint intervals on a treadmill. They create the same boost in metabolism and HGH increase that a typical HIIT routine would on a piece of cardio equipment. These training methods are used to get lean, not build mass.

Do You Know What the Gluteal Fold Is?

Quit staring at that soft and shapely butt and begin reading again. Okay, just 5 more seconds. Times up! The gluteal fold is the area where the butt meets the hamstring. A person with a well developed glute-hamstring area would have a smooth transition between these two muscle groups. A person with less development here would almost be able to hold a pencil at the junction between the hamstrings and butt muscles.

Sprinting Will Develop this Area Without Bulking Up

Sprinting is an amazing way to develop definition and firm up the glute and hamstring area. The nice thing about sprinting is that it seems to build proportionate muscles in the legs, hips and butt over time. I always recommend sprinting over traditional leg exercises, because I believe sprinting builds great definition and tone in the lower body that can't be duplicated with resistance training.

Running is is Mainly Powered by Your Gluteus Maximus

Jogging doesn't really work this muscle to any great extent. Sprinting does a better job at working this muscle hard. The glutes are the largest muscle in the body. It takes more of an explosive movement to really contract this muscle hard. Alternatively, you could do heavy squats and dead lifts to engage this muscle. The problem hare is that the "time under tension" will build a large degree of mass in this muscle as well. Sprinting just involves many quick hard contractions that really firm up this muscle with less mass gain.

Some Tips On Sprinting Form

When you sprint, you need to relax your shoulders. There is a tendency to shrug the shoulders up as you sprint. The problem lies in the fact that if your shoulders start to rise, your hips lock up a bit…this decreases your ability to sprint quickly. Also, over time you will notice that your feet are barely contacting the ground for more than a split second. This is what you are aiming for. As you get better at sprinting, you will fly over the pavement in a way that is much different than jogging.

Other Major Benefits of Sprinting

Sprinting creates major metabolic changes in your body. Research has shown that high intensity exercise will burn calories long after your workout is complete. Sprinting also increases your body's ability to increase HGH. Human Growth Hormone is your body's natural fat burning hormone. If you only do low intensity exercise, you probably won't cause your body to increase HGH release. Consequently, you burn less body fat if you only include low intensity exercises in your workout routine.

Sprinting Can be Done Outside or on a Treadmill

If you chose to do this exercise outside then go to a track or any place that has around 150 meters of pavement. Warm up by jogging for 100 meters and then walking back to the starting area. Do this 3 more times, but increase the intensity. The 5th set on is where you will want to go as fast as possible. This time, I want you to go about 25-50 yards before the starting area and jog the first 25 yards. Once you reach the 25 meter mark, sprint for 100 more meters. This is called a "running start" and it minimizes any chances of muscle pulls. Walk back to the starting area at a brisk pace and do this running start sprint 4 more times. This will kick your butt…literally!

Click Here—> Treadmill Sprinting Workout

Note: Don't get worried that sprinting is going to build huge muscular legs and butt. It will create good tone and definition in a natural way. Celebrities like Jennifer Garner and Jessica Biel include sprinting in their workouts on a regular basis.

[Yeah...a break from the sexy looking babes...don't worry, you will see plenty more in future posts]

Taking a 2nd Look at Circuit Training, I've Changed My Mind

I think there are A LOT of readers that would benefit tremendously from a well-planned circuit training routine. There are quite a few people who read this blog and don't have a gym membership or fancy equipment at home. Others have weights, but they don't have a good treadmill or exercise bike. When I was 15 and started working out at home, this would have been the perfect workout for me. A lot of you younger readers are in this position and have asked me about a good workout. This is a great one!

Burn a Bunch of Fat Without Cardio?

I have a hard time even typing that, because if you have been a regular reader at all you know I'm a huge fan of cardio. I still am, but I want to discuss an entirely different philosophy. This is a COMPLETELY different approach to anything I've ever mentioned on this site when it comes to getting defined. The reason we are going to discuss this approach is because it works. I will never hold back any information about approaches that work, even they clash with some of my basic philosophies. Although I will still chose the cardio approach, this may work better for certain people.

A Fat Burning Routine That You Can Do With Weights?

The great thing about circuit training is that it is a way to burn fat while lifting. You aren't lifting for mass or strength necessarily…you are lifting to create an HGH response, which in turn will burn a substantial amount of body fat. Think of this as doing High Intensity Interval Training with weights. If done properly, you can easy keep your heartbeat between 140-160 beats per minute. The great thing is that this type of workout works exceptionally well at burning calories long after the workout is over.

Some Circuit Training Basics

A circuit involves following several planned exercises performed back-to-back with as little rest as possible. It is best to average no longer than 15 seconds in between sets…30 would be the maximum amount of rest, but probably too much for maximum benefit. Circuit training is not good for building a lot of mass, which is why I like it as a cardio alternative. Make no mistake about it, circuit training will kick your butt.

A Circuit Training Routine That Can Be Done With One Barbell

A reader of this blog named Rob came forwarded a great circuit training that can be performed with one barbell…and using the same weight for each exercise. This is a simple, yet brilliant way to get the most out of a circuit training routine. If you don't need to hop between equipment or change the weight, you will be able to perform one exercise after another back-to-back. This will make this brutally effective. Thanks Rob!

Rob's Barbell Circuit Training Routine

Grab barbell with a 10 on each side (65 lbs total), perform exercises with no rest in between (women can use lighter weights, dumbbells will work too):

10 Romanian Deadlifts
10 Bent Over Rows
10 Hang Cleans
10 Front Squats
10 Push Presses
10 Lunges, each leg, with barbell on back

Rest 2-3 minutes, repeat 3 times.

Try to work up to doing this 6-8 times in a workout, by the time you can do this 8 times your body will be looking very lean!

Some Great Points Rob Made Regarding Cardio

"I'm sure you know the principle of progressive overload. In order to progress in cardio exercise you must either increase speed or time. At some point in increasing speed you will be working anaerobically (without oxygen). Now you can just workout longer, but who really wants to be on a treadmill for 2 hours. The problem with cardio is people will plateau rather quickly and they won't continue to see changes in their body. Then the usual scenario happens…they stop going to the gym. With resistance training there are numerous ways to progress workouts."

"Here's a resistance routine to try, it won't build huge muscles, doesn't use heavy weights, but I guarantee it will have you breathing harder than any traditional cardio work. This routine will keep your metabolic rate up for hours and hours."

Note: If you want to dig deep into circuit training and explore the idea of getting lean without cardio, Craig Ballantyne has a massive program and ebook called Turbulence Training <==Click Here to Read My Interview With Craig.

Final Comment: I still believe that you can get ripped with cardio, but he has some great points as to why this might be a great alternative…or a way to supplement your cardio. You could take a break from cardio for part of the year and do this, substitute one to two cardio workouts with this circuit routine, alternate every other workout with cardio and this circuit, etc. You get the point. This is just another tool in your arsenal to getting ripped!

[You didn't think I was going to show an oiled up bodybuilder did you? Call me crazy, but I think pretty girls are better motivation!]

Okay…Back to "The Pump"

The simplest explanation of the pump is that more blood is forced into the working muscles causing the muscles to swell a bit. The reason this helps for muscle growth is that the muscles are surrounded by a tissue called the fascial layer. The pump helps stretch this layer out a bit allowing more room for muscle growth to occur. The pump also helps the body create more capillaries which in turn allows the body to create large and larger pumps and more growth.

What Causes A Large Pump in the Muscles?

The biggest factor in creating a large pump is the level of muscle glycogen in your body. Simply put, when you eat an adequate number of carbs this becomes an energy source that is stored in the muscles. When your muscles are full of glycogen, your body is "carbed up". You will achieve the pump easily in this state. The way you lift has a lot to do with the pump as well. Typically higher reps (6-12) and less rest between sets will maximize the pump.

So Why Do I Recommend Avoiding the Pump?

I will list several reasons I don't recommend training for the pump. Remember, this isn't a bodybuilding site. I focus solely on tips to help people get the "Hollywood Look". Nobody in Hollywood has that bloated pumped up look. That excessive muscle look is completely out of style, isn't attractive to the general population, and really isn't very healthy.

1) The Pump Creates Temporary Muscle Tone

When the muscles are pumped up, they grow in size and the skin tightens up a bit around the muscles. When the muscles are in this state they look a bit better than normal. They look quite a bit more defined. The problem is that once this temporary state is gone, the muscles look a bit soft. Later in this post I'll discuss a better strategy to insure that your muscles look defined all day long.

2) The Pump Makes You Look Leaner Than You Actually Are

When your chest and back is pumped up, it tends to hide that bit of fat around your waist. In proportion to these larger, pumped up muscles you look like you have less body fat. Even worse than that, a lot of guys will focus on how good their arms or chest look and forget about that lagging midsection. The pump creates an illusion of being in better shape than you are. The problem is that once you hit the beach in the summer, you will realize that you don't look quite as good as you thought you did. You should have worked harder on cardio.

3) It Will Cause Growth in Muscles That You Want to Slim Down

Women please, please, please read this! If you want to slim down your legs, hips, and butt…avoid all exercises that create a pump in these muscle groups. Remember, the pump will stretch the fascia to allow the muscles to grow. The pump will also build more capillaries in those muscles. I don't believe large legs look good on men or women, so I pretty much advise against most leg lifts (yep…I get challenged on this all the time…but I'm not going to change my opinion on this). Hit cardio hard instead. You really will look WAY better in jeans. Here is a tip from my sister who is in incredible shape…if the exercise bike is pumping up your legs, stick to running instead.

4) The Pump Gives a "Bloated Sausage" Look to Your Muscles

It is had to describe in words, but guys and girls who train for the pump have a strange unnatural look to their muscles. The muscles are too rounded in my opinion. An attractive body has a more lean, angular look to it. The excessively large rounded muscles create kind of a "cheesy" look. What I mean by that is that when a person who trains for the pump wears normal clothes, like at a club, they look like a gym rat who is trying to dress hip. When people look at you, you don't want them to think "gym person". You want them to think…"that is an attractive looking guy or girl with a hot body". This is a subtle but important difference.

5) The Pump Creates Excessive Muscle Mass

I am not against muscle mass. Really…not at all. I just think "excessive" muscle mass creates a very unattractive look. See each person has a natural amount of muscle mass that they look great with. A person with a small frame like Brad Pitt, would naturally carry less muscle mass than The Rock. They both look great although their amount of mass varies greatly. The Rock at one point did focus on mass and didn't look as good as he does now. If people focus on functional strength, cardio fitness, and muscular efficiency without forcing the issue to gain mass, they will look much better. Unfortunately most personal trainers teach their clients to build muscle mass at all costs. This is why working out for "the pump" is so popular. The most efficient bodies have a high strength at a lower body weight. So training for strength without an increase in size is how to get a more efficient body. This is the polar opposite of what bodybuilders do.

6) The Pump is An Indicator For Muscle Growth But NOT Fat Loss!

Whenever my muscles get really pumped in my workout, I know that I am in a poor position to burn excess body fat. you see, to create the best conditions for the pump to occur, your body has to be "carbed up" a bit (as I mentioned earlier). This means that your muscles are full of glycogen, which is how your muscles store fuel. The other major fuel that your body uses is body fat. The problem is that your body will use all of this stored glycogen before it accesses your stored body fat. If your body is carbed up, your muscles will look great in the gym. You will look more toned, because as mentioned earlier the enlarged muscles will reduce the appearance of some of that body fat. The problem is that you won't burn much body fat in that workout. Going into a workout in this "carbed up" state is a bad long term strategy to get lean and defined.

Training in a "Carb Depleted" State is a Better Strategy

I really recommend going into the majority of your workouts with as little glycogen in your system as possible. This is why I recommend eating very few calories leading up to your workout. I like to fast 4-5 hours before every workout to insure that my body is in a great position to burn body fat, not glycogen. You won't look quite as impressive in the gym, but you will look MUCH better in the long term when you get to a low body fat percentage.

Keep the Reps Low, Build Strength Without an Increase in Mass

When you get stronger without getting bigger, your muscles will begin to display permanent muscle tone. You will gain muscle density and get a firm body that looks great 24 hours a day. A body built on the pump looks good while in the pumped state (in the gym), but poor the rest of the time. An example of athletes who train for strength without increasing mass is Gymnasts. Their bodies look defined at all times. As long as you train for strength without aiming for the pump and you keep your calories under control, you will not need to worry about excessive muscle mass. I also recommend following up your brief strength training workout with intense cardio. If you have never done tough cardio in a carb depleted state, you will be shocked at how much more effective it is for fat loss.

How Your Mind Plays Tricks on You in the Gym

Everyone looks much more muscular and defined in a pumped up state. A normal looking guy or girl can transform their body with a few reps of bench presses and look really ripped if his body is carbed up. This is psychologically rewarding…especially to guys and girls who like the bodybuilder look. When you go into the gym in a carb depleted state and train for low reps, your body won't transform a few sets into your workout. What you see in the mirror is how your body will look 24 hours a day. It will be a weird transition for you, if you are used to seeing bulging muscles after 4-5 sets of curls. The great thing is that you will know exactly where you stand, and will know exactly how much fat you need to drop to look defined. If anything, you will look worse in the gym than you do the rest of the time. The decision is yours…look impressive in the gym or impressive the rest of the time.

[Tanya's favorite lift is "12 ounce curls". Don't do this exercise too often, if you want to get lean!]

Muscle Size and Muscle Strength Are Not Always Directly Related

I used to think there was a direct correlation between muscle size and muscle strength…believing that the if gained strength in a muscle the bigger that muscle would get. If you think that this is the case you are mistaken! Don't get me wrong…bodybuilders do strive to gain strength to get bigger, but they are gaining strength in a rep range of 6-12 and trying to "tear down the muscles" in the process. They also employ methods like "forced reps", "negatives", and "supersets". They rest and allow the muscles to repair…striving for the muscles to come back slightly larger and slightly stronger in the process (this is obviously a simplified explanation). Let me ask you to think about this…

What If You Gained Strength Without Damaging the Muscles in the Process?

Seriously…if damage to the muscle is minimized, the potential for growth is limited as well. One of the big reasons I'm against forced reps and negatives is that they are very effective at inducing damage to the target muscle. This is effective for bodybuilding, but not for the slim and toned "Hollywood" look. Another problem with gaining size at the same rate that you gain strength is that you never develop good "muscle density". An example of an athlete that displays good muscle density is an Olympic Gymnast. They need to get stronger without getting bigger, to be effective at what they do. This is what I am talking about. The opposite of this would be professional wrestlers…their muscles have a really smooth and puffy look to them because they strive for size and strength.

How is It Possible To Get Stronger Without Getting Bigger?

I didn't understand true strength training until I stopped reading mainstream bodybuilding and workout magazines. I became a student of martial arts philosophies, high level sports, as well as military training (from former soviet special forces trainer Pavel Tsatsouline). After much research I discovered that strength was basically based on your ability to send neurological impulses from your brain to your muscles. So basically the better you get at contracting a muscle hard, the more strength you will display in that muscle.

How Does A Muscle Contract Hard?

There is a principle you need to know about called the "All or None Principle". Each individual muscle is made up of many many muscle fibers. When a muscle contracts, you brain is basically sending an electrical charge to that muscle. To keep this simple, let's say that your bicep is made up of 100 individual muscle fibers. Each individual fiber is either contracted or relaxed. When you lift a light weight, maybe only 5-10 fibers will "fire off" while the other 90 fibers are completely inactive. When you lift a heavier weight, your brain may send an electrical impulse to "fire off" 15-20 fibers, while the other 80 or so muscle fibers are inactive. So muscle contraction is based upon what percentage of muscle fibers are "firing off"…and how many are inactive. So the muscle fiber is either all the way activated or not at all.."All or None". A harder contraction would indicate that your brain is sending stronger electrical impulses to the muscle, recruiting more muscle fibers in the process.

So Strength is More Nerve Based than Muscle Based

Gaining strength is largely based upon your skill to recruit a larger percentage of fibers in a specific muscle. Think of your brain as a power source. Between the power source and the muscle is wiring (neurons). The better the wiring to the muscle, the more electrical current that can get delivered to the muscle. The stronger the electrical current, the larger percentage of fibers you can activate in that muscle. This is what I'm referring to when I talk about the "mind to muscle link". So increasing the neural pathways (mind to muscle link) is really the way to route to strong contractions and muscle strength.

Turn That Stream Into a River of Electricity!

I think that it helps to visualize a bit when you are tying to gain strength. It makes sense because strength originates from your brain. Have you ever seen a black belt in karate take his fist and put it through a stack of bricks? Then you will see a beginner try the same thing and fail miserably? The experienced black belt has developed a serious neurological pathway between his brain and the muscles involved in that movement. The beginner has a small pathway between his brain and muscles involved in that movement. The beginner has a small electrical stream going to his muscles and the experienced black belt has a massive river of electricity flooding his muscles to fire off a larger percentage of muscle fibers!

How to Build Your Neural Pathways With Light Weights

This may blow you away and challenge everything you thought about gaining strength. You don't have to lift heavy weights all the time to get stronger! To be honest, if you have joint problems you could get stronger while never lifting heavy weights! To get stronger all you need to do is practice the skill of generating hard contractions in a certain lift. If you developed the ability to contract your muscles hard, like you were lifting a heavier weight…you would experience many of the same benefits of lifting that heavier weight. Your muscles don't know how much weight you are lifting. Lift light weights like they are heavy, to get stronger with light weights.

There Are Some Limitations to This Way of Lifting

To get extremely strong, your tendons need to feel a heavy load to get stronger as well. The way I like to lift light is to mix up light days and heavy days. I may use 75% of the weight I normally use and lift it for the same amount of reps (5 or less) at the same tempo (slow and steady). Also…even if I am going to lift heavy, I perform my warmup sets like they are super heavy. For instance on the incline dumbbell bench I would do 50 for 5 reps and pretend like it is extremely heavy and lift it slowly while contracting my arms and upper chest hard…even though I could lift it easily, many more times than that. Then I would do the same thing with 60 pounds before moving on to my work sets. You will find that your work sets feel lighter after doing this…it is really strange!

Tips to "Increase Your Skill" at Generating Strong Contractions

The easiest way to increase your mind-to-muscle link is to just practice contracting that muscle as hard as possible while lifting…regardless of how light the weight is. Don't ever lift a weight again without taking advantage of this opportunity to gain strength. You have to lift the weight slowly to generate a lot of tension in the muscle. The way I like to visualize it is this: Let's say I'm benching…on the way down I'm squeezing harder and harder and my brain is charging up my muscles to the max…this takes about 2-3 seconds. At the bottom of the lift I easily push the weight back up, because my muscles are charged with electricity. At the top I rest for one second to let my brain charge up again before it gets ready to send voltage to the muscle again.

Borrow Electricity from Surrounding Muscles

This is a great tip that will help you get stronger immediately. It will also help you get toned over every inch of your body, when you master this skill! All of your muscles have a certain amount of electrical current in them at all times. When you flex a muscle near the muscle being worked you can add a bit of voltage to that muscle and generate a stronger contraction. Here is a quick exercise I want you to try…1) flex your pecs without flexing any other body part…2) Now flex your pecs but this time make a fist and squeeze it as tight as possible…make the fist tighter and tighter over 2-3 seconds while flexing your pecs harder and harder. Did you feel a difference? Want to gain strength on a lift your next workout? Next time you do any sort of bench press or barbell curl, squeeze the heck out of the bar! Eventually you will got so good at this technique that you will flex a muscle groups that aren't even close to the muscle group being worked and it will aid in the lift. Believe it or not, contracting your abs can help with almost every lift…plus you will quickly get amazing abs, since you are increasing the mind to muscle link in this muscle every time you do a lift for a different body part.

But Won't Strength Gains Stop at Some Point?

I was worried that once I developed the ability to "fire off" 100% of my muscle fibers in a given muscle that I wouldn't gain any additional strength. What I found was very interesting. Most of us are only using a very small percentage of our muscle fibers. The only way you would come close to firing off 100% of your muscle fibers is if you got electrocuted. There is certainly a point where you will quit gaining strength, but a lot of that is tendon strength and skeletal structure, etc. At that point you would want to just concentrate an generating strong contractions with that same weight instead of lifting heavier. This will increase muscle density and muscle tone.

Some Things To Avoid When Aiming For Strength

A big thing to avoid is lifting the weights at a fast pace. This is great way to workout your tendons and temporarily get stronger, but it is also a great way to get injured. Also…you want to avoid damaging the muscles. Your brain will not send a full electrical impulse to a damaged muscle! Ever try to flex a muscle that was really sore? It is next to impossible. A great way to avoid muscle damage is to keep the your workout volume low. Just do a total of 8-10 sets per body part…and stick to around 5 reps (remember you can lift light weights for 5 reps as well). The reason you keep the reps low is that it is hard to focus on generating strong contractions on each rep if you have to do 8-12.

Strength Training Is Actually The Best Route To Permanent Muscle Tone

I'm a big fan of getting stronger without getting bigger. This is a great way to look really well defined. Again…think of an Olympic Gymnast or a Welterweight Boxer. These are athletes with strong muscles that aren't big. Efficient muscles are defined muscles. That "high rep" way of getting defined muscles is caused by creating a temporary "pump" in the muscles. They will look great while working out, but this muscle tone is temporary. Obviously, to see all of this muscle tone, you will need to make sure your body fat is under control.

Here are 3 other articles I wrote that will help with the "Toned Look"

High Reps for "Muscle Tone"…BAD Advice!

An Aerobic Workout Program That Forces Your Body to Burn Fat

Is Diet OR Exercise More Important for Fat Loss and Getting Lean?

As always…your comments are GREATLY appreciated! Everything has to okay'd by me before it is posted for everyone to see (I normally do this at night)…and I try my best to reply to everything. I have a fun time talking about these ideas with you guys…plus I am jazzed at all the people who comment from different parts of the globe. You gotta love the internet!

Why Does Tension Matter When it Comes To Lifting?

So if you have been a reader for any period of time to my blog, you realize that I follow Pavel Tsatsouline's (former Soviet Special Forces Instructor) school of thought on muscle tone. Mainly that muscle tone is a function of "residual tension in a relaxed muscle". The way to increase muscle tone is to subject your muscles to high tension workouts. I recommend lower reps with a heavier weight to create this higher tension.

High Tension is Important, But Time Under Tension is Important as Well

The rate at which you perform your sets is extremely important. You will gain much more from a set if you lift at a slower rate. Instead of throwing the weights around like you see many people do in the gym, why not focus on generating maximum contractions in the muscle? The greater your ability to contract your muscles hard, the greater your ability to display muscle tone. Again…this isn't mainstream bodybuilding advice, this is the type of stuff Pavel covers in Power to the People.

You Will Have to Use Lighter Weights in the Short Term

Here is what is interesting about lifting at a slower pace and focusing on generating maximum tension…you will start off at a lighter weight, but get stronger in the long term. The reason guys like to lift at a high speed is that you are using the "stretch" in the muscle to do some of the work for you. When you drop a weight quickly in a bench press for instance…your pecs will be stretched out a bit at the bottom of the lift. This stretch position acts like a stretched out rubber band and can help you fling the weight upward a bit before your muscles fully kick in and use the momentum to get that weight to the top.

Avoid Momentum to Generate Strong Contractions in the Muscle

The best way to avoid momentum is to lift at a slower rate. Taking our bench press example…when someone lifts quickly, they are basically throwing the weight at the beginning and they keep that weight moving with a strong push…their is a very small window of time where their muscles are contracting hard and generating tension. If you want each rep in each set to work for you, then you really need to slow down the tempo of your lifts.

Lifting at a Slow Rate Creates a Higher Time Under Tension

Obviously if it takes you twice as long to finish a set, your TUT is higher…but as discussed above, without momentum you must generate tension in the lift the entire time. The nice thing about a higher TUT is you will get better results. Another benefit is that your lifts will be much safer and easier on your joints.

How Slow Should You Go?

You want to go slow enough to avoid momentum, but not so slow that you have to lift much lighter weights. To be honest, you could stick to light weights and get good results as long as you are really focused on generating strong contractions (I'll discuss that in a future post). Take benching…I would go 2-3 seconds down, 2-3 seconds up, with a 1 second pause at the top in between reps. This isn't set in stone…it really depend upon the lift you are performing as well as how long your limbs are, etc.

"Going Slow" Will Eventually Make You Stronger

I mentioned before that you will have to lift lighter at first, but after a while you will surpass any previous bests by lifting in this manner. Using the pre-stretched method of flinging the weights up will only get you so far…it really depends on your tendon strength as to how strong you will get using this method. When you are focusing on getting better at creating strong contractions, you are creating a stronger mind-to-muscle link…this is the long-term technique at getting stronger as well as displaying more muscle tone in a given muscle. If you have ever seen someone lift really impressive numbers in any given lift it is always slow and controlled.

Note: Even if you chose to lift lighter weights, it makes sense to slow down the tempo. You will notice that your muscles have to work harder and you will get better results from the time you spend in the gym.

[A Closeup Picture of the Former Soviet Union Army Badge]

The USSR Dominated the Olympics For Years

One strong memory I had growing up in the 70's and 80's was just how amazing the athletes of the USSR were. The USSR competed in a total of 9 summer Olympics and were 1st for medal count in 7 of these. They also had the same results for the winter Olympics…1st place in medal count 7 out of 9 times. In 1992, twelve of the fifteen former Soviet Republics competed together as the Unified Team in the Barcelona Games, where they finished first in the medal rankings.

The USSR Had A Viscous Military as Well!

Much like the athletes, the military of the Soviet Union was top notch as well. There are accounts of these guys doing amazing physical drills and getting in incredible physical shape. What is surprising about both the Olympic Athletes as well as the Military is how "low tech" the training facilities appeared compared to their American counterparts. The Soviets spent less time on constructing good looking facilities and more time on the understanding of how the body responds to exercise.

Soviet Special Forces Instructor Reveals Training Philosophy

In 1999, Pavel Tsatsouline writes and publishes the book Power to the People. This in my opinion is the greatest explanation of how a muscle gets toned, how strength is gained, and how size is gained. I give this book my highest recommendation. I LOVE the fact that this was written by a master trainer from the former Soviet Union. Maybe it is just my memories from being little and getting chills when I saw the athletes with the red uniforms with the yellow "hammer and sickle". I just like having access to some of the former Soviet Training techniques.

Pavel Believes that Excessive Muscle is Counterproductive

Pavel is really humorous in this book in a kind of a "warped" way. He jokingly calls himself "The Evil Russian". He goes into a lot of detail about how too much muscle just slows you down and makes you a terrible soldier, etc. He pokes fun at bodybuilders in a nice way, and does have a chapter on gaining muscle mass…although he doesn't recommend it.

Pavel Explains Muscle Tone In GREAT Detail

If you haven't read Power to the People, you don't have a full understanding of muscle tone…period! I get people who argue with me on this point all the time. They say that muscle tone is just simply a result of having a decent amount of muscle and a low body fat percentage. I used to think the same way…in fact almost every person in the fitness industry thinks this way. Sorry…Pavel has a better understanding of muscle tone and explains it in tremendous detail. I'll take Pavel's side on this issue because it all makes complete sense when you read his book.

The Fitness Industry Addresses Only 1/2 of the Muscle Tone Equation

It isn't that we have been wrong about muscle tone all this time, but we haven't seen the entire picture. Before I read Power to the People, I believed that to get really toned I would need to gain a certain amount of muscle mass and then get to a low body fat percentage. Here is the mistake…this is how you display the muscle tone you have. It is true that you do need to get to a low enough body fat level to "display" your muscle tone, but there is actually a way to increase that muscle tone you are displaying.

The "Other Half" of the Muscle Tone Equation

How does someone gain strength without size? They learn to recruit more muscle fibers when they lift. A weak and untrained person typically has an inefficient nervous system…when they lift they can only recruit a small percentage of their muscle fibers. If you gain strength without adding size you are training your nervous system to fire harder during that lift and recruit a higher percentage of the fibers within a muscle. The stronger you get, the more alert your nervous system becomes at recruiting muscle fibers. An "alert" nervous system is what causes muscle tone…low body fat is what displays the muscle tone.

Sorry to Take the Side of the Soviets on This One!

Pavel devotes over a 1/3 of his book to gaining muscle tone through low reps and how to gain strength without size…I can't do it justice in a short post. I just wanted to give credit where credit is due. Seven years ago Pavel changed the way I view exercising for muscle tone. I am glad he is on our side and taught us some former Soviet philosophies!

Note: Pavel makes fun of bodybuilders in his book, but to be fair he also clowns a bit on guys who just want to look like "Calvin Klein Models" as he puts it. His workouts use just really basic lifts and are more directed towards function VS form. I focus more on looks and then function, so I recommend a lot of cardio and a larger variety of exercises.

[Meghan Does a Unique Exercise Called "Tight Jean Crunches"]

So What Causes Water Retention?

Well without going into too much detail, your body stores water (just like your body stores fat). Obviously it is important to have water in your body, just like it is important to have fat…basic stuff. The water retention that you want to target to look lean is called "subcutaneous fluid". This is fluid that is located under your skin and is caused by water molecules bonding onto to sodium ions. So in a nutshell, water retention is caused by excess sodium.

What is The Best Way to Limit Subcutaneous Fluid?

It would make sense to drink less water…right? Well believe it or not, you want to drink MORE water. Remember water is vitally important to your health. The only water that you are really concerned with limiting is the water under your skin that is covering up your nicely toned muscles. Drinking a lot of water actually causes your body to release more water…it will begin to release a lot of this subcutaneous water in the process.

Sweating is Another Great Way to Eliminate Water Retention

If you think about it, this totally makes sense! The water you are trying to limit is under you skin and sweating can help do the trick. The great thing about sweating is that you aren't just eliminating water through your skin, but also that sodium trapped under your skin (that is why sweat tastes salty). Minimizing the sodium ions under your skin is the key to limiting water retention.

Don't Include a Ton of Salt in Your Diet

You don't have to go crazy here, but don't eat a ton of excess sodium in your diet. If you want to look good for the beach, you don't want to eat a bunch of potato chips or fries for instance. Instead of becoming sodium crazed and reading every label, just try to slowly replace salt with other alternatives. I use a lot of ginger, garlic, cilantro, hot peppers, black pepper, etc…to flavor my foods.

Eating Fiber Can Help Eliminate Excess Water

Fruit got a bit of a bad rap for a short period of time when low carb diets were pushed hard. Almost everything about fruit is amazing for your body. In addition to vitamins, antioxidants, phytonutrients (can't get in pills), etc. The fiber in fruit helps the body eliminate excess fluid. Eat your fruits and veggies, just like mom recommended! Berries in particular are extremely rich in antioxidants and a great source of fiber.

Get a Little Sun!

I have some seriously light skin. I wear SPF 15 any time I go out in the sun for long periods of time…but even with that SPF I still get a light tan. The sun really tightens up the skin and gives it a nice glow. In addition to that, it really helps eliminate excess water through sweating…but in a slightly different way that just exercising. Everybody looks better after being out in the sun during the day as long as they don't get burned. I actually think the sun is an aphrodisiac…the clubs are way more fun at night, when it was sunny earlier in the day.

A Bonus For Fitness Black Book Readers!

A "Zoolander" Water Retention Tip

"Hey guys…Rusty wanted me to tell you how I got so ridiculously good looking for my "Merman" (not mermaid damn it!) commercial. This tip is going to be kind of icky, but I think it will help people even if they aren't unbelievably good looking like me and Hansel (I hate Hansel)!"

"Here is my Merman Commercial…"

"Wow I Have an Amazing Bone Structure!"

"Here is Where it Gets Icky"

"First of all you have to find a sauna. The bad thing is that almost everybody there is very average and not incredibly good looking…I wish Saunas had mirrors! Bring a bottle of water and sit in the sauna and sweat like a pig. It is important to look sexy the whole time…it is easy for me because I'm incredibly attractive, but since you are not this may take some work."

"Here is where it gets really really icky. You have to taste your sweat. EEEEW! I know that isn't an attractive thing to do. I hope nobody reads this (Rusty promised me that only his best readers would get this tip). It will taste salty at first, but then less icky and salty as you sweat. Keep drinking bottled water and sweat until your sweat no longer tastes all icky and salty. This is how you know that your body won't hold on to all that water, because there won't be any icky salt to hold it any more."

"This tip is only to be used for occasions like the day before making an appearance on the Red Carpet, or the Day Before surfing with Hansel, or a Runway show…you know…basically before your average weekend when you need to look especially extra incredibly attractive"!

Moisture is the Essence of Wetness…

…and Wetness is the Essence of Beauty!

I Chose a Better Path…You Can To!

I'm now closing in on reaching the age of 40 and I'm displaying more muscle tone than ever. What is crazy is that I have better muscle tone now then I did when I was 25! How can that be? I have thought about this in detail and now I know exactly why this is happening.

The Great News About Getting Older

In my post, Muscle Tone VS Muscle Mass Workout Routines, I speak about working each body part often because if you contract a muscle often enough…it stays "partially contracted, even when you are completely relaxed"…this is what causes muscle tone.

Workout Consistently for 15+ Years and You Will See A New Level of Muscle Tone!

Imagine contracting a muscle tens of thousands of times over a 15 year period…the mind-to-muscle link becomes so strong in that muscle that you are certain to display a very high level of muscle tone! You will begin to see definition on body parts where you never did before. I can now see all 4 muscles in my quads…it only took 13 years of working out consistently for this to happen…LOL! You will be pleasantly surprised at how good your muscles begin to look as you age.

Why Aren't There More Toned 40+ Year Olds?

The reason you don't see more toned older people is that most people don't workout for more than 1-5 years before becoming inactive. It is an attitude thing…people believe that there isn't anything they can do about looking their age and putting on weight.

The Playing Field Clears Substantially, Once You Hit 35!

Most people begin working out in their late teens to early 20's. About 1/2 of those people drop out their first year never to workout again. I would estimate that another 25-30 percent drop out before making it to their 5th year. By the time you reach the 10 year mark, I bet 95% of people have given up. If you are talking 15 years of consistently working out…I am almost certain than less than 2% of the population ever reaches that point in their lifetime.

Want to Be in Better Shape Than 98% of The People Your Age?

All it takes is a decision! Just decide you are going to workout for the rest of your life and follow through with it! It really is that simple. Don't stress over getting older…look forward to it!

Here is a List of What I Consider to Be the Best Triceps Exercises

1) Close Grip Bench Press
2) Weighted Dips
3) Lying Triceps Extensions
4) Overhead Dumbbell Extensions
5) Standing Cable Triceps Extensions
6) Dumbbell Kick-backs

The first 3 exercises allow you to use heavy weights. To be honest, I think you could get great tricep development from just these 3 lifts alone, but I threw in 3 isolation exercises to finish the triceps off.

Here is How I Would Setup a Good Triceps Workout

First of all…start your workout with either close grip bench presses or weighted dips (whatever exercise you chose you are going to begin your triceps workout with that lift from now on). You are going to do 5 sets of 5 reps. Your first 2 sets are going to be light, your last 3 sets are going to be the most weight you can do for 5 reps. This is really going to build "muscle density" and give you that deep muscle tone.

For the second exercise, I recommend either lying triceps extensions with a barbell -or- overhead dumbbell extensions. These lifts allow you to use a medium to heavy weight. Chose a weight that allows you to do 8 reps. You are going to do 3-4 sets of 8 reps. This is going to help fill out the triceps a bit and add a little size.

For the third exercise, you are going to chose either the standing cable triceps extension or dumbbell kickback. You are going to go as light and as strict as possible. No need to go heavy at all…you already have done your heavy sets. Pick a weight you can do 12 reps with and crank out 3 sets of 10-12 reps. This is going to increase the mind-to-muscle link, so you will be able to contract the muscle harder in the heavier lifts.

True Muscle Tone<----A Post Which Explains Why Heavy Weights Increase Muscle Tone.

Note: I really think the key to getting great muscle tone in your triceps is that first lift that you chose. Your goal is to get stronger in that lift. The other two exercises are to really support that first lift…basically they will help you improve your performance of that first exercise.

Lyle Mcdonald, an authority on fat loss, recently spoke about that a paper that talks about alcohol consumption in people who are consuming low calories throughout the day…

[beginning of excerpt]

"However, in the context of maintenance or below maintenance calories…there is some indication that it might help with leanness.

A recent paper found that 40 g alcohol per day increased levels of a hormone called adiponectin. Released from fat cells, adiponectin is one of the hormones that actually goes up with weight/fat loss. Among other things it improves skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity and activates something called AMPk which is involved in fat burning.

Amusingly in this regards, there is an old diet called the Drinking Man's diet which, as I recall, was lowcarb but based around daily alcohol intake. Perhaps it wasn't so absurd after all.

So alcohol might turn out to be the dieter's big secret." [end of excerpt]

I'm not saying that beer drinking is the best way to get to low body fat levels, but there are people who drink beer on a regular basis and stay lean. I know because I am one of those people. You don't have to deprive yourself of everything fun to get and stay lean!

What is kind of crazy is that 40 grams of alcohol is about 3-4 beers! Keep in mind that each gram of alcohol equals 7 calories…so 3-4 beers would have around 300 calories. You would need to cut back or burn an extra 300-400 calories per day to make sure that you don't consume calories in excess.

Again…I'm sure you see people all the time who have drinks and are lean. Pretty much all of the young Hollywood crowd stays fit while going out for a few drinks. I'm not encouraging excessive drinking, but if you enjoy drinking a few beers with friends…go for it!

You don't have to choose beer or muscle tone…you can have both!

Question Everything!

Rusty

Have You Ever Seen A Guy With Huge Legs Try and Run?

There are some guys with legs so bulky they can hardly even walk, so running is out of the question. I forget where I read this, but a world renowned track coach got into an argument with a bodybuilder. He argued that excessive leg mass was a disadvantage in any sports requiring running (which includes almost every sport, by the way). To make a long story short the 25 year old bodybuilder and 3 of his bodybuilding friends raced 800 meters (2 laps around the track) against a man in his 60's.

Results of This Race Between The 4 Bodybuilders and Man in His 60's

The man in his 60's beat the next closest by over 200 meters! Two out of the other three couldn't even make it two laps around the track, because of pulled muscles. The 4th guy had to walk the last lap. I have to laugh!

Some Time in the Gym is Great, But Sports Will Push Your Body to The Next Level

I think one of the reasons sports really gets people nice and lean is that you get competitive and physically push yourself harder than you normally would on your own accord. You will naturally run harder if you are sprinting against an opponent -vs- just running on a treadmill.

Here Are Some Inspirational Photo's of Athletes that Have Created Nice Physiques Through Competing in Sports…Volleyball and Soccer (Futbol)

Fans of Team Sweden Soccer Are in Good Shape As Well!

Sorry, I couldn't Help It

Until Next Time!

Rusty

So What is The Cause of Muscle Tone?

Let's get the Wikipedia Definition: Muscle tone (aka residual muscle tension or tonus) is the continuous and passive partial contraction of the muscles. Unconscious nerve impulses maintain the muscles in a partially contracted state.

So basically the higher the residual tension in a muscle, the higher the muscle tone in that muscle. The way to increase tension in a muscle is to engage in "high tension training". Lifting heavy weights generates higher tension in the muscle than lifting light weights.

Photo Intermission…LOL (I don't want to bore you to death with technical jargon).

Okay…Intermission Over…Back to "Muscle Tone" Talk.

So if lifting heavy is what helps increase muscle tone, why does the fitness industry recommend "high reps" for muscle tone?

High reps are basically a way of doing "inferior cardio". What I mean by this is that you will burn a few more calories than heavy lifting…but not as much as if you hit the treadmill hard.

High reps give you a pump, which is actually just "temporary muscle tone". With high reps you will make your muscle look great for the hour you are in the gym, but once you lose the pump, you lose that toned look.

Lifting heavy for low reps will give you "permanent muscle tone"…your muscles will look toned, because they will have a "greater residual tension" even when in a relaxed state. You will look great in or out of the gym…even without the pump!

After years and years of thinking that "high reps" = "high muscle tone", I don't expect to convert you quite yet…It is going to take me 5-10 more posts about "true muscle tone" to convince you of this heavy weight approach.

For now, I hope I just got you thinking a bit…

Until Next Time!

Rusty