I am looking to get lean as. I am a Mesomoph so mass comes easily. I am looking at doing cardio in the morning using HIIT. And 1 hour lifting at night followed by cardio and HIIT. I know I may be overdoing the cardio but I have quite a goal weight to hit and hitting cardio twice a day with a low cal diet will help smash the fat.

If you ever get a chance, take a look at the pyshiques of a rugby league player or rugby player. I think the type of demands placed on their bodies creates a very lean functional body. The game is very fast, 13 players a side, each side has 6 tackles in sucession, it is almost as if they run/sprint/tackle for 80 minutes non stop. The body is in constant HIIT mode for the entire game. If you get a chance check them out. Google NRL and you will see what I am talking about. I know that they hit the weights and they also do a lot of running/short sprints.

I was in my best shape 10 years ago when I combined the 2 with healthy eating. Very lean.

Cheers
FH

Randy Couture is in great shape. I like his circuit training routine a lot. What is funny is that most the UFC guys are built very close to the type of physique that I recommend on this site…functional strength, low body fat, wtihout excess mass. Randy says, that bodybuilder type muscles may look intimidating, but are bad for fighting.

Helder,

You have to tell me about your experience once you get back from the trip. I really plan on going within the next 2-3 years…it looks like one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

Ed,

Amen brother!

Have a great one,

Rusty

Heavy negatives obliterate the muscle tissue and can make the muscles being worked extremely sore. I use to take pride in getting really sore and eating incredible amounts of protein. It made me big and slow…not a good look and I felt too worn out to enjoy activities outside of the gym. I'm so glad I don't do that stuff anymore! Have you been to Greece? I know it isn't too far of a trek for you.

Brad,

Anything below 10% bodyfat for a guy is great. At 9-10% you normally see good muscle defintion without any excess fat. That is awesome. The way I think of Tropical vactions is like this…how many do people realistically take in a lifetime…5-10? To me getting in extra good shape for a trip is really fun! If I look and feel my best, I will enjoy the vacation more. I would enjoy the vacation either way, but it feels really good to be in outstanding shape. Enjoy your week off from strict dieting and HIIT. I bet you will be itching to do HIIT and diet hard within a week. Making great progress is addicting!

Trevor,

I would do short sets with heavy weight. Too much volume in the 6-12 rep range is going to build mass. Alternatively you could do higher reps in the 20+ range with light, because that is more like cardio at that point. Experiment a bit. The main thing you will want to avoid for sure is lifting to failure. Again…avoid any of the typical 6-12 rep bodybuilding style sets and you should do fine. If it was me I would do 5 sets of 3-5 reps on two leg exercises for a total of 10 sets.

Rusty

http://video.google.com/videoplay…

I've been putting together my workout plan, and I'm getting some contradicting info from different places. I'm a cyclist, so I need leg power, but I don't really want to add mass. I do plyos twice a week, and one leg lift day a week. My real question is, when lifting for power and speed, not gaining mass…

Short sets, heavy weight? Long sets, light weight? A lot of sets? Not many sets?

Everyone seems to be telling me something different. What do you say?

Yeah…the nice thing about sticking with a weight until you master that weight is that it is better for your joints as well. Also, like you said, you don't ever have to lift to failure…I think a lot of people believe you have to lift to failure to gain strength and that is simply not true.

John,

If you want to gain mass, lighten the weights so you can do 6-12 reps and do many more sets. As far as which muscle groups to stick longer with the same weight…it really depends upon the individual. You will have some muscle groups that adapt quicker than others and you can increase the weight at a quicker pace.

Gators,

Yes…traveling motivates me to succeed in life more than "things". I would rather drive a mediocre car, if that meant I could travel more. I guess I don't have great memories of a certain car or watch that I've owned…my best memories are meeting people from different parts of the world in amazing locations.

Ricky,

I'm going to hold off on the Youtube videos for until after I have written 2-3 books. If I had more time, I would do both…but for now I have to prioritize and get those books out there. As far as writing more about purposely losing muscle to slim down…I do need to write a small free report on that. I can see the guys at the bodybuilding forums with a puzzled look on their face as I write this…most of these guys can't imagine why anyone would purposely drop muscle mass.

Sandy,

If you ever get the chance, rent Summer Lovers…it is a great 80's movie filmed in Santorini Greece:

[Corny, but good movie. The scenery is outstanding!]

James,

Thanks for the compliments. I am in the process of putting together a few free downloadable reports first, then I'll work on my big e-book. As far as lifting past failure, it does make people sore which people think is a sign of a good workout.

Randi,

That is a big problem with many personal trainers. They take pride in blitzing your muscles so that you are sore for days. I even hear them brag about this…"by the time I get through with you, you are barely going to be able to walk". It is easy to make the muscles sore, but it is a terrible strategy for long term success in the gym. I haven't been sore for over 6 years and I make constant progress. Lifting in the way I described is a win-win situation.

Joe,

Yeah…Pavel's material is outstanding! Like him, I don't think it is smart to tear the muscles down all the time like mainstream trainers suggest. Instead it is better to lift with less volume and increase strength month after month and year after year.

Note: Here is the post about Pavel (former soviet special forces trainer)l for those who want to read about this guy:
Muscle Tone Philosophies of Former "Soviet Special Forces" Instructor

AFDerrick,

You are doing great! Swimming is a good supplementary exercise to add into the mix. I would still include sprinting of some sort throughout the week, but swimming is a good form of cardio. Yes…on men that belly fat is the last to go. The cool thing is that when you have 6 pack abs, you can be sure that the rest of your body is defined.

Great comments everyone!

Rusty

Alright so I have a question/suggestion. What about swimming? I like to do steady-state cardio in the afternoons and many times to give my knees a break from all the HITT in the mornings.

Finally, I hit a milestone of 15 pounds gone today! I'm excited, I just hit sub 250, and am seeing some nice definition in my arms but still have a lot of belly fat, I guess that is the last place to start to lose the fat?

I was never a fan of forced reps and negatives, these two meatheads in my gym are always doing them and scream at the top of their lungs putting a big show for everyone: "COME ON TONY ONE MORE BROTHA YOU GOT THIS F*** THE PAIN MAN U SISSY COME ON B*TCH" the shouts go as everyone with an ounce of class/dignity in the place just stares at these neanderthals with disgust. Forced reps seem like a good advanced bodybuilding/strength technique but are useless for the lean look

Finally, I agree make some youtube vids man or write a book, you should expand your knowledge (and maybe make some cash) The advice on this site is too good to not go mainstream.