You all know I love Tom's training (Hello have you seen his body?) and education he is the BEST. I just received this newsletter about his new book and I had to share here it is:
So what's the deal? Is it really possible to lose fat and build
muscle simultaneously?
Short answer: Yes, you can gain muscle and lose fat at the "same time."
Long answer: It's difficult and it's complicated. Allow me to explain....
First we have the issue of whether you really lose fat and gain
muscle at the "same time."
Well, yes, if your definition of the "same time" is say, a month or
12 weeks. But in that case, you're probably not gaining muscle at
the "same time" literally speaking, as in, right now this very
moment you are reading this, or 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for
months in a row.
The best explanation is that you alternate between periods of
caloric surplus (anabolism) and caloric deficit (catabolism) and
the net result is a gain in muscle and a loss in body fat.
You see, if you stay in a calorie surplus, it's the body's natural
tendency for body fat and lean body mass to go up together. And if
you stay in a calorie deficit, it's your body's natural tendency
for body fat and lean body mass to go down together.
There may be exceptions, but the general rule is that it is very
difficult to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time - the
mechanisms are mostly antagonistic to one another.
When it does happen, it's almost always the result of "unusual
conditions" - I call them X factors.
The 4 X-Factors
The first X-factor is "training age" . Ever hear of "newbie gains?"
The less trained your body is and the further you are from your
genetic potential, the easier it is to gain muscle.
The second x factor is muscle memory. It's easier to regain muscle
you've lost than it is to gain new muscle in the first place
(ergo, the fat out of shape semi retired bodybuilder who starts
training again and blows up and gets ripped "overnight").
The third X factor is genetics (or somatotype). Ever heard of the
"genetic freak?" That's the dude who sprouts muscle like weeds even
when he's on the "50-50 diet" (50% McDonald's and 50% pizza)... and
he never gets fat.
The fourth X factor is drugs. I'm not just talking about pro
bodybuilders, I'm talking about "Joe six pack" in the gym - not to
mention those fitness models you idolize in the magazines. How did
they get large muscle gains with concurrent fat loss? Chemicals.
I'm not a gambling man, but I'll place a wager on this any day:
I'll bet that in 99% of the cases of large muscle gains with
concurrent large fat losses, one or more of these x factors
were present.
That's not all! There are actually 5 more X factors related to your
body composition and diet status (the X2 factors). But I'll have to
talk about those later.
So you're not a beginner, you don't take roids, you're not a genetic
freak and you have no muscle memory to take advantage of. Are you
S.O.L? Well, I do want you to be realistic about your goals, but...
There IS a way for the average person to gain muscle and lose
fat at the same time.
The Secret: You have to change your "temporal perspective!"
Traditionally nutritionists and fitness pros have only looked at
calorie balance in terms of 24 hour periods. At midnight, you could
tally up the calories like a shopkeeper closing out his register,
and if the balance were positive, you'd say you were in a surplus
for the day. If the balance were negative, you'd say you were in a
deficit for the day.
But it's entirely possible that you might pass through periods of
"within-day" surplus where you were in a highly anabolic state
(for example, you eat the biggest, highest carb meal of the day
after your workout), and you were in a deficit the rest of the day.
If you did intense weight training, and you timed your nutrient
intake appropriately, Isn't it possible that you could gain a small
amount of muscle during those anabolic hours, while losing fat the
rest of the day? Granted it might only be grams or ounces - but what
if you kept that up for a week? A month? Three months?
As you pan out and look at the bigger picture, what if most days
of the week you were in a deficit for the entire day, and on some
days you were in a surplus? If so, then isn't it possible that over
the course of the week, you'd have a small net gain of muscle and
loss of body fat a a result of the caloric fluctuation?
These within-day and within-week phases are called microcycles
and mesocycles. If you also had a primary goal with a longer term
focus of several months, say 12 weeks or 16 weeks, that would be
a macrocycle.
What I've just described is nutritional periodization. Some people
call it cyclical dieting. it's where you manipulate your calories
(primarily by fluctuating carbohydrate intake, hence "carb cycling")
in order to intentionally zig zag your way through periods of surplus
and deficit and to create specific hormonal responses.
The end result: muscle gain and fat loss during the same time period!
I know that someone out there is having a hissy fit because I've
only talked about calories: deficits and surpluses. Rightfully so.
Calories matter but there's more to it than calories - most
importantly, hormones and "nutrient partitioning."
If you're in a calorie deficit you are going to pull energy from
your body. The question is: From WHERE? If your hormones are out
of whack and you're eating crap, you could lose more muscle than
fat in a deficit and gain almost pure fat, not muscle, in a surplus!
But WHAT IF you could manipulate within day energy balance,
use nutritional periodization AND control your hormones with food
and lifestyle strategies?
AHA! NOW you can see how concurrent muscle gain and fat loss are
starting to look possible!
Make no mistake - concurrent muscle gain and fat loss is a difficult
goal to achieve. The good news: difficult does not mean impossible.
Or as George Santayana said, "The difficult is that which can be
done immediately, the impossible, that which takes a little longer."
You may have already heard the buzz about my new ebook - either
from me or from other fitness professionals...
It's Called "The Holy Grail Body Transformation System: How to
lose fat and gain muscle at the same time."
In this groundbreaking new manual, you'll learn all about nutritional
periodization, cyclical dieting, hormonal manipulation, within day
energy balance, nutrient partitioning, AND the all the X factors,
including the 5 "X2-Factors"
You'll also get my new "TNB" training system, as seen in Men's Fitness
magazine (the complete, expanded version that Men's Fitness didn't
have room to print... works great for women too!)
At the moment, The Holy Grail ebook is available at a discount
for a pre-launch special offer.
In the early fall, it will be released across the entire world wide
web at the full price. Now is your chance to check out this new
system and save...
To order the holy grail or to get more information, visit my new
site at:
http://www.holygrailbodytransformation.com/Your friend and coach,
Tom VenutoPS. If you have a lot of body fat to lose, the holy grail is
not the right program for you. Instead I'd recommend Burn the Fat,
Feed the muscle, which is dedicated purely to fat loss. More info at:
http://www.burnthefat.com/
