Adding muscle, losing weight and everything in between

You know the familiar saying, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too”? Well, for lifters looking to make big muscle gains, simultaneously holding the desire to lose body fat at bay (not to mention, avoiding cake) works in much the same way. It’s extremely difficult, if not downright impossible (with the exception of certain genetically-gifted freaks) to do both at the same time. For years my only goal was to pack on pounds of muscle while somehow trimming body fat at the same time. What my experiences have taught me is that in attempting such a feat, some aspect of my routine was suffering at all times – either my diet, or my performance in the gym.

The bottom line is that if you cut calories to shed some body fat, you won’t have the necessary building blocks to add muscle to your frame. What’s worse, if you cut calories too far, you’ll start noticing a drastic drop in your energy at the gym. On the flip side, if you increase your calorie intake through 6 to 8 meals a day, the excess calories (above the bodies daily caloric needs) will keep you carrying an extra pound or two that you would otherwise like to lose. Furthermore, as your body begins to transition and add muscle, you’ll notice the scale number growing larger and for most, that will result in a renewal of the “I want to shed some fat” mentality.

But unless you’re trying to make weight for a competition or team, the scale shouldn’t be an end-all, be-all. A tool periodically used to check progress and to confirm that your method of training is working, yes. A number that throws you into a tailspin and causes you to question your means to an end, no. Afterall, 180 pounds can be made up of fat or muscle, but a scale won’t tell you which.

With that said, I recommend deciding on a goal (gain muscle, lose body fat) and approaching it by utilizing phases, i.e. a bodybuilder’s mentality. In the “off-season,” don’t worry about the extra pounds and focus on packing on the muscle with excess calories. Then when you want to look trim and ripped, initiate a routine aimed at losing body fat. Either way, don’t try to do both simultaneously because your results will most likely suffer (trust me).

For a brief article and breakdown on how to eat for size, check out HST’s artcile here.

For body-fat losing tips, check out Gregg Gillies’ article here.

You’ll notice that some aspects of each (6-8 meals a day, high protein intake) are common for both approaches, but the amounts differ. It’s all about determining your goals one at a time and sticking to a gameplan  dedicated to achieving each of those goals.

I will follow up this post with more in-depth nutrition articles that will focus on either adding muscle or losing body fat, but for now this should get you started on thinking about the topic. Stay healthy my friends.

What’s all the flax about?

For anyone in search of a healthy body, both inside and out, flax seed is an arrow of neccessity within the quiver of supplements. Derived from the flax plant, flax seed is comprised of 1/3 oil, and the rest is made up of fiber, protein and mucilage. It provides a rich source of essential fatty acids – containing alpha linolenic acid, omega 3’s and omega 6’s – while also offering lignans (estrogen-like chemicals that acts as antioxidants), vitamins and minerals.

The seed contains both soluble and insoluble fiber, as well as mucilage, which helps to stabilize blood sugar levels. It is also considered the richest source of lignans, which boost the production of a substance attached to estrogen and carry it out of the body, in addition to acting as antioxidants. But perhaps better yet, it also contains protein. For every 100 grams of flax seeds, you get about 25-30g of protein, which is an amazing benefit when one considers all the other nutrients that accompany the protein.

The oil derived from flax seed is also a great source of essential fatty acids, including omega 3’s which North American diets typically lack. Omega 3’s have not only been shown to reduce blood pressure, cholesterol and plaque formation, but they have also been found to kill certain cancer cells, aid skin problems such as acne, and improve one’s response to stress. Flaxseed oil can be purchased in softgel cap form which provide just the right proportion of the three essental fatty acids.

Aside from the inner effects, flax seed also provides invaluable benefits for bodybuilders that include:

• Reduced body fat
• Shortened recovery time
• Reduced muscle soreness
• Increased utilization of oxygen and other nutrients
• and the bottom line….more muscle

So again, while I have a somewhat guarded stance when it comes to supplements, flax seed (both in ground up form so you can digest it and in oil capsules — take both) is a must have!

Got muscle milk?

Okay, I’ll admit it. After years of searching for a protein powder that my digestive system could handle, I was ready to denounce supplements all together and take on the challenge of muscle building with nothing but a tuna steak and a fork. Granted, my unfortunate situation of being lactose intolerant certainly didn’t help my opinion of protein products, but how long and how many hundreds of dollars was it going to take before I found a powder that I was completely satisfied with?

Protein, as you may or may not know, is essential for optimum muscle growth. Made up of amino acids (the building blocks of muscle), a sufficient amount of protein puts your body into a nitrogen surplus, or an anabolic state, where the magic of muscle growth occurs. Without amino acids, it wouldn’t even be possible to maintain, repair or build muscle. The old adage says that in order to build muscle, a weightlifter should consume one gram of protein per pound of body weight a day, regardless of whether or not it is a training day. You can eat all the egg whites, tuna and steaks you want, but the fact is that without a protein supplement its going to be difficult to achieve that total without compromising other aspects of your diet.

For this reason, I began my long and arduous search to find a powder that not only agreed with my stomach, but also tasted good. After years of trying various products, I recently decided to give Cytosport’s Muscle Milk a try and let me say that I would highly recommend it to anyone looking to build lean muscle mass and lose body fat. Clearly Cytosport is not paying me to endorse their product, nor are there any affiliate marketing links provided here for which I could make a commission. The bottom line is that the product works, you get results and it tastes great.

The key is that Cytosport has combined both whey and casein protein in an effort to emulate the natural milk of a nursing mother, which some say is the gold standard anabolic formula. Muscle milk attempts to keep your anabolic window (the time in which protein synthesis occurs in your body) open longer by releasing a combination of whey (faster acting) and micellar caseins (releases protein, peptides, and amino acids more slowly). Perhaps more importantly for me is the fact that Muscle Milk is also lactose free, which allows me to digest it easily (a common complaint many weightlifters have about protein powders).

Anyway, that is my recommendation for those of you searching for an effective and tastey protein supplement. If you don’t want to take my word for it, listen to Atlanta-based trainer Corey Ritter of the Fitness Factor below…