3 Reasons YOU Want Muscle

Lauri wrote:

Been working out with weights since summer, and look better, but haven’t lost any weight, and there is plenty to lose. Very frustrating. Have been going low carb for weeks, but really, that isn’t helping either. Wah. Very Frustrating. I can see muscles building in my arms, which is sort of cool, since I am trying to build lean muscle mass to help me with my goals, but I am hoping that when I finally lose my fat, that they are not too muscle-y looking. I want to be lean, not look like a female body builder!!

Lauri, I’m guessing right now but I bet I’m right…

You’re NOT eating enough. You mentioned a few things:

1. You don’t want to look like a female bodybuilder.
2. You have a lot of low carb weeks.
3. You have not lost any fat.
4. You are frustrated.

First, the stress will not help you fat.

Second, Starting to think of yourself as a bodybuilder will actually HELP. This mindset that eating like one is probably holding you back. Bodybuilders are simply people who want to LOSE FAT and BUILD MUSCLE and that’s what you want, correct? So in fact, you ARE a bodybuilder.

Third, I would like to see you eating some oatmeal or complex carbs with EVERY breakfast starting today. Plus, eat some brown rice or whole wheat bread 1-2 hours before you hit the gym. Add those TWO CHANGES today and I PROMISE you’ll start losing fat next week.

Fourth, can you train with someone at your gym who “looks like a bodybuilder?” I bet you’ll learn A LOT of new lifting techniques to get your metabolism soaring.

Counterintuitive advice but I KNOW I’m right. Trust me and give it a shot!

Vince

Joel and Vince

Great article! I would like to gain 7 to 10 pounds of lean muscle. I was wondering would you still be able to lose fat and get leaner if you were using the German Volume Training method to gain some muscle?

Hi Vince Hi Joel,
are you sure about your numbers?
“for every pound of muscle you manage to add to your frame, you’ll burn an additional 40-50 cals per day”

J.Barbon und B.Pilon opinion is that you only burn cals in the neighborhood like 5 cals per new pound of muscelmass per day and with that it is a total insignificant.

the reason I would want muscle as well as the fact that it burns fat is because with muscle my clothes hang better and I won’t (hopefully ) have that horrid hanging flesh under my upper arms that a lot of women my age seem to have

Wow! I planned on gaining muscle, but I’m not sure how much I need to gain. How do you know? my guess would be that I need to gain 10 lbs of muscle.

I have no idea how much lean muscle I would like. A lot? I know I need to drop two sizes of fat and want to be strong under that. My problem is my legs are strong but my arms are not.
What suggestions do you have for someone who wants to do chin-ups but currently can only hold themselves up for single digits on the chin-up bar?

I’m in the high single digit body fat range and have trying for some time now to get rid of that last bit of bf covering the abs. My next goal is to gain about 20 lbs of lean muscle mass. Any advice/comments on losing that last bit of bf would be appreciated. Thanks for your help and btw great article and very informative.

Joel, I sent you an email to the goldonly email site. Looking forward to your response asap.

Frank P

I am 5″ 10′, 188lbs around 12% body fat. My ideal body is 185lbs at 6% body fat. By my calculations that means I have 165.5lbs fat free mass with 22.5lbs of fat. I want to have 174lbs fat free mass and 11lbs of fat. Therefore I want to gain 8.5lbs of muscle and lose 11lbs of fat. That is my goal by the end of 2011 and I will achieve it. I have given an envelope with $500 to my best friend holding me accountable to this goal. Wanna help me out???

I know I’ve been constantly frustrated by the lack of definition in my arms in photos. I know the muscles r there, but they seem AWOL in photos & I know that’s cause there’s still too much fat (and I do weight train).

I want to lose those last 10 lbs. – not sure how much muscle I need to gain. A fair amt, I’m sure!

I have been struggling with other muscle building and fat loss programs for about a year now. I decided now to focus on putting on 10-15 pounds of muscle for the next couple months, while keeping my body fat down as much as possible. I used to be very overweight as a kid and have been working very hard. so it would be a dream come true to finally have the body I really want.

Like @Keena, how do you figure it? I’m going to pick 7-10 lbs. Nice piccys–inspirational, although I don’t think I’ve been size 2 in my life. (What dress size are the 5’9″ fitness models rocking? Just for reference, you know. . .)

Who to believe? I have read here and other places that muscle burns 10 extra cals per day then I read elsewhere that it is not true. Either way it does look better on ya. I hope to loose 20 and gain 10

HELP!!!:) I have always wanted muscles like the girl’s in the picture and to reshape my body. There are certain areas that never get toned and I cannot figure out how to fix that!
Thanks!!!

I would like to gain 10lbs of muscle. My life time goal is to have a six pack. I really believe I 10lbs of fat to lose and three areas where it could come off my waist, back of my arms (although I have definition in my triceps) and my hamstrings. I have always wanted that sexy smooth curve from the gluts to the knee. My hamstrings are always tight and usually cramp if I work them to much. Any ideas???

I would love to loose another 10 lbs of fat and gain 12 lbs of muscle would be great!!! I want to get my body fat percentage at least under 14%.

Hey clowns, haha just kidding but Im Tyrell, your average skinny teenager that wants nothing more to pack on muscle mass. I’am a senior in high school and this being my last year of high school, I have made a short termed goal of building 20lbs of muscle before my graduation date (May by the way) and it would be truely amazing if I could walk down the aisle infront of hundreds of people and with a beautiful lady at my side, and be proud to show my more thicker musclar body. I would also have the opportunity to hang out on the beach with my senior class and get a chance to show the ladies whats under the clothes as well ;). Thanks guy.

Good stuff guys, I’d like to gain 10 lbs of lean muscle. Problem is I’ve not figured out how much or what to eat. I’m basically all muscle now: 5’10 145 lbs, and I feel as though I burn through my food before I finish digesting it. Most of my friends envy me, but they are lazy lard asses, so that’s a given. Any insight would be wonderful.

Great post on the importance of muscle building and what it can do especially about looking “okay” and looking “hott”! I’ve read a lot lately about interval/high intensity training, I’ve also attended a local bootcamp that implements that. How do you combine muscle gain with this type of training? High intensity weight lifting? Interval weight lifting? Just resistance excersise? I used to lift heavy weights and because of injury don’t much anymore. When I do, it doesn’t take long to see improvement, but I’ve never seen significant improvement through just resistance training. Thanks for your help!

couldn’t agree more, muscle is where it’s at!

I agree 1000% with this whole thing. Muscle is a miracle worker. Its like building residual income – money effortlessly produced somewhat indirectly as a result of other money earned by hard work. Muscle brings residual fat burn. Its amazing. And you can look really good in the process.

I honestly don’t know how much muscle I want. I know I like the energy that I have when I am consistently working out. And I also like the capabilities of my body when I am building muscle because I am a naturally active person (I hate to sit still for too long) and better muscle allows me to do more without getting fatigued so quickly. I also know that good balanced muscle provides the body the ability to keep all the other structures (such as joints, ligaments, tendons, etc.) healthier and that is very important to me.

Guys I really don’t want to gain any more muscle as I am strong right now and can see my muscles through my skin, okay maybe just 5 pounds. I have a tendency to be able to put on muscle easily but my fat takes a total shove to get off. I just added cheat days again in November.

Here is my question:
Does breastfeeding affect a woman’s ability to put on muscle and or lose fat. The information I find always seems to apply to safe weight loss while breastfeeding. But, this wouldn’t apply to a woman nursing an older baby whose primary food is not breastmilk. Do you guys know if a nursing hormones are playing a role in slowing down the muscle growth/fat loss? I have never been able to find info on this. Thanks.

I have 50lbs to lose and I know muscle helps to burn that fat but I don’t know how much muscle I need to gain? I am on steroids because of an immune system that doesn’t work due to a brain tumor so I have packed a lot of weight around my belly that just won’t go away! Any advice?

Opened my email one day too late :-(. I know it’s after the fact..but maybe you are still answer questions. I have a friend who is in her 50’s and she has been struggling w/ her weight. We both joined a gym 11 yrs ago, together, I stayed she left. She is now having to try to lose about 20+ lbs she has gained since then but no matter what she tries her weight is not moving. She works out w/ weights every morning and does cardio…has cut out alcohol to 1/2 of what she normally has (i’m guessing 4 glasses to 2 or less a night) I know, I have already talked to her about it but she is trying. Her diet seems pretty clean. She is disappointed big time. She has been doing weights for about 6-8 weeks now. What do you suggest for someone like this? Thanks

Great post guys. I totally agree with the muscle thing. My question is I m overweight and want to burn fat, should I focus on more cardio based workouts or muscle building workouts?

Thanks for sharing your successes.

Bill