Hi, I’m struggling to drop the last 10kgs…and it is metaphorically…KILLING me. I have been sitting at 60-65kgs for as long as I can remember (maybe 9-10 years), I started the CYWT program, thanx to Joel and was dropping at least 1-3 kgs in December, then 2011 rolled around and I just cannot stop eating, I have NO IDEA what has happened other than I just love to eat especially carbs, mainly processed foods!!! HELP, I am still using a smaller plate and have been telling myself to keep to the portions – as much vegies as I like, a fist size of protein, and the thumb tip of fat, then the recommended carb days, low carb, no carb days and the cheat day,…????? I have also been doing the high/low intensity training…WHAT has happened to ME???
3 Reasons YOU Want Muscle
By Joel Marion & Vince Del Monte
It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, 22 or 62, attempting to lose fat or “get buff”, you WANT muscle. In fact, we’ll venture to say that virtually everyone wants muscle (whether they know it or not), and here’s why:
1. Building Muscle = Faster Fat Loss
Even if you’re primary goal is fat loss, you’d be extremely wise to build specific periods of time in to your training schedule in which you primarily concentrate on building muscle.
Why?
Muscle is metabolically expensive.
You see, for every pound of muscle you manage to add to your frame, you’ll burn an additional 40-50 cals per day. So, let’s say you gain 10 lbs; that means your body now REQUIRES 400-500 more calories to simply maintain its weight, posing several benefits:
- You get to eat the same amount and lose fat faster OR
- You get to eat more and lose fat just as quickly
Either way you look at it, that’s a pretty solid deal, only possible through the addition of calorie-burning lean muscle.
2. Building Muscle = Easier Weight Maintenance
Let’s say you lose 30 lbs, which is awesome, but you fail to put on any appreciable amount muscle, or even worse, you lose muscle mass in the process (which is extremely common).
In either case, metabolism will in fact be slower after you’ve lost the 30 lbs than it was when you first started your fat loss journey…NOT what you want if your goal is to actually keep the weight off.
With the addition of lean muscle mass, your metabolism won’t be slower, it will be faster, making maintaining your new body incredibly easy.
Muscle is the difference between losing 30 lbs once and for all, and struggling to losing 30 lbs over and over and over again for the rest of your life.
Wouldn’t you love to just lose the weight once and never have to worry about “gaining it back”…again?
3. Building Muscle = A Hotter, Sexier Body
Being thin is one thing, being hot is another. And the latter is something only lean muscle can provide.
I think we’d all agree that while being thin is certainly better than being fat, what we truly want our bodies to look like goes far beyond simply being skinny.
For example, take a look at the photos below; these are both “size 2” bodies:
The difference: one looks “okay” and the other is smokin’ hot. The REAL difference: Muscle. While the same exact “size”, the physique on the right is comprised mostly of dense, shapely, tone muscle, while the image on the left…isn’t.
And for the guys, when it comes to taking your shirt off or being comfortable on the beach, we’d probably all agree that simply being “thin” or “skinny” isn’t where it’s at. Muscle makes a dramatic difference in the way we look. Just look at the before/after pics from these two clowns:
While the “before” photos were thin, there’s a world of difference in the confidence and general appearance of a physique possessing significantly more muscle.
How would your life change if YOU were to gain 5, 10, or even 20 lbs of lean muscle?
Both Vince and I can tell you that since our transformation, our entire lives have benefited massively because of one thing: muscle. It really can and does affect your entire life.
Comment Time:
How many pounds of lean, sexy muscle would you like to gain? Respond in the comments section below along with any muscle building questions you might have. Vince and I will be checking in throughout the day to answer your questions, and we’ll also select 2 “commentors” at random to receive a free muscle building “gift” ($97 value).
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel and Vince
P.S. If you have never commented on the blog, today is the day. You might win something cool, and besides, when you take action and comment, it just reinforces your goals and pushes you even more toward achieving them. We’re looking forward to YOUR comment below!
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506 comments - add yours
I’m looking to gain 15 lbs of muscle in about 2 months… I thought it was unreasonable but with the right motivation… I know I’ll make it to my goal
I am going to drop 40 pounds of body fat and add 10 pounds of lean muscle.
20 pounds of muscle
Great article! I am currently at 152 lbs. and would love to gain that extra 18 lbs. to put me at a lean 170. My body fat is around 10% and I don’t really want it to go any higher. And after hearing all the hype about the anabolic amplifier effect, I see it is now possible for me to reach my goals, quicker than I’ve ever thought possible.
I want 12 lbs of muscle!!
Looking great…i’m trying to loose some 5 to 10% bodyfat and gain at least 10 lbs of lean body mass to finaly see my abs… i’m working since 2 years now and i did good progress but i would like finaly to see those abs before going holidays in dominican republic
Richard
I want to gain a few pounds of muscle; no more than 10, but still be able togo for a long time. As a triathlete, I don’t want to be “buff” but strong, and able to work my hardest for a long time.
Hey Vince and Joel. Vince, I am one of your MYM members and find the workouts to be challenging and awesome all at the same time. My goal for the time being is to gain at least 10 pounds of muscle. My current weight is 195 and I have been stuck at this weight for quite some time. I find it difficult to eat more healthy muscle building calories due to my job. You see I work 10 hours a day in a Supermarket bakery. It’s kind of funny that I’m fit and work in such an unhealthy environment. It’s like I don’t believe in what I’m selling . Im in the Tampa Bay area and was thinking about contacting you Joel on how to design a meal plan specifically built around my busy lifestyle. I know you got to eat more calories to gain more muscle but it’s hard to stop and eat every three hours or so. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you both for all the info that I have learned so far.
I would love to add just 10lbs of muscle. I had shoulder surgery in June and I’m finally just getting back into working out but I’m extremely nervous because I don’t want to mess up my shoulder. I’m not really sure of my limitations yet and have no clue how to work out in this manner. I feel like I’m not doing anything the correct way because I’m afraid to really push myself. How do you think I can get past this obstacle and still gain muscle without hurting myself?
Hey guys well I would like to add a total of ten pounds to my figure. I am full time female student, who is studying at a high school level, and I am extremely interested with nutrition and fitness. My goal in life is to become an expert nutritionist and sports trainer. Since being a little girl, only 7 years old I practiced martial arts but I left them behind because my older brother was tired of doing exercise. I followed his gut even though I loved to practice the sport, because he was still major influence on my decisions when I was a little girl. As I got older I became a basketball enthusiast I practiced it at every moment I could, but since my father was my coach I spent most of my time with him, but are relationship was horrible, so I left basketball behind as well. When I became older I started reading about nutrition and I applied to my everyday life , after some time I got Vince’s program and I loved his approach to training. I began to search for more information about fitness to become a better version of myself so I could train harder everyday and improve my overall nutrition. I realized I was so interested and passionate about it, that now I’m sure I want it to be my future major in college.
I am on my second 5 day segment of the extreme diet. I haven’t gotten the exercises down as well as the diet yet. I have a hurt knee. I am doing the best I can and seeing a little results. I hope I will be able to continue the workout soon so I won’t gain back what I lost. The diet is easier than i thoughtit would be.
Great article! I started trying to lose fat and build muscle around October last year and am seeing some results in that my body shape is changing and my fat to muscle ratio has reversed.
While I don’t know how many lbs off muscle I want to gain, my aim is to end up looking something like a cross between “Sarah Connor” from Terminator 2 and Hillary Swank from “Million Dollar Baby”. Bring on the muscle!!
I’m really focusing on my core. I want to have a six pack but can’t yet lose those love handles. I’ve been gaining muscle and trimming down. I just haven’t reached my goal yet. Any suggestions to reach my goal? More intense cardio and a stricter diet maybe?
I tought that I had to loose the fat first and then focus on build the muscle but now I know it was a big mistake.
thanks
Pavel (Peru)
Hi. Interesting article. Love your posts always thought provoking. I spent 3 years losing 9 stone and maintaining the weight. I now train with a weight lifter twice a week lifting weights far heavier than I am used to. I also do cardio 3 times a week. My weight has increased by 20lbs and I do look bigger especially in the chest and waist. My problem is that I do not want to go back to being “big” around the waist. Is the size I become controlled by diet or do I increase the cardio to keep my mass and weight down? I 49 years old. I have noted your views on cardio but it was these exercises that lost me the weight initially.
I want to gain muscle, especially in my biceps, because I was in a major car wreck 6.5 years ago. I have since experienced severe muscular atropy and fat infiltration into the biceps because of spinal injuries and related nerve damage. I had 4 cervical spine surgeries, 1 lumbar spine surgery + 2 neurostimulator chips implanted recently to control intense pain. I now. Am ready for my final 2 months of PT to try to get some activity going and back into an active lifestyle. I also have 4 more inoperable thoraic and lumbar spine injuries that the neurostim chips help mask the trauma pain as well as my neuropathy damage/pain in both feet/legs from Agent Orange herbicide exposure 40 yrs ago in Vietnam. Lastly, I have recovered about 80% of my short term memory deficit from the head injury sustained in same auto accident. I am a 60 year old retired military officer and federal special agent who is very happy to be alive and who wants his active lifestyle back. I have dropped from 293 to 271 lbs since Dec 2008 with Kim Lyons and Joel Marion’s diet help despite no real ability to regularly exercise until now My wife and children need my best efforts. Sincerely and thanks. Sorry to ramble on so. Garry May of Las Vegas, NV
Mate! I was so close to breaking my diet today and giving myself some lame excuse not to go to the gym after work….but this article has definately given me the kick up the bum I was desperately in need of! Thanks guys
It’s great! impressive!
it’s an eye-opener, a very interesting and informative experience, i’m inspired all over again.
Thank you!
Excellent words Joel. Weirdly enough, I directly correlate my mood and fitness level with the length of my pants. The shorter they go, the fatter I know I’m getting. I just want my long pants back after the floodsies of November and December. This means losing around 20 pounds total and 10% bodyfat.
KC
The reasons can be many.. from self confidence to better health.. but i think that with time it all fades out and just becomes a passion a true addiction to a healthy lifestyle.
Goals can be different and i even think that goals keep changing as you evolve.
I was just thinking about gaining a few pounds of muscle, but after a year of working out and eating healthy as hard as i can, i have gained 44 pounds with only 12% bodyfat, starting at 10% (this took place in exactly one year ).
So just to finish i think the change strikes inside us.. nowadays i cant eat unealthy food, i feel the difference straight away.. i cant go a night without sleeping well, i feel like shit the next day.. i cant go a day without working out or doing my cardio, i feel bad..
In the end its just an addiction, but the ealthiest addiction there is ;)
A word up to both you guys for the great advice and real world experience, keep up the good work !!!
Everyone with a before-and-after picture has a multitude of programs for sale with tons of science to back them up. This is so sad it’s making me sick. This stuff is so simple that there really is no reason for any blogs or programs nor any exchange of money. There has to be some way to end all this madness.
I am a 5’6″ 140 pound guy who is just starting to seriously working out and I was just wondering what triggered the two of you to be so focused on training. I was just wondering at what point in your life started everything
I am 48 years old and up until 6 weeks ago I was in the best shape of my life. I injured my shoulder on the bench just when the holidays hit… ouch!!
I gained over 2 inches in my waist (I have been a proud 32 incher) over that period of time and an incalculable amount of muscle. My metabolism slowed to the point that I felt tired even in the morning (yawn.)
I got in 3 sets of curls today and managed about 75 pushups, and felt the swell that motivates. I want to maintain my weight of about 185 (I’m 6’2″) while losing the belly and getting my shape back. I uess that means an even swap of about 10 lbs. of blubber for 10 lbs. of muscle.
What do you think?
Thanks, I enjoy your emails and appreciate your work.
jb
Ha! “from these two clowns…” Classic. Good to see people not taking everything so seriously.
Cheers,
From a very flooded Down Under
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...