What if I told you how to lose all your unwanted bodyfat in just two short weeks with little or no effort?
Well, dream on, buddy. It ain't gonna happen. Losing bodyfat takes work. There are no shortcuts or magic pills (yet). But I will let you in on an effective way to lose bodyfat without turning into some automaton that sits on a stationary bicycle for hours on end daydreaming about the things it would rather be doing. (Let's see, was my last date during the Bush administration or the Reagan administration?)
Granted, most of us are not competitive bodybuilders who have to diet for competitions. For some people, this is powerful ammunition to stay in a perpetual "growth phase" 52 weeks a year (i.e., eating lots and lots to hopefully divert some of those nutrients into muscle mass). For others, it's just an excuse to turn into a lard butt.
Try this simple test to determine whether or not you're carrying too much bodyfat. Take off your shirt in the gym. If a group of people suddenly stop what they're doing, fall to the floor, and begin frantically churning out ab crunches, it's a pretty safe bet you're approaching the tubby stage. Wearing long-sleeve baggy shirts and sweat pants to the gym during a 100 degree heat spell is another indication you've spent too long in the bulking phase.
Here's what I'm proposing: commit eight measly weeks of your bodybuilding life to shedding excess fat and see if you don't look and feel a ton better. If you don't like the idea of doing aerobics, I understand your reluctance. I have good news for you. I've discovered a "better way" to burn off that unwanted bodyfat. And it takes only 4 to 15 minutes a day! If you think it's something you can deal with, then try sticking with it, and I bet you'll be wearing tank tops to the gym in no time. After all, the leaner you get, the bigger you look. Before long, people will be accusing you of all kinds of pharmaceutical indiscretions. ("I just know that sum' beech is on somethin'!")
Besides, shedding the excess fat to expose your muscularity is a great way to gauge your progress, sharpen your eating habits, and best of all, stimulate you psychologically so your workouts will improve, and you'll experience a burst in muscle growth!
No Mo Slow-Go Cardio!
I know, I know, you already spend enough time in the gym. Your friends and family, prone to exaggeration, already think you have a little cot in the back of the gym with all your Inspiration photos tacked on the wall. Nonetheless, I'm going to ask you to add aerobic exercise to your workout schedule. Don't worry, though, I'm well aware the prospect of spending an ***-numbing hour on the exercise bicycle is not a pleasant one. Most bodybuilders, myself included, are an action-oriented breed. We can't stand to wait in lines, think FedEx is too damn slow, and have a hell of a time sitting down long enough to write an article.
Our need for high levels of stimulation make the prospect of low-intensity aerobic training almost intolerable. Truth be told, I can force myself to sit on an exercise bike for an hour, but I'd really rather shave my head with a cheese grater! Slow-go cardio training is worse than watching golf on television. I want action. I want a physical challenge! I'm a man, not some fluff-ball, pee-in-the-cedar-chips hamster mindlessly spinning a wheel in a cage.
If you're like most "aerobicizers," you probably haven't noticed too much of a difference. And the prospect of spending even less time is probably puzzling you. After all, we've all got some of that "more-is-better" attitude. Listen, too much aerobics burns muscle! Take a look at the vast majority of women who take aerobics classes after work: do they ever transform their physiques? Rarely.
What we need is a different approach to aerobics—something that keeps us interested, takes only a fraction of the time, and melts off fat more efficiently than low-intensity endurance training. Well, I've got just the program. It's called High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). It's an aerobic training program I specifically designed for bodybuilders. The premise is simple: rather than waste time exercising at a slow pace, hoping the fat melts off before you die of boredom, you alternate intervals of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise with periods of near-maximum effort. (As I mentioned earlier, each session takes no longer than 15 minutes, tops.)
Cont...
)... but for many years I never really experienced hunger at all, and I only experienced "full" when I was absolutely stuffed to overflowing. It took a diet readjustment, and also medication for maintaining insulin levels to kick my hunger signals back on.
