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By
Phil Stevens |
| With spring coming
and summer on the horizon comes the loads of questions on how
to get Swole and Ripped to show off the awesome Abzzzz and Gunzzzz.
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Subject: Calories
and exercise
Question: Hi. I have been exercising
and eating healthfully for about two months now. I am exercising
45-90 minutes at moderate to intense exercise (heart rate about
145) and eating on average 1700 calories. I have lost 17 lbs, I
was 204 and am now 187. I am only losing at a rate of 1/2 lb per
week at this point and would like to increase that to about 2 lbs
a week and am unsure what I should change to do that. Any advice
would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Answer: Joanne-#1
I would aim to lose .5-1 lb a week. that is a very safe rate especially
after and initial loss already. Its always starts out fast and slows.
That is to be expected you don’t want to drop calories lower
then needed to keep progress going. If you hit a point wher your
still at a high body fat % and you don’t lose inches or lbs
for any two week period then make an adjustment in intake or activity.
What can you do is make sure you are
eating the right foods, Your calories are fine but base your foods
on real food. Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy, nuts oils, fruits
and veggies, Stay away from pre packaged processed junk, cereals,
breads, pasta, even away from your more starchy stuff like rice,
potato's that are largely empty calories.
I am also guessing you are doing mainly
or 100% aerobic exercise. I would urge you to do three days, 30-40
minutes each, of resistance training. Big compound moves. NOT on
machines. Squat, lunge, deadlift, various presses and rows. Aim
to really learn these and then move some weight, don’t be content
to stick with very light weight and hundreds of reps with pink dumbells,
Move some weight. The things that make men BIG, make women Hot and
tone. It will also preserve or increase your metabolism by preserving
or building lean mass. Making you lose more fat mass even at rest.
Then use your aerobic exercises to aim at simply burning fat again
3-4 times a week.
I cant stress enough for you to NOT
get so stuck on the scale but on body comp. Losing fat and inches
is what matters, not what the scale says. If you only lose .25 or
NO weight one week but you lose inches and your clothes fit better,
that means you lost fat and hopefully gained a bit of lean tissue.
Phil
Subject: 40 pounds
in 4 months
Question: hi im a 21 year old
female and i was wondering how can i lose 40 pounds by my sister's
wedding which is june 27 because if i don't i won't be in the wedding
ANSWER: Maria- Number
1, I dont want to enter into any family issues but if your sister
is not allowing you to be in the wedding if you don’t lose
weight I would seriously think about if you want to be in that wedding
at all. That’s pretty damn shallow and if al she cares about
is who you look like as opposed to who you are I would question
her on it.
#2, coming from someone who was formerly
obese and battled losing weight for years and then did lose, went
from over 300 - 215 in 3 months. You WILL not lose the weight if
it is for the wedding. You have to truly want it for YOU. No one
else, no matte how much they want it, or no other reason but For
YOU personally will have you succeed in losing and keeping the weight
off in the short or long term. You have to want it for YOU before
you will succeed.
After that it will be easy. The main
thing you have to do is adjust diet. I would simply switch to REAL
food nothing packaged or premade. Protein as the base for each meal,
then LOTS of green veggies and some fruit, some and good fats, nuts,
olive oil and a fish oil supplements. EAT tons of green veggies
like salads, cucumber, broccoli etc. and Drop the rice, bread, pasta,
sugars potatoes etc. stick to whole real foods.
Start a training schedules, it doesn’t
have to be crazy, start by taking a 15 minutes walk each day, and
one day of resistance training which could be simple body weight
squats to a chair and push ups or Dumbbell pressing 20-30 minutes.
Make small progress little steps that you make habit. Don’t
bite off more then you can chew you’ll just burn hot and out
fast. Small steps and make them habit, they WILL add up and small
changes are much better then nothing or big changes you only do
for one week.
Phil
Subject: Getting
Shredded After a Long Winter Bulk
Question: Phil, wassup. I gots
a question for you. I been bulking over the winter a clean bulk
and I put on some great size but added a good bit of fat. I am 16,
5’9” and was eating 2500 calories of nuttin but clean
protein, lots a chicken and soys, veggies and added lots a sugars
from fruits that I think added the fat. I started out at 110 lbs
in September when I really upped the calories to the 2500 EVERYDAY
and I have packed on a massive 16 lbs in 6 months. My Biceps went
from 11 inches to 12.5 (AWESOME!!) and I think my chest great to.
I can press 30 lb DB’s for sets of 8. I don’t work my
legs as I don’t want them to get huge I like that cut look
and I heard just running distance will make them look Ripped. The
problem is I now also have a pot belly I cant see the veins in my
lower abs or my hips bones. I want o do a cut to get ready for the
beach to show off my new muscles. Can you help with diets and exercises.
ANSWER:
Oh good lord of iron and everything
merciful and meaningful in this world help me keep my cool.
Chad-To
put it lightly EAT your 5’9” 16 years old. You have 12”
biceps, don’t work your legs, you cant se your hip bones and
veins because just maybe you started to put something aside from
skin on your bones, your already eating like a bird and you want
now to get Ripped and shredded for the beach season to show off
your new muscles that are actually nothing more the a bit of healthy
weight that is allowing you to sustain life.
I am not trying to be an arse or get
you down at all, but buddy you need to eat, You're 16 and starved.
Your in the early prime years of your life, the time you will be
able to make the greatest muscle and physical growth in your life
not to mention set up a basic healthy base of vital organs and tissue
for the remainder of your years and your starving yourself.
I am not against cutting fat at all,
and looking damn good for the beach or anything like that, but you
don’t have anything to cut except possibly your life. You need
to simply get a healthy relationship with food. EAT and then Train.
Add some meat on your bones, get your bodily functions running at
a high healthy level. I am not saying you need to be HUGE if that’s
not your goals. Everyone has different goals but what your looking
to do is flat out an unhealthy obsession and one that’s way
to prevalent today. Kids looking to cut down to ultra unhealthy
body fat levels, starving themselves in search of looking swole
and ripped when in reality they have nothing but skin and bone to
rip up.
I urge you to try and get straight
NOW. Eat and add some body weight you WILL add muscle and that in
itself will make you look a LOT better as well as feel and function
better. If need be seek some professional help and stop by our forum
where a great group of very smart, and at time opinionated people
can help you. They may be brutally honest like my self but its only
going to be for your own good and with your goals in mind.
Phil
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Subject:
Muscle Gain
Question:
Is it possible to gain muscle without exercising or weightlifting
but by changing your diet? If so what diet changes are necessary?
Can you gain muscle by swimming? Thanks
Answer:
Sam-
No, Its not. Not
if you just ate and sat all day. If so it’s a good chance
you would not gain any muscle at all. Now if you just ate
and went by your day to day life. Walking go to work sit,
stand, up stairs down stairs etc.. Sure you get heavier and
have to add muscle to move you. Just by default as much as
50% of that could easily be muscle, but some kind of activity
is a must.
Swimming? Sure
but not a great deal. A lot of muscle is not conducive to
making swimming easy, and that’s what the body wants
to do with all things, make it easy. That’s is why distance
runners and many swimmers have very little in the way of muscle
mass. Muscle is heavy and makes it harder to do their activity.
They simply get lighter and use the current muscle mass or
even les in some cases to get great at endurance, at sub maximal
levels of movement. But if swimming is very hard for you,
way outside your margins as you have been largely sedentary,
then sure you will add some lean mass.
Phil
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About The Author
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Coach Phil Stevens is an accomplished
strength athlete with considerable experience in both powerlifting
and strongman competition. Phil is the 2007 APA World Champion
in the 242-pound class (total). He currently holds the APF
275-pound class raw National bench, squat, deadlift, and total
records. Phil’s marquis lift was his 700-pound raw deadlift,
performed on February 14, 2009 in Phoenix, Arizona.
Phil has been ranked in the
“Top 10” in the deadlift Nationally across all powerlifting
federations, and in addition to his coaching duties at Staley
Training Systems, he also serves as the Arizona State Chair
for the North American Highlander Association, as well as
the founder of Lift For Hope, an annual strength-competition
with proceeds donated to Charity (www.Lift4Hope.org).
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