I averaged four to five cardio sessions of 45 minutes a day in the off-season when what I should have been doing all along was eating cleaner. Once I started dieting, my body was already so accustomed to doing a fairly substantial amount of cardio that to see further effects, I had no choice but to do longer, more intense sessions to burn fat. What did I burn along with the fat? Well, if you said muscle mass, give yourself 10 points. The simple solution turned out to be exercising more self-control and saving the bad stuff for the occasional cheat meal instead of stuffing my piehole every night.

Another critical issue regarding cardio and how to make sure it burns fat and not muscle is the empty-stomach debate. For many years we believed that the most effective way to perform cardio for maximum fat loss was to do it first thing in the morning on a totally empty stomach. The rationale was that muscle glycogen—what the carbs we eat are converted to in the liver and then stored in the skeletal muscles as—is depleted after an overnight fast, so our bodies would not have that as an option to use for fuel and would turn immediately to bodyfat stores instead. Recent research has challenged that theory, and a growing number of bodybuilders feel that they burn just as much bodyfat doing cardio after a full breakfast that includes carbs.

I stopped doing cardio on a totally empty stomach several years ago, as instinctively I felt it was catabolic, or muscle-wasting. I felt that having a protein shake—or at the very least some BCAAs—was called for to preserve lean muscle tissue. I came to that conclusion after several contest preps in which I did empty-stomach cardio and ended up losing more size than I should have.

Hany “the Pro Creator” Rambod, who coaches athletes like Jay Cutler and Phil Heath, doesn’t advise his many clients to do cardio on an empty stomach. If they are very large individuals like Jay who don’t lose mass easily, they take some type of anticatabolic supplement that includes a heavy dose of the branched-chain amino acid leucine. If they’re smaller and, as he has observed, at high risk of losing muscle when they diet, he has them eat a protein-only solid meal first, such as egg whites and lean ground beef or steak.

To that I would add, if you’re doing cardio after weights, getting some BCAAs before the cardio rather than waiting until the entire gym session is over to have your postworkout shake or meal would be a great idea.

I hope some of this can be of use to you as you follow your own path to fat loss. Cardio should burn away your bodyfat—but not your hard-earned muscle.

Editor’s note: Ron Harris is the author of Real Bodybuilding—Muscle Truth From 25 Years in the Trenches, available at www.RonHarrisMuscle.com.

Source: www.ironmanmagazine.com

Weight: 122 contest; 129 off-season

Height: 5’4 1/2”

Hometown: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Residence: Guam

Occupation: Personal trainer

Contest highlights: ’11 NPC West Coast Classic, figure, D-class, 1st, and overall; ’11 Arnold Amateur, figure, D-class, 4th; ’09 NPC New England Classic, figure, 1st in class, and overall

Factoids: A single mother of two sons, ages four and two, she works with the armed forces and their families, helping them prepare for deployment. Recently engaged, she loves to bake.

Contact: www.facebook.com/ashleyhornerfitness

Source: www.ironmanmagazine.com

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TRY THIS AT YOUR NEXT WORKOUT
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Lean-Machine Secrets for Full-On Fat Burn

Q: I want to thank you. I got your X-treme Lean and Fat-to-Muscle Workout. Following the training methods and diet advice in those kept me so much leaner over the winter. I can’t believe it’s almost February and I can still see abs–not much blur at all. I usually get a bigger gut and abs vanish. Not this year–and my eating wasn’t all that different from past winters, so I know it’s your methods. Thank you!

A: That’s great to hear. In fact, our wives have expressed some disbelief–in a positive way–about our leanness the past two winters as well. They have seen us get overly rotund during some past cold snaps. But now our muscle and rippedness is staying strong, despite higher calories (like wine and dark chocolate almost every night!). The secret?

Well, we wouldn’t call them secrets but more "discoveries" after a lot of trial and error. Here’s a quick list of get-ripped tips:

1) X-centric sets. This is doing a few sets every workout with a very slow negative stroke on each rep–lift in one second and lower in six. That creates more muscle damage, which requires energy (from fat) outside the gym for excess repair. You burn fat 24/7.

2) The 4X method. For most exercises we use a moderate weight for four sets of 10 reps, but with very short rests between–30 to 40 seconds. That style of training not only builds muscle via myofibrillar and sarcoplasmic expansion, it stresses the mitochondria, the lean machines in cells where fat is burned.

3) Growth hormone release. Both of the above methods–X-centric and 4X–trigger major muscle burn, which in turn causes GH to churn. GH is a muscle builder as well as a potent blubber buster. In other words, more GH will get you bigger AND leaner.

4) Carb cycling. We mention this in X-treme Lean–that our diets actually have built-in carb fluctuation. For example, on nonworkout days we don’t have a postworkout shake. That cuts about 60 grams of carbs from our diet on those days. We also have a loose cheat day on the weekends–not too extreme, but enough to jack up daily calories. That calorie and carb zig-zag keeps metabolic momentum revved to the max–no starvation, no cravings and no thyroid shutdown.

All of the above is good stuff to keep you ripped and buff year round–or to help you lean out now.

Till next time, train hard–and smart–for BIG results.

Note: The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout e-book is now only $19.99. Our fat-burning nutrition guide with diets and training, X-treme Lean, is only $9.99 (less than 10 bucks)–or get it with X-traordinary Abs for only $19.99 (Double-Shredded Combo Offer at the X-Shop).

–Steve Holman and Jonathan Lawson

www.X-Rep.com

LIMITED-TIME $19.99 BEST-SELLERS: We’re offering each of these at their lowest price ever to get you big and ripped by spring. Click on the title you’re interested in for more info…

1) The 4X Mass Workout–fast, simplified supersaturation training for X-treme size

2) The X-traordinary X-Rep Workout–the latest update to our original X e-book

3) The X-centric Mass Workout–the negative-accentuated training manual

4) The Ultimate Fat-to-Muscle Workout–total body transformation training

5) X-traordinary Muscle-Building Workouts–10 complete mass programs

6) X-traordinary Arms–includes the 3D HIT workout system with big-arms routines

7) 3D Muscle Building–the original Positions-of-Flexion mass-training manual

8) X-treme Lean—Fat-Burning and Nutrition Guide (with training too)

9) The Ultimate Power-Density Mass Workout

10) The X-traordinary Size Surge Workout

11) The Ultimate 10×10 Mass Workout

12) Eric Broser’s FD/FS Mass-Shock Workout

Latest release: The 4X Mass Workout—Fast Simplified Supersaturation Training for X-treme Muscle Size. It’s how many pro bodybuilders get big AND ripped as fast as possible for contests and photo shoots. You can use it for a blast of new mass in only a few weeks–and the workouts are quick. Guaranteed or your money back. Limited-time discount offer HERE.

MASS-BUILDING E-BOOKS…

X-SHOP: Find our original X-Rep e-book, as well as X Updates and Positions-of-Flexion mass-training guides…

X-WORKOUTS: Find specialized e-workout programs, including Power-Density, 10×10 and Eric Broser’s Power/Rep Range/Shock….

NEW: The X-traordinary SIZE SURGE Workout, Jonathan Lawson’s legendary two-phase mass program that packed 20 pounds of muscle on his frame in only 10 weeks. See all the changes he made to the original workouts, transcribed from his training journal. In printable templates so you can duplicate his incredible gains. You also get his eat-to-grow diet and streamlined no-frills supplement schedule, anabolic acceleration methods and loads of tips and tricks. Plus, an interview with a top-level bodybuilder who trains Size Surge style for incredible growth.

Newbies: If you’re a beginning bodybuilder, coming back from a layoff or a trainer who trains beginners, our new e-book, Quick-Start Muscle-Building Guide, is for you.

To follow the ITRC training program in “Train, Eat, Grow,” get a copy of the latest issue of IRON MAN.

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This Special Report was submitted by Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman.
The IRON MAN Training & Research Team
www.ironmanmagazine.com

The ITRC Training Newsletter is not intended as training advice for everyone. You must consult your physician before beginning any diet or training program. You may forward this email to as many friends as you want, but do not photocopy or reprint this report in any format without the written permission of the copyright holder.

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Source: www.ironmanmagazine.com

The hyper is performed today on a hyperextension bench, which can be horizontal or at a 45 degree angle. The horizontal hyper originated in the Eastern Bloc countries to increase the back strength of their weightlifters. It was performed while lying across the width of a gymnastic vaulting horse with the feet braced against brackets on a wall. In some cases coaches would help hold the athletes’ feet or lower legs in place to counter the heavy weight they were using. The weightlifters would bend forward at the hips until their upper body was hanging straight down. Then they’d raise it at the hip joint until it was parallel and arch, or hyperextend, the spine to raise it farther—hence the term “hyperextension.”

The Eastern Bloc lifters amazed everyone with the amount of weight they used for hypers. I saw photos of Bulgarian athletes in what was then the 148-pound class holding 90 pounds behind their heads while performing the exercise. Vasily Alexeev, a former multi-world-record holder in the superheavyweight class, performed hypers with 315 pounds for five reps.

The hyper is a tremendous exercise for the hamstrings, the gluteus maximus and the lower-back muscles. For that reason it crossed over and became a popular exercise in track and field, football and also in bodybuilding. As more and more trainees performed hyperextensiions, many found that hyperextending the spine caused lower-back pain. If, however, they only performed the “hyper” to neutral—that is, raised their hips to a straight line position—they would often be pain free. I have seen that many times in athletes. The usual cause of pain from hyperextending the spine is compression, or jamming, of joints in the spine known as facet joints. They guide the movement of the spine and can generate pain and/or enlarge from long-term compression. Further compression of the facet joints from the hyperextension of the spine leads to pain.

When the hyper became popular, most trainees didn’t want to lie across a vaulting horse, so hyperextension benches were created. The first ones were horizontal with pads for the heels and the feet blocked. You could now do hypers without a helper. Even so, the exercise was still considered advanced, especially if performed with weight. A new bench was created that was easier to use, and beginners found it comfortable. It was set at 45 degrees instead of parallel, as shown in the accompanying photo.

As you can see, your feet are at the base of the bench so your legs are weight bearing, and there’s a pad to lock your heels in place. The 45 degree angle is easier to perform the movement from and seems to teach you to bend forward from the hips rather than round your back.

The hamstrings and gluteal muscles contract powerfully to perform a common hyper movement. The back muscles along the spine are in isometric contraction if the spine remains still, but they will contract more if you hyperextend the spine.

You can perform sets that are a little higher in reps if you’re not using weight. Working up to a couple of sets of 10 reps without weight is tolerable. Once you reach that point, it’s time to add weight. You can start with a plate held either behind your head or in front of your chest and shoulders. Holding the weight in front is fine, but beware that you’ll be able to handle more weight that way, as the leverage is better. Once you start adding weight to lower-back movements, you need to cap the volume. Keep your sets to five reps or fewer. A couple of sets of five reps twice per week are more than enough for this exercise.

As always, train smart, then train hard.

Editor’s note: Visit www.SoftTissueCenter.com for reprints of Horrigan’s past Sportsmedicine columns that have appeared in IRON MAN. You can order the books Strength, Conditioning and Injury Prevention for Hockey by Joseph Horrigan, D.C., and E.J. “Doc” Kreis, D.A., and The 7-Minute Rotator Cuff Solution by Horrigan and Jerry Robinson from Home Gym Warehouse, (800) 447-0008, or at www.Home-Gym.com.

Source: www.ironmanmagazine.com