speaking of getting in to fighting shape...what if you are looking to increase muscle mass and lose fat preferably in a short amount of time?

Willy -
it is only really possible to increase muscle mass and lose fat at the same time if you are a beginner to weight training and are unfit and overweight.

To increase muscle, you need to have a calorie surplus, ie be eating enough food that your body can take care of all its needs plus have extra calories it can use to build muscle.

To lose fat, you need to have a calorie defecit, ie. have slightly less calories than your body needs for full recovery so it uses bodyfat as energy.

Some people are able to lose a small amount of fat and put on a small amount of muscle, but they would be better served by concentrating on one or the other at a time.

Most people tend to go for muscle first...surplus of calories (protein and carbs/fat) and then the added muscle, plus some cardio workin, can eliminate the fat to reveal the muscle in all it's glory.

Regards,
CrimsonTiger

"AUUUGGGGHHHH!" *TAP*TAP*TAP* - Asia while being TAPPED OUT by CrimsonTiger 08/31/03

To lose fat, you need to have a calorie defecit, ie. have slightly less calories than your body needs for full recovery so it uses bodyfat as energy.

That's always confused me. Couldn't you just reduce the fat in your diet while still eating a lot?

"Do not throw, uhhhhh, ahhhh, uhhhh, ****** punches."

--Mario Sperry

Well yeah, of course if your reduce the fat in your diet, you are reducing calaories.

I listed seperatley that you should cut out all saturated fat immediatley since your body has the hardest time processing these.

But if you are still eating way more carbohydrates than your body can use each day/week then you may still be in a calorie surplus.

While reducing fat will generally do it for most people, its important to remember which type of fat. The un(insertlotsofletters) fats are generally very good for you and people often make the mistake of trying to reduce these fats as well when in fact they should probably be increasing them (fats from fish, nuts, flaxseed oil, etc)

also is there a way to make the exercise burn the fat and the food build the muscles?

next questions- if i did want to put on muscles do i really need up to 1gram of protien per lb that seems really high and should i be having large surpluses of protien and calories on "rest" days or just work days..would judo or bjj on "rest" days be bad? is there a best sequence to work the muscles for to maxamize gains?........okay that's all for now thanks

Smoke crack 3x per day.

coupla quick questions. how old are you? are you getting back into shape, or just wanting to look better? what shape are you in now? is it to make a weight class, or for looks? how long do you need it off, ie just for weigh in? all these are important.

25lbs in 40 days is no problem, depending on your current build. matter of fact, its probably healthy if youre asking this question. just more work than you can believe.

in competitive wrestling we would drop half that in just over a week. any faster was not recommended (officially). all without significant sacrifice in strength. there will be some however.

course, we did a lot of stupid things when we were young...

Willy -


if i did want to put on muscles do i really need up to 1gram of protien per lb that seems really high and should i be having large surpluses of protien and calories on "rest" days or just work days..

I normally get annoyed when people say you need 2-3 grams per pound and correct them by saying, NO you should only need a minimal amount like 1gram per lbs <img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>
Trust me, 1bs is under what a lot of published info recommends.
You can try less (0.8) and see if it works for you...

Definitley take on your off days as well. Your body grows when resting, not while working out.


would judo or bjj on "rest" days be bad?

Bad for what?
Its great if you want to get better at Judo or BJJ. If your sole goal is to put on more muscle mass it is very bad (especially if you are a hardgainer, ie. life long skinny guy). You can try greatly upping food intake to try and compensate but you are still trying to pull your body in two different directions.


is there a best sequence to work the muscles for to maxamize gains?

This is different for everyone.
Some basic good advice is:
Assuming you have no injuries or structural defects, big compound exercises like the deadlift and squat should form the basis of your routine.

WHat do you guys think of the Atkins diet? I've done it in the past, and lost 5-7 lbs in the first week. But I've never stayed on it much lnger than that for a variety fo reasons.

Regards,
Matt

Homer: What do you have to wash this awful taste down with?

Vendor: Crab juice and Mountain Dew.

Homer: Yeeuch! Bleh! Ugh! ... I'll have a crab juice!

The Atkins diet........ I personally think it's a terrible idea. My girlfriend's mom is on the Atkins diet, and in my opinion, any diet that suggest you eat bacon instead of whole wheat bread has a fundamental flaw in it. As a general rule, any diet which advocates giving up a normal "balanced" diet is a bad idea.... the body is designed to run optimally under certain conditions, and that means a certain amount of carbs, fat, protein etc.

__________________________________________________ ___________________________
If he scoots out too aggressively his body may go shooting out like a champaign cork and go flying into the audience, leaving a gingerbread man-shaped hole in the wall. -- Boyd

Well if you really must know yes it's possible. I've lost 25lbs in 4 weeks. The Atkins diet did not work for me and it really sucked. I simply did it by doing the following. (I believe these were already mentioned):

a. I cut out sodas all together.
b. I cut out drinking < that sucked
c. I ate small meals throughout the day, no big ones
d. I execercised 2 to 3 hours in spurts, not all at once. Usually 1 hour to 1 1/2 hour sessions.
e. I got my lazy ass out of bed at the same time. Made sure I never over slept.
f. I ate carbs in the morning but never after 5pm.

Hope this helps. BTW I'm sitting at 186 right now. When the WCR came around I was 199. 2 weeks before that I was at 225.

Official WTDude Badass Evil Genius

Re: Sodas

Does that include diet sodas?

Matt

Homer: What do you have to wash this awful taste down with?

Vendor: Crab juice and Mountain Dew.

Homer: Yeeuch! Bleh! Ugh! ... I'll have a crab juice!

Yeah, that include diet.

Official WTDude Badass Evil Genius

Although, diet sodas are certainly better than non-diet. Cuz although they're not the healthiest drink you could have, you're at least cutting the calories.

__________________________________________________ ___________________________
If he scoots out too aggressively his body may go shooting out like a champaign cork and go flying into the audience, leaving a gingerbread man-shaped hole in the wall. -- Boyd