Fat Loss for Body Builders - By Anthony Ellis

I am NOT a bodybuilder, but I have used many of their fat loss techniques to drastically transform my body and reduce my bodyfat in a matter of weeks!

How to lose fat and get ripped, fast!

To attain incredibly low body fat levels quickly, many all-natural, professional bodybuilders use a few simple dieting concepts that remain relatively unknown to the general public. Most people believe that they must be a "bodybuilder" to use this information, but that simply is not true.

You DO NOT have to be a bodybuilder to get great results from these techniques. Anyone who wants to lose fat, CAN use their techniques to lose bodyfat at an unbelievable rate!

The "not so good" way to lose fat

If you just need to lose a few pounds, then you will probably not want a diet that is too extensive. Though I do not recommend them, most people in this situation usually go on some sort of "fad" diet that will cause them to lose weight from a reduction in calories. These diets do work, but you should be aware of the problems that come along with them:

First

Studies have shown that the majority of people who use these diets, will gain the weight back. Often times, they will gain back more than they lost. This is a consequence that most people do not consider. They drink a weight loss shake, or eat a special food for a few months and lose a large amount of weight, but what happens when it's time to go back to regular food? Most people usually start gaining weight again. Fad diets will definitely help you lose weight quickly if you eat their foods, but what happens when you go back to the real world? You will most likely go back to your old eating habits. You cannot remain on that type of diet forever, and sooner or later you will have to face real food again. They do not prepare you for this. Most fad diets work. The question is only how long can you maintain the results. Any successful weight loss will require a permanent change in eating habits. A good program should not only help you lose fat, it should also help you to develop the correct eating habits necessary to maintain your new body.

Second

You will lose more muscle mass than body fat. Now, you may say, "It does not matter as long as I'm thin", but understand that muscle burns more calories than fat -- this helps to keep your metabolism elevated. Muscle also gives you a shapely, firm and more defined physique. If you end up with less muscle than when you started, you can bet that your metabolism has been slowed a great deal, which, in the long run, means your body will be burning fewer calories and storing more fat. Ultimately, you may get down to the weight that you desire, but you will have more body fat, less muscle mass and no muscle tone. This is why people who have a history of dieting off and on (yo-yo dieting), will lose weight and look thinner, but still remain very soft or "jiggly". You know them because of their waving triceps. This type of dieting is notorious for weakening the immune system.

The best way to lose fat

Honestly, if you are tired of being overweight and "soft," or if you desperately just want to develop your "six pack," then you must educate yourself and get serious about changing your body. It has to become a priority in your life (at least until you reach your goal). There are no quick fixes, however if you use the right information, you will be able to make dramatic changes to your physical appearance in a very short period of time. For the last few years, I have been researching ways to gain muscle and lose body fat. During that period of trial and error, I have learned to follow those who have been successful and losing fat and gaining muscle. Natural bodybuilders have been successful in losing bodyfat while maintaining their muscle mass for years. Their techniques work, plain and simple!

"Smart" Dieting

All bodybuilders know that the first key to gaining muscle and losing fat is eating correctly. When I say eating correctly I mean not only the correct amount of calories, but the correct amount of protein, fat and carbohydrates taken at the correct times. In the past, I would just skip over this part. It seemed too difficult to grasp. That was a mistake. Your diet is the single most important element of a successful fat loss program. It should be geared to maximize fat loss, while minimizing any muscle loss. Here are a few key points to remember:

EAT MORE OFTEN

To lose fat you have to eat! DO NOT starve yourself. Your body is designed for survival, and part of it's survival mechanism involves storing and holding onto bodyfat to be used in times of food shortages. If you make it a habit of not eating, or eating only a small amount of calories each day, eventually your body will think that you are in a time of famine a begin to slow your metabolism. Your body is just trying to conserve energy (calories) because it is getting so little nourishment. Your metabolism determines the rate at which your body burns calories, so if you have a fast metabolism, you will burn a lot of calories without much effort. If you have a slow metabolism, it will be very difficult to burn calories — especially fat calories. Your body will always slow your metabolism in response to low calorie dieting. To avoid this, you simply must eat. Unfortunately, eating three meals per day will not cut it! It does not provide your body with the constant flow of nutrients and energy it needs increase your metabolism and burn fat. Ideally, you should strive to eat 5-6 meals evenly spaced throughout the day. Here is an example of my fat loss diet schedule:

EAT FEWER CALORIES

Your diet should create a mild caloric deficit. In other words, your body should burn off more calories than you take in. After your body has used all the food calories for energy, it should (in theory) turn to using your fat cells for energy. However, as I stated earlier regarding fad diets, this is not always the case. Without resistance training to stimulate muscle growth, and diet manipulation to prevent muscle loss, your body will turn to using muscle cells for energy instead of fat cells! Anyone interested in losing bodyfat, should begin by eating around 10-12x their bodyweight in calories. Eating six meals each day, weight training and cardio will help to increase your metabolism. Because of this, everyone will have an initial loss of weight, and then the results will begin to taper off after a couple of months.

Consistent Exercise (Aerobic and Resistance)

To accelerate your fat loss and increase your muscle mass, you need to train with weights. The benefits of weight training are so positive, that I cannot understand why everyone is not doing it. For example, it helps to increase your muscle mass. This is essential because muscle burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle mass you have the faster your metabolism.

Weight training also tones up your existing muscle, giving you a more shapely silhouette. With the right exercises, it can broaden your shoulders, trim your waist, lift and tighten and lift your butt, tone your thighs and broaden your chest. As an added bonus, weight training also helps to strengthen your bones and tendons, which is essential for helping to prevent injury as we age.

USE FREE WEIGHTS NOT MACHINES

Not only did I have to change my diet, but I had to learn the correct way to weight train for muscle mass as well. In the past, I was using mostly machines, and had no reason to use free weights. this was a mistake.

The only way to gain muscle mass quickly is to use free weights. Most machines are a waste of time and they give you a false sense of strength. Pro bodybuilders and Olympic athletes do not use machines — they use free weights almost exclusively!

DON'T OVERTRAIN

I also had to stop training so often. Some people still believe that the more training means more muscle and increased fat loss. Not true. It doesn't work that way. Working out too often does not allow your muscles the necessary time to recuperate. Not only will you not gain any muscle, but you will be setting yourself up for chronic injuries from over training. Improper diet and over training are two reasons why most people never get beyond an average physique. I see people at the gym who workout 5-6 days per week for 2 hours or more each day – but they always look the same.

For my program, I worked out 3 times per week, working my upper body twice per week and legs once. I kept my workout between 45 to 75 minutes and concentrated on exercises that worked large muscle groups like bench press, squats, deadlifts, pull-ups and dips. I used heavy weight (weight that was challenging for me), and low reps. I rested 2 minutes between sets and increased the weight after each set. My body adapted quickly to specific workouts so I had to change my parameters (sets, reps, tempo, exercises) frequently (usually every 4-6 weeks).

Below is an example of my first workout:

Wednesday (Legs)	Friday (Chest, Shoulder,Triceps)	Sunday (Back, Biceps)
Squats leg extension superset Calves 4 strips sets Abs Crunches (4 sets of 50)	Flat bench press incline dumbbell flyes superset Shoulder press side raises superset Tricep pushdowns Abs Reverse incline leg raises (3 sets of 45)	Wide grip pull-ups latbar pulldown superset EZ bar bicep curl incline dumbbell curls superset Abs Crunches (4 sets of 50)

Notice that my workout days are not the normal Monday, Wednesday and Friday. It does not matter which days you choose. At the time, these were the only days I had available since I was working 12 hour graveyard shifts! I believe that one of the most important benefits of weight training is more psychological than physiological. It not only is one of the best stress relievers around, it gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride after each workout. After I workout, I always feel as if I actually "got something done today!"

PEFORM AEROBIC EXERCISE REGULARLY

To shed the fat quickly, aerobic exercise is essential -- it is not an option. Many people will begin to see results just from this alone. It not only helps to burn fat and calories during the actual time you are exercising, but it also elevates your metabolism for hours afterwards. This leads to greater calorie burning and fat loss throughout the day. Any exercise that elevates your heart rate for about 30-45 minutes will do. I prefer riding a stationary bike, but many people prefer running, climbing stairs, aerobics classes or boxing.

When choosing an exercise, make sure that it keeps your heart rate elevated consistently without breaks. Some "stop & go" sports like basketball or football, are not adequate candidates for our purposes. These game have too many pauses, breaks and periods of low activity. They will not keep your heart rate elevated long enough to burn much fat or elevate your metabolism.

It is not the simple fact of doing the cadio that will increase your fat loss, but

when you do it and what you eat. The only time you should be doing cardio for fat loss purposes is first thing in the morning before your first meal -- this is when you burn the most fat. Any other time should be considered recreational. The pace should be moderate otherwise you would be working towards cardiovascular endurance, not fat loss. After about 4 weeks of this, you can then add interval training into the mix to change things up. This is when you do one minute of normal intensity, then one minute of high (almost max) intensity. You alternate this for 30-45 minutes.

I know aerobics instructors who teach 5-6 classes per week, but are still soft and overweight. You would think with that much cardio exercise, they would be ripped. They are not because their diets are not correct and they do not train at the correct times for fat loss. If you are a beginner, start out slowly. Exercise at a moderate pace for about 15 minutes, no more than three times per week. Keep your heart rate around 130-140 beats per minute. Eventually your goal will be to work up to 30-45 minutes of moderate-high intensity cardio 3-4 times per week.

Be Consistent

This can be the difference between success or failure. Just wanting to lose weight is not enough. You have to be willing to put up with the temporary inconveniences that comes along with fat loss dieting. However, if you really think about it, anything in life that is worth having will cause some inconvenience before you get it. If it's not a priority, then fine. Stop fooling yourself, and wasting your time. Stop whining about losing weight, and get on with your life. But, if you really want it, then make it a priority in your life, and do it. There should be nothing standing between you and your goal. Until you reach your desired body, you should be living, breathing and eating fat loss.

Here's a summary of the fat loss concepts I use:

• To lose bodyfat you must eat fewer calories than your body burns off, so EAT LESS -- but you must NOT starve yourself, otherwise you will lose more muscle than fat!
• Start eating 5-6 meals per day (space them out to about one every 3 hours). You are eating more often, but not necessarily more.
• Increase your protein intake. Without protein your body cannot build new muscle. Protein also helps to increase your metabolism -- which burns calories.
• Increase you water intake. A good formula for this is to multiply your bodyweight by .66 to get the required number of ounces per day.

• Keep your workouts under 75 minutes.
• Concentrate on compound exercises that work the large muscle groups.
• Use moderate to heavy weights with low reps, rest 2 minutes between each set.
• Do only 2 (maximum 3) exercises per body part.
• Train no more than 3 times per week, working each body part only once per week.
• Include some form of cardiovascular activity in your program. This will not only help to burn calories, but it will elevate your metabolism for hours afterwards
• Perform aerobic exercise 3-4 times per week
• Rest

After years of wasting my time and money, I finally attained the body I've always wanted in just 16 weeks. You can do the same if you follow these four simple steps:

1. Decide on a very specific goal.
2. Educate yourself
You must learn the best way to build a house before you start building. Otherwise you will be wasting your time and effort.
3. Plan and organize
You must put all your great information into a training program that you will be able to follow everyday.
4. Carry out your plan
Follow your plan consistently, without fail until you reach your goal.

Are You Ready?

If you've been thinking of getting in shape and losing a few unwanted pounds, then what's stopping you? Do you think that you can't lose weight? Have you been told that you can't change your body because "that's your natural, genetic, blah, blah, blah". Don't believe it. Losing unwanted bodyfat is not difficult. It's just a matter of consistency. It appears more difficult that it actually is simply because most people either expend too much energy doing the wrong things, or they just give up because they cannot make the necessary lifestyle changes needed. Well, if not now, then when?

The fact is more than 59% of the adult population can be classified as clinically obese. Men are considered obese if they have a bodyfat level that is over 25%. Women are classified as obese if their bodyfat level is over 30%. This year, more than 300,000 men and women will be sent to an early grave because of the damaging effects of being overweight. Being a victim of a chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, hypertension, strokes, heart attacks, heart failure, prostate cancer, gall bladder disease, gout, pickwickian syndrome, sleep apnea and a host of other obesity related illnesses can be avoided, by adjusting your diet and adding a little exercise to your weekly routine.

Good luck,

Anthony Ellis