In about a year, I went from 192lbs with a little over 12% body fat to 215lbs and my body fat didn't change much; that's a gain in 23 lbs of muscle without drugs. At 47 years old, I learned that the biggest hindrance in gaining muscle was not having enough testosterone and too much cortisol; one makes muscle and the other tears it down and turns it into fat. Another factor is knowing how growth hormones work; when and how to increase it naturally.
Of course eating healthy and constantly changing up my exercise regiment are the other important factors. I'll skip my diet and exercise routines since everyone's needs and how their body responds are different. Albeit, I do want to mention that I do three 20 minute sessions of HIIT (a great testosterone booster) per week-it really does melts fat. I'll mix up my HIIT with a treadmill one day and perhaps the bike or elliptical on another to keep me from getting bored and also to keep my body guessing to maximize my results (the muscle confusion thing).
You burn the most calories after cardio, not during; however, if you have carbs in your blood stream, your body will not take full advantage of this "after burn" effect. Sugars will blunt testosterone and growth hormones; since both are needed to burn fat and make muscle, I make sure not to consume more than 5 grams of carbs before going to sleep (just about the amount in a scoop of Casein protein).
Our cortisol level goes up when there are any type of psychological or physical stress. Cortisol breaks down muscle tissue to be used as energy. Unfortunately the unused energy portion is never converted back into muscle, it becomes fat. To keep my cortisol levels form sky rocketing, I keep my weight training session at an hour or less. I also take two supplements that keeps my cortisol at a healthy level; Relora and Phosphatidylserine. Guys around my age swinging weights around for a couple hours have no idea their efforts are counter productive-they're breaking down the very muscle tissue they're trying to build and wonder why they can't get rid of that belly and gain more muscle...cortisol.
My main supplements of choice are BCAA, Gluatamine, CLA, HMB, Omega 3 Fish Oil, multivitamin and ecdysterone. I increase my testosterone levels with tribulus and a DHEA supplement (get your DHEA levels checked and have a doc advise) an hour before my work outs. I also boost my HGH and testosterone at night by consuming a mix of velvet bean extract along with D-Aspartic Acid, L-Arginine, BCAA, Macuna Pruriens, Maca, Longjack and a vitamin B complex. My doc tells me my testosterone and HGH levels are off the charts, so I take DIMMS to combat estrogen (it's good for prostate health as well). Every morning I awake to a "woody" like a teenager-the concoction works. I recommend buying your supplements in bulk generic powder, you"ll easily get five times more for your money as oppose to buying from a name brand.
Bookmarks