The How?s and Why?s for getting Ripped. Todays Bodybuilders are judged not only by muscle size, but also on muscular definition, cuts, separation, and striations. Big just isn't enough when you get to the top. Football players, power-lifters, and other strength athletes have plenty of size, but bodybuilders are ripped with deep lines etched between muscle. The trick is, as every bodybuilder knows, to get rid of the excess subcutaneous fat that robs you of the look of a champion.
The answer to this is a diet very low in carbohydrate, and very high in protein. This combination provides the most efficient means for burning away body fat, eliminating excess fluid, and at the same time preserving muscle mass. Cutting back on calories is, of course, a necessary part in any weight loss regimen. When dietary calories are reduced, the body makes up for the loss by using it's own tissue as a resource of calories. Weight loss occurs when the body's stores of both muscle and fat are broken down and used for fuel (replacing the calories that had been provided via the diet).
However, when a reduction in total calories is accompanied by a great reduction in carbohydrates and increase in protein, the body prefers to burn fat released from the stores rather than amino acids from the muscle protein breakdown. This benefit is referred to as a muscle protein sparing effect. The fat-burning, muscle-sparing benefit of a low-carbohydrate high protein diet can be attributed to a complex web of inter-related causes and effects.
Benefits of Low Carbohydrate Restricting carbohydrate - holding intake below 100 grams a day, and preferably below 60 grams - sets off a chain reaction of events that culminates in the body's shifting into a special state where stored body fat becomes a primary fuel source. Restricting carbohydrate intake lowers insulin levels, which in turn increases the mobilization of stored fat (lipolysis) for oxidation as fuel. The hormone insulin-released in response to carbohydrate intake is-antilypolytic, slowing the mobilization of fat. Therefore, by restricting carbohydrate-and thereby limiting insulin release-lipolysis can be speeded. And this increased rate of lipolysis brings about increased burning of body fat. I personally go two days low carbs and three days moderate and repeat through my twelve week diet.Lowering insulin not only speeds up lipolysis, but also controls appetite. That's because insulin (often called the "hunger hormone") is largely responsible for appetite. When appetite is low, appetite is thereby diminished. The low Carbohydrate, high protein diet works to control appetite in a second, more complex way. The increase rate of fat burning brings about a in the level of ketones in the bloodstream, ketones are a byproduct of oxidation of fats, and evidence indicates that they act upon the appetite of the brain to bring about satiation. The decrease in appetite brought about by elevated circulating ketons can, in fact, be quite dramatic. The of ketone bodies in the bloodstream brings about a physiological state called ketosis. While under normal calorie intake, the production of ketons fat oxidation is about equal to the rate at which they're removed from the blood. When fat burning is increased, the level of ketons becomes elevated. The elevation in keton levels brought about by a low-carbohydrate. High protein diet is classified as "a mild ketosis," a state the body easily adapts to.
High Protein
When the number of calories consumed goes down, the need for protein goes up dramatically. Research has shown, in fact, that the requirement for protein may be doubled. The reason for this relates to the use of amino acids from muscle tissue as fuel for source. The body is a complex, adaptable machine, capable of utilizing more than a single fuel source. As we have seen, there are positive benefits when stored body fat is used as an alternative fuel source; but when amino acids from muscle tissue breakdown are used, the result is anything but positive, the loss of hard earned muscle mass. By including proportion of protein, dietary amino acids provide the body with an alternative to amino acids from muscle protein breakdown (catabolism). Thus, the need for amino acids from muscle breakdown is diminished, and muscle protein is spared.
Removing Fluid From Muscle
In our earlier look at the benefits of restricting carbohydrates, there's one benefit that we ignore, Muscle Glycogen Depletion. The reason Muscle Glycogen Depletion helps during the pre-competition dieting phase is that muscle glycogen acts almost like a sponge, holding nearly three times it's weight in water (every gram of glycogen holds 2.7 grams of water). Therefore, by depleting muscle glycogen, excess fluid is removed from muscle, helping you achieve the ripped look you need when you take the stage. But muscle glycogen is not unimportant to a bodybuilder. During the muscle building phase of training, muscle glycogen helps fuel you through demanding workouts. At that stage of preparation, it makes perfect sense to keep the glycogen tanks full through a diet high in carbohydrates. Water retention is, of course, the bane of all bodybuilders especially myself, my body is very Carbohydrate sensitive in the off season, when I consume a lot of carbohydrates my body fills up like a sponge, and to many simple carbohydrates and I?m playing Dixie out my backside. Preparation for a contest requires that a delicate balance be achieved; too great fluid loss can lead to severe cramping, while at the same time fluid retention can obscure striation in muscle. It's no surprise, then, that a plethora of water-elimination regimens have emerged-including the potentially dangerous indiscriminate use of diuretics (i.e.," Water Pills") A low-carbohydrate diet offers a safer way for bodybuilders to eliminate fluid retention, and may help decrease the common reliance on diuretics. For Personal One on One Diet, Training, and nutrition contact Eddie Robinson at
erusa89@aol.com www.eddierobinson.org. myspace/eddierobinson.com God Bless.. IFBB Pro. Eddie Robinson
How's and Why's for getting Ripped..IFBB Eddie Robinson
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