Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

elydian · 05-03-2007, 12:02 AM

Okay, some of the stuff that's been said is dead-on, some of it isn't.

The single fact that you need to know about muscle definition is this:

It's a question of fat and fat only.

Muscles do basically one thing, they get bigger (or smaller). Their definition is already there and the only reason you would appear not to have it, is because it's covered with a layer of fat. The only way to gain muscle definition is to lose fat, and that's a case of burning more calories than you consume.

Do not do higher rep sets. Doing higher rep sets for definition is a complete myth, and all it will do will lose you muscle size instead of losing you fat (and consequently gaining you definition). In fact, during a cutting diet, it's more important to keep the weights heavy in order to make sure your muscles continue to get the message that you want them to stay big, forcing your body to burn more fat when it loses weight (and less muscle).

What's been said earlier is generally true. Most bodybuilders have a bulking phase and a cutting phase. They bulk by eating in slight excess of what they burn off, using high protein, medium carbs, and low or medium fat (these ratios differ between people). That achieves them the muscle growth, which is usually accompanied by a little fat too. They'll then cut usually by dropping the carbs (and maybe the fat) and keeping the protein high.

The important thing is that there's no real reason to change your actual workout between the phases. You should be lifting heavy always (some people find 6-8 reps to failure per set is a good range, although I've heard people going as low as 4-6).

Cardio will lose you weight but only because it adds to your calories burned. An alternative is just to reduce your calories consumed by eating less. However, including some cardio is generally a good idea anyway, for a healthy heart, but there's no reason to do over about 15 medium-high intensity minutes, 5 times a week (I, personally, maintain about 45 bpm rested heart rate, doing just this).

05-03-2007, 12:02 AM	#6 (permalink)
elydian Upright	Okay, some of the stuff that's been said is dead-on, some of it isn't. The single fact that you need to know about muscle definition is this: It's a question of fat and fat only. Muscles do basically one thing, they get bigger (or smaller). Their definition is already there and the only reason you would appear not to have it, is because it's covered with a layer of fat. The only way to gain muscle definition is to lose fat, and that's a case of burning more calories than you consume. Do not do higher rep sets. Doing higher rep sets for definition is a complete myth, and all it will do will lose you muscle size instead of losing you fat (and consequently gaining you definition). In fact, during a cutting diet, it's more important to keep the weights heavy in order to make sure your muscles continue to get the message that you want them to stay big, forcing your body to burn more fat when it loses weight (and less muscle). What's been said earlier is generally true. Most bodybuilders have a bulking phase and a cutting phase. They bulk by eating in slight excess of what they burn off, using high protein, medium carbs, and low or medium fat (these ratios differ between people). That achieves them the muscle growth, which is usually accompanied by a little fat too. They'll then cut usually by dropping the carbs (and maybe the fat) and keeping the protein high. The important thing is that there's no real reason to change your actual workout between the phases. You should be lifting heavy always (some people find 6-8 reps to failure per set is a good range, although I've heard people going as low as 4-6). Cardio will lose you weight but only because it adds to your calories burned. An alternative is just to reduce your calories consumed by eating less. However, including some cardio is generally a good idea anyway, for a healthy heart, but there's no reason to do over about 15 medium-high intensity minutes, 5 times a week (I, personally, maintain about 45 bpm rested heart rate, doing just this). __________________ Now watch this drive.