Never have I ever had visible back muscles before! This just goes to show that you can make serious change on your body when you put in the work. And you don’t have to be a certain size or weight to see the results. I’m 245 pounds. I’ve been working hard to build muscle this past month specifically with this new program I’m following more than to lose weight because as I’m gaining muscle I’m losing fat and developing and building the body I want for my “goal body”. I want a strong, lean, toned and defined athletic body. Because that is my build and body type. What’s going to be amazing to watch is more of my muscle becoming visible as my body releases more fat and weight. The scale isn’t everything guys. Work towards progress you are proud of and over time the scale will reflect that too. Here are my TOP 5 TIPS to build lean muscle and burn more fat!
1) Lift Heavy Weights. You have to work up to it of course but don't be afraid to increase your weight each week. I was up to 20-25 pound weights for most leg, back and chest exercises. 15 pounds for bicep exercise and 10 pounds for shoulders and triceps. Smaller muscles means smaller weights.
2) Go back to the basics and do traditional single move exercises. Chest press. shoulder flys, Rows. When you do compound moves like a squat to Shoulder press you might not be able to lift heavier weights because you are working more than one muscle group at the same time. But when you are focusing on a single muscle like doing a chest press, you can lift heavier. See videos below:
Single move sets:
Compound moves:
3) Be consistent! Be sure to follow your program and exercise the days it tells you to. LIIFT4 (available in OCT!) is a 4 day a week program with 30-40 minute workouts only. It's great to go back to the basics and focus on form and heavy lifting.
4) Listen to your body. If you lose form or feel something that doesn't feel right, then lower your weights or take a break. My legs can handle me adding and extra 30 pounds to do the exercises, but my forearms can not. So, I lower the amount of weights so I don't make my forearms angry!
5) Do it because it feels good! In the end, by increasing your strength it helps you build lean muscle and the more muscle you have on your body the more you are able to burn body fat. Often times the scale might not move or it can even go up a little as you gain lean muscle, but fat will start to reduce from your body. Don't be discouraged by the scale if it doesn't move when you are lifting heavier. Muscle takes up less space than fat but 1 pound is still 1 pound. As you are consistent with your eating right and exercising the fat and weight will come off, but it won't happen over night. Trust the process!
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