Seeing the scale go down is a nice feeling when you’re “dieting” but if the weight you are losing is lean muscle it will only pose huge problems for you in the future! Muscle weighs twice as much as fat, so if you are dropping weight quite rapidly and not consuming enough protein in your daily diet you are losing valuable muscle! I have been saying this for years – do not just do cardio exercise, but lift weights too! Stimulating and “tearing” your muscle fibers down during resistance training is only part of the equation. You must ingest amino acids (which are in your proteins) to rebuild and recover from those intense workouts!

Lots of cardio exercise without proper protein intake will only result in one thing – weight loss. That weight loss will be some fat of course, some water weight as well but most importantly lean muscle loss. The goal is to lose as much body fat as possible while retaining lean tissue (muscle). I don’t care who you are, nobody wants to purposely lose muscle from their body. The more muscle you have, the more fat you lose. Having more muscle on your frame allows us to eat more food as well because it takes more energy to sustain that muscle.

I’m sure you’ve heard of the “yo-yo dieting” phenomenon? Losing a lot of weight (muscle included) and then finishing your diet only to start eating like you did before your diet will lead to a rebound of rapid weight gain! The difference is this time it will be ALL fat gain and lots more where that came from. Remember I said losing muscle will only pose huge problems in the future? Losing the muscle during your “weight loss” catches up to you because now you have less muscle to combat the fat you had. Fat cells merely shrink when you “lose” so when they begin to get bigger from eating more, you are not packing around the muscle mass you once had to burn more calories. This in turn will make you even fatter than before you started to lose your weight!

How can you stop this from happening? First thing is to change your thinking. Concentrate on losing “fat” NOT just “weight.” Muscle weight is the most important thing you can try and maintain while dropping down on the scale. Psychologically this will be harder because when you do look at the scale it may not go down much. This is why taking measurements is more important than a weigh scale.

Along with taking measurements and using your mirror image to chart your progress it is crucial to maintain a high protein diet everyday to hold on to muscle. Even if the majority of your exercise is of the cardio type, you must remember to not let your body go too long without protein. You want to stay in what is called an “Anabolic state.” (muscle building/muscle sparing). This will enhance your chances of success. Allowing your body to go into a “Catabolic state” (muscle wasting) is a huge mistake that many make.

This is a rather easy thing to avoid. Simply make sure you are ingesting a protein source every 3-4 hours max throughout the day – everyday. Do not forget about the night time either!  You want to remain in that same anabolic state while you sleep as that is when you recover and/or grow. Drinking a slow release protein containing Casein before bed helps this state to be in effect for up to 8 hours. High protein and very low to no carbohydrates is the key. Breakfast needs a high protein source a well. The word Breakfast means to “break the fast” which makes sense, but what I am saying is DO NOT fast over night!

Any questions regarding this or anything else fitness related please email Darren at askgymjunky@gmail.com Good luck with your training!

About my writing: My writing style is my own and to let my reader’s know ahead of time – I say it like it is! My intention is not to offend, but inform. I welcome any questions or even comments YOU the reader has. If for some reason, I do not know the answer, I will find it for you! Please email your questions to:

askgymjunky@gmail.com

I look forward to working with MuscleSport Online Magazine as it is the best online magazine! – Darren Sorensen

My personalized training programs are: $45 US. Personalized eating plans are: $250 US (for 3 months support, included).

Surely many people read into that statement and were under the impression that Warren’s name was about to be read. With Cutler having two Sandows to his name, many may have overlooked that defending champion Dexter Jackson was already on the side holding the third place check. So regardless of who won, technically he would have been the ‘new’ Mr. O.

Even though Cutler earned the win, Warren took a major step in his career towards adding his name to the list of Olympia champions. Coupled with his third place finish in March at the Arnold Classic, the Texan has become a major player in the open division and cannot be taken lightly or overlooked.

Since earning his pro card at the 2001 Nationals, Warren has had some success but never the kind where you would pick him as a possible winner of the two major shows, the Olympia and Arnold. That is until this year.

In  his previous Olympia tries, Warren finished eighth (2005) and 12th (2006). As for the Arnold, Warren appeared to be on his way by being named the runner-up in 2006 but took a few steps back with a seventh place finish the following year.

His shelf is not totally void of hardware, though. Warren won the 2005 Charlotte Pro and Europa Supershow, as well as the 2007 New York Pro. While those are proud accomplishments, being remembered as one of the greats of your sport requires at least one O or Arnold.

It was the opinion of many that Warren, 33, was in the best condition at this past Olympia and his size only was accentuated by it. No one came close to matching his legs and his upper body was in proportion with his wheels. His placing may have been considered a surprise by some but for those who have been watching Warren for a while knew that it was only a matter of time before he caught up with the competition.

One more step to go.

At some point, the five NFL players who used Star Caps are going to have to pay the piper. The NFL is going to have to enforce their anti-doping policy, as flawed as it may seem. In this day and age of ‘act before react,’ the league is going to have to make an example out of someone.

By having a Minnesota judge extend the injunction on the mandatory four game suspensions, the five players (Kevin and Pat Williams of Minnesota; Charles Grant, Duece McAllister and Will Smith of New Orleans) were able to participate in this past Sunday’s games and next weekend. The next court date is December 22.

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Regardless if these players used Star Caps as a steroid masking agent or not, the banned diuretic substance Bumetanide was still used. The NFL has been projecting a no-nonsense attitude with off-the-field issues, so they will at least have to give the impression of coming down hard on these players. All of this attention – even if the players themselves want to clear their names – cannot be good for a league that has kept the cleaning of their house out of the public eye, unlike Major League Baseball. Perhaps a better way of settling this would have been to cut the suspension to two games, reason being the confusion of Star Caps being on ‘the list’ or not. That way, the league would be giving in some and the players would still have felt that they received somewhat of a pass.

All of these court proceedings have made this a stand-off, and no one will be the winner in that.