Beyond-Brawn-2nd-Edition

BEYOND BRAWN
Fat loss
20.139 Many people who want bigger and stronger muscles also need to lose bodyfat.
e fat and undermuscled hard gainer has a bigger mountain to climb
than has a skinny hard gainer. Hard gainers are usually better off focusing
on one type of body composition change at a time. If you have a lot of fat
to lose, focus for a year or so on fixing that, while at least maintaining your
current strength. en switch your focus to building muscle without adding
fat. But if you are a novice starting out fat, initially focus on gaining
muscle—muscle is needed for fat burning.
20.140 Better than getting rid of excess fat is not getting fat in the first place. Some
advice directed at skinny hard gainers encourages too rapid weight gaining.
Do not go the mega-calorie trip. Too many people switch from weight-gain
to weight-loss products.
20.141 While hard gainers can rarely stay extremely defined and still build muscle,
it is possible to stay on the lean side so that you always look like a bodybuilder
when you are not covered up.
20.142 ere is a lot more to looking good than being visibly big when dressed. Big
arms, deltoids and chest do not look so good when the shirt comes off and
there is a flabby waist underneath it all.
20.143 e waist pinch should be an essential marker of any weight-training program,
so that you can keep close tabs on what sort of weight you are gaining.
If your bodyfat is increasing too much, then you are eating too much. If
your weight is going up and your fat pinch is staying constant, then you are
gaining what you want—muscle. Accurate waist measuring can be a good
indicator of body composition, but keep in mind that developing your lower
back and oblique muscles will increase your waist measurement without
increasing your bodyfat.
20.144 To keep closer tabs on your bodyfat, get some skinfold calipers. Calipers
come with instructions for use that involve taking one or more skinfolds
from specific sites on the body. By following the instructions you can estimate
your total bodyfat percentage. You can use this to evaluate the composition
of any weight gain (or loss), rather than rely on the more crude but
still effective waist fat pinch.
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