Build muscle and burn fat

“Pump up!” – this is the most common answer to the question “Why did you come to the gym ?” However, we bet that the vast majority of us by the word “pump up” mean achieving two goals at once: the first is to add muscle, the second is to lose a few kilograms of fat. And this is where the paradox lies! After all, the ways to achieve these two goals are almost opposite. Take, for example, the issue of diet. Bodybuilding classics say: “If you want to get bigger, eat more; if you want to burn fat, reduce your caloric intake!” Moreover, any more or less experienced athlete will tell you that it is simply impossible to train for both mass and relief at the same time. However, for the famous guru of modern bodybuilding Chris Aceto, the word “impossible” does not exist. Together with a group of equally famous trainers and nutritionists, he created a cherished program that simultaneously builds and dries muscles. The idea is this: we will divide the training process into short periods, each of which we will devote entirely to solving only one of two tasks: the fight for mass or the attack on fat. By constantly alternating these periods, you will gradually but inevitably increase muscle mass and, at the same time, reduce body fat. In addition, the mere alternation of opposite modes of training and nutrition will incredibly accelerate all metabolic processes in the body, including protein synthesis and fat metabolism.

Now it’s up to the “small”: to calculate training schemes, diet and duration of periods of work on weight and relief, so that everything is balanced and works in unison: both muscles grow and fat is burned. After all, the slightest miscalculation – and you will either gain fat during the period of mass training, or vice versa – you will lose muscles during the “drying” period.

Of course, this task is extremely difficult, but the pundits led by Chris Aceto are quite capable of it. The first thing they calculated was the optimal duration of cyclically alternating periods of work on the mass and on the relief. According to Chris Aceto, the repeating cycle of the program should be equal to 3 weeks, of which the first week you diligently polish the muscles (the “relief” period), and in the next two, you work hard to increase their volume (the “mass” period). Further details about each of these periods.

PERIOD #1: RELIEF

The main principle of the fight against body fat is: make sure that your calorie expenditure exceeds your calorie intake. The first thing that comes to mind is a strict, low-calorie diet plus grueling physical activity. Unfortunately, this is a big mistake. In an attempt to find a way out of the energy crisis, the body will begin to use not only fat deposits as an energy source, but also muscle tissue proteins. Therefore, the most optimal solution is to limit the consumption of foods high in carbohydrates and fats, but at the same time partially “close” the resulting “hole” in the calorie content of the diet with foods high in protein. This will increase the content of amino acids in the blood, and it is they, in conditions of calorie deficit, that will be used to extract energy, and not the amino acids of muscle tissue.

Aerobic exercise or, as they also say, cardio is the main tool for increasing calorie consumption, without which it is impossible to properly dry out muscles. However, even here you need to know when to stop. Excess cardio, especially in combination with a strict long-term diet, can lead to paradoxical consequences – the body will go into “survival in conditions of energy starvation” mode and will stop burning fat altogether! This is an innate metabolic reaction that we inherited from our ancestors, when, under conditions of energy deficiency (usually a hungry winter), the body learned to slow down all metabolic processes and practically hibernate. However, in our program such consequences are simply excluded. First of all, thanks to the alternating periods of mass and relief work, as well as the fact that the fat burning phase is half as long as the muscle building phase.

As for strength training during the period of work on relief, they will also contribute to the destruction of fat, of course, if you change the traditional training scheme for bodybuilding: reduce the working weight, increase the number of repetitions and shorten the break between sets (to 15-30 seconds ). The main thing is to make these changes wisely, without fanaticism, otherwise you will simply turn strength training into cardio and risk losing muscle.

PERIOD #2: MASS

Calories and protein play a decisive role in building muscle. Moreover, in order of importance, in that order. This is explained as follows: protein, as a building material for muscles, is in demand only when the construction process itself is actively taking place. And, as you know, there is only one way to start it – physical activity, which will cause microtrauma to the muscle fibers. Moreover, the greater the number of fibers that are “injured,” the more active the process of muscle reconstruction (or, in scientific language, recovery) will subsequently occur, and therefore, the more active their growth will be.

Numerous scientific studies indicate that the main tool for increasing the number of “microtraumatized” muscle fibers is the intensity of training (the total weight of iron “shoveled” during a workout, divided by its duration). The higher the intensity of the training, the greater the “microdestruction” of the muscle.

It is clear that high-intensity training requires enormous energy expenditure. Moreover, the process of muscle recovery itself, when the body converts dietary protein into the structure of muscle tissue, is also quite energy-intensive.

That is why, in building muscle, the task of providing the body with energy (calories) is of paramount importance, and only then with protein.

As for strength training during the period of mass building, it is built in the best traditions of classic bodybuilding: short sets of 8-10 repetitions with a fairly heavy working weight.

RECOVERY Each week includes two days of rest from strength training. On these days, reduce your carbohydrate intake, do an easy half-hour cardio session and just rest.

HORMONES Hormones play a very important role in burning fat and building muscle, and primarily insulin. It is produced by the pancreas in response to the intake of carbohydrates and triggers the reaction of processing carbohydrates into glycogen – energy storage. In essence, insulin stimulates the restoration of the body’s energy reserves.

For muscle growth, high insulin levels are certainly a positive factor, but for fat burning, on the contrary, they are negative.

The fact is that fat deposits are a kind of emergency energy storage, which is used by the body as a source of fuel only in the most extreme case, when glycogen reserves are depleted. That’s why it’s important to keep your insulin levels in check while you’re burning fat and not allowing them to rise. The best way to do this is to reduce your portions of carbohydrate foods. Moreover, scientific research shows that maintaining low insulin levels while doing cardio increases the fat burning process several times.

If at the stage of burning fat, insulin is your enemy, then at the stage of gaining weight everything changes – it turns into an ally. Insulin sends a powerful surge of energy into your muscles, allowing you to perform heavy sets. Insulin also increases the level of testosterone, a hormone that transports amino acids into muscle cells. A calorie deficit inevitably leads to a decrease in testosterone levels and, as a consequence, to a slowdown in all recovery processes. To avoid this, we regularly alternate fairly short fat-burning phases (one week) with slightly longer muscle-building phases (two weeks).

This main “trick” of our program allows you to play with the insulin level, either increasing it for a short time, or vice versa, lowering it. This technique deceives the body, does not allow it to come to its senses and trigger emergency systems that respond to both too low levels of insulin (loss of muscle tissue) and too high levels of this hormone (accumulation of fat deposits). If you act according to the traditional bodybuilding scheme – first a long stage of mass gain, and then a fairly long stage of a grueling attack on fat reserves, you run a high risk of first gaining too much fat along with the muscles, and then destroying the muscles along with the fat.

In addition, the very alternation of opposite training and nutrition schemes very effectively accelerates the metabolism, which again promotes both fat burning and muscle growth.

PROGRAM RELIEF+MASS

HOW TO GAIN MASS?

NUTRITION
» Twice a week, on Friday and Saturday, adhere to the “Mass Gain” nutrition plan: at least 6 meals a day, each of which must contain foods high in both carbohydrates and protein. Highly saturating the body with calories and protein two days a week against the general background of a moderate caloric intake on the remaining days will give a powerful impetus to muscle growth, boost metabolism and significantly increase insulin and testosterone levels.
» Be sure to include carbohydrates in every meal. This is the only way to maintain high levels of muscle glycogen during a busy training schedule. Depletion of glycogen stores will inevitably lead to a drop in insulin and testosterone levels, which will slow down all anabolic processes and provoke an energy crisis, in search of a way out of which the body will begin to devour its own muscles.

SUPPLEMENTS
» 3-5 g of creatine both before and after training. Creatine makes your muscles stronger, allowing you to constantly increase the intensity of your training (in particular, it provides the opportunity to increase the working weight or the number of repetitions “to failure” with each training session). And this is one of the key conditions for muscle growth.
» 5 g of glutamine both before and after training. Glutamine increases glycogen production and accelerates recovery processes.
» 400-600 mg magnesium daily. This trace element enhances the production of the ATP group (adenosine tri-phosphate), a compound that is a kind of molecular fuel on which the muscle “works” at the time of contraction. The more ATP that has entered the muscle cells, the greater the resistance of the working weight that the muscle can overcome at the moment of contraction.
» 10-15 mg of vitamin B6 daily. This vitamin improves the absorption of magnesium. The most optimal combination of magnesium and vitamin B6 is ZMA, which also contains zinc, which stimulates testosterone production. Take this supplement before bed.

STRENGTH TRAINING
» For two weeks in a row, do high-intensity mass training: heavy weights and low reps per set. Then dry out your muscles with relief training for one week, and then return to mass training, etc.
» The rest between sets at the mass-building stage is longer than at the relief-honing stage. Having completed a set, you must fully recover before the next set so that you can work it out just as intensely as the previous one.

CARDIO
» Avoid doing cardio on Friday and Saturday. These days, a high-calorie diet is provided, so allow the body to actively saturate itself with energy so that it can accelerate the muscle growth process to its fullest.

HOW TO BURN FAT?
» For 5 days of the week (Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday), follow the “Fat Burning” eating plan: eat small portions, but often, so that you get 6 meals a day. Thanks to this, you will maintain your metabolic rate at a high level even despite the relatively low calorie intake of your diet.
» Reduce your carbohydrate intake to twice a day – at breakfast and after exercise. This restriction helps keep insulin and calorie levels under control.
» On rest days from strength training (Thursday and Sunday), change the meal that coincides with the post-workout meal so that it contains a minimum of carbohydrates and a maximum of protein. One of the best solutions is to simply drink a protein shake .

SUPPLEMENTS
» 5-10 g BCAA (branched chain amino acids). They are sources of quick energy, prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue proteins under the influence of catabolic processes, and also maintain testosterone levels, which tend to decrease with a low-calorie diet.
» 2-3 g of L-carnitine before a cardio session. L-carnitine accelerates the process of burning fat, making it a more attractive source of energy for the body, and also supports testosterone production.
» 3-6 g of amino acids before a cardio session to maintain muscle mass and stimulate fat burning.
» 10-15 mg of synephrine 2-3 times a day. This compound is called a safe alternative to ephedrine, since synephrine has powerful fat-burning properties, but has virtually no negative side effects.

STRENGTH TRAINING
» The first week of our 3-week cycle is completely devoted to relief training, which is characterized by a high number of repetitions per set and moderate working weight. This week is followed by 2 weeks of high-intensity mass training.
» Breaks between sets should be short, from 15 to 30 seconds.

CARDIO
» Do 30 minutes of cardio five times a week. It is advisable to conduct cardio sessions in the morning, on an empty stomach. In the morning, glucose levels are lower than ever, and this forces the body to start the processes of extracting energy from fat deposits at one hundred percent.

BUILD MUSCLE
» In mass training, use heavy weights that you can lift no more than 8-12 times.

FAT BURNING MEAL PLAN
Eat according to this plan 5 days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday) since there are no strength training on Thursday and Sunday, change the meal that coincides with the post-workout meal so that it contains a minimum of carbohydrates and a maximum of protein.

MEAL 1
10 egg whites
1 piece of low-fat cheese
1 cup oatmeal or one bagel (muffin)
TOTAL: 487 kcal, 51 g protein, 57 g carbohydrates, 5 g fat

MEAL 2
220 g chicken breast
1 cup green beans
TOTAL: 229 kcal , 55 g protein, 11 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

MEAL 3
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water
TOTAL: 240 kcal, 44 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

MEAL 4
200 g boiled turkey
Green salad
2 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
TOTAL: 337 kcal, 54 g protein, 24 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat

MEAL 5
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water
TOTAL: 240 kcal, 44 g protein, 10 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

MEAL 6 (post-workout)
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water or 1.5 cups low-fat cottage cheese or 290 g fish fillet
1 bun with 2 tablespoons jam or large potato (boiled) or 2 cups rice
TOTAL : 596 kcal, 53 g protein, 85 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat

MEAL 6 (on a rest day)
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water or 1.5 cups low-fat cottage cheese or 290 g fish fillet
Green salad with 2 tablespoons olive oil
TOTAL: 367 kcal, 49 g protein, 34 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat

TOTAL PER DAY WITH STRENGTH TRAINING: 2198 kcal, 301 g protein, 198 g carbohydrates, 24 g fat

TOTAL PER REST DAY: 1969 kcal, 297 g of protein, 147 g of carbohydrates, 26 g of fat

INDIVIDUAL CUSTOMIZATION
» During the entire program, eat according to the “Fat Burning” plan 5 days a week and only 2 days – according to the “Mass Gain” plan. The above daily nutrition plan is designed for the average person, whose goal is to have a lean, muscular body weighing 80-82 kg by the end of the program. If during the program you see progress every week – muscles grow and fat is burned – do not deviate from our nutrition plan under any circumstances. There are only 2 reasons why it makes sense to correct it: 1
“ Muscles do not grow or even decrease, and you feel a loss of strength. In this case, we recommend: eating according to the “Fat Burning” plan 4 days a week and 3 days according to the “Weight Gain” plan.” On rest days from strength training, free yourself from cardio and any physical activity in general.
»Muscles grow, but fat deposits cannot be eliminated. Our advice: eat on Saturday according to the “Fat Burning” plan.

RELIEF TRAINING
» Our split conditionally divides all muscles into 5 groups, each of which is dedicated to one workout. Thus, in a week you will work absolutely all the muscles of the body. Use moderate weights and rest no more than 15-30 seconds between sets.

FOOD PLAN FOR MASS GAIN
Eat according to this plan 2 days a week (Friday and Saturday). On these days you should eat 1000 calories more than on other days of the week, so do not skip a single meal.

MEAL 1
5 egg whites
2 whole eggs
3 pancakes with 3 tablespoons low-cal syrup or 3 toasts with jam or 1 glass of fruit juice or 1 banana or 300 ml orange juice
TOTAL: 726 kcal, 40 g protein, 109 g carbohydrates, 14 g fat

MEAL 2
220 g chicken breast
2 cups cooked brown rice or large potato (boiled)
TOTAL: 686 kcal, 61 g protein, 92 g carbohydrates, 6 g fat

MEAL 3
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese with pineapple slices
3 pcs. biscuits or 7 rice cakes
TOTAL: 453 kcal, 34 g protein, 55 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat

MEAL 4
6 thin slices veal or turkey breast
2 slices wholemeal bread
TOTAL: 386 kcal, 46 g protein, 27 g carbohydrates , 11 g fat

MEAL 5
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water
1 cup rice or muffin
TOTAL: 482 kcal, 48 g protein, 63 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

MEAL 6
Protein shake: 2 scoops of whey protein per glass of water
1 low-fat pancake
TOTAL: 480 kcal, 48 g protein, 62 g carbohydrates, 3 g fat

TOTAL PER DAY: 3213 kcal, 278 g protein, 408 g carbohydrates, 46 g fat

LOAN ON CARBOHYDRATES
» Pay special attention these days foods rich in carbohydrates. Load up on rice, boiled potatoes and wholemeal baked goods. They quickly replenish glycogen stores and are therefore ideal as part of a post-workout meal. At this moment, all your energy reserves are practically “zero” and the body is like a sponge, absorbing and directing everything you eat towards muscle recovery and growth. That is why of all meals the most important is the one immediately after training. It largely determines your future progress in building muscle.

MASS TRAINING
» The mass training scheme is a high-intensity 6-day split, designed for one week: 6 workouts that cover all the muscles of the body plus 2 days of rest. Use heavy weights that cause muscle failure on reps 10-12 and rest 60-90 seconds between sets.