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Body Composition Manipulation – it’s not an easy task, but it can be achieved by following a simple equation. This equation consists of two key elements: Diet and STRENGTH training. These elements play a crucial role in controlling and impacting your body composition.
When it comes to affecting body composition, there is a vital distinction to be made – there is no such thing as “fat burning exercise.” The idea that any activity can increase the body’s utilization of a specific substrate for a short period of time is irrelevant when it comes to long-term body composition.
You see, the body is not a machine; it is an adaptive organism. Simply performing an activity for the purpose of burning calories without considering the body’s adaptive response will lead to disappointing results. Just ask all those bodybuilders who lost muscle mass instead of fat!
Over time, your body fat percentage will always be equal to the percentage of your weight that is not lean muscle mass. So, the number of calories you burn during a finite activity doesn’t matter. What matters is how your body utilizes the calories you consume as a result of the adaptations you induce through your training.
Looking at the Body Composition Equation again, you’ll realize that being as lean as possible requires maximizing your muscle mass at your given body weight. This is a mathematical fact, not just an opinion or interpretation of data.
Therefore, there is no such thing as fat burning exercise. Training to positively alter body composition should focus on maximizing strength and muscle mass.
Now, let’s talk about training for muscle growth. Muscles grow in two ways – through increases in actual muscle tissue (contractile proteins) and increases in fluid and energy substrates stored within the muscle.
Contractile protein growth represents real muscle growth, which results in increased strength. This type of growth occurs as an adaptation to training focused on lifting heavier weights.
On the other hand, increases in fluid and nutrient storage within the muscle are temporary growth. This type of growth can be visually noticeable, but it deflates when the quantity of nutrients is reduced.
Training volume, which refers to the number of sets and reps, plays a role in increasing energy substrate storage and production. However, training that doesn’t specifically require more strength won’t necessarily lead to increased muscle mass.
In weight training, the weight itself is the operative variable. No matter how you look at it, if your muscles grow in terms of tissue, you must be capable of lifting more weight. If you can’t lift more weight, it means you haven’t grown any real muscle.
Weight cannot be faked. It doesn’t matter how much your muscles believe they are lifting or how hard you make a light weight feel. If the weight isn’t heavy enough to cause an adaptive strength response, your body has no reason to grow.
Now let’s discuss the Dual Factor Theory of Training. While most bodybuilders follow the Single Factor “Supercompensation” Theory, other strength sports embrace the Dual Factor Theory. This theory recognizes that training simultaneously elicits two responses within the body – fatigue (negative) and gain (positive).
The goal of training is to induce significant and lasting gain with minimal fatigue. This allows for recovery before losing significant gain and allows for progress in training. Cycling training between high-gain/high-fatigue periods and gain maintenance periods with fatigue recovery is a logical approach.
The proper balance between intensity, volume, and frequency is crucial in planning a training routine. If any of these variables are excessive, fatigue will outweigh gain, and a positive adaptation won’t occur. However, achieving this balance is challenging since as you get stronger, the intensity increases, and the balance is disrupted. Additionally, the body eventually adapts, necessitating a change in routine.
When training for muscle gain and improved body composition, intensity should be high, with relatively low volume and frequency. High volume training may increase muscle size due to increased substrate storage, but it may not specifically lead to strength gain. It’s better to use intensity to stimulate gain, minimal volume to minimize fatigue, and target the body appropriately.
In conclusion, manipulating body composition involves focusing on diet and strength training. There is no such thing as fat burning exercise. Training for muscle growth requires lifting heavier weights and finding the right balance between intensity, volume, and frequency. Remember, weight training is about the weight itself, not just technique or reps.
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