How to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

How to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

The ultimate goal for a lot of us is to put on lean muscle. The kind we see in the comic books, on the cover of magazines and, yes, in our dreams. I wanted that lean, athletic-looking and muscular body for a long time, but didn’t know how to go about getting it.

The thing is, there’s not a lot out there that helps us gain lean muscle mass without first looking fat and bloated. The old bodybuilding adage that you first bulk, then cut, has been the norm for years. But, we’re not bodybuilders. We don’t want that look, we want more athleticism, speed and power, and we don’t want to be spending the majority of our time in the gym.

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The System That Changed My Life: the PowerHowse Challenge

In the past week I’ve mentioned the system that helped me build 32 pounds in 32 weeks a few times, but I have yet to get into detail about what it really is. So here we go…

Just over a year ago I began writing a book. I had no title, but I had a purpose.

My blog is focused on helping guys build their ideal body – which often means more muscle, less fat, and improved athleticism. Three times a week I cover each of these topics as well as a host of other lifestyle topics ranging from being the best person we can be, to reaching our ultimate goals.

But I wanted to take it one step further and get into real detail about the methods that took me from a skinny, unconfident-in-how-I-looked guy, to building 32 pounds of lean muscle in 32 weeks with a performance-first training system. Methods that haven’t just benefitted myself, but others as well.

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Stressed out? Head to the Gym

photo by erica chan photography

We all run into glitches on a daily basis; things that stress us out. Events that we may have control over or not, but either way they get to us. And they’re inevitable. How we deal with them can make a huge difference in the quality of our day, in finding a resolution to these glitches, and our overall happiness – but even if we’re great at dealing with stress, its important to have a release.

Enter: the weight room

Simply put, the weight room is the ultimate stress relief. Studies have shown that the endorphins released during intense exercise give us a natural high, diminishing depression and stress in the process.

After a day sitting in front of the computer, running around trying to find last-minute Christmas presents, the gym is an escape. It’s more than just a place to build muscle, lose fat, and become a healthier person, it’s a place to become a happier person.

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A Lesson in Appreciation

The bad times help us appreciate the good.

Things seem to be good here in this pic taken in Vegas so I figured it’d fit with the article haha.

The good times wouldn’t be as good without the hard times. Success isn’t as fulfilling without failure. And happiness isn’t as enjoyed or appreciated without an understanding and experience of what sadness is and feels like.

If all we have to compare is fun with fun and there isn’t an opposite in our lives, we may enjoy happiness, because we’re obviously happy, but we wouldn’t really know just how much to appreciate it.

The same can be said with our health, we don’t know how much to really appreciate good health until we lose it. We can also say this about friends and family. We often appreciate them most when it’s too late.

I started working out when I was 16.

I was a ridiculously skinny guy in high school and I desperately wanted to change my physique. I was also an athlete, so naturally I needed to add some muscle onto my skin-and-bones frame for sports, but also because I wanted to attract a girl or two.

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