What's Your Body Type? Have You Always Been Muscular?

By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

Dear Tom,

What's your personal story? Do you have any before pictures? You talk about fat loss but have you ever really had to lose serious fat? What's your body type, have you always been muscular? It helps to see where you have come from and what obstacles you personally have had to overcome to reach the type of body you show in your photo gallery.

I'm glad you asked this because you're 100% correct: If people think I'm some kind of "genetic freak" who was born with muscles and no body fat, they might wonder if my advice and coaching can help them. They might figure that progress has always come easy for me, so my methods and techniques won't apply to them. If people think what I've done is unattainable for them, they will be less likely to even make the attempt; but if they see that I'm just like them and that I've been able to overcome hardships myself, they'll probably be more motivated to give it their best shot. Believe it when I say; it's never been easy for me. I can relate to the hardest of hard-gainers and the most extreme of endomorphs.

Here's my story: I've never been severely overweight, but there was once a time when my body fat was more than double what my off season body fat is today. I was definitely NOT naturally muscular. In grade school and as a young teen I always had a few rolls of fat around my waist and it only seemed to get worse with time. I weighed about 145-150 lbs, so at 5' 8" tall I guess you could say I was a "skinny fat person."

When I was a 14 year old high school freshman, I saw a picture of Arnold Schwarzenneger as Conan the Barbarian and this inspired me to start training. From then on I was totally hooked on pumping iron. I started training in my parent's garage with a barbell set and a weight bench. After 6 months of training at home, I joined a gym. By the time I was a 17 year old senior in high school, I had a pretty good build: I had put inches on my arms, chest and thighs; I gained about 35 pounds of muscle; I benched 300 and squatted 400, but I still had a thick layer of fat. I was very frustrated because no matter how hard I trained, I couldn't get rid of the fat.

Then I went to college and discovered beer. It didn't help that I went to a "party school" and lived in one of the most notorious party houses in town either. Twice a week we hosted keg parties and packed our basement with about 200 rowdy party-goers (just think of the movie "Animal House" if you want some idea of what went on at our place). Of course, all the training I had done came in handy because I had no problem hoisting the kegs up onto my shoulder and carrying them up and down the stairs!

Although I continued to train diligently through college without ever missing a week of workouts, I also drank heavily every weekend and ate a lot of junk. At midnight or 1:00 am every Friday and Saturday night after the party, it was off to Sal's Pizzeria for cheese fries, stromboli or a large pepperoni pie. During the week it was the typical college junk food diet of fast food, pizza and subs. I had been reading all the books and magazines and studying nutrition since the first day I picked up a weight, but I just wasn't applying it.

My freshman and sophomore years in college I continued with my party animal ways, and before I knew it, I had ballooned up to a big, bulky 205 lbs. But this wasn't the same 205 lbs that I weigh in the off-season today (@ 8% body fat). I was a health & fitness major and I remember doing body composition testing in exercise physiology lab. I was measured with skinfolds and with bioelectric impedance analysis and I clocked in at a chunky 16% body fat (chunky for a 19 year old male bodybuilder, at least).

It was my junior year, in 1988, that I finally took a long hard look in the mirror and reached a point of total disgust. Here I was planning on starting a career in health and fitness being a role model to others and I looked like a big fat blob. Sure I looked big in an XL sweatshirt and everyone knew I lifted and I was strong, but when the shirt came off, it wasn't a pretty sight. I was 20 years old and had never seen my abs before.

They say you will only change when the pain of remaining the same is greater than the pain of changing. Well, staying the same was too painful to bear anymore, so with the encouragement of my friends and training partners at the gym, I made a decision to finally get ripped and enter my first bodybuilding competition.

It took an entire year of incredibly hard work every single day, including hours of cardio and strict calorie counting to get there. In the summer of 1989 I finally did it; I stepped onstage at the Lehigh Valley Natural Bodybuilding competition weighing a ripped to shreds 150 lbs - a lightweight (with eight pack abs!). Between the summer of 1988 and the summer of 1989, I lost 55 lbs! If you do the math, I obviously didn't get it quite right, because I lost of lot of lean mass, but I came away with a 2nd place trophy anyway. The next month I competed in Wildwood at the Natural New Jersey championships and won the lightweight and overall titles in my division. Since then I've competed 24 more times as a middleweight including 6 first place titles and 5 second place awards.

A lot of people look at my physique today and automatically assume that I am in some way gifted with a fast metabolism or great genetics. Let me assure you, nothing could be further from the truth. I've sweated blood for everything I've achieved. I am what you call an endo-mesomorph body type. This means that I've been gifted with the genetics to develop muscle easily (mesomorph), but I also have a tendency to store body fat very easily (endomorph). My body is very unforgiving. Even a single day of poor eating takes its toll. Not only that, but as soon as I stop doing cardio, the fat begins to accumulate, regardless of how well I'm eating.

The amount of effort it requires for me to reach the condition you see in my photos is mind-boggling! For 6-12 weeks before competitions, I literally do nothing but think, talk, eat, sleep and train bodybuilding. My diet is nothing short of total perfection, and for the last six weeks before a show I need two 45-minute cardios a day and an hour of weight training (yes, that's 2 ½ hours a day of training) in order to hit the low single digits in body fat.

For a competition, my body fat measures between 3% and 4%. This does not last. I like staying at 6-7% body fat, but even this requires a very concerted effort to keep. Unless I maintain a superhuman effort, my body fat usually creeps up to about 8-9% in the off season. If I'm not careful, it will continue to creep up into the double digits. No matter how clean my diet is, I need cardio all year round to stay lean, even if my carbs and calories are very low. I guess you could say I have a somewhat high body fat "set point." My body doesn't like being in the single digits and I have to fight to keep it there.

A less than optimal metabolism isn't the only obstacle I've had to overcome. While in my early 20's I ruptured the L-4 disc in my lower back. This is another other story altogether, but let's just say I went from squatting 400 lbs to being barely able to bend down and put on my shoes and socks. I hope you never experience sciatic nerve pain because it's the most excruciating thing you could ever imagine. (Imagine an electric shock shooting from your lower back, down one buttock and all the way down the back of your leg, combined with low back muscle spasms).

A neurosurgeon told me I should never lift more than 40 lbs, I would never squat again and I would eventually need surgery. Basically, he said I could kiss bodybuilding goodbye. I never accepted his prognosis. Not for a minute. I denied it from the second the words came out of his mouth. I limped and hobbled around in excruciating pain but I always believed I would recover 110% - and I did.

It was like starting from scratch all over again. Over a period of years, I worked my way from an empty bar back up to my previous poundages, which I then exceeded. After the injury, without ever getting surgery, I squatted 405 for 6, stiff legged deadlifted 315 for 6 reps, and bent over rowed 275 lbs for 6 reps.

It's never been easy for me. It's been a challenge since day one, but I am actually grateful for my challenges because they have caused me to develop dogged persistence and a tremendous work ethic. I've developed a high threshold for pain and the willingness to test my limits, go the extra mile and never give up. People who are extremely gifted genetically tend to coast on their genetics and sometimes never reach their full potential because of it. Their great genetics make them lazy. Don't envy them.

I can relate to those who are struggling with injuries and with those who have stubborn and diet-resistant body fat because I have been there myself. And if I can do it, then anyone can do it.

You asked if I have any "before" pictures? As a matter of fact, yes; I have a few pictures from college when I was 18 and 19 years old, including a classic "fat picture" of me sitting shirtless on the sofa with a Budweiser in hand. As far as me posting any of these pics on the Internet for the whole world to see - well, let me think about that for a while. :)

About The Author

Tom Venuto is a bodybuilder, gym owner, freelance writer, success coach and author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 150 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's Burn The Fat e-book, click here: www.burnthefat.com.

Does Aerobic Exercise Make You Lose Muscle?

By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

Yes, it's true. It's a scientifically proven fact that muscle proteins are broken down and used for energy during aerobic exercise. But don't worry, you are constantly breaking down and re building muscle tissue anyway. This process is called "protein turnover." Your body is constantly alternating back and forth between anabolic (building) and catabolic (breaking down) cycles. That's just a normal part of life. Your goal is simply to tip the scales slightly in favor of increasing the anabolic side and reducing the catabolic side just enough so you stay on the anabolic side and you gain or at least maintain muscle.

This fact of human physiology has often been taken out of context and used to scare people into not doing cardiovascular exercise for fear of losing muscle. When you fast overnight as you sleep, you lose muscle too, but that doesn't mean you should stop sleeping!

Sure, it's possible for you to lose muscle from doing too much cardio, but it's highly unlikely. Shying away from cardio completely because you think you'll lose muscle is a huge mistake. Only excessive amounts of cardio would cause you to lose muscle because over-training tips the scale towards the catabolic side. It's difficult to generalize and pinpoint one specific amount as too much, but I think it's safe to assume that just about anyone could do up to 45 -60 minutes of cardio a day, 6 to 7 days a week without losing any muscle - as long as the proper nutritional support is provided.

Trainer John Parillo has always been an advocate of lots of aerobics, even for his bodybuilder clients who are trying to gain muscle mass.

"Aerobics can enhance your recovery from weight training by promoting blood flow and oxygen transport to your muscles," says Parillo. "Aerobics forces oxygen through your body, increasing the number and size of your blood vessels. Blood vessels are the 'supply routes' that transport oxygen and nutrients to body tissues, including muscles, and carry waste products away for muscular growth, repair and recovery. The expansion of this circulatory network is called 'cardiovascular density.'"

So, according to Parillo, aerobics can actually enhance recovery from weight training and increase muscular growth by developing the circulatory pathways that provide nourishment to the muscles. Cardiovascular training is important for fat burning, for good health and for muscle-building.

Losing muscle has more to do with inadequate diet than with excessive aerobics. If you suspect you are losing muscle there are four likely causes:

1. You are not eating enough protein. Protein is the only nutrient that is actually used to build muscle. To stay anabolic you must eat five to six protein containing meals. Each meal should be spaced out approximately three hours apart. Research has proven that if you are physically active, you need a minimum of .8 grams to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight.

2. Your carbohydrates are too low. Low carb diets are often used for fat loss, but it is a mistake to cut your carbs too drastically. Carbohydrates are protein-sparing, so even if you are eating large amounts of protein, you can still lose muscle if you your carbs are too low.

3. You are not eating enough calories to support muscle growth. This is the most common cause of muscle loss. When your calories are too low, your body goes into "starvation mode." Your metabolism slows down and your body actually burns muscle tissue to conserve energy. Muscle is metabolically active tissue, requiring a great deal of caloric energy just to maintain it. That's why your body will shed muscle if it thinks you are starving.

4. You are not training with weights. It is a common misconception that if you want to lose weight, you should start with cardio only and add the weights later - another big mistake! It is the weight training that keeps you from losing muscle while you are dieting.

You are much more likely to lose muscle from not eating enough than you are from doing too much cardio. All too often, people are afraid to eat a lot and do a lot of cardio at the same time. It doesn't seem to make sense. Logically, it seems like the two would cancel each other out - but the opposite is true. Many people believe they must "starve" the fat by drastically lowering calories. Unfortunately, this approach can cause you to lose muscle along with the fat. The only way to maintain your lean mass while losing fat is to feed the muscles with plenty of nutritious calories and at the same time, burn the fat off with cardio.

Whether your goal is muscle development, fat loss or both, you should always include some form of cardiovascular activity as part of your training program. Unless you're doing some kind of ultra-endurance regimen, AEROBICS DOES NOT CAUSE MUSCLE LOSS, in fact it supports the pathways that help you build it!

About The Author

Tom Venuto is a bodybuilder, gym owner, freelance writer, success coach and author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 150 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's Burn The Fat e-book, click here: www.burnthefat.com.

What It Takes to Be a Champion

By Tom Venuto
www.burnthefat.com

Every so often you meet a bodybuilder who is very different. They radiate a mysterious strength, power, and charisma that is seldom seen. You may not be able to put your finger on exactly what it is that is that makes this person stand out, but something special is definitely there; they are a champion.

Skeptics would say that it is drugs that makes these athletes better than the rest, but if you had the opportunity to study a group of these exceptional athletes, you would find that every single one of them has certain outstanding characteristics in common that the losers do not. They all take specific actions every day. They all have similar thought patterns and belief systems. They all talk alike. They all have specific personality traits. They all have certain habits. It is these traits that set them apart from the failures.

What are these qualities that make these people so exceptional? And why do so few have them while most do not? This list of 12 traits will describe what qualities separate the winners from the losers. If you cultivate these traits in yourself, you too can become a champion and you will grow with an aura of strength and power that will set you on the road to bodybuilding success.

The 12 Traits of Champions:

(1) Champions are positive thinkers; they believe in themselves.

Undoubtedly the most important quality that all champions share is an unwavering belief that they will succeed. Champions always look for the good in every situation. No matter what obstacles they encounter, they always continue to think positive. Without confidence, faith in your abilities, and positive mental attitude, you’ve defeated yourself before you ever step onstage.

(2) Champions visualize their successes.

Champions understand the importance of positive mental imagery or visualization. Champion bodybuilders visualize exactly how they want their bodies to look, they see themselves standing onstage accepting the first place trophy, and they mentally rehearse every workout in vivid detail. They do this over and over in their minds hundreds or even thousands of times before it becomes physical reality.

(3) Champions surround themselves with positive people and avoid negative influences.

Champions keep themselves in a "positive shell" and do not associate with negative people, places, or things. Arnold Schwarzenegger put it this way: "I have nothing to do with negative relationships. I stay away from negative influences. I have no time for negative thinkers and pessimists. Such people will suck you dry until you have become as pessimistic as they are. Then you’ll have not just one but two losers."

(4) Champions are goal setters.

Champions realize that if they don’t know where they’re going, that is exactly where they’ll end up; nowhere! Champions consistently set long and short-term goals. From day to day workout goals to long term career objectives, champion’s have written out specific, measurable goals with a deadline.

(5) Champions have a burning desire to succeed.

Champions not only have goals, but they ardently desire them. Robert Collier, summed up the idea of desire beautifully in his 1926 self-help classic Secret of the Ages." He said, "Very few people know how to desire with sufficient intensity. They do not know what it is to feel and manifest that intense, eager, longing, craving, insistent, demanding, ravenous desire which is akin to the persistent, insistent, ardent, overwhelming desire of the drowning man for a breath of air, or a desert-lost man for a drink of water, or the famished man for bread and meat." Champions have burning desire. They want it and they want it badly.

(6) Champions are disciplined and consistent.

Champions live and breathe the bodybuilding lifestyle all year round. They are committed and disciplined in training and dietary practices. They know that in bodybuilding there is no off-season and success does not come overnight. Champions never miss a scheduled workout and never miss a meal. Champion bodybuilders are probably the most dedicated athletes in any sport.

(7) Champions are persistent

Champions never, ever quit. Thomas Edison was the epitome of persistence: He conducted 10,000 experiments before finally finding a filament that would burn in the electric light bulb. Champion bodybuilders approach their vocation with the same diligence of an Edison. They know that if they persist long enough, eventually they must succeed.

(8) Champions learn from their failures

Champions don't view losses as failures, they see them as learning experiences. When asked how it felt to fail 10,000 times, Thomas Edison replied, " I didn’t fail, I learned 9,999 ways that wouldn’t work." Champions know that they haven’t failed until they quit; but once they quit, then they have failed. A champion finds a lesson in every apparent loss and finds ways to grow from it.

(9) Champions have incredible powers of focus and concentration

Champions set goals and then maintain a laser-like focus on them. They have the ability to always keep the long term objective in their sights while focusing 100% on what they are doing at the moment. If you watch a champion train you will notice that they are completely oblivious to their surroundings. 100% of their focus and concentration is on what they are doing. They almost appear to have slipped into a hypnosis-like trance. This peak physiological and psychological state has often been referred to as being in "the zone" or being in "flow." Champions can access this state instantly at will. When it comes time to train they turn everything else off and zero in on what they are doing.

(10) Champions have a deep love and boundless enthusiasm for the sport.

To a loser, training and dieting is work and drudgery. To a champion, training and dieting are a love, a joy, and a passion. Champions are enthusiastic about what they do; they can’t wait to train each day. Motivational speaker Tom Hopkins once said, "Work is anything you’re doing when you’d rather be doing something else." Champions are doing what they love, so to them it’s not work at all, its fun!

(11) Champions strive for constant and never ending improvement

Champions are never satisfied with the status quo; they never rest on their laurels. Champions aim for small improvements every day in every way. Champions are open-minded and are always looking for a better way to do things. Although champions are always striving for more, they also realize that success is a journey, so they enjoy each moment and savor every step along the way.

(12) Champions are hard workers; they are willing to go the extra mile

Positive thinking, goal setting, visualization, desire, persistence, and enthusiasm are vital, but without action and hard work, these traits are all worthless. Edison said, "Success is 98% perspiration and 2% inspiration." Champions are hard workers. Champions take consistent action and they are willing to do the things that the losers are not. Champions make themselves go to the gym when they don’t feel like going. Champions stay on the bike another 15 minutes, even when they are exhausted. Champions do 5 extra reps after the losers have stopped. Champions are steadfast with their diets when the failures break down and cheat. Champions have the willingness to train through the pain barrier while the failures quit when it starts to hurt. In short, champions go the extra mile.

About The Author

Tom Venuto is a bodybuilder, gym owner, freelance writer, success coach and author of "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM): Fat Burning Secrets of the World's Best Bodybuilders and Fitness Models. Tom has written over 150 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN magazine, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise. Tom's inspiring and informative articles on bodybuilding, weight loss and motivation are featured regularly on dozens of websites worldwide. For information on Tom's Burn The Fat e-book, click here: www.burnthefat.com.