How to Gain Muscle and Burn Fat - at the Same Time

Issue #2406

• WEALTHY: The most valuable skill in business (Michael Masterson)
• HEALTHY: Fitness advice from a former fat guy turned natural bodybuilder (Jon Benson)
• WISE: Einstein on simplicity

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• How to succeed on the Web (Seth Godin)
• You’ll never again be "tortured" by these 3 confusing words (Don Hauptman)
• It’s Fun to Know… about the largest diamond in the universe
• Add "comely" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended ==

Is This the Easiest Way to Make Money Online?

You could make over $3,000 for just an hour’s worth of work. Pretty easy work, too. And you can repeat this process time and again… with no website, no products, and no processing credit cards.  And certainly no shipping or customer service headaches!

All you need is a computer and Internet access. Go ahead and take a moment to check out this new opportunity and see how to get started right away.

Dear ETR: "What is the most financially valuable skill?"

"Michael Masterson has always advised ETR readers to learn a financially valuable skill, and I can see that ETR and its associates or affiliates offer good trainings for acquiring such skills.

"Question: Of the many financially valuable skills, what is the most financially valuable and time-proved? (It should not be a skill that can easily be outdated, phased-out, become irrelevant due to changes in society or the economy. For example, sales and marketing skills will always be needed as long as there is business, while C-Language programming skills may become irrelevant when there’s a revolution in technology.)"

J. Theanthropos
Aberdeen, Scotland

Dear J.T.,

Your thinking is correct. The most valuable skill in business is the ability to sell. That can take many forms. Conceptualizing marketing campaigns. Constructing promotions and offers. Writing advertising copy. Direct selling - either from the platform, door to door, or in small groups. General advertising skills. And direct-response marketing.

Any of these selling skills will help you succeed. That’s because, to be very good at one of them, you have to learn the fundamentals that apply to them all: that selling is 80 percent emotional… that it should be about the prospect, not the product… that a good sales presentation focuses on one idea and one emotion at a time… that storytelling is an essential element in selling… and so on.

So you can learn a lot about all forms of selling by mastering any single sales skill. But remember what I’ve said in the past about the time it takes. To become competent at a complicated skill, you need to invest 1,000 hours of learning and/or practice. To master a skill requires 5,000 hours. (But you can cut that time by as much as half if you have very good teachers.) 

Of all the selling skills you could learn, the one I’d most recommend to you is direct marketing. I don’t have room, here, to tell you why that is, but I go into it in detail in the book I’m writing with MaryEllen Tribby about multi-channel marketing. (The book is coming out this fall. We’ll keep you posted in ETR.)

- Michael Masterson

[Ed. Note: You heard Michael. Learning how to sell is the most financially valuable skill you can develop. Get started on your direct-marketing education right here.

Send your questions to AskETR@ETRFeedback.com. Include your full name, your hometown and state, and the ETR team may answer you in an upcoming issue.]

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 "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler."

Albert Einstein

How to Gain Muscle and Burn Fat - at the Same Time

By Jon Benson  

I’d like to help you get into top shape as quickly as possible. In order to do that, you must do two seemingly opposing things: Gain weight (muscle) and lose weight (fat).

Many fitness pros just plain don’t believe that you can burn fat while building muscle at the same time. But you can. Every time I read an article by some doctor or expert claiming it’s "biologically impossible" to gain muscle on a hypocaloric diet (a diet low in calories), I just laugh.

I do more than make claims. I have proven this to be true many times. I’ve had my body fat hydrostatically measured during several peaks in my training cycles. In all but one, I showed an increase of muscle mass and a decrease of body fat during a 12- to 16-week period. The one time I didn’t show an increase in muscle mass was when I was doing most of my training in the gym. That may not make sense right now, but it will in a moment.

Keep this in mind: I’m a 44-year-old former fat guy who does not take any fat-burning drugs or steroids for muscle mass. While training, I eat only two or three times per day. I do not do hours of cardio. And… of all things… my best workouts are under 20 minutes. More like 15.

I look pretty good for a natural bodybuilder who used to be clinically obese. I won’t win the Mr. Olympia title, but that’s okay. Most people reading this article could care less about looking like a real mutant. (I think drugged-up 300-pound guys, to quote the great fitness trainer Vince Gironda, look like "bloated sausages.")

Okay, I’ll come clean. I admire competitive bodybuilders for their drive and passion for excellence. But I do not admire their common sense. I should know - I tried bodybuilding for a while. However, I never actually competed. Came close, but no cigar.

The funny thing is that most people assume I’m a competitive bodybuilder when I’m in top shape (which is most of the year). I have 17-inch arms, a huge back, good natural leg development, and pretty good shoulders.

This is not a fluff piece to tell you how great I am. I’m not. I have plenty of genetic weaknesses, trust me. I walk by a doughnut shop and gain a pound. But the fact remains that most people lose muscle on a diet. Those who don’t know how to diet lose far more muscle than fat! So when a guy in his 40s claims he can build muscle AND lose fat… well, eyebrows raise.

As I said, I’m not a competitive bodybuilder. But I love to look like I’m in CLOSE to the condition of one. For me, that’s about 7 percent body fat with ample muscle mass, but not enough to make folks toss their cookies. Lest you worry that you will become "muscle-bound," accidentally transforming yourself into the next Mr. or Ms. Olympia, fear not. Muscle is like a biological dimmer switch. It’s either on or off - and you control the amount of muscle you wish to see.

So how does this work? Can anyone do it? Absolutely. But you have to have the right combination of factors.

Most fitness pros will tell you that you have to increase your calories in order to gain muscle. Yes, you have to increase your calories to gain weight. But that’s not what most people want to do. They want to gain lean muscle and burn body fat.

For men and women who want to lose fat and build shapely muscle at the same time, a bit of metabolic trickery is involved.

A calorie is nothing more than a specific measurement of energy or heat. And your body requires energy and heat in order to survive. Simply stated, in order to lose stored energy (body fat), we need to decrease the amount of energy we ingest (calories). A slight reduction in calories is essential to burn body fat - there’s no way around that. So, if you want to gain muscle, doesn’t it make sense that you have to increase your calories in order to pull it off?

Yes, it makes perfect sense. But it’s wrong. Flat out, absolutely dead freakin’ wrong.

Listen up: As long as you have fat to burn, all the energy you need for building muscle can come from that stored energy. What you want to do is tap into that unwanted body fat and use the energy to repair your body after exercise and build lean tissue.

There are three key steps to take to trick your body into doing it.

Step One: Stimulate your body to increase its muscle mass.

You do this through weight training. However, train TOO LONG and all that extra energy from your stored body fat will go toward keeping your central nervous system from crashing. Your body will shift all that energy, and then some, into the metabolic processes we call "survival mode" faster than you can snap your fingers. It will try to make sure your metabolism stays high enough for you to survive the stress you’re subjecting it to. That’s one reason diets fail: Your metabolism crashes because your calories are too low AND because you are exercising too much.

Brief but brutal training is the key. Let me give you the example of a three-minute abdominal routine. Perform each of the following movements without rest between sets. Repeat until three minutes are up. Breathe out all your air prior to contracting the abdominal muscles. (This is critical!)

• Hanging Leg Raises (with elbow harness, if possible) - 5-10 reps using foot-held weight if need be. Support yourself either by holding on to an overhead bar or, preferably, with elbow supports (common in most gyms). This helps prevent fatigue from grip failure. Breathe out all your air and raise either your knees to your chest (for beginners) or raise your legs as high as possible, keeping them as straight as possible. Contract and lower slowly. Repeat.

• Floor Crunches - 10 reps, holding the contraction at the top of the crunch for two seconds. With your hands folded on your chest and your lower back firmly planted on the floor (use a pad if you wish), "crunch" your lower body and upper body together as if you were a human accordion. The key here is not to do a "sit-up" but to contract your abs by crunching your torso into your lower body. This requires very little in the way of up-and-down motion.

• Rope Pulley Crunches - side to side (for the obliques, or "love handle" muscles), 10 reps per side, holding the contraction for two seconds. Position yourself in front of a pulley-driven weight stack. Use a rope with handles or small balls at the end to connect to the pulley, and place the pulley high. Select an appropriate weight and kneel down about three feet in front of the weight stack with the rope held slightly above your head in a fixed position. Then "bow" from side to side, contracting the muscles in your abdominal and oblique (side) region. Go left to right, completing one rep after both left and right sides are contracted.

That’s it! Brief and effective.

Step Two: Lower your calories.

How do you manage to lower your calories without starving the muscle? Keep the protein and fats high. Healthy fats are best. For example, stick to lean cuts of grass-fed beef, free-range chicken, and wild-caught omega-3-rich fish (such as salmon).

Now, here’s a great trick: Overeat slightly cooked or raw vegetables. Try to eat as much of them as you can, especially at night. This trick fools the mind into thinking the body has more food than it actually does.

Step Three: Walk. The more the better.

Walking helps clear out the toxins, gets the blood flowing, rids the system of lactic acid, and burns fat… all at the same time. I walk about 20 times longer than I train with weights, because I love it so much. It’s my number one fat-burner.

So, let’s recap:

1. You can burn fat and build muscle. The energy required to build muscle mass comes from stored body fat.

2. This works only if you keep your protein and fats sufficiently high AND you do not over-train in the gym. The shortest workout possible is the best. Stimulate the mind and body to "build muscle" and it will.

3. Walk as much as you can. Walking before eating in the morning helps you burn even more body fat.

Three simple steps, some hard work and dedication, and you’ll soon have that lean, muscular body you’ve always wanted.

[Ed. Note: If you want to build more muscle in less time while you burn body fat, pick up nutrition and fitness counselor Jon Benson's newest book, 7 Minute Muscle. It's a complete system for dropping fat and building muscle that's guaranteed to work for you. Try it for 60 days and prove it to yourself.

And for a FREE source of nutrition and fitness advice, check out ETR's natural health newsletter.]

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== Highly Recommended ==

The Missing Ingredient in the Recipe for Riches

By now, I’m sure you realize that there has been something missing in how you’ve been trying to get ahead. I mean, there must be something missing or you’d have made it by now, right? That’s just common sense.

So now I want to share with you what could very well be the missing ingredient – the one with the potential to set you up financially for life.

“His” name is Robert Cox and he’s already mentored 4 billionaires.  Yes, billion with a “B.”  And now, he wants to mentor you too.

What he’s offering is a one-time window of opportunity for changing your financial future… helping you make the kind of money you’ve always dreamed of. 

Please note, the information Bob will share with you is not available anywhere else, at any price.   If you want to learn how you can get in on this life-changing opportunity, please read on.

Worth Quoting: Seth Godin on Beating the System

"The Web is nothing but a system, a bunch of (largely unwritten) rules regarding search, linking, promotion, etc. It’s fascinating to watch as some people work hard to work the system, and succeed time and time again, while others waste countless hours with one scheme after another designed to beat the system. They invent cloaking devices and SEO scams and pyramid schemes and lightly disguised spam pages, constantly struggling to stay ahead (and to stay quiet). Sure, you can beat the system (any system) for a while, but it’s a constant struggle.

"In Ultimate Frisbee, there are no referees. The system insists that you make your own calls… players closest to the play call it, with no real appeals. The goal: Play in the spirit of the game. If you keep working to beat the system, you’ll end up with no one to play with. Work the system, and you’ll win now and later."

(Source: Seth Godin’s blog)

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The Language Perfectionist: Tortuous, Torturous, Tortious

By Don Hauptman

Recently, I read an article in The New York Times about a law firm that sent a warning letter to the media about its client, an overexposed Hollywood celebrity. The report quoted the firm’s accusation of "tortuous impersonation."

Shouldn’t the education of highly paid lawyers include spelling lessons? The word these attorneys wanted is tortious.

Coincidentally, on the same day, a brief item appeared in The Wall Street Journal, adapted from its online law blog. The chairman of a huge law firm cautioned his young employees not to submit documents that contain typos or grammatical mistakes.

Here are some helpful definitions:

• The word tortuous means winding, twisting, or convoluted, like a road.

• The word torturous means causing pain or suffering.

• The word tortious (pronounced "TOR-shuss") means relating to a civil wrong - that is, a tort.

How confounding is all this? My Microsoft Word Auto-Correct function just "corrected" tortious to tortuous.

[Ed Note: For more than three decades, Don Hauptman was an award-winning independent direct-response copywriter and creative consultant. He is author of The Versatile Freelancer, an e-book forthcoming from AWAI that shows writers and other creative professionals how to diversify their careers into critiquing, consulting, training, and speaking.]

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It’s Fun to Know: The Largest Diamond in the Universe

The largest diamond ever mined on Earth weighed in at 3,000 carats (about 1.3 pounds) before being cut. But that is a mere speck compared to "Lucy," a planet-sized diamond found by astronomers about 50 light years away. At 2,500 miles wide and an estimated 10 billion trillion trillion carats, it is believed to have been the heart of a star. And, yes, the name is from the Beatles’ song "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds."

(Source: Smithsonian Magazine)

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== Highly Recommended ==

The Career Deck Is Stacked Against You…

Bosses paying peanuts while working you to death… jobs shipped overseas… pension funds raided by corrupt management… It can be a cold-hearted world out there. 

But there is hope. In fact, there’s a lot more than hope because you can now live life on your own terms, earning six figures while doing something you enjoy. 

Word to the Wise: Comely

Something that’s "comely" (KUM-lee) - from the Old English for "pretty" - is pleasing or agreeable to the eye.

Example (as used by Anne Rice in The Vampire Armand): "His glossy nails made his hands look ornamental and special, caressive, comely and lovely with which to be touched."

[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2008

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