There are so many good questions from the BuiltLean community, it’s hard to choose which ones to highlight each week! Hopefully this week’s Q & A will give you some tips on how to perform at your best.
Here’s the short list of questions based on topic:
Question #1 | Squats, Deadlifts & Fat Loss
Question #2 | Is Coke Zero Bad For You?
Question #3 | Muscle Groups & Fat Loss
![]() | Question: As a follow up to the first question about arm exercises, can you expand on this point: ”In terms of overall body strength and getting lean, arms may be the least important muscles to train directly”? If arms are the least important muscles to train directly then which are the most important muscle groups to train directly for getting lean and creating overall body strength? – Jason |
![]() | Answer: @Jason – Absolutely. Here’s the list of most important muscle groups to train to get lean and/or build muscle in order of importance: 1) Legs (by far) I didn’t include core/abs/lower back because oftentimes you may not need to train them directly if you are doing a lot of full body movements, but if not a few solid core exercises can do the trick. This grouping is based on the size of the muscle volume of each muscle groups and the impact they can have on your central nervous system and hormones. Also keep in mind I prefer thinking of exercises and workouts based on movement patterns as opposed to muscle groups, but any way you slice it, doing an arm workout could be the least effective way to help increase metabolism to burn more fat. – Marc (Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT) |
Question #4 | Stay Full Eating Less Calories
![]() | Question: Thanks Marc. I’ll take a look at what I can lower in my diet. Right now, my calorie count is around 2300-2400. The smaller my meals are, the hungrier I will become quicker as opposed to leaving me satiated right now. Instead of holding me off for 3-3.5 hrs, it will hold me off sometimes for maximum of 2. I don’t know whether it’s d/t more lean muscle mass or what. My intake right now is 40/40/20 % being p/c/f. I’m right around 200 grams of carbs per day but still get a bit hungry. When I was at 150, my blood sugar was bottoming out, feeling lightheaded, and didn’t have energy. I keep telling myself that I do need more of a caloric deficit, but it’s tough to cut things out. I don’t think I’ll have much trouble with it. Thanks. – Brandon |
![]() | Answer: @Brandon – I definitely understand where you are coming from. In the nutrition section of my BuiltLean Program, I discuss a number of meal ideas and snacks that I like to emphasize because they have a high satiety factor. Here’s an article which touches on a few – Top 10 Fat Loss Foods. For example for breakfast, a couple whole eggs with 2-3 egg whites, a grapefruit, and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal is only around 500 calories, but it should fill you up. Then consider maybe some greek yogurt as a snack, which is only an extra 150 calories. Now you are 1/3 of the way done with the day and you are only 650 calories in. The challenge is the leaner you get, the more uncomfortable it is to break to the next level. Just be very careful that your strength levels don’t go down and you are retaining your muscle mass as you take down the calories. – Marc (Marc Perry, CSCS, CPT) |
Do you know of any places online where I can view pictures of people in which their height, weight, and body fat percentages? I’m highly doubt some of the one’s I’ve seen by simply googling (I feel like many of the guys are greatly overestimating their weight).
@Matt – I think the best place is right here – http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/. Just be careful of all the supplement pitches!
hi Marc
i am a new learner.boss! your rock hard body is my ideal.I like your articles,videos,Q & A,quick notes etc so much.which are really like a treasure for guys like me.i am doing full body workouts 3_4 in a week based on squats,lunges,push,pull, and twist with interval training(tread mill) after exercise and stretching in between circuits.All of these i learned from you.thank you so much.my question is this
Q: what to do in rest days ?
Saturday strength training
Sunday off
Monday again strength day so, what to do at Sunday ?
i run on tread mill 10 rounds
1 min sprint 1 min walk
am i doing right? please guide me
waiting for suggestion for me.thanks
i don’t know how to contact you so that’s why i am using this comment box.
@fakhar – sounds like you are on the right path, happy to see you are implementing my advice. I think 3 full body workouts + a few HIIT cardio intervals (either on separate days, or after the workouts) is a solid amount of exercise each week if it is the right amount of intensity. In fact, your workout routine is similar to the set up I have for my BuiltLean Program.
On your rest days, you can rest and not do anything, or you can actively rest with a light jog, some swimming, yoga, cycling, etc. Basically, you want to make sure the “active rest” is not very intense, but more recuperative. You can also do some foam rolling and stretching. I’ll be adding an article soon about foam rolling, which I think is very important.