In the summer months especially, I like to focus hardcore on losing any fat that I ‘accidentally’ put on during the winter months.  In doing this, it’s hard to put on significant muscle size in multiple muscle groups due to the low calorie intake and increased focus on workouts that promote maximum calorie-burning (as opposed to training for muscular hypertrophy).

As you already know, however, I think it’s definitely possible to add ‘some’ muscle size while aiming for extreme fat loss.  The key is to focus on your one to two muscle groups that are lagging behind and blitz those ‘suckas’ like Lawrence Taylor would an underage prostitute (ouch…low blow, sorry L.T.).

If you throw in a specialized workout that overloads those muscle groups twice weekly–once on your cheat day and once mid-week, you’ll likely be able to see decent improvements in those areas, despite maintaining an overall aggressive fat loss diet and workout regimen.

Don’t expect to be able to put on muscle size in all muscle groups while in fat loss mode.  Unless you’re a true beginner or a genetic freak (in which case we could never be friends), this probably won’t happen.  Your mindset should be locked into maintaining all lean muscle mass while losing fat as rapidly as possible.

Then, strategically tackle those one or two stubborn body parts on days where your diet lends higher energy levels (‘cuz you’re eating more…duh) and drop it like it’s hot during those specialized workouts.  With enough protein intake, you shouldn’t have an issue taking a couple of muscle groups from zero to hero, even though you’re losing weight simultaneously.

For me, it’s generally shoulders and calves that get beat on a lil more heavily during all-out fat burning phases.  My reasoning is simple–most people neglect these muscle groups and therefore their symmetry and proportions look like shit (oops).  By placing extra attention on these muscle groups, I think you can really set yourself apart from the herd of wannabe hunks and hotties.

Okay, enough rambling.  Here’s the video…if you think your shoulders and calves could use some extra special attention, rock this twice weekly for the next 4-8 weeks (on top of your normal training sessions).

Lean Body Workout:  Shoulders and Calves…

If you don’t have a Gymboss Interval Timer and you’re not following right along with me, just remember that everything is done in 30-second intervals, including the rest periods.  Like I said, focus on form and not so much on weight used (although it should be challenging).  Also, sip a whey protein shake during these specialized weight training workouts, to promote immediate muscle building and to reduce muscle breakdown during the actual workout.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

PS – Yes, I like that Lady Antebellum song… ya caught me ;-)

PPS – Awesome muscle building workouts can be found here: Workout Routines To Build Muscle

This first video is a 10 minute challenge workout that you can use to blast your pushing muscles. Because this isn't a total body workout, you can use this more frequently (as often as once a week) than the 300 workout I listed the other day.

Like I said, we'll be hitting all of your pushing muscles with two body weight movements - push-ups and squats.  The goal is to complete as many reps as possible in 5 minutes for each exercise.  You can take breaks when needed, but remember this is a challenge workout and you should be kicking all sorts of ass during this 10 minutes of pure lactic acid hell.

Oh, and there's a catch - instead of completing normal reps of push-ups and squats, you'll be exploding through the eccentric (lowering) phase of the movements.  Some of you have probably heard of (or tried) using explosive training throughout the concentric (lifting) phase of the exercise...and this is an awesome tactic as well, but for today we're going to get crazy with it, go against the grain and focus on exploding through the eccentric part of the lift.

I guarantee you've never seen this type of training before and you may even be questioning my sanity on this.  After all, we've been taught from day 1 that all weight training should be done slow and controlled so you can 'feel' the lift, right?

Well, I've got news for ya... this is an ADVANCED fat loss site and I'm giving you some of my cutting-edge secret weapons...my body transformation ninja tactics...to help you burn fat and sculpt a lean body at a much faster rate than you'd see following all the politically correct, generic-as-hell fitness information out there.

Enjoy the first of two explosive eccentric challenge workout videos I've included for you in this post (warning:  if you're a complete beginner or if you have underlying conditions or injuries, this advanced challenge workout is not for you):

So how does going against conventional strength training wisdom and actually exploding through the lowering phase of the movement help us produce greater results?  Well, let's go back to the basics quick...

In order to increase lean muscle mass, we have to increase our intensity or amount of work performed during each workout.  I doubt anyone wants to workout for 10 hours per week...and most of us want to do at least some of our workouts at home, where equipment is limited.  Therefore, we have to find a way to up the intensity without working out longer and without having to lift heavier and heavier weights every single workout.

Enter high speed training, or explosive training.  If we move the same weight at a faster speed, this translates to more power and greater intensity.  Using this advanced training principle, we can keep our workouts short, increase the intensity and make better use of limited equipment (in other words, you can now get a better workout, even if you're doing body-weight-only training or have limited weights available).

Another important benefit of using explosive weight training is the greater involvement of Tye II (fast twitch) muscle fibers.  This is HUGE because Type II muscle fibers have the greatest potential for muscle hypertrophy (increase in size) and yet, these fibers are usually the last to be used during normal, slower weight training sessions, which recruit mainly Type I (slow twitch) fibers.

It's hilarious (and sad at the same time) that most people spend their whole lives weight training in a way that is basically targeting only slow twitch muscle fibers that don't have much potential at all to hypertrophy.  I don't know about you, but I'd rather take the shortcut and target Type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers that have the greatest ability to increase in size.

Remember, to achieve the lean and ripped look, we want to add as much lean muscle as possible to turn our bodies into fat-burning machines.  Adding large amounts of muscle mass is extremely difficult and will depend mainly on total calorie and protein intake, so don't think just because you're shooting for the Cam Gigandet body that this advanced muscle building strategy doesn't apply.

Trust me, I don't like the bulky look either and I'm not going to turn you into a 'roided-out freak.'  Truth is, even to get the lean and athletic look, you need to act a lot more like a bodybuilder than you'd think...especially in terms of finding out ways to maximize your muscle building efforts...because more lean muscle means more fat loss around the clock.

Now here's another 10 minute challenge workout video for you to try out.  This one focuses on the pulling muscles and will also use just 2 movements - lying hip extensions and bent over dumbbell rows.  The same principles apply - complete as many reps of each exercise as possible in 5 minutes and focus on exploding through the eccentric (lowering) phase of each movement, while performing the concentric (lifting) portion slow and under control.

Record the total number of reps you completed for each exercise and be sure to set a personal best each time you repeat the challenge.  Enjoy the video:

I'd like you to try both of these challenge workouts this week and let me know how many reps of each exercise you were able to get in 5 minutes.  Also, what are your thoughts on my advanced and 'ass-backwards' explosive eccentric training technique?

I bet after trying these workouts you'll feel a whole new level of soreness that you haven't experienced before - this is evidence that explosive training has resulted in more damage to Type II (fast twitch) muscle fibers ---> leading to an increase in lean muscle size (hypertrophy), a favorable release of fat-burning hormones and more calorie burning firepower in the weeks and months to come.

Your Coach,

Brad Campbell

For top level challenge-type workouts, try doing what elite military personnel do for their training... see it here: Navy SEAL Workout