- You’re on
the Fence –
Pick a Side!
What happens if you decide to
travel east and west at the same
time? You don’t move, because
it’s not possible. One of the most
common obstacles to losing fat
is the inability to fully commit to
the task. And the reason so many
guys— and it’s mainly males that
do this— can’t commit is because
they can’t wrap their heads around
not trying to gain muscle mass,
even for a limited time period like
10 to 12 weeks. It’s that inability to
throw the necessary mental switch
that also prevents many physique
competitors from getting in shape
for contests. They want to get
ripped for the show, but they also
want to get bigger overall or at
least bring up this or that lagging
body part by the time they hit the
stage. Instead of cutting back the
carbs and calories the way they
should, and doing as much cardio
as needed, they keep eating to gain
and shirk on the cardio because “it
will hurt my gains.” Get it through
your thick skulls that dieting is
not a time for muscle growth, and
realize that this is not only OK,
but it’s the way it must be. Focus
on losing fat and do what needs
to be done. You had plenty of time
leading up to this to try and gain
muscle, and after you’ve reached
your goal and lowered your body
fat to the point you desire, there
will be ample time to strive for
gains again once you’ve stayed
lean as long as you wanted to.
In the meantime, forget about
trying to walk on both sides of the
road. Pick a side, and in this case,
choose to concentrate on dropping
weight and body fat. Unless you
cut your calories too drastically or
go psycho and start doing hours of
cardio every day, you will maintain
your existing muscle mass. The
real bonus is that with substantial
amounts of fat stripped away, your
muscles will appear to be larger
than they were with all that fluff
covering them.July 2019 musculardevelopment.com MD 81