A recent article posted on the AskMen.com site made me cringe. I’m not going to cite the official link, because I don’t really want to promote them. I’ve never read anything at this site before, as it’s a little risqué for my tastes, but one of the other sites I regularly read had a link to it. The title was “Maximum Muscle Definition in One Week”.
I thought the title was provocative. So I bit.
Before I even started reading though, let’s clarify something. There’s a difference between “maximum”, meaning “the best you can get” and “sufficient”, meaning that you actually achieve muscle definition.
Nobody can go from undefined, fat, or flabby and one week be ripped. And I had my doubts about this article, that it would promise overnight results.
Sure enough, it starts out talking about “getting ready for an unexpected beach event” or even “suddenly getting that date with a particular girl” as the impetus for the overnight cure they were (supposedly) about to unveil.
There were a few nuggets of good advice, including the need to lift heavy; intake sufficient protein; carb load on day one then reduce carbs steadily.
But the author condenses what should really be an 8+ week program into 7 days. Not only will it not work, but at only 800 words, all the details are left out. Unless you are already an intermediate to advanced weight trainer (and thus, probably already in pretty good shape), most of the advice will go over your head.
Plus, this hurts the entire weight training movement – it’s hard enough to get people to realize how important resistance training (like weight lifting) is. Now, some people will try this guy’s 7-day advice and when it doesn’t work, they’ll quit. They’ll say “weight training doesn’t work to burn fat“. It’s a shame really.
And I’ll say again, it won’t work in 7 days. [If you have a personal story of seeing significant results in 7 days, please share your story and your program – I’m ok with being proven wrong!]
Now summer is around the corner, and I can appreciate that you might want to be ready and comfortable for the beach and a more active time of year. But don’t wait until the last minute.
If you need to be “ready” in 7 days from now, you really better have started out weeks ago! Don’t get your fitness advice from a site that ranks celebrities by their “hotness” (in fact, run away from such sites).
Want trusted sources for getting in shape by Summer? Check out our own “3 Months To A New You” and especially “The Truth About 6-pack Abs” if you really want good advice.
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Article by Leo Babauta of zenhabits If you’re like me, you can eat healthy much of the time, exercise a lot, and still find your fat-burning efforts at a plateau. It seems easier to lose the first 30 pounds than the last bit of fat around your middle. (more…)
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