Training for the “Man in the Middle”

For the Man Who Wishes to Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

In this article we will present a comprehensive training, nutrition, and supplement plan for the man who wishes to gain muscle (primarily) while at the same time lose some excess body fat. Our program comes directly from the BevSolutions section of our website. For this article we’ve gone to BevSolutions and chosen a workout from the Training section, a diet plan from the Nutritional Programs section, and a supplement plan from the Supplement section for you.

Training

First up, let’s start with your workout. We’ve picked a program called Training for the “Man in the Middle”. We’ve included a beginner’s version and will include guidelines as to how the “advanced man” can use it as well, but perhaps its greatest benefit is for “the man in the middle” - the intermediate trainee who is stuck and can seemingly go no farther. This program consists of all basic exercises aimed at working the large mus-cle masses and developing the most muscle and the most power. We have no intentions here of giving you a lot of supposedly innovative exercises just for the sake of offering something different. These are the exercises that WORK!

Beginners

If you are a beginner, or are just getting back into training after a long layoff, you should workout three days per week. Your first workouts should be easy. “It’s not where you begin, but where you end up that counts.” Use a weight that you can easily perform for 12 repetitions on each exercise. However, instead of pushing to get 12, stop at 7. Add a repetition every other workout day. On day two, you’ll again do 7 reps. On days three and four, you’ll complete 8 reps and so on until you are performing 10 repetitions. At that point add 5lbs to the weight on the upper body exercises and 10lbs on the lower body exercises and start back at 7 repetitions. Then work up to 10 again in the same manner, add weight and go back to 7 again.

Do just one set per exercise the first month. The following month continue to work-out three days per week, but now you will do two sets on each exercise. Continue the progression listed above – work up from 7 reps to 10 reps with a particular poundage, when you successfully perform 10 reps on each set of an exercise, add weight and drop back to 7 reps. Progress slowly. Always hit a specific rep target two days in succession before adding another rep.

The “Man in the Middle”

If you are “the man in the middle”, neither a beginner or advanced man, but whose progress is stalled, you should definitely give this program a try. However, you should do 3 sets of each exercise. You may follow the same type of progression as the begin-ner, adding a rep every 2nd workout and adding more weight once you’ve successfully completed 10 reps on all your sets for two consecutive workouts. There is a slightly different progression you can use instead, especially if you are a veteran of the iron game. In this case, you’ll do 3 sets of 7 reps during your first workout. You’ll add just one rep total to each ex-ercise on your second workout day by doing one set of 8 reps and 7 reps on the other two sets. The third workout you’d do two sets of 8 reps and 1 set of 7. Fol-low this progression until you reach 3 sets of 10 reps on an exercise and then add 5lbs on upper body work or 10lbs for the lower body exercises and start again at 3 sets of 7 reps.

Here’s how this progression scheme looks in chart form:

Week 1

Day 1: 7,7,7
Day 2: 8,7,7
Day 3: 8,7,7

Week 2

Day 1: 8,8,8
Day 2: 9,8,8
Day 3: 9,9,8

Week 3

Day 1: 9,9,9
Day 2: 10,9,9
Day 3: 10,10,9

Week 1

Day 1: 10,10,10 add 5-10 lbs
Day 2: 87,7,7
Day 3: 8,7,7

Continue With Same Protocol

Whether you are a beginner or “the man in the middle”, rest about two minutes between each set and three to five minutes between exercises.

Here’s the exercise schedule. I know you are going to think these are the same exercises that everybody does so what’s so special. Well, you are probably right, there’s certainly nothing new here. But, if you want overall muscle mass and shape, the following exercises have been proven by millions of bodybuilders to be the very best.

• Standing Two-arm Press: The first exercise is the standing two-arm press. Many think of this as just a shoulder developer but it also develops the arms, back, and overall body power.
• Squat: Many consider this the greatest exercise of them all. Hard work on the squat not only stimulates muscular growth in the legs, but in your entire upper body as well. It can’t be beat for developing overall body power, for develop-ing the legs, and it even increases upper body mass.
• Barbell Curl: Another old standby but no better biceps exercise has been found.
• Bench Press: One we’re sure you are familiar with. The bench press is a terrific developer of the chest, triceps, and front delts. If you follow the recommended progression procedure de-tailed above, you will add 5lbs to your bench press about every 3 weeks. Doesn’t sound like much, but when is the last time you added 80lbs to your bench in a year?
• Bentover Row: Here’s one many of you do not like, however, when it is performed correctly it is one of the best for bulking the back, arms, and shoulders.
• Sit-up: Work up from 10-15 reps to 30 reps per set.
• Calf Raise: This is an area that many bodybuilders neglect, don’t be one of them. Start at 20 reps per set and work up to 30 before adding weight.

The advanced man can also benefit from this pro-gram. The three-day per week full body workout can do wonders for him. He should choose two of the above exercises which he wants to concentrate on and perform 4-5 sets of each. On these two exercises he should lower his rep range to 3-5 or 6-8, but still progress in the same manner as before by adding just one rep per workout until he reached the top number for all his sets. He should also perform these exercises first in his workout. He’d want to limit the remaining exercises to 3 sets each or he would be overworking. That’s it! Now let’s get to work and show some real results.

Nutrition

Next let’s look at the diet section. At BevSolutions you’ll find a menu of diet plans to achieve specific goals. We’re going straight to the Gain Muscle and Lose Fat section. There are actually two relevant plans, one is for you if you weigh 185 or more, the other if your weight is less than 185. We’re going to illustrate the “under 185lbs” plan here. But, if you weigh 185 or greater, no problem, just check out BevSolutions and you’ll find your “over 185lbs” plan there. Before we go further we want to make sure you understand that a consummate nutrition plan is all important to your success at building muscle while losing fat.

Your Gain Muscle and Lose Fat Diet

Now that you have the supplies you need to get started, let’s take a look at your Gain Muscle and Lose Fat Plan (up to 185lbs). If you are not used to a structured eating plan like this, it may be difficult at the start. It will also seem like a lot of food at first, especially at breakfast (Meal #1). Soon you’ll be looking forward to your next meal. It is ok to ease yourself into the full plan over a week or two. One of the keys is preparedness. We urge you to prepare what you can ahead of time.

Meal 1
1 whole egg + 3 egg whites, 5oz lean meat, ½ cup oatmeal (before cooking)

Scramble 1 whole egg and 3 whites (or 1 egg and 1/3 cup of liquid egg whites) together in a skillet. It’s ok to use Pam or a teaspoon of butter. One of the best ways to cook the lean meat (usually lean ground beef or ground turkey) is to weigh it out crumble it and cook it in a skillet. When it’s done, drain any excess fat, add your eggs and scramble it all together. Alternatively, just make your lean meat into a patty and cook it like a hamburger.

We recommend 1-Minute Oats, use ½ cup oats, 1 cup water, and a pinch of salt. Mix it together in a microwave safe bowl and cook it for 1 minute and 45 seconds. The best timesaver for this meal is to cook your lean meat ahead of time and store it in 5oz ready to microwave portions.

Meal 2
Protein Drink: 2 Scoops Ultimate Muscle Protein, 2 tbsp healthy fat (almond butter, flax oil, olive oil) or 2 tbsp heavy whipping cream, add enough water to make a shake or pudding the consistency you desire. It’s important to add the fat here. We favor almond butter or heavy whipping cream because it makes the best tasting protein out there, taste even better. Our favorite shake recipe is to add 4-6 ice cubes to a blender, add water to the 15oz mark and then add 1oz whipping cream or 2 tbsp almond butter. Then put in 2 scoops UMP and blend until the ice is liquefied. (You can do this in advance and take to work in a Thermos or put it in the fridge at work.)

Meal 3
8oz lean meat, 6oz sweet potato or 2/3 cup cooked brown rice, 2 cups vegetables (broccoli, etc.) and/or salad with 2 tbsp Newman’s Own vinegar and oil dressing (or Balsamic)

Meal 4
(same as meal #2)

Meal 5
8oz lean meat, 2 cups vegetables, Salad with 2 tbsp Newman’s Own vinegar and oil dressing

Notice that at this meal we cut out any starchy carbs, so the last time you had carbs was at lunch. This is one of the secrets to being able to add muscle, but still cut fat.

Meal Frequency

As you can see you’ll be eating small meals spread about 3 hours apart. This is important to your success in building muscle and losing fat. You don’t have to sit down at the table and eat a meal, but you must take in the proper amount of nutrients. Plan ahead. If you’re going to be in meetings or running errands all day, make a couple of shakes the night before.

Beverages: Make sure that you drink at least six to eight 8oz glasses of water each day (that’s four 16oz bottles). Watch out for calories in the liquids you drink, juices and regular soft drinks will sabotage your progress. Limit your beverages to water, coffee, unsweetened tea, diet sodas, and Crystal Light.

Free Foods: You can eat any of the following at any time, without jeopardizing your results: Sugar free gum, sugar-free Jell-O, Splenda, Equal, seasonings, mustard, vinegar, hot sauce, salt and pepper.

You might be asking, “Is there anything else I can take?” We are a little reluctant to say yes, because we know if you are taking UMP, Creatine Select, Quadracarn, Mass and Ultra 40 that you are really covering all your bases, but for general health and to make sure you are getting all the micronutrients needed to build muscle you should include the Super Pak.

Finally, Muscle Synergy and Glutamine Select can also help. If you are 40 or older, or have historically had a hard time adding muscle, we definitely recommend Muscle Synergy. If you want to try Muscle Synergy, you’ll see faster results if you load with Creatine Select first.

If you are very active at work, participate in sports, like to run or do a lot of cardio, Glutamine Select can save the day. It is a wonder for recovery.

There you have it. Follow this three phase plan and monitor your progress. The scale is not the end all, be all tool to monitor fat loss. In fact, we hope that your weight on the scale doesn’t change that much at all. Think of it this way, if you can lose 5lbs of bodyfat and gain 5lbs of muscle the scale weight doesn’t change at all, but the way you look in the mirror certainly has. This would be a +10 in body recomposition.