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German Body Composition
German Body Composition
By Doberman Dan
OK... to be quite honest, turing body fat into muscle is simply NOT
possible.
But it has become a popular saying. What it REALLY means is to lose body
fat
while retaining and/or gaining muscle mass.
GBC uses weight training for fat loss. Aerobic training is not utilized
-- at all! The
primary goal of this method is fat loss while preserving hard earned
muscle.
Contrary to popular opinion, aerobics usually cause a LOSS of muscle
tissue.
Also, as an added little perk, many trainees will also add lean tissue
during the
course of a GBC cycle.
The basic premise behind GBC is the promotion of fat loss by increasing
lactic
acid levels in the body, which in turn produces higher growth hormone
levels.
This puts the body in an optimal state to burn fat and build lean
tissue.
High Reps (10-15) Stopping Short of Failure -- Studies have shown that
high
reps sets with a time under tension of 40 to 75 seconds produce an
appropriate
amount of lactic acid for the purposes of GH release and fat loss. You
should
stop about two reps short of concentric (positive) failure. Training to
failure has
little benefit and potential drawbacks with this protocol. Remember, the
goal is
to create the environment within your body to burn fat. Also, if you
train to
failure it would be highly unlikely you would last until the end of the
workout.
The volume of work is pretty high (at least for a natural trainee).
Workout Duration Less Than One Hour -- Studies have shown that weight
training sessions lasting over one hour tip the anabolic/catabolic scale
in
the negative direction. Fifty minutes seems to be the ideal time frame.
This
does not include warm-ups, stretching, or cool-down.
Sample Workouts
Below are three sample workouts based on the GBC protocol. These three
workouts can be alternated throughout the week. Frequency of workout
sessions depends on training age and starting condition. The minimum is
twice a week and the maximum that I would recommend would be five per
week.
There are a few notations that you might not be familiar with. These are
used
to denote supersetting and tempo.
Tempo (the speed at which you perform the movement) is designated with a
three-digit number in units of seconds i.e. (301). The first number is
the
eccentric or lowering portion, the second number indicates the isometric
or
pause, and the final number is the concentric or positive portion. For
example, on a bench press with a 311 tempo you would lower the load for
three seconds, pause on the chest for one second, and then extend to the
start in one second. Note: "X" denotes explosive effort.
Day One
Day Two
Day Three
I hope you find this program effective in achieving your goals. Give
it a shot and let me know how it goes for you.