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Lean Muscle Workouts
Lean Hybrid Muscle Building
By Paul Becker of TrulyHuge.com
Q. What is the Lean Hybrid Muscle program?
A. Every single day countless guys decide embark on a quest to get lean, build muscle or do both—and that’s a great thing. The sad part is that most of those guys won’t see the results they’d hoped to see and after a while, they’ll give up their efforts, feeling like a failure and wondering where they went wrong.
They’ll look back and say, “But I did everything right. I read the fitness magazines, followed the routines, took the supplements, stuck with it and did the cardio but didn’t achieve squat. What happened?” Does that sound familiar? If it does, then you ought to read on because Lean Hybrid Muscle may be the program you’ve been looking for.
The problem with most of what you see in the fitness and bodybuilding magazines is that it’s not reality. Most of the guys (and ladies) you see there are exceptions, not the rule—they’re genetically gifted, meaning that they respond differently to training than most ordinary men.
For the regular guy, blindly following the “traditional” routines more often than not winds up in disappointment. Usually, one of two things happens:
1) either he gets strong—but fat; or 2) lean—but weak and skinny.
The goal of the Lean Hybrid Muscle program is to gain lean muscle mass, while burning fat and getting stronger. We do this all in the same training cycle! Most other programs work on one of these goals at a time. We stumbled upon a way to build muscle and burn fat at the same time without having to worry about doing a bulking cycle and than a cutting cycle.
Q: Why is it called a hybrid system?
A. Well, the general definition of “hybrid” is combining two or more different things. In this case we want to take the best of several training philosophies in order to accomplish multiple goals at one time.
Than we also have the “Hybrid Muscle” which is really what Lean Hybrid Muscle Building is all about!
Q: Tell me more about this hybrid muscle.
A. When talking about “Super Hybrid Muscle,” we’re referring to a muscle that has essentially been reconfigured, adding mitochondrial density, which results in a bigger stronger muscle with more endurance capacity. This is accomplished by combining cardio and strength training into a single activity.
I learned a lot about hybrid super muscle through the book The Purposeful Primitive, written by Marty Gallagher. It’s one of my all time favorite books.
By combining cardio and resistance activities it causes the composition of muscles to transform from predominately type II or type IIb into Type III. By doing this, we are able to push “beyond our genetic limits”.
Having more mitochondria in the muscle cells means that more nutrients can be processed, giving the muscles the ability to work considerably harder for longer periods. They’re also able to grow larger and are able to resist getting tired for longer periods.
Q. Can teenagers follow this program?
A. Teenagers have had outstanding results with this program. The bodybuilding workouts help add muscle to skinny frames. It’s especially helpful for teenage athletes that want to become more explosive, faster and bigger for sports. Both Elliott and I agree that age 14 is a good time to start training with weights. Many high school football players, baseball players and wrestlers have experienced amazing transformations and earned scholarships training with this system.
Q. Can women use your program?
A. A common myth is that men and women need to train differently. I am no scientist but I can tell you from experience that women do very well training with Hybrid Muscle Variables. In fact, the results that women get at my gym are often better than the men. This is simply because this is the first time they have been exposed to strength training. So, all types of cool things start happening like their posture improves and this means that the boobs stand up a little higher.
Also, since we include so many squats in the programs there is a significant tightening and firming up of the gluts. We may design a program specifically for women in the future but the foundation will still be exactly the same. Work hard, get stronger and train like you life depends on it!
Q. Does the program show the exercises sets, reps, etc?
A. Yes. Since the program is dynamic these variables can be adjusted. You can easily design your own Hybrid muscle workouts or you can follow along with our video coaching workouts. There’s nothing to think about unless you want to. We’ve been experimenting with this for a long time. What’s so cool about this is that we had help from everyone that visited our blog when we created this workout. We literally received feedback from thousands of people while we tested the program on ourselves and clients.
Q: When can I expect to see the results from the program?
A. The results have been amazing. I personally lost 12% bodyfat in 8-weeks. Elliott Hulse the co-creator and Pro Strongman lost 6% bodyfat, got stronger and added 5 lbs of muscle. That’s one of our favorite parts of this program. We were able to lose fat, build muscle and gain strength in the same program.
Below you’ll see our before and after pics. You can see a lot more case studies at the Web site. Some people overcame injuries, some competed in bodybuilding show, figure show, some did their first strongman competition and some just feel better playing with their kids!
Q. Can I use the program over and over again or can I only use it one time?
A. Lean Hybrid Muscle is a dynamic program. Variables can be adjusted to enhance whatever goal you are currently striving for. If I had to choose just one system to follow forever it would be this one because it takes the best from strength training, bodybuilding, functional training and cardio training while scrapping all the stuff that doesn’t work.
Q. What type of equipment does this program require?
A. A lot of people get this confused. Lean Hybrid Muscle training is NOT about the equipment being used… these are just tools. The essence of Lean Hybrid Muscle training is found in the manipulation of training variables, basically how you structure your reps, sets, rest intervals, intensity and frequency.
You can do this with ANY training tools. Barbells, dumbbells, cables, medicine balls, and machines… whatever you like.
I just happen to have access to a warehouse gym where I can train with cool tools like sleds, tires, kettlebells and sandbags.
However there are always alternate exercises you can do at a gym or at home.
The only tool you need is the right attitude and the willingness to train hard.
Q. How important is the use of supplements?
You’re probably waiting to hear me say there’s a super duper top secrets supplement stack in the program that is going to make your lean and ripped.
Well you’re going to be disappointed.
Look at our ancestors and, in particular, the warrior cultures like the Spartans, the Roman Gladiators, or the Vikings. Thousands of years ago, our ancestors did not take supplements yet they built powerful, muscular physiques. How did they do it? First, their daily lives centered on intense physical activities—what we would today refer to as hybrid muscle training. And second, they ate natural, whole foods that provided all the nutrition they needed. Honestly, that is really the best way to give your body the vitamins and nutrients it needs. For the modern guy though, that can be easier said than done.
That’s where supplements do come into the picture but not until you’ve got a solid foundation built or underway!
The word supplement means “to add to”. Once you’re 90% of the way to your goal, supplements can help give you an edge, but by themselves they’re not going to help you much without everything else being in place.
Q. Do I need a training partner to follow the program?
A. The Lean Hybrid Muscle program can be done alone, with a partner or with a team or group. Safety is always important so if you’re training alone you just need to be mindful of your limitations. If you can recruit someone in your area to do the program with you it can be great to have some friendly competition, someone to spot you and someone you have to be accountable to if you don’t “feel” like working out a certain day. It’s not likely that your training partner will let you slip too many times before you get canned.