Toned Is a Myth: Train to Build Muscle, Looked Toned & Burn Fat Automatically w/ Sal Di Stefano

Sal Di Stefano, author of “The Resistance Training Revolution,” discusses the latest science about how building muscle is the best weight-loss strategy. Sal reveals this history about how the fitness industry actually made up the concept of getting toned, long muscles to attract women into gyms, and he reviews new research about how muscle signals your body to burn fat directly.

Time Stamps:

03:10 Rigidly structured nutrition is not sustainable. Oscillate protein, fat and carb intake to mimic real life and intuitive eating.

05:00 We take nutrition advice from people with extreme physiques. Dysfunctional nutrition is more prevalent in the fitness space than with the rest of us.

07:02 We do not have a weight loss issue. We have a problem keeping weight off. The fail rate is about 90%.

10:50 Early health studies were done on cardiovascular activity.

13:05 The sports world adopted lifting weights eventually when they discovered that it was effective in enhancing performance.

14:10 Resistance training is a superior form of exercise for fat loss, heart health, and insulin resistance. Muscle is partially how we store glycogen, the energy from carbohydrates, building a bigger storage tank for carbohydrates.

14:50 Resistance training stopped the progression of beta amyloid plaques that cause Alzheimer’s, according to an Australian study.

17:40 Resistance training is using resistance specifically to build strength and muscle. It can be done with body weight, bands, free weights, machine, or kettle bells.

19:00 Running is a skill that needs practice and instruction. The form and technique for running and every other form of exercise, is very complex.

20:05 Resistance training is all about form and technique. Focus on getting better at the movement, rather than focusing on reps until soreness.

24:30 The calorie burn during exercise is not very important because your body learns to adapt to it, especially in cardio, that prioritizes energy conservation and efficiency. Your body pares down muscle and reduces calorie burn to make you a more efficient cardio machine.

26:00 Roughly half of the weight you lose with cardio, is muscle.

27:01 Strength training burns fewer calories than cardio during exercise. It tells your body to get stronger and build muscle. It creates a less efficient, faster metabolism.

29:32 Weight lost through resistance training is body fat. As you start to build muscle, fat leaves your body, you build muscle, and your metabolism becomes faster.

30:30 All you need is two days a week of resistance training to bring strength, tone and a faster metabolism.

32:30 Muscle memory: Building muscle the first time may take a while. Losing that muscle is slow. Regaining it is much faster than the initial buildup.

38:00 The sculpt, the curve and the tightness comes from muscle. Muscle is dense and takes up less space. Muscles don’t tone. They build or they shrink.

44:20 Gross motor movement compound exercises are most effective for building muscle. They mimic functional/foundational movement. Isolation exercises are helpful for correcting an imbalance or adding more volume to your workout.

45:50 Your central nervous system controls how your muscles fire, your strength and stability. When you hold a stretch, your central nervous system feels safe with elongating that muscle.

48:10 Proprioception, knowing where you are in space, increases with resistance training, especially over repetitive cardio.

51:00 Resistance training elicits immediate and long-term hormonal responses. Compound lifts spike testosterone and growth hormone, as well as increase insulin sensitivity within hours.

51:35 Resistance training is the only pro-tissue form of exercise. Others are anti-tissue. The muscle-building process requires more youthful levels of hormones. Resistance training is the only form of exercise that reliably raises testosterone in men. Cardio reliably lowers testosterone.

53:35 Resistance training reliably increases androgen receptors in men and women. Androgen receptor density correlates with the ability to build muscle. Testosterone attaches to androgen receptors. The more you have, the more effective your testosterone is, regardless of your level.

55:55 Low testosterone increases cancer risk, increases risk of heart disease, increases Alzheimer’s and dementia risk, decreases quality of life.

56:48 The average 25-year-old male today has the testosterone levels of the average 60-year-old in 1980.

57:00 A 20-year-old male today have the grip strength of a 60-year-old in 1980.

57:50 Grip strength can predict all-cause mortality better than any other single metric. Muscle is protective, creating a buffer against metabolic insults.

01:05:30 Pushing yourself to maximum performance is counter longevity.

01:06:20 Protein fuels growth of tissue. In a pro-inflammatory pro-cancer state, cancer will use protein, carbs and sometimes fats to fuel their growth.

01:07:00 A low protein diet generally reduces longevity. It reduces strength and muscle and contributes to insulin resistance.

01:09:55 Obese people have weaker bones, less muscle and more bodyfat. Women as young as their 30s are starting to exhibit signs of osteopenia. Men are beginning to experience bone loss.

01:10:30 What builds muscle, builds bone. Nothing comes close to resistance training for building bone. Muscle anchors on bone. Calcium does not build bone unless there is a strong signal.

01:17:10 Our lives are conducive to muscle loss and bone loss. Your body removes muscle that it believes is unnecessary.

01:17:50 Resistance training is in the elderly improves cognitive function and hormone profiles.

01:23:10 A trap bar is a versatile and easier way to deadlift. You can do loaded exercises with it. It is great for functional strength.