Have you ever wondered what it would be like to have some extra muscle on your body? Not a lot, but enough to look like a real athlete instead of a scrawny cyclist?

If your goal is to win the Tour de France, probably not. But if you’re just riding and racing for fun, you may have thought about packing on some muscle. I know I have.

As I started to wind down my racing career, I realized there was no longer a need for me to have a super high power-to-weight ratio and super low body weight. My best racing weight was around 152lb anyway, so it’s not like I was ever going to be a 120lb climbing specialist.

Then I found a website called FitnessBlackBook.com, written by Rusty Moore, and it was all about getting a fit, toned physique (or “the Hollywood look” as Rusty would say) rather than focusing on sheer size like so many other muscle building websites.

What really peaked my interest was the actual weights of some people with ripped physiques. The most notorious is probably Brad Pitt in Fight Club – he was totally ripped at a rumored 165lb.

That got me thinking – if you train properly, you could keep your weight low (155-170lb,) look great, and still perform well on your bike.

With that in mind, I purchased of a copy of Rusty’s training program, Visual Impact.

(I had been reading his blog for a couple years and purchased a book from him before, so I didn’t hesitate on this.)

The tag line is: “Strategic muscle gains for a visually stunning body.”

See, it’s not just a generalized plan for muscle building and fat loss. You can find that advice anywhere. What sets Visual Impact apart is the “strategic” part. Everything is carefully planned out so that you gain the least amount of muscle possible yet still achieve that stunning physique.

Basically, you are building size in certain areas of your body while minimizing size in others, and that makes you look big without you actually being big!

In my eyes, this is the perfect program for cyclists and endurance athletes who want to look good without gaining much weight.

Maybe you want an off-season weight lifting plan for November through April – this one would be a good compromise between good looks and performance.

So let’s look at the book itself…

The Visual Impact Muscle Building Course

Visual Impact comes in three parts.

First, the main ebook. This is where the whole philosophy behind the training is explained. If you’re not familiar with training methods outside the cycling world, or you’ve tried training plans from bodybuilding magazines with poor results, you’ll love this approach to training.

There are 15 chapters in the book followed by a Q&A section, so there’s a lot of information in there, but it is all easy to read and understand. There are quite a few images used for examples, and that is a big help. As a coach myself, I can usually pick out other people who would make a good coach or teacher, and Rusty Moore definitely fits the description.

The next part is the exercise demonstrations.

This is a 227 page PDF file with photo demonstrations and explanations of every exercise in the program. It would be great if this was an instructional DVD, but the photos should suffice for most people.

Lastly, Visual Impact includes printable workout charts.

These are all PDF files for each phase of the program. You can easily print these out and take them to the gym with you. They will guide your workouts and give you space to fill in your results. (You are going to keep a training log, aren’t you?!)

Complaints on Visual Impact

I only have one complaint about this program, and that has to do with the suggested exercises.

Quite a few of the exercises either require a specific machine only found at the gym, or a great variety of barbells, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc. at home. It’s not a big deal for me because I have plenty of equipment at home, and I’ve made plenty of exercise substitutions in the past, but if you don’t already have a home gym, you’ll either need to invest in some equipment or join the local gym.

The real problem is that there isn’t an “exercise substitution” section showing you home/garage variations for the machine-based exercises. Nate Green’s book has a great section on exercises and their “garage variation” for home gym users, so I wish Rusty would have done something along those lines.

Of course, if you don’t mind joining the local gym or YMCA, there’s no problem here. It’s just me being picky about where I workout!

My Visual Impact Workouts

To be completely honest here, I have a hard time sticking with weight training programs of any kind. I love sports, so if I have a chance to ride, run, ski, swim, or skate, 95% of the time I’m going to do that instead of lift weights.

But I have spent a few months over the past year testing out the Visual Impact workouts so I could write about them.

The first phase of the program was a shock to me. Since my workouts for as long as I can remember were all sports oriented, I’ve always shied away from bodybuilding stuff, which is really what this is – totally annihilating a muscle group, cumulative fatigue, etc. It’s way different from strength training.

But it was fun! The workout will probably take 45 minutes, and you are constantly moving. The rest breaks barely give you enough time to change the weights!

Each week ends up being a slightly different workout, too, so it’s not boring like doing the same thing every day.

Once you get into phases two and three, the workouts are more like strength training, so they more closely resemble sport-specific training. That’s why I recommend starting this program in the off-season – you can get the higher volume training out of the way before racing season is in full swing.

Isn’t is great how racing season corresponds with beach season? Whether you want peak race performance or a toned body for the beach, you can structure your training similarly.

My final verdict is…

The book is full of good info and laid out very well. Beginners and intermediate lifters should get a lot out of it. Even some “advanced” guys could learn a thing or two in here.

For endurance athletes looking to put on a little muscle for a better physique, I really like this program. I don’t know if Rusty has any idea that Visual Impact’s philosophy resonates so well with cyclists, but it does.

Let’s just say I like this program enough, that out of all the programs I have, this is one I am actually putting into practice myself!

Official website: www.VisualImpactMuscleBuilding.com

Whenever a new cycling training manual or DVD or sports nutrition book comes out, I like to at least skim through it and see what the new findings are. With all the books out there about cycling, plus running, swimming, and triathlon books, I rarely get a chance to read general diet and weight loss books.

So whenever Jeremy Likness asked me to take a look at his book, Lose Fat, Not Faith, I really didn’t have a clue what to expect. I mean, most weight loss books are really just gimmicks and fad diets, or don’t amount to anything more than “burn more calories than you consume and you’ll lose weight.” But the title of Jeremy’s book was pretty cool, and this little blurb was pretty convincing:

Former obese couch potato Jeremy Likness (who lost 65 pounds and was a Top 2000 Finisher in the 2000 Body-for-LIFE® competition) reveals everything about permanent weight loss and living a fun, healthy life.

So I got a copy of the book and decided to read it when I got a chance. I went with the digital version, thinking it would be fairly short and I could just read it on my computer sometime.

But as soon as I opened the book and checked his website, I was blown away. This isn’t your everyday diet/fitness ebook. And it’s actually about 240 pages! (And we’re talking full 8 1/2 x 11″ pages!)

After just a few pages, it was so good I wish I had had the print book, since it’s one of those books you really want to sit down and take the time to read and absorb it all. It was kind of hard to put it down!

Just reading through the introduction, you already know how the book will be. It’s motivational and inspiring. It doesn’t matter if you want to lose weight, the book is still awesome. It’s about life and how to make yours great, not just about losing a few pounds by next week to look good on the beach.

The crazy thing is, I can see it applying directly to my endurance sports training. I mean, losing weight, getting in shape, making lots of money, etc, it’s all the same, because there’s one common denominator – your mind. Your mind is surprisingly powerful, and if you harness that power, you can do amazing things.

And you will, if you read this book and take action.

Looking Through Lose Fat, Not Faith

Sometimes I try to summarize my thoughts to save time, but with a book like this, it’s so in-depth I have to explain why I like the whole thing. Here goes…

To start with, the personal stories and anecdotes really make the book. Some books have general advice with a few stories sprinkled in here and there, but Jeremy packs this book with stories from his real life adventures, and he even lends a personal touch to the entire book. This storytelling allows you to really connect to the information, so it sinks in much more deeply.

From the first section, goal setting was my favorite topic. Goals, motivation, and other psychological aspects are critical to success, so I was happy to see such a large piece of the book devoted to them.

Eventually the book got more methodical and detailed, for example, the section about charting your progress using a scale, body fat %, skin calipers, etc. It’s all good stuff for beginners, but it wasn’t that exciting for me… but I kept reading because even as topics were more plain and boring, the personal stories continued!

(I can see myself going back to this, or printing out passages and taping them onto my wall, for constant reminders. For example, in Chapter 10, there’s the break room story about coffee, donuts, cupcakes, and excuses. I’ll print that out and read it every day.)

Even going into Part 2, the book is about concepts, not specifics. It’s much like the “give a man a fish…” saying. What you read here will be more beneficial in the long run than just about any other advice.

I love nutrition, and I must say, the healthy eating advice is right on. It’s just the basics, but everything is explained; it’s easy to understand it all. Along with the good advice, Jeremy also totally debunks some of the garbage out there about low carb diets, complex carbs, and other trends that do more harm than good.

If you currently live your life based on diet trends in the gossip mags, be warned – this information will fly in the face of that fad diet garbage!

Just the chapter on carbohydrates, sugar, Glycemic Index, Glycemic Load, etc. is awesome and well worth the price of the book.

Everything is in there though: dairy, growth hormones, fat, protein, salt, potassium, fast food, nutrition fact labels, natural and artificial flavors, post-workout replenishment, supplements, etc. Everything!

You may need to reread the nutrition portions, especially the sections about pre, during, and post-workout nutrition, if you are just starting a nutrition plan. The information in this book is top notch, so much so that I can actually recommend you memorize and follow the guidelines.

(Normally the more general nutrition books and/or bodybuilding books are far from what I’d recommend to most cyclists, but this book’s advice is pretty close to what most cycling coaches would recommend.)

Jeremy finishes nutrition section with “a typical day” in his eating habits, which could be used as a guideline for you to plan your meals and supplements. I’d still suggest you do testing for yourself, but those are good outlines to use when planning your meals.

Next, the exercise section. The beginning is geared towards beginners, with suggestions such as “walking.” If you’re reading my articles for the training plans and advice, or the sports drink reviews, you’re probably well past this. But it is good for beginners, and I found it worth reading just because Jeremy keeps it interesting, and you might just pick up a good nugget of advice.

(If I hadn’t read through it, I would have missed the cameo appearance by Miguel Indurain!)

This section continues on with basic heart rate advice, although it puts it into perspective to show you the truth about the fat loss myth (i.e. supposedly you burn more fat by exercising at a very low heart rate.) Entire books have been written about heart rate training, but Lose Fat, Not Faith provides a good overview.

Weight lifting is next, with a few chapters on said topic. It’s yet another good overview. I really like “The Big Three,” so check that out if you get the book. Just remember, this is just enough information to get you started looking for a good how-to DVD and/or personal trainer, or even designing your own program. But… this book does NOT include a lot of how-to advice or any pictures, so don’t just jump into lifting heavy weights right off the bat!

* However, if you buy the ebook instead of the paperback, it includes extra bonuses including training manual with more specific information about the exercises.

** Also, LoseFatNotFaith.com is a great free resource, and you can find extras such as an exercise gallery, with pictures demonstrating proper form and technique.

Along with that, there is a section on abs, and other cool stuff like pull-ups. The ab workout section does include some “how to” instructions and training plan ideas. Even gos into great depth about what a “pull-up” actually entails.

The final few chapters cover odds and ends that are important, but don’t need entire sections in which to explain them. But there’s a good chapter on Recovery, arguably the most important aspect of a training program.

And then the conclusion wraps things up, and you’re ready to improve your life with positive thinking, proper eating, and exercise!

My Favorite Passage from Lose Fat, Not Faith

One line that really stood out was this: “My philosophy has always been that until you try something in the real world, all of the books and studies are just theory.”

I go by the same philosophy, which may be why the book resonated with me so much. No matter what studies are done, even if multiple studies show X improvements in 99% of Y, you could be the Z that wasn’t affected. That’s why I test out so much stuff and see what works for me. It could be totally different than what works for the majority of the population, but that’s OK – you just have to find the right stuff for your needs.

My final verdict is…

Lose Fat, Not Faith is a great book, appropriate for almost all athletes, although best for people just getting started who want to go on the right track. There is great advice throughout, so even if you already are motivated and keeping a good workout schedule, the nutrition advice is spot on and very useful.

Right now it’s $18.99 at Amazon.com for a paperback version just updated May 21, 2008. I’d say that’s a good deal for being such a complete resource. (The ebook is $39.95 because it comes with added bonuses.)

Official website: losefatnotfaith.com

To buy the ebook and bonus materials: ebook.losefatnotfaith.com

To buy the paperback at Amazon.com: www.amazon.com/Lose-Fat-Not-Faith-Transformation/dp/0976907941/