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Jugesh is a bodybuilder who has been training "awhile... and ...prefers the look of the past - the 60's and 70's." At 5'10," 180lbs and 25% bodyfat, our friend wants to get lean and can't. His closing statement is classic, "I always seem to lose muscle instead of fat, causing me to slim down to a smaller version of myself."

Jugesh, you share the same predicament with 90% of all bodybuilding enthusiasts and participants; how to gain muscle and lose bodyfat at the same time. We all have this target - it is bodybuilding in it's simplest form. Re-read the three answers in this section dated earlier this month to Lionel H., Tim and Jim L.

I have limited information about you, but my gut feeling is that you, in your quest for leanness, are sacrificing muscle size and muscle growth. I suggest you hold your bodyweight; use it to work hard and go for muscle mass, density and permanence. Train each muscle group two times per week - once won't do it unless you're well along in your development. Throw in another 2-3 days of intense aerobics. You need a rock solid six month muscle building stretch, without being overly critical of definition. Then assess your progress and reevaluate your goals. This six month input will be most productive, I have no doubt.

Let logic be your guide. Seeking leanness and building muscle mass at once basically requires contradictory processes. Jugesh, your diet is picture perfect for pre-contest training. However, today I suggest you add red meat and well placed carbs to give you a training advantage and insure greater muscle response.

Every day I see bodybuilders stall their muscle building process and cease to grow at all, looking for abs or cuts or definition prematurely. Trim down next season. Let's stand back for a moment. What's the rush, anyway?