Dun, Dun, Dun . . . . .

(CavemanCircus.com)

You Can't Be Both, Here's Why

Why You Can’t Get Lean While Getting Big and Strong

Increasing muscle density and size is what makes you big and strong. So to get big and strong, you need to pack on more muscle.

But here’s the rub. Muscle is calorically expensive. It requires a lot of energy to create. To create that new muscle, you need to consume more calories than you’re expending. How much more? More than you probably think.

The biggest mistake most men make when they set down the path of gainz is that they eat the same amount of food they were eating before they were training. Intense weight training puts a lot of stress on the body. To fully recover, you need to provide your body the fuel to do so. That means you need a sufficient amount of calories that come from protein, carbs, and fat.

If you train and provide your body with enough calories, muscle mass and strength will increase.

But you’re also going to put on some body fat.

I’m sorry to say so, but sadly it’s true.

There’s no escaping that fact. Some of those excess calories you’re consuming for the production of muscle will be stored as fat. That’s just how your body operates.

Why You Can’t Get Big and Strong While Getting Lean

To get ripped, lean, shredded, etc. you need to shed body fat.

Shedding body fat requires you to consume fewer calories than you’re expending so that your body uses your fat stores for energy.

But here’s the rub: just as you can’t put on muscle mass without putting on some body fat, you can’t reduce body fat without reducing some muscle mass.

When you’re in a caloric deficit, your body not only uses fat for energy, it also breaks down muscle tissue for the nutrients it needs to keep your physiological systems running. As muscle tissue cannibalizes, muscle mass and strength go down.

This is why you can’t get big and strong while you’re trying to get lean. Getting big and strong requires excess calories, while getting lean requires a caloric deficit.

You’ve got to pick a goal at the exclusion of the other.

(ArtOfManliness.com)

The Irwindale Speedway Saga Continues

California's Irwindale Speedway Is Staying Open

After being scheduled to close next month to be bulldozed and turned into a mall, California’s Irwindale Speedway isn’t done for after all. Posts on social media said the speedway announced it Thursday night, and a spokesperson from the track confirmed to Jalopnik on Friday that Irwindale will stay open.

The track announced in August that its final date in operation would be Jan. 31, and that the land would become a 700,000-square-foot mall—something that’s been rumored for years.

But plans changed somewhere along the way, and while the spokesperson couldn’t give Jalopnik the details what did change, even vague news about a race track staying open is all we can really ask for. After all, who needs more shopping malls? Order it online.

The track spokesperson said there is no announced timeline in regards to the deal, and that the announcement from the other night was something along the lines of, “Literally 30 minutes ago, a deal was made to keep Irwindale Speedway and drag strip open. More details in the following days.” That was all, he said.

Update, Dec. 30 at 7:40 p.m. Irwindale sent out an announcement that appears to confirm the deal to keep it a race track will be for multiple years, but did not specify how many. From the announcement:

It was announced on Thursday evening that Irwindale Event Center, the home of Irwindale Speedway and Irwindale Drag Strip, will remain open and in full operation under a new multi-year agreement with a group of motorsports enthusiasts led by Tim Huddleston and Justice Brothers and the property owners.

The announcement ended by saying more details will be available soon.

(Jalopnik.com)

A Great Use Of A Science Grant

(Bits&Pieces.us)

Kid's Cruiser Are Better Than Ever

Kids Ride-On Electric Cars

More pictures (AutoBlog.com)