HELP! Burn Fat and/or Build Muscle
My goals are to build muscle and burn fat at the same time.
I’ve started a strength training combined with cardio routine a week ago and I am finding it difficult to build muscle and burn fat at the same time, it seems in order for me to be efficient I need to do just one or the other … not both at the same time. If I eat too little I am wasting my weight lifting efforts, eat too much I risk gaining fat.
My question is is there a way or are there ways to efficiently do both and not having them fight each other too much?
May 16, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Any inputs are greatly appreciated!
May 16, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I am no expert on this, but I have never had success trying to do both. I have always had to concentrate on one, then switch to the other. Personally, it is easier for me to build then cut. If your goals are to put on 5-10 that can be done quickly. However, cutting will take some time and a lot of effort. I always leave that for after building. Hope that helps. Good luck with your goals.
May 16, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Definitely a tough dilemma. I’d recommend focusing on the muscle building to start with. Muscle is what’s called a "metabolically active tissue", meaning that it burns calories just by being there. Take a look at how many calories you’re consuming (assuming that you’re staying at the same weight) pretty consistently now) and do 3 things:
Split them into more, and smaller, meals. This will regulate and stabilize your metabolism and ultimately create some small weight loss on its own.
Make sure you’re getting those calories from good sources (goes without saying… almost).
Keep them the same or slightly higher, but keep any increase a little bit below (250-300 calories maybe) what you’re now burning with your weight training.
This SHOULD help you do a bit of both at once, though they are conflicting and you’ll hit a wall at some point. Also, be sure to tailor this to your own needs… see what works and tweak it as needed.
Lastly, try different types of cardio… I like to do very moderate cardio immediately after lifting when my muscle glycogen (sugar) is low and bodyfat is more likely to be used. Some people prefer HIT or interval training. See what your body responds to, and good luck!
May 16, 2009 at 12:37 pm
The simple answer to your question is "no" and "yes." If you are natural, the answer is no. If you are willing to risk the negative side effects of steroids/GH, then yes.
-A natural body, must do one or the other, build muscle, or lean out. In my experience, there is no greater truth when it comes to fitness.
May 16, 2009 at 1:18 pm
You can absolutely build muscle while you burn off fat. It just may not be building/leaning as much or as quickly as if you focused only on one or the other. The first 3 months my wife trained with me she went from a size 7/9 to 3 and her weight only went down about 5lbs. She burned a lot of fat off (over 10%) and built lean tissue at the same time. Work more on appropriately timing your nutrients around your workouts and you can still get plenty of food in during the day.
May 16, 2009 at 2:11 pm
I’ve been doing it!…it takes longer than focusing on one of them at a time, but it’s definitely doable…
May 20, 2009 at 8:53 am
trixter is right on the money. Personally, in 5 months I dropped 31.7 pounds of bodyfat while adding 8 pounds of lean mass.
May 27, 2009 at 8:39 pm
Hey lady! I’m currently prepping for my first show and I’ve maintained /gained muscle while losing body fat. I can tell by the scale, I’m still same weight but my clothes fit loose and progress pics tell it all. I’ve seen a lot of ppl "bulk" and add some mass but it looks so messy, they spill w/ lots of fat, then takes that much more time to lose the fat and experiment with what will make them lose it fastest. You have a great build, go for the moderate cardio and continue lifting!