Can You Lose Fat And Gain Muscle
By Noelle Walker at New Fitness
So can you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time? I see and hear this question a lot! People are still confused by this. I can see why as the answer really lies in who you are and what stage of the game you’re at. What I mean by this is where are you in your fitness journey and or stage?
BEGINNER TO FITNESS
If you are a beginner to fitness and lifting or you were on a hiatus and are rejoining the fitness and lifting world then the answer is a most definitive yes, yes and yes! In fact you will gain muscle at a fairy fast rate and at the same time lose a ton of fat, if you are doing it right that is. What I mean by “doing it right” is you have a recipe that includes cardio, lifting weights(moderate or heavier weight), adequate rest in between workouts and then a good diet that includes protein, vegetables and healthy fats. So yes you can expect to lose fat and gain muscle well into the first year of working out either for the first time or if you’re coming back to it after along time of being just sedentary.Â
EXPERIENCED LIFTERS
Things change though if you are an experienced lifter that has been lifting and working out for more than a year. Adaptation tends be slower for these groups of people. The reason it is going to be harder for you to gain muscle at the same time as losing fat is because you are going to be naturally slow to gain muscle in the first place. So although gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time will be almost impossible(yes that’s true) you can definitely maintain muscle while you lose fat. And for some people they will be able to gain “some” muscle and lose “some” fat at the same time if they are a natural muscular build in the first place. If they are what is called a “mesomorph” body type which just means they can gain muscle pretty quickly then it’s possible. But it will still be a slow process.
ONE GOAL AT AT TIME
For those of you who have been working out for a while and you have goals of either losing fat and or gaining muscle and you want results now you are really going to have to focus on one goal that you want to achieve first. Focus on that goal whether it’s to lose fat(and maintain muscle) or gain muscle. Once you have achieved one of these goals then you can go on to the other goal. It’s really the only way you are going to achieve results quickly.
AVOID STEADY STATE CARDIO
The way to maintain muscle and lose fat is to NOT do steady state cardio or running as many people do when they are trying to lose fat. If you start doing tons of cardio as your way to lose fat you will also lose a lot of muscle. You don’t want that. You want to be able to keep the muscle you have while losing fat. The way to achieve this is by doing high intensity cardio with weights. An example is a Burpee with a Dumbell Shoulder Press. Or a Plank Jack and a Unilateral Dumbell Back Row. Focus on these types of workouts to lose fat fast while maintaining your muscle mass.
Hope this helps and if you have any questions comment below or Contact MeÂ
