Is It Possible To Build Muscle And Lose Fat In The Same Time?

This is one of the most discussed dilemmas in bodybuilders community. The dream of each bodybuilder is to get bigger and stronger, but with minimum or even no fat gains. Also, there are many people who do strength training, while following a low calorie or any other diet with nutritional deficiencies. This is the biggest mistake and stays far from such idea! As you know for building muscle mass you have to increase calorie intake, while for burning fat you have to decrease it. During weight, loss body burns fat deposits for getting energy.  So, is it possible to lose fat while getting lean, if yes, how?

Despite it is quite complicated, building muscle and losing fat simultaneously can be done. You just have to be very careful about what you eat and what type of training you follow. When it comes to building muscle mass there is two main option. The first category is people who eat a lot, hoping that the more they eat, the higher is protein synthesis and in results, the muscle mass grow.

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This is not as simple as it may seem at first glance. The body cannot assimilate so many calories at once. Growing muscle will take away calories necessary for their growth, while the remained calories will just be stored as fat. That's’ why people who follow a diet higher than five thousand of calorie a day, which is much more than body needs for muscle growth, will gain fat too. The second option is about a more moderate approach - ensuring the calorie intake necessary for muscle growth and no more.

Must Read: How Many Calories A Day To Eat To Build Muscle?

This will help you increase muscle mass with minimum or even no fat addition. Most of the bodybuilder who wants to increase muscle mass need around 3200-4000 calories for muscle growth. The excess calories should be 10-20% compared with a conventional diet to gain muscle mass. For most men, this means an addition of 400-500 calories to their traditional diet.

So, if you follow a daily diet of  3000 calories, you will need just to add 50o calories for building muscle mass. If your diet excess this amount of calories, there are big chances that your body will store calories as fat. And this means that you will not succeed in your attempt to build muscle with minimal or even no fat addition.

Anytime you increase daily calorie intake, your body metabolism tries to keep the balance of your body weight. That’s means that your body at one moment can get accustomed to the amount of calorie it gets for muscle growth. This means that you will have to increase after a while the amount of calorie to keep muscle growing.

Must Read: Bodybuilding Metabolism

Maybe you have heard people talking about their initial calorie intake is 3000, for example, and after a while, it raises to 4000 or a bit higher. The necessity to increase amount for calorie for muscle growth explain it. The best training method to follow when looking to build muscle and burn fat simultaneously is weight lift training. It is very important do not overdo it.

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For example, you can train 4 times a week. The duration of the first three workouts should be no longer than 40 minutes, while the 4th workout should be longer up to 90 minutes. Try to make your calorie intake in the 4th day slightly higher, as your boat will need them for energy.

The best exercises to be included in such training are dumbbell chest press, dumbbell shoulder press, pull-ups/pull-down, squats, deadlifts and incline crunch. Choose to do three, four sets by 12 repetitions for each of them you will get great results.

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Cardio training is also good for this goal, but should not be too long. You can opt for a ten minutes cardio training before your weight lift workout. If you follow the allow-calorie diet, you have to know that performing much more aerobic workout may inhibit muscle growth.

Related: The Do’s And Don’ts Of Low And High-Intensity Cardio

Here are some other very important tips to follow for building muscle and fat burn in the same time:

-Eat at least six times a day. Eating less than this number means that you get the deficient amount of calorie to keep muscle grow. Also, it may mean that your body gets a big amount of calorie during one meal and is unable to assimilate it. This can lead to fat addition.
- Keep your one-time calorie intake around 600, not higher.  If you have to consume 3500 calories a day, then divide it into six meals. You will get a medium size meal, and thus your body will be able to assimilate it.
-Do not avoid aerobic exercises. Minimize it duration only if you follow a low-calorie diet or you have a fast metabolism. Overwise, cardio training is recommended, especially in case your calorie intake is high.
-Eat natural products able to increase your metabolism. Fresh vegetables and lean proteins. Good source of carbohydrates is oatmeal, whole grains, beans, brown rice, and potatoes. Your protein intake has to be around 1-1, 5 g per pound of bodyweight. Following this dose means that your muscles will get right doses of amino acids for maintaining and building muscle tissue.
- Never count out good sources of fat, like avocado, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, natural peanut butter, some egg yolks and sunflower seeds. Healthy fats are essential for keeping the high level of testosterone, burn fat and other important process. Also, these fats are great for fulfilling your 3000 calorie intake. You will have not to eat a big amount of meals for this, if you opt to include in your diet “good” fats.
-Exclude from your diet refined food and junk food. Try to eat as more as possible healthy foods. There is no difference between food for muscle growth and for losing fat: It just a matter of the number of calories.
-Rest at least 8 hours per day. You have to know that during the rest period, body restore muscle by creating more muscle tissue, which leads to muscle grow. So, there is a muscle grow with enough sleep. Unless, you choose to use steroids.

So, one way to build muscle and burn fat is to ensure your muscles with calories necessary just for muscle growth and no more. This means a calorie intake of 3000-4500 calories divided into six meals throughout the day. It supposes there will be no fat addition since all amount of calorie will be used for muscle building. The best will be to combine such a diet with a lift weight training. Also, a ten-minute cardio training before the lift weight workout is advisable.

Another way is to use “bulking and cutting” cycles, in other words, periodization.  It means that you will follow a rich diet, focusing on building muscle mass. Once you get it, switch to cutting training and diet, thus you will manage to build muscle and get rid of fat. If you choose to follow such a method, be careful do not add more than 30 % of fat during the bulking period, and do not burn more than 30 % during the cutting cycle.

As you see it is not impossible to build muscle and burn fat at the same time. It is true that you will not be able to get massive muscle mass, but a general increase in muscle mass will be achieved. And, most important you will get rid of fat. This means that your muscle gets a better exposure, as they are not more covered by fat.