Can You Gain Muscle & Lose Fat at the Same Time?
This is a controversial topic and you’re going to hear different views depending on whom you talk to…
Some people will say that it’s impossible to gain muscle AND lose fat simultaneously and that you have to focus on one or the other.
While others will say that you CAN build muscle while losing fat at the same time with proper diet and exercise.
Which One Is Correct ?
They BOTH are because it really depends on your personal fitness level.
That’s what we’ll discuss in the video below…
Click PLAY To Watch The Video:
Note: if you are on an iPad and can’t watch the embedded video clip above,
you can watch it right on my YouTube Channel by Clicking Here
Beginners
The process of building muscle and losing bodyfat is fairly simple for beginners. When the body is out of shape and not accustomed to regular exercise any consistent routine will produce results initially. Simply following a sound bodybuilding nutrition program and a good weight training workout routine will allow a beginner to build lean muscle mass while trimming off excess bodyfat at the same time.
Intermediates
For intermediates (people who have been working out for 1-2 years) they can still gain muscle while losing fat at the same time. However, it’s going to be a bit more difficult. They will have to be stricter with their nutrition program and manipulate the amount of cardio they do in addition to their weight training in order to optimize fat loss while building lean muscle mass.
Advanced
As you become more advanced it gets even harder to simultaneously build muscle while burning bodyfat. The better shape you are in, the harder it is to make further improvements. Now this doesn’t mean that making progress isn’t possible, it just means that it’s going to take a lot more work than it took to get the initial results you got as a beginner. That’s why advanced bodybuilders have to cycle their training from off-season mass building phases (i.e. bulking) to pre-contest fat loss phases (i.e. cutting).
At the highest levels of bodybuilding you can’t effectively gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. You’ll have to focus on one or the other and cycle your diet and training accordingly. In order to maximize muscle growth you’ll have to be in a caloric surplus, and a side effect of this is that you’ll probably gain some excess bodyfat in the process. And vice versa – when you are training to maximize fat loss you’ll have to be in a strict caloric deficit, and thus you may lose some muscle while going for that ultra ripped look. At the advanced level it requires delicate balance of cycling back and forth between bulking and cutting in order to develop a bigger and leaner physique.
If you would like to learn how to properly cycle your diet and training for building muscle while losing bodyfat than you should check out the 21-Day Fast Mass Building Program.
This is an advanced program that combines mini bulking and cutting cycles into a complete 21-day training and nutrition system that is broken down into full and explicit detail.
You’ll learn exactly what foods to eat, how much and how often for both bulking and cutting. In addition to that you’ll learn how to customize your very own program based on your body type and starting point. Whether your body fat is 5%… 10%… 15% or higher, you’ll learn the best calorie cycle plan and workout routine to maximize muscle growth while burning bodyfat.
Click Here for more information…
7 Comments
jay d
how hard is it to get ripped at 42yrs old or is it possable
Scott Proudman
hey lee I started working out again after taking off 7 years and being in my forties I notice it is hard to lose the weight I lose and then gain, for instance I lost 2 pounds than all of a sudden I gained 10 lbs, someone told me it could b my thyroid, or diabetes 1 I am not sure it is frustrating and depressing I do cardio everyday I ride my bike 15 miles and hit the gym for only a hour, I do a three day on one day off routine and follow a strict diet what can b going on here
leehayward
Scott Proudman,
Your body weight is constantly going up and down daily. It’s normal to fluctuate 5-10 pounds per day. The main thing for monitoring your progress is keeping track of your bodyweight, waist measurement, and bodyfat percentage. I recommend taking 1 day per week to track and record all these things. This way you can see how your body is changing over the long term.
A good fat loss goal to strive for is to lower your bodyfat percentage by 1/2 to 1% per week.
Russell Bell
Great article. I’d like to add that it’s very possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time by other means. 10 for 10, sleeping ten hours a day for 10 days has resulted in muscle gain and fat loss without even exercising. Cyclical ketogenic diets will result in dramatic muscle gain and fat loss over time. Vince Gironda’s eight sets of eight will also burn fat and build muscle in most athletes. Adding 20 rep squats to the end of a leg day will do the same. When you start combining these sorts of things into your diet and training building muscle and burning fat really isn’t a hard thing to do at the same time.
Joseph
Hi Lee!
5 months ago I started following a diet(well…I quit eating bread and different high carb foods)and I lost around 16kg.
I weighted 116 and now I have just under 100kg,my goal is to reach 80-85kg and then stop.
I started going to the gym again 2 weeks ago,after a 9 month pause(i suffer from asthma,and because of my treatment I got so fat).
Curently I follow your 12 week program and what can I say,things are good for me,but some folks from the gym told me that I shouldn’t follow your program and that I should do only cardio.
I already lost 16kg just from diet and I don’t think that if I do a muscle gain program I will get fat again.
So what is your opinion on this?
P.S sorry for my english,I live in Romania….
You have a great site btw!
leehayward
Joseph,
Weight training is critical to losing bodyfat, the more muscle you have the easier it is to burn and keep the fat off. You’ve already proven to yourself that you can lose fat with weight training by losing 16 kilos. My advice is to keep doing what you are doing because it’s working.
Catalin Manea
Great post. I believe you can gain muscle and lose fat at the same time but you need to be experienced to get this done- it’s funny to see how some kids that are just starting lifting want to get ripped and big at the same time.And they want it right away. I always find that funny