According to celebrity personal trainer and fitness author Bill Phillips, building muscle while you burn fat requires a course of both aerobic and resistance exercise. Aerobic exercise burns the calories necessary to lose fat. Resistance exercise, though too rigorous to keep up for the duration needed to really shed pounds, builds, shapes and tones muscle. As with any fitness program, the best approach for these fitness goals is systematic, safe and sustainable.
Step 1
Measure and record your starting statistics. Weigh yourself. Measure the circumference of your waist, chest at the nipples, biceps and thighs. For chest, biceps and thighs, measure with muscles both flexed and relaxed.
Step 2
Perform three sessions of cardiovascular exercise, such as running or group aerobics, per week. Each session should be 40 to 60 minutes long, sustained at moderate effort. Triathlete Kelly Dodge defines "moderate effort" as hard enough that you're breathing is labored but not so hard that you couldn't carry on a conversation.
Step 3
Work through three sessions of resistance exercise, such as weightlifting or calisthenics, each week. Phillips recommends that one session per week focus on legs, back and abdomen, while the other two focus on chest, shoulders and arms. For each session, perform two to three exercises for each muscle group at three sets of eight repetitions per exercise.
Step 4
Take one day per week off. This gives your body the rest it needs to build muscle mass and sustain your workout schedule.
Step 5
Record the workouts in your journal, noting the kind of exercise, time or number of repetitions and your perceived level of effort. Use your notes to help keep your workouts at a level for your growing degree of fitness and strength.
Step 6
Remeasure your statistics every other week. Record the results in your journal.
Tips and Warnings
- Consider taking supplements if you want faster results. Although not necessary to build muscle or shed fat, performance fuels can make the process quicker and easier.
Things You'll Need
- Exercise equipment
- Journal
- Bathroom scale
- Measuring tape
References
- "Body for Life"; Bill Phillips; 2006
- Kelly Dodge; Triathlete; Portland, Oregon
- "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding"; Arnold Schwarzeneger;1999
- "The Art of Expressing the Human Body"; Bruce Lee & John Little; 1998
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