Building muscle and losing weight at the same time is difficult because the traditional means of doing each individually are contradictory. Generally, to lose weight you eat less than your maintenance caloric intake, and to gain weight you eat more. Gaining muscle requires optimal nutrition to provide muscle-building nutrients. Losing fat requires reducing calories to force the body to burn fat for energy. Follow a few basic guidelines to optimize both fat-burning and muscle-building at the same time.
Step 1
Time your nutrients to maximize muscle-building. After you workout there is an "anabolic window" during which most of the nutrients you take in will be used for repairing muscle damage. Follow fitness expert Jeff Anderson's advice and take a post-workout protein shake for optimal recovery. Combine 30 to 50g of whey protein, 60g carbohydrates and 30g of healthy fats, such as flaxseed oil or medium-chain triglycerides.
Step 2
Time your carbohydrates to optimize fat burning. Take in most of your carbohydrates during the day when your body will use them for energy rather than storing them as body fat. Since carbs are the primary source of energy for the body, they are essential to gaining muscle. However, in the evening metabolic rate slows, preparing for sleep, and your body needs fewer carbs. Try splitting your total daily carb intake between pre- and post-workout meals. Or simply stop eating carbs after 3 p.m., focusing on lean proteins, fibrous vegetables and healthy fats.
Step 3
Do resistance training workouts three to five days per week for no longer than 60 minutes each session. Going longer than an hour increases the production of the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause muscle-wasting and triggers fat-storage. Keep workouts brief and intense, to elevate levels of the fat-burning hormones testosterone and GH (human growth hormone).
Step 4
Add negative-accentuated--NA--sets to your training routine. The negative stroke of any weight-training exercise is the lowering portion of the repetition. Accentuating the negative means lowering the weight for a slow and controlled six-second count. By creating more micro-tears in muscle tissue, NA sets trigger increased fat burning for up to 72 hours following your workout, according to Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman's book, "Xtreme Lean." The muscle damage takes a lot of calories to repair, and the lactic acid buildup created by such training releases the potent fat-burning hormone GH from the pituitary gland.
Step 5
Do 30 minutes of low-intensity cardio immediately following your weight-training workout. Fitness author Jeff Anderson recommends this "super cardio" because it burns body fat almost exclusively. He explains your body will store fatty acids, which are released for energy during your workout, if your body doesn't use them immediately.
References
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2008
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