Losing weight and building muscle at the same time can be challenging, but not impossible. Doing both at the same time, at first glance, seems counter-intuitive because weight loss traditionally requires a decreased caloric intake. Meanwhile, outdated fitness dogma tells us that muscle-building requires a caloric excess. However, the human body has the power to partition nutrients, using its own body fat as energy to help recover and build muscle, even in a caloric deficit. Follow a few simple guidelines to optimize your weight loss and muscle gain at the same time.
Step 1
Perform resistance training workouts three to five days per week to encourage muscle building. Focus on the compound movements, such as the squat and bench press, which build muscle more efficiently than isolation movements, such as leg extensions or dumbbell flyes. Pick a good workout program and stick to it for at least four weeks.
Step 2
Add NA or negative-accentuated sets to your program. The negative is the lowering portion of the weight-lifting movement. For example, on each rep of the bench press lower the weight to a slow six-second count, and then lift with a natural one to two-second repetition. Add one negative-accentuated set to each exercise performed, and use it on the last set.
Step 3
Drink a post-workout protein shake with 30 to 50 g of whey protein, 30 to 60 g of high-glycemic carbohydrates (dextrose, fruit juice or bananas) and 15 to 30 g of healthy fats, such as flaxseed oil. Best-selling fitness author Jeff Anderson recommends this ratio for building muscle and burning fat in his book "Optimum Anabolics." Post-workout nutrition helps muscles recover and optimizes your body's natural muscle-building and fat-burning process.
Step 4
Do 30 minutes of steady state cardiovascular exercise immediately following your resistance training workout. Steady state cardio is low-intensity training, such as walking on the treadmill on an incline at a steady pace. In his book "Combat the Fat," author Jeff Anderson recommends this type of cardio because it can target body fat directly. If you feel you have a lot of body fat to lose, add extra cardio sessions as needed.
Step 5
Eat foods that the body does not readily store as body fat. These "clean" foods will fuel muscle-building, but also help to inhibit the accumulation of body fat. Select lean proteins such as fish, turkey, chicken or whey protein. Choose only low-glycemic (slow-digesting) carbohydrates like oatmeal, brown rice, whole grains and sweet potatoes. Include four to six servings a day from healthy fats like olive oil, nuts and seeds, natural peanut butter and avocados.
Step 6
Divide your total daily nutrition among five or six smaller meals, spaced two or three hours apart. According to "The Fat-Burning Bible" by Mackie Shilstone, this strategy elevates metabolic rate and trickles nutrients into muscle cells for recovery and rebuilding. Have three slightly larger meals, with two or three snacks in-between them.
References
- "The Abs Diet"; David Zinczenko; 2004
- "Xtreme Lean"; Jonathan Lawson and Steve Holman; 2006
- "The Fat-Burning Bible"; Mackie Shilstone; 2005
- "Optimum Anabolics"; Jeff Anderson; 2004
- "Combat the Fat"; Jeff Anderson; 2008
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