Most people want to lose body fat, while they also retain muscle mass or even build more muscle mass. It’s not a pipe dream but is hard to do if you’re not using the right exercise techniques and have adequate nutritional guidance. The fat/muscle composition of your body not only affects how you look, it also makes a difference in how quickly you lose weight. If you want a six-pack or the muscular look, you need to do both, lose fat and gain muscle.
No matter how much exercise you do, if there’s a layer of fat, your efforts won’t show.
Some people have a six-pack and a chiseled appearance, but it’s hidden under a layer of fat. How do you lose that fat without losing the muscle tone? Start by looking at your workout program. If you’re doing primarily cardio, you’ll be burning both lean muscle mass and fat, which is counterproductive. That can actually slow your efforts to burn fat, since muscle tissue requires more calories for maintenance than fat tissue does. Complex strength building exercises will build or retain your muscle tissue, while also burning fat.
Your diet is extremely important.
Great bodies start in the kitchen. If you’re not eating clean and don’t have a nutritious menu, you’ll make it harder to build muscle, retain muscle or shed fat. You need to include approximately 1.5 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. Healthy fat is also important in your diet. It’s essential for burning fat in your body. It should be approximately 15-20% of your total calorie intake.
If you’re tracking your calorie intake and trying to build muscle, eat approximately 500 fewer calories a day.
We focus on healthy eating and that means lowering calorie intake slowly, not a crash diet. If you’re trying to build muscles, reduce your calorie intake by approximately 500 calories a day. It takes energy to build lean muscle tissue. Healthy eating does that naturally. If you’re doing tough strength training, your reduction needs to be minimal or not at all.
- Just cutting calories without exercise won’t give you the look you want. You may look heavier, even if you’ve lost weight. The body of someone muscular looks slimmer than the body of someone that’s not muscular who weighs the same.
- Complex strength building exercises work several muscles and joints at the same time, so they burn more calories while building muscle tissue. We use the latest scientific techniques to help you lose fat, while you build muscle.
- When you want to lose fat, not muscle, make sure you get adequate sleep. Lack of sleep can cause an imbalance in the hunger/satiety hormone, so you’ll be prone to eat more and too tired to workout as hard as you should.
- Make sure you give your body a chance to heal the muscle tissue. Don’t do strenuous strength building exercises every day. Not giving adequate recovery time can cause you to lose muscle mass and hurt your progress.
For more information, contact us today at UpFit Training Academy
