How do I lose fat and gain muscle?
Hi everyone. I’m a 17-year-old guy and I’m just getting started on my fitness journey. I don’t have much experience lifting or working out, but I really want to lose some weight and bulk up. I don’t even want to be huge like a body builder, I just want to feel good about myself. Basically, I guess my question is can I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? I don’t know if I’m supposed to focus on losing weight before I put muscle on or vice versa and Google is kind of giving me confusing answers. Any guidance here?
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It is challenging to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. Most people do it separately: a building phase
followed by a shredding phase
.
To optimize building muscle while trying to lean out your body’s composition, I'd recommend you:
1. Eat every two or three hours .
2. Weight training five times per week (isolating each muscle group).
3. Doing cardio about three or four times per week . Preferably at a separate interval than your weight training will be your best bet.
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To optimize building muscle while trying to lean out your body’s composition, I'd recommend you:
1. Eat every two or three hours .
2. Weight training five times per week (isolating each muscle group).
3. Doing cardio about three or four times per week . Preferably at a separate interval than your weight training will be your best bet.
Pilates is known for developing long, strong muscles. You will get stronger from doing Pilates, but it is a very different look from weightlifting or some of the other ways of working out, because we also focus on flexibility at the same time.
We develop long, strong muscles and a lot of postural work that happens as a result of moving the way we do. We don't necessarily focus hugely on the posture, but good posture does organically arise from doing good Pilates. So, in terms of reducing fat and building muscle, people tend to lose inches doing Pilates. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily a big fat-burning thing like HIIT or some kind of cardio workout, but people do tend to lose inches and find that their posture changes significantly, which gives the illusion of having trimmed down considerably.
If you’re looking for a Pilates regimen, we always advise people to do Pilates three to four times a week. That is a really nice balance. And it's also ideal to balance working on the reformer and the mat, and maybe the pull system, using the full system. Classical Pilates is designed to be a system, and all the different pieces of equipment work together. There are muscles that you use and ways that you use your muscles very differently on one piece of equipment versus another. So, it is good to have a well-rounded experience on multiple pieces of equipment and to do it consistently several times a week.
The consistency makes a huge difference, especially at the beginning, as does the frequency. The whole concept of classical Pilates is to create uniform development in the body. So, we're trying to balance the musculature around the joints and within the body so that even the smallest muscles are working, and you're not just overpowering them and only using your muscles that are already strong. For that reason, it takes a beat to tune into the cues that your body gives you when you're learning how to use muscles that maybe have been historically underused.
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We develop long, strong muscles and a lot of postural work that happens as a result of moving the way we do. We don't necessarily focus hugely on the posture, but good posture does organically arise from doing good Pilates. So, in terms of reducing fat and building muscle, people tend to lose inches doing Pilates. I wouldn't say that it's necessarily a big fat-burning thing like HIIT or some kind of cardio workout, but people do tend to lose inches and find that their posture changes significantly, which gives the illusion of having trimmed down considerably.
If you’re looking for a Pilates regimen, we always advise people to do Pilates three to four times a week. That is a really nice balance. And it's also ideal to balance working on the reformer and the mat, and maybe the pull system, using the full system. Classical Pilates is designed to be a system, and all the different pieces of equipment work together. There are muscles that you use and ways that you use your muscles very differently on one piece of equipment versus another. So, it is good to have a well-rounded experience on multiple pieces of equipment and to do it consistently several times a week.
The consistency makes a huge difference, especially at the beginning, as does the frequency. The whole concept of classical Pilates is to create uniform development in the body. So, we're trying to balance the musculature around the joints and within the body so that even the smallest muscles are working, and you're not just overpowering them and only using your muscles that are already strong. For that reason, it takes a beat to tune into the cues that your body gives you when you're learning how to use muscles that maybe have been historically underused.
Exercise by strength training at least 2-3 times a week
for about 45-60 minutes
. Try to get in either 3 cardio sessions a week, about the same amount of time (30-60 minutes at about a zone 3 cardio), or get between 10,000-15,000 steps a day.
Then you’ll also want to focus on your nutrition. You don't want to necessarily be at a deficit because you’re trying to build muscle at the same time, but you want to make sure that you’re at a slightly higher than maintenance level of caloric intake. Make sure you’re getting the right amount of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates – with an emphasis on clean macros.
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Then you’ll also want to focus on your nutrition. You don't want to necessarily be at a deficit because you’re trying to build muscle at the same time, but you want to make sure that you’re at a slightly higher than maintenance level of caloric intake. Make sure you’re getting the right amount of protein, healthy fats, and carbohydrates – with an emphasis on clean macros.
You can lose weight and build muscle at the same time. Here’s how to do it. So, number one, you need to lift heavy. And when I say heavy, I mean heavy with good form. Do 8-12 reps for each exercise. That’s where you’re going to get the most hypertrophy, which is just a fancy word for muscle building. If 8-12 reps is too tough, you know you’re using too much weight. So that's number one, the rep range you need to stay in is 8-12 and you want to focus on heavy lifting exercises.
Number two is going to be the tools that you use or the equipment. Use a mixture of kettlebells, barbells, and dumbbells to ensure you aren’t specializing in one particular movement or type of exercise.
Last is nutrition. You want to eat a healthy diet and run a caloric deficit while you’re losing weight. Once you start bulking up and building bigger muscles, you can adjust your diet until you’re at a healthy weight where you’re happy with how you look.
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Number two is going to be the tools that you use or the equipment. Use a mixture of kettlebells, barbells, and dumbbells to ensure you aren’t specializing in one particular movement or type of exercise.
Last is nutrition. You want to eat a healthy diet and run a caloric deficit while you’re losing weight. Once you start bulking up and building bigger muscles, you can adjust your diet until you’re at a healthy weight where you’re happy with how you look.
This process is called body recomposition. It requires you to be in a slight calorie deficit (200-300 calories below maintenance) while eating 0.8-1g of protein per pound of goal bodyweight. Heavy lifting with progressive overload (increasing reps and/or weight over time) is apart of the process as well.
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A mistake a lot of beginners make when they're eager to build muscle is working out too much. Your muscles need time to grow after you exercise, so make sure to take a rest day or two between your workouts. Make sure you listen to your body and push yourself enough to challenge and grow your muscles, but not so much that you injure yourself. A calorie tracking app can be helpful for keeping track of what you eat so you can figure out a calorie intake that allows you to lose weight and build muscle.
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To lose weight and gain muscle you need to be in a calorie deficit and consume protein. You achieve a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you consume, which you can do by exercising more or changing your diet. I did a combination of both. I incorporated more cardio and weight training into my routine to burn more calories and cut out some calories (I had a sweet tooth). My proteins of choice were chicken breast and ground turkey.
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