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Burning Fat and Building Muscle |
There is a persistent myth that it is impossible to burn fat while building muscle. Even though researchers have proven that it is possible to both build muscle and burn fat at the same time, many people insist that you cannot do the two at the same time because losing weight necessarily involves losing muscle.
This is true only if you are not building muscle at the same time you are losing weight. It is definitely possible to burn fat and build muscle at the same time, but it requires a slightly different approach than most people use.
Many people, when attempting to burn fat and lose weight, focus on reducing their calories, and perhaps do a lot of cardio training. The problem is that if the focus is only to burn fat, not to build muscle at the same time, then the net effect is indeed to lose muscle, because simply reducing calories will not reach your goal of burning fat and building muscle.
To build muscle, you must lift weights, and you must be constantly pushing yourself to lift more and heavier weights to keep building muscle. Many people who are trying to “get fit” wear themselves out doing long cardio sessions, then collapse at a weight machine for a few sets. This kind of workout routine will not help you burn fat and build muscle.
The best kind of training to build muscle and burn fat involves serious weight training and interval training in your cardio workout.
What type of cardio exercise to lose weight?Interval training is a great way to burn fat, but many people don’t use interval training because it does involve a lot more of a workout than traditional cardio training. To do interval training, you need to train very hard for short periods, or intervals, and vary the intensity of your training during your routine. This is a very hard workout, and it will burn fat.
Long cardio training sessions will not burn fat as quickly as interval training precisely because they are too routine. Your body will adjust to your cardio training by reducing your metabolism, and you will not burn fat quickly.
How to build muscle weight while losing fat weightThat’s how you burn fat. Now how do you build muscle? Surprisingly, those very weight machines you’re spending so much time with may not be helping you build muscle the way you want.
The key is to do compound exercises that involve multiple muscle groups. These exercises, including the military press, squats, bench press, dead lifts and barbell rows, build muscle more quickly. If your goal is to build muscle as quickly as possible, these compound exercises can help you reach your goal.
The people who claim that you cannot build muscle and burn fat at the same time claim that burning fat requires cutting calories and building muscle requires a higher calorie intake, so they cannot be accomplished together.
The key is to do exercises that help you build muscle, exercises that help you burn fat, and a diet high in protein, which your muscle building program needs, and low in fat, which you do not need for building muscle.
Don’t listen to the naysayers. It can be done. |
