Lots of people struggle about learning how to lose fat and gain muscle. However, there is a secret formula to it, and we are here to crack that formula for you. It is a tough journey that has been made easy by our always-on mindset to research. In put it another way, if your goal is to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, just consume healthy foods, dense in protein, and set a workout plan to burn the extra calories.
The Urge To Know How To Lose Fat And Gain Muscle
Undeniably, it has become a tradition to look smart over the years. You heard it right! A “tradition”. This is the reason why everyone heads over to Google and surfs the internet for this proposition. Overall, we are not telling you to deny the current state of your body, not at all. On the other hand, we are encouraging you to give yourself the privilege of a fit body that will lead to a lifestyle that can maintain the longevity of your health. Without a doubt, losing fat and gaining muscle, and bulking up for muscle growth and strength will avoid the apprehension of health detriments to your body. To put it differently, doing so will also give you the body aesthetics that you have been wanting to add after seeing the new Top Gun movie.
Do not be fooled by some responses that say that you can lose fat and not gain muscle because of the calorie deficit. As a matter of fact, this statement does not at all align with the fact that you can add fat by smartly utilizing your calories. That is to say, you can lessen the amount of fat in your body and maximize the level of lean mass. Whilst you were looking forward to only improving your looks, losing fat while gaining muscle will also boost your strength. Thus, if you were struggling to lift those bags after shopping or moving sofas around to create some space, you would not have to anymore!
How To Lose Weight And Gain Muscle In The First Place?
It is easy! Just live life in “HD”. Here, HD stands for Hypertrophy and Diet, a balanced one. These two are to be applied together for the best results. By the same token, you can advance your strength and muscle size. Substantial improvement can be made to the structure of your body if you follow these two aspects. Firstly, the excess and unwanted fat will be discarded from your body. Secondly, you will easily and uncomplicatedly put on muscle in your body. Thirdly, both of the former aspects coupled together will enable you to achieve this goal. In other words, you analyze better how the body mobilizes the fat inside and you will surely get leaner. Moreover, it helps the body itself to comprehend that it is producing stronger ligaments and building lean body mass. Before you let your body figure out the aforementioned, know what HD is:
1. Hypertrophy
We call it “the muscle enhancer”. Hypertrophy supplies size to the existing muscle cells of your body when the muscle is subjected to stress. In addition, this tears muscle fibers and inflammation-like sensations are created inside your muscles. First thing to remember, the body acts in the “action and reaction” manner. For instance, when something happens to the body, it responds to it. Earlier, the muscle fibers were torn down when the muscles were exposed to stress. Later, the body creates a repairing stimulus and the torn muscles are repaired. Basically, this happens when you are sleeping or when the body is resting.
Straightaway, the body calls for the making up of new muscles in place of the damaged ones. When physical strain is put on the muscle, protein synthesis is triggered and for that protein is required. Under those circumstances, nerve impulses are created to synthesize protein when there is continuous muscle contraction. This results in stronger and bigger muscles. In addition, blood has been pumped into the recovery area and now new muscle cells have been formed. Hence, this creates an illusion that you have less fat in your body even though it may not be the case.
2. Diet Plan
BCAAs or Branch Chain Amino Acids are responsible for getting the protein synthesis started inside your body. Contrarily, for effective protein synthesis, you need an ample amount of protein. Are you looking forward to burning fat and gaining muscle? Incorporate low-carb and low-fat diets, including foods that are rich in protein. Above all, low-carb diets balance your sugar levels and also show promising fat loss results. Although, it differs from person to person, generally a low-carb diet includes a 2,000-3,000-calorie intake whereas a low-fat diet contains 1,500 calories.
All things considered, the bottom line is that if you want to lose belly fat and gain muscle, a low-fat diet is recommended. We have already contrasted the low-carb and low-fat diets for your convenience above. Surely, this will guarantee that only the fat wanted, is transmitted to the body to function. Therefore, along with effective hypertrophy, a diet will guarantee the results. So long as, if you are having a meal plan that helps you lose fat and gain muscle (low-fat and high in protein), you are good to go.
TIP: Experiment with both diets to see which one suits your goal better. While this may be true, combine both of the diets in the shape of 3-4 meals per day to get positive results.
Workout Schedule For Putting On Muscle
Before starting you start your workout at home or the gym, know how many calories to take to lose fat and gain muscle. Furthermore, if your objective is to elevate the level of burning fat inside your body, you need to burn 600 calories per day. Most importantly, you need to calculate your calories for concrete results for burning fat. For that reason, we recommend that you take 2,500 calories if you are a male and 2,000 calories if you are a female. Seeing that, if you want to count your daily calorie intake, here is a calorie calculator for you. In the same vein, make sure that your diet has enough protein so that you lose weight and gain muscle. Here is how to lose weight and build muscle workout plan that you can try at the gym if you have access to it:
You can follow this simple training schedule also known as the “bro split” to get the best out of gaining muscle and losing fat. With this purpose in mind, high volume is prioritized so that increased hypertrophy can occur in these workouts:
Days Of The Week |
Muscle Group |
Workout |
Sets And Reps |
| Monday | Chest | 1. Flat Bench Press
2. Incline Bench Press 3. Dumbbell Flies 4. Cable Flies |
a) 4 x 12
b) 4 x 12 c) 3 x 12 d) 3 x 15 |
| Tuesday | Back | 1. Lat Pulldowns
2. Seated Cable Row 3. Single-Arm Dumbbell Row 4. Deadlifts |
a) 4 x 12
b) 3 x 12 c) 4 x 10 d) 5 x 8 |
| Wednesday | Arms | 1. Dumbbell Skull Crushers (Unilateral)
2. Triceps Pushdown 3. Bench Dips 4. Barbell Curl 5. Hammer Curl 6. Preacher Curl |
a) 3 x 12
b) 3 x 12 c) 3 x till failure d) 3 x 12 e) 3 x 12 f) 4 x 10 |
| Thursday | Shoulders | 1. Standing Military Press
2. Lateral Raises 3. Face Pulls 4. Front Raises 5. Shrugs |
a) 4 x 10
b) 3 x 12 c) 3 x 12 d) 3 x 12 e) 5 x till failure |
| Friday | Legs | 1. Squats
2. Leg Extensions 3. Leg Curls 4. Lunges 5. Calf Raises |
a) 4 x 10
b) 3 x 12 c) 3 x 12 d) 3 x till failure e) 4 x 20 |
| Saturday | Abs and Cardio | 1. Crunches
2. Leg Raises 3. Russian Twists 4. Cardio |
a) 3 x 20
b) 4 x 12 c) 2 x 20 d) 20 minutes (treadmill, stationary bike, elliptical etc.) |
Rest Period:
Markedly, take 45 seconds of rest between sets for inter-set muscle recovery to help you with muscle fatigue. In addition, top that with a 90 seconds rest between exercises for maximum hypertrophy.
Particularly, keep in mind that you progressively overload your weights so that you break the muscles that were torn at a relatively lower weight. The rationale for that is that you get used to the same old weight. Subsequently, it is not able to perform hypertrophy and you are not able to gain more muscle and lose fat. In the case that you do not have access to the gym, you can do exercises like:
- Push-ups; diamond push-ups, pike push-ups, wide push-ups etc.
- Free-body squats
- Burpees
- Crunches
- Dips
Sets and Reps:
3 sets for 12 reps each exercise for effective results.
Rest Period:
Certainly, these exercises do not require weight and can be performed easily. Thus, we recommend a short period of rest. Explicitly, 30 seconds between sets and 60 seconds between exercises.
Foods That Supplement Gaining Muscle And Losing Fat
Obviously, combined with the workout plan that we have provided to you on how to lose fat and gain muscle mass, diet plays an impeccable role. Jay Cutler, a former professional bodybuilder, says that it is 70% of fat that is lost in the kitchen than that is lost in the gym. In other words, if you are following a proper diet plan that is lower in fat and high in protein, chances are that you are losing fat already and building more muscle. Emphatically, fast food can be fulfilling, but it will not help you in completing this journey. However, that is undoubtedly not your primary goal, right? The following are the foods that will supplement the hypertrophy of your muscle cells and lose fat:
- WHOLE EGG: 7g of protein per egg.
- LAMB: 8.3g of protein per ounce.
- SARDINES: 5.5g of protein per ounce.
- CHICKEN BREAST: 7g of protein per ounce.
- COTTAGE CHEESE: 3g of protein per ounce.
- BEEF STEAK: 6g of protein per ounce.
- WHOLE GRAIN BREAD: 4.5 g per slice.
- ORGANIC NUTS: 6g of protein per ounce.
- TUNA: 8g of protein per ounce.
- GREEK YOGURT: 3g of protein per ounce.
REMEMBER: 0.9g of protein is required per pound of your body weight. In the same way, eliminate junk food and add the foods mentioned above to your meals for guaranteed results.
How To Know If You Are Losing Fat And Gaining Muscle?
With a sufficient commitment to the goal, you can crown yourself with this achievement. Additionally, knowing that you are getting to the peak of your motive will give you inner satisfaction. You do not have to seek professional help to check if you are losing fat and gaining muscle. Moreover, now that you have followed our instructions, chances are that you are expecting results. With this intention, you can conduct these pointers at home that can help you navigate your results at home:
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Keep A Track Of Your Weight
By all means, checking if the weight of your body has decreased or not can be a great indicator that you are losing fat. In the light of this, electronic weighing machines are handy to use and are cheaper to buy as well. Point often overlooked, there are weighing machines that also depict the fat-to-muscle ratio. Hence, hunt for an electronic weighing balance that helps you in the aforementioned facet. Also, keep a weekly check of your existing weight to see if your body is making a progress or not.
TIP: Do not wear shoes to add extra weight to the scale. Given that, be honest with yourself and the scale itself.
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Stable Blood Pressure
Now that you have managed the fat composition in your body, you will notice a change in your blood pressure. In other words, your blood is normalized now and the strain on your heart has been reduced. The blood pressure of a fit person is somewhere between 90/60mmHg and 120/80mmHg. Subsequently, you become less prone to heart strokes and relevant diseases once you have lost fat in your body.
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Take Selfies; Build That Self-Confidence
All things considered, almost every other person owns a smartphone in this modern era. Also, every house contains a mirror as well. Do not be ashamed of capturing yourself in the form of selfies. On the positive side, this will assist you in keeping a track of where you stand in this progress. Hence, the upshot of this is that it will build up your self-confidence in you. Also, it will persuade you more towards your goal.
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Weekly Measuring Of The Size Of Your Muscles
Going by the looks can be deceiving as you all may have heard. Nevertheless, this may not be the case if you are checking the size of your muscle. Important to realize, that the satisfaction that you will get after measuring yourself personally, is unmatchable. After all, the positive thing about this is that you do not need any external help for doing so. To rephrase it, get yourself a body tape measure to check the measurements of your body. Thus, you can measure your muscle group privately and keep a record.
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Your Clothes Seem Oversized Now
Meanwhile, you were expecting this point to be mentioned at the top, this may or may not be the case. Must be remembered, your clothes can fit you better now if you have gained more muscle. Contrarily, if you were overweight and you have substantially lost enough fat, your clothes are most likely to seem oversized now.