As a mother of 2 very busy girls working full time I have let my body slide over the last few years. I currently weigh around 170 pounds which is WAAAYY too muc when you are not even five feet tall! I would like to lose at least 30 pounds of body fat and gain 10 pounds of lean muscle. I recently started a very light weights programme (I also have a slight back problem which my doctor tells me would be helped by losing weight!) and hope that as I begin to gain muscle I will also begin to lose fat. Kind of becoming a priority now, as I feel pretty unfit at the moment and I amd NOT liking feeling that way!
3 Reasons YOU Want Muscle
By Joel Marion & Vince Del Monte
It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, 22 or 62, attempting to lose fat or “get buff”, you WANT muscle. In fact, we’ll venture to say that virtually everyone wants muscle (whether they know it or not), and here’s why:
1. Building Muscle = Faster Fat Loss
Even if you’re primary goal is fat loss, you’d be extremely wise to build specific periods of time in to your training schedule in which you primarily concentrate on building muscle.
Why?
Muscle is metabolically expensive.
You see, for every pound of muscle you manage to add to your frame, you’ll burn an additional 40-50 cals per day. So, let’s say you gain 10 lbs; that means your body now REQUIRES 400-500 more calories to simply maintain its weight, posing several benefits:
- You get to eat the same amount and lose fat faster OR
- You get to eat more and lose fat just as quickly
Either way you look at it, that’s a pretty solid deal, only possible through the addition of calorie-burning lean muscle.
2. Building Muscle = Easier Weight Maintenance
Let’s say you lose 30 lbs, which is awesome, but you fail to put on any appreciable amount muscle, or even worse, you lose muscle mass in the process (which is extremely common).
In either case, metabolism will in fact be slower after you’ve lost the 30 lbs than it was when you first started your fat loss journey…NOT what you want if your goal is to actually keep the weight off.
With the addition of lean muscle mass, your metabolism won’t be slower, it will be faster, making maintaining your new body incredibly easy.
Muscle is the difference between losing 30 lbs once and for all, and struggling to losing 30 lbs over and over and over again for the rest of your life.
Wouldn’t you love to just lose the weight once and never have to worry about “gaining it back”…again?
3. Building Muscle = A Hotter, Sexier Body
Being thin is one thing, being hot is another. And the latter is something only lean muscle can provide.
I think we’d all agree that while being thin is certainly better than being fat, what we truly want our bodies to look like goes far beyond simply being skinny.
For example, take a look at the photos below; these are both “size 2” bodies:
The difference: one looks “okay” and the other is smokin’ hot. The REAL difference: Muscle. While the same exact “size”, the physique on the right is comprised mostly of dense, shapely, tone muscle, while the image on the left…isn’t.
And for the guys, when it comes to taking your shirt off or being comfortable on the beach, we’d probably all agree that simply being “thin” or “skinny” isn’t where it’s at. Muscle makes a dramatic difference in the way we look. Just look at the before/after pics from these two clowns:
While the “before” photos were thin, there’s a world of difference in the confidence and general appearance of a physique possessing significantly more muscle.
How would your life change if YOU were to gain 5, 10, or even 20 lbs of lean muscle?
Both Vince and I can tell you that since our transformation, our entire lives have benefited massively because of one thing: muscle. It really can and does affect your entire life.
Comment Time:
How many pounds of lean, sexy muscle would you like to gain? Respond in the comments section below along with any muscle building questions you might have. Vince and I will be checking in throughout the day to answer your questions, and we’ll also select 2 “commentors” at random to receive a free muscle building “gift” ($97 value).
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel and Vince
P.S. If you have never commented on the blog, today is the day. You might win something cool, and besides, when you take action and comment, it just reinforces your goals and pushes you even more toward achieving them. We’re looking forward to YOUR comment below!
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506 comments - add yours
I would like to gain 5 lbs. of muscle, to promote a little more fat loss. At 61, I will gladly settle for that. I lift 5 days a week, but I’ve been eating more chocolate bunnies than is good for me.
OK, that is it, I have been avoiding building muscle for the past year…WHY? I dont know the answer. I am a 31 year old female and have lost about 65 pounds in the last year, I am ready to complete my journey towards the perfect body!!!! Teach me your ways…
Great post! :)
I would like to gain 8-10 pounds of muscle and lose about 10 pounds of fat . I’m an elite taekwondo athlete and currently fight in the 57-62kg weight div. I would like to maintain my weight and stay in this division but increase my lean mass and decrease fat mass to increase my power to weight ratio. I’m currently preparing to compete internationally.. so the faster and more powerful my kicks are the better!!!
I would like to lose 30 lbs. of fat and gain 20 lbs. of muscle. I am determined…but I only have 5 weeks before I go to Australia and want to maximize my gains as much as possible. Though the above goal may not be reached by my trip I would be happy with the best progress I could achieve. Even though I will be traveling, I still plan to continue my workouts and gain sexy muscle to pick up some hot backpacking chicks. I am currently 190 and would like to get down to 180 with 11% BF.
Hey, thanks for the post.
(I’m not really good with the ‘pounds’ so I’m gonna go with kilos for this).
I’d like to gain about 4kgs (more or less) of muscle mass. Ive lost probable around 3/4kgs of muscle in the past month and I don’t know what to do to gain it back…
Help would really be appreciated!
Thanks guys
I wanna gain 20 pounds of Lean muscles; just like Brad Pitt of Fight Club and edward norton in American History X. That is just how ripped you should be. NOT muscular, but ripped.
I so wish I could gain any lean muscle and lose any weight. My health problems seem to just get added to by the extra weight that keeps creeping on. Oh if only I could get a sexy lean body by the summer, I would be so much happier.
I used to be a skinny fat of 9 stone, 5 years ago before getting chronic fatigue, but now it is a horrible 11 and a half stone and continually creeping up. It would be so nice not to be repulsed by looking at my extended body.
Hi… I believe I have a good amount of muscles but I need to lose 45 LB of pure fat to show them!!!
Thanks for the motivating blog – I would like to lose 3 kgs of flab and loose skin! How, I have no idea, because I exercise and eat what I believe is the right kind of food, but see no results in the areas I want to, i.e. my tummy, waist and back.
I have a question! I want to get ripped rather than get bulky, but I do want to pack on some muscle. What would be the best approach? First train to get ripped and then to increase the muscle size? or first train to increase the muscle size and then to get the ripped look? I would like to gain 10 lbs of muscle!!!
Thank you for this article. You said it all when you stated, there is skinny and not so confident, and then there is muscular. The pics are of people that are not over the top, just nice muscles. Now for the question, How to get them? The muscles, not the people.
Hi, what a great inspirational post! I am quitting smoking (tomorrow morning) and although I am slim I have no muscle definition or tone. “I WANT THAT BODY ON THE RIGHT!” Now is the best time to try and achieve it.
I have put off quitting for such a long time because I was afraid of gaining weight. I have my quit smoking plan in place, all the aids known to man kind. Now all I need is the right plan to tone my body, increase my fitness level and greatly improve my nutrition.
I presume 15+ years of smoking has done some damage. But overall I am looking forward to the challenge.
I am not very tall at 5’2 – 5’3 and my weight is 52 kilos. I am 33. Completely unsure about where to start, body fat percentage etc.
Any further advice would be extremely appreciated :)
Thanks again
Michelle
Been working out like a madman the last 5 months. I had some pretty significant gains in the beginning but have since stopped getting results. I’m stronger than I have ever been but I’m just not getting that extra 10 poinds of lean muscle that I NEED!! Thank you for the information and I look forward to your next post.
Hey,
Great blog. Looking forward to more info over the next couple of days. I’ve been
trying to put on muscle for about 3 years now and it wont really happen. I get thinner because
I watch what I eat but muscle gaining is slow. I’d like to gain as much as possible ;)
iamhwant to look toned and fab for my 70th birthday party in 2 months. I don’t need to lose weight. I am a 120pounds, 5ft 2ins.
I know exactly what you mean, about muscle getting you more confidence and improving a lot of your aspects of life.
in high school i remember a girl a liked mentioned that i had a girly figure, and that was a wake up call for me, so now im working as a fitness instructor, and pursuing my passion in the fitness industry, trying to learn as much as i can, and improve my physique further.
I need to lose weight to be able to run around with my daughter as she is growing up, and I’d like to gain lean muscle to look better for my wife (as well as feel better in myself, of course!!) I think losing 20 – 30 kgs of fat and gaining 10-15 kgs of muscle ought to do the trick!
Looking forward to learning more. I want to look like the girl on the right.
Love your your e-mails.
Felicity
I’ve loosen more than 35 lbs of fat during last year building muscles. This year I’ll try to lose next 22 lbs. Thanks!
I would love to lose 20lb of body fat and gain 10lb of muscle but menopause seems to be getting in the way. I can gain the muscle but it seems impossible to move the body fat. Any new tips will be welcome.
I’ll be honest – I’m about 60 lbs overweight but I have no idea how much muscle to gain. I used Medifast a number of years ago (as soon as I got the invite to my 10 year class reunion) & got down to my goal weight, but I was still flabby & not happy with my appearance. I want to do better this time.
Vince’s transformation is certainly amazing. I was overweight as a kid, but lost a lot of weight in my teens and ended up scrawny and weak into my adult years – became the butt of many jokes as a result. Have tried many times to gain weight safely and effectively but injuries always put a stop to any small progress I had been making.
Hence I’ve become very cautious and skeptical when I hear claims that this or that program will give me the body of my dreams. I have to be careful with my left shoulder which has been injured in the past, and have basically lost all hope of developing a muscular and attractive body after countless setbacks.
I really have no idea of how much muscle I would like to gain, but know for certain that I need to LOSE 5 – 10kg of fat/ weight! I would like to have the muscle distributed evenly over my body and the fat removed mostly from my stomach!! I have had three children, weighed 50kg before the first and now weigh 60kg and just can’t seem to make any weight budge unless I diet drastically and work out for longer time than I can really afford, so of course this never lasts for long. I’m bordering on trying to just accept the size I am whilst still feeling miserable about it. Am I a lost cause??
I am 55 and have yoyo’d all my life. You guys have got me pumped up and ready to go. I am starting out with a set of power block dumbells, a bench and basic home gym I am hoping to lose 40 pound – don’t know what that equates to in fat loss and muscle gain, but it sounds like heaps. I want to give this a real good go and make an impact on my life! Thanks for your article, all your articles!
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Hey, it’s Joel! So you want to know a little more about me, huh? Well, I’d be happy to oblige :-)
I guess it all started back in 2001 (my freshman year of college) when I was just a “skinny fat” 19-year old kid. At the time, I was spending close to 2 hours a day in the gym (now my workouts last about 30 minutes), and despite my efforts, you’d probably never guess I worked out a day in my life by looking at me...