I am so excited to hear more on this topic! I am posting a comment to help the number go to 300!!
Yesterday we began a series on losing fat and gaining muscle simultaneously, and with that first post I posed the question:
Can it be done?
The answer? Yes. BUT, only with a VERY strategic approach.
Now, in order to understand how these seemingly mutually exclusive goals can be accomplished simultaneously, we need to understand a few things about achieving your goals in general.
First, your goals are a direct result of both your training and nutrition program.
Second, optimal training for fat loss and optimal training to gain muscle are different.
Third, optimal nutritional strategies for fat loss and optimal nutritional strategies for gaining muscle are different.
Let’s take a look at each.
From a caloric balance perspective, in order to gain muscle you need to be taking in surplus levels of calories – there is simply no way around it. Fact is, it’s nearly impossible to gain muscle mass while in a caloric deficit 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Period.
Conversely, if your goal is to lose body fat, you need to create some sort of caloric deficit (i.e. you are eating less than you burn).
Now, those two situations may indeed seem mutually exclusive, but they’re not.
More on that in a minute.
On to training.
Optimal training for fat loss consists of very metabolically demanding resistance training (think circuit training) coupled with high intensity interval style cardio sessions.
Optimal training for gaining muscle is more a product of using heavier weights, more rest, while still performing a large number of repetitions per session (volume).
Those two things also seem mutually exclusive – but they’re not.
Here’s how:
TIMING.
What if you alternated the two types of workouts throughout the week?
Could you burn fat and gain muscle?
Perhaps, but not likely due to the nutrition issue.
But what if you were to feed your muscles with a surplus of calories on muscle building workout days, and remain in a caloric deficit on other days?
Or what if you were to feed your muscles with a MEGA surplus of calories for the several hours after your muscle building workout (when your muscles are most primed to suck up nutrients and much less likely to convert those extra calories to fat)?
Or what if you were to take small bursts of time to concentrate on building muscle – say, two weeks. And then follow it up with an intense one week fat loss phase? Essentially, over a twelve week period you’d be losing fat and gaining muscle “simultaneously,” unlike those who only do one or the other in that time frame.
Or what if you were to do exclusively muscle building workouts (with a caloric surplus on those days), and then burn excess calories via interval training (and not resistance training) combined with dieting on other days?
There are SO many different ways to do this.
Give me at least 300 comments and I’ll be back tomorrow with a number of different specific ways to approach the goal of building muscle and losing fat simultaneously.
Talk to you in the comments section!
Joel
P.S. Check out the below video from my buddy Kyle explaining one of the NEWEST methods we’re using for simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain:
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332 comments - add yours
I am looking forward to the next installment.
Gaining muscle and losing weight is exactly what I want to do. Please fill in the blanks.
yes that makes sense .but I think it will work better if i concentrate on one thing by time so spring and summer I will do fat loss .and I will bulk up in winter
More please!
If you understand how the process of muscle synthesis works, if you know how nutrients are delivered to cells, if you understand optimal chemical/hormonal levels and understand the process of fat loss and fat being used for energy, then there’s no reason why you can’t utilize nutrition strategically to work together with the proper workout regime to achieve the results you want. If that is building muscle while staying BELOW your “maintenance” calorie intake, so be it. If that means losing body fat while taking in more than your “maintenance” calories, so be it. Both are definitely possible.
A lot of people seem to link fat to weight. I’ve gained wait over the past month and a half, but have lost bodyfat, have gained both strength AND SIZE on all muscle measurements in spite of losing fat in all of those areas to show more definition. I’m at 10% bodyfat now and I did all of that since the end of June, and while eating less than my “maintenance” calories the ENTIRE TIME, save a few “cheat” days where I ate over, but within about 500-1000 calories of my “maintenance” weight.
Eating the right things, the right kinds of proteins, at the right times, combined with the right types of carbs, in a way that works TOGETHER hand-in-hand with the workout routine you’ve got going on is key.
The anticipation is killing me!! Looking forward to hearing how to do this tomorrow! Some examples of “very metabolically demanding resistance training” for fat loss would be great!!
Sounds good. An extension of the “keep your body guessing” idea in regard to nutrition. I have seen evidence of the value of the “timing” approaches, both timing within a day and between days.
Is it possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the very, very same time (in the same day, hour, minute for example)?
Joel, thanks for the post. I’m a little hesitant to agree with the idea of one day of muscle building followed by one day of dieting: it seems that more of a recovery period would be needed. I’m currently trying to minimize the amount of fat I gain during 3-5 weeks of muscle building and follow it up with 1-2 weeks of calorie cutting and fat burning and 1 week of active rest. Nonetheless, I don’t know a whole lot about this area, so I’m very interested to hear more.
Hmmm…OK Joel…I’m still a little skeptical, but you have me intrigued. I really do think the MOST efficient plan is to focus on a single goal…either to lose fat OR build muscle. BUT…I can’t wait to hear what you have to say. Especially since I know much of what you write is based on both science and real world experience.
Looking forward to your next post…
~ Pete
Very interesting!! Enlighten us some more!
Okay I’m hooked show me how!
I love this information. That approach seems to be a good mix. Maybe not optimal for neither of the goals as you say, but it’s something I would love to give a try!
sounds like a dream come true!
more…..PLEASE!!!!
come on man tell me about it
Joel-I currently do cardio in the am and weights in the pm. I always do cardio after taking small amounts of protein shake and bcaa’s. All my carbs are designed to be taken after/around my workout times, it has worked well, but I can see where splitting up these daily or rotating weekly may speed this up even more.
I’m reading about more and more trainers that are doing both with their clients – tranformations are happening with different methods, but the same results. Let’s hear more…
Adding to the pile of comments in order to hear more about the diet and workout regimen to achieve these goals.
This concept is nothing new. The biggest issue for the people who’ve tried this is not gaining fat along with that muscle and not losing muscle along with fat. Otherwise, you could end up with more fat and less muscle than you started.
Interesting, looking forward to reading what you have to say tomorrow!
More details please. I’m very confused. Thanks for all the great emails.
Sweet. Sound very much like the extreme fat loss diet… is there a milder approach though?? I would like to know more Joel!! :)
Flo
Sounds good, but as someone who has an awful lot of fat to lose I am a little skeptical.
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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...