Does burning fat and building muscle happen simultaneously?
Question:
I need to lose weight, but I already have muscle. I’m using a resistance cable training thing called the CableFlex if anyone has heard of it. So while exercising, does fat burn while muscle builds up? Or do you have to do seperate exercises because the muscle builds up but the fat stays?
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2 Responses to Does burning fat and building muscle happen simultaneously?
I agree with David. You can definitely lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. You can build muscle by using the energy you get from burning your fat. The hard part is balancing the dietary needs – losing fat needs lower calories, and growing muscle needs higher calories. If you can get the right mix of fats, protein and carbs and properly plan out your training program, you can get good results doing both at once.
They can. You can burn fat by exercising aerobically and eating fewer calories. You can build muscle by exercising anaerobically. If you want to burn fat and lose weight, you must eat fewer calories and/or exercise more to burn more calories. Preferably both at the same time. Aerobic exercise–running, walking, bicycling, and swimming–will burn the most calories.
To build muscle, you must use resistance exercises. The benefit of muscle is that it burns more calories than fat. Thus you can eat more and not gain weight.
When on a diet, try to maintain muscle mass by continuing to exercise both aerobically (running, etc.) and anaerobically (resistance exercises, etc.) That way, you will burn more calories while at the same time maintain your muscle mass or maybe even add to it slightly. But the real key is consuming fewer calories. Eat fruits and vegetables to assure you of a high proportion of vitamins and minerals, then add some complex carbohydrates–whole wheat, brown rice, beans, etc.–and some lowfat protein–tofu, skim milk, nonfat yogurt, white meat chicken and turkey with no skin, and fish, and you’re good to go.
Bottom line: While you burn fat and build muscle independently, the two can happen simultaneously. But I would advise to first lose the weight, then build the muscle.