How do I build muscle and lose weight at the same time?
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Hello. I’m 6’3 and I weigh 198 pounds. I have a little bit of a gut and thin arms. I’ve started lifting weights and drinking protein shakes to build muscle.
How can I effectively build up my arms and legs but at the same time lose the weight around my mid-section?
Don’t the protein shakes make me gain weight?
I also do two days of hard cardio and I work my abs hard during my lifting sections.
Anyone have a good plan to build muscle and lose a little weight at the same time?
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2 Responses to How do I build muscle and lose weight at the same time?
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To build muscle you want to do high intensity resistance training. High intensity does not mean spending hours in a gym getting an intense workout and it doesn’t mean working out really hard so the sweat’s dripping down your face. It means doing roughly 8-10 reps with a level of resistance that challenges you enough so that it takes a significant amount of effort to complete that last rep. Then rest for about 30 seconds and move to the next muscle group. Workout out every major muscle group like this 3x times a week like Mon, Wed, Fri and then rest two days. You do not have to spend hours in a gym to effectively build muscle and you don’t even need weights.
I highly recommend resistance bands. They are considerably cheaper than weights, not to mention portable. If you get the kind with the clips on the end, you can easily customize the resistance level as your body adapts. That will prevent you from plateauing and will keep your muscles challenged. Download this free chart to see how to combine the bands from 5 to 254 lbs of resistance.
Click here to get free muscle building workouts and other workouts like toning, strengthening, pilates, kickboxing, workouts for teens and more.
The first thing you have to understand is that you won’t neccessarily lose weight – You may lose inches, though. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may find yourself gaining "weight" as your muscles grow.
The best thing to do would be to have a look at the calories you’re consuming. Find out how many calories you need in a day (find your BMR), and then calculate how many calories your work out burns. You don’t want a calorie deficit of any more than 500, or it could be unhealthy.
Most importantly, remember that it takes time! Don’t rush any weight loss or muscle gain, just keep at it.