Can you build muscle and lose fat at the same time?
Q: My workout plan is to do weight lifting every other day and on the days im not lifting do cardio to burn fat. I have been told that this is impossible as to build muscle I need protein and protein has calories which i must get rid of to lose fat. I understand that there are 4 calories per gram of protein. However, can i do cardio to burn off the calories that come with protein, without losing the actual protein itself so i can build muscle at the same time? Or would burning off the calories also burn off the protein?
A: Absolutely, you can buld muscle and lose fat at the same time. Actually, the fastest way to lose weight is to build muscle. Each pound of lean muscle burns about 40-50 calories per day at a resting metabolic rate. 10 lbs of muscle will burn 400-500 calories. 20 lbs of muscle will burn 800-1000 calories. The fat will melt off and you’ll end up with a lean body. And yes, you must eat LEAN protein or supplement with protein shakes. It’s important so your body has the fuel and building blocks it needs to grow that muscle. Without it, the muscles will catabolize themselves for fuel.
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 Bodylastics 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.
Here is some more information on where you can get free muscle building workouts. There are new workouts posted Mon-Fri. There are also toning, cardio, pilates, workouts for teens and sports specific workouts. All of it’s free.
