Figuring out how to gain muscle and lose fat actually isn’t all that hard. However, it is important to put a priority on one over the other rather than focus on both simultaneously. That’s because each process requires a different focus.
Now, you can lose fat, with a focus on staying lean and defined. That would require you to eat at a calorie deficit. But if you really want to get bigger, and build solid muscle, then you’d want to focus on eating more food, which does have the potential to put on minimal fat, even when done correctly.
When the goal is to gain muscle, then it’s also equally important to follow a solid resistance training program. Losing fat doesn’t necessarily require any workout at all. So, this is why you should decide which direction you want to go first.
I’ll give you a quick example of my own situation. During the midst of the pandemic, I lost 15 pounds of fat. I became lean and defined for the first time in my adult life. However, after those 15 pounds came off, I realized I didn’t have much mass on my body. I felt small.
The method I followed in order to get lean and defined was to eat at a calorie deficit. But the method I’m following right now, to gain muscle, is by eating at a calorie surplus. Both methods involve strategic resistance training.
Since eating at a calorie surplus, parts of my body have changed in ways I never thought they would. My legs and glutes have more muscle mass now than they’ve ever had in my life. Also, my upper arms have more mass and definition. These are places of my body I gave up on ever being able to change, long ago.
I’ll break down the processes below so you can get an understanding of how to gain muscle and lose fat effectively. It’s a process, and it takes time, but it’s worth it. When you think about it, it’s very similar to building a sculpture from the ground up.
The Process Of Gaining Muscle
I’m starting a bit backward here. In general, most people are looking to burn off unwanted fat first. If you know you have significant fat to lose, then I’d begin by reading the following section.
But if you’re reading this, I’ll assume you don’t have much fat to lose, and you’re within 5 pounds of your ideal body weight. If that is the case, then gaining muscle is the place you’d want to begin. This requires strategic eating and resistance training.
The method I follow is designed to pack on about 1 – 2 pounds of muscle per month. When done correctly, you should build up your body proportionately. There is a possibility of putting on minimal fat, but the great thing about this method is that whatever fat you do put on, can easily come off in a month or two at most.
So, if your goal is to pack on 5 pounds of solid muscle, that would take anywhere from 2 to 5 months to do. You don’t want to pack on more than 2 or 3 pounds per month, because that can result in noticeable fat gain. So the process is slow and steady.
These are the three steps to follow to pack on lean muscle:
- Eat at a 200 calorie surplus daily…adjust as needed.
- Hit your protein goals daily
- Follow a solid resistance training program and put your all into your workouts
When I say put your all into your workouts, I really mean it. This is especially true when packing on muscle. If you simply ate at a calorie surplus and didn’t work out, you’d be gaining weight in the form of fat.
So, the workouts are crucial, and the intensity of the workouts is just as important. I make sure to track every movement, so that the next time I do that exercise, I can increase tension and volume.
THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS IN DETAIL HOW TO BULK WITHOUT GETTING FAT.
You’ll find numbers and calculations that are important to follow in order to maintain a lean physique while also packing on muscle.
The Process Of Losing Fat
Losing fat is where most people begin. This is how you clean the canvas. Most guys I know who begin a resistance training program or nutrition protocol have this one thing in common. They want to burn off excess fat.
Luckily, this is very easy to do, and it doesn’t require any kind of dieting. I understand that you’re here because you’d like to gain muscle AND lose fat. The fat loss protocol I follow will help you drop unwanted pounds of fat. It won’t necessarily make you bigger though.
However, you’ll LOOK bigger, because when you’re dropping unwanted fat, all your muscles beneath it will start to show. This is especially true if you follow a simple resistance training program at the same time. This ensures that you’re developing your physique and maintaining lean muscle while also stripping away fat.
The nutrition protocol is crucial for your success. I don’t follow a diet, and there’s no need to. You can eat what you want.
These are the three steps to follow in order to burn off unwanted fat while developing a lean physique:
- Eat at a 400 calorie deficit daily
- Hit your protein goals daily
- Follow a solid resistance training program
THIS ARTICLE EXPLAINS HOW TO CALCULATE A CALORIE DEFICIT FOR YOURSELF
Pay close attention to the walking protocol of that section. It speeds up fat loss, and it’s the best alternative to cardio that I’ve ever known. In fact, I haven’t done regular cardio since I began walking daily. It is the most effective method of burning fat I’ve personally discovered.
Where Should You Begin?
If you aren’t sure exactly where to begin, then it’s important to learn a bit more about bulking and cutting, and the difference between the two.
This is very important to get right because you wouldn’t want to begin a program by eating at a calorie surplus, only to pack on extra fat. This is especially true if the goal was to drop unwanted fat in the first place.
In the same right, you wouldn’t want to start eating at a calorie deficit, when you were already lean and had minimal fat to lose. Your situation would be the opposite, and you could start bulking right from the start.
THIS ARTICLE WILL HELP YOU DETERMINE WHICH ROUTE IS BEST FOR YOUR BODY TYPE.
You should be able to figure out if you still have some extra fat you should take off first, or if it’s best for you to begin packing on weight from the start.
A Solid Resistance Training Program To Help You Get There
Without a solid resistance training program, getting toned, defined, and building lean muscle will be much harder to do.
One thing I’ve learned on my fitness journey is that the right workout program is crucial. It’s NOT enough to get up and work out. It’s also not enough to just randomly move from machine to machine at the gym and tell yourself that you got a workout in.
If you’re serious about building lean muscle and burning off unwanted fat, the resistance training program you follow should be tested and proven. Just like nutrition is a science, so are the exercises you do and the order you do them.
So, I can only attest to one company when it comes to the power of resistance training. After years of following different nutrition programs and workout routines with mediocre results, only one company helped me make a transformation in only 3 months, where I spent years hitting brick walls with others.
The company is Kinobody, and they release a variety of different programs, depending on your body type. If you’re skinny and looking to pack on muscle, then the Greek God Program will suit you best. But if your priority is to lose unwanted fat first, then I’d suggest the Movie Star Body program, which is where I began.
The company has another workout program exclusively for women.
Kinobody has taught me that dieting is ineffective, and most workout programs are missing vital components that are required for your ultimate success. I strongly believe that if you’re serious about hitting your fitness goals, this company will help you do it in minimal time.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT KINOBODY WORKOUT PROGRAMS.
Gaining Muscle & Losing Fat In Summary
My goal with this article was to demonstrate that the process of losing fat and building muscle can be simultaneous, but one should be prioritized over the other.
Most people begin their journey with losing fat first. That’s actually the route I initially took. The process was simple. I dropped about 15 pounds of fat in only 3 months. In a way, I see this as cleaning off the canvas. What was left was a version of myself I’d never really seen. I could see leanness and definition I had never seen before.
However, I wanted to gain size after this initial transformation. I wanted to pack on lean muscle. So, I’m in the process of doing that, and while I dropped down to 138 pounds initially, I’ve gained 10 of those back over the last several months. However, this time, those pounds are mostly muscle.
These numbers are all part of a strategy, and I’m hoping that’s what you take away from this. You can’t really afford to gain and lose weight without understanding why, and without being in direct control of it all. I hope this article gave you guidance on how to set goals and hit numbers according to the direction you want to go with your fitness.
Thanks so much for reading. I hope you found this article to be helpful. If you have any questions or comments regarding anything above, just let me know in the comments and I’ll be more than happy to get back to you as soon as possible.