How to Lose Fat and Add Muscle
Ben Greenfield
Ask Get-Fit Guy: How Can I Lose Body Fat and Add Muscle?
Ask Get-Fit Guy: How Can I Lose Body Fat and Add Muscle?In last week’s Quick Tip–“Does Cardio Stop Muscle Growth?“–I responded to a question from a listener and explained that if the primary goal is building muscle, then cardiovascular exercise will inhibit that effort.
This week, Oriel writes: “Three days a week I’m in a boot camp class (resistance-cardio stuff) where I expend about 650 calories and on the other three days, I lift weights (Legs/Back-Bi/Chest-Shoulder-Tri). I’m 45, weigh 165 lbs and my body fat percentage is around 15%. I generally eat about 500 net calories per day less than my maintenance weight (i.e., 2300kcal + 650kcal – 500kcal) with the notion that equates to 1 lb a week of weight loss. I’d love to both get that body fat down to 12% (hoping to discover some abs) and add some muscle. Am I going about things wrong?”
When I warn against doing cardio, it must be emphasized that this advice is for people who truly want to maximize muscle – typically this population is made up of football players, strength and power athletes, or folks who are just trying to beef up.
But if your goal, like Oriel’s, is simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain, using a combination of high intensity cardiovascular intervals and weight training, similar to his boot camp or the workout I described in “What Is The Best Workout For Fat Loss?” will get you the results you want!
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About the Author
Ben Greenfield received bachelor’s and master’s degrees from University of Idaho in sports science and exercise physiology; personal training and strength and conditioning certifications from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA); a sports nutrition certification from the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN), an advanced bicycle fitting certification from Serotta. He has over 11 years’ experience in coaching professional, collegiate, and recreational athletes from all sports, and as helped hundreds of clients achieve weight loss and fitness success.