the impossible: gaining muscle while losing fat question?

Question

ok so im not a beginner in the weight training area or nutrition however i do suck at it because i cant really stick to a routine or plan because of me reading and hearing many different things. my questions are:
a) people and books say it is impossible to gain muscle while losing body fat/weight. it is either gain or cut. is this true?
b) i read in a book today that your muscles need 5 days to recover after a workout. and i have seen many workout plans where you only work one muscle group once per week. is this the BEST way to workout? i have ALWAYS done twice a week per muscle.

Answer 1

You can gain muscle while losing body fat. Though your weight may stay the same you should see a difference in your clothes and/or energy levels.

You should give your muscles a rest after training them as they need time to heal. You won't be able to lift to your potential.

I find the easiest thing to do is a split program such as:-
DAY 1: Upper body (Chest & Triceps)
DAY 2: Lower body (Legs & Abs)
DAY 3: Upper body (Back & Biceps)
DAY 4: Upper body (Chest & Triceps)
DAY 5: Lower body (Legs & Abs)
DAY 6: Upper body (Back & Biceps)
DAY 7: Rest (Active Rest - eg. gardening, mowing, walk)

You can change the order of workout but make sure you have a couple of days in between.
Make sure you also do cardio training as this will help in losing weight or trim body fat. I have seen many guys at the gym only doing weights and think that as they are big it is all muscle. Once they start cardio, their body becomes more defined, ripped and they also find they have more energy.

Answer 2

1

Answer 3

it's not impossible there will just be far less than optimum results in either one.

to drastically increase muscle mass first insulin sensitivity must be high, low body fat is an indication of this. and of course there must be a caloric excess in the diet over an extended period of time. to drastically reduce the body fat there must be a caloric deficit in the diet for an extended period of time this obviously causes a great conflict.

this is exactly why bodybuilders go on mass building cycles and cutting cycles. ultimately the diet determines the body composition or the amount of muscle and fat

hitting a muscle 2x a week is best. skeletal muscle recovers from high intensity resistance training faster than the central nervous system does. so when you hear about overtraining, etc. it's not from the muscle being overworked it's from the CNS not being allowed to fully recover. skeletal muscle will recover from high intensity training in 48 hours or less. high intensity being around loads close to 80% of the 1RM. light intensity training using loads at 60% of the 1RM or less do not cause microtrauma to skeletal muscle or tax the CNS. with this type of lifting you can work the same muscles daily. basically the stronger you get the more time your CNS will need between heavy training sessions

Answer 4

Build Ripped Muscle Fast

Answer 5

Without knowing how long or at what level you have been training, it's difficult to know what problems you are having. As a fitness writer and personal trainer, my first question to you would be "What do you think works best for YOU?" You must listen to your body. You are your own best trainer. You have lived side by side with yourself since day one. Surely by now you have learned a few things about your body and how it responds. Generally speaking, if you want to grow (muscle) you need to eat more calories than you burn off. If you want to lose body fat, your need to eat fewer calories than you burn off. But, everyone is different with a different set of genetics. Also, as we age...things change. A person at 40 cannot expect the same results as a person at 20. So, here's where listening to your body becomes more important than all the books in the world. The term these days is 'bodybuilding wisdom'. You learn by doing...keeping a log...and making changes along the way. The result is the 'wisdom' a person gains. Try writing down everything you eat and drink in a day (be specific) for a few days. Get a good nutrition book and do the math to see how many calories you're taking in. Then, do the same for your energy output. Compare the results. Make changes based on what you have learned about your body to date and what your goals are. There is no hard fast rule for all of us. We are each on our own for the most part. Think of it as piloting a sailboat. The more you sail, the better you get at sailing. Don't try to make the boat respond beyond its capabilities. Here again, you know your boat (body) best. Work within those parameters and you will achieve success. So, go for it. Strive for Excellence and BE the Miracle. Dennis

Answer 6

a) it's sort of true. It's not impossible but in a nut shell you need to eat MORE calories then you exert to gain, and LESS calories to cut. It's easier to focus just on gaining than just focus on cutting overall you can achieve what you want much faster. Like gaining for 8 weeks than cutting for 8 weeks will result in more muscle gained and more fat loss overall than trying to do both for 16 weeks.
b) I've heard twice a week per muscle as well. As long as your getting plenty of protien and carbs every few hours twice a week per muscle is ideal for building. Although the very first time muscle repair can result in alot of sores or pains and might take you longer.

Answer 7

you do not need 5 days of rest. do you think athletes can take days off and still be fitmuscular ? no. a day, 2 at the most is enough, but you should be doing something everyday (not totally exhausting yourself everyday..but something) and no its not impossible! do circuit training where yo work a different muscle for each exercise you do (i.e do 5 different exercises twice, three times)