Muscle gain + fat loss (yet another thread)

[Guest]

Been thinking about this today - if I do low-pace cardio and weight train, why wouldn't I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? I know this question had probably been answered lots of times, but... AFAIK, during low-intensity cardio (such as walking, for example) the body primarily uses fat for fuel, so if I burned a bit of fat doing cardio, but also provided plenty of calories through food - why wouldn't I be losing fat and building muscle at the same time? It's a bit confusing...

[blabbate]

Been thinking about this today - if I do low-pace cardio and weight train, why wouldn't I gain muscle and lose fat at the same time? I know this question had probably been answered lots of times, but... AFAIK, during low-intensity cardio (such as walking, for example) the body primarily uses fat for fuel, so if I burned a bit of fat doing cardio, but also provided plenty of calories through food - why wouldn't I be losing fat and building muscle at the same time? It's a bit confusing...

To gain muscle you need to consume excess calories, but those calories are not exclusively stored as muscle. Some are stored as fatty tissue. You can influence how they're stored, but you can't stop the fat storage completely.

 

Cardio can help keep it off, but you're more likely to just minimize the fat gain instead of reverse it. Low-intensity cardio doesn't burn much, and it leaves your glycogen stores substantially intact. If your body doesn't need to refill that energy, it's more likely to store calories as fat and muscle. So sure, you're spending time in the "fat-burning zone," but you're also more likely to add it right back on. Plus, low-intensity cardio isn't going to pump up your metabolism.

 

High-intensity cardio will use just as much fat plus a bunch of glycogen, but it will also do more damage to your muscles, inhibit their repair, and shift excess calories into glycogen storage instead of muscle and fat. However, it also boosts your metabolism for quite a while.

 

It's not impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, but it's slow-going and difficult (and probably takes some genetic predisposition).

[Guest]

I wouldn't mind if the process is slow, I only care whether it works, as I'm looking for a sort of compromise - I don't want to lose strenght and muscle, but I also don't want to become even more chubby.

[blabbate]

I wouldn't mind if the process is slow, I only care whether it works, as I'm looking for a sort of compromise - I don't want to lose strenght and muscle, but I also don't want to become even more chubby.

Like I said, it's tough, but people claim to have had success. And as long as you don't mind it taking a while, there's no harm in trying. Just bear in mind that at the end of it all it may have been quicker to bulk a bit more, then spend time cutting. I kind of like being able to really focus on one or the other, but it's just a personal preference.

 

If you do give it a shot, I wish you luck. Let us know how it turns out or if you have any more questions.

[Guest]

Yes, I suppose for some (or even most) people it's easier to just focus on bulking/cutting cycles, but in my own experience I just lost pretty much the same amount of fat and muscle, and became a smaller version of my former self. I.e. I looked the same, just a bit smaller. So maybe it would be better for me to add some more walking into my daily routine to at least keep fat gain at bay while eating plenty and training hard.

 

I'm not a BBer, btw, but I certainly don't want to get real fat, while building strenght.

[francesca]

I've been asking myself the same thing

 

I hear say that cardio activity is not compatible with gaining muscles

 

But on the other side, I've been told that HIIT does not compromise the building of muscles, as long as you practice it away from the leg training with weights and as long as you keep it to maximum twice per week(if you train legs only once a week, HIIT can be practiced up to 3 times per week)

 

I wonder where is the truth...

[blabbate]

I've been asking myself the same thing

 

I hear say that cardio activity is not compatible with gaining muscles

 

But on the other side, I've been told that HIIT does not compromise the building of muscles, as long as you practice it away from the leg training with weights and as long as you keep it to maximum twice per week(if you train legs only once a week, HIIT can be practiced up to 3 times per week)

 

I wonder where is the truth...

If you go to different sources, you'll hear different things. Some say aerobic activity interferes with muscle by spurring competing adaptations. However, this is mostly conjecture, and there are studies that show low- to mid-intensity cardio doesn't interfere with muscle growth.

Others say that it can lead to overtraining, boosting cortisol production and lowering testosterone. This is more likely, but any time you're fatigued or overtrained this is going to occur, regardless of the reason. Just don't overtrain on the aerobics. Push yourself to fatigue on the weights instead.

Still others say it eats up too much glycogen and BCAAs from the muscle tissue. Well, just be sure to replenish. You need to be taking in enough to refill those stores. If you're really concerned, see if a BCAA supplement helps.

 

As for anaerobic activity, such as HIIT, it's generally a complementary activity to weight training, but you have to make sure you don't overdo it. If you do leg-based HIIT right after a hard lower-body workout, you're probably going to interfere with muscle recovery and gain. And the same rules apply about overtraining and keeping yourself well-fed.

 

The truth is probably that it varies per person. Some will respond better to HIIT, others to aerobics, and some lucky people don't need either one. Maybe a mix would be better. I say to choose whichever sounds better on the surface and see what your results are like. If you're dissatisfied, switch.

[xjohanx]

I think that you should be focusing on BF% instead of just BF. It's completely possible to gain muscle while BF% stays the same or even goes down a little. This doesn't mean that you won't gain fat, it just means that you will gain more muscle than fat. In the end you will look less chubby, more muscular and you will be surrounded by hot bikini models.

How you do it? Hardcore training, clean eating, proper sleap and dedication. Like always.

[francesca]

I think it's impossible to gain ONLY lean mass

some fat has to come with it

 

regarding HIIT:I'm not a BB, I'm just tryinng to gain 2-3 kg and I love too much cardio activity to give it up completely. But maybe it is correct to avoid running for 20 km,

 

But I love running too much to give it up. Hiit is a goos compromise(at least for my "mental" health..nothing recharges me like running. And I like to run fast. I hate marathons

 

my legs, muscolarly speaking are ok...I practice outdoor rowing(which highly involves the legs and it is defintely a very intense cardio activity(It's tougher than spinning) and I have not noticed any muscle decreasement.. on the contrary my legs are much more toned

 

I eat much more than what I used to until 3 months ago, and I also lift weights plus running(I run less than what I used to do until July) and I keep on practicing rowing.

 

But in my gym, the intsructor keeps telling me to do only aerobic activity(which I find very boring, so I don't listen to him)

[blabbate]

Francesca, it sounds to me like you have things pretty well covered. Ignore your instructor. You don't have to do just cardio, or even just a specific type of cardio.

 

Rowing is great, and it sounds like it's working well for you! And some moderate running, maybe work some fartleks in, should be fine.

 

If you want to gain more muscle, work in more lifting and less cardio, maybe eat a bit more, but nothing drastic. It sounds like things are working well in general and you're on the right track.