How To Build Muscle And Burn Fat
Written by ama on April 13, 2010
Is it possible to build muscle and burn fat at the same time? This is one of the most common and most disagreed upon topics in the industry. People will claim there are studies to support either answer. While it does take a certain amount of discipline, I do believe that it’s possible, as I have achieved it myself. Now it’s time to show you how you too can turn your body into a fat burning, muscle building machine.
Let’s start with food. There are certain foods that will aid in this process and others that will hinder it. The ones you will want to stay away from are obvious for the most part. Some examples are fast food, trans fats & hydrogenated oils, sugars of any kind unless they are in the form of a fruit, especially high fructose corn syrup, white flour, pork, beef unless it’s at least 90% lean, stay away from as much processed food as possible and also alcohol & soda, yes energy drinks count as soda.
Now on to the good stuff, what you can eat. The best foods are the ones that naturally boost your glutathione levels. Glutathione is the master amino acid and antioxidant. Fresh unprocessed meat, garlic, asparagus, spinach, broccoli, avocado and raw egg are all foods that boost it. Fruits & vegetables should be your main source of carbohydrates. Whole grains are great but make sure they are “real” whole grains. Meaning, stay away from the processed breads and go for grains like steal cut oats, quinoa and brown rice. Get your lean protein from natural or organic chicken breast, check the label and make sure the sodium is around 50mg otherwise it’s been injected and you should proceed with caution. Other protein sources are fish, such as salmon, halibut, sole, herring and tuna, bison meat is naturally more lean than beef, eggs, tofu, nuts & seeds, beans & other legumes and whey protein. You need to eat every 2-3 hours even if you’re not hungry. This will speed up your metabolism causing you to burn more fat and keep yourcalorie intake up which is needed to support new muscle growth. If it seems like a daunting task to incorporate a variety of these foods into every single meal, you may want to consider one of the few nutrition shakes available that actually contain natural, healthy ingredients. This way you kill two birds with one stone, you get all the nutrients you need to support new muscle and burn fat while replacing a meal.
The next step is to keep your muscles confused. They should never know what's coming next. When you workout with the same intensity doing the same exercises on the same days in the same order, etc. your body adapts to it and gets bored, as should you. Your muscles will stop growing when your body gets bored because the same exercise is no longer a challenge. One of the most effective programs ever created around the science of muscle confusion is the highly popular p90x also referred to as px90 which was created by Tony Horton. Another incredible program that will yield amazing results is Chalean Extreme by Chalene Johnson. Whatever program you decide to use, make it a point to introduce new exercises, tempos, rep ranges and sets constantly. If all you ever use is dumbbells & a piece of cardio equipment try getting back to the fundamentals with pushups & pull-ups in different variations and do some plyometrics to give your legs a shock. Yoga or pilates would be another recommendation. No more than once or twice per week however. When you stretch your muscles you recover faster and become stronger, both equate to gaining more muscle. As for cardio, take a kick boxing class or get a workout dvd with some martial arts like kenpo. This way you can do this at home and save yourself the public embarrassment if you’ve never tried it before. And it should always be extremely intense and focused! You’ll also want to work out in a circuit fashion where you’re going from one exercise to the next and not resting more than about 30-60 seconds between exercises. This will keep your heart rate up and keep you burning fat.
The last ingredients to complete the muscle building, fat burning recipe are creatine, glutamine, water and sleep. Creatine & glutamine are natural substances found in the body. Creatine is the most studied supplement in the industry. It has not shown to have any side affects and is safe to use as directed. You want creatine monohydrate and glutamine both in a powdered form. Creatine will increase your strength and both will help aid in recovery. Muscles grow when the fibers get torn and then are repaired. The more stronger you are the more you lift and the more your muscle fibers will tear.
Your body is comprised of more than 60% water. You need to consume anywhere from 3 liters to a gallon of water per day when exercising intensely. Pay attention to the color of your urine. It should be virtually clear otherwise you are dehydrated. The exceptions to this rule is going to the bathroom immediately upon waking when you haven’t had any water in 8-9 hours and if you’ve just taken your vitamins which will turn it a bright yellow color.
When you sleep is the only time your body can truly recover from the stressors of the day, both physically and mentally. If you don’t allow your body adequate time to rest and recover there will be hell to pay and you probably don’t want that bill. In addition to your muscles not growing fully and causing you to store more fat, it can also increase your risk of debilitating diseases like anxiety, depression, A.D.D.diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity. None of which are what you’re going for I’m sure. If you’re a teenager you need roughly 10 hours per night. An adult, especially one on an intense training regimen like p90x, needs around 9 hours per night and, as a bonus, a 15 minute nap in the middle of the day if possible.
