I want to reduce my body fat percentage and need some advice from you lovely ladies...what I want to know is should one first focus on losing fat before gaining muscle or is it better to focus on gaining muscle in order to assist in fat loss? I have seen conficting opinions regarding both strategies and I am so very confused! TIA
Lose fat while building muscle?
- Thread starter candy_oz
- Start date
queenmaynie
Cathlete
You will always see conflicting reports on this, but increasing lean muscle mass will help you burn more calories, even while at rest. Also, as you lose fat you will have toned muscles starting to show rather than just skin and bones as the fat decreases. I am a firm believer that working with weights can be a key component to success when trying to lose weight. Of course that also includes a clean and healthy diet, which is a huge piece of the puzzle. I teach cardio sculpt classes which combines weight training with cardio and my students have seen more success than they ever did with just doing cardio. It's great to see alot of them not only losing weight but looking pretty "cut" as well!!
kathryn
Cathlete
Gaining muscle and losing fat are in some ways incompatible, because to gain muscle, you must take in more calories (you are working to get 'bigger.' Gunnar Peterson says, "you have to eat big to get big")while to lose fat, you must have a calorie deficit (you are working to get 'smaller'). It's hard to get optimum results at both at the same time, which is why traditional bodybuilders usually have a muscle-building phase when periodizing (when they often don't pay attention to any fat they gain) and a fat-reduction phase (during which they try to burn off as much fat as they can while retaining as much muscle as they can).
I think you have to concentrate a bit more on one than the other.
How you approach it somewhat depends on how mch fat you have to lose.
In any case, I'd recommend doing both cardio and weights, but if you have a lot of fat to lose, you might want to focus a bit more on cardio, including one or two interval workouts per week. Make sure you are retaining muscle during this time, and gaining some. You could do this by doing 1 full-body, one upper-body and one lower-body workout per week.
If you have less fat to lose (and once you lose some), focus a bit more on muscle gain (which will also help burn more fat) by doing a 2- or 3-day split (with the 2-day split, do each workout twice a week, with the three-day, each workout once a week).
You could also alternate weeks of the two focuses.
As others have mentioned, diet and eating clean is very important to reducing body fat, as well as to muscle gain. Try to keep your fat intake to around 20% of calories, and choose whole, healthy fats (nuts, avocados, flax meal) over processed fats (even oils). Eat to fuel your activity level, and try eating about 5 times per day (you can do this by splitting your regular lunch into 2 parts--one larger then the other) and eating them as two feedings. Same with dinner.
I think you have to concentrate a bit more on one than the other.
How you approach it somewhat depends on how mch fat you have to lose.
In any case, I'd recommend doing both cardio and weights, but if you have a lot of fat to lose, you might want to focus a bit more on cardio, including one or two interval workouts per week. Make sure you are retaining muscle during this time, and gaining some. You could do this by doing 1 full-body, one upper-body and one lower-body workout per week.
If you have less fat to lose (and once you lose some), focus a bit more on muscle gain (which will also help burn more fat) by doing a 2- or 3-day split (with the 2-day split, do each workout twice a week, with the three-day, each workout once a week).
You could also alternate weeks of the two focuses.
As others have mentioned, diet and eating clean is very important to reducing body fat, as well as to muscle gain. Try to keep your fat intake to around 20% of calories, and choose whole, healthy fats (nuts, avocados, flax meal) over processed fats (even oils). Eat to fuel your activity level, and try eating about 5 times per day (you can do this by splitting your regular lunch into 2 parts--one larger then the other) and eating them as two feedings. Same with dinner.
Too add to Kathryn's post, another way to burn an optimal amount of fat in a short period of time is by doing true high intensity interval training (HIIT). I have just started this type of training and am really enjoying it.
You can do a google search and will come up with a lot of good info. Here is one article:
How to Burn MORE Fat in LESS Time - The Secret to HIIT"More for less" statements are usually followed by 30 minute infomercials that guarantee you phenomenal results with little work or "no money down". Well, there really is a way to burn more fat in less time, but the key is in defining the more and less variables.
Most people approach fat-burning and cardio workouts the same way. They hop on a treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or stepper and simply go through the motions for an hour or more. They think, "Look at me! I'm exercising for so long, and I'm sweating so much! I must be burning so much fat!"
Meanwhile, the guy on the next exercise bike has just finished his 15-20 minute cardio session, and he burned more than twice the amount of fat, AND his body will continue to do so for the rest of the day! How did he do it?
What is HIIT?
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Now, this is where the "more for less" concept comes in, but don't be fooled, you will be making up for that lost time with much higher–you guessed it–intensity!
The question is do you have what it takes to go all out for a short amount of time, rather than mindlessly wander through your current ineffective cardio routine? Consider this:
In an Australian study, people who cranked out 20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training 3 days a week dropped 10 percent of their body fat, while those who exercised longer but at a lower intensity didn't lose any!
How Do I Do It?
There are many different variations of HIIT, and you can apply them to nearly all of the common methods of cardio training. Let's say you normally go to the gym and ride an exercise bike for an hour at a steady pace. To incorporate HIIT into your workout, here are your options:
6/9: This is the method used in the Australian study referenced above, and this is what I personally recommend. The numbers stand for seconds, and in this case, "6/9" means you would sprint all out for 6 seconds, then slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds. Of course, you would continue repeating this cycle for as long as you can (you didn't think you'd be done in 15 seconds did you?!).
For example, hop on the exercise bike and warm up for 2-3 minutes at about 40-50% of your maximum effort. Once you hit the end of your warmup session, BAM!, launch into a full out sprint for 6 seconds. Then, slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds, and BAM!, full out sprint for another 6 seconds. So, each full 6/9 interval lasts 15 seconds, or 4 intervals per minute. Keep repeating this cycle for as long as you can, but be sure that you are going as hard as possible for each 6 second sprint interval. It's OK if you can only last a few minutes the first few times. Your endurance will build up, as your waist shrinks down!
As a point of reference, John, our resident Workout Logger, warms up for 3 minutes, goes at 150 RPM (rotations per minute) for 6 seconds and 90 RPM for 9 seconds (repeating this cycle for 10-15 minutes), followed by a 3 minute cooldown for a total workout time of only 15-20 minutes.
30/30: The "half and half" method was one of the first accepted ways of doing HIIT. Since then, we've learned that shorter bursts produce greater results. Reason being, you can't really go absolutely all out for a full 30 seconds. Some practice even higher intervals of 60/60 or more. If you can last for that long, then you aren't really giving your maximum effort the entire time.
That's why short 6 second bursts are better, because you only have to sustain that maximum intensity for a short time. However, longer intervals such as 30/30 and even 30/60 can be useful for beginners. You may want to start here if you're not used to very high intensity in your current cardio training, then you can work your way up to the more efficient 6/9 or 8/12 intervals.
Why Does It Work?
When you are giving your all out maximum effort, your body produces more of a chemical called catecholamine. Can you guess what catecholamine does? That's right: it triggers your body to start burning fat. Even better, the higher your intensity and the more catecholamine your body produces, the longer the fat-burning process will last. This means you will be reaping the benefits of your HIIT session for up to 36 hours after you're done!
Now, get out there, and get on the HIIT wagon! Remember, the first two letters are the most important. HIGH INTENSITY!
You can do a google search and will come up with a lot of good info. Here is one article:
How to Burn MORE Fat in LESS Time - The Secret to HIIT"More for less" statements are usually followed by 30 minute infomercials that guarantee you phenomenal results with little work or "no money down". Well, there really is a way to burn more fat in less time, but the key is in defining the more and less variables.
Most people approach fat-burning and cardio workouts the same way. They hop on a treadmill, exercise bike, elliptical machine, or stepper and simply go through the motions for an hour or more. They think, "Look at me! I'm exercising for so long, and I'm sweating so much! I must be burning so much fat!"
Meanwhile, the guy on the next exercise bike has just finished his 15-20 minute cardio session, and he burned more than twice the amount of fat, AND his body will continue to do so for the rest of the day! How did he do it?
What is HIIT?
HIIT stands for High Intensity Interval Training. Now, this is where the "more for less" concept comes in, but don't be fooled, you will be making up for that lost time with much higher–you guessed it–intensity!
The question is do you have what it takes to go all out for a short amount of time, rather than mindlessly wander through your current ineffective cardio routine? Consider this:
In an Australian study, people who cranked out 20 minutes of High Intensity Interval Training 3 days a week dropped 10 percent of their body fat, while those who exercised longer but at a lower intensity didn't lose any!
How Do I Do It?
There are many different variations of HIIT, and you can apply them to nearly all of the common methods of cardio training. Let's say you normally go to the gym and ride an exercise bike for an hour at a steady pace. To incorporate HIIT into your workout, here are your options:
6/9: This is the method used in the Australian study referenced above, and this is what I personally recommend. The numbers stand for seconds, and in this case, "6/9" means you would sprint all out for 6 seconds, then slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds. Of course, you would continue repeating this cycle for as long as you can (you didn't think you'd be done in 15 seconds did you?!).
For example, hop on the exercise bike and warm up for 2-3 minutes at about 40-50% of your maximum effort. Once you hit the end of your warmup session, BAM!, launch into a full out sprint for 6 seconds. Then, slow to about 50-60% for 9 seconds, and BAM!, full out sprint for another 6 seconds. So, each full 6/9 interval lasts 15 seconds, or 4 intervals per minute. Keep repeating this cycle for as long as you can, but be sure that you are going as hard as possible for each 6 second sprint interval. It's OK if you can only last a few minutes the first few times. Your endurance will build up, as your waist shrinks down!
As a point of reference, John, our resident Workout Logger, warms up for 3 minutes, goes at 150 RPM (rotations per minute) for 6 seconds and 90 RPM for 9 seconds (repeating this cycle for 10-15 minutes), followed by a 3 minute cooldown for a total workout time of only 15-20 minutes.
30/30: The "half and half" method was one of the first accepted ways of doing HIIT. Since then, we've learned that shorter bursts produce greater results. Reason being, you can't really go absolutely all out for a full 30 seconds. Some practice even higher intervals of 60/60 or more. If you can last for that long, then you aren't really giving your maximum effort the entire time.
That's why short 6 second bursts are better, because you only have to sustain that maximum intensity for a short time. However, longer intervals such as 30/30 and even 30/60 can be useful for beginners. You may want to start here if you're not used to very high intensity in your current cardio training, then you can work your way up to the more efficient 6/9 or 8/12 intervals.
Why Does It Work?
When you are giving your all out maximum effort, your body produces more of a chemical called catecholamine. Can you guess what catecholamine does? That's right: it triggers your body to start burning fat. Even better, the higher your intensity and the more catecholamine your body produces, the longer the fat-burning process will last. This means you will be reaping the benefits of your HIIT session for up to 36 hours after you're done!
Now, get out there, and get on the HIIT wagon! Remember, the first two letters are the most important. HIGH INTENSITY!
Stephanie0523
Cathlete
Very cool. I am taping the 6/9 method info to my eliptical trainer! Thanks for the info, Lorie!
LauraMax
Cathlete
You know, I think you have to do what you most enjoy. It really is a combo of cardio, weight training & diet, but everyone's different when it comes to results & the bottom line is you have to find what you can live with. Any combination of all 3 will help you lose weight, some quicker & some slower. It takes research, trial & error, & some time commitment. But if you don't enjoy it you won't stick w/it.
Of course, losing inches is really one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world, but that's a topic for another thread........;-)
Of course, losing inches is really one of the most enjoyable feelings in the world, but that's a topic for another thread........;-)
SirenSongWoman
Cathlete
Lori, thank you for explaining HIIT. I've been trying to amp things up and have been reading bits about this but your explanation is clearest. I'm going to research more on this. I'm all for getting maximum results in minimum time.
>I have just started HIIT as well. I have done it twice so
>far. I am anxious to see how it works for me. Keep us posted
>on your progress!
I already started too! After doing resistance training, I did it on the treadmill, crosstrainer and bike today at the gym. I went for 20 minutes in total and I really felt it! thanks again
>far. I am anxious to see how it works for me. Keep us posted
>on your progress!
I already started too! After doing resistance training, I did it on the treadmill, crosstrainer and bike today at the gym. I went for 20 minutes in total and I really felt it! thanks again