There's a whole lot of hype out there about how it isn't possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. This is false. For anyone who's been around the fitness industry for a while and done a little more than experiment in the gym, building lean muscle while losing fat is exactly what happens under a sound resistance training and interval training program.
You see, the old fashioned approach to fat loss was long cardio sessions several days a week and painful calorie reduction at meal time. And I won't lie to you; you will lose weight this way, both fat and muscle. But you will also plateau after moderate results and then find it very difficult to continue making progress. Why? Because your metabolic rate will adjust to your calorie intake, and if calorie consumption is insufficient to fuel your exercise level, your body will retain body fat as protection from starvation and you'll eat away at your muscle.
There is another way to lose weight however that is more effective, and that will allow you to build muscle at the same time. Combining short and intense resistance training sessions, with short and intense interval sessions will make for a ripped physique quickly. And yes, you can build muscle while losing fat. But fat loss is not occurring through long calorie burning sessions, but through a higher metabolic rate as a consequence of circuit lifting and lifting with supersets, as well as from newly acquired muscle mass.
Condensing a full lifting session into a mere 15 to 20 minute lift can be challenging and intense, but it's also how you supercharge your metabolism and shred up. Don't take 20 minutes for your chest, but limit it to 5 to 8 minutes, and superset that with your back training. Rest for only 1 minutes, and continue. You can complete an upper body lift in 20 minutes this way, and believe me; you won't feel you've left anything out. You won't be able to lift as much weight this way, compounding sets and reducing rest times, but the energy exertion required to complete the lift will far surpass an hour of lifting in the gym any day.
Follow these sessions with a hard session of interval running that lasts 15 to 20 minutes, including warm-up. Alternate jogging at 60 percent of capacity for 2 minutes and sprinting at 90 percent of capacity for 1 minute, for three to five sets. Start with a few sets, and work up as you become stronger. This is a very intense way to train. Sessions are short, but there is no wasted time. And every minute in the gym is contributing to your new ripped physique. If you keep your sessions short and work to increase the number of reps or the amount of weight you're lifting, you'll be guaranteed to build muscle. And this new muscle along with a supercharged metabolism will melt the fat away.
Author Resource:-
Tom Fazio is a martial arts and fitness instructor based in Shanghai. He contributes to the fitness webzines Denver Fitness, Shanghai Yoga, and
Beijing Fitness.
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