Fat Loss and Muscle Gain Simultaneously

Most often when muscle gains are made and when fat loss occurs at the same time it is because of one of a few factors. You are either a genetic freak, you are a beginner and experience rapid gains in muscle or you are taking steroids or human growth hormone. But what about those of use who are not new to a strength training program and don't fall into the genetic freak camp and don't want to put chemicals in our bodies that don't belong there. Is there any hope for us?

The answer is that there is hope for you. You can add muscle and lose fat at the same time. But the first thing you need to do is alter your concept of at the same time. When I refer to at the same time I do not mean in the same day. I would be referring to a longer period of time. This time frame would be at least a month long and it is best if you begin to think of this time frame as more like three to four months.

As a I explained in a previous hub you add muscle and unfortunately add fat during a calorie surplus. You remove fat during a calorie deficit but you will also lose lean body mass at the same time. This is why you need to alter your time periods in which you expect to do this.

Diet is not the only thing that effects your ability to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time (although is primary). Exercise also plays a major role. Certain types of training will change your hormones. How your body responds to this exercise will change how you handle calories and nutrients.

Take for instance intense weight training. I you perform this type of exercise and time your nutrients right you could gain a small amount of muscle during the times that you had a calorie surplus and you could lose a little fat during the rest of the day if you had a deficit during that period of the day. Now both the muscle gain and fat loss would be small but what if you kept that up over an extended period of time. I would be possible to make great gains in muscle and experience a sizable fat loss.

If you looked at the larger picture of say one week, wouldn't it be possible to have days in which you were in a calories surplus and were able to gain muscle but on other days of the week you were in a deficit and lost fat. At the end of the week, it would have been possible to have gained muscle and have lost fat during the same time period.This would be a type of cycle training.

Tom Venuto has a new program built around this concept and this type of training. It is called Holy Grail Body Transformation. He uses nutritional periodization or cyclical dieting in order to achieve the results you desire. The end result is that you lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.

If you have an interest in learning more about simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain then you can pick up a free recording from Tom at his website.