By The key to gaining muscle is to train with weights. There are many other activities that can create some muscular gains, but nothing beats straight up strength training. The key is to master those exercises in which will give you the most benefit, and lifting the weight with a proper strategy.
If you focus on weigh training, the fat loss will eventually become a reality. This is achieved a lot faster if you watch your nutrition carefully, and make intelligent choices on a daily basis. Below I will highlight some tips that will help you get there a lot faster.
6 Ways to lose fat and gain muscle – fast
- Focus on the multi joint lifts, and save the isolated exercises at the end of your session.
When you are at your strength peak in a workout (this is usually when you begin), it’s important to focus on an exercise that’s the most taxing on your body, and therefore, will give you the best results. Hitting it first up will allow you to use all your energy to focus on making this the biggest and best lift of your workout. Think squats, dead-lifts, lunges, bench press and pull ups. Isolated exercises are still great, but should be left to those that have already gained some size, and are looking to fitness a certain muscle (like your traps etc). Always write down how much you have lifted and the reps, so you can add more of either during your next session. It’s really important to track your progress so you have something tangible to work with next time around. - Technique needs to be correct – if not, practice it until it is.
Everyone starts at the bottom when they first train. The trick is to keep practicing until you get the movement right. Then you will have the leverage to pack on the weights and really get results.
The most important part of the movement is the lowering (this is called the eccentric phase). It’s important to count to 4 when you lower the weight, and 1–2 when you lift the weight. Always use a full range of movement, not partially executing the repetitions. Doing it this way probably means you won’t be able to lift a lot, but that’s not important here. The focus is on getting the technique right and getting the most leverage from the movement, to create hypertrophy and strength gains. - Isometric training is the best kept hidden secret.
One movement I’ve been using for many years is the isometric protocol. It increases neural drive to maximize the strength potential of newly developed muscles. The concept is performing one-and-a-quarter contractions on a particular movement. This can be with a squat (on the downward phase), leg extensions, biceps curls, triceps curls and even calf raises.
In describing the squat, so you can get more of an idea how the movement is performed, you go all the way down, then come up 20–30 degrees, pause for one second, decent back to the bottom and then come up quickly. To really add more of a growth factor, do not extend your legs fully on the way up, and do not stop at the top for a break! This really gets the burn going, and increases your potential for muscular and strength growth exponentially! Try it and see for yourself! - Let’s touch on nutrition for this point here.
When you work harder in the gym, and are aiming for muscular growth and strength, you need to make sure your nutrition is as good as it can be.
Increase your fat intake by getting it in coconut oil, avocado, salmon, fish oil, butter or olive oil. These are all anti inflammatory, and will help you to recover faster from your training. Try to increase your caloric intake once per week to about 150%. You have been eating properly all week, and this one time will help you to increase muscle protein synthesis, as well as give your body an abundance of calories for recovery. This could be in the form of a cheat meal, or a high caloric meal, including a cheat meal dessert. Once per week is not going to cause any problem with fat gain. It’s constantly eating this way which will cause fat accumulation. - Plan your training sessions properly – in 4 week increments.
Think of this as your intensification and accumulation phases.
Accumulation is more reps and sets, with greater time under tension. This brings on more muscular gains, whilst burning more fat stores.
Intensification is lifting weights that is more towards your maximal load that can be handled (as in, very heavy). This means less repetitions and less time performing the movement. You can always offset this by performing more sets, but that’s for another blog post.
This strategy means that during the course of the year, you will be increasing your strength, as well as building muscle, whilst losing body fat! There is no greater accomplishment than this one. Hitting 3 goals all at once, patiently and with precision. I recommend you train this way all the time, changing your exercises constantly, in order to have the best gain the best possible results. - For fat loss, consider strongman or HIIT.
Strongman training is great, as can use quite a range of equipment, that can make the workout interesting and very challenging. Think kettle bells, medicine balls, skipping ropes, sled and even rope slaps. When it comes to HIIT, try getting outdoors for hill sprints or track sprints. If all else fails and temperatures do not permit this training, using a treadmill is still a great option. Make sure your efforts are gearing towards your maximal capacity, and only sprint on and off for a 20–30 minute duration. More will be detrimental to your body composition goals.
If you would like to keep in touch during your muscle building and fat loss journey, please do contact me on these various platforms if you need further assistance. I have plenty of other material on my blog or join me on facebook and instagram account. Please feel free to upvote this answer if it has helped you in some way. Happy New Year!
