FAT LOSS vs MUSCLE GAIN

If you're an advanced lifter (or even a beginner) looking to gain muscle, while also losing fat, you'll find simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain is challenging. This is mainly because the two goals conflict with one another in some ways. Simply put, gaining muscle requires consuming more calories than you burn. Losing fat requires consuming fewer calories than you burn. When you're at a calorie deficit, which is commonly used for fat loss, muscles aren’t getting the fuel and nutrients they need to repair and recover. If you're just getting into lifting you'll see the best benefit of both fat loss and muscle gain.

TIPS:

> Include both cardio and strength training into your routine. Cardio without strength training will impact muscle mass, and strength training with no cardio will affect fat loss.

> Your diet matters! Fat loss is impacted heavily in the kitchen, as well as putting on quality muscle mass. Seek the help of someone qualified to provide nutrition advice. They can help come up with a plan to reach your goal without having to sacrifice all the foods you enjoy.

> Focus on your priority. If you're a powerlifter the focus would be more on strength training over cardio, if you're into Crossfit the priority would shift more towards cardiovascular endurance over strength training.

Achieving fat loss and muscle gain at the same time can be a challenging task. Another point to consider is alternating goals over time in order to chip away at a larger, more long-term goal. This means breaking down a goal into smaller parts, for example spend two months focusing on adding quality muscle mass, then go into a period of focusing on fat loss. This keeps the goals separate and easy to achieve over more time.