Burning body fat and building lean muscle mass may not be possible to attain at the very same time but you can still reach both of these goals if you look at your progress every two weeks following a simple alternating program. Would you prefer getting very thin and then building muscle, building muscle mass and then losing body fat or do you want both at the same time? If you are very overweight or obese then you should stick to the first approach, if you are extremely under weight then follow the second approach but if you are somewhere in the middle then the best approach for you none other than the alternating method. If you think that the alternating approach suits you, then keep reading.
The concept is that you do a muscle building program one week and the very next week, follow a fat loss work. Many experts and personal trainers at this point would say - You will lose all muscle that you have built during the first week. Well, why do you think we lose muscle mass? The main culprit is cortisol - A hormone that is a body stabilizer. It stabilizes body temperate and metabolism. If cortisol levels rise, you start losing muscle mass. It rises if you start starving yourself and also right after a workout. If you can keep cortisol levels under control then you are can avoid losing muscle mass. Is you take small and frequent meals and have a good post workout meal; you can avoid muscle loss completely. Here is the two week guide (workouts should not be longer than 30 minutes):
Week 1
Workouts
60 - 80% of your maximum lifts
6 - 10 reps
Slow concentric movements (coming back to the normal position)
Explosive eccentric movements (going against the force)
Rest about 1 minute
Full body workouts
1 compound exercise per body part
Plenty of rest
HIIT once a week after smaller muscle group workout
Diet
High calorie diet - High Low GI carbohydrates, High proteins and low fats
High GI carbohydrates and fast absorbing protein post workout
No fats 2 hours before the workout
25 grams of fiber
Week 2
Workouts (you can also do strength circuits - No long duration cardio)
60% of your maximum lifts
8 - 15 reps (more reps for smaller muscle groups)
Fast and explosive movements
Multiple joint movements
Rest 30 seconds
Full body workouts - alternating between upper and lower body
HIIT 2 - 3 times a week
Diet
High protein, medium unsaturated fats and low carbohydrates
Fast absorbing proteins post workout
Main carbs for breakfast
No fats 2 hours before the workout
25 grams of fiber
You do lots of muscle building, concentrate on full body workouts with high calories in the first week. This increases your testosterone and growth hormone (HGH) levels. Eating the carbs after your workout will slow down the HGH production but increase insulin for protein synthesis and pushing the carbs in the muscles and not storing them. BUT you HGH will raise during the night so no worries :-). For even better results you can slow down both your eccentric and concentric movements, but lower the weight. The very slow movement in both positive and negative directions is a very very effective way to REALLY exhaust your muscles.
The second week, you lower your carbs to a minimum. Concentrate on losing fat using the testosterone and HGH hormones (these are very powerful fat burners). The HIIT and full body fast workouts will help raise these hormones and your BMR. You will lose body fat like anything.
Try this for a couple of weeks. Before starting, take a measuring tape and measure your waist. If you can, try and get a body fat percentage reading as well. You are sure to lose body fat and gain muscle during this time. If you want to learn more about how to burn fat and build muscle, please feel free to visit my blog at http://burnfatnbuildmuscle.blogspot.com
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