Click Here for Free Bodybuilding and Fitness Magazine Subscription
Muscle building vs cutting
Posted by: Shawn
There are two types of answers to the building versus cutting question. We could explain to you that you need to train with a high intensity using 8-12 reps to build muscle and then when you want to cut your body-fat down step it up to 12-20 reps in each set.
But these traditional bulk-and-cut type training and diets are antiquated, and completely inefficient. Eating tons of calories to increase muscle mass, then cut all your fat away to look shredded just ends up leaving your body looking like Michelin Man, you then cut-up which males you look like a marathon runner. You do NOT need to add fat in order to add muscle, neither do you need to burn muscle to be lean.
The bottom line is that you can train and eat to gain muscle and lose fat at exactly the same time. The answer is to fluctuate between periods when you're in a caloric deficit and then a caloric surplus. If you do this correctly, you'll be able to maximize the anabolic response you get from your training on your workout days while you are also able to facilitate fat loss on your off days.
If you plan correctly and use this interaction between the anabolic and the catabolic process, you'll be working toward building a lot of muscle which is not hidden by fat. The answer is a short well-planned fast on off-days which will actually decrease your body-fat stores, improve carbohydrate metabolism, protect your muscles, increase your metabolism, and help you to live longer.
Fasting on your off-days may sound counter-productive to you but it'll ensure full recovery. When you eat well 5 times a day after a 24 to 36 hour fast, your body will suddenly have all the energy it requires to train and repair from that training. Your fat-stores will be a lot more expendable because when you train, your body will automatically want to preserve any muscle it has to help keep up with the intense workouts you're doing.
Dieting correctly really is simple. When a person is aware of the basic macro-nutrients and they create a well thought-out plan that they can adhere to, it will work. But just like fasting on off-days can help you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time, so can minimal post-workout carbs.
It may go against everything you ever learnt about nutrition and replenishing lost muscle glycogen, but the truth has now been proven with more than one study. One of these studies found that taking in protein and carbs post-workout will not increase protein synthesis compared with ONLY consuming protein post-workout.
In the same study they showed conclusively that the group who ate protein-only post workout showed a much higher net-protein balance, which enables your level of protein synthesis. This proves that despite what we've been told, carbs are NOT needed post-workout.
You need carbs to fuel high-intensity workouts, you'll only need them post workout if you're training more than once a day, like any pro-athlete would. Minimal or zero carbs post-workout will be the perfect way to jump-start any fat loss, because your stored carbs (glycogen) which will be very at low, so your body will use fatty acids as the primary source of energy, you'll speed up fat-loss.
Click Here for a Chance to Win Free Bodybuilding Supplements
[Powerlifting Forum] [Bodybuilding Discussion Forum] [Bodybuilder Forum] [Teen Bodybuilding Forum]
[Muscle Growth Forum] [Weight Loss Forum] [Workout Forum] [Health and Fitness Forum]
