Author : AIDEVI

 

The vast majority of friends in fitness must start fitness training and eat healthy with the goal of "building a good figure". A really good figure must have obvious muscle lines and a lower fat content than ordinary people. But at this time, many friends are also facing a very tangled problem, should I gain muscle first or lose fat?

 

Fat loss requires diet control, while muscle gain requires a moderate increase in calorie intake. It seems that it is not so easy to achieve such two seemingly different and contradictory things simultaneously and efficiently. Should You Lose Fat Before Gaining Muscle? Or build muscle first and then lose fat? Below we will give you a detailed answer!

 

01

fat loss, muscle gain sequence

 

The question of "both muscle gain and fat loss, who is ahead and who is behind" is actually very different from person to person, and there is no fixed answer. There are also many related factors-such as personal weight, body fat percentage, gender, age, habits, preferences…

 

But in general, as long as you are not the kind of partner who is particularly thin, with little fat and muscle content, or who hardly cares about external changes, then we recommend reducing fat first and then gaining muscle.

 

 

 

 

02

What if you choose to build muscle first?

 

There is no doubt that if you want a significant muscle gain effect, you usually need to increase calories appropriately during high-intensity strength training, ensure protein intake, and ensure that the body is in a "calorie surplus" state. But the problem is that in this way, the muscles will indeed grow at a high speed, but at the same time the fat will inevitably increase.

 

Then, for novice friends who are just starting to exercise, there is likely to be such a problem-the original high fat content in the body, plus some new fat, can easily completely cover up the effect of muscle growth.

 

As a result, visually, there is no positive change in body shape, and there is no trace of fitness training or muscle development; instead, I feel that I am gradually getting fatter. If things go on like this, it will naturally make people feel particularly disappointed and frustrated with this result, and even give up fitness and return to the previous state of life.

 

 

03

Advantages of losing fat first and then gaining muscle

 

But on the other hand, high-efficiency fat loss emphasizes the reasonable control of diet while carrying out strength training to ensure that the body is in a moderate "calorie deficit" state, while ensuring sufficient intake of protein.

 

In this way, the changes in the visual muscle lines will be particularly obvious, making everyone full of confidence and enthusiasm for training the ideal body, and actively moving forward. Some friends must not mistakenly think that diet and exercise will make the body look thin and weak, especially those little brothers who pay special attention to muscles.

 

In fact, in the "novice golden stage" of strength training, the muscles respond most strongly to new stimuli; the speed of muscle growth and strength improvement is very fast. At this point, even if the body is in a "calorie deficit", as long as you make sure you train in place, it is extremely likely that your muscles will continue to grow in the first 1-4 weeks.

 

This is because, compared with those who have been exercising for many years, novices usually have a lot of undiscovered and unused muscle-building potential. At this time, muscle growth is easier and faster.

 

On the other hand, students who have just started exercising have relatively sufficient body fat reserves. Even in a state of insufficient calorie intake and deficit, the body can metabolize fat to provide energy for muscle growth. So there is no doubt that focusing on fat loss first will not delay everyone's muscle training to a certain extent.

 

 

 

 

04

Beginner's initial training intensity

not suitable for muscle gain

 

In the initial stage of fitness, the focus of everyone in actual training is often to practice and master accurate technical essentials; to establish and activate the connection between brain nerves and muscles, and to learn to fully and quickly mobilize muscles. In this way, everyone can ensure that the training performance is gradually improved, the strength is stronger, and the muscles are stronger.

 

This is why everyone needs to use this period of time when they just started practicing technical essentials to lose fat. At this time, the training intensity and load are often low, and the center of gravity is on technical improvement, not on muscle growth;

 

Muscle growth usually requires a lot of high-intensity training, which is not suitable for beginners in itself. In other words, even if the novice friends decide to build muscle first, the final results may not be ideal.

 

 

Therefore, a more reasonable way is to use low-intensity strength training to master technical movements during this period, and lose some fat to make your body more shapely. And after mastering the technical essentials accurately and in place, after the muscle strength has been greatly improved, then increase the strength step by step; then when the fat loss ends and the muscle gain begins, you will be in a state of "everything is ready", and you can be the most efficient and fast Get the ideal body of your dreams!

 

Finally, if your goal is not to become a professional bodybuilder, there should be a limit to whether it is muscle gain or fat loss. After you have a well-proportioned body that you are satisfied with, you should return to normal diet training. The key is to maintain and gain healthy, balanced and good living habits for a long time!