Hiya Vince! I’ve been reading through what you said about fat loss and muscle building simultaneously. I’ve been discussing this with a friend of mine who is a proficient bodybuilder. From what he told me it is something quite difficult to achieve because its difficult to have a diet for this purpose. He told either bulk on muscle or lose fat but both is quite difficult to achieve and is achieved most of the time in complete unconsciousness of the trainee. I do believe that this is so also. According to him, if you want to lose fat while building muscle at the same time, you might end up with muscle tissue loss also. So what do you think Vince?

Hey Vince ,
I’ve been following you for quite a while . The problem is that i Consider my self decently built ( for sports ) and i want to b on that road of athletic training. I’m a vocational cricketer . There’s a season coming up in January and i am looking to get leaner and pack on a little more muscle , but emphasize mainly on power.
Is it possible to get in shape .. prolly show a bit of abs as a part of celebrations

Vince,

For my personal expirence if you only overfeed right before and after your muscle building workouts and underfeed the rest of the day works GREAT!!! with great results. I wish I could sent you some recent pictures. I am currently in IRAQ in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom 09-10, I will find a way to take some pictures and sent them to you, the result is amazing and of course I ALWAYS follow all your advises and recommendations on training and dieting. God bless.

Sorry Guys , i missed the point . I was preoccupied with what i wanted .
Anyway , I think hector is right because it makes sense. Btw this is what i am following too . BUt isn’t building / shredding a cal. game .
THOUGH i feel the gains will be slower compared to an all-out-muscle-building-diet , offcourse you’ll be happier with the lesser fat that accompanies with the former

Question Vince,
What would happen if you train for building muscle but underfeed? do you just not build? Would you loose muscle? or would you just loose fat? or both?

Sup Vince Thanks for the Blog.

I’d say the first definitely seems the most effective, Since they always do these kinda thing’s in military Boot-camps especially in the Marines and those guys come out Body Builder’s most of the time. But instead of Day’s it’s usually more threw out the day, or so I’ve been told. But the Second is the most strategic since Nutrition plays a leading role in building muscle and losing flab. But I’m not sure which to chose from so I’ll try em all! Lol

I’d modify the 3rd option a bit

overfeed before and after and “just right ” during other times + pre-bed snack is free of carb and high on slow digesting protein .

Vince , can whey with yoghurt be used as a pre-bed snack . i don’t have casein . i use whey PWO and as pre-bed . that ok ??

Hey Vince,

First, let me say that question is like wanting two challenging goals at the same time that lead in opposite directions. However, I’ve had some success, gained 10 lbs. while lifting heavy on 3 alternate days eating appropriately before and after, then on the other days practicing active rest like a light swim or yoga. Had progress, but wondered if would have been better if completely focus on one goal at a time would achieve even better results. Overall feel it depends on your current condition body wise, experience as a lifter, to mention a few.

Curious on others input~

Conquer It in your workout to Own it in Life!!

Bill

Maybe a slow sustained muscle building process with only a modest caloric surplus is the best way to go in order to avoid gaining fat (or hopefully lose some fat).

Hey Vince –

I have actually been practicing “What If #1″ for about 6 months now – and it works! I lift at 6AM on M/W/F and run 5K on Tu/Th and 5-10K on Saturdays. I have been able to build muscle and lose inches in the mid-section concurrently. Now, I should disclose, that while I am 41 yrs old, I have been accused of having a metabolism of a 16 year old. I can eat absolute CRAP for a week and not gain a pound. When I said I lost inches in the mid section, I went from a lean 32″ waist to a 30.5″ waist. My biggest challenge is driving the lifestyle change to consistently take down enough calories to keep building. 100% laziness based on years of relying on that metabolism to keep me +/- 2 pounds since college.

Ping me if you want to know more.

Rob

Building muscle and losing fat at the same time, I believe, is possible, but it is more challenging than doing only one or the other. Your diet and training must be more strict. In terms of dieting, fat intake should be primarily from EFAs. Carbs should be primarily complex; simple carbs should come from fruit. High protein, as always, from lean sources. And don’t forget the veggies. Supplements will be the usual: whey protein, EFAs, etc. Training will be moderate to heavy weights AND interval cardio or other cardio-ish workouts like high volume sit-ups/crunches/leg lifts. This is essentially similar to Ryan Reynolds’ training regimen and his results are obvious. When I say more strict, it is basically like a mass-gain program with little to no shortcuts or cheat days/meals and a little bit of cardio on top.

I have been kinda doing this, when I do fat burning workouts (running or swimming, I usually get full with a small amount of food) but when I lift weights I get hungry all the time, My body is transforming so I guess this could be it!

@Tarun –

Hi Tarun, try some quark or cottage cheese or peanut butter before bed. Whey will get digested too quickly to be of much use to you.

Regards,

Dan

I don’t like anything that says “underfeed” when we are trying to build muscle mass. We are looking at caloric intake from the fat that you already have (ie: burn fat) with muscle building (overfeed with protein). Since the protein must be in the system when the muscles need it I would think that you would want protein in the body before and after the muscle building workouts which would mean protein blast before and after the workout. I would prefer to have extra protein at bedtime, but that would depend upon the timing of the workout. Underfeeding on the days of the fat burning might work, but I would think this would be counterproductive for the muscle massing. That is unless you consider underfeeding to be based on total caloric which might work with high protein – low carb intake on the fat-off days.

But, then again, I don’t a whole lot of fat to lose so I guess that when I need to get to single digit body fat, I will worry about it at that time. I am no where near that point yet.

I have gained 15 pounds in 4 months, but don’t have a caliper and don’t really care right now what the body fat measurement is. The waist versus height method says I am about 11%.

Hi vince, i am on a program i designed for myself about 6 weeks ago, and so far it has been working pretty well on GAINING strength, size whilst BURNING fat,
if it werent for my weakness for certain italian dishes and the odd beer im sure it would be working alot better haha,
my program is mon/wed/fri – resistance training, hard and heavy, and the 2 meals b4 the workout include (meal 1) brown carbs – 100g, lean protein – 30-50g- low fat then meal two a simple carb meal ( 1/2 shake), 50g of maltodextrose – 20g protein – low fat then the workout then the other half of the carb/protein shake, then the meal following that in about 1-2 hours is lean protein with tons of veggies and its back onto the lean carb free meals
on cardio days, tues/sun, its all lean carb free, with 5-10 g of glutamine b4 cardio and a small simple carb snack b4 the workouts,

hope that wasnt too rambly, hope u have a look at it too
cheers

Aaron

Hey Vince,
Both goals of fat loss and muscle building can be done at the same time BUT it depends on your circumstance. ( I’m using myself as evidence.)

if you have bodyfat to lose (15%+) the dual goals would work for you, then the results slow down until you get down to say <10%BF.

I have been following your program for 5 months eating calories amount between maintenance and cutting (possibly doesn’t help either being a 45 year old and a vegetarian).

The result is I’ve lowered my body fat to 8% (skinfold test) with heaps of definition. Everyone at the gym is amazed ( that’s thanks to your program) and I am getting stronger as my recorded weekly results show.

But the muscle measurement are going along for the ride i.e showing no real increases, probably only my back is the only place that has gotten bigger, a real V-taper and yes the 6 pack is there but biceps, shoulders, and the rest …nope.

A possibility perhaps is that I try food/cardio/WT cycling to get increases but the period I think needs to be like 4-6 weeks at least.

So what I got out of all this is that it is not possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. The only thing that seems like it could work is overfeeding your muscles on training days and underfeeding on off days, however, I don’t believe this to be true because of the fact that muscles grow at rest and that means off days. Being underfed at the most important time for muscle growth I don’t think is ideal. But that’s just my 2 cents.

@Tarun – I’ve been trying to lose fat for the past year with great success but occasionly lose muscle on the weeks I go to strong on the cardio. I do a similar routine to no 1 but found I maintain muscle better when I train less frequently. Also since adding a pre bed snack of cottage cheese I’ve found I’m adding muscle, which I’m really happy about as I originally thought it was not possible.

Hi Vince,

You have a great built overall, some more size to your biceps would make it look even greater. I’m 58 years of age and I have reasonable built, the only thing is that I find it very difficult to get rid of the fat below the belly button. Anyways all the best to you, I do my workouts at home. At my age I can’t afford to go to the workout to hard, but I do workout sufficient enough to keep fit, even though I have diabeties and blood pressure, but in the process of keeping it under control.

Cheers and thanks for all your advise and tips,

Yo, Vin. I’ve lost fat, gained muscle, but remained at the same weight (75 kg). I think this was achieved by taking creatine, intensifying my workouts and keeping to a diet that doesn’t allow fat to build up.
But I really want to put on another, say, 4-5 kg to bring me up to 80 kg. I’m having enormous diffculty on this score, however. I think my main difficulty is that I’ve been doing too much cardio, which I’ve now cut right out, barring some interval training twice a week. I’ll see if this gets results.
Another problem is that I’ve become a disciplined dieter and just can’t pile on the calories, which I know needs to be done (your point number 2), and I have a sort of “principled” aversion to carbohydrates. Is there something I can take that provides LOTS of healthy, body-building calories in liquid form? Finally, a recent blood test showed that my testosterone levels are very low (i.e. under the minimum threshold). I’m having a spericalst andrological and urological check-up today, after which my doctor has said she’ll give me something to bring the level back up. In the meantime, I’ve been eating lots of broccoli, eggs, salmon, almonds and the like. And yes, I’ve been doing my squats. Once this is sorted out things should improve even further, I hope.
Your point number 4 sounds great, but may be a bit complicated for dudes like me. Maybe if you pros try it out and then give us the beef?
In short, I think that, for non full-timers, points 1 and 2 are conceptually and practically the most simple and logical. Point 3 also makes a lot of sense but, in my book at least, is already beginning to get more complex. Having said that, points 1, 2 and 3 seem complementary and reasonably straightforward.

Hey vince,

This is my first post, and ive been a customer of yours for about a year now.

I would have to say that bulking and then cutting works the best for me. I lost about 15 pounds on YSPQ program and since then have put on 30 pounnds in the last 4 months using NNMB program.

Il be finishing up the last 2 months hoping to get up to 205 lbs, and then finishing up YSPQ program. Thx Vince

Guys ,

help me out with my fat loss . i was 74 kg pretty pudgy and now i am 70 lean . worked out for 7-8 months now and followed the oily food and fast carbs aversion theory . I concentrate mainly on compound movements , very less isolation . I have just started cutting carbs to about 10-15 grams for dinner.

Anymore changes to accelerate fat loss .

Thanks is advance

There seem to be a lot of misconceptions out there re the fat-loss/muscle build equation. From my experience it is indeed possible to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, using a combination of daily calory restriction and fasting – the fundamental issue is that you must be doing weight training around 3 times a week. Using this combination of nutrition and fitness regimes I’ve managed to lose 5.6kg since 31 August 2009 and at the same time I’ve gained around 2.2kg of lean bodyweight. I think that the most important thing for muscle building, therefore, whether or not you are on a calory-restricting diet or not, is your fitness regime.

train to build muscle, and have maintainance calorific intake.

I would just employ the lean hybrid muscle training to lose fat and build muscle at the same time.

Vince – my head hurts from the spinning! I love getting your new blog emails, they are always inforative and very helpful. I am a bit opposite from you since I had weight to lose but with your tips I hve reached my goals in that respect – thank you. I am definitly interested on this topic since everyone inthe gym wants to grow muscle and lose fat at the ssame time. I can’t wait for your next post.

I was able to lose 30lbs of fat in 6weeks by following ketogenic diet (excluding all sugars and starchy carbs and overfeeding with protein and LOTS of fat). Your body becomes very inefficient when you switch from glucose to ketones, and starts wasting body fat like mad.
Muscle break-down is halted since your body does not care about blood glucose.
Little HIIT hepls but not required.

I’m not sure if you can actually build muscle while doing that. But still great for cutting

Personally, I would combine #1 with #4, since it intuitively seems more appropriate for me, resembeling carb staggering and refeed days when the body would use the nutrition the best.

If this is the case, I don’t know, but currently I’m doing YSPQ workouts 3 times a week and interval cardio on off days, with one day completely off. They may be a little high in volume to qualify as “muscle building” according to the above mentioned definition, but I like the exercises!

I’ve always had the train of thought that losing fat and gaining muscle was separate and that building on one meant that food intake was going to be for one only. But then again, I’m open to different takes on gain/lose programs that aren’t full of crap but are sound in the reasonings and what they offer.

yo brothers from the world of iron and sweat.
i’ve took the liberty to read them instructions and follow them step by step..its just a matter of doing it right now.
the best key is key# 4..overfeed on days, underfeed off days…that gives muscle energy when its needed the most and forces to burn fat (underfeed) even stronger!.
as of now..i follow my own program in building muscle, burning fat by joggin, and eat LESS of those sweet things. im 79.4kg, and my fat is below 10%. as long as i feel good, there is no need for any supplements. just keep following the schedule and have a few changes sometime, because the body shouldnt adapt to ONE type of training.
keep breathing when pressing !!!

I came across a study not too long ago. I don’t really remember the link but I do remember they had a few human test subjects whom they fed ultra low calorie diets(800 – 1000). The result after 12 weeks of intense weight training was that the subjects gained muscle and lost fat. Anybody else come across this?

I reckon it can be done!!! I believe that nutrition doesn’t play as big a role in building muscle as everyone claims, I believe we need food for energy but I don’t think we need to over eat to gain muscle I reckon that progressive training is more important!!! If our body needs strength to keep lifting the ever progressing weight that the muscle will grow. Now I’m not saying if we eat nothing and lift weights well still build muscle all I’m saying is if we eat maybe a few hundred calories under maintainence we could still build muscle (it won’t be at an explosive rate) throw some hiit intervals in there and build muscle and lose fat at the same time!!! That’s what I did anyway!!!

http://www.ufoinfo.com/humanoid/humanoid1988.shtml
Got the link.
What do you think, Vince?

Vince,

Your proposal is very interesting indeed! After reading Tom Venuto’s material, I was pretty convinced that it’s most effective to aim for one goal (build muscle OR burn fat, not both simultaneously).

Your proposal is very similar to the techniques made popular by the “Body For Life”. Muscle building on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Fat burning aerobic on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. I did the program and achieaved the leanest body in my life. However, as Venuto explained, soon after the techniques would not have the same effect. My body ended up gaining most of the weight back on. The only difference is that the nutrition program overfeed on both weight lifting and aerobic days (6x week).

Can you build muscle and burn fat…..YES! This is not new; good coaches and trainers have been able to do this for YEARS!! I think it is funny that there are some coaches coming out with “new” products stating a break through in training science. I am sure they will sell a lot of products as well. Here is a basic outline that has worked EVERY time.

Monday: Heavy total body lifts-High Calorie Intake
Tuesday: Abs/Low Back training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Wednesday: Total body circuit training-Moderate Caolrie Intake
Thursday: Abs/Low Back Training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Friday: Heavy total body lifts-High Calorie Intake
Saturday:Abs/Low Back Training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Sunday: Off Day

It’s just that easy! Maybe I should come out with the best training product around! I’m not knocking the guys online trying to make a living and helping people out; but I don’t like it when they act like they re-invented the wheel.

Vince, I have been enjoying getting your encouraging information, however, I have been waiting to recieve the DVD’s I ordered. So far, nothing. Please check for me and let me know when I can expect to recieve them. Thanks, Ken

Hey Vince:
I have been training religiously 6 days a week and lost 10 lbs but maintained bicep size and increased chest and thighs. Lately I have gained some lbs back. When I looked at my diary for training I realized I had been cutting back on cardio and doing shorter workouts without realizing it. M,W,F,Su I do all body heavy weights 3 sets up to 10 reps max and failure. T,Th,Sa I do 1-1.5 hrs cardio at training heart rate and mix it in with intervals for overall fat burning. I have kept calories from 1800-2000, I stayed the same weight wise when I slowed down the cardio, If I keep cardio to 1.5 hrs on off days I will lose fat. The strange thing is I was loosing inches but Fat % stayed the same for 6 weeks, then all of the sudden I lost 2 % in one week and weight stayed the same. Conclusion is that I have been gaiining muscle and loosing fat in some areas. But to really get down to 10%BF I feel I have to really focus on intense cardio on the off days and continue with the 3-4 days a week weights, I take Creatine and Whey protein after workout. Maybe the Creatine is making me retain water? I did notice a huge change in my anerobic capacity when riding the stationary bike hard, following a week of overloading Creatine.
I am rambling but will continue with intense cardio and when BF gets to 10% I will go to overfeeding an dsee how that goes.
At 51 yrs I am 5′9″ at 184lbs and about 14% BF, Not bad for a guy with a desk job????
CW

@Jerry Shreck – @Jerry Shreck –

Originally Posted By Jerry ShreckCan you build muscle and burn fat…..YES! This is not new; good coaches and trainers have been able to do this for YEARS!! I think it is funny that there are some coaches coming out with “new” products stating a break through in training science. I am sure they will sell a lot of products as well. Here is a basic outline that has worked EVERY time.

Monday: Heavy total body lifts-High Calorie Intake
Tuesday: Abs/Low Back training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Wednesday: Total body circuit training-Moderate Caolrie Intake
Thursday: Abs/Low Back Training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Friday: Heavy total body lifts-High Calorie Intake
Saturday:Abs/Low Back Training, High Intensity Interval Cardio-Lower Calories-High Protien
Sunday: Off Day

It’s just that easy! Maybe I should come out with the best training product around! I’m not knocking the guys online trying to make a living and helping people out; but I don’t like it when they act like they re-invented the wheel.

Hey, I think that the strategic method would work best. Your muscles work in crazy ways and you need to learn how to control it. Just last spring i did a work out like this, i lost 30 pounds of fat and gained about 15 pounds of muscles in about 2.5 months. My key was to have a proper diet and to vary my workouts from muscle building to fat loss and it actually worked. SInce then i have gained more fat than i wanted to and now i am looking for a way to get back into shape and get as lean as you. If you have any suggestions please let me know!

This sounds like the dream I’ve been looking for, but the question is does it work? I’ve wondered whether you could do a nutritional diet where you plan you meals out in this way. The problem is everyone always says that it’s impossible. I however believe that nothing is impossible if you set your mind to it. So now the question becomes, Vince, will doing a plan like this work and are you going to be releasing a new program with this style in mind?

Has anyone else tried jump roping for cardio intervals? I think it is possible to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time. I’ve been doing 3x/week strength training (mainly bodyweight at home) and that alternates with 3x/week cardio. I’ve seen my strength really increase and my muscle definition and muscle size has definitely improved, especially my biceps, abs, back, and legs. My workout partner needs to lose more weight than I do and I have a hard time eating large volumes of food, also I’m vegetarian. I actually have had to add in a small amount of ice cream every day to stop my weight loss which was getting unhealthy when we tried to reduce to a low fat, lower carbo diet. I don’t have time to concentrate too much on changes in eating patterns each day. I eat very healthy, all home cooked with lots of vegetables and protein with every meal and snack. I do make an effort to eat egg white and veggie scramble with low fat cheese with one piece of locally made bread and some fruit 3x/week after the weight workouts (varying the veggies). Other than that I don’t use supplements and try to eat a varied diet. It works for me. My workout partner has a harder time losing weight and is working on controlling portions and choosing healthy snacks and bringing food from home.

Yeah all that you say Vince sounds cool and impressive…But it looks ideal only on paper and typing… i have been training for last 1 n half Year and i have found that isolating both (Muscle Gain/ Fat loss) into longer periods e.g 4 weeks for Muslce Gaining routine and 4 weeks for Fat Loss is easier, Safer and more practical… What you propose might be right but it has more chances that if either Fat loss will be hampered while gaining Muscles or Muscles will be lost while Losinf Fat… What you Say ? Thanx

hey vince,

i was thinking if i could lose some belly fat while gaining muscle mass.
how??

If you read through the lines of what people like Vince, Joel Marion, Nick Nilson, Roman and others say building muscle and losing fat is the most desirable objective but trying to do so simultaneously is an inefficient way of meeting your goals. Since most of us are looking for long term results it is best to do so in the most efficient manner and stop fooling ourselves that we might get different results than what the fitness instructors say we will, should we try to do both at once. Since January I have been trying to do both and although I have lowered my body fat 3 points and gained size and strength I am still a long way from my goals. I believe, looking back on it, that I would be a lot closer to my goals if I dedicated myself to losing fat first and then muscle building. This is what I will be doing from now on.

hello vince i am baharudeen working from kuwait
hight-165cm
weight-79kg
age-33
arm-16cm
chest-40cm
hip-38cm
fat-26%
thigh-24cm
calf-15cm
iwant fat loss in 18%but weight gain in 6kg now my work out
mon,wed,fir
1a-press behint the neck -10rep
1b-wide grip chining -10rep
1c-leg raise -25rep
1d-standing calf raise -25rep
1e-consentrion curl -10rep
1f-leg extension -20rep
tues,thurs,sed
1a-heavy squat -10rep
1b-flat bench dumbell flye-10rep
1c-lat pull-down -10rep
1d-seated calf raise-25rep
1e-twiste -25rep
1f-good maning excise -12rep
sun day active rest

Hi Vince

Jeepers, what a mixture
I personally wouldn’t pick of the above,
I’d much rather stick with Mass building first, then looking at trimming down afterwards, its tried, tested and best of all works.

Mykal

I think it is completly based on your genetics tbh. Most people will say I CAN LOSE FAT AND GAIN MUCLE AT THE SAME TIME but really its thier genetics reacting to thier caloric differences in the day, even if they bitch about being a “hard gainer”. For example an ecotmorph may struggle gaining muscle but not knowing how lucky they are, find it easy to lose the fat, but the struggle comes with not losing muscle along with the fat.
Im an ecto – endomorph meaning i find it hard to lose fat and gain muscle and I’m telling you its defo hard work to do at the same time. It can only be done at the same time (fat burning and muscle gain) if the nutrition changes to accomidate to the caloric change eg. if your not eating organic or not worrying about the acidic reaction foods have on your body but are still losing fat (even in a caloric deficit), then your riding your genetics!

Ask me any questions on this if it doesnt make much sense because Ive said alot!

Hey Vince,
I think the over feeding before and after workout is the answer. You also didn’t remind people that more muscle means you will burn more fat. So as you build, you’ll burn more and with the “off” days you should make great grounds on burning the extra fat.

Overfeeding on workout days and underfeeding on other days, if it works, could be awesome. It sounds complicated however. (Busy Mom, work full time, etc. etc.)

Vince,
Increase your sleep by 1 hr -i.e sleep better. It helps release more of good hormones which helps fat melt.See very nice Wiki on sleep here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep

Please tell us more!!! This is exactly what I have been trying to do and I would love to know an effective plan of attack! Thank you so much for your great articles….keep them coming.

Vince Delmonte, youve been in the bodybuilding game 8 years? Im sorry, but im rather unimpressed. Im 16, been lifting for under 3 yrs and im considerably bigger and stronger than you, standing at 5′11”. Who told you it would be a good idea to make a living by selling people advice that clearly hasnt brought you very far in terms of muscle and strength?

hi man thx i just liked the 1st method thanks aloooot Vince peace

Hey vince
This is the exact routine i am following at the mo, my goals are to build some muscle and to lose fat. Mainly i want to look leaner. i have been doing weights on mondays, wednesdays and fridays, and then doing cardio on tuesdays thursdys and saturdays. so far its been working well, and i am feeling more toned which is what i want.

Thanks for the articles vince, theyr great!

Hey Vince, I would personally go for the method where you focus on one goal at a time. I remember you saying if you have one main goal you will be more motivated and spend less time thinking about what you have to do (like you would if you had 2 main goals).

In addition, I also think it is faster to get to the weight you want doing this method. You’ll gain muscle fast then you can cut after a certain weight. So in other words, if you wanted to be a lean 180 lbs, then you could probably get there faster using this method instead of trying to gain muscle and no fat at the same time (because you will not gain muscle as fast in my opinion).

Keep up the great articles!

I managed to build muscle and burn fat at the same time even with my crap genetics. I didn’t lose weight but I got a six pack and could lift more. I guess the key for me was resistance training and feeling guilty about eating alot on off days kind of like point 4/4 above. It was an accident though.

Just got back, took another look and realized I posted the wrong damn link.
Here is the study that confirmed that you can burn fat and build muscle at the same time

http://www.musclehack.com/how-to-build-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/

Well, i did it last year and I’m going to try doing it again this year. What i do is every morning before my shower, i’ll go outside and do about 12 minutes of running–that’s it, but it includes doing 10 intervals including 4 uphill. The intervals are pretty short–only about 10-15 sec and then i jog a bit. Then later on in the afternoon, I’ll either weight lift or run depending what day it is. I may switch on and off each week seeing as one week, i may do 2 days of running and 3 of weightlifting, and then the next i might do 3 days of running and 2 weightlifting–idk, i’ll see how it feels (seeing as im getting back into it after a looong break). Right now, im trying to lose the fat that i’ve gained by being lazy and not being strict with my diet so i’ll probably focus more on running and interval weightlifting workouts. I pretty much come up with my own stuff or I modify what i get from watching vids, reading books, watching and working out with friends, etc., and really, i think thats the next best thing to do other than having your own personal trainer.

what can i drink to get more protein…without milk or protein shakes?

Great Stuff Vince !!!!

Amin! Take a bow Amin !

I’ve been doing option 1 for three weeks and have had noticeable results. Don’r worry Vince about what that narrow minded person said about you being small.. A lot of people mistake size as being how strong you are which is an uneducated analysis, so keep up the good work and don’t stop

I do almost exactly what you are suggesting – but I am not sure I have been cycling them the same. As far as workouts, I alternate between heavy cardio days (5 to 10 mile runs) and intense weights days (heavy wieghts low reps followign Jon Benson’s 7MM plan), 3 days a week of each. Eating follows a cyclic pattern too. Sun Mon Tues Thurs Fri are low carb, high protein, decreased total calorie days. Wed and Sat are higher calorie higher carb days. The way this works out I have one refeed day on a weights day and one on my longest cardio day. I am intrigued by your timing ideas though and would be interested in switching things around to get my high cal days to coinscide with my weights days each time

Folks,

Can you also put some credible information source you find on internet so will can benift

Vince – Can we create an hormonal condition which will explode muscle mass.
with less training(2 days max/week – 1 day ideal) and rest for remaining and explode muscle and with body fat 5-7%

Bodybuilding legend arnold say so

Well, of course it’s true that if you set your goals to gain or burning fat, you will attain your goal faster, no doubt about it; but if you want to do both at the same time, even though everyone preaches against it, I’ve always believed it’s possible. The way I think you can do this is by incorporating cardio into your weight training sessions. How do you do that? Well, you can always superset, do circuits, total body workouts, etc. without resting so much.
1. this will release tons of testosterone due to the high demand.
2. your heart will be pounding louder than a church bell.
3. you will stimulate your muscles for growth.
4. it wont take too long that you will even risk your muscles of catabolism
5. you will burn your fat off because of the increased metabolism.
6. metabolism will stay high for a loooooooooong time.

And for the nutrition aspect, you should always eat whole foods, drink plenty of water, don’t starve, and you’ll do it. It takes a ton of determination to workout with this intensity, and high weight, but it will pay off.
Thanks Vince for your thoughts.

Both can be done, But progress for both will not be fast. Rather the transformation will be fast. If you were to gauge them separately the progress is slowed….like a jack of all trades diet. I did it (altho my fat wasn’t as drastic as others fat) . i ate like crazy(wholesomely crazy) before and after working out or anything considered as aerobic and gradually lowered my intake as the days progressed. Basically i made sure that i stopped catabolic phase as soon as possible and then worked my way to a fat loss diet. I remained strictly to fat loss except when i thought my body was in a catabolic state .I stuck with a fervid dedication to water and sleep as well. I also went to bed hungry ( i seemed to feel more muscular waking up that way)and only ingested a bit more carbs if i was going to do something fairly aerobic. I would agree with your upcoming plan Vince…..i would also stress timing as it makes a big difference when trying to do both (ex: going to the gym the same time is always wise but if u dont, no sweat it wont necessarily destroy muscle gain or fat loss. if your going to do fat loss muscle+gain tho its a law, the same with diet adherence, and sleep timing) a STRICT STRICT schedule (diet, sleep, exercise) is far more in demand when doing both as imo it is the ONLY way to get results when doing both.

my results were simlar to raymond, essentially i looked born with good genes(”fit?”) i was past cut or lean,……i had a drastically muscular body but not “buff”. my measurements did not increase drastically with the exception my compounded exercise used muscles and weaker muscles…….anything isolated saw no outstanding results.
i looked friggin good then tho,,, (currently im back to bulking )
The UTD in 20 reps, 3 sets done (supersets and whatnot maintained) slowly imo is also the most effective means of both…….

on a side note…………wow, way to not render evil for evil on slayer

Hi Vince,

Another great article man although I have two questions…

1. Where do those calorie figures come from in Point #2 (20-25 and 10-13)? Is that loosely based on a traditional bodybuilding intake of 1-1.5 grams of protein per pound of lean bodyweight and 2.5-3 grams of carbs? Or is it something you have found that works well for yourself?

2. Would a person’s body composition (lean muscle and body fat) effect these numbers at all?

Lastly, I like your questions at the end as the more and more I workout myself, the more I realise how many people follow, almost blindly, rules that have been around for decades now from the bodybuilding world that don’t apply to “normal” people. (I love bodybuilding and have been following and training for 20 years so I am not criticising, just pointing out how differently non-steroid taking gym goers should approach training and nutrition)

And yes, I think that meal timing is absolutely important, especially pre-post workout nutrition as even from the most basic common sense perspective that is when the body needs fuel the most.

Regards, Clayton
Personal Trainer | Adelaide, Australia

“To build muscle your training program is going to require longer rest periods, heavier weights, less volume and lower rep ranges.

To lose fat your training program is going to to require shorter rest periods, moderately heavy weights, more volume and moderate-to-high rep ranges.”

But Vince, don’t shorter rest periods, moderately heavy weights, more volume and moderate to high reps build muscle too?? I mean its the classic bodybuilding method. Please clarify.

Hey Vince

Yes it is possible. The secret I believe, is building muscle through high intensity resistance training (with very little rest between sets……….this increases your heart rate considerably………..hence you burn fat fast). This also results in an increase in your metabolism which in turn burns fat . I have proved that long sessions of slow pace cardio does very little in terms of burning fat. Something new I am trying (really hectic) is between sets to do 40-60seconds high intensity cardio and then go straight back to your next set. This means you take no break throughout your entire workout. Trust me you are exhausted once the hour is up and have built muscle & burnt fat at the same time! Cheers……..

Hey Vince

“Hey Tarun, if you’re going to take Whey protein before bed cause you don’t have casein, just add 2 tbsp of fish oil or Udo’s oil which will slow the absorption. ”

what about walnuts .. ?

@Vince –

Vince, so what you’re suggesting is to eat at a rate of 20-25 cals per pound of bodyweight within 3 hours of weights training, then underfeed on off-days to build muscle and burn fat at the same time?

Vince,

I understand, thanks for the reply. I follow a lot of online fitness gurus and sometimes their wording does not always sit well with me. I personally, have a few small projects started for on-line sales. My approach will be simple and straight forward with people. Maybe this is right or wrong for on-line sales. I guess only time will tell as I learn more about this world. Thanks again for the reply and your time.
Jerry Shreck

@Vince -

Sounds impossible to do both at the same time and get significant results. Will the body really cooperate? I mean, our body is not a lump of clay for us to do anything with. It has it’s own set of natural laws and principles it must follow in order to be reliable.

I guess “what if…?” #3 is closest to what I’ve been doing, except that I don’t just “overfeed” on protein right after the workout, but at strategic points throughout the day: noon, or ~6 hours after my PWO meal, and again just before bedtime (~15 hours PWO). In between is a pretty basic 30g protein / 20g carb meal every three hours, with only complex fibrous carbs after noon. On non-training days, the only thing that changes is the noon meal becomes a normal 30 / 20 meal instead of the higher protein version. The calipers say I’m pretty consistently losing a pound of body fat per week — started with 35 extra — but the scale reading is only going down half that fast and the tape confirms I’m adding muscle mass.

# 4 is good to go.

I was reading through the four key points and thought that #3/4 was interesting, cause I have actually made some of my best size and strength gain from doing low rest and high volume light weight training, while i was eating a lot and doing cardio on the off days (3 times a week). Then i would hit a wall of slow gains and so moved up in weights, where I didn’t make as much gains and started to gain more fat and lose muscle definition, as you can imagine it was very frustrating to see the gains and shredded look slowly slip from my grasp. Now i realize I needed to include key four, but there are still more plateaus to bust trough and health points to master than just simple changing weights or style, which often helps too.

I reallly like the idea of overfeeding to build muscle on certain days, and then underfeeding on off days. I’ve been experimenting with different methods of over and underfeeding lately. I have noticed that you tend to lose muscle tissue along with fat tissue if you go too extreme. Slowly but surely I’m seeing results. I’m anxious to try #4 out, and see what happens! It makes sense.

heya vince
one question wouldn’t you actually start to get strectch marks if your building muscle and losing fat at the same time as your muscle is under your fat so wouldn’t it be more wise to lose fat or get it to a reasonable amount before you start putting on muscle because this actually happened to my friend and it’s not the best look, and unless your doing low workouts and diets to lose fat wouldn’t you be putting your body on a treadmell what about your neverous system wouldn’t it be depleted to function for losing fat when it was worked above threshold to gain mucsle?
if all those questions answered and you can still lose fat and gain muslce at the same time then i’d probably try your 2. What if you apply the training program above and overfeed on your muscle building workouts and underfeed on your fat loss workouts? but with a different approach ensuring the muscles worked out on the previous day are untouched as they need to recover and doing workout/cardio to lose fat within set time without affecting the worked muscles then thumps up shouldn’t be a problem but more of a breakthorugh hope that helped see things from a different point of view.

I think it’s possible to do both at the same time, as many individuals have done it before, although I never have. Up to about 8 weeks ago I ran a really long bulking phase (about 6 months long). I gained probably 20lbs. of lean mass, but also put on about 10lbs. of fat. I’m not a hardgainer, which I’m glad about, but it also makes it extremely difficult to put on any lean mass without all the fat. I agree that a hybrid plan can bring lean muscle gains, but I think it’s a little more complex as you stated. There’s also a misconception about the caloric need to gain lean mass. Our diet needs to manipulate our body into anabolic cycles. At certain points in our diet our body will naturally up the hgh and test levels, which coincidentally requires more calories. The overfeeding will then spike insulin, which will cause the hgh and test to drop, but once they meet in the middle with the insulin look out! This is muscle-building heaven…as I’ve recently experienced. The eating/workout pattern you described is pretty much the ticket, although I doubt many people understand why and how to gauge when they should indulge themselves and to what extent. Same goes for underfeeding as you call it Vince. I’m just curious though, can this effect be maximized with simply alternating the diet and training every other day? IDK, maybe I’m going way to far here?

Hey vince thanks a lot for making a program like YSQ its brilliant… a small question is when i do HIIT after my workout what should the intervals be like 30 secs sprints n a min walk or a 2 min sprint n 3 min walk. At what speed should i walk for the cooldown after the sprint. Like u said it always better to chase one goal as te dietary requisites of both Building and cutting are different however YSQ does in someway aid both.Thanks again.

Hey Vince
I think its better to focus on one component,i think this double think will just make you stay the same,cause you go forward then backwards.

@David Rios – Personally I don’t believe that running and swimming are primarily fat-buring workouts. I think of these as cardio workouts – primarily for strengthening heart and lungs.

The most effective fat-burning workouts are weight-training. Build muscle to burn fat! Raises your metabolism 24/7.

As for building muscle and burning fat at same time, surely the best way is to avoid eating saturated fat, alcohol, any junk. Consume lean protein – eg skimmed milk, egg whites, lean turkey breast or chicken breast. Avoid red meat unless it’s small lean steaks once/twice a week. And eat TONS of veg!

I have done it many times with mild but measurable results.Nutrition is for me the keyword here.

http://totalfitness-christos.blogspot.com/2009/05/muscle-buildingdevelopmentall-you-need.html

I just wanted to show you my admiration for not having bashed “slayer”. Hats off to you, Vince. (I don’t know how many of us would have been able to do that, myself included.)

i wanna see a post of this 16 year old “slayer” sounds a little far fetched

@Jerry Shreck – Jerry, do you have anywhere that we can find examples of workouts to do on the days that you listed?
Thanks

i’d say it is a matter or workout-nutrition combination. i would increase my protein intake in order to have the necessary amount for muscle building and watch out for the carbohydrates and fat.

as for the workout, i find that callisthenics and bodyweight exercises help with building muscle and burning fat.

personally what i do is kinda under feed before my workout and then overfeed after it. It’s worked for me so far, I’ve been slowly gaining weight each week and I don’t seem to be gaining any fat. Basically I have a light breakfast, lunch and pre-workout snack. Then I have a post workout meal (usually a homemade calorie dense smoothie) and quiet a large dinner. I do this to make sure I get most of my fruit and vegetables early in the day so I have room for the calorie dense food at night.

[...] 4 Key Points To Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time [...]

[...] 4 Key Points To Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time [...]

Hi Vince Jerome from South Africa. 3 alternate days high calorie in take and heavy weight low reps training, and 3 days cardio training sounds great if you are going for the typical mens health look. I never trained 3days cardio workouts before. normaly i would train 2 days weights 3rd day cardio 2 days weights 6th day cardio which i most of the time skip and probably the reason why i currently have to work so hard to get rid of my lower abs body fat. Im definately going to try your suggestion and let you know, how effective it is.