Tag gain muscle

If you take a peek into some of the advertising copy of “miracle” supplements, you may actually begin to believe that diet and exercise are no longer necessary if you want to become healthy and ripped. You just need to pop a pill, and your fat will magically turn into muscle.

But regardless of whether you believe the hype or not, you have to ask, does fat turn into muscle?

This is a good question, because turning fat into muscle has always been a standard claim in the fitness industry.

But if that’s the case…

Exactly how does fat turn into muscle?

The answer: it depends.

Fat vs. Muscle

If you mean literally turning fat into muscle, then the answer to the question is no. Fat does not turn into muscle, because they’re made from different types of cells. It is physiologically impossible to turn fat into muscle because fat doesn’t have nitrogen which is needed so it can turn into muscle and there’s no way to turn fatty tissue into amino acids.

It’s sort of like trying to turn straw into gold. It can only happen in fairy tales.

Less Fat, More Muscle

Now if we are talking about turning fat into muscle in a less literal sense, then it’s possible. It’s a figure of speech, just like when some advertising copy promises to turn you into Hercules. You don’t actually become the demigod son of Zeus—you just turn into a muscular dude.

But why do some chubby people turn into impressively muscled men in some pictures? You’ve probably seen them too. And then again, some people don’t seem to lose weight at all. They just become more fit and muscular while their flab disappears.

That’s because when you stick to eating right, supplementing with whole food nutrients (Zeal for Life recommended) and a good weightlifting routine, two things can happen:

You will lose weight. When you don’t consume enough calories for your weightlifting activities, your body is then forced to lose burn the fat stored in your body for energy. Exercise burns calories, and combined with a diet your calorie intake can become less than the number of calories you use up.

You will gain muscle. When you lift weights, what you really do is to stress and tear your muscles. Your body then responds to this by rebuilding the muscles, and because you have lots of protein in your diet you have the necessary raw material to build more massive muscle.

You can’t turn straw into gold, but in the real world you can sell straw and then use the money to buy gold. And when we put it this way, we did turn straw into gold.

It’s the same thing for turning fat into muscle. You have two separate results—muscle gain and fat loss—but both are the results of your diet and weightlifting regimen. And they happen generally at the same time.

So does fat turn into muscle? In a way it does, from a certain POV.

One of the things you need to understand is that trying to build more muscle can take time. We’re not talking about looking like The Rock here. We’re talking about maybe adding 5 to 10 pounds of muscle mass. But the good news is, you can actually learn how to build muscle fast.

What may be slowing down your progress is that perhaps you don’t fully grasp what you need to do to build muscle. Learn to understand the basic principles of bodybuilding and you should be able to learn how to build muscle fast as well.

What to Eat to Build Muscle Fast

Nutrition plays a crucial role in building muscle. Essentially, they provide you with the “raw material” so you can have bigger muscles. So you’ll need to pay attention to what you eat. You have to keep a record, and you have to note down your caloric consumption plus your carb and protein intake.

If you really want to speed up the muscle building process, then you can’t take too much time trying to understand everything you read. It can get very confusing for you, since a lot of online “facts” on the topic are untrue or contradictory. With the help of a nutritionist, you can get a definitive diet plan which you can just follow to the letter.

You’ll also need to look into some supplements. That’s because your diet may not be able to provide you with all the nutrients you need on a consistent basis. If you can’t get enough protein from your food, then you can compensate by drinking protein shakes.

However, supplements can also boost hormone profiles or increase the amount of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which you need for energy. Some supplements contain ZMA or creatine for this purpose. Other supplements can also have caffeine, which will give you the energy you need for your workout.

Correct Bodybuilding Exercises to Build Muscle

This is also a very confusing topic, as there are as many philosophies as there are professional trainers out there. What seems to be a unanimous belief is that you must lift weights if you want to learn how to build muscles.

Again, professional advice can really accelerate your progress, so you may want to look into hiring a personal trainer. For the most part, trainers are of the opinion that the basic exercises can give you the fastest results.

These include bench pressing, deadlifts, and squats. You can also add pull-ups and military presses. These exercises work more muscles in far less time than other exercises.

What you need to avoid is over-training. More is not always better. With over-training, you’ve dealt too much stress on your muscles and this can result in injury, a lack of progress, or the decrease in enthusiasm.

You should also try to spice things up every month or so by changing your workout routine. Simple changing the sequence of the workouts can work.

Finally, you have to improve. The weight you can lift should be more after a month. By improving, you maintain a consistent level of stress on your system.

Rest and Recreation Help Build Muscle Fast

While you toil away on your workout routine, ironically most of your muscle growth happens while you’re taking a rest. It’s during your off-training days when your muscles are recovering when you actually build muscles. This is why you mustn’t exercises the same muscles every day.
Basically, the exercises are “tearing” your muscle fibers. When you rest, your body rebuilds your muscles, and that means they can get bigger and stronger. If you are feeling some pain, you should stop and rest.

You need your rest for your muscles to recover. It’s estimated that muscles need as much as 72 hours of rest after a workout session.

So getting enough sleep is a must. You need to learn to relax, so that your body doesn’t produce too much cortisol which encourages your body to burn muscle and store fat.

If you still don’t get some improvement after following these tips, then a visit to the doctor may also help. You may have an underlying health condition that keeps you from building muscle.

You just have to keep in mind that even with these tips, it will still take some time to get the physique you want. You can’t expect super quick results. You just need to go at it and persevere. At least with these tips on how to build muscle fast you will be able to achieve the results you want in the shortest time possible.

Many people seem to think that it’s easy to learn how to gain muscle mass. The problem is that most of them don’t do enough research. So what happens is that they make a lot of mistakes, and then they become frustrated when all their efforts don’t pay off.

There’s a Right Way and Wrong Way to Gain Muscle Mass

To avoid such problems, here are some clear-cut rules you need to follow so that you will gain muscle mass more effectively:

[black_tick_list width=”100%”]

• Define your focus. Some people think that bodybuilding and weight loss are synonymous, but for workouts, these are two completely different objectives. That’s why high intensity training is good for people who want to lose weight, but it’s actually counterproductive if you’re a pipsqueak who wants to be bigger, stronger, and more muscular. For that, you need heavy weights and lots of calories.
• Eat more. We’ll presume for the moment that you’re on a sensible diet and you’ve actually done your research on what and what not to eat. But when you start learning how to gain muscle mass, you’ll need calories. About 500 more calories than your usual intake should suffice. Do not take too much calories though, because you’ll just turn the extra calories into fat instead of muscle.
• Space out your meals. Instead of three big meals a day, try eating 6 small meals. This keeps you from getting hungry, and the meals also provide you with the protein and carbs you need.
• Drink protein and carb shakes. Whole foods are great, but then protein shakes are good too. With shakes (Recommendation: Zeal for Life Protein Shakes), you make sure you get adequate carbs and protein that your diet may not provide. For the most part, they’re also much easier to digest.
• Don’t forget to stretch. Quite a few people keep forgetting the very important step when they work out. Stretching is not just for yoga fanatics. Stretching before and after a workout makes you more flexible, improves your recovery, and also prevents you from getting injured.If you keep on having pains after working out, that may mean you didn’t stretch properly.
• Limit your cardio workouts. About twice or three times a week of jogging should suffice. And don’t jog for a couple of hours at a time. Instead, keep it to 30 minutes. Your best bet is to sprint for a full minute then alternate with a couple of minutes of jogging.
• Don’t spend too much time on your lifting exercises. Your proper weightlifting workout for the day should last for just 45 minutes. You should make sure you warm up before your workout, and you need a cool-down routine as well. About a dozen sets for each muscle group is okay, but more than 20 sets is overkill. Your reps for each set should range anywhere from 6 to 12, so that you only spend 40 to 70 seconds each set. When you lift weights, after an hour your body will start producing cortisol in response to the physical stress, and this will impede on your progress. Cortisol signals your body to store fat and burn muscle.
• Perform exercises that focus on several muscle groups at once. These exercises include pull-ups, rows, deadlifts, and squats. You can train your entire body or concentrate on either your upper your lower parts, but this is more efficient than working on just a single muscle group per session. By doing this, you reduce the risk of injury when you work out. You become stronger and your muscle development gets better. Besides, it helps you look so much more attractive.
• Change your workouts regularly. The body has a strange way of adapting to various strenuous events. So after a month or so, you may want to vary your workout a bit. Your 45 minutes per workout is enough for about 6 to 8 different exercises, and each one should have alternatives. Or, you can just vary the sequence of the exercises instead.
  You should note down your workout details in your journal, so that you have an accurate record of what you’ve been doing.
• Get enough rest. Make sure that you give your muscles enough time to heal, grow and develop by resting them after a workout. Get enough sleep as well.

[/black_tick_list]

Learning how to gain muscle mass also means appreciating the time needed to attain noticeable results. Shortcuts aren’t recommended because they may eventually become harmful for you. Just make a habit of lifting weights and following your muscle building program. Give it time and dedication and you’ll begin to gain the muscle mass you want.

22 Rules for Fat Loss

This article will be real short and simple to read. If you apply the rules stated below, you will be dropping the fat real fast.

1. Aim for a 500 calorie deficit daily. This equates to a 1 lb. of weight loss per week.

2. Adopt a diet high in proteins and fats but limit the carbs. Avoid high GI carb foods.

3. Consume slow digesting carbs. These are considered as low GI foods and they will keep your blood sugar levels constant.

4. Drink 2 glasses of icy cold water daily. This will boost your metabolic rate due to an increase in norepinephrine.

5. Drink about 3 to 4 cups of tea without sugar daily. It can be green tea, black tea or oolong tea.

6. Eat eggs as a form of protein. It’s an excellent source. Studies have shown that people who consume eggs have less hunger cravings and lose more weight.

7. Consume fish oil supplements. They are rich in omega-3 essential fatty acids. They aid with fat loss.

8. Drink a glass of raw milk a day if you can obtain it. It is rich in fat, calcium and protein. Only drink raw milk.

9. Eat an apple a day. They are rich in anti-oxidants and have many health benefits. A compound in apples known as apple polyphenols has been shown to increase muscular strength, boost endurance and promote fat loss. This is definitely a must have in your diet.

10. Eat a handful of nuts daily. Almonds, macadamia nuts, Brazil nuts, etc. They are rich in fat and have many health benefits.

11. Drink at least 7 to 8 glasses of water daily. Your body needs water and oxygen to metabolize the fat. Not being properly hydrated will mean that your fat loss progress is hindered.

12. Include whey protein in your diet. If your budget allows it, get a tub of whey protein from your health store and make a protein shake for yourself before bed daily. It will help with muscle recovery and growth.

13. Skip the artificial sweeteners. There is a lot of debate about whether they are safe or not. What really matters is that artificial sweeteners tend to affect the brain’s ability to regulate calorie intake. That means you feel hungry more often, experience cravings and end up consuming more calories.

14. Consume CLA supplements. They have been proven to aid fat loss.

15. Have an exercise program that combines both cardio and weight training. This will ensure that you will burn the most fat in the shortest possible time.

16. Do your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach. Your body will burn its fat stores directly.

17. Lift heavier weights every now and then Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption will lead to an elevated metabolic rate that lasts for hours. That means you keep burning calories long after you have finished working out.

18. Motivate yourself daily with photos or quotes or even body transformation videos. It is easy to get de-motivated along the way.

19. Weigh yourself only once a week and NOT daily. This will track your progress and keep you focused.

20. Get your body composition measured. Sometimes your weight on the scale may not change but that does not mean you have not lost fat. Your fat loss may have been offset with lean muscle gain. The only way to be sure will be to do a body composition test.

21. Keep up to date with the latest in health, fitness and weight loss by subscribing to the free My Fitness Nut Newsletter at http://MyFitnessNut.com.

22. Never give up on yourself. If other people can do it, so can you. It will be so worth your effort.

These are the 22 rules to fat loss. Of course, there are many more but if you just follow these 22, you will be way ahead of the pack, see results quickly and your dream of a toned body will become a reality for you.