You need to bulk to build muscle or cut to burn fat and lose weight.
In the world of fitness, we’re usually told to choose one or the other.
Some go even as far as saying you CANNOT do both, burn fat and build muscle, at the same
time.
But how true is this really?
Now, the reason some might argue that these cannot be done simultaneously is because of
its physiological nature.
Losing fat requires a state of catabolism, where, with a reduction of nutrients, i.e.
a calorie deficit, your body break things down for energy, like body fat and sometimes
even muscle.
Gaining muscle require a state of anabolism, i.e. a calorie surplus, where you’re eating
excess nutrients to build muscle, but also risk storing some of the additional nutrients
away as fat.
So, with cutting, you’re eating less to lose fat but might also lose muscle.
With bulking, you eat more to gain muscle but also gain fat.
Thus, such a contradiction supposedly means we cannot build muscle and burn fat at the
same time.
At least, that’s what some people argue.
But when it comes to the literature, some of the research don’t really seem to support
this.
Actually, kind of, a lot of the scientific studies don’t support this.
Many studies spanning several decades have instances of subjects increasing muscle and
decreasing fat at the same time, under certain circumstances.
This is known as, something you might have heard of, body recomposition, or recomp for
short.
As far as those circumstances for successful body recomposition go, let’s take a closer
look at the research.
In 93, one of the more extreme research took place.
Untrained, obese women were able to lose weight and fat in 90 days while eating only 800 calories
per day and performing resistance exercises.
They also increased muscle cross sectional area.
However, extreme calorie deficits like this don’t always work.
In 2011, one study on resistance training athletes compared a 19% versus a 30%-calorie
reduction diet.
The results were that the 19% reduction group increased lean body mass while reducing fat
and weight.
AKA Body recomp.
The 30% group, the ones with the larger deficit.
lost similar amounts of fat but also lost lean body mass.
Moving forward, we have a 2015 study where, with a resistance training program, athletes
were able to maintain their weight, increase lean mass, and reduce fat mass when consuming
a high protein diet.
So, what do these findings and other findings tell us?
What are the common circumstances?
Number one, by far the most common variable is resistance training.
Resistance training, like lifting weights, is pretty much a necessity for body recomposition.
The next common factor is a small calorie deficit instead of a large deficit.
Yes, we do have studies that show recomp occurring with extreme deficits.
More on that in just a bit.
And then there’s three, my personal favorite, is eating high levels of protein.
All of this is also outlined in a 2011 systematic review on athletes.
The reviewers found that study conditions where calorie restriction was modest, resistance
training was present, and protein intakes were high, led to a gain, no loss, or insignificant
loss of fat free mass while reducing fat mass.
But there’s an important kicker here, which also explains body recomp occurring in extreme
deficits.
When it came to the subjects themselves, studies where subjects were new to resistance training,
untrained beginners, and subjects with higher bodyfat levels tend to see the most significant
recomposition results.
Those extreme deficit diets were indeed performed with obese and untrained subjects.
It’s widely known that beginners can build muscle fairly quickly.
They simply have more room to grow, which fortunately means body recomposition can come
a lot easier.
Same goes for having more bodyfat, which allows your body to heavily rely on stored bodyfat
for energy rather than break down precious muscle tissue.
For individuals with lower bodyfat and/or decently trained, body recomp results would
be less effect and cut/bulk cycles might be more worth your while.
But it doesn’t mean that you CAN’T at least try to recomp.
Just be wary that results would come slower or you might be one of the few unlucky ones
to not see any result whatsoever.
Then cut/bulk or maintenance would be the option.
But the answer to “can you build muscle and burn fat at the same time” is essentially,
YES, but the effectiveness will depend on your current fitness and bodyfat levels.
As far as how to successfully body recomp, I’ll be covering that in a future video.
If it’s out already by the time you’re watching this video, I’ll make sure to leave
a link to it.
For now, let me know what YOU think about building muscle and burning fat at the same
time.
Have YOU been able to successfully body recomp yourself and if you have, share your experience
in the comments below.
If you enjoyed this video, don’t forget to give it a bulky thumbs up and share it
with your recomp-loving friends.
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As always, thank you for watching, and GET YOUR PROTEIN!