How do I lose body fat and build muscle? Although I do my occasional 9km/5.6mi, I still have some stomach girth that I would like to burn and want to build more muscle.
Let me help best I can and keep it simple, factual just because you’ll read a thousand things that promise everything. When you begin training, any resistance training be it weights or push ups whatever as long as you’re sufficiently training the muscle you will gain mass even if you’re in a caloric deficit because of how new the stimulation is, the only time in your natural training career when you can build muscle and lose fat simultaneously is the start ignore the liars who say otherwise… to lose body fat and keep your muscle workout and eat less, to gain muscle eat a little (500 cals) extra per day, big surplus’s don’t mean more muscle unless your new but it’s better to stay in a surplus for longer 4-6 months then to say bulk up fast and have a bunch of fat and way less muscle to show for it over 2 months, remember you will need to cut again to peel down and reveal the muscle you built.
To lose body fat, you need to be in a calorie deficit, to build muscle, you need to resistance train, get enough protein and have enough spare calories for your body to prioritise muscle growth, remember, the body doesn’t know you want to look good, the body is still wired for hunter gatherer times, so if you’re not getting enough calories, then your body thinks resources are scarce and won’t build muscle. Prioritise lifts that stretch the muscle and simultaneously have the most tension in the most stretched position. If you have a decent amount of body fat and you’re a beginner to lifting, you’ll probably be able to gain muscle in a deficit, but not too much of a deficit and it all depends on whether you want to prioritise muscle growth or fat loss, if you’re like 25% body fat, I’d say start off on a 500-700 calorie deficit, then eventually go down to a 200-300 calorie deficit.
instead of the occasional 5.6 miles make it a regular 3 miles, shoot for three 8 minute miles, after the run do a full body weight lifting routine 2 sets of 10 reps with as little rest in between as possible, something like bench press, upright rows, overhead/military press, shrugs, bent over rows, deadlift, curls, triceps same weight as curls, leg press or squat, and finally 300 abdominal reps in sets of 50, cut out starch carbs no bread allowed, only nuts, tuna/chicken, 100% of your sugar intake should be from fruit the weights for the lifts should be relative to your body weight, what I do is bench press 15-20lbs over body weight, upright rows are -40lbs from bench press, overheads are -20lbs from upright rows, shrugs are same weight as bench press, bent over rows are -20lbs from shrugs, deadlifts are +70lbs from shrugs, curls and triceps are -105lbs from bench/shrugs, leg press is +185lbs from bench/shrugs, so at a 160lb body weight bench is 175, leg press is 360 etc the reason for lifting after the run is because you want to be able to carry your strength into deep water, it's a savage workout but it's the level you have to push yourself to to be truly ripped
Losing fat and building muscle at the same time is tough but doable if you're smart about it. First thing, running 9km occasionally isn't enough by itself. You need to fix your diet first. Fat loss is 90% about being in a calorie deficit. If you're still carrying stomach fat, it’s because you're either eating too much overall or eating the wrong kinds of calories (too much processed junk, sugars, etc.). Track your food honestly for a week, you’ll see. Second, you need consistent resistance training to build muscle. Bodyweight exercises (push-ups, pull-ups, squats) or lifting weights if you can. You have to actually push your muscles to grow. Running burns calories but it won’t build serious muscle. Third, combine both properly: Slight calorie deficit (eat a little less, but enough protein to keep muscle) Strength training 3–4x a week Conditioning (like your runs) 2–3x a week for fat burning and cardio Stick with it for months, not weeks. That's the real key. If you’re consistent, the fat will come off and you’ll start seeing muscle underneath.
