Gain muscle and lose fat!

Is often heard, gain a lot of muscle and lose fat at the same time, it is not possible. Yet, over these past forum bodybuilding years I have come across many people who have managed to change their physical appearance, gaining muscle while losing their fat. 

So where is the truth? Can you gain muscle when it is on a diet? 

The answer is yes! One can construct a significant amount of muscle being calorie deficit. In any case that suggests a study (1) and the numbers are puzzling: 7.4 kg fat lost and more than 4.3 kg of muscle gained in 14 weeks! A more radical change that! 

The study, conducted by the Academy of Sports in the United States, was concerned with effects on body composition of a workout combining strength training and endurance in a group of overweight men (fat levels 27%). 

The men were divided into two groups and had to train 3 times a week for 14 weeks: 

- A group "100% endurance" was cycling and walking (30 minutes for each activity, a total of 60 minutes) at 60-70% of maximum heart rate. 

- The other "fitness-endurance" group, was subjected to endurance exercise and resistance (8 years, 4 sets per exercise, 8-12 repetitions per series, 60 seconds of rest between sets) in the same training . 

In terms of exercises, participants were doing bench press, high pulley prints for the back, the military press, biceps curl of the bar, triceps extensions, the leg press, leg curl to the rear thigh and elevations for the calves. 

The results were more than impressive! In the "fitness-endurance group", we got a fat loss of 7.41 kg while recording a gain of 4.33 kg of muscle. 

So, can we expect such a result? I would not, not everyone can make progress as fast, for several reasons. 

First, the men involved in the study were all beginners, and we know that beginners gain muscle fast when they start weight training. After this beginning stage, progress is slower and muscle gains more and more difficult. In addition, these gentlemen were overweight, obese limit, so with a lot of weight to lose. The more you are bigger, you lose fat quickly, as long as you put yourself to eat less and exercise. A person with a physical medium and fat levels lower starting, lose less and slower. 

Hope for fat loss as important (7 kilos) while earning a good amount of muscle (over 4 pounds) in just 14 weeks, is not a realistic goal, especially for a practitioner with a physical "clean" , one to 12% fat ... 

Gain muscle and lose fat at the same time being under caloric restriction is possible, but it works especially for overweight people who have never lifted weights, or those who return to sport after a break. Once you get past the beginner stage, it becomes more difficult, and often requires manipulating calories to produce results (mass uptake and dry). 

Finally, for those in the opposite case, who have trouble gaining weight and have no fat reserves, passing through the high calorie overeating is almost essential to hope for results.