The Best Way to Build Lean Muscle & Lose Body Fat

Building lean muscle and losing fat are complementary endeavors. Building lean muscle helps to burn fat. The best way to build muscle is to work out with free weights or weight machines. You will need to make a long-term commitment toward achieving their goals. You must maintain a regular workout schedule and eat the right foods. Cardiovascular training will also enhance the process.

How Weight Training Burns Fat

According to a recent study by the Journal of Applied Science, "Weightlifting increases adipose-tissue lipolysis (fat burning) . . . and helps to improve body composition." "Body composition" refers to the ratio between muscle and fat.

When you train, focus on all body parts. Everyone's body is different. Men tend to have a more difficult time losing stomach fat, while woman struggle with fat in their hips and thighs. People with heavier builds (endomorphs) gain muscle and strength more quickly than thinner people (ectomorphs), but they must work harder at losing body fat.

Weightlifting Routines

A regular weight routine requires you to focus on the chest, shoulders, back, triceps, biceps, forearms, quadriceps, hamstrings, calves and abdominal muscles. Split routines allow more time to hone in on each muscle during exercise. An example of a split routine is training chest, shoulders and triceps one day, back and biceps another day and legs on yet another day.

Work each body part twice each week, except for legs. Once each week is usually adequate for legs. Or designate one heavier day and a lighter day for leg training. Training more frequently enhances the fat-burning process. Many people use a routine of three days on and one day off. Also, add cardiovascular training to help burn fat. Do these exercises at least 3 days per week.

Dieting

While lifting weights helps to burn fat, you must also change your diet to lean out. Eat lean foods high in protein, such as chicken, turkey, fish, egg whites and tuna.

It is also important to eliminate fatty snack foods from your diet. Eat complex carbohydrates instead. Center your diet around potatoes, brown rice, yams, oatmeal, corn, barley, wheat and other complex carbohydrates. Eat at least five times per day because this increases the body's metabolism. And drink a lot of water, which also aids in the metabolic process.

Each meal should consist of a lean protein and a complex carbohydrate. Also, be sure to eat at least five helpings of vegetables and one to two of fruits a day. Vegetables have digestive enzymes as well as vitamins. Fruits are rich in vitamins and regulate the bowels.

Drink protein shakes to supplement a meal. It is important to ingest a protein within an hour of working out for quick recovery. Also, try to stop eating at least three hours before going to bed. Even carbohydrates and protein can turn to fat while the body is at rest.