If you are looking to build a better, stronger and leaner body, you must follow a particular diet and training formula. The formula to follow is how to build muscle and lose fat.
The formula for building a better body
The formula for building a better body is this… strength training plus better eating plus monitoring your calorie intake.
Strength training is necessary to increase your metabolism. Increasing your metabolism will burn more fat when you are not working out.
Improving your diet will help you build muscle and improve your overall health. You’ll need to increase your protein intake for building muscle, and get rid of the junk.
Lastly, to lose fat, you need to burn more calories than you consume. So, not only do you need to eat better, you’ll need to consume less calories.
Naturally, all this is easier said than done. But, if you skip one of these important steps, you won’t achieve your goals.
Let’s dig a little deeper…
Strength Training
First of all, to build a better body, you need to add strength training to your routine.
Unfortunately, most people make the resolution to just lose weight, so they focus on cardio and eating less. As a result, all they do is shrink, but their body composition remains soft.
And, as soon as they fall off the wagon, the weight comes right back.
Another group of people decide they’ll add some strength training into their routine, but they have no idea how much they need to do to add muscle.
Most of them do one or two sets of exercises to target each major muscle group and that’s it. This will work initially, but then they’ll plateau and stop getting results.
To build muscle, you’ve got to work out harder.
Keep in mind, this doesn’t mean you need to constantly up the weight you are lifting.
Instead, it means you need to increase the intensity. In fact, for most people, they need to increase that intensity alot.
The amazing thing is, the human body will adapt. Yeah, it will scream at you in the form of intense muscle soreness for a few days, but it will reward you quickly with new found strength.
Improve your diet
Next, you need to change your diet. You’re gonna have to eliminate wasteful eating and drinking.
But, this doesn’t mean you try to overcome your hunger pangs with carrotts and celery.
One reason why most people fail with their diet changes is that they make drastic changes that they can’t stick with over the long run.
What you’ll need to do is focus on the macros… protein, fat and carbohydrates.
Understand that to build muscle, you are going to need to eat alot more protein. But, it needs to be quality protein, and not a bunch of cheeseburgers.
The best sources of protein are lean cuts of beef, chicken breast, eggs, and fish such as salmon and tuna.
In general, the amount of protein needed to add muscle is estimated as 1 to 1.5 grams per pound of bodyweight.
For someone who weighs 200 pounds, yes, that may mean up to 300 grams of protein, which is an enormous amount. (hint… you can still get results with less than a gram of protein per pound… .75 grams should do the trick based on experience).
Therefore, you’ll want to supplement your protein intake with protein shakes.
Keep in mind, those also contain a ton of calories.
While increasing your protein intake, you’ll likely need to cut back on the carbs, particularly those found in bread, rice, pasta and potatoes.
Those types of carbs add a ton of calories. Fruit is also high in calories from the sugar contained in most fruits. While they are excellent sources of some vitamins and anti-oxidants, you need to monitor your intake.
Ultimately, your primary food sources are going to be protein and vegetables.
Everyone is different, so you’ll need to experiment with what works for you.
Monitor your calorie intake
While you may start eating more healthy, you are going to still need to monitor how many calories you are consuming.
If you still consume more calories than you burn, you won’t lose any fat.
To figure out how many calories you should consume, you’ll want to start with your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate).
The BMR is essentially the amount of energy expended while at rest.
To calculate your BMR, go here.
Once you’ve calculated your BMR, you’ll need to estimate how active you are, WITHOUT considering your workout routine.
If you have a job where you are on your feet all day, your calorie needs will be higher than for someone who sits at a desk.
Once you figure out your basic calorie needs, then figure out how many calories you’ll need when you consider your workout routines.
So, if you ultimately figure out that your calorie intake to maintain your weight is about 2,500 calories per day, to burn fat, you’ll need to shoot for a target below that by about 200 calories.
Or, you’ll need to add some cardio training into the mix, which is a good idea anyway for heart and lung health.
I also recommend just adding more activity into your schedule anyway. Any increase in activity is good.
No matter what, you’ll need to pay very close attention to how many calories you are consuming with each meal.
Final Thoughts
This may all seem quite complex, but most people really need to follow this process in order to achieve their fitness goals.
There really are no shortcuts to this.
To build the body you really want, you need to pay attention to the details, train harder, and smarter.
As I mentioned, if you skip one of these important pieces, you won’t get the results you desire.
You can work out like a lunatic six days per week, but if you continue to drink beer and eat pizza often, you’ll just be strong and fat.
On the other hand, if you are running 60 miles per week and not doing any strength training, you will have a strong heart, but you’ll just be thin and weak (does anyone really want the body of a marathon runner?).
Don’t get discouraged though. If you get started on a good fitness and diet program, you’ll start getting results almost immediately. In fact, here are the four best exercises you can start now to begin adding muscle.
Just be sure it is one that you can stick with in the long run.
Now, get to work!
