Does Fat Turn Into Muscle? – The Reality Of Strength Training
Dane Fletcher | November 6, 2011The easy answer towards the query “Does fat flip into muscle mass?” is no – however the actuality is the fact that to most lifters who concurrently shed muscle while gaining fat, the chemistry doesn’t make a difference. What they see is what they believe, and that’s the precise combination that an abandonment of strict dieting ideas & ignoring training will lead to this precise scenario. Let’s dig deeper, shall we?
First, let’s examine the muscle mass building process. Muscles don’t grow IN the gym. They grow at home whilst we are recovering from our tough workouts. They grow at night while we sleep, as the glands in our brains release very small amounts of growth hormones at regular intervals. We tear small holes in our muscle mass fibers as we train, and they recover when we sleep. They use amino acids in our bloodstream (obtained from the foods we eat) to repair these broken muscle mass fibers. This is a regular process that occurs even if we don’t lift weights, as the fibers repair and return to their normal size. However, going above and beyond the normal wear and tear they face on a daily basis, we can really cause them to grow by making them move heavy weights.
The perfect environment for muscle mass growth, therefore, can be fairly simple to define. First, you will need to have a bloodstream rich in amino acids. This is obtained by consuming a lot of high protein foods, consuming at least 30 grams of protein every 3 hours throughout the day. Sugars can be used to shuttle the amino acids to our muscle mass fibers faster, but the process remains the same perpetually. You give your muscles the protein they need to repair. You also give them the time. This comes from sleep, rest, and generally taking it easy in your off time. In other words, you’re not shaking what the Good Lord gave you in the club until 2 am every night – you need that time to heal and grow!
Stress can be a major factor in body fat appearing to flip into muscle mass. Whenever you have a tough workout, a bad day at work, or a fight with your significant other, your body releases an abundance of cortisol, a stress hormone. This leads to a tendency of the physique to store body fat (hence the appearance of body fat gains) and fights the growth of muscle mass.
Most people whose fat appears to be turning into muscle are actually engaged in a dual approach (both negative, by the way) to their bodies. They will go from eating well and training frequently, to doing neither on a regular basis. Let’s face it, completing 22 sets on a tough leg day is impossible if you haven’t eaten correctly. At the same time, eating religiously can be very tough if you’re not training. Your appetite just won’t be there, and your muscles will not be craving protein as per usual. This is why people who usually ‘take a break’ from training will abandon their diet and training practices almost concurrently – and will then appear to lose muscle and gain fat at the same time as well.
Some caveats do exist. There are limitations to how much muscle mass you can gain. As you get closer to your “ceiling”, or natural potential for muscle mass gain and low body fat levels, your gains will slow. You may even reach a plateau, a point where progress halts. If muscle building is the goal, then you need to train hard and eat correctly, giving yourself adequate rest in the meantime. If fat burning will be the goal, the same tenets apply, with the only differences being an increase in cardiovascular exercise plus perhaps a reduction in overall caloric intake.
It’s both an art and a science. You must train using the fundamental rules of muscle mass building science. But your approach to stimulating muscle groups and the daily caloric intake variety is also an art. Embrace both your creative and logical sides!
Can you do both at once? This is a query that many lifters have asked. When you first begin lifting weights, you will most certainly get leaner while building muscle mass. These are known as beginner’s gains, and they are absolutely, without a doubt, highly effective and very real. Nevertheless, over time, as your physique adapts to training and your muscular levels rise while body fat levels drop, there will come a time when you are not able to do both nearly as easily. At that point,
Natural vs. Chemically assisted lifters will encounter different angles. Yes, those who use steroids will recovery faster, train harder, grow more muscle, and get leaner all the whilst. They are certainly exceptions to this discussion, it should be noted.
The solution to the question “Does body fat turn into muscle?” is no. However the reality is the fact that the visible signs of both usually accompany one another. So while the perception is scientifically untrue, it’s a reality that most lifters accept as a truth.
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