How to Lose Fat Build Muscle

It seems that mostly the focus when it comes to exercising and dieting and nutrition, is to lose body fat. While that is a very noble goal, the idea of building muscle mass is often neglected. This is a travesty because there are so extremely crucial aspects of why building muscle is so important for you.

Why Men Should Build Muscle Mass

The answer to this might seem a bit more obvious than for women, but there might also be more than what meets the eye. The first and most obvious reason a man would want to be building muscle mass on his frame is simply aesthetics. To look good. The better the ratio of more muscle to less body fat, the better a person is going to look (up to an extent, I suppose). What looks better to women, and feels better for a man, than to have that Greek god statue looking physique when you rip your shirt off? I would venture a guess that there are few things when it comes to appearance and confidence.

Please note that a six-pack due to being extremely skinny does not cut it here. Slabs of muscle must be added in order to get the desired effect.

In addition to how you look, overall health and well-being come into play here as well. When you are more muscular you will be in better shape and more capable in any sports you play, as well as simple day to day activities. What could be more unappealing than a slothful man? Being muscular and fit helps give you good posture and exudes confidence in all you do, and believe me, people recognize confidence… or the lack thereof.

Building Muscle for Women

Probably less talked about and not nearly obvious are the reasons for building muscle mass in women. It seems that too many workout routines for women are geared entirely around the idea of losing belly fat or shape up those thighs, or whatever other body part of the month some women work on. Let’s go ahead and zap muscle building for women myth #1:

Lifting weights will NOT make you bulk up! This idea is ludicrous. Believe me when I say that those women that do bulk up to Arnold-like sizes do so simply because they want to! You have to actually work at that happening, for a period of many years, and even then it will usually require a bit of that hormonal help (yes, I’m referring to steroids), for a woman to really bulk up and look like what most women fear will happen to them if they pick up the 20 pound dumbbell.

That said, the number one reason in my opinion that women should lift weights, and yes, focus on building muscle mass, is because of what it does to your metabolism. Listen up ladies… the more muscle mass you have on your body, the faster your metabolism will work, and the faster your metabolism works, the more fat you burn. Losing fat and building muscle work hand in hand. The same goes for men, but I thought I would leave this notion specifically for the women’s portion of this article. Speed up your fat burning by building muscle mass… no matter how much you hate the phrase “muscle mass”!

Another reason to focus on lifting weights in your workout routine is to tone your muscles. Toned muscles on a woman looks great, and of course comes with all of the above-mentioned health benefits that it does for guys as well. There is such a thing as being ‘skinny-fat’, and every guy knows when he sees this kind of girl. What a guy sees is a girl who on the surface appears to be thin, but upon closer inspection would be found to actually be flabby, with extra skin, droopy arms and quite possibly a muffin top that hangs over her pants. (Don’t worry women, this problem is not unique to girls alone).

What is really happening here is a combination usually of not eating enough relatively high protein, moderate carb and fat meals throughout the day, and often times much too much focus on marathon-like running with the intent of burning fat, instead of adding weight lifting to the mix. Building muscle mass through lifting weights and eating right is absolutely crucial to having the physique that you are looking for!

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