Lose a small amount of weight to define muscles

Hi,

I’ve been going to the gym 1-2 times a week and I’m starting to get a bit of muscle. However I feel that my muscles would look a lot better if I lost the (very) thin layer of fat that I have over my whole body (I’m definitely not fat, some may say I’m just slightly doughy :D – i’m about 5”10’ and 60kg fyi )

I want to continue to build my muscle whilst losing this little bit of weight. Could anyone give me a bit of advice as to how to achieve this, whilst inhibiting my muscle development as little as possible?

Should I just add a couple of cardio workouts to my routine, or should I also diet? Should I try and do it quickly, or should I just let it happen over an extended period?

Thanks a lot for any help you can offer me

I wouldn’t diet, per se, but I would say that your diet (as in what you eat) is likely a factor. Focus on eating “clean.” By that I mean eat whole, unprocessed foods, lots of vegetables, and get your fats from healthy sources like nuts and lean protein.

You can introduce cardio, if you’d like. Interval cardio is fast and very effective. An alternative would be to mix up your weight workout so that you are lifting with very little or no rest between sets, and doing supersets of two or three exercises.

Do these things, and just let your body change as you do it. If you are adding muscle, your weight changes will be misleading, so you might want to get a baseline body fat % measurement, or at least take basic measurements at key points of the body (including your waist).

I’m also 5’10”, but a lot doughy. ;-) I’ve noticed great results with dividing my workouts between weights and cardio. My arms and legs are much more toned and the fat is being replaced by muscle. I work out about an hour 3-4 times per week.

I’m no expert by any means, but have found that if I try and lose it all too fast, I wear myself out and get tired of it. For me, the best solution has been eating well and working out for an extended period. That’s not to say I didn’t notice results right away though, because I did. The results are in smaller increments, but it’s fun to see happen.

Frogmarch1987, at 5’10” and 60 kg (approx 132 pounds), it sounds as if your actual goal is to build lean body mass.

For this purpose your macronutrient ratios should look something like this:

- 30% protein
- 55% carbs
- 15% fat

Your carbs need to be unprocessed, quality carbohydrates such as those found in vegetables, fruits and whole grains (stay away from refined foods!).

Eat 5 – 6 meals per day, focusing on the above macronutrient breakdown.

I would not recommend being aggressive on cardio as you want your calorie surplus (assuming you’re on a higher calorie diet) to support muscle growth. You can (and should) do cardio, but nothing excessive.

The rule of thumb for gaining muscle is “go big”. This means focusing on basic, mass building exercises including (from Tom Venuto):

Quads: Squats, Front Squats, Leg Presses
Hamstrings: Stiff-Legged Deadlift, Lying Leg Curl
Back: Deadlift, Bent Over Row, One Arm Dumbbell Row
Chest: Barbell Bench Press, Dumbbell Bench Press, Weighted Wide Grip Dips
Deltoids: Press behind Neck, Dumbbell Press, Military Press, Shrugs
Triceps: Lying Tricep Ext., Close Grip bench Press, Pushdowns, Seated Tricep ext.
Biceps: Standing Barbell Curl, Seated Alternate Dumbbell Curl, Preacher Curl
Calves: Standing Calf Raise, Donkey Calf Raise, Seated Calf Raise

Susan
www.catapultfitnessblog.com

Did a quick search on the Wi-Yu Tea referenced in the link, and here’s what I found

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=200…

It looks like it’s regular Oolong tea. So any miracle weight loss it may cause could probably be had by just having Oolong tea. Couldn’t hurt to try, but certainly less expensive to buy Oolong than the special Wi-Yu Tea.

thanks for all the help guys. Will definitely increase my cardio and improve my diet.

thanks again

Before spending money on Wu Yi Tea, take a look at what the Better Business Bureau has to say:

http://www.labbb.org/GIReport.aspx?NewsID=138

Save your money folks!

Susan
www.catapultfitnessblog.com