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Can I Gain Muscle While Getting Shredded?

Most guys dream of getting healthy, fit and shredded. When they start working out, they picture themselves rocking chiselled biceps like a Greek god and abs you could grate cheese on. They want to be ripped and lean, and for good reason –  this looks great. But gaining muscle mass is super fun too. Being able to bench more and more impressive numbers as the weeks go by is a highly rewarding process. And who doesn’t want to get big and strong? It would be ideal, for many, to gain muscle while getting shredded.

Lots of people feel torn between hitting a low body fat percentage so they look amazing and toned, and getting big. It’s natural to wonder if you can gain muscle mass and lose body fat at the same time. This is hotly debated, and there are many different opinions on if it’s possible to get big and shredded all at once. Is it possible?

Yes, You Can Gain Muscle While Getting Shredded

But only to an extent!

To increase muscle mass, you need to lift heavy while eating enough to fuel your gains. Muscle requires a lot of energy and calories to create. You’ll be gaining weight, but you’ll be getting super strong. Unfortunately, it’s common to put on body fat during this process. You’ll be eating in such an excess of calories that your body likely will store some as fat.

Getting shredded is basically the opposite process to getting big. To get shredded, you need to minimize your body fat percentage. This means consuming fewer calories than you’re expending. Your body then “eats” its own fat stores and turns those into energy.

Luckily, there is a middle ground. You don’t have to treat gaining muscle mass or losing body fat as mutually exclusive. If you do this, remember that your strength gains and fat loss won’t happen at the speed that they would if you were focusing on a single goal. However, you’ll be looking incredibly fit and amazing.

If you eat a balanced diet that’s high in protein, do a range of exercises including strength training, and get enough rest, you should be able to gain muscle mass while getting lean at the same time. 

What Should I Do?

There are a number of things to bear in mind if you’re trying to gain muscle while getting shredded. They are:

Don’t cut calories (too much)

To lose weight, you need to lose body fat. To lose body fat, you need to consume less calories than you’re using, so your body resorts to using its fat stores for energy. 

However, if you’re trying to gain muscle mass at the same time, it’s a bad idea to not give your body the fuel it needs to turn your strength workouts into gains. You’ll be burnt out and tired. If you do decide you want to cut, cut no more than 300 calories from your daily BMR.

When trying to balance losing weight and gaining mass, you shouldn’t necessarily expect the number on the scale to go down. Muscle weighs more than fat, so you may even gain weight. Just continue to eat a balanced and healthy diet with minimal to no sugar, and notice how you look and feel, not how much you weigh.

Eat enough protein

This macronutrient is crucial for building muscle, so you need to get enough of it. Aim for 20 grams of protein per meal, four times a day. Don’t cram all your protein into one meal, but have it throughout the day so your body has a constant supply. Many people recommend consuming extra protein after a workout.

Great ideas for lean protein intake that will support your muscle mass goals without ruining your body fat loss goals include: 

  • Fatty fish such as tuna, tilapia and salmon
  • White meat such as chicken and turkey
  • Dairy – milk and yogurt are great choices
  • Eggs – one of the cheapest forms of protein, eggs go with almost anything

Do a range of exercises

When you’re trying to gain muscle mass and get shredded all at once, you need to perform strength exercises for your gains, and cardio to lose body fat. For muscle gains, compound lifts are the most effective. Remember to focus on heavy squats, deadlifts and bench presses. Isolated movements can also be great, just make sure to vary what you do.

To burn body fat, you’ll want to do a range of cardio movements. Biking, swimming, rowing and running are all great options. If you prefer, try some high intensity routines that incorporate burpees, pushups, situps, kettlebell swings, and many more. 

There are many great CrossFit classes to put you on the right track for gaining muscle mass and getting shredded at the same time.

Get enough sleep

One of the most overlooked aspects of fitness is getting enough rest. Most athletes are recommended to get between 7-10 hours of sleep per night. 

Chronic sleep deprivation can “undo” the effects of dieting and lead to weight gain, which is not what you want. Sleep also gives your muscles time to restore and repair. Cells regenerate best at night, which helps you gain the mass you’ve been working hard for.

For best workout results, create a sleep schedule and come up with some techniques to relax you and help you wind down at night.

With hard work and patience, you’ll soon be looking shredded, big, and amazing.

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Will I Get Bulky From Lifting Weights?

Many guys walk into the gym with the goal of getting big and strong from weight lifting. However, not everyone wants to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. If you’re a woman, or big guns just aren’t your style, you might be worried that you’ll get bulky from lifting weights.

Luckily, the idea that weight training instantly makes you huge is simply not true. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll end up bulky from your training if you don’t want to. Getting big is much harder than it looks. When starting out a regime, you can tailor it to meet your personal fitness goals so you feel happy with your results.

Increased Muscle Doesn’t Mean ‘Huge’

When you start a workout regime that involves a lot of lifting weights (including Crossfit) you are likely to see some muscle gain. That doesn’t mean you’re going to get huge.

Muscle mass actually plays a key role in your general health. Building muscles helps your body to burn energy and fat. As muscle mass increases, the faster your body can burn calories and energy. Muscles help us lose weight, stay healthy, and be active.

Muscle mass doesn’t mean you’re going to look huge. If you have a high muscle mass percentage and low body fat percentage, you’ll almost certainly look leaner than you did before you started working out.

Being strong and having a high muscle mass is not the same as looking manly. It may be worth thinking about how you define bulky. Strength is always a good thing!

A Bulky Diet = A Bulky Body

If you wanted to bulk up, you would need to seriously increase your daily calories. The more calories, the bigger the bulk. 

For many people who are trying to get big, eating enough is one of the hardest parts of their fitness journey. If you aren’t trying to bulk up, then you won’t be anywhere near the levels of caloric surplus you’d need to be reaching.

Everyone knows that a healthy and fairly low calorie diet is a crucial part of losing weight. Working out won’t get you far unless you combine it with clean eating. The same idea applies to gaining mass through weight training.

Getting Bulky From Lifting Weights Doesn’t Happen Overnight

Like with any aspect of fitness, whether it’s cutting fat or toning up, new mass takes a few months to notice. 

To get bulky from lifting weights, you need to work hard and be patient. This can be a difficult truth to swallow when you’re excited to get muscular. But, if you want to avoid getting bulky it can be a blessing.

If you notice that you’re gaining more muscle mass than you want to, you can simply adjust your workout plan or your diet. Bear in mind that people sometimes mistake body fat for mass. You can cut down on your overall mass by eating a healthy, high protein diet.

Weight Lifting Has Many (Non-Bulky) Benefits 

There are lots of weight training methods and variables. Each of these will have different, beneficial outcomes. Weight training can be a great way to lose weight, improve your mood, and get flexible and stronger. It can even make a great cardio workout.  

Yes, lifting weights is a great way to build muscle. This means lifting heavy weights at a low to moderate rep range. If you want to be toned, not bulky, start out with low weights and higher reps in a slow and controlled manner. If you continue to eat a healthy diet, you’ll gain muscle mass but also lose body fat – helping you look leaner.

Train For The Results You Want

You can use a weight training regime to reach many health and fitness goals. You can use weightlifting to train for competitive powerlifting or a bodybuilding competition. In these cases, you’re likely to be training hard, 4-6 times per week.

However, many people do Crossfit or lift weights to stay fit, healthy and confident. There are many plans to suit your needs. If you just want to improve the overall shape or your body, lifting weights is one of many parts of a holistic and well-rounded workout plan. 

No matter what your fitness goals are, weight training can be a great way to meet them.

When you train for the results you want, you won’t end up bulky from lifting weights. You’ll end up with a well-shaped, toned and fit version of your natural body.