T Nation

Consider This...

Bodybuilding
#1

I know most everybody is sold on the fact that you cannot gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. But consider this scenario;

A guy follows dr. Berardi’s 7 nutional principles. He is at about 12% BF. Weight trains 5 days a week at lunch time. Morning cardio 3-4 times a week, doing either HIIT or traditional cardio before going to work.

Hypothetically, if this guy (guess who?) were to eat enough to maintain his current weight, does everyone agree that his body composition would change to certain extent (hypertrophy and fat loss) ?

Or is it just plain impossible to gain and lose at the same time…

#2

Its possible, relatively easy if youre new to lifting, or just fat. Or even if youre not so new, its possible while done in small amounts with an extremely strict diet.

#3

It’s very possible…but it requires a very fine attention to detail. When I’m training for a BB show, I’ve learned how to maintain muscle mass while dropping fat, which to me is virtually as good as gaining/losing simultaneously. But I suppose it depends on your current condition…

I think the reason most people focus on one at a time is because it’s much easier to concentrate on either bulking, or cutting in isolation. When doing both simultaneously, there are times when you’ll feel like the two are pulling you in different directions. But it certainly can be done

Bango

#4

It’s not impossible, but you have to get some “excess” calories to put on muscles and be “deficient” in calories to burn fat.

If you are able to get your fat to be used as some of those “excess” calories, then you are in probably in luck.

However, for trained individuals who are not overweight, this is very hard to do and is probably not optimal for long term results.

#5

It’s possible but somewhat inefficient. Especially if you’ve been lifting awhile. I admit I was always scared to bulk because I felt SO fat SO quickly. Then I realized I was not actually getting that fat. I was just so stuffed from constantly eating that it felt like I gained 10 lbs by the second day. Live and learn.