A Fat-Burning, Muscle-Building Exercise Program That Fits Your Busy Life, Part 1

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What are your goals for a fitness program? Many people want to achieve one of these two results--burning fat or building muscle. That's why programs focused on these activities are so common. However, if your fitness goals include both fat burning and muscle building, you may have a more difficult time finding the right exercise plan. There just aren't very many exercise routines that can claim to be the fastest way to build muscle while at the same time providing the quickest way to burn fat.

The fitness industry offers several training methods that either burn fat or build muscle. It breaks down to these basic facts: you build muscle by lifting weights and you burn fat by increasing your metabolism rate. It's fairly simple to design weight lifting programs that build pure muscles. Pairing up some aerobic exercises with a healthy diet is a healthy way to lose fat. Most existing programs are variations on these basic themes.

But how about doing both at the same time? Is it possible to locate a program that helps you reach both of these goals simultaneously?

At first glance it seems difficult to do. Quite a few of the muscle building programs include higher calorie requirements, meaning that you have to eat more than you normally do. This could lead to an increase in unwanted fat if you're not completely committed to the weight training drills.

On the flip side, you may be successful losing weight and burning fat on cardio plus diet programs. But if you're not careful, losing muscle is also a possibility. So does this mean you should try to do two different programs simultaneously?

That's probably not a good idea, even if it does seem like a balanced approach. Trying to keep up with the requirements of two fitness programs at one time would be completely exhausting (assuming you had the time to do it).

Without a complete commitment to both programs, you would most likely let one method slide just to keep up with the other, slowing your progress. Plus, if you're keeping up with two exercise programs at once, when would your body rest and recover? Exhaustion and fatigue are a part of working out, but recovery is the period where change occurs.

Your best solution would be a single program that takes into account both goals, one method that helps you burn fat and build muscle at the same time. Ideally, this program would fit into your schedule, instead of demanding that you build your life around it.