Losing fat and gaining muscle can be tricky to achieve in the gym if you don’t have the relevant experience and you don’t have a specific training and nutrition plan to follow.
That said, there are a range of tips that you can use throughout your exercise journey that will aid you in the process.
The best tips for fat loss and muscle gain include, but are not limited to:
Finding the right coach
Ensuring that your nutrition is balanced
Following a specific training plan
Tracking to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit
1. Finding The Right Coach
The first tip for fat loss and muscle gain is to find the right coach.
When you consider that ‘83% of people agree that the gym can be an intimidating experience’, finding a motivating coach is one of the best ways to make long term progress as they provide you with the accountability that’s necessary to make a big lifestyle change.
Ideally you want to find a coach who cares and understands that this kind of journey isn’t easy, but also has the knowledge and skills to advise and motivate you on even the toughest of days.
You should look for a coach that is both transparent and honest. A coach that promises you the world, but isn’t up front about how much effort is required, is not what you want or need.
Instead, you should look for a coach that is honest and holds you accountable for your goals, providing a service that isn’t sugar-coated in terms of the effort required, but is designed to benefit you long term.
Be sure to do your research when looking for a coach. Check out reviews, as well as testimonials and results, as this will help you to narrow down your search.
2. Ensuring That Your Nutrition Is Balanced
Another tip for fat loss and muscle gain is to ensure that your nutrition is balanced.
In order to build muscle in the right areas, it is ideal to have a structure that suits your fitness goals. A qualified coach will be able to give you nutritional advice on the types of food that you should be eating, that can help to support and supplement your training.
That said, generally speaking, to aid weight loss and promote muscle mass you should be in a calorie deficit whilst following a high protein diet.
This comes down to the fact that protein is more satiating and keeps you feeling fuller for longer, as protein ‘reduces your level of the hunger hormone ghrelin’. Additionally, a high protein diet will help to repair your muscles and aid growth despite you still being in a calorie deficit.
Alongside this, you can also be strategic about when you eat carbohydrates to aid performance. Eating carbs 1 to 2 hours before a session, for instance, will provide you with the necessary energy to train harder and get the most out of your workouts.
3. Following A Specific Training Plan
The next tip is to follow a specific training plan. Achieving significant progress without a training plan can be difficult, not to mention demotivating if you lack the necessary experience to get the results that you desire.
When working with a coach that’s creating a tailored fitness and diet plan for you, be honest and open about your goals and what you like and don’t like. However, following a training plan is all about the trust between you and your coach. As such, this is a fine line to walk, as you don’t want to hinder your own progress by avoiding certain exercises.
That said, if you have purchased a one off training plan, it’s important to be open-minded. Progress isn’t always comfortable, in fact, it rarely is. Remember that nothing worth having comes easy, so trust your coach and lean into the training that they set out for you.
At Up Your Game Fitness, we offer a variety of different training plans, including fat loss, powerlifting, as well as tailored plans, providing you with the blueprints to success.
All programmes have been designed by a certified personal trainer and coach that cares.If you’re looking to make a change and lose fat today, get in touch with Riccardo Oliver today.
4. Tracking To Ensure You’re In A Calorie Deficit
Last, but by no means least, a good tip to consider when trying to lose fat and gain muscle is to track your calories to ensure you’re in a calorie deficit.
You’d be surprised by how many calories some of your favourite foods contain. Tracking your calories can help you to gain a better understanding of the nutritional value of certain foods and help you to stay on track.
A deficit between 400-600 calories could be a great place to start, as this will aid you in ‘losing weight without you experiencing extreme hunger or fatigue’, but everyone is unique. There are also other ways to promote progress. For instance, instead of reducing food, you can increase your daily energy expenditure by increasing your cardio.
It’s worth noting that weight and fat loss don’t follow a linear pattern, especially for women who are particularly impacted by their hormone cycle. Bearing this in mind, it’s normal for water retention as well as your weight to fluctuate up and down on your journey.
That said, if you simply remain in a deficit whilst eating a protein-dense diet, you will still be losing fat whilst gaining muscle.
We are Up Your Game Fitness. We offer various fitness and nutrition plans to aid your fitness goals. For more information, be sure to contact Riccardo Oliver by emailing info@upyourgamefitness or messaging him on Instagram.