lose fat and gain muscle mass

Here is the deal. I want to build the upper area of my body i.e. biceps,triceps, and abs. I also want to improve my back but I don't have any plans to do any exercises on that. I read on one site that benching helps the back too? But another told me that I need to do my back muscles to balance my weight distribution.

Now I am not obese or fat. I look to be average with full clothes on. However, on the beach, one can clearly tell I have fat on my abs and chest. Possibly my back too.

Recently, turning 18, I went out and bought hydroxycut, whey protein, and some weights to add on to my set. I plan on benching, doing curls, and using my ab rollers (no traditional abdominal exercise...been there, done that..too inefficient for me). I realize that I need to shed some fat before my muscles start showing and I don't plan on doing any aerobic exercises except for those that come along with the help of my dog. That is where hydroxycut comes in. I want to use that to lose fat.

Now the next point is that I want to gain muscle mass. I don't necessarily want to lose weight, just get definition. I am currently working out with weights and eating about 40g of protein per day from my whey protein supply along with whatever comes from other foods.

Not sure how many people have done this, but is this a good method. I really want to focus on looking good and being stronger. Lose fat and gain muscle is basically it. Any opinions? I've heard things on this forum like either one or the other. Won't this theoretically work/Isn't what I heard false?

In addition, I need help with my bicep curls. I find preacher curls fun to do (I cannot say the same for other types of curls). However, I want to do combination exercises to lower time spent. That is why I want to do hammer curls or standard curls. Which one is the most efficient one? I have heard various things.
 
You plan to do no aerobic exercises to lose fat, just the hydroxycut will do that for you. Oh my friend, you are a marketer's dream! If everyone could lose fat by just taking a pill, we'd all be on it.

Come up with a decent workout routine that incorporates some aerobics, and you will get lots of advice. By the way, you can flush the hydroxycut down the hopper, that stuff won't do much for you (imho).
 
Listen. I don't want to sound too harsh or anything but basically what I got from your post is this:

I want to lose fat, but I don't really want to put any hard work into it with exercise so I'll just take hydroxycut.

I want to gain muscle, but I don't really plan on doing a comprehensive workout. I just want to work out the "mirror muscles" and hope it works.

Now to clarify a few things: thermogenic compounds (hydroxycut and any pills that increase your metabolism through caffeine which increases your body heat) = crap. Don't take them. It's a waste of money. Do it with hard work and dedication. Nothing in life is free.

To gain significant muscle mass, do the main complex lifts: Bench, Deadlift, Squat, Dips, Chinups, Weighted rows etc etc. DON'T focus on preacher curls. They are ok to do, but if you think that it's ok for one workout session a week to focus on "biceps" then you need to do a LOT of reading. For now, cut out isolation exercises, and hydroxycut, and do some good complex workouts with some solid cardio to lose the fat (and gain a minor amount of muscle) during your initial cut phase.

Hope this helps
 
wait I never said I wasn't committed to working with weights. I plan on doing weight training everyday. I am doing a everday otherday schedule where I switch between workout A and workout B. I am taking protein everyday to help out too.

However, I didn't plan on doing aerobic. are you say hydroxycut doesn't work at all? If necessary I can do jogging on my treadmill, but will hydroxycut enhance the results at all?
 
You essentially want to add and subtract at the same time. Math class reminds me that we have an order of operations we have to follow. Cut the fat or add the muscle and cycle between the two.

Aside from the above, it won't matter what thermogenics you take, how much weight you lift, or how much cardio you do if your diet isn't in check. This is hte first place to start and the easiest to control.
 
i've been thinking of starting a topic that kind of relates to this so I will just ask the question in here. I am currently working on losing fat only, I do cardio 5 times a week and weight training, and I always eat less calories than my maintance. Sometimes however I go over my calorie count by like 500 (say my parents want to take me out to eat if they come to town). Let's say i've done a full weight training workout for that day. For that one day will I gain muscle? According to all the theories on this site, I should gain a miniscule amount of muscle just for that day because I have excess calories and I have worked my muscles. What do you guys think?
 
i've been thinking of starting a topic that kind of relates to this so I will just ask the question in here. I am currently working on losing fat only, I do cardio 5 times a week and weight training, and I always eat less calories than my maintance. Sometimes however I go over my calorie count by like 500 (say my parents want to take me out to eat if they come to town). Let's say i've done a full weight training workout for that day. For that one day will I gain muscle? According to all the theories on this site, I should gain a miniscule amount of muscle just for that day because I have excess calories and I have worked my muscles. What do you guys think?


This is why I've said to others on this site that the body isn't cut and dry. You don't just lose fat or gain muscle. It isn't JUST one or the other. Yes you can lose fat a LOT faster by doing that as your goal and same with muscle gain. To do both may be slower but it's possible. If you eat a healthy deficit and a healthy excess on different days you may gain some muscle and lose some fat separately. At least this is my experience. The mirror and scale don't lie.
 
Every diet-pill/fat-loss-pill advertisement I've seen lately has some very fine print that states something like "used in conjunction with sound nutrition & exercise" because that's where 90% or more of the results come from; they also show pictures of folks that make up some of their success stories with a disclaimer of "results not typical" because the success-story folks followed the advice in the fine print, which isn't typical of most pill-buyers (& that's why so many diet/fat-loss-pill fads come along -- because it's big business... so few customers follow directions, so they become repeat customers of similar products, always following the pipe-dream that it's a pill & not sound nutrition & exercise that causes success).

If you train your chest & arms, but not your back, you'll eventually be sorry healthwise (as muscle imbalances can be debilitating) & you'll look poorly overall (like life played a bad joke on you -- but it would really be unnecessarily self-inflicted deformation... like some guy I saw on TV with grossly over-developed upper-arms who seemed a physical & mental wreck who looked like a freakazoid).
 
Ok, so my approach is supposedly wrong because every article out there says it is very difficult to gain muscle mass and lose fat.

However, I have a question. If I already have fat on me, can't I start getting rid of that now while using weights to gain muscle mass. My body will then use vitamins and whatever surplus I have built up to help me make muscle. In addition, I am taking protein shakes. So wouldn't it work out?

If not, I have changed it up completely. For now, I want to work out for a while. My bench is pretty low and I want to raise it up. When I reach that goal, I plan on "cutting."
 
When starting to workout, like the first time you have ever done it you will be able to add muscle mass and take fat off at the same time. When i started, I just did some weight lifting and for 8 ish weeks i was keeping the same # on the scale but i looked better and was stronger.

After those Begineer weeks your body will eatiher be able to lose fat or gain muscle with a good diet.
 
you don't need to be an asshole about it. My question related to the topic so I figured i'd post in here. But i'll start my own thread then.
 
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