Torch Fat and Build Muscle

A ripped, muscular physique is the goal of most, if not all, men. As winter approaches, we all tend to put on a pound or five of body fat, maybe in hopes of bulking for more muscle or more likely because of all of the holiday eating invites. In the process of all that “bulking,” we seemed to have let our abs fade in the place of strength and mass gains. So it is time once again to shred up, lean down and turn into a ripped piece of art we all envision ourselves to be – but for you, this time will be different.

Do you often find yourself at a crossroads regarding keeping your hard-earned muscle that you so tirelessly worked towards only to see it dwindle away as you diet down? Are you a “hard gainer” who has to fight for every ounce of muscle, scared to death of reducing calories to get a more muscular midsection? Do you struggle to melt off that last little bit of fat? More calories equals more mass and fewer calories equals less body fat – and it’s one or the other – right?

The age-old question, "Is it possible to gain muscle and burn fat simultaneously?" has been debated for many years. There are so many opinions from experts to people in the trenches that it is very difficult to sift through the facts. Most will tell you that you must choose between the two in order to reach optimum success and that attempting both at the same time is futile. 

So why not just give up, reduce calories and sacrifice the muscle for better abs and more muscular arms? Because you are better than that! You will find a way and put into practice a concise plan of action to reach your ultimate potential. The guidelines and diet and workout plans included here are designed to help you not only keep your precious muscle but also build more while simultaneously burning body fat. It can be done with a little planning, discipline and hard work.

The Right Amounts

One of the single, most imperative principles in this plan is to eat the right amounts of macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates and fats). By manipulating these foods and staying strict with the guidelines, your goals will soon be in range. Diet is so important that without adhering to these principles you will surely never reach your physique goals.

Protein: As the main source for building muscle, protein is absolutely necessary for your muscle-building strategy. Take in around 1 to 1.5 grams of protein per pound of body weight (this equates to 180-270 grams for a 180-pound individual). This will guarantee that your muscles will be getting the correct dose of amino acids for maintaining and building muscle tissue. Some prime sources are chicken, lean steak, fish, turkey, ground meat, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yoghurt and protein powders.

Carbohydrates: Carbohydrate is a great muscle-sparing energy source. This particular macronutrient will be drastically manipulated as the diet plan goes along and will play a major role in its success, so be extremely mindful of your intake on a daily basis. Be sure to have an intake mainly of complex carbohydrates and fibre. Sources include brown rice, wild rice, sweet potatoes, whole wheat bread, wheat pasta, vegetables, some fruits and Ezekiel products.

Fats: Never count out a healthy fat. Certain fats are essential in maintaining hormones such as testosterone, increasing fat-burning and aiding energy levels. Healthy fats will be utilized to replace carbohydrates on certain days to keep blood sugar levels steady and help with satiety. Good sources include avocado, walnuts, almonds, olive oil, natural peanut butter, some egg yolks and sunflower seeds.

Light the Furnace!  

Now let’s look at how we can implement these macronutrients and manipulate them in such a way as to build more strength and mass while torching our fat stores. Protein levels will stay somewhat the same throughout the plan. You need that steady stream of amino acids to feed to the muscles for recuperation and repair to take place. Try out one gram per pound of body weight and assess your progress. If you find yourself stalling, try to up it to 1.25 or 1.5 grams per pound and then reassess your results. That is about as high as you will want to go with protein – the rest is up to carbohydrate and fat manipulation. Give each change in protein amount about four weeks before reassessing.

Here is the tricky part. Now you will start to manipulate carbohydrates in such a way as to trick the body into delving into its fat stores for fuel. You will have high, medium and low consumption days. You will eat low carbs for two to four days followed by medium and high days. On the low days, your body will burn fat for fuel and save muscle so as long as your protein intake is high enough.

Before you starve your body of energy after so many days of low carbs (which if prolonged could lead to lower testosterone levels and metabolism), you will have a day of moderate carbs and another day of high carbs. This will shuttle in fuel to the muscle, rev back up your metabolism and be burned without storing body fat. 

Carbohydrate intake will be approximately .5 grams per pound of body weight for low days (90 grams for a 180-pounder), 1.5 grams per pound on medium days (270 grams) and 2.25 grams per pound on high days (405 grams).

Fat intake should hover around .25 grams per pound of body weight or 20-30% of total calories. However, on low carbohydrate days, it would be wise to increase your healthy fat intake slightly. This will ensure your hormone levels will stay steady and will supply you with ample energy for your gruelling workouts. 

On the low-carb days, simply increase your fat intake by 50%. Remember that one gram of fat has over twice the amount of calories of carbs, so a little goes a long way. For example, if you had half of an avocado on a salad, now on low-carb days you will eat ¾ of an avocado.

The Muscle-Building Fat-Torching Sample Diet

Low Carbohydrate Days

Meal 1

• 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
• ½ cup oatmeal (dry measure)
• Cinnamon for taste
• 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Meal 2

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water or 1 cup Greek yoghurt
• 1.5 ounces of almonds

Meal 3

• 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
• Green salad with 3 tablespoons of olive oil dressing

Meal 4 (pre-workout)

• ½ of an apple or banana
• 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water

Meal 5 (post-workout)

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water

Meal 6

• 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
• Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad with ½ avocado

Medium Carbohydrate Days

Meal 1

• 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
• 1 cup oatmeal (dry measure)
• Cinnamon for taste
• 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Meal 2

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water or 1 cup of Greek yoghurt
• 1 ounce of almonds
• 1 apple

Meal 3

• 6-8 ounces of turkey with two slices of wheat bread and 1 tablespoon of light mayonnaise
• Green salad with 2 tablespoons of olive oil dressing

Meal 4 (pre-workout)

• 1 banana
• 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water

Meal 5 (post-workout)

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
• 12 ounces of Gatorade

Meal 6

• 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
• Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad with ¼ avocado
• 1 cup of wild rice cooked

High Carbohydrate Days

Meal 1

• 3 eggs and 4 egg whites
• 1 ½ cup oatmeal (dry measure)
• Cinnamon for taste
• ½ tablespoon of natural peanut butter

Meal 2

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water or 1 cup Greek yogurt
• 1 ounce of almonds
• 1 apple

Meal 3

• 6-8 ounces of fish
• Green salad with 2 tablespoons of olive oil dressing
• 1 ½ cup of wild rice cooked

Meal 4 (pre-workout)

• 1 banana
• 1 scoop of whey protein powder mixed in water

Meal 5 (post-workout)

• 2 scoops of whey protein powder mixed in water
• 12 ounces of Gatorade

Meal 6

• 6-8 ounces of meat, fish or chicken
• Broccoli, green beans or peas or green salad with ¼ avocado
• 1 medium sweet potato

The Body Fat-Melting, Physique-Building Workout

This training plan is developed with minimum equipment and time in mind. It is a high-intensity, time-efficient routine for those looking to build a little muscle and torch off that unwanted fat for good. Pay close attention to the pace of the routine. Little rest and a fast pace are the name of the game to get the very best results. 

Perform the entire plan over a week’s time with four weight resistance training days and one or two cardio-only days. The days can be split up into whatever is most convenient for you and your schedule. Traditionally, most would benefit by reserving Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday for resistance training and Wednesday and/or one day on the weekend for a cardio-only session. 

For HIIT cardio, start with a 2-3 minute warm-up then do 30 seconds of high intensity work then 2 minutes of low intensity. Each week increase the high-intensity work and decrease the low-intensity work by 30 seconds (High/low): 60 sec/90 sec, 90 sec/60 sec, and 120/30.

Perform this workout for 4 to 6 weeks before taking a short break or switching programs. There is no rest between supersets. Rest 1-2 minutes after all supersets are completed and before moving on to the next superset group.

Session 1        

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

By Brad Borland