Can both happen?

[pploon]

Is it possbile to lose body fat at the same time as gaining lean muscle mass?

[5kgLifter]

Originally Posted by pploon

Is it possbile to lose body fat at the same time as gaining lean muscle mass?

Simple asnwer, Yes.

Though, it's not always easy: beginners tend to be able to do both as do people that have had a significant break and are coming back to training...there are a lucky few (of which I am one) that tend to be able to pull it off most of the time. There will be a stage, after significant lean mass addition that it should become nigh impossible to do both but whilst a person is nowhere close to their absolute maximum potential, then it should, in theory, be possible.

[MikeM]

Excellent post above. I would humbly add that diet is key to this type of transformation, much more than weights or routine used.

Getting your diet dialed in is more important than anything else if you want to lose weight and gain muscle at the same time. Protein and fats are the components to lean muscle gain, but are calorie intensive, so you will gain fat too unless your carbs are in a good range for you.

If your carbs are too low, you don't have the energy to push hard on the muscle building exercises, or worse your body will start hoarding body fat as a hedge against future needs (metabolism slows), if they're too high, you won't lose fat at all.

Because the balance is so tricky, that's why a lot of guys bulk and cut in cycles. At least that's what my research has led me to believe.

I'm constantly trying to balance my desire for lifting heavy stuff and my desire to see my abs for the first time since grade school. Still haven't got the balance right after two years.

If you find the magic formula let me know!

[emekajokammor]

I would like to add that it can be done but it would be much much easier to just lean out and create the "perception" of adding lean muscle.

Once you begin to lean out and muscle bellies become visible you will look like your putting on muscle but actually you are just uncovering muscle. The more you uncover the leaner you look.

Much easier process than trying to find the balance to be able to put on 5-7 lbs of instantly visible muscle. And what i mean by "instantly" is with the absence of having to put on double the weight in fat.

Adding muscle this way takes a while. Thats why like MikeM said, most people just do it in cycles. If you can add 5-8 lbs of muscle during a bulk, consider it a success! Then take about 10-12 wks to uncover it and you can consider that mission accomplished!