Is gaining muscle harder than losing fat?

[Anonymous]

i have lost all the fat I wanted to lose and it didn't take that long for me, but now since I have a low body fat percentage id like to bulk up with some muscle. especially in my legs and stomach. I feel like gaining muscle may be harder than losing fat.

[Anonymous]

It's probably different for guys, but in my experience it's the same level of difficulty. For me, I gain muscle as I lose fat. I enjoy running, so that's my way of maintaining my weight.

When you exercise and you feel sore, that's your muscles being built. The way it works is that you "tear" up your muscles and as you recover from your soreness your muscles are being rebuilt to be stronger.

For bigger leg muscles, focus on fast sprints rather than long distance. (you can see the difference when you compare sprinters to marathoners)

[calialltheway1993]

I don't know what the guys are talking about, because I'm pretty sure gaining muscles is not harder than losing fat...

All you need to do to gain muscle is work out and eat right. Piece of cake.

All you need to do to lose fat is, well, eat less with less calories, no junk food, etc.

excersice your butt off. It's hard work.

[cyrus7]

lol you don't know very much about nutrition or muscle hypertrophy do you?

[calialltheway1993]

I guess not.

But seriously, I'm speaking the obvious.

[cyrus7]

it's not obvious if you knew anything about muscle development and fat loss :)

muscle is much much harder to build than fat is to lose

[calialltheway1993]

Ok. I will believe whatever you feed me, Cyrus7.

The reason why I think losing fat is harder is because I have relatives facing difficulties to lose fat. But I know some that gain muscle just like that.

[cyrus7]

well genetics do come into play and unless your relatives had hormonal imbalances or anything like that, they were slacking, no offense

losing fat is as easy as being a bit more active and eating less

gaining muscle is not only harder than that but it also takes a lot longer without the use of steroids

eat it!

[calialltheway1993]

Yeah. I think it's the hormones that f-ed their appearance.

I know to gain muscles takes a while, but you're actually doing and achieving something, unlike losing fat.

As long as it's not poisoned, Ill eat it.

[cyrus7]

I don't get it ...

losing fat is actually doing something too

[calialltheway1993]

I don't know how to explain myself. It's morning and I'm half asleep.

[cyrus7]

pfft its 2 pm here

[calialltheway1993]

Canada? I know.

[cyrus7]

mhm

[seasidehermit]

yep it is harder to build muscle then turn fat to muscle. If you think about it as just atoms and junk like that it can't be created or destroyed so it is much easier to just change its form. For building new muscle you will have to make it from little bits of nutrients etc, so more work. :)

The main issue with people trying to bulk is that they don't eat enough.

[lucky24]

yes since you can't gain more than one pound of muscle per week but you can lose about 2-3 pounds of fat per week

eating right becomes a huge factor in weight gain as well since you have to make sure you are eating enough proteins, drinking enough water and getting plenty of vitamins

[just_tired]

One pound in a week is an absolutely crazy amount and very few people can achieve that. You would actually have to be a teen boy for that to happen. link

[ArtistBboy]

No offence but I don't believe one pound of muscle to be that crazy. I'm in my 20s, male, 6'2 and around 160 lbs.. I can jump to 180 in under a month easily by eating healthier and working harder, I choose not to.

[lucky24]

you are correct just tired

sorry I wasn't very clear about it but the maximum achievable and that also only by a few people would be one pound per week

[just_tired]

It's physically impossible, a proven fact. The new muscle fibers don't build fast enough to be able to gain pound a week. Most of that weight you mentioned is water weight and weight fluctuation. A muscle gain of over 20lbs in a year requires perfect genes, perfect diet, best possible workout plan, appropriate age etc.. It's all in the link I put there.

[lucky24]

i don't know about it being impossible without perfect genes but age definitely plays a huge role in it and what you are starting out with. I have went from 125 to 160 in a span of 9 months between 17-18 (I had stopped growing in height by then or maybe I stopped growing in height due to over exertion)

but I can't say that all 30 pounds were muscle, id be lying if I did a good amount would be fat and water too

[lucky24]

i can agree though once past puberty it is impossible to gain one pound per week of muscle, I wish I could gain that much now :S

[just_tired]

Yes, being a teen is an exception because of the extra muscle growth and it is a shame that it had to stop :S

[lucky24]

i know right maybe in the near future modern medicine might make a break through so we can all become teens again :D

[ArtistBboy]

They claim it's 80-90% what you eat and 10% what you train... Would've been a great idea to use that fat to your advantage, but now that it's gone, don't go back. Just keep moving forward and overtime you'll get to where you want to be :)

~ ArtistBBoy

[kheserthorpe]

Yeah, much harder. Teen boys who are bulking up just due to growth maybe not as much, but for the rest of the world, definitely.

If you do everything right, adult males past beginner stage can maybe gain 1lb of muscle/month.

I can drop 2+ lbs/fat per week.

[Konnour]

I never had to lose fat, so I may be biased to say "yes", however - to get muscle you must eat more and train more.

To lose fat you must eat less and train more.

So...