How can a girl build muscle and cut fat at the same time?

Question

It seems like most fitness articles for women tell us how to cut fat to be slender- which means eating less, cutting carbs, and doing a lot of cardio...
But what about muscle gain? I want to gain more muscle in my legs and arms (not a lot to be buff like a guy, but more than I have)- what do I do? What kind os exercises should I be doing? What kind of diet would be ideal for this?

Argus14 · Accepted Answer

Unlike men Females don't naturally produce enough testosterone for any significant increase in muscle mass. So unless you're taking some steroid or test booster I wouldn't worry about beefing up like a dude.

Building muscle and losing fat don't really go well together. Can you get stronger on a cut? Yes. But you really can't get bigger.

Reason being is that your body requires a caloric deficit to lose fat. This essentially means that you are burning more calories than you are eating. However to build muscle size it needs a caloric surplus. Ever tried building a Lego set without all the Legos? Doesn't work out too well does it?

Even though we already know that you can't gain size like a guy doesn't mean you shouldn't train like one. And that means lifting heavy. Everything should be challenging, if it's not your wasting your time at the gym and mine typing this for you.

Legs:
Squats, dead lifts, step ups, leg curls, kick backs, leg extensions to name a few.

Arms:
Any variation of the curl but what's equally if not more important for arm size is the tricep (back of the arm). That muscle is significantly larger than the bicep.

Triceps:
Pushdowns, weighted or body weight dips, overhead extension either single arm or two handed, skull crushers, close grip bench press and diamond push-ups are great.

I think that covers the short of it but if you are unclear on anything just let me know I'll be happy to clear it up.

trgffggffgfg · Accepted Answer

Building muscle and losing weight/fat at the same time is contradictory. If you don't eat enough, your body will try to save energy by not building as much muscle. And equally you won't loose as much weight because you will (intensely) crave to ingest a lot more vital nutrients (like amino acids and such) from food in order to regenerate your body as well as to account for the lost energy.

But there is of course a different shortcut: If you do meth or cocaine in the morning for exercise, your metabolism is much more capable of burning fat (in lack of anything else) and you can do the exercise like 250% more intensely and efficiently if you don't hurt yourself in the process. Then you can eat in the afternoon and evening and use that food for regeneration, having already burned so much more fat then humanly possible.

But if you already cheat, why not do meth for a month and then proper nutrition + exercise? Makes a whole lot more sense.

bubbiexo · Accepted Answer

As others have mentioned, it is difficult for women to put on muscle. I suggest maybe picking up "The new rules of lifting for women" as a good place to start if you don't have much of a foundation for strength training. That is how I got started. Or strong lifts 5x5.

Compound exercises are the most efficient and effective exercises for muscle gain. Squats, dead lifts (especially), over head press... Use free weights for isolation exercises like bicep curls because machines ruin your range of motion and you aren't using your stabilizer muscles.

Eat!!! Eat more protein. While you can gain muscle without, it's already more difficult for women to gain muscle and therefore you need that little boost.
Lean meats, dairy, legumes, maybe even a shake here and there. Also complex carbs and healthy fats.

Stay away from steady-paced cardio. It's counterproductive if you are working on building muscle. Interval training is more effective and efficient--- you will spend less time doing it with better results than regular cardio.

Good luck! Get it, girl!

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Well, cardio is a guaranteed way to cut fat. Running (in short bursts) will help you to tone your legs at the same time. Incorporate a leg workout (squats, leg/quad/calf/press, hamstring extension, etc.) and you'll build muscle that way, too.

thatbuffedkid · Answer

Oh my god! Oh my god! Y'll still don't get it? Chicks genes are lot different than male genes. Google "weight lifting for women". You are eventually going to do that since guys can lift and be all buffed up while girls just gets toned. So yea you are eventually going to do that if you do gym right. And yea lifting won't make you "Not a lot to be buff like guys".

for legs, Farmer squats, stiffed deadlifts are crucial

for arms, Barbell curls, Pitcher for peaks.

Hans222 · Answer

Go to the gym and do all possible exercises. A nice mix between power training, cycling, running, rowing, stepping, sit-ups etc...
And, very importantly, listen to your body. If you feel pain or if your heart rate shoots upward, decrease the intentity of the effort or take a break.
Give it a few weeks with something like 2 workouts a week and you'll gradually see the result.

danobrn · Answer

Kettlebells.

There is a large variety of exercises that are easy and fully involving, which combines the benefits of lifting and cardio into one workout. They are designed to tone full functional muscles, instead of larger isolated (and relatively useless) muscles.

There are a ton of free full length work out videos on YouTube, and the kettlebell is relatively cheap. Another plus is that its one piece of equipment, easily stored and does not take a lot of space.

p0rtis26 · Answer

It is best to gain the muscle first by doing squats and different strengthening exercises. Also I would advise you to eat small frequent meals. Your resting metabolism will work more efficiently and you will taking in enough calories to gain muscle. Then after you have started gaining some muscle, you switch your workout routine to more of a fat burn..(hence more cardio)

Phoenix98 · Answer

Eat right don't diet just eat heathly foods. And cardio to cut fat and since your a women you should tone for that longer sets more reps and less weight.

SaltandVinegar · Answer

you  can't  cut fat and build muscle at the same time its better to alternate between bulking and cutting phases for the best results.

marth · Answer

Do strength training

Thatguy321 · Answer

High reps l

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