Weight Loss: Exercising to Build Muscle and Lose Fat

Exercising to build muscle and lose weight is not something that should be rushed. I am fully aware that everyone wants to reach their goals in the shortest time possible, but the simple reality is that there are no short cuts when it comes to building muscle. It requires a lot of work and a lot of effort. I want that reality to be firmly ingrained in your mind before we continue with this discussion. Now that I’ve made it clear that it takes hard work to do this, I’m going to explain how to build that muscle in the shortest time possible.

There are certainly no shortcuts to building an amazing body. However, there are definitely exercise routines that are more efficient than others. It is one of these highly efficient training plans that you want to stick to. The main thing you want to look for in any exercise routine you choose is that it incorporates the concept of muscle confusion into your regimen in some way. It is through muscle confusion that you will be able to build muscle at a breakneck pace. The idea behind muscle confusion is that as we do the same type of “work” over and over again, our bodies get used to it and can adjust in such a way that that type of “work” becomes easier. Our ability to make exercises easier the more we do them ultimately degrades the effectiveness of that training.

So how do we stop this fitness routine degradation? Always changing our routines, of course!

Ideally, you shouldn’t do the exact same set of exercises for more than 1 or 2 weeks in a row before switching them. You know the old saying that “variety is the spice of life”? Well, that saying holds true for exercise, too. I realize it may be difficult for you to sit down and discover a new muscle-building routine every couple of weeks, but you really don’t have to.

To get the full effect of the muscle confusion concept, all you really need to do is write up 4 separate exercise routines and walk through them. As long as you give your body a good break from a specific set of exercises, you can always get back to it without risking the degradation I mentioned earlier. Now, when you’re actually doing your exercises, you’ll want to train to the point of muscle failure. Basically, that’s the point where you can’t do one more rep of a given exercise. You’ll also want to integrate cardio directly into your strength training program instead of having it completely separate. This saves a lot of time and will make committing to an exercise plan much easier.