What’s more important; the wheels or the engine?

Could you drive a car without an engine?  How about the wheels?

Even tracks go around wheels of some kind (for you snowmobilers out there).

It takes both to make a car move and they are both equally important.

In the same way there are 2 major things that tell your body to keep and build muscle.  And it’s totally possible (but really hard if you’re an experienced athlete) to add muscle at the same time you are losing fat.  If this is something that sounds good to you, here’s what you need to focus on:

1. Protein – protein is what muscle is made of.  Having lots of it signals to your body to use it.  And it likes using it for muscle.  I personally get around 0.8g per lb of my weight and I have just grown more muscle in the last year than at any time since I turned 25 (10 years ago).  The drawback is that as you eat less (fewer calories), having to eat more protein means there’s even less room for the other stuff.  The good news is that lots of protein helps curb your hunger (so you might not want as much of the other stuff).

2. Exercise – muscles grow when they have to, not because you want them to.  So, if you don’t work them hard, they won’t grow.  But you must be a little more specific than that.  Running a marathon works muscles hard, but marathon runners are tiny.  Aim to do some resistance training every week.  Remember: the number of reps is not as important as the effort that goes into the set.  10 difficult reps are better than 20 easy ones.

This week, try focusing on these 2 things and see how your body transforms.  Cheering for you.

Joseph