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LHS, or Lifting Heavy Stuff, is the single best form of exercise for any person interested in improving their health. For years, I was told, and I believed that it was impossible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. The reason for this thinking was a belief in the incorrect calorie hypothesis. If the calorie hypothesis was true, the only way to gain muscle would be to have a calorie surplus, and the only way to lose fat would be to have a calorie deficit. Since math is…math, then it is a logical impossibility to be in a state of both surplus and deficit at the same time.
But since the underlying paradigm is incorrect (we don’t gain muscle by increasing calories), it is very possible to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. All it takes is a little bit of discipline, some heavy stuff, and a pig-headed devotion to the ketogenic lifestyle.
The only way that we put on muscle is to increase the stress on our muscles to the point where they must grow in order to accommodate the stress. Excess calories don’t do that. Lifting very heavy things does that. When you stress your muscles, you break them, and the body builds them back up bigger, so that they can handle the stress. It is important, however, to have enough dietary protein to heal the injured muscle cells. So if you are attempting to gain muscle, you will need to check your protein levels to make sure you getting enough to build the muscle.
(Here’s a hint: Chances are, your protein levels are plenty high).
At the same time, while building muscle, if you are eating correctly (high fat and very low carbs — and any carbs you eat are whole food vegetables), you will burn through your body fat. But you’ll also recover quicker, feel less sore, and increase strength faster.
So what should you do to build muscle? Well, the answer to that question has filled shelves and shelves of books. But I’ll simplify it. Heavy, compound movements.
That simply means using the heaviest weights you can move, and using movements that stress large areas of muscles. So what are some example of compound exercises? Here’s a list:
1. Bench Press
Works: Chest, Triceps, Lats
2. Squat
Works: Quads, hamstrings, Glutes
3. Pull Ups
Works: Lats, Biceps
4. Military Press
Works: Delts, Triceps, Traps
5. Push Ups
Works: Chest, Triceps, Lats
6. Deadlift
Works: Quads, Hamstrings, Forearms, Lower Back, Lats
If you concentrate on those compound movements, and lifting as heavy as you can, you will put on muscle and gain strength.
So there you go. It is absolutely possible to gain muscle while losing fat. It just takes a combination of disciplined exercise of lifting heavy weights and eating a ketogenic diet.