Whether you want to build muscle first and then lose fat, or lose fat first and then build muscle and then shape up, you will find that you can't get away from the fat loss step no matter what, because only by losing your excess body fat will your body shape be more perfect.

If you have higher and further pursuits, then you will definitely take this step of fat loss, but fitness we all know that gaining muscle is much more difficult than losing fat, it is not easy to grow muscle, along with fat loss will definitely lose some of the proceeding.

This time you may have to think: How to maximize the retention of muscle in the process of fat loss? Today we are going to share 4 methods that, if you implement them properly, will allow you to maximize muscle retention during fat loss and diet control.

Before the methods are shared, we need to understand two things first.

1. Fat loss will definitely lose some muscle, the real fat loss process, the loss is never only fat, there will be part of the muscle, this is unavoidable, we can do, only with scientific methods, try to retain muscle, maximum to ensure that the loss of muscle part.

2. The importance of muscle, muscle can give you a good shape as well as provide you with strength, it can also improve your metabolic capacity, because the body in order to maintain muscle, it is to consume much more capacity than fat, if you lose too much muscle during fat loss, then your metabolism will also be reduced, fat loss will also be more difficult, and over time encounter a bottleneck, fat loss can not go down, muscle gain also the first thing you need to do is to get a good idea of what you are doing.

After understanding these two points, we then look at the methods, you will find that these methods and your muscle building period of training gap is not large.

Method one: Strength training can not give up

The growth of muscle itself is through strength training, maintaining is also needed through strength training, may be this strength training requirements than your muscle building period is much lower, after all, fat loss is more for the diet, eat a lot less than muscle building, your state will naturally decline a lot more than the muscle building period.

You are not required to have the same standard of strength training as you did during the bulking period, you can reduce the weight appropriately and do your training at 60-70% of your maximum weight to ensure muscle vitality in order to minimize muscle loss.

Method 2: With high intensity interval cardio

There are many options for cardio during fat loss, such as traditional cardio, running, cycling, elliptical, etc. Another type of cardio is high intensity interval cardio.

My advice is to combine these two types of cardio with some strength training. Intense interval cardio is not that it can burn more fat, but that part of the cardio process is strength training, such as: Push-ups in the process of open and closed jumps, squats in the deep squat jumps, frog jumps, etc. These movements can work the muscles, and the cardio process is better to retain the muscles.

The difference between traditional cardio and high intensity interval cardio for muscle retention, a group of people doing 10-15 minutes of high intensity interval training and a group doing 40 minutes of traditional cardio, both reduce body fat, but high intensity interval training retains more muscle.

One of the reasons for this is because of the strength muscle fibres in our bodies, the fast muscle fibres and the slow muscle fibres.

Fast muscle fibres, are explosive but lack endurance and fatigue quickly, but most of our muscle growth comes from fast muscle fibres, which give us greater girth and are more easily lost.

Slow muscle fibres, on the other hand, are more enduring, less fatiguing and it is harder to deplete or lose them.

You can observe long distance runners, generally speaking, they have more muscle in their bodies from the retention of slow muscle fibres, while high intensity interval training retains the maximum amount of fast muscle fibres. Secondly, the training method for sprinting is, to a certain extent, high intensity interval training.

So i recommend that you do traditional cardio and high intensity interval training together, in addition to some strength training, the frequency can be twice a week strength training, two cardio training, two high intensity interval training, the rest of the day off.

The third method: Appropriate lower carbohydrate intake, increase protein intake

The process of fat loss is the main way to reduce our calorie intake, after all, carbohydrates are more common in our daily staple foods such as rice, steamed buns, noodles, various cereals, potatoes, etc.

Carbohydrates are more easily absorbed and consumed by our bodies for energy use. Protein, although it also provides some of the energy for the body, is less likely to be consumed and makes us feel fuller.

Our muscle growth is derived from protein synthesis, so we need to increase our protein intake where appropriate, in addition to lowering our carb intake with the aim of creating a better calorie gap.

Fat loss in one sentence, eat more meat, drink more water, eat more vegetables, and choose more carbohydrates for miscellaneous food.

Also regarding protein intake we have to choose according to each individual.

If you are new to fat loss and are an obese person with very little muscle mass, then a daily protein intake of 0.8-1g/kg of body weight is more appropriate.

If you have fitness experience, have been working out regularly for more than 1 year, have a certain amount of muscle mass in your body, and your body fat is not too high or too low at around 20%, then the recommended daily protein intake is 1.2-1.8g/kg body weight.

If you are training at a high level and doing a lot of strength training each day then the recommended protein intake is 2g/kg body weight.

Generally speaking more people are fine with the second gear. Common sources of protein: Beef, chicken, fish and prawns, milk and eggs, lean pork etc.

Method 4: Make sure you get enough sleep and refuse to stay up late

Sleep is also important for fat loss, for muscle growth, and for retaining muscle. We practice desperately and choose to eat in order to have more muscle, less fat, and a better looking body, and the barrier to this last step is our sleep.

I'm sure it goes without saying that the effect of sleep on muscle gain is that muscle grows in the process of recovery, and sleep is the best means of recovery.

The effect of sleep on fat loss, on the other hand, is that when you don't get enough sleep it affects the production of hormones in your body and can make you more prone to hunger, as well as being in a poor mental state, more cranky and more likely to overeat.

In short ensure that you sleep well, whether for muscle gain or fat loss, or for your state of mind, sleep well and refuse to stay up late.

Fat loss maximum muscle retention, one is strength training don't; two is with high intensity interval training with traditional cardio; three is to improve protein intake; four is to ensure the quality of sleep.

In the end you'll find that whether you gain muscle or lose fat it's actually forcing you to maintain healthy habits!