  Welcome, ladies! Today, we're diving deep into a common obstacle many women face on their weight loss journey: being under muscled. You might be diligent with your diet, logging hours on the treadmill, yet still struggle to shed those stubborn pounds. Here's the scoop: it's time to shift our focus from just losing weight to building muscle. Let's explore why your muscle mass matters and how it impacts your weight loss goals.
Understanding the Problem: So, what exactly does it mean to be "under muscled"? In simple terms, it's having inadequate muscle mass relative to your body composition. As we age, especially between the ages of 30-50, our muscle mass naturally declines due to factors like hormonal changes, decreased activity levels, and even dietary habits. This decline in muscle mass not only affects our strength and mobility but also plays a crucial role in our ability to lose weight effectively. The Muscle-Fat Connection: Here's the kicker: muscle is a metabolically active tissue, meaning it burns calories even at rest. The more muscle mass you have, the higher your basal metabolic rate (BMR), which translates to more calories burned throughout the day. On the flip side, excess fat tissue does little in terms of calorie expenditure. So, if you're carrying more fat than muscle, your body becomes less efficient at burning calories, making weight loss an uphill battle. The Benefits of Building Muscle: 1. Increased Metabolism: By building muscle through resistance training, you can rev up your metabolism, making it easier to create the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss. 2. Improved Body Composition: Building muscle while losing fat leads to a leaner, more toned physique, rather than simply becoming smaller in size. 3. Enhanced Strength and Functionality: Strong muscles not only support you during workouts but also in daily activities, promoting better posture, balance, and overall vitality. How to Build Muscle and Lose Weight: 1. Strength Training: Incorporate resistance training exercises into your routine at least 2-3 times per week. Focus on compound movements like squats, deadlifts, lunges, and rows to target multiple muscle groups simultaneously. 2. Progressive Overload: Continuously challenge your muscles by gradually increasing the weight, reps, or intensity of your workouts over time. This stimulates muscle growth and prevents plateaus. 3. Balanced Nutrition: Ensure you're consuming enough protein to support muscle repair and growth, while also maintaining a slight calorie deficit to facilitate fat loss. Opt for nutrient-dense foods like lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes, and plenty of fruits and vegetables. 4. Rest and Recovery: Don't overlook the importance of rest days and quality sleep. Muscles need time to repair and grow, so prioritize recovery to avoid burnout and injury. Conclusion: Ladies, if you've been struggling to lose weight despite your best efforts, it's time to shift your focus to building muscle. Remember, it's not just about the number on the scale, but rather achieving a healthy balance of muscle and fat for long-term success. By incorporating strength training into your routine and prioritizing muscle growth, you'll not only transform your physique but also supercharge your metabolism and reclaim your confidence. Here's to becoming strong, empowered women who can conquer any challenge that comes our way! So, are you ready to say goodbye to being under muscled and hello to a stronger, leaner you? Let's do this together! Coach Kayli
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 By: Coach Kayli
In this blog I'm gonna breakdown the basics of losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time, aka "body recomposition." Today, I'll teach you what it is, how it's possible, and who it works best for. I wanna keep this jam packed with high value and minimal fluff, so let's jump right into it. ↓ To cut or to bulk... why not both? Fitness experts call body recomp the "holy grail" of getting in-shape because it's the goal everyone is chasing. Even after reading this, you're probably thinking, "this is what I thought I've always been doing?" And you likely have, to an extent, but not nearly as optimized as you could. Which, unfortunately, is probably causing you to "spin your wheels" with progress. This may sound harsh, but if you look roughly the same or worse as you did ~3-6 months ago, you're spinning your wheels. It's OK, though! Everyone goes through this period and has to learn the hard way. You need to be more intentional with your goals, and that's what I'm here for. If you're more serious/experienced, you are likely either cutting (prioritizing fat loss) or bulking (prioritizing muscle gain), and alternating cycles between each. E.g., cutting for summer, then bulking during winter. This strategy works, but is outdated for "normal folks" and more suitable for more advanced trainees, like elite level bodybuilders or athletes. They workout almost daily, and have entire years mapped out with their diet and exercise, periodized down to the week. For them, this is necessary, and they wouldn't respond well to trying to do both at the same time. If this is you, hey, keep at it! If not, you're likely in one of two camps:
Both are leaving SO much progress on the table, working harder than necessary for worse results. Again, don't get down ⏤ I've been there and most other people are in the same boat without realizing. The good news is that you're now aware of it. The better news is that you can disrupt old patterns and unlock tons of unrealized gains. Here's why that's possible if you do it correctly... Your 2 body composition "bank accounts": muscle tissue and fat tissue Many people incorrectly assume that "fat can be turned into muscle" or vice versa. That's not how it works. Muscle tissue and fat tissue are two separate systems. So imagine each as a separate bank account. (H/t Jeff Nippard for this.) We can withdraw money from the fat bank account by using a "smart" calorie deficit, i.e., not too big or too small of a deficit. While simultaneously depositing money into the muscle building account through intelligent strength training and eating enough protein at the right times. You can guarantee this outcome more by optimizing things like nutrient timing around workouts, stress management, supplements, and sleep. To be clear, this is more difficult. It requires a precise approach built for you and your body, plus weekly consistency and ongoing adjustments. But it is possible, and the payoff is huge. (See what I did there?) Oh, and if you want to review the science to back this up and double check me, see HERE, HERE, and HERE. Is the body recomposition approach right for you? There are about four different types of people who will benefit the most from this approach.
And if you overlap between two or more of those, that means you're an excellent candidate for this. Two additional types of people who I've successfully coached using these methods are people who would identify as "skinny fat" or people who have hit a plateau and can't seem to bust past it no matter what they try. If any of these feel like you, body recomp is definitely worth trying out. Ok, I'm going to cut it here. Now you know what body recomposition is, how it's possible, and who it's for. Join us Here in our private FB community to catch the key components of a successful recomp. You won't want to miss it. Talk to you then. -Kayli P.S. Any questions? Just comment below. |
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