Do the off season the right way.

In this game of bodybuilding it’s pretty apparent that the goal is to gain some quality muscle while at the same time shedding the unwanted fat from your body. There’s no point in training hard, gaining muscle and making all that progress only to see it go to waste with a layer of fat over all your gains. The ability to gain muscle and lose fat is what makes professional bodybuilders so special. Your everyday amateur is capable of doing the same thing. No matter how hard a person may workout in the gym, at the end of the day if your diet looks like crap then guess what? You’re going to look like crap too.

So what is the most effective way to gain muscle and lose fat? There are so many different methods out there that will have your head spinning as to which one should be considered. A great deal of people subscribe to the low carb ketogenic diet as their method. Many bodybuilders have a more balanced approach when it comes to their diets however. Usually referred to as the traditional diet, these bodybuilders have their macronutrient levels on the 40:30:30 scale (40% carbs, 30% fats, 30% protein).

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The traditional method is great for building lean body mass and promotes muscle growth. But that’s not the whole story. Though the traditional diet is great for gains, when it comes to lowering your body fat percentage it potentially won’t do all that much. This is where the ketogenic diet can work wonders. The low carb diet that promotes more of a healthy fat and protein approach has been proven to be the way to go for losing body fat.

Confused as to what strategy to try? Then follow these tips to help you in your journey to shred and add huge muscle growth.

First Thing’s First

If you should start anywhere when it comes to body recomposition then you should definitely begin with the traditional diet first. Gaining muscle is key to having that shredded look so it should be your first course of action. Once you’ve built up an adequate amount of muscle then it’ll be time to shed that fat. Fat burners are great supplements to aid in fat loss and are both natural and safe to keep you shedding in the short term and maintaining in the long term. The benefits of a good fat burner include sharp mental focus, faster recovery, and a healthy dose of hormones to keep your body running at peak capacity.

Adding high amounts of protein to your diet is a great way to pump you full of nutrients and see those gains flowing. Consider either a whey isolate or whey concentrate depending on your exact goals. Whey concentrate will provide for some added bulk, while whey isolate will allow you to pack on lean muscle with a fewer amount of fat and carbs.

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Switch It Up

You’ve built up some quality muscle and strength while on the traditional diet coupled with your usual resistance training. Now that you’ve got some lean muscle mass on your frame, it’s time to change up your diet a bit and switch over to the ketogenic, low carb diet. While continuing your resistance training and eating high quality protein and fats, you should begin to see the fat melt off your body revealing all the muscle you’ve gained while on the traditional diet plan. This is where a whey isolate is perfect because it filters out the carbs leaving you full of protein.

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Maintenance

Once you’ve gotten your body fat percentage down to a lower yet still comfortable and healthy state, you’ll want to try your best to maintain it. The best way to go about this is to steadily increase the carbs back into your diet, though you shouldn’t go too overboard, particularly if you’re simply trying to maintain your current state. However if you wish to make more muscle gains then you’ll likely find yourself heading back down the road of the traditional dieting plan. As your muscles start to show and that fat becomes less and less, you will have increased confidence in knowing your hard work is paying off.

With this increased confidence, you will surely not regress with your goals. Knowing how hard you’ve worked to get there should be enough to keep you maintaining a solid weight. From there, your muscle growth will improve and you will look and feel phenomenal.

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Know Your Body

The most important thing of all to keep in mind while you’re experimenting with your diet is to always monitor what works best with your body. Everyone is different and depending on how your body reacts to these differing diet plans, you may want to remain more on the traditional or ketogenic sides of the equation. Once you’ve discovered which diet type works best for you, then stick to it while being sure to adhere to tweaks to the diet from time to time.

You know your body best and if there are foods that work better for your overall health and state of mind, then keep those in. If you know of some that hurt your progress, then don’t be afraid to totally cut them out. With so many options on the market today, the choices are endless to find variations and additional foods to make great meals for yourself. Don’t be afraid to try and fail, but listen to your body because it will tell you what it needs.

Trying to gain muscle or lose fat? Let us know in the comments and forums. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook and Twitter.

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