i want to remove some fat, should i build muscles first or start burning/

When it comes to reducing fat, it's important to understand the relationship between building muscle and burning fat. Andrew Huberman and Andy Galpin from the Huberman Lab discuss this topic in detail.

1. Exercise and Fat Loss: High-intensity exercise, such as weight training, burns muscle and liver glycogen. After these stores are depleted, any intake of carbohydrates will go to storage, and the body will then utilize fat as a fuel source. Therefore, both building muscle and burning fat can be integrated effectively into a program that includes high-intensity training followed by steady-state cardiovascular exercise 1 2.

2. Balancing Exercise Types: Exercises like skill, speed, and power training don't contribute much to fat loss due to their low total energy expenditure. For optimal fat loss, incorporating hypertrophy (muscle building), muscular endurance, and strength training exercises is recommended 2.

3. Post-Exercise Nutrition: After exercise, consuming protein is crucial to preserving lean mass. Delaying food intake can lead to the loss of lean mass as the body stays in a catabolic state. A small protein intake post-exercise can help maintain lean mass, which is essential for overall metabolism and fat loss 3.

   Fueling Fat Loss

   Andy Galpin

   Understanding fat loss involves recognizing that burning fat and carbohydrates serves different purposes. When engaging in high-intensity exercise, your body can shift its fuel source based on energy expenditure and storage levels. By depleting carbohydrate stores, the body becomes more efficient at utilizing fat for fuel, leading to effective fat loss.

   

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By combining muscle-building exercises with strategies to burn fat, and ensuring proper post-exercise nutrition, you can create an effective routine for reducing fat while building and preserving muscle.

To effectively reduce fat while building muscle, Andrew Huberman recommends a balanced plan that includes both strength training and cardiovascular exercises. Below is a structured weekly plan based on his and Andy Galpin's insights:

Weekly Plan

Strength Training: 3 Sessions

1. Focus Area 1: Legs
2. Focus Area 2: Torso (Chest, Shoulders, Back)
3. Focus Area 3: Smaller Muscle Groups (Biceps, Triceps, Calves)

Aim for 45 to 60 minutes per session, focusing on hypertrophy and strength training. This includes movements with weights, resistance bands, or bodyweight.

Cardio: 3-4 Sessions

1. Low-Intensity (Zone 2) Cardio: 150-200 minutes per week

   • Spread across 3-4 sessions
   • Activities: brisk walking, light jogging, steady-state cycling
   • Maintain a heart rate at 55-70% of your maximum heart rate (where you can still hold a conversation comfortably) 1.

2. High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT): 1-2 Sessions

   • Perform 20 to 30-second all-out efforts (e.g., sprints, cycling) followed by 10-second rest periods.
   • Repeat for 8-12 rounds 2.

3. Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT): 1-2 Sessions

   • Activities like steady running or high-paced cycling for 25-30 minutes
   • Maintain a moderate intensity (40-60% of VO2 max or 55-70% of max heart rate) 3.

     Optimal Fitness Program

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     Discover the key elements of an optimal fitness program, including the recommended amount of cardio and resistance training sessions per week. Andrew shares his personal approach and offers insights on balancing different types of workouts for overall fitness and injury prevention.

     

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Combination & Structure:

• Strength and Cardio Same Day: If incorporating both on the same day, do strength training first, followed by cardio to prevent compromising your strength session's intensity.
• Example Breakdown:
  • Monday: Leg Strength Training
  • Tuesday: Low-Intensity Cardio (Zone 2)
  • Wednesday: Torso Strength Training + Low-Intensity Cardio
  • Thursday: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)
  • Friday: Arm Strength Training
  • Saturday: Low-Intensity Cardio (Zone 2)
  • Sunday: Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT)

Tips

• Stay Consistent: Aim to get 3 strength and 3 cardio sessions each week consistently.
• Recovery: Ensure proper recovery and nutrition to support your workouts 4.
• Fasted Training: Optionally, performing cardio post strength training or in a fasted state can enhance fat burning as it depletes glycogen stores quicker, allowing your body to tap into fat reserves sooner 4.

By following this routine, you can optimize fat loss while building and maintaining muscle.

The primary distinction between low-intensity cardio (Zone 2) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) lies in the intensity and duration:

Low-Intensity Cardio (Zone 2)

• Intensity: 55-70% of your maximum heart rate.
• Duration: Typically longer sessions, 30-60 minutes or more.
• Characteristics: You should be able to hold a conversation without too much difficulty.
• Example Activities: Brisk walking, light jogging, steady-state cycling.

Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT)

• Intensity: 40-60% of VO2 max or equivalent to 55-70% of maximum heart rate, similar to low-intensity cardio, but often with a slight uptick in effort.
• Duration: 20-60 minutes.
• Characteristics: More sustained effort, often referred to as "steady-state" cardio. It's continuous and not broken into intervals.
• Example Activities: Running, cycling, swimming, where the effort remains consistent at a moderate pace 1.

Differences in Effects

• Fat Burning: Low-intensity cardio tends to oxidize a higher percentage of fat during the exercise itself. MICT also burns fat but can vary slightly in intensity making it a tad more strenuous and potentially less comfortable to hold long conversations.
• Recovery and Fat Oxidation Post-Exercise: Both can lead to prolonged calorie burn post-exercise, but high-intensity exercises generally create a more significant increase in metabolism and fat oxidation after the workout 2 3.

  Exercise for Fat Loss

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  Discover the impact of different exercise intensities on fat loss, including high-intensity interval training (HIIT), sprint interval training (SIT), and moderate intensity continuous training (MICT). Explore how the timing of workouts, whether fasted or not, can influence metabolism and hormonal responses. Gain insights into how to effectively structure your workouts to achieve your fitness goals.

  

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Weekly Plan Inclusion

• Cardio #1 (Low-Intensity/Zone 2): Cover longer, less intense activities useful for sustained fat burning and improved cardiovascular fitness without substantial strain.
• Cardio #3 (Moderate-Intensity/MICT): Keeps the effort consistent but balanced and sustainable, perhaps pushing slightly harder than Zone 2 but not reaching high intensity.

These distinctions ensure a balanced approach between easier sustained efforts and moderate challenging activities.

I currently do not have specific data from Huberman Lab on differentiating between low-intensity cardio (Zone 2) and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT). However, based on general distinctions typically discussed in fitness communities and literature:

Low-Intensity Cardio (Zone 2)

• Intensity: Generally stays within 60-70% of your maximum heart rate. It’s a lighter effort.
• Duration: Usually longer, ranging from 45-90 minutes for effective results.
• Characteristics: Allows for conversation without significant breathlessness, focuses on building aerobic base without pushing the limits.

Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT)

• Intensity: Slightly higher, from 70-80% of maximum heart rate.
• Duration: Typically ranges from 20-60 minutes.
• Characteristics: More challenging than Zone 2 but still sustainable over longer periods. It emphasizes a steady, uninterrupted pace that’s slightly more taxing than low-intensity cardio.

If you require further or specific details from Huberman Lab data, I recommend staying tuned for updates or episodes that might delve deeper into this topic.

Andrew Huberman provides insightful details on structuring strength training sessions:

1. Session Duration:

   • Typically, a strength training session might last around 45-90 minutes, though this may vary based on individual goals and specific workout protocols.

2. Number of Exercises:

   • Generally, a well-rounded session includes around 4-6 exercises, targeting both major and minor muscle groups.

3. Sets per Muscle Group:

   • For effective strength gains, using a 3 sets per exercise protocol is beneficial. This is often referred to as the "3 by 5" protocol, which implies 3 sets of 5 repetitions each 1.

4. Sets per Workout:

   • A typical session may involve about 12-18 total sets, depending on the focus and individual capacity for recovery and effort. This helps balance the workload across different muscle groups.

Key aspects of the 3 by 5 protocol include:

• Low Repetition Sets: Performing 3-5 repetitions per set with heavier weight loads to enhance strength without significant muscle soreness or hypertrophy 1.
• Sufficient Recovery: Targeting each major and minor muscle group once per week, allowing ample recovery time between sessions.

This approach aligns well with reducing soreness, improving overall strength, and ensuring adequate recovery for continued progress.

For more detailed guidance and to tailor these principles to your specific needs, consult a fitness professional or refer to the Huberman Lab episodes discussing these strategies.

For an effective warm-up before strength training, Andy Galpin emphasizes a general and specific approach:

1. General Warm-Up:

   • Duration: 5-10 minutes, depending on individual needs.
   • Type: Preferably dynamic movements (e.g., high knees, butt kickers) rather than static stretching.
   • Purpose: Increase systemic and local muscle activation, prepare joints through a full range of motion, and elevate core body temperature 1.

2. Specific Warm-Up:

   • Focus on movements related to the first major exercise of the day.
   • Start with light weights and progress gradually.
   • The goal is movement precision and skill acclimation before lifting heavier weights 2.

Andrew Huberman also notes the importance of progressively adding weight during warm-up sets while keeping repetitions low to prevent fatigue:

• Initial warm-up with light weights: 6-8 repetitions.
• Next, moderately increase the weight: 4-6 repetitions.
• Finally, approach working weights: 2-4 repetitions.

This method ensures muscles and joints are well-prepped for the main lifts without excessive fatigue from high repetition warm-ups 3.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) can indeed be very brief, potentially lasting around 6 minutes or slightly more. Andy Galpin and Andrew Huberman discuss how effective HIIT can involve short, very intense bouts of exercise.

One approach is to engage in 20-60 second all-out efforts, repeated with adequate rest in between, amounting to around 5-6 minutes of actual high-intensity work per week. This type of exercise can yield significant fitness benefits when done correctly and consistently, without requiring long durations 1 2.

An example could be running sprints where you sprint all-out for 20-60 seconds, rest, and then repeat. Doing 5-6 short bouts with full intensity and adequate rest between them could effectively add up to about 6 minutes of intense exercise 1.

Thus, despite its brevity, HIIT can be a powerful and efficient workout method if performed with maximal effort and appropriate recovery times.

You don't necessarily need to limit your Moderate-Intensity Continuous Training (MICT) to 25-30 minutes solely for recovery purposes. It is possible to extend sessions to around 60 minutes if it fits better into your schedule, like on a Sunday, without significantly affecting your overall recovery.

Andrew Huberman discusses how it can be beneficial to do one long 60-minute session or spread out the time across the week. For instance, a single long duration session on the weekend, such as a weight-vested hike, can serve well to build endurance and can be restorative if done at a moderate intensity without pushing into higher heart rate zones 1.

However, it's important to monitor how your body responds. Prolonging sessions beyond 60 minutes consistently may lead to increased cortisol levels, which could impede recovery and performance 2 3. Balancing intensity and duration according to your body's feedback ensures that you maintain the benefits without overtaxing your system.