With today’s Advanced Bodyweight Routine, you can burn fat, build muscle, and get a great workout in! All with no gym membership required!
It’s the kind of workout we build through our online coaching program. If you’re in a hurry, sign-up for our free weekly newsletter and we’ll send you PDFs of our “Work Out at Home” guides!
If you’re ready, click the sections below to get right into the action:
Don’t forget to warm up. You can run in place, jump rope, do a few push-ups, pedal on a stationary bike, jog up and down your stairs, etc. Since we are doing advanced movements here, the warm-up becomes even more critical.
If you are following this bodyweight workout plan because you’re trying to get in great shape without needing a gym, download our free-guide: Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll provide an exact plan to follow for growing strong.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
If you don’t have a resistance band, you can do negative pull-ups instead. Jump and hold yourself above the bar, and then slowly, under control, lower yourself to the ‘starting position’ of a pull-up. Then repeat!
This is a great way to build up enough strength to eventually get your first pull-up.
An inverted bodyweight row can be a great “pull” exercise if you can’t do a pull-up yet, or if you don’t have a proper pull-up bar nearby. Because a good sturdy table can be used for inverted rows:
11) INVERTED BODYWEIGHT ROW (UNDERHAND)
12) ASSISTED BODYWEIGHT DIPS
With a resistance band, you can start performing assisted dips. A great exercise while you build up strength for normal dips.
13) BODYWEIGHT DIPS
14) KNEE PUSH-UP
15) ELEVATED PUSH-UP
16) REGULAR PUSH-UP
We have a whole article on how to do a proper push-up, but we also cover it extensively in this 5-minute video:
17) DECLINE PUSH-UPS
18) KNEE PLANK
19) PLANK
20) SIDE PLANK
21) JUMPING JACKS
If you are looking for even MORE bodyweight exercises you can use in your workouts, make sure to check out our mega-resource:
As I said earlier, this whole routine is scalable based on your ability. For example, here is a sample routine for somebody who has conquered the Beginner Bodyweight Workout but can’t do the full routine above:
“HOW OFTEN SHOULD I DO THE ADVANCED BODYWEIGHT WORKOUT?”
Do this routine 2-3 times a week, but never on consecutive days. It’s a message we really strike home in our guide, “How Often Should I Work Out?”
You don’t build muscle when you’re exercising, you build muscle when you’re resting, so try not to do a strength training routine (of the same muscle groups) two days in a row.
If you’re still uneasy about this advanced workout, start with our Beginner Bodyweight Workout instead. You can download a worksheet to get started when you sign-up for our free weekly newsletter:
Grab Your Beginner Bodyweight Routine Worksheet. No Gym Required!
Complete this workout at home, no equipment required
Avoid the common mistakes everybody makes when doing bodyweight exercises
This should help you get started with a really powerful bodyweight training routine. But we hear frequently that people want MORE instruction, MORE guidance, and MORE workouts.
If that’s you, we have MULTIPLE options to take the next step. Pick the option below that best aligns with your goals and timeline:
1) If you want step-by-step guidance, a custom bodyweight training program that levels up as you get stronger, and a coach to keep you accountable, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
2) If you want a daily prompt for doing workouts at home, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Enlist in the Rebellion! We need good people like you in our community, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion.
Sign up in the box below to enlist and get our guide, Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know. It’ll help you start incorporating these advanced bodyweight moves into your training.
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
4) Level Up Your Workout! If you’re looking for more workout routines to follow, I got you covered:
I’d love to hear how this workout was for you.
Leave a comment below with your results or any questions you have on advanced bodyweight training and how else we can help.
For the Rebellion!
-Steve
PS: Where do you go after you’ve crushed the Advanced Bodyweight Workout? Well, have you ever heard of the PLP Progression? There’s really no limit on how challenging that can get.
You’ve come to the right place, because this is what we do!
This guide covers the exact weight gain strategies I’ve used to go from my “before” (on the left above) to reach my “after” (on the right above). Believe it or not, that “before” photo is me after a DECADE of strength training and trying to get bigger.
It’s the stuff in this guide that finally allowed me to actually get results (the after).
It’s also exactly how we help our online coaching clients: nutritional guidance and workout plans that line up with their goals.
Oh, and if you sign up in any of the yellow email boxes throughout, you can download our “Gain Weight and Build Muscle” Shopping List and Cheat Sheet to hang on your fridge!
Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!
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The Nerd Fitness “Get Bigger” Shopping List
Bulk like the Hulk with our rules for getting bigger
Let’s start putting on weight right NOW.
These are the 12 lessons I wish I knew when I started trying to get bigger (click to jump right to that lesson):
“If you’re not gaining weight, you’re not eating enough food.”
It’s science and thermodynamics.
Allow me to explain: depending on your current size and level of activity, your body burns 1200-2500+ calories every day just doing all of its daily processes:
Breathing.
Keeping your heart beating.
Powering your liver, kidneys, and brain.
Powering your movement.
Rebuilding muscle.
And dozens of other things. We burn a lot of calories just keeping the lights turned on.
Here’s the problem: because your body efficiently uses up all of the calories you consume every day, there are no calories left over to build muscle (or get stored as fat).
Note: we have used The Mifflin-St Jeor Equation to create this calculator![1]
Hooray! You now know estimates of your Basal Metabolic Rate (calories you burn existing) and TDEE (calories you burn while moving throughout the day)![2]
So, in order to get bigger, you need to eat ABOVE this TDEE number consistently.
Although there is SOME variation regarding metabolism variability, it’s insignificant when compared to the effect of the more important part of the equation:
We overestimate how many calories we’re eating each day, we don’t account for the calories we burn through movement or exercise, and there aren’t enough calories left over to create a “caloric surplus.”
And without that surplus, we’ll never gain weight or get bigger.
MY STORY: I had been training in a gym for 6 years without gaining size.
It comes down to your personal preference. You might struggle to eat 3000 calories in 3 meals, so having 6 500-calorie meals throughout the day might make you feel less bloated and full.
Your results may vary!
See the next section for tips and tricks on WHAT foods you should eat to gain weight.
If you want somebody to help keep you accountable and help you actually bulk up safely and quickly, we have a pretty great online coaching program that has helped people reach their weight gain goals safely and quickly.
If you want to build muscle, target whole foods that come from high-quality, high-calorie sources whenever possible.
Sure, you could obtain 3500 calories eating Taco Bell, Twinkies, candy, and Mountain Dew. However, this isn’t a good long-term solution to gaining weight and building a good physique (goodbye health).
Trust me, I know. I put on 18 pounds in 30 days by eating meatball subs from Subway, drinking whole milk, eating McDonald’s, and drinking weight gainer shakes.
I certainly wasn’t healthy, and today I’m much more intelligent and knowledgeable about how to bulk up safely.
Consume at least 1-1.5g per pound (2.2-3.3g per kg) of body weight in protein daily.
Consume .25-.4g per pound (.5-.8g per kg) of body weight in fat daily.
Consume the rest of your calorie goals from healthy carbs.
Eat vegetables so that your body can process all the extra food.
If you are not gaining weight, add more carbs and/or fats to your meal.
We’re going to start building a Balanced Plate, like so:
The most important macro we’re going to focus on is protein.[6]. Studies show you’re more likely to put on the right kind of weight with a high-protein diet compared to a low-protein diet.
So that’s where we’ll start.
FOOD PRIORITY #1: PROTEIN
Protein can come from any number of sources, including:
As you can see, you can eat an extra 500 calories of “healthy fats” by eating lots of “heart-healthy” fats like nuts or adding more olive oil to your meals.
PRIORITY #4: VEGETABLES!
Last but not least, you need vegetables in your diet.
If you start to eat a lot more food, your “indoor plumbing” is going to really benefit from eating some high-fiber veggies with each meal:
A serving of veggies is about the size of your fist:
Here’s a quick, non-complete list of veggies that you can choose:
Broccoli
Broccolini
Cauliflower
Spinach
Kale
Spaghetti squash
Brussels sprouts
Zucchini
Cucumber
Carrots
Onion
Asparagus
“BUT STEVE, I REALLY STRUGGLE TO EAT ENOUGH CALORIES FROM WHOLE FOODS EVERY DAY!“
I do as well. It’s why I consume a good portion of liquid calories every day too.
It’s a surefire way to make sure you hit your calorie goals.
As I lay out in our massive Protein Shake Guide, creating high-calorie protein shakes to eat between meals can be the game changer:
Also, download our Skinny Guy Guide which has both lessons and a shopping list you can use to prioritize eating the right high calorie, high-quality foods!
Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!
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Bulk like the Hulk with our rules for getting bigger
If you’re of healthy weight, active, and wish to build muscle, aim for 1 g/lb (2.2 g/kg).
If you’re going to be strength training while getting bigger, intakes up to 1.50 g/lb (3.3 g/kg) may help you minimize fat gain.[13]
Let me simplify it for you:target at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight (2.2 grams per kg).
Provided you’re a healthy individual with a healthy liver, you don’t need to worry about eating too much protein[14] – you should be more concerned with eating too little protein.
Long story short: studies suggest you will not put on the right kind of weight without consuming enough protein!
Okay, so let’s talk portions. Here’s how much protein is in a palm-sized serving of food:
4 oz (113 g) of chicken has around 30 g of protein.
4 oz (113 g) of salmon has 23 g of protein
4 oz (113 g) of steak has 28 g of protein.
EXAMPLE TIME!
Let’s say you weigh 150 pounds (68 kg).
That would mean a day of eating could be:
1 serving of protein with breakfast: protein shake (30g).
2 servings of protein with lunch: 2 chicken breasts (60g).
2 servings of protein with dinner: 2 portions of steak (56g).
Creating a high-calorie protein shake with foods like frozen fruit, oats, milk, and a scoop of protein can be huge.
It’s how I hit my goals every day!
MY STORY: I am currently bulking up, and according to my online coach, I need to eat 3200 calories with 240g of protein on workout days (I weigh 172 pounds).
Target 2 portions of carbs, and 2 portions of fat in your meals.
Remember, our portions look like so:
If you’re not gaining weight, increase those numbers even more.
This is all about math! Not getting bigger = need MOAR food.
What about other foods like pizza, pasta, candy soda? Sure, you can get away with consuming less healthy things ON OCCASION (pizza, subs, etc.) but avoid fueling yourself with ONLY junk food.
If you’re not sure specifically what you should be eating for protein, carbs, and fats, download our “Get Bigger” Shopping List by putting your email in the box below:
Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!
Enter your email below to download now
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Bulk like the Hulk with our rules for getting bigger
My advice: Rather than chasing massive weight gain over a month, you’d be much better off gaining .5-1.5 lbs. (.25-.75 kg) a week, every week, for six months…and keeping the weight on!
So, how do you know if your efforts are working? Simple.
If the scale is moving UP, keep doing what you’re doing.
If the scale is NOT moving: EAT MORE.
If you’re ever unsure if you’ve eaten enough that day, eat more.
Once you start to get a good feel for how many calories you eat each day, try to eat the same meals to keep it easy.
Still convinced you can’t gain weight even after tracking things? Let us help. I too was convinced that it was my “fast metabolism,” until I learned from my personal trainer that I simply wasn’t eating enough.
As we lay out in our “Beginner Strength Workouts” guide, these are the BEST exercises you can do to gain weight:
Get as strong as possible with these exercises while eating enough calories and protein, and you will gain the right kind of weight! It’s how I bulked up correctly:)
Here are some resources to help make heads or tails of the above:
Important point: don’t worry about isolation exercises like triceps extensions, shoulder shrugs, bicep curls, or crunches.
You can certainly do them, but only AFTER you’ve done your heavy lifts for the day!
All of the compound exercises listed here use every muscle in your body, and when you overload your body with calories and protein, those muscles will grow.
Want more workouts to follow? Read through our Strength Training 101 series that will answer all your questions!
Terrified to even step foot into a gym? We understand! Check out our Beginner’s Guide to the Gym article for some basic strategies and workouts.
Want somebody to tell you EXACTLY how to exercise and how to eat? Check out our 1-on-1 Coaching Program.
So how do you progressively overload your muscles?
Lift more weight than last time.
Do more sets or reps than last time.
Wait less time between sets than last time.
Do a more difficult movement or variation.
If you did 3 sets of 5 reps of squats at 95 pounds last week, go for 3 sets of 5 reps at 100 pounds this week!
Did knee push-ups last month?
Great, try to do regular push-ups this month.
Coach Jim breaks down the ins and outs of progressive overload for you in this video:
The trick with progressive overload is to continuously increase the challenge, and the best way to do that is by tracking your workouts!
Write down how you train, so that way you know exactly how to get stronger next time. I use Evernote on my phone, but you can use an old school notebook or whatever floats your boat.
Write down exactly:
And then next time?
Pick up more.
In addition to the protein shakes mentioned back in Rule #3, consider a creatine supplement – it allows your muscles to store more water – which will both help you potentially lift heavier and improve your performance in the gym!
If you don’t want to build your own workout routine, or you’re not sure how and when to scale up your workouts for the best results, let us build a routine for you!
Our coaches will build a workout program for your goals, and every day you can check your coaching app and know exactly what to do:
Muscles are made in the kitchen and while sleeping, NOT in the gym.
When you train, you are essentially ripping apart and breaking down your muscles.
Then, during the next 48 hours, as you are eating a caloric surplus and recovering, your muscles get rebuilt bigger and stronger.
For this reason, never exercise the same muscle before it’s ready.
In other words, try not to exercise the same muscle on two consecutive days.
Here are the best common practices for weight gain: Do a gym workout 3-4 days a week with a day off in between each (while consuming plenty of calories). This is plenty of training to promote muscle growth and weight gain.
Long story short: pick up a heavy weight in the gym 3-4 days a week for an hour.
“Inadequate sleep impairs maximal muscle strength in compound movements when performed without specific interventions designed to increase motivation.”
Think of it this way:
Building muscle is hard work, your body can use all the help (and calories) it can get. Your body is doing nothing but lying there and building muscle while you’re sleeping. [19]
If you are only getting 6 hours or less, you’re not going to get all the benefits of your exercising and diet, and not giving yourself the best chance to gain weight and grow bigger.
We often spend quite a bit of time with our coaching clients working with them on their sleep and environmental habits! From turning off the TV an hour earlier to even becoming a morning person, we build fun missions and challenges for our clients around stuff like this to get results.
Depending on how you currently feel about running, this next sentence will either make you happy or miserable:
“Running might work against your efforts to gain weight and build muscle.”
When you run, your body uses up calories to fuel your runs. This leaves fewer calories left over to build muscle.
Now, nobody will refute the benefits of improved cardiovascular health, nor would I EVER tell you to not do an exercise that you find fun.
In addition, a 2016 study[20] showed that doing endurance training AND strength training actually created larger muscle hypertrophy in untrained subjects than just resistance training alone.
What this means:
If you’re somebody that runs and enjoys it, great!
If you’re trying to get bigger, here’s what I would recommend:
Find a way to increase your food intake, and still know that you might be building muscle slightly slower than if you ONLY did strength training.
Cut back on running until you reach your goal weight/size, and then introduce it back into your routine.
Is your SOLE focus on getting bigger? Do 3 things:
Eat (a lot).
Lift (heavier).
Sleep (a lot).
Interested in giving your heart a workout without steady cardio?:
Want to incorporate cardio the RIGHT way into your life, along with strength training, to start gaining weight?
Our coaching program builds custom programs to help people just like you reach your goals.
With all of this eating, you will probably put on some fat along with your muscle.
That’s okay!
You might even be skinny enough that a bit of extra “cushion” on you is a good thing!
If you are trying to put on MOSTLY muscle and minimal fat gain:
Target at least 1.5g of protein per pound of body weight (3.3g per kg).
Eat a caloric surplus that is 250cal over your current TDEE.
And then fine-tune it from there:
You’re trying to thread the needle of “only build muscle, don’t add fat” which is fairly advanced and challenging.
As this 2017 study points out[21], “Protein overfeeding or the consumption of a high protein diet may not result in a gain in body weight or fat mass despite consuming calories that exceed one’s normal or habitual intake.”
This is incredibly challenging, and you do run the risk of not eating enough to build muscle. In addition, you might build less muscle than had you consumed a larger surplus of calories.
Now, what if you’re “skinny fat?”
What if you have a gut/belly, and thin arms?
IF YOU ARE “SKINNY FAT”:
Then, once you get to a low enough body fat percentage that you can see some abdominal muscle definition, you can get back to bulking up.
It’s important to build a system that sets you up for weight gain success.
It comes down to two things:
Don’t miss workouts.
Don’t miss meals.
So do whatever you need to do to make those things happen!
Here’s my final piece of advice: If you want permanent success, stop thinking in terms of “How fast can I gain weight?” and instead think:
“What can I do today that feels sustainable enough that I can stick with it for a year?”
This is how I get results, and how you can use the tools and tips in this article to get results too. Build small habits that become permanent parts of your life, and the results you’ll get will be permanent too.
Now, if you’re somebody that wants even MORE guidance, and specific instructions to follow, I got you:
1) Our 1-on-1 online coaching program, work with a member of Team Nerd Fitness that gets to know you and your situation. We’ll provide expert guidance and accountability, a custom workout, and regular ongoing support:
2) Exercising at home and need a plan to follow? Check out Nerd Fitness Journey!
Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
3) Sign up for our free email list, the Nerd Fitness Rebellion! Join a few hundred thousand rebels just like you and I’ll send you a bunch of free guides too. I’m nice like that.
Download our free skinny guy’s guide to putting on muscle!
Enter your email below to download now
The Nerd Fitness “Get Bigger” Shopping List
Bulk like the Hulk with our rules for getting bigger
To recap our full article, here are the “12 Rules To Gain Weight Quickly”:
However, as I mentioned in the intro, you’ll often hear that losing fat while gaining muscle is impossible. The argument goes that you should just focus on one or the other, because doing both at once is destined to fail.
There is a simple answer and a slightly less simple answer when it comes to losing body fat.
The simple answer: “consume fewer calories than you expend or burn.”[1]
Eight words, and one or two of those could probably be thrown out.
When your body needs more calories than the amount you are eating, you are in a “caloric deficit.” Your body doesn’t have the calories it needs as fuel, so it’ll start breaking down parts of itself for its energy requirements.
The hope is that your body will mostly pull from fat stores, though depending on how you are training it will also break down muscle too.[2]
Said again: when you are eating a caloric deficit, your body will pull from both its fat stores AND existing muscle for energy.
Troubling indeed.
From a physique and health standpoint, obviously we’d prefer that your body doesn’t break down muscle when in a caloric deficit, and instead really focuses on using fat stores instead.[3]
I make this point for a reason: your goal in fitness shouldn’t only be “weight loss,” despite the common vernacular used.
Who cares what the scale says, right?
The goal instead is to reduce body fat while also keeping the muscle you have (or even building more muscle).
That leads to a better physique and a healthier body.
This is why there is a big market for devices that supposedly assess your body fat percentage.
By reducing the total fat on your body, OR increasing muscle mass, you’ll end up with a lower body fat percentage (it’s just a simple ratio of fat to everything else).
And lower body fat percentages are where “toned arms” and “6-pack abs” hang out.
We’ll discuss tips on keeping and growing your muscle while in a calorie deficit later in this guide. For now, remember you need fewer calories “in” compared to calories “out” for weight loss to occur, from either fat stores or muscle.
You may be asking, “Steve, what’s easier to do? Burn more calories or consume less?”
Good question.
Numbers will help tell the story: though this is a gross oversimplification – let’s use the ‘widely accepted’ starting point of “3,500 calories equals roughly one pound of fat.”[4]
If you want to lose one pound – or half a kilogram – of body fat in a week (a worthy, sustainable goal for some), you need to create a caloric deficit of 500 calories per day.
Your options to create this caloric deficit include:
Consuming 500 fewer calories
Burning 500 more calories
A combination of the two
Which is easier?
Here are both halves of that equation. 500 calories equals:
The number of calories found in a Big Gulp of Mountain Dew.
When it comes to maintaining a caloric deficit, it really comes down to diet.
It’s significantly more effective and time-efficient to consume 500 fewer calories than it is to burn 500 additional calories.
As Time magazine controversially pointed out – with tons of cited studies – “exercise alone won’t make you thin.” It’s too easy to add more calories in, and requires too much work to effectively influence “calories out.”
This brings us to our slightly less simple answer on getting in shape:
To lose body fat, you need to watch what you eat, and do so in a sustainable way.
Here at Nerd Fitness, we are firm believers that 80-90% of the fat-loss equation comes down to diet (check out Rule # 4).
Here’s another idea we focus on: EAT MOSTLY UNPROCESSED FOOD.[5]
Meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts are all great examples.
These foods are very nutrient-dense and often low in calories compared to their processed counterparts. Which means you get filled up without overeating.
Win-win-win.
Have you ever seen the difference between 200 calories of broccoli and 200 calories of a bagel? WiseGEEK does a great job of displaying this, so we’ll borrow a couple of their photos.
200 calories of broccoli:
200 calories of a bagel:
That’s why REAL food is the answer to creating a sustainable caloric deficit.
Most people can eat an entire bagel, no problem. Plates of broccoli, with all of the fiber, are much tougher to overeat.
We lay it all out in our Beginner’s Guide to Healthy Eating. It’ll provide tips on how to gradually create habits that get you to a “REAL food” way of eating, including proper portion sizes, tips on batch cooking, and a cameo from Winnie the Pooh.
With all of this, we advise you to take it slow, so new habits of healthy eating become permanent.
Something you can do for the rest of your life.
It’s a strategy we work closely with our coaching clients on: small nutritional adjustments they feel comfortable making. It’s how some of them have been able to lose 50-100 pounds!
Let me explain again: what you eat will be 80%-90% of the equation for losing body fat.
If you want to build muscle, you’ll have to lift heavy things and ensure that your body has enough calories and protein to adapt by building more muscle.
I will always be on Team Strength Training. If you’re looking to build muscle, you’re gonna need to lift heavy things.
When you lift an object (or your own bodyweight) enough times, your muscles reach the point of failure. This causes your muscles to tear and breakdown.
When your muscle rebuilds itself following the workout, it’ll be bigger and stronger than before. Then you do it again.
And again.
And again.
As long as you are eating enough to rebuild your muscle, you’ll get stronger!
Not sure where to start on a Strength Training practice? No problem! You can download our free guide Strength Training 101: Everything You Need to Know when you join the Rebellion (our free community) below:
Download our comprehensive guide
Everything you need to know about getting strong.
Workout routines for bodyweight AND weight training.
How to find the right gym and train properly in one.
Because your muscle needs to be rebuilt after exercise, the calories are gonna need to come from somewhere. I’ll talk a lot about proper diet in the next section (with a Harry Potter analogy), so I won’t spend too much time on it here.
Just know that eating the right quantity of foods will be a big part of gaining muscle.
#3) Rest
Your body rebuilds itself while you sleep, so make sure you get plenty of rest each night. I’m talking 7-8+ hours. This will help ensure your body has the time it needs to grow stronger.
If you’re strength training and only getting 6 hours of sleep a night or less, you’re really doing yourself a disservice. Go to bed!
That’s the short gist of how to build strength: challenge your muscles, eat well, and get some rest.
Let’s narrow in on our second point, “Eat a diet based on your goals.” It’ll become very important when balancing both losing body fat and gaining muscle.
To do that properly, grab your owl, and let’s chat about Hogwarts.
To answer the question of losing body fat and gaining muscle at the same time, I’d like to introduce an analogy from the world of Harry Potter.
Recall the “Sorting Hat:” The Sorting Hat’s job was to determine which of the four houses kids will call their home.
It’s almost like a traffic director: “Harry, you will go to Gryffindor! Draco, you will go to Slytherin!”
Your body operates on a VERY similar operation: every day it receives new calories (when you eat), and it needs to decide what to do with them!
For example:
You eat a chicken parm sub with fries and a 20-ounce soda. Your body then has to know where to route all those calories.
To keep things simple, it has three choices. It’ll sort those calories into one of three houses:[6]
A. Burn for Fuel
B. Rebuild Muscle
C. Store as Fat
Right now, when you eat food, your body sorts most of those calories into “Burn for Fuel.”
There’s a number of calories your body needs each day just existing: to keep your liver functioning, your heart pumping, your brain operating, to regulate your body temperature, and so on – it burns a good chunk of calories just keeping the lights on.
This is your “Basal Metabolic Rate” which you can calculate for yourself in our TDEE calculator.
There’s also “B. Rebuild as Muscle” and “C. Store as Fat,” which I devoted entire sections to above.
This is where the problems arise: When you overeat calories and your body doesn’t need anymore to fuel itself, it takes those extra calories and stores them as fat.
However, our goal is the OPPOSITE of this.
We want to keep the muscle we have (or grow it) while getting rid of the fat!
So let’s imagine a scenario where we pull all this together by strength training heavy AND reducing our caloric intake:
You strength train regularly, and your muscles break down and need to be rebuilt.
You don’t consume enough calories to both rebuild muscle and fuel itself. There’s not enough to go into the “Burn for Fuel” and “Rebuild Muscle” houses.
Does your body just shut down?
NOPE!
Your body has been preparing for this, by storing any excess calories over the years in the “Store as Fat” house.
This means your body can pull from “Store as Fat” to make sure all the work still gets done, including your daily functions as a human and rebuilding the muscle you tore apart.
Said another way:
If you have fat stores (and we all do), you do not need to be in a “caloric surplus” to rebuild muscle. The calories stored in your fat cells act as this required energy.
There is also evidence that muscle can even be grown while in a caloric deficit.[7]
However, if you want to skip all the experimentation and trial and error, you can have a Nerd Fitness Coach do all the heavy lifting for you (not really, you’ll still need to work out).
You don’t have to follow some predetermined blueprint like “low-carb.” You can create your own diet (which is what I do). Learn all about it right here.
#2) Strength train
If you could sell a pill that could be prescribed to every single person on Earth to make them healthier, it would look something like a strength training routine in a bottle.
It is one of the best things you can do for your body.[9]
And really, if you want to build muscle, you’re gonna need to lift something! Either weights or your own bodyweight.
You need to challenge your muscles in order for them to get stronger. Now, as we discuss in our article on the correct number of reps and sets, there are multiple ways to do so.
To build muscle:
Lift lighter weights for lots of reps.
Lift really heavy with fewer reps.
The important thing: pick a strategy and get started.
To recap: if you train heavy and eat a caloric deficit, your body will pull from its fat stores to both fuel itself and potentially also build muscle. This is a double whammy of AWESOME.
#3) Prioritize protein
Outside of being in a caloric deficit and lifting weights (or yourself), eating enough protein is one of the key components of both losing body fat and building muscle.
Protein is the number one nutrient for creating new tissue.[10]
So when you cut out calories to create a caloric deficit, don’t cut them from protein sources.
Studies have shown that participants can gain muscle, even while in a caloric deficit, as long as they eat enough protein.[11]
It’s important enough that I’ll say it again:
If you don’t want your body cannibalizing its muscles while you are in a caloric deficit, you need to eat plenty of protein.[12]
How much protein?
As we point out in our Guide to Protein, roughly 1 gram for every pound of your weight, with an upper limit of 250 grams.[13] Or two grams for every kilogram if you are on the metric system. This means:
If you weigh 300 pounds (136 kg), eat 250g of protein.
If you weigh 250 pounds (113 kg), eat 250g of protein.
If you weigh 200 pounds (91 kg), eat 200g of protein.
If you weigh 180 pounds (82 kg), eat 180g of protein.
The gist: don’t skip out on protein. It should be on your plate for every meal (we’ll show you exactly how much in the next section).
If these generalized recommendations stress you out, and you want to know exactly what to do, we can help!
I’ll remind you of Nerd Fitness Coaching, where we help clients lose body fat, gain muscle, and level up their lives. We provide tailored and specific recommendations based on your body and lifestyle, plus accountability and mindset changes to help ensure your new habits stick.
A serving of protein is about the size and thickness of your palm.
*The 4 oz serving is for an uncooked piece of meat. Cooking reduces about 25% of the weight, bringing it down to about 3 oz.
If you’re curious, here’s how much protein is in a serving of food:
4 oz (113 g) serving of chicken has around 30 g of protein.
4 oz (113 g) serving of salmon has 23 g of protein
4 oz (113 g) of steak has 28 g of protein.
While all of the Healthy Plate above is important, I want you to pay extra attention to your protein intake since we are trying to build muscle.
If you’re having trouble making your protein intake goals, check out our Guide on Protein Supplements for some tips and tricks to up your intake, including some awesome smoothie recipes.
If you are NOT losing weight, it means you are still eating too many calories. Keep your protein intake high, and reduce your fat and carbohydrate intake.
Eventually, you’ll reach a status where there just isn’t enough fat on you to help with “Rebuild Muscle.” At this stage, you can no longer stay with a caloric deficit. You’ll need to flip to a slight “caloric surplus” to build more muscle.
Which means you’ll have to eat more.
It’s debatable when this will actually occur, and we are all different. Reaching 8% body fat for men and 16% body fat for women is a good place to start.
It covers ways to increase your calories for muscle gain, from eating plentiful amounts of Paleo foods to drinking enough milk to make Santa Claus jealous.
Go check it out if you’ve been having trouble putting on muscle.
I want to stress that if you are lifting heavy, and not gaining muscle, diet is likely the culprit.
It was my problem for years, and I’ve seen it amongst countless readers of Nerd Fitness who have trouble gaining muscle.
If you’re trying to improve something, it’s important to track it. This also holds true of body composition.
Most people do this by jumping on the scale. This can be “okay,” but it’s only going to tell part of the story.
If you’re building muscle while losing fat, the scale might not go down. [15]
Despite weighing the same, you could potentially have an improved physique.
That’s why in addition to jumping on the scale, I would also encourage you to take progress photos.
Take front and side photos in your mirror, wearing underwear or a bathing suit. Each week, take new photos, and record the number on the scale under the same scenario. Two forms of tracking here allow us to get the full picture.
The scale sometimes lies!
If you eat for a caloric deficit, strength train, and prioritize protein, see what happens.
You may find yourself losing some fat and gaining muscle.
If not, track each category:
Data can help tell the story.
…I was thinking of detailed notes.
But an android would be helpful too.
Oftentimes if you’re not seeing desired results, notes and record-keeping can help point us in the direction to make adjustments.
The tips outlined above will get you started losing fat while building muscle, but if you’re looking to go a bit further…
#1) If you want step-by-step guidance on how to lose weight, eat better, and get stronger, check out our killer 1-on-1 coaching program:
#2) If you want an exact blueprint for getting in shape, check out NF Journey. Our fun habit-building app helps you exercise more frequently, eat healthier, and level up your life (literally).
Try your free trial right here:
#3) Enlist in the Rebellion! We have a free email newsletter that we send out twice per week, full of tips and tricks to help you get healthy, get strong, and have fun doing so.
I’ll also send you tons of free guides that you can use to start leveling up your life too:
Download our free weight loss guide
THE NERD FITNESS DIET: 10 Levels to Change Your Life
Follow our 10-level nutrition system at your own pace
What you need to know about weight loss and healthy eating
3 Simple rules we follow every day to stay on target
Alright, I think that about does it for this guide.
Did I miss anything? Do you have any tips and tricks when it comes to shedding body fat and building muscle?
Share it with us!
-Steve,
PS: Make sure you read the rest of the articles in our “How to Lose Weight 101” Series!
Does that mean it’s the best course of action for everyone?
Not necessarily!
For some, they enjoy the relative simplicity of body recomposition tactics and it’s less to mentally think about. They still feel great, look much different than when they started, and are completely content with how everything is going.
For others, switching from weight gain/weight loss phases might be stressful and triggering, especially if they have a checkered history with their nutrition. So while distinct phases of gains and losses may work best in theory, they might not be ideal for everyone.
Choose what’s best for you!
And if you’re looking for a pro to help you navigate through all these questions and situations, check out Nerd Fitness Online Coaching! The team spends all day talking about these sorts of things. That and Super Smash Bros.
