Muscle vs. Fat

Have you ever wondered how long and how intensely you would have to train to turn all that loose body fat into toned muscle? When you stop training, how long will it take before the muscle turns back into fat? Do sit-ups and crunches truly get rid of your belly and leave you with a firm six-pack? Is it possible to lose fat but not bulk up from weight training?

As health educators, myself and our Health & Wellness team at the Y hear questions like this often. In fact, they have been asked so frequently that we’ve recently realized there is a significant lack of knowledge relating to how training truly affects body composition. To be able to answer any of the above questions we need to first understand the different roles of body fat and muscle.

The next series of posts will attempt to shed a little light on the muscle vs. fat debate. But for now, consider this truth: If you want to look slimmer, the key is to build more muscle and to burn more fat! And remember, when it comes to fat loss, exercise is the method that can be most easily manipulated… the more active you are, the more fat that you will burn!