Let's just say, I'm sick of questions about weight. A pound of fat = a pound of muscle, but muscle is actually bulkier, denser than fat. It is enough to search the Internet for a picture comparing 500g of fat and muscle. The difference will impress you.

You have probably noticed how different girls of the same age, height and weight look. Here I am posting a girl with a height of 164 cm, weight 60 kg, and in the comments “hoaaa? Why do I weigh the same but look completely different? Or I post a girl who lost weight from 73 to 63, and they write to me “why can’t you see a difference of 10 kg?” But because the latter can have muscle mass with a gulkin nose, as well as the difference in the ratio of muscles and fat among the first commentators.

All you need to remember is the general numbers that you can apply to yourself. Of course, they were not invented by me. In the first year of weight training, a woman can grow about 4-5 kg ​​of muscle mass (all this must be done regularly and monitored by analyzing body composition). Second year regular classes this is only 2.2-2.7 kg of muscle mass per year. In the third year, even less: 1-1.5 kg of muscle. And if you have a huge training experience plus 4 years in the gym, you have an inevitable "plateau" compared to the potential of a beginner - 400-700g of muscle per year.

Muscle mass requires dedication, regularity and good recovery. It's easier not to even start if you're not capable of regularity. No steroids will help if you are malnourished, sleep deprived and train once every 2 weeks. If you are used to starving and losing weight forever, if for you beautiful body- thin in a dress, and not undressed on the beach elastic and smooth, then I have bad news for you - you will not succeed. If you are ready to change, accumulate fat along with muscles, gain gradually and not masturbate the trainer with questions “why haven’t I changed in 3 months”, then you have a chance.

There is another nuance in the mass collection. It concerns just a plateau or slow growth with experience. The point is that our body is not rubber, and it also has a limit. Genetic potential, blah blah blah, unlimited possibilities, sung by NIKE, but the body gets tired. If you push yourself through cycles of bulking and cutting for years, your body will probably give up. Stupid people with a deformed psyche will resort to farming to constantly sell assholes with rubber band, smarter people will support what is, but there are subtleties there too.

In short, to recap: building muscle is hard work. If you cannot train regularly, have problems with sleep, food, are not psychologically ready to gain muscle and fat (which is inevitable), then mass is not for you.

If you do not understand why 2 girls of the same age, height, weight look different, reread the first paragraph. Once again: the ratio of water, muscle and fat they can be different. You can learn everything about yourself by doing a body composition analysis. The only way. Therefore, do not pay attention to weight, if it is not 80-100kg, of course.

The Internet is full of pictures of the visual comparison of fat and muscle. The essence of the pictures is that fat and muscles of the same mass have a completely different volume, that is, muscles are heavier than fat. For example, this picture is very popular:

This photo is far from the truth, since the density of fat in human body averages 0.9 g/cm
muscle density - 1.3 g / cm. The difference, of course, is significant, but not by so much, but approximately by how much:

But still impressive, isn't it? If we consider the question "heavier muscle or fat?" in terms of cellular structure, it can be clearly answered that muscles are heavier because their cells have a higher density compared to fat cells. It turns out that fat is much more voluminous than muscle, and lighter. And two people of the same height and weight can be of different sizes. That is why weight without indicators of volumes and calculation of the percentage of fat mass is not a confirmation of the aesthetic beauty of both men and women.

Bodybuilders weigh by muscle mass, and they have their own aesthetic beauty. A man with excess body fat and with the same weight has no aesthetic beauty.

The same applies to women who love to flaunt their low numbers on the scale. Women of short stature and with minimal muscle mass especially like to show their weight advantage, weighing very little to the surprise of everyone else. Remember, the numbers on the scales are not an indicator. The numbers are this:

Did you see the difference? The body weight may be the same, but the composition is different. A high-quality and aesthetically beautiful composition is beautifully defined muscles and a thin layer subcutaneous fat. And just a number on the scales is not beauty, it's just a number.

There is also such a moment when, after a series of weight gains and losses, the numbers on the scale seem to be stable, but the body composition is no longer the same as before:

I explain how this redistribution of fat and muscle and the change in body composition occurs. During a hunger strike, that is, another low-calorie diet, the body begins to first of all self-destruct muscle tissue. Since it is muscles that burn calories. By destroying muscles, the body insures itself against hunger strike. Less muscle means fewer calories required. After restoring excess nutrition and returning to the original weight, the body intensively accumulates fat. Therefore, visually the body becomes larger due to a decrease in the amount of muscle and an increase in the percentage of fat.

Unfortunately, the body itself destroyed the muscles, and it will not build them up on its own. Increase only exercises with large free weights. No walks on fresh air and running will not give muscle gains. And it is also quite naive to think of the female half of the population that exercising with free weights will instantly turn them into athletes with hypertrophied muscles. To do this, you must systematically expose your body to huge loads and use appropriate stimulating supplements, since the female body is generally not inclined to build muscle. And hypertrophy also requires medical stimulation. But to aesthetically tighten the body and slightly increase the muscular frame - this is quite within the power of absolutely any young lady.

And you more muscle or fat? Tell!

It often happens that a well-fed person weighs one hundred kilograms and a bodybuilder - fit and pumped up - also weighs one hundred kilograms. At the same time, the first man does not look very aesthetically pleasing with a hanging belly, and the second one looks beautiful. These people have the same weight, but the shape is different. The mystery lies in the fact that fat and muscle do not weigh the same.

What a beginner needs to know before starting to lose weight

Before starting to lose weight, a beginner should know that it is impossible to overtake fat into muscles. This means that if a person is full, then starting to engage in gym, it will not achieve the effect of muscle accumulation and fat breakdown.

In other words, in order to remove adipose tissue, you need to use one process, and in order to build muscle, another.

If the task is to lose weight and pump up, it will not work at the same time. It is impossible to overtake one cell into another, as some people think. First you need to lose weight by dropping excess weight and only then build muscle.

Wraps, massages, rubbing will not help to lose fat mass. Fat from triglycerides, in which it is contained in the body, will be broken down into fatty acids and glycerol will enter the bloodstream. But if you do not use it, for example, do not give physical activity or do not reduce calorie intake, these cells will again return to their original place, accumulating on the sides. They can also settle as plaques on the vessels in the form of cholesterol.

Eating right is very important

Get rid of excess fat You can only do it if you eat right. This is what a beginner who has decided to say goodbye to extra pounds should know. To do this, you can go in for sports, run, jump, swim, that is, give cardio loads, but only slowly and for more than an hour at a time. You should train every other day. This will be enough, but if obesity problems are serious, then it is better to do it every day.

Having lost the hated kilograms, you can move on to gaining muscle mass. Then, perhaps, the kilograms will return, but the human body will look many times more beautiful. It will become slim and fit.

To lose fat and gain muscle, you need to eat differently. In the first case, the amount of carbohydrates should be reduced to a minimum or abandoned altogether for a while. In the second case, a limited amount of carbohydrates should be eaten in the first half of the day, and protein intake should be increased in the afternoon. The common thing is that you need to eat little and fractionally.

Important! Only knowing what 1 kg of fat and 1 kg of muscle looks like, you can build up the former and fight the latter.

Human Fat Density vs. Muscle Density

Muscle has a higher density than fat. It turns out that a greater density occupies a smaller volume of the same weight than a lower density, and a person who has a lot muscle tissue, looks slimmer and prettier. And this despite the fact that their weight will be the same.

Important! It is wrong to think that a woman weighing 60 kilograms, living without sports and with overweight, will look thicker than inflated.

It is proved that the fat density is 0.9 and the muscle density is 1.06 grams per cubic centimeter. It turns out that the difference between them is small. It is only 15 percent and it is difficult to visually notice the difference. That is, both girls weighing 60 kilograms - one fat, the other inflated - will look about the same. The only difference is that one of them has a visible muscle relief.

Important! It is easier for a person who has a lot of muscle to lose weight.

It is possible to understand the correctness of the fact that the value of fat density and muscle density is not much different, thanks to the experiment. You need to take meat and lard, which look the same in volume, and if you weigh them, it turns out that the meat has a weight of 99 grams, and the lard is only 98.

It is easier for a person who has a lot of muscle to lose weight

The following conclusions are suggested:

• It is not true that fat takes up ten times more space than muscle.
• Muscles grow unevenly during training. For the most part, where work is being done on them. Adipose tissue is located evenly in particularly vulnerable places. In men in the abdomen, in women on the buttocks, thighs, abdomen.

What is heavier fat or muscle mass: comparing a kilogram of fat and a kilogram of muscle

It is wrong to think that in terms of volume, kg of fat and kg of muscle are very different. In fact, the figures are about the same. As evidence, they compare fat with meat - a kilogram of the first looks much more voluminous than the same kilogram of the second. In fact, their density is slightly different, so meat weighs more than lard by about one and a half times.

Important! If a person began to train, and the arrow of the scale suddenly froze, this does not mean that he has stopped losing weight, the muscles just grow.

So which is heavier fat or muscle? Of course, muscles! During training, they grow, but the weight remains, although body volumes decrease. If you do not play sports, then with age the figure will deteriorate, because in youth there is always more muscle tissue than fat. In adulthood, getting rid of excess fat is a difficult question, because fat cells do not degenerate into muscle cells.

Heavier muscle

Tips from experienced trainers and nutritionists on building muscle and removing excess fat from the body

In order to gain muscle mass, you need not only to go on a diet, but also to go in for sports. Change in the body occurs only due to regular workouts and accurate calorie counting.

Experienced trainers give advice on how to gain muscle mass:

• For starters, you should pay attention to how muscles grow. Protein is synthesized and broken down in them every day. If the process is balanced, muscle mass is not lost, except in cases of aging. For muscle growth, the predominance of synthesis over decay is necessary.
• To maintain and increase muscle is required good exchange substances that require energy. The process of muscle training is also important. When power is performed static exercises, muscle cells are torn, so immediate protein synthesis is required to repair them. Moreover, the body tries to create more muscles and make them stronger and more resilient so that they do not tear.

Important! The load should increase and become more intense, which will speed up the metabolism.

It is difficult to build a beautiful body with one workout. Necessary proper nutrition, which is dominated by protein, as well as enough calories to have energy for metabolism.

• You don't have to go on a diet.
• You need to eat carbohydrates, other foods.
• Do not eat strictly specified portions.
• There is no need to manipulate hormones.

Get rid of extra pounds is possible only by consuming fewer carbohydrates, but while maintaining the amount of protein, so as not to lose muscle.

An excess amount of adipose tissue in the body of any person not only makes his figure unaesthetic, but also threatens with dangerous diseases. Our today's article is not about this, but about the ratio of muscle mass and fat. You have probably heard the statement that muscle is heavier than fat. This is true, but there is not such a huge difference between the volumes of fat and muscles, as is usually shown in photographs and pictures.

So, we will help you to thoroughly understand what is heavier - muscles or fat, we will analyze specific numbers and tell you how the bulk fat mass is replaced by heavier muscles.

General information about fat and muscle mass

Overweight people who start exercising in order to lose weight sometimes get upset looking at the numbers on the scales. At the same time, they do not understand why the body weight remains the same, but the figure becomes slimmer? Everything is explained very simply. Heavy power training and cardio to burn fat burn calories, and with it comes an increase in muscle mass. At first, for beginners who go in for sports, muscles grow quite quickly due to the implementation of new physical exercises.

It turns out that muscle tissue grows, and the percentage of fat decreases, but at the same time, the arrow of the scales stands still or even shifts upwards. This is due to the fact that a kilogram of muscle is not as voluminous as a similar amount of fat. When exercising regularly, it is better to weigh yourself not daily, but once every 2-4 weeks, but in any case, weight should not be the main criterion for evaluating results. Take body measurements once a month and focus on them, and also look at your reflection in the mirror.

Slowly but surely, fat loss and muscle growth will occur, and the body will be transformed. Muscle is definitely heavier than fat, so two people of the same height and weight can look different if one plays sports and has a good physical form and the other has a lot of extra fat.

Why is muscle heavier than fat?

How much heavier muscle is than fat can be determined by their density. On the Internet, there are pictures that clearly demonstrate how many times muscle tissue is heavier than fat. Usually this difference is amazing - a kilogram of fat is 4-5 times more voluminous than the same amount of muscle. In fact, everything is greatly exaggerated.

Muscle tissue does weigh more than fat tissue, but not at times. How much muscle is heavier than fat becomes clear in numbers:

• muscle density - 1.3 g per centimeter;
• the density of fat in the human body is about 0.9 g per centimeter.

Accordingly, fat weighs less than muscle by about one and a half times. The difference is noticeable, but not as significant as many people think. So it turns out that if you started training, and the mass according to the weights stands still, maybe you are just building muscle while burning calories. At the same time, body volumes hardly change or even decrease.

Due to the fact that muscles weigh more than fat, women and men lose their figures over the years if they do not play sports. The fact is that the body weight of 45-50 years old can be the same as in 20-25 years old, but the complexion will be radically different. In youth, muscles predominate, and over the years, adipose tissue begins to grow, and it is always more difficult for mature people to burn fat.

Many are mistaken that proper workouts allow you to turn fat into muscle. This is a gross mistake. The fact is that fat and muscle are built in the body according to completely different principles. When playing sports, the level of fat gradually decreases, and the muscles grow - these are two separate physiological processes, since the tissues have a different structure and structure.

How are fat and muscle redistributed?

To the question of how much muscle is heavier than fat in the human body, we answered you in detail, but for the sake of completeness, we will understand the redistribution of these tissues in the body. It is impossible to say exactly how much muscle and fat should be in the body of a man or woman. Each body contains an amount of water, people have different lifestyles and metabolisms. Anyway, thick body fat not needed, but a lack of fat is harmful. Moreover, a low percentage of body fat for women is especially dangerous.

The mistake is made by people who go on low-calorie mono-diets without playing sports. The body begins to destroy the muscles on its own, since it is the muscles that consume calories. It turns out that the smaller the muscles, the fewer calories are needed for their work. When the diet is over, the body will return to its original weight, but for this will be accumulated body fat and not muscles. Muscles simply cannot grow without exercise.

Since fat weighs less than muscle tissue, after some time after the diet, you may notice the opposite effect: the body will become fatter, and the figure will become even less attractive! Hiking and even jogging in the park will not improve the situation, since the body needs muscles to burn fat. Only proper strength training allows you to pump them up.

Body size largely depends on the percentage of fat in it.

The higher it is, the greater the threat to health with excess weight.

When you measure your body fat at a club or at the doctor's, the meter will show you the percentage of fat, water, and muscle. Together they make up 100%.

While the water content in the body remains virtually unchanged, the variables are the content of fat and muscle.

The more muscle mass you have, the less fat you have (and vice versa).

Which is heavier fat or muscle?

The specific gravity of muscle tissue is three times higher than that of adipose tissue.

The ideal body fat percentage is

Why does the body need fat?

If the percentage of fat is lower, it is not always good for health. Fat is necessary for the body, it protects internal organs, such as kidneys, and keeps you warm in cold weather.

Turn fat into muscle?

You can't turn fat into muscle. Because you can burn fat and build muscle. It is foolish to believe that one goes into another!

If you decide to reduce your weight and do strength exercises, the percentage of body fat decreases, and muscle mass increases. This is good because:

is increasing physical strength

Energy is added

Increases metabolism

Improves muscle configuration

Cellulite is reduced

The figure becomes better (in men, the muscles become more distinct; in women, the outlines become smoother)

Weight increases

Reduced risk of diseases associated with being overweight or obese

A large percentage of body fat is harmful. It leads to the following:

Increased risk of diabetes or other diseases associated with being overweight or obese

Decreased energy

Metabolism slows down, obesity

The body becomes lethargic

For determining desired size can not be used as an indicator of the percentage of fat content.

Eg, Katya's body fat percentage was 19%. She wore clothes size 46. But the waist of this woman was too wide, and the muscles were so large that the clothes did not fit well. The jeans didn't fit on her. She had an ideal body fat percentage, but she wanted to wear a smaller size. She was advised to change her diet.

Body fat percentage can be used as a guide, but not the only one.