Supported by research published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology.

Arnold Schwarzenegger rejects the idea that gaining size requires bulking and getting lean requires cutting muscle. According to a April 16 report in the pump club newsletter, the 7-time Mr. Olympia believes it is possible to build muscle while cutting fat.

Schwarzenegger discussed a new study by Salvador Vargas-Molina and team, published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, which analyzed 3 groups of resistance-trained participants over 10 weeks. The groups were: a modest caloric deficit, a maintenance-calorie protocol, and an unsupervised control group.

In the end, the deficit group lost nearly 6 lbs of fat and gained nearly 2 lbs of muscle mass. The maintenance-calorie group also lost fat and gained the same amount of muscle mass; however, the group training without protein showed no change.

Referring to the findings, the 7-time Mr. Olympia added, “Your workouts are the primary driver of muscle growth. And the researchers believe that at high enough protein intakes, the body has what it needs to support muscle building, while the lower calories and metabolic demands of training help burn body fat. The two processes don’t necessarily compete”.

In the study, the sample size was limited to 10 individuals per group, most of whom were in their 20s.

According to the Austrian Oak, consuming a higher amount of protein is beneficial for muscle building and fat burning when it is linked with resistance training. However, one must adhere to the amount suggested by body weight, which ranges from 1.6 to 2.2 g per kilogram.

At the same time, people who are on a calorie-deficient journey and trying to burn fat or build muscle must consume protein in the higher range.

While Arnold discussed how fat burning and muscle gain can be achieved together, he also revealed the proper way to train if fat loss is the primary goal.

Arnold Schwarzenegger on the proper way of training for fat loss

Schwarzenegger broke down how to adjust training splits to lose fat effectively.

He said, “If fat loss is your primary goal, consider working multiple muscle groups, doing a full-body split, or increasing training frequency, while decreasing the total number of sets you perform. This doesn’t mean longer workouts—just redistribute your weekly volume”.

Apart from that, for muscle building, he once provided a checklist that everyone must follow, which includes:

• Train each muscle 2 to 3 times.per week
• A full range of motion with compound lifts is beneficial
• Target to do nearly 8 to 12 quality sets per muscle per week
• Consume nearly 0.6 to 1 g of protein per pound of body weight
• Recovery is important, so get 7 to 9 hours of sleep daily.
• Trust the process and maintain consistency.
• Eat at least 0.6 -- 1g of protein per pound of goal body weight.

So, smart resistance training and high-protein meals can help build muscle and lose fat at the same time.

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Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason