We Asked an Expert If You Have to Lose Weight Before Building Muscle — Here's What They Said

Updated on 10/9/2019 at 11:15 AM

If you're new to strength training and your goal is to build muscle, you may be wondering if you need to lose weight first — and that's a completely reasonable question. To find out exactly what you should be doing to build lean muscle, POPSUGAR spoke to Heather Milton, MS, RCEP, CSCS, an exercise physiologist clinical specialist at NYU Langone's Sports Performance Center.

"One thing that we concentrate on a lot, especially for people who are trying to lose weight, is to do strength training in order to maintain and avoid losing muscle mass," Heather told POPSUGAR. "If you are not doing any exercise to maintain or build your musculature when you're trying to lose weight, you might actually lose muscle mass," she explained. If you want to build muscle, losing weight before you begin strength training is not a prerequisite.

You've probably heard making healthier nutritional choices result in weight loss, which is true, but "if you're just losing weight by diet, then you tend to lose fat and muscle at the same rate, which is not ideal because then your metabolism will also slow down," Heather explained. If you want lose weight and maintain or build muscle, you should incorporate strength training into your workout routine to prevent muscle catabolism (when your body begins to burn your muscle).

How to Maintain and Build Muscle

There are a bevy of benefits associated with weightlifting such as an increase in bone mass, lean mass, improved body composition, cardiovascular fitness, strength, and enhanced sense of well being according to the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

If you're wondering what exactly you should do at the gym, it depends on your physical abilities, fitness and health history, and your specific goals. "Unless there's a reason for doing isolation movements that only include one joint, for instance bicep curls and triceps extensions — they are nice exercises to do in transition moments because they actually require a little bit less intensity," Heather said. She recommended doing these type of movements in between more difficult exercises such as a pull-up, a row variation, squat, or a deadlift.

But if you aren't well-coordinated or have been sedentary for some time and can't tolerate much exercise yet, it's best to start with basic, single-joint movements and build from there. Ultimately, the exercises you do at the gym depend on your physical abilities, so don't feel discouraged or embarrassed about where you're starting. It's better to learn proper movement patterns and develop your strength first and then build up to a more complex routine. As always, if you aren't sure what you should be doing, enlist the help of an expert such as a personal trainer.

How Often You Should Strength Train to Build Muscle and Get Stronger

Depending on your fitness level, you may start with bodyweight workouts or you might be ready for more high-intensity strength workouts. No matter the workout you're doing, Heather recommended strength training two to three times a week if your goal is to build muscle.

"If you're very advanced and you need much more concentration in terms of continuing to develop, whether it's gaining more muscle mass or improving your performance with a specific skill or sport, then it might require [strength training] more often," Heather said. For example, if you're trying to make your country's Olympic track and field team as a 100-meter sprinter, you may need to strength train five to six times a week.

Other Factors to Consider If You're Trying to Lose Weight and Build Muscle

Building muscle may sound simple, but unfortunately, it's not as easy as going to the gym and doing a couple of reps of squats, lunges, and bicep curls. At the gym, you also need to focus on intensity, Heather said. Yes, there are rep and set schemes you can follow (here's how many reps and sets you should be doing to build muscle), "but the most important thing to remember is that that may be the number of repetitions but it's not going to actually achieve the goal unless you are fatigued within that rep range," Heather explained.

If you're only lifting five-pound weights throughout your entire workout and it was a light intensity for you, it won't help you achieve your end result, she said. Moral of the story: don't be afraid to challenge yourself and use heavier weights. Here's a guide on how to choose your weights.

Additionally, you've got to put in work outside the gym. You're going to want to make sure you're eating enough food so that you have the energy to do your day-to-day tasks and to aid in muscle protein synthesis, the building of muscle mass. Protein can help your muscles grow, but you need to balance your protein intake with fats and carbohydrates, Nikki Jupe, MS, RD, LD, CSSD, senior sports dietitian at the University of Oregon, told POPSUGAR in a previous interview. Generally speaking, 50 percent of your daily macronutrient profile should come from carbohydrates, 25 percent should come from lean protein sources, and the final 25 percent should come from fats, Nikki explained. These numbers will vary person to person and we recommend consulting a professional such as a registered dietitian to figure out what's best for you.

Nutrition and exercise are important, but don't forget about managing your stress and getting enough sleep, as both affect how your body stores and utilizes fat! The stress hormone cortisol can lead to eating more, sleeping less, and can potentially affect your insulin resistance, Dori Arad, PhD, RDN, CDE, director of the Mount Sinai PhysioLab told POPSUGAR in a previous interview.

At the end of the day, these are general guidelines and it's always best to seek out help from professionals who can create individualized programs to help you achieve your goals.