Are you just starting your fitness journey and wondering whether you should focus on losing fat or building muscle first? The good news is, you can do both at the same time! 

When you start a new exercise routine as a beginner, your body will burn more calories than it normally does to power the new activity. This increase in calorie burn can help put your body into a calorie deficit–which is necessary for fat loss. At the same time, you’ll also get your  “newbie gains,” which refers to the rapid muscle and strength gains that new gym-goers experience in the first 6-12 months of their training. 

As your body adapts to the new stimuli over time, however, it will become harder and slower to make progress. Your body will get more energy-efficient and burn fewer calories during exercise and daily life. Muscle and strength gains will become slower and you’ll have to work a lot harder to get them. At that point, many people find it helpful to plan their training and diet in alternating phases focused on building muscle or burning fat.

But as a beginner, you’ll be able to see rapid progress in both directions. So let’s talk about how to take advantage of newbie gains to burn fat and build muscle in the first year of your training!

First things first, cleaning up your diet is key. Your muscles need quality fuel to perform in the gym and grow during recovery. So make sure that you’re eating plenty of protein (between 0.7g and 1g per pound of your body weight per day). Also, make sure that you’re getting most of your carbohydrates from nutrient-dense, fiber-rich foods like vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Avoid overly processed or packaged foods and baked goods, since these items tend to have lots of calories but very little nutritional value. Making these changes will allow you to reduce your calorie intake to get into a calorie deficit while giving your body the nutrients it needs.

Next, it's time to get active. Remember: the more you move, the more calories you’ll burn to promote fat loss. I suggest starting with 30 minutes of walking or some other steady state activity on five days every week. You don’t have to do all 30 minutes at once–feel free to break up your activity in whichever way works best for you and your schedule. And if you can do more–even better! 

Additionally, incorporate resistance training two to three days a week to build muscle and prevent muscle loss (which often happens as a result of being in a calorie deficit). Focus first on learning the technique of the movements and becoming familiar with your muscles, their functions, and what it feels like to work vs. stretch them. As you master the movements, gradually add more resistance to them over time to challenge the muscles and stimulate muscle growth and strength gains.

By combining these three pieces - cleaning up your diet, getting more active, and doing resistance training - you can enjoy those newbie gains of rapid fat loss and muscle growth. Cleaning up your diet and getting more active will help you burn more calories than your body takes in, leading to fat loss. Meanwhile, resistance training will help you build muscle, gain strength, and prevent muscle loss. 

It's important to note that you may hit a plateau after 6-12 months of your new fitness routine. Don't worry, this is normal! 

At this point, you can continue to try and do both fat-burning and muscle-building, but keep in mind that progress will be significantly slower from this point on. 

Alternatively, you can accelerate your fat loss by shifting into a focused fat loss phase by eating calorie deficit (called a “cut”) for a few weeks or months. Keep in mind, however, that building muscle while in a calorie deficit can be difficult at the intermediate level. For this reason, many intermediate and advanced exercisers alternate between cut phases and “bulk” phases (which focus on building muscle through eating a calorie surplus).

However, as a beginner, you’ve got a lot of progress to make before that plateau sets in. So what are you waiting for? Get started now by cleaning up your diet, getting moving, and doing resistance training every week!

Also be sure to check out my online workout programs powered by the Trainerize app! These included phased exercise programs for beginners and intermediate exercisers looking to build muscle and get in shape. Programs are available for a variety of equipment access. Click here to learn more.

Let me know if you have any questions as you get started on your fitness journey! If you found this article helpful, make sure to “like” it and comment below.

ABOUT JAYD HARRISON

Jayd Harrison is a personal trainer and content creator. She helps people to build muscle, burn fat, and clean up their diets with her online coaching programs and social media content. Check out some of Jayd’s coaching videos on Youtube, or join Jayd live on Twitch and follow on social media: