What weighs heavier is muscle or fat. Muscle and fat – how much do we weigh? Understanding Fat and Muscle Mass

There is a generally accepted opinion that any exercise is beneficial for the body and promotes weight loss. To some extent this is true. But if your goal is beautiful figure without fat folds and sagging skin, then you must choose the appropriate type of exercise that is most effective in achieving this goal. Proper nutrition is no less important than the exercise itself. Exercise, coupled with proper nutrition, can produce stunning results with relatively little effort.

It is important to take into account some nuances so as not to waste time and effort.

Results will not be immediate

Any workout aimed at losing weight, and especially cardiovascular and strength training, takes time to see results. And this often discourages beginners.

On the one hand, many women, having decided, begin to train intensively and train with enthusiasm for about one to two weeks. And then, seeing that their size has not decreased from 50 to 44, they become disappointed and stop playing sports. They put so much effort into the first days of training and stop just when they are on the verge of losing weight.

On the other hand, many women avoid intense training, especially strength training, so as not to “build up muscles like men.” Usually these are women with good exchange substances: their fat melts quickly, so it seems to them that their muscle mass will increase just as quickly. In reality, women simply don't have as many androgens to produce muscles as men do. And men themselves, in order to look muscular, are forced to take steroid drugs. What can we say about women!

Exercises are needed in order to change not only the body, but, first of all, the way of life. They slowly, but for a long time, rebuild the functioning of the entire body. Since they “exchange fat for muscle,” and muscle is heavier than fat, you may think that you are not losing weight. In fact, you will notice results in the form of a decrease in volume and an increase in tone after the second or third workout. And after 2-3 weeks the weight will begin to decrease.

Diets don't work

The body needs proteins for muscle mass, carbohydrates for energy, vitamins and minerals for metabolism. Beauty is synonymous with health, and an exhausted body simply cannot be beautiful. Take, for example, those who skip meals to lose weight faster. When the body is put on a starvation diet, it begins, in the literal sense of the word, to “devour” itself! And not only accumulated fat, but also muscle!

Those who go on a diet and start training to lose weight usually start frantically weighing themselves several times a day. This in itself is not scary, but there is nothing wrong with increasing weight after the first workouts. Muscles weigh more, and the body requires more muscle mass in order to burn fat. Therefore, it is not important to lose weight, but to remodel the body - the exchange of fat mass for muscle mass.

Have you ever noticed that women who weigh, say, 70 kg sometimes look slimmer than those who weigh 65 kg? This may be because they have a lower percentage of fat mass and a higher percentage of muscle mass. Therefore, in most cases it is easier to change the ratio of fat and muscle mass than to simply try to “lose weight”, which is determined genetically.

How to get a toned figure

Often weight loss brings new problems to the person who has lost weight. This happens because not all fat is burned at the same time and quickly. Some subcutaneous fat stores are more resistant to attack and require more time and persistence to get rid of them. Meanwhile, these unburned reserves lie in lumps, look unsightly and form skin folds. Not only does it look unsightly, it is also unhygienic, since these folds rub against other parts of the body and dirt and bacteria accumulate under them.

You can get rid of stubborn fat and tighten sagging skin by changing the so-called BMI - body mass index. What does it mean? This means building muscle mass while losing fat mass. If wrong or too fast weight loss Muscle mass is often burned along with fat mass. That's why stretched skin sags - it simply has nothing more to tighten. Building muscle mass will not only allow you to burn more fat, but will also create the necessary framework for your skin.

However, it is necessary to differentiate between sagging and excess skin. Excess skin appears in people who have shed heavy weight. This is stretched thin skin, as if “empty” from the inside. There are practically no fat reserves left in it, and it is very difficult to tighten it. Sagging skin, on the other hand, is like “pockets” filled with fat. Such sagging skin can be tightened with the help of changes.

And although everyone who loses weight has their own ultimate goals depending on their own height and physique, in general it is desirable that body mass index was no more than 30, and in some cases even lower. Changing this index is not easy, especially if you already have a small overweight, but with some persistence it is quite possible. In order to increase muscle mass in your body instead of fat:

1. Continue to eat a healthy diet with plenty of protein - at least 75-100g daily.

2. Engage in aerobic training or other active and intense sports at least 3-4 times a week.

3. Exercise strength exercises at least 3-4 times a week.

4. Reduce sweets, starches and processed foods in your diet.

More the better?

How should you train to build muscle mass instead of fat mass?

Ideally, it is advisable to combine aerobic training with strength training. Thanks to intensive motor exercises Aerobics effectively and quickly burn excess fat. Target strength training- develop the muscular system. And here, unlike aerobics, what is important is not the number of repetitions or the duration of the workout, but the weight of the load. By training with heavy weights (2-4 kg) and repeating each exercise only 10-12 times, you gain weight, burn fat and build muscle mass instead. With less weight, regardless of the length of the workout, the result will be negligible: the muscles simply are not used, which means muscle mass does not increase.

The optimal duration of strength training is 15-20 minutes. It is useless and even harmful to health to “swing” for hours - the muscles must be given rest after each power load. Only with a combination of exercise and rest does muscle mass replace fat most effectively.

The Internet is replete with pictures about visual comparisons of fat and muscle. The essence of the pictures is that fat and muscle of the same mass have completely different volumes, 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 the human body is on average 0.9 g/cm
muscle density – 1.3 g/cm. The difference, of course, is significant, but not by that much, but approximately by this amount:

But it's still impressive, isn't it? When considering the question “is muscle or fat heavier?” from the point of view of cellular structure, we can clearly answer that muscles are heavier, since their cells have a higher density compared to fat cells. It turns out that fat is much larger than muscle and lighter. And two people of the same height and weight can have different sizes. That is why weight without volume indicators and calculation of the percentage of fat mass is not a confirmation of the aesthetic beauty of both men and women.

Bodybuilders weigh due to muscle mass, and they have their own aesthetic beauty. A man with excess fat deposits and the same weight does not have aesthetic beauty.

The same applies to women who like to flaunt their low numbers on the scale. Women of short stature and with minimal height especially like to show off their weight advantage. muscle mass, weighing surprisingly everyone else very little. 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 means beautifully defined muscles and a thin layer subcutaneous fat. But just a number on the scales is not beauty, it’s just a number.

There is also a moment when, after a series of weight gains and losses, the numbers on the scales seem to be stable, but the body composition is no longer what it was before:

I explain how this redistribution of fat and muscles and changes in body composition occur. During a hunger strike, that is, another low-calorie diet, the body first begins to self-destruct muscle tissue. Since it is the muscles that burn calories. By destroying muscles, the body protects itself from hunger strike. Less muscle means less 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 has destroyed the muscles, and it will not build them up on its own. Only exercises with large free weights build up. No amount of walking in the fresh air or running will give you muscle growth. And it is also quite naive to think for the female half of the population that training with free weights will instantly turn them into athletes with hypertrophied muscles. To do this, you need to systematically subject your body to enormous 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 muscle frame - absolutely any young lady can do this.

And you more muscles or fat? Tell us!

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

The higher it is, the greater the health risk associated with excess weight.

When you measure your body fat at the club or at the doctor's office, the device shows your percentage of fat, water and muscle. Together they make up 100%.

While the body's water content remains virtually constant, the variables are fat and muscle content.

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

What's heavier: fat or muscle?

Specific gravity muscle tissue three times the specific gravity of fat.

The ideal body fat percentage is

Why does the body need fat?

If the fat percentage is lower, this is not always good for health. Fat is essential for the body and protects internal organs, such as kidneys, and warms in cold weather.

Turn fat into muscle?

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

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

Increases physical strength

Energy is added

Metabolism increases

Improved muscle configuration

Cellulite is reduced

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

Weight increases

Reduces the risk of diseases associated with overweight or obesity

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

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

Energy decreases

Metabolism slows down and obesity occurs

The body becomes sluggish

To determine desired size Fat percentage cannot be used as an indicator.

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

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

Many athletes and people far from this are wondering what is heavier: muscles or fat. There is a sufficient amount of controversial information on this matter.

Fat or weightlifter?

You can often find a common example in the comparison of fat and muscle: a well-fed person can weigh 100 kg and not look very beautiful, and a bodybuilder who also weighs 100 kg, but has a low percentage of fat, nevertheless looks quite aesthetically pleasing. Same weight, but different shape. In the first case, the person will seem much larger in size than the second, but in the meantime they have the same weight, so what is the mystery?

Having understood the question “Which is heavier: muscles or fat in a person,” everyone can clearly understand what actions they need to take depending on their goal of building a figure. After all, only having certain knowledge in a certain matter can you competently approach solving a problem.

Fat or muscle - which is heavier?

Having understood this topic, you can clearly understand why such dramatic differences in weight and appearance arise. If we consider the question "is muscle or fat heavier?" from the point of view of cellular structure, the clear answer is that muscles are heavier, since their cells have a higher density compared to fat cells.

Muscle cells contain protein and water, while fat cells contain only fat, or lipids. You don’t need to have any special knowledge of body structure to understand that protein and water, aka muscles, will be much denser in composition than fat.

Functions of fat deposits

Fat is not a useless phenomenon; its critical level poses a threat to health, so you need to take a responsible approach to the process of losing weight. Layers of fat protect internal organs and create an additional source of heat in cold weather, which explains the decrease in metabolism in winter as the body tries to conserve fat reserves.

Having learned the answer to the question “fat or muscle - which is heavier”, many try in every way to get rid of fat, which exceeds in volume; however, it is worth understanding that there is a limit beyond which it is not advisable to go.

The lowest fat level threshold for a woman is 12%, then problems may begin with both appearance, and in a feminine way. Men can feel great with 5% body fat.

However, a high percentage of fat is harmful to the body, since the likelihood of developing diabetes increases, energy decreases, metabolism slows down, and lethargy sets in.

Why doesn't the weight change?

Due to the difference in the weight of muscle and fat, when losing weight, your weight may stay the same. In the process of sports activity, both fat is burned and muscle mass is built. Because the proportion of body fat may be lower than the proportion of muscle, the effect of stagnant weight change can be created. In other words, two processes occurred simultaneously - fat went away and muscles increased.

Based on this, you should not attach great importance to the numbers on the scales. Visually you can see changes, a decrease in volume in certain areas, but remain at the same weight.

Many people believe that if you study in gym, the figure will in any case become athletic, whether they initially have fat or muscles. What is harder - burning lipids or increasing lean mass?

You need to understand that fat does not transfer to muscle. Intense exercise, of course, reduces body fat in some sense, however good result can only be achieved by limiting carbohydrates.

Heavy bones?

An overweight person has a large proportion of body fat, but the proportion of muscle and bone tissue changes slightly. It is inappropriate to believe that weight can increase due to bone growth, since a change of even 10% bone tissue results in only 1-1.5 kg.

You can achieve dramatic weight gain if you have physical activity And proper nutrition, since muscles are heavier than fat and bones. Because of this, the athlete will have large muscle mass and weight, respectively. Although, according to the classification of acceptable parameters and weight, he will belong to the overweight group, while having a low percentage of fat reserves.

Today there is a so-called bioimpedance analysis, which allows you to calculate the percentage of muscle mass in the body. Based on this, we can conclude whether a person needs to lose weight or gain weight.

When wondering whether fat or muscle is heavier, you need to consider many factors that influence weight gain.

In some cases, for example, during premenstrual syndrome in women or with heart disease, weight may increase due to fluid retention in the body. In this case, you need to consult a doctor. But almost everyone is associated with excess fat.

When understanding the question “Which is heavier: muscle or fat?”, it is important to pay attention not only to weight, but also to the distribution of fat across parts of the body. So, a woman, even if she is overweight, can look harmoniously built, which is due to the uniform distribution of fat deposits throughout the body.

The ratio of hips to waist volumes, taken as the norm, for women is 0.7, for men - 1.

Body types

There are two for the female type - "pear" and for the male - "apple".

People belonging to the first type have a concentration of fat in the buttocks and lower abdomen.

Those in the second type have deposits, usually in the upper part of the body. These people are susceptible to obesity, diabetes, ischemia, and atherosclerosis.

You need to be aware that weight does not play a big role; what this weight consists of is much more important. The same weight of fat and muscle will look different. How? - many will ask. For example, 1 kg of muscle occupies a volume 2 times less than 1 kg of fat.

To replace fat with muscle, you need to eat protein and give up harmful products, then you will no longer worry about the question of what is heavier - muscles or fat in a person.