Get Lean - Build Muscle " Bulk Up And Get Ripped At The Same Time?

There are three basic ways I know of to get lean and build muscle at the same time, provided you have a good workout plan already:

1. Pack in the calories, and I mean clean, high quality calories, not chips, to pack on the muscle, and then, once you've reached the muscle mass you want, start "cutting" back to get ripped.

2. Go in reverse from #1; burn off the fat first with serious interval training, and then start adding in the calories and pack the muscle on. 'Course this means you'll still have to burn off some fat at the end of the process.

3. Manage your calorie intake very closely, and watch your fat buildup along the way, and add in extra interval training to keep lean.

Each of these approaches has benefits and drawbacks. Let's look at them...

Method 1: You want to gain more than a single pound or two, right? So, increase your calorie intake (and especially protein) so that you start gaining weight fast, and work out like a maniac to turn those extra calories into muscle. Once you reach the size you want, cut back the calories so that you are below "maintenance" and move the emphasis in your workout to fat burning to get rid of the "padding." What you want to do is to bulk up fast, and then you need to trim down.

Method 2: With this method, you're going to emphasize burning fat first to get lean, and then you add the extra calories to pack on muscle. The downside to this is that you will have to do some more fat burning on the back end, because you just can't convert every extra calorie to raw muscle. And of course you want to add on that muscle right now, right?

Method 3: I like this one the best. You have to add extra calories to your diet, but just don't be a pig about it! Watch your body fat percentage along the way, and cut back a bit if it starts to climb, and eat a bit more if you're not making the gains you want. Maybe 500 extra calories a day to start, and watch it. Then, of course, you'll go through that last fat burning phase to get ripped. Along the way, throw in some high intensity interval training to help burn off any excess calories. This method builds muscle a bit slower than the first one, but you'll look a bit more ripped along the way.

So, basically, if you want to get lean and build muscle at the same time, it comes down to this: You need to eat enough good food and work out hard to build muscle, and then cut back and change the workout to fat burning mode. This is really pretty simple stuff; don't let anyone snow you about it.