Consistent training builds muscles. But the result of the hard work is not always visible. Then it's time to define your muscles and show off your six-pack, toned legs and arms.
In this article you will find out how to define your muscles and what you should consider in terms of training, nutrition and nutritional supplements.
First build mass, then define muscles
Have you had a few months of mass gain behind you and now want to define your newly gained muscle mass ? Then it is advisable to come up with a good plan.
For example, if your diet has a calorie deficit, you will lose pounds but also muscle mass at the same time - this has been determined by a joint study by the Universities of Houston and St. Louis .
The aim is to define the newly trained muscles . In principle, building muscle can be achieved with a combination of the right training and nutrition over a period of several months.
This is the conclusion reached by a scientific study by researchers from the USA and New Zealand.
However, what has been built should above all be visible. This means that the skin that lies over the muscle areas should be relatively thin. You can achieve this by reducing your body fat percentage. Although most international studies deal with this topic relating to weight loss, athletes can also derive valuable tips from the scientific results.
When you gained mass, you specifically increased your muscle mass in your body - and your body fat percentage inevitably increased somewhat. As long as you used the right strategy, this increase is not serious.
Because the higher fat content is a completely normal biological process. The muscle definition phase is now about keeping the muscles and at the same time losing the fat from the bulking phase .
Define your muscles with the right diet
Getting rid of fat quickly from the bulking phase causes many athletes to fall into the trap of extreme dieting. Meals and calories are drastically reduced.
As an Indian study of various diets has shown, the drastic reduction in calories leads to rapid weight loss.
However, the body begins to slow down its metabolism relatively quickly. The meager meals are effectively used to further expand the fat depots that evolution has established as essential for life.
In order for you to lose the fat from bulking , you need the opposite effect. This means that your metabolism should be as active as possible so that the body also draws its energy from fat stores.
Keep in mind that this process doesn't happen overnight. According to a Canadian study, defining muscles takes just as much time as building protein . It is difficult to make a general statement.
Some athletes can do it within eight to twelve weeks, for others it takes longer.
Key factors for this include:
- Old
- Gender
- genetic factors
- Type and intensity of training
- Nutrition
According to a study from Florida, you could lose half a kilo of fat per week. If you want to reduce 10 kilos of body fat, it would take around 20 weeks.
It is also important that you get your body used to economy mode step by step. If you reduce calories too drastically, you will not define your body and the dreaded muscle loss can begin.
Define your muscles with the right calorie balance
According to study results, you shape your body through the success factor of calorie balance, among other things. Your body only uses its fat reserves when you have a negative calorie balance.
You probably already know your daily calorie consumption from the muscle building phase . According to scientific recommendations from an international study from the USA and New Zealand, this is 300 to 500 calories above your total turnover.
If you're aiming for muscle definition , you'll also need around 500 calories - but below your total metabolic rate. You should therefore create a so-called negative calorie balance so that the body uses fat reserves.
There are two ways to achieve this negative calorie balance. Either you burn more calories through training than you consume per day. Or you eat fewer calories than you burn per day.
As the study results show, radical starvation diets are the wrong approach. They do not define the body. It may be advisable to achieve the negative calorie balance by combining the two options. You adapt your diet and training to your muscle definition plan.
The role of proteins in muscle definition
Your muscle mass is constantly in motion and is therefore one of the most important means of burning fat effectively. The more muscle you have built, the higher your energy consumption.
According to study results from two American universities , a high protein content in the diet is therefore a prerequisite for maintaining muscles even on a calorie-reduced diet.
In their studies, the researchers assumed a regular recommended protein intake of 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. One group of participants received 1.2 grams of protein per day per kilogram of weight, the other group consumed 2.6 grams of protein.
It turned out that increasing protein intake while reducing calories made a decisive contribution to maintaining muscle mass . The participants who received 2.4 grams of protein also experienced significantly greater fat loss than the group that consumed 1.2 grams of protein.
Amino acids also played an important role in protein synthesis and the formation of new muscle cells . There are around 20 different amino acids present in the human body.
Eight of them are vital. They are therefore called essential amino acids and cannot be produced by the organism itself. An intake through food is therefore necessary.
As the study shows, the composition of the amino acids plays a central role in protein synthesis. It is naturally difficult to determine the exact amino acid profile of your meals. You can gently but effectively support the muscle definition phase with a dietary supplement.
amino4u as a powder or in the form of pellets can ensure that your body is supplied with exactly the amino acids that it really needs. It is particularly interesting to take after training, because the substance is available to the body in the blood within 23 minutes to strengthen muscles!
Carbohydrates in the definition phase - yes or no?
The ketogenic diet, which relies on a protein-based diet and dramatically reduces carbohydrate intake, is popular with many whose goal is muscle definition . With this form of nutrition, the body switches to the state of ketosis. Ketogenic amino acids are recommended here.
This means that it draws its energy from fat reserves. As the Indian study found, the ketogenic diet ensures rapid weight loss . But this is initially more about the loss of water than body fat.
The researchers found no notable difference between a reduced-calorie mixed diet and the ketogenic diet. The test subjects lost an average of around five kilograms of weight during the study period. The research work of colleagues was also taken into account.
What is particularly interesting is that 13 studies on the ketogenic diet showed an average weight loss of 5 to 13 kg. The participants' muscle mass decreased by an average of 1 to 3.5 kg.
Carbohydrates are therefore far better than their reputation. They ensure that you have energy available during and after training. Therefore, while you are defining one or two muscles , you should integrate carbohydrates into your diet.
According to scientific recommendations, it is advisable not to fall below 1.0 grams per day per kilogram of body weight. If you weigh 80kg, that would be 80 grams per day.
This means you are still in the realm of a low-carbohydrate diet ! When choosing whole grain products, pay attention - they fill you up for longer and therefore keep your blood sugar level stable!
Fats for muscle definition - a taboo?
As a study from Greece highlights, reducing fat appears to lead to the greatest success in weight loss for most people. At the same time, it is not necessarily the amount but the type of fats consumed that matters.
You should avoid foods that are rich in saturated fatty acids. There is a particularly large amount of it in ready-made products, baked goods with sweet dough and various types of sausage.
Instead, you should rely on polyunsaturated fatty acids, which the hormonal balance needs to maintain your muscle strength .
A rule of thumb:
- Avoid greasy baked goods, fried foods and sausages.
- Use high-quality vegetable oils in moderation. For example rapeseed oil, linseed oil or olive oil.
- Incorporate avocados or fatty sea fish into your diet.
- Replace greasy snacks with low-calorie and low-fat options.
The muscle is defined with the right training
Training with high repetitions and little weight defines the muscle - this is a common opinion among athletes. As a study from the USA shows, endurance is primarily trained with lots of repetitions and a correspondingly light weight.
The increase in mass is not activated. In addition, energy consumption is quite low in comparison and the basal metabolic rate is unlikely to increase or only increase slightly.
A solution for the definition phase can be to complete intensive units in addition to normal training. High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is suitable here.
These exercises are short but very effective and can keep the body burning calories long after the workout. This is where the so-called afterburn effect occurs.
In addition, endurance training is recommended. Do cardio training on the treadmill or cross trainer or go jogging several days a week to burn even more calories.
Also define the muscles with exercises that specifically target all muscle groups. For example, with barbell squats, pull-ups, shoulder presses with a barbell or push-ups .
Through targeted training and a negative calorie balance, you can achieve definition in every muscle on your body.
In addition to patience and discipline, water also plays an essential role in muscle definition and fat loss - this is the conclusion of a study by the University of North Carolina . The recommendation here is to avoid juices, milk and light drinks.
Drink only water or unsweetened teas - ideally one liter per 20 kilograms of body weight per day.
