Column 27 | Adjusting weaknesses

ANSWER

You're talking about a problem that a lot of bodybuilders struggle with. It's more noticeable for some, less so for others. But one thing is certain: there is no one in the world who has exactly the same limbs or muscles. In fact, it's most noticeable in the biceps or the arms in general.

Depending on whether you are left- or right-handed, your dominant arm is often stronger and its muscles are better developed. I struggle with this myself. I am right-handed and my left biceps are not only inferior to my right in shape and volume, but also in circumference: my left upper arm is about 1.5 centimeters smaller.

The problem cannot be solved in a complex way. However, the weak muscle can be brought into line with the stronger one. However, the fact that the weak muscle will always lag behind the strong one is and remains a fact that we must learn to live with.

In order to compensate for imbalances in muscular symmetry, I generally recommend that you concentrate fully on correct execution when training the weaker arm so that it is optimally stressed. You should also always try to train intensively and to the point of muscle failure. This aspect is actually always the basis of a successful workout. It can also be useful to stress your weak muscle with a little more weight or to use various intensity techniques on it - such as reduction sets, supersets, partial reps or forced reps. Applying these techniques specifically to the weak muscle may force it to grow faster than the strong side.

ANSWER

Building muscle while losing fat is biologically impossible: In order to build muscle mass, a positive calorie balance is necessary. This means that you have to consume more calories than you use. When losing fat, on the other hand, a negative calorie balance is the basis - ideally, the body takes the energy it needs from fat deposits. Fat and muscle mass are not the least bit similar, which is why there can never be any exchange, let alone conversion. For more information, I can highly recommend the article on energy balance: THE ENERGY BALANCE

Because your weight is relatively low for your size, I recommend that you first go through a bulking phase with the goal of increasing muscle mass. The body burns significantly more fat when there is more active (muscle) mass available. It will therefore be easier for you to lose fat after the bulking phase than if you start a diet now with little muscle mass.

When building muscle, stick to a diet rich in protein and carbohydrates with a moderate fat content. Many of my columns have covered this topic in great detail, so it's worth reading up on them. When training, I recommend a four-way split - this way you train the entire body once a week. You should reduce your endurance training a little during this phase so that you don't burn too many of the calories needed for building muscle. Twice 20 to 30 minutes a week with a pulse of around 150 beats per minute will boost the cardiovascular system and keep your metabolism "on the go". A comprehensive training and nutrition plan would unfortunately go beyond the scope of this column. But you will find a lot of valuable information on this website.