Bodybuilding Truth: Can You Convert Fat To Muscle?

Having visited several gyms on my quest to achieve a better physique, noticed a common link; which carries over to all gyms. There is an underground chain of common information or rather, misinformation, working its way through workout areas everywhere. It would appear that newcomers are sucked in by seasoned weightlifters. We should expect these “gym rats” to be educated in this field. Unfortunately though, these newcomers are peppered with, what I can only refer to as, bodybuilding myths – or commonly known today as “Bro-Science”.

Though this information usually doesn’t come from any legitimate books, nor from anywhere in the scientific community, it is taken as “gospel” just as quickly as it is spoken. The new guys are then doomed to carry on this tradition of misinforming all who follow.

Now you might be inclined to think that there is no harm in a bunch of knuckleheads spreading around stories that carry some untruths. However, I would say that anything you do to your body should come from a well-informed decision making process. I hope to, in this article, convince some of you first timers (as well as you long time lifters) to investigate every piece of information you’re given before you spend a lifetime laboring toward an unattainable goal. In fact, I an effort to be responsible with my information – PLEASE, investigate the information I am about to give you before you apply it or even share it with anyone else!

In this edition we’ll be talking about one of the oldest myths there is: “You can change fat into muscle” (or vice versa). This myth has been making its way around gyms for decades. First, we’ll discuss why this is such a resilient myth.

If you’ve ever known anyone who happened to be a little overweight before he started to workout, then you know why it’s so believable that one could turn fat into muscle. Think back. You may have watched this person go from being categorically out of shape to a lean, mean machine! Of course, this could lead you to believe that he changed his useless old fat into the muscle that currently shapes his body.

The converse is also a very plausible myth, and it seems to me, much more convincing. Think of the person that you may have known who worked out for years, and then, for some reason, gave up bodybuilding. You quickly notice that his body is not what it used to be. The definition he once had is no longer. It seems that all of his splendorous muscle has morphed into a jello-like fat.

The Truth:
Fat and muscle are two entirely different biological tissues. They are no more interchangeable than the clichéd apples and oranges. Muscle is made up, primarily of metabolically active proteins. It is, by its very nature, an active tissue. Fat, on the other hand, is and made up of inactive adipose tissue, which is not capable of performing any physically active tasks. Each is important for different reasons, but they are not, nor would you want them to be, interchangeable.

When an individual heads to the gym to work out, two things must take place. First, by way of the weight lifting, he is imposing abnormal stress on his muscles. The abnormal stress is key. Everyday movements, such as walking cannot create muscle growth. After working out, your body must begin to compensate (with muscle growth) in order to complete the tasks to with you are now submitting it. This is why muscle begins to grow. The cool part is that muscle growth requires calories! So, while your body is building muscle calories are being consumed! While most of you are familiar with this process, not everyone really understands the implications of the process.

You see, the main difference between fat and muscle, is how they burn (consume) calories (energy). In the case of muscle, it takes calories even to just maintain muscle... That’s right! A little known fact is that our bodies must actually expend calories in order to maintain muscle. This lends itself to a key component of the myth caloric intake, which we will go into later.

Fat, however, is different because it is actually the fuel that is consumed during the burning of calories. This as far as I can see, is the main reason for the myth. If we are seeing a loss of fat in combination with an increase in muscle tissue, we are certainly apt to think that one is being changed into the other. When in fact one is being consumed to fuel the productions of the other!

Many believe that the myth of turning fat into muscle works both ways. Hence, they tend to believe that when one stops working out, any muscle that he has developed up until that point simply starts to turn to fat. We have a lot of visual proof that weans to uphold this point of view. We have all seen those who were once very built… when they stopped working out they seem to get very flabby. Even the great Arnold himself has had years of “flabbiness”.

One of the reasons for this is one that I laid out earlier; in order to maintain muscle size, one must work those muscles so that they require calorie consumption at a larger rate than simply a maintenance level. Certainly, if you are not actively burning calories while you continue to consume them, the result is a calorie surplus and those extra calories have to go somewhere, right!? Therefore, if you are not processing of the majority of the energy (food) that you are taking in, the left overs will be stored as fat.

Ahaha! We have just come to the substance of this myth! While you are applying a workout program, you can get away with eating – A LOT! However, when you stop working out and keep eating, you are no longer using up all the calories you are taking in. Many people, having to been able to eat a lot of whatever they want while they are working out, simply don’t have the willpower, or maybe the knowledge, to cut back on the amount of calories they are taking in. This results in an increase of unconsumed calories stored as fatty tissue. Thus, the flabby look.

Again, the combination of losing muscle, and gaining fat at the same time, makes it appear that the muscle is changing into fat. And this is really funny, ironic, or whatever you want to call it because the truth is that visual proof is often the weakest proof of all!

So that is the substance of the myth itself. But, in order to better understand this myth, it seems appropriate to discuss the three different kinds of fat that are in our bodies.

The first, and most deceptive fat here, is what is known as subcutaneous fat. This is the thin layer of fat that lies just beneath the skin; the one we measure when we check body fat percentages. During the time in which we are actively involved in working out, most of us are able to keep this fat layer at a lower than normal rate. That is what allows you to achieve a look of definition. Consequently, when we stop working out, we are no longer able to fight this fat off as easily and it looks like the muscle we had has changed into fat. In actuality, even though there may be some decline on the amount of muscle mass, it often takes longer for the muscle to shrink, than it does for this layer if fat to destroy your cut look.

Another fat that we carry is commonly called “essential fat” or “organ fat”. This is basically just internal fat that is responsible for cushioning and protecting our organs. You can’t actually see this kind of fat, nor can you get rid of it… why you would want to is an even more complicated question.

Finally, we come to depot fat. Have you ever overheard a woman say, “I don’t know why I’m going to eat this? I might as well slap it on my hips!” Depot fat is the reason for this kind of utterance. This kind of fat could just as easily be called storage area fat. There reason is that we all possess genetic coding for where fat will be stored in our bodies. Yes, I said GENETIC, which means that you can blame your mother for those large thighs. Men tend to store most of their fat in their midsection. This is the fat that gets distributed and consumed as energy when you are in a caloric deficit. And this is the fat we want to burn off when we go on a diet.

Clen 40 (Clenbuterol Hydrochloride) is often used by bodybuilders to aid in reducing fat in the body. It's effects are very similar to popular, now banned, substance, ephedrine. Bodybuilders should be certain to consume plenty of water while taking Clenbuterol HCL and never to consume more than three tablets a day. Most prefer to take their tablets in the morning in order to give the effects time to subside before bedtime. Those with history of heart problems should not use Clen 40 (Clenbuterol Hydrochloride). Women also find favor with the drug, but at lower dosages.