Burning fat and building muscle

Bxqtie116

I have a question about building muscle. My arms were big and somewhat hard (fat). But now that I've lost some weight and building muscle, I've noticed that my arms are very soft and jiggly. My outer arms are beginning to show some muscle definition but my inner arms are jiggly. I use several weight machines to tone them. So I was wondering if I'm on the right track. Are my arms like this because I'm burning fat and it's slowly melting which is why my arms now feel soft?

stevencloser

The fat is going away and you're left with slightly loose skin.
Toning isn't a thing that is going to help you there. Waiting and hoping is all you can do.

Merkavar

Fat melting? That doesn't really happen does it?

My guess is you have lost fat and your skin is a little looser and you need to let it tighten up a bit.

But sounds like your on the right track with lifting weights.

joelo_83

Hi! Few questions, how long have you been lifting and How intensely do you lift? Do you know your body fat %?

Overall it's generally accepted that physiologically you can't build muscle and lose fat simultaneously for any prolonged period of time without supplementing hormones and peptides ("steroids"). Naturally, you can do one of two things if your diet and workout regimen are on point - gain muscle with a bit of fat also, or lose fat with a bit of muscle loss also.

From the sounds of it your body fat is high enough to cover most of your muscle. I would keep the calorie deficit going and keep leaning out. The slower the rate of fat loss you choose, the lower the chances you'll lose a lot of muscle.

Keep the strength training up and do as much weight as you can for 8-12 repetitions of each set with good form and contraction, and you'll help maintain the muscle you have while shedding fat. If you're just starting out, there's a period of time (a few weeks) where you can actually build muscle and lose some fat at the same time.

Lastly, get your body fat measured with a caliper (not an electronic grip thing). Water fluctuations can make you "soft and jiggly" one day, and feel "toned" the next. That way you can track your fat loss aside from the scale. Keep in mind you can't "spot reduce" fat, so you'll have to wait until you lose enough fat to see progress in your genetically determined "problem areas".