Building muscle and trying to shred at the same time is no easy feat. There's no two ways about it - it requires willpower, discipline, and a lot of hard work.

But when you can find a good supplement that helps you accomplish both goals simultaneously, it's definitely something you want to keep around.

Regardless of your work ethic, gaining size and mass takes a concerted effort both in terms of your lifts and how you time your nutrient intake, because we all know that if you're not fueling properly, you won't get the results you want.

So, when you're trying to cut weight and lean out but aren't in the mood to compromise your gains, what do you do?

Cut carbs? Yes.

But when you take away your muscles' primary fuel source, it's going to take from somewhere else.

To protect your muscles, you'll probably want something that will help safeguard your hard-earned muscles from breakdown for fuel.

That, my friends, is where Burn Lab Pro comes in handy.

What Do Fat Burners Do?

Fat burners do exactly what the name suggests—they burn fat. But the actual mechanism behind how it does that differs based on the type of product you're taking, which we'll discuss more on below.

For most people, diet plays a more significant role in fat loss than training does because, as the old saying goes, you can't outwork a poor diet—and that statement still holds true here.

You can train as long and hard as you want, but if you're not eating to fuel muscle growth, you're going to end up back at square one.

And when you're trying to lose fat, it takes a much more focused effort on your part.

Your nutrient timing needs to be on point, your training sessions require careful planning, and you generally have to be a bit more meticulous about your approach because you don't want to shed fat in exchange for losing muscle.

One of the biggest problems you'll run into with conventional fat burners is that they help burn fat, but they do little to support your muscles, so you run into the problem we just said you want to avoid.

When you're cutting carbs and taking away your muscles' primary fuel source, it turns to one of two sources: muscle or fat.

The former supplies the amino acids needed to support muscles, while the latter supplies a concentrated energy source but is more difficult for the body to tap into.

So, if you want to maintain your muscle mass and instead burn fat mass, a fat burner that helps to mobilize these fat stores while keeping your muscle intact is what you need.

A good fat burner will do this by 1:

  1. Stimulating thermogenesis: Thermogenic ingredients like cayenne and black pepper crank up core body temperature to enhance metabolic rate and increase energy expenditure (more calories out than in = weight loss and fat loss)
  2. Regulating appetite and control cravings: Regulating insulin and glucose levels means no more blood sugar spikes and dips that leave your mood unstable and cause raging hunger pangs and cravings.
  3. Boosting fat oxidation: Burning through fat stores is the primary goal of any fat burner. Specific ingredients help to mobilize fat stores, increase fat breakdown, and boost fat burning for fuel. And as a side benefit, you increase energy because fat serves as a more concentrated and cleaner energy source than glucose.

And when you get one like Burn Lab Pro, you're also getting ingredients that help preserve lean muscle mass, so you're not sacrificing all the hard work and time you've put in at the gym.

Can You Still Gain Muscle While Taking a Fat Burner?

It's a question that's asked all the time.

Many people think that these are contradictory actions, but it is entirely possible to gain muscle while also burning fat—you just have to know how to do it.

Cutting fat (or weight of any kind) comes down to the simple principle of calories in versus calories out 2. But it's also vital that you're eating the right kind of calories.

Studies show that even when following a hypocaloric diet, maintaining adequate protein intake and performing resistance-type exercises is key to maintaining existing muscle mass 3.

But in addition to doing these two things, adding in a fat burner can help to mobilize fat stores, increase energy, and power up your workout.

The 3 Best Ingredients To Help You Gain Muscle and Lose Fat

But like we said before, if you're looking to gain muscle AND burn fat, you need to take a fat burner that helps preserve your existing muscle stores. Because if you're not working to maintain the muscle while burning fat, you're going to lose it.

With that said, doing your regular lifts and using research-backed thermogenic ingredients can help you do just that.

HMB

Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate, more commonly referred to as HMB, is a newer supplement in the fitness arena but nonetheless as effective (if not more) than other supplements.

We're all familiar with leucine—one of the most important amino acids involved in muscle building. And as a byproduct of leucine breakdown, it only makes sense that HMB may play just as significant a role in muscle growth and maintenance.

The thing with relying on leucine to produce HMB is that leucine isn't all converted to HMB. When leucine breaks down, most of it—about 80%—is shunted towards protein synthesis.

The remaining 20% is metabolized into two compounds: alpha-ketoisocaproate (a-KIC) and HMB, with HMB comprising only about 5% of that 4. And because of this, supplementing with pure HMB is often said to be more beneficial.

But what does HMB actually do?

The primary role of HMB, especially relating to fat loss and muscle gain, is to protect against muscle breakdown.

The mTOR pathway—one of the main pathways involved in muscle protein synthesis—is primarily controlled by hormones and growth factors but also by amino acids and cellular energy status.

In muscle cells, leucine is the amino acid that activates the mTOR pathway, so omitting leucine from the diet causes rapid inactivation of mTOR signaling 5.

Without getting too complicated, mTOR is the pathway that regulates several components involved in protein synthesis. Without these parts, you cannot form functional proteins, and muscles cannot grow.

Other studies point to the fact that HMB can increase the proliferation of muscle stem cells in fast-twitch fibers, and enhanced satellite cell proliferation theoretically should increase muscle hypertrophic and functional changes 6.

HMB also plays a vital role in MPS by stimulating the expression of IGF-1 and augmenting the growth hormone (GH) response to high-volume resistance exercise 7, both of which contribute to muscle growth.

Basically, having HMB in your fat burner protects your muscle from degradation while the other components of the formula help to ignite your internal calorie and fat burning fire.

ForsLean (Forskolin)

Derived from the root of the Coleus forskohlii plant, forskolin is a big player in the fat loss game.

As a staple herb in Ayurvedic medicine that's been used to treat all sorts of ailments, research shows it's also capable of turning up your body temperature and torching calories.

The compounds inherent to forskolin act directly on an enzyme called adenylate cyclase, which activates cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP). The purpose of cyclic AMP is to promote the breakdown of stored fat.

Essentially, what forskolin does is stimulate the body's natural thermogenic response to increase basal metabolic rate (BMR), increase mobilization and utilization of body fat, and therefore help you burn calories and fat more effectively 8.

And while doing this, it leaves your muscle intact.

Capsimax (Cayenne Pepper Extract)

If you're looking for a potent thermogenic agent, cayenne pepper is your guy. It's one of the oldest natural thermogenics around, and there's a good reason why it's still used.

You know how you sweat when you eat hot peppers? That's the thermogenic response that results from capsaicin, the active compound in cayenne pepper.

Capsaicin packs a 3-in-1 punch: it ramps up calorie burn, boosts fat loss, AND works as an appetite suppressant.

It does this by activating your sympathetic nervous system to increase the output of catecholamines, which results in increased energy and enhanced fat metabolism 9.

And when fight-or-flight mode is activated, digestion (and hunger) is downregulated.

But the great thing about capsaicin is that it elicits much the same action as stimulants do without actually being a stimulant, so you don't have to worry about reliance or any adverse effects.

Why Burn Lab Pro Is Different

Burn Lab Pro is unlike any other fat burner you'll see on the market. It's committed to getting you the results you want.

Packed with five research-backed ingredients, Burn Lab Pro helps to ignite your body's fire to ramp up calorie burn while protecting your muscles.

These ingredients bolster the individual actions to provide you with an all-in-one formula that helps increase total calorie burn, torch visceral fat, fight muscle breakdown, and accelerate recovery to get you into the gym faster, leaner, and stronger.

And unlike many other fat burners loaded with stimulants and synthetics, Burn Lab Pro is completely clean.

Each ingredient works synergistically to power up your body's fat-burning capabilities. Burn Lab Pro optimizes fat loss and exercise performance with the most intelligent and powerful fat-burning formula on the market.

Final Thoughts

We can't deny that building muscle and burning fat simultaneously takes hard work - lots of it, in fact.

But once you're committed to it and see the results that you can get when using a good fat burner, we guarantee you won't do anything different in the future.

Sometimes all your body needs to get that going is a little push from a good supplement.

The combination of dedication, a clean diet, and Burn Lab Pro is the only formula you'll ever need going forward to burn fat and build muscle.

References

  1. AE Jeukendrup, R Randell. Fat burners: nutrition supplements that increase fat metabolism. Obesity Reviews. 2011 Oct; 12(10): 841-851.
  2. B Strasser, A Spreitzer, P Haber. Fat loss depends on energy deficit only, independently of the method for weight loss. Ann Nutr Metab. 2007;51(5):428-432.
  3. E Cava, NC Yeat, B Mittendorfer. Preserving Healthy Muscle during Weight Loss. Adv Nutr. 2017;8(3):511-519.
  4. A Molfino, G Gioia, F Rossi Fanelli, M Muscaritoli. Beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate supplementation in health and disease: a systematic review of randomized trials. Amino Acids. 2013 Dec; 45(6): 1273-92.
  5. X Wang, CG Proud. The mTOR pathway in the control of protein synthesis. Physiology (Bethesda). 2006 Oct; 21: 362-9.
  6. P Kaczka, MM Michalczyk, R Jastrząb, M Gawelczyk, K Kubicka. Mechanism of Action and the Effect of Beta-Hydroxy-Beta-Methylbutyrate (HMB) Supplementation on Different Types of Physical Performance - A Systematic Review. J Hum Kinet. 2019;68:211-222.
  7. JR Townsend, JR Hoffman, AM Gonzalez, AR Jajtner, CH Boone, et al. Effects of β-Hydroxy-β-methylbutyrate Free Acid Ingestion and Resistance Exercise on the Acute Endocrine Response. Int J Endocrinol. 2015 Feb; 856708.
  8. S Henderson, B Magu, C Rasmussen, et al. Effects of coleus forskohlii supplementation on body composition and hematological profiles in mildly overweight women. J Int Soc Sports Nutr. 2005; 2(2): 54-62.
  9. MP Lejeune, EM Kovacs, MS Westerterp-Plantenga. Effect of capsaicin on substrate oxidation and weight maintenance after modest body-weight loss in human subjects. Br J Nutr. 2003 Sep; 90(3): 651-59.