Written by Will Duru, BSc (Hons) Sport and Exercise Science, Level 3 Personal Trainer.
Hello, I’m Will Duru, and I’m the founder of the 12Reps app. I’m also a personal trainer with a Sport and Exercise Science Hons degree, and I’ve spent the last decade working with people just like you – busy professionals in the City of London who want to lose weight, get stronger, and feel great. I’ve seen firsthand that the best way to do this isn’t just endless cardio or strict diets. It’s about building muscle.
When I started my fitness journey, I was skinny. Over six years, I gained 40kg of muscle, transforming from skinny to strong. This transformation was even featured in Men’s Health [1]. This wasn’t magic; it was science and hard work, focusing on building muscle. And it’s the exact science I use with my clients.
I’ve seen notable changes in others too. Consider client Ola Adesanya, whose remarkable journey was featured in Men’s Health [2]. Or client Alan Williams, who shared his story in The Telegraph [3] about losing 10kg of fat by actually eating more protein and lifting weights. These stories, including my own, demonstrate that building muscle is crucial for losing fat and maintaining it off.
In this article, I’ll share what I’ve learned from my own experience and my Sport and Exercise Science background. I’ll explain why building muscle is your best friend for losing fat, clear up some common myths, and show you how the 12Reps app can help you train smart. Remember, while 12Reps is your go-to for workouts, good nutrition is also vital. You can find lots of helpful advice on the just12reps website blog to help you eat right. Let’s get you on the path to a stronger, leaner you.
Why Muscle is Your Metabolism’s Best Friend
From my Sport and Exercise Science studies, I learned that muscle is active tissue. However, seeing it work with my clients and in my own body revealed the real power. I’ve helped many people who were stuck with their weight loss. They broke through not by doing more cardio, but by building muscle. Here’s how it works, put:
This is a big one. Muscle tissue needs energy (calories) to stay alive, even when you’re just sitting or sleeping. Think of it like a car engine: a bigger engine uses more fuel, even when it’s just idling. The more muscle you have, the higher your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is how many calories your body burns at rest. A higher BMR means you burn more calories all day, every day, without doing anything extra. This makes it easier to lose fat and keep it off. I’ve seen clients significantly increase their BMR by lifting weights, which means they can eat more food and still lose fat. It’s a much better way to live than always cutting calories.
One of the best things about lifting weights is the Excess Post-exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC), or the “afterburn effect.” After a challenging workout, your body continues to burn calories at a higher rate for hours, sometimes even up to 48 hours. This happens as your body recovers and repairs your muscles. I always tell my clients about this. While a long run might burn more calories during the workout, lifting weights turns your body into a fat-burning machine for the rest of the day. This is a significant reason why my clients experience such remarkable changes in their bodies.
Losing weight isn’t just about the number on the scale. It’s about body recomposition – changing how much fat and muscle you have. I’ve had clients who only lost a few kilos, but their clothes fit much better, and they looked leaner and more toned. This is because they lost fat while gaining muscle simultaneously. This is the best kind of change, and you can achieve it by lifting weights and consuming enough protein. The 12Reps app helps you achieve this by providing structured workouts that build muscle while you focus on your nutrition.
Muscle also helps your body utilise sugar from your blood more effectively. This is called insulin sensitivity. The more muscle you have, the better your body is at handling carbs. This is important for managing your weight and staying healthy, because poor insulin sensitivity can lead to storing more fat. I’ve seen clients significantly improve their blood sugar control simply by lifting weights and eating healthier. This illustrates the importance of powerful muscles for maintaining your body’s health.
Beyond looking good and burning more calories, building muscle makes you stronger and healthier for life. It strengthens your bones, helps prevent injuries, and makes everyday tasks easier. For my clients in the City, this means more energy, better posture, and feeling confident in their bodies. This is the true power of lifting weights – it builds a body that’s not just good to look at, but also strong and ready for anything.
Debunking Common Myths: What I Tell My Clients
Throughout my years of coaching, I’ve encountered many outdated fitness ideas that aren’t true. It’s surprising how many people still believe them, even when science shows otherwise. Let’s clear up some of these myths that might be stopping you from reaching your goals:
Myth 1: Cardio is the Only Way to Lose Weight
The Myth: “I need to run for hours every day to lose weight. Lifting weights is just for getting big muscles.”
My Experience & The Science: This is the most common wrong idea I hear. While running or cycling burns calories during your workout, it doesn’t give you the same long-term boost to your metabolism as lifting weights. I’ve worked with many people who did a lot of cardio but didn’t see much change. When we switched their focus to weightlifting, their bodies underwent significant changes. Why? Because, as I said, muscle burns calories even when you’re resting. Lifting weights builds that muscle, and the ‘afterburn effect’ keeps your body burning fat for hours after you finish your workout. For example, Alan Williams, whose remarkable transformation was featured in The Telegraph [3], achieved success by focusing on lean protein, complex carbs, and weightlifting, rather than just endless cardio. It’s about training smarter, not just harder.
Myth 2: Lifting Weights Will Make Women ‘Bulky’
The Myth: “I don’t want to lift weights because I’ll get too big and look like a man.”
My Experience & The Science: This myth is particularly frustrating because it prevents many women from achieving strength and health. From my background in Sport and Exercise Science, I can tell you it’s just not true for most women. Women have significantly lower levels of testosterone, which is the primary hormone responsible for muscle growth. The women you see with huge muscles usually train for many years, eat particular diets, and sometimes use special drugs. For most women, lifting weights regularly can help achieve a toned, strong, and athletic appearance, characterised by firm arms, strong glutes, and a powerful core. It enhances your body’s appearance, improves your posture, and boosts your confidence. Just look at the transformations like Ola Adesanya in Men’s Health [2] , he looks lean and strong, not ‘bulky’.
Your Training Plan for Muscle Building and Weight Loss with 12Reps
So, with all this scientific knowledge and real-world experience, how do we put it into practice? The most effective way to build muscle and lose weight is through targeted, step-by-step strength training. This is precisely where the 12Reps app comes in. It’s your essential partner, giving you the clear plan you need to succeed, just like it has for many of my clients.
How 12Reps Helps You Train for Fat Loss
12Reps is made to guide you through effective strength training programs that build muscle and, because of that, help you lose fat. From my Sport and Exercise Science knowledge, I know its features fit perfectly with how practical training should be:
- Workouts Just for You: The app’s smart filtering system creates personalised workout plans tailored to you. It considers your goals, your current level of fitness, and the equipment you have available. This means your plan is always challenging enough to stimulate muscle growth, yet also manageable sufficient to stick with. Whether you’re new to lifting or have been doing it for years, 12Reps changes with you. This personal touch is key to making steady progress and avoiding times when you stop seeing results.
- Focus on Big Lifts: As I’ve mentioned in other articles and observed with my clients, big, multi-joint exercises (such as squats, deadlifts, bench presses, overhead presses, and rows) are the most effective for building muscle and burning calories. 12Reps puts these main exercises first. It provides clear videos and tools to track your progress, helping you master them. By engaging in exercises that utilise multiple muscles, you receive a greater boost to your metabolism and lose fat more effectively. It’s about getting the most out of every minute you spend training.
- Getting Stronger Made Easy: For muscles to grow, they need to be challenged more and more over time. This idea, called progressive overload, is super important for any good strength training plan. 12Reps makes this simple. It tracks your sets, reps, and the weight you lift. This lets you easily see how you’re improving and pushes you to lift a bit more or do an extra rep over time. This constant challenge tells your body to build more muscle, which then helps your metabolism and fat loss. You don’t have to guess if you’re doing enough – the app guides you.
- Easy Tracking and Smart Info: The app’s logging tools are very easy to use. You can quickly and correctly record your workouts. But 12Reps does more than just log. It gives you clear charts and info that show how your strength is growing and how your training is helping you reach your goals. Seeing your progress clearly is a strong reason to keep going! This way of using data is something I always tell my clients to do, and 12Reps makes it easy for everyone.
What 12Reps Does (and Doesn’t) Do for Food
It’s important to be clear about what 12Reps does for your body change. The app is your expert guide for training. It gives you the structured workouts, exercise videos, and ways to track your progress that you need to build muscle and boost your metabolism. But, the 12Reps app does not give you personal food plans or meal ideas.
Why? Because food and eating right is a complex and very personal thing. While the app focuses on giving you top-notch training programs, we believe that full food advice is best given through special resources. That’s why you’ll find many science-backed articles about food, tracking calories, preparing meals, and eating strategies for losing weight and gaining muscle on the just12reps website blog. We want you to use these resources to help your training with the right fuel for your body. Remember, training makes your body want to change, but good food gives it what it needs to make that change happen. This full approach is what leads to lasting results, just like in Alan Williams’ transformation [3], where food played a huge part.
Conclusion: Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Live Stronger with 12Reps
To conclude, let me reiterate a powerful truth that my ten years of working with City professionals, combined with my Sport and Exercise Science background, have repeatedly demonstrated: building muscle is not just for bodybuilders. It’s a key part of losing weight in a way that lasts, and it’s great for your overall health. I’ve seen with my own eyes how focusing on strength training changes bodies and lives. It helps you become leaner, stronger, and improves your body’s ability to burn fat.
We’ve cleared up the old myths that might have held you back. You now know why muscle is your metabolism’s best friend, why lifting weights won’t make women ‘bulky’, and why you can’t just lose fat from one spot. Science is clear: lifting weights is a powerful tool for losing fat, not just for gaining muscle. Real-life examples like Ola Adesanya’samazing change in Men’s Health [2], Alan Williams’ story in The Telegraph [3], and my own journey (PT Will) at Men’s Health Transformation [1] all prove this.
And this is where the 12Reps app comes in. It’s your best training partner. It provides you with clear, step-by-step, and personalised strength training plans that help you build the important muscle. With its smart filtering and focus on big, multi-joint exercises, 12Reps takes the guesswork out of your workouts. It ensures every session is effective and helps you move closer to your goals. It’s made to help you train smarter, track your progress easily, and stay motivated.
Remember, while the 12Reps app is your top tool for training, real change happens when good workouts and smart food choices work together. For full advice on how to eat to build muscle and lose fat, make sure to look at the many science-backed articles on the just12reps website blog. These will give you the food plans to go with your training and speed up your results.
So, if you’re ready to stop looking for quick fixes and start building a body that’s not just leaner, but also stronger, healthier, and tougher, it’s time to use the power of muscle building for weight loss. Download the 12Reps app today, train regularly, and use the smart food advice from our blog. Your journey to a stronger, leaner, and more confident you starts now.
