1. [Home](https://www.workoutsmart.com/)
2. [Ask Dan](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan)
3. [Weight Training](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training)

Weight Training

# Will Fat turn to Muscle?

Dan's answer

Dan Wirth, MA, CSCS

Fat will not turn into muscle, and muscle will not turn into fat. Fat is made up of individual fat cells, and these fat cells can either increase in size (increasing your body fat) or decrease in size (decreasing your body fat) depending on several factors including nutrition and exercise.

Each muscle in your body is made up of individual cells called muscle fibers. With resistance exercise, you can increase the size of your muscle fibers, thereby increasing the size of your muscles (this is called hypertrophy). So with proper nutrition and exercise, you can decrease your fat and increase your muscle, but you are not turning one into another.

Dan designed the periodization models the Wave Engine runs.

See how the Wave Engine turns his programming rules into your workouts.

[How the Wave Engine works](https://www.workoutsmart.com/wave-engine)

## More in Weight Training

- [I occasionally miss a scheduled day due to my kids activities so I just go to my next workout the next day. I assume that back-to-back days are not adviseable to do in order to play catch-up, especially for a 45 yo.Is this true?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-occasionally-miss-a-scheduled/199)
- [I currently am working my muscles to failure one day, and doing alternating sets the other. I have read may not be as good I previously thought. Yet, if I do actual pre-determined sets for each exericse, won't my muscles adapt to what I'm doing? I want to keep my workout spontaneous and keep my muscles growing to their full potential. Any help is appreciated, thanks.](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-currently-am-working-my/739)
- [I have just started working out and on one day split up my workouts but for example i do 5 exercises for biceps with 5 sets but how do i know how much i should lift when im done im tired but i still feel that i could do more. First set i do 15 pounds 15 times to warm up then i do 20 pounds 12 times twice then i do twenty five pounds 8 times twice and then 30 pounds once. I do this for a few different types of exersice and of course I'm sore afterwards but i dont feel tight its like i should lift more, should I?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-have-just-started-working/134)
- [All of a sudden my reps have been reduced to 12-15. In the past, they have all been 20 or so. Is this correct? I am doing the "get lean" program, and have had good results so far. I am in week 5. Why the sudden reduction in reps, when the weight amount has stayed the same??](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/all-of-a-sudden-my/1777)
- [I have read in magazines that you should only work out your large muscle groups once a week. I am young(18) and if I work them once a week, I don't see any results. I used to work out almost every day and I got big, but I got to a point were I couldn't get bigger. Was I over-working before? I took a break, should I go back to working out every day?](https://www.workoutsmart.com/ask-dan/weight-training/i-have-read-in-magazines/54)


## Train on the programs Dan writes.

[Start 14 days free](https://www.workoutsmart.com/signup)