Plus, increasing muscle mass boosts your resting metabolic rate RMR , meaning that you will burn more calories while at rest 9. Rather than simply aiming for weight loss, body recomposition focuses on decreasing body fat while simultaneously increasing muscle mass.

Instead, those wanting to gain muscle while burning fat must commit to changing their diet and exercise regimens in ways that facilitate body recomposition. Rather than tracking weight on a scale, you should evaluate results by taking body circumference measurements and measuring body fat through methods, such as skinfold calipers.

With traditional weight loss methods, people may drastically cut calories and increase cardiovascular exercise in order to expend more energy. Though this may result in weight loss, it will most likely trim both fat and muscle mass While cardiovascular exercise is important for weight loss and overall health, strength training is necessary to alter body composition 11 , In addition, a diet high in protein facilitates fat loss while supporting muscle growth For example, a lean bodybuilder who wants to put on more muscle and cut fat will have different dietary and exercise needs than a person with overweight or obesity looking to lose weight and increase muscle tone.

The good news is that body recomposition benefits everyone, regardless of the amount of fat you want to drop or muscle you want to gain. The key to effective body recompositioning is finding the right balance between diet and exercise.

Those wanting to alter their body composition should use methods to increase muscle mass and cut fat. Though body recomposition principles can be used by anyone, methods vary depending on your body composition goal. From increasing your risk of many chronic diseases to affecting your emotional wellbeing and body image, excess body fat can negatively impact health in many ways 14 , To lose body fat , a calorie deficit must be created, which can be achieved either by consuming fewer calories or expending more energy Consuming a diet rich in protein has been shown to reduce fat while preserving lean body mass.

A study in 88 adults with overweight found that a hypocaloric diet that contained 0. Studies have shown that higher protein intake is necessary for athletes attempting to lose fat while maintaining muscle.

Another older review of six studies showed that athletes who lost the least amount of muscle mass while cutting calories consumed the most protein — 1. For this reason, upping your protein intake to at least 0. Aside from hiking protein intake and increasing calorie expenditure, here are other tried-and-true methods for losing body fat:.

Moderately decreasing your calorie intake, limiting processed foods, and increasing protein and fiber intake are the best ways to lose fat while preserving muscle mass.

While losing fat is important, maintaining or gaining muscle is key to changing your body composition. A balanced diet rich in whole foods , such as fresh produce, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates, and protein, is best for everyone, regardless of fitness goals. Individuals trying to reform their body composition may need to focus on bumping up their protein intake , as studies have shown that a high protein diet is necessary for promoting muscle growth.

For example, one review concluded that 0. Another review of 49 studies found that even though participants consumed an average 0. The researchers concluded that consuming the recommended daily allowance RDA of 0.

Along with a high protein, whole foods diet, incorporating strength training exercise into your routine is crucial. Strength training involves using resistance exercises to build strength and muscle mass.

An example of strength training is lifting weights. If building muscle and reducing fat is your goal, experts recommend a training protocol of at least 2 days of resistance training per week. A review of 10 studies demonstrated that resistance training twice per week was more effective at maximizing muscle growth than training just once per week Combining strength training exercises like squats, bench presses, pushups, and other muscle-building exercises for 2 to 3 days per week alongside 1 to 2 days per week of interval training may be the perfect combination.

Studies show that combining high intensity interval training with resistance training leads to fat loss, as well as increased muscle mass and strength 27 , To build muscle, increase your protein intake to at least 0.

Research demonstrates that consuming whole, complete protein sources throughout the day is the best way to gain muscle mass. For example, consuming high quality protein sources — including protein supplements — up to 2 hours after working out stimulates muscle protein synthesis Protein sources that contain high amounts of essential amino acids EAAs , especially the branched chain amino acid leucine, are most effective at promoting muscle growth.

Whey protein is a type of protein powder that is rich in EAAs and makes a convenient post-workout protein source. Plus, supplementing with whey protein has been shown to boost muscle growth when combined with resistance training programs Supplements including whey, pea protein, casein, and hemp powders are a practical way to increase your protein intake and can be especially helpful for those engaged in rigorous resistance training.

Adding protein sources , such as eggs, chicken, fish, nuts, nut butters, beans, and yogurt, to every meal and snack is the best way to meet your needs. Protein supplements such as whey protein powder can boost your protein intake and stimulate muscle growth.

However, research shows that the most effective way to meet protein needs is through consuming whole food sources throughout the day. Body recomposition stresses the importance of gaining muscle while losing fat, which may decrease your risk of chronic disease and boost metabolism.

Try increasing your protein intake to at least 0. Body recomposition methods can be used by everyone from elite athletes to those simply looking for a healthy way to get in shape. Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Body composition refers to more than weight, since it accounts for both fat and muscle mass. This article explains how to improve your body…. People tend to make many mistakes when they try to lose weight. Here are 15 common weight loss mistakes to avoid.

Focusing on body fat percentage instead of weight is much more useful to track fat loss progress. Here are the 10 best ways to measure your body fat…. Cardio and weightlifting can help you lose weight and burn fat, but they may do so at a different pace and with different results.

Impressive body recompositioning can be accomplished by people who are new trainees to weightlifting who eat right. Body recomposition is when someone is trying to increase lean muscle mass while decreasing fat mass. There are plenty of supplements or tricks you will see advertised that promise you exactly this but the truth is, noticeable body recomposition usually is only naturally achievable if:.

In the fitness world staying at a caloric deficit is usually related to a cutting program while being at a caloric surplus is part of a bulking program. Yes, you can gain muscle while losing fat. The most common scenario of successful body recomposition is the person who has just started resistance training and has decided to make positive changes surrounding their diet.

The reason why body recomp is most likely to happen for a newbie is that their muscles are more responsive to the effects of resistance training. These newbie gains surprisingly can be achieved with losing fat. So if you're out of shape, fat, have an endomorph body type , are skinny-fat , or are average but want to get healthy then body recomposition is for you.

Here is one study that compared the effects of a moderate hypocaloric high protein diet and resistance training on untrained overweight police officers over the course of 12 weeks. They were split up into three groups:.

Fat loss 2. No lean mass gain. Fat loss 7kgs or Muscle gain 4kgs or 8. Almost double the strength gain in chest, shoulders and legs compared to Group 3.

Fat loss 4. Muscle gain 2kgs or 4. Strength gain in chest, shoulders and legs. This meta-analysis looked at multiple studies which demonstrated the possibility of body recomposition in resistance trained people.

They found that the determining factors that make body recompositioning possible for trained individuals are evidence based nutritional strategies combined with progressive resistance training. Other factors that play a crucial role here are sleep and hormones.

There were 48 healthy resistance trained men and women whom were split into two groups, one with normal protein intake of 2. Normal protein group: Body weight increase 1.

Body fat percentage -. High protein group: Body weight increase -. Fat mass Body fat percentage Key takeaways: Consuming the high protein diet combined with heavy resistance training can result in positive body composition changes for trained people.

You may be thinking, so what about the highly trained people like professional bodybuilders, are they able to accomplish body recomp? People that compete in physique competitions might be out of luck when it comes to body recomposition through the manipulation of training and nutritional programs.

Once people are close to attaining peak physical potential, body recompostion becomes extremely difficult to achieve without the use of highly potent substances. This is why advanced lifters primarily rely on bulking and cutting plans to make consistent gains.

The people that are best served by attempting a body recomp are those who have less than one year of consistent weight training experience. Beginners who are new to resistance training with an average to overweight body fat percentage can see significant changes by employing a body recomp plan.

Those who have years weight training experience can still recomp but the results won't be close to what a novice can experience. There have been multiple studies showing trained individuals recomping but at a slower rate. However, this group of trained people would better be served by a bulking or cutting program to see more drastic changes in a shorter amount of time.

Advanced trainees and bodybuilders will see very little results with a body recomp as they are probably closer to their genetic potential.

The length of time for body recomp largely depends on the starting point and end goal. Are you a beginner new to lifting and eating right? If so, then you can see some amazing changes in a few months. Set Goals: Body recomp is the general goal but in order for you to get to that goal you should define the why, when and how.

Are you doing this to get in better shape for summer? Have a wedding coming up? Participating in a physique show? When you set a specific end goal of when it should be accomplished and how you need to accomplish it, you will have a better chance of succeeding.

Body recomposition may be easier for some compared to others but make no mistake about it, body recomp is hard. It takes dedication and discipline to pull it off so in order to stay focused and accountable, set a plan and goal then get after it.

So you might be at a slight caloric surplus for short periods of time after your workouts then you can be back down to a caloric deficit on your off days. These anabolic re-feeding windows are based on your training level.

If you are new to training you might have a hour window whereas an advanced lifter may only have 6 hours. If you don't have a strong understanding of the anabolic re-feeding window, or anabolic vs.

catabolic differences in general, we highly recommend reading up on them, as they're essential for muscle building. Eat High Protein Diet: To have any chance at pulling off a successful body recomp you must consume enough protein to keep a positive MPS balance while in a caloric deficit.

As we covered before multiple studies have shown that with the right protein intake body recomp can be attained even by those who are trained.

In normal circumstances, studies have shown adequate protein intake for muscle growth and maintenance to be around. But remember our goal here is body recomposition so protein intake should be higher, with some studies showing effective protein ranges from We recommend eating the protein sources found on our list of best food for muscles.

To get your protein level where it should be you might need to supplement your diet with protein powder. Protein powder is relatively inexpensive these days with plenty of options ranging from vegan-friendly options such as soy, pea, rice and hemp to traditional whey or casein protein with options such as concentrate, isolate or hydrolysate.

A good protein powder tastes great just with water, but you can also use it to make a smoothie, or elevate your morning cup of Joe by combining the two and making protein coffee.

It's also important to consider nutrition timing for optimal body recomp results. Know how much protein to eat and when, along with when and what to eat before a workout and what to eat after a workout for best results.

Hypertrophy or muscle gain is usually achieved with a rep range of Try to hit each muscle group twice a week with a total of working sets per week.

Regardless of what program you settle the key is to push yourself session after session week after week. Also, determine how long you should workout so you're not spending too little or too much time training. Keep a Caloric Deficit: As covered before, if you want to gain muscle and lose weight at the same time you must be a slight caloric deficit.

The degree to which you restrict calories should be based on your goals and current situation, use your judgement here. If you keep a large caloric deficit, you will hinder your chances of gaining muscle. The best way to achieve this caloric deficit is by means of a slow cut.

With a slow cut you will lose weight gradually. This study suggests to aim for a maximum. This method of cutting slowly makes the body recomp manageable but also makes it easier for you to stay on track in the muscle gain department. Get Quality Sleep: Sleep is essential to staying healthy as it allows our bodies to recover and recharge.

This study measured fat loss between two groups of people; one group slept 5. The group that slept 8. This study provides more ammunition to show the importance of sleep as it pertains to body composition.

Researchers had two groups of participants that were both following a resistance training program but one group also received a sleep education program to improve sleep habits. The results showed that the sleep educated group had a slight edge in both muscle gain 3. The bottom line is that the more sleep the better.

You should aim for hours of quality sleep nightly. While your goal is body recomp let cardio take the backseat for a little while. Instead of doing multiple HIIT workouts or long runs opt for min walks on a treadmill or better yet outside if possible.

This study concluded that hypohydration body water deficit larger than normal daily changes significantly changed the endocrine and metabolic internal environments before and after resistance training.

A positive metabolic and hormonal response to resistance training is vital for body recomp to work. This water consumption will also help with satiate hunger after being on a caloric deficit.

Reduce Stress: Stress can slow down your body recomp. Stress will cause changes in hormone levels such as cortisol which can lead to insulin resistance. You can try meditation to help manage stress as this age-old practice works wonders for many people.

In the simplest terms for fat loss to happen you must use more calories than you consume. The old age saying of calories in less than calories out still holds true. To lose fat you must be at a caloric deficit. Getting started in your fat loss goal you must establish a baseline of your TDEE total daily energy expenditure , you can find plenty of free calculators online to assist you with this.

Once you have this baseline you know how many calories you can consume per day to lose fat. If the goal is simply to lose weight or fat then a calorie is a calorie. Now because we are trying to lose fat as part of a body recomp we need to make smart decisions about how many calories we consume and what those calories consist of.

Generally, you should start with a caloric deficit of a day depending on your starting point and end goal.

Most importantly you need to be aware that if calories drop too much then you might become catabolic where your body can start breaking down muscle and fat to fuel the body. If this happens building muscle is out of the question.

The answer to this can range but you will need at least 1 gram of protein per pound 2. Keep in mind these are rough guidelines that will differ dependent on the individual.

Now you can see how difficult body recomposition can be for highly trained people. Therefore, it takes a deficit of 3, calories to lose a pound of fat. Meanwhile, it takes around a surplus of 2, calories to build one pound of muscle.

With these numbers you can find out your weekly body recomp goals in terms of your target calorie ratio. He should try to lose 1. This would translate to a 6, caloric deficit. Because he is a novice when it comes to training he should aim for 1.

This would be around 2, calorie surplus. Adding the caloric deficit to the surplus would give you 3, calories as a weekly net deficit. In total, a daily calorie deficit should be around calories. The amount of weight you can lose weekly once again depends on your starting point.

If you have a very high body fat percentage then you will be able to lose more fat per week. Some weeks you might lose more fat than others.

On the other side of the fat loss component of body recomp is gaining muscle. To gain muscle two things must happen:. The underlying principle of getting bigger and stronger is the concept of progressive overload. Progressive overload simply means by adding more stress on your muscles over time you activate muscle growth.

When performing weight bearing exercises tension placed on the muscles causing the muscle fibers to break so that they can rebuild bigger and stronger. In order to continue to see gains in strength and size you have to keep pushing the envelop as the body quickly adapts to this stress.

To avoid stalling out on building muscle you need to either lift heavier weights over time or do more reps or both.

There are numerous methods of avoiding these potential stall-out periods in your fitness journey. At the end of the day, you must lift enough weight and often enough to stimulate muscle growth.

It's also important to understand how long it takes for muscles to grow so you can monitor and track your progress. The second aspect of gaining muscle comes from nutrition. The building block of muscles is protein. Muscle protein synthesis or MPS is the process where protein is produced to repair damaged muscle as the result of exercise.

On the flip side muscle protein breakdown or MPB is when protein is lost as a result from intense exercise. Therefore, the balance of MPS to MPB dictates if muscle tissue is lost or built. This is why diet is vitally important when trying to gain muscle. You will need to keep a positive balance of MPS to MPB to build muscle.

There are a few ways to boost MPS including ingesting protein after exercise as the amino acids in the protein will be directed to your muscles to replace any that was lost during exertion.

Timing a protein shake for post-workout, as a snack to keep protein levels high throughout the day, and before bed will help your body build more muscle mass. MPS can be impacted by your training regimen, nutrition, sleep and hormones. The best method of enhancing MPS is through strength training and progressive overload as described above.

Apart from your first year of strength training, gaining muscle is a long arduous process. If your first year of training you could potentially put on pounds of muscle without gaining any fat or in some cases while losing fat.

Related: How To Gain Muscle Without Fail. For your body recomp to actually work, slow and steady will usually produce the best results. Forget about going on a crash diet of any sort. We are looking for sustainable nutrition plans to ensure we meet our goals. The exact breakdown of the macros is most important when considering protein intake and total calories.

Always strive for consuming whole foods. Use your common sense here. We wanted to give you an idea of the types of foods you should strive to consume during your body recomp with a training plan to match.

This method of cutting slowly makes the body recomp manageable but also makes it easier for you to stay on track in the muscle gain department. Get Quality Sleep: Sleep is essential to staying healthy as it allows our bodies to recover and recharge.

This study measured fat loss between two groups of people; one group slept 5. The group that slept 8. This study provides more ammunition to show the importance of sleep as it pertains to body composition.

Researchers had two groups of participants that were both following a resistance training program but one group also received a sleep education program to improve sleep habits. The results showed that the sleep educated group had a slight edge in both muscle gain 3. The bottom line is that the more sleep the better.

You should aim for hours of quality sleep nightly. While your goal is body recomp let cardio take the backseat for a little while. Instead of doing multiple HIIT workouts or long runs opt for min walks on a treadmill or better yet outside if possible.

This study concluded that hypohydration body water deficit larger than normal daily changes significantly changed the endocrine and metabolic internal environments before and after resistance training. A positive metabolic and hormonal response to resistance training is vital for body recomp to work.

This water consumption will also help with satiate hunger after being on a caloric deficit. Reduce Stress: Stress can slow down your body recomp. Stress will cause changes in hormone levels such as cortisol which can lead to insulin resistance.

You can try meditation to help manage stress as this age-old practice works wonders for many people. In the simplest terms for fat loss to happen you must use more calories than you consume. The old age saying of calories in less than calories out still holds true.

To lose fat you must be at a caloric deficit. Getting started in your fat loss goal you must establish a baseline of your TDEE total daily energy expenditure , you can find plenty of free calculators online to assist you with this.

Once you have this baseline you know how many calories you can consume per day to lose fat. If the goal is simply to lose weight or fat then a calorie is a calorie.

Now because we are trying to lose fat as part of a body recomp we need to make smart decisions about how many calories we consume and what those calories consist of.

Generally, you should start with a caloric deficit of a day depending on your starting point and end goal. Most importantly you need to be aware that if calories drop too much then you might become catabolic where your body can start breaking down muscle and fat to fuel the body.

If this happens building muscle is out of the question. The answer to this can range but you will need at least 1 gram of protein per pound 2. Keep in mind these are rough guidelines that will differ dependent on the individual. Now you can see how difficult body recomposition can be for highly trained people.

Therefore, it takes a deficit of 3, calories to lose a pound of fat. Meanwhile, it takes around a surplus of 2, calories to build one pound of muscle. With these numbers you can find out your weekly body recomp goals in terms of your target calorie ratio.

He should try to lose 1. This would translate to a 6, caloric deficit. Because he is a novice when it comes to training he should aim for 1. This would be around 2, calorie surplus. Adding the caloric deficit to the surplus would give you 3, calories as a weekly net deficit.

In total, a daily calorie deficit should be around calories. The amount of weight you can lose weekly once again depends on your starting point.

If you have a very high body fat percentage then you will be able to lose more fat per week. Some weeks you might lose more fat than others.

On the other side of the fat loss component of body recomp is gaining muscle. To gain muscle two things must happen:.

The underlying principle of getting bigger and stronger is the concept of progressive overload. Progressive overload simply means by adding more stress on your muscles over time you activate muscle growth.

When performing weight bearing exercises tension placed on the muscles causing the muscle fibers to break so that they can rebuild bigger and stronger.

In order to continue to see gains in strength and size you have to keep pushing the envelop as the body quickly adapts to this stress. To avoid stalling out on building muscle you need to either lift heavier weights over time or do more reps or both.

There are numerous methods of avoiding these potential stall-out periods in your fitness journey. At the end of the day, you must lift enough weight and often enough to stimulate muscle growth.

It's also important to understand how long it takes for muscles to grow so you can monitor and track your progress. The second aspect of gaining muscle comes from nutrition. The building block of muscles is protein. Muscle protein synthesis or MPS is the process where protein is produced to repair damaged muscle as the result of exercise.

On the flip side muscle protein breakdown or MPB is when protein is lost as a result from intense exercise. Therefore, the balance of MPS to MPB dictates if muscle tissue is lost or built.

This is why diet is vitally important when trying to gain muscle. You will need to keep a positive balance of MPS to MPB to build muscle.

There are a few ways to boost MPS including ingesting protein after exercise as the amino acids in the protein will be directed to your muscles to replace any that was lost during exertion. Timing a protein shake for post-workout, as a snack to keep protein levels high throughout the day, and before bed will help your body build more muscle mass.

MPS can be impacted by your training regimen, nutrition, sleep and hormones. The best method of enhancing MPS is through strength training and progressive overload as described above.

Apart from your first year of strength training, gaining muscle is a long arduous process. If your first year of training you could potentially put on pounds of muscle without gaining any fat or in some cases while losing fat. Related: How To Gain Muscle Without Fail.

For your body recomp to actually work, slow and steady will usually produce the best results. Forget about going on a crash diet of any sort.

We are looking for sustainable nutrition plans to ensure we meet our goals. The exact breakdown of the macros is most important when considering protein intake and total calories. Always strive for consuming whole foods. Use your common sense here.

We wanted to give you an idea of the types of foods you should strive to consume during your body recomp with a training plan to match. To lose fat you will have to restrict calories and eat a high protein diet. You have to make the smart choices on how you want to fill out your caloric needs.

With each meal try to get at least grams of protein and at least one serving of fibrous greens. Meal planning can be an important component of body recomposition because it will help take the guess work out of what and when to eat. We wanted to give you an example of what some meals could look like.

You will have to tailor your meal planning to your specific circumstances. The integral points are that you need to consume enough protein to build muscle and keep your calories at a slight deficit. Follow these rough guidelines for your body recomp diet. Add more calories and carbs on your workout days with the majority of the intake coming pre and post exercise.

The other half of a successful body recomp is a thorough workout plan. The following workout plan is geared towards a beginner who has started lifting and has the basic techniques down of most lifts and has time to workout days a week.

With this body recomp workout plan the goal is hypertrophy. With this body recomposition 12 week workout plan you will hit the gym 3 days a week.

If you eat right and train hard, this 12 week beginner body recomp workout plan can have you lose between lbs of fat while gaining lbs of muscle. We generally recommend that intermediate to advanced lifters stick with the easier to manage methods of lean bulking and cutting rather than body recomp.

Interested in the best diets to support your body recomp goals? Check out the 4 Best Diets To Lose Fat And Build Muscle At The Same Time! February 13, Read More. February 12, At SET FOR SET, we strive to equip you with the tools and knowledge needed for your fitness journey.

Our team of experts, including certified trainers, dietitians, and athletes, brings over a decade of industry expertise. Our goal is to be your primary resource for all fitness inquiries, guiding you toward a stronger and healthier life.

Sign up to stay up-to-date! Powered by Shopify. And as we all know, the stress hormone cortisol makes the body store more fat, particularly around the belly. The best way to fix stress in the long run is to change your lifestyle so you experience less stress, for instance by working shorter hours.

A more feasible solution for most people, particularly in the short term, is to start meditating. You can build muscle and lose fat at the same time. It just requires hard work in the gym, precision with your diet, and a disciplined lifestyle.

Find out which race is right for you! Close drawer Item added to cart. Close drawer. Orders DEKA Help. Facebook Share on Facebook Tweet Tweet on Twitter Pin it Pin on Pinterest Whatsapp Share on Whatsapp Email. Never raced with us before? Learn about our mission, and why you need to toe the start line at a Spartan race.

Calculate Your Target Weekly Calorie Balance The first thing you need to do here is calculate your long-run calorie balance. Muscle Growth Novice trainees: 0. Practical Guidelines Novice trainees: upper-lower split three days a week Early intermediate: upper-lower four days a week, or full body three days a week Late intermediate: upper-lower five days a week, or full body three days a week Advanced: upper-lower six days a week, or full body four days a week Each workout should consist of 20—35 sets if training full body, or 15—25 if doing an upper-lower split.

Here are three ways to keep your cardio from interfering with building muscle: Limit how much cardio you do. As an initial guideline, spend less time per week doing cardio than you spend lifting weights.

Make your cardio sessions short and intense—sprinting rather than distance running—so that the metabolic demands are at least somewhat similar to those imposed by weight training. Separate cardio from weight training by doing it at a different time.

If you lift in the afternoon, for instance, do your cardio in the morning, or better yet on different days. You will lift weights five times per week with an extra day for core and calves. The weekly workout routine is split as follows:. LISS: Stands for "low-intensity steady-state" cardio, such as brisk walking on an incline treadmill or climbing on the Stairmaster at a modest pace.

HIIT: Stands for "high-intensity interval training" cardio. Preferably, do this on an upright bike, air bike, elliptical, rowing machine, or hill for running uphill sprints. A HIIT session shouldn't take much more than 25 minutes if done correctly and hard enough.

For example, here's how you can do HIIT on an upright exercise bike:. Start by performing LISS cardio until you burn calories shouldn't take much longer than 30 minutes on the designated days AFTER your weight-training workout.

For HIIT cardio, complete 5 to 6 all-out sprints each lasting about seconds. As you progress, increase the calorie burn goal for LISS cardio sessions by 25 to 50 calories per week. To reiterate from earlier, you don't want to do tons of cardio for body recomposition.

Resistance training should be the priority while letting your diet work most of the magic. Remember, you want to progress and get stronger when you hit the weight room — even on days you're in a calorie deficit. Increase the weight on the bar whenever possible while staying in the rep ranges provided.

Hopefully, this 8-week body recomposition guide has given you the information and tools to help you lose fat and gain muscle without unnecessary restriction. Missing a workout or slipping up on your diet once in a while isn't the end of the world, but results will be lackluster when that becomes habitual.

Don't forget that progress is progress. Little accomplishments you make today will add up to a bigger reward if you keep plugging away. Even if you're not seeing crazy changes in the mirror after 1 to 2 weeks, keep going; body recomposition takes time , so consistency is key! And of course, don't be afraid to mix things up or try different exercises if you find something that seems to suit you better than what's outlined above.

Learning what works best for you is an intrinsic part of the process of improving your physique. PRODUCTS STACKS BLOG. C , CISSN, CNC. best pre workout. What is Body Recomposition?

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During body recomposition, what changes, instead of weight, is your physique. As you progress through body recomposition, you may notice changes in your body, such as an overall firmer look or that your clothes fit differently. You may even gain weight, but have a smaller physique, at the end of your body recomposition program.

For example, I weigh exactly the same now as I did before I started exercising and eating healthy. I wear smaller clothes, however, and my body has more muscle tone than it did before. I also feel much stronger than before I began a strength training program a nonaesthetic benefit to body recomposition.

So you can ditch the scale , because it doesn't differentiate between fat loss and muscle loss, and weight loss isn't the primary goal with body recomposition. There's one caveat to consider, though: If you want to lose a large amount of body fat and don't intend to put on much muscle mass, you may lose weight in the long run.

Because you're trying to do two things at once -- lose fat and gain muscle -- you can't treat a body recomposition plan like a fad diet. Healthy weight loss and healthy muscle gain both take a long time on their own: Put them together and you're in it for the long haul.

The slow, steady process of body recomposition offers sustainable results, though, so you'll enjoy your new physique for as long as you maintain those habits. Body recomposition truly comes down to your specific health and fitness goals. Unlike traditional methods of weight loss -- such as very low-calorie diets or periods of really intense cardio exercise -- there's no real protocol for body recomposition.

Fat loss ultimately comes down to your calorie maintenance. To lose fat, you must eat fewer calories than you burn. Cardiovascular exercise, or combined cardio and resistance exercise, alongside a healthy diet still stands as the best technique for fat loss -- there's just no way around the science.

Losing fat in a safe, sustainable way also means having realistic goals and not depriving your body of the nutrients it needs -- disordered eating habits are never worth the risk. To build muscle, focus on two main factors: weight training and protein consumption.

Strength training is essential to changing your body composition -- your muscles won't grow if you don't challenge them. Additionally, you can't build muscle without being in a caloric surplus, so you must eat more calories than you burn to promote muscle growth. While all macronutrients are important, protein is especially important for building muscle.

Without enough protein, your body will struggle to repair the muscle tissues that get broken down during weight training. Plus, studies show that a high-protein diet can help with losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time.

Research shows that, while in a calorie deficit, consuming more protein than you normally might can help preserve your lean body mass a.

muscle mass than being in a calorie deficit without changing your protein intake. In people who have already been following a strength training program, increasing protein intake and following a heavy weight-lifting routine leads to improvements in body composition.

Bodybuilders are known for their ability to achieve incredibly lean and muscular physiques. This obviously isn't everyone's goal, but it's a good example of what's possible with body recomposition.

It sounds confusing that you have to eat fewer calories than you burn to lose fat, but you have to eat more calories than you burn to build muscle. It's actually pretty simple when you learn about the concept of calorie cycling: modifying your calorie and macronutrient intake to match your goal for the day.

The first thing you need to do is figure out your maintenance calories, or how many calories you burn on a day you don't exercise. You can see a certified personal trainer, dietitian or other health professional to find this number, or you can use an online calorie calculator.

This one from Mayo Clinic uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation , which pros consider the gold standard. On days that you do cardio exercise, you should consume enough calories to meet your maintenance number. Consuming maintenance calories on a cardio day ensures that you're in a slight deficit to promote fat loss, but not in a deficit so large that your body starts using muscle tissue as fuel.

We want the muscle! On days that you do a strength training workout for 30 minutes or more, eat more calories than your maintenance number with a focus on protein. This number is called your "rest day calories. Think of it this way: Every day, you consume new calories and your body must decide what to do with those calories.

Your body essentially has three basic choices: immediately burn the calories for fuel, use them to repair and build muscle tissue or store them as fat. If you're looking for a body transformation, you don't want to store calories as fat.

But you do want your body to use new calories to repair the muscles you broke down during weight-lifting workouts. So, you'll eat more calories and protein on weight-training days so your body uses those calories and nutrients to fuel muscle repair, and thus muscle growth.

You want to cluster your carbohydrate intake pre- and post-workout; those are your two critical meals of the day. Essential fats are necessary, as you become more sedentary throughout the day, gradually increase your fats and decrease your fats.

As carbs increase the fats decrease and vice versa. This is going to allow you to gain that muscle and burn fat for fuel. You need to lift heavy. When I say lift heavy, I mean come within reps of failure.

Choose compound movements over isolation movements, this is going to help with fat burning and muscle building. Think about training those muscle groups twice a week and even three times a week.

Do not do excessive cardio, instead focus on getting those steps in. Cardio can be a quick fix. You can burn between and calories on average just by keeping your steps high.

People often ask, is it possible to gain muscle and simultaneously lose fat, the answer is yes, absolutely. By following these four simple steps, you can do it. Here are some of the most frequent questions related to body composition change that I hear every day in my career as a coach.

According to the laws of thermodynamics, you cannot be simultaneously burning fat tissue at the exact same time as you are building muscle tissue. That being said, if we look at a longer time period than just one moment, we can in fact gain muscle mass and lose fat mass at the same time.

If we look at a longer time period such as, say, four to eight weeks, which a reasonable time period to complete a full training program, you can in fact lose body fat and increase lean muscle mass over that period.

It has been proven that a combination of resistance training and high intensity interval training while in a period of caloric deficit but relatively high protein intake, can in fact result in the desired results above. You cannot turn fat cells into muscle cells.

They are two completely different things and cannot be transferred back and forth based on additional exercise and change to diet.

You can however work to change your body composition by building more muscle and lowering body fat. It is impossible to control where you lose fat when you are decreasing body fat.

But you can change the appearance of an area by adding muscle mass to an area through resistance training. So stop doing the extra crunches and focus on quality nutrition and consistent training and you will see the results you want. For nearly a decade, COR-Performance Whey has been setting the standard in delicious high-quality protein.

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