Wanna know how those “Instagram celebrities” get that lean, shredded look so effortlessly?
Simple. They pull off a body recomp.
What Is Body Recomp?
Body recomposition involves the SIMULTANEOUS losing of fat or excess weight and the building and gaining of muscle.
Most fitness experts say that this is impossible to do.
They insist that you should burn off the fat first followed by muscle building. The rationale behind this is that if you are unable to get rid of the fat, you will not be aware of the fact that you are building muscle underneath all that excess weight.
So, while you may think that you are getting fatter, in truth, the increase in your body bulk is in reality due to muscle gains beneath that fat.
BUT, it is POSSIBLE to achieve both fat loss and muscle gain AT THE SAME TIME through five simple steps.
Body Recomp in 5 Simple Steps
Are you ready to learn the five simple steps to achieving body recomposition? No need to wait any longer. Let’s get right on to it!
1) Observe and Maintain a Moderately Aggressive Calorie Deficit.
Years of research have produced the same, consistent results: to achieve the greatest fat loss, you must consume less calories or energy than what you burn. Putting it in the simplest of terms, the number of calories you eat vs. the number of calories you burn is a big deal in body recomposition. If you happen to be like my good friend, the main reason why he stopped losing weight was because he couldn’t resist the temptation to overeat on the foods he loves.
The key here is to create a condition in your body called a CALORIE DEFICIT. In this condition, you eat much less calories than what you are burning now, so that your body is forced to obtain energy from someplace else other than food. And that “someplace” happens to be all that excess fat you have stored in your body.
Now, do you get the picture?
The next question is won’t being in a calorie deficit affect your muscle building?
The answer is a big NO! Whether you’re in a calorie surplus or a deficit, you will still be able to build muscle. However, the only way you can lose fat is through a calorie deficit. This is body recomposition for you.
I must stress though that you should not impose too big a calorie deficit on your body. In doing so, you not only prevent muscle growth, but your body starts burning muscle tissues in order to meet your energy requirements, so that instead of gaining muscle, you lose them. In addition, a huge calorie deficit makes you prone to binge eating, mood disturbances, and other major health problems.
The ideal calorie deficit that you should maintain to achieve fat loss while not affecting muscle building is at 25 percent. According to research, a calorie deficit of 25 percent is sufficient to lose fat fast, but will still allow muscle building and prevent the development of health issues.
2) Consume Enough Protein.
If you want to achieve major muscle gains, you should be eating more protein than what you regularly consume. In fact, protein is the most important macronutrient when it comes to achieving your body composition goals.
Research has demonstrated that when you are in the process of restricting your caloric intake, the most effective way to do so is by eating a high protein diet. Consuming a high protein diet will give you the following great benefits…
- Greater effectiveness at reducing body fat
- Preserves muscle tissue and promotes new muscle growth
- Promotes faster satiety
You may have heard about the recommended consumption of protein being pegged at 0.8 grams per kilogram of body weight. BUT, if you are dieting, you will not be able to preserve lean muscle mass even if you double or triple that value.
Instead, my personal recommendation is to eat 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily to achieve your body recomposition goals. For those who are overweight (this would be 25 percent plus and 30 percent plus of body fat for men and women, respectively), you can lower this value to 1 gram of protein per pound of fat-free mass daily.
3) Perform Lots of Heavy, Compound Weightlifting.
I cannot stress enough the many virtues of working up a sweat through heavy, compound weightlifting.
This intensive form of training promotes progressive tension overload, a condition wherein you increase tension in your muscles over time so as to promote greater muscle growth. This means that every week, you need to add a weight to the bar that you are lifting. This way, you build muscle and grow stronger at the same time.
The “compound” part means that you do weightlifting exercises that enable you to use multiple major muscle groups at the same time. These great exercises include bench and military presses, squats, and deadlifts. These compound exercises are more effective because they build a lot of major muscle groups compared to isolation exercises like dumbbell curls that only target a single muscle group.
In order to increase activation and tension in your muscles, I recommend doing heavy, compound weightlifting that is 75 percent plus of your one-rep max. This way, you encourage muscle growth in all the major muscle groups of your body, something which you could never accomplish with just isolation exercises.
4) Perform High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).
Still floundering in your regular cardio? Make the switch to high-intensity interval training (HIIT).
Yes, I know you’re thinking “But I was told that cardio is the best way to lose fat?” Sure, it will speed up fat burning, but doing too much cardio will interfere with muscle gains.
With HIIT, you alternate between sprints of near maximum effort and low-intensity periods of recovery. While HIIT is harder to do in comparison to your regular low-intensity cardio, research has shown that this form of training will give you five specific benefits…
- causes you to burn more fat
- raises your metabolic rate for more than 24 hours
- increases insulin sensitivity in the muscles
- helps in reducing appetite
- promotes better muscle preservation
5) Take the Right Supplements.
Many fitness experts will tell you that supplementation is the least important of the five steps for body recomposition, that these supplements for fat loss and muscle building are worthless.
But then…
after saying this, they will start promoting whatever supplements they are selling on their sites. For me, this is the biggest hypocrisy. I mean, why say something is worthless and then sell them?
Let me tell you this for certain. There are specific supplements that can accelerate body recomposition, together with the right diet and exercise.
These supplements that you should incorporate in your body recomposition regimen are the following…
- Creatine = promotes faster muscle gain and strength, improvement of anaerobic endurance, and reduction of muscle soreness and damage. The ideal dose is 5 grams of creatine daily. Not to worry. Research has shown that creatine is safe for regular intake.
- Protein Powder = This form of protein is convenient for people who are unable to eat high quantities of protein through their regular diet or who just don’t have the time for meal preparations. Just mix the powder in a glass and you have a yummy protein shake.
- Fat burners = These supplements contain natural ingredients that promote faster fat burning. Check the ingredients list of any fat burner that you buy. Great fat burning ingredients include naringin, synephrine, and hesperidin.
- Performance enhancers = These supplements give you the additional energy needed to boost your performance during those intensive workouts. Make sure that the product contains any or all of these performance-enhancing ingredients: caffeine, betaine, ornithine, theanine, beta-alanine, or citrulline malate.
An important reminder. It is best that supplements be taken with the recommendation of your doctor. If you experience any side effects, it is important that you discontinue use at once.
Now that we have presented to you the five steps to pull off a body recomp, it is your turn to take action. Just follow these steps and you will see yourself losing all that fat and build muscle at the same time. Pretty soon, you’ll find yourself with that great physique that you’ve long wanted.