Everyone is starting from a different place, and will lose fat and build muscle at different rates. Instead of focusing purely on weight loss, the goal is to change your body composition by losing fat mass, and replacing some of that lost fat with muscle. To power your resistance training—whether lifting weights or bodyweight exercises—you need energy. Carbs are your body’s preferred fuel, breaking down into glucose and storing as glycogen in your muscles and liver for quick access during intense activity. Hopefully, this body recomposition guide has given you the information and tools to help you lose fat and gain muscle without unnecessary restriction.
Build
This was originally published personalized workout app reviews in January 2025, as part of MH’s 8-week body recomposition training program. 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. ‘How much you sweat is not a sign that you’ve actually had a good workout. And what I mean by that is how much you sweat does not necessarily mean that you’ve challenged and broken down your muscle in a way that will allow you to rebuild it. Sweating can vary so much depending on your climate and the humidity level outside as well as how hydrated you are.
Day 4 – Chest, Shoulder, and Triceps
- Also, the number of calories you need to build a pound of muscle is much less than you need to build a pound of fat.
- That said, when your goal is to build muscle and shed fat, protein becomes especially important.
- If you lose 10 pounds of fat while gaining 5 pounds of muscle, your weight will change by just 5 pounds.
- Legion’s content is fact-checked and reviewed by a team of scientific, medical and subject-matter experts to ensure everything we publish is evidence based, trustworthy, and current.
- Before Women’s Health, Jacqueline was the deputy health features editor at Self.com, and previously worked as the senior editor at Health magazine.
- But if you push MOTS-c to high doses while also trying to maximize muscle growth, you may be working against yourself.
In my own journey, adapting my workout and nutritional plans to my body type was pivotal in achieving the desired results efficiently. Whether you’re an ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph, understanding your body’s specific responses to training and diet can significantly enhance your progress. Go for 0.7 grams per pound, or 1.6 grams per kilogram, of body weight per day. You can read more about the potential benefits of combining bike sprints and resistance training here. The third option is to use cardio, specifically sprint interval training (SIT) on a bike, to supplement your push workouts. When you’re training the large lower body muscle groups, and pushing yourself hard in each set, it can take several minutes just to recover from the previous set and get yourself ready for the next one.
Progressive Overload
You’ll learn the physiological principles behind recomposition, how to structure your training for optimal results, and the nutritional strategies that are needed to fuel your progress. We’ll move beyond vague advice and provide a detailed workout plan, complete with exercise instructions, to give you a clear path forward. If you’re wondering whether you want to aim for fat loss or muscle gain, body recomposition might be superior to both.
Nutrient-Dense Foods for Losing Body Fat and Gaining Muscle Mass
When it comes to weight loss, people often focus on metabolism and how many calories muscle burns at rest. But muscle plays a much bigger role in overall health and body composition than that alone. “I avoid saying that muscle is the main driver of weight loss,” says Stuart Phillips, PhD, a professor of kinesiology at McMaster University. Instead, it’s more accurate to say that muscle improves the quality of weight loss by helping preserve lean mass while reducing fat—a process known as body recomposition, he says.
Visual Changes in Muscle Definition
This will help you design a workout plan that’s just right for you — challenging but doable. Ready to take control of your body recomposition journey and see real results? 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; the small victories of each day will add up to a bigger reward if you keep plugging away. Ultimately, keeping track of your body weight and body composition will allow you to determine what works best for your body.
Recommended Nutrition
But have you ever felt like you’re hitting a brick wall despite your best efforts? The truth is, fitness isn’t just about how hard you push yourself during a workout; it’s about how you orchestrate the variables around that workout. Think of your fitness journey as a complex puzzle—if one piece is missing or misplaced, the whole picture remains blurry.
How Much Cardio Should You Do to Lose Fat?
As long as your diet and workout routine are set up right, that “something” will be the fat you want to get rid of. One of the benefits of LISS is that it’s less likely to interfere with post-training repair and recovery than high-intensity cardio. Give yourself a bit of time to catch your breath and set yourself up properly. But with paired sets, also known as supersets, instead of resting between sets, you do an exercise for another set of muscles.
Men’s Health Strong Talk
The difference is usually less about completely different routines and more about what the routine is designed to prioritize. Weight loss typically prioritizes a calorie deficit, while body recomposition places more focus on maintaining muscle through strength training and proper fueling. The frequency of your workouts depends on your individual goals, lifestyle, and current fitness level.
Day 6 – Hamstrings and Glutes
Lastly, fat burners can help that little extra inch during the weight loss journey, but you shouldn’t just rely on them. Read on and discover how to incorporate progressive weight lifting and cardio programs into your routine. To get a copy of the cheat sheet sent to you, please enter your email address in the box below, and hit the “send it now” button.