How to Create a Body Recomposition Plan

For many, achieving our dream body is not solely about losing weight or gaining muscle. You may be sitting at a decent BMI (Body Mass Index), meaning you’re not overweight or underweight. 

Yet when you look at yourself in the mirror, all your weight seems to be in the wrong places.

If this is you, what you need is a body recomposition plan. Read on for all you need to know about body recomposition and the right steps to take to achieve your physique goals.

What Do We Mean by Body Recomposition?

Body recomposition means changing the balance of your physique. In most cases, this means simultaneously losing fat and gaining muscle.

The goal is to change the composition of your body, such as your body fat percentage. Lower fat and increased muscle will help you appear more lean, toned, ripped and muscular.

Body Recomposition vs Weight Loss: What’s the Difference?

Often when someone wants to reduce their body fat percentage, they’ll think they need to lose weight.

The problem with weight loss plans is that they often result in losing muscle as well. You may reduce body fat, but you don’t really achieve your dream of well-defined pecs or washboard abs.

Body recomposition is about maintaining muscle while losing fat, for more satisfying results when you look in the mirror.

How to Approach a Body Recomposition Plan

Body recomposition is more difficult than simply losing weight or gaining muscle. If you want to do both at the same time, you’ll need a much more precise plan (and the discipline to stick to it).

You’ll need to pay attention to your fitness routine and diet in order to reach your body composition goals. Here are a few things to think about.

Fitness

One half of the equation is working out in the right way. While there is no single workout routine you need to follow for body recomposition, the aim should generally be to focus on a mix of hypertrophy and high-intensity, aerobic exercise.

Hypertrophy is the process of muscle growth, which you’ll need to achieve if you want to reduce body fat % while staying at the same weight. This is usually achieved through strength training and resistance exercises.

Yet unlike pure strength training, you’ll want to make sure your workouts get your heart rate up, in order to burn fat. Mix in some cardio, along with high-rep low-weight lifts.

You can also pay specific attention to any areas of the body where you want to change your body composition (e.g. reducing belly fat or building bigger arms). If this applies to you, add some isolation exercises that work towards your recomposition goal.

Nutrition

The other half of getting your dream body is your nutrition.

You’ll need the right balance of macronutrients (protein, fats and carbohydrates), along with the right calorie intake. This is where it can get a bit tricky – it’s a lot simpler to craft a diet only for bulking or cutting.

Macros

You need a decent intake of all three macronutrients. 

The most important is protein. This will help you build and maintain muscle mass, as well as keep you full for longer, making it easier to stick to your calorie intake goals.

Carbs and fat are seen as the enemy of fat loss, but this is not totally accurate. These macros are essential for energy production, which you need in order to train effectively.

Don’t cut out carbs and fat. Instead, take them closer to your workouts, where the body can use the energy they provide straight away. Additionally, focus on high-quality fats, like avocado, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, and cut down on junk foods.

Calories

You’ll want to operate at a slight calorie deficit (burning more calories than you take in). Not too much of a deficit – it’s more important to eat the right things, such as protein-rich foods that promote healthy metabolism and muscle growth.

How Long Does Body Recomposition Take?

Body recomposition doesn’t happen overnight. The body can only burn fat and increase muscle so fast. Quick fluctuations in weight, fat content, and muscle loss are generally unhealthy, and almost always unsustainable.

You should craft your plan over a 12-week period. After 12 weeks, assess your results, compare where you were at before versus now, and adjust your plan if necessary. 

Supplements for Body Recomposition

There are no magic supplements that change fat into muscle. Anything marketed as such is at best ineffective, at worst dangerous.

However, some supplements will absolutely help with your body recomposition plan. 

Protein supplements in particular will help you achieve your macro and calorie goals, as well as support energy production and muscle repair, which you’ll need for your workout plan.

Daily whey protein shakes are a great way to up your protein intake while keeping carbs, fats, and calories relatively stable – perfect for a body recomposition diet.

Final Thoughts

Losing fat while gaining muscle is the holy grail for almost everyone. 

Unless you’re particularly overweight or underweight, altering your body composition while remaining around the same weight is probably the ideal result you can achieve from your workouts and your diet.

It’s not easy – but the results are worth it. Take the tips from this post away and start building your dream body composition.