Whether you’ve just started your fitness journey or you’ve set up a full home gym, you probably have a goal in mind. From losing weight to gaining muscle, becoming fit is a process. If you’re hoping to shred fat and build muscle at the same time, that’s called body composition. It’s a longer-term option that might be perfect for your fitness goals.
Your body composition is the ratio of fat mass to lean mass in your body. Sometimes, body composition is used interchangeably with body fat percentage, but body fat percentage is just one part of your overall body composition.
What about body recomposition?
Body recomposition refers to the process of changing your ratio of fat mass to lean mass — that is, losing body fat and gaining muscle mass. The goal of body recomposition is to lose fat and gain muscle simultaneously, unlike the traditional approach of “bulking and cutting” in which you intentionally put on a lot of weight first (muscle and fat) and then go through an intense calorie deficit to lose the fat and reveal the muscle underneath.
How long does body recomposition take?
Because you’re trying to do two things at once — build muscle mass and lose fat simultaneously — you can’t treat a body recomposition plan like a short-term 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.
How does body recomposition work?
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.
There are basic guidelines to follow. To successfully change your body composition, you need:
How to build muscle
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.
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