Uncover the science behind body recomposition and transform your physique. Body recomposition what is it and how is it achieved? Often those who decide to embark on a weight loss journey do so by setting a very precise goal that goes beyond just body weight.
How many times have I heard “I want that model’s body!” or “I aspire to that type of body.” But is it possible to change the structure of your body?
Does localized weight loss exist? Let’s try to understand a little more together.
Body recomposition what is it and how is it achieved:
Let’s start from the basics: what are we referring to when we talk about body recomposition? This is muscle growth associated with a simultaneous reduction in fat mass. A path that therefore allows you to lose weight and at the same time develop your muscles. This allows you to:
- Lose weight without blocking your metabolism
- Lose weight well: that is, reducing empty tissues or excess skin
- Shape your body by working on the critical points
In the sports field there are those who argue that it is impossible because it all depends on the calorie balance: if there is a calorie surplus, both muscle and fat mass will increase. Conversely, with a calorie deficit both will decrease.
Others claim that body recomposition is only possible by using a specific diet (and these are usually the same people who try to sell meal plans or, worse, meal replacements).
But body recomposition, i.e. the reduction of fat mass while building muscle mass, is possible .
Be careful, however, this is a process that is possible for many but not for all. Let’s see who can benefit from body recomposition.
- YES
It is possible to achieve good body recomposition when:
- We have never trained with overloads
- We trained at very basic levels,
- You have a good level of training but you start doing activities again after a period of rest
In all these cases, by training consistently and combining the right nutrition, it is possible to reduce fat mass and build muscle mass. As soon as you start training (especially with the use of weights and progressive overloads) the body will find itself in a state of hyper-reactivity and will react very well to stimuli much faster than an already trained and experienced person.
- NO
The veterans of the weight room certainly can’t think about body recomposition. Especially when they already start with a rather low percentage of fat mass. In these cases it is not a total no but it must be taken into account that insignificant variations may occur over a very long time. At these levels it is important to be hyper-caloric to gain mass or low-calorie to lose fat.
Body recomposition: lose weight or shape the body?
Let’s get one thing straight: to lose weight you need the famous calorie deficit. What does this mean exactly? Simply that we must introduce fewer calories than we consume. The ideal way to lose weight would be to cut 20% of calories, never more. In body reconstruction it would be even better to limit yourself to cutting 10% of calories.
An excessively rigid diet would do nothing but consume muscle and send the body into crisis by blocking the metabolism. Now that we have established that to reach a healthy weight it is enough to consume more calories than those introduced, it is natural to ask ourselves “Why kill yourself with workouts if a diet is enough?”. There are actually many reasons!
Lose weight or lose weight?
First of all let’s say that there is a huge difference between losing weight and losing weight. If you weigh yourself at the beginning of the journey and, for example, after a month of dieting, your scale will tell you that you have lost weight.
But it won’t tell you if you’ve eliminated body fat, water or muscle tissue.
Not to mention that in the first period of the diet you will eliminate liquids and glycogen stores. But diet alone (perhaps even very restrictive) will make you lose weight and risk blocking your metabolism.
So what should you do to lose weight in a healthy and permanent way? Combining a healthy and adequate diet with sport will allow you to:
- Lose body fat
- Keep your muscle mass intact and, consequently, keep your metabolism active
- Eat more without gaining weight (muscle burns more calories even at rest than fat)
- ensure a toned appearance while reducing the risk of empty tissues and excess skin.
Exercises to lose weight
Having established that it is important to do sport, the next step is to ask yourself “what are the best exercises for losing weight?” I am often asked:
The simple answer is “No, there is no such thing as localized weight loss”. You can decide to lose weight, but not where to lose weight. We all have areas where we accumulate fat more easily and which we would like to shape.
But don’t make the mistake of thinking that by training your arms you will be able to reduce their circumference or that by killing your abs you will be able to have a flat stomach.
Do you remember? To lose weight you need to establish the famous caloric deficit which will first lead you to lose weight in the easy places and only at the end to affect the stubborn fat.
How to shape the body
So how can you lose weight? Which exercises to choose? If you frequent the world of gyms or groups of fitness enthusiasts you will surely have noticed that they are almost always divided into two groups:
- Who claims that cardio activity, or even better HIIT, is the best choice to define oneself
- And those who think that only and exclusively weights are needed.
And where do home workouts fit in? Which one to choose? The important thing is to choose the right workout that takes into account your starting point and the goals you want to achieve. To find out what to do, follow the Choose your workout TEST . Having established that we cannot decide where to lose fat, it is easy to understand that the best choice is to follow Total Body workouts that train the whole body. Even better if they include moments of cardio and weight exercises.
Increase muscle mass
Let’s remember that nutrition is essential! Muscle needs nourishment to grow. If you are on a strict diet and train hard you will damage your muscles. It is important to follow a light low-calorie diet combined with sport if you want to lose weight; a light hyper-caloric one if you want to increase your muscles or a normocaloric one with targeted exercises if you aim at body recomposition (i.e. the increase in the percentage of lean mass and the decrease in the percentage of fat mass).
If you have been on a diet for years and have blocked your metabolism, the advice is to be followed by a professional who will guide you in a reverse diet with the aim of raising your metabolism. How to understand if you have a blocked metabolism? If you take in very few calories (there are those who don’t reach 900 but don’t lose weight) and don’t lose weight, it’s worth following up.
How to achieve body recomposition
Therefore trying to summarize what is necessary for a good body recomposition, we can state that it is necessary:
- Evaluate your starting state: it will be possible to obtain results only if you are not already very trained and do not have a low percentage of fat mass
- Follow a diet with a moderate calorie deficit (starting from 10%) without excluding macors.
- Associate the diet with a training plan that always includes fundamental exercises and uses different repetition ranges;
- Also do cardio activity, even better if HIIT type, at least a couple of times a week;
- Never neglect proper rest. It is essential for muscle growth.
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