Body Transformation
Serious results require serious planning.
Nearly every gym goer out there is looking to build muscle and lose fat, but even the most experienced trainee can end up spinning their wheels if they don’t have clear a direction for their goal.
GET CLEAR ON YOUR GOAL
One of the most common things I see in both new and experienced lifters is a confusion about whether they should be prioritising fat loss or muscle gain throughout different stages of their training. This decision becomes especially important when you’re looking for significant change over a short timeframe such getting lean for a holiday or bulking up before the start of the next rugby season.
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While training of course is essential for any transformation goal, nutrition is almost always the variable that needs adjusting to bring about the specific transformation you are looking for. Here are the three most common transformation types.
Transformation Types
01 - fat loss
No matter how much muscle you have you’re not going to look lean and defined if you’re body fat percentage is too high. Whether you’re a new or advanced trainee, fat loss will usually be the most dramatic transformation type across a short timeframe.
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There is nuance to each of these transformations, but the ‘craziest transformations’ you see online will typically be an experienced trainee dropping from mid-high body fat percentage to low-body fat over a few months and actually looking ‘bigger’ at the end of it.
02 - recomp
A recomposition refers to muscle gain and fat loss at the same time. This is only likely to be possible for less experienced trainees. Your starting body composition will largely dictate the ratio of fat loss: muscle gain that’s most appropriate but building even a small amount of muscle mass while significantly reducing body fat is the most typical and most dramatic looking recomp transformation.
03 - Weight Gain
The classic ‘bulk up’ most appropriate for beginners who have a hard time gaining weight. You can expect some fantastic results with this transformation if you’re adding muscle to an already lean frame, however it’s duration is likely to be more slow and steady even for beginners.
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Periods of weight gain are an essential part of improving your physique as an advanced lifter. Resistance to this is often what keeps people at the same level for many years. However, adding muscle to an already well developed frame is a much slower gradual process, and far less of a dramatic ‘transformation.’
exAMPLE: fat loss
Start point:
Trained,
Normal Body Fat %
My 12 week transformation.
Around 11kg of weight loss.
86kg to 75kg.
Training remained the same.
Changes made to nutrition only.
zero muscle was gained.
Body fat percentage changed from 18% to 10%
exAMPLE: RECOMP
Start point:
Untrained.
High Body Fat %
Jacob’s 13 week transformation.
Around 16kg of weight loss.
Added resistance training.
Changes made to nutrition and training.
Gained around 3kg of muscle
Lost close to 19kg of fat.
exAMPLE: WEIGHT GAIN
Start point:
Untrained.
Low Body Fat %
Rado’s 3 month transformation.
Classic ‘hardgainer’ Rado came in very lean but not muscularly developed.
Gained 5kg of muscle
Gained less than 1kg of fat.
Remained 10% body-fat.
Photo key:
SMM = muscle mass
PBF = body fat percentage
Fat = fat in kg (not %)
Top Image = final reading
Bottom Image = all readings
*This is an atypically excellent rate of muscle to fat gain, readings were taken using InBody BIA which are not without error margins.
Rado’s feedback:
”I became visibly more muscular and added around 6.5kg within the two month period, following the nutrition and training advice offered by Dan. Highly recommended - this is what high-end coaching should look like.”
WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU?
The above info should give you a good idea about where to start with your transformation. If you’d like any help drop me a message or check out nutrition coaching service for how I can help build a plan for you.
TRAINING
Your training plays a very important role in body transformation. Whether that’s to offset muscle loss while dieting or stimulate muscle growth while gaining weight, it’s essential to have a solid resistance training programme in place.
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Having spent ten years as a personal trainer in Central London, I’ve trained many clients through their transformations, including Rado and Jacob (see above).
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If you don’t currently have a programme or would like advice on this, I’m happy to discuss this with you in your consultation.