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Training for Body Composition

Writer's picture: CoachTyCoachTy

What is “Body Composition”?


It is defined by what percentage of Muscle, Fat and Bone you have on your body. 

Generally speaking, putting on lean muscle should be keeping your body fat low as its the reflection of your general health. This idea of  putting on weight, even body fat, that will turn into muscle one day (bulking) is a myth.


When looking into predictors of longevity, there are typically 3 things that we are looking at:

  • Relative Strength

  • Body Fat Maintenance

  • Lean Muscle  


Look at it like this. If your body was a car, what components would you look at to make sure it was going to last a long time. Strength is your engine, lean muscle is your horsepower and nutrition is the fuel (keeping body fat down is premium).


These 3 factors tell us how well how metabolic system is working. 


Keeping adequate strength and lean muscle on your body is like purchasing a long term retirement fund as our body ages.  Your body fat maintenance is a good indicator on what is happening on the inside or the care of the retirement fund. 


The internal state of our body includes, blood sugar, gut health, cortisol levels, etc. This can all be summed up into hormonal health. So keeping a lower body fat percentage keeps healthier hormone levels. This works in a circle because “better hormonal health = lower body fat and potential to increase muscle”. 


So do not have too much focus on the scale. Having a healthy body composition is not about being skinny, it is about being lean and strong. Weight loss/or gain can be a beginners indicator for how well your habit changes have been, but it’s not the end all be all. 

I do think there is just too much information out there and it has clouded everyones judgement about how to approach health/longevity. Having this amount of information does not allow for individualization. Each person is genetically different. So there will always be slightly different requirements. Only you are you. 


I am going to end this article with an idea of how I approach my nutrition when thinking about my own body composition. But I am going to keep it simple so it can be general. 

  • Focus on protein intake. Making sure we are fuelling lean muscle development. 

  • Targeted carb intake. The easiest way to lose body fat is not fuel it. Be methodical when taking in carbohydrates. An example of this can be having higher carbohydrates on training days. 

  • Train smart and train hard. You can never go wrong with strength.


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