Body Recomposition Workout Plan
A twelve-week four-day program built to add muscle and lose fat at the same time, with the training volume and nutrition structure that recomposition actually requires.
Program Overview
Body recomposition means gaining muscle and losing fat at the same time, and it is genuinely possible, just slower than doing either one alone. It works best for people who are relatively new to lifting, returning after a break, or carrying enough body fat to fuel muscle growth from stored energy. The training has to be hard enough to justify building muscle while calories are at or slightly below maintenance, which means progressive overload matters more here than in any other kind of program. Four days a week for twelve weeks. Every exercise includes a form video.
If you would rather focus on one goal at a time, our 4-day upper lower split is a straightforward muscle building option, and our intermediate 4-day hypertrophy program pushes volume harder.
Who Is This For?
This program suits you if:
- You want to build muscle and lose fat rather than pick one
- You are returning to training after a break, or have some fat to lose
- You can commit to four sessions a week for twelve weeks
- You are willing to track your nutrition properly, because recomposition depends on it
Browse everything at this level on our intermediate programs page.
Weekly Schedule
Phase 1: Build the Volume (Weeks 1-6)
Six weeks of moderate loads and higher rep ranges to accumulate volume and build work capacity. Train each set to roughly two reps short of failure. Keep rest periods honest, because the sessions are designed to fit inside an hour and they will not if you sit between sets.
Two reps in reserve throughout. Log every weight, because recomposition progress shows up in the numbers long before the mirror.
Lower the bar to your mid chest with control and press it back to lockout.
Hinge forward and row the bar to your lower ribs, then lower under control.
Press two dumbbells from shoulder height to lockout overhead.
Pull the bar down to your upper chest by driving the elbows down and back.
Curl one dumbbell at a time, alternating arms with elbows pinned.
Push a rope attachment down and split the ends apart at the bottom.
Place the barbell on your upper traps, squat down until thighs are at least parallel, then drive up.
Hold the barbell at hip height, push your hips back and lower until you feel a hamstring stretch.
Holding dumbbells, step forward into a lunge and push back to standing.
Rise onto the balls of your feet and lower for a full stretch.
Kneeling at a high pulley, crunch down by flexing the spine, not the hips.
Press dumbbells from an inclined bench, lowering to upper chest level.
Pull the handle to your midsection, keeping the torso upright.
Raise the dumbbells out to your sides to shoulder height with a soft elbow bend.
Lying flat, open your arms wide with a soft elbow bend and bring them back together.
Curl a rope attachment with a neutral grip, pulling the ends apart at the top.
Facing away from the pulley, extend the arms overhead against the cable.
Set your hips, brace, and lift the bar from the floor by driving your legs and standing tall.
Sit with your upper back on a bench and a bar across your hips, then drive your hips up.
With your rear foot elevated on a bench, lower into a split squat and drive up.
Seated in the machine with the pad on your lower calves, curl your heels underneath you.
Lying on your back, alternate small kicks with straight legs and your lower back pressed down.
An easy walk to move blood through the muscles you trained without adding fatigue.
Gentle mobility for whichever joints felt stiff getting into position last session.
Phase 2: Push Intensity (Weeks 7-12)
Loads climb and the main lifts drop into lower rep ranges while the isolation work stays high. Take the final set of each isolation exercise to failure. Calories stay where they are, which means progress on the bar while your bodyweight holds steady is exactly the outcome you want here.
Bodyweight staying flat while your lifts climb is recomposition working. Do not judge this program by the scale alone.
Lower the bar to your mid chest with control and press it back to lockout.
Row explosively from a dead stop on the floor with your torso parallel to the ground.
Press the bar from your front delts to lockout overhead without leaning back.
Use the counterweighted machine to perform pull ups with assistance.
Lie back on an incline bench and curl with the arms hanging behind the body.
With cables crossed from opposite pulleys, push down and extend both elbows.
Place the barbell on your upper traps, squat down until thighs are at least parallel, then drive up.
Stagger the feet with most weight on the front leg and hinge at the hip.
Seated in the machine, lower the platform toward your chest and press it back out.
Rise onto the balls of your feet and lower for a full stretch.
Rotate and pull the cable diagonally across your body from high to low.
Press dumbbells from an inclined bench, lowering to upper chest level.
Row a single handle to your side, allowing a longer range through the torso.
Seated, raise the dumbbells out to your sides to shoulder height.
With a soft elbow bend, bring the handles together in front of your chest.
With the upper arm on a preacher pad, curl the dumbbell up and lower fully.
Push the V-bar down until the arms are fully extended, then return under control.
Set your hips, brace, and lift the bar from the floor by driving your legs and standing tall.
Sit with your upper back on a bench and a bar across your hips, then drive your hips up.
Elevate the front foot on a plate and lower into a split squat for extra range.
Face down in the machine, curl your heels toward your glutes and lower slowly.
Kneeling at a high pulley, crunch down by flexing the spine, not the hips.
An easy walk to move blood through the muscles you trained without adding fatigue.
Gentle mobility for whichever joints felt stiff getting into position last session.
Nutrition Guidance
Recomposition is the most nutrition-sensitive goal there is, and it does not work if the food side is guesswork. Our macro calculator sets your calorie and protein targets, and our recipes make hitting them easier. For more depth, read how to run a mini cut and building muscle while minimizing fat gain.
The Basics
- Calories: Maintenance, give or take a hundred. This is the one goal where guessing your intake tends to sink the whole thing. Our macro calculator sets your starting point.
- Protein: Hold 1.6 to 2.2g per kg every day, including rest days. Consistency across the week matters more than any single day's total. Browse our recipes for ideas.
- Measure more than weight: Waist circumference and photos every four weeks tell you far more than the scale will.
- Sleep: Seven to nine hours. Short sleep pushes weight loss toward muscle rather than fat.
Flat bodyweight with climbing lifts is exactly what success looks like. Do not read it as no progress.
