Over the last few years, I’ve experimented quite a bit with my body composition. I have built muscle (7 Simple Steps to get from Skinny to Brawny in 12 months), lost body fat (A Simple & Effective Fat Loss Diet) and achieved a ripped body that I never even thought possible, given my genetics. 

I was a very skinny kid growing up, weighing just around 50 kg well into my teenage years.

By age 25, I went to the other extreme and ballooned up to a chubby fat 80 kg.

And here’s a timeline of my body transformation over the past two years

As you can see, my body transformation journey hasn’t been a smooth ride. I did a lot of trial and error related to my fitness. Most of my efforts didn’t work but a few of them gave me the best results consistently.

This post is my attempt to provide you a blueprint to successfully transform your body. Whether your goal is to build muscle or lose fat, this guide will save you a lot of time and effort.

But before we go into the actual phases involved in achieving your ideal physique, you need to understand your body type.

Body Types

Most people can be broadly categorized into one of these 3 body types. Your training and diet strategy must be designed appropriately based on your default body type ( the one you tend to become without any effort ) for best results. The body types and their typical characteristics are as follows

Ectomorph –  Lean, Skinny, Fast Metabolism, Struggles to Gain Weight

Mesomorph – Naturally Well Built & Athletic, Lean & Muscular

Endomorph – Rounded Look, Slow Metabolism, Struggles to Stay Lean

If you’re a Mesomorph, congratulations!!!. Thank your genetics, stop reading this and do whatever you fancy. You’ll end up looking awesome anyway. To the rest of you ectos and endos, read on, we have a long and tough grind ahead.

The 3 Phases of a Body Transformation

Bulking, Cutting and Maintenance are the 3 phases of any successful body transformation. Unless you are genetically gifted, chemically assisted (steroids) or a complete newbie, you can’t effectively build muscle and lose fat simultaneously. It’s better to stick with one phase at a time instead.

Bulking Phase

Bulking is when you eat more calories than you spend everyday to gain muscle while minimizing fat gain. I said “minimize” because you’ll definitely gain some fat during this phase and that’s ok. A Clean Bulk should typically last 4 – 6 months and it’s better to continue till you reach at least 15 – 17 % Body Fat.

Note : To learn how to calculate your body fat percentage, click this link

This phase is also where ectomorphs should begin their journey. For the rest, unless you are sub 10 – 12 % , you don’t need to bulk.

What Works

• Stick to healthy foods only i.e complex carbohydrates, complete proteins and healthy fats.
• Your caloric intake must be 10 % more than your TDEE ( No.of calories required to maintain current weight ).
• Macronutrient breakup of 55% Carbs, 25% Protein, 20% Fats for Ectomorphs. Endomorphs can follow a 45% – 30% – 25% split.
• Progressive overload i.e focus on lifting heavier weights and getting stronger from workout to workout on compound exercises ( dead lift, squat, pull ups, bench and military press ).
• Ectomorphs to workout at least 3 times a week and Endomorphs at least 5 times a week.

Bulking Mistakes to Avoid

• Avoid staying on a perpetual bulk for the fear of losing strength and muscle. Stop bulking once you reach 15 – 17 % body fat.
• Don’t have frequent cheat days if you’re a Endomorph.
• Never miss a meal when you’re a Ectomorph
• Don’t focus too much on isolation exercises i.e cables, machines and other fancy equipment.
• Don’t skip cardio. Do some aerobic activity at least 2 – 3 times a week

Cutting Phase

A Cut is when you eat below your TDEE in an attempt to lose fat while minimizing muscle loss. Keep your cutting phases short i.e 3 – 4 months and unless you have a commercial interest, stop once you reach 7 – 10 % body fat. Achieving below 10 % body fat is not that easy anyway. Endomorphs should start their fitness journey with a cut.

What Works

• Start with a 25 % deficit i.e 0.75x your TDEE and further reduce in weekly decrements of 100 to 200 kcal based on your progress.
• Ectomorphs can follow 40% Carbs, 40% Protein, 20% Fats breakup and Endomorphs can start with a 25% Carbs, 40% Protein, 35 % Fats split.
• Religiously stick to the diet plan. No deviations.
• Lift heavy while trying to maintain (if not increase) strength in compound exercises.
• No more than 1 cheat meal per week or 1 cheat day in two weeks.
• Strength Training and Cardio frequency to be increased as much as possible.
• Drink lots of water.

Cutting Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t drop calories below your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) which is the no.of calories your body burns when at rest.
• Avoid Dairy, Sugar, Wheat and Fruits. Endomorphs should try to get most of their carbohydrates from vegetables and beans.
• Don’t reduce your workout intensity despite feeling weak or hungry.
• Don’t eat excessive quantity of food on your cheat days (even if once in 2 weeks).

Maintenance Phase

Once you’ve completed multiple cycles of Bulking and Cutting, If you’re happy with your current body composition, then maintenance is where you should be. In this phase, you may eat around your TDEE i.e 0.9x to 1x your maintenance level calories and stay at the same level of body fat and lean muscle mass.

Maintenance can also be used as a transition phase i.e If you’ve just completed a bulk and would like to start a cut. Rather than cut calories immediately, you can bring them down to maintenance level and stay there for 3 – 4 weeks before moving on to drop further.

Summary

If you’ve read thus far, you might have realized that there are a few essential habits underlying any body transformation. Irrespective of your body type and phase, you should

• Measure and journal everything you eat.
• Track all your workouts.
• Record your body measurements every week.
• Adjust your calories every week based on progress.
• Stay consistent with your diet and workouts.

Staying on this path requires a major lifestyle change and once you get off it, you’ll lose your gains. Also, there are no shortcuts if you want to do this naturally. It’s a 24/7 pursuit.

Achieving your dream body may feel like a Herculean task but trust me, it’s worth the effort.

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Note : If you have any other specific query or suggestions on this topic, do reach out to me. I would be happy to hear from you!!