The Rules of Recomposition

How to get results that you keep for life

Sep 30, 2022

I’m four weeks out from my first half marathon and next week is the beginning of the final loading phase with a 90-minute and two-hour run scheduled into the plan.

While I’m dreading the next 10 days, once that final load-up is complete, it’s a big reduction in volume to freshen up for the event.

I’m still unsure where my running pace will sit, as the downside of submaximal training is you don’t know where the maximum is sitting or even if it’s moving. However, I have to trust the process and find out soon enough.

I would love to crack 2:10, but I think 2:30 is the target to work towards for the first one - especially when I’ve been running so slowly for so long.

My stretch goal is to crack 2:10 but I think 2:30 is a more reasonable target for my first run at that distance, especially when my training pace is much slower.

If I make it through the next training block, I’ll give an update before the half marathon. If you don’t hear from me, you know the running got me and it was a mistake to do this much cardio.

Anyway, let’s talk about The Rules of Recomposition.

Revisiting The Rules of Recomposition

The Rules of Recomposition came about in 2016 when I reflected on a few years of running IFN full-time. Like anyone who had made it a few years in business and had written a few articles online, I decided it was time to write a book.

The research process involved analysing client journeys to help me understand and articulate the critical components of body recomposition. I wanted to boil these to be the foundational principles that if we got them right, results would follow.

This was one of the most beneficial exercises I’ve gone through for my coaching. While it took another four years to publish the ebook in 2020 going through this process clarified how to get results with clients and led to the Rules of Recomposition

This clarity helped guide how I coached clients, developed strategies and communicated ideas with others.

The Rules of Recomposition helped guide how I coach clients, develop strategies and communicate ideas with others. They also helped identify the right clients to work with, which means I’m lucky enough to work with people long-term instead of having the constant 4-6 week churn typical of the fitness industry.

Many of you will be familiar with The Rules of Recomposition, especially if you’ve been getting these emails for a while. Those of you might notice that while the rules never change, I always right a fresh explanation instead of copying what I’ve done before.

I discuss them frequently with clients new and old, coaches and others, and describe them differently each time. Hearing others' insights and perspectives also shapes how I describe them in the future.

So even if you’ve read about the rules before, it might be worth taking the time to see the latest version below.

Rule one: take ownership

You are the only one who determines the amount and type of food that enters your body and the physical activity that it does.

Your environment, habits and routine play a significant role in what you can do and at times, it can feel like you’re not in control, but only ever you are steering this ship.

Most people are on board with taking ownership of the change, but that’s the easy part.

Taking ownership for body recomposition comes with the tough realisation that you were in control when the ship sailed a bit off course over the past few years. I often talk about this as a hard-to-swallow truth that’s better than a sugar-coated lie.

If you were in control and let it go, it’s logical that you’re also in control of getting things back on track. But if you feel it happened to you or was beyond your control, it can be hard to take ownership of getting things realigned.

I’ve made the mistake of working with clients who weren’t on board with this in the past, thinking I would convince them after a few weeks. But the only thing that happens after a few weeks is they get frustrated massive change hasn’t occurred by working with me and they are gone another few weeks later.

It could be that I’m not good at helping people make that change, which might be something to improve on. However, it also means that I need clients who take ownership otherwise I’m not the coach to help them get results.

Rule two: manage energy balance

You already know this one - energy balance determines changes in body composition and the 3 F’s - food, fluid and fitness are how we can control it.

I have put people on low-carb diets because I thought it would optimise body composition (independent of energy balance). Now I only use low-carb diets when they help people manage energy balance, which is about 10% of my clients.

I wanted body composition to be complicated. I hated the notion of eating less and moving more - it was too simple. And while it lacks nuance, it is generally pretty good advice.

It’s a bit BMI - while it’s not always accurate for the individual, it’s a handy measurement for the broader population.

Any strategy we develop has to manage energy balance in line with the client’s objectives. This doesn’t mean they have to track calories, but we do have to consider how the 3 F’s are going to be managed.

If losing body fat is part of the goal but the strategy creates an energy surplus, it will fail.

Likewise, if the strategy creates an energy deficit but it’s too drastic and the client can’t adhere, it will also fail.

Even the best-laid plans won’t get results if the energy balance isn’t aligned with the objective. It’s just like building a budget where you spend more money than you earn - that won’t help your savings at all!

Rule three: prioritise adherence

You can take ownership and commit to managing energy balance and be all fired up and ready to go. You completely commit for two weeks but then start trending back towards your previous routine by skipping a few training sessions and varying the diet.

Why?

We probably failed to consider adherence.

Developing strategies prioritising adherence is essential to getting results over the medium to long term. This usually means starting slower than clients thought they would or possibly could.

They expect the entire diet to be overhauled and to only eat certain foods. Instead, we track what they are doing and make some small changes from there.

My clients get results slower than other coaches will promise them. But my clients also stick to coaching much longer than others and see greater change overall.

Why?

Because adherence is always a part of their strategy.

This means different things to different people. I’ve spoken a lot over the past month about ensuring the amount of change is appropriate for the individual, so instead, I want to run through some more practical examples of adherence.

Let’s say you’ve got a good routine going - a couple of gym sessions, a couple of cardio sessions and a nutrition plan that’s working in between home, work and social settings.

But then you’ve got a two-week holiday planned. Many people will delay coaching by anywhere from 2-6 months because of a two-week trip, which is OK, but getting started would be a better idea (who knows where you’ll be down the line).

So let’s consider how we could maintain adherence on the two-week trip.

Firstly, we can keep the plan the same. Find a gym, pack running shoes and work out how to make the nutrition work at the current level. This works for people who travel frequently, but there’s no change I’m recommending this for your annual holiday.

Secondly, we can change the plan. Put together a couple of bodyweight sessions that can be done in the room in ten minutes, aim for 10,000 steps a day (pretty easy on holiday), and eat lighter for breakfast and lunch.

The second option won’t lead to significant, or likely any, changes in body composition on holiday, but it does maintain adherence to the fitness and nutrition plan.

While the holiday plan won’t deliver results over the long run, it can help maintain the run of adherence and help people stay motivated when they return, which puts them in a much different mindset than two weeks with no plan at all, or even worse, two weeks trying to make a plan for home work while away.

Sometimes it’s useful to think of adherence not just to the current tactics that you’re aiming to do each day but also to the broader strategy that you’re implementing to work towards your goals.

Changing the tactics to suit your circumstances for some time is a great way to keep the strategy on track for the long run.

Wrap up

The Rules of Recomposition are guiding client strategies to this day. But if you’ve come across them in my writing only and put them into play, I’d love to hear what worked well or what didn’t.

Q&A

If there is anything fitness and nutrition related that you are trying to get your head around, post it below or reply to this email and it will go straight to my inbox. All questions are posted without names unless you specify otherwise.