BUILDING MUSCLE
IN AÂ CALORIE DEFICIT
How to support muscle retention and growth while still losing fat
Building muscle in a calorie deficit is possible, but there are certain considerations that need to be taken into account. Building muscle becomes harder the larger the deficit and the leaner you already are. The goal is to create the best possible environment for muscle retention and growth while still losing fat.
1. MAKE FAT LOSS YOUR MAIN PRIORITY
Don’t be tempted to focus too much on muscle growth as your number one aim. Keep your habits aligned with fat loss, but there are some small tweaks you can make to help with muscle growth.
2. KEEP THE CALORIE DEFICIT MODERATE
A common mistake is trying to lose weight too quickly. Aim to lose around 0.5–1.0% of body weight per week. If you try to go higher, it will increase the risk of muscle loss. If strength is falling rapidly, recovery is poor, or hunger is extreme, your deficit may be too aggressive.
3. PRIORITISE PROTEIN
Protein is the most important nutritional factor for preserving and building muscle during fat loss. Aim for 1.6–2.4g of protein per kg of body weight per day. Spread protein across 3–5 meals. Include a quality protein source at each meal. Eat a slow-release protein meal just before bedtime — cottage cheese, casein protein and/or Greek yogurt is ideal.
4. TRAIN TO GET STRONGER
Your body needs a reason to keep or build muscle. Focus on progressive overload, compound exercises, training each muscle group 2–3 times per week, and maintaining or increasing performance.
Am I lifting more weight, doing more reps, or performing better than a few weeks ago?
5. TRAIN EACH MUSCLE GROUP REGULARLY
For balanced muscle retention and growth, aim to train each major muscle group 2–3 times per week, allowing around 48–72 hours of recovery before training the same muscle group again.
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The main areas to focus on are:
Back • Shoulders • Triceps • Biceps • Chest • Legs
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Try to give each muscle group equal attention across the week. Over-focusing on favourite areas while neglecting others can lead to muscle imbalances, weaker overall development and less balanced results.
A simple approach is to spread your training across the week using full-body workouts, upper/lower splits, or push/pull/legs routines. The exact structure matters less than making sure every major muscle group is trained consistently, recovered properly and progressed over time.
6. DON'T TURN EVERY WORKOUT INTO A CALORIE-BURNING SESSION
Many people add excessive cardio when dieting. Cardio is useful for health and increasing calorie expenditure, but too much can interfere with recovery and it definitely shouldn’t replace resistance training.
Strength training = signal to keep/build muscle
Diet = creates the deficit
Cardio = supportive tool
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7. RECOVER PROPERLY
Muscle growth happens during recovery. Prioritise 7–9 hours of sleep, stress management, adequate hydration and sufficient rest days. Poor recovery often looks like a plateau when it’s actually accumulated fatigue.
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8. USE YOUR CARBOHYDRATES STRATEGICALLY
Carbohydrates help support training performance. Whilst your carbohydrate intake may be low when in a calorie deficit, you should still try to consume a good portion of your daily carbs before training and after training. Better performance in the gym usually means a stronger muscle-building stimulus.
9. BE PATIENT
This will take time. You can lose fat faster than you can grow muscle. You’re likely to see better results when you’re new to resistance training, you’re returning after time off, or you have a higher body-fat percentage.
10. TRACK THE RIGHT METRICS
Don’t judge progress solely by the scale. There will be daily fluctuations that aren’t a true indicator of fat loss, and muscle weighs more than fat. Monitor body weight trend over time, waist measurements, progress photos, strength levels and training volume. If your weight is dropping, your waist is shrinking, and your lifts are stable or improving, you’re probably doing very well, even if the scale loss is slower than expected.
Creatine, enough protein and omega-3 oils are the key supplements
If you get the first three right, you've covered the vast majority of what matters
1. Consistent calorie deficit
2. Adequate protein
3. Progressive resistance training
A PRACTICAL HIERARCHY FOR MUSCLE GAIN IN A CALORIE DEFICIT
4. Sleep and recovery
5. Meal timing and supplementation
6. Smart cardio
For someone focused primarily on fat loss, you should aim to lose fat as slowly as possible while still seeing measurable progress, because that gives the body the best opportunity to retain or build muscle during the process.
Here's Hack, Tip, Strategy #122 from the book
When it comes to building muscle and making consistent progress, how often you train each muscle group is just as important as how hard you train it. A common mistake is either not training a muscle enough or overloading it without allowing proper recovery.
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For most people, the optimal approach is to train each muscle group around 2 to 3 times per week with 1 to 3 days recovery in-between. This tends to strike the best balance between stimulus and recovery. Training a muscle group once per week can produce results, but for most people it’s usually not frequent enough to maximise muscle growth and progress. At the other extreme, training the same muscle group too often without allowing enough recovery can become counterproductive, leading to fatigue, reduced performance, poorer recovery and ultimately slower progress.
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It’s important to remember that muscles don’t grow during the workout itself; they grow during recovery. After resistance training, the body begins repairing the muscle tissue you’ve challenged, a process that generally continues for around 48 to 72 hours after the session. During this time, the muscle needs adequate recovery, nutrition and rest in order to adapt and grow stronger.
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Training the same muscle again too soon can interfere with this recovery process rather than enhance it. Instead of building more muscle, you may simply accumulate fatigue and reduce the quality of your training. As a general rule, allowing at least 48 hours before training the same muscle group again is a sensible approach for most people.
A meta-analysis by Schoenfeld et al. (2016) found that training each muscle group at least twice per week produces superior muscle growth compared to once-weekly training. A follow-up systematic review by the same group (2019), found no significant advantage to training more than 2–3 times per week when total training volume is matched. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends 2–3 full-body sessions per week for beginners; making a simple, consistent routine just as effective as a more complex one, provided you cover all the major muscle groups.
References:
Schoenfeld BJ, Ogborn D, Krieger JW. Sports Medicine. 2016 · 46:1689–1697
Schoenfeld BJ, Grgic J, Krieger J. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. 2019 · 33:3200–3209
RESEARCH SNAPSHOT
It’s also important to consider training volume, the total amount of work you’re doing. Instead of cramming all your sets for a muscle into one session, spreading that volume across two or more sessions often leads to better performance and higher quality reps. You’ll be fresher, stronger and able to train with better intensity.
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Non-lifting days should be used for recovery or doing some light, steady state/slow cardio, abs or a combination of both. There’s no single ‘perfect’ routine, only the one you can stick to consistently. If may want to try different routines to find the best fit and don’t be afraid to adjust your workout schedule to prioritise recovery and long-term consistency.
