A question often asked by sports enthusiasts during a lean period concerns its duration: how many weeks should you plan for? A weight-loss program requires you toadjust your diet according to the intensity of your exercise. More precisely, it aims to reduce the number of calories to optimize the dietary intake of proteins, carbohydrates and lipids according to yourphysical activity sessions, with a view to fat loss. The aim is not just to lose weight, but to achieve a dry body.
Drying out therefore requires managing the energy balance according to the sport practised, and creating a caloric deficit with the right products. An endurance athlete will not have the same drying time as a bodybuilding specialist. Since there's no such thing as a precise number of calories to be absorbed each day, there's no such thing as an ideal or universal length of time for leaning. This practice is above all an individual program that takes time. From 1 to 3 months or even longer, it varies according to the factors discussed in this article, which gives advice on how to reduce fat reserves and avoid muscle wasting.
Understanding the principle of a bodybuilding dry run
What is a dry spell?
Weight loss in bodybuilding often follows a period of mass gain. Once mass has been gained, the aim is to lose fat mass, leaving only lean mass.
The challenge of a dry training session is therefore tooptimize body composition to obtain a dry body and protruding muscles.
To achieve this, we aim to burn more energy than we take in in calories. The diet is therefore hypocaloric (slightly), but alone it is not enough. Appropriate training sessions are needed to increase daily energy expenditure.
Can you dry off and gain weight?
The principle of a weight loss program is to lose body fat in order to preserve muscle mass. This is the main difference from a classic diet, where the main aim is weight loss.
Theoretically, no, and that's not the point of muscle toning. There's a misconception that because you continue resistance training, you'll lose fat and gain muscle at the same time.
In people who are just starting to rebalance their diet and take up sport, we can see a gain in muscle mass coupled with a loss of fat mass. The mechanism is linked to the fact that a person with little or no experience of cardio and weight training is bound to gain muscle to the detriment of fat initially.
In a true lean period, resistance training will above all prevent muscle loss.
Why have one when you play sport?
Drying out is very common in the bodybuilding world, after a period of mass gain.
The practice is also of interest to sportsmen and women in search of performance, because they are subject to weight categories, for example. It is also found among athletes who want to lose weight to be as sharp as possible for long endurance events. Dry weight training then becomes a means of achieving ambitious training goals, and to succeed, you need to adapt your dry weight training to endurance efforts.
Caloric deficit: the key factor in duration
To dry out properly, you need to create what's known as a caloric deficit.
This works in the same way as classic weight-loss diets. In principle, when we eat, we bring calories into the body, which burns them when it exerts itself. We therefore speak of an energy balance between:
- calories coming in via dietary intake of macronutrients (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins), trace elements and fluids.
- calories burned to provide the amount of energy the body needs to move.
An overly restrictive and rapid caloric deficit, in excess of 500 kcal per day in relation to the equilibrium intake (basic metabolism + effort-related calories), is not sustainable and is detrimental to health.
In fact, this is one of the most common mistakes made during a muscle-drying period: increasing energy expenditure and reducing intake quickly and badly, only to end up drying out but losing muscle. However, the secret of a good dry period lies precisely in its duration, but a number of factors come into play.
What varies the duration of a dry run
Body composition and starting weight
Two people of similar weight and height can have different body compositions.
This is at the heart of muscle leaning, and is broken down into two parts:
- fat mass, with the fat essential to the body's functioning and the adipose reserves you want to get rid of during leaning;
- lean mass, which includes muscles, but not only, as it also includes bones, tissues, organs and body water.
The amount of initial body fat the person wants to get rid of partly determines the duration of the diet. The higher the fat level, the longer the weight loss process will take to be risk-free afterwards.
For example, an 80 kg athlete wishing to reduce body fat from 25% to 18% will need to lose 6.8 kg of "fat".
Explanation: to measure the rate to be lost, the calculation is made on the initial basis. 25% of 80 kg represents 20 kg of body fat for 60 kg of lean body mass. The change to reach 18% body fat and keep 60 kg lean mass requires targeting 13.2 kg body fat, i.e. 6.8 kg less than in the initial situation. Once you've decided on the number of kilos you need to lose, we recommend incorporating a deficit of 0.5 kg/week, i.e. 13 to 14 weeks of weight loss. This illustrates the importance of a gradual, long-term approach.
Basic metabolism and energy expenditure
Two other factors also influence the duration of the dry period:
- the individual's basal metabolic rate
-metabolic adaptation in relation to energy expenditure.
The morphologies mentioned above also have an impact on an individual's basic metabolism.
An ectomorph profile with a fast metabolism will burn more calories at rest, which poses a problem for periods of mass gain, but can be an advantage for a lean period.
Beyond metabolism, the body is an adaptive machine. If it is subjected to a low-calorie diet, as in the case of a dry period, it will eventually adapt by adopting a strategy of saving energy. As a result, energy expenditure will decrease over time.
That's why macronutrient requirements vary at each stage of muscle toning.
Calculation of macronutrient and calorie requirements adapted to your practice and your goals
Macronutrient requirements for the day :
Important: these values are for guidance only, not to be taken literally, and should be adapted to individual physiology and specific needs.
To be consumed as part of a varied, balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. These data are adapted to athletes athletes with no underlying illnesses.
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Experience and level of training
Trained athletes have a greater capacity tooxidize fat during exercise than people with little or no training¹.
Their training experience enables the metabolism to cope better with variations in food intake. They also have more detailed experience of their body's responses to activity. Finally, athletes with greater initial muscle mass also have a higher basal metabolic rate. This means they can better tolerate longer dry periods and preserve their muscle mass more easily. Managing caloric deficit is easier for them.
The duration of a dry period should therefore take into account the athlete's sporting background andexperience. While an experienced athlete can tolerate longer periods of dryness and caloric deficit, first-time athletes should opt for shorter dry periods, of 8 to 10 weeks maximum, with a maximum loss of 0.5% of body weight per week.
The aim is to lose weight, but without affecting athletic performance or losing muscle. To be healthy, weight loss must be gradual and spread out over time.
How many weeks should I allow for a muscle lean?
The ideal duration is limited
As we avoid long-term creatine cures, we don't dry continuously all year round.
The ideal duration of a muscle dry is deliberately limited, to prevent the physical and psychological fatigue² associated with caloric restriction. It's also a way of staying motivated.
Sportsmen and women looking for performance plan it within a very precise time frame, broken down into sub-objectives.
The right duration is that which corresponds to a maximum loss of 2 kg of fat per month, on average. This figure also depends on the objective to be achieved, previous sporting experience and the body's adaptive response.
Duration adapted to muscle fibers
Skeletal muscles are composed of three types of fibers³ :
- type I slow fibers
- type IIa and IIb fast fibres.
Endurance athletes naturally have more slow fibers, which are more resistant to fatigue, suggesting that they are more resistant to long dry periods (of the order of 12 to 16 weeks).
Conversely, athletes who tend to train for resistance exercise series with a predominance of fast fibers generally aim for shorter dries (2 months), as their metabolism is more sensitive to catabolism.
All this remains theoretical, but there's no substitute for individual, personalized follow-up with an expert to determine the optimum duration of the dry period according to the sport practised: fitness, hiit, bodybuilding... each sportsman has his own precise program.
There's no point in trying to dry out too quickly. In both cases, it's important to aim for gradual weight loss on the one hand, and sufficient protein intake on the other, to keep you going without losing muscle.
Reducing calories too quickly and losing weight quickly can lead to health problems, weight gain and muscle loss.
Our tips for optimizing your dryer
Calculate dry time according to your objective
Before starting a weight loss program, it's a good idea to consider your objectives and then define the total number of kilos you want to lose.
Short dries, lasting from 4 to 8 weeks, are designed, for example, for athletes with a competition deadline, or for those with a simple weight category to reach in the near future. They are also suitable for those wishing to lose little adipose tissue, such as ectomorphs. In this case, the emphasis is on calorie reduction, which can be accentuated by the time constraint.
The recommended optimal duration of 8 to 12 weeks is aimed at a majority of people, such as those who have anticipated their competition deadline or those who have completed a mass gain phase.
The success of the dry phase lies in the more gradual reduction in food intake.
Lastly, longer dries, beyond 14 weeks, are reserved for people with fewer time constraints and who tolerate the caloric deficit well. However, longer than 14 weeks of dry training increases the risk of overtraining, with consequent muscle loss.
The reasonable target is a loss of 1 to 2 kg per month to avoid the yo-yo rebound effect linked to the body's metabolic adaptation.
Eat plenty of protein
The importance of proteins in the dietary plan during a dry period is well established. They are consumed every day for their multiple metabolic roles and for their effects on the repair of post-workout muscle damage. Proteins are what enable the body to maintain and/or build muscle mass.
Protein supplements such as whey are therefore recommended after training to stimulate recovery. It limits protein breakdown, prevents muscle fatigue and promotes muscle growth.
In addition to proteins, it's advisable tobalance your meals in terms of macro-nutrients to optimize every gram of food swallowed. Favoring products rich in complex carbohydrates, such as brown rice, is also an interesting diet strategy when you're on a leaner diet. Just as eating fruit and vegetables can help optimize calories.
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Think about sleep and hydration
Sleep debt can also reduce muscle mass, even if high-intensity physical activity is performed in parallel⁴.
This impact on the muscles means you need to take care with your sleep during a lean phase. We recommend an average of 8 hours' sleep per night, and avoiding screens for at least 30 minutes before falling asleep.
Hydration is a prerequisite for performance. Mild dehydration alters both physical and cognitive performance, such as the ability to concentrate.
Conclusion
The definition of a muscle lean does not concern muscle gain as such, but rather the reduction of the fat mass surrounding the muscles. While the principle is based, as for weight loss, on a combination of cardio, strengthening and a suitable diet, the dietary program to be followed is more complex in terms of the distribution of nutrients and the management of the caloric deficit.
As for the duration of a muscle lean, this depends on a number of factors, including the accumulated fat mass you wish to shed, your basal metabolism, your sporting experience and your body's adaptation to the caloric deficit. To limit muscle wasting, the reduction in calories, combined with a sports program, must be gradual.
Surrounding yourself with an expert coach helps you avoid common mistakes and optimize your weight loss by adjusting the number of repetitions in your workouts and your diet. The choice of food and products also plays a key role in sustaining energy and promoting muscle recovery.
A progressive, personalized approach is the best way to achieve a successful lean. Properly implemented, it represents a gain in body control and athletic performance.
