Fitness Roadtest: Integrated Fitness and Nutrition

Posted on 6 January, 2016

‘Flatter abs in 14 days!’ ‘4 week weight loss program!’ ‘Drop a dress size in 8 days!’

Are you as tired of it as I am?

It’s the promise of weight loss in a short period of time that lures so many of us in, particularly at this time of the year – new year, new you, right?

Here’s a revelation for you: body recomposition.

It was new to me anyway, when an email landed in my inbox from Tom Fitzgerald of Integrated Nutrition and Fitness, inviting me to try their six week [RECOMPOSITION] program.

Before I get into the program, let’s talk about what this term actually means. Your body composition is what you are made of – muscle, fat, bone, etc. The aim of the program is to improve you body composition, primarily by increasing muscle tissue and decreasing fat mass. The emphasis is taken off the scales and put on improving what you really want.

To do this, you receive one personal training or small-group training session a week, a program for the gym and a personalised nutrition plan.

I filled out the screening forms which asked about my experience, the types of activity I was currently doing, what my expectations and goals where, and what kinds of food I was eating.

A short time later, I received a program for the gym and a Personalised Nutrition Program, which not only contained a personalised overview, a macronutrient breakdown and timing guide, but an example daily meal plan, information on fluid intake and supplementation, and suggestions on what to eat when I was out and tips on meal prep.

Tom Fitzgerald

I love this plan and I’m still using it, two weeks after the program finished. What I love is that it contains detailed information about how much fat, protein and carbohydrates I need, but translated this into simple, easy meals. I didn’t feel like it was restrictive (although, obviously I didn’t spend six weeks gorging on chocolate and booze), I hardly ever felt hungry (which is saying something because I eat a lot), and preparing meals was a breeze. The food wasn’t overly expensive or fancy, just wholesome, simple and delicious.

On the first Saturday of the program, I went into House of Reps (clever name, I know) in Braddon for my training session and my body scan. I met Kimberley from iBodyScan, who used the scan to analyses my body fat, muscle, bone and things like visceral fat (fat around your organs) and I got to take home a report that detailed my body composition.

I found this so much better than jumping on the scales or doing before and after photos. It’s specific, measurable and importantly, focuses on what really matters: your body fat to lean muscle ratio. For me, my body fat wasn’t too high but I definitely needed to add some muscle. Kimberley explained the report to me in full, including where I stored the most of my fat (my middle – no surprises there) and details like which side of my body is stronger.

House of Reps gym

As far as the personal training went, I loved my first session and every session since. My fitness goal for the program was to be able to do a body weight pull up, so each week we would work on pull ups and exercises to strengthen my back, as well as whole body workouts doing squats, deadlifts, sled pulls and more. Every session was different but each one was fun and challenging, with a focus on technique and safety.

What really set Tom apart for me was his background. Not only is he a great personal trainer but he has a really solid knowledge of nutrition and especially nutrition for sports performance. Tom says he played a lot of sport when he was young, but really discovered his passion while at university.

“I was always interested in sports performance and training for sports performance, so I went to uni to do exercise science and ended up doing a double degree with nutrition. As I went through that, I was actually more interested in the nutrition, I thought there were more things that you can change up nutritionally, particularly for body recomposition then you could with training.”

Tom explains that it’s the interaction between training and nutrition, particularly for body composition is what he finds particularly interesting.

“I finished my 4 year degree in 2013, started Integrated Fitness and Nutrition in 2014 and then continued to work with a few people in the UK and the US, tapping into their experience I’m also doing a sports nutrition certification with the International Society of Sports Nutrition and sitting my exam in February.”

The six week body recomposition program is actually more of a “taster” for the 12 week program that Integrated Fitness and Nutrition run, which includes three sessions per week.

“I wanted to have something a bit shorter and sharper that people can try, see the results and see that the 12 week program is really worth the investment.”

What’s so special about 12 weeks, you ask?

“It’s almost the typical duration of a program” Tom laughs.

“It’s not because we guarantee you results in 12 weeks, it’s that you have to commit to it for 12 weeks. You can lose fat in four weeks, you can build muscle in four weeks, but to do both takes a greater level of commitment.”

The 12 week program becomes more of a cycle for most of Tom’s clients, with the majority staying on, altering their training or nutrition as their goals progress and change over time.

The [RECOMPOSITION] program is a good place to start, as it not only gives you an opportunity to see if you like the program (you will), but it also provides you with a nice platform to launch from.

“Nutritionally, it takes about four to six weeks to get really good results. Once you get that initial bit out of the way, your results improve because you have a really solid base” Tom says.

As far as results go, I am over the moon. The food in the nutrition plan gave me energy to fuel my workouts, I noticed lower body fat, especially around my core, greater muscle definition (hello there, biceps) and my overall fitness has definitely increased. Did I get that pull up? Sadly not, but that had a lot more to do with my car accident in week five of training rather than the program. I should say as well that Tom was a godsend in my time of need, giving me advice, permission to rest, and rescheduling sessions to accommodate my injury.

If you’re interested in signing up, the next six week program is starting February 13, and HerCanberra readers will be offered an exclusive $10 per week discount and a sneaky early registration!

the essentials

What: Integrated Fitness and Nutrition [RECOMPOSITION] Program
When: Starts 13 February 2016
Where: House of Reps, Braddon
How much: Exclusively for HerCanberra readers, $60 per week for small group training, or $120 per week for one-on-one
Web: integratedfitnessnutrition.com/hercanberra