Professional Development

Other CPD courses give you hours of content, stacks of forms, and no clear answer for what to do with your next client on Monday. This course is built differently.
Every module ends with a Blueprint — exactly what to do with that client, ready to use the next day. Backed by 213 references. Not bro science — actual research so you know what works, why it works, and exactly how much of it to apply.

By the end, you'll be able to:
- Identify the right recomposition candidates
- Structure training and nutrition for simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain
- Adapt across the full client spectrum, from general population to competitive athletes

Built by a personal trainer, strength and conditioning coach, and competitive powerlifter with a Master's in High-Performance Sport — because the best CPD is written by someone who applies it in real sessions, every week. Built to bridge the gap between education that is too academic to apply and, education that is too simplistic to trust.

Course Introduction 

The Science of Body Recomposition for Personal Trainers

Meet the Author

The Learning Outcomes

The Research This Course Is Built On

Entry Requirements & Prerequisites

Accessibility & Support

Key Hormones in Body Recomposition

Course Introduction

Module 1 of 12 | 1 CPD Point
This module establishes the physiological foundation for everything that follows. You will learn why fat loss and muscle gain can happen simultaneously, how stored body fat funds muscle building, and how to identify which clients are ideal candidates for recomposition. Includes 4 videos, 4 reading sections, 3 case studies, a 10-question knowledge check, and an applied task.

The Physiology of Body Recomposition

Support and Resources

Introduction & Learning Outcomes

Module at a Glance

Part 1 - Defining Body Recomposition

Part 2 - The Myth of Metabolic Antagonism

Part 3 - Energy Partitioning and the P-Ratio

Part 4 - Practical Applications for the Personal Trainer

Blueprint: Recomposition Client Framework

Applied Reasoning

Knowledge Task

Applied Task

References

Module 1: The Physiology of Body Recomposition

Energy Balance & Rate of Change
Why the body isn't a passive accountant — and what that means for every client you coach. This module covers the science of energy balance, adaptive thermogenesis, NEAT variability, and evidence-based rates of fat loss and muscle gain. You'll learn why predictive equations fall short, how the body adapts to a deficit, and how to recognise when a client's situation warrants escalation. 
Includes a 10-question Knowledge Check (80% pass mark) and an Applied Task. 1.25 CPD Points.

Energy Balance & Rate of Change

Support & Resources

Introduction and Learning Outcomes

Part 1 - Energy Balance Is Not a Simple Equation

Part 2 - Adaptive Thermogenesis & Why Maintenance Moves

Part 3 - Rates of Muscle Gain

Part 4 - Rates of Fat Loss & RED-S

Blueprint: Energy Balance Rate of Change

Knowledge Check

14 - Further Reading

Module 2: Energy Balance & Rate of Change

Most personal trainers know protein matters. Very few understand why it matters differently depending on what their client is trying to do.
This module changes that.
What you'll actually learn
We start where most nutrition education gets it wrong: the government RDA. The 0.8 g/kg recommendation was never built for a client resistance training four days a week while trying to preserve muscle in a deficit. By the end of Part 1, you'll know exactly why that number is irrelevant — and what the evidence base actually recommends instead.
Part 2 breaks down muscle protein synthesis at the biological level — what leucine does inside the muscle cell, why there's a ceiling on MPS per meal, and why a client hitting their daily protein target in two large meals gets a fraction of the muscle-protective benefit compared to someone spreading the same amount across four or five feedings.
Part 3 dismantles one of the most persistent myths in the industry. The 30-minute anabolic window is largely market

Understand Protein

Module at a glance

Part 1 - Optimal Protein Intake Beyond the RDA

Part 2 - Protein Quality and Leucine Threshold

Part 3 - Timing, Distribution and Pre-Sleep Feeding

Blueprint: Protein Programming Decision Framework

Module 3: Understanding Protein

Once protein is established, the remaining caloric budget must be allocated strategically between carbohydrates and dietary fat. This module covers the evidence-based approach to macronutrient distribution, the role of nutrient timing in supporting training and recovery, and how to apply these principles in real coaching scenarios.
Topics covered:

Carbohydrates as the performance fuel: glycogen, intracellular signalling, and cortisol management
Dietary fat: the testosterone connection and hormonal minimums (0.5–1.0 g/kg/day)
Low-carb vs low-fat diets: fat loss equivalence and performance trade-offs
Ketogenic diets and hypertrophy: why performance and muscle-building outcomes diverge
Nutrient timing as a second-order variable: when it matters and when it doesn't
Pre-training, post-training, and pre-sleep nutrition windows
The macronutrient allocation framework: fat minimums first, then carbohydrates
Applied case study: correcting a low-carb lifter's declining performance during fat los

Macronutrients, Timing, and Fuelling Performance

Part 1 - Carbohydrates: The Performance Fuel

Part 2 - Dietary Fat: Hormonal Health and Minimums

Part 3 - Low-Carb vs Low-Fat: What the Evidence Shows

Part 4 - Nutrient Timing:  A Second-Order Variable

PT Blueprint: Macronutrient allocation framework

Applied Task 

Module 4: Macronutrients, Timing, and Fuelling Performance

This module covers the evidence-based principles of resistance training applied to body recomposition. You'll learn how to prescribe training volume, intensity, and progressive overload to maximise lean mass retention during a caloric deficit — and how to apply these principles practically for your clients.

Resistance Training: Volume, Load and Effort

 Introduction & Learning Outcomes

Part 1 - Volume: The Primary Driver of Hypertrophy

Part 2 - Volume During a Deficit: The Evidence Against Cutting

Part 3 - Load Independence: Beyond the 8–12 Rep Zone

Part 4 - Effort, Failure and Reps in Reserve

Part 5 - Exercise Selection and Progressive Overload

Blueprint: Volume and load decision framework 

Module 5: Resistance Training: Volume, Load, and Effort

Why fat loss gets harder the longer a deficit runs — and what the physiology actually demands from the recovery phase.

Metabolic Adaptation and Hormones

Part 1 - Metabolic Adaptation

Part 2 - The Hormonal Cascade: Five Key Players

Part 3 - Post-Diet Recovery: Competing Clients

Blueprint: Plateau Diagnosis Sequence

Module 6: Metabolic Adaptation and Hormones

Sleep is the most undervalued variable in body recomposition. Clients adjust their calories, optimise their protein, periodise their training — and then sleep six hours a night and wonder why their results are mediocre. This module establishes the evidence: sleep duration and quality do not merely affect recovery. They fundamentally alter nutrient partitioning — determining whether the caloric deficit you have prescribed results in fat loss or muscle loss.

Part 1: the Nedeltcheva tissue partitioning data,
Part 2: the hormonal cascade of sleep deprivation,
Part 3: the mechanisms by which lean mass is specifically lost,
Part 4: the practical evidence-based interventions that make sleep a coaching variable — not a lifestyle afterthought.

Sleep and Recovery

Resources and Support

Part 1 - Sleep Restriction and Tissue Partitioning

Part 2 - The Hormonal Cascade: Cortisol, Testosterone, Insulin, and Appetite

Part 3 - Mechanisms of Lean Mass Loss

Part 4 - Practical Application: Duration, Consistency, and Sleep Hygiene

Blueprint: Sleep Assessment and Intervention Framework

Module 7: Sleep and Recovery

Energy balance determines the potential for physiological change. Human behaviour determines whether that potential is realised. This is the module where physiology meets practice. The most perfectly designed nutrition protocol fails when the client cannot maintain it. This module explores the psychological frameworks that distinguish sustained long-term results from repeated cycles of dieting and regain — and provides practical tools for designing coaching systems that survive real life.

Three parts: rigid versus flexible cognitive restraint and why clean eating fails (Part 1), environmental engineering — designing physical and social systems that reduce reliance on willpower (Part 2), and diet breaks as behavioural tools for reducing disinhibition and rehearsing maintenance (Part 3).

Behavioural Psychology and Adherence

Part 1 - Rigid vs. Flexible Cognitive Restraint

Part 2 - Environmental Engineering: Designing Systems That Work

Part 3 - Diet Breaks as Behavioural Tools

Blueprint: Flexible vs. Rigid Control Decision Framework

Module 8: Behavioural Psychology and Adherence

The foundational principles of this course — energy balance, progressive resistance training, adequate protein, and recovery — apply universally. But applying them without accounting for biological sex and age produces prescriptions that are systematically inaccurate. This module identifies where and why the standard approach must be adjusted for females and for older adults, and provides the evidence-based modifications required.

Part 1: female hypertrophy and volume tolerance
Part 2: RED-S and the 48-hour refeed, 
Part 3: anabolic resistance and protein dosing for aging athletes,
Part 4: training load, volume, and bone health for older adults. 

The Blueprint integrates all four parts into two population-specific prescription adjustment tables.

Special Populations: Females and Aging Athletes

Part 1 - Female Physiology: Hypertrophy, Fatigue, and Volume Tolerance

Part 2 - RED-S, Menstrual Function, and the 48-Hour Refeed

Part 3 - The Aging Athlete: Anabolic Resistance and Protein Dosing

Part 4 -Training for Older Adults: Load, Volume, and Bone Health

Blueprint: Female and Older Client Programming Adjustments

Module 9: Special Populations: Females and Aging Athletes

Course Completion

CONGRATULATIONS!

Most nutrition courses tell you what the research says. This one tells you what to do with it on&nbsp;Monday morning.From Fat Loss to Muscle Gain&nbsp;is an evidence-based CPD programme built for personal trainers who want to stop guessing and get&nbsp;consistent results&nbsp;with body recomposition clients. You’ll work through&nbsp;nine AUSactive-accredited modules, then&nbsp;three bonus modules at the end&nbsp;(optional advanced material outside the core CPD hour allocation).You’ll learn how to structure training and nutrition for clients who want to lose fat and build muscle at the same time — including how to match training to energy intake, set protein appropriately within scope, manage training volume, handle metabolic adaptation, and make confident coaching decisions when progress stalls.No fluff. No generic advice. Just the science, the frameworks, and the tools to coach recomposition properly.✓ 9 AUSactive-accredited modules + 3 bonus modules at the end&nbsp;| 22+ hours of content | 213 scientific references &nbsp;✓ AUSactive approved&nbsp;— 15 CPD points (AU) | 20 CPD points (NZ) &nbsp;✓ MSc High Performance Sport&nbsp;— Evidence-based, practically applied

Founding launch: $597 pay in full for the first 10 enrolments only (full value $1,247). 
Or $115 x 6 instalments. 
Lifetime access.
12 modules: 9 accredited + 3 bonus modules
22+ hrs 

From Fat Loss to Muscle Gain: The Science of Body Recomposition (AusActive)

Level

Course content

Course Description