Recomping, or building muscle while losing fat

[MikeC]

I was reading an article by a prominent trainer in which he stated recomping was misunderstood and more likely than we think. I have never had a serious conversation about recomping and would like to hear everyone's thoughts.

Have you seen anyone do it successfully and what level of muscularity where they able to achieve?

[Soldier]

I think the idea that there are only 3 approaches to take is flawed. People think you either have to get fat to also gain muscle or cut 3lb/week to lose fat, and if you don't want to do either of those things (Who does?!) then you have to stay right in the middle and recomp.

Right now I'm doing a hard cut, but that's because I'm in an extreme situation. If I were trying to maintain mass while cutting then I would be aiming to lose no more than 1lb/week, probably less. If I were trying to add mass/strength then I would aim for just 2-300 extra calories a day at the most. This would result in gaining about 1lb every 2 weeks, and even then it would certainly include plenty of fat.

Yes, recomping is certainly possible, but don't discount the idea of shifting your focus just slightly towards cutting or bulking without getting to crazy with it. I firmly believe that doing 4 alternating 3 month cycles of running a slight calorie deficit then running a slight surplus will give most people better results than a year of straight recomping. This also gives you a reason to keep very close attention to your diet, which will always give you better results then letting your focus slip off of your diet.

[austin.j.taylor]

I did this for about 18 months. The results were very slow, but I got results. I went from 292 to 245 bw. I went from 185 to 212 lbm. Both were measured with electronic impedence scale, so accuracy could be off. I also added about 500 pounds to my powerlifting total during this timeframe. I simply ate 500 over on lifting days and 500 under on non lifting days, ensuring that I got at least 200g protein and 100g of fat a day filling the rest with carbs. It worked, but I would much rather cut and bulk now. If I was massively skinny fat I would recommend the recomp. i was very skinny fat and it worked well.

[Soldier]

Originally Posted by austin.j.taylor

I did this for about 18 months. The results were very slow, but I got results. I went from 292 to 245 bw. I went from 185 to 212 lbm. Both were measured with electronic impedence scale, so accuracy could be off. I also added about 500 pounds to my powerlifting total during this timeframe. I simply ate 500 over on lifting days and 500 under on non lifting days, ensuring that I got at least 200g protein and 100g of fat a day filling the rest with carbs. It worked, but I would much rather cut and bulk now. If I was massively skinny fat I would recommend the recomp. i was very skinny fat and it worked well.

I like the idea of alternating only carbs to change your caloric intake depending on whether it's a training day or not. When I go to maintenance once I reach my cutting goals I'll still only be eating carbs after training on training days.

[kitarpyar]

I started some time back on what I call a recomp-cut. Basically it is a very slow cut, over the entire period of time, I will be in caloric deficit and losing fat (hence the "cut"). But interspersed in this period are calorie surplus, higher carb days around the heavy training sessions.

I sure hope that recomp is not a myth.

But yes, given its nature the changes on the scale will be very slow, and it will take a much longer time to see results.

[austin.j.taylor]

Originally Posted by Soldier

I like the idea of alternating only carbs to change your caloric intake depending on whether it's a training day or not. When I go to maintenance once I reach my cutting goals I'll still only be eating carbs after training on training days.

When i get to 235-240, i will go back to this style of eating to maintain weight while leaning out and getting stronger. I want to be able to water cycle to 231. i will still carry some fat at 235-240, but I want to re comp that over the next 2 or so years.