Ambiguity regarding recomp. lifting

8R1C60
8R1C60 Posts: 17 Member
edited April 2016 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I've been reading around the whole recomp vs bulk/cut debate on this forum, and have decided I'd like to begin a stepped progression from aggressive dieting (1200kcal/day has been the order of business for the last 5 weeks) towards recomposition over the next few weeks by about a 200 calorie increase per week. Opinion is generally that it is extremely difficult to gain muscle while at a deficit and at maintenance; my question is: is it possible to get stronger at a deficit eating a large amount of protein and lifting weights?

My goal weight has been 65kg down from 75kg (currently 70.2kg), but I've figured that in the long-term this will lead to an unfeasible loss of muscle mass (5'11 male) for someone hoping to improve their rowing performance. Therefore the stepped progression towards recomp with perhaps an eye to a bulk/cut depending on the rate of improvement thereafter seems like a good idea. Thoughts?

Replies

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    It is possible to get stronger while in a deficit, though at a certain point your strength gains may very well stall and you may see some loss of strength. The latter happens more quickly when you are using a large deficit, which you are. No man should be eating 1200 calories per day. Do not move up 200 calories per week. There's no reason for it. Any increase you see on the scale if you switch straight up to maintenance is going to be water, not fat.
  • 8R1C60
    8R1C60 Posts: 17 Member
    jemhh wrote: »
    Do not move up 200 calories per week. Any increase you see on the scale if you switch straight up to maintenance is going to be water, not fat.

    I'm not scared of an increase, I'm just not done with the decrease.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    8R1C60 wrote: »
    jemhh wrote: »
    Do not move up 200 calories per week. Any increase you see on the scale if you switch straight up to maintenance is going to be water, not fat.

    I'm not scared of an increase, I'm just not done with the decrease.

    I don't understand what you are doing then. You say your first goal was 65 kg (143.) Then you say that you realized that you'd have an unfeasible loss of muscle getting there. To me that means that you've decided that your current weight (154, which is the exact weight I was at in my avi--5" shorter than you) is low enough so you're going to up your calories. But unless you eat at maintenance or above, you're going to keep losing weight.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Why wait so long to get back to maintenance from what is/was a very, very aggressive cut?
    Opinion is generally that it is extremely difficult to gain muscle while at a deficit and at maintenance
    "Deficit" is a range and not one size fits all - results seen in a massive deficit versus a small deficit are completely different.
    Extremely difficult for who? A 20 year old chubby male new to lifting or a lean highly trained individual with years of training behind them aren't going to get the same results.

    Anyone who says you can't gain muscle at maintenance is badly misinformed.
    my question is: is it possible to get stronger at a deficit eating a large amount of protein and lifting weights?
    Of course - most initial strength gain isn't from gaining muscle mass anyway.

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