How to recomp??
smille01
Posts: 32 Member
So I've learned a lot since joining MFP. I know that you cannot build new muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus, so my question is, how do you 'reshape' your body without having to purposely gain weight? Is it possible? I've lost 50 pounds since having my son and I don't want to gain some back to get the body I want. My biggest complaint is my butt- I lost the weight pretty quickly and its kind of flat and saggy now. I'd like a round butt again...is that possible while eating at a caloric deficit? People have recommended squats, but is that pointless when I'm not eating a surplus to gain more muscle?
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Replies
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Bump?0
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Recomping is painfully slow and requires absolute compliance as far diets go. Even if you can properly execute one, the results will be far less then if you do traditional bulk and cut cycling. Most people end up just spinning their wheels on a recomp. Why not do a lean bulk where you gain about 6 lbs total over the course of 6 months, followed by a 1 to 2 month cut where you lose any fat you added on the bulk? In the long run, doing cycles like that will yield much quicker and noticeable results.0
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You absolutely can build muscle. You might not compete in the mr Olympia but you can gain muscle. Consider that Sylvester Stallone cut crazy calories when he got lean and muscular for Rocky 3. You are looking to firm up not add slabs of muscle. Do the squats. Nothing will give you a butt faster.0
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I have a similar goal OP but in the opposite direction. I'm trying to gain a leaner look, less bf% but without losing weight. After feedback from a lot of knowledgeable folks on MFP I'm trying what vismal just suggested, a lean bulk process to be followed by a cut. I'm only one week into it. The hardest part so far is eating the extra calories. I'm pretty full right now as of 7:45pm but still have about 500 calories to consume.
Good Luck!0 -
She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.0
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If it is impossible to build muscle while eating fewer calories then a lot of people are wasting their money on P90 X , Insanity and gym memberships lol. In fact if you want to lose weight and look good you have to do those two things. Of course I'm assuming you have weight to lose. If you are super skinny, then cutting calories would be counterproductive.0
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She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.0 -
She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
actually if you check out his profile he was over 300 lbs at one point.0 -
She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
actually if you check out his profile he was over 300 lbs at one point.
We'll then obviously he did it then lol.0 -
sorry bud, former 300 lber here. You didn't gain tons of muscle while losing tons of weight, that just doesn't happen naturally. You probably had muscle built, lost the fat around it and looked more muscular. The obese can make small gains in mass when they first start lifting but not anything anyone would consider "tons of muscle". The average completely untrained male can only gain about 26 lbs of mass naturally in 1 year, and that is in a surplus. Women can only hope for about half as much again if they are in a surplus.She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.0 -
She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
Maybe losing 30 pounds uncovered your muscles? Anyway read this.......http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1276219-i-went-from-morbidly-obese-to-6-pack-abs-ask-me-anything0 -
no I didn't. I lost the fat first then did exactly as I advised the OP, bulk slowly followed by a short fat loss phase. I've been doing that ever since my initial weight loss.She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
actually if you check out his profile he was over 300 lbs at one point.
We'll then obviously he did it then lol.0 -
sorry bud, former 300 lber here. You didn't gain tons of muscle while losing tons of weight, that just doesn't happen naturally. You probably had muscle built, lost the fat around it and looked more muscular. The obese can make small gains in mass when they first start lifting but not anything anyone would consider "tons of muscle". The average completely untrained male can only gain about 26 lbs of mass naturally in 1 year, and that is in a surplus. Women can only hope for about half as much again if they are in a surplus.She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
Ok man. No need arguing about it.
. So you lost all your weight before you started weight training? That probably is the better way to go. Losing weight is way easier when you don't work out because you don't get so hungry all the time. 0 -
Again, no. I did weight training through the majority of my loss. I would never advise someone not to lift while losing weight. Lifting ensures you maintain lean mass while you lose weight. You won't gain muscle but you prevent muscle from being broken down.
sorry bud, former 300 lber here. You didn't gain tons of muscle while losing tons of weight, that just doesn't happen naturally. You probably had muscle built, lost the fat around it and looked more muscular. The obese can make small gains in mass when they first start lifting but not anything anyone would consider "tons of muscle". The average completely untrained male can only gain about 26 lbs of mass naturally in 1 year, and that is in a surplus. Women can only hope for about half as much again if they are in a surplus.She won't gain muscle in a deficit naturally. Stallone was admittedly on boatloads of anabolic. Naturals simply don't gain appreciatable amounts of muscle while in a deficit, especially not females. Muscle building is an extremely time consuming process even while in a surplus.
All I can say is I lost 30 pounds and built a lot of muscle from scratch at 46 absolutely on a calorie deficit and naturally. If you are overweight why would you have to eat more calories in order to lose weight and get lean muscle? You look good my man but I'll bet you were always thin and what they call a hard gainer. I am quite the opposite. Training builds muscle and diet shows it.
Ok man. No need arguing about it.. So you lost all your weight before you started weight training? That probably is the better way to go. Losing weight is way easier when you don't work out because you don't get so hungry all the time.0 -
I'll post some articles for you on the subject. Here"s one
http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2011/12/fitness-fact-or-fiction-can-you-gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/0 -
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I read the first article and stopped at the line "I don't think you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose fat." I'm not interested in reading the rest. Those are just opinions of authors, not scientific evidence. As I stated in my original post, it's possible to recomp. It's extremely slow. Most people screw it up. Those who succeed would have almost certainly gained more muscle and lost more fat through traditional bulk cut cycling.I'll post some articles for you on the subject. Here"s one
http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2011/12/fitness-fact-or-fiction-can-you-gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/0 -
This should be fun0
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I read the first article and stopped at the line "I don't think you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose fat." I'm not interested in reading the rest. Those are just opinions of authors, not scientific evidence. As I stated in my original post, it's possible to recomp. It's extremely slow. Most people screw it up. Those who succeed would have almost certainly gained more muscle and lost more fat through traditional bulk cut cycling.I'll post some articles for you on the subject. Here"s one
http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2011/12/fitness-fact-or-fiction-can-you-gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/
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I did not post them for you. I posted them for the prison that wrote the post. I'm trying to help. I'd appreciate if you"d stop making this about me. You already called me a liar. Why don't you let it go. I'm off this post now. Have fun.0 -
I read the second one. It said basically that recomp is tedious and difficult and impossible for anyone other than noobs. But hey, it is "possible".0
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I have recomped about 7% in the last 6 months. I use a program called Eat to Perform. It's basically tracking your macros and carb cycling around workouts. I have also PR'd all of my lifts big time while on this program. I don't sell it. You don't even really have to buy anything. They give out most of their info for free on their FB page. I wouldn't even necessarily suggest buying their book. I would just read all the stuff they put out and watch their webinars and do it. I have not been eating at a caloric deficit except for on my one recovery day. I have only lost 4 pounds of scale weight during this process. I have photos I could show you but I don't want to be murdered by the peanut gallery who doesn't believe in body recomp. Message me if you want to see anything.
P.S. It's so freaking easy. You don't even have to try. It just happens. Slowly but it happens. You just keep working out, hitting mad PR's and you're getting more defined every month. I don't want to bulk and cut. What a pain. I just eat for performance and the recomp follows. Easy.0 -
I never called you a liar. I'm not sure where you got that from. I merely pointed out that you were misinformed on how the body works. Providing misinformation to people who are seeking legitimate help only seeks to confuse them and hamper their results. I don't question that your intentions were good, you are simply misinformed. The fact remains that the OP will be much more likely to accomplish her goals doing bulk cut cycling then attempting a recomp.0
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So I've learned a lot since joining MFP. I know that you cannot build new muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus, so my question is, how do you 'reshape' your body without having to purposely gain weight? Is it possible? I've lost 50 pounds since having my son and I don't want to gain some back to get the body I want. My biggest complaint is my butt- I lost the weight pretty quickly and its kind of flat and saggy now. I'd like a round butt again...is that possible while eating at a caloric deficit? People have recommended squats, but is that pointless when I'm not eating a surplus to gain more muscle?
P.S. Don't let science arguments make you overthink this. The answer to squats is "yes" 99% of the time. Start squatting.
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Absolutely she should squat, no questions asked. Bulking, cutting, whatever. But recomposition is not easy. While you seem to have had little trouble, your result is not typical. I also attempted to review the eat to perform website but was only met with options to buy ebooks.So I've learned a lot since joining MFP. I know that you cannot build new muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus, so my question is, how do you 'reshape' your body without having to purposely gain weight? Is it possible? I've lost 50 pounds since having my son and I don't want to gain some back to get the body I want. My biggest complaint is my butt- I lost the weight pretty quickly and its kind of flat and saggy now. I'd like a round butt again...is that possible while eating at a caloric deficit? People have recommended squats, but is that pointless when I'm not eating a surplus to gain more muscle?
P.S. Don't let science arguments make you overthink this. The answer to squats is "yes" 99% of the time. Start squatting.0 -
Absolutely she should squat, no questions asked. Bulking, cutting, whatever. But recomposition is not easy. While you seem to have had little trouble, your result is not typical. I also attempted to review the eat to perform website but was only met with options to buy ebooks.So I've learned a lot since joining MFP. I know that you cannot build new muscle unless you are in a caloric surplus, so my question is, how do you 'reshape' your body without having to purposely gain weight? Is it possible? I've lost 50 pounds since having my son and I don't want to gain some back to get the body I want. My biggest complaint is my butt- I lost the weight pretty quickly and its kind of flat and saggy now. I'd like a round butt again...is that possible while eating at a caloric deficit? People have recommended squats, but is that pointless when I'm not eating a surplus to gain more muscle?
P.S. Don't let science arguments make you overthink this. The answer to squats is "yes" 99% of the time. Start squatting.
I just look at the FB page and they put out articles all the time that pretty much say what the book says. I just read them in my feed. The idea is just that you set your macros, track them and make sure to eat 50 grams of starchy carbs before and after a work out (I go for net 200-net 250). Eat less carbs on recovery days (I go for net 100). Cut calories on recovery days if you want by about 10% (you don't even have to do that--just cut carbs) but on your heavy work out days, eat at maintenance. I have one recovery day usually. I was doing 40C/30P/30F for quite a while but lately I have been more around 30/30/40.0 -
Recomp:
Eat at maintenance and lift heavy. Be consistent and very patient. Assuming you are at the beginning stages of lifting (as in less than 2 years of lifting seriously), it is possible to sloooowly lose fat and slooowly build muscle by eating at maintenance. This is probably the only time this will work because beginners have the advantage of accelerated muscle growth.
Now, the results won't be as noticeable as the traditional bulk/cut method, but I know plenty of body builders who have transformed this way. Just be patient.
This is me eating at maintenance, unflexed. I should've taken a flexed one, but I definitely had more muscle in Feb than I did in Nov.
I was lean with some noticeable muscle by Jan/Feb, but I wanted to amp it up and gain strength/muscle a little faster, so I started bulking. I was comfortable enough mentally and physically to gain some fat/muscle. I don't care if I'm pudgy for the summer. LOL.
This is me now after a few months of bulking (I'll be continuing to bulk until this time next year). Obviously flexed. Haha. :P
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I read the first article and stopped at the line "I don't think you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose fat." I'm not interested in reading the rest. Those are just opinions of authors, not scientific evidence. As I stated in my original post, it's possible to recomp. It's extremely slow. Most people screw it up. Those who succeed would have almost certainly gained more muscle and lost more fat through traditional bulk cut cycling.I'll post some articles for you on the subject. Here"s one
http://angrytrainerfitness.com/2011/12/fitness-fact-or-fiction-can-you-gain-muscle-and-lose-fat-at-the-same-time/
I can't stand people who believe mere opinions, without significant evidence to back up said claims. *facepalm*. I just don't understand how somebody believes you can gain a significant amount of muscle, without adjusting your intake....since your protein and carbohydrate needs would increase- both of which are macronutrients weighing in at 4 calories/gram. When you add the increased amounts of protein & carbs into your diet (that is, assuming your diet currently accommodates your calorie needs rather well)....well that's a significant caloric increase
I personally can testify to 'seemingly gain muscle when losing weight', but actually just losing fat, making muscle more visible. I was an idiot at the time, and just changed my diet without doing any sort of muscular training/lifting- I ran a lot, and that's pretty much it. One day I looked down and realized that when my stomach had gotten significantly smaller, I also had what was almost a six-pack just sitting there. When i gained weight back it 'magically went away', and when I lost weight - without doing any sort of focused muscular training - it came back. I naturally have rather toned abs (for a reason I can't seem to figure out) so when I lose weight it looks like I've gained muscle mass, when in reality I've lost the visceral fat around my stomach. Your body can work in complex ways, and be deceiving if you don't know what you're dealing with. I really can't help but feel as though people confuse 'gaining muscle mass' with 'looking nice and pretty and muscular' here. At least certain individuals. Seeing muscle doesn't equate to building more muscle mass.
I agree with what everybody else here has said, and admittedly I'm merely a nutrition junkie whom doesn't know much about exercise science. But it just logically makes sense that you'd need more than your allotted intake, if you really wanted to build muscle mass.0 -
You can definitely recomp your butt and wherever else you want to tone!
Don't let the expert bodybuilders deter you. They're talking about building muscle. We're talking about maximizing the muscle that you already have. It's two different things!
When you inflate your muscles, called toning in the old world, you change your shape! That along with losing body fat will make you look great!0
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