Not much progress with body recomposition?

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Replies

  • maizerage66
    maizerage66 Posts: 367 Member
    I personally like 3x5 for strength and 3x10 for growth and I vary it according the the specific exercise any my goal for that set of muscles.

    Whoa 10 sets? That's a lot of volume.

    What is the consequence of low sets 1-3 vs high sets 5-10? I understand Strength, Hypertrophy, and Endurance training as it relates to reps, but what effect do the number of sets have?

    I'm pretty sure they meant 3 sets of 10 reps...

    As for the question, I've got nothing to add to the great advice being given. OP, you look fabulous right now so don't be too bummed if things go slower than you'd like. I know that you said you're not in a rush and everything but some people eventually want to see results faster. Lift heavy, eat right, rest and recover and you'll be good to go. You've come a long way and you're looking great :flowerforyou:
  • epadmeister
    epadmeister Posts: 102 Member
    Great stuff everyone, this is why I love MFP :) I even got a response from a moderator which makes me feel super special :blushing:

    I have some homework to do - ha, kind of embarrassed about thinking "body recomposition" results would be visible in four weeks....well now I know better! Thanks everybody!
  • husseycd
    husseycd Posts: 814 Member
    I've been recomping for a year and didn't really start seeing improvements until about 6 months in. At this point, I'm ready to bulk, at least a small one (~5 lbs in 5 months).
  • inimical909
    inimical909 Posts: 11 Member
    Body recomp seems to take the longest of anything for me! Stick with it and add tiny bits of weight as you go along.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    Well, you can't bulk and cut at the same time. While building muscle you eat the surplus, say for a month or two, then while cutting you eat a deficit, for the same period of time. It looks like you may be fluctuating too fast?
  • 212019156
    212019156 Posts: 341 Member
    To OP, I have not read this entire thread, but curious as to how much fat do you want to cut? If your pics are current you look pretty lean already.
  • epadmeister
    epadmeister Posts: 102 Member
    I'd like to get to 18 - 20% body fat eventually :) yeah, this is why I got really confuaed with what I was doing... one minute I'm wanting to lose weight, next I want to eat enough to build muscle.... I don't want to be seesawimg anymore!

    Like people have said, it'll take lots and lots of time, effort and patience. Luckily I think I've got all three now, especially after seeing some AMAZING progress pics of members who've posted on here!
  • SeptemberLondon
    SeptemberLondon Posts: 151 Member
    There's a lot of great advice on here - what a great community!

    OP - you're right, you have some research to do. You've done great so far - continued success!! :flowerforyou:
  • MyRummyHens
    MyRummyHens Posts: 141 Member
    I personally like 3x5 for strength and 3x10 for growth and I vary it according the the specific exercise any my goal for that set of muscles.

    Whoa 10 sets? That's a lot of volume.

    What is the consequence of low sets 1-3 vs high sets 5-10? I understand Strength, Hypertrophy, and Endurance training as it relates to reps, but what effect do the number of sets have?

    I'm pretty sure they meant 3 sets of 10 reps...

    As for the question, I've got nothing to add to the great advice being given. OP, you look fabulous right now so don't be too bummed if things go slower than you'd like. I know that you said you're not in a rush and everything but some people eventually want to see results faster. Lift heavy, eat right, rest and recover and you'll be good to go. You've come a long way and you're looking great :flowerforyou:

    I did yes! 3 sets of 5 reps for strength and 3 sets of 10 reps for growth. Apologies if that was unclear.
  • epadmeister
    epadmeister Posts: 102 Member
    Okay guys, that's it :) I'm no longer gonna be the "calorie-phobe". I'm going to move on from the whole "I lost weight YAY" phase and get serious about changing the way my body looks!

    This is gonna take ages... I'm looking forward to it! Starting tomorrow I'll get down all my measurements for arms, thighs, waist, neck, hips, chest... am I missing anything?! :P

    Also, gonna keep a strict eye on the weights I lift and make sure I carry on progressing. I've set my goal calories to 1800, will keep an eye on weight fluctuations over the next few weeks!

    BEFORE I GO (and I promise this won't take long!)..... if my weight goes up a bit more than I want it to, and it turns out that I really AM eating too many calories, do I go back into calorie deficit or just... keep... going? I get the feeling it's gonna be "just keep going" as long as the measurements don't increase a lot as well!

    THANK YOU :bigsmile: :flowerforyou: :drinker:
  • 212019156
    212019156 Posts: 341 Member
    Yep, I wouldn't fret over it too much. Whatever you have done has worked really well. If you put some muscle on and lose a little more fat on you could consider doing some physique competitions. You have a very symmetrical build.
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    Good luck OP,

    Remember that with a bulk you will gain fat too, but if you find out your maintenance level, and count your calories well, get your protein and lifting right, you'll be on track to gain that precious 1/4 lb of muscle a week. You know you can cut, you're good at that, when you feel your measurements getting too big, or your clothes toooo tight, you can go back to slow cutting and preserving muscle. Rinse and repeat, slowly changing your composition in cycles.

    At least you'll be more organised in your approach. Either gaining muscle with excess calories or melting fat with a small cut.(I cut at 100 cals under per day. It takes a loooong time but it's worth it, and I don't feel like I'm dieting, or get injured.)

    Aim for 1/2lb gain a week which is 1700 calories or 250 extra calories per day. This is in addition to your daily needs. If you do cardio (not recommended during bulk) eat those calories back.
  • epadmeister
    epadmeister Posts: 102 Member
    Okay ladies and jellyspoons!

    Measurements and weight have officially been recorded! (Weight's gone up 0.5kgs since yesterday... blow it, I'm counting 55.6kg as my starting weight even though it'll make my ticker look bad :laugh: )

    Weight: 55.6kg
    Neck: 11.8"
    Waist: 26"
    Hips: 34"
    Chest: 33"
    Arms: 10.2"
    Thighs: 20.5"

    Body fat % according to scales: 27.5%
    Body fat % according to this calculator: http://www.machinehead-software.co.uk/bike/training/body_fat/body_fat_percentage.html - 20.2% :laugh: I like this number more!

    I'm so psyched for this... can you tell? :drinker: :bigsmile: :wink:

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