RECOMP

Georgia422016 · March 2016

so im currently at 51kg, 165cm, around 20% body fat. I'm wanting to drop the bf to a reasonable figure to where i can achieve some ab definition for summer. currently eating 1300 with 100g protein 80-100g carbs and 40g fat. how can i lower my body fat? (been on this regime since January and seen no change! i also do weights 2x a week and cardio 2x)

middlehaitch · March 2016

You haven't been lifting long. Keep at it now you are in maintenance and you will get results. Recomp is a slow process.

What lifting programme are you following?
How are you getting your BF%?

Cheers, h.

snowflake954 · March 2016

There is a very good recomp thread by usmcrp on here. Do a search--all your questions will be answered.

Georgia422016 · March 2016

middlehaitch wrote: »

You haven't been lifting long. Keep at it now you are in maintenance and you will get results. Recomp is a slow process.

What lifting programme are you following?
How are you getting your BF%?

Cheers, h.

i currently do a full body weight session twice a week such as ;

squat 14kg
lunge 10kg
deadlift 14kg
calf raises
bicep curl 5kg
tricep extention 4kg
chest press 10kg
bent over row 10kg
plank
double leg lift
crunches

each exercise is 10 reps with 3 overall sets
(i dont have access to a barbell or weights bench currently so cant go much heavier then 7kg per dumbell)
also i had my BF measured by a machine by a personal trainer,

thanks

Sumiblue · March 2016

You are doing high rep/low weight lifting. It's good for endurance but will not challenge your muscles unless you increase the weights. If the machine you were tested on was a hand held thing or a BIA scale, they aren't accurate. Calipers, Dexa, hydrostatic or Bodpod are more accurate but still not perfect. I'm 5'2", 116 lbs and probably at around 20% BF. I can see some ab definition. 20% is generally low enough to see abs for women.

sijomial · March 2016

Georgia422016 wrote: »

middlehaitch wrote: »

You haven't been lifting long. Keep at it now you are in maintenance and you will get results. Recomp is a slow process.

What lifting programme are you following?
How are you getting your BF%?

Cheers, h.

i currently do a full body weight session twice a week such as ;

squat 14kg
lunge 10kg
deadlift 14kg
calf raises
bicep curl 5kg
tricep extention 4kg
chest press 10kg
bent over row 10kg
plank
double leg lift
crunches

each exercise is 10 reps with 3 overall sets
(i dont have access to a barbell or weights bench currently so cant go much heavier then 7kg per dumbell)
also i had my BF measured by a machine by a personal trainer,

thanks

@Georgia422016
With those light weights you aren't going to be able to use progressive overload to challenge your muscles - can't really see you making much progress with those weights/that routine.

Would suggest you drop a lot of the isolation work and massively increase the volume on the compound moves (10 x 10 for example) - creating the muscle overload with volume as opposed to increasing weight.

Maybe drop bicep curl, tricep extension, plank, calf raises and add shoulder press.

Georgia422016 · March 2016

@sijomial and. @sumiblue

surely the amount of weight is more of a relative thing? so to someone who has been lifting for 2 years they need a really heavy weight to go into overload, but someone whos not been lifting long needs a lower weight for overload due to having less strength and muscle

sijomial · March 2016

Georgia422016 wrote: »

@sijomial and. @sumiblue

surely the amount of weight is more of a relative thing? so to someone who has been lifting for 2 years they need a really heavy weight to go into overload, but someone whos not been lifting long needs a lower weight for overload due to having less strength and muscle

True - but you will progress very quickly to the point they will be a real limitation if you aren't already there. Are you struggling to complete your reps?

There should be a much higher multiplier between your isolation weights and compound lifts which suggests to me you simply don't have enough weights available.
(e.g. 4kg tricep extension and 10kg bench press doesn't sound like anywhere near enough for your bench press.)

jennyonthespot · March 2016

@Georgia422016 I'm also very interested in this subject, since I tend to enjoy calisthenics more than lifting heavy (blasphemy, I know). You might find this article from Bret Contreras helpful.

https://bretcontreras.com/progressive-overload/

cwolfman13 · March 2016

sijomial wrote: »

Georgia422016 wrote: »

@sijomial and. @sumiblue

surely the amount of weight is more of a relative thing? so to someone who has been lifting for 2 years they need a really heavy weight to go into overload, but someone whos not been lifting long needs a lower weight for overload due to having less strength and muscle

True - but you will progress very quickly to the point they will be a real limitation if you aren't already there. Are you struggling to complete your reps?

There should be a much higher multiplier between your isolation weights and compound lifts which suggests to me you simply don't have enough weights available.
(e.g. 4kg tricep extension and 10kg bench press doesn't sound like anywhere near enough for your bench press.)

Emphasizing the bolded...also, I'd think there would be a higher multiplier between a powerful leg movement like a squat (using some of the largest muscles in your body) vs bench press/chest press.

Beyond that, re-comp takes a very long time...like years, not months. I've essentially been re-comping going on about three years...I'm 5 Lbs heavier than I was three years ago with the same BF% (about 12%) and currently I'm in a small cut to get to around 10%. If my figures are correct, that will put me at the same weight I was three years ago with a 2% reduction in BF. My body looks much different than it did three years ago though...I look like I workout, back then I really didn't.

Sumiblue · March 2016

Heavy is relative. But if you can do 10 reps it's not heavy for you.
Squats and DLs engage the posterior chain if form is good. That's hard enough to do with a barbell. I'm not sure how effective doing those lifts with DBs would be as the load on your body would be different. Single leg DL & Romanian DL are great DB lifts and would work the hamstrings. Goblet squats are good DB squats.
It's not that there is no value in low weight/high rep lifting. It's just that it's unlikely to get you to your goal of recomposition. Losing body fat has more to do with diet than anything. Progressive lifting is useful for recomp because as you diet and lose fat you have more developed muscles to reveal.

Georgia422016 · March 2016

sijomial wrote: »

Georgia422016 wrote: »

@sijomial and. @sumiblue

surely the amount of weight is more of a relative thing? so to someone who has been lifting for 2 years they need a really heavy weight to go into overload, but someone whos not been lifting long needs a lower weight for overload due to having less strength and muscle

True - but you will progress very quickly to the point they will be a real limitation if you aren't already there. Are you struggling to complete your reps?

There should be a much higher multiplier between your isolation weights and compound lifts which suggests to me you simply don't have enough weights available.
(e.g. 4kg tricep extension and 10kg bench press doesn't sound like anywhere near enough for your bench press.)

yeah i only have dumbells up to 14kg, i can squat more like 20-25kg with a barbell but have no access to it

@sijomial

Sumiblue · March 2016

Maybe look into body weight exercises. I hear a lot of people like You Are Your Own Gym or Nerd Fitness' body weight plan. I haven't tried them, personally. Old fashioned pull-ups & pushups are challenging and you are using your own body's weight. Good luck!

Sumiblue · March 2016

Btw, 1300 sounds like deficit calories. Recomposition is done at maintenance calories. Plug your info into MFP and put maintain as your goal.

Yi5hedr3 · March 2016

Drop your carb range another 20 grams (raise fats to compensate).

RECOMP

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