Confused about maintenance, muscle, and recomp
krael65
Posts: 306 Member
Hi all. I've been reading a bit about recomp, and think it's something I'd like to do. But I'm confused as to how to go about it.
My stats:
- 52 yo female
- 5'2"
- maintaining, 112-115 lbs
I dropped 20+ pounds over the last year. My main form of activity is walking.
I'm fairly satisfied with my current weight. However, I have some extra flabby bits. (I've heard the term "looking like a melted candle"... seems to describe me. I had twins at 42; that's my excuse!) I wouldn't mind dropping a couple more pounds, but it's not required. Since I did mainly cardio during my weight loss, I believe it's time to add lifting back into the mix.
From what I'm reading about recomp, one is advised to lift progressively heavier weights, eat at or slightly below TDEE (including adequate protein), and do minimal cardio, preferably in the form of HIIT.
I use a FitBit Blaze to track my CO. I'm short -- and without my purposeful walking (60 minutes most days), my TDEE seems to be around 1600-1700 calories. Now, I like food. So I walk. So's I can burn more calories. So's I can eat more food. 1700 calories is so very much not enough for me!
QUESTIONS
- Will my 60 minute walks interfere with recomp? Is it considered too much cardio? If I do less cardio, my TDEE will be lower, and therefore I will not be able to eat as much. This is important to me.
- What happens if I lift weights, but don't necessarily do a "recomp"? I recently added a Fitness Blender workout to my rotation: "Total Body Strength Training with Dumbbells - Challenging Dynamic Superset Workout". Am I building muscle? Am I just strengthening what I have? I sure feel like it's doing something... is this just a waste of my time?
- What is the alternative to recomp when using weights -- would it be just maintaining the muscle I have? I've heard people say "there's no such thing as toning". But what if one is lifting, but not progressively heavier weights... I sure feel achy -- it must be doing something?! Don't the muscles get tighter, even if you're not adding muscle, per se? (And wouldn't that be what people refer to as "toning"?)
- What do people do after they've built all of the muscle they can or want to build? How does one maintain that muscle, if one is not lifting progressively heavier weights? I mean, at some point a person has to max out (either physically or emotionally). No?
Thanks in advance. Any insight appreciated!
My stats:
- 52 yo female
- 5'2"
- maintaining, 112-115 lbs
I dropped 20+ pounds over the last year. My main form of activity is walking.
I'm fairly satisfied with my current weight. However, I have some extra flabby bits. (I've heard the term "looking like a melted candle"... seems to describe me. I had twins at 42; that's my excuse!) I wouldn't mind dropping a couple more pounds, but it's not required. Since I did mainly cardio during my weight loss, I believe it's time to add lifting back into the mix.
From what I'm reading about recomp, one is advised to lift progressively heavier weights, eat at or slightly below TDEE (including adequate protein), and do minimal cardio, preferably in the form of HIIT.
I use a FitBit Blaze to track my CO. I'm short -- and without my purposeful walking (60 minutes most days), my TDEE seems to be around 1600-1700 calories. Now, I like food. So I walk. So's I can burn more calories. So's I can eat more food. 1700 calories is so very much not enough for me!
QUESTIONS
- Will my 60 minute walks interfere with recomp? Is it considered too much cardio? If I do less cardio, my TDEE will be lower, and therefore I will not be able to eat as much. This is important to me.
- What happens if I lift weights, but don't necessarily do a "recomp"? I recently added a Fitness Blender workout to my rotation: "Total Body Strength Training with Dumbbells - Challenging Dynamic Superset Workout". Am I building muscle? Am I just strengthening what I have? I sure feel like it's doing something... is this just a waste of my time?
- What is the alternative to recomp when using weights -- would it be just maintaining the muscle I have? I've heard people say "there's no such thing as toning". But what if one is lifting, but not progressively heavier weights... I sure feel achy -- it must be doing something?! Don't the muscles get tighter, even if you're not adding muscle, per se? (And wouldn't that be what people refer to as "toning"?)
- What do people do after they've built all of the muscle they can or want to build? How does one maintain that muscle, if one is not lifting progressively heavier weights? I mean, at some point a person has to max out (either physically or emotionally). No?
Thanks in advance. Any insight appreciated!
0
Replies
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This very informative thread has answers to some of your questions:
Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat1 -
This very informative thread has answers to some of your questions:
Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
Thank you for responding. I've actually read through a few pages of that thread, and i wasn't really seeing answers to my questions. I guess I'll have to read further.1 -
This very informative thread has answers to some of your questions:
Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
Thank you for responding. I've actually read through a few pages of that thread, and i wasn't really seeing answers to my questions. I guess I'll have to read further.
If it isn't answered in the thread, that might be a good place to ask. I saw that you hadn't gotten an answer here, hoped that thread might help . . . sorry. I'd answer your questions here, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to give you great answers.0 -
This very informative thread has answers to some of your questions:
Recomposition: Maintaining weight while losing fat
Thank you for responding. I've actually read through a few pages of that thread, and i wasn't really seeing answers to my questions. I guess I'll have to read further.
If it isn't answered in the thread, that might be a good place to ask. I saw that you hadn't gotten an answer here, hoped that thread might help . . . sorry. I'd answer your questions here, but I'm not knowledgeable enough to give you great answers.
Thanks! I guess i didn't want to hijack that thread... but you're right. I can ask there.0 -
I'm not an expert but I've done a lot of research on weight lifting in general and I've been weight lifting for a few years.
If you're lifting but not progressively lifting then you are probably only maintaining the muscle you have and not growing your muscles.
There is no such thing as toning. That toned look you see is actually muscle that people have gotten by progressively lifting.
Genetics plays a large part in muscle growth so, yes, I would think at some point you would max out with your muscle growth. However, I would imagine that it would take years and years of progressive lifting to max out.
As for cardio, from what I understand with recomp, it's a lot of trial and error at first. So if you're losing weight while recomping then you might want to back off so much cardio.
There are definitely people here who are much more knowledgeable than me about all of this. Hopefully they will hop in and answer your questions in greater detail.2 -
Remember recomp is as much a description of changes in your body as it is a description of a process.
In other words it can be a by-product of your lifestyle and exercise or a specific goal.
I wouldn't mind dropping a couple more pounds, but it's not required. Since I did mainly cardio during my weight loss, I believe it's time to add lifting back into the mix.
One of the most important times to lift is when you are in a deficit - what a shame you didn't, you may have been happier with your body now.....
From what I'm reading about recomp, one is advised to lift progressively heavier weights, eat at or slightly below TDEE (including adequate protein), and do minimal cardio, preferably in the form of HIIT.
Nope - it's not that prescriptive.
You need to stress your muscles, progressively heavier weights is just one way to cause overload. The simplest way and most appropriate for beginners though. No idea where you get the idea that cardio should be minimal - that's shades of body builder myths from the dark ages! No it doesn't have to be HIIT either - chose HIIT if it suits your goals and capabilities. My view is that HIIT is a very poor choice for beginners to lifting - just like lifting (proper not the fashion term) HIIT needs recovery time.
I use a FitBit Blaze to track my CO. I'm short -- and without my purposeful walking (60 minutes most days), my TDEE seems to be around 1600-1700 calories. Now, I like food. So I walk. So's I can burn more calories. So's I can eat more food. 1700 calories is so very much not enough for me!
QUESTIONS
- Will my 60 minute walks interfere with recomp? Is it considered too much cardio? If I do less cardio, my TDEE will be lower, and therefore I will not be able to eat as much. This is important to me.
Absolutely not! Walking for an hour is an irrelevance to recomp. I cycled 4000+ miles last year and still recomped.
- What happens if I lift weights, but don't necessarily do a "recomp"? I recently added a Fitness Blender workout to my rotation: "Total Body Strength Training with Dumbbells - Challenging Dynamic Superset Workout". Am I building muscle? Am I just strengthening what I have? I sure feel like it's doing something... is this just a waste of my time?
- See my first sentence. Why supersets? Don't know the program but my guess would be it's not a good choice for a beginner. Sub optimal would be my guess.
- What is the alternative to recomp when using weights -- would it be just maintaining the muscle I have? I've heard people say "there's no such thing as toning". But what if one is lifting, but not progressively heavier weights... I sure feel achy -- it must be doing something?! Don't the muscles get tighter, even if you're not adding muscle, per se? (And wouldn't that be what people refer to as "toning"?)
- I've given up trying to understand what people mean by toning! Stick to bigger/smaller, stronger/weaker.
- What do people do after they've built all of the muscle they can or want to build? How does one maintain that muscle, if one is not lifting progressively heavier weights? I mean, at some point a person has to max out (either physically or emotionally). No?
- When you stop overloading (from whatever method not just increasing weights) you stop progressing and maintain your musculature where you are. Volume is also significant - for much of my training life I've regarded twice a week training as maintenance and three times a week needed to progress.
Thanks in advance. Any insight appreciated!
Keep it simple would be my advice:- Eat at or around maintenance.
- Train effectively and enjoyably.
- It's part of life not your whole life.
9 -
I've been at this for a little over a year, lost just over 50 pounds, and am figuring out maintenance now. My workout, which is usually about 3 days a week, almost always involves some cardio and some weight training, and this hasn't changed when I moved from losing to maintenance. I also haven't made any changes to my diet for this stage (except trying to get enough calories that I don't keep losing!), and have never paid attention to micronutrients. I don't do heavy lifting, but the advice my trainer gave me was to work to muscle fatigue. That can happen with tons of reps with lighter weights or fewer reps with heavier weights. Mostly I work at a weight at which I can do 2-3 sets of 15 reps. When that gets too easy, I bump up the weight a little bit. It doesn't seem like much, and I always feel like such a lightweight compared with the serious body builders at the gym, but it's doing what I want: I'm stronger and am developing clear definition. Good enough for me!3
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Thanks for the replies, people! I had googled to find info on recomp, and there's a lot of conflicting information on the interwebs (I know, what a surprise). Hence my confusion. I mean, how do I know which are reputable sources or what is outdated info (aka, a "body builder myth from the dark ages")?
I was probably overthinking it, so this helps clear things in my mind.0 -
I still do a ton of cardio along with lifting. It's tricker to maintain weight because you have wider variance day to day in calorie burns. As long as you eat more on cardio days, you're fine.
The one concern with cardio is that it could hinder recovery from the lifting sessions. The muscle growth comes during the recovery and if that recovery time is spent with heavy cardio, then the muscle might come slower.0 -
From what I'm reading about recomp, one is advised to lift progressively heavier weights, eat at or slightly below TDEE (including adequate protein), and do minimal cardio, preferably in the form of HIIT.
I use a FitBit Blaze to track my CO. I'm short -- and without my purposeful walking (60 minutes most days), my TDEE seems to be around 1600-1700 calories. Now, I like food. So I walk. So's I can burn more calories. So's I can eat more food. 1700 calories is so very much not enough for me!
QUESTIONS
- Will my 60 minute walks interfere with recomp? Is it considered too much cardio? If I do less cardio, my TDEE will be lower, and therefore I will not be able to eat as much. This is important to me. No, walks will not interfere.
I'm not sure where you heard the minimal cardio thing, that is false
- What happens if I lift weights, but don't necessarily do a "recomp"? I recently added a Fitness Blender workout to my rotation: "Total Body Strength Training with Dumbbells - Challenging Dynamic Superset Workout". Am I building muscle? Am I just strengthening what I have? I sure feel like it's doing something... is this just a waste of my time? Most any strength training is going to help retain/build muscle. You are worryinh about details that don't matter
- What is the alternative to recomp when using weights -- would it be just maintaining the muscle I have? I've heard people say "there's no such thing as toning". But what if one is lifting, but not progressively heavier weights... I sure feel achy -- it must be doing something?! Don't the muscles get tighter, even if you're not adding muscle, per se? (And wouldn't that be what people refer to as "toning"?)See above
- What do people do after they've built all of the muscle they can or want to build? How does one maintain that muscle, if one is not lifting progressively heavier weights? I mean, at some point a person has to max out (either physically or emotionally). No?Then just keep lifting at what ever level you've reached. It's really not as complicated as you are trying to make it
Thanks in advance. Any insight appreciated!
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Thank you. Yes, I do tend to overthink things!
...and I heard the minimal cardio thing from a different web site. Happy to hear that's false.0 -
OP, I'm no expert, but recomp isn't a specific workout. It just means changing your body composition while maintaining your weight. So you will be very slowly building muscle while very slowly losing a little more fat, while staying at the same weight. It's a process that takes years.
All you really must do is some kind of activity that will build muscle and eat at the appropriate calorie level. I can't do any better on specifics than @sijomial and the recomp thread linked above. Good luck!2
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