Do you believe in "recomp" as an intentional goal?

[Worldsfastestfatty]

Hey,

I was talking to an absolute rocket in the gym; I've just come to the end of my current blast which had some performance based goals and I was explaining my target now is to maintain or even improve these new performance benchmarks through my cruise and therefore I would keep food at maintenance levels whilst continuing to pushing overload where I can and recomping a little over next 3-4 months before I go on again.

... and the guy lost his shit; like complete emotional reaction calling me a moron, claimed recomping is impossible yada-yada. I yawned and walked off cause I ain't got time for that negativity.

But then I looked on other UK bodybuilding sites/forums and it seems here in the UK "recomp" is very frowned upon - and I'm not sure why.

Like don't get me wrong; nobody is recomping to stage condition of you're a body builder, and you're unlikely to recomp your way to a world title at a strength sport BUT there's a time and a place (ie. cruise periods) where recomp, for me at least makes sense - and it seems to work for me - understandably there are limitations to what you can achieve in a given time period whilst "recomping".

So what say you guys; do you agree recomping doesn't work at all? There is no application for it? Or is this another case of the UK fitness community being blindly dogmatic and once again lacking nuance?

 

[Alzadosghost]

I’m trying to recomp all year long every year while adding muscle. It’s not only possible but it’s probable with the right genetics,diet, sports technology drugs and the training mindset of an animal. I just couldn’t continue to go from stay puffed marshmallow man to Bruce Lee. That lifestyle was madness to me and felt like death dieting all that bloat and fat off. I knew it wasn’t healthy so I rethought everything I was doing. Not being able to add muscle while losing bodyfat used to be something that was not thought possible in the mainstream but it is possible. No more massive weight fluctuations, no more force feeding till I’m sick. I just grow slow. Almost unnoticed on the scale but the look is there.

 

[bbxtreme]

Jay Cutler used to talk about “recomp” all the time in his DVD’s.

Interesting topic as I had forgotten about it until I saw a FB post from him on it the other day. He was discussing how his stage weight and contest weight weren’t drastically different like other competitors because of the body recomposition phases.

I personally think it’s possible and much healthier than making massive weight fluctuations as you become more advanced as a bodybuilder.

 

[Alzadosghost]

I’m talking all this shit and I haven’t posted any pics in a while. When my gf gets home I’ll have her take some so I can show everybody where I’m at.

 

[Fa Seeshus]

It is easier and more enjoyable to do cardio when you are on less gear. Dunno why people think it is only fine in prep.

 

[Dumbbell2008]

I’m trying to recomp all year long every year while adding muscle. It’s not only possible but it’s probable with the right genetics,diet, sports technology drugs and the training mindset of an animal. I just couldn’t continue to go from stay puffed marshmallow man to Bruce Lee. That lifestyle was madness to me and felt like death dieting all that bloat and fat off. I knew it wasn’t healthy so I rethought everything I was doing. Not being able to add muscle while losing bodyfat used to be something that was not thought possible in the mainstream but it is possible. No more massive weight fluctuations, no more force feeding till I’m sick. I just grow slow. Almost unnoticed on the scale but the look is there.

I agree.

 

[bbxtreme]

I’m talking all this shit and I haven’t posted any pics in a while. When my gf gets home I’ll have her take some so I can show everybody where I’m at.

Don’t be shit talking without posting any pics now.

You know @SouthernMuscle is going to come up in here and call your ass out. LOL

 

[Tomgrass]

Of course, lets say you were on high dose of test bloated from poor nutrition. What do you think gonna happened if you for 8-10 weeks will do 300 mg prop 600 primo 50 var a day keep carbs around 200-300 and 300 grams proteins. For the last 4 weeks you will add some clen or eca. You for sure will look different.

 

[Alzadosghost]

You can still get shredded on 1500mg of test. Iv done it lots of times. Being bloated has more to do with what you’re eating and how much estrogen is circulating through your blood. A little hgh some eq or tren or primo and some cardio works wonders. Iv never used clen so I know nothing about it. The diet and right drug combo and cardio will go further than eca will. That Iv used a lot of but I don’t and haven’t in many years. I try and not use any stimulants any more. I don’t even drink coffee. I have better luck staying lean and losing bodyfat with 400-500 grams of protein. It’s a lot but it works.

 

[Alzadosghost]

Don’t be shit talking without posting any pics now.

You know @SouthernMuscle is going to come up in here and call your ass out. LOL

I try taking my own pics but they end up looking really dumb. And I’m not a guy why would snap pics in the gym. Lol

 

[pistonpump]

Yea it's been a thing I've heard maybe the past year or two that recomp is a waste of time. Not sure if u believe it as my last blast I had the same intention and made good progress. If there is heavy bulking and extreme cutting on opposite ends why wouldn't there be a middle ground where things move slower then say a clean bulk? If you aren't moving the scale and you aren't getting fatter but performance is increasing then u must be producing something with the drugs and the training and a maintenance type of diet. I would say it is still producing results that can be maintained, then it's not a waste. Recomp phase is good too if youre not trying to push the drugs

 

[luki7788]

recomp is possible but not if you weigh e.g. 240 lbs 12% bf and you want to be 250 lbs 6-7% bf

 

[Sacario]

Tren! Only drug I've done where I've stayed the exact same weight and lost a lot of fat. Man I miss that shit.

But ya most the year I just eat a little above maintenance and then if I see too much fluff I'll eat a little less than maintenance for a few weeks. Averaging 5 to 7 lbs a year this way the past few years. 90% of the time I'm just on a trt dose of 15 mg a day with GH from 4 to 8iu a day.

 

[Worldsfastestfatty]

recomp is possible but not if you weigh e.g. 240 lbs 12% bf and you want to be 250 lbs 6-7% bf

No of course not. There's going to be a level of bodyfat that your body will not willingly drop below - and that is unlikely to be sub-10% for 99.9999% of the population.

What I more mean by the term recomp is going from say 100kg @15% to 100kg @ 11% over a long enough period, say 6-9 months with only minimal fluctuation away from base weight within that period (say +/-3kg at any point) - excluding weight fluctuations associated with changes of drugs etc

 

[Worldsfastestfatty]

Tren! Only drug I've done where I've stayed the exact same weight and lost a lot of fat. Man I miss that shit.

But ya most the year I just eat a little above maintenance and then if I see too much fluff I'll eat a little less than maintenance for a few weeks. Averaging 5 to 7 lbs a year this way the past few years. 90% of the time I'm just on a trt dose of 15 mg a day with GH from 4 to 8iu a day.

Trens the only drug I got disproportionately fat on. It simultaneously sky rocketed my appetite, increased my impulsive behaviour (combined with increased appetite this lead to lots of extra meals) and significantly reduced my output.

 

[Johnnyhartly]

I’m trying to recomp all year long every year while adding muscle. It’s not only possible but it’s probable with the right genetics,diet, sports technology drugs and the training mindset of an animal. I just couldn’t continue to go from stay puffed marshmallow man to Bruce Lee. That lifestyle was madness to me and felt like death dieting all that bloat and fat off. I knew it wasn’t healthy so I rethought everything I was doing. Not being able to add muscle while losing bodyfat used to be something that was not thought possible in the mainstream but it is possible. No more massive weight fluctuations, no more force feeding till I’m sick. I just grow slow. Almost unnoticed on the scale but the look is there.

This is wise. Pretty sure this is what Lee Haney says his approach was. Love it.

 

[SouthernMuscle]

Don’t be shit talking without posting any pics now.

You know @SouthernMuscle is going to come up in here and call your ass out. LOL

 

[qbkilla]

Good thread. I think is possible if under the right conditions

Newbie
Just started aas
Just starting lifting properly
Alot of fat to loose 13 percent plus

I think it's difficult for someone already lean 8 percent or less to lose fat and gain muscle without a big jump in dosage. Maybe bring up a lagging part if you didn't used to train it with proper form or enough volume

I do agree with what others said on lean gaining vs permabulking or bulking is better for most. But I don't consider lean gaining recomp I guess you could.

 

[Flex500]

Hey,

I was talking to an absolute rocket in the gym; I've just come to the end of my current blast which had some performance based goals and I was explaining my target now is to maintain or even improve these new performance benchmarks through my cruise and therefore I would keep food at maintenance levels whilst continuing to pushing overload where I can and recomping a little over next 3-4 months before I go on again.

... and the guy lost his shit; like complete emotional reaction calling me a moron, claimed recomping is impossible yada-yada. I yawned and walked off cause I ain't got time for that negativity.

But then I looked on other UK bodybuilding sites/forums and it seems here in the UK "recomp" is very frowned upon - and I'm not sure why.

Like don't get me wrong; nobody is recomping to stage condition of you're a body builder, and you're unlikely to recomp your way to a world title at a strength sport BUT there's a time and a place (ie. cruise periods) where recomp, for me at least makes sense - and it seems to work for me - understandably there are limitations to what you can achieve in a given time period whilst "recomping".

So what say you guys; do you agree recomping doesn't work at all? There is no application for it? Or is this another case of the UK fitness community being blindly dogmatic and once again lacking nuance?

You really have to define recomp. I always viewed it as taking on a little bit of fat to add some muscle in a slow and methodical way so that you don't radically outpace muscle gain with fat and you really retain a leaner look.

Others view it as actively losing fat and actively gaining muscle at the same time and at a high rate.

The former, is easier than the other, of course. I don't understand his emotional reaction, but assume his response was due to him thinking you were going to gain a substantial amount of muscle while losing fat at once, on a cruise, in three months.

Some of this is semantics man. I don't think there is anything wrong with planning to go on a cruise, stay at maintenance and try to "hold the line" so to speak, with your current physique. Again, I have a feeling you two may be defining it differently.

I would agree that recomping works, but time is money so a lot of these guys say hey let's just saturate ourselves with food, not get "fat" persay, but allow some fat gain and just 100% sure we are not missing any growth to be efficient and then cut some fat. Plus, you have to just eat so much when you are a "luki type" of freak.

For me though I'm all about recoming. Slow and steady. I eat a little over my baseline and train my ass off, do cardio and eat well 90% of the time.

 

[Alzadosghost]

Tren! Only drug I've done where I've stayed the exact same weight and lost a lot of fat. Man I miss that shit.

But ya most the year I just eat a little above maintenance and then if I see too much fluff I'll eat a little less than maintenance for a few weeks. Averaging 5 to 7 lbs a year this way the past few years. 90% of the time I'm just on a trt dose of 15 mg a day with GH from 4 to 8iu a day.

I can’t get the scale to budge on tren. But it sure changes the way I look in a hurry