There’s bulking (building muscle mass), cutting (losing fat mass) and recomping. The latter stands for body recomposition and means that you simultaneously build muscle mass and lose fat mass, something that we natural bodybuilders naturally want only too much. However, recompensing is not that easy. In this article we discuss which conditions you must meet to be able to recomp and what your diet will look like.
FIVE SITUATIONS
Although bulking-cutting is a proven method to get jacked or ripped, the renowned, evidence-based coaches now agree that body recomposition is indeed possible with naturals. In other words: it is possible to build muscle mass while you are in an energy deficit. The advantage of recomping is that you do everything at once, straight towards your goal.
However, recompen is not for everyone. Only in the following situations is it a realistic goal.
1. YOU ARE A BEGINNER
The training stimulus you get when your body is not yet used to training is enormous. As a result, beginners can build muscle mass relatively easily, even without a proper training schedule and even without being in a calorie surplus.
The beginner stage lasts about a year. Gradually you will reach a plateau and you will have to create new growth stimuli through proper training and nutrition. It is therefore becoming increasingly difficult to recomp. From a certain point in your training career you will have to start bulking to gain muscle mass.
2. YOU ARE GOING TO TRAIN PROPERLY FOR THE FIRST TIME
As mentioned, you can already gain quite a bit of muscle mass without training ‘properly’, which means without a training program and without paying attention to things like training volume (number of sets) and intensity (training with Reps In Reserve). But over time, muscle growth stops and you will still have to observe the training principles of natural bodybuilding. When you do that for the first time, you will be able to recomp and thus make gains from a calorie deficit.
3. YOU’RE GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR NUTRITION FOR THE FIRST TIME
Your training can still be in order, if you don’t pay attention to your nutrition you will eventually miss out on gains. Many natural bodybuilders experience that they will grow again if they optimize their diet: calories, macros, timing and nutritional composition. The new anabolic ‘help’ from food means that you can also build muscle mass with a calorie deficit.
In this article you can read everything about how to adjust your diet to muscle growth.
People who have been training for quite some time, but never on the basis of a solid training program and/or diet, are also referred to as slackers.
4. AFTER A BREAK
If you have not trained for a while and/or have not followed a diet, you can (re)build muscles in the near future in the event of an energy shortage. This is due to the so-called muscle memory.
5. YOU HAVE A HIGH FAT PERCENTAGE
Apart from training experience, your body composition also plays a role in recomping: the more body fat you have, the easier it is to recomp. After all, with a high fat percentage, your body can extract energy from your fat reserves and thus facilitate muscle building. You will notice: the leaner you are, the more difficult it is to recomp.
CONCLUSION
These five situations show that the more experienced you are in terms of training and the lower your body fat percentage, the more difficult it is to recomp. From a certain point on, recomping is next to impossible and then your time is better spent on lean bulking and cutting.
Coach and author Eric Texler concludes something similar based on a recent meta-analysis:
Simultaneous fat loss and muscle gain is possible, although it becomes less feasible as an individual’s body-fat level decreases and training status increases.
Remember, just because something is theoretically possible doesn’t mean you have to do it. Whether or not to recomp depends strongly on the context. In this podcast more about the circumstances in which recomping should take place.
DIET
Okay, you decide to recomp. What should your diet look like then? According to Eric Texler, there are two points to keep in mind. The use of a calorie app is indispensable here.
1. CALORIE DEFICIT
Your calorie intake should be low enough to cause fat loss and high enough to facilitate muscle growth. Research suggests that you should not exceed an energy deficit of 500 kcal. Coach Jermey Ethier recommends a deficit of 5-20% of the maintenance level, which works out to 100-500 kcal below maintenance for most individuals.
2. PROTEINS
Whether you bulk, cut or recomp, your protein intake should always be high. In bulk, the rule is 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day. According to Texler you can also use it in the recomp.
You have to take into account that this 1.6 g/kg/d is based on a research population of young people with an average body composition. If you are at the ends of the average body fat percentage, it can pay off to use 2 to 2.75 grams per kilogram of lean mass as a rule. The disadvantage is that you then have to know your fat percentage fairly faithfully. More about that in this article.
Spread your protein intake over four to five meals a day, that is, meals of 20-40 grams of protein with a few hours in between. This way you ensure that muscle protein synthesis remains elevated throughout the day. Plan your training between meals to ensure that your body is getting enough protein for recovery and building muscle mass. More about spreading and timing of proteins in this article.
CONCLUSION
Body recomposition is indeed possible, as an alternative to bulking-cutting. However, it only pays to recomp if you are a beginner, if you are a so-called slacker or if you are returning to training after a break. Your fat percentage also plays a role here: the more body fat you have, the easier it is to recomp. If you are an experienced strength athlete and quite lean, it usually pays more to bulk and cut.
To recomp, eat slightly less than your maintenance level (5-20% of maintenance level) and continue to eat enough protein (1.6-2.2 g/kg/d), spread evenly throughout the day in portions of 20 to 40 grams.
Last updated December 24, 2022.