A body recomposition phase’s primary objective is to lose body fat and gain muscle mass at the same time. In a body recomposition phase, there will be fewer changes to your scale weight, unlike in a cutting (calorie deficit) or a bulking phase (significant calorie surplus). Many people claim that body recomposition for experienced lifters can only happen in two separate phases, when they are in a cutting or bulking phase. This is an untrue and a detrimental mindset for most people with the concurrent goals of looking good and progressing their performance in the gym. With a loud enough training stimulus, your body will utilize fatty acids to aid muscle repair and growth. This can occur even while consuming slightly less than maintenance calories if there is sufficient protein to support muscle growth. There are 9 calories per gram of fat and 4 calories per gram of protein, so it makes sense that your body’s energy balance can support building muscle while burning fat when you use the right diet and training protocols. That being said, there are a few factors to acknowledge that may impact the speed and magnitude of your progress while following a body recomposition plan:
1) What level lifter are you? (beginner, intermediate, advanced, or elite?)
2) What is you diet like? Track protein and calories? Peri-workout nutrition? Multiple protein feedings per day?
3) What is your sleep like? Duration and quality?
4) Do you track your workout volume with a log book and progressively overload?
5) Do you get close in proximity to failure during your lifts?
If a person has already optimized these factors and they have lifted for years, their body recomposition progress will be slower than someone who has yet to optimize their training. New lifters have yet to maximize the myonuclei already present in their muscle, so they will have more rapid muscle growth than an experienced lifter who has already maximized their pre-existing myonuclei. The length of the “rookie gains” phase can vary by months to years between people, as some people may optimize their training faster than others. An experienced lifter will need to work much harder to build more muscle than a novice lifter, as they will need to stimulate the growth of new myonuclei through recruiting myosatellite cells (muscle stem cells); it is always harder to create something new than it is to maximize what is already there.
The Pros & Cons for a body recomposition plan:
P1) A body recomposition plan doesn’t require extremes in eating behaviors, unlike the calorie restriction in a cut or the force feeding in a bulk.
P2) A body recomposition plan can keep your hormones and body in a healthier place than while in a cutting or a bulking phase. During a cutting phase, a male’s cortisol levels will increase while testosterone levels decrease as they deplete their body fat. As a woman depletes her fat stores, cortisol levels will increase as her estrogen levels decrease. Unlike males, women may produce more androgens as a result of their rising cortisol levels in a cutting phase, but this excess androgen production does not typically have the positive impact one would hope. Typically, if a woman’s sex hormones become dysregulated in a cut, her insulin sensitivity will suffer, which can increase her visceral fat storage and eventually shut down her menstrual cycle (amenorrhea). In comparison to men, women’s hormones are less resilient when faced with prolonged periods of calorie restriction; they are more likely to develop a hypothyroid and their sex hormones may take many months to upregulate after a cut. For men and women in a bulking phase, systemic inflammation will rise as a result of their elevated insulin levels in response to their increased carbohydrate intake. As they gain more body fat, they will produce more estrogen and sex hormone binding globulin, which will then reduce their free testosterone. In women, this rise in estrogen and insulin resistance has been tied to estrogen dominance and PCOS (Polycystic ovary syndrome).
P3) A body recomposition plan does not require unwanted fat gain to build muscle, nor does it diminish your performance in the gym. This can keep your motivation and confidence higher day-to-day than in a cutting or bulking phase.
C1) Body recomposition plans take more focus year-round on nutrition with less room for error with your diet than in a bulking phase.
C2) Body recomposition plans do not give you the quick results as observed in a cut or a bulk phase.
C3) Your body recomposition progress is more difficult to measure than a cut or a bulk, since your scale weight won’t likely change much week to week. You would have to use body scans, body measurements, your progress in the gym, and a mirror to assess your progress. The methods for measuring body fat are still pretty inaccurate and not as accessible, so there is less reassurance that you are making progress with your current plan.
Strategies for implementing a body recomposition protocol:
1) Establish maintenance calories by tracking your average daily intake for 2 weeks. If your scale weight is maintained, you have found your maintenance calories.
2) Eat more protein than the typical recommendations, at least 1.2 grams of protein per pound of lean body mass. Having sufficient protein is critical and overdoing protein is far less detrimental than overeating any other macronutrient due to its thermic and anabolic effects. Protein overfeeding studies concluded that even while adding hundreds of calories of protein on top of study participants’ maintenance calories, the study participants did not gain body fat. If they gained weight on the scale, it was solely from an increase in lean body mass. Calories are not equal when you take into consideration a food source’s hormonal and thermic effects in the body.
3) Track your workout volume and use a logbook to ensure progressive overload.
4) Cycle your calories and/or carbs upwards and downwards throughout the week to improve insulin sensitivity and enhance your recovery on days when you need more calories.
5) Improve your sleep quality and/duration if it is lacking.
6) Properly hydrate: drink 0.5–1oz water per pound of body weight/day and adequately salt your food and pre/intra-workout beverage.
7) Take 1 scoop (5g) creatine monohydrate daily to enhance your muscle’s contractile force and endurance, while also drawing more water into your muscle. With this increase in your muscle’s training capacity and fluid volume, you can push harder in your workouts to then build more muscle. Individuals can expect to see a slight increase on the scale when they start supplementing with creatine as a result of more fluid retention in the muscle.
With all things considered, a body recomposition phase is a great option for people who wish to get the best of both worlds, strength and better aesthetics. However, a person will need to be more patient with this approach as it takes longer to see results, and since progress is harder to measure, they may not be able to make the prompt changes to a potentially ineffective plan.
