Author Topic: Body recomp question  (Read 7279 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Dreyth

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3056
  • Respect: +1056
    • View Profile
    • Email
Body recomp question
« on: November 09, 2018, 05:49:43 pm »
+2
Been out of the loop lately on any latest research.

Currently I’m trying to maintain bodyweight while getting back closer to my previous PRs. I lift 4x/week (upper/lower split). On lift days i aim for +500 caloric surplus and >200g protein. On off days i am for -500 caloric deficit and 150g protein. I weigh about 185lbs now and i would say im 11% bf. I also do IF.

Does it make sense to do this? Am i better off doing 1 week cut/bulk cycles for body recomp instead? 4 week cycles?
« Last Edit: November 09, 2018, 07:05:11 pm by Dreyth »
I'm LAKERS from The Vertical Summit

maxent

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2830
  • Respect: +2114
    • View Profile
Re: Body recomp question
« Reply #1 on: November 09, 2018, 08:17:20 pm »
+2
Currently I’m trying to maintain bodyweight while getting back closer to my previous PRs. I lift 4x/week (upper/lower split). On lift days i aim for +500 caloric surplus and >200g protein. On off days i am for -500 caloric deficit and 150g protein. I weigh about 185lbs now and i would say im 11% bf. I also do IF.

That sounds fine. Whatever you think works well for you is the right answer.

Quote
Does it make sense to do this? Am i better off doing 1 week cut/bulk cycles for body recomp instead? 4 week cycles?

Nah don't worry about some hypothetical better way, it doesn't exist. Your experience is more valuable because you know what works for your body and training. 1 week cut/bulk cycles are a bad idea though because you never give your body a chance to 'adapt' to fat loss / reduced calories which is what you need to burn fat efficiently. Keeping a weekly deficit but eating more calories around training helps you recomp and recover from training, which makes sense and seems to work well in practice.
Training for sub 20 5K & 40" RVJ & 170kg BS @ 85kg bw. log entry template

Dreyth

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 3056
  • Respect: +1056
    • View Profile
    • Email
Re: Body recomp question
« Reply #2 on: November 10, 2018, 08:45:55 am »
0
Nah don't worry about some hypothetical better way, it doesn't exist. Your experience is more valuable because you know what works for your body and training. 1 week cut/bulk cycles are a bad idea though because you never give your body a chance to 'adapt' to fat loss / reduced calories which is what you need to burn fat efficiently. Keeping a weekly deficit but eating more calories around training helps you recomp and recover from training, which makes sense and seems to work well in practice.

If 1 week cycles never give my body a chance to adapt to fat loss, then what about cycles even smaller than that like i’m currently doing?
I'm LAKERS from The Vertical Summit

maxent

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 2830
  • Respect: +2114
    • View Profile
Re: Body recomp question
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2018, 08:25:25 pm »
+1
Nah don't worry about some hypothetical better way, it doesn't exist. Your experience is more valuable because you know what works for your body and training. 1 week cut/bulk cycles are a bad idea though because you never give your body a chance to 'adapt' to fat loss / reduced calories which is what you need to burn fat efficiently. Keeping a weekly deficit but eating more calories around training helps you recomp and recover from training, which makes sense and seems to work well in practice.

If 1 week cycles never give my body a chance to adapt to fat loss, then what about cycles even smaller than that like i’m currently doing?

Then you will have sub-optimal fat loss. you have to pick your priority but you've picked a small amount of fat loss so you can maintain (and perhaps slightly improve) your overall performance which is reasonable if that is your goal. If you were prioritising fat loss you'd have a weekly deficit with perhaps one training day where you go on a +500kcal surplus, the other training days would be smaller deficits or even maintenance. It's a choice based on your goals.  The problem with doing 1 week cycles is that you will go from carbohydrate metabolism one week to fat metabolism the next. It will be inefficient at either goal and the transition between the two will difficult physiologically and psychologically.  The body adapts better to something you do consistently. On the week you eat more carbs you won't get much fat loss and when you switch over the following week there will be a challenge to switch to fat metabolism and vice versa.

One suggestion id make is to keep protein the same on all days, will help with adherence and satiety. The macro you want to play with is carbs. Use more around training and less when you're resting. Find the right amount you need to eat every day so you can sleep and function normally and eat a bit more than that when recovering from harder training days. But your experience with what works best for you is going to trump any of this so let that guide you.
Training for sub 20 5K & 40" RVJ & 170kg BS @ 85kg bw. log entry template