Can someone (Rowyn) explain Body Recompositiong to me?

[WariorGoddess]

Looking for some information on body recomposition; experiences, results.

Rowyn I hear you're the expert in this department...hope you're reading this I'm currently...kinda...trying...to bulk and am curious about recomp as I'm not sure how long I'm mentally able to bulk. 5'5 122lbs. Heavy lifting 3-4x/week. Very very dedicated and disciplined with diet and training

Looking forward to all of your information!

Thanks.

[discdoggie]

So right now your goal is gaining mass? Why dion't you just continue to do that?

With re-comping, you can gain mass/lose fat, but results will be much slower. If you are indeed "very very dedicated" it should be no problem at all to keep your calories near exact so that you wil have enough to gain mass without going hog wild (as I tend to do) and gain wads of fat with it.


Rowyn's results and success with recomp were probably the most dramatic I've ever seen. I feel fortunate that I got to have front row seats for the whole journey and experience.


What does "kinda" trying to bulk mean? Does that mean you live in fear of gaining fat? At 5'5" 125 you don't need to worry about it. I am going to check out and see if you have any pics so I can really see, but I will say this: if someone wants to gain mass, they need to eat. Period.

[latebloomingmom]

I bumped one of the recomp threads in the fem general chat area if you wanna read it..

[discdoggie]

I just looked. You could bulk.

[Miranda]

if someone wants to gain mass, they need to eat. Period.

i second this.

incidentally and please correct me if i'm wrong - but aren't many women with the best recomp results the ones with an athletic background who gained some weight/fat and returned to BBing after a layoff?

[ahez1991]

[QUOTE=discdoggie;833228151]So right now your goal is gaining mass? Why dion't you just continue to do that?

With re-comping, you can gain mass/lose fat, but results will be much slower. If you are indeed "very very dedicated" it should be no problem at all to keep your calories near exact so that you wil have enough to gain mass without going hog wild (as I tend to do) and gain wads of fat with it.

^^This...if you want to bulk and gain muscle faster than a recomp do it...you could add a bit and still look lean...I personally thought id NEVER want to weight what I am now (from 140-145) and im 5'5 1/2 and I still look fairly lean. Just try doing slightly above maintenence..keep it clean...lift heavy and enjoy the fruits of your labor

[WariorGoddess]

So right now your goal is gaining mass? Why dion't you just continue to do that?

What does "kinda" trying to bulk mean? Does that mean you live in fear of gaining fat? At 5'5" 125 you don't need to worry about it. I am going to check out and see if you have any pics so I can really see, but I will say this: if someone wants to gain mass, they need to eat. Period.

LOL Yes kinda means I do live in fear of gaining fat but I have been increasing my cals in order to gain. The girls in the bulking thread have got to be tired of listening to be whine about my fears of gaining fat, but they are legit fears and feedback on these fears motivates me to keep bulking!

I bumped one of the recomp threads in the fem general chat area if you wanna read it..

Thanks, I will check this out.

i second this.

incidentally and please correct me if i'm wrong - but aren't many women with the best recomp results the ones with an athletic background who gained some weight/fat and returned to BBing after a layoff?

This makes sense.

^^This...if you want to bulk and gain muscle faster than a recomp do it...you could add a bit and still look lean...I personally thought id NEVER want to weight what I am now (from 140-145) and im 5'5 1/2 and I still look fairly lean. Just try doing slightly above maintenence..keep it clean...lift heavy and enjoy the fruits of your labor

Good to hear! Love hearing about other's experiences and results.

[Rowyn]

Rowyn's results and success with recomp were probably the most dramatic I've ever seen. I feel fortunate that I got to have front row seats for the whole journey and experience.

Lol, nice! Thank you, and one reason being the below that Miranda posted:

incidentally and please correct me if i'm wrong - but aren't many women with the best recomp results the ones with an athletic background who gained some weight/fat and returned to BBing after a layoff?

A recomp is changing your bodyfat percentage in two ways at once, with both gaining lean mass and losing fat. Most trainees who 1) train effectively 2) eat to support that training put on the great majority of their lifetime muscle mass in about a year. After that, it takes more effort with less dramatic results to gain. This is the perfect time for a recomper to take advantage of rapid muscle growth.

Truthfully, most of the women here don't do 1 and 2 in that year's time, because they are new to training or don't go about it correctly and women have a fear of eating/calories/fat. So when they say "well, I am not a noob so its not going to work for me", most of the time if you look at what they have been doing, they ARE still noobs in the physiologic sense. Meaning, you can spend hours in the gym and know how to train like a more advanced trainee, but if you haven't given your body all that it needs to grow, in the physical sense you are not an advanced trainee. Sometimes I think recomp will therefore work even in those who appear to have been training for some time.

This is not a great way to go for skinny people who need to eat more to gain. But it works well for chubby chicks like me. I had a couple of things going for me that many may not that made my transformation more dramatic. I have lifted on and off most of my life, so I knew how to lift and how to train intensely. Its a big learning curve, really, when you think about how long it takes a person to really know how to lift comfortably and to be able to do so to failure. And because I had a background in lifting already, I had muscle memory on my side.

I do think that recomp is a good alternative for those who really have a fear of food/gaining. Certainly that fear can inhibit growth since they may not eat enough, but it lets them get their feet wet with seeing just what their body can do.

Lean mass can go a looooonnngg way in changing the aesthetics of one's body. When you look at a recomper who weighs nearly the same weight start to finish, its a real eye-opener as to how little significance the scale really has on one's appearance.

[WariorGoddess]

Lol, nice! Thank you, and one reason being the below that Miranda posted:



A recomp is changing your bodyfat percentage in two ways at once, with both gaining lean mass and losing fat. Most trainees who 1) train effectively 2) eat to support that training put on the great majority of their lifetime muscle mass in about a year. After that, it takes more effort with less dramatic results to gain. This is the perfect time for a recomper to take advantage of rapid muscle growth.

Truthfully, most of the women here don't do 1 and 2 in that year's time, because they are new to training or don't go about it correctly and women have a fear of eating/calories/fat. So when they say "well, I am not a noob so its not going to work for me", most of the time if you look at what they have been doing, they ARE still noobs in the physiologic sense. Meaning, you can spend hours in the gym and know how to train like a more advanced trainee, but if you haven't given your body all that it needs to grow, in the physical sense you are not an advanced trainee. Sometimes I think recomp will therefore work even in those who appear to have been training for some time.

This is not a great way to go for skinny people who need to eat more to gain. But it works well for chubby chicks like me. I had a couple of things going for me that many may not that made my transformation more dramatic. I have lifted on and off most of my life, so I knew how to lift and how to train intensely. Its a big learning curve, really, when you think about how long it takes a person to really know how to lift comfortably and to be able to do so to failure. And because I had a background in lifting already, I had muscle memory on my side.

I do think that recomp is a good alternative for those who really have a fear of food/gaining. Certainly that fear can inhibit growth since they may not eat enough, but it lets them get their feet wet with seeing just what their body can do.

Lean mass can go a looooonnngg way in changing the aesthetics of one's body. When you look at a recomper who weighs nearly the same weight start to finish, its a real eye-opener as to how little significance the scale really has on one's appearance.

So glad you found my call out to you LOL Greatly appreciated! When you say 2) eat to support that training ...does this mean to eat at maintenance? If I'm 5'5 122lbs, lift heavy-4 day split (Power/Muscle/Burn) with a maintenance of approx. 2000cals do I stick with this?

I'm not skinny but I am on the smaller side so maybe Recomp wouldn't provide the best results for me afterall. I really need to get over this fear of the scale syndrome..currently the scale says 123lbs which I struggle with be I'm so used to being 110-115 but since I started lifting 2yrs ago I've gained muscle and lost fat.

[latebloomingmom]

Lol, nice! Thank you, and one reason being the below that Miranda posted:



A recomp is changing your bodyfat percentage in two ways at once, with both gaining lean mass and losing fat. Most trainees who 1) train effectively 2) eat to support that training put on the great majority of their lifetime muscle mass in about a year. After that, it takes more effort with less dramatic results to gain. This is the perfect time for a recomper to take advantage of rapid muscle growth.

Truthfully, most of the women here don't do 1 and 2 in that year's time, because they are new to training or don't go about it correctly and women have a fear of eating/calories/fat. So when they say "well, I am not a noob so its not going to work for me", most of the time if you look at what they have been doing, they ARE still noobs in the physiologic sense. Meaning, you can spend hours in the gym and know how to train like a more advanced trainee, but if you haven't given your body all that it needs to grow, in the physical sense you are not an advanced trainee. Sometimes I think recomp will therefore work even in those who appear to have been training for some time.

This is not a great way to go for skinny people who need to eat more to gain. But it works well for chubby chicks like me. I had a couple of things going for me that many may not that made my transformation more dramatic. I have lifted on and off most of my life, so I knew how to lift and how to train intensely. Its a big learning curve, really, when you think about how long it takes a person to really know how to lift comfortably and to be able to do so to failure. And because I had a background in lifting already, I had muscle memory on my side.

I do think that recomp is a good alternative for those who really have a fear of food/gaining. Certainly that fear can inhibit growth since they may not eat enough, but it lets them get their feet wet with seeing just what their body can do.

Lean mass can go a looooonnngg way in changing the aesthetics of one's body. When you look at a recomper who weighs nearly the same weight start to finish, its a real eye-opener as to how little significance the scale really has on one's appearance.

nice information..well-written as always...makes me almost happy to be a chubby chick..well ok maybe not happy but still

[Miranda]

This is not a great way to go for skinny people who need to eat more to gain. But it works well for chubby chicks like me. I had a couple of things going for me that many may not that made my transformation more dramatic. I have lifted on and off most of my life.

yeah that was kind of what i was getting at

it is much easier to 'recomp' from chunky to lean and muscular if you have an existing muscle base/muscle memory working for you undeneath the chub.

likewise, fat-fat people in general have more lean mass than skinnyfat people to start with. go about it intelligently, retain/gain some muscle in the noob phase whilst slimming down, and voila.

kind of like those pre-arranged 'amazing transformation' contests where they fatten/bloaten up athletes and then have them diet down for a few months. not that the results don't look good, of course.

the biggest problem with recomp imo is that, simply, the rate of fat gain/loss in any scenario is a lot faster than that of muscle and if you have bar none to start with, recomp after the noob stage (however long that is) is simply a waste of time.

i'm fully biased in this regard (used to be the skinnyflab person) but i just cringe when i see skinny people or intermediate trainees with an insane fear of fat enquire whether 'a bit of recomping' will fix them.

[billb7581]

Trying to pull off a recomp here, lifts going up bodyweight staying same after an initial drop of 14 lbs, amidoingright?

Not a popular topic in the regular forum LOL.

[Rowyn]

..currently the scale says 123lbs which I struggle with be I'm so used to being 110-115 but since I started lifting 2yrs ago I've gained muscle and lost fat.

It sounds like you have already recomped in your own way. If you have been working away at this for 2 years, its going to take eating more to really make continued gains at this point.

[gwnorth]

I was actually going to post the same request of Rowyn .

Sorry to hijack but my scenario:

I've lifted in the past, but not as heavy as I am now, and not as consistantly
Used to train endurance sports (distance running & triathlon)
Been training for 10 months 3x a week with a PT - not every workout is to failure, but certainly more weight than I've ever lifted before
Dropped around 50 lbs in the process and just about at my goal weight
Bodyfat percentage is still high in the 23-24% and def want it lower and more muscle
Since I've been dieting for 10 months I am not about to do a traditional bulk

So...if I continue strength training as I am, drop a few of my cardio sessions, and increase my cals to maintenance, am I likely to continue to see improvements?

I'm not in a rush. I figure this past year I've devoted to fat loss and have seen some muscle/strength gains as a side benefit, but not my main focus. The next year(s) my focus will be on lowering my bf percentage and gaining muscle. I will admit though that I don't want to see a dramatic increase in scale weight or rather more accurately don't want to see an increase in clothing size.

[WariorGoddess]

It sounds like you have already recomped in your own way. If you have been working away at this for 2 years, its going to take eating more to really make continued gains at this point.

I came to this exact conclusion earlier this evening...I've been recomping for 2 years now with good results but now it's time to eat more! I posted new pics tonight and I've been plateauing for a couple of months now...going to use these as my before pics and continue to work away at it but eat more. This is all so exciting!

Thanks for all your help Rowyn and helping me come to the realization that I've been recomping all along

[Rowyn]

likewise, fat-fat people in general have more lean mass than skinnyfat people to start with. go about it intelligently, retain/gain some muscle in the noob phase whilst slimming down, and voila.

kind of like those pre-arranged 'amazing transformation' contests where they fatten/bloaten up athletes and then have them diet down for a few months. not that the results don't look good, of course.

True, dat lol. I have a friend doing just such a contest, has been a bb'er for a long time but got a bit out of shape and ran into a contest coming up....bloated up the two weeks prior and is probably going to smoke it. Sometimes those people are also those who have been bulking and use the transformation as a cut and reveal, obviously, a whole lot more than those whose day 1 was an actual day 1.

Trying to pull off a recomp here, lifts going up bodyweight staying same after an initial drop of 14 lbs, amidoingright?

Not a popular topic in the regular forum LOL.

Guys consider it to be "pissing in the wind" for the most part. How long have you been training?

ince I've been dieting for 10 months I am not about to do a traditional bulk

So...if I continue strength training as I am, drop a few of my cardio sessions, and increase my cals to maintenance, am I likely to continue to see improvements?

I'm not in a rush. I figure this past year I've devoted to fat loss and have seen some muscle/strength gains as a side benefit, but not my main focus. The next year(s) my focus will be on lowering my bf percentage and gaining muscle. I will admit though that I don't want to see a dramatic increase in scale weight or rather more accurately don't want to see an increase in clothing size.

Congrats! With all that weight loss and deficit work just complete, just sit with that for awhile and get comfortable with maintenance. I have no idea how effective your PT is in terms of setting up a progressive program, but it may be a good time to research that. You are in no big rush, which makes the slow and steady much easier to tolerate. Most want to have it happen yesterday.

I came to this exact conclusion earlier this evening...I've been recomping for 2 years now with good results but now it's time to eat more! I posted new pics tonight and I've been plateauing for a couple of months now...going to use these as my before pics and continue to work away at it but eat more. This is all so exciting!

Thanks for all your help Rowyn and helping me come to the realization that I've been recomping all along

I don't know that I helped so much, lol. Others were chiming in as well. I am not a trainer or anything, just someone who has been there and done that with the recomp experience. Now go to the bulking thread and have fun with freebirdmac and all those lovely ladies.

[billb7581]

I just started like 5 weeks ago, doing the All Pro Simple Beginner Routine, and trying to eat at maintenance.. I dont feel like getting on the bulking and cutting see saw... initally I saw a 16 pound drop until I got my macros sorted out. Drinking a half gallon of skim milk on workout days got my weight to stay relatively constant. So long as my lifts go up but not my weight, I guess I am doing it right..?

[Rowyn]

I just started like 5 weeks ago, doing the All Pro Simple Beginner Routine, and trying to eat at maintenance.. I dont feel like getting on the bulking and cutting see saw... initally I saw a 16 pound drop until I got my macros sorted out. Drinking a half gallon of skim milk on workout days got my weight to stay relatively constant. So long as my lifts go up but not my weight, I guess I am doing it right..?

Good lord, 16 lbs and its only been 5 weeks?? Men, they make me crazy how weight can fall off lol.

That wasn't a macro issue, it was a caloric issue, but it sounds like you have got in under control? If you are a newb training consistently and eating enough protein and staying at maintenance, that's all good. Stay the course. Take measurements at least, pics too are fun for later, and use those as a tool to gauge progress. New trainees can really jump by leaps and bounds with both strength and hypertrophy in ways that more advanced lifters cannot, have fun taking advantage of that!

[billb7581]

Yea I guess you're right, it was a caloric issue... LOL.. milk was about the easiest way to sort it out for me. Drinking 2 quarts of milk is not that big a deal.

I took some awful pics, and bought a flexible tape measurer tonight. I dont mind slow progress as long as I have something to show for it by summer LOL. Thanks for your help.


Was checking out your photos (no perv) your recomp is nothing short of amazing... good job.