Ok, here me out for a moment

[RyKane]

** I just realized I mistyped hear as "here"..I swear I have an edumacation **

Generally I am in the losing fat section giving advice (200+ pounds lost). I have been mulling over something for a few days now and doing research and I just can't seem to make up my mind...so...hear me out for a moment.

Things we know:

* The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.
* Being in a surplus of calories and adequate amount of protein builds more muscle than being under your daily maintenance.
* HIIT cardio has been shown go be muscle sparing.
* Heavy lifting (such as 5x5) programs are also shown to have more muscle building properties than high repetitions at low rates.
* Most of us can't STAND to lose muscle and progress at the gym while being in a caloric deficit.

I personally become more sluggish and just don't have as much energy while I am cutting. I have been looking at ways to avoid this and refuse to stim myself out. My assumption if one was to stay at there daily maintenance (a little under and a little over on some days) then essentially they could continue to make gains (albeit possibly small) in the gym while shedding fat. If you began to notice a decline in performance/plateau/muscle loss you would put your calories up in a small amount until you began to make progress again. Doing this while adding HIIT cardio and heavy lifting would seem to be the best way to burn fat while keeping muscle and even adding some muscle.

This might not work for all as it takes longer and may be harder for people that find it difficult to keep an accurate count of there calories. My thought is you are gaining muscle and your body is burning more calories from the added lean muscle mass and HIIT cardio. Obviously this is not a new idea and I just wanted to read peoples thoughts about this. Has anyone tried this and it just took to long to see results?

Ryan

[BunkMoreland]

good damn job with progress. 2 hundy lost, impressive



as for you wanting to stay at maintenance while training- you can do that. you will more than likely see an increase in energy, at the expense of less fat being lost. You're talking about recomping. Some have great success with this, albeit at a slower rate than flat out cutting or bulking

[RyKane]

good damn job with progress. 2 hundy lost, impressive



as for you wanting to stay at maintenance while training- you can do that. you will more than likely see an increase in energy, at the expense of less fat being lost. You're talking about recomping. Some have great success with this, albeit at a slower rate than flat out cutting or bulking

Bad ass before and after pictures man! I suppose I will need to read more up on recomping. There is so many opinions and broscience to sift through until you can find real scientifically backed research.

One of the reasons I am going to start attempting this now is because it's going to give me a longer period of time to deal with until next summer.

[williamshane]

Generally I am in the losing fat section giving advice (200+ pounds lost). I have been mulling over something for a few days now and doing research and I just can't seem to make up my mind...so...hear me out for a moment.

Things we know:

* The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.
* Being in a surplus of calories and adequate amount of protein builds more muscle than being under your daily maintenance.
* HIIT cardio has been shown go be muscle sparing.
* Heavy lifting (such as 5x5) programs are also shown to have more muscle building properties than high repetitions at low rates.
* Most of us can't STAND to lose muscle and progress at the gym while being in a caloric deficit.

I personally become more sluggish and just don't have as much energy while I am cutting. I have been looking at ways to avoid this and refuse to stim myself out. My assumption if one was to stay at there daily maintenance (a little under and a little over on some days) then essentially they could continue to make gains (albeit possibly small) in the gym while shedding fat. If you began to notice a decline in performance/plateau/muscle loss you would put your calories up in a small amount until you began to make progress again. Doing this while adding HIIT cardio and heavy lifting would seem to be the best way to burn fat while keeping muscle and even adding some muscle.

This might not work for all as it takes longer and may be harder for people that find it difficult to keep an accurate count of there calories. My thought is you are gaining muscle and your body is burning more calories from the added lean muscle mass and HIIT cardio. Obviously this is not a new idea and I just wanted to read peoples thoughts about this. Has anyone tried this and it just took to long to see results?

Ryan

What you're talking about is cycling your calories so you can both lose fat and gain muscle. It is possible, but you won't get extreme losses or gains. If you want to slowly inch towards a better body and you're pretty happy with yourself already I'd say it's a great approach.

It's much quicker to focus on gaining muscle and minimizing fat gain (clean bulk) and then switching your focus to cutting fat while maintaining muscle (cutting). By using these larger cycles it's both simpler and quicker to get your end result.

Hope that helps!

[RyKane]

What you're talking about is cycling your calories so you can both lose fat and gain muscle. It is possible, but you won't get extreme losses or gains. If you want to slowly inch towards a better body and you're pretty happy with yourself already I'd say it's a great approach.

It's much quicker to focus on gaining muscle and minimizing fat gain (clean bulk) and then switching your focus to cutting fat while maintaining muscle (cutting). By using these larger cycles it's both simpler and quicker to get your end result.

Hope that helps!

Thanks for the feedback man. I am teeter tottering on what i want to do in terms of a straight cut or recomping/cycling.

Btw, did anyone besides me notice I spelled hear as here? Oh lawd!

Ryan

[mczern]

** I just realized I mistyped hear as "here"..I swear I have an edumacation **

Generally I am in the losing fat section giving advice (200+ pounds lost). I have been mulling over something for a few days now and doing research and I just can't seem to make up my mind...so...hear me out for a moment.

Things we know:

* The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.
* Being in a surplus of calories and adequate amount of protein builds more muscle than being under your daily maintenance.
* HIIT cardio has been shown go be muscle sparing.
* Heavy lifting (such as 5x5) programs are also shown to have more muscle building properties than high repetitions at low rates.
* Most of us can't STAND to lose muscle and progress at the gym while being in a caloric deficit.

I personally become more sluggish and just don't have as much energy while I am cutting. I have been looking at ways to avoid this and refuse to stim myself out. My assumption if one was to stay at there daily maintenance (a little under and a little over on some days) then essentially they could continue to make gains (albeit possibly small) in the gym while shedding fat. If you began to notice a decline in performance/plateau/muscle loss you would put your calories up in a small amount until you began to make progress again. Doing this while adding HIIT cardio and heavy lifting would seem to be the best way to burn fat while keeping muscle and even adding some muscle.

This might not work for all as it takes longer and may be harder for people that find it difficult to keep an accurate count of there calories. My thought is you are gaining muscle and your body is burning more calories from the added lean muscle mass and HIIT cardio. Obviously this is not a new idea and I just wanted to read peoples thoughts about this. Has anyone tried this and it just took to long to see results?

Ryan

If I had do lose all my weight over again I think what I would do is not worry about gaining muscle or losing muscle while I trained and just tried to lose the fat as soon as possible. I found it really easy and enjoyable to work myself back up to where I am now and it really wasn't hard... just took some dedication....

As for feeling sluggish? I listen to my body, I don't set specific cheat days, but when I get real hungry or crave something like ice cream or pizza then I go for it and enjoy it. Whether I gain a little weight from doing this or not I know it's good and okay because my results have been great. Just don't let up with your training and keep your ultimate goal in mind. There are tons and tons of ways to get to the destination (which is ultimately more important than the journey..), you should just try and find out what works best for you.

[RyKane]

If I had do lose all my weight over again I think what I would do is not worry about gaining muscle or losing muscle while I trained and just tried to lose the fat as soon as possible. I found it really easy and enjoyable to work myself back up to where I am now and it really wasn't hard... just took some dedication....

As for feeling sluggish? I listen to my body, I don't set specific cheat days, but when I get real hungry or crave something like ice cream or pizza then I go for it and enjoy it. Whether I gain a little weight from doing this or not I know it's good and okay because my results have been great. Just don't let up with your training and keep your ultimate goal in mind. There are tons and tons of ways to get to the destination (which is ultimately more important than the journey..), you should just try and find out what works best for you.

I'm at 8 hours of sleep, ingesting carbs throughout the day and also ingesting carbs 90 minutes before working out. I make it through my workouts with pure determination but I have zero left in me when I get home or go to the university. There could always be an underlying issue here and I probably should consult my doctor.

I am going to give recomping four months and see how it goes. I just love to see the progression of the amount I can lift.

[mczern]

I'm at 8 hours of sleep, ingesting carbs throughout the day and also ingesting carbs 90 minutes before working out. I make it through my workouts with pure determination but I have zero left in me when I get home or go to the university. There could always be an underlying issue here and I probably should consult my doctor.

I am going to give recomping four months and see how it goes. I just love to see the progression of the amount I can lift.

It just takes time. You'll get there I am sure of it.

Just take everything with stride... some days I get 4-5 hours of sleep and others I just need 15-16 hours. listen to your body and constantly push yourself and you'll see awesome results.

[Pennyw1se]

I'm at 8 hours of sleep, ingesting carbs throughout the day and also ingesting carbs 90 minutes before working out. I make it through my workouts with pure determination but I have zero left in me when I get home or go to the university. There could always be an underlying issue here and I probably should consult my doctor.

I am going to give recomping four months and see how it goes. I just love to see the progression of the amount I can lift.

Post-workout nutrition?

[RyKane]

Post-workout nutrition?

One scoop whey protein + skim milk, scoop of waxi maize and sometimes a banana or blueberries. Followed by a whole meal of lean meat/sweet potato/vegetable about 2 hours later.

[iDrive]

* The more muscle you have, the more calories your body burns.

Negligible at best.

I personally become more sluggish and just don't have as much energy while I am cutting. I have been looking at ways to avoid this and refuse to stim myself out. My assumption if one was to stay at there daily maintenance (a little under and a little over on some days) then essentially they could continue to make gains (albeit possibly small) in the gym while shedding fat. If you began to notice a decline in performance/plateau/muscle loss you would put your calories up in a small amount until you began to make progress again.

Called Re-Comping. Your HIIT plan is optional though.

Obviously losing 200lbs you don't really need to read the How to Lose Fat for Noobs sticky but basically re-comping is the first post of that thread but adjusting the third rule to be eating at maintenance instead of a deficit. The attached guide to bodybuilding might be helpful too.

Has anyone tried this and it just took to long to see results?

Wave_Length
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=113288021

Congrats on losing 200lbs btw

[ejthomp]

I recomped for 4 months last year. It drove me absolutely nuts.... I did have progress, but it was so slow that it was impossible to see or notice. I decided I like to concentrate on one or the other. When cutting it is easy to see the scale go down and you have to accept that lifts are going to suffer some days as your body just doesn't have the calories needed to grow. Then when it comes time to bulk up a bit, it feels so good and the body responds so well to the additional calories. Lifts go up quickly, workouts feel great.....

I always tell people to cut until they get under 15% body fat....then always stay under 15% body fat....even when you are bulking you look better than most people.

But if you've already lost 200 pounds, I imagine you are darn tired of cutting and I certainly can't fault you for wanting to try something new. It's all good! Nothing wrong with recomping for awhile to recharge your batteries.

Great job and good luck!

[surfergirl36]

I'm at 8 hours of sleep, ingesting carbs throughout the day and also ingesting carbs 90 minutes before working out. I make it through my workouts with pure determination but I have zero left in me when I get home or go to the university. There could always be an underlying issue here and I probably should consult my doctor.

I am going to give recomping four months and see how it goes. I just love to see the progression of the amount I can lift.

Congrats on the weight loss!

I'm wondering if it has more to do with your nutrition now? How long have you been cutting? that type of thing....maybe tweaking your diet might help with the sluggish feelings.