» Choose a body recomp if you are relatively new to training or are coming back after a long layoff. You can decide based on the outcome.įurther, you are welcome to try a body recomp at any point during your training career, but when progress is hard to measure, it is hard to manage and stay motivated, so I suggest most people build their physiques over time by alternating between fat loss and muscle gain phases. If in doubt, consider giving it a shot for a couple of months. The cutoff for the level of training experience where a recomp is unlikely to work is impossible to clearly define. If you are overweight, you need to cut however, the less training experience you have, the more likely it is that you will gain muscle at the same time as you lean out (though you’ll lose weight overall).If you are underweight, you should bulk.I do not recommend a body recomp to anyone who is underweight or overweight. Slow body recomposition: an equal amount of fat loss and muscle gain. It requires a calorie deficit and so you will lose weight overall. The goal of a cut (a fat loss phase) is to maximize lean mass retention while dropping off body fat. Not so easy to say for Steve, right? We’ll get to that.īulking vs Cutting WHEN TO Cut - A Fat Loss Phase A slow body recomposition phase (simultaneous muscle gain and fat loss)īefore you continue reading, take a moment to think which of the three paths - bulk, cut, or recomp - would be best for each of these people right now.There are three paths you can choose from here: There is also an interaction with how much training experience (and muscle mass) you have. It’s not as simple as saying: cut if you are high in body fat, gain if you are not. The answer to this question depends on more than just your current body composition. “Should I bulk or cut?” is probably the most commonly fretted over question people have.
You’re welcome to read this across the articles on the site, but I’ve also made it available as a free download, which you can grab at the end. This article is part of my broader nutrition setup guide.