The holy grail exists. Not that holy grail. (Do I look like a Lagina brother?) The holy grail I’m referring to is known as a “recomposition,” or “recomp,” for short. A recomp is when you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. Recomps are the holy grail because many scholarly folks claim they don’t exist, [...]
The holy grail exists.
Not that holy grail.
(Do I look like a Lagina brother?)
The holy grail I'm referring to is known as a “recomposition,” or “recomp,” for short. A recomp is when you gain muscle and lose fat at the same time.
Recomps are the holy grail because many scholarly folks claim they don't exist, and most adventurers that try recomping usually end up empty handed. But believe me when I tell you this:
Recomps are real… and they are possible.
Most of the aforementioned scholarly folks that poo on recomps use the Energy Balance Equation as their guide. Their anti-recomp story goes a little something like this…
Both body fat and muscle mass are “internal energy stores.” If you gain muscle, you'll have an increased amount of internal energy stores. If you lose fat, you'll have a decreased amount of internal energy stores. You can't have a surplus and a deficit at the same time, therefore recomps are impossible. Here's another way to think of this…
You have a backpack with $1000 inside. If you lose fat, you'll be negative. You'll have less money in your backpack relative to this moment in time. You'll have less than $1000. On the other hand, if you gain muscle, you'll be positive. You'll have more money in your backpack relative to this moment time. You'll have more than $1000.
You can't end the day with more money and less money in your backpack. This is why recomps are impossible. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Or so it seems…
We're gonna pass Go and collect $200 because this logic is flawed.
Although muscle mass and body fat both fall under the “internal energy stores” variable, they are independent entities. In other words, you're wearing a backpack and a fanny pack. And the $1000 is split between both packs; there's $500 in each pack.
If you earn $200 dollars today, the Energy Balance Equation says you HAVE to have $1200 on hand, but it DOESN'T say how the $1200 has to be distributed. Maybe your body took $100 from your backpack and put it in your fanny pack. And maybe your body deposited the earned $200 in its fanny pack. At the end of the day, your backpack has less ($900) and your fanny pack has more ($800).
Cheesy analogy, but you get the idea. Recomps don't violate thermodynamics and the Energy Balance Equation. Recomps are possible. Unfortunately, “possible” isn't the same as
practical,
probable, or
predictable.
Although recomps are possible, they're typically not something you should strive for.
Although the numbers make a recomp outcome possible, biology doesn't often make a recomp outcome probable.
Your body's beacon is survival, not looking good naked. From a survival standpoint, an energy deficit is a threat; a permanent energy deficit will kill you. Given this, it doesn’t make much sense to build boatloads of muscle mass during an energy deficit.
Muscle mass is energy consuming tissue. You need energy to build muscle. You need energy to use muscle. The bigger your muscles are, the more energy you need. In some sense, building muscle is like adding an addition onto your home. You need money up front to buy the materials and pay the workers. You also need money in the future to decorate the room, clean the room, heat the room, etc…
Because of your muscles' financial burden, the general consensus is that, to make bigger muscles, you're much better off with some semblance of financial security. (Opposite of what’s necessary for fat loss.) If your body built boatloads of muscle mass during an energy deficit, you’d increase your expenses and sprint towards death (instead of walk towards death). Your body isn't MC Hammer. Your body won't build an addition if it can't pay its current bills.
Since losing fat and building muscle energetically oppose each other, striving for a recomp is risky.
You'll probably end up empty-handed. You'll eat too much to lose fat, yet not enough to provide the financial security necessary for maximal muscle growth. If you want to peruse this purgatory, then you're more than welcome to try recomping.
Otherwise, I suggest trying to either lose fat, or build muscle. If your eating habits and exercise habits are solid, you may recomp along the way. But, then again, you may not. Stumbling across recomp results accidentally is better than the alternative: not getting any results because you're stumbling through a recomp.
May the Gains be with you,
Ant
ps
Given the backpack and fanny pack analogy, it probably seems like muscle mass can turn into body fat, and body fat can turn into muscle mass.
This isn't what happens.
In order to build muscle, you need (a) energy, (b) protein, and (c) water. You can build muscle during a calorie deficit if your body breaks down body fat and use the resultant energy to fuel the muscle building process. Likewise, during a calorie surplus, your body can break down muscle tissue and store the resultant energy as body fat.
In some sense, muscle can become fat and fat can become muscle. But doesn’t work in the localized fashion most people expect it to. It works on a much more confusing-molecular level. Doing crunches won’t turn your stomach fat into ab muscles.