Body Recomp
Body Recomp
(https://outlift.com/)
Let’s go over some examples and some research, and explain how to do it.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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You can probably do better than that. The type of training designed to
stimulate muscle growth is called hypertrophy training
(https://outlift.com/hypertrophy-training-guide/). If you follow a good
hypertrophy training program (https://bonytobeastly.com/products/), I
wouldn’t be surprised if you get even more body recomposition.
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After one month, both groups had lost about 8 pounds of weight. The group
eating a normal amount of protein lost 8 pounds of fat. The group eating
more protein lost 11 pounds of fat while gaining 3 pounds of muscle,
achieving body recomposition.
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Protein is arguably the most important nutrient for recomping, but what if
we look at a classic bulking protocol (https://outlift.com/how-to-bulk-up-
as-a-skinny-guy/), where people eat more carbs to drive themselves into a
calorie surplus (https://bonytobeastly.com/bulking-calorie-calculator/)?
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Kruszewski and colleagues took intermediate lifters and put them on either
a low-carb or high-carb diet while following a hypertrophy training program
(study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38428587/)).
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Older studies have gotten similar results from high-carb, high-calorie diets.
For example, Rozenek and colleagues gave a bunch of new lifters mass
gainers (https://bonytobeastly.com/mass-gainers/) full of thousands of
calories of carbs (study (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12094125/)).
After 8 weeks, they’d gained 7.5 pounds of muscle while losing half a pound
of fat.
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Getting better sleep gives you more energy, greater self-control, stronger
hormone production, and an enhanced ability to build muscle. When you
combine it with a good weight training routine, it can help you recomp.
Jabekk and colleagues split the participants into two groups (study
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32141273/)). Both groups were put on a
hypertrophy training program. Only one group was given some tips about
how to improve their sleep. We cover all those methods in our article on
sleep (https://outlift.com/sleep-muscle-growth/).
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After 10 weeks, the participants who combined weight training with better
sleep lost 4 pounds of fat while gaining 4 pounds of muscle, achieving body
recomposition.
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HOW TO RECOMP
The best way to recomp is to combine all of the interventions that encourage
muscle growth and/or fat loss. Here they are in order of importance:
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If you want a customizable workout program (and full guide) that builds on
these principles, check out our Bony to Beastly (men’s) program
(https://bonytobeastly.com/the-program/) and Bony to
Bombshell (women’s) program (https://bonytobombshell.com/weight-
gain-program-for-women/). Or, if you’ve already gained your first 20–30
pounds, check out our Outlift Intermediate Hypertrophy Program
(https://bonytobeastly.com/intermediate-hypertrophy-program/).
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(https://outlift.com/author/shane-duquette/)
(https://bonytobeastly.com/the-
program/)
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12 COMMENTS
I’ve done a few cycles of cutting and bulking over the past 18 months, through b2B and
Outlify for the last year or so. My weight now is right where it was when I started (173
lbs). I have improved my strength and body composition, though, quite a bit. I’ve also
learned a lot about the power of calorie manipulation and using the scale for feedback.
I’m at a stage where I’d prefer for my body weight to not have to fluctuate so much if I
can avoid it. Since I’m happy with my weight (BMI 23.5) recomping is an attractive
option. I’m just not sure it’s the best option for me. Building muscle and getting leaner
remain my goals and right now they’re about equally important to me.
I am getting a Dexascan for the first time next week. Do you think the results of that
scan should impact whether I decide to recomp or continue with bulking and cutting?
Or are there better data points to base this decision on?
Reply
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Yeah, recomp might not be the best option for you. It works best for people who
are newer to lifting weights and/or have more fat to lose. But there’s only one
way to find out. You could train and eat for muscle growth, but instead of
manipulating your calories, you’d eat according to your appetite. See if you can
gain steadily gain strength. A program like Outlift is perfect for that. If you’re
making progress, that’s a great sign you’re recomping.
If you aren’t making progress in your workouts, you might need to eat in a slight
calorie surplus to build more muscle. You can eat in a very slight calorie surplus,
though. That way you’re building muscle as leanly as possible, without large
fluctuations in weight. After a few months of that (i.e. an entire program), you
could consider switching to a slow cut, if you want.
DEXA is one of the best and most interesting ways to measure your body
composition. You’ll get a ton of cool data about your muscle, bone, and fat. I
don’t think it will help you figure out whether to bulk, cut, or recomp, though.
You may very well learn that your body composition is great, and you don’t need
to do anything.
If you wanted to track your fat gain from a health perspective, you could measure
your waist circumference (and try to keep it under 36 inches). If you wanted to
factor in muscle, the Navy Method (https://bonytobeastly.com/navy-body-fat-
calculator/) is pretty good. It adds a couple of measurements. That article
explains it.
Reply
I’ll try the recomp as you suggest and see how it goes. I think I’ll keep
getting stronger. I was able to get a little stronger while slowly cutting from
180 to 173 over the past 4 months. Starting to eat at maintenance/appetite
should only improve my lifts.
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Jeff Nippard seems to think that most lifters, even fairly experienced ones –
which I definitely am not – can recomp effectively EVEN WHILE their
calories are slightly above or below maintenance. That was a bit shocking to
hear. I’m guessing that means that if I find myself gaining a few pounds
while my waistline stays the same, I’m recomping in a surplus. Conversely,
if I find myself losing a few pounds while continuing to get stronger, I’m
probably recomping in a deficit. Either way would be fine with me. I would
start to get concerned if my waistline jumped up (it’s at 35” now) or if my
strength plummeted. Then I’d probably intervene by manipulating my
calorie intake more intentionally. Does that sound right to you?
Reply
Yeah, that’s a great sign. If you were gaining strength while cutting, I
bet you were recomping then, too. Now we’ll just be shifting the
recomp a bit more towards muscle growth.
I disagree with Jeff Nippard on that. I’m more in line with another
expert he often quotes, Dr. Eric Helms. It’s certainly possible for some
people to recomp in a deficit, at maintenance, or in a calorie surplus at
some points in their training career, but it can also be difficult and
unreliable, and as you get more experienced, it gets harder.
Fortunately, if you do a good job of tracking your progress, then you’ll
know when it’s working and when it isn’t. It IS working for you, so it
makes sense to milk it for as long as you can.
I think I may also have bad recomp genetics. I’ve never been able to do
it. I haven’t ever been able to gain muscle size or strength at
maintenance. I’m not complaining, though. I respond well to a calorie
surplus, so it hasn’t ever been a problem.
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while recomping, your weight will be the same, but you’ve burned
17,500 calories and used 12,500 calories, putting you in a 5,000 calorie
deficit. You can even gain a bit of weight while being in a small calorie
deficit. But your point is correct.
Yep! That’s right. Keep recomping for as long as you’re still gaining
strength. When you stop gaining strength, you can gear into a cut to
burn fat while you keep maintaining your strength, or you could gear
into a lean bulk to gain strength while keeping the fat at bay.
Reply
Interesting how you can gain weight in a deficit but makes sense with that fancy math.
My DEXA scan came back at 24.4% body fat. Thats after a successful bulk and cut! All
the more reason, I think, to recomp. I should have plenty of fat to fuel muscle growth.
I wonder if you, Shane, haven’t been able to recomp because you’ve never been skinny
fat?
I was hoping for a leaner result, but maybe this works in my favor. I’m not unhappy
with my body as it is now despite it being far from optimized. The DEXA people
recommended I aim for 16% by gaining 7 pounds of lean muscle and losing 13 pounds
of fat. That sounds like a good target.
I’ll test again in 6 months and assess how effectively recomping is helping my hit that
target.
Reply
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Yeah, I think that’s it. I’ve always been naturally thin, with a tendency to
undereat. I don’t think my body has ever been interested in burning scarce body
fat to build costly muscle. Your situation is much different.
That’s a great plan! Just make sure to strive for steady weekly progress, too. You
want to be seeing steady strength gains in the gym, adding weight and reps on
your exercises over time. Gaining strength is a great sign of gaining muscle, and
if you aren’t gaining weight, then it’s a great sign of body recomposition.
Reply
Hi Shane,
I think it is obvious that a 6foot two and a 32inch waist like in your case recomp is not
going to work. I think you are even for a skinny guy some kind of outliner.
Best regards
Sebastian
Reply
Reply
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Hi Shane,
Thank you for all of the very helpful content, you have no idea how helpful these
articles are. I had a quick question regarding whether a recomp would be the best
move for me.
For context, I used to weigh ~180 lbs 7 months ago at 5’10 with very minimal muscle
mass. I went on a cut prioritizing cardio (which in hindsight might have been a
mistake), occasionally lifting, and hitting my protein goals. I now weigh ~153lbs but
still have significant fat in my belly area (~35 inch waist circumference) and still feel
like I have a very similar physique as before (skinny-fat) despite losing some weight.
In this instance, would a recomp where I am in a slight caloric deficit to cut some
more fat make sense? Or should I be in a slight surplus? Or should I leave behind
calorie tracking entirely, just let my appetite guide me, and play it by ear? I feel like
I’ve been trapped in this “skinny-fat” phase for years now!
Additionally, does the Bony to Beastly plan (or another offering) have content that is
specific/relevant to a skinny fat physique, or is it more geared to other body types?
Apologies for the lengthy comment. Thank you again.
Reply
My pleasure, Andy!
If you went from being sedentary to doing cardio while cutting, that’s great.
Cardio will have preserved some muscle, and I bet you got MUCH fitter and
healthier. It would have been even better to mix some lifting in there to
preserve/build muscle, but that’s alright. Plenty of time for that now.
If you lose SOME fat, then the fat covering your muscles gets smaller, but your
muscles are still hidden. It’s only when you get quite lean that you carve out
muscle definition. I need to make an illustration of this. It’s really helpful to see.
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If you build muscle, it adds shape beneath your fat, giving you a buff look even at
higher body-fat percentages. But it isn’t realistic to build THAT much muscle
while cutting. That’s usually the sort of shape you build while bulking. That’s
why if you build enough muscle while bulking, you can look quite a bit stronger
and more muscular, even if you gain some fat. (In your case, though, since you
have a history of being over-fat, you’d want to bulk slowly and leanly.)
That’s why you still look skinny fat. You aren’t quite lean enough for definition,
and you aren’t quite strong enough for shape.
It sounds like you’re still new to lifting, right? In that case, recomping is realistic
right now, yeah. Then, when you plateau, we can see whether it makes more
sense to do a lean bulk or cut a little deeper. But it’d be good to recomp for as
long as you can. It’s only when you stop making steady, measurable progress that
you’d switch over.
Recomping is perfect for guys with skinny fat physiques! If you’re overweight,
you need less weight, so cutting usually makes sense. If you’re underweight, you
need more weight, so bulking usually makes sense. Weight isn’t your issue, so a
recomp is ideal (for as long as it works).
Our other programs are best for after that, once you’ve got a good base of muscle
and strength, once you’re good at lifting weights. Right now, Bony to Beastly
would be perfect.
Reply
Hi Shane,
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Thank you so much for the response, it’s very helpful. I definitely do feel as
if I am in much better shape. I really appreciate the color regarding how
body fat can affect the optics of muscle/how it looks on your body.
For context, I’ve lifted in spurts over the last 1.5 years. I had a stretch of ~6
months lifting consistently (the first time in my life) where I saw gains in
my lifts but my overall numbers are still very small, then a 6 month period
of a very sedentary lifestyle (caused extensive weight gain) to this last
‘cutting’ period, bringing me to my current state now. Throughout all of
those phases I was certainly skinny/skinny fat with low muscle mass.
Would this still classify me as relatively “new to lifting” to the point where a
recomp would work effectively? And to follow up on the mechanics of that,
should I just let my appetite purely guide me in terms of caloric intake?
Either way I’m likely going to give a recomp a shot for a bit (maybe 7-10
weeks) before deciding where I want to go from here, and will look more
into Bony to Beastly as I’m sure it will be an invaluable tool.
Reply
My pleasure!
Yeah, I’d still say you’re fairly new to lifting. Good that you’ve got some
practice, too.
I think a recomp would still work well. But you can track and see. In
the short term, if you’re adding weight or reps to your lifts most weeks,
gradually growing stronger, then that’s a great sign it’s working. In the
medium term, you can look at your waist, arm, and shoulder
measurements every 4–8 weeks. In the longer term, you can compare
progress photos every few months.
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Outlift does not offer medical advice and does not replace your relationship with your doctor. Always consult your physician
before beginning any exercise or diet program. Marco Walker-Ng, BHSc, PTS, PN is certified through Canadian Fitness
Professionals.
Outlift is a project by Foxhound Ltd (https://foxhoundstudio.com/), registered in the Province of Ontario, Canada from 2013–
2025.
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