That’s exactly when you realize you have to do something about that. Your lines have started fading and the sixpack is soon to be gone. The on-season (shredding period)Īlright, alright, you’ve gained some muscle mass but during that time you also gained some fat. This is simply because excessive fat gains will have us diet for longer later on, when we are shredding fat.Īnd logically, longer time spent dieting means more muscle loss, as the body burns both fat and muscle tissue on a deficit. (2)ĥ00 calories per day however, should be considered the upper limit for that surplus. Note that optimal muscle gains occur in a surplus of calories. This period is characterized with a more intense training load, more effort and sets to failure.Īnother important aspect of the off-season is the food intake, which is increased to an extent that allows for a moderate excess of calories. The off-season, more commonly known as the bulking period is the time during which the main focus is gaining as much lean muscle mass as possible.
Body recomposition vs bulking and cutting how to#
How To Periodize TrainingĪlright, the training year can be split into a couple parts – Off – season, on-season and transition period. This training principle which we can refer to as “training periodization” is something you should strongly consider, given that you already have years of experience in the gym. You might have heard this in the bodybuilding community – Periods of bulking (gaining mass) and periods of cutting (shredding fat).
![body recomposition vs bulking and cutting body recomposition vs bulking and cutting](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7tmyAu-dU4s/maxresdefault.jpg)
In other words, if your goal is developing a big, lean and pleasing to look at musculature, you need to go through a certain yearly training cycle, where you target each goal separately. This means less intensity and less sets to failure. We also need to note here that as our goals change, the approach to training changes along with nutrition.Īnd so, if you are cutting fat to get shredded, the stimulus of the workout switches from a constructive one for hypertrophy, to a maintaining one for lean mass retention. Some beginners or very fat people may be able to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously, but not in the long term. Of course, there are exceptions to each rule.