Body Recomp; i.e. adding muscle and losing fat simultaneously, is often called the Holy Grail of bodybuilding, because like the Grail, neither probably exist. However, multiple studies have shown that gaining muscle while losing fat happens all the time. By how much varies by the individual, with folks newer to weight training with a lot of body fat to lose having the most success with it. But even trained individuals have done it and it’s been documented in the literature. I can now add myself to the list of people who have accomplished this illusive goal.
I was listening to a Revive Stronger podcast with one of my favorite hosts Steve Hall, and one of my recent mentors, Menno Henselmans. The topic was genetics, but Menno mentioned the FFMI calculator on his site, which reminded me I’ve used it before to calculate my FFMI. I checked my storage of documents and found that I completed the calculations in August of 2019. I thought it would be a perfect time to do it again, after my very successful diet. Much to my surprise, even though I’m 20 pounds lighter than the last time I did it, I have larger measurements in several areas.
My torso measurement, taken under the arms at the top of the chest, is 2″ bigger than it was in August of 2019! So I’ve grown in the pecs and/or upper back and lats. If I had to guess, it’s in my back as it seems visually larger, but it’s very hard to tell for sure.
I carry most of my fat in my lower body so that when I’m a little plump, my upper body may still look relatively lean, but my legs and ass look like a fat guy’s. 20 pounds lighter now, my legs look dramatically leaner, so one would expect they would be smaller as well, but no! My thighs are 0.1″ larger this year. That may not sound like much, but they actually grew much more than that. If I hadn’t grown any muscle, and lost as much fat as I did, they’d be smaller than they were at 183 pounds. I’d guess most of it came from my hamstrings which I have been focused on since moving away from Powerlifting training and toward hypertrophy training.
My calves, neck and upper arms are the same size, which again is indicative of at least some muscular growth as they should be smaller without all the extra adipose tissue I was carrying in August 2019.
My FFMI hasn’t really changed, hovering in the 20-21 range as it would take a lot of muscular growth to move that needle, but I’m still extremely pleased with the results. It is incredibly motivating to know that I can still add more tissue as a 56-year old who has been lifting weights for a very long time. Granted, I haven’t always trained intelligently nor have I always trained for growth, but as I contemplate what I might be able to do with a solid year of renewed focus on my training with my home gym set up, I am fairly well stoked.
My plan was to basically maintain my current weight and diet again starting May 29, 2021 for 8 weeks. I think instead, with this new information, I may continue a lean bulk all the way to Sep 26, 2021 and take my measurements again. I plan to eat just enough to ensure I’m not in a deficit as I don’t want to get into a large surplus and just add a bunch of fat I’ll need to diet off. My diet wasn’t miserable, but I’d really like to stay looking and feeling good rather than plumping up and having to diet it off again. A large surplus of calories isn’t necessary to grow muscle. Two really good studies showed two groups of fairly well trained guys. One study had a group who gained 0.18% of their body weight weekly, where the second was essentially at maintenance calories, adding only .02% body weight each week. At the end of the study, there was no difference in muscle growth or strength gains, but the 0.18% group added a lot more body fat. In the second study, the higher calorie group added .4% of their body weight per week, while the lower calories group added .2%. Over the 10 weeks, both groups had the same muscle growth and strength gains, but again, the .4% group added more fat.
While my last bulk in 2018 was pretty aggressive, I won’t try that again. I had no idea just how much fat I would have to lose to get lean, and I’m not willing to do that again, especially knowing the data is behind me if I try to lean bulk. The training provides the growth stimulus, the protein provides the amino acids to create new fibers, and the total calories intake ensures there’s enough energy to complete the process. More intake than needed, just gets stored.
I may not be Jacked, and I may never be, but I can continue on the road to Jackdom and get closer than I am now.
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