While recomping at a maintenance bodyweight is possible… it will eventually reach a point of diminishing returns.
We often get asked if you can lose lose body fat while maintaining bodyweight, or if your can grow muscle in a calorie deficit. The answer to both of these questions is yes… however neither of these situations are optimal. As an experienced trainee, trying to achieve fat loss and muscle gain at the same time is unlikely to be productive.
Skeletal muscle mass and body fat are both tissues, and they add weight to the human frame. Therefore, if your goal is to build a significant amount of muscle mass, or lose a significant amount of body fat, this should be correlated with changes in scale weight. Little to no change in bodyweight is unlikely to correlate with tangible differences in body composition long-term.
If your goal is to build skeletal muscle mass, then it is recommended that you aim to gain between 0.5-1.5% of your bodyweight per month. If your goal is to decrease body fat, it is recommended that you aim to lose between 0.5-1% of your bodyweight per week.
These guidelines allow for weight gain and weight loss to be achieved in a sustainable, controlled manner. Of course, this is provided that an individual is following a structured resistance training program coincided with a nutritious diet, adequate protein intake and ample sleep. In doing so, a trainee should be able to maximally build muscle mass while minimising body fat gain in periods of energy surplus. Also, maximally lose body fat while retaining muscle mass in an energy deficit.
In saying this, there are circumstances where you could consider a maintenance phase:
▪️If you’re content with your current body composition and don’t desire significant change
▪️Coming back from injury
▪️Coming back from time off resistance training in the gym
▪️A pre-prep phase for bodybuilders
▪️If you’re an athlete heavily focused on performance and skill and don’t require a change in body composition
Let us know, do you purposefully undergo periods of gaining and losing bodyweight in a controlled manner with the intention to change your body composition long-term?