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Newbie Skinny Fat - Recomp?

Can I recomp at maintenance as a skinny fat beginner?

Alexnator
Alexnator g Alex Lay
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Hi guys, I am 18, about 20%BF  weight roughly 75kg

I wonder if it's possible to recomp at maintenance calories whilst lifting heavy 5 times per week?

I was planning to do upper/lower in lower reps range then push/pull/legs in higher ranges so total 5 training days per week.

I do not have the willpower to cut right now because of personal reasons and I don't feel like bulking since my bf% is already high.

I am not in a rush to lean down, my goal would be do lean down to 13-14% bf till the summer and add a few pounds of muscle.

Would this be possible over a 6 month period on maintenance calories?

 

As for my training experience I am a newbie to serious weightlifting.

 

 

As for my workout it would be this ( from a website but not sure if I can link)

 

Monday Heavy

Lower Day

Squat 3 sets x 6 reps

Deadlift 2sets x 6 reps

Leg press 3sets x 8-12

reps

Front Squat 2sets x 8-12

reps

Tuesday Heavy

Upper Day

Bench Press 3sets x 6 reps

Barbell row 3sets x 6 reps

Barbell press 1set x 6

Pull up 1set x 6

DB press 3sets x 8-12

reps

Seated incline 2sets 8-12

 

Legs

Squat 5x8

Deadlift 3x8

Front Squat 3x12

Leg Press 3x12

Hamstring Curl 3x12

 

 

Push

DB press 4x10

Incline Press 4x10

Seated DB Press 3x10

Cable Fly 4x12

Tricep cable 3x12

 

 Pull

Barbell Row 4x8

Pulldown 4x10

Seated row 4x8

Bicep curl 3x12

 

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Alexnator

Hi guys, I am 18, about 20%BF  weight roughly 75kg

I wonder if it's possible to recomp at maintenance calories whilst lifting heavy 5 times per week?

I was planning to do upper/lower in lower reps range then push/pull/legs in higher ranges so total 5 training days per week.

I do not have the willpower to cut right now because of personal reasons and I don't feel like bulking since my bf% is already high.

I am not in a rush to lean down, my goal would be do lean down to 13-14% bf till the summer and add a few pounds of muscle.

Would this be possible over a 6 month period on maintenance calories?

 

As for my training experience I am a newbie to serious weightlifting.

 

 

As for my workout it would be this ( from a website but not sure if I can link)

 

Monday Heavy

Lower Day

Squat 3 sets x 6 reps

Deadlift 2sets x 6 reps

Leg press 3sets x 8-12

reps

Front Squat 2sets x 8-12

reps

Tuesday Heavy

Upper Day

Bench Press 3sets x 6 reps

Barbell row 3sets x 6 reps

Barbell press 1set x 6

Pull up 1set x 6

DB press 3sets x 8-12

reps

Seated incline 2sets 8-12

 

Legs

Squat 5x8

Deadlift 3x8

Front Squat 3x12

Leg Press 3x12

Hamstring Curl 3x12

 

 

Push

DB press 4x10

Incline Press 4x10

Seated DB Press 3x10

Cable Fly 4x12

Tricep cable 3x12

 

 Pull

Barbell Row 4x8

Pulldown 4x10

Seated row 4x8

Bicep curl 3x12

 

I think you could see some fat loss and muscle gain over 6 months at maintenance. It will come down to adjusting your macros mostly, and making sure you are doing the right type of training to burn fat while working out for muscle gain as well.

 

What are your current macros?

 

Your workout plan seems OK..but I'm not sure you have enough volume with your heavy days. There's not even a total of 100 reps. I feel like if you're going to do fewer reps per set, that's fine, but maybe add in a couple more sets for some of the exercises?

 

As for your PPL routine.. you don't have any shoulder work on your push day. It would probably be a good idea to add some in there.

 

Have you thought about trying my PPL split for the 12 week challenge instead?

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Alexnator
Alexnator g Alex Lay
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted

Hi @Scott_Herman

My current macros are: 2100-2200kcal

263c 158p 47f, but to be honest whilst I am tracking carbs and fat I am just aiming to hit my protein and calories for the Day. Does macros make a difference on Body comp?

 

How do you mean I should increase volume. How would that look like? I thought I was having too much volume since ppl preaching minimal programs. I'm only in the gym for 35-45 min on any given Day, definitely feel like I could do mode sets but I dont want to risk overtraining?

 

 

I like the thought of having days where I lift heavy and other days where I lift in higher ranges, I can prepare my mind differently.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Alexnator

Hi @Scott_Herman

My current macros are: 2100-2200kcal

263c 158p 47f, but to be honest whilst I am tracking carbs and fat I am just aiming to hit my protein and calories for the Day. Does macros make a difference on Body comp?

 

How do you mean I should increase volume. How would that look like? I thought I was having too much volume since ppl preaching minimal programs. I'm only in the gym for 35-45 min on any given Day, definitely feel like I could do mode sets but I dont want to risk overtraining?

 

 

I like the thought of having days where I lift heavy and other days where I lift in higher ranges, I can prepare my mind differently.

Your fat seems too low to me. I would like to see you eating at least 60g of fat. Fat is essential for testosterone production.

 

Your protein should be a bit higher too - aim for 1 gram per lb of body weight, which for you would be a little over 160g.

 

Macros can affect your body comp, so it's best to track all of them.

 

For example, with your lower heavy day you are only doing 2 sets of 6 reps on the deadlift. Why not do 3 or 4? Because you are doing fewer reps, it can be a good idea to do more sets.

 

Overtraining is VERY hard to do. As long as you are eating and sleeping right, you won't be overtraining if you add more volume to your workouts.

 

So you can keep your heavy and light days if you want, no problem there. Just maybe try a little more volume. That being said, if what you are doing now is working, then stick with it until you hit a plateau :-)

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Alexnator
Alexnator g Alex Lay
3 Post(s)
3 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: January 1, 2017
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

Your fat seems too low to me. I would like to see you eating at least 60g of fat. Fat is essential for testosterone production.

 

Your protein should be a bit higher too - aim for 1 gram per lb of body weight, which for you would be a little over 160g.

 

Macros can affect your body comp, so it's best to track all of them.

 

For example, with your lower heavy day you are only doing 2 sets of 6 reps on the deadlift. Why not do 3 or 4? Because you are doing fewer reps, it can be a good idea to do more sets.

 

Overtraining is VERY hard to do. As long as you are eating and sleeping right, you won't be overtraining if you add more volume to your workouts.

 

So you can keep your heavy and light days if you want, no problem there. Just maybe try a little more volume. That being said, if what you are doing now is working, then stick with it until you hit a plateau :-)

Okay. I'll intresse protein, data and decrease carbs

 

I will try to increase sets on heavy days.

 

What about the ppl days, is the volume good?

Can I Keep the straight normal sets instead of adding drop sets? Or are drop sets optimal for growth? I havet nothing against dropsets I just find it harder to trackback Weight and progress cause I'm anal like tjat.

William_Steinset
William_Steinset p William Steinset
1K Post(s)
1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: December 12, 1969
Posted
Posted By: Alexnator

Okay. I'll intresse protein, data and decrease carbs

 

I will try to increase sets on heavy days.

 

What about the ppl days, is the volume good?

Can I Keep the straight normal sets instead of adding drop sets? Or are drop sets optimal for growth? I havet nothing against dropsets I just find it harder to trackback Weight and progress cause I'm anal like tjat.

Dont have the volume to high, it will be hard to maintain muscle if you have to much work load. I personally keep 6-12 sets pr muscle at the moment and I eat 3000-4000 calories.

 

Your goal sounds realistic considering your fitness level, you will have to dedicate yourself fully to this tho.

 

Check out this forum post !

http://muscularstrength.com/forums.php?pageAction=POSTS&subForumID=52&threadID=3614

MS Athelete / Super Hermanite / SHF
Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: Alexnator

Okay. I'll intresse protein, data and decrease carbs

 

I will try to increase sets on heavy days.

 

What about the ppl days, is the volume good?

Can I Keep the straight normal sets instead of adding drop sets? Or are drop sets optimal for growth? I havet nothing against dropsets I just find it harder to trackback Weight and progress cause I'm anal like tjat.

Carbs don't need to be decreased too much.. just enough so that you still hit your required calories after you have increased protein and fats.

 

The volume is OK. I personally like to use drop sets because that's what works for me, but everyone is different. Use your method to start with and see how it goes for 2-4 weeks. You can try higher volume after that and see how the two different styles compare in terms of gains for you.

 

Maybe you could try the PPL 12 week program I have? It doesn't have drop sets, but you can play around with short rest periods and see how that goes as well. Otherwise if you're up for changing your training split completely, you can try the 5-day bodybuilding split to experiment with drop sets :-)

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