Is recomp still possible? If not, to cut or to gain?

[kessg]

Background:
5’5; 130 lb; 43 yo woman; ~ 25% bf

Following intermediate programming since Feb 2015. Current lifts:

• Squat: 3 @ 175 lb
• DL: 3 @ 190
• Press: 5 @ 67
• Bench: 5 @ 101

I posted earlier in the year in this forum ( http://startingstrength.com/resource...als-women.html ). The advice was (1) reset expectations (thanks for the reality check!); (2) increase volume; (3) train consistently, and (4) avoid rapid weight fluctuations.

I’ve done reasonably well with these goals, although I did not get noticeably leaner or stronger. Still, I trained consistently, avoided a weight regain, rehabbed a shoulder injury, and increased my macros considerably from the ‘poverty macros’ of late spring. So 4 to 2 in my favor.

I’m following an HLM template, although a few weeks ago I added squat and deadlift singles and doubles on my medium day to prepare for the Fall Classic, so it’s more of a HMM program right now. I also upped my macros to go along with the added intensity to avoid losing weight.

Average weekly macros are 170P / 230C / 70F. Typical medium day macros are 180P / 280C / 60F (a bit higher on my heavy day). Typical non-lifting day macros are 165P / 170C / 75F.

On non-lifting days, I've been swimming 20-30 mins at leisurely to moderate pace, mostly for enjoyment. It’s finally getting cool enough for my preferred HIIT modality – stair runs – so I’ve introduced a session a week. The pool season is almost over, so I have to drop swimming anyway.

Questions:

I read with interest your comment below.

It would seem that bulking & cutting cycles would be less efficient for women, since they don't generally put on muscle mass easily. Is that assumption correct? If so, how long of a maintenance period (aka recomp) would you recommend in between bulking-cutting, if any?

That assumption is true, but it doesn't matter really because you don't really have a choice. What I mean by that is, yes it's inefficient but if you're at maintenance calories the muscle mass increase is essentially zero in a trained population male or female.

But since I’m a ‘fluffy intermediate’ at 25% bf, is recomp still possible for me?

Comfort-zone-wise, I would prefer to recomp / maintain at around 130 lb, given my history of weight loss / weight regain. But if it’s a fool’s errand, would the next move be to cut or to gain?

I’m the kind of person who has trouble adding LBM, but I’ve noticed that I am able to hang on to LBM and maintain, or even increase, my strength on a calorie deficit. So my second preferred route would be to cut, especially given that my macros are high and I have quite a bit of room. For comparison, the macros I finished my previous fat loss phase were 150P / 130C / 42F. I'm willing to up my HIIT and add lifting volume as necessary.

However, I’m not opposed to “eating for performance” if that’s what I have to do to gain muscle.

What would you suggest? Are there any guideposts to try to hit – i.e. 20% bf before trying to gain? Don’t go over 28% bf if the advice is to gain?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Hi and thanks for the follow up. I'll quote some of your stuff and then give you my overall rec's at the end

But since I’m a ‘fluffy intermediate’ at 25% bf, is recomp still possible for me?

You can lose body fat and maintain most of your skeletal muscle mass, but you won't gain any significant amount of muscle, unfortunately. Leaning out is going to make you look a bit more "muscular", however.

Comfort-zone-wise, I would prefer to recomp / maintain at around 130 lb, given my history of weight loss / weight regain. But if it’s a fool’s errand, would the next move be to cut or to gain?

I think right now you plan on doing the meet as a 132 given the proximity. I'd also cut out the swimming and stair running until after the meet as there is a significant eccentric to the stair running and the swimming is contributing to upper body fatigue we don't need at the moment.

After the meet I would likely advise you to spend 6 weeks doing a controlled "cut" to see how 19-20% bodyfat looks and feels on you. After that, I'd enter a higher volume training period and start titrating cals up to try and build some muscle through the winter. Some HIIT would be advisable as well in higher amounts during the cut and then less during the "bulk". Then I'd reassess after about 8 weeks.