I'm seeing a lot of talk lately about "Main-Gaining". What the heck is this? It's just "Lean Gains" repackaged, evidently. I guess that's okay. At least it's not "re-comping". You know who thinks re-comping is a good gaining strategy? People who've been lifting for a year or less; people who've usually only trained for 12-18 months at most, and think it's the greatest idea ever. But trained individuals with solid experience don't really use re-comping to facilitate their strength & size goals. Sure, they've likely tried it; but after a period, the re-comp gains grind to a halt, and they discard the notion. They realize if you want to grow, you must BULK.
"Build Muscle While Burning Fat!" Yeah, that's a great idea. You'd be a fool to want anything else. But you wanna know the only reason why the notion of re-comping is so popular? BECAUSE EVERYONE WANTS to build muscle and lose fat. 0% of people who train want to lose muscle and gain fat. Hence, its popularity. The concept of Re-comping has only gained traction because EVERYONE wants what re-comping supposedly offers. It's like those "Add 1-2 inches to your penis!!!" advertisements; just about every guy would say, "Sure! I'd happily accept another inch. Hook me up!" And that's why dick pills sell. Because of hope. Because why not, just maybe it will work?
Well, again, surprise, we'd all love to add muscle and lose fat at the same time. Of course. But just because a method purports to do something, doesn't make it effective. It's just empty claims with enough hand-waving to get your hopes up. And again, if it's your first year of lifting or so, yes, you can enjoy a modest re-comping effect. But after you've been at it for a while, it just stops working. You can't get leaner and more muscular forever, while maintaining the same weight. Eventually, you must eat in CLEAR SURPLUS if you want to add a noticeable amount of muscle. You have to overcome your fear of fat, and start eating with purpose.
I'm not saying you must GET fat, I'm just saying you must not FEAR fat. Why all the push-back? Why are skinny guys terrified to properly bulk? I can only imagine it's because of the number of obese people they've observed in their lifetime, who can't seem to drop fat no matter what they do. Much like when smokers try to give up cigarettes, people who are prone to over-eating have often tried to "diet" 10 or 12 times yet never have success. Unfortunately, this has the result of skewing the perception of the "difficulty level" of cutting fat for a leaner individual. Obese people distort the reality of how easy it is for skinny people to cut fat.
You're a hard-gainer? Naturally skinny? Great, me too. I share your pain. But here's something you don't realize: HARD-GAINERS are EASY-CUTTERS. If you have a hard time putting on fat, you'll have an easy time cutting fat. It's really that simple. If you have a hard time putting on mass (or just weight in general), you can stop being utterly pre-occupied with fat gain. The very reason you're lean now is because you don't have an abundance of appetite, nor do you have a natural inclination to overeat. If you couple this fact with a clear, but controlled, calorie surplus (350-500 calories), and combine it with an effective weekly volume of resistance training, you'll be well on your way to adding quality mass.
You just have to get the fat-fear out of your head.
You are Good to Grow!
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| You don't need ABS, You need MASS. Because you're TOO DAMN SKINNY! |
