How to Stay Shredded and Strong Year-Round — Without Bulking and Cutting
(Why Body Recomposition Beats the Bulk-Cut Cycle Every Time)
Let’s kill the myth right away:
You don’t need to bulk up to gain muscle — or starve yourself to get lean.
If you’re over 25, work a full-time job, and don’t have hours a day to train, the bulk-and-cut cycle isn’t just ineffective…
It’s destructive.
Too much weight gain wrecks your joints and slows your progress.
Too much cutting kills your strength and tanks your recovery.
And worst of all?
You end up stuck in the same place — just more frustrated and inflamed than when you started.
The real move isn’t bulking or cutting.
It’s recomposition — staying lean, building muscle, and improving performance at the same time.
In this post, I’ll break down:
Why most body recomposition advice online is wrong
What actually works for busy professionals and ex-athletes
The exact strategy I use to keep myself and my clients lean and strong all year — without counting every gram or skipping meals
Why the Bulk-Cut Cycle Fails Most Men
If you’ve ever “bulked” and felt sluggish, bloated, or like your joints were screaming — that’s not progress. That’s inflammation.
And if you’ve cut hard and lost strength or motivation in the process? You already know:
✖️ It’s not sustainable
✖️ It doesn’t actually teach your body to perform better
✖️ It’s a yo-yo cycle that kills momentum
📚 Studies show that short-term bulking without strategic intake leads to disproportionate fat gain compared to muscle (Trexler et al., 2019).
Meanwhile, aggressive cutting can increase muscle breakdown, reduce testosterone, and hurt training quality (Helms et al., 2014).
That’s not what we’re about.
What You Actually Need: Strategic Recomposition
Body recomposition is the process of lowering fat and increasing lean muscle simultaneously — and when paired with calisthenics, it works better than almost any other method.
Here’s why:
You build relative strength → Every pound of fat lost improves performance in skills like pull-ups, planches, and front levers.
You train full-body compound movements daily → This maintains muscle mass even in a slight deficit.
You recover better → No excessive inflammation or CNS fatigue from barbell overload.
You naturally self-regulate → Less need for constant tracking once your habits are dialed.
The System I Use with My Clients
You don’t need to count macros forever or cut carbs to shred fat.
Here’s what we dial in instead:
🔹 1. Eat for Energy, Not Just Aesthetics
Focus on fueling performance and recovery. I teach my clients to cycle carbs based on their hardest training days — keeping them energized but light for bodyweight work.
📚 This is backed by studies on performance-based fueling for athletes, which improves fat oxidation and lean mass retention (Thomas et al., 2016).
🔹 2. Train for Output, Not Just Burn
Forget 1,000-calorie burners. We use progressive skill training (planche, front lever, etc.) combined with functional volume to drive recomposition — not depletion.
Muscle is preserved. Fat is burned. Joints stay happy.
🔹 3. Track Wins You Can Feel
You don’t have to weigh yourself every day.
We focus on:
Strength benchmarks
Visual body changes
Energy + recovery
Skill unlocks
All signs that your body is recomposing properly.
How You Can Do This Too
If you’ve been bouncing between cutting and bulking and still don’t have the physique — or strength — you actually want…
Here’s the truth:
It’s not your discipline.
It’s your system.
When you use calisthenics intelligently — paired with nutrient-dense eating, mobility-based strength, and consistent recovery — you can look AND perform like an athlete 365 days a year.
No off-seasons.
No gut.
No rebound cuts.
Want My Help Getting There?
I coach high-performing men who want to build lean muscle, lose stubborn fat, and feel powerful in their body again — all without the fluff.
If that’s you?
👉 Click here to apply for private coaching
Let’s lock in your year-round strategy and build a body that performs — not just poses.
— Gavin
📚 References
Trexler, E. T., Smith-Ryan, A. E., & Norton, L. E. (2014). “Metabolic adaptation to weight loss: implications for the athlete.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-11-7
Helms, E. R., Aragon, A. A., & Fitschen, P. J. (2014). “Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation: nutrition and supplementation.” Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 11(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/1550-2783-11-20
Thomas, D. T., Erdman, K. A., & Burke, L. M. (2016). “Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: Nutrition and Athletic Performance.” Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(3), 501–528. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.12.006
