Comfort Is a Poor Compass for Bodybuilding Progression
Comfort is rarely a reliable metric in bodybuilding.
Like any performance-based pursuit that aims to change the body in a meaningful way, bodybuilding requires repeated exposure to sensations that sit outside of what the body would naturally choose. Training close to failure, deliberately eating beyond appetite in a gaining phase, or managing persistent hunger in a deficit are not signs that something has gone wrong. They are expected consequences of pushing physiology away from its preferred state.
Body composition change, by definition, pushes against homeostasis. The body is designed to resist large or sustained deviations in energy balance, bodyweight, and body fat levels. When that resistance shows up, it often does so through appetite signals, fatigue, reduced motivation, or a general sense of discomfort. None of those signals exist to help you get leaner or more muscular. They exist to keep you stable.
In a gaining phase, as bodyweight increases and energy stores rise, appetite often becomes less reliable. Hunger cues may blunt, meals feel harder to get through, and eating enough to maintain a surplus can start to feel like work rather than enjoyment. This is not a failure of willpower or a sign that growth is no longer possible. It is simply the body recognising that energy availability is already high and attempting to slow further intake.
In a dieting phase, the opposite occurs. As body fat drops and energy availability decreases, hunger becomes louder and more persistent. Thoughts around food increase, satiety is harder to achieve, and the internal drive to eat intensifies. This is especially pronounced as athletes move closer to very low levels of body fat, where hormonal adaptations strongly favour weight regain. Again, this is not weakness or poor discipline. It is predictable physiology.
In both scenarios, the athlete is working against internal feedback that would prefer less change. The presence of that feedback does not invalidate the strategy. It simply reflects that the strategy is effective enough to provoke a response.
Where many athletes run into trouble is by using comfort as a decision-making tool. If hunger is present, they assume intake must increase. If eating feels difficult, they assume something must be wrong with the plan. If training feels hard or motivation dips, they interpret it as a signal to pull back prematurely. Over time, this creates a pattern where progress stalls not because the plan is flawed, but because the athlete is constantly course-correcting away from the very stimulus required for adaptation.
That said, discomfort is not something to pursue blindly.
There is an important distinction between productive discomfort and genuine red flags. Productive discomfort is proportional, expected, and context-dependent. It fluctuates with training load, phase of dieting or gaining, sleep quality, and overall stress. Red flags, on the other hand, tend to escalate rather than stabilise. Persistent injuries, rapidly declining performance, severe mood disturbance, disrupted sleep, or health markers trending in the wrong direction are not “part of the process” to be ignored.
Learning to differentiate between these two is a critical skill in bodybuilding. It requires experience, objective data, and often an external perspective. The most successful athletes are not those who suffer the most, but those who understand when discomfort is a sign of adaptation and when it is a sign that the cost is outweighing the return.
At a certain point, discomfort also stops being something that can be fully engineered away. You can optimise food selection, meal timing, training structure, recovery, and stress management, but some sensations remain unavoidable if meaningful change is the goal. Deliberately increasing or restricting energy intake is a choice, and tolerating the accompanying sensations is part of the sport.
Progress is rarely comfortable, but it should be intelligible. Understanding why discomfort is occurring, when it is expected, and how to manage it intelligently is what turns suffering into something purposeful rather than chaotic.
If you’re unsure whether the discomfort you’re experiencing is productive or a sign you’re pushing too far, this is where coaching matters. We help athletes structure gaining and dieting phases so progress is intentional, not guesswork. You can learn more about working with us below.