Unanswered The classic bulk or recomp dilemma..

[blongo804]

Hey everyone,

Looking for some advice. I've been trying my hardest to put quality muscle mass on since December '18 (really even a little prior to that), but I've come to a dilemma where I realized summer is right around the corner and I want to be a little tighter/cut looking than I do now.

Current macros are: 300p, 400c, 97f and I'm barely maintaining 205lbs at 6' height. Below are pics as of yesterday morning..

My question is: what should I do to get in better shape at this point? Keep eating around maintenance levels, lifting heavy (my training revolves around the compound lifts) and cardio about 3 times a week + patience? I'm considering slowly dropping carbs, maybe dropping 20g per day per week, but I don't want to lose strength (the struggle!). If I can just get my midsection to tighten up for now i'd be happy!

Besides my question, my thoughts coming into this post are - once I recover from my last cycle, I'm thinking about using MSten for 6 weeks to maybe drop fat and recomp me with carbs around 1g/lb instead of 2g/lb. With this plan, I can probably recomp properly and keep if not gain strength..

Thoughts? I know this is a lot and will require some trial and error. Just looking for general direction. I may have left details out, but I think I got it all.

 

[Resolve10]

You really just have to decide what you really want.

Want to lose some of that fat? Drop calories for a bit and do so. If yuh are maintaining at that caloric level it wouldn’t be too hard to drop some fat while still keeping things relatively easy.

I usually cut fats initially to maintain workout intensity while losing fat. Only as things stall do I eventually have to dip into carbs.

If you commit to it for a short period you should be able to drop some fat and not lose much strength if any then get right back up into wherever you want to go next. I think that would be better than spinning your wheels at maintenance hoping to drop fat IMO.

 

[The Solution]

Legs??
Back??
Any pictures of those?
you can't tell the whole story when you only show a small portion of your body.

Personally if you want to recomp you will likely just sit in the same spot and spin your wheels
pick a goal, attack it, and then modify based off your true intention.

If you want to lean up then slowly reduce calories, keep cardio to a minimum, and focus on keeping calories as high as possible while you lose weight so you leave flexibility when you stall.

my 2 cents.

 

[blongo804]

You really just have to decide what you really want.

Want to lose some of that fat? Drop calories for a bit and do so. If yuh are maintaining at that caloric level it wouldn’t be too hard to drop some fat while still keeping things relatively easy.

I usually cut fats initially to maintain workout intensity while losing fat. Only as things stall do I eventually have to dip into carbs.

If you commit to it for a short period you should be able to drop some fat and not lose much strength if any then get right back up into wherever you want to go next. I think that would be better than spinning your wheels at maintenance hoping to drop fat IMO.

Thanks for your thoughts!

I never actually thought about that - dropping fat first before carbs.. I think I've always cut carbs first in the past, but I like this plan being that I have a ton of carbs to work with when the "losing" stalls.

Legs??
Back??
Any pictures of those?
you can't tell the whole story when you only show a small portion of your body.

Personally if you want to recomp you will likely just sit in the same spot and spin your wheels
pick a goal, attack it, and then modify based off your true intention.

If you want to lean up then slowly reduce calories, keep cardio to a minimum, and focus on keeping calories as high as possible while you lose weight so you leave flexibility when you stall.

my 2 cents.

Good point by you and Resolve about spinning wheels at maintenance or attempting to recomp. I have actually felt that way the last 2-3 weeks, so it's time to make a change.

I'm thinking from now til end of June or so i'll slowly drop some fat from my diet and see what happens. This will be easy.

Oh and I can get more pics. These were just a couple quick 5am selfies lol.

 

[The Solution]

Taking a picture of just your front doesn't tell the whole story because back and legs are two key points whre a lot of males hold fat.
If they are very lean, then you simply just need to fill out your frame or have a very small caloric deficit in order to tighten up

There could be other things you could do as well
- Micromanage how you allocate your carbs/dietary setup
- food sources (bloating/GI Issues)

I notice on a lot of clients I work with I can manipulate the food sources they eat and they look 5x better once they start digestnig the nutrients they are eating. Instead of eating sources that don't agree with their body or eat these because they see what others eat and try to follow suit.. A lot of healthier options are very high in FODMAP which can cause GI Distress/bloating, but they continue to eat these sources even if they have a slight intolerance to them.

So its really hard to pin point an issue here without knowing the full story or giving the full attention to detail
I have leaned up people by increasing intake, modifying food, and finding better sources that digest easier.

There is too many pieces to the puzzle to justify a blank black and white statement on what you should do, when there are plenty of factors that are thrown into the fire and dictate the big picture.

 

[Mathb33]

Everyone see things differently but personally I never let myself get above 16% during a bulk or I call it a fail. So I would never think about bulking if I’m over 15-16% to begin with.

 

[blongo804]

Taking a picture of just your front doesn't tell the whole story because back and legs are two key points whre a lot of males hold fat.
If they are very lean, then you simply just need to fill out your frame or have a very small caloric deficit in order to tighten up

There could be other things you could do as well
- Micromanage how you allocate your carbs/dietary setup
- food sources (bloating/GI Issues)

I notice on a lot of clients I work with I can manipulate the food sources they eat and they look 5x better once they start digestnig the nutrients they are eating. Instead of eating sources that don't agree with their body or eat these because they see what others eat and try to follow suit.. A lot of healthier options are very high in FODMAP which can cause GI Distress/bloating, but they continue to eat these sources even if they have a slight intolerance to them.

So its really hard to pin point an issue here without knowing the full story or giving the full attention to detail
I have leaned up people by increasing intake, modifying food, and finding better sources that digest easier.

There is too many pieces to the puzzle to justify a blank black and white statement on what you should do, when there are plenty of factors that are thrown into the fire and dictate the big picture.

I'll be sure to grab a back and legs pic for you for sure. Personally I think my legs definitely hold fat, but at the same time have pretty clear cuts - just hope I can get some good lighting there. I'll tag you here when I get the pics up!

Lots of great info here though. There's some food I eat daily that I haven't changed in a LONG time, including 4 whole eggs daily, which I've been thinking about moving away from. I feel like I digest everything I eat pretty good, but I do have times of bloating/GI distress.

Anyway, all good points and I really appreciate your thoughts, Bob!

 

[blongo804]

Everyone see things differently but personally I never let myself get above 16% during a bulk or I call it a fail. So I would never think about bulking if I’m over 15-16% to begin with.

Yeah I hear ya there.

Prior to my current physique I was really just "skinny-fat" i'd say (very little-no muscle mass, not exactly fat, not exactly skinny). Now I feel like I've built a decent enough frame with decent strength that I can work with. Please reference my first thread ever for an original pic lol: https://anabolicminds.com/community/threads/sort-of-newb-here-looking-for-opinions.296777/#post-5851067

When I was like that ^, I thought what's the worst I have to lose if I just try to add mass. That got me here.. A little chubbier I guess but some actual muscle too. For example in that pic I could barely bench 135lbs - now my 1RM is 275lbs.

I'm thinking I'll start cutting down a bit now, try to get around 14-15% BF, maybe even lower, then start adding back quality mass.

 

[The Solution]

If you are still bloated or
Have GI distress there are things you are eating or consuming that doesn’t agree with you.

I suggest you start playing the process of elimination game and figure this out which will help you absorb the nutrients you eat and clean up your digestion

So many people eat foods that are deemed clean but don’t agree with them but they continue a bad practice and it does more harm then good a very common thing I see the more people I work with

Getting rid of these and making substitutions will not only help body composition but how you feel and perform on a day to day basis

 

[blongo804]

If you are still bloated or
Have GI distress there are things you are eating or consuming that doesn’t agree with you.

I suggest you start playing the process of elimination game and figure this out which will help you absorb the nutrients you eat and clean up your digestion

So many people eat foods that are deemed clean but don’t agree with them but they continue a bad practice and it does more harm then good a very common thing I see the more people I work with

Getting rid of these and making substitutions will not only help body composition but how you feel and perform on a day to day basis

That makes a ton of sense. I have a deep, suspicious feeling my fiance falls into this boat too. My deep feeling also tells me whole eggs have something to do with this.. They'll probably be the first to go. It's not that I get terribly bloated, but I probably bloat once a day.. Just never paid much attention as to it so I'm not 100% sure what's causing it.

This has all certainly been a bit eye opening and I do appreciate the insight from everyone so far!

 

[The Solution]

Most people follow diets or fads and don’t listen to their own bodies

You ever see the people who makes posts or threads on here and there are so
MAny red flags when they try to mimic others or hop on a new diet trend

Then when they don’t see results or they continue to use this trend when the body does not agree with it start and start pointing the fingers at other underlying factors which are not the issue

That’s the biggest issue with most trainees they don’t listen to their bodies and slave themselves to X or Y training program or diet when in reality their body is telling them different .

Very very common on here too and why people spin their wheels

 

[ValiantThor08]

When was your last "cycle"? When did it end. That also plays into your results since then.

 

[The Solution]

When was your last "cycle"? When did it end. That also plays into your results since then.

Right from his post history

DMZ + OL Dermatrest Log - 2nd Cycle - AnabolicMinds.com

Random Thoughts: Day off today and very likely, unfortunately tomorrow. Back still feels like garbage, but it is already feeling better. I was too lazy to use my TENS unit last night but tonight I definitely am. Hoping it helps. Wanted to note PCT thoughts.. I'm about 2.5 weeks in at this...

anabolicminds.com

 

[ValiantThor08]

Right from his post history

DMZ + OL Dermatrest Log - 2nd Cycle - AnabolicMinds.com

Random Thoughts: Day off today and very likely, unfortunately tomorrow. Back still feels like garbage, but it is already feeling better. I was too lazy to use my TENS unit last night but tonight I definitely am. Hoping it helps. Wanted to note PCT thoughts.. I'm about 2.5 weeks in at this...

anabolicminds.com

Thanks. Well, fat loss and lean muscle gain will be inhibited until your body becomes optimal again. Which can take longer than the "pct" time frame, or even directly post PCT.