Shred Fat or Build Muscle?

[Hinky]

I am new to this forum and new to the bodybuilding scene. I am 27 yrs. old and have not worked out in almost 6 years due to an injury from work in 2001. I tried to pick up the weights here and there over the years but I would end up causing myself a lot of pain for the next week or so. I am 5'11", 218 lbs., and have a BF% of 18.8. I have DDD (degenerative disc disease) in my C5-6 which is the lower part of the neck. Overhead work hurts when I use heavy weights and some other exercises that put stress on my shoulders. My question to anyone out there is, do I concentrate on shedding the unwanted fat and bringing my BF% down or do I try to slowly build up muscle again and worry about the excess fat later? Tips on how to train with a shoulder injury would be of great help also.

[zrolling900]

I would build muscle first as it is easier to burn fat with more lean muscle

[Hinky]

Do you have any suggestions for a good shoulder work out and any supplements that could help?

[new2lifting]

I would suggest using dumbells since you can control the angle of the dumbell

try holding dumbells in various postitions when performing flat, incline, and shoulder presses

such as palms facing the body...hammer position

palms facing in a v shape away from your face

palms facing toward your toes

play around with different angles, and try to find something that does not cause pain