Skinny-Fat Why You Should Clean Bulk (video)

[Jozh22]

Guessing I should continue to bulk even at 21%?

[Beerculez]

'm 185 cm tall (6.0-6.1 ish), and weigh around 178 pounds at the moment. My bodyfat is probably around 17%. My lifts(not sure if these are relevant or not here but...) 245 bench, 270 squat, 330 deadlift.

Honestly I don't want to bulk at my current fat%, anything more than this and i'd just look round and pudgy. I want a visible jawline damnit.

Ideally I'd want to cut down to 10% or so, then possibly going on a slow clean bulk from there when it's winter here in Norway. Is that viable considering my current body status and whatnot? How long should it take me to cut down to 10-11% assuming I have average genetics and I'm diciplined about it?

Also how low should i go on the calories if i want to cut and what's a amount of carbs/proteins/fat. Also how much protein is the minimum when you cut? I've seen a lot of different opinions on this.

Sorry for all the nub q's but I'm jsut having a hard time trying to lose fat.

[Aspiringathlete]

Heres the problem i have with this thread, although i think its a good idea. show me ONE person who has TRULY TRANSFORMED from skinnyfat to aesthetic by clean bulking FIRST

[TheShreddinator]

Great vid, thnx brah!

[otiso]

Going to watch this video tonight, but after reading a few comments, think i might, maybe, possibly, be doing this.

I have been going gym for nearly a year now, and my diets been... bad, not mega bad, just sort of eat what i want kind of bad, but lunch is always tuna, dinner chicken and stuff but inbetween is chocolate/crisps etc (so maybe this is not a "clean" bulk, i don't know, as haven't watched video / am new to all this) but i've got up to benching nearly 90kg, deadlifting 120kg for example, and that is considerably more than what i started at, i can tell you that. Thing is, it's still all layered in fat. Now i'm cutting, so possible, maybe, i might've bulked first, and now i'm cutting.

Anyways, i look forward to watching the video :-)

you can see before/after photo on my profile - not great, because diets not been on point, but it's a lot better! Now i've got that frame, i'm cutting :-)

[gfroniewski]

Hey everyone. I read this entire thread after being lead over here from the Fat Loss forum. 5'5" 137. Bonafide skinny fat. However, I have kicked it into overdrive with my fitness and nutrition. Lifting 3 days a week intensely with HIIT and a lot of yoga for flexibility and stabilization. Add this in with a lot of hiking and steady state cardio here and there and you have a very active week. My question to you guys is this:

OUTSIDE OF A BODYBUILDING PERSPECTIVE, is the post below true? I have always struggled with my slight chubbiness as a manlet. I am ok with being skinny like the guy pictured first. Is it really just a matter of perspective like this poster is saying?

The real reason this post struck me is because I am doing the same program the guy pictured did. If it works like that and I can start a clean bulk in the fall once I have access to my college gym; I would LOVE to take that route.

Pics if y'all want them.

This is what he was answering in the original post.

"Actually,I think it depends on your personal preference. Would you prefer to be skinny yet shredded or more muscular with higher bodyfat? you could go one of two ways after making your choice. you could cut to a low BF % and lean bulk, or you could bulk and then cut after making good gains."

I have to agree with this
I have seen skinny-fat people after a cut and well they look skinny, not terrible, not bad, just skinny
This would be a good compromise for someone who is bothered more about fat, since he would rather be skinny than fat and actually envy the scrawny guys without a belly. On the other hand that would be unacceptable for the guy who is more bothered about being skinny, since he would rather be fat than skinny and actually envy the fat overweight guys who are also massive and strong.

I think for the person bothered by skinniness, staying skinny for months waiting to get rid of some fat first would be psychologically damaging. On the other hand for the person bothered by fatness, staying chubby for months waiting to build muscles before getting rid of the fat would be the psychologically damaging event.

This is what a skinny-fat person looks after losing fat
IMG linked
That's a 15 lbs lost in 9 weeks, from 19% to 12%
As you can see he doesn't look "of my god you are so small I can see your bones and I'm afraid you might die of starvation in front of me", just "skinny", the old good skinny. I know some people would rather be like that, since reaching that stage is faster than building muscles, before starting adding muscles to that frame knowing that they would not be "fat" while bulking. This would be expecially important for those people like Joseph Rakich that want to stay lean year round and bulk while staying on single digit.

For many other people that would be inacceptable and they need to follow Jason route

[GreyArea]

From what I read there's two ways to go to break the skinny-fat curse. Either become really skinny with no muscle or become really fat with decent muscle. Solutions for beating generic skinniness or generic fatness are simple after that.

If you cut, the cons are that you will be weak, scrawny, and basically super skinny. The pros are that you'll get back facial aesthetics, you'll "feel" better due to lower bf, and you can focus on doing better at cardio, like improving your mile time. At the end of it, you'll be able to lean bulk without worrying about major cut phases ever again (if you're careful).

If you bulk, the cons are that you will definitely be fat. Also, since you're already at higher bf, your partitioning will be worse. You will have no aesthetics (especially in your face) even though you'll look stronger. You won't be as skilled in generic sports like running. The pros are you will gain lots of strength and muscle and be in a good position to cut. And overall, according to the OP, this will take less time then cutting first.

Does that basically sum it up correctly?

[gfroniewski]

From what I read there's two ways to go to break the skinny-fat curse. Either become really skinny with no muscle or become really fat with decent muscle. Solutions for beating generic skinniness or generic fatness are simple after that.

If you cut, the cons are that you will be weak, scrawny, and basically super skinny. The pros are that you'll get back facial aesthetics, you'll "feel" better due to lower bf, and you can focus on doing better at cardio, like improving your mile time. At the end of it, you'll be able to lean bulk without worrying about major cut phases ever again (if you're careful).

If you bulk, the cons are that you will definitely be fat. Also, since you're already at higher bf, your partitioning will be worse. You will have no aesthetics (especially in your face) even though you'll look stronger. You won't be as skilled in generic sports like running. The pros are you will gain lots of strength and muscle and be in a good position to cut. And overall, according to the OP, this will take less time then cutting first.

Does that basically sum it up correctly?

Yes, it does. I am gonna go with this approach and achieve the skinny body I want and worry about packing on muscle later. At least I am not the type of person that can't hold any weight. I will get some good lifting and nutrition experience finishing this program. When classes start back up in the fall I can start my clean bulk with the school facilities instead of my crappy apartment complex gym!

[GreyArea]

Yes, it does. I am gonna go with this approach and achieve the skinny body I want and worry about packing on muscle later. At least I am not the type of person that can't hold any weight. I will get some good lifting and nutrition experience finishing this program. When classes start back up in the fall I can start my clean bulk with the school facilities instead of my crappy apartment complex gym!

All right man, just be sure to commit to it. The problem with skinnyfats is that they spin their wheels. Pick one goal and stick with it until you get there.

[gfroniewski]

All right man, just be sure to commit to it. The problem with skinnyfats is that they spin their wheels. Pick one goal and stick with it until you get there.

That is the problem I am specifically trying to avoid! I realize I have to go through both stages of muscle development to achieve true aesthetic appeal, but I would rather stick it out as a skinny person than keep living with my chubs.

[HiddenMozart]

Guessing I should continue to bulk even at 21%?

What in the name of Zeus is this

[Jozh22]

What in the name of Zeus is this

Dexa scan,
its a special kind of xray i guess you could call it, will show you lean mass, fat mass, bone mass etc. Far far far more accurate then a skin fold.

Can be expensive costing up to $200. Place I know does them on the cheap only $60
http://www.bodycompositionqld.com.au/bcinfo.html

[Ldonner]

For all those starting threads "Halp I'm skinny-fat should I bulk or cut?"

My detailed explanation why you should clean bulk.

Great video!

[notpuayet]

The thing that I'm confused about is that how does one know when they are in the correct surplus? Tracking .2-.5lbs or bodyweight is very hard without an electric scale, so how do you guys work that **** out?

[GreyArea]

The thing that I'm confused about is that how does one know when they are in the correct surplus? Tracking .2-.5lbs or bodyweight is very hard without an electric scale, so how do you guys work that **** out?

To find the correct surplus you need, you are going to need to experiment a little bit. First, you need to track your caloric intake for every single day. Second, you need determine your overall change in weight. Make a log that you will fill out for the next 2-3 weeks. Then you can figure out what your surplus/deficit is using the following formula:

daily caloric deviation from maintenance = [(final weight - starting weight) x 3500] / (number of days).

If you get a positive number (say +300), that means that you have been eating 300 surplus calories each day, which is what you want for a lean bulk.
If you get a negative number (say -200), that means that you have been eating 200 less calories each day.
If you get 0, that means you are eating at maintenance.

If you are eating at surplus, then your maintenance is your average caloric intake minus your average surplus. If you are eating at deficit, then you maintenance is your average caloric intake plus your average deficit.

Keep in mind your maintenance will change all the time. Your current weight, your exercise program, and your lifestyle will all affect your maintenance.

If you are skinny fat, you are going to have to either lean bulk with a surplus of about 200-300 to yield a gain of about .5lb/week, then cut once you have enough muscle mass, or you are going to have to slowly cut with a deficit of about -500 for a loss of 1lb/week, and bulk once you get to a fit bfp (10-13%).

[JamesD7]

Just about to start my clean bulk. 350 caloric surplus. Hopefully I can stick to it and not add much body fat.

[LateralusRok]

As others have said great video thanks!