Recomp or bulking?

[oneworld82]

Hi guys,how you can see from my profile pic, I am in a dilemma situation. After losing 15 lbs through cardio, I have started lifting around 6 weeks ago following a split routine:

Day 1 - Arms
Day 2 - Shoulders
Day 3 - Abs
Day 4 - Legs
Day 5 - Chest
Day 6 - Back

Each day I do 5-6 different exercises per body part - say arms is barbell curl, concentration curls, preacher curls, close grip bench press, triceps extension, hammer curls, push downs and triceps pushdowns - and it is pretty specific trying to hit a lot of the various facets of the muscles.
In these apst 6 weeks, I have definitely gained strenght - I started bench pressing 3 sets of 8 reps at 115lbs, and now I can do 8x6x6x6 at 145lbs and I started barbell curls at 50lbs and can now do 8x8x5 at 75lbs; same with legs: I started at 100 lbs squats and now I am at 150lbs (8x8x8), and angled leg strenght started at 3x45 lbs plates per side and I am now at 4xside (10x10x10). When I finish my arms and legs workouts i am stiff and sore - I know I am pushing myself hard. When I finish abs, I am sore the day after. With shoulders, back, and chest, I am moderately sore the day after.

I have been taking pictures of my progress and while I see some mass appearing (very slowly) in my legs, shoulders and backs - my arms look slightly bigger too - I still have that despising skinny-fat look I cannot shake off my body. See attached photos for progress.

I am 5'10.5" (or 179cm), and when I started lifting I was 158lbs; I am now 162lbs. I do not know my body fat percentage, and it's frustrating. I bought two types of calipers, and watched countless videos on how to measure fat with the three skinfold method (chest, belly, leg). I measured myself and my wife did it for me. Every time I get a 10.5% body fat - clearly wrong. The navy method (waist circumference and neck) says I am 18.5% when I started in July. I believe the latter more.

Before July I had lightly worked out at the gym for a year or so (2-3 times a weak mostly stupid machines, nothing really challenging) and so my muscles are pretty weak/non existant.

I am getting a bit frustrated because I do not know what to do. I do not know if my routine now is fine, or if I should just restart with a 5x5 routine. Regardless, this week I started incorporating deadlifts and overhead press in my routine.

Should I go for a bulk? Should I recomp? I do not know. Again, I have been working out 5-6 days a week, and it's taking a little toll on me. I have been hitting 160-180 grams of proteins daily, and I have eaten 300-400 calores above maintenance (I target 2800-2900 kcals a day). However, I feel I could balance carbs and fats better, and I am working on that now (I have had too many cheat meals too, but overall my intake has been pretty steady).

Would you have any recommendation for me? I want to build muscle and clearly lose weight (is it all fat that I have?! bloating?!), since I look without any form whatsoever.

Thanks all!

[Junsuiakai]

Did not read, but saw your routine and have to say. You are not only wasting your time, but also your potential. First I'll say, get on a proven novice program and build a foundation of strength.

Okay now why your routine is rubbish...

After you exercise a muscle group, you have about 48 hours of protein synthesis.. So if you do one muscle group 1x a week, you are basically wasting your time, not to mention spending so many days in the gym...

Get on a proven novice program full body 3x a week, build a foundation of strength, or you will just spin your wheels like most bros who eventually give up.

Hypertrophy occurs once your body builds enough neural stimulus. So if you never increase your strength, you really aren't going to look any different..

Think of the guy who works in construction, lifting heavy weight 5x a week, but never going beyond those numbers, and looks the same year after year.. Because they do the same exact thing and don't push themselves more than they need for their job.

It is the same with the gym and actually making gains. You need to push yourself further than you feel comfortable with. That is why 5x5 novice programs are great. They force you to get uncomfortable and therefore induce change.

I went back and read.

[oneworld82]

Did not read, but saw your routine and have to say. You are not only wasting your time, but also your potential. First I'll say, get on a proven novice program and build a foundation of strength.

Okay now why your routine is rubbish...

After you exercise a muscle group, you have about 48 hours of protein synthesis.. So if you do one muscle group 1x a week, you are basically wasting your time, not to mention spending so many days in the gym...

Get on a proven novice program full body 3x a week, build a foundation of strength, or you will just spin your wheels like most bros who eventually give up.

Hypertrophy occurs once your body builds enough neural stimulus. So if you never increase your strength, you really aren't going to look any different..

Think of the guy who works in construction, lifting heavy weight 5x a week, but never going beyond those numbers, and looks the same year after year.. Because they do the same exact thing and don't push themselves more than they need for their job.

It is the same with the gym and actually making gains. You need to push yourself further than you feel comfortable with. That is why 5x5 novice programs are great. They force you to get uncomfortable and therefore induce change.

I went back and read.

Thanks for the comment. I have made gains in these 6 weeks - I am just not sure I am approaching it the right way. I increase weights every week - and that has been working out for me. However, by being so targeted I feel like I am progressing too slowly, and this is why I am considering a 5x5 program - perhaps not starting from scratch but from a somewhat mid level. After all, I can already comfortably squat 150lbs - so I do not see the point to go back to 70?

[Junsuiakai]

Thanks for the comment. I have made gains in these 6 weeks - I am just not sure I am approaching it the right way. I increase weights every week - and that has been working out for me. However, by being so targeted I feel like I am progressing too slowly, and this is why I am considering a 5x5 program - perhaps not starting from scratch but from a somewhat mid level. After all, I can already comfortably squat 150lbs - so I do not see the point to go back to 70?

You don't have to go back to 70lb switching to 5x5... start at 135 AND just add 5lb to the bar each session. Who said you had to start at 70lb?

[OneManArmy1]

6 days a week is for advanced bodybuilders at best on a massive cycle bulking as fast as their bodies will allow. You should be aiming for 3-4 times a week, working body parts twice a week to get the maximum anabolic response from your lifts. Meals should be broken up into 4-6 meals a day with no more than 40g of protein a meal, every 3 hours to maximize muscle protein synthesis. It is impossible to create muscle and lose fat at the same time, that is a gimmick the fitness industry pushes on the masses to get you to by their magic supp which in reality does NOTHING! To create muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus which means you will gain fat simultaneously with any muscle gains. This is why lifters have bulking and cutting phases, because you can't do both simultaneously.

It is recommended by Dr. Layne Norton to use the same method of measuring body fat, no matter what it is, consistently every time. I believe you are closer to 20% looking at your avatar. Set/rep scheme is not the most important factor in a routine, don't get married to your rep scheme per Dr. Layne Norton. Optimally, you can only put on 5-10 lbs a year of muscle tissue. Without steroids, you won't see a dramatic increase in muscle composition from consistent lifting. That doesn't mean you aren't making gains as muscle tissue is much more dense that fat.

Your are quite justified in feeling frustrated in your situation as in my opinion, no one knows WTF they are talking about and can't help you get unstuck. That doesn't mean you can't get useful info but you will have to filter good info from bad and NO ONE on here is giving you 100% accurate info. I recommend reading "Teen Bodybuilding Guide: How To Break Into Bodybuilding As A Teenager!" by Dr. Layne Norton PhD for some great starting tips on a viable beginners routine you can sustain long term. Dr. Norton states he bulked WITHOUT the use of steroids which lends credence to his position and he actually breaks down what he did to accomplish his goals to the minutiae if you look long and hard enough on the web. IMO, he is the most viable source of info on here but shouldn't be the only one.

Your goal of creating lean body mass and losing body fat is not a misguided ideal, but without solid scientific info as to what is actually going on inside your body, you are liable to reach for the roids like everyone else and call it a day.

[oneworld82]

You don't have to go back to 70lb switching to 5x5... start at 135 AND just add 5lb to the bar each session. Who said you had to start at 70lb?

I downloaded the 5x5 strenght app... given my 5 reps "abilities" today they suggest I start from there - which I think it's gullible?

So, I train mo wed fri and I eat surplus those days. What happens on the other days? I rest or do cardio and eat at maintenance?

[TheGymJim]

6 days a week is for advanced bodybuilders at best on a massive cycle bulking as fast as their bodies will allow. You should be aiming for 3-4 times a week, working body parts twice a week to get the maximum anabolic response from your lifts. Meals should be broken up into 4-6 meals a day with no more than 40g of protein a meal, every 3 hours to maximize muscle protein synthesis. It is impossible to create muscle and lose fat at the same time, that is a gimmick the fitness industry pushes on the masses to get you to by their magic supp which in reality does NOTHING! To create muscle, you must be in a caloric surplus which means you will gain fat simultaneously with any muscle gains. This is why lifters have bulking and cutting phases, because you can't do both simultaneously.

It is recommended by Dr. Layne Norton to use the same method of measuring body fat, no matter what it is, consistently every time. I believe you are closer to 20% looking at your avatar. Set/rep scheme is not the most important factor in a routine, don't get married to your rep scheme per Dr. Layne Norton. Optimally, you can only put on 5-10 lbs a year of muscle tissue. Without steroids, you won't see a dramatic increase in muscle composition from consistent lifting. That doesn't mean you aren't making gains as muscle tissue is much more dense that fat.

Your are quite justified in feeling frustrated in your situation as in my opinion, no one knows WTF they are talking about and can't help you get unstuck. That doesn't mean you can't get useful info but you will have to filter good info from bad and NO ONE on here is giving you 100% accurate info. I recommend reading "Teen Bodybuilding Guide: How To Break Into Bodybuilding As A Teenager!" by Dr. Layne Norton PhD for some great starting tips on a viable beginners routine you can sustain long term. Dr. Norton states he bulked WITHOUT the use of steroids which lends credence to his position and he actually breaks down what he did to accomplish his goals to the minutiae if you look long and hard enough on the web. IMO, he is the most viable source of info on here but shouldn't be the only one.

Your goal of creating lean body mass and losing body fat is not a misguided ideal, but without solid scientific info as to what is actually going on inside your body, you are liable to reach for the roids like everyone else and call it a day.

I agree with most of this. The part in bold is pure bro-science BS though, especially for a beginner.

Also, when you're at that level, still making the "newbie gains" it is totally possible to "recomp" and gain muscle and lose fat at the same time to a certain extent

[Junsuiakai]

I downloaded the 5x5 strenght app... given my 5 reps "abilities" today they suggest I start from there - which I think it's gullible?

So, I train mo wed fri and I eat surplus those days. What happens on the other days? I rest or do cardio and eat at maintenance?

You can of course adjust it, bro.

[oneworld82]

Alrght,

thanks folks. I have started my routine and will adjust accordingly.

Once question: what should I do with nutrition? Eat surplus on workout days and maintenance on off days? Is cardio on off days out of the question?

Also, is it normal (or is it just me) to think that 5 sets of 5 reps for three different exercises is not much?

[TheGymJim]

Eat a surplus all the time. You're building muscle on your off days when you're resting.

Cardio is never out of the question, if you're eating extra calories to compensate for it and you're getting enough rest. Cardio is good for you.

Well, that's 25 reps per exercise.

75 reps per muscle group.

Seems fine to me as long as your intensity is right.

[oneworld82]

So... However, when I squat/bench/deadlift 5x5 5x5 1x5 at levels that are close or at what my max used to be before, I am not exhausted and I definitely still have energy to do more. What do you suggest I do? Today is my off day but I do not feel sore at all (with my previous routine I would definitely feel sorer) and even though I am eating at maintenance I feel very full...