Looking for advice on whether to bulk or cut or???

[GDZ1980]

I am 37 years old and I have been training now for 5 months. i was not over weight by any means but i wanted to lose some fat and put on some muscle for a vacation i am going on but now it has turned into something i really enjoy doing. I started at 188 and about 17% body fat. Currently i am at 177 and about 12-13% body fat. I would like to gain about 5 lbs of muscle but also shed more body fat to about 8-10% and lose that last bit of fat in the core, which seems to be impossible. I lift weights 3-4 days a week for about an hour and i am doing T25 5 days a week. I use my fitnesspal.com to keep track of my calories and am eating very healthy. I just don't know what to do to get to that final goal. Should i cut first and then bulk or bulk first then cut? Should i try lean bulking? There are so many different opinions and diets out there that i am at a loss for what to do next and what would be best for me. i have made such great progress that i don't want to mess it up.

[ironwill2008]

I am 37 years old and I have been training now for 5 months. i was not over weight by any means but i wanted to lose some fat and put on some muscle for a vacation i am going on but now it has turned into something i really enjoy doing. I started at 188 and about 17% body fat. Currently i am at 177 and about 12-13% body fat. I would like to gain about 5 lbs of muscle but also shed more body fat to about 8-10% and lose that last bit of fat in the core, which seems to be impossible. I lift weights 3-4 days a week for about an hour and i am doing T25 5 days a week. I use my fitnesspal.com to keep track of my calories and am eating very healthy. I just don't know what to do to get to that final goal. Should i cut first and then bulk or bulk first then cut? Should i try lean bulking? There are so many different opinions and diets out there that i am at a loss for what to do next and what would be best for me. i have made such great progress that i don't want to mess it up.

Can't advise you without seeing your current condition.

Post a current pic that includes your legs. You can post it in your BodySpace even though you don't have the required post count to embed it in this thread.

[GDZ1980]

Here are a couple that i just took.

[ironwill2008]

You've done a good job in the past 5 months; you're in a position to be able to go either way you choose.

If you're asking for an opinion, mine would be for you to continue just as you've been doing (eat enough to see a 2-3-pound increase in body weight per month, and training hard), and work to add another 5-10 pounds of muscle. At that point, if you've been as nutritionally-diligent as it appears you've already been, then will be the time to consider running a cut.



You're in a really good place, much better so than the usual beginner poster here.

[GDZ1980]

Thank you for the quick response. Thats kinda what i thought i should do but didnt want to just put on more fat. i worked pretty hard to cut my body fat percentage and didnt just want to gain it all back by trying to do a bulk. would you suggest about a 500 calorie surplus a day then or should i try to keep it around 300 so i gain a little more slowly. Sorry if these are stupid questions. i am just new to all this and i want to make sure i do it right.

[EjnarKolinkar]

I just don't know what to do to get to that final goal.

Maybe that's the problem, maybe you're looking at the whole situation wrong.

You started out doing something short-term and casually, but found that you're enjoying lifting weights and taking better care of yourself. Most of us find that it's not so much a matter of a final goal; it's matter of getting to that place we're really enjoying training and making progress in the training log book.

To answer your question more directly I think the best way not to mess up progress is not to do anything radical, or to think that anything will happen quickly.

[d2mini]

I agree fully with ironwill.

Have you considered reducing the cardio? 5 days of t25 is a lot, might be hurting your gains.
If it was me, I'd reduce it to 2 of your off lifting days.

I used to do HIIT 5 days a week too, but once I started lifting I pretty much stopped cardio except for occasionally and the weight loss didn't stop.

[ironwill2008]

Thank you for the quick response. Thats kinda what i thought i should do but didnt want to just put on more fat. i worked pretty hard to cut my body fat percentage and didnt just want to gain it all back by trying to do a bulk.

Just continue to track your calorie intake; you won't get fat again overnight.

would you suggest about a 500 calorie surplus a day then or should i try to keep it around 300 so i gain a little more slowly. Sorry if these are stupid questions. i am just new to all this and i want to make sure i do it right.

IMO, it's better to gain weight moderately; find a calorie amount that causes you to gain no more than 3 pounds per month. Providing you're weight training on a balanced program, and working hard to keep pushing your numbers upward, the majority of that weight is going to be muscle. You're likely to also gain some fat along the way; that's pretty much inevitable if you're actually eating enough to build new muscle tissue, but it can be dealt with relatively easily on down the road with a properly-run cut.

Most of us find that it's not so much a matter of a final goal; it's matter of getting to that place we're really enjoying training and making progress in the training log book.

^^^^This.

Anyone who sticks with this long enough to start seeing some real progress, it then becomes a journey, and not a destination.

[GDZ1980]

Thank you all for the great advise. I now have a much better understanding of what i should be doing and that I was probably looking at it the wrong way. Its hard doing something that you have never done before and there is so much information out there that it gets confusing as to what to follow. Thank you all again for steering me in the right direction.

[drudixon]

Good job, I'll echo what Bill said, cautious bulk.