Bulk or cut

[mercydrive]

Hi, I'm a long time lurker who finally decided to sign up. I'm 5 foot 7 and weigh 155lb (down from around 170 a year ago). I've been doing a 6 day PPL programme for about 7 weeks that is dumbbell only (I've been doing kettlebell routines for awhile but nothing serious). I've got a rack, barbell and bumper plates on order also. I've been trying to find my maintenance calories and have settled around 2800 the last three weeks and haven't lost or gained in this time. Should I now bulk up from this weight or continue to cut? Thanks for any feedback and advice.

[SuffolkPunch]

I'm going to say focus on mass gain. Note that you don't have to pile on fat to do this - just eat enough to keep progress moving. If this means you have to gain weight then so be it - remember if your target physique is 10lbs heavier than you are now - with 10lbs less bodyfat - then you have to gain 20lbs of muscle!

[mercydrive]

I'm going to say focus on mass gain. Note that you don't have to pile on fat to do this - just eat enough to keep progress moving. If this means you have to gain weight then so be it - remember if your target physique is 10lbs heavier than you are now - with 10lbs less bodyfat - then you have to gain 20lbs of muscle!

Thanks for the advice. Think I’m going to eat at 3000 calories and see if I slowly start to gain weight, don’t really want to gain more than 1-2lb a month. You’ve really given me something to think about with that last line, I’m still trying to get into the mindset that it’s a long process so think it’s something I’ll definitely keep in mind.