Thoughts on weighing 130?

[pears539]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on the age old “you don’t weight enough and need to bulk before cutting”...

I’m 5’7 guy having just cut from 140 to 130, down at 12% bf. I’ve not lost any strength in my lifts so that got me thinking- at what point can/do you excuse weighing so little? I’m still benching 185 for reps and theoretical 1RM is over 205 which comes as advanced/elite on the lift standards...

I’ve always been smaller my whole life instead of “big boned”, so how much does lifting 205+ negate only weighing 130 at 5’7? What are everyone’s general thoughts on this?

I see people in forums saying they’re 5’7 and 170... like I’ve never been more than 150 my entire life lol

Thanks all.

[snailsrus]

Well I wouldn’t cut unless you did bulk but I’d say you’re doing pretty damn good

[EiFit91]

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to get everyone’s thoughts on the age old “you don’t weight enough and need to bulk before cutting”...

I’m 5’7 guy having just cut from 140 to 130, down at 12% bf. I’ve not lost any strength in my lifts so that got me thinking- at what point can/do you excuse weighing so little? I’m still benching 185 for reps and theoretical 1RM is over 205 which comes as advanced/elite on the lift standards...

I’ve always been smaller my whole life instead of “big boned”, so how much does lifting 205+ negate only weighing 130 at 5’7? What are everyone’s general thoughts on this?

I see people in forums saying they’re 5’7 and 170... like I’ve never been more than 150 my entire life lol

Thanks all.

Some people with very small joints/bone structure may need to go that low to look good. I think bone structure matters a lot for the weight you will end up at when training experience is accounted for.

People often use the FFMI measure as a measure of total muscle mass but forget that this measure includes all sources of lean mass.

I also dont think everyone carries the «bulking look» well. Bigger boned guys seem to carry it better than smaller boned guys, and it also depends on your fat distribution.

[pears539]

Well I wouldn’t cut unless you did bulk but I’d say you’re doing pretty damn good

Yeah from September to end of February I did bulk and put on 12 pounds with little change in bf% and in March I had to deal with moving so started maintenance, and then cut from April until now...

My thoughts on everything is that even at my heaviest I was at 150 lbs and a decently high bf%, I’m just not a “big guy”... I’m obviously going to keep bulking for the next however many years and look to keep getting bigger but when someone says “ you’re only 130 pounds?!” ... like... yeah I am and I can still bench/curl/deadlift more than people who weight 40 pounds more & six inches taller than me.

Should I give more into that surprise reaction of “you’re only 130” or what lol

[pears539]

Some people with very small joints/bone structure may need to go that low to look good. I think bone structure matters a lot for the weight you will end up at when training experience is accounted for.

Yeah, totally agree and understand that bone structure can somewhat play into things... just added two pictures to my dashboard, even at 130 and 12% bf I still have some lower stomach fat and on my hips which would indicate there’s technically still more I could cut down on...?

Thoughts...?

[EiFit91]

Yeah, totally agree and understand that bone structure can somewhat play into things... just added two pictures to my dashboard, even at 130 and 12% bf I still have some lower stomach fat and on my hips which would indicate there’s technically still more I could cut down on...?

Thoughts...?

I wouldn’t cut further if I were you. I would eat in a small surplus to slowly add muscle, and keep track of my waist along the way. How many years have you been lifting?

[pears539]

I wouldn’t cut further if I were you. I would eat in a small surplus to slowly add muscle, and keep track of my waist along the way. How many years have you been lifting?

Yeah not going to go further than this, gonna try to get the rest of the lower stomach fat off by end of week and if not then oh well it is what it is then.

Been lifting for 5 years from middle of college but only been doing it for 2 and a half seriously to the point of focusing on strength training and profession, nutrition, etc... didn’t make 100% of the noob gains phase but still seen a ton of progress in the last 2 and a half

[EiFit91]

Yeah not going to go further than this, gonna try to get the rest of the lower stomach fat off by end of week and if not then oh well it is what it is then.

Been lifting for 5 years from middle of college but only been doing it for 2 and a half seriously to the point of focusing on strength training and profession, nutrition, etc... didn’t make 100% of the noob gains phase but still seen a ton of progress in the last 2 and a half

You are probably not at your genetic limit yet, so still some good potential for gains. Best advice is probably to bulk but very slowly, as any mass gain at this point will be slow. You could probably either "gaintain" (so staying essentially the same BF% focusing on getting gradually stronger, adding calories when you stall) or bulk/cut within the 12-15% BF range, depending on how well you progress on either of these approaches. You could bulk within a larger range as well but if you don't carry the bulking look well the best approach is probably to stay lean.

[pears539]

You are probably not at your genetic limit yet, so still some good potential for gains. Best advice is probably to bulk but very slowly, as any mass gain at this point will be slow. You could probably either "gaintain" (so staying essentially the same BF% focusing on getting gradually stronger, adding calories when you stall) or bulk/cut within the 12-15% BF range, depending on how well you progress on either of these approaches. You could bulk within a larger range as well but if you don't carry the bulking look well the best approach is probably to stay lean.

Right exactly... this past year I started a lean bulk to put on some muscle but not too much fat so I was able to keep a similar BF percentage at the end as when I started... things did slack a bit in March when life got busy but other than that I totally understand what you’re saying.

Otherwise, I’d hope I’m not at my genetic limit yet lol I’ve not been lifting for THAT long where is even expect that...

Thanks man, appreciate it 👊