Too fat to bulk,Too skinny to cut

[asdfzxcv]

ok thanks for the feedback, from experience a 40-40-20 ratio helps for bulking, sometimes storing fat while being skinny is because there are some excess calories which can be corrected by adjusting different ratios.

If that doesnt work, then reduce gradually calories by 5-10% each time and evaluate your progress.

Do you think it would be wise to lose another 10-15lb so i am in a better position to bulk or is there another way i can go about this?

 

[nikkita]

Do you think it would be wise to lose another 10-15lb so i am in a better position to bulk or is there another way i can go about this?

my opinion, is that you need to consider the fact of what makes you feel confortable with your progress, because you mentioned you are on the light side of your weight.

Sure there are other ways to do this...

one is the alternatives Pintoca pointed out, increasing cardio frequency and increase volume for the lifting. In this case you may want to try 3-4 days cardio and increase the volume of your lifts.

how many days do you lift? how does your split looks like?

you can also to tell us how is your diet so that we can make recommendations on how to adjust it for your goals.

 

[javaguru]

Hello there

As the title may stipulate I am in a somewhat awkward position in regards to my body composition.I am currently 6'4 200lb after losing about 50lb of weight the wrong way.I am at about 20% body fat currently,however I am already on the light side for my height so I cannot really afford to lose much more weight.I am currently contemplating 3 options

1.Consume maintenence calories for a few months while continuing to exercise heavy and hope my body recomposes itself slowly.

2.Try to cut the remaining weight by consuming a mild calorie defecit and training heavy.

3.Bulk slowly in order to some muscle back on to increase basal metabolic rate and make future weightloss easier due to increased muscle burning calories.

Presonally,I think option 1 is the most rational at this stage as cutting would screw what little muscle I have left and Bulking would make things worse due to ineffiecient nutrient partitioning caused by high bodyfat.

If anyone has any feedback in regards to my problem please feel free to respond .

I highly recommend carb timing; That means consume less than 40g of carbs at breafast and the rest(1g/lb) around and immediately after your workout. Combine it with 1.5g protein and .3 g fat for you macros. If you have excessive body fat ...just cut it before you bulk. I've been very successfull with a carb timing routine on a bulking cycle as well.

 

[pintoca]

OK Bro, here is the deal. You are 6'4 and 200lbs @ 20%... I think you could live with a 20% reduction (I'll get to that). As for the 5x5, it is a great program when you are eating enough carbs to fuel the lifts (it did wonders for my strenght).

So the first and maybe most importnat question is:

What is your main goal? Do you want to look ripped? do you want to increase strenght? do you want to preserve muscle?

Note that Size and strenght are NOT 100% related (this is the number one critique of PowerLifters towards body builders: Their strenght is pathetic compared to their size).

You have to decide what you want to be, a PowerLifter (All in sake of strenght) or a BodyBuilder (all in sake of size and physical appearance).

Don't get me wrong, you will gain strenght as a a result of your size (and this is somewhat valid also the other way around), but the training methods differ ENTIRELY.

So, first thing firsts: Make up your mind about what you want to do, then we can discuss whether it makes sense for you to keep doing 5x5 (nevertheless, it is always a good idea to shock the body every once in a while by doing things differently).

As for your diet, this is my recommendation, with a 20% deficit, Caloric/carb zig-zag

Mon-Tue-Wed-Fri-Sat
2.407 Kcal
45% 271 gr Prot
25% 150 gr Carb
30% 80 gr Fat


Thu-Sun
2.557 Kcal
224 gr Prot 35%
320 gr Carb 50%
43 gr Fat 15%


This diet is not thought for the 5x5, but for a program where you train legs or back on Thursdays/Sundays (to use those extra carbs). With 5x5 you are squatting 3x/week.

Now as for cardio. I'd say:

1. get a Heart rate monitor, I particularly like the Polar A3: cheap and gets the job done.
2. start by building your cardio time up to 45 mins
3. now that you are doing that for 45 mins, keep your heart rate at at 70-75% of your Maximun Heart Rate (the manual of the watch will tell you all about that)
4. You can start with 3 days per week, either mornings or after your lifting. NO CARBS BEFORE CARDIO, after, if you do it after your lifting, have your PWO shake
5. Once you plateau, and you will (we all do), get the secret weapon... ??? add one more day cardio... repeat until you are doing cardio 6x/week at 70-75%

What to do when you plateau? increase intensity of cardio... yep, up it a notch, all the way to 80% and keep at that level

What to do once you plateau at that point? (and you will). easy. Take a break, eat mainteance cals for 2 weeks (even a little higher), go back to a 50%C, 30%P, 20%F ratios and do no cardio ( or once a week for fun). During this period INCREASE all your lifting weights.

By the time you do this last thing, I can guarantee you will have dropped some fat pounds.

I lost, over a 12 months period, 70lbs. Out of those 70lbs, I lost 0 lbs muscle (I actually ended with 0.5 lbs more muscle as originally.).

 

[asdfzxcv]

OK Bro, here is the deal. You are 6'4 and 200lbs @ 20%... I think you could live with a 20% reduction (I'll get to that). As for the 5x5, it is a great program when you are eating enough carbs to fuel the lifts (it did wonders for my strenght).

So the first and maybe most importnat question is:

What is your main goal? Do you want to look ripped? do you want to increase strenght? do you want to preserve muscle?

Note that Size and strenght are NOT 100% related (this is the number one critique of PowerLifters towards body builders: Their strenght is pathetic compared to their size).

You have to decide what you want to be, a PowerLifter (All in sake of strenght) or a BodyBuilder (all in sake of size and physical appearance).

Don't get me wrong, you will gain strenght as a a result of your size (and this is somewhat valid also the other way around), but the training methods differ ENTIRELY.

So, first thing firsts: Make up your mind about what you want to do, then we can discuss whether it makes sense for you to keep doing 5x5 (nevertheless, it is always a good idea to shock the body every once in a while by doing things differently).

As for your diet, this is my recommendation, with a 20% deficit, Caloric/carb zig-zag

Mon-Tue-Wed-Fri-Sat
2.407 Kcal
45% 271 gr Prot
25% 150 gr Carb
30% 80 gr Fat


Thu-Sun
2.557 Kcal
224 gr Prot 35%
320 gr Carb 50%
43 gr Fat 15%


This diet is not thought for the 5x5, but for a program where you train legs or back on Thursdays/Sundays (to use those extra carbs). With 5x5 you are squatting 3x/week.

Now as for cardio. I'd say:

1. get a Heart rate monitor, I particularly like the Polar A3: cheap and gets the job done.
2. start by building your cardio time up to 45 mins
3. now that you are doing that for 45 mins, keep your heart rate at at 70-75% of your Maximun Heart Rate (the manual of the watch will tell you all about that)
4. You can start with 3 days per week, either mornings or after your lifting. NO CARBS BEFORE CARDIO, after, if you do it after your lifting, have your PWO shake
5. Once you plateau, and you will (we all do), get the secret weapon... ??? add one more day cardio... repeat until you are doing cardio 6x/week at 70-75%

What to do when you plateau? increase intensity of cardio... yep, up it a notch, all the way to 80% and keep at that level

What to do once you plateau at that point? (and you will). easy. Take a break, eat mainteance cals for 2 weeks (even a little higher), go back to a 50%C, 30%P, 20%F ratios and do no cardio ( or once a week for fun). During this period INCREASE all your lifting weights.

By the time you do this last thing, I can guarantee you will have dropped some fat pounds.

I lost, over a 12 months period, 70lbs. Out of those 70lbs, I lost 0 lbs muscle (I actually ended with 0.5 lbs more muscle as originally.).

Very nice work on your fat loss/muscle maintainance.My primary goal is strength with a bit of fat reduction,im not looking to get a six pack I just want to be at a fairly healthy body fat level and maintain it.If I could get down to 12-15% I would be very happy with that.

 

[big49ersfan]

if your looking to loose weight and preverve/ gain a little (very hard to gain hwilst in deficit) i would be doing HIT carrdio not steady state steady state will only make you loose even more muscle

 

[pintoca]

if your looking to loose weight and preverve/ gain a little (very hard to gain hwilst in deficit) i would be doing HIT carrdio not steady state steady state will only make you loose even more muscle

there are no absolute thruths when it comes to dieting bro. In 15 months I think I have done HIIT less than 5 times.

The key to not losing muscle is timing of nutrition as well as WHAT you eat (not only before and after your workouts) but during the whole day.

 

[big49ersfan]

i was not commenting on the dude nutrition that has been covered or at least i haev read it has

i was commenting on his cv regime

and to be honest most people will agree with the statement i made about HIT being better at keeping muscle whilst on a cutter

 

[digimon7068]

I highly recommend carb timing; That means consume less than 40g of carbs at breafast and the rest(1g/lb) around and immediately after your workout. Combine it with 1.5g protein and .3 g fat for you macros. If you have excessive body fat ...just cut it before you bulk. I've been very successfull with a carb timing routine on a bulking cycle as well.

What this guy said ^^^^. If you're sensible and very strict, you can definitely reduce fat (a lot) without losing muscle. . .even without gear.