Skinny fat. Bulk or cut? And how much Cardio, if at all do you recommend?

[BroccoliAndSardines]

I'm currently weighing 200-205lbs, I was previously weighing 267lbs but I went down to 180lbs by doing cardio only. When I was weighing 180lbs, my stomach was slim in way, but I also had what you call muffin top. I'm aware that when you lose weight, the stomach fat is what takes the most to lose. Now that Ive been weight training only for at least 6-7 months, I've managed to gain some "muscle", but I'm wondering if I should continue bulking or if I should begin to cut? And how much cardio should I add?

Age: 20
Height: 6'1
Mesomorph body type

 

[RickRock]

I'm currently weighing 200-205lbs, I was previously weighing 267lbs but I went down to 180lbs by doing cardio only. When I was weighing 180lbs, my stomach was slim in way, but I also had what you call muffin top. I'm aware that when you lose weight, the stomach fat is what takes the most to lose. Now that Ive been weight training only for at least 6-7 months, I've managed to gain some "muscle", but I'm wondering if I should continue bulking or if I should begin to cut? And how much cardio should I add?

Age: 20
Height: 6'1
Mesomorph body type

It just depends on your goals, and where you are currently at. It sounds to me like your bodyfat is still higher than you want. The only person that can tell you what goal to go for is you.

 

[BroccoliAndSardines]

You're right about me being the one who decides my goals, but i asked this question, because I wanted to know if any of the people here suffered from being skinny fat, and how they managed to get rid of that look. I saw a video on YT and the person suggested to bulk, but I honestly think an opinion on this thread would be more helpful, as I believe that most of you guys have been there and done that. Ytbers just saying anything to make a vid and get money.

 

[ironlifter36]

I too was skinny fat at one time. Post a pic and we will give our opinion and you can decide.

 

[RickRock]

You're right about me being the one who decides my goals, but i asked this question, because I wanted to know if any of the people here suffered from being skinny fat, and how they managed to get rid of that look. I saw a video on YT and the person suggested to bulk, but I honestly think an opinion on this thread would be more helpful, as I believe that most of you guys have been there and done that. Ytbers just saying anything to make a vid and get money.

Well to each their own, but I was skinny fat at one time when I first started getting serious about nutrition and training, and I kept cutting until I was in goid condition...then bulked. You'll get better results the better condition you are in, and to me it makes no sense to try and bulk when you're already carrying too much fat. That's my two cents

 

[BroccoliAndSardines]

Ok I'll post a pic ironlifter, and thanks for your advice Rick. I'll try cutting down to 180lbs. When you were cutting, how did you split weight training and cardio? Different days or on the same day.

 

[mickc1965]

I'm currently weighing 200-205lbs, I was previously weighing 267lbs but I went down to 180lbs by doing cardio only. When I was weighing 180lbs, my stomach was slim in way, but I also had what you call muffin top. I'm aware that when you lose weight, the stomach fat is what takes the most to lose. Now that Ive been weight training only for at least 6-7 months, I've managed to gain some "muscle", but I'm wondering if I should continue bulking or if I should begin to cut? And how much cardio should I add?

Age: 20
Height: 6'1
Mesomorph body type

Personally I would cut and make sure that you lift in the 5 to 8 rep range and stick to compound exercises and get yourself back to 180 and then reassess your goals at that point. In respect of cardio it is not necessary for fat loss as this can be achieved solely by diet, so there is no need to do it unless you want to do it for cardiovascular health.

 

[ironlifter36]

Ok I'll post a pic ironlifter, and thanks for your advice Rick. I'll try cutting down to 180lbs. When you were cutting, how did you split weight training and cardio? Different days or on the same day.

I agree with what RR and Mickc said. I will add my 2 cents as well. Your training should stay focused around heavy compound lifts in the 5-8 rep range along with some other work in the 8-12 rep range. Point here is don't start doing a bunch of high rep stuff, isolation or machine exercises. The goal during a cut is 2 fold: 1.) Preserve muscle mass 2.) Lose body fat. You have to give your body a reason to hold onto the muscle it has and this is done by providing a sufficient stimulus - heavy lifting. Weight loss is obtained by creating a calorie deficit...period. You need to be in a negative energy state. This is most easily obtained through nutrition. Iam not a fan of keto or any other fad diet. I always do a balanced diet of the right Protein, Carbs and Fat. Once these numbers are determined, carbs become the variable and are tapered down overtime in order to reduce calories (energy). That said, I have never had to go below 150-170 carbs to get below 10%. I am not a believer in eliminating any one of the macro nutrients as each has its own important role.

Cardio can be added in to help facilitate the process, however proper nutrition is MOST important. Generally, I add cardio in once I can no longer reduce calories any further and my weight loss has slowed or plateaued.
There is no magical training split or best time to do cardio. The best routine is the one that works for you and the one that you can stick with. IMO exercise selection is far more important than what type of split your doing. Any good routine will be built around the basics - BB/DB Bench Variations, Squats, Rows, Pull ups, Deadlifts, Presses and Dips.

 

[DylanGemelli]

you dont ever start bulking if you are not in the right kind of condition... thats backwards and only further sets you back... you get yourself into as prime of condition as you can FIRST... otherwise, think about it... its like trying to paint a picture that is already flawed from the start.. you add to it and clearly it still has a lot of work left when you are done.. it makes no sense.. its a long process, step by step in which you have to go in the proper order to get the results you ultimately want

 

[RedMorkai]

You can go either way. If you're not carrying a ton of excessive fat and you're new to lifting, then I'd be inclined to not worry about going either direction for about 2 months. During which you can recomp fairly well, you'll be getting newbie gains; so having good condition for nutrient partitioning IMO is less of a worry. Meanwhile you can work on adjusting your food to be more healthy. Many new people will struggle with jumping on a brand new diet completely, small modifications over time can be of benefit. You can come up with new recipes and acquire new tastes. This will make it easier for it to become a lifestyle change rather than a temporary diet.

After you're done the newbie gains I would cut down to a good condition, as that will make muscle gains more conducive. Good luck bro, keep us posted with your progress.

 

[BroccoliAndSardines]

Ok, thank you all for your advice. I will go to the gym with a new mindset.

 

[Juicehead88]

Only thing i am concerned about is your claim of mesomorph. A meso is naturally muscular and lean with not much work. You were 267. Thats more like an endomorph easy to put on fat in which case i would watch your carb intake very closely. Otherwise nice work on losing and dont worry about bulking for now just get yourself as lean as you can then start to build muscle.


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[DylanGemelli]

Ok, thank you all for your advice. I will go to the gym with a new mindset.

Anytime bro

 

[DylanGemelli]

Only thing i am concerned about is your claim of mesomorph. A meso is naturally muscular and lean with not much work. You were 267. Thats more like an endomorph easy to put on fat in which case i would watch your carb intake very closely. Otherwise nice work on losing and dont worry about bulking for now just get yourself as lean as you can then start to build muscle.


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I completely agree

 

[BroccoliAndSardines]

Yes, but I also looked at other endomorph characteristics, and being short is one of them. I'm 6'1. Anyways, I'll post a couple of pics, and let you guys decide

 

[Juicehead88]

Yes, but I also looked at other endomorph characteristics, and being short is one of them. I'm 6'1. Anyways, I'll post a couple of pics, and let you guys decide

That would be helpful. But meso would be the most gifted genetically who have to do barely anything to look shredded. So i dont think that is you. You could possibly be an ectomorph who just gained alot of weight but that doesnt really match either as ecto dont gain fat or muscle even that easy. I know it says endo are typically short but that doesnt mean you arnt. And its not really even a negative thing to embrace it just shows you how to attack your particular needs.


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[BroccoliAndSardines]

https://gyazo.com/7c3638b609fd54a84dd9854191ebe1ba

https://gyazo.com/c58814776fe5aba13ae08e2d6a92743a

https://gyazo.com/8fd2532ada249064bcfd9adeeff0c0ff

https://gyazo.com/bdb75ae62a486ade8d775ba6ca1fb81b

3 Pics of how the muffin top looks from front, back and side angle. And the last one is my current weight

 

[Carmel cowboy]

Just checked out your photos and I took the time to lay out a starter plan for you. Here is what I would do.
Phase I- cutting/strength
Length 4 weeks
Nutrition- 500 calorie deficit from your TDEE
Training- 3 days a week with the following exercises squats, bench press, seated overhead press, bent over rows.
Week 1 and 2. 3 sets of 10 reps, week 3 and 4. 4 sets of 12 reps.
Objective is to learn the form of each of these compound movements while progressing in volume. Make sure you get some instruction as to how to perform these exercise cause creating bad habits will be detrimental in the future.
Cardio- 4 days a week on off days of weight training. Start with 40 mins of steady state cardio so you can lay a solid base of aerobic conditioning and make the transition to adding in some HIIT in later.
This is what I would start with.

Phase II cutting/hypertrophy. Objective of this phase is to continue cutting and taking the techniques that you have learned from previous phase and build a training split to add more exercise for each body part.
Nutrition- recalculate your TDEE with the loss of weight from previous phase.
Training- 3 days a week. Day 1 chest and back abs. Day 2 legs. Day 3 shoulders arms abs. Your workout should revolve around your major compound exercises learned from phase I. Chest workout should start with bench press. Leg workout should start with squats. Back workout should start with bent over rows. Shoulder workout should start with overhead press.
Week 1 and 2- 3 sets of 12 reps. Week 3 and 4- 4 sets of 12 reps.
Supplements- add in some sarms To help assist your goal.
1-12 S4- 50mg a day split doses 25mg in am and 25mg in pm.
1-12 GW- 20mg taken 30 mins before workout.
Cardio- 2 steady state days at 45 mins. 2 HIIT days start with bike sprints. 30 sec of sprinting with 1 min rest and repeat for at least 5 sprints. Monitor RPM during sprints to set goals for following weeks.
Just my opinion brother and hope it helps.
Here is the pct for sarms

9-12 Post Ct https://www.dganutrition.com/post-ct


PCT

Clomid 50/25/25/25
GW 20mg per day

 

[ironlifter36]

https://gyazo.com/7c3638b609fd54a84dd9854191ebe1ba

https://gyazo.com/c58814776fe5aba13ae08e2d6a92743a

https://gyazo.com/8fd2532ada249064bcfd9adeeff0c0ff

https://gyazo.com/bdb75ae62a486ade8d775ba6ca1fb81b

3 Pics of how the muffin top looks from front, back and side angle. And the last one is my current weight

Thanks for posting those bro. It really helps us analyze where you presently are in terms of condition. Based on your pics, I would strongly recommend cutting at this point.

Since proper nutrition will be the most important factor, let's take a look at your present nutrition and see if we can help you. Be honest, how much do you know about the nutrition aspect? Do you know your BMR and your TDEE? If not, that's ok, we can help you with that as well.

We will also need to take a look at your workout routine as well. What is your current workout routine? Give us a sample back or leg's routine to give us an idea of how you are structuring your workouts.

Finally, you are not a mesomorph. You are an endomorph. Nothing wrong with that, however you will need to adjust accordingly.

 

[BroccoliAndSardines]

As far as nutrition, I know that I need a lot of protein in my diet. But I didn't know how to balance carbs and diets. But know that I know, that I'm an endomorph, I read that I should keep my fats and carbs between 30-50% of my diet combined and the rest protein.

My workout only consist of weight training as of right now.

Monday- Abs, I just started implementing them. I would only do the plank on my workout days, but now I'm focusing on abs only on certain days.

Tuesday-rest

Wednesday- Upper body- Push and Pull

Thursday-rest

Friday-Mostly abs, some legs

Saturday- Legs

Sunday- Same as Wednesday

I'll make another comment about what specific workouts I do, and how many sets and reps. I gotta remember the exact name of the workouts