How much leaner until good base to lean bulk?

va__01

Hi everyone

I was in a constant state of bulk/maintenance for a while, and I always felt, well, bloated and pudgy - particularly in my stomach and love handles.

I believe I was originally around 17% bf. I've been cutting for about 5 weeks, and I'm beginning to stall / feel super weak on my lifts. I am cutting by ~400 cals a day, and getting 1lb / g of protein. I started around 188 lbs, and I am now anywhere from 175 to 181. Scale problems and inconsistencies that change every 30 seconds I stand on the scale.

Anyway, I am not near where I want to be - leanness wise or size wise. However, I wanted to get to as "clean a slate" as i could to clean bulk with peace of mind, with better partitioning and more muscle separation along the way. I'm just worried I'm not muscular enough to get to a point where I thought i Was lean enough. Am I 17% still? or am I something crazy like 10% with no muscle definition to show? You know what I mean....

Just wondering where to go from here. (Ps i threw in some different lighting, as well as a pump/extra strong lighting pic to give a different angle As you can see even pumped my abs do not show) Thank you!

yskaldir

For me the best place to lean bulk is around 11%, ymmv.

What's your waist circumference (at the belly button, and don't suck it in too much) to height ratio? If it's around 0.43 you are about 10%.

My estimate of you BF% is around 15, you were probably higher than 17 when you started.

I think your situation is quite normal, you are now at the awkward in-between place where there aren't enough visual improvement yet you now feel small/weak due to dieting. Don't get discouraged here and go back to bulk, that's how one can end up making no progress year after year.

P.S. if you scale isn't working just buy a new one, they are cheap.

JB035

What were your stats when you started your bulk?

Niples_

My guess is you are right at or just below 15%. I agree with the above. 10-12% is ideal base. I'd just cut another 4 weeks or so and do it right. I'm pretty skinny and I'm cutting to 10-12% before I start I'm 6 feet and I'm going to be about 165 at 10%. I don't care if I look skinny. I plan on cycling from 10 to 16%.

Gallowmere1984

Niples_ wrote: »

My guess is you are right at or just below 15%. I agree with the above. 10-12% is ideal base. I'd just cut another 4 weeks or so and do it right. I'm pretty skinny and I'm cutting to 10-12% before I start I'm 6 feet and I'm going to be about 165 at 10%. I don't care if I look skinny. I plan on cycling from 10 to 16%.

That's a pretty broad range, which obviously isn't a bad thing. Keeps that gain train running for quite a while without ever hitting the "holy *kitten* I'm fat as hell" stage, so long as one doesn't overdo the pace.

I personally roll with the "abs are gone, bulk is over" outlook. I've been told I'm cutting myself short, due to still having cuts and veins showing in my shoulders, biceps and neck. Granted, I carry a disproportionate amount of fat in my abdomen as everywhere else (even more so than most men I see), but it's about the best metric I have to go by.

va__01

cheldadex wrote: »

For me the best place to lean bulk is around 11%, ymmv.

What's your waist circumference (at the belly button, and don't suck it in too much) to height ratio? If it's around 0.43 you are about 10%.

My estimate of you BF% is around 15, you were probably higher than 17 when you started.

I think your situation is quite normal, you are now at the awkward in-between place where there aren't enough visual improvement yet you now feel small/weak due to dieting. Don't get discouraged here and go back to bulk, that's how one can end up making no progress year after year.

P.S. if you scale isn't working just buy a new one, they are cheap.

I did the test and at 6'2" , waist measured slightly under 32", which came out to 0.43 - surely I'm not 10% and could probably go down an inch or two more?

trigden1991

va__01 wrote: »

cheldadex wrote: »

For me the best place to lean bulk is around 11%, ymmv.

What's your waist circumference (at the belly button, and don't suck it in too much) to height ratio? If it's around 0.43 you are about 10%.

My estimate of you BF% is around 15, you were probably higher than 17 when you started.

I think your situation is quite normal, you are now at the awkward in-between place where there aren't enough visual improvement yet you now feel small/weak due to dieting. Don't get discouraged here and go back to bulk, that's how one can end up making no progress year after year.

P.S. if you scale isn't working just buy a new one, they are cheap.

I did the test and at 6'2" , waist measured slightly under 32", which came out to 0.43 - surely I'm not 10% and could probably go down an inch or two more?

You can't measure bodyfat like that. You need to use calipers or a DEXA scan.

Visually: unless you have visible abdominals when untensed, you're not even in the ball park.

pbryd

You've gone through the hard part, which is losing body fat, seeing your weight and strength go down but with little or no visual improvement to your body.

The next bit, if you carry on cutting is where the magic happens, your abs will start to show and you'll start to look a lot better.

Keep going to 10%

yskaldir

va__01 wrote: »

I did the test and at 6'2" , waist measured slightly under 32", which came out to 0.43 - surely I'm not 10% and could probably go down an inch or two more?

I'm a bit surprised, you sure you weren't doing a vacuum or the tape was super tight? Simply based on the last pic your waist looks wider than 32", but maybe your back is really lean and you keep all the fat in front.