Suggestions regarding muscle mass and fat % ( help appreciated)

oka980

Greetings. I am a 22 year old 5'6.5 male with around 17-18% body fat all year round. I've been lifting for around 2-3 years but never paid much attention to nutrition and how my body reacts with different percentages of Macros, 2 months ago, I was on a geology field camp for 5 weeks where we hike for about 10 miles a day and eat ( about 800-1400) calories a day but no strength training, just hiking. When I got back 32 days ago, my body fat % dropped to 13.9% but my muscle mass didn't change although I lost definition and I'm pretty sure I gained more muscle in my lower body and lost muscle in the upper body which explains that it didn't change. 32 days ago I started a new diet 2700 calories, 40% carb, 30% protein, 30 % fat. I would train for 5 days a week ( 1 muscle group per day for an hour) followed by 10 min cardio sometimes. And 1 day outdoor cardio for 30-40 mins. I went to check my body composition today and I gained 3lbs of Fat free mass but I also gained 5lbs of fat and my fat% is sitting at 16.7% now. How do I minimize the fat % increase and possibly stabalize it or reduce it while increasing muscle mass. Should I bring up the protein intake or reduce the carb intake ?.

usmcmp

1. How are you calculating body fat and lean mass? Many methods are inaccurate, so don't take the numbers as absolutes. Sometimes an increase in fat or lean mass can just be a water fluctuation.
2. Do you follow a lifting program? You're going to see better quality results following a lifting program built by a professional.
3. Are you trying to gain weight, lose weight, or stay the same? I know what your muscle and fat goals are, but how about your body weight?

oka980

1- BioElectric impedance ( I realize it has a a 4% error) and it also shows the approximate Total body water

2- yes, I'm following a lifting program built by a professional.

3- I'm trying to gain weight.

oka980

This is how I currently look:

usmcmp

oka980 wrote: »

1- BioElectric impedance ( I realize it has a a 4% error) and it also shows the approximate Total body water

2- yes, I'm following a lifting program built by a professional.

3- I'm trying to gain weight.

BIA can be off by more than 4% and not necessarily consistently off by that much. BIA showed my most recent as 36% body fat (my profile picture is current, but I'm 8 pounds lighter since it was taken).

Based on your picture recomposition or cutting are your two options. If you just want to look lean then go for recomp. If you want to eventually be fairly big I would cut and then bulk. Cutting would put you pretty small since you don't have a lot of mass, but it would start you out in a good place to gain some size over a fairly long bulk.

oka980

Thanks, how would you suggest I approach either option ?

usmcmp

Recomp: Eat at maintenance and follow a progressive lifting routine. Ensure you get adequate protein.

Cut: Eat at a deficit and follow a progressive lifting routine. Ensure you get adequate protein.

Bulk: Eat at a surplus and follow a progressive lifting routine. Ensure you get adequate protein.

Your single body part per day split is not appropriate for where you are at. You're probably going to want something that hits body parts twice per week and focuses on compound lifts.
http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10332083/which-lifting-program-is-the-best-for-you/p1

trigden1991

You would be best off eating in a deficit and lifting on a structured programme. Although you're not overweight, your body fat appears to be reasonably high.

You'll see better progress if you start from a lean state. Don't get too caught up in body fat measurements etc, go by the mirror. When the love handles and lower ab fat goes, you'll be in a good position to bulk.