Gaining muscle mass/without spilling over in bodyfat %?

richln

gains_123 wrote: »

squat 225 6 reps
flat bench 205 5-6 reps
Overhead press 110 5-6reps
Deadlift 275 5-6 reps

Well those numbers would put you solidly into intermediate strength range:
http://www.exrx.net/Testing/WeightLifting/StrengthStandards.html
However, since your training has been inconsistent and your programming has not been very optimal, I would bet you could make some rapid strength gains at this point. Have you run out a 5x5 before? If not I would recommend starting there. If you have already stalled a 5x5, I would recommend looking into an intermediate strength/hyper hybrid program that gives you exposure to periodized low-rep work near your 1RM as well as a nice load of hyper work. Some of the ones I have tried that I liked were 5/3/1 BBB, PHUL (or PHAT), and Candito 6. You can read about others here:
http://www.powerliftingtowin.com/powerlifting-programs/
With your frame and age, I would chase easy strength progress now, and once you get to the advanced range strength levels, then decide if you want to focus on powerlifting or hypertrophy, or both. At that point you should be experienced enough to design your own programming, but for now you should probably be following a structured program.
If you choose a new 2x or 3x/week program, don't start too heavy since you will need to adapt to the higher frequency coming from your current program. And stop training fasted when you are bulking. Good luck. Final advice from this old man is rest your injuries.