Clarity on simultaneous fat loss and muscle build

Start working out now. Regardless of intake, it will help. In the abstract, to build muscles significantly, you will need to eat at a surplus. But you might like the way you look eating at maintenance and working out. The important part is actually taking the step to start lifting.

As a skinny fat guy I would do a clean bulk (small surplus) this will help your recomposition over your first year of lifting.

So how small a surplus are we talking about here? 200 cal max?

How much weight a week is recommended for me to gain then, if I have spent the last year losing 20 lb (I had my ups and downs)?

Sent you a pm with some links dude, didn't want to get done for pasting YouTube links, not sure on the forum rules here.

The problem here is putting the cart before the horse. How much are you lifting? Currently not lifting(?). If you can't get yourself into a regular lifting schedule, it would be foolish to eat at a surplus.

You will be able to continue to cut fat, and see some initial muscular gains, while lifting at a deficit and getting a decent protein intake.

If you actually take to lifting and have a schedule/setup that you can rely on, then modifying intake to accommodate the lifting and build more muscle makes sense. At that point you can eat at a moderate surplus while lifting and be confident you're putting on muscle. And you'll be able to understand what's going on with your body better - which will allow you to self-regulate and evaluate the options (trying to lean gain, dirty bulk, etc) that fit you best.

3x a week you need to build up a good foundation so look starting strength or another beginner 5x5 program.

Check out this link for a good place to start with lifting:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=4195843&page=1

Another good source is : http://www.amazon.com/Starting-Strength-3rd-Mark-Rippetoe/dp/0982522738

If you go with All Pro's routine, you'll probably find that your warm-up weight -- and, quite possibly, your actual lifting weight for some exercises -- will be well under the 45 lb. weight of an olympic barbell. If that's the case, you can go with dumbbells instead of barbells. In fact, there's quite possibly some benefit to starting with dumbbells, just in terms of building some stabilization.

A lot of folks around here like Stronglifts 5x5 as well. Personally, it feels like a rip-off of Rippetoe's stuff to me, with an added dose of ego / arrogance / bluster from the guy who peddles it <insert /flame-retardant underwear> ... but it seems to be relatively solid, regardless.

If your not currently a very active person you need to be careful to give your muscle and central nervous system time to rest in between workouts, if you do cardio in your off days, don't overdo it and listen to your body. Personally I go for an hours walk or a light swim.

5x5 program's can be very exhausting

Agreed, on all points.

BTW, no matter what you end up doing, Rippetoe's book is an excellent primer for proper lifting form with serious (sometimes almost painful) amounts of details on the mechanics & physics of it all.

3x a week you need to build up a good foundation so look starting strength or another beginner 5x5 program.

He wants to get a "batman chest" assuming by that he wants to go into bodybuilding, the 5x5 program won't help with that as it's a powerlifter routine.

To OP, there is no set routine that will work for everyone. Start finding out new exercises on youtube from channels like POG, Hodgetwins, Tiger Fitness and one I like as he's my age, scondore. The one fundamental that you need to understand here or you will stunt your progress is the difference between a power lifter and a body builder. A power lifter tries to move as much weight ANY way possible. They generally do heavy compound movements and I believe leave out isolation exercises as they wants to build up as much strength as possible, gaining a generous amount of muscle as a bi-product of their training. A bodybuilder does not care about the weight they move, only that they try and focus all the stress of the exercise to that muscle(s) that they are training, for example, for incline flies, they do not want to incorporate their delts or anything else into that exercise, they want to focus all the stress onto their chest, with fairly high CLEAN reps (8-12) with good form and keeping constant tension on the muscle. This is what creates the muscle to grow. Strength is the bi-product of this type of training, as it does come. But don't let seeing big guys pushing heavy weight at the gym fool you. Pick which one you want to go with and stick with it.

For the record:

Famous powerlifter: http://theswole.com/swole/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Konstantin-Konstantinovs.jpg

Don't know his training routine but I guarantee it is very low reps, very high weight

Famous bodybuilder: http://www.bodybuilding.com/contest_media/14071/43/d/img_09941285407965.jpg

Kai used to and still does I believe aim for 20 reps in his exercises.

Also, the main thing I don't like about 5x5 is the fact it's always 5 reps. What if you hit rep 5 and think oh, I can do more! Then you up the weight and can't do 5 as you are too tired? Whereas training to failure you can do sets that go 12, 9, and 8 with 1 forced rep and then you know that you have worked yourself hard.

3x a week you need to build up a good foundation so look starting strength or another beginner 5x5 program.

He wants to get a "batman chest" assuming by that he wants to go into bodybuilding, the 5x5 program won't help with that as it's a powerlifter routine.

To OP, there is no set routine that will work for everyone. Start finding out new exercises on youtube from channels like POG, Hodgetwins, Tiger Fitness and one I like as he's my age, scondore. The one fundamental that you need to understand here or you will stunt your progress is the difference between a power lifter and a body builder. A power lifter tries to move as much weight ANY way possible. They generally do heavy compound movements and I believe leave out isolation exercises as they wants to build up as much strength as possible, gaining a generous amount of muscle as a bi-product of their training. A bodybuilder does not care about the weight they move, only that they try and focus all the stress of the exercise to that muscle(s) that they are training, for example, for incline flies, they do not want to incorporate their delts or anything else into that exercise, they want to focus all the stress onto their chest, with fairly high CLEAN reps (8-12) with good form and keeping constant tension on the muscle. This is what creates the muscle to grow. Strength is the bi-product of this type of training, as it does come. But don't let seeing big guys pushing heavy weight at the gym fool you. Pick which one you want to go with and stick with it.

For the record:

Famous powerlifter: http://theswole.com/swole/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/Konstantin-Konstantinovs.jpg

Don't know his training routine but I guarantee it is very low reps, very high weight

Famous bodybuilder: http://www.bodybuilding.com/contest_media/14071/43/d/img_09941285407965.jpg

Kai used to and still does I believe aim for 20 reps in his exercises.

Also, the main thing I don't like about 5x5 is the fact it's always 5 reps. What if you hit rep 5 and think oh, I can do more! Then you up the weight and can't do 5 as you are too tired? Whereas training to failure you can do sets that go 12, 9, and 8 with 1 forced rep and then you know that you have worked yourself hard.

if you feel you can do more than 5 your not lifting heavy enough.

A good bodybuilding 5x5: http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=148036063&page=1

I can't be bothered to go into hyperthrophy rep arguments, it's been proven wrong so many times but stays alive thanks to bro science. If he's a new lifter there's no point him going on any kind of split as its something that you should be doing as an intermediate lifter.

Arnold's primary workouts were compounds and I don't think anyone can argue about his bodybuilding status.

You'll slip up and have bad weeks, keep it up, the longer you do it for the better it will be. Add friends in here with similar targets. Also start watching YouTube fitness channels and reading books