Recomp or bulk or cut
bologna111
Posts: 57 Member
I am wondering what you would do if you were me. I am 5' 6" 120lbs and 24% body fat per dexa scan. I really want to be closer to 20%. I have been trying to recomp for the last year and have not made much progress. Would you keep with the recomp or bulk then cut or cut then bulk? I did nrolfw and currently doing strong lifts 5x5. Thanks!
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Do you want to get stronger or leaner? If stronger, recomp. I'd cut.0
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Yes I do want to get stronger and have more lbm. I'm afraid if I cut I'll look to thin in some areas but I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around gaining back weight that I've lost and going through not fitting in my clothes, etc. Also I think 24% body fat is too high for a bulk, but to cut to 20% would put me in underweight bmi. I already get comments from family that I'm too thin.0
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Mini-bulks then.
Eat 250 more daily until you gain 2-3 lb.
Then cut 250 daily until you lose 2-3 lb.0 -
I could do that! Thanks! I think I could be comfortable in 5lb increments even. How long would you estimate it would take me to get to 20% body fat this way? I want to be prepared if I'm going to need a lot of patience like with recomp.0
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At 24% I would not bulk - but it depends on circumstances - you indicate that you are under the BMI, while 24% is lean, its not super lean or under-fat so a lean bulk may not be a bad idea at first.
How long have you been lifting and how have your lifts been progressing?
Has your weight remained relatively flat?0 -
Mini-bulks then.
Eat 250 more daily until you gain 2-3 lb.
Then cut 250 daily until you lose 2-3 lb.
Problem with that, is due do water weight fluctuations, you will be continually swapping from one to the other. It also would have you cutting slower than needed and spending too little time in a surplus compared to a cut.
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At 24% I would not bulk - but it depends on circumstances - you indicate that you are under the BMI, while 24% is lean, its not super lean or under-fat so a lean bulk may not be a bad idea at first.
How long have you been lifting and how have your lifts been progressing?
Has your weight remained relatively flat?
I'm not yet under bmi but will be if I drop much more weight. I started at 5'6.5" 150lbs and 38% bf. In 9 months I dropped to 120 and 24% bf. I was doing cardio, weight lifting classes, and eating around 1600 calories. After I reached goal I raised calories to 1800 and dropped the weight lifting classes and did nrolfw. I finished it and wasted a few months doing p90x. I realized p90x was not going to get me the body or strength I wanted to I switched to stronglifts 5x5. I have been doing stronglifts for just a few weeks. I don't know if I have dropped any body fat from the24% when I started nrolfw but I will find out on Thursday when I get a bodpod assessment. I have not seen much visual change so I would say any change is going to be minimal.
Strength has improved slowly. I started with no upper body strength at all. And I was not even able to squat the bar and go parallel. Currently I can squat parallel with the bar plus 25lbs. And I can bench and press the bar plus 5lbs. So I still have a long ways to go. I have scoliosis and I'm trying really hard to get my form perfect so I don't pull my back.
My weight has stayed steady the last year. Depending on how much cardio I do I'm eating 1800 to 1900. I have thyroid disease and my metabolism was tested 10% lower than normal or I would probably be able to eat a bit more.
Any advise is greatly appreciated!0 -
Mini-bulks then.
Eat 250 more daily until you gain 2-3 lb.
Then cut 250 daily until you lose 2-3 lb.
Problem with that, is due do water weight fluctuations, you will be continually swapping from one to the other. It also would have you cutting slower than needed and spending too little time in a surplus compared to a cut.
Yes I see your point with water weight fluctuations. What would you suggest for me?
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bologna111 wrote: »At 24% I would not bulk - but it depends on circumstances - you indicate that you are under the BMI, while 24% is lean, its not super lean or under-fat so a lean bulk may not be a bad idea at first.
How long have you been lifting and how have your lifts been progressing?
Has your weight remained relatively flat?
I'm not yet under bmi but will be if I drop much more weight. I started at 5'6.5" 150lbs and 38% bf. In 9 months I dropped to 120 and 24% bf. I was doing cardio, weight lifting classes, and eating around 1600 calories. After I reached goal I raised calories to 1800 and dropped the weight lifting classes and did nrolfw. I finished it and wasted a few months doing p90x. I realized p90x was not going to get me the body or strength I wanted to I switched to stronglifts 5x5. I have been doing stronglifts for just a few weeks. I don't know if I have dropped any body fat from the24% when I started nrolfw but I will find out on Thursday when I get a bodpod assessment. I have not seen much visual change so I would say any change is going to be minimal.
Strength has improved slowly. I started with no upper body strength at all. And I was not even able to squat the bar and go parallel. Currently I can squat parallel with the bar plus 25lbs. And I can bench and press the bar plus 5lbs. So I still have a long ways to go. I have scoliosis and I'm trying really hard to get my form perfect so I don't pull my back.
My weight has stayed steady the last year. Depending on how much cardio I do I'm eating 1800 to 1900. I have thyroid disease and my metabolism was tested 10% lower than normal or I would probably be able to eat a bit more.
Any advise is greatly appreciated!
Personally I would give SL a bit more time and try to recomp - a few weeks is not very long at all. If you have scoliosis (as well as to improve muscle mass a bit more) you may find throwing in some unilateral lifts to try to keep your muscle development even. I would suggest adding some Bulgarian Split Squats for lower work and some dumbbell incline presses and possible DB rows for your upper body. If you do not have time to add them, think about possibly swapping one of the squat days with BSSs and maybe the upper lifts for Pendlays.0 -
I do have time to add them. Thanks! I will look up those lifts so I can make sure I have my form right. I'll stick with stronglifts and eating at maintenance for now. I do wonder why 7 months of nrolfw and eating at maintenance didn't give me better results with lowering my body fat? Do you think I'm doing something wrong with nutrition or do I just need more patience?
Thank you so much for helping me!0
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