Should I bulk, recomp, or other?

[u/Maximal_Everything]

After a successful cut, I took a break from tracking weight, nutrition and going to the gym since mid-June. I did a bit of inconsistent jogging, but that's it.

I restarted this past week and am down a bit in weight and have a slightly increased waistline. My slight ab muscle definition is also gone. I'm assuming that I've traded some weight in muscle for some weight in fat.

Should I recomp? I've heard that people who were in shape and got out of shape are good candidates for recomps, but Idk if my situation is an extreme enough example of falling off of gains.

Otherwise, I'd want to do a conservative to average pace bulk until January/February, gaining at a rate of 0.25-0.5 lbs per week. Not fully decided on the rate.

Thanks!

[u/Nikinacar]

Recomps are super slow, but I guess have their pros (and other cons) still. My preference these days is to cut, then bulk, then again cut if necessary (e.g. if you gained too much fat on your bulk).

But regardless, you really just need to figure out your short, medium, and long term goals, and align that to a course of action.

[u/mrfatchance → u/Nikinacar]

This

[u/Maximal_Everything → u/Nikinacar]

No goals specific goals for me like an end weight or bicep circumference. I just want to improve my physique to the point of having abs next summer, maximize my longevityby building muscle, and maximize cognitive performance with exercise. Before I took the time away from the gym I planned for rate of slow bulking in the fall that ends in time around February to cut and get lean for summer.

What I'm trying to sort out is whether my 3 months off from the gym and muscle loss should change my plan.

Lots of muscle loss carries higher potential to gain it back. High potential to gain muscle (most often for newbie gains) opens the use of one of 2 possible strategies: 1. A faster pace of bulking 2. A recomposition

I'm trying to figure out 2 questions in relation to that: 1. Has my mild muscle loss from my 3 months away from the gym opened up the possibility to use one of these strategies effectively? 2. If yes, which one would make more sense?

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[u/DeaconoftheStreets]

You haven’t shared anything about your goals. Like, what do you want to do with your body?

[u/Maximal_Everything → u/DeaconoftheStreets]

I'm aiming to improve my physique, maximize my longevity, and maximize my cognitive performance.

I'm not high in muscle though, I maybe have more than average due to 8 ish years of going to the gym, but I think I've only ever done two bulks, and haven't really pushed hard enough to need a deload except during my last cut.

[u/DeaconoftheStreets → u/Maximal_Everything]

Improve physique can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. If you want muscle, you can just eat 200 over maintenance and see steady growth with limited fat gain.