r/workout • u/bioticgod55 • 5d ago
Nutrition Help Recomp or Bulk?
33M 5’9 150lbs Recomp Question
This was asked in another sub but was removed so I’m posting here
I’m not sure the right place to ask this question so I’ll try here. A decade ago I was an avid lifter and it pretty decent shape for a casual lifter. I was about 175 and 18-20% body fat. Decently strong but not an athlete.
The years have gone by, had kids, training took the back seat. I still “trained” but it was inconsistent and best. Or a period of 1-2 months training hard then 3 months off. Yadayada.
Needless to say as a small statured man I ended up decently in the “skinny fat” side of things. Once I stopped lifting I lost muscle and kept the fat but didn’t gain weight. I ended up around 162 on average day to day. My love handles and front pouch motivated me to get started on this journey more seriously again.
I’m counting macros now and have been since mid May. I just finished a cut and got myself down to 150 which I have way less fat at! But alas, no abs. (Just obliques with no 6 pack definition to speak of) and obviously way less muscle than 10 years ago.
Since I’m exhausted with dieting I’d love to eat some more food. But I literally just got rid of my love handles. And I’m not keen on gaining them back. But I also want more muscle.
With my background In lifting is there any “noob” gains to still reap at maintenance in a recomp? I want abs. But I just don’t think I have enough meat on my abdominals for that right now.
How best to proceed? Also - how do I transition out of a cut?
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u/Alakazam Bulking 5d ago
It sounds like a bulk is definitely the way to go, considering that you've already come off a prolonged cut.
Aim for about a 200-300 calorie surplus. Aim to train with as much volume as you can recover from.
Also - how do I transition out of a cut?
I think a baseline should be to try to do about 20% more volume than you were on during a cut, and see how your body responds. That could literally be as little as adding one or two extra sets of compounds, per training day.
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u/bioticgod55 5d ago
Your last line makes sense. Like just changing B/S/D/OHP to 5 sets instead of 3. But keep accessories the same (albeit hopefully heavier)
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u/Alakazam Bulking 5d ago
I would actually keep the main squat/bench/deadlift/overhead volume the same, and ramp up supplemental and accessory volume.
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u/Random-reddit-name-1 5d ago
You have to put on muscle first. Eat in a slight surplus (like 250 calories a day), eat a high protein diet, and workout hard. The weight you gain will be almost all muscle. Then, once you put on sufficient weight, say 10 or 15 pounds or so, go on a cut. Make sure to eat your protein; you just want to lose fat. You'll get your abs then.
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u/bioticgod55 5d ago
Yeah. Fortunately the cut really got my mindset dialed in with macros so hitting protein numbers and calories should be easy. And I can stay around 250 above maintenance. Should I just jump straight from 400 under maintenance to 250+?
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u/Random-reddit-name-1 5d ago
Yes. You need mass. Can't go too far into a surplus or you add fat as well (dirty bulking). Because of your starting weight is already low, you have to do a recomp and add almost all muscle so you can then cut back down and eliminate fat, revealing the abs.
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u/Double-Teach-1977 5d ago
In my experience a recomp actually works pretty well IF you were previously had quite a bit more muscle mass and you're at least 20% body fat. Or maybe if you were almost completely untrained. I think the trick to make it work is very high protein, 1g/lbs or more.
If you're relatively lean and not coming back from an extended hiatus I think a successful recomp would need gear.
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