Cut vs. bulk help

Height/weight? Activity level? Length/type of workouts?

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5’9”
165
17% BF
Desk job
Workout 4 times a week for 70-90 minutes each.
Workouts consist of the four main lifts with targeting individual muscles around it

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i would try a mini cut for 4 weeks, go hard, get protein up around 1.5g per lbs of bodyweight and then go back to bulking and do it lean this time.

on the cut, i would shoot for 30%-35% deficit. Shooting to lose 4% bodyfat.

Honestly I think you should just go from 2700 to 2400 for a couple of weeks. I have a similar body composition as you and my maintenance is 2500-2700 calories.

How many steps are you getting a day?

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How many steps are you getting a day?

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7,500 - 8,000 (3.5 - 4 miles)

*on average

Instead of cutting to 1500 calories, why not add a morning and evening walk your routine? 20-30 min walk after breakfast and after dinner would be really beneficial physically and you don't need to cut a ton of calories. Even a quick 10 min walk after each meal will add up throughout the week.

Just some food for thought - pun intended

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So 2,200 - 35% = 1,500 Calories a day?

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yep or like described above, put at 1750 or so and go for morning and evening walks.

It can be done at the same time - I'm 53 years old. I started Noom Nov 1 5'9" 171 lbs and def skinny fat - no resistance training since a rotator cuff surgery in 2015, worked pretty hard cardio, playing tennis, etc, but poor muscle mass. Lost 5lbs in November eating around 1300 kcal/d. Dec 1 started doing resistance training, started feeling stronger and noticed body comp was changing.

Mid-Jan In Body scan (uses BEI) at 5-star nutrition 14.3% body fat 159 lbs. Liked the way I was looking so started counting macros - exceeding 1gm/lb body wt protein daily while keeping carbs and fats low, still at calorie deficit - about 1700/d.

Read 777 Greyskull Primer thread, asked him a bunch of questions and am running that now. Next in body 12.3% body fat, plus 0.5lb SMM. That was mid Feb. Went again Sat, now down to just above 10% BF, still at caloric deficit and still packing protein. Here is my progress since I started measuring:

Since 1/22/22
Weight 159.3 - 156.0 (-3.3)
Fat loss 22.6 - 16.4 (-6.2)
SMM 76.9 - 78.7 (+1.8)
PBF 14.3% - 10.5% (-3.8%)

That may not be enough muscle gain for you, but from a body aesthetic point of view, its been a great plan. Greyskull body weight exercise homework is the balls. I'm about to increase my calories but stay with high pro and keep limiting carbs and see where that takes me. 777 was my helper getting a plan and writing shite down - he knows what he's talking about. Good luck.

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nstead of cutting to 1500 calories, why not add a morning and evening walk your routine? 20-30 min walk after breakfast and after dinner would be really beneficial physically and you don't need to cut a ton of calories. Even a quick 10 min walk after each meal will add up throughout the week

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And as we learned in another thread, grab that kettlebell and take it on that walk with you.

Just depends on what you want more.

You want to be cut for beach or lift heavier? Really can't have both. If you do maintenance then I think you will be disappointed on both ends cause you will be stuck in the middle. Not as cut as you could be and not as strong as you could be. I did that for years then decided to focus solely on bulks and cuts. Lifting heavy is fun and when you start loosing strength it's an ego buster for sure. But seeing abs pop at the beach is worth it..

Where did you do the calc for your calorie numbers? I need to get mine straightened out and probably do a month or three on a cut as well. 5-11 212#, 4 lifts (running 5/3/1 5x5 FSL), 2-3 swims 30-50 min sessions, 1 5 mile run per week, and walk 18 holes twice on the weekend. Desk job so no extra calories burned there.