Advice for skinny fat, cut or bulk?

[tracytray02]

What’s up guys, I’m a 27yo male, ~163lbs and 5 foot 9

I think I am slightly skinny fat. My guess is somewhere between 18-21% bodyfat and the majority goes to my stomach

I’ve been pretty active the past month and a half, thanks to Muay Thai helping me with discipline

Muay Thai 3x per week
Weight lifting 3-4 times per week
1 day of HIIT sprinting on treadmill

I would like to get bigger, but I don’t want it going to my stomach like it currently is. I’d like to get abs.

Appreciate any advice

Should I eat in a deficit until I lose the fat? Or should I bulk?

 

[paul0998]

@tracytray02

3x muai thai, 3-4x weight lifting, 1 day hiit...

That's a lot. Even half of that would be quite a good amount. That's a lot of calories too burn as well. I doubt you need to worry about eating too much.

1,5 month

That's not a lot. Your body doesn't change that fast.

Advise? Keep it up, eat healthy, eat enough.

 

[parmabandit]

@tracytray02 Do you want to get bigger, or do you want to get abs? Those are conflicting goals.

To get bigger your body converts a surplus of calories into muscle after working out. You need to put on weight (normally as fat) so you have something to convert into muscle. You'll also need to be taking in more proteins to help with muscle growth. After getting slightly bigger than your end goal, you begin to cut by switching to aerobic activities and calorie deficit and you'll lose fat and a small amount of muscle.

Or if you want abs, cut down on the weight lifting, continue with aerobic activities like the HIIT springing and muay thai, and monitor your caloric intake to make sure you're at a deficit to slowly lower your bodyfat percentage.

 

[tracytray02]

@parmabandit That makes sense

In that case, I’d rather prioritize getting bigger. Thanks man

 

[parmabandit]

@tracytray02 People go through bulking cycles of putting on weight and cutting cycles of losing it to show off their gains. Some people do 6 month cycles, others do 3 month cycles. Have your cycles line up with when you want a particular body at a certain time. Want a nice summer beach bod? Start your cut cycle about 8 weeks before you're going to sport your swimsuit. Winter coming up? Start your bulk cycle so the holidays aren't a time of abstaining from treats.

 

[tracytray02]

@parmabandit Great info man, really appreciate it.

Been eating super light this week, that changes right now haha

 

[ca1987]

@tracytray02 It sounds like you just started working out and have a decent program. Give it some time, stop worrying about things you haven't invested enough time in yet to worry about (BF%, cutting, bulking, etc)

The first 3-6 months of working out it's easy to add muscle and lose fat at the same time. Stop worrying about theoretical stuff that doesn't even apply to you yet.

 

[tracytray02]

@ca1987 Okay, good advice. Thanks man