Bulk or Cut???

[enigma94]

Hey, its been a while since i've been on here, due to a injury I was forced to stop lifting for over 3 years but im back in the swing. I've obviously lost a lot in the 3 year lull i've been in and would like to get back to where I was but I'm not sure if I should bulk or cut first? I personally would like to cut, just for appearance sake but from what I remember it would be easier to gain strength and muscle out of the excess fat i've gained rather than burn it all off and then try to bulk. Please correct me if i'm wrong!

Stats:

23
5'10
178lbs

 

[rjx]

How fat can you possibly be at 5"10/178?? Without a pic I would say bulk. Get some size young grasshopper.

 

[bula]

Photo needed to give the feedback your looking for.

 

[enigma94]

Ok, i'll throw a phot up later tonight after i get back from the gym. I am not fat by any means, but i have "pudge" as you could say. Back when i was lifting regularly I was at 215 and wasnt that big, but i was also on andro. I'm debating getting back on it because I noticed huge gains, but i guess this isnt really the right section for that discussion

 

[Skarhead1]

Ok neither. Instead of going from one extrme to the other go in the middle. Get you protein in, get your clean cals in and do your cardio/gpp/conditioniong/whatever you do to keep the body fat at bay. when you bulk,, you're just a fat fuck, when you cut you lose muscle and strength. find the happy medium. my 02. and for the record, ive been lifing for 6 1/2 years, gained 60 lbs and never ONCE bulked or cut

 

[enigma94]

Here are some quick pics i snapped tonight, obviously the lighting isnt the best in either buts its all I could since i'm in the middle of remodeling my house..

Second pic is just relaxed. Critique away.

 

[enigma94]

Ok neither. Instead of going from one extrme to the other go in the middle. Get you protein in, get your clean cals in and do your cardio/gpp/conditioniong/whatever you do to keep the body fat at bay. when you bulk,, you're just a fat fuck, when you cut you lose muscle and strength. find the happy medium. my 02. and for the record, ive been lifing for 6 1/2 years, gained 60 lbs and never ONCE bulked or cut

THat probably works well for your body, but having done the cut/bulk method in the past and it work great for my body i'd like to stick with it. Thanks for the advise anyways!

 

[rjx]

My personal opinion would be for you to get a lot bigger. But if you want to cut, then by all means. You are the boss and everyone has different goals. Its not bad to get to your ideal bf% and then build up from there.

Extra body weight helps with getting stronger and all that. But I wouldn't worry to much about that if I was you. Just pick what you want more and go with it. You can always do the other later.

And about what sharkhead said...
Some people use bulking as a reason to go crazy with junk food. But a person can bulk off of clean foods and not become a fat fuck. Yeah, you will gain some bf. But if you started bulking at a low bf, you shouldn't morph into a fat fuck. 20 pounds of bulking off of clean foods when started at a low bf shouldn't create a fat fuck. Aim for a gain of one or two pounds per week. 20 pounds gained from bulking will not = 20 pounds of fat (if done correctly) and should not take much time to get back to the bf% as before. If fat is to much of an issue, just bulk to 10 pounds at a time (1 lb per week) and then burn the fat off. Or you could figure out how many calories it takes to maintain your weight, then barely eat more calories every week for a slower bulk.

 

[enigma94]

Well i'm a vegetarian which already makes it hard. But at my curent diet(which really shouldnt even be called a diet) previous to starting to work out again, I ate ok but not that great. Probably anywhere from 4-6000 calories with little to no exercise. I have never been fat, and even if i continued to eat that way im sure it would take a while for me to get there. so gaining fat isnt a issue.

My idea was to drop down to 3,000 calories, good calories mind you, and just eliminate all the more fatty foods im use to eating. I think this will give me enough calories to gain mass/strength/weight with gaining little to no fat. My biggest enemy is carbs, being a vegetarian I eat more pasta/rice kind of foods than most people so with havning my calories set to 3k what should my carbs be at? Being my body weight is at 178 i'm going to try and push 200g of protein,I also plan on using creatine as well.

As far as a workout plan, i'm curently on a 6 day plan. Which consists of 2 cardio days and then all the major muscle groups(i'm trying to 5x5 plan right now and it seems to be working out good). I'll probably keep it there untill my cardio is better.(i.e running a mile in under 6 min ect) Thats just more for my personal goals of having a bit more endurance and shouldnt effect the bulking at 3k carbs I dont believe.

I think that covers it, let me know if there are any holes you guys see in my plan!

 

[enigma94]

anybody?