Bulk up first or lose my gut?

[DarkNinja]

I'm around 165, pretty muscular, but I have a gut.
I want to be 175-180 lean.

I'm always caught between wanted to get bigger and wanting to diet and lose my gross gut.

I find when I add to much cardio to my workout, I just don't seem to grow. When I eat a lot to bulk up, just my gut seems to get bigger.

I eat really healthy and rarely eat crap.

Any advice would be good.

Thanks.

 

[atherjen]

first concentrate on leaning down a bit. do you know your bf% approx? how tall are you?
how long have you been working out?
can you give us a sample of what your diet looks like in the run of a day...it could be the choices. alot of times people think that they are making the right choices, but in reality they really arent.

 

[Injectyourspinach]

You have to go in one direction with your focus for a while, and then in the other. But when you have to make a choice between bulking from an already unacceptable level of bodyfat or cutting, you should cut. The reason being that from both studies and my personal experience the body tends to add a higher percentage of weight as actual muscle when commencing a bulking program from a leaner state compared to bulking from an already signficant level of bodyfat.

 

[optic]

if you're 165.. i think you should bulk for a while.. how tall are you?

 

[DarkNinja]

I"m 168 and 5'9"
Bodyfat is around 14%

 

[DirkMoneyshot]

personally i would cut.....Try and get yourself to 6%. After that Up the kcal and put on weight. You'll find that a greater % of that weight is LBM and not fat. Plus your body will be primed for growth.

Ex: Ever notice how much a competitor adds after a contest. Its tried and true. Ask needsize about his weight gain.

 

[Gredavcox]

What are you eating.....That may have something to do with why you are gaining in the belly and not everywheres else......

 

[HardBody]

PROTEIN BABY!!!!

 

[Camel]

PROTEIN BABY!!!!

Does 'a protein increase' help with cutting from the waist. I guess you'd have to do regular cardio if you increase protein, right?

 

[GameOn]

5'9" 165lbs/w a gut??? IMO I would focus on putting on muscle mass. At your stats with 14%bf you can not have much muscle mass at all. You need to go in a direction and stick with it! If you intend on gaining mass you need to eat and lift! Incorporate 30min of cardio a week and with an intense workout you will lose bf. What is your diet like?

 

[stratounet]

5'9" 165lbs/w a gut??? IMO I would focus on putting on muscle mass. At your stats with 14%bf you can not have much muscle mass at all. You need to go in a direction and stick with it! If you intend on gaining mass you need to eat and lift! Incorporate 30min of cardio a week and with an intense workout you will lose bf. What is your diet like?

Totally agree.

 

[Injectyourspinach]

Does 'a protein increase' help with cutting from the waist. I guess you'd have to do regular cardio if you increase protein, right?

The main things you have to be concerned about are excessive calories, getting an adequate base intake of protein, and controlling insulin. Once you have those in order, there is also the thermic value to protein to consider. Simply put: protein increases the metabolism. So yes, having a higher percentage of your calories come from protein can help with the waist.

Personally, I prefer full ketogenic cyclical carb dieting, but if you feel you must keep the carbs in your diet day in and day out, a 40-30-30 percentage mix of calories from protein, carbs and fats with the protein being predominatly slow-digesting, carbs being predominatly low-glycemic with plenty of fiber and the fats being a good mix of saturated animal fats for the Testosterone benefit they provide and Omega 3 fats for the additional fat-burning and general health benefits is a great way to diet while still keeping your carb tooth happy.

 

[fl8meplz]

I'm around 165, pretty muscular, but I have a gut.
I want to be 175-180 lean.

I'm always caught between wanted to get bigger and wanting to diet and lose my gross gut.

I find when I add to much cardio to my workout, I just don't seem to grow. When I eat a lot to bulk up, just my gut seems to get bigger.

I eat really healthy and rarely eat crap.

Any advice would be good.

Thanks.

Loose the gut first. You do not have to "bulk" to gain muscle in my opinion.

You say you eat healthy and rarely eat crap. okay, time for you to change your diet. NEVER eat crap. Remove all dairy from your diet. Add plenty of meat, fish, eggs, water. Don't do cardio. Make yor lifting workout so intense - 30 seconds max rest between higher rep sets - that you are out of breath and wiped at the end of each set.

 

[star2000]

The main things you have to be concerned about are excessive calories, getting an adequate base intake of protein, and controlling insulin.

How do you control insulin???

 

[Unfed]

How do you control insulin???

by eating carbs with low glycemic index...

 

[string_bean00]

I've always followed the rule that if I can't at least see abs when they're flexed, then I'm not going to bulk.