Hello All.
I am a long time lurker, first time poster from Australia.

I have been lifting and cutting for about 5 months now, I am 32, 6 foot and 185 pounds. I don't count calories as I am hopeless in the kitchen :o so I only eat what my Mrs cook for me and my 2 boys, however I eat clean 5 times a day plus 3 course of protein (post & pre workout and before bedtime)

I lift 3 times a week to preserve little muscles I have and always try to increase the weight everytime I can (most of the exercises I do are compound).
I do 20 minutes of HIIT on a recumbent bike 3 times a week and 30 minutes of Low intensity 5 times a week.

So far I am happy with my progress as far as BF% is concern, using the home body fat test, I came down from 21% to 17% as per pic taken yesterday 1st Sept and my waist has come down from 39 to 36.5, however my weight has remain the same at 185 :confused:.

So I was just wondering of what you guys think I should do?

Start bulking to gain more mass?
What BF% do you guys think I am currently at?I don't mind not having a 6 pack but I hate :bang: the fat on my lower pec next to the upper arm below the armpit if you look at the pic.
Any suggestion on how to get rid of em if I start bulking? or should I continue cutting untill I get rid of em?
Will they go when my pec starting to have some shape and mass?

I am sorry for the long post, just needing motivation :spank: and advise from all of you.

Cheers,
Don.

If getting rid of that area of fat is your biggest concern, then I would recommend to keep cutting.
I'm not really good at estimating bodyfat, but I would place you near 15%.

Anyone else with suggestions?

If getting rid of that area of fat is your biggest concern, then I would recommend to keep cutting.
I'm not really good at estimating bodyfat, but I would place you near 15%.

Agree with George..

You have good fat distribution and good muscle weight now...:blank:

Your nutrition seems good,so I would slow down the cut a good bit to 1# a month and increase exercise wherever possible...It takes a lot of dieting pressure off and improves results in the end game..

I would forget about bulking unless you intend to become a bodybuilder..:cool:

Edit: Increase efficiency of exercise is what I mean...Intervals during the steady state cardio and some crosstraining..

Agree with George..

You have good fat distribution and good muscle weight now...:blank:

Your nutrition seems good,so I would slow down the cut a good bit to 1# a month and increase exercise wherever possible...It takes a lot of dieting pressure off and improves results in the end game..

I would forget about bulking unless you intend to become a bodybuilder..:cool:

Edit: Increase efficiency of exercise is what I mean...Intervals during the steady state cardio and some crosstraining..

Thanks for the reply and suggestion jaybird and george.

I will continue cutting until I am happy with what I see in the mirror, however I do eventually want to put on muscle mass, especially around my chest area.
Do you guys think I have a good base (muscle wise) to work on once I am happy with my cut? cause IMHO I don't have much muscle mass at all :o.

Cheers,
Don.

You can go either way...If you truly are 17% in bf, than You can continue cutting till you start seeing some definition (you may need to reach down to 8-10% bf), or you can add about 20 lbs from a very clean bulk to see how your body reacts...But than again, at 17% bf, I wouldnt push my bulk to fast

You can go either way...If you truly are 17% in bf, than You can continue cutting till you start seeing some definition (you may need to reach down to 8-10% bf), or you can add about 20 lbs from a very clean bulk to see how your body reacts...But than again, at 17% bf, I wouldnt push my bulk to fast

Thanks for the quick reply mate, if I continue cutting, will I eventually see definition with little muscle I have? cause I don't want to look like a skeleton which how I used to look when I was in my teen.

If I go for a slow and very clean bulk and add on 20 lbs, what are the chance of me getting those bf% up? Should I still continue my 3 times weekly HIIT cardio to keep the bf% at bay and stop the Low Intensity?

Cheers,
Don.

Thanks for the reply and suggestion jaybird and george.

I will continue cutting until I am happy with what I see in the mirror, however I do eventually want to put on muscle mass, especially around my chest area.
Do you guys think I have a good base (muscle wise) to work on once I am happy with my cut? cause IMHO I don't have much muscle mass at all :o.

Cheers,
Don.

Hey Don..

Now we're getting somewhere..I think you are doing a recomposition the way it should be done..It does not happen in 5 months but you are making good progress..You have trimmed your waist and you have maintained muscle by not losing BW..that is good..

Your wife is feeding you and the boys well and your body will tell you about how much food to eat...that is better than trying to fret over macros,cals,and such...I have not checked my macros in 10 years and I do not count cals either...I eat a wide range of food and my wife is a good cook too..I sometimes gain some fat (like this year vacationing)and have to take it off,but that's fun too..and eating pasta and drinking red wine for 2 weeks in Italy was fun too..

Fitness is a long haul and in my opinion means strength,endurance,and having a good physique..a better physique than your peers..You can do that by doing pretty much what you are doing now and tweaking it a bit...and keeping on keeping on..:nod:

Read a bit of Zenpharoah's journal if you have not done so...Zen has a good feel for what being in shape is about ( he is a bit of a mad-man) but is a hard goer and that is the key to being fit...rolling sweat gets you in shape..

Ask the questions and you can get the answers you need on here..:D

Don't worry about gaining some muscle mass...It comes with the territory...and don't worry about the fat on the pecs...it goes away.:lol:

Welcome to the club...You will do well...

Hey Don..

Now we're getting somewhere..I think you are doing a recomposition the way it should be done..It does not happen in 5 months but you are making good progress..You have trimmed your waist and you have maintained muscle by not losing BW..that is good..

Your wife is feeding you and the boys well and your body will tell you about how much food to eat...that is better than trying to fret over macros,cals,and such...I have not checked my macros in 10 years and I do not count cals either...I eat a wide range of food and my wife is a good cook too..I sometimes gain some fat (like this year vacationing)and have to take it off,but that's fun too..and eating pasta and drinking red wine for 2 weeks in Italy was fun too..

Fitness is a long haul and in my opinion means strength,endurance,and having a good physique..a better physique than your peers..You can do that by doing pretty much what you are doing now and tweaking it a bit...and keeping on keeping on..:nod:

Read a bit of Zenpharoah's journal if you have not done so...Zen has a good feel for what being in shape is about ( he is a bit of a mad-man) but is a hard goer and that is the key to being fit...rolling sweat gets you in shape..

Ask the questions and you can get the answers you need on here..:D

Don't worry about gaining some muscle mass...It comes with the territory...and don't worry about the fat on the pecs...it goes away.:lol:

Welcome to the club...You will do well...

Thanks Jaybird.

You are absolutely right, this forum has inspired me and alot of others out there.
I have been reading and reading this forum and tried to learn as much as I can from posts here.

I realise that I have a long way to go and learn before my physique is better than my peers :D and I will keep on.

I always try to increase my lift :bb: everytime I can, by increasing the plates or the reps however sometimes I have to reduced the weight when I lift, is it normal when you are cutting? again I am just afraid that I lose my little muscle.

Cheers,
Don.

Hi Don..

You are very welcome..I have had a lot of help on JSF too..

There are many reasons for reducing working weights..I would suggest that you post your current training routine on the weight training forum for suggestions..As a novice lifter that is appropriate at this time..I don't post on that forum because I am barely out of the novice class myself..There are some advanced guys and gals on there to help you learn as much as possible about progressive training,working weights,and training cycles..:D

I posted as a novice over there and got loads of advice...all good..:nod:

Jaybird