Cutting or Bulking First if a novice with high bodyfat %?

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Where to start as someone who is under muscled but with high body fat %?

10-19-2021, 11:58 AM
Hi all,

Really appreciate all the work and effort that goes behind Barbell Medicine, it’s really gotten me interested in lifting to get stronger and living a healthier life, I’m a bit stuck on what I should do and was hoping if anyone can give me some advice, for reference I have read the sticky post (https://forum.barbellmedicine.com/fo…icky-potential) along with the To Be a Beast article.

My current stats are:

  1. Male
  2. 28
  3. 5’10 Tall
  4. 197lb
  5. 37" waist measured around the belly button - it’s a belly there’s no two ways to cut it!
  6. 25 ~ 30% Body Fat as measured with callipers and visual comparison (quite a large belly and no muscular definition) My current lifts are:
  7. Squat - 155lb
  8. Bench - 155lb
  9. Deadlift - 175lb
  10. Press - 90lb
  11. Dip - 10lb weighted
  12. Pull Up - 4 Clean from Dead Hang I’ve been running a beginner strength training program (SSNLP) for the past few months on and off and have had a coach look into my form on the lifts, who has given me some solid advice and this has allowed me to improve my form.

I haven’t been able to take considerable jumps in my lifts due to running the program in a caloric deficit, around ~ 2000Kcal a day to lose body fat.

However, I’m really stuck on what approach I should take. I’m conflicted between running this or a similar beginner strength program on a caloric deficit as I feel the body fat % is already too high and would like to shed a few pounds to get a more leaner physique, or do I eat at maintenance and keep progressing adding weight to the bar each week. I certainly can’t fathom the idea of bulking in a caloric surplus given I already have a high body fat % and don’t have a lot of muscle to begin with.

I guess in summary, do I bulk, cut I guess I’m still a beginner lifter anyway given that my lifts haven’t increased the way they should as I have been running the program on a caloric deficit.

It feels as though I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place! On the one hand I would like to lose the belly and become leaner. On the other hand I would like to reap the benefits of being a beginner lifter and pack on muscle whilst increasing the lifts as much as possible.

Any help is appreciated, feels like i’m spinning my wheels at the moment :frowning:

2

NL100,

Thanks for the post. A few thoughts:

  1. Given your waist and body fat, it’s a pretty easy decision to encourage a reduction in body fat. Some people can do this at a maintenance level of energy intake when they initiate training, others cannot. Depending on what your weight, waist, and body composition have been doing for the last few months, you should be able to figure out if you’re one of these people.

  2. SSNLP would not be the program I’d recommend for you as it is very specialized in exercise selection and rep scheme, has no autoregulation, does not include conditioning, etc. Would recommend our Beginner Prescription/Template or other equivalent program, WHICH SHOULD INCLUDE CONDITIONING to meet the current physical activity guidelines.

  3. Your Calorie intake is unlikely to have an affect on your training progress currently, rather the program isn’t that great for most people (it lasts ~ 9 weeks and provides average results)

  4. I think you’re overestimating the effects of being a novice, the LP program itself, and energy intake because of your coach and association with SS. I would take issue with all of these things. You’ll be training for a long time hopefully, what’s the rush?

-Jordan