Hi all, first post here. I don’t really have many photos from my fattest period (my hobby is photography so I prefer to stay behind the camera). The beach one is with my daughter roughly 3 years ago. I lost the kilos with bodyweight training and running (HIIT and fartlek mostly) but 6 months ago I got into weightlifting more seriously.
My main question for you is should I continue bulking right now? I am currently at ~84 kilos (185 pounds) (the skinniest photos is after a bad flu in February that took me to 79 kgs. (174 pounds). Calipers place me at between 10 and 13% body fat but I can’t really say if they are true so I am asking here.
What do you want to look like? What is your ideal physique? Do you want to be 120 kilos with abs looking like a fire breathing hulk, or just look like you lift and be lean and smaller?
If you told people what your end goal is you might get some good advice.
Good question and an omission on my part! Guess I can answer my own question if I answer yours. I am striving to put on about 7-10 kgs of muscle and remain at 10-12% bodyfat.
The numbers don’t matter. What matters is whether or not you are satisfied with your bodyfat level. The number could be 30, the number could be 5. Doesn’t fucking matter. If you look in the mirror and say ‘this is the bodyfat level I would like to maintain’, then that tells you what direction to go in.
So this sounds to me like you ARE satisfied with your bodyfat level. If that’s the case, you need to start gaining weight again SLOWLY. This is how I’ve been approaching lifting for years. I never add unnecessary fat, and you don’t have to either. Just take your time and don’t expect to add a ton of muscle in a week, or a month. If you’re counting calories, maybe add 250 calories per day for your caloric surplus and see what that leads to. If you start to gain too much fat, adjust accordingly. Don’t be afraid to make changes based on the results you’re seeing. Do what YOU want to do though. Figure out what will make you happy and chase it hard.
