Cut or Bulk?

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Hey there, been lurking around for a while now, but I decided to ask this question to some smarter and more experienced people.

I’m 15, close to 16 years old, 5’11" and 195 pounds. My bodyfat fluctuates between 17 and 18%. The thing is, I have quite some visceral fat, from my understanding.

I have a round “belly”, and it’s kinda hard to the touch. I know it isn’t muscle, so that leaves me to the conclusion that it’s visceral fat. I wasn’t really planning on bulking my way up to over 200 pounds, and going over 20% bf. I’m not worried about my “abz” or anything, my goal for now is to be around 12% bodyfat.

So should I cut, or shut up and bulk (and probably going over 20%)?

And if I should cut, should I cut slowly, or 2 or more pounds per week?

2

If you want to reduce your bodyfat to 12% you’d want to cut.

I’m confused, though, because you talk about bulking up and not going over 20% bodyfat. What exactly are your goals? Do you want to build more muscle mass and then lose bodyfat? Or is your main goal right now just to get to your preferred bodyfat range and work on building up more mass at a later time?

I’m sure if you’re able to clarify what you mean, we’ll be able to help you better. :slight_smile:

3

Sorry if I was a little confusing. Ofcourse I want to get really, really big. As big as I can possibly become.

What I meant was that IF I bulk I will definitely go over 20% bf, and it could worsen my case of visceral fat.

I personally think I should cut and get rid of that visceral fat. If the visceral fat wasn’t there I wouldn’t care about not being able to see my abs, I’d just start bulking.

So the question : Should I cut, mainly to get rid of the visceral fat, or should I just ignore it and bulk?

If this still doesn’t make it any clearer, I don’t know what will.

4

These threads pop up everyday. Truth is people will decide what they want to do no matter what input is given.

Why does it have to be one or the other? At 5’11" I would not want to drop weight much below your current. Maybe try a maintenance bulk for awhile… or clean up your diet. Add cardio. That can help you continue muscle gains while hopefully burning some fat.

Edit: I’m 6’1 and about 185, eating roughly 4k cals a day. If I feel like I am starting to put on more fat than muscle, I’ll just eat at maintenance for awhile. I definitely don’t want to lose weight.

5

Well it’s not about losing weight. It’s about the visceral fat. If I didn’t have any visceral fat I would just bulk up to atleast 210. But from what I’ve read so fat, visceral fat is pretty dangerous and can cause health problems, so I just wanted to check on here.

6

Did your doctor actually tell you that you had visceral fat?

If you’re that concerned about it, I would check with your doctor first so that they can tell you if you have any underlying medical conditions (things that would cause your body to accumulate those adipose deposits) or even give you advice on the best way to start losing the visceral fat (if that is indeed what it is).

Good luck!

7

if you need to ask, then you must cut.

8

My guess is you haven’t been lifting that long.

Clean up your diet, and focus on getting stronger. Shoot for a ‘maintenance’ allotment of calories.

The main thing that will happen is that you will develop healthy eating habits. This is the cornerstone of ANYTHING physique related.

A side effect will be the subsitution of some fat for some muscle.

After some time, your goal will crystallize and you won’t have to ask which direction to go.

As you’re eating, you may wonder where your ‘maintenance’ calories are. Err on the side of eating more. Your strength and size will thank you later.

9

I’ve been lifting intensively for about a year. I have been following a bulking diet, but it hasn’t been really clean, if I have to be honest :frowning: I have gained a considerable amount of muscle and strength, and fat too.

Iron Siren, I guess you’re right. I’ll get a check for my fat levels and the lot.