Hi, all pics are taken this week in different lights.
173cmx77 kg. 5 years of training.
I look “okay” with good lights, but fairly soft in natural light.
Also feel to small to keep cutting and not lean enough to go back into a lean bulk.
Would you recommend a last push to cut for 4~ more weeks given it’s summer something else at this stage?
I am also unsure whether the abs softeness is fat, lack of abs, skin + water (I was obese) or all of the above, so unsure whether cutting more is doing more damage than good.
Unless you plan on jumping on stage… you look fine.
Im going out on a limb and saying the variation your seeing is from water retention.
I assume your motivation is primarily appereance in nature?
Guess it depends on what you want to do. IMO … you arent really in a position to recomp. Youve been lifting consistently for five years . A recomp mostly just applies for individuals starting out. Indviduals after a long layoff who have lost lean mass and have added bodyfat. Also indviduals jumping on Gear.
Occasionally someone who has been lifting for awhile might recomp IF their effort and nutrition has been garbage. But i get the impression thats not you.
IMO, you are a good body composition to build muscle while you look good. Find a relatively clean diet with sufficient protein and train to get stronger.
Make sure this never happens again.
It is difficult to say accurately. I would try to build your abs with the aim to make them bigger. I don’t mean fatter, but get thicker abdominal muscles. They might start revealing themselves. You might be fighting the genetics of a thick sheath that covers the abdominal muscles.
Doing those things for now would be my recommendation regardless of your goal. Which begs the biggest question: What is your goal?
Yea goal is primarily a “strong lean” bulk - I don’t have genetics for great abs and I don’t mind having them by sacrificing mass, what bothers me is mostly the softness on the side. If I wear tight underwear or swim slips it’s “pushed” up and takes away all my v shape lol
So I was thinking to cut maybe 1 or 2 more kgs to see if I can get rid of it and then leab bulk, but not sure at this point
Goal is primarily a “strong lean” bulk - I don’t have genetics for great abs and I don’t mind having them by sacrificing mass, what bothers me is mostly the softness on the side. If I wear tight underwear or swim slips it’s “pushed” up and takes away all my v shape lol
So I was thinking to cut maybe 1 or 2 more kgs to see if I can get rid of it and then leab bulk, but not sure at this point.
I don’t see that you have a waistline fat problem. My guess is that only you are seeing it.
IMO, your aim should be getting stronger in the 8 to 10 rep range on all compound exercises. Over the long-haul muscle hypertrophy will occur with strength gains.
If you want to look a little sharper, clean up your diet further, but don’t allow your strength to drop.
