Lifting/Diet Advice - Not Sure Which Direction To GO

Training
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I am 35, 6’4" 215lbs and honest estimation 17-20 percent body fat mainly due to a bunch of fat in the lower back love handle area. Used to be in better shape in my 20s and a lot stronger then, but thats mostly irrelevant.

My goals are 100 percent bodybuilding (leaner/bigger), and not powerlifting related at all. I could care less how much weight I can move but I know getting stronger is necessary of course.

Diet wise, I’m assuming it would make sense to cut down to a reasonable body fat, 10%ish, before trying to gain more weight on a long lean bulk? Or would it look better to fill out with some muscle? Would love some input on this.

I have some muscle, but on a 6’4" frame its hard to tell I even lift of course as I look very long/lanky.

I am relatively weak as far as the lifts go, generally have done random split routines and rotate exercises, rep schemes etc way too often. I can deadlift 3 plates for reps and 4 for a single, but my squat is atrocious with my stupid long legs, probably 195 for a clean single or double and bench about the same.

I generally have enjoyed setups like a bro split the most from a fun perspective. Absolutely hate full body/upper lower. PPL is not my favorite but I can absolutely get into it and have fun with it if thats recommended. One thing I have noticed recovery-wise is that if I do 2 major body parts (ex Back Monday, Chest/Delt Tue) by the time I would do legs Wednesdays I feel pretty fatigued.

I work out at home - I have a decent amount of equipment but obviously lack major machines. I do have one cable from the floor and one overhead that I can use for pulldowns, rows, extensions, leg curls, etc. Fully adjustable bench, Power rack, Olympic bar, curl bar, and plate loaded dumbbells, plenty of plates.

I am also on TRT for years due to legitimate low T (two tests sub 300ng/dl) and struggling majorly to find a dose that works for me to give me libido/erection quality/energy/good sleep. My prescription is for 150mg/wk of either cyp or enanthate to split up how I see fit. I know some people recommend daily but some say its overkill especially since my SHBG is not low. Maybe just go back to twice a week and adjust accordingly?

Anyway just some guidance in the right direction on where to start from here would be greatly appreciated, as I am ready to get it together, but just need to know which direction to start moving so I don’t keep spinning my wheels.

@Andrewgen_Receptors was kind enough to offer some advice if I made a post here as well, thank you for that.

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How are you eating right now? Are you currently on a training plan?

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I eat relatively clean and structured.
Breakfast - 1-2 eggs + whites, oatmeal w banana
Meal 2 - chicken breast, rice, serving of fats
Meal 3 preworkout - cream of rice, peanut butter, whey
Meal 4 post - chicken, rice, fruit
Meal 5 - rice or swt potato, leaner red meat

I “cheat” with garbage food a few times a week usually at dinner, which is more a symptom of not having a plan to stick to than any sort of uncontrollable cravings. Vegetables also totally wreck my digestion so I can have a max of 1-2 servings a day of something like spinach.

Maintenance is roughly 3000 cals, but I have been spinning my wheels by not committing to either cutting or bulking so I’ve basically been maintaining. Currently running a 4-5 day split based on a John Meadows style program, but constantly changing exercises, rep schemes, etc so I wouldn’t say I’m consistently following anything.

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Thanks for making a thread.

Diet

It’s worth saying that your bodyfat estimation is probably of by 5% or more (i underguessed my BF% by about 20% at one point, so don’t take this personally - its just a common thing). I don’t know what you look like, nor does that matter. You’re too fat for your liking.

As someone who was too fat, I’d recommend to lean out first, but I’m biased.
There is also a strong argument for bulking first or cutting first.

Some argue to bulk first because it’s better to have more muscle to assist with leaning out.

Others argue to cut first because it doesn’t make sense to intentionally put fat on your body if you haven’t really had to diet before. This is very hard for some people (me, at least).

Neither is right or wrong, you just have to pick one that suits you better.
The only wrong choice here is to do neither. Eat intentionally; bulk or cut doesn’t matter, just pick one.

Daily Macros:
Protein: 1g/lb bodyweight
Fats: 0.3g/lb bodyweight (since you are on TRT, you can drop this lower if you want. This matters more for natural hormone production)
Carbs: to fill the remainder of your caloric goal (typically +300-500 bulk, -500 cut)

I’ll link a thread i wrote if you’re unfamiliar with counting macros.

I will note that as you’re not super lean, not overly trained, and on TRT, you can probably get away with “recomping” for a bit, but it will be short lived and less effective than traditional bulk/cut.

Training

You’re at a weird mid-point in development (strength-wise) that could have you going one of two ways. To be safe though, I’m going to advise you improve your baseline of strength before specializing towards bodybuilding routines.

To do this, I’m going to have you run Phraks Greyskull LP until your lifts begin to stall. If you’re at the point of diminishing returns on strength, this program will be short-lived and that’s okay.

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I recommend this because you will get strong in all the primary movement patterns (vertical push/pull | horizontal push/pull | squat | hinge (deadlift)). All other movements you perform will be some form of these movements, hence this being your baseline of strength. You don’t want to be weak in any one of these areas.

Ive had other clients do this exact routine with only minor modifications and one difference for men vs women.

  • last set of each prescribed exercise is pushed to failure, except squats. Always leave one in the tank for squats (safety).
  • Men should add a biceps exercise after every session. 3x8-12 reps.
  • Women should alternate between Glute Bridges and Band Clams after every session. Same 3x8-12 reps.

I would recommend that you organize this such that:
Day 1:
Vertical Push/Pull (OHP / Pull Ups) and Deadlifts + Hammer Curls

Day 2:
Horizontal Push/Pull (Bench / Row) and Squats + Biceps Curls

And just alternate between day one and two.

Train 3-4x a week with this. Separate any cardio to be as far away from weight training as possible (if you do cardio).

You may do additional “assistance” work as you see fit, outside the scope of this program - but it cannot get in the way of your main work (everything listed in the picture). Once your main lifts start to plateau, we will move you to something more bodybuilder focused. Do keep in mind that if you’re getting stronger, you’re growing so even Phraks will have you getting bigger.

Intensity

I want you getting used to hitting failure, but not solely relying on failure (yet), which is why you only hit failure on the last working set.

After Phraks, i would have you move to a failure based system, which is why i want you getting comfortable with hitting failure now. You’ll need it.

Hormones

I recommend making a separate thread about your TRT stuff in the #pharma-trt forum as i only know enough for the average user and myself. Some individuals there are far more knowledgeable than myself, but i will chime in.

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I think training 3 or 4 times per week would be good. That way you can avoid that 3rd day fatigue. If you can’t recover fast enough to get 5 training sessions into a 7 day week, just rest as you need to and do the 5 sessions over 8 or 9 days.

Switching moves and rep ranges is cool, but it can be tough to manage on your own. If you want to do meadows style stuff I would run one of his programs as written so you’re not just switching things around chaotically.

If you’re 35 and your squat still sucks, it may always suck. Maybe consider finding a leg/ quad exercise that’s easier to train and causes less heartache. Like some kind of split squat or SSB squats holding on to the power rack or something.

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As for diet, maybe stick to your strict plan 5 days a week. Then do your cheat with garbage dinner 2 just nights a week.

Having the strict days should put you in a mild deficit without any changes to you regular routine. This should let you lose fat, and theoretically maybe help with theoretical insulin resistance that’s causing your spare tire.

Then the cheats let you recover enough to keep energetic and training and gaining for awhile. Without any metabolic slow down.

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Thanks for the training and diet advice man. I had a squat close to 300 in my early 20s, but I had to take many years off of training due to some illness and injuries. But even so, that is by no means a good squat, so I totally understand what you mean about exploring different lifts.

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Thanks man, this was an excellent writeup. My response might seem short in comparison because it really didn’t leave me with any questions, the detail is greatly appreciated. I did round up my body fat knowing that most underestimate it lol.

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no worries about brevity, I’m glad I answered any potential questions - that rarely happens.

Feel free to log your sessions in here if you want real-time feedback. It helps some with accountability, and you will get surprising 2nd opinions at times. I had this happen recently in my own log about dieting too hard too fast.

Oh, you may want to take a shirtless mirror picture for you to look back on in 3 months or so. I hated my ‘before’ picture, but I’m very glad I have it now. Most people would assume I looked more or less like I do now - 2 years ago. They would be wrong.

It also helps give YOU some feedback to see if you’re moving in the right direction. I often advise 1 picture a month. Same lighting, same pose.
When you think no progress is being made, those pictures can tell another tale.

I’d say “good luck”, but it isn’t luck that will get you to where you want to go; it’s determination. So buckle down and feel free to post up if you have any questions.

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I took photos in the morning yesterday, and will probably start a training log here to stay accountable and on track. I’m still struggling to decide which direction to move in as far as gaining or losing, but I’m leaning towards shedding a few lbs first to get to a more “athletic” body fat range.

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Totally agree. Could even be front squats with his home gym setup.

OP - lots of great advice above. One thing I’d double-down on: the first thing you mentioned was you’re unhappy with your body comp. Therefore, I’d work on getting lean first. If that’s truly what you eat every day, I’d start by reducing some of the carbs in meals one and two. If there’s maybe some wiggle room, I’d first get really consistent before I took anything away.

There’s also an article on just having a scoop of MD prior to meals and letting that take care of macros and hunger, and I think there’s a lot of awesome there early in a diet.

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Good advice - you’re right. I was lean my whole life until I stopped training for those years, so having this much fat on my body is a real confidence killer.

That is my exact diet nearly every day, however my calories are all over the place because I didn’t have a direction. I’d be in a deficit for a couple days, maintenance, then surplus, etc plus a few “dirty” meals each week so I pretty much end up maintaining exactly where I’m at.

Now that I know I’ll be focusing on getting lean, I can easily get into a deficit.

Sorry but I’m not familiar with what you mean by a scoop of MD?

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Cutting it is then. You’re already leaning that direction anyways, so lets commit to it. Sound good?

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Sounds like a plan. I’ll probably be a lot more comfortable spending more time building muscle if I’m not worried about the extra body fat I’m carrying while doing so.

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Metabolic Drive, Biotest’s (this company’s) protein.

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Metabolic Drive

It’s tasty and more filling than other proteins I’ve used. A little more expensive than another one I’ve used. But protein is protein, this one is just tasty and filling - if being used as a small meal replacement.

I don’t use any protein powders anymore. I just get all my protein from regular food - still regularly hit >250g a day.

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