overwelmed with info

[yettobe]

First of all I'd like to say I'm one of those guys that's thinks too much into stuff to the point it ruins my progression.

I'm 23, 5'8, 170 and now pushing high teens body fat % for the first time. I trained the body building sort of plan up until about 3 years ago and never really got back to the gym properly apart from doing a couple of runs of starting strength which I will do again Been doing bjj for a year and also stopped that due to a gym closure.

Training was my life until I stopped. And now I want to get back into the best shape I've ever been in.

I apologise for the long intro. So yea, now I'm so overwhelmed by all the info out there. I want to get my cardio up so I've started cycling and will be doing SS again but would also like to get my bodyfat back down or maybe spend time gaining muscle, is this possible all at once? What would be easier? Obviously I know I'm not gonna be cutting and bulking simultaneously, should I even worry about BF at this stage and just concentrate on strength and cardio?

I was gonna start doing sessions of LISS 40-60mins using hrmonitor to stay in 130bpm range.

And then do SS on 3 days a week.

But then how do I eat? At maintainance? Above? Below?

So yea you can see my heads a bit of a mess and I usedta make good uneducated progress until I started to see the light.... Lol. Ignorance is bliss and all that.

 

[LatFlare]

If you have been sitting on your arse for 3 years then if you start doing SS and LISS several times a week its plausible that you can increase your lean mass and reduce BF% while maintaining the same body weight. NB I totally made that up.

Whether you eat above or below maintenance depends on if you are trying to gain or lose weight. (I didn't make this up)

 

[Tosa]

Decide what's more important to you right now, set a specific bodyweight goal, and adjust your diet so you make progress towards that goal. Once you've reached that goal, set a new goal.

 

[apizur**]

"Cutting and bulking" talk mostly about fat, IMO. You can cut fat and gain lean tissue on a consistent workout and diet regimen that doesn't require you to make a sine wave out of your weight. It's called "recomping".

Is weight gain or loss even in your goals? If you have performance based goals keep a consistent diet and let your body recomp. It doesn't sound like you do to be honest. It sounds like you have aesthetic goals more than anything, so I'm gonna cut this post short here.

 

[redaxe]

Do you want to gain weight, lose weight, or maintain weight?
That will determine whether you should eat at a caloric surplus, deficit, or maintenance level.

If your goal is really to "be in the best shape of your life" you can probably get there just by consistently sticking to any beginner strength program plus doing a moderate amount of steady state cardio or playing a sport on alternating days, and avoiding sugary and fatty foods, especially sugary beverages. It's not that complicated, unless you have very specific fitness goals.

 

[KILL KILL]

It's possible. People would have you think it isn't possible to gain muscle and lose fat, but if you are truly dialed into your nutrition, it's not as hard as it sounds. Of course, it is easier to gain muscle while on a caloric surplus and easier to burn fat while in a larger deficit, but there is a middle ground where both can be achieved.

This can occur for noob, all the way to experienced lifters. For instance, a lot of people drop fat while doing Smolov.