Cut or bulk first?

[Josh]

Hi all,

I am currently 66 kgs with 20% bf, height about 173 cm. I read from somewhere that an easy way to calculate one's ideal weight is by substracting 100 from the height. So according to this formula I should weight about 73 kgs. I have also read a recommendation that if one has a high bf (such as 20%) it is better to first reduce the bf, and after a lower bf is achieved (about 10%) then it's time to bulk up. Now my question, even with 20% bf I am already underweight, if I attempt to cut I am afraid I will be very very much underweight. So what should I do? Should I continue to cut even though it may make me severely underweight, or should I bulk up first to higher weight than my ideal and then try to cut?

- Josh

 

[Nate]

most people don't like bulking during the summer months, but i'd say it's your best bet to try bulking up and then shaving the extra pounds that come with it later on.

 

[Arnold]

20% is a bit high, if I were you I would concentrate on both weight training to build muscle, and proper diet/nutrition to start losing some body fat. So, really neither a cut or a bulk, more of a combination of the two.

 

[Josh]

Prince, how do you arrange a diet for reducing fat while doing weight training to build muscle? I thought a diet has to be designed according to the goal, so to build muscle would require a different kind of diet (composition of P:C:F, total cals intake, etc) than to reduce body fat, CMIIW.

Also, what is the normal range of bf for a male, ie for one who's not competing in bodybuilding but wants to have a well built body?

- Josh

 

[P-funk]

I think pronce means that you need to just start by learning to eat properly, not really focusing on a specific bulk or cut diet. By eating properly and weight training you should immediatly start to lean out and build muscle. Once you have the diet and training down after a couple of weeks you will have some good results which will help you make your decision which way you want to go.

A good bf% for a male who wants to be just well built is about 10-15%. In my opinion though anything over 10% is to fat.....just my opinion, I am a little more picky than most people though.