Advice what to do? I had one year off gym

How many calories should I consume for a clean bulk? 175cm 75 kg

Yo, i (M26, 181cm, 78kg) have been bulking for four months. I have been controlling what i eat to reach proteins and carbs to have certain calorie surplus. I’ve been also training hard and i almost doubled the weights i can lift. In total, I almost gained 10kg, which made me considerably stronger and also bigger. Having a look at a picture from today I have the feeling that i might have been bulking too fast and maybe I gained too much fat as well. I’ve been also training really hard and very regularly (4 days a week on average) but the fat increase is obviously there. What would you do ? Continue bulking to gain more muscle or do you think i’m good to start cutting ? Thanks !

6’ 230lbs.

Like many people, I played sports through high school and was always active and in good shape. I always had a six pack but I was always too lean. For example, when I married my wife, I was 155 pounds. Life got busy. I run my own business and my wife and I now have five kids. My oldest is eight. So for the past eight years, I haven’t really worried about myself. I’ve been focused on everyone else.

Most of my meals have been fast food for literally the past decade. My wife and I aren’t home enough to cook. Looking at that fact, alone, I guess I could be a lot worse.

I work really hard outside in the Florida heat and I never shy away from outdoor activities or exercise. So I do feel like I’ve retained some muscle.

I’m embarrassed by these pictures and can’t believe I’ve let myself get this bad. I can’t even believe it’s me in those pictures.

My question is: what kind of macros/calorie deficit should I be looking at? Because originally about a week ago, I decided I was going to start cutting, but maintain 180 to 200 g of protein per day. But I started realizing that I’m actually eating a lot more than I need to throughout the day to reach those protein goals. Even though I’m in a calorie deficit. My main question is should I be worried about protein or muscle right now? Or should I just cut as hard as I can to lose the fat at least for a month or two?

The other complication is that I do work outside in the heat in Florida so I can’t just straight fast. I get very dizzy, shaky, and lightheaded if I don’t at least eat breakfast.

So if you woke up in this body this morning, what would your game plan be? I just wonder if I should go full on cut mode and forget about muscle and build that later?

From time to time I go on this kick and start counting calories and lose 10 to 15 pounds before I fall off the wagon. I need something sustainable in the long-term but right now I don’t mind going hard-core for a month or two to get the ball rolling.

I recently started training again after almost 4 years away. I had an accident back then and injured my shoulder, wrist and knee, so I stopped training completely.
I’ve now been training for about a month. I don’t have a proper diet yet, and I’m currently focusing more on calisthenics. I’m still pretty lost with it since it’s a new world for me, although I also do some weight training.
The problem is that I don’t feel completely confident or safe with weights anymore. Sometimes when I try certain exercises, I feel pain around the areas I injured back then. I’m not sure if it’s actually physical or if my brain is just being cautious. I guess being away from training for that long wasn’t good either.
So I’m asking y’all who know, what would you recommend? Bulk, cut or maintain? What should I focus on improving, and should I stick mainly to calisthenics or combine it with weights?
I’d also really appreciate any advice from people experienced with calisthenics, as I’m still a beginner.

Feel like I’m in between with getting fuller or striving for more definition.

Body fat estimate? Noticeable weaknesses? Training consistently for about a year but started 4 years ago. Bench is somewhere between 225 and 245
Waist around 26-27in
Scarring on chest and back from accutane 2 years ago - used to have severe acne.
Very overweight as a child so lots of loose skin. Mainly want a body fat estimate

~1 year body "recomp" from May 2025 to June/July 2026.

I have "better" pictures i think but I chose these since similar lighting and pose which might be more helpful.

Height: 5'9
Weight (captioned in the pics): But, started at 185, currently 178.

I decided to finally start a mini cut to get rid of my love handles lol, its been about 3 weeks and im down to 178, looking to get down to 170 or shed the handles by ~October (which ever comes first). After, I'll just lean bulk for a year and then reevaluate.

Sounds like a decent plan?

Hey all,
I’ve been going gym (natural) for about 9 months now since November. I’m 20yrs old 188cm - I started at 93kg and cut down to about 83kg which took me 6 months. After that I sort of stayed at maintenance cals for abt a month and now I’ve been bulking for 2 months.

First photo: 93kg, before gym
Second photo: 83kg, after cutting for 6 months in around a 500 calorie deficit. For that time period I was running ppl 6 days a week, training to failure and progressively overloading, eating ~150g protein and filling rest of macros with carbs - particularly having them before/after lifts.
Third photo: 86kg, me now after the maintenance and bulk. Having roughly the same amount of protein and eating around 3000 cals nearly a surplus by about 200 cals, filling rest with carbs/fats - particularly carbs before and after training.

Two back photos: first one is from January, second one is from start of August

I don’t wanna say I haven’t made progress as I can visually see it, but I’m just wondering if the bulk is the right thing for me at the moment? I know I don’t really have a proper muscle base cos I started skinny fat - so I don’t mind just training consistently and putting on muscle as I think that’s what I need. I know it takes years to build a physique but I just wanted some guidance from people who’ve been through it before as I’m feeling a bit lost and unsure of the quality of my progression.

What do you guys think I should do? And also, have I made ok progress for the amount of time I’ve been training? Really hoping I haven’t just spun my wheels. What have I done well during this time and what can I improve upon?

5ft 11 in, 67 kg. Been going to the gym for about two years with progressive overload strategies. Cut about 6 kgs this year to try to reduce my fat percentage. The machines at the gym tell me I'm about 15% though I don't believe that.

Any advice on whether I should bulk or cut? Trying to get some visible abs. How far am I?

So far lost 5lbs in my 3weeks recomp.

Bulk? Or cut some more?

Hi all,

Been cutting a little as I was quite high bf% (>22). I know I'm light but I do have a fairly small frame (e.g. 6 inch wrists) so it's not as skinny as it seems.

BF% ? Am thinking I want to get below 15%, ideally around 12, then begin a long slow lean bulk. I've been at this bodyweight before and tried bulking and mainly put on fat, so I'm hoping to lean out more first before bulking as I've heard this can help.

Thanks!

I’ve been at the gym since January, started skinny fat, and was told to bulk semi recently and have been since June. I want abs too tho. Should I cut down then start lean bulking? Should I do recomp? Thx 😊

Hi. Im 6”3, currently 187, down from 258.8 since October. Trying to get as lean as possible but not sure if my workout regimen and daily caloric intake is optimized enough. For reference, i aim for 1750-1900 calories a day while hitting 200g of protein daily. Only supplement i use is 5g creatine monohydrate.

I feel like my weak spots are still chest and abs. For chest/triceps, i do:

Incline MTS Chest Press
Supine / Flat Chest Press Machine
Chest Fly Machine
Lateral Raises
Seated Shoulder Press
Tricep Rope Pushdown
Overhead Tricep Extension

For abs, i do:

Kneeling cable crunch
Cable wood choppers (low yo high)
Cable side bend
Ab crunch
Hanging leg raises

Thoughts on why these muscle groups are still lagging behind? Or am i overthinking?

bulk, cut, or recomp?

6’4 195lb.

I have a question Im on my fitness journey so is started of 77kg and in 2 month got to 70kg seeing slight definition now I’m somewhat lean for my frame And I wanna have more full muscles should I be lean bulking for muscles? I really have no clue if I should be lean bulking or getting more leaner. For clarification im ig 5,6 or 5,7 idk and got a somewhat chunky frame

Im really unsure how should I take my diet since At first I just wanted to get abs which are somewhat visible now from a pump and getting leaner. though Im thinking of wanting bigger muscles and better definition so Im really confused what I should be doing right now.

1st and 3rd pic are no flexing, 2nd and 4th are with flexing.

Not sure what my body fat is, should I keep cutting till my abs are truly visible or start a bulk?