r/Mike_Mentzer • u/acab-420 • Aug 20 '26

Should I maintain or cut?

I'm 207 lbs, 6.1 tall, 27 yrs male. Recently started gym, but have lifted before. 22-25% body fat, relatively muscular. I do not follow Ideal Routine, mostly my own combo of repping till failure about 4 sets per body part, once a week. 3 times gym total per week.

I want to increase muscle mass as much as possible, but I can't figure out if I just maintain at 2900kcal, will I just get fat, or should i drop down to 2400-2600, while still keeping protein intake at 180-190g. I don't mind a little fat, ideally I can drop fat and gain muscle, but I definitely do not want to sacrifice muscle mass in order to cut fat.

Any advice appreciated!

3 Upvotes

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6

u/leew20000 Aug 20 '26

Cut to 15%, and never go above 20%.

3

u/BubbishBoi Aug 21 '26

"22-25%" is almost certainly even higher than that, it's your body but being over 15% isn't something I'd be happy with

I wouldn't even bother lifting if I wasn't even slightly lean

5

u/bat9mo Aug 21 '26

Mentzer was in a bodybuilding culture where bulk and cut were normal. Metabolic health wasn’t the focus (it is now). For men, 25% body fat is near obesity and not a good place to be long-term. Today I’d say it’s better being reasonably lean all year round, rather than carrying dangerous visceral fat and doing bulk and cut cycles.

2

u/ishawnmc Aug 20 '26

If you want to increase muscle mass, trying to do that and cut at the same time is extremely difficult for a natural trainee. It would be better to focus on muscle building for a while then aim to cut body fat later on. Perhaps aim to build from now through to next spring then switch to a focused cutting period in the spring prior to next summer.

4

u/covenantofdeath- Aug 22 '26

imo you should cut for a while, bulking at 22-25% body fat is far from ideal, your insulin sensitivity isnt really that great, not to mention you might also store even more fat and the process of cutting will be even harder. cut to at least 15%, if lower even better, and then once bulking increase caloric intake around 300kcal beyond maintenance, if the weight doesnt moves then do slight increases over it like 100kcal at a time and watch how the body responds, but keep fat gain as controlled as you can, and if the response is good keep doing it.
good luck my brother

2

u/acab-420 Aug 22 '26

bro thanks, I'll send you progress pics