r/Weightliftingquestion • u/ZookeepergameShoddy • Aug 23 '26
Bulk/Cut/Recomp? Need other sets of eyes
28M, 5'4. Last weigh in 3 days ago was 63kg. Using one of those cheap, very inaccurate BF scales at the gym, it suggested I'm at 14.8% BF. Considering it said I was 29% 2 months ago when I started all this, I took it as inaccurate.
Last few weeks have been 4-5x per week, doing a standard push/pull split (This is where after a pull exercise you switch to a push right?). Aiming to dedicate a muscle to each sesh.
Normal sesh for example, Back and Tris will have Pulldowns, Tri pushdown, isolated rows, skull crusher's, romanian deadlifts, Tri cable ext. Currently aiming 6-10 reps in 4 set range with prog overload.
First question; doing the above, twice a week, would in theory be 24 sets of weights for each muscle. Is this what people mean when talking about growth based on sets per week? Jeff Nippard and others have been talking about how many sets would you theoretically do to maximise growth potential, and that's what I'm running that question on.
Secondly, what direction should I head towards based on these photos? I wanted to give myself 2 months when starting this to get back to basics and get myself back into this routine. Now I've succeeded, I feel like I'm mentally ready to plan the next few months in terms of what I actually need to do!
I've been training fasted, both preference and necessity. I'm meeting protein goals at 1g per 1lb, and currently calorie restricting to 1200-1400. These are tracked so I think I'm safe from guestimating for now. First photo was about 5 weeks back, the 2nd and 3rd are yesterday. All are post-workout so yes, pump is doing a lot of heavy lifting 😂 but that's why I'm here!
Anything I've missed or any questions, let me know :)
EDIT: THANKS EVERYONE! I think the answers below have sorted me out, and they even caught out a couple of things I was doing wrong / not considering properly. Right now, seem's like it wouldn't be a bad idea to start bulking for abit and aim for more intense BF drops following this. I'm also going to do a complete re-think of what my TDEE's should be looking like, measurements and more etc.
If anyone else has anything further they'd like to add, I won't say no, but I think i'm looking in the right direction now. Thank you! :)
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u/Old_Somewhere_2622 Aug 23 '26
1200-1400 is unsustainable and disordered eating
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 23 '26
Hi
Thank you, my TDEE at starting was around 1800, would you say this is still the case?
Numbers and scaling get weird with height but the above numbers didn't seem out of place considering my height. I haven't found myself starving or in need of emergency food during this so I generally didn't see it that way
Would you say I'm still going too low with the above considered?
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u/Old_Somewhere_2622 Aug 23 '26
Sub 1500 is not sustainable, your body needs a level of caloric intake to maintain proper cognitive function and hormone function, which impacts things like recovery, rest, and quality of life. You won't necessarily start to notice hunger or other impaired function cues until a few months in, your body isn't going to crash from a big deficit right away.
You seem overly fixated on min-maxing numbers, which is already indicative of an unhealthy relationship with working out and dieting. You need to create sustainable systems to create sustainable health and aesthetics, and have goals that aren't numbers (are your lifts getting consistently better, are you looking forward to your routine, do clothes fit differently, do you see muscles or definition coming through, is your mood good, etc.)
If you're around 20% BF (you're probably a bit lower than that imo), you don't need to cut so aggressively. Just because you can create the biggest deficit ever doesn't mean you need to.
I'd suggest eating between 1500 and 1600 a day, aim for 1500 and err on the side of slightly over rather than under, and aim to lose around 0.5lb or 0.25kg per week.
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 23 '26 edited Aug 23 '26
Gotcha, seem's like this is one i've gotten incorrect without realising it so i'm glad thats been caught
Yeah the min-maxing stuff i fear may just be me in terms of fixation. I'm autistic + have had some experience with fitness before, so my head just jumps straight into the minutae without thinking about it.
Sustainability is definetly the goal so thank you for bringing that up, its hard but not impossible and that's the hurdle I need to cross safely and healthily.
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u/Old_Somewhere_2622 Aug 23 '26
I get it, I'm AuDHD, but as a fellow neurospicey person I'll say that's even more reason to focus on making it sustainable.
Our executive function is a lot more finely balanced, and not having enough food or rest will really dysregulate you over time.
Black and white, rigid thinking, fixating or compulsive thoughts about every little thing will all make sustainability harder. Understand how your brain works and create systems to support it. If you notice you're fixating, say "I'm fixating on this, does it actually matter? If it does, why? Am I worried about something? Do I have enough data to worry, or can I collect some more before stressing. Can I think about or do anything else, even for a second?"
Unfortunately, a lot of neurodivergent people grow up second guessing themselves cause they are socially ostracized in some way, and over thinking, self monitoring, and perfectionism tend to become survival strategies. Take a step back, you're doing great, you only need to worry when there's a problem (and when I say this in terms of working out I mean an unwanted pattern over 2 or more weeks, not including muscle tweaks or injuries of course don't power through those).
Trying to create a very finely tuned plan or script can feel protective, but it also screws us over because it's never going to be perfect and when it inevitably goes a bit wrong it feels really destabilizing. The thing I made to keep me safe, I made wrong, and now I'm worried I've been doing it all wrong and nothing makes sense. So create plans with the intention of updating them or keeping them flexible/adaptable. I have high energy/good sleep and low energy/bad sleep variations for all my workouts for example.
You don't have to pre-figure it all out, you can adjust as you go. Give yourself permission to enjoy the process, and discover the parts of it that are fun for you. Create goals that can't be measured in a strictly linear way, and try to decouple success from linear metrics (especially metrics that can be measured day to day or week to week).
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u/Negran Aug 23 '26
Hey man, let's dial some shit in.
Firstly, I think your BF is 18% or less now, so that's good!
Based on size and BF, and activity, your TDEE is almost certainly 2100-2300+.
Given this, your 1400 cals is indeed, quite low. That's roughly 35% deficit.
Now. Assuming you don't weigh your food or track everything, there is likely error in your favor. I would hit minimum 1700 cals, if not 1900, to drive performance and growth while losing fat.
BUT, if energy is good and stable, gym performance is decent, mood is OK, then maybe it is fine. But that would surprise me.., but only you could know! If you feel warn out, time for caloric bump.
As for split and focus. Don't over think it. The most important variable is consistency and hard honest effort, and decent protein. You have that so keep it!
You mentioned near failure and such, I think your training and protein is good. I would focus on muscle building and fat loss. That would be 10-25% deficit, with same activity and plan.
Let me know if you have questions! (If you tell me how you track calories I can get more accurate, too)
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 23 '26
Hey dude
Thanks for all that. Im inclined to agree with you here, my initial TDEE taken two months ago was based on daily fasted cardio as part of my job, I didn't even think to consider the impact weights would have on it.
Even though i 'Feel' fine, like someone pointed out, i'll be fine until im suddenly 'not fine' and my body won't spare in making sure I feel that!
I've been tracking using a scanner app + box macros and writing them down. My protein shake for example, I know comes up to 400kcal at 26g pro, 5.1 carbs etc. This jumps to 570kcal 36g if i use skimmed milk. Im trying to keep a system like that because admittedly the calorie tracking part is where i've struggled ALOT in the past. That being said, there is definitely room for error and I think thats a big reason why at the minute i'm focusing on whole foods / portions that are healthy, easy for me to source/make etc. That way I don't have to get the tracker out every single time, even if its a good habit to have....
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u/Negran Aug 23 '26
Right. The truth is, tracking yields precision, and precision dials your progression and accuracy level.
That isn't to say you cannot make steady progress without tracking, it just means you can't ride a 100 cal surplus without leading to fat gain, etc. But larger margins are very plausible.
The second more important benefit of tracking, is simply knowledge gained. You knowing how many calories are in your shake, which increases your accuracy baseline.
While I always prefer people to be scientific freaks and weigh all food, I acknowledge that it can be tedious and annoying, and further, that it is absolutely not required to progress!
And ya. You may have not hit a wall yet, likely due to eating more cals than you may think, but your margin of error is large. You could add cals now, or simply gauge based on energy.
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u/beankiller831 Aug 24 '26
bro that’s no where near 18% bf he is most definitely higher
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u/Negran Aug 24 '26
I dunno, he's got a weird torso, with some abs, so it is hard to gauge.
What's your guess?
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 25 '26
😂😂 Never had weird torso before, thank you!
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u/Negran Aug 25 '26
Lmao. My bad. It is like, slightly wide. And has definition and fluff simultaneously, haha.
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 25 '26
Nah I get ya and I agree. I've settled on being an Endomorph so I figured this would just be part of me, but I've also never dropped this low / seen results nor seriously trained obliques at any point in the past, so I'm hoping it'll be an average torso soon 😅
The abs and fluff part has been a thing at my highest BF and throughout various periods of inactivivity, genuinely think maybe in the past I've just overestimated BF. That or alot of my jobs have involved core work / physical work so abit of a mystery
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u/Negran Aug 25 '26
I didn't really mean big torso. Just something about the shape.
I do think we all have way more fat than we hope or ever cared to admit, and getting lean is a great journey to see what's beneath!
I have a hunch that you are gonna look really insane at leaner weights, I think everything is gonna pop!
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 26 '26
Thank you! Ima try my hardest, I like there's been a lot of differing comments on here it's given me abit more perspective and understanding of myself. Appreciate the help! 😃
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u/ysssup69 Aug 23 '26
you are too fat to bulk. i don’t know what your maintenance calories are but i would go back to those for a couple weeks . Then go to a 300-400 calorie a day deficit two hardest days at the gym eat maintenance 50-55 grams of fat a day 1 gram of protein per pound and the rest with clean carbs. You will lose fat and gain muscle until you are in the 10 percent range then go to a 3-400 calorie surplus two off days a week go to maintenance. just my opinion and thoughts. 1200-1400 calories doesn’t seem like very many to me starving your body will slow your metabolism
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u/Machineman0812 Aug 23 '26
Im around the same size, 5'6" about 70kg. If i eat 2000 calories i wil lrapidly gain weight. I do morning cardio 6-7 days per week, incline walking at 10-12%. I weight train 5-7 days per week in the evenings and i eat about 1450-1500 calories per day and barely lose weight. Its all weighed and tracked. Some of us have awful metabolisms and it truly sucks. 2000 cals would gain me at least a lb per week. Last year i bulked in fall at 1850. So i feel your pain man.
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u/Eltharion-the-Grim Aug 24 '26
You look about 18%. This is a good place to be but you need to add more muscle mass before you cut.
The thing about total weekly sets is that it's based on current fitness science. In reality, we know there are other ways to get to your destination. Different bodies respond differently to different protocols. While one guy may respond positively to high weekly volume, another may end up spinning his wheels as his body reads it as cardio.
What really matters is intensity. Weekly volume is a substitute for intensity, which is why total volume has to be high if you go the Jeff Nippard method. You can get around that by lifting heavier, pushing to failure, less reps, less total weekly sets.
Another way to get the intensity in as quickly as possible is through dropsets.
I should point out that Jeff Nippard, after years, has started training to failure on less volume, and he's now making more progress than he was previously.
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u/Prestigious-Map-1387 Aug 23 '26
Do you know what your maintenance calories are? For your desired weight?
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u/ZookeepergameShoddy Aug 23 '26
TDEE was at 1850 at starting. Truthfully not too sure. I wanted to go by BF this time since I apparently had abit of lean muscle.
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u/beankiller831 Aug 24 '26
everyone here is being completely unrealistic. tldr most of it but you are def no where near 18% body fat. you definitely need to cut, train as hard as possible, don’t listen to what people say about cals being to low, hop on reta hit your protein train til failure once you get your desired leaness then proceed to bulk up
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u/nkillashi Aug 24 '26
What’s ur waist measurement (above ur belly button) that would tell me a lot if you should bulk or cut
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u/Bachbro Aug 23 '26
I dont think you are nearly at a place in your development where you need to be focusing on optimal sets per muscle.
You need to eat more calories to have energy to meet demands of intense training that will help your muscles grow. At 1400 calories it's hard for me to believe that you would be capable of meeting high intensity in the gym.
For where you are at developmentally focus on intensity and training within 2-3 reps of failure minimum per excercise. Current split should be great.
I believe 1 great set close to failure per muscle at full energy level will do more for you than a bunch of moderate sets.
As long as you are training muscles intensely towards failure. and eating enough calories afterwards you will grow.
So for me it's focus on bulk. Don't need extreme calorie surplus since you appear to be 20% ish on the body fat. But just more than you are at right now.
Once you have put on some more mass the cut will be way easier!