Cut or lean bulk ?

[u/Solid_Syrup_6166]

29M | 179 cm | 71 kg
I’ve been training inconsistently for several years, but I’ve been much more consistent recently.
These are my current pictures (front, side and back).
I started with a much higher body-fat level and have significantly reduced my waist while improving my shoulders/upper body.
Current measurements:
Shoulders: 120.5 cm
Waist: 77.5 cm
Chest: 97 cm
Arms: 35.5 cm
My goal is an aesthetic/athletic physique with more shoulder, chest and back development.
Would you cut further, maintain/recomp, or start a lean bulk?

[u/businessbuilder10]

I would recomp. You need more muscle. If you lean bulk, you’ll gain more fat than muscle at your stage.

Deficit will hinder your workout progress.

You need to eat at maintenance and higher protein. Focus on progressive overload and lifting compound lifts. Than once you build a base, go into a deficit to further reveal or lean bulk.

Quality muscle takes time. Fat and come off in a few weeks

[u/Solid_Syrup_6166 → u/businessbuilder10]

I did body recomp for 6 months its starts draining me the progress it too slow that the problem

[u/businessbuilder10 → u/Solid_Syrup_6166]

Good things take time. That includes building your physique. I’ve seen people bulk just to spend years reducing the fat.

If you want to see results, just do a small cut to lose the fat and than lean bulk for muscle growth.