BF% Estimate - Time to Cut? 23 Y/O, 5'11, 165lb

Hey guys! this is the end of about a months cut. Before I started my cut I did a dexa scan which put me at about 13.5%bf. My goal was to get down to about 11ish.

I’d love any brutal advice on weak points, although thought I’d add I know that my chest is under-developed but I also seperated my ACJ about a year ago, so been tough to shift any decent weight.

Thanks!

Sorry guys - time to bulk* not cut.

I read 5’11" 165lb time to cut? Before I opened the thread I said “no”. After seeing your correction I concur… time to eat.

Awesome base, great work. Now go gradually add 40lbs of mass over the next few years.

For “weak points” if I were you I’d focus on lats, traps, calves, chest in no particular order. You look like you have a small waist 28" is my guess. If you hit the delts hard the visual affect would be pretty cool for v-taper with a shirt on.

Got a good base going brother. Id start eating if u wanting to bulk. Eat a lot! Food is the answer for u. Keep diet and rest on point and get on a good bulk diet, imo. At 23, your metabolism and hormones will keep u lean during a bulk that includes the right foods. Good Luck!! (Expect to see more pics when u put on some weight - so keep us posted!!)

Thanks guys!

I need to be told, it’s lame but I’ve been obsessed with being lean so failed to put on any quality mass, pretty much stalled for 3 months at 172lb eating just over 3000cals. Yeah calves are pathetic, my gfs are twice the size I gave up!

quads look great man. That tells me you have a good work ethic. You’re also pretty damn lean. Impressive work thus far.

What are your goals? Basically just aesthetics? Where do you want to be in 5 years? Knowing that can help lay out a long term plan of action. If you’re close to the physique you ultimately want to have, and are just wanting to bring up weak points, then I would approach diet and training differently than if you want to grow quite a bit from here.

Lats look small, and mid back in general. It doesn’t look like you do heavy lifting much. Is that the case? Some heavy deadlifting and rows can really thicken up your back. Hamstrings as well, they’re clearly lagging behind the quads.

So I got a dexa scan yesterday which from what I can see is pretty much the most accurate bf% scan and I am now 12.2%bf. Interesting chat with the guy who opened my eyes to how much people over estimate their percentages.

Hey Flipcollar! yeahhh kind of, I actually merge strength/hypertrophy but deadlift and squat heavy often (not over my cut though). Before my cut I got out a 190kg deadie and 162.5kg Squat. I am really confused whether I just want to hang out around this bodyshape/body fat or really go for it over the next few years get strong as shit get over the being lean mindset and put on a quality 10-15kgs maybe even 20! then really lean up and see what my body is actually capable of.

I’m super dedicated and love gym and powerlifting but start work in 2 weeks for the first time and no that gym might take the back seat for a bit. Love to hear what you guys think!

I can post the dexa scan if anyones interested it’s pretty detailed.

you can stay pretty lean and continue to gain if you really want to. I would say I’m at least as lean as you and I’m continually trying to push my weight up. Granted, I stay lean fairly easily without putting effort into dieting, but I think most people can do the same with a little extra work if it’s important to them. You just don’t have to push your scale weight up INSANELY fast. You have to be content with it being gradual.

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Oh yeah, a lean bulk is definitely on the cards, I love food too much for it not to be. I think that cut last about 3 weeks of actual dieting (after 9 months of bulking at around 10% surplus), so pretty easy to just strip the excess off when I need I guess. Do you think a 5% surplus on top of my 2750tdee would keep it pretty lean?

3 weeks of dieting? That’s like nothing! lol.

5% should be pretty fine, considering it sounds like you keep fat off fairly easily. But if it doesn’t work, you can always adjust. Keep in mind that dieting needs to be fluid anyway. Just because a particular caloric intake does what you want it to do this week doesn’t mean it will work next week, as your weight and body composition fluctuates. just be flexible and pay attention to both the scale and the mirror and you should be fine.

why would you wanna cut your lean af…bulk bro

You do have some muscle coming, but you need to grow! Eat more and keep trainning hard to gain more base, more muscles. Every part of your body is perfecty growing but you are still small in general. Keep going man! Good job!
Eat, eat, eat and eat!!!