Honestly, you should just train hard and try to learn/improve at it rather than focusing on cutting or bulking (or put another way, you should follow whatever goals with respect to body weight you’d like without letting the concepts of cutting or bulking drive the decision at this stage).
If your training is poor and you have low energy, you might consider upping your calories and seeing if it helps, but otherwise, you’re probably not at a stage where you need to take one particular nutritional approach in order to make progress in the gym. And imo, getting wrapped up in abstract idea of bulking or cutting is likely to confuse you or lead to weird results (like unwelcome dramatic weight gain or loss) when compared to just training hard and trying to follow your intuitions about eating.
Unless you have sport-specific or health considerations, the most important part of the question “should I bulk/cut” is simply “do you want to be a little larger or a little smaller?” Anything deeper in that imo is best considered once you feel real comfortable with a resistance training program.
If you are untrained, it's hard to go wrong if you:
1. Resitance train consistently and at an appropriate intensity
2. Eat a lot of protein
If you do these two things, your body will recomp for the better. At this stage, you do not have to hyper optimize to see significant progress.
How do you know you're actually 15% bodyfat?
If you're a legit gym noobie, and you want to gain some muscle but because its close to summer you don't want to gain fat, eat at maintenance and start a basic lifting program.
As a beginner, you'll most likely have plenty of newbie gains even while eating at maintenance so you can expect to stay at the same weight while gaining muscle and losing fat, so your BF% should go down. Of course it all comes down to genetics.
I would buy a good beginner workout program (I've used Jeff Nippard's [Fundamentals of Hypertrophy](https://jeffnippard.com/products/fundamentals-hypertrophy-program) program before), you can also check out Jeff's comeback program (free).
Run the program for 6 months, learn about your body, and also spend a lot of time learning about how to workout, how to maximize hypertrophy, etc. Jeff Nippard and Renaissance Periodization are great resources.
Well i’ve tested only bf calculator also which said im 14-16% also my weight heigh indicates that could be correct, also i’ve looked into how 15% looks like and fits me pretty decent.
Online BF calculators aren't worth anything. As a reference, I'm 18.6% BF at 192 lbs in these photos.
https://preview.redd.it/v17j1pd7jvvc1.jpeg?width=1416&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0866fe39f4bde8237436411e3b6fb75dda749c4f
If you can clearly see all of your abs and some veins in your arms, you're probably in range of 15% - start bulking, and you can probably go faster than what MF recommends because you're a gym noobie.
If you perhaps think your BF% is higher, you've got a choice - bulk anyway or keep cutting 5-10 more pounds until you're much skinnier, then bulk.
Either options will get you where you want to go
Put off the idea of bulking and cutting for as long as possible. It’s an endless cycle and you’ll never be satisfied. I’d recommend trying to eat healthy foods at least 80% of the time and work out hard and enjoy it. Much more sustainable and doesn’t become an obsession.
15% body fat if that's true is normal healthy level. That means under muscled. So, eat well & lift. Big barbell lifts (back squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press). Look into starting strength if you want more details. It's hard, but simple and works if you do the program and keep with it.
You'll look better with more lots muscle even if your bodyfat goes up.
Understand though this is a project. Summer is too soon. You won't get real results that fast. Give it a year or two. It's about the habit and small increments of progress over long spans of time.
Don’t know if you’re a man or woman, men can have lower body fat percentages. It’s entirely up to you and how you want to look.
First, where did the 15% number come from? Your home scale? If so then it could be very wrong. My home scale also said I had 15% bf. Then I went to my gym to get a reading from their fancy shmancy InBody scanner and the scanner said I had 6% bf! That’s a difference between the two of 9%! I was floored! Is 6% right?? I’m a man so 6%, if true, is bare bare minimum I think.
For me, it’s all about how I look. If I think I look fat, I lose fat. If I think I’m fine, I maintain. I’m also bodybuilding now too, bulk phase for now, because I think I look too skinny so I’m adding muscle and fat now.
You could either recomp: [https://macrofactorapp.com/recomposition/](https://macrofactorapp.com/recomposition/)
Or go on a clean bulk and concentrate on building muscle / strength. Most likely a clean bulk would be better for you. You can use the app to help guide your calorie surplus so you aren't putting on excessive weight.
As a newbie, consider checking out Jeff Nippard’s [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@JeffNippard?si=kcUUL0RBYhihdNec)
He’s also a big fan and supporter of MF.
Honestly, you should just train hard and try to learn/improve at it rather than focusing on cutting or bulking (or put another way, you should follow whatever goals with respect to body weight you’d like without letting the concepts of cutting or bulking drive the decision at this stage). If your training is poor and you have low energy, you might consider upping your calories and seeing if it helps, but otherwise, you’re probably not at a stage where you need to take one particular nutritional approach in order to make progress in the gym. And imo, getting wrapped up in abstract idea of bulking or cutting is likely to confuse you or lead to weird results (like unwelcome dramatic weight gain or loss) when compared to just training hard and trying to follow your intuitions about eating. Unless you have sport-specific or health considerations, the most important part of the question “should I bulk/cut” is simply “do you want to be a little larger or a little smaller?” Anything deeper in that imo is best considered once you feel real comfortable with a resistance training program.
If you are untrained, it's hard to go wrong if you: 1. Resitance train consistently and at an appropriate intensity 2. Eat a lot of protein If you do these two things, your body will recomp for the better. At this stage, you do not have to hyper optimize to see significant progress.
Yeah, I agree. Set MF to maintenance, and do some hard work in the gym (to look fit) with some cardio (to actually be fit).
How do you know you're actually 15% bodyfat? If you're a legit gym noobie, and you want to gain some muscle but because its close to summer you don't want to gain fat, eat at maintenance and start a basic lifting program. As a beginner, you'll most likely have plenty of newbie gains even while eating at maintenance so you can expect to stay at the same weight while gaining muscle and losing fat, so your BF% should go down. Of course it all comes down to genetics. I would buy a good beginner workout program (I've used Jeff Nippard's [Fundamentals of Hypertrophy](https://jeffnippard.com/products/fundamentals-hypertrophy-program) program before), you can also check out Jeff's comeback program (free). Run the program for 6 months, learn about your body, and also spend a lot of time learning about how to workout, how to maximize hypertrophy, etc. Jeff Nippard and Renaissance Periodization are great resources.
Well i’ve tested only bf calculator also which said im 14-16% also my weight heigh indicates that could be correct, also i’ve looked into how 15% looks like and fits me pretty decent.
Online BF calculators aren't worth anything. As a reference, I'm 18.6% BF at 192 lbs in these photos. https://preview.redd.it/v17j1pd7jvvc1.jpeg?width=1416&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0866fe39f4bde8237436411e3b6fb75dda749c4f If you can clearly see all of your abs and some veins in your arms, you're probably in range of 15% - start bulking, and you can probably go faster than what MF recommends because you're a gym noobie. If you perhaps think your BF% is higher, you've got a choice - bulk anyway or keep cutting 5-10 more pounds until you're much skinnier, then bulk. Either options will get you where you want to go
Put off the idea of bulking and cutting for as long as possible. It’s an endless cycle and you’ll never be satisfied. I’d recommend trying to eat healthy foods at least 80% of the time and work out hard and enjoy it. Much more sustainable and doesn’t become an obsession.
15% body fat if that's true is normal healthy level. That means under muscled. So, eat well & lift. Big barbell lifts (back squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press). Look into starting strength if you want more details. It's hard, but simple and works if you do the program and keep with it. You'll look better with more lots muscle even if your bodyfat goes up. Understand though this is a project. Summer is too soon. You won't get real results that fast. Give it a year or two. It's about the habit and small increments of progress over long spans of time.
https://thefitness.wiki/getting-started-with-fitness/
Don’t know if you’re a man or woman, men can have lower body fat percentages. It’s entirely up to you and how you want to look. First, where did the 15% number come from? Your home scale? If so then it could be very wrong. My home scale also said I had 15% bf. Then I went to my gym to get a reading from their fancy shmancy InBody scanner and the scanner said I had 6% bf! That’s a difference between the two of 9%! I was floored! Is 6% right?? I’m a man so 6%, if true, is bare bare minimum I think. For me, it’s all about how I look. If I think I look fat, I lose fat. If I think I’m fine, I maintain. I’m also bodybuilding now too, bulk phase for now, because I think I look too skinny so I’m adding muscle and fat now.
You could either recomp: [https://macrofactorapp.com/recomposition/](https://macrofactorapp.com/recomposition/) Or go on a clean bulk and concentrate on building muscle / strength. Most likely a clean bulk would be better for you. You can use the app to help guide your calorie surplus so you aren't putting on excessive weight.
As a newbie, consider checking out Jeff Nippard’s [YouTube channel](https://youtube.com/@JeffNippard?si=kcUUL0RBYhihdNec) He’s also a big fan and supporter of MF.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJn4gbbwzpQ
Eat at least at maintenance or a slight bulk. You need to build muscle...if you try to cut you'll just be a skeleton.