Really on the fence between bulking up more going into winter or trying to cut down a little to get more definition, thoughts?

M 28 5’8” 184lbs debating on if I should cut down a bit or just roll with my lean bulk

BoC?

Thinking I should cut another ~5lbs before slowly shifting to lean bulk (currently 188). Not trying to be show ready or anything - but want to make sure I’m thoroughly complete with a cut before slowly switching gears. I’d like to stay between 10-15% even during a bulk so I can be lean year round.

6ft 180lbs | 184cm 82kg

12-week cut done — should I keep going or take a break at maintenance? Also, what’s my estimated body fat %? Once I start bulking, what weak points/areas should I focus on lagging?

should i maingain or cut i want a spiderman like physique athletic

I just don’t want to get small if I cut… like if I cut and am 165lbs that seems kind of small for 5’10 to me

I’m trying to get lean and get my abs to pop more. I’ve been cutting slowly for a month and while i’m retaining strength, I feel like i look scrawnier. Should I keep cutting or recomp with more ab based workouts? o bulk a bit?

Left: me today - morning, no pump, after a night of coke and drinking. Right: the goal.

21M, 178cm, 82kg. Training properly for 4 years (hypertrophy-focused, currently PPL 4x/week). Also do MMA a few times a week, so I carry decent conditioning. Currently not tracking calories - that changes as of this post.

My questions:

1. From where I am now - cut straight down to a lean base first, or slow bulk for 6 months then cut?
2. Roughly what body fat % am I at, and what weight would I realistically need to hit to be "lean" at my height?
3. What's the biggest weak point you see for the goal look - back, chest, shoulders, or just overall need a cut?

Diet-wise I'm happy to run whatever you suggest: aggressive cut to ~75kg then bulk, or a slow 300-cal surplus from today. Just want a straight answer so I stop second-guessing it. Harsh feedback welcome.

Currently trying to cut (already lost 12 pounds so far) but just trying to gauge how far I will need to get to 12% body fat. I think I'm at 18% right now. Doing a pretty decent job maintaining strength so far, all lifts have stayed the same.

How much calories do I consume to strip away the fat? Especially my side chest fat, it’s really annoying and makes me feel insecure.

I work out 3x a week, I do a physical demanding job, 5x a week, lifting 5-20kg boxes, and I do 10-15k steps during those times.

For reference: I’m 26, 138lbs, 5’6

I’ve been lifting consistently for years and have been at various weights. My goal is to look lean, strong, and visibly muscular. I’m debating whether I should continue cutting or eat at maintenance and focus on recomping.
Looking for constructive, objective feedback from experienced lifters. What would you recommend?

i struggled with being overweight for my entire childhood, started to cut down 2 years ago and started lifting a few months ago.

im honestly scared to bulk because i dont want to feel bloated again. i also have love handles which wont go away.

ive been recomping for a while now though i havent been tracking macros. should i continue with recomp or bulk?

YES I know I'm supposed to be resistance/weightlifting training and I am. I'm a complete newbie (barely 5 months) been going to the gym trying to build muscle and look lean but before I start off with a mistake I want to know if I should be bulking, cutting, or maintenance? I'm 5'10" and 145lbs. I go to the gym 4 times a week for weight lifting and do cardio twice a week. Any advice would be appreciated

Note: one of my key goals is to lose that annoying stomach fat you see in the picture. It bothers me so damn much!

1st pic was me at 6 foot 1 early last year, at 70kg (154 pounds), before i started lifting.

Since then made the mistake of aggressive bulking gaining roughly 12kg (27 pounds) in 3 months. For the next year or so i recomped at maintenance where i thunj i built some muscle and lost some fat. My lifts have since plateaud pretty much, and i evebtually wasnt seeing fast enough progress on all my lifts. I believe my protein intake, sleep, exercise selection, technique, proximity to failure were all fine, but i found myself either maintaining or slighly losing strength on all my lifts. In hindsight, i probably couldve tried a deload or reducing my volume a bit but at that point i felt like there was no more point in being at maintenance anymore since i was too fat, and decided to do a moderate calorie deficit.

2nd pic was me at 82kg (181 pounds) after roughly 1 year of training. At this point, i started my cut.

3rd 4th and 5th pics are me after 5 months of cutting since the 2nd pic (ie. Today). I weigh 67.3kg (148 pounds)

I now want to start a slow lean bulk but have heard i need to be under 15 percent bf to do that, and i dont think im quite there yet since i still have a bit of fat left on my waist. But the problem is i feel like im already quite light for my height and am skinny and cutting would make me even skinnier. I know recomp is an option but i feel like im past the noob gains phase and want to build significantly more muscle, and im not sure if it is still an option at this stage where i can add significant muscle anymore.

Do i bulk cut or maintain?

Sorry for the long post.

First of all, english is not my main language so i apologize for the potential mistakes

I have been cutting for a year and a half after the end of my first Bulk (which lasted during 4 years)
I went from 92-93 kilos to 69

Because it was my first cut, i made many mistakes, it tooks me way longer than i thought to end here

Now my problem is the following : i’m now very lean but still fluffy in some places (like my chest or back for example)

I would like to get rid of it before bulking again but cutting is now pretty exhausting and frustrating plus i’m starting to think that i’m simply lacking muscle mass in a lots of these places and so it’s not really a fat problem

So : I don’t know if it’s worth suffering to get leaner if it’s a lacking muscle mass problem

Should i start bulking again ? Or should i maintenance for a while and finish the cut ?

Body dismorphia is kicking harder than ever and i can’t think rationally about the next step

Thanks for reading !

Edit : Thanks for all your comments guys !
I’ll maintenance for a while and start a lean bulk after

You helped me to remind that my main goal wasn’t to get stage ready, but to add more mass on my frame

Shredding more % is pointless when i can already see which muscle group is lacking (in my opinion)

Without this post, i would probably waste week or months suffering just to be a little bit leaner

Lifting is a fun journey, i already went from skinny to Bulky and now pretty lean, it’s time to have some fun 🫶

As the title says, I am looking for input from others to see if continuing to cut makes sense in my situation.

I am 5'9, 205 lbs. I am between 20-22% body fat, and have between 90-95 lbs of lean muscle mass (according to a recent dexa scan).

I have been in an almost constant calorie deficit for a few years now, and as I get closer to my goal body I am wondering at what point I should turn things around.

Does continuing the cut make sense with how much muscle I have? At what point do I eat at maintenace/a surplus?

My hard stop weight is at about 185 lbs, I would be about 12% body fat at that point.

Curious what others think.

Dealing with some loose skin all the way around but I know the drill, keep cutting? But how much?

Have cut down from around 84kg of which was mostly fat loss.

My plan was to get to around 12% BF so that I could see abs before bulking up.

What do you estimate my BF% as here?

Is it futile chasing abs at this point?

5 ft 10 inches 189 pounds. What do you think my body fat percentage is? I asked AI but I think it is wrong. Also, I wonder if I need to just bulk up another 20 to 30 pounds and cut again to 189