Lower bodyfat or gain muscle?

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johnchiwong
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Fri Jun 04, 2021 2:26 am

Hey guys,

Wanted to get your opinion if I should be losing more weight or trying to gain more muscle? Height 5'9" (175cm), 170 pounds (77kg).

Been struggling with making a decision cause I feel like I'm pretty heavy for my height with not a lot of muscle to show for it but I don't want to look overly skinny either. Around 23% bodyfat according to my scale.

Been working out on and off but been going consistently for the past 2-3 weeks.

Thanks!
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Toast
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Fri Jun 04, 2021 3:08 am

For reference im 5'10 and 173. Im shooting for 165 or 155. I still don't have definition in my abs yet. 170 is not heavy for 5'9"

@NotYourAverageNerd was looking pretty shredded at 155 and did not look too skinny at all. He looked great and I think he's a bit taller then us.

You definitely still have belly fat to lose.

Also you barely started working out. Keep working out and also cutting weight until you reach a body weight where you feel comfortable. Then try to continue putting on muscle mass.
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NotYourAverageNerd
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Fri Jun 04, 2021 7:38 pm

Toast wrote:
Fri Jun 04, 2021 3:08 am
For reference im 5'10 and 173. Im shooting for 165 or 155. I still don't have definition in my abs yet. 170 is not heavy for 5'9"

@NotYourAverageNerd was looking pretty shredded at 155 and did not look too skinny at all. He looked great and I think he's a bit taller then us.

You definitely still have belly fat to lose.

Also you barely started working out. Keep working out and also cutting weight until you reach a body weight where you feel comfortable. Then try to continue putting on muscle mass.
Second everything Toast is saying, except that I'm taller :) I'm also 5'10".

155 or even 150's a reasonable target depending on your muscularity. I had the least muscle I've had in years when I was at 151 but looked better than I ever have.

To get reference on reasonable numbers, you can do some math with your weight/bf% to get estimates of what to shoot for.
Say you are actually 23% (those scales are pretty useless, btw, especially once you start to get away from the ~20% range)
at 170, that puts your lean body mass (0% bodyfat weight) at (170 * (1-0.23)) = 131. So, based on that, to get to an honest-to-god 10% you'd be at 131 / 0.9 = 146 lb.

Since you're starting in the gym, you'll gain muscle fast, so your actual "optimal" weight would be higher, probably in the low 150's.
That said, even getting down to 12~15% is really good, and getting below that is painful as FUCK.

Upshot being, a good starting target would probably be 160, that will get you to the point of having visible abs. It will probably take 10~12 weeks to get there if you're cutting at a good rate. After that, probably slow down and spend another 10~12 getting down to 155.
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