Freaking out over high bf%

[Birdman]

I am 5'9" and 160 lbs. I took a Dexa Scan today and my BF% came out to 24%.

I've been on TRT since January and I just seem to stall in my gains. I eat past maintenance, and obviously I have gained weight BUT its all fat.

I don't know what the fuck is wrong with me and my body but I tried a few programs and while I see some results in the thighs, I haven't had anything consistent.

I'm at wits end and am panicking that nothing will ever work.

Any advice?

My instinct is to cut but doing the math a perfect cut of going down to even 15% BF will put me at 142 lbs WHICH IS WAY TOO SMALL FOR A 28 YEAR OLD MAN>

 

[Vince Carter]

Post your Estrogen labs, that's what I'd want to see here since you're on TRT and have this stubborn BF thing going on.

 

[Birdman]

 

[Birdman]

These were tested Last December, I wasn't tested for estrogen since then.

 

[Systemlord]

Thyroid is responsible for fat burning ability, if Free T3 is low it could be hindering weight loss. A full thyroid panel is recommended. Also when a person has a thyroid problem they tend to eat more food because their metabolism is slow and aren't getting the nutrients from food, so they eat more.

 

[Birdman]

Its not just excessive fat, its that I lack muscle mass. If I lost 25 lbs of fat and 0 lbs of lean muscle mass, I would be 135 lbs at 10% BF. In other words I HAVE NO LEAN MUSCLE MASS. but if I continue bulking I will just put on more fat (or they say).

 

[Vince]

I would say you need to adjust your workouts. Work on the 3 muscle building lifts, bench presses, deadlifts, and the most important squats. I don't like bench presses anymore, so I work hard on overhead presses and squats. I like to go past parallel in the squats and also work my hamstrings. My back can no longer handle heavy deadlift, so I no longer do them. One exercise I really like is pull ups I love to go really low (I hang for a second) and then I always try to go pass my chin.

 

[Systemlord]

Its not just excessive fat, its that I lack muscle mass. If I lost 25 lbs of fat and 0 lbs of lean muscle mass, I would be 135 lbs at 10% BF. In other words I HAVE NO LEAN MUSCLE MASS. but if I continue bulking I will just put on more fat (or they say).

Describe your TRT protocol.

I gained no muscle on a twice weekly TRT protocol, only when I started an EOD protocol did I start gaining muscle mass without doing much work. My levels were swinging on the twice weekly protocol.

Muscle mass is also about genetics.

 

[fifty]

Yup. 5x5 look up bill starr strength program.

 

[Birdman]

Describe your TRT protocol.

I gained no muscle on a twice weekly TRT protocol, only when I started an EOD protocol did I start gaining muscle mass without doing much work. My levels were swinging on the twice weekly protocol.

Muscle mass is also about genetics.

I take 0.23 cc of 200mg/dl three times a week in the morning.

 

[Birdman]

Also should I start adding cardio?

 

[Sean Mosher]

There's so many variables here.
We do need to see what your thyroid is doing for sure.
How you workout, when you workout, intensity, diet, etc.....all these things matter and are contributing either in an effective way or a negative way.
First thing I would do is make sure all bloodwork is optimized so we can rule that out.
Then go from there.

 

[Birdman]

So I did initially eat dirty but in the last few months started on a clean diet and after TRT started doing volume training but I'm going to give the 5x5 a shot since the weights I do hit are light so maybe I need to put on strength first before attempting volume.

However I;m panicking because I'm 28 and still don't have my shit together fitnesswise and 30 is when people start settling down and the good girls get taken so I want to make this right so that way by 30 I have a great physique and can have a decent dating life.

Getting my thyroid tested may be a good idea. I think someone in my family had thyroid issues.

 

[Pongo]

Gaining weight with non-clean eating, junk & mass gainer powders is easy but it's mostly fat.

Losing weight with diet & cardio is also easy but you will also lose muscle, which is bad.

Gaining muscle & losing fat at the same time is a very tricky science. It's taken me over 30 years of listening to trainers, reading about diets, working out correctly & knowing my own body & genetics to keep under the bf 20% marker in my late 40's. Now on TRT my goal of 13-15% is achievable again.

If your thyroid is ok then it's all about the protein, non starchy vegetables, some hard training sessions, correct rest for each muscle group & decent protein isolate & concentrate drinks. Genetics play a massive part in this equation with is a bitch for the unlucky ones.