Off for 6Weeks - Starting again..

[craig1973nz]

Hi Guys, Firstly Great new look for the site

Bulking or continue cutting?

Recently i got hospitalized with Cellulitis in my left leg which meant spending around 6weeks on my ass and away from the gym ,during this time i lost a fair bit of visable muscle due to not being able to eat correctly or move

Yesterday was the first week back at the gym and my weights have gone down big time

So the question is before i got sick i was cutting and hoping to get the BF down to 10-12%, I think im around 14-16% at the moment, should i continue to cut? Assuming ive lost all the Muscle mass i was going to lose , or start carbing up again and look for mass?

Heres hoping muscle memory isnt a myth!

Thanks in advance

Age : 39

height : 178 (5'10)

Weight 78 (sitting around 14-16% i think) 

 

[jimmybro1]

IMO for your height your not to heavy. So if you where to be 14-16% bodyfat would suggest you don't have to much muscle mass... 

Maybe try find you maintenance calories and get back into a routine of lifting and generally being active. After a layoff like you have it might be hard to ease into your training but I think its the right approach (especially at your age). If you try diet and train straight after your layoff might be deterring.

Once you start getting back into the swing of things, then decide whether to go into a deficit or surplus. If I where you though I would go in a surplus to try build some more mass before dieting down to nothing... everyones goals are different though. Are you training to be generally fit, or for strenght/size? 

 

 

[craig1973nz]

Thanks jimmybro,

Size/Str mainly, At the end of Dec last year i weighted 98kg after a dirty bulk so went into a slow cut mode and prior to getting sick i was quite happy at 81kg @ 14%, i was about to start the Layne Norton bulk program but now im not too sure

It is a bit sad, but i decided to start a new workout just so i dont compare weights to what i used to do.. and try and stay away from mirrors  

Ive heard it mentioned that you get back to your old weights back on twice the amount of weeks you were out? (for me thatl be 12weeks) is there any truth in that?

 

 

 

 

[jimmybro1]

Their are a lot of myths about, I can't shine any light of this particular one. But I find it doubtful. 

I find strenght comes back quickly, I have had a few injuries that have prevented to do cretain lifts for long peroids of time (2-3 months) and strenght comes back reasonably quickly. 

Lots of stretching will help prevent injury so you can push yourself with less draw backs. Put it this way if you trained for a year then took a year off do you think it will take 2 years to get that strenght back... 

Since your perviously been training you would have better knowledge of training than you did perviously so whatever time you spend lifting now will be more productive. Especially if you have been training for years 6 weeks off is nothing. 

 

[Pseudonym]

Ive heard it mentioned that you get back to your old weights back on twice the amount of weeks you were out? (for me thatl be 12weeks) is there any truth in that?

Like Jimmybro, I don't think there's any magic number here. It's going to depend on so many things, from the reason you stopped training, to your committment level now, to your genetics, to how close you were previously to your genetic limits, etc, etc, etc.

Just train, eat, and sleep properly and you'll be amazed at how quickly everything comes back.

[craig1973nz]

Cheers, Thanks Guys