u/Successful_Deer_2264

Vanakkam makkale! 👋
I have always been somewhere in the skinny fat category. A few years ago, I made the mistake of going into an aggressive calorie deficit with too much cardio and not enough proper strength training. I lost weight, but also lost muscle and ended up looking smaller rather than getting the physique I wanted.
After a long break from the gym, I have recently started again and want to do things properly this time.
Current stats:
• 35 years old
• 175 cm
• 78 kg
• Around 24.7% body fat
• Skeletal muscle mass: 33.2 kg
My current routine follows an Upper A, Lower A, Cardio + Core + Rehab, Upper B, Lower B structure, with the focus on rebuilding strength, muscle and consistency.
This time, I am avoiding aggressive dieting and trying to improve through proper training, decent protein intake and gradual fat loss.
These pictures are my current starting point. Honest feedback is welcome, especially on what I should prioritise and which areas need the most work. 💪

I have pretty much always had the classic skinny fat problem. Not particularly heavy, but enough body fat around the waist and nowhere near enough muscle to look lean or properly built.
A few years ago, I made things worse by aggressively cutting calories and doing a lot of cardio. I lost weight, but also lost muscle and just ended up looking smaller.
After a long gym break, I am starting again properly.
Current stats:
• 35 years old
• 175 cm
• 78 kg
• 24.7% body fat
• 33.2 kg skeletal muscle mass
This time my focus is on rebuilding muscle and strength while gradually bringing body fat down, rather than trying to lose weight as quickly as possible.
My current routine is roughly:
• Upper A
• Lower A
• Cardio, Core and Rehab
• Upper B
• Lower B
I am also focusing much more on progressive overload, protein and consistency.
Based on my current physique and stats, would you guys continue with a gradual recomp approach, or cut first and then focus on building muscle?
These photos are my current starting point.

I hope this time the bots doesn’t delete my post.

I have been on and off into fitness, I eat junk, alcohol, smoke when drinking during off. I am starting off after 5 months with a split of Lower, upper, cardio, lower, upper. I have some knee pain and inner thigh stiffness as well, got better but still there, so I do rehab doses in every session. I want lose fat without losing muscles. What do you recommend on the split and diet

I have always been skinny fat, and gaining muscle and weight has been quite difficult for me. After COVID, I started going to the gym with very little knowledge. My trainer advised me to focus mainly on losing fat through heavy cardio, with just one weightlifting session per week.
I got really invested in the process and went into an aggressive calorie deficit. After six months, I had lost overall weight and muscle along with the fat. Later, I realised that this was not the right approach. Consistent strength training, a slight calorie deficit, and the right amount of cardio would have been a much better strategy. The biggest factor is consistency.
Since then, I have been training on and off and have managed to gain some muscle, but life got in the way and I ended up taking breaks from the gym. I have recently restarted slowly and am currently training consistently again, along with 3 g of creatine daily.
I would really like to hear your take on my journey and what I could be doing differently. How can I stay consistent this time? Which workout plan would you recommend for me? My lower body and especially my glutes are weaker, so I would like to give them more attention while still developing a balanced physique.

Was super skeptical before buying the Marshall Emberton III honestly.

Initially I was comparing:
Bose SoundLink Flex 2,
UE Boom,
JBL stuff,
and even thought maybe Marshall was more style than substance.

My wife was the one who pushed me toward this speaker lol.

First few minutes, I was actually confused because it did not have that exaggerated punchy bass I was expecting from smaller speakers like JBL. I almost felt like something was missing.

Then slowly the magic started happening.

I started noticing vocals first. Like DAMN. The voice clarity on this thing is insane. Then instrument separation, texture, small background details, flute notes, atmospheric layering etc. Songs I had heard 1000 times suddenly started sounding different.

Some tracks that genuinely blew me away:
Dreams by Fleetwood Mac,
Naan Nee,
Vidai Kodu Engal Naade,
Goosebumps intro vocals,
The Life of Ram,
Starboy.

Funny thing is, this speaker kind of changed what I pay attention to in music now. Initially I was chasing punchy bass, but after a few hours with this, I started caring more about warmth, groove, vocal intimacy, layering and detail.

It is not a perfect speaker obviously. If you want aggressive mid bass punch and instant “wow” like JBL style tuning, this may not hit immediately. But if your taste leans atmospheric, textured and musical, this thing grows on you HARD.

Also placement matters WAY more than I expected.

Now I am curious, what speakers/headphones unexpectedly changed your music taste or made you rediscover songs?