Thread: Am I Doing Something Wrong?

I'm almost 23, 5'9, 160 lbs., and approximately 20% body fat. I look similar to the guy in the attached photo, but with slightly more muscle (broader shoulders being the most obvious) and slightly more fat in the lower stomach area. All I want and have been trying to do for 3 years now is to build muscle size and burn body fat, to achieve a lean, muscular physique - ideally 10-12% body fat. I dirty-bulked first, which was a mistake. Now, I'm trying to cut, and then bulk once I'm down to 10-12% and just "skinny" rather than "skinny-fat." Whenever I eat in a caloric deficit, I lose both muscle and fat, despite lifting decently heavy with high volume for hypertrophy. However, when I adjust by increasing calories (since that implied my calories were too low), I just spin my wheels, not making progress in building muscle or burning fat. I eat 200g of protein every day on average, regardless of my total calories, so that shouldn't be the issue. I sleep 9-10 hours per night, so it shouldn't be that either. I suspect my workout routine might be the issue. I do CrossFit 5 days per week (Monday-Friday), which usually involves 20-40 minutes of high-heart rate metabolic conditioning (a.k.a. high volume, moderately high intensity, low weights, consistent movement; endurance training). However, hear me out: I also do a regular hypertrophy weightlifting routine 5 days per week, directly after each CrossFit session. I try to progressively overload, adding weight to at least the main movements, but it's been pretty slow. I at least maintain the weights, never lowering them. I always lift right around 1-3 reps shy of failure, so that shouldn't be the problem either. I'll put the routine here for your reference:

Mondays: Back Squats 5x10 @ 185 lbs. (75% post-pandemic 1RM; pre-pandemic was higher), Calf Raises 3x10 @ 185 lbs., and Barbell Bent-Over Rows 3x10 @ 115 lbs.
Tuesdays: Overhead Presses 5x10 @ 75 lbs. (66% post-pandemic 1RM; pre-pandemic was higher), Dumbbell Shoulder Shrugs 3x10 @ 50 lbs. (each hand), and Bench Bodyweight Dips
Wednesdays: Banded Pull-Ups 3x10, Sit-Ups 3x10, Banded Chin-Ups 3x10, Push-Ups 3x10, Hanging Knee Raises 3x10, Bodyweight Alternating Bulgarian Split Squats 3x10 (each leg), and Plank Holds 3x40s
Thursdays: Deadlifts 5x10 @ 255 lbs. (70% post-pandemic 1RM; pre-pandemic was higher) and Barbell Bicep Curls 3x10 @ 65 lbs.
Fridays: Bench Presses 5x10 @ 135 lbs. (80% pre-pandemic 1RM; haven't re-tested since), Lateral Raises 3x10 @ 20 lbs. (each hand), Barbell Skull Crushers 3x10 @ 65 lbs., and Dumbbell Fly's 3x10 @ 20 lbs. (each hand)

TL;DR: My protein and sleep are more than enough, I'm lifting in hypertrophy rep ranges with near-failure intensity and optimal volume, I'm using compound movements and accessory isolation exercises, and I'm targeting every major muscle group. When I eat in a caloric deficit, I lose muscle and fat, but when I increase it, I make no progress with building muscle or burning fat. I can't figure out what's going wrong. Even though I do a full weightlifting routine for hypertrophy and eat properly accounting for both that and CrossFit, is it the stimulus of CrossFit itself (endurance, high volume, low weight, etc.) that's interfering with my progress?

Thank you very much in advance.

Originally Posted by Camarija

1. When bulking, how much weight do you increase as a percentage of your total bodyweight per week?

If you want to gain muscle, normally* you would need to gain weight. To gain weight, you need to eat more calories than are required for maintenance. For gaining weight, aim to gain between ~0.25-0.5% of bodyweight/week.

If you gain weight faster than this rate, you will likely be adding unnecessary amounts of body fat.

2. When cutting, how much weight do you decrease as a percentage of your total bodyweight per week?

If you are trying to lose body fat, normally* you would need to lose weight. To lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than are required for maintenance. For losing weight, aim to lose between ~0.5-1.0% of bodyweight/week.

If you lose weight faster than this rate, you will likely be losing unnecessary amounts of lean body bass (muscle).

3. Have you been logging your calories?

Eating at a consistent daily surplus / deficit may help make sure you are within the correct bounds of gaining / losing weight.

Thank you for your reply. For points 1. and 2., I'm careful to keep the caloric surplus or deficit from being too large, to avoid these issues. I eat in a 300-calorie surplus/deficit. Since I'm currently trying to cut, I'm eating in a 300-calorie deficit. I aim to burn 1 pound of fat per week, but when I do this, I lose muscle with the fat, but when I go back up to maintenance, I stop burning fat altogether. I log everything I eat exactly and precisely, not varying the calories or macros at all day-to-day.