Lean Bulk - so far so good.

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  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    skittlebitz wrote: »

    Have you done a quick cut before? Just curious as after this 4ish month bulk I would like to do a quick cut and start bulking again! I hate eating lower and lower and lower amounts of calories :neutral:

    I did one before my bulk. I'm not sure I did it correctly but I started counting my calories and reduced my daily limit by 100 calories every 5 days until I was down to my BMR of around 1400.

    After 5 days at my BMR I reversed the process, adding 100 calories back on every 5 days.

    I continued to lose weight as I reverse dieted too, I kept adding calories until I started to see a small weight gain which signified the start of my lean bulk.
  • skittlebitz
    skittlebitz Posts: 29 Member
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    elite_nal wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    pbryd wrote: »
    GUARDiAN_GUiLD wrote: »

    Not a fan of any "quick cuts" especially after a slower, cleaner/lean(er) bulk. I hate that dehydrated feeling.

    Started the bulk around end of October at 194 lbs. Currently hovering around 213 lbs. Originally wanted to get up to about 220 and start cutting up in February but decided to just start earlier than usual. Trying to reach 10-11% BF by May, which is more realistic.

    Good to hear your bulk went well. I'm following the advice of Mike Matthews who advises against long cuts because it allows more time for your metabolism to slow down.

    i did a 6 week cut before I started bulking which went very well and allowed me to continue increasing my strength in the gym while losing fat around my waist. Beginner gains I suppose.

    Have you done a quick cut before? Just curious as after this 4ish month bulk I would like to do a quick cut and start bulking again! I hate eating lower and lower and lower amounts of calories :neutral:

    Some tips if you feel hungry while cutting or dieting:

    1 - Maintain only a small 15-20% calorie deficit and focus on losing about 1-2 pounds of fat per week.

    2 - Consume 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight daily. Protein is the most filling macronutrient and is the most useful for reducing appetite.

    3 - Get at least 20% of your total calories from fat per day.

    4 - Get in about 15 grams of fiber per day for every 1000 calories you consume.

    5 - To fill yourself up and reduce your fat loss hunger, consume plenty of vegetables throughout the day.

    6 - Find the meal frequency and layout that works best for you in terms of appetite control and energy levels, whether it be 6 small meals or 3 larger meals.

    7 - Drink around 0.6 ounces of water per pound of body weight daily.

    8 - Find the right balance between cardio and dieting that works best for you in terms of lowering your appetite, whether that be a larger calorie deficit through your diet and less cardio, or a smaller dietary calorie deficit and more cardio.

    9 - Include some HIIT cardio in your plan as it does not stimulate your food cravings as heavily as low intensity cardio does.

    10 - Allow for 10-20% of your total calories to come from whatever "cheat foods" you want.

    11 - Ensure that you get adequate sleep each night.

    12 - Eat more slowly.

    Give these tips a try and you should see a marked improvement.

    I was doing all of these except my last coach decided 1500 calories would be a good start to my cut with 5 days of cardio a week when I maintain on 2150-2200. Guess you could say my last cut wasn't so awesome. Literally STARVING ALL DAY. I ate veggies with every meal, so much volume but it barely lasted a couple hours in my tummy. Next time I do it it'll only be a 20% decrease in calories and definitely not very much cardio. For the time being it's bulking season! :)
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.
  • skittlebitz
    skittlebitz Posts: 29 Member
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    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
    edited January 2016
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    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!

    Unless she is a RD she shouldn't be giving out meal plans like that and might even be breaking your provincial laws. Too many unqualified people are doing this, unfortunately.
  • skittlebitz
    skittlebitz Posts: 29 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!

    Unless she is a RD she shouldn't be giving out meal plans like that and might even be breaking your provincial laws. Too many unqualified people are doing this, unfortunately.

    Yeah I realized that afterwards. Except she was in the states and I'm in Canada so it was all online lol. After the first month she just gave me macros to follow. I think she realized she couldn't be doing that :/
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!

    Unless she is a RD she shouldn't be giving out meal plans like that and might even be breaking your provincial laws. Too many unqualified people are doing this, unfortunately.

    Yeah I realized that afterwards. Except she was in the states and I'm in Canada so it was all online lol. After the first month she just gave me macros to follow. I think she realized she couldn't be doing that :/

    You should probalby drop her like a hot potato and find a reputable RD and trainer locally. :)
  • skittlebitz
    skittlebitz Posts: 29 Member
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    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!

    Unless she is a RD she shouldn't be giving out meal plans like that and might even be breaking your provincial laws. Too many unqualified people are doing this, unfortunately.

    Yeah I realized that afterwards. Except she was in the states and I'm in Canada so it was all online lol. After the first month she just gave me macros to follow. I think she realized she couldn't be doing that :/

    You should probalby drop her like a hot potato and find a reputable RD and trainer locally. :)

    I dropped her when my 3 months was up with her and have been working on my own ever since, so far lifts have gone up considerably, lost body fat and gained about a lb of muscle the last month while eating over my maintenance. Needless to say I don't think I need anybody anymore. Just you guys for accountability!! :)
  • Wheelhouse15
    Wheelhouse15 Posts: 5,575 Member
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    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Wheelhouse15 wrote: »
    skittlebitz wrote: »
    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    So your silly coach had you netting about 1000?(if you did an hour of cardio a day?)

    Shame.

    Yup I guess so. I finished my 3 months with her and said enough was enough I knew I wasn't fuelling my body properly. Time to do it on my own and use everybody on here for accountability instead of paying for a coach! I know what to do and how to do it just need some buddies in the same boat!

    Unless she is a RD she shouldn't be giving out meal plans like that and might even be breaking your provincial laws. Too many unqualified people are doing this, unfortunately.

    Yeah I realized that afterwards. Except she was in the states and I'm in Canada so it was all online lol. After the first month she just gave me macros to follow. I think she realized she couldn't be doing that :/

    You should probalby drop her like a hot potato and find a reputable RD and trainer locally. :)

    I dropped her when my 3 months was up with her and have been working on my own ever since, so far lifts have gone up considerably, lost body fat and gained about a lb of muscle the last month while eating over my maintenance. Needless to say I don't think I need anybody anymore. Just you guys for accountability!! :)

    Good luck to you as you progress, there are a lot of inspiring men and women here to draw encouragement from.
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    February is coming to a close and according to the scales I've gained 1.4lbs this month. This puts me at 131.7lb which is an 8.3lb weight gain over the last 6 months following a pre-bulk cut.

    Basic stats. Male, 5'6", 43yrs. Goal; gain lean mass.

    September 123.4
    October 124.9
    November 127.5
    December 129.3
    January 130.3
    February 131.7

    Waist wise I've gained almost 1" over the same 6 month period, from 29.4" to 30.3", which I think is quite acceptable.

    I have another 4 weeks on my training program, after which I will deload and possibly try a 2 week quick cut while deloading.

    All good so far.

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,394 MFP Moderator
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    pbryd wrote: »
    February is coming to a close and according to the scales I've gained 1.4lbs this month. This puts me at 131.7lb which is an 8.3lb weight gain over the last 6 months following a pre-bulk cut.

    Basic stats. Male, 5'6", 43yrs. Goal; gain lean mass.

    September 123.4
    October 124.9
    November 127.5
    December 129.3
    January 130.3
    February 131.7

    Waist wise I've gained almost 1" over the same 6 month period, from 29.4" to 30.3", which I think is quite acceptable.

    I have another 4 weeks on my training program, after which I will deload and possibly try a 2 week quick cut while deloading.

    All good so far.

    Nice progress.
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    psulemon wrote: »

    Nice progress.

    Thanks @psulemon I'm looking forward to a further 4 months.

  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
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    Lovely job. You might not even need to cut at all after either, just go to maintenance and see......
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    Springfield1970 wrote: »
    Lovely job. You might not even need to cut at all after either, just go to maintenance and see......

    Thanks, I'm prepared to take my waist up to 32", at which point my trousers start to get a little uncomfortable.

    I'm not sure if I'd prefer a quick cut or a longer maintenance tbh.
  • 883xlsportster
    883xlsportster Posts: 221 Member
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    Excellent. Where are you seeing the weight & size the most? I'm going a little faster on the gain starting from 129 and same height. I think my bulk is going sideways somewhere in between skinny fat and dad bod ;-)
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    883xlsportster wrote: »
    Excellent. Where are you seeing the weight & size the most?

    I can see differences all over, my arms are thickening up, upper chest is coming along nicely and I can see some improvement in my shoulders and calves.

    I'm hoping there's some lean tissue there and not just a small layer of fat lol.

    My pre bulk cut got rid if the skinny fat, i went down to a 29" waist, so I've got some breathing room before I get to dad bod :smile:
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
    edited February 2016
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    If anyone is interested here's my routine. I train at home.

    Monday

    Standing barbell press x3
    Lateral raises x3
    Dumbbell Floor press x3
    Single leg calf raise x3

    Wednesday

    Trap bar squat x3
    Rear delt raises x3
    Single leg calf raise x3

    Saturday

    Weighted pull ups x3
    Barbell rows x3
    Single calf raise x3
    Alt dumbbell curls x3

    On the big lifts I use reverse pyramid training, with straight sets for isolation (lat raises, calf and curls)
  • 883xlsportster
    883xlsportster Posts: 221 Member
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    Floor Press? Interesting. I do BB floor press to lift around a bad shoulder. And you?
    Have you been using that split from the beginning?
  • pbryd
    pbryd Posts: 364 Member
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    883xlsportster wrote: »
    Floor Press? Interesting. I do BB floor press to lift around a bad shoulder. And you?
    Have you been using that split from the beginning?

    I don't have a bench. I train at home, and didn't want to spend £100 on a bench just to do bench press. I used the money for a trap bar instead.

    I've pretty much used that type of split for the past 6 months yes, exercises change every now and then e.g barbell OHP replaced dumbbell OHP, trap bar squats replaced front squat.

    I've recently added the calf raises and just made a wrist roller last week.

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