Anyone cutting after a bulk?
Replies
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Wow looking great @alexmose! Are you recomping or are you heading into a surplus?
Wow seriously thank you and @KHMcG I guess maybe I’m a little close to the finished product to notice.
@sardelsa that is an excellent question. I think this new 3 day split is JUST taxing enough that I am moving a tad less which causes a 1 lb weight gain over the past month-ish. Nothing to write home about. I guess I’ll recomp for now but if I see weight trending upward, I don’t think it’s a big deal unless it’s a total 4-5LB increase.
I just tell myself that the scale may go up but I’m gaining Muscle as long as I keep lifting 😂
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Wow looking great @alexmose! Are you recomping or are you heading into a surplus?
Wow seriously thank you and @KHMcG I guess maybe I’m a little close to the finished product to notice.
@sardelsa that is an excellent question. I think this new 3 day split is JUST taxing enough that I am moving a tad less which causes a 1 lb weight gain over the past month-ish. Nothing to write home about. I guess I’ll recomp for now but if I see weight trending upward, I don’t think it’s a big deal unless it’s a total 4-5LB increase.
I just tell myself that the scale may go up but I’m gaining Muscle as long as I keep lifting 😂
I know it can be a mental struggle but you are in the perfect position to start a bulk if you wanted, even a very small surplus, 1lb per month over at least 6-8 months will you will gain a decent amount of muscle and keep the fat gain minimal. It really depends on your goals of course you look awesome so you could stay where you are and first try out recomp for a while and see where it takes you, but I definitely would not cut any more!3 -
You guys are all looking fantastic.
I'm not doing terribly, but not being consistent enough. I'd been creeping down on the scale with a day I weighed 171.2 and had my moving average down to 173.2 but in the 16 days since I've just been eating way too much, averaging 100+ over TDEE, let alone my target range, and back up over 174 by average. I'd also let my volume dip, not getting up early enough to get all necessary sets in before getting to the office. Over the course of this week I've improved that somewhat and trying to get back to Arnold's L2 program as written. I have a serious problem tinkering with programs that I need to curb.
I plan on doing a skulpt scan tomorrow morning. I'll some pictures if I remember too. Based on the recomp discussion earlier in the week I wonder if between my training age and body composition if I've gotten most of the mileage I can glean from recomping and need to finally get my head together to run a lean bulk.2 -
Wow looking great @alexmose! Are you recomping or are you heading into a surplus?
Wow seriously thank you and @KHMcG I guess maybe I’m a little close to the finished product to notice.
@sardelsa that is an excellent question. I think this new 3 day split is JUST taxing enough that I am moving a tad less which causes a 1 lb weight gain over the past month-ish. Nothing to write home about. I guess I’ll recomp for now but if I see weight trending upward, I don’t think it’s a big deal unless it’s a total 4-5LB increase.
I just tell myself that the scale may go up but I’m gaining Muscle as long as I keep lifting 😂
I know it can be a mental struggle but you are in the perfect position to start a bulk if you wanted, even a very small surplus, 1lb per month over at least 6-8 months will you will gain a decent amount of muscle and keep the fat gain minimal. It really depends on your goals of course you look awesome so you could stay where you are and first try out recomp for a while and see where it takes you, but I definitely would not cut any more!
Thank you for this. I guess for now I’ll just eat as I please and see where that takes me. No worries, I have gotten down to 103lbs and felt just awful so I don’t want to go down anymore!!1 -
You guys are all looking fantastic.
I'm not doing terribly, but not being consistent enough. I'd been creeping down on the scale with a day I weighed 171.2 and had my moving average down to 173.2 but in the 16 days since I've just been eating way too much, averaging 100+ over TDEE, let alone my target range, and back up over 174 by average. I'd also let my volume dip, not getting up early enough to get all necessary sets in before getting to the office. Over the course of this week I've improved that somewhat and trying to get back to Arnold's L2 program as written. I have a serious problem tinkering with programs that I need to curb.
I plan on doing a skulpt scan tomorrow morning. I'll some pictures if I remember too. Based on the recomp discussion earlier in the week I wonder if between my training age and body composition if I've gotten most of the mileage I can glean from recomping and need to finally get my head together to run a lean bulk.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been here: recomp or bulk/cut. How many training years do you have? I only have about 3.0 -
@steveko89 I am always tinkering with programs, but for the first time I'm following it as written (with very slight modifications based on equipment limitations) and it's only been 3 weeks but I feel like it's actually making a difference.
And yes definitely keep us posted on the scan!2 -
@steveko89 I am always tinkering with programs, but for the first time I'm following it as written (with very slight modifications based on equipment limitations) and it's only been 3 weeks but I feel like it's actually making a difference.
And yes definitely keep us posted on the scan!
All Programs need more glutes, am I right!?! 😉1 -
You guys are all looking fantastic.
I'm not doing terribly, but not being consistent enough. I'd been creeping down on the scale with a day I weighed 171.2 and had my moving average down to 173.2 but in the 16 days since I've just been eating way too much, averaging 100+ over TDEE, let alone my target range, and back up over 174 by average. I'd also let my volume dip, not getting up early enough to get all necessary sets in before getting to the office. Over the course of this week I've improved that somewhat and trying to get back to Arnold's L2 program as written. I have a serious problem tinkering with programs that I need to curb.
I plan on doing a skulpt scan tomorrow morning. I'll some pictures if I remember too. Based on the recomp discussion earlier in the week I wonder if between my training age and body composition if I've gotten most of the mileage I can glean from recomping and need to finally get my head together to run a lean bulk.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been here: recomp or bulk/cut. How many training years do you have? I only have about 3.
Been at it for 5. If the skulpt numbers are to be believed, I started at ~18%, down to just under 12% now. Weight has been no higher than 185 at 6'1". I do feel like I've made some good progress aesthetically over the last 8-12 months given that I've gotten a fair amount of "you've been working out!" type comments from people who've known me for years than I had in the 2-3 years prior. Mentally, I struggle with the prospect of fat gain as I was mild/moderately overweight growing up.1 -
You guys are all looking fantastic.
I'm not doing terribly, but not being consistent enough. I'd been creeping down on the scale with a day I weighed 171.2 and had my moving average down to 173.2 but in the 16 days since I've just been eating way too much, averaging 100+ over TDEE, let alone my target range, and back up over 174 by average. I'd also let my volume dip, not getting up early enough to get all necessary sets in before getting to the office. Over the course of this week I've improved that somewhat and trying to get back to Arnold's L2 program as written. I have a serious problem tinkering with programs that I need to curb.
I plan on doing a skulpt scan tomorrow morning. I'll some pictures if I remember too. Based on the recomp discussion earlier in the week I wonder if between my training age and body composition if I've gotten most of the mileage I can glean from recomping and need to finally get my head together to run a lean bulk.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been here: recomp or bulk/cut. How many training years do you have? I only have about 3.
Been at it for 5. If the skulpt numbers are to be believed, I started at ~18%, down to just under 12% now. Weight has been no higher than 185 at 6'1". I do feel like I've made some good progress aesthetically over the last 8-12 months given that I've gotten a fair amount of "you've been working out!" type comments from people who've known me for years than I had in the 2-3 years prior. Mentally, I struggle with the prospect of fat gain as I was mild/moderately overweight growing up.
Again, been there with growing up. With any luck, you maybe ALSO have a mildly overweight nuclear family. It’s a mental hurdle, one I had even posted about previously. Can’t say I’ve completely gotten over it either.
Like I said before, anything below a certain weight, I tell myself It has to be muscle since I’m still lifting, or it’s inflammation coming back post lockdown, etc 😂1 -
@steveko89 I am always tinkering with programs, but for the first time I'm following it as written (with very slight modifications based on equipment limitations) and it's only been 3 weeks but I feel like it's actually making a difference.
And yes definitely keep us posted on the scan!
When we first had that discussion that @pitbullpuppy started about the Arnold bible program, when I found the PDF I went straight to the programs, yanked out the one that looked like would fit my existing schedule and mushed it into that format. I've long been a fan of supersets and giant sets so the result was a completely jumbled order. Over time I stripped out stuff I didn't like doing and messed with the rep ranges to prep for that online lifting competition and had gotten too far away from even how I set it up initially, let alone how it was written. Early this week I actually went back and read some of the narrative in the book and it explains some of the reasoning behind it. Wednesday I followed it to the letter and actually felt some soreness and a good pump, both of which are pretty unusual for me so I have to agree, I think there's definitely something to be said for following a prescribed design.2 -
Skulpt Data from this morning:
Continuous but gradual improvement since March. Honestly better than I was expecting since weight has been up a bit.
July weight chart:
You can really see the day I had like five donuts a few weeks ago. The last few days have been high carb and sodium with pizza Wednesday and chipotle last night.
Actually took some pictures this morning too:
Comparing with the last batch of photos I took I probably hadn’t been giving myself enough credit in terms of added size but I do think I need to cut more to truly get to the point of starting a bulk. Thoughts?
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Skulpt Data from this morning:
Continuous but gradual improvement since March. Honestly better than I was expecting since weight has been up a bit.
July weight chart:
You can really see the day I had like five donuts a few weeks ago. The last few days have been high carb and sodium with pizza Wednesday and chipotle last night.
Actually took some pictures this morning too:
Comparing with the last batch of photos I took I probably hadn’t been giving myself enough credit in terms of added size but I do think I need to cut more to truly get to the point of starting a bulk. Thoughts?
I think it’s been considered anything below 12%, go for the bulk for males so you’re in that zone! You’ve spent some time at maintence and likely are comfy with your current look. You could bulk but with the end of summer coming.....haha I always consider external factors0 -
Skulpt Data from this morning:
Continuous but gradual improvement since March. Honestly better than I was expecting since weight has been up a bit.
July weight chart:
You can really see the day I had like five donuts a few weeks ago. The last few days have been high carb and sodium with pizza Wednesday and chipotle last night.
Actually took some pictures this morning too:
Comparing with the last batch of photos I took I probably hadn’t been giving myself enough credit in terms of added size but I do think I need to cut more to truly get to the point of starting a bulk. Thoughts?
I think it’s been considered anything below 12%, go for the bulk for males so you’re in that zone! You’ve spent some time at maintence and likely are comfy with your current look. You could bulk but with the end of summer coming.....haha I always consider external factors
Depends on who you ask, sometimes 12%, sometimes <10% or until abs/you feel small. Despite leveling off at that 173 range I’d ultimately prefer to get leaner; I still feel like I have a thin layer of flab I need to get rid of in certain places. I’m also not convinced I can trust myself to make that decision appropriately as I have a serious problem with imposter syndrome, unrealistic expectations, and self-criticism.1 -
Skulpt Data from this morning:
Continuous but gradual improvement since March. Honestly better than I was expecting since weight has been up a bit.
July weight chart:
You can really see the day I had like five donuts a few weeks ago. The last few days have been high carb and sodium with pizza Wednesday and chipotle last night.
Actually took some pictures this morning too:
Comparing with the last batch of photos I took I probably hadn’t been giving myself enough credit in terms of added size but I do think I need to cut more to truly get to the point of starting a bulk. Thoughts?
I think it’s been considered anything below 12%, go for the bulk for males so you’re in that zone! You’ve spent some time at maintence and likely are comfy with your current look. You could bulk but with the end of summer coming.....haha I always consider external factors
Depends on who you ask, sometimes 12%, sometimes <10% or until abs/you feel small. Despite leveling off at that 173 range I’d ultimately prefer to get leaner; I still feel like I have a thin layer of flab I need to get rid of in certain places. I’m also not convinced I can trust myself to make that decision appropriately as I have a serious problem with imposter syndrome, unrealistic expectations, and self-criticism.
First off your looking great
Second I hate you for gaining 4lb of muscle in a month, that’s at least 2 years of work for me lol
If you do plan I bulk I’d drop about 10lb
Your holding fat in the usual places, lower back and abs, it’ll give you more wiggle room for bulking1 -
Thanks, Watts. I don’t think it’s really 4 lbs, in all actuality I should scan everyday and take the trend like with weight but I already spend too much time narotically collecting data. There are only a few accuracy comparisons outer but my impression is that it’s way better than your garden variety scale sensors but still only within 1-2% of underwater weighing so I don’t necessarily take the number as gospel.1
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Thanks, Watts. I don’t think it’s really 4 lbs, in all actuality I should scan everyday and take the trend like with weight but I already spend too much time narotically collecting data. There are only a few accuracy comparisons outer but my impression is that it’s way better than your garden variety scale sensors but still only within 1-2% of underwater weighing so I don’t necessarily take the number as gospel.
I did some follow-up to my alleged muscle gain rate. Taking my moving average weight in lieu of single day weight and comparing the skulpt scans I've done this year you get the following table:
So 3.208 lbs net muscle gain over 145 days, aka a rate of +0.619 lb/month while losing 1.19 lbs/month fat
Calorie-wise, my data suggests I averaged a surplus of ~27 calories over that span per back-calculated TDEE and average tracked calories.
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Thanks, Watts. I don’t think it’s really 4 lbs, in all actuality I should scan everyday and take the trend like with weight but I already spend too much time narotically collecting data. There are only a few accuracy comparisons outer but my impression is that it’s way better than your garden variety scale sensors but still only within 1-2% of underwater weighing so I don’t necessarily take the number as gospel.
I did some follow-up to my alleged muscle gain rate. Taking my moving average weight in lieu of single day weight and comparing the skulpt scans I've done this year you get the following table:
So 3.208 lbs net muscle gain over 145 days, aka a rate of +0.619 lb/month while losing 1.19 lbs/month fat
Calorie-wise, my data suggests I averaged a surplus of ~27 calories over that span per back-calculated TDEE and average tracked calories.
Looks like great overall progress
How are you working out your FFM
Surely that should of gone up along side
Your LBM ?
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Thanks, Watts. I don’t think it’s really 4 lbs, in all actuality I should scan everyday and take the trend like with weight but I already spend too much time narotically collecting data. There are only a few accuracy comparisons outer but my impression is that it’s way better than your garden variety scale sensors but still only within 1-2% of underwater weighing so I don’t necessarily take the number as gospel.
I did some follow-up to my alleged muscle gain rate. Taking my moving average weight in lieu of single day weight and comparing the skulpt scans I've done this year you get the following table:
So 3.208 lbs net muscle gain over 145 days, aka a rate of +0.619 lb/month while losing 1.19 lbs/month fat
Calorie-wise, my data suggests I averaged a surplus of ~27 calories over that span per back-calculated TDEE and average tracked calories.
Looks like great overall progress
How are you working out your FFM
Surely that should of gone up along side
Your LBM ?
I didn't realize I fat-fingered the F key, that should just be "FM" as in "fat mass" as just the remainder of Total Weight - LBM0 -
Thanks, Watts. I don’t think it’s really 4 lbs, in all actuality I should scan everyday and take the trend like with weight but I already spend too much time narotically collecting data. There are only a few accuracy comparisons outer but my impression is that it’s way better than your garden variety scale sensors but still only within 1-2% of underwater weighing so I don’t necessarily take the number as gospel.
I did some follow-up to my alleged muscle gain rate. Taking my moving average weight in lieu of single day weight and comparing the skulpt scans I've done this year you get the following table:
So 3.208 lbs net muscle gain over 145 days, aka a rate of +0.619 lb/month while losing 1.19 lbs/month fat
Calorie-wise, my data suggests I averaged a surplus of ~27 calories over that span per back-calculated TDEE and average tracked calories.
Looks like great overall progress
How are you working out your FFM
Surely that should of gone up along side
Your LBM ?
I didn't realize I fat-fingered the F key, that should just be "FM" as in "fat mass" as just the remainder of Total Weight - LBM
That makes a lot more sense, thought I was missing something obvious 😂
Great progress in under 5 months
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I'm down 5 lbs in three weeks, thanks to the 'Rona! :laugh: No sense of taste/smell makes eating at a deficit easy.
Now to get some stamina back, so I can get back into the gym.5 -
@steveko89 amazing progress! You look awesome. I would continue to lean out a bit then bulk . Have you bulked before?
@quiksylver296 oh no feel better! *hugs*0 -
I just tried going for a walk, made it a whole half-mile.
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@sardelsa, thanks! That is the plan. I've stayed right around 2000 cals each day since Saturday and already down to 171.0 this morning. Per Watts' suggestion of dropping 10 more lbs I've set my target average weight to 164. I've not seen <170 since 2015 and <165 since 2013. I've also never really bulked properly as this is the leanest I've ever been since I started lifting. For the first half of 2017 I was trying to cut but eating way too much taking my HR monitor workout calories as gospel. Per skulpt I ended January 2017 at 14.8% and 177.2 and got to 14% at 181.8 in mid July but was too fluffy for comfort there. That's when I first started using TDEE and dropped to 170 by the following January.
@quiksylver296, that really sucks, I hope you're able to bounce back soon. Hang in there!2 -
Gyms have been open for about 10 days now, still sitting at roughly maintenance and slowly upping volume. Waiting to see if there’s any suitable shows this year, if not it will be a very slow bulk till Christmas then looking at April 11th next year to compete.
On a plus note I’ve seemed to been able to hold on to my quad mass with limited equipment (8 million sets of front squats )
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@sardelsa, thanks! That is the plan. I've stayed right around 2000 cals each day since Saturday and already down to 171.0 this morning. Per Watts' suggestion of dropping 10 more lbs I've set my target average weight to 164. I've not seen <170 since 2015 and <165 since 2013. I've also never really bulked properly as this is the leanest I've ever been since I started lifting. For the first half of 2017 I was trying to cut but eating way too much taking my HR monitor workout calories as gospel. Per skulpt I ended January 2017 at 14.8% and 177.2 and got to 14% at 181.8 in mid July but was too fluffy for comfort there. That's when I first started using TDEE and dropped to 170 by the following January.
@quiksylver296, that really sucks, I hope you're able to bounce back soon. Hang in there!
sounds like a plan, do you have any thoughts on the length of the bulk or are you going see how it goes ?0 -
@sardelsa, thanks! That is the plan. I've stayed right around 2000 cals each day since Saturday and already down to 171.0 this morning. Per Watts' suggestion of dropping 10 more lbs I've set my target average weight to 164. I've not seen <170 since 2015 and <165 since 2013. I've also never really bulked properly as this is the leanest I've ever been since I started lifting. For the first half of 2017 I was trying to cut but eating way too much taking my HR monitor workout calories as gospel. Per skulpt I ended January 2017 at 14.8% and 177.2 and got to 14% at 181.8 in mid July but was too fluffy for comfort there. That's when I first started using TDEE and dropped to 170 by the following January.
@quiksylver296, that really sucks, I hope you're able to bounce back soon. Hang in there!
sounds like a plan, do you have any thoughts on the length of the bulk or are you going see how it goes ?
When the time comes I was thinking I'd probably stick to a leaner bulk at ~1 lb/month. Granted, I've never properly bulked so I'm definitely open to suggestions.0 -
I am on vacation this week. So no dieting. Suspect I'll be up several lbs when i am done. But that is just how it always goes.
In typical fashion for me, I went all out on vacation, lol. Drinks and ice cream/custard every night. Was 167 when I left, came back to 174. But I had fun, so I call it a success. Back to hard core dieting. Dropped 2 lbs this morning. Hoping to get back down in the 160s by next week.
ETA: You all look amazing. Keep up the good work.3 -
Some of my favs
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Weighed in at 170.8 this morning. Five days averaging right at a 500 cal deficit to TDEE. For those more experienced on cutting and carb-related changes, any guess to how much this initial dip is due to water weight as my average carbs have dropped from ~200 g/day to 135?2
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