Slow and steady

Retroguy2000

@nossmf Congrats on the progress. Your arms especially look huge. And the measured size change is huge too. What have you been doing to train them? I assume you've been doing more volume there compared to other parts?

That 20% bf estimate looks a little optimistic to me. Just a little bit, mind.

nossmf

An old article I read by a professional bodybuilder years ago said, "If you have energy to work your arms, you have the energy to do more chest/back work." As a result, I only do 3 sets of arms each upper body day.

But then a different pro I read talked about how he did every rep of every set for 10-30 second negatives. I don't go to that extreme, but for those 3x10 arm sets, each rep is done for 3-5 second negatives, really build up the time under tension.

And I was hoping the 20% was ok, but phooey. You're thinking more like 22%? From images I can find online, it's definitely not 25%.

Retroguy2000

I don't do arms on upper day. As you say, I save the energy and focus for compounds like barbell row, db press, etc. I do throw in a few extra Myo-reps style arms sets on leg day though. After legs, I'll do a starter set of 10 for arms, then 30 secs after each set finishes I'm starting the next set, rinse repeat until 5 reps is failure. I'll do that with ez-bar curl, then with the same bar do a JM press and immediately super-set with close grip press. As before, 30 secs rest until 5 reps.

I'm no laser eyes expert, so take it with a grain of salt, just going off when I see the likes of Coach Greg measuring people with calipers, and other sources, yeah I'd have guessed you were 20%-22%.

nossmf

Well, it finally happened...I reached the limit of how much my pants would fit my thighs. The other day I bent down to pick something up, and RIP, popped a seam. While I want to continue to gain upper body muscle to keep reaching for that 315 bench, I draw the line at buying BIGGER pants. That plus the fact my BF has been inching up (see last few posts above), and I think it's time to transition to a slow cut, see if I can't keep the muscle I've gained this past year and a half while losing the fat around it.

For the next two weeks I'll switch my calorie target from "gain .5lb" to "maintain" before I switch to "lose .5lb". Looks like it's goodbye to desserts for a while, so I can continue with the rest of my eating regimen the same.

nossmf

3 weeks update: I did my two weeks at maintain, and this past week was starting the slow loss. Wow, what a difference, to go from 2500 calories per day (slow gain) to 2000 per day (slow loss). After a year and a half of never having to deny hunger sensations, I'm back to living with them again. Not extreme, totally endurable since I'm eating proper nutrition, but the body realizes there's a difference from this time last month and is telling me all about it, lol.

I'm thinking I'll keep this slow loss phase going until the start of November, then switch back to slow gain in time for the holiday season. Something to look forward to, followed by something to look forward to!

nossmf

At long last, the cut has come to a merciful end! Over the last 15 weeks I dropped a fair bit of weight, so I took some measurements to compare against what I had listed last, along with progress pics, to see if the cut was worth it or not.

Wt: 202.6 --> 191.6, loss of 11#
Waist: 34.5 --> 33, loss of 1.5in
Chest: 42.5 --> 42.5 (no change)
Biceps: 17.5 --> 17.5 (no change)
Quads: 25 --> 24, loss of 1in

Nobody is going to confuse me with a 6-pack model, but I think this shows I was able to preserve the muscle while slimming down around my fat-accumulators (waist, thighs). Combined with the fact my weights are still just as heavy as they were, meaning I didn't lose strength, and I'm quite happy with the results.



Am just a tad disappointed the cuts weren't just a tad deeper, so now I'm thinking about rethinking my next steps: I was going to go to bulk for 3 months before going cut again in March, but now I may simply relax the cut to allow enjoying the next 6 weeks without actually trying to bulk, and resume the next cut with the turn of the New Year. The temptation to bulk up is strong, though...maybe I need to stop hanging out in the "Dad Bod" thread and seeing how other dudes look, lol.

AnnPT77

That sounds like a great accomplishment to me, @nossmf . . . and on the "slow and steady" patient track that I think usually best not only for weight management, but also fitness improvement. Please understand that I'm saying this with the most appropriate, granny-esque friendly intentions: You're looking good!

Retroguy2000

That's a good result. As you probably know, it's easier to keep strength up than muscle during a deficit, and your rate of loss of nearly 1 pound per week is ideal for maintaining as much muscle as possible while still getting reasonable fat loss.

I hope you don't mind me posting some input, but since you've put it out there here goes. JMO, you don't need to bulk. You've got a lot of muscle, but also quite a lot of fat hiding it. It sounds like you're in agreement with the following: try to stay around maintenance through to early next year while not worrying about taking advantage of various treats, parties, meals out, etc. during the holiday season, then maybe drop another 10 pounds or so and re-evaluate then.

nossmf

Yep, likely to try to lose the fat hiding what I got. Dude at my gym (haven't seen him in a while) used to look like he weighed a good 30-40# more than he did, just because he looked ripped, but he in fact weighed less than me. I like the idea of working towards that goal.

Main reason I was contemplating bulking was simply because I liked the eating! lol

AnnPT77

nossmf wrote: »

Yep, likely to try to lose the fat hiding what I got. Dude at my gym (haven't seen him in a while) used to look like he weighed a good 30-40# more than he did, just because he looked ripped, but he in fact weighed less than me. I like the idea of working towards that goal.

Main reason I was contemplating bulking was simply because I liked the eating! lol

Heh. Appearance isn't everything (to some of us, for sure me, dunno about you), and health ought to matter to all (but you're not holding that much fat, IMO).

But for sure eating some extra-special treat foods now and then is important to some of us (including me), and the holidays do present some great opportunities.

Balance is important. Choosing the holiday season to be bulking season (or at least maintenance) makes sense to me in that context.

YMMV, and so may Retro's.

Retroguy2000

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Heh. Appearance isn't everything (to some of us, for sure me, dunno about you), and health ought to matter to all (but you're not holding that much fat, IMO).

That's true, but also remember that this isn't the "health and fitness" sub-forum. It's the "body building" sub-forum.

nossmf

Buddy at the office asked me if I'd been losing weight, to which I responded I had, already lost almost two inches off my waist. He said he asked because he noted the difference in my neck and jaw. Never thought to measure my neck (and no idea how to measure the jaw).

Retroguy2000

Face - pictures.

nossmf

Lol, thought at first you were requesting face pictures, but you were suggesting taking facial comparison photos. Hmm...

DiscusTank5

AnnPT77 wrote: »

That sounds like a great accomplishment to me, @nossmf . . . and on the "slow and steady" patient track that I think usually best not only for weight management, but also fitness improvement. Please understand that I'm saying this with the most appropriate, granny-esque friendly intentions: You're looking good!

Ditto from me! You dropped 11 pounds and didn't lose an ounce of muscle with that. Excellent.