Ice Cream, Pop Tarts, and getting DICED SON.

SideSteel

It's about time I end this dreamer bulk and see what's underneath.

Currently at about 194-195lbs and an estimated 15% bodyfat give or take. I'm bloated like a mofo in these pics, but here we go:

Side relaxed:


Front relaxed (lolgut):


Front flexed:



Training:

I'll continue running a modified 5/3/1 although I may be reducing training volume on accessory movements as I lean out. This will be based on feel entirely but if recovery becomes an issue, accessory volume will be the first to go. This is a 4 day split.

I have knee problems with the upper part of my right knee, and after spending several months working on squat technique I've had to recently give it up. I've replaced it with sumo deads and I'm also altering the accessories such that on both deadlift day and sumo dead day, I'm training leg and back accessories. On both OHP and Bench day, I'm training chest and shoulder accessories. Doing this so that I stick with the 5/3/1 progression but increase training frequency in place of volume. (Cliffs: I've basically bastardized 5/3/1 into a bodybuilding routine hitting everything twice/week).

Calculated 1RMs for 5/3/1 at the time of this post:

Bench: 275
Sumo Dead: 355
Deadlift: 380
OHP: 170

I expect all of these to increase over the course of this cut.

I have been squatting light to work on technique and may eventually put squats back in for sumos.

Diet:

I'll be starting out around the following, roughly:

2200-2400kcals
165p min
70f min
remainder in CHO

^ That general template will get me to 10% bodyfat which is the goal. However, I'm going to consider being a bit aggressive in the initial stages of the cut rather than the end of the cut (because I'm fatter now and it makes more sense).

In closing:

I will try and post some food porn, some lifting logs, and some general sarcasm. With selling our house though, things have been a bit chaotic so I'm not certain how well I'll keep up but we shall see.

Thanks for tagging along, and I welcome all kinds of smart-assery.

RunDoozer

In for food porn

Rayman79

In for the inevitable abs of steel... sidesteel.

Sarauk2sf

Tagging to make a rude/lewd/witty comment later!

chrisdavey

yeah buddy!

You do make sense re higher deficit at the start. Except for me, I seem to be a "little" lazy in the initial stages and then go "aaaah ****, only a couple of weeks left, better get my **** together"

Other alternatives to squats that I have used are deficit db reverse lunges & bulgarian split squats. But you don't get to go super heavy or anything Bloody hard though. But if it is a knee flexion issue then these may not be suitable.

SideSteel

Starting stats:

CW: 195.6 as of 3/1/13 AM post dook.

Navel: 34.25"
Waist: 34"
Calf: 15.5
Chest: 39.5
Biceps: 16" flexed, cold.
Thigh at midpoint: 22"

I will not be doing IF on this cut, this time around, although breakfasts will still be small if any.

SideSteel

I'm a dumb-*kitten*.

Recovering from SNAP CITY on a 1RM dead pull about a week and a half ago. Go in today to deadlift. Reinjured.

It's not terrible, I think it's muscular and not disc-related but I'll be seeing a chiro soon.

5/5/5 deads:

135, 225 warmup sets

295x5
310x5
330x5

Really should have stopped at the first inkling of "back isn't supposed to feel like this".

Weighted chins: 45x8, 50x5, 75x2. Grip issues.

Leg Press: 360x8, 360x8, 450x8

Seated calf raise: 90x15x3

And I hobbled out of the gym. I'll be knocking sumo deads out of the rotation this week to let the posterior chain mend up. Will still go in and do leg/back iso work like a bro -- should be fun.

Uploading some quite boring but delicious food pics shortly.

chrisdavey

****

Good pullups though. What part of your back? With any luck just a bit of rest is all it needs.

SideSteel

****

Good pullups though. What part of your back? With any luck just a bit of rest is all it needs.

The pain is in the lower back, slightly left of the spine, top part of glute and lower part of back. It "feels" like a spinal erector but I really have no idea.

No noises/etc like pops or anything when I originally injured it. Happened on a 1RM dead where I barely cleared the knees (bar almost came to a dead stop). Needless to say it was an UGLY *kitten* pull, and the pain set in about 10 minutes later.

Today I started feeling it on the first working set, and I should have just stopped. I was still able to pull fine, but now it hurts.

I'm guessing it's a muscle pull of sorts but I don't know.

SideSteel

Good pullups though.

Thanks, but that's lbs not kgs. LOL

chrisdavey

Good pullups though.

Thanks, but that's lbs not kgs. LOL

Still good!

Sounds like the same spit i injured my back actually but mine was an acute injury and instant pain. Massage, heat and rest worked for me. I switched to non agonal loaded exercises like db deficit lunges for legs. It really sucked as have to do twice the amount. Lungs were giving out and i don't think I'm that unfit. I do know your hated if cardio :-P

SideSteel

Good pullups though.

Thanks, but that's lbs not kgs. LOL

Still good!

Sounds like the same spit i injured my back actually but mine was an acute injury and instant pain. Massage, heat and rest worked for me. I switched to non agonal loaded exercises like db deficit lunges for legs. It really sucked as have to do twice the amount. Lungs were giving out and i don't think I'm that unfit. I do know your hated if cardio :-P

lolcardio.


Back hurts like @$#% today. Definitely SNAP CITY. Fortunately it only hurts when I tilt a certain way. Walking around is fine....

Grrrrrrrrrrrrr

SideSteel

Yesterday was my first actual tracking/deficit day.
Ended around 2100 kcal with f/p needs met.

Dropped FIVE pounds. Lmfao.

And obviously that's a low reading and bloat free but it's still hilarious.

SideSteel

Macros for today:

2,277 kcals
239 carbs
78 fat
181 protein

On my feet all day but no training today.

Tomorrow, assuming I'm not in too much pain with my lower back, I'll go in and do OHP 5/5/5.

I'll be playing it easy on the accessories and may have to drop all floor pulling for a week or two -- playing that by feel.

Sarauk2sf

Macros for today:

2,277 kcals
239 carbs
78 fat
181 protein

On my feet all day but no training today.

Tomorrow, assuming I'm not in too much pain with my lower back, I'll go in and do OHP 5/5/5.

I'll be playing it easy on the accessories and may have to drop all floor pulling for a week or two -- playing that by feel.

How was the appetite?

SideSteel

Macros for today:

2,277 kcals
239 carbs
78 fat
181 protein

On my feet all day but no training today.

Tomorrow, assuming I'm not in too much pain with my lower back, I'll go in and do OHP 5/5/5.

I'll be playing it easy on the accessories and may have to drop all floor pulling for a week or two -- playing that by feel.

How was the appetite?

Slightly better today but I was still quite hungry.

I figure if I can drop another 5lbs overnight, I'll be done cutting by Monday afternoon.

Sarauk2sf

How was the appetite?

Slightly better today but I was still quite hungry.

I figure if I can drop another 5lbs overnight, I'll be done cutting by Monday afternoon.

lolz...werd!

That would be good though, as we can't have both of us being chunkers in our group at the same time!

SideSteel

How was the appetite?

Slightly better today but I was still quite hungry.

I figure if I can drop another 5lbs overnight, I'll be done cutting by Monday afternoon.

lolz...werd!

That would be good though, as we can't have both of us being chunkers in our group at the same time!

Or both of us being hangry. Glad you're on dat bulk.

SideSteel

OHP 5/5/5 day.

Today I felt a bit of fatigue likely due to the sudden drop in energy intake. Power was fine though, just didn't have the endurance.

BB OHP: 130x5, 140x5, 150x6

Might have had 7 in the bag but it would have been shaky.

Back is still in pain when I turn or twist a certain way. Hoisting the DB's on Inc DB was a bit ouchy.

Inc DB Press:
90x10, 90x7, 90x7, 90x6

DB Floor Press
75x8, 75x10, 75x8

Seated machine flies
195x10, 195x8, 195x7

Calves for the lulz
90x15x3

Felt weak as far as fatigue/staying power, felt fine strength wise.

Somehow I'm turning into a meathead. I'd so much rather push and pull singles vs 5/5/5. LOL

Intake is on pace for today and satiety is actually a bit better now than it was the past two days. I'm on a path to eating a massive plate of breaded chicken and some beans and potatoes for dinner, followed by ice cream or popcorn or a pop tart or something baller so the IIFYM crew doesn't kick me out of the club.

chrisdavey

damn strong pressing there!

SideSteel

damn strong pressing there!

Thanks boss. I just want this back to heal up so I can keep working on the pulls. I can't have you running around Austrailia pulling 150+lbs more than me.

SideSteel

Rest day today. Tomorrow I'll have to suck it up and not deadlift even though it's deadlift day. Need this back to heal.

I'll go in and do a bunch of iso stuff and maybe hammer out some quality weighted chins.

Starting to find my groove as far as satiety. Not nearly as hard for me to hit my numbers and stay satisfied.

Today (after this bowl of clam chowder):
2,243

348c

52f

170p

Carblicious.

SideSteel

So today was "you can't do deads because of your back so just go do boring ****" day.

Weighted chins: BW+70lb: 3 sets of 5.

Squats (form work): 135x5x3 --- These felt better than they have in a while as far as technique. No knee pain at all, but on the 3rd set I tweaked my back which means I won't be adding these back in until I'm 100% sure my back has recovered.

Leg Press (PPS = plates per side): 2ppsx8, 4ppsx8, 5ppsx8, 6ppsx8

Pull throughs: 3x12
Standing calf raises: 115x12x4

Incline DB row: 75x9x3

Then I sat on a machine and did lolcurls while dreaming of deadlifts.

SideSteel

So today I decided to bring my son to the gym daycare. He turns two in 1 week, and he sort of mentally turned two last week (attitude problem LOL).

So it was a very low volume day, but at least I got a few sets done. I was expecting to get paged within the first 5 minutes but he did pretty good.


Bench 3/3/3

220x3, 235x3, 250x3

I'm pleased to have gotten that last triple considering I rushed the rest intervals a bit due to circumstance. I also had a set up issue after the first rep (lost my footing somehow) so I'll chalk this up as a win.

The only other lift I got in was seated DB OHP.

80x6, 80x5, 75x5

PR in that I've never tried to put 80's overhead before, so I'll take it.

Bodyweight: ~191-191.5 currently. Drop of about 4 lbs this week.

chrisdavey

Natural presser it seems! That's some big weight.

SideSteel

Natural presser it seems! That's some big weight.

Thanks. It's going up at a pretty good pace, I'm really pleased with that considering I wasn't able to bench at all up until last summer.

Now if I could just figure out how to pull from the ground.......



Aside: I'm HANGRY. Refeeds might happen sooner than I anticipated. LOL

chrisdavey

get on the zero cal noodles and fluff

And if you can get a chance, I'd love to see some pressing vids in particular.

SideSteel

get on the zero cal noodles and fluff

And if you can get a chance, I'd love to see some pressing vids in particular.

Can probably do that and I probably should do it -- I've never actually looked at my press technique -- maybe it sucks. LOL

SideSteel

So I've hit the 8 day mark (today is day 9) of eating at a deficit. Due to injury my training has been disrupted but I'm still making it in 3/week, I've had to remove posterior chain work temporarily and I've increased isolation work on legs/back to compensate.

Went to the chiropractor, she thinks it's just a muscle strain and not disc related/etc. I'm going to TRY (<--- key word) to rest longer than I think I need to before trying any deadlifts again. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be back at it.

Took some pics today. Weight is disturbing me as I clocked in at 188.9 today. That's over 6lbs down, and while a lot of that is water, it's a good excuse to refeed which I am going to do either today/tomorrow or both. Plan will be to eat near maintenance/slightly above and crank up CHO a bit.

Lighting isn't quite matched and I know the flash is annoying, but considering it's only been 8 days of deficit eating, I'm pleased with the progress. After this refeed I'm going to go about 3-5 more days at this intake and consider re-evaluating. Might increase calories.

Before (posted in OP)



Current:





Training tomorrow for sure. Might do an afternoon lift when I get home from work but I've not decided yet.

Crankstr

So I've hit the 8 day mark (today is day 9) of eating at a deficit. Due to injury my training has been disrupted but I'm still making it in 3/week, I've had to remove posterior chain work temporarily and I've increased isolation work on legs/back to compensate.

Went to the chiropractor, she thinks it's just a muscle strain and not disc related/etc. I'm going to TRY (<--- key word) to rest longer than I think I need to before trying any deadlifts again. Hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll be back at it.

Took some pics today. Weight is disturbing me as I clocked in at 188.9 today. That's over 6lbs down, and while a lot of that is water, it's a good excuse to refeed which I am going to do either today/tomorrow or both. Plan will be to eat near maintenance/slightly above and crank up CHO a bit.

Lighting isn't quite matched and I know the flash is annoying, but considering it's only been 8 days of deficit eating, I'm pleased with the progress. After this refeed I'm going to go about 3-5 more days at this intake and consider re-evaluating. Might increase calories.

Before (posted in OP)



Current:





Training tomorrow for sure. Might do an afternoon lift when I get home from work but I've not decided yet.

wow!!! keep it up!!!

SideSteel

OHP 3s day today.

Calculated 1RM at 175.

140x3
Vid here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH7YpWUj8Ho

I've never actually checked my press form. Thanks ChrisDavey for suggesting that I upload a pressing vid. I'll do a bench one too at some point. I'm not certain whether or not my bar pathing is off too much in the above, but considering my relative inexperience with BB OHP, I think the above form is "reasonable". Feel free to comment if you see areas that need improvement.

150x3, 160x4. Went for a 5th and failed it but it wasn't a very good effort in all honestly.

Incline DB Press: Went up to 95s this week. Max is 100x7 or so if I'm fresh.
95x8, 95x6, 95x6.

DB Floor press:
75x11,8,9

Good speed. I'm using floor press to assist with my lockout on bench so I'm really trying to accelerate.

Seated chest flies.
210x10 (This one actually surprised me, that's the whole stack)
210x5 (aaaaand I'm spent).


Then I did a quick couple of tricep pulldowns and went home to eat some tilapia with tapatillo

Yesterday was a refeed of sorts. Weighed in at 189 today. Continuing with my current calorie intake until about the end of the week at which point I'm going to reassess. I'm actually worried at this point about cutting too fast, which is sort of funny.