Abs after bulk
NerdyFlex
Posts: 1,672 Member
How difficult is it to regain abs after a solid bulk (15+ pounds)? I’ve jumped from 178 to 190 and my abs have definitely faded a bit. I want to hit 200. Any advice is appreciated
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Replies
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How difficult is it to regain abs after a solid bulk (15+ pounds)? I’ve jumped from 178 to 190 and my abs have definitely faded a bit. I want to hit 200. Any advice is appreciated
I don't understand your question.
If you want your abs back you'll need to cut.
OR
Do a much slower bulk(which may still make your abs disappear)6 -
stanmann571 wrote: »How difficult is it to regain abs after a solid bulk (15+ pounds)? I’ve jumped from 178 to 190 and my abs have definitely faded a bit. I want to hit 200. Any advice is appreciated
I don't understand your question.
If you want your abs back you'll need to cut.
OR
Do a much slower bulk(which may still make your abs disappear)
I guess what I’m asking, is how strict of a cut will I have to do once I hit my goal weight.0 -
It depends on your body fat %, I know on my last bulk, at 180 lbs my abs were almost gone, it took me 4 months to drop them at freakish lean at 155 lbs. I could've easily stopped at 160-165 lbs, my abs were visible at that point...however I challenged myself for my abs to pop up like crazy to the point of seeing veins. When you do a few bulk and cuts, you kind of get a ball park idea at around what weight abs start appearing. In my case, usually at 165 lbs, you see abs, not all clear, but you can see them.stanmann571 wrote: »How difficult is it to regain abs after a solid bulk (15+ pounds)? I’ve jumped from 178 to 190 and my abs have definitely faded a bit. I want to hit 200. Any advice is appreciated
I don't understand your question.
If you want your abs back you'll need to cut.
OR
Do a much slower bulk(which may still make your abs disappear)
I guess what I’m asking, is how strict of a cut will I have to do once I hit my goal weight.
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How difficult is it to regain abs after a solid bulk (15+ pounds)? I’ve jumped from 178 to 190 and my abs have definitely faded a bit. I want to hit 200. Any advice is appreciated
Your question is impossible to answer for any of us who don't know your exact situation. Odds are you'll need to return to roughly whatever body fat percent you had when you could see your abs. How long that may take depends on how large of a deficit you can maintain and get to that BF%.1 -
It depends on your current bf%, your abdominal development, bf% where you're able to see you abs, how aggressively you want to cut. Just keep in mind if you cut down for abs you will lose some of the fullness all the way across your body.
Potentially losing arm size. So in that respect you have to decide if the trade off is worth it.0 -
Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.4
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djeffreys10 wrote: »Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.
Honestly, it's not worth it. When I leaned out to super shredded, with a shirt on, I looked like I didn't lift. No way, will I ever go under 10% again, I'll probably end my next cut at 12% or something, I embrace feeling bigger even if it means that my abs are slightly hidden.3 -
djeffreys10 wrote: »Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.
Honestly, it's not worth it. When I leaned out to super shredded, with a shirt on, I looked like I didn't lift. No way, will I ever go under 10% again, I'll probably end my next cut at 12% or something, I embrace feeling bigger even if it means that my abs are slightly hidden.
I agree. Maybe for summer I'll hit 10% but my abs are still visible at 13-14% so you never know.
Also ehhhhhhh another hook gripper finally!0 -
djeffreys10 wrote: »Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.
Honestly, it's not worth it. When I leaned out to super shredded, with a shirt on, I looked like I didn't lift. No way, will I ever go under 10% again, I'll probably end my next cut at 12% or something, I embrace feeling bigger even if it means that my abs are slightly hidden.
I agree. Maybe for summer I'll hit 10% but my abs are still visible at 13-14% so you never know.
Also ehhhhhhh another hook gripper finally!
Yup, since adding Romanian Deadlifts into my workout program, at first I was doing them with a mixed grip until I learned from Mark Rippletoe...well basically he recommends not using the mixed grip for that exercise, he highly recommended to learn the RDL's by doing them with a hook grip. So I gave it a shot, it wasn't easy initially, my thumb was killing me. But after a few weeks, my thumbs now are used to it.0 -
Mine start showing at a pretty high bf %... 23% according to my oh so accurate BIA scale - or maybe my belly fat is just shaped like abs.
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I am headed in the opposite direction...trying to cut. This is my first cut in many years but I am enjoying it. It is my experience to use the mirror as a guide. Its great to have weight goals but don't depend on the scale. The mirror never lies.1
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djeffreys10 wrote: »Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.
Honestly, it's not worth it. When I leaned out to super shredded, with a shirt on, I looked like I didn't lift. No way, will I ever go under 10% again, I'll probably end my next cut at 12% or something, I embrace feeling bigger even if it means that my abs are slightly hidden.
I agree. Maybe for summer I'll hit 10% but my abs are still visible at 13-14% so you never know.
Also ehhhhhhh another hook gripper finally!
Yup, since adding Romanian Deadlifts into my workout program, at first I was doing them with a mixed grip until I learned from Mark Rippletoe...well basically he recommends not using the mixed grip for that exercise, he highly recommended to learn the RDL's by doing them with a hook grip. So I gave it a shot, it wasn't easy initially, my thumb was killing me. But after a few weeks, my thumbs now are used to it.
I know the pain. I actually use hook exclusively now. I just pulled a new max using hook grip and chalk. It's quite satisfying2 -
djeffreys10 wrote: »Beats me, I don't even have abs after a cut.
Honestly, it's not worth it. When I leaned out to super shredded, with a shirt on, I looked like I didn't lift. No way, will I ever go under 10% again, I'll probably end my next cut at 12% or something, I embrace feeling bigger even if it means that my abs are slightly hidden.
I agree. Maybe for summer I'll hit 10% but my abs are still visible at 13-14% so you never know.
Also ehhhhhhh another hook gripper finally!
Yup, since adding Romanian Deadlifts into my workout program, at first I was doing them with a mixed grip until I learned from Mark Rippletoe...well basically he recommends not using the mixed grip for that exercise, he highly recommended to learn the RDL's by doing them with a hook grip. So I gave it a shot, it wasn't easy initially, my thumb was killing me. But after a few weeks, my thumbs now are used to it.
I know the pain. I actually use hook exclusively now. I just pulled a new max using hook grip and chalk. It's quite satisfying
It will be a long time before I can use hook grip. I shaved off the end of my thumb in a wood planer about 3-4 weeks ago, and it still hurts like a *kitten*. I was back in the gym a week later, but there are some days (like yesterday) that I still have a take a percoset after (or while) lifting. No way could I hook grip any time soon.
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Bulking and cutting is not a real thing. Real progress is slow steady lean gains. Getting fat for a brief period ain't gonna do anything but make you look like hell. Naturally the human body can only gain 3-5lbs of muscle a year and that's being optimistic. So why gain 20lbs in a few short months? So you can lean back out and be 0.2lbs heavier than before? Eat clean, eat for energy, and train heavy, if you're getting stronger but not getting fat then you're gaining muscle.6
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selfiebrah wrote: »Bulking and cutting is not a real thing. Real progress is slow steady lean gains. Getting fat for a brief period ain't gonna do anything but make you look like hell. Naturally the human body can only gain 3-5lbs of muscle a year and that's being optimistic. So why gain 20lbs in a few short months? So you can lean back out and be 0.2lbs heavier than before? Eat clean, eat for energy, and train heavy, if you're getting stronger but not getting fat then you're gaining muscle.
Can you clarify what you mean by this? When you say bulking, are you referring to "dirty" bulking (very high gain in a short period of time?) I consider being in a surplus, even a small surplus to be bulking. Which is definitely a real thing, and a thing that has caused me significant progress over time.
If you want to be a heavier version of yourself, with more muscle more mass, you have to gain weight. Even in a small surplus, some fat gain will come along with that. I'm not saying letting your bodyfat get out of control, but it will increase. And gaining so slowly take a lot of time to reach certain goals and that is not optimal for everyone.2 -
selfiebrah wrote: »Eat clean, eat for energy, and train heavy, if you're getting stronger but not getting fat then you're gaining muscle.
Your advice means nothing especially for a newbie who has no clue about nutrition. What the hell does eat clean mean??? For a newbie, it can be simply eating carrots and veggies all day. Eat for energy???? How does a newbie know what foods are for energy? Your advice really doesn't help at all, it reminds me of when I started lifting, I asked him "how do I gain muscles?" , His response was "You must eat alot." So I ate what I thought was a lot, but yet the scale was not moving and I was seeing any progress. Nowadays I know that I was still undereating despite thinking at the time I was doing the opposite. Why??? Because my trainer never took the time to teach me about nutrition in details.1 -
selfiebrah wrote: »Bulking and cutting is not a real thing. Real progress is slow steady lean gains. Getting fat for a brief period ain't gonna do anything but make you look like hell. Naturally the human body can only gain 3-5lbs of muscle a year and that's being optimistic. So why gain 20lbs in a few short months? So you can lean back out and be 0.2lbs heavier than before? Eat clean, eat for energy, and train heavy, if you're getting stronger but not getting fat then you're gaining muscle.
I would suggest that a novice or beginning lifter who only gained 3-5 pounds of muscle their first or even second year lifting take a step back and examine their program or their diet... probably both.
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How about neuromuscular adaptation as opposed to hypertrophy?selfiebrah wrote: »Bulking and cutting is not a real thing. Real progress is slow steady lean gains. Getting fat for a brief period ain't gonna do anything but make you look like hell. Naturally the human body can only gain 3-5lbs of muscle a year and that's being optimistic. So why gain 20lbs in a few short months? So you can lean back out and be 0.2lbs heavier than before? Eat clean, eat for energy, and train heavy, if you're getting stronger but not getting fat then you're gaining muscle.
Bulking and cutting is not a real thing? So you're claiming that no bodybuilders do bulk and cut cycles?
And what is your source to claim that the human body can only gain 3-5 pounds of muscle per year? That doesn't jibe with what I've seen from actual knowledgeable sources.1
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