Anyone cutting after a bulk?
Replies
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Weight has been trending down a bit with the exception of this week since it was my 10 year anniversary. My wife and i finally had a getaway without kids. Ended up getting an ocean front room at a Marriott.
Still on track to hit 163 by Halloween... Might even beat it since i am at 166 today. And then I have a goal by Thanksgiving to be around 157.
PT is going well. I squatted (front squat) for the first time in over a year. Did 165x6x4 with no pain. And did 155 reverse lunge with no back pain. So huge progress. Going to spend the rest of the year focusing on improving balance and working glute medius. This is the focus that my PT wants me to take until they are as strong as my glute max.
So if you have any good good abduction, adduction and glute moves please post them. Right now i focus on four direction cable lifts, side and reverse lunge, lunge, and hip thrusters.4 -
Finished 12 day 3/day week full body. Really did it to maintain over summer so I reached that goal. No change otherwise. My body seemed to do better with more volume so switching to PHUL. Bulk train let’s go
Here is July -> Oct, 106 -> 108
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I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.1
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mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
My heart flew bc of this ❤️1 -
So if you have any good good abduction, adduction and glute moves please post them. Right now i focus on four direction cable lifts, side and reverse lunge, lunge, and hip thrusters.
I do copenhagen plank holds for time, heavyish kettlebell swings, crab walks with hip band/resistance band.
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mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I agree, looking great @alexmose!2 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I agree, looking great @alexmose!
Thank you my friends ❤️ I’m just going to do PHUL and do 100 cal surplus for a Meso and see where that takes me. I’ll likely go back to full body 3/day week after that. I kinda enjoyed it! Very tough workouts1 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I completely agree with this. I think there's no doubt looking at your back pics @alexmose that at the very least you've added muscle in the rhomboids and lats. Looking awesome!1 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I agree, looking great @alexmose!
Thank you my friends ❤️ I’m just going to do PHUL and do 100 cal surplus for a Meso and see where that takes me. I’ll likely go back to full body 3/day week after that. I kinda enjoyed it! Very tough workouts
I really like PHUL on paper but have struggled to execute it properly; I struggle to get up (literally and figuratively) for legs only days and have found I'm way more consistent with full-body programs.0 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I completely agree with this. I think there's no doubt looking at your back pics @alexmose that at the very least you've added muscle in the rhomboids and lats. Looking awesome!
This and what @steveko89 says is making me rethink my approach and perhaps i will run MAPS Anabolic again. Last 3 months I did it in maintenance. Perhaps we will see more now that I have added more calories!
One thing about MAPS is the trigger sessions: 1-3 10 min circuits a day, bodyweight/bands only. I think it has really made the difference. I also like that I only have to go to the gym one less day per week. I have to say, it is a bit light on legs, which made me want to switch to PHUL in the first place, but perhaps i just switch out some shoulder work (since I respond well) or add in more legs later in the day? We shall see how consistent I am with PHUL for now, but yea, 4/days week in the gym plus a day where I teach Bodypump is a lot. I was able to stay consistent with it last year.0 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I completely agree with this. I think there's no doubt looking at your back pics @alexmose that at the very least you've added muscle in the rhomboids and lats. Looking awesome!
This and what @steveko89 says is making me rethink my approach and perhaps i will run MAPS Anabolic again. Last 3 months I did it in maintenance. Perhaps we will see more now that I have added more calories!
One thing about MAPS is the trigger sessions: 1-3 10 min circuits a day, bodyweight/bands only. I think it has really made the difference. I also like that I only have to go to the gym one less day per week. I have to say, it is a bit light on legs, which made me want to switch to PHUL in the first place, but perhaps i just switch out some shoulder work (since I respond well) or add in more legs later in the day? We shall see how consistent I am with PHUL for now, but yea, 4/days week in the gym plus a day where I teach Bodypump is a lot. I was able to stay consistent with it last year.
Don't get me wrong, I regard PHUL very highly as a well-designed program. I've simply turned into too much of a bro to drag my *kitten* out of bed for legs-only workouts.1 -
As for me, looking at my weight trend chart 8/12 was basically an inflection point and I've gained just over 2 lbs in those 60 days whilst averaging ~+125 cal/day. The good news is the skulpt says it's mostly muscle (which seems suspect given my training age) but I'm going to just keep it going as a lean bulk and see how things go.
*8/12 italicized data is inferred for my starting reference point
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mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I completely agree with this. I think there's no doubt looking at your back pics @alexmose that at the very least you've added muscle in the rhomboids and lats. Looking awesome!
This and what @steveko89 says is making me rethink my approach and perhaps i will run MAPS Anabolic again. Last 3 months I did it in maintenance. Perhaps we will see more now that I have added more calories!
One thing about MAPS is the trigger sessions: 1-3 10 min circuits a day, bodyweight/bands only. I think it has really made the difference. I also like that I only have to go to the gym one less day per week. I have to say, it is a bit light on legs, which made me want to switch to PHUL in the first place, but perhaps i just switch out some shoulder work (since I respond well) or add in more legs later in the day? We shall see how consistent I am with PHUL for now, but yea, 4/days week in the gym plus a day where I teach Bodypump is a lot. I was able to stay consistent with it last year.
Don't get me wrong, I regard PHUL very highly as a well-designed program. I've simply turned into too much of a bro to drag my *kitten* out of bed for legs-only workouts.
You and I definitely could not train together, lol. I hate full body programs. I thrive on Upper Lower or PHAT style workouts. In fact, since my back is making really good progress, I just restarted my own designed U/L/U/L/U program; I had to self design based on injury and the rules my gym is currently following.
So I ran PHUL for about 6 months. It's been one of the programs (outside of PHAT) that i enjoyed the most and many of my strength gains and the foundation of that strength came from that program (at full volume). And honestly, it's one of the key programs I recommend people follow if they want a 4 day.0 -
mom23mangos wrote: »I think you recomped a bit. You look slightly leaner and 2lbs heavier.
I completely agree with this. I think there's no doubt looking at your back pics @alexmose that at the very least you've added muscle in the rhomboids and lats. Looking awesome!
This and what @steveko89 says is making me rethink my approach and perhaps i will run MAPS Anabolic again. Last 3 months I did it in maintenance. Perhaps we will see more now that I have added more calories!
One thing about MAPS is the trigger sessions: 1-3 10 min circuits a day, bodyweight/bands only. I think it has really made the difference. I also like that I only have to go to the gym one less day per week. I have to say, it is a bit light on legs, which made me want to switch to PHUL in the first place, but perhaps i just switch out some shoulder work (since I respond well) or add in more legs later in the day? We shall see how consistent I am with PHUL for now, but yea, 4/days week in the gym plus a day where I teach Bodypump is a lot. I was able to stay consistent with it last year.
Don't get me wrong, I regard PHUL very highly as a well-designed program. I've simply turned into too much of a bro to drag my *kitten* out of bed for legs-only workouts.
You and I definitely could not train together, lol. I hate full body programs. I thrive on Upper Lower or PHAT style workouts. In fact, since my back is making really good progress, I just restarted my own designed U/L/U/L/U program; I had to self design based on injury and the rules my gym is currently following.
So I ran PHUL for about 6 months. It's been one of the programs (outside of PHAT) that i enjoyed the most and many of my strength gains and the foundation of that strength came from that program (at full volume). And honestly, it's one of the key programs I recommend people follow if they want a 4 day.
Likewise I ran PHUL for a while and made really good progress when I was on the fringe between novice and intermediate. Now that strength gains come a little slower the lower days just excite me less. I did cobble together a Push/Pull hybrid with PHUL rep range principles and that worked well for a good while as well but being 4 day instead of 5 allowed me to put too much variation in my sleep schedule; making myself go to bed and get up at the same times everyday works best and having a rest or "cardio" day just meant I'd stay up too late and throw my routine off.0 -
So its been 6 weeks and outside of water weight changes, i have not lost any weight. Considering saying screw it and go back to Keto since its almost winter and i won't miss fruit as much. Oh the struggle bus to get super lean.3
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2 weeks into bulking and i have been quite stressed from work and then my cycle on top meant 2 weeks of seeing really really high numbers. Staying the course and wondering if it’ll go down. Maybe the creatine and lack of sleep are kicking in.2
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2 weeks into bulking and i have been quite stressed from work and then my cycle on top meant 2 weeks of seeing really really high numbers. Staying the course and wondering if it’ll go down. Maybe the creatine and lack of sleep are kicking in.
Oh yea that could all definitely affect the scale.
How long have you been taking creatine? Do you find it helps? I always think about taking it then I'm all, nah. I know it's cheap but I just don't know if I can handle the bloat and fullness that supposedly comes with.
Anyways.. keep at it, try not to get too focused on scale. You can do this
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Is "bulking" still a thing? Ever heard of just building muscle in a healthy way? Gains are lost during the cutting phase unless there's some "special" help involved. It's best to maintain the same body fat and gain muscle by increasing protein intake and training hard. The healthy way.0
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Is "bulking" still a thing? Ever heard of just building muscle in a healthy way? Gains are lost during the cutting phase unless there's some "special" help involved. It's best to maintain the same body fat and gain muscle by increasing protein intake and training hard. The healthy way.
For me bulking is gaining weight. It's not necessarily what you are probably referring to as a "dirty bulk". I don't let my bodyfat get too high or gain too much so I still stay within a healthy range.
And I disagree that it's best to maintain the same bodyfat to gain muscle. While that can work for some people it's not optimal for people that want to gain more significant mass and get heavier. Especially if they are very lean to start. What about ultra lean bodybuilders who compete? What about almost underweight people looking to gain?
Also I do not lose my gains during the cutting phase since I do it properly. I have built my body from the ground up with bulk cycles and I am very proud of what I have accomplished.
If you have your own muscle building progress, even without bulking, feel free to share it here.3 -
2 weeks into bulking and i have been quite stressed from work and then my cycle on top meant 2 weeks of seeing really really high numbers. Staying the course and wondering if it’ll go down. Maybe the creatine and lack of sleep are kicking in.
Oh yea that could all definitely affect the scale.
How long have you been taking creatine? Do you find it helps? I always think about taking it then I'm all, nah. I know it's cheap but I just don't know if I can handle the bloat and fullness that supposedly comes with.
Anyways.. keep at it, try not to get too focused on scale. You can do this
I would suspect that dosing is the key factor to bloating and fullness. There's some old guidance out there about a loading phase (20-25g/day for a week) which I could see lead to those ill-effects. Most maintenance dosing recommendations are 2-3g/day but the creatine monohydrate I've always gotten comes with a 5g scoop. For an n=1 I do a 5 g scoop with my preworkout (which has another 2g in it) and another 5g post workout for 12g/day total at nominally 175 lbs and don't feel any ill effects from bloating or fullness but do think it helps with overall work capacity and recovery, especially going up from 7g to 12g.0 -
2 weeks into bulking and i have been quite stressed from work and then my cycle on top meant 2 weeks of seeing really really high numbers. Staying the course and wondering if it’ll go down. Maybe the creatine and lack of sleep are kicking in.
Oh yea that could all definitely affect the scale.
How long have you been taking creatine? Do you find it helps? I always think about taking it then I'm all, nah. I know it's cheap but I just don't know if I can handle the bloat and fullness that supposedly comes with.
Anyways.. keep at it, try not to get too focused on scale. You can do this
I have been using for about a month and have not had any measurable bloating effects. Like @steveko89 I just do 5g post, but not pre.0 -
Thanks @steveko89 and @alexmose for the info. Once I stop breastfeeding I might think about it adding it in.0
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Thanks @steveko89 and @alexmose for the info. Once I stop breastfeeding I might think about it adding it in.
Sure thing. Frankly, after a month, I am not sure if the creatine or more food are allowing me to recover/perform better.0 -
2 weeks into bulking and i have been quite stressed from work and then my cycle on top meant 2 weeks of seeing really really high numbers. Staying the course and wondering if it’ll go down. Maybe the creatine and lack of sleep are kicking in.
Oh yea that could all definitely affect the scale.
How long have you been taking creatine? Do you find it helps? I always think about taking it then I'm all, nah. I know it's cheap but I just don't know if I can handle the bloat and fullness that supposedly comes with.
Anyways.. keep at it, try not to get too focused on scale. You can do this
I would suspect that dosing is the key factor to bloating and fullness. There's some old guidance out there about a loading phase (20-25g/day for a week) which I could see lead to those ill-effects. Most maintenance dosing recommendations are 2-3g/day but the creatine monohydrate I've always gotten comes with a 5g scoop. For an n=1 I do a 5 g scoop with my preworkout (which has another 2g in it) and another 5g post workout for 12g/day total at nominally 175 lbs and don't feel any ill effects from bloating or fullness but do think it helps with overall work capacity and recovery, especially going up from 7g to 12g.
I wish I had a reference handy, but most of what I've read says you can load at 10g/day for a week or two so that it builds up to it's maximum level in your system quicker, or you can just start with the typical recommended daily dose of 5g/day and it'll just take a week or two longer to build up.
As to whether or not it helps, most literature says it does but as with most supplements I suspect we're talking about a single digit percentage, or very low double digit percentage, of help. Getting one or two more reps in a set is the general consensus on what it does for you and so if you're doing 10 reps pre creatine and can knock out 11 post creatine that's a 10% increase in volume. And then how much is that 10% increase in volume going to help with your goal, strength, hypertrophy, etc.? Not a huge amount.
Not trying to discourage anyone. I myself take it at 5g/day. But that's because it's cheap and I don't have any significant side-effects like bloating that some folks experience.
And you will gain weight due to water retention in the muscles. Some folks don't like seeing the scale increase, even if it is just water weight.0 -
So its been 6 weeks and outside of water weight changes, i have not lost any weight. Considering saying screw it and go back to Keto since its almost winter and i won't miss fruit as much. Oh the struggle bus to get super lean.
So i decided going back to CKD. So I will cut for two weeks and then have two high carb low fat days at maintenance and repeat.
Day 1 at 167.4lbs.2 -
So its been 6 weeks and outside of water weight changes, i have not lost any weight. Considering saying screw it and go back to Keto since its almost winter and i won't miss fruit as much. Oh the struggle bus to get super lean.
So i decided going back to CKD. So I will cut for two weeks and then have two high carb low fat days at maintenance and repeat.
Day 1 at 167.4lbs.
Sounds like a great plan. Do you find it helps your workout performance but still allows you to stick to being in keto? Kind of the best of both worlds?1 -
So its been 6 weeks and outside of water weight changes, i have not lost any weight. Considering saying screw it and go back to Keto since its almost winter and i won't miss fruit as much. Oh the struggle bus to get super lean.
So i decided going back to CKD. So I will cut for two weeks and then have two high carb low fat days at maintenance and repeat.
Day 1 at 167.4lbs.
Sounds like a great plan. Do you find it helps your workout performance but still allows you to stick to being in keto? Kind of the best of both worlds?
It helps with the workouts for a few days. It's more that i can incorporate things like english muffins and oatmeal. So it's more mental. But if i try to incorporate them during a cut, i find my calories just add up quickly and i find myself "cheating" a bit too much.0 -
Food porn time. If anyone even has questions on foods, let me know. This is another passion of mine.
Keto pumpkin spice muffin with a buttercream icing
Slow cooked carnitas.
Both recipes designed by me.6 -
Been at maintenance for nearly 2 weeks
Dropped about 4 lb of water what takes me to 231lb, going to push the deficit slightly as I’m not particularly lean, I’d like to be under
220lb by the Christmas holidays with a planned diet break then.0
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