The Official Gym & Fitness Thread

This whole thread is TL;DR right now

 

I'll have to get back on the big 3... haven't tried maxing in a little over a month due to a skiing accident. height 6'

I don't think skinny would be the right word. though we might have a different definition of skinny.

I think from what i'm reading i need to just go bulk and try to pack on more muscle for a few months (3-4?). I probably didnt start with enough muscle mass to warrant the cut I was wanting to do. The thought of not being able to see any ab definition is a hard pill to swallow.

If I wanted to switch to a bulk phase, is the diet clean/balanced to just add like 800 clean calories a day (balanced between protein carbs and fats) and focus my lifts more in the 5 to 6 rep range vs the 8 to 10 range which I had been doing to try and build lean muscle?

 

Zach is 5’11 like 205 but he fat. At 6’0 195 eating that much, you should be pretty athletically built. I’m 6’1 175 but not strong and pretty skinny. You’d be fine to cut from where you’re at.

 

That’s where I don’t get what to do, Zach may be 10 lbs above me but his lifts are like miles above mine. Mine are probably like 205/290/315 if I had to guess by where 5rep ranges are. I’m extremely athletic, but not fat cuz I have a low enough bf%to see abs. So my conclusion is I’m just at the far end of the “endurance” strength spectrum. Where I can’t lift a lot but I can go a loooong time before fatigue...and my recovery time is almost nothing. So I guess im also asking so many questions because I want to make sure I have the best goals in mind. Because dedicating this much time and money into lifting and eating well to remain stagnant is not my goal

 

Hey congrats on the twins!

Glad you are at a place that supports you moving forward. I feel thats really needed these days. Its not easy to start your own practice these days

 

Do you know what your body fat percentage is?

You say you already have abs but you want to be leaner.

If you have to go under 9-10% body fat to get the ab visibility you want its indicative of being too skinny to get good abs.

Just a rough measuring tool.

Most people can’t maintain under 10% body fat long term. As you said... its time, effort, and money people won’t spend.

Most guys need to lift pretty heavy and consistently to build a solid core. Most guys get very narrow in the waist as we get lean. Especially young guys.

This is my big issue. I have great shoulders/pecs/upper back for my size but when I get lean I get fucking tiny in the waist. Thats why I usually stay fatter at 12-13% body fat (except now... I’m fat at 16%).

With pictures we could help you out. But not everyone likes posting pics.

 

I don’t know what it is. I had bf measured like 2 years ago (I’m 24 now) and it was something like 12-13% and I know I’m leaner now than I was then (and about 4lbs lighter). The weight i think is a misnomer. I have a natural barrel chest and pretty big legs by default even with no lifting. So when comparing to other people I think my weight throws off the comparison.

So I think I’m in the 10% range. Which tells me I need to bulk up muscle mass. Obv I’m just stuck between 190 and 199 forever lol.

There’s a fair bit of pics of me floating around, just none posing for a gym shot. Though it would help so I should

 

I vote bulk. Its winter. All we do is wear baggy sweatshirts and jeans so getting a bit fatter is less noticable. Cut back in the summer again.

And tell your gf to be more supportive and stop bringing junk around!! LOL

 

My big 3 are
DL:345
squat:225
bench:225
(Just started squatting again in July because i messed up my hip a few years ago)

End of summer i was 8.7% bf at 167, I’d say I’m about 9.5-10%bf right now at 175. I have defined abs for my 4 top abs and my lower abs have a little fat over them.

 

Alright fattys. Make room in the pool. I’m joining th bulk club.

Would it be unreasonable to say once my bench is at 225. Squat 315 and DL at whatever is in proportion to that then I can cut again and hopefully slim down to a more defined physique?

 

I’m 17% BF with visible “defined” abs.

179lbs 5’ 8.5”

Bench - 315
Squat - 345
DL - 435

My squat sucks but that’s not a true max, just my best I’ve ever tried. I just did it for multiple singles last week and my program I’m on will have me hitting it for triples in less than 2 weeks. My goal is 400 by Feb 3 for my meet. Shouldn’t be too difficult since I recently switched from high bar to low bar and the weight seems to be moving way easier. My competing class is 181lbs so I can’t get much bigger, I can be as light as 167 but anytime I’m that small I can barely DL 385 and my bench is around 285. I’m trying to stay at the high end of my range now.

 

Had to make sure we knew about that half an inch

 

Hey now. He worked hard and did lots of lifting for that half inch

 

Lots of stretching

 

You know some of us only has a half inch to begin with

 

You know what that means right?

 

We all know about that half inch.

 

FTFY. I might have thrown it out there a few times as well, lol.

 

Only time i add that extra half inch is when I’m talking about my peeper.

 

I'd say I'm probably in the 18-25% bf range right now. When I bulk, I bulk. Cutting fat is easy. Gaining muscle is much harder. When I bulk, I make sure my body has more than enough fuel to build as much muscle as possible. If that means fat gain, so be it. I'd rather gain some fat and know that my muscle growth is maxed out as opposed to shorting myself. When I cut, I usually get down to around 12-14% before I lose my mind from feeling puny and end up bulking again lol. I really want to try to get down to around 10%, but I always end up feeling too small, but hopefully I'll get there this year . My ultimate goal has always been 220 lbs and I finally reached that on this bulk, so if I can be a lean 200 @ 5'11" I think I'd be happy.

If you could stay that lean and be 205+, you wouldn't look like one of those kids we need to send a monthly donation of $.50 to.