My before and after. Top one is weighing in 235 (I think from memory) and the bottom one is 221lbs with an arm pump this morning.
I’m not sure I see much of a difference over all 
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I see a big difference. You’ve gone from a fluffy look to a way more granite-y one.
I planned to bump my cals up to maintenance this weekend also. I even had large cod and chips one night and allowed myself to eat whatever I wanted the next day. The problem is my “eat whatever I want” reverts me back to my skinny boy habits. I almost ended up chasing 600 calories before bed to get myself up to around maintenance but thought bugger it. It would have been good for my irritated shoulder and energy levels but my appetite seems to still want a deficit, so it’s what I gave it. (I’m not as deep into my cut as though, I’m fully expecting this to get harder)
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Shoulders, pecs and love handles look different to me.
Most of what you’ve lost is glycogen, but certainly some body fat has left with it. Well done.
Awesome progress mate.
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I see a ton of progress. Way to go!
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Week 44/52 27th June Lower 1
Cutting - Week 5
JP Principles upper/lower training.
-
Squat
92kg x 9 (5-9 target)
82kg x 12 (10-12 target) -
DB RDL - warmed up with these and my back felt so so tight i switched to seated ham curls
Seated hammys
61kg x 9 (5-9 target)
54kg x 12 (10-12 target) -
BSS
14kg DBs x 9 (5-9 target)
12kg DBs x 12 (10-12 target) -
Abs - laying on the floor, legs out then up then back.
x 7
x 4 - Cramped up
x 5
x 5 -
Hip thrust machine - focus on power up and controlled down reps
90kg x 9 (5-9 target)
80kg x 12 (10-12 target) -
Calves - 5 second hold at top and bottom of rep
15 x 12
25 x 10
35 x 8 -
Shrugs on calf raise machine
15 x 15
25 x 12
35 x 10
Weight stagnant but that’s expected as eating in maintenance over the weekend. Needed that extra carb input to recover but back on cutting street now so hopefully lose a another pound by the end of the week although its my sons birthday weekend so i’ll be eating more (as to not be weird) but just need to hit a deficit still.
s
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Thank you for the motivation by the way @cdep89 @Andrewgen_Receptors @simo74 @TrainForPain
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Week 45/52 6th July Upper 2
Cutting - Week 6
JP Principles upper/lower training.
-
BB Incline Press
80kg x 7 (5-9 target)
70kg x 10 (10-12 target) -
HS Pulldown
55kg each side x 9 (5-9 target)
50kg each side x 10 (10-12 target) -
HS Shoulder Press
50kg each side x 9 (5-9 target)
45kg each side x 10 (10-12 target) -
Bent over Smith BB row - Pump style
30kg x 12 (5-9 target)
50kg x 12 (10-12 target) -
Pec Dec
82kg x 9 (5-9 target)
75kg x 10 (10-12 target) -
rear delt fly
52kg x 13 (10-15 target)
52kg x 10 (10-15 target)
The gun Show
-
Cable Curls
5 on weight x 12 (10-12 target)
6 on weight x 9 (10-12 target) -
Dips
x 10 (10-12 target)
x 8 (10-12 target) -
Rope Hammer curls
8 weight
x 12 (10-12 target)
x 12 (10-12 target) -
Tricep pushdowns with handles
10 weight
x 12 (10-12 target)
x 10 (10-12 target) -
Preacher curls - pump style
12kg DBs
x 12
x 12
x 6 -
Tricep OH extension - pump style
5 weight both cables
x 12
x 12
x 12
From some reason i really enjoyed this mornings workout. I also did bent over smith row in a pump style today. i saw some IBF pro doing them on facebook while resting on the shoulder press and thought i might just give them a go. I assume the form is terrible and what not but who cares, i had fun!!!
Form was only slightly bent over and very much a pump style continues reps.
On weight loss i’ve started dropping weight after the weekend again which i’m happy with and is still on plan, i needed that increase over the weekend. Weighing 219.8lbs this morning. That feels very light for a 6’3 man like me.
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Do you get days where you feel too skinny and days where you feel too fat again?
It’s frickin’ crazy. One day I feel like I’m going too far, the next day I’m like “shit, I need to go another 10lbs yet”. I think it’s something to do with this like jellyfish effect fat seems to get before it disappears. I’ve heard people talk about water filling up the space until you get a “woosh” effect where you suddenly lose 2-3lbs on the scale. There’s not any real science behind it but it sounds true based on my own experience.
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The scale is such a mind-game - we all have a number in mind and it’s never what reailty has in store.
I think @T3hPwnisher weighs like 180 lbs. right now, but looks insane.
It goes the other way, too, where we will have folks that refuse to gain a pound but don’t understand why they don’t get the physique they’re after.
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I appreciate that dude! I’m actually consistently seeing 169 on the scale these days. It’s absolutely nuts, and a total mindf**k for me, but it’s just like you say: I have to look at how I LOOK and how I perform vs. what the scale says.
That’s what’s so funny too: in the past, when I’d drop this much weight, lots of folks would come up to me and say “have you lost weight?” It was obvious. This time, even though the scale reflects physical weight lost, I’m not getting that question. My wife doesn’t think I’m any smaller. I’ve managed to hold “size” while being lighter.
It’s why I was so big on just plain ol never stepping on a scale in the first place. I just used the mirror and how my clothes fit. Now I’m using the scale more for academic purposes, because this most recent phase of the journey has been wild.
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I 100% get days when i feel like i don’t even lift and days when i feel like a chubby kid.
There are a few things that i’ve noticed have a big effect on this.
Bloating - if i see myself first thing in the morning vs after a large meal it can effect how i feel about my body massively. I try not to focus on how i look in the mirror straight after eating and especially if i’ve had bread or something like that
Hydration - I’ve noticed more on this cut but when i get de-hydrated i sometimes look really flat in my muscles. A bit of water later and i look way better.
Clothes - I normally wear XL, but i’ve got some XXL and some L tops. The different clothes i’ve got do effect how i feel, so i make sure if i’m going somewhere i wear something i feel good in (if that makes sense).
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There’s a difference though, @T3hPwnisher is 180lbs and looks amazing. I’m 6’3 weighing only 219lbs and don’t look that great. I wouldn’t care how much i weighed if i looked as good as the punisher!
But i get your point.
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169!
And going full kimono, I STILL care about how much I weigh, because I’m still always going to be a meathead and NOT being 200lbs of bodyweight will always eat at me. Pun totally unintended but that’s pretty damn funny.
BUT, I understand intellectually that it doesn’t matter. And I feel like that’s a big part of this: we aren’t perfect. The human brain is really smart but the human mind is really dumb because we exist in a world that is very much not in alignment with what our psychology and physicality is programmed for. In turn, we’re going to have emotional and irrational parts of our psychology that get a near equal vote in how we act compared to our rational side. The big thing is to acknowledge them, NOT ignore them, and then move on.
When I step on the scale these days and see a number I haven’t seen since high school, I let the shock hit me, and then I think to myself “Do I feel good? Do I look good? Am I performing well? Then we’re good”. As much as I’d like to be 200lbs simply to “be 200lbs”, I acknowledge that it’s a irrational thought.
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I really like this. It’s funny, at least for me, sometimes the things I learn in one aspect of life it takes me a long time to realize they transfer over.
To this point, the short memory after a bad play, or acknowledging that you might be slower or whatever so here’s the gameplan, was very natural for me when I was playing sports. It took longer to wrap my head around not doing what was perfect, or being upset about the weights I used, or whatever whiny thing with lifting.
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This is why I employ so much variety in my training: I’m never comparing myself against old numbers. It’s why I’ve benched with an axle since my ACL reconstruction: CLEARLY an axle bench can’t be compared against a barbell bench! Haha.
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Of course it does. Dropping weight has made me feel different in clothes I previously felt amazing in. I don’t wanna go ahead and buy a new wardrobe though. With less fat around my arms I don’t fill out the sleeves in some of my favourites tees now. And that sucks.
I think that’s why I fell into the Meadows’ stuff so much after I got hurt, too: who knows how much you’re supposed to be able to squat when it’s third in your workout, with a bar you’ve never used, and it’s supersetted with lunges or something else nuts?
Great minds and all that
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So Friday was my sons birthday and I was there for him in the morning and picked him up from school this missed the gym but I don’t mind. First session I’ve missed in about 4 months or something so it doesn’t even matter and I love my family more than the gym (just 
).
Went out for a Chinese last night and ate my full 2000cal in one meal. Had a few beers and then some whiskey (lower cal than the beers). So my diet can be on hold for one day.
Have a good weekend all.
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Pulled my back today playing rugby in the garden with my son. I was messing around with him and just twisted at the wrong moment.
Can’t stand up straight, can’t bent down. Agony.
Going to smash some ibroprofin and try and train tomorrow.
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