Cardio, cutting, and planning update - so much to write about haha.
Cardio: Swimming this morning - mostly just some technique work with a few short speed sprints thrown in. A pretty easy session, but unfortunately that means no filthy pump 
Will report on today’s PM squat workout once that’s done!
Cutting update:
Weight this morning was at 74.6 kg. So we’re coming up fast on the 74 kg mark that I’ve been aiming for - and just as well. The end of the year is approaching fast, less than 3 weeks left now.
I’m happy with the progress on the cut - I haven’t had to count calories or anything, and I’ve still gotten down a significant amount of weight. I still do have a bit of fat - like I can pinch a fingerful of fat on my lower stomach and love handles, which is bloody annoying - but I can still make out some upper abs. So I think we’re where we want to be.
I’m now beginning to turn my thinking towards my next stage of training: gaining some quality muscle mass. I want to have the plan sorted out beforehand so that I can literally just plug and play.
Here’s what I know so far. I will formally finish this cycle of 5/3/1 on Sunday 27 December (a rest day). That gives me from 28-31 Dec (4 days) to deload and prepare for hitting the first day of my mass phase on the 1st of January 2021. During this time I’ll test my Training Maxes if I’m doing more 5/3/1.
Now, the only question that remains is: what to do to gain mass? I’ve got about 12 weeks at my disposal, and I need to use them as efficiently as possible - that means running the most effective programming possible. I’m leaning towards doing something like Pwn’s Ultimate Mass Monster Mayhem Blast™, or at least the first 12 or so weeks of it… 5/3/1 BBB Beefcake, 1 week deload, then 5/3/1 Building the Monolith.
The thing is though I don’t want to get stupid about bulking this time. I’ve talked before how I’m eating the same amount of food in a day now that I was in one meal when I first started. Back then, I was force feeding all the time, eating big to get big, probably not getting enough protein, not doing any cardio… and I’ve paid for it with three months of hard dieting, lol. No more of that.
I don’t want to put on any more fat than is absolutely necessary this time… but how to go about doing that? I basically only have two modes of eating: “fat loss” and “bulk up”, lol. I suspect the best approach will just be to have 3-4 solid, high quality, clean meals a day, focusing on the protein intake as much as possible, but not force-feeding. I’m thinking about adding in “control days” too: https://www.t-nation.com/training/beef-up-your-body-composition (the last section of this article from Coach Thib). I also plan to be doing conditioning work - sprints twice a week initially, and then once swimming picks up again after New Year’s, two swimming sessions a week instead.
With all these techniques and considerations, I’m confident that I will be more successful in gaining quality muscle this time round.
My only questions with Beefcake and BtM are:
- Beefcake doesn’t include any arm work. Yes, I know, I’m being that guy, but man, my arms are really lagging. I assume I should just stick to the program and work on the arms later? I’m reluctant to screw around with the program, especially since Jim has written out Beefcake so specifically on his blog. (Then again, 100 reps of curls on BtM will probably make up for that, so maybe I’ve answered my own question there.)
- 5x10 at FSL weights will be almost impossible with my press. I assume I should just give it a go and shift the weight down a bit if it isn’t working?
Apart from that, well, Beefcake looks tough and BtM actually looks a little scary… but I suppose that’s just part of the deal, lol. It seems like an effective way to spend 13 weeks. But yeah, looking forward to some mass soon.
@carlbm @T3hPwnisher I would especially love to get your opinions on this whole bulking thing haha.
