Just Make It Fast, Loud and Rude. Rattlehead.

Training Training Logs
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[quote]LoRez wrote:
Quick question, that I figure you might be able to help me with.

I’m going to the beach in about 2 weeks, and if possible, I’d like to be able to lean up just a bit before then. What I’m thinking at this point is… keep lifting as I currently am (which is currently 5 days a week, using one of CT’s layer programs), up the protein by a bit, and decrease overall calories a bit. Since a significant portion of my calories come from milk anyway, that translates mostly to… drink less milk, maybe add some whey with my milk, and probably add some eggs for additional protein.

I’m not looking at this being any longer than a 2 week “mini cut”, but I haven’t ever done one of these and I’m not entirely sure where to start. Should I look at adding cardio in since I’m so close to the date? If so, what would you suggest? LISS, HIIT, both?

Kind of looking for general ideas. Really just would like to be a bit tighter than I currently am. As I mentioned in my log, it’s mostly stored on my lower back.[/quote]

Sorry for the late reply dude I’m away for the week and only have my phone .

I’m considering something very similar right now for myself, 2 - 4 week cut. Going to keep calories the same but lump carbs only to pre post and intra. And do as many LISS days as possible during the time but only short to medium length so no more than 30 mins.
For yourself I would maybe aim to increase the workload of your workouts and add some cardio, keep calories the same bit time carbs in a similar manner as me.

All bro science from me then I’m afraid dude, but just try some fasted cardio LISS as many days as possible, do more lifting in your session, eat no more calories than maintenance and time carbs around your workout.

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Sounds good, thanks. I’ll try doing something like that – I’ll have to shift some things around as far as the carbs, but I think I can work that out. No worries about replying late or anything.

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Guidance time bros.

Currently too fat or not? I seem to store a large amount of fat right in my lower abs so it makes me feel fat as fuck.

Suggestions?

PS no idea what my weight is cause I’m currently away from home.

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IMO I’d carry on with the weight gain at the moment. I don’t think a cut would be a good idea right now, it would almost seem like one step forward one step back at this stage.

You appear to be in the exact same situation as me with regard to time since last cut, bf % and where you store the fat, if you’re goals are the same as me (to add as much lean mass as possible) then I would crack on. Just be sensible with the food choices.

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You definitely aren’t “too fat” by any means; so I’d say don’t cut solely for the sake of not getting too fat right now. That being said, I think you learned through your dieting experience that you have no interest in getting to the point where you’d ever have to do such a lengthy cut again. You finished your cut in the low 160’s, correct?

If you’re weighing over 180 at this point I don’t think it would hurt to do a 3 or 4 week minicut, but your training seems to be going very well right now, so I could also see wanting to ride the “gaining” wave a little longer. I’d look at it like this though; which would be a better use of 3 weeks in terms of long term goals?

The amount of muscle you build in that time will likely be rather insignificant, but 3 weeks of lower carbs could improve insulin sensitivity, reduce body fat, and set you up for another good gaining period. So I guess I’d lean towards a short minicut, but it’s not a necessity. Sorry if I contradicted myself a lot in this post :slight_smile:

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If it were me, I’d just cut the calories down a little bit, and keep on training. Currently you’re a little less lean than I’d be comfortable with for myself, but I wouldn’t jump into a “cut”. Just attempt something like a recomp, leaning out, holding the weight, and still pushing your numbers up in the gym.

But I really don’t know what I’m doing. That’s just what I would do.

As far as me, it turns out I really have no idea how to cut carbs from my diet and still get in enough calories; I took a stab at it yesterday though. Scrambled eggs I can do. Steak and eggs worked. But the rest of the day, I really wasn’t sure how to do it. For instance, I ate two presliced containers of deli ham, and got less than 500 calories. I ended up buying some protein powder and psyllium husk just to get in some more calories and fiber. (Vanilla + orange is a good combo.)

I did a bit of research, and rediscovered Vince Gironda’s Maximum Definition Diet. About as simple as could be: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner, eat as much meat and eggs as you want. Cream and butter are the only allowable dairy products. Then, carb up every 72 hours, so, every 4th day. Also, aminos should be taken between meals.

In other words, a cyclical ketogenic diet, but with no carbs at all, not even vegetables. But yeah, food choice wise, I was struggling a bit.

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[quote]LoRez wrote:
If it were me, I’d just cut the calories down a little bit, and keep on training. Currently you’re a little less lean than I’d be comfortable with for myself, but I wouldn’t jump into a “cut”. Just attempt something like a recomp, leaning out, holding the weight, and still pushing your numbers up in the gym.

But I really don’t know what I’m doing. That’s just what I would do.

While I agree with you that Rattle shouldn’t make any drastic changes, I don’t think “recomping” would be a good way to go about it for him at this point. For someone who isn’t carrying a significant amount of bodyfat, I think it’s a good way to spin your wheels and not make significant progress in either direction. He should be able to drop 5 to 10 lbs in 4 weeks if he is fairly aggressive with it, and will be back in a good spot to get back into a slight surplus

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[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
If it were me, I’d just cut the calories down a little bit, and keep on training. Currently you’re a little less lean than I’d be comfortable with for myself, but I wouldn’t jump into a “cut”. Just attempt something like a recomp, leaning out, holding the weight, and still pushing your numbers up in the gym.

But I really don’t know what I’m doing. That’s just what I would do.[/quote]

While I agree with you that Rattle shouldn’t make any drastic changes, I don’t think “recomping” would be a good way to go about it for him at this point. For someone who isn’t carrying a significant amount of bodyfat, I think it’s a good way to spin your wheels and not make significant progress in either direction. He should be able to drop 5 to 10 lbs in 4 weeks if he is fairly aggressive with it, and will be back in a good spot to get back into a slight surplus[/quote]

That’s good to know.

So, over time, your approach would be something like: “bulk”, until it needs a bit of cleanup, then a short mini-cut to clean up, then back to bulking. And on each “bulk” cycle, get better at learning what your body needs so that you don’t need as much of a cleanup (or any) in the future.

Obviously bulk and cut aren’t great terms… just shortcuts to “dieting to gain muscle” vs “dieting to lose fat”.

Is that basically it?

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[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]pwolves17 wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:
If it were me, I’d just cut the calories down a little bit, and keep on training. Currently you’re a little less lean than I’d be comfortable with for myself, but I wouldn’t jump into a “cut”. Just attempt something like a recomp, leaning out, holding the weight, and still pushing your numbers up in the gym.

But I really don’t know what I’m doing. That’s just what I would do.[/quote]

While I agree with you that Rattle shouldn’t make any drastic changes, I don’t think “recomping” would be a good way to go about it for him at this point. For someone who isn’t carrying a significant amount of bodyfat, I think it’s a good way to spin your wheels and not make significant progress in either direction. He should be able to drop 5 to 10 lbs in 4 weeks if he is fairly aggressive with it, and will be back in a good spot to get back into a slight surplus[/quote]

That’s good to know.

So, over time, your approach would be something like: “bulk”, until it needs a bit of cleanup, then a short mini-cut to clean up, then back to bulking. And on each “bulk” cycle, get better at learning what your body needs so that you don’t need as much of a cleanup (or any) in the future.

Obviously bulk and cut aren’t great terms… just shortcuts to “dieting to gain muscle” vs “dieting to lose fat”.

Is that basically it?[/quote]

For my first couple years of training, I followed the traditional “see food, eat food” approach to bulking, thinking that once I dieted off the accumulated bodyfat I’d be lean and muscular. Well, I did my first legitimate cut for a men’s physique competition last fall, starting my diet at 205 lbs (and not looking terrible at that weight.) I thought I’d be ripped at an ABSOLUTE minimum of 185.

Needless to say, I ended up weight 170 on stage, lol. Since then, I’ve become a proponent of tracking macros year round, even when gaining. I think you summed up my approach pretty well; basically slow gain (I average about one or two lbs gained per month, but it’s hard to be too precise) until my abs aren’t visible, then a fairly aggressive mini cut for 3 to 5 weeks to improve insulin sensitivity and get back into a good spot to gain. My hope is that each successive cycle of this leaves me ahead of where I was the last time. It’s definitely not a yo-yo approach though; don’t be flip flopping every month or two.

For myself, I finished a minicut at the beginning of June at about 185. I started another minicut 4 weeks ago weighing 195, and I’m about to start another gaining phase. Sitting at 189 now and just as lean as I was at 185, so I feel good about the progress I’ve made since then

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Thanks for the input guys, really appreciate it.

Gotta keep gaining without a doubt, it’s just shit have little muscle plus not being shredded.

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Rundown with some man flu upon my return, to make matters worse my tailbone is agony when moving my hips or squeezing my ass.

Smacked right into a rock when I was gorging. Absolute disaster to training.

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Rundown with some man flu upon my return, to make matters worse my tailbone is agony when moving my hips or squeezing my ass.

Smacked right into a rock when I was gorging. Absolute disaster to training.[/quote]

Sorry to hear that. Hot epsom salt baths might help with recovery.

If you’re worried about the fat gain, try to hold your weight for a few weeks before continuing to gain. Push and coast has worked well for me.

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Thanks for the tips Ripsaw.

Everything is getting better, will still need until Friday/Saturday to feel 100%.

My recent trip away gave me a fairly new perspective on life, too many people are known for solely being gym rats (or even the dreaded wanna be gym rat) and I was indeed one of them. Gotta get out there and appreciate dem naturez and not slit your wrists cause you missed a meal or a workout. This is not me saying I’m dingying training or anything, I’m still going to train and eat as I always do.

Cya’s on Friday for some shoulders hopefully…

PS I <3 Scotland.

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Thanks for the tips Ripsaw.

Everything is getting better, will still need until Friday/Saturday to feel 100%.

My recent trip away gave me a fairly new perspective on life, too many people are known for solely being gym rats (or even the dreaded wanna be gym rat) and I was indeed one of them. Gotta get out there and appreciate dem naturez and not slit your wrists cause you missed a meal or a workout. This is not me saying I’m dingying training or anything, I’m still going to train and eat as I always do.

Cya’s on Friday for some shoulders hopefully…

PS I <3 Scotland.[/quote]

:slight_smile:

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[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Thanks for the tips Ripsaw.

Everything is getting better, will still need until Friday/Saturday to feel 100%.

My recent trip away gave me a fairly new perspective on life, too many people are known for solely being gym rats (or even the dreaded wanna be gym rat) and I was indeed one of them. Gotta get out there and appreciate dem naturez and not slit your wrists cause you missed a meal or a workout. This is not me saying I’m dingying training or anything, I’m still going to train and eat as I always do.

Cya’s on Friday for some shoulders hopefully…

PS I <3 Scotland.[/quote]

:slight_smile:
[/quote]

It’s good to see you back btw. Don’t let some of the pish on here get to you, the differing sensibilities between us Europeans and the yanks can get to me sometimes too lol.

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:

[quote]furo wrote:

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Thanks for the tips Ripsaw.

Everything is getting better, will still need until Friday/Saturday to feel 100%.

My recent trip away gave me a fairly new perspective on life, too many people are known for solely being gym rats (or even the dreaded wanna be gym rat) and I was indeed one of them. Gotta get out there and appreciate dem naturez and not slit your wrists cause you missed a meal or a workout. This is not me saying I’m dingying training or anything, I’m still going to train and eat as I always do.

Cya’s on Friday for some shoulders hopefully…

PS I <3 Scotland.[/quote]

:slight_smile:
[/quote]

It’s good to see you back btw. Don’t let some of the pish on here get to you, the differing sensibilities between us Europeans and the yanks can get to me sometimes too lol.
[/quote]

Lol thanks. Glad to hear I’m not alone :). Hope you feel better soon.

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[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Don’t let some of the pish on here get to you, the differing sensibilities between us Europeans and the yanks can get to me sometimes too lol.
[/quote]

Say it to my face, I’ll fight you IRL.

But srs, glad you got some fresh air and seem to feel a bit more balanced because of it. I will tolerate nothing but PR’s now that you’re back and fresh.

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Lol. Looking great Spidey!

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[quote]Spidey22 wrote:

[quote]RATTLEHEAD wrote:
Don’t let some of the pish on here get to you, the differing sensibilities between us Europeans and the yanks can get to me sometimes too lol.
[/quote]

Say it to my face, I’ll fight you IRL.

But srs, glad you got some fresh air and seem to feel a bit more balanced because of it. I will tolerate nothing but PR’s now that you’re back and fresh. [/quote]

It will have to be some frequent PR’s to be keeping up with you dude ;).

Looking like I should be ok for tomorrow, tailbone is still dodgy with lower body mobility but I will see what happens with deads/squats.

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25/10/2013 | Cycle 6 Day 1 M Press

Taking a simpler approach to training until the end of this semester.

M Press

52.5k x 5 reps
55k x 5 reps
60k x 8 reps (PR)

50% T Max (35k) x 15 reps x 5 sets

Tricep Pushdowns

Medium Band x 15 reps x 5 sets