Ok what’s the preferred custom here, pics in thread or in profile?
Both
Put some pics in your profile and then if you make a thread like this asking for info specific to you you’ll get a lot more responses and better advice if you put up a few pics. Usually people want to see back and legs too not just a front shot.
Its good to know who you are actually talking to. I have a bad habit when I’m on here autimatically picturing the person as their display pic even if its obviously not them (like a pro bodybuilder or something). Its a bit of a shock sometimes when you see a persons pics for the first time.
Thats why I have myslf as my display pic people know exactly who they are talking to and jugde what I say by it, good and bad.
Its also acceptable if you are awesome enough to have Iron Dwalf make a cartoon in your likeness to use that as your display pic 
Some recent leg shots will be forthcoming soon. Back shots later as I’ll need someone to hold the camera.
BTW - criticism, no matter how harsh welcome AS LONG AS IT’S DETAILED. Calling me a “Fat, undisciplined fuck who needs to Put-Down-The-Fork-And-Back-Slowly-Away-From-The-Mashed-Potato-With-Grated-Cheddar-And-Onion-Gravy” is absolutely fine, so long as it comes with an idea of how many pounds I need to shed.
Calling me a “Fat Fuck”, and leaving it at that, will elicit at best a “Well fucking spotted, Poirot!”, and at worst an online hiding to make Dachau look like a night with you inside a prime Cindy Crawford with the lights on and your condom still inside your wallet. And anything else in between, depending of course on my prevailing mood.
Ehh…I nearly forgot the purpose of my own thread - whatever you do, PLEASE agree or disagree with my plan to hit the lagging bodyparts hard NOW, during the next 3 months (cutting phase), so they’ll be bigger overall in a year.
Like you said, you have a pretty decent v-shape despite your body holding a lot of it’s fat stores around the midsection which really goes in your favour. This will only get better the leaner you get.
No-body can give accurate advice based on just one picture and without knowing your history too well, but as a “guestimate” based on my own experience (which is not a good gauge btw), you are probably at around 18-20% bodyfat about now. But take that for what it’s worth, it’s just an “educated” guess.
Considering you “nurtured” your body fat to the degree it got to, and this is the first time you’ve properly dealt with it, it will likely be much easier to lose it (vs. genetically/stubbornly holding that weight for most of your life).
To get down to say 10-12% bodyfat (to start seeing your abs…although again this is genetic - some see outline of abs higher/lower than this), you’d probably need to lose around 20lbs of fat, which would probably take your bodyweight to around 195-200lbs. At a steady rate, while maintaining or even gaining a little strength, it’s perfectly feasible to do this in ~4 months.
I wouldn’t get much leaner that that (seeing outline of abs) on your first recomp. Being in a calorie deficit for too long term isn’t good.
Oh, and to beat a dead horse (lol), yes hit those bodyparts hard on the recomp. It’s not a case of whether it’s worth gaining a little on a “cut”, it’s a case of getting into the habit anyway. Later on, you’ll be bulking. And if you got your upper arms up to 19inches, do you really think you’ll be able to maintain this size on a cut IF YOU DROPPED/SLACKED direct arm training? Of course they’ll drop somewhat when losing fat, but they’d drop far more if you stopped directly training them hard!
No professional bodybuilder (that I know of) drops/slacks training certain bodyparts before competition unless they’re genetically superior bodyparts (think Tom Platz legs lol)…it makes no sense whatsoever. In fact, even though they are in a proper calorie deficit (much more than you will be on recomp) and risk losing muscle , they FOCUS on their weak bodyparts EVEN MORE leading up to competition.
Yes, if you start focusing on them more now they will be bigger down the road than if you do not. However, DO NOT focus on them now AT THE EXPENSE of other muscle groups. During a cut is a terrible time to neglect a body part, because then your body has no reason to hold on to the muscle you’ve gained. Work everything hard, and hit those body parts more frequently if you’d like.
I feel like I missed a lot of this, but I believe that it’s entirely possibly to bring up a lagging bodypart (within reason of course) when cutting. I’ve done this myself in the past, and will be trying (although with a much different situation this year) to do so again. An intelligent cut doesn’t have to drastically destroy any appreciable level of nutrients coming into the body.
A smart trainer will be able to make the most of nutrient timing, and tailor his (or her) trainign accordingly. Cordova used the term ‘panic mode’ when dieting, and feels that you can make some excellent gains in such periods. Sure your body won’t have excess cals to store for later (and most people ‘bulking’ tend to eat way more than is truly necessary anyway), but now your body will have to be smarter about what it actually does with the incoming macros.
S
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
Like you said, you have a pretty decent v-shape despite your body holding a lot of it’s fat stores around the midsection which really goes in your favour. This will only get better the leaner you get.
No-body can give accurate advice based on just one picture and without knowing your history too well, but as a “guestimate” based on my own experience (which is not a good gauge btw), you are probably at around 18-20% bodyfat about now. But take that for what it’s worth, it’s just an “educated” guess.
Considering you “nurtured” your body fat to the degree it got to, and this is the first time you’ve properly dealt with it, it will likely be much easier to lose it (vs. genetically/stubbornly holding that weight for most of your life).
To get down to say 10-12% bodyfat (to start seeing your abs…although again this is genetic - some see outline of abs higher/lower than this), you’d probably need to lose around 20lbs of fat, which would probably take your bodyweight to around 195-200lbs. At a steady rate, while maintaining or even gaining a little strength, it’s perfectly feasible to do this in ~4 months.
I wouldn’t get much leaner that that (seeing outline of abs) on your first recomp. Being in a calorie deficit for too long term isn’t good.
Oh, and to beat a dead horse (lol), yes hit those bodyparts hard on the recomp. It’s not a case of whether it’s worth gaining a little on a “cut”, it’s a case of getting into the habit anyway. Later on, you’ll be bulking. And if you got your upper arms up to 19inches, do you really think you’ll be able to maintain this size on a cut IF YOU DROPPED/SLACKED direct arm training? Of course they’ll drop somewhat when losing fat, but they’d drop far more if you stopped directly training them hard!
No professional bodybuilder (that I know of) drops/slacks training certain bodyparts before competition unless they’re genetically superior bodyparts (think Tom Platz legs lol)…it makes no sense whatsoever. In fact, even though they are in a proper calorie deficit (much more than you will be on recomp) and risk losing muscle , they FOCUS on their weak bodyparts EVEN MORE leading up to competition.[/quote]
IJM - I’ll take your advice about my BF level with the pinch of salt you recommend, but I have to say, with that guesstimate, and a projected flab loss of 2Ibs/week, that’s just 10 weeks to the first time I’ll ever see my abs. Ten, short little weeks, and I’ll FINALLY be trim
Right now, skepticism be damned, you’ve got me replaying the “Rocky 4” soundtrack on a loop.
You’ve just motivated me to declare February as booze-free as January. I’m so fired up I can hardly type this.
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
I feel like I missed a lot of this, but I believe that it’s entirely possibly to bring up a lagging bodypart (within reason of course) when cutting. I’ve done this myself in the past, and will be trying (although with a much different situation this year) to do so again. An intelligent cut doesn’t have to drastically destroy any appreciable level of nutrients coming into the body.
A smart trainer will be able to make the most of nutrient timing, and tailor his (or her) trainign accordingly. Cordova used the term ‘panic mode’ when dieting, and feels that you can make some excellent gains in such periods. Sure your body won’t have excess cals to store for later (and most people ‘bulking’ tend to eat way more than is truly necessary anyway), but now your body will have to be smarter about what it actually does with the incoming macros.
S[/quote]
What is “within reason” and how does this relate the average beginner who hasn’t built anything yet but thinks they can diet and gain decent muscle at the same time?
I am down in weight but I think my arms have improved a little…but let me stress A LITTLE. It isn’t like they gained an inch while I dropped weight, therefore, I would not go around telling people about how it makes sense to bring up lagging body parts while dieting.
If you do it, count yourself lucky because it may not work out like that a second time. It took over a decade of playing around with how my body works with certain eating strategies for me to pull that off and it wasn’t during a truly strict cut including 30min to an hour of cardio and massive calorie restriction. I think I only pulled that off because I still have 3 high intake days included with four really low intake days…along with playing with carb intake.
[quote]Jaybee wrote:
Here we go, me 2 yrs back at 243, 44.5 waist (widest circumference relaxed)"…
[/quote]
That’s not bad at all. You are probably carrying more muscle than many here.
I have not seen any other pics of you though…but at the stage you were in this pic, I would have said drop your carb intake but don’t rush to drop weight quickly.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
What is “within reason” and how does this relate the average beginner who hasn’t built anything yet but thinks they can diet and gain decent muscle at the same time?
I am down in weight but I think my arms have improved a little…but let me stress A LITTLE. It isn’t like they gained an inch while I dropped weight, therefore, I would not go around telling people about how it makes sense to bring up lagging body parts while dieting.
If you do it, count yourself lucky because it may not work out like that a second time. It took over a decade of playing around with how my body works with certain eating strategies for me to pull that off and it wasn’t during a truly strict cut including 30min to an hour of cardio and massive calorie restriction. I think I only pulled that off because I still have 3 high intake days included with four really low intake days…along with playing with carb intake.
[/quote]
Obviously I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who just started training, but to issue a blanket statement (and I’m not saying you have, but I see it mentioned a lot) about only being able to do one or the other,… well, it gets a little more complicated than that (which is again, above the heads of most newer trainers, and I agree that they shouldn’t be concerned with this sort of approach).
In my own experience, I should first point out that I don’t do much cardio when I prepare for a show, and as my body doesn’t have to waste calories recovering from endless hours on a treadmill, I believe it becomes a lot more efficient at recovering from the beatings I subject it to with the weights.
If someone hasn’t been able to add an inch on their arms in a caloric surplus, it’s probably an absolute certainty that they will be unsuccessful in adding any appreciable size during a deficit. There are some though that will be surprised at how their body responds to suddenly having to ration its nutrients. Sure we can talk about guys like Levrone “dieting up” into a contest, buthe never had to worry about passing a drug test -lol.
And what you mentioned, about the 3 higher carb days,… that’s essentially how I diet as well, and focusing on the metabolic boost such a cyclic approach provides, along with targeted carb intake (lil anabolic kick during specific sessions), can make a difference if you apply it properly.
S
[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
What is “within reason” and how does this relate the average beginner who hasn’t built anything yet but thinks they can diet and gain decent muscle at the same time?
I am down in weight but I think my arms have improved a little…but let me stress A LITTLE. It isn’t like they gained an inch while I dropped weight, therefore, I would not go around telling people about how it makes sense to bring up lagging body parts while dieting.
If you do it, count yourself lucky because it may not work out like that a second time. It took over a decade of playing around with how my body works with certain eating strategies for me to pull that off and it wasn’t during a truly strict cut including 30min to an hour of cardio and massive calorie restriction. I think I only pulled that off because I still have 3 high intake days included with four really low intake days…along with playing with carb intake.
[/quote]
Obviously I wouldn’t recommend this to someone who just started training, but to issue a blanket statement (and I’m not saying you have, but I see it mentioned a lot) about only being able to do one or the other,… well, it gets a little more complicated than that (which is again, above the heads of most newer trainers, and I agree that they shouldn’t be concerned with this sort of approach).
In my own experience, I should first point out that I don’t do much cardio when I prepare for a show, and as my body doesn’t have to waste calories recovering from endless hours on a treadmill, I believe it becomes a lot more efficient at recovering from the beatings I subject it to with the weights.
If someone hasn’t been able to add an inch on their arms in a caloric surplus, it’s probably an absolute certainty that they will be unsuccessful in adding any appreciable size during a deficit. There are some though that will be surprised at how their body responds to suddenly having to ration its nutrients. Sure we can talk about guys like Levrone “dieting up” into a contest, buthe never had to worry about passing a drug test -lol.
And what you mentioned, about the 3 higher carb days,… that’s essentially how I diet as well, and focusing on the metabolic boost such a cyclic approach provides, along with targeted carb intake (lil anabolic kick during specific sessions), can make a difference if you apply it properly.
S[/quote]
…and this is why the T-Cell was created. I would say 90% of the people here will take this info the wrong way. I have mentioned the stand out guys here before…and there aren’t that many of them. Yes, guys like kingbeef and holymac are at a stage of development to understand what we are talking about…but there are like 15 guys here like that or less.
I hate cardio. I am finding more and more that I can do “damage control” without it. I am sure I will need it to go beyond that, but from here on out will likely avoid it until absolutely necessary. The reasons include more muscle fullness while dropping weight, more strength during the process (if not a slight increase) and the ability to make sure my muscles susceptible to it don’t shrivel up.
This is NOT a recommendation to EXPECT gains in muscle mass while dieting. Once again, my statement would be to lift as if the goal is to make further progress…but don’t EXPECT a gain. Be happy if you can force one…and this will likely only come after many years of lifting allowing that person to understand their body better.
There is no way in hell I would have pulled that off ten years ago.
That is why casually making a statement about “possibilities” always leads to random newbs acting like they will turn into cover models while dieting because they are scared to eat and grow in the first place.
The discussion between advanced lifters could throw these “half assed” types off their mark completely if this is not taken into consideration.
[quote]Jaybee wrote:
IJM - I’ll take your advice about my BF level with the pinch of salt you recommend, but I have to say, with that guesstimate, and a projected flab loss of 2Ibs/week, that’s just 10 weeks to the first time I’ll ever see my abs. Ten, short little weeks, and I’ll FINALLY be trim
Right now, skepticism be damned, you’ve got me replaying the “Rocky 4” soundtrack on a loop.
You’ve just motivated me to declare February as booze-free as January. I’m so fired up I can hardly type this.[/quote]
LOL, glad you’re motivated.
One of the things that makes fat loss take time is figuring it all out (trial and error). Don’t expect your losses to be linear, could be 2lbs one week and none the next…or you may gain some muscle and lose fat (‘maintain’ weight).
Good luck!
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]Jaybee wrote:
Here we go, me 2 yrs back at 243, 44.5 waist (widest circumference relaxed)"…
[/quote]
That’s not bad at all. You are probably carrying more muscle than many here.[/quote]
Thanks…many, MANY years of training on what was, at very best, a maintenance diet.
At the time of that pic, with the amount of beer I was chugging down then, “Drop your carb intake” would be a mild way to put it!!
Just a quick chime-in, since I didn’t get around to move my thoughts on this matter to the T-Cell, yet.
[quote]ProfessorX wrote:
That is why casually making a statement about “possibilities” always leads to random newbs acting like they will turn into cover models while dieting because they are scared to eat and grow in the first place.
[/quote]
It annoys me to always have to cater to newb idiocy (<-- operative word) and choose my words carefully.
Why not apply an “Either you get it or you don’t.” approach?
Why is bodybuilding, where, of all endeavors, barring any serious health disorder, the majority of newbs should be able to pile on size and strength for the first 3-5 years as long as they ensure progress (yes, even linear periodization), always made so retardedly complicated?
Do you need above-average dexterity? Reflexes? A genius-level intellect? People skills?
It’s ridiculous.
I’m also tired of “It’s the information overflow’s fault.” accusation. Don’t beginners (even those who stuck at this stage for years) read the stickies in the Beginner forum?
Bottom line: a (halfway) intelligent person will always get it. He will also get the simple fact that this bodybuilding business is a process measured in years. It’s not like building up base endurance, where you can get decent results withing weeks of training.
The rest just don’t deserve it. They’re not stupid. They’re impatient and self-deluding.
I mean: how can you succeed at academic endeavours and just not get getting bigger, stronger, leaner?
^ Maybe we should all have a signature at the bottom of all our posts (“Newbies, Read here first”) lol.
It does amaze me how some people will not listen (including myself at the start), they’d rather follow the latest “in thing”.
Newbies never think that they are newbies! Deluded beyond a joke. Many think that reading articles/books makes them advanced. Or doing a routine from a big guy makes them suddenly advanced. So you get newbies logging onto sites like T-Nation and straight away sucking up the ‘advanced’ bits, or even worse, dishing out advice.
Anyone big who tells a newbie to pipe down just doesn’t understand what it’s like to be a ‘hardgainer’ and doesn’t know that their lack of results is because of genetics and being drug free…but not because of retarded training/eating If they aren’t gaining, they obviously need some super duper special training protocol (adequate diet and getting stronger is too simple/ineffective for them).
Take a couple of my mates for example; they’re skinny/weak as hell (e.g. tall, ~150lbs bodyweight and benching 90lbs!) and seem to insist on doing this stupid Brad Pit training (what he did for the film Troy). One of them keeps going on about how great it is, and that Brad Pit lost fat and built loads of muscle in 8 months.
I said that as a newbie (Read: skinny/weak) they needed to just concentrate on gaining (strength and bodyweight). But no, I don’t know what I’m talking about (?) they insist that they will be get big and ripped at them same time in a few months lol. They see the end physique and not the stages in-between.
They don’t wont to get huuuuge, they just want to look fit like Brad Pit…so of course this takes a COMPLETELY different training approach to what I’ve suggested 
Funny thing is, over a year of training they won’t get past 160lbs, small clothes etc and will still insist that their way is best, even though anyone who knows what they’re doing could have added 30lbs+ in that time frame.
It’s not that they’re stupid; just properly misguided/brainwashed.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
It does amaze me how some people will not listen (including myself at the start), they’d rather follow the latest “in thing”.
It’s not that they’re stupid; just properly misguided/brainwashed.[/quote]
And it no different than it has always been…we are all exposed to the same information.
The cliche would be…‘people hear what they want to hear.’
My worst beef with the the state of information in Bodybuilding is that it is written almost entirely for skinny people wishing to bulk, not fat fucks like me wishing to look good.
It’s one thing telling a skinny guy who is short of a few bob, “Go and chow down anything, get 99p tub of ice cream and scarf it down, you’ve got to build up!”. It’s quite another to give that same advice to EVERYBODY, because when FF’s with a few quid like me read the “Ice cream” part, we start thinking about which flavour we want, our eyes lighting up at the new licence to pig out.
But hey-ho, I guess Dianabol has a much higher mark-up than some fat-burner. Not to come across too bitter I hope (yeah I know, too late!) but when you’re pushed for time you grab the first facts to hand.
Sort of all brings home the actual monetary value of an advisor, his fee might seem steep at first but you save a LOT more time and effort later.
Come to think of it I’m not bitter. How many guys who starting lifting in their teens are still lifting in their 40’s? Could I have done all this so much quicker? Yeah. But I’m glad it took me a couple of decades to learn all this, painful as it was, I’m laughing now, and the alternative would have been MUCH worse.
Sorry for the ramble, all…