Hey everyone, this site has helped me so much with my current bulking phase and I appreciate all the direct and indirect information.
Here are my stats:
Male, 21 years old, 5’11, 165 pounds.
I’ve been working out a long while and am very into fitness. My diet is spot on and I never cheat just because I enjoy watching what I put into my body.
I want to stop bulking when Im around 175 - 180 pounds so I can really cut down and get lean.
I love challenging myself and therefor, the get shredded diet and the v-diet really appeal to me. Both would take a tremendous amount of dedication and so I would love to test myself. I am just unsure on which to choose. I am not sure what my bodyfat is but I am already pretty lean, My bulk has been very clean so my fat gain has been very minimal. Im going to assume its somewhere from 11 - 14%.
When Im done bulking I do intend to take some time to maintain my weight and then start the cut. I’ll start cutting by cutting my cals by 20% and continue working out 6 days a week. After x amount of weeks doing this, I want to step it up with one or the other diet.
Which one should I choose? Is one better for what I’m after?
I have used the V-diet in the past (around 6 months ago) and have just begun the get shredded diet (5 days in). So far, it seems both have been as good as advertised. I remember reading somewhere that shredded may be better if you are starting out pretty lean already, and v-diet works well if not.
That said, I would probably choose based on what will fit your lifestyle best. In ‘Shredded’ you get all your calories from whole food (no shakes/bars), which makes it a bit tougher to plan than the v-diet, but makes meals more satisfying.
On the other hand, with all v-diets meals being liquid, it is preposterously easy to always have what you need for feeding with you, tho I feel like I was hungrier between meals on the v-diet.
I think either one will serve you well, provided to stick to what’s prescribed. Best of Luck!
V-Diet is not for someone who is already fairly lean and trying to get shredded. It’s for people who are overweight or obese and need to lose at least 15, 20 or more pounds of fat!
Stick with the Get Shredded Diet for your purposes.
The V-Diet would be stupid considering you just put on some size. You’d lose most of your gains on this plan.
Also, I think it’s a real good idea to give yourself a few months at this new weight before you start cutting. Too many people make the mistake of bulking and then turning around and cutting (or cutting and then turning around to bulk).
Your body needs time to adjust to a new bodyweight set point before bulking or cutting. Otherwise, you’re wasting your time going back and forth and making minimal progress.
thanks. get shredded it is.
well, my only concern is losing the fat in time for summer. That may not be a big deal to some people but its important to me. So unfortunately, I dont have time to sit at this weight for a few months. Id love to so I can have maximum results. But if you cant, whats optimal?
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
thanks. get shredded it is.
well, my only concern is losing the fat in time for summer. That may not be a big deal to some people but its important to me. So unfortunately, I dont have time to sit at this weight for a few months. Id love to so I can have maximum results. But if you cant, whats optimal?[/quote]
Use the Get Shredded Diet and try to keep your strength and mass by using heavier weights, lower reps and a moderate volume of work. You don’t want to do too much while trying to get lean and end up losing all your mass and strength.
I was going to use fat loss II or III from NROL during my cut. But I just got Muscle Logic in the mail and I’m very interested in EDT. I’ll be picking up the book tonight for the first time tonight. I dont know too much about it yet, but it sounds intense and thats what Im after.
As far as cardio goes, whether i pick EDT or fat loss from NROL, how much cardio should I be doing? Just HIIT on off days. I really want to do everything I can to retain muscle I’ve gained. So I know steady state is out of the question, which is cool with me, Im not a huge fan of cardio.
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
I am not sure what my bodyfat is but I am already pretty lean, My bulk has been very clean so my fat gain has been very minimal. Im going to assume its somewhere from 11 - 14%.
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If you are already pretty lean why are you so eager to lose fat? Just keep adding muscle and you will look better anyway plus you get to save the time it will take you to get back to where you are know.
[quote]If you are already pretty lean why are you so eager to lose fat? Just keep adding muscle and you will look better anyway plus you get to save the time it will take you to get back to where you are know.
[/quote]
very true and very good point. All I can say is, I spent this time bulking to obviously put on some size. Now that Im nearing the end, I’d like to stop bulking so I can get my body fat% low enough to have a nice 6 pack for summer. It may sound lame, but its the truth. When the summer is over, I’ll be bulking again.
No offense…but if you cut down from 165 at 5’11" you probably won’t have much to show off. I think you’d be much better of continuing with a bulk, keep it clean if you are that worried about fat, but you’ll look better with more size on you.
Edit: I missed the 175-180 part for the end of your bulk. But what I said still stands I think. Since you said you’re at 11%-14% BF, then if you bulk up to 180 and keep it clean you will probably look fine and not have to worry about cutting. Keep in mind that when you cut you can lose muscle mass too.
[quote]Dabubzilla wrote:
Edit: I missed the 175-180 part for the end of your bulk. But what I said still stands I think. Since you said you’re at 11%-14% BF, then if you bulk up to 180 and keep it clean you will probably look fine and not have to worry about cutting. Keep in mind that when you cut you can lose muscle mass too. [/quote]
I agree.
But it also depends on if his bodyfat is really between 11-14%. Most likely, it’s not. As everyone on here thinks they have 10-14% bodyfat. At that level, you would be pretty damn lean and have a six-pack in most cases.
I have a pic of me in my profile from September 2001 (Renegade Nate with a bandana on) and I was at 12%, and I had visible abs and muscle definition and separation. So, unless the poster has that degree of leanness, he probably isn’t where he thinks he is.
And I’ve also been under 10% in 2003 (other pics in profile). At that point, every muscle was defined and you could even see veins around my hips and abs.
Most likely, the OP needs a little more muscle and also needs a little less fat. But since he just wants to get lean for summer so he can show off his six-pack, he should probably focus on that goal for the next 12 weeks and hopefully gain a little bit of muscle in the process.
I totally agree with everyone 100%. I want to bulk up to 175 - 180 then cut for summer. I’d like to have more size before I cut, but I’m in this for the long haul and will bulk when summer is over. Like I said, my goal is just a nice 6 pack for summer.
Im am unsure what my bodyfat is, but you can see my upper abs a little and I do have visable veins under my lower abs.
Anyways, Like I’ve said, I wish I could just continue bulking and getting a solid size down, but abs for summer sounds great to me and I’ll pick up where I left off when it’s all over.
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
I totally agree with everyone 100%. I want to bulk up to 175 - 180 then cut for summer. I’d like to have more size before I cut, but I’m in this for the long haul and will bulk when summer is over. Like I said, my goal is just a nice 6 pack for summer.
Im am unsure what my bodyfat is, but you can see my upper abs a little and I do have visable veins under my lower abs.
Anyways, Like I’ve said, I wish I could just continue bulking and getting a solid size down, but abs for summer sounds great to me and I’ll pick up where I left off when it’s all over.[/quote]
If you have visible veins in your lower abs you should already be lean enough to have a six pack, maybe you just need some more muscle on your abs. What kind of training do you do? If it’s the usual mistake of crunches 'til you drop you might want to switch it up.
Either way the decision is of course yours to make but if you don’t have the muscle underneath it won’t matter how lean you get.
Im not doing crunches until I drop. The program Im on right now is NROL, Hypertrophy I. My lifts have gone up and I am getting stronger. Unfortunately, I do not have a visible 6 pack. There is muscle there, when I do a crunch and feel with my hand, I can feel them and their seperation. The fat on top of them is what I need to get rid of.
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
Im not doing crunches until I drop. The program Im on right now is NROL, Hypertrophy I. My lifts have gone up and I am getting stronger. Unfortunately, I do not have a visible 6 pack. There is muscle there, when I do a crunch and feel with my hand, I can feel them and their seperation. The fat on top of them is what I need to get rid of.[/quote]
Your posts are inconsistent:
Someone with VISIBLE veins on their lower abs would be able to see their abs. They would have a VISIBLE six pack.
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
Im just telling it how it is. I do not have a visible 6 pack, but I do have visible veins around my lower abs.
Im not lyin to you, if I had 6 pack abs, I wouldnt be asking, and if I didnt have the veins, I wouldnt say I did.
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I don’t think you are lying so much as you are completely clueless. How much weight do you think you will have to drop to see your abs?
How easy do you think it is going to be to gain another 10lbs of muscle mass before doing that? You sound like the average beginner. You also sound like you are about to take two steps back for every step forward and my magic eight ball reads, “chances of staying committed not likely”.
Toward your replies-If you can see a vein at your “lower abs”, I suppose your talking about the area where your belt would go, and I’m hypothesizing that you’re around 13.5-15% body fat. You really need to continue adding mass before cutting.
Professor, don’t tell too zealous on the kid, bud. Not all of them will be dedicated like us; just let 'em fade away.
[quote]-iceman- wrote:
So unfortunately, I dont have time to sit at this weight for a few months. Id love to so I can have maximum results. But if you cant, whats optimal?[/quote]
You’re too set on the fast track to things. This isnt fast, it isnt easy, and it isnt a one year deal.
If you go from a bulk, straight to the get shredded diet, you WILL lose all of your gains, and with the little muscle you have already, you might even end up worse off. If you’re seriously going to disregard the “wait before you cut,” go for it- its going to be your loss, but I think the GS diet is way too extreme. And Nate, sorry, but I think you’re wrong. The velocity diet isnt only for obese people, when shugs did it, he was lean and just got even leaner. I do beleive JB also stated that the GS diet was for those who were already very lean and wanted to get shredded. He states he uses it to get down to 3%bf, so, I think when he means already very lean, its sub 8%.
Something this kid isnt.
Honestly, I think you should just keep bulking, and just take HRX for the summer while keeping cals the same. You’re already really skinny, and cutting isnt going to help your cause.