No lift today, back at it tomorrow. Two crazy work days in a row, in office 6am to 7pm.
On the bright side I’m getting Fogo de Chao for dinner, so unlimited meats should fuel a nice arm workout tomorrow.
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Congratulations!!!
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Thank you so much 
we’ve been together since we were 18 but still super exciting! A week of forgetting about the lifting world and enjoying an all inclusive will do me good.
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Hope you both have an awesome day.
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@simo74 thank you brother!
Lots of walking today and a late arm workout. Luckily the gym isn’t too packed on Fridays after work. Afternoon leg workout tomorrow and will try to get some fasted incline walking in for the morning.
Friday 10/25/2024
5:30pm
AB - Arms
BB Curls 85x13 85x13 85x11. Progressing on these really quickly.
Hammer Curls 45x9 45x9 45x7
V-Bar Pushdowns 82x12 87x9 87x9. Highest weight ever on these, nearing full stack.
OH Cable Ext. 52x10 52x10 52x10
Side Delts 30x10 30x9 30x9 30x9 / GHD Situps x4sets
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Love this leg day! Less systemically taxing than squat day but my legs feel way more jello on the way out! Going to the gym at this time is awesome too, nobody is there on Saturday.
Saturday 10/26/2024
5:00pm
AB - Legs
Seated Calves 100x15 100x15 100x15
Lying Leg Curls 110x19 110x17+partials
Leg Extensions 220x10 220x9+partials
Leg Press 6plx9 6plx9 5plx12
Hack Squats 3plx8 3plx8 3plx8
RDL 275x15 275x15. Very slow eccentric here and it really lit up the hamstrings.
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Usually bench on this day but I have a friend in town who wants to bench on Tuesday, so I’ll save it. Don’t usually get to workout with anybody, so I’ll push it with a spotter.
Decent workout today. Felt strong on rows.
Sunday 10/27/2024
12:00pm
AB - Torso
Barbell Rows (deadstop from floor) 185x12 205x10 225x8
Pullups +10x10 +10x8 BWx6 (extra wide) / Shrugs 225x12 225x15 225x12
OHP 95x12 95x12 95x12
DB Side Raise 25x12 25x12 25x10 / Band Pullaparts x3 sets / Dead Hangs x3 sets
GHD Sit-ups x4 sets
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Day off lifting today but got a lot of steps. My vacation time starts tomorrow and I had a feeling work today would be a nightmare. A couple more hours of work tonight then 3 weeks off!
A few thoughts just to get them on paper:
- my neck was painfully sore today from OHP, which I don’t do often. Probably a sign of some weakness in that area I need to work on.
- going to go for a 1RM bench tomorrow. 275 is the goal.
- Getting colder out so need to start working in more indoor conditioning.
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Missed the 275 bench barely!!! Got it 3/4 of the way. I think I’d have it on other days, won’t try for awhile though. Definitely the strongest I’ve been. My legs are so much stronger which is frustrating but we’re getting there.
Tuesday 10/29/2024
10:00am
AB - Torso
Bench 245x1 (easy) 275xFail 215x6 205x8 205x6. Improvement from last session!
Dead Stop BB Row 205x10 205x10 185x15
Smith Incline 185x13 205x8 205x8
Chin-ups BWx10 BWx8 BWx6. Felt weak here but hit back just two days ago.
Hammer Strength Incline 225x12 225x8+4
Lat Pulldown 2.5plx18 2.5plx16
GHD Sit-ups x3 sets
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Congrats! Have fun!
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Life PR! Way to go.
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Back after a 2 week hiatus! Wedding was amazing and so was the honeymoon. I will say I ate and drank a heinous amount over the past two weeks. This morning I weighed in at 203, which I assume is some bloat as well.
I’ve been gaining weight for about 16 weeks now and am planning on transitioning to cutting. I slowly dropped from 208 to 191 this past year and now I’ve put on a good amount of muscle. I think my mistake last time was not getting even leaner than I did. I found I didn’t give myself enough room to grow without hitting a body fat level I don’t want to be at. I find with my current level of muscle once I hit 200 I start to get a more soft look, I hold a lot of weight in my midsection.
I am setting a more aggressive BW goal of 175 for this cut. I’m much more confident going into this after a gaining phase and being so consistent this year. This would be the lightest I’ve been since probably 9th grade. Bulking after getting down to 175 should leave me a lot more room to put on muscle.
Going to dub this Project Six Pack. Never had visible abs, now is the time. I’m going to keep going with the bodybuilding style and will be counting calories, doing BB type workouts and cardio. Going to tag some guys at the bottom of this post who train this way and have had some successful cuts with this method. This forum tends to skew carnivore/meat heavy but I will be eating traditional bodybuilding type foods. Open to any cutting advice from anybody on the forum though!
Generic plan will be continue with my split of lifting an average of 5x per week and include daily incline walks on the treadmill. Maybe 1-2x per week do some traditional conditioning as well on days where I don’t lift.
@s.gentz @Andrewgen_Receptors @RT_Nomad @davemccright feel free to tag anyone else
- Should I taper calories down from where I am at? Or just pick a calorie amount and go for it immediately? I’m at 3000-3200 daily over the past few months.
- Should I be adjusting my workouts at all? Or still train close to failure with the same workouts?
- Any advice for deeper in the cut? Refeed days, cheat meals, etc to regain some energy?
- Other tips welcome too
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Welcome back! Now get to work!!!
1-I would do an initial drop if 500cals and then smaller drops when loss stalls.
2- for now no. At some point you will prob have to depending on how deep you go.
3-I like to do refeeds if needed. Usually I’ll have sushi once or twice a week. I try not to eat crap when dieting
4-just get into it and see how it goes. Prep your food so you are always prepared.
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My response will probably align near identically to @s.gentz but maybe some nuances perspectives can help.
Immediate drop 500 cals from the diet. Try to make as much of these calories come from fat as you can. Or maybe just aim straight for 2500cals daily.
You should be watching the scale drop about 1lb/wk if your 500cal deficit is truly 500cals deficit.
Dance with the girl you brought. You may need to adjust training frequency or volume deeper into the deficit, but intensity stays the same.
Keep the same foods you eat daily, just add more carbs on your refeeds. Use these sparingly, but when needed. Maybe once a week if in a low deficit, or twice a week if in a steeper deficit.
Ideally, this will be on your heaviest/hardest days in the gym (read: leg day).
Eat the same exact thing every day. It’s incredibly boring, but you wont get odd skewed weight changes on the scale.
Macro advice:
Protein: 1g/lb minimum
Fats: 0.3g/lb (not more, not less… if you’re not natty, this could be MUCH lower)
Carbs: to fill the remainder to your caloric goal.
200lb individual targetting 2500cals looks like:
P 200g
F 60g
C 290g
- Keep your carb sources clean. Rice, potatoes, fruits.
- Red meat tends to be more filling than white meat. Red meat also has a better fat profile.
- Fats should come from protein sources or nuts. Oils if you have to, but only cold processed ones and no seed oils.
Fiber can be a lifesaver.
And as S.Gents said, meal prep!!! I dont know how anyone can stay on target without it.
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Awesome responses, thank you guys as always!! @s.gentz @Andrewgen_Receptors
This is probably exactly what I’ll start with. I respond pretty well to carbs and I like this split.
My only non-protein sources as is are peanut butter and olive oil, both of which I plan to curb pretty significantly. Cutting peanut butter alone should put me in a deficit 
11/13/2024 - Project Six Pack - Day 1
Cardio
30min fasted AM cardio
Lift
Bench 185x12 205x8 215x5 / Pull-ups BWx11 BWx10 BWx10
Dead Stop BB Row 205x12 205x12 205x12
Incline Bench 185x10 185x10
Side Delts 20x15 20x15 20x15 / GHD Sit-ups x3sets
Eased into this workout coming back from some time off. Going to run through each day with some lighter weights then get right back to it. Will be posting macros and BW daily as well going forward.
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Let’s go baby!
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I actually just wrote up my exact ideas on this topic in @TrainForPain ’s log. I think this is a good strategy to bulk or cut with. It’s all quality food, so you can’t really go wrong.
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@davemccright thank you, awesome write up and information!!
11/14/2024 - Project Six Pack - Day 2
2512cals / 244p / 68f / 232c
BW: 200.4
Cardio:
30min fasted AM incline treadmills
Various walks throughout the day
Lift:
Chair Leg Lifts x4sets
Barbell Curls 95x9 95x8 95x7
Bar Pushdowns 87x8 87x8 87x8
Preacher Curls +20x11 +20x10 +20x10
Reverse Curls 50x12 50x12
Incline DB Extensions 35x12 35x12
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Woke up with a bad fever today. No lift but managed to get a couple walks in and hit around my macros. Reassess tomorrow and see if I’m there. Slammed Tylenol and emergenC today. I expect some bloat the next few days, generally happens when I’m sick.
11/15/24 - Project Six Pack - Day 3
BW: 199.2
2614cals / 239p / 77f / 242c
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Still feeling horrible. Off macros today. Basically going nuclear drinking a ton of orange juice. Have gotten better throughout the day so hopefully on the mend. I don’t think I’ve gotten sick in years, no coincidence it’s after a wedding and all inclusive vacation. Off routine and usual diet.
11/16/2024 - Project Six Pack - Day 4
BW 200.2
No activity
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