[Cope1977]

Finished yesterday with 18.5k steps. I overate protein by 80g, fat by 36g and carbs by 14g. Weighed in this morning at 213 lbs (+2.2). Took that extra energy to the gym today and crushed my push day.

Flat Dumbbell Press – 125s x 8(+1), 115s x 11 (+5lbs), 100s x 13 (added this set)

Roller Cable Flies – 200×8, 180×11, 140×15

Incline Barbell (Reverse Banded) – 230×5, 190×9, 145×9 (added a third set)

Lying Cuff Laterals – 140×8, 110×13, 90×19, D1 60×10, D2 45×13

Single Arm Cuff Tricep Ext – 85×8/8, 70×14/14, 55×16/16, D1 40×14/14, D2 25×16/16

Finished off with a 30 minute walk on the treadmill, 3 degree incline, 4 mph.

Today I started pushing carbs and will again tomorrow for the transformation pictures Sunday morning. After pictures, I will be buying some items for under the Christmas Tree from TBJP!!

[Cope1977]

Finished yesterday with 15k steps but I did add in a 20g protein shake and 140g of strawberries. It was bad enough that I almost lost it on the diet, so that was my compromise. It did pay off. Weight upon waking this morning was 210.8 lbs (-0.8). That brings me to -6.0 lbs so far this week.

Today is a NTD, so I did 6 miles on the treadmill (1 hr 35 m) but I’m going to keep my macros the same as a TD. I typically have 1-2 lbs of extra water the day after leg day due to inflammation, so was surprised to see the drop this morning.

I’m starting to plan for Sunday and beyond, when I come out of this deep cut and go back to maintenance. My thoughts are to add 25-75g of carbs on training days and see if my weight levels off after 3-7 days. I will post the update pictures on Sunday and then I hope you fine folks will help me adjust properly.

[Cope1977]

Finished yesterday by hitting my macros and getting in just under 22k steps. Fasted weight this morning was 211.6 (-1.4). I had legs this morning and only made one slight adjustment.

Workout:

Seated Leg Curl – 260×8(+10lbs); 210×14

Heel Elevated, Narrow Stance SSB Squats – 300×11; 260×14 (changed stance b/c I noticed a hip shift last week with a slightly wider than shoulder width stance. This change did keep everything straight)

Lying Leg Curl – 160×13(+10 and Reps); 130×17; D1 80×12; D2 40×12

Leg Press – 10ppsx12; 9ppsx14; D1 6ppsx11; D2 4ppsx15

Calves on Leg Press – 8ppsx15; 7ppsx16; R/P 360×28 – 360×20

Superset Heel Elevated Banded DB Squats – Orange Band + 80×12; 17

Dropped DBs – Orange Band only – 10; 10

Finished with 35 minutes on the Treadmill

Another great workout. Legs are smoked. My hunger is way up already today.

[Cope1977]

Nailed my macros again yesterday. Finished the day with 18k steps. This morning’s fasted weight was 213.0 down 1.8 lbs from Monday and 3.8 from Sunday. I’m pretty sure this is just the water coming out from the extra carbs on Saturday.

Today is a non lifting day, so I did 1 hr 35 minutes on the treadmill. That’s actually less than I have been doing but then I couldn’t stay on my meal plan, so I’m learning!! The Advanced Video on when to Add/Cut Calories unlocked for me last night and I really wish I could have watched that 16 weeks ago! I made every mistake listed!!

I am so glad Joe Bennett recommended this website/app. Not only have I gotten more serious, I now know how to actually train hard, how to better structure my diet and meals and where I need to get to before I do my next bulk. I have learned I need to hear the same message, a few different ways before I actually “get” it. So thank you all.

[Cope1977]

Good Morning!! Had a great Pull session this morning. But first, to close out yesterday. I hit my MACROs and felt great doing it! I have been doing well for 2 or 3 days and then blowing out the CARBs for a day but I am now just 6 days from final check in pictures (hypertrophy coach challenge) so I need to lock things down like I did the first 12 weeks of this cut. Finished yesterday with 17k steps as well. Only 30 on the treadmill after training, the rest were 10 minute walks after meals with my pup.

So today, I slept like crap, getting only 5 hours and 50 minutes of sleep. I was up at 0230. Had my Preworkout Meal, same as yesterday and was at the gym by 0330.

Workout was:

Chest Supported Rows – 320×10; 280×13 (doing this on a cable machine, so figuring out the correct weights)

Neutral Grip Pull Downs – 240×7(NC); 200×8; 160×12

Barbell RDLs – 440×8(+1 and a PR); 400×9

Barbell bent over row – 275×10(+1); 235×16(+1); 195×18

Reverse Pec Deck – 170×10(+1); 135×15(+2); 95×18; D1 65×9; D2 35×12

Seated Incline Cable Curls – 190×10; 140×14; 90×16; D1 50×15; D2 30×17

Like I said, was a great session, lots of energy, great pulls and good mind muscle connection. My chest is tight and sore from yesterday. I believe that’s from fixing my form on the cable flys and getting much wider.

[Cope1977]

Yesterday was a rest day. I hit 27,000 steps and over ate carbs. Took that energy to the gym this morning for push.

Flat DB Press – 125s x 7 (NC); 110s x 12 (+1)

Cable Roller Fly – 200×8; 180×12; 140×15 Focused on getting as wide as possible in the stetch

Reverse Band Incline Bench Press – 230×6; 190×11 Increased weight on both sets

Lying Cuff Lateral Raise – 135×10; 105×17; 85×21 plus 2 drops 60×12; 45×14

Single Arm Triceps Cuff Extension – 85×8; 70×14; 55×17 plus 2 drops 40×14; 25×20

Finished it off with a 30 minute inclined walk on the treadmill.

Diet for this week (starting today) (265P, 275C, 50F) 2,610 calories

0230-0300 – Wake

0330 – Preworkout – 47.3g COR + 30g Protein Shake

Intra – 5g Glutamine + 23g Gatorade

0700 – Post – 100g Cereal + 140g Blueberries + 30g Protein Shake

1100 – 8oz Sirloin Steak + 10oz Jasmine Rice

1400 – 200g Chicken Breast + 4oz Jasmine Rice

1700 – 200g Chicken Breast + 4oz Jasmine Rice

1900 – 34.4g Vegan Protein + 140g Strawberries + 8oz Fairlife Skim Milk

2000 – Bed

[Cope1977]

I finished yesterday hitting all of my goals. 40k steps, this was only b/c of Veteran’s Day, hit my macros for a NTD and got 7 hours of sleep, which is really good for me.

Today was leg day, with a focus on quads. I improved by reps or weight for every lift and did 2 drops on leg press and calf extensions. I’m on track for macros and 12k steps today. Everything feels good.

[Cope1977]

Makes sense, and you’re definitely doing the right thing posting here, it’ll keep you accountable as well as allowing you get help from the best minds around

Detail / definition is mostly a body fat thing. So if you keep dieting hard, once body fat (over all your body) gets low enough you’ll see detail etc… that’s just a matter of time spent dieting down…

But, the growth and development, of say you’re back, will also determine how much separation etc you see when you’re lean, so as you get leaner if you’re not quite seeing what you “want” to see, that just basically means you have to keep growing.

Get your back / legs as big thick and dense as you can in the off season , and that’ll translate to a more impressive “look” when you need get lean again

It’s a long / repetitive process

Hope this helps

Yes, thank you!!

[Cope1977]

Hi bud

Well done your journey so far ?

With regards to training and diet, it’s hard to critique what you’re doing without knowing / seeing how much progress your current plan is exactly achieving for you…

Are you growing as much as you want ?

Or Do you feel your back / leg days dont feel quite right ?

Thank you for the quick response. I am looking to add detail/definition across my upper back as well as my upper legs. I have really focused on that for the last year and while the weights I am moving continue to go up, now as I’m dropping body fat, I’m not seeing the definition/separation that I was hoping for.

I have watched all of the videos here and I did identify my intensity was not truly “hard” training and I have fixed that. I guess, I wanted to start posting here and get more eyes on me and my progress and if I hit a plateau or get out of whack, you fine folks could help with course corrections.

Does that make sense? Obviously, if after the next year or so it looks like I need to go further, there are great coaches here that I could hire and work with.

[Cope1977]

Last 4 training sessions.

[Cope1977]

Then your plan looks good to me. I started TRT at 40 as well.

[Cope1977]

What is your SHBG? The higher it is, the more T you may require. Before starting I’d run the full panel of lipids, estradiol and liver function. That will give you a starting point. Otherwise, 150 is a good starting dose, do labs again after 8-12 weeks and reassess. Be prepared for a lot of changes the first 4-6 weeks. Acne and high libido are common. Good luck!!

[Cope1977]

I do labs the morning of my injection but before injecting. That’s called the “trough” or lowest point your T should be at. However, so long as it’s the same each time, you can have consistency in your results.

[Cope1977]

I had nandrolone added to my TRT a couple years ago at 100 mg per week. The difference is less achy joints. Some guys get a higher dose and you could expect some strength gains, if everything else is perfect. But I wouldn’t expect much on a TRT dose.

[Cope1977]

I will defer to the professions on the off season fats/cards but for meat, I measure raw, as it is the most accurate. Over cooking and under cooking meat changes the weights. So if you can, I’d recommend raw. But, consistency is still key.