[K-Antoni]

Hello mate – well – physically it was a really good cut – and no matter what people say or what you think : when you are fat free it goes also on the face and facial features as well hold fat and water in the face as well – so normal your face is changing 😇

So you should not listen to them are they are not into BB, but for us : your face was totally fine, and you were not skinny but quite lean – which is a super great achievement!

I think physically you are in a super great postition to slowly reverse into a growing lean phase ! But also will make good to your mind – cause I think you have reached the point where your mind is not at the right place anymore and you lost objectivity also.

Congratulations still for this physcial achievement, it’s not easy and you did it ✨

Thank you I appreciate that and thank you for that information that will help a lot.

I am eager to get bigger and stronger but again want to be leaner and I am not struggling to lose weight at the moment I am locked into a routine so if you think I should push too 160-165lbs another 5-10lbs I can but if you think I will benefit from pushing calories back up I’ll also do that.

Thank you I appreciate the kind words

[K-Antoni]

But if I am lean enough and should push up I will also do that

[K-Antoni]

I agree with Hilly. Mentally you’re done and you’re just looking for the answers you want to hear.

Transition into a gaining phase from here, but take things very slowly.

Make sure you put effort into your training There’s no reason why you can’t put a decent amount of tissue on, but you need to make sure your diet, recovery and training is in place in order to achieve that. Shut out the external noise and get your head down.

Thank you for the response. If you guys think I would benefit from further fatloss I can keep pushing I’m not struggling to loose weight infact some how I feel I’m over the hard part and it’s becoming easier and I have dropped 2lbs this week

[K-Antoni]

just move to a lean growth phase – mentally you seem a little all over so it defo makes sense to me to move to growing –

How would you recommend I transition into maintenance?

[K-Antoni]

 

@MeganSylvester thank you for the response

[K-Antoni]

IMO mate your overthinking a lot but I get it your new to BB and you feel there is so much to learn.

I first started BB when I was 15 in my garage with just barbells and dumbbells doing FB 3 times a week and all I cared about was progressing my presses,squats and pulls. Now I am 19 and doing 270 sldls and 3 plate for reps on incline bench. I am now running U/L as I’ve exhausted FB.

All I do for upper is:

2x chest press

2x high incline/ohp

1x close grip press

2x lat movement

2x upper back movement

2x tricep iso

2x lateral

For lower I do

2x adductor

2x leg curl

1x leg ext

2x thigh compound

2x thigh compound

1x rdl/sldl

Don’t worry too much about value

Ofc it is a factor but master the art of intensity with accuracy before worrying about how much you’re doing.

In short

Train hard

Track your lifts

Progress your lifts

Sleep lots

Eat according to your goal

@niallmcwall I appreciate the response.

So do you just run the same split or do you have a second rotation?

[K-Antoni]

My questions are:

– am I missing out by not doing a fly movement for the chest

– will 4 sets of direct bicep work be enough as I feel it’s too low but I know I don’t know what to feel as I am new to lifting and wouldn’t be asking these questions

– should I repeat the same exercises twice for example pronated cable row and db skull crusher or would there be merit in either picking a different movement like tricep push down or single arm extensions and for the back maybe a chest supported DB row

– this is also my volume would you guys point me in the right direction if you think I would benefit from more or less I know it’s person dependent so just on what works for the average person trying to maximise muscle growth

U/L Volume

Chest:8
Back:12
Side delt:8
Reardelt:0
Tricep:8
Bicep:4
Quads:10
Hamstrings:10
Calves:8

[K-Antoni]

I added to my split so can you please go based on the split below

[K-Antoni]

Heya Kian!

You’re doing a really great job tracking variables and not doing anything drastic! I think you’re in a great spot to continue as you are! A couple more weeks of dieting and I think you’ll be in a great spot to slowly start bringing up kcals and start a really productive offseason. Well done! 👍🏼

Thank you I appreciate all the help

[K-Antoni]

Don’t worry about it at all, you need to look at the bigger picture , at the end of the end of the push up you will have more muscle than ever before

Try to remember this , when a decent bodybuilder competes , they try to get as lean as they possibly can and in that process they may lose some muscle, that’s part of it because you typically can’t get truly lean without losing some and then everyone is in the same boat , so the competition is who can get the leanest and hold the most , but that doesn’t mean worrying you have lost even some.

Get as lean as you can , accept muscle will come off a bit , each push phase start with more muscle than the previous ( not hard if you go back up slow) , and then each diet try to end leaner than the previous and see if you can lose less muscle

It’s all a process that really doesn’t need any “ worry “ , at any point . When I see the words worry in this context, it’s a bit of a sign of potential there to hold someone back from achieving a really good physique , because of irrational worries

@Jordan_peters thank you for the response

I appreciate the advise and I will continue to drop body fat levels further for another 5-6 week push aiming for around 165lbs (a loss of 7-8lbs) that is a scary number too see haha I couldn’t imagine I would need to be 165lbs when I started at 192lbs

You are 100% right and I know I will be thankful I did drop body fat further when I do start to push my body weight up and enter an improvement phase

[K-Antoni]

Wow congrats amazing cut, still high in kcals though for this condition!

For the stringy feeling 😂😂😂😂 even bigger boys feel than while in cut, this is a glycogen stuff, when you wanna run a cut, you just deplete yourself and feel skinny. I do feel same whatever the weight I am, it’s just a normal state of mind, but when We see your visual, you did not lost mych muscle though, so really good self guidance well done

@allisontestu thank you for the response

Thank you I appreciate that, I thought my calories where too low haha I never go below 2000 calories as I feel it just becomes too hard to stick to any I generally just start running into issues (sleep,binging,etc) and isn’t necessary as I’m also not prepping for a show.

That’s good to hear that it’s normal to feel this way would you recommend incorporating refeeds every 7-9 days to mitigate this and to help upkeep metabolism training performance and overall sanity, with the extra calories coming from carbs but making sure they are from unprocessed whole foods if my deficit calories are 2000 would you recommend eating around 2500-2600 for a day or two aslong as progress has been good through the week

I appreciate the second opinion I think it’s good to hear that you don’t think I’ve lost much muscle as I might have. A skewed idea as it is my own physique

[K-Antoni]

Hiya Kian,

Thanks for that info!

Just looking at your pictures you don’t look to have lost much muscle at all.

How has your rate of loss been so far over these past 5 weeks? Have you stuck to this cardio/food/step regimen the whole time and have been seeing your weight come down consistently or have you made any adjustments?

Also how is your training right now? Are you recovering well, enjoying training and maintaining strength or struggling?

As for feeling a little stringy like you’re ready to eat up and grow, is that solely based on your opinion on how you look or are you mentally feeling a little fatigued from dieting and maybe focusing on food a little more? It’s very normal to feel a flat and small as you diet for a period of time especially if you’re pushing for a little more condition.

I’ve responded with a lot of questions (sorry) but these things are great to consider to help make decisions if it’s necessary to adjust anything or if you’re fine to continue on as you are with your current regimen. Let us know and we may be able to guide you a little more!

Thank you for the response @Maddy Lulu-Belle Daniel

– my rate of loss has been between 1lb and 2lbs per week that’s what I’m generally aiming for but I track everything as I’m super ocd so can give you specifics below
Week 1:180.7lbs (lost -1.2lbs)
Week 2:178lbs (lost – 2.7lbs)
Week 3:176.1lbs (lost 1.9lbs)
Week 4/5 i went on holiday so had no scale but was smart with food choices and kept training consistent came back weighing 172.3lbs so over the two weeks lost another 3.8lbs so roughly 1.9lbs per week for weeks 4/5
Steps have been consistent at 15k a day if I’m off one day I will make up for it on another day for example maybe Monday:14k then Tuesday I’ll make sure I get 16k calories and cardio also have been very consistent training is going well I train with very high intensity taking all sets to failure I just like training this way but I have droped back on the weight slightly as I have been improving my form (range of motion,control,tempo etc) but still training to failure regardless

I think you are 100% right and it is based on opinion on me wanting to bulk and grow due to the feeling skinny/depleted I’m just gonna suck it up and keep pushing for further fat loss

[K-Antoni]

I will upload the training programs below so you can see them more clearly

[K-Antoni]

I feel as I have been dieting for so long now and can definitely feel I am ready to put some size on and get some strength back I’ve noticed I am becoming a lot more food focused and feel like I will end up binge eating soon should I pull back to maintenance for two days relax increase carbs etc then look too push my body weight down another 5-10lbs ? Or would you recommend just lowering through

[K-Antoni]

Keep pushing for a little more if you can get leaner from here you will see more growth once you come out the other side

I appreciate that what would you recommend roughly should I drop another 5-8lbs ? Or some for roughly 165lbs