We’ve all seen offseason pro bodybuilders vs on stage, but IMO it would have helped me as a newbie knowing how dramatically different average lifters and Veeky Forumsizens look when they’re focused on "cultivating mass" vs only posting their after/best physique pics.
Fuck being embarrassed or self-conscience, let’s see just how far you guys pushed your bulk before you either couldn’t do it anymore for whatever reason, or just wanted to lean down for summer.
Bonus Q’s: Which was easier/harder? How did you do it (either gaining or losing)? Misconceptions you had, anything else you think could be helpful to the next senpai.
Gabriel White
i push my bulks way too fucking far.
well, desu, im not even actually trying to bulk, i just have a big appetite. nearly 200 pounds at only 5'7 in pic related taken yesterday.
i dont have any after pic yet because ive never tried to cut.
Nathan Myers
why does this guys body look like it belongs to a 80 year old
Connor Martin
tanning
Carter Young
Ew wtf why pose like that with that body
Carter Lee
How long lifting? You're gonna have to cut eventually, man!
Praying I still look like this at 80. Gonna be slayin em in that nursing home.
>tfw nurse forgets to put 2 scoops in your chocolate pudding again. is it that fucking hard to remember?
Alexander Johnson
92kg to 78kg, been cutting since February. Lesson learned: don't dirty bulk.
Jace Gonzalez
Far left is February? If so that's damn impressive man. From dad-bod to young athlete mode.
Grayson Martinez
Yeah m8, I was on the seefood diet (I see food and I eat it) for a good six months, and it took someone tagging the left pic on my Facebook for me to see how just plain fat I'd become. Plan to diet down another 2-3kg and then never bulk above 15% bf again.
Austin Russell
>Tfw bulk has been going on 2 years now >said I'd bulk to fill the 94 class then cut >said I'd bulk to squat 200kg then cut >said I'd bulk to fill the 105 class then cut >said I'd bulk to squat 5pl8 then cut >still bulking I'm sure I'll stop someday, real abs would be nice
Ryder Torres
no srs how old are you
Jacob Bell
lol same here.
>okay when i reach 85kg bodyweight, i will be big enough to cut >85kg bw reached >feel small >ok 90 kg, thats heavy as fuck for my height >90kg reached >feel small >reapeat until im a 120kg fat bearmode powerlifter
body dismorphia sucks heh
Oliver Young
He looks like 30, maybe even older.
Lots of muscle maturity and a manly frame, so yeah defo
Adrian Nguyen
Damn you're good user. I'm 29, the big 3-0 coming in September. I started lifted lifting at 27 (see pic), bit late to the game but better than never.
Zachary Parker
Cut or bulk 160 5'8"
Austin Johnson
bulk or cut?
Samuel Green
bulk faggot, you are too skinny to cut
Zachary Gutierrez
Bulk slowly. +300 above tdee.
wat
Parker Foster
bulk or cut ???
Henry Turner
Hey dick nose there's already a cbt
Ryan Clark
Been bulking for nearly five months. Put on just a bit over 10lbs. I'm guessing it's mostly muscle. I think I also lost some fat. I wanna look shredded for summer. I'd like to cut to 10% body fat. I think I'm around 15%.
I'm at 1pl8 OHP and 2pl8 Bench.
151lbs > 162lbs 5'11
Lucas Green
Boardie, this isn't a thread for cherry picking your absolute best current pic. It's to show the difference between bulking/cutting cycles of the average lifter.
Nathan Perry
forgot my pic......
William Nguyen
It's unreal how much more aesthetic you can look if you pack on more mass on your chest,brah
Kayden Roberts
a pic from when I was 3 1/2 months in. Both pics with a pump, the first pic was taken after I was lifting for nearly a month. Mark on my shoulder was zit, not a pin mark.
Christopher Howard
Haha ohh fuck look at that baby dick. Damn, user I'm sorry.
Jacob Nguyen
Culk or butt guise. 5 months into lifting, still far from 1/2/3/4 Stats: 179cm 85.5kg bw 3x5 55kg OHP 3x5 77.5kg Bench 3x5 117.5kg Squat 1x5 130kg Deadlift
Pic was like half a month ago. I kinda want my 1pl8 Press and 3pl8 Dead before cutting.
Josiah Ross
Wide hipped lad, you lack the frame. why lift?
Eli Watson
Why not
Fuck off with your memes
Justin Lee
...
Jacob Collins
Bad advice, keep lifting.
If you look at my starting pic you can see I had nearly the same shoulder:hip ratio you have now. Focus on building delts and lats from the start, this will be your biggest bang for the buck as far as building a V taper.
Chest has always been a struggle for me. Ironically all I ever wanted was to loose the dad-bod moobs. Now I have the curse of the A-cup. It's all good though, I'm adjusting my chest routine to be more incline focused and hoping for a big improvement as year #3 progresses.
Owen Perez
Damn son, mirin the fuck out of that cut. How long did it take?
Isaiah Edwards
those are birthin hips.
Jaxson Howard
>gyno >acne >uni abs Your abs are the equivalent of having a uni-brow in this day and age.
Hunter Ramirez
>you have no idea what gyno is. >kid is clearly hella young, acne is temporary >implying any female wouldn't appreciate that core definition >your post is the equivalent to pissing in the ocean, another drop of troll urine in the waves
Elijah Garcia
I keep telling myself "if you don't cut now you'll never cut". I've failed every time I've tried to cut below 15% in my life.
Tempted to just embrace fat life, I was 220 20% a few weeks ago
Jeremiah Adams
At how much cals did you cut? Sick work bro
Sebastian Gray
Not even trolling. False hope doesn't help. Please leave trip fag, before you regret it.
Benjamin Miller
Eh, it's alright. I'm not really complaining
Mason Ramirez
For real bruh, you're actually making me come to kind of like Balconybro and I really didn't want that to happen
Charles Rodriguez
173cm 85 kg
Anthony Ortiz
75kg
Michael Reyes
mang how are your stats so high, liftan 6 months and lifts aren't as high.
Eli Hall
OP total lifting years?
Christian Collins
mirin blackberry curve
Leo Davis
r8
Nolan Ortiz
aesthetic/10
Elijah Phillips
Bulky looks better.
Michael Scott
Doing a mini cut right now to be lean for an anime convention in 10 days but this is the course of a month and a half cutting about 15 lbs from a ECY stack.
Leo Cook
I trip so people know their getting advice from someone who's actually made gains, not someone who comes here who doesn't lift and only shitposts because they have no progress of their own to share.
And why on earth are you saving my pictures if you don't like me? Thanks for the unintentional mire. I love that pic btw, me at 125pounds back in 2014.
Nolan Gonzalez
>404 chest not found
Dude pls eat and lift. Why do you cut?
Easton Gomez
The whole "atmosphere" on Veeky Forums has always been pretty cancerous, it's just worse the past 4-6 months. >muh 4chins culture requires to be edgy and shitty to others Somehow these people believe that if they tear each other down, it will make them feel better about their lives. You seem like a nice and positive dude balcony, keep posting.
Samuel Morales
I'm sorry, dude. Just broke up with my GF and I'm feeling kinda bitter. You're a good trip. Pic deleted.
Henry King
Curlbro is that you?
Nathaniel Ortiz
I didn't come from super skelly, my Squat started at 80kg and got to 100kg very quickly. The Bench is lagging hard though
Nathaniel Richardson
Awesome progress man. How long did you stick out the first bulk? Your arms and obviously abs are starting to reveal themselves nicely, vascularity coming in strong, looking good. Looks like you did far better with your first bulk/cut than most people, myself included.
Christopher Carter
Why are you sucking in and trying to flex your nonexistent chest?
Jonathan Rivera
Am I zyzz yet? 18 5"11 165~+ american units
Jaxon Garcia
soon his nips will collapse into superdense points and a black hole will form
Oliver Jackson
It's the cos-play disappointment.
Aaron Gonzalez
Gimme some lub, bb.
Robert Miller
GF feels are worst feels. All is forgiven. Use the bitterness as fuel in the gym, it's the best place to invest it imo. Best gains of my life came after I lost the one I thought I was supposed to marry.
Carson Gonzalez
>lost the one i thought i was suppose to marry
We're all gonna make it, r-right balcony? Even if im taking dbol and tren and test ;_: i take them to numb the pain, not to get gains
Landon Young
cut
wrists
Jackson King
First and foremost, don't stop taking frequent progress pics. Even when you're peak bulk/fatty mode and don't like the reflection, it's important to be able to see how your body follows a pattern far moreso than a # on a scale.
Example: I know how far along I am on a cut based on when different pelvic and bicep veins start showing up, when my abs go from horizontal lines to showing also showing a vertical crease, when the serratus anterior becomes visible, etc. You can't track or even correlate those things with weight numbers because your bodies compositional shift toward lean muscle mass instead of fat will continue to increase as time goes by, yet weight may remain the same, increase, or decrease depending on season.
As far as the pics, the most noticeable gains are in the arms. Wether it's a drop in bodyfat or increase in muscle (or both), I can see that primary delt/bicep vein popping out. It doesn't look like you store much fat in the chest which is a nice genetic freebie. Capitalize on that while you're still early on by getting in a lot of chest work, they say focusing on incline exercises specifically is the best for pec-aesthetics.
Benjamin Hall
Nice work. You need more chest tho
Parker Jackson
Started my bulk in October at around 180ish lbs. But I went completely pig mode on christmas and over a month in my semester holidays in february so I got fatter than I wanted. I hate cutting so this was really annoying cutting for almost 3 months...
Lesson learned though. My next bulk will be controlled and for a longer peroid of time. Aiming for 8-12 months lean bulk and maybe gain 15lbs max.
Asher Walker
We gon' make it man. Shit, running that Zyzz cycle your ass is probably going to make it 6 months. Just avoid any Sauna's, I hear they're the ultimate gains goblin, even moreso than womenfolk.
Jaxon Wilson
>Why do you cut? Because a low bf% is better for putting on muscle and promotes more testosterone.
1 plate Ohp 1.5 plate bench 2.5 plate Squat 3.5 plate deadlift. Not really a curl bro, just have shit chest genetics
Give me another year and my cosplays will be on point.
Justin Gonzalez
Appreciate the advice, senpai.
Should I avoid cutting for a month and just bulk for another another five?
Brandon Turner
>Tfw nobody cares
Julian Stewart
you would be a lot hotter if you didn't look like a chocolate bar.
Oliver James
I'm just quietly mirin all you people
Zachary Peterson
I think 8-2-2 is the best annual approach. Solid gains for 8 months, cut for 2 (hopefully even less if you were well disciplined on the bulk), enjoy having your best physique chilling at maintenance for a couple months for summer, then repeat the whole cycle.
Not sure what I would do living somewhere with non-traditional seasons though, somewhere where it's a warm climate all year. Doubt I'll ever find out, I enjoy having different seasons anyway.
Noah Lopez
do you do deadlifts? you look good but traps and lower core is lacking. not really any obliques. also do incline bench, need more upper chest.
Luke Hall
Why do I always assume guys like OP with great physiques are going to be assholes ? I feel like people judge ripped guys as assholes?
What's your experience ?
Michael Phillips
Ayy. So I'm gonna ask you because you seem pretty cool. I'm this dude: So I have one spot left for an accessory. I already do leg raises, laterals, facepulls, hyperextensions, calf raises. What to add? Is it worth hitting the serratus anterior with one of those weird isolation exercises?
David Green
>that hand position on z press Goodbye wrists
Dominic Carter
Yep. If you were to cut now you would indeed get sharper abs, but I think you would be disappointed in everything else. It will set your growth back 2+ months (a month to cut down, then another month or longer having to regain lost muscle at an even slower pace because you're afraid of losing the ab's you worked so hard to reveal). Stick with a lean bulk around +300cals above TDEE until you hit the 8 or 9 month mark, then you'll be in a good place to justify a legit cut.
Austin Williams
i'm not that guy but considering your body frame i'd do something that targets lats so you even out and develop a v-taper
Blake Jones
I have Pullups and Lat pulldowns. What else?
Matthew Williams
Thanks breh But I think I will start bulking again in June. I want to be jacked next year and there is also no point in chilling on my twink physique yet.
Summer bulking crew reporting in
Nathan Roberts
Seeing as my advice is focused on the delts and lats in order to broaden the V-Taper and change your hip:shoulder ratio, you really need something to target the lats. Pullups or machine lat pulldowns are #1 and #2, preferably both.
Side note: You are literally throwing your time away with calf raises. Also, Leg raises are useful for building core strength if you care about strength in compound lifts (deadlift, squats), but completely and utterly useless for actually revealing your abs. I haven't done an ab isolation exercise in well over a year, and honestly if I could go back in time I would have stopped myself from wasting time the first year doing them.
The serratus anterior can be targeted doing DB pullovers or similar exercises, but honestly it's similar to ab's (even more strict, actually) in that until you get below ~10% bodyfat it wont matter how strong they are - you wont see them in the mirror.
Andrew Ortiz
Do you row?
John Perez
Gotcha, if you have those two covered look at adding straight-arm (in front of you, kind of like superman) pull downs.
Pullups and lat pulldowns are extremely versatile in that doing different width/grip's and using different attachments can be considered seperate exercises as well. I do a mixture of wide grip, neutral grip, and even chinups sometimes. And for lat pulldowns I mix up the traditional long bar and a narrow V-handle grip. I've come to really like this variation. Youtube is a godsend for learning all of these movements.
Another favorite of mine is using the cable crossover machine, put in high position like you're on a crucifix. Pull your elbows in behind your mid/lower back. Murderous on the lats and is great for learning to feel that specific mind-muscle connection.
Brandon Torres
What's so bad about Calf Raises? I included them because I eventually wanna include oly lifts (they're fun) and I definitely see strength gains there.
I realize I won't be seeing abs and serratus until I hit very low bf%. But targeting them so I can make some nice gains in these areas before cutting can't hurt, right? Or are you saying it doesn't help with their development at all? Why?
And I like Leg Raises. They're quick to bang out and I do care about my Deadlift a lot.
Nathaniel Wright
The last one sounds interesting. I usually go wide grip on lat pulldowns. I'll try mixing that up famiglia
Yes, same weight as bench. I can do 3x5 10kg Chinups with shoulder-width grip too.
Samuel Rivera
11 months of bulk. Still not planning on cutting for the forseeable future.
Thomas Hughes
Ab and calf isolations come down to time investment, that's all. In order to hit all the staples, far more important and rewarding movements, my routine already pushes the amount of time per day I can afford to spend training. And even then, if I had another 15 minutes to crank out another 4 sets of something, it would be devoted toward something that will make my physique look better - because I lift for hypertrophy, not strength. If you do frequent oly lifting than there's nothing to lose by doing them...but honestly I think you would benefit more from an extra movement on one of the major muscle groups, unless you just have a surplus amount of time to spend in the gym (as in 2+ hour sessions 6 times a week).
Since we're talking back, here's mine.
Eli Powell
Serious improvement, mirin that long term dedication too. I start getting fat fatigue/loathing around the 8-9 month mark.
Carter Wilson
I currently have the time for 2hour sessions, so not much of a problem. What other accessories for Deltoids would you recommend? I feel like I already have those covered hitting all three heads separately. Same for lats really, Pullups/Chinups, Lat Pulldowns, Rows, maybe Straight arm pulldowns, what else is there?
Also I really appreciate all the input. Thanks Veeky Forums and Balconybro, you're a bretty gud trip
Carson Lee
hey faggot theres a /fraud/ thread too
Nathaniel Ross
For delts you need one main lift to hit all heads, then one for each head seperately. My main lift will either be barbell OHP, DB OHP, or Arnold Presses. Then I stick with front raises, side raises, and something for rear delts, either facepulls, reverse pec dec flys if I'm at a commercial gym and not homegyming, or rear delt db flys. Rear delts are way more important to building 3d shoulders than people first realize.
For overall balanced back development I choose 2 vertical pullup/down movements and 2 horizontal/row movements. Machines are great for rowing exercises imo, especially ones where you can isolate each side separately while you hone in on exactly where you should be feeling the burn. When you're going both arms at a time, especially with a barbell, there's a natural tendency for you to move the weight by all means necessary, by doing so engaging non-back pull muscles like the rear delts, triceps, etc. While this is okay for contributing to your deadlift performance, it's not helpful for literally isolating the back.
Brandon King
I get it. Is an isolation for front delta really necessary if I already do OHP and Incline Bench though? I'd say yes in the long term, but not at my current level. So unless you say "don't skip these faggot", I'm going to skip isolating front delts as it feels very much redundant.
As for back, that sounds reasonable. I'll add a horizontal pull on the machine for dat dere hypertrophy, then I'll have one compound movement and one isolation exercise for both horizontal and vertical. Thanks breh
Jason Fisher
holy fuck never been to fit but this is now my goal
Jonathan Scott
Perma cutting for a few months now. Recovering lifelong fatty. Tired of being fat and my ex leaving me after 5 years made me finally take the leap. Even with the loose skin, one day I'm gonna make it.
Brandon Russell
Βetter stock up on the roids asap, bitchboi
Ayden Lee
Nice progress so far. Remember that depending on where you live you might be able to get insurance-paid surgery if you cry a bit about how you're depressed and have self-image issues because of the loose skin.
Oliver Bell
This is why I'm scared to fuck redheads
Joshua Bailey
Thanks. I live in the US so insurance usually covers it if the skin is a "health issue" like if you have 20 pounds or whatever. I might still pay for it anyways though. I'm 6'4 so I'm looking to get down to about 180 or so before I start slowly building back up. People already look confused at 4 months because I've lost so much. Pretty good motivation, but it keeps just wanting me to push even harder.