As the subject states.. I started working out ~8 months ago being 160 lbs looking skinny no 6 pack and could only do the bar on every lift. I bulked up to 185 and was getting a little sloppy, so started cutting and am now at 170.
I find it hard to progress on the cut obviously.. But I still don't have that illusive 6 pack so I am not sure where to go from here- I am told I look bigger than I used to at 160 and clearly made strength gains but I don't want to cut so low that I am back where I started. I don't want to bulk and get sloppy again either and perpetually not have abs.
What should I do?
A) Cut down to 160 before bulking B) Do a slow bulk right now, aim for 2 lbs a month of hopefully pure muscle up until 195lbs then cut 15lbs again and pray that time I see abs?
Jayden Cook
How tall are you
Jack Powell
6ft.
So I know I am a skelly, im just mad that I bulk up to 185 and leave skelly mode and then go down to 170 and i still dont have that lean look.
Dylan Wood
>Bench 165 >OHP 115 >Deadlift 175 >Squat 145 >benching more than you diddly and squat Your core is non-existent with those puny lifts.
James Sanchez
I was making good progress on my bulk but then got injured and restarted and then cut so its been tough. But my form is finally looking better.
So do you think I should just forget about the abs for a year? 2lbs a month bulk?
Nicholas Perry
I should mention its not that im seeing Nonexistant gains to the lifts while on the cut, but its just so much slower.
Mason Russell
>8 months >Where's my six pack!!!
Ayden Campbell
ha thats fair. I just want to know that im on the right track and whether to bulk now or bulk later to maximize my 6 pack time
Asher Hernandez
>Deadlift 175 >Squat 145 >But I still don't have that illusive 6 pack
Nor do you have a brain, apparently
Levi Walker
Like every other user is saying, you gotta pump those numbers up up up before you even gain enough muscle for a six pack
Jeremiah Miller
I guess I just was under the reasoning that if im cutting sure those lifts will be harder to increase but id be losing body fat and still be able to achieve 10% skinny abs base so that I can bulk.
I think layne norton says 10%-15% should be the bulk and cut cycle. But I just dont see how i can get my dead and squats into the 200s if im eating 1800 cals a day like this
Leo Brown
Yeah I understand. Fuck it then, bulk time till my lifts are in the 200s. See you next year six pack
Sebastian Anderson
"Bulking" is stupid. increase volume. You will find you need to eat and sleep more to recover.
Food should only increase if you are doing enough volume to need the increased recovery.
Joseph Nelson
I'm doing PPL going 5x a week
Jackson Lewis
Ppl could be low or high volume. Actual program?
Generally you want more volume(and conditioning!) when gaining weight and a bit less when losing weight. A 170 lb man should have much higher numbers than you have, which makes me think your mostly fat. You could probably just fix your diet and make gains at about the same weight you are at.
If you gain wait, do it to match your recovery. Don't dreamer bulk or you will regret it.
Gabriel Butler
The dreamer bulk is exactly what im afraid of, i remember being 186 and just feeling like i got sloppy.
LEGS Squat 3x5 150 ! Hamstring Curls 3x8 120 // Leg Curls 3x12 120 Standing Calf Raise 3x18 70 RDL 3x10 3 70 // Leg Lift 3x14 Rear Delt 3x11 60 // Cable Crunches 3x20 120
PULL Deadlifts 3x5 180 ! Bent over rows 3x5 150 // Shrugs 3x8 DB Rows 2x9 50 Pull-ups 3x10 10 Machine Curls 3x11 95 Standing DB Curls 3x10 30 // Decline Crunches 3x15 25
"!" is because i failed it last time. Thoughts on routine?
Luke Williams
fix your diet as in? I have a pretty good grasp of calories right now, everything gets logged with MFP and I have good willpower to control. I can do 1700 cals a day but was losing more than 1 lb a week so back to 1800
Jaxon Rodriguez
Lots of meat and vegetables, less shit.
Counting calories works well for losing/gaining weight, but not always body composition
Justin Nelson
You should get some sort of weight periodization for your main lifts. Even linear periodization would work. (Ie do an amrap as the last set, if you get less than 5 reps go to 85% of current weight and go back up)
Easton Ramirez
Ok thats reasonable. Routine seemed fine?
I'm now leaning towards just eating 100-200 cals more if I fail a lift. I don't know if anyone does this, but it makes sense to me.. I'm at 1800 and say 115 OHP, if I fail it twice I will start eating 1900. If I add 5 lbs then I stay at 1800. Repeat.
Jackson Bailey
Sure, I will add AMRAP. That would help with the failing lifts then and maybe I can scratch the plan i just posted since I'd be technically deloading.
I am a little afraid of deloading at this point because it makes me feel like i dont progress.. Like wow I bench 155 finally then fail 160 and now im back to 145 and its just a perpetual cycle cuz then ive cut even more by the time I hit 160 again and so fail yet again. I will give it a shot tho
Jacob Bell
That's a little asinine. Strength is not some constant thing and can be masked by fatigue and other factors so don't base diet changes on anything less than a month of progress.
Periodize your main lifts, fix your diet, and try eating approximately maintenance for a while. Try to eat a lot of protein. The risks of eating too much are pretty much nil, but too little can stop progress.
Do conditioning. It will let you recover faster, do more volume, eat more, and overall get bigger in the long term.
If you eat approximately maintnence and really busy your ass, you should get stronger while maintaining weight
Camden Ross
If you do 160 x4 then do 135 X10 that's progress, weight is not the only fator in building strength
Josiah Bennett
Any wise protein supplements to take? I eat chicken twice a day if not 3 already but maybe i need more.
I will apply everything you have said. Thank you.
Grayson Mitchell
Im not the biggest fan of supplements, mainly due to taste, so I can't help you there. Ground beef and ground turkey is pretty cheap
Anthony Brooks
cool no prob. Okay then, I eat to stay around 170lbs and AMRAP my main lifts and see if I can add 15-20 lbs to those lifts within a month or two
Joseph Hall
An okay stomach is about maintaining low body fat.. being completely ripped either requires roids or targeted resistance training. Do weighted sit ups and leg lifts. If you have access to it, use a core rotator machine as well and work your way up to maximum resistance for 5 sets of 10 in each direction every day you work out. You should be able to build good definition. In a mater of 2-3 months and be shredded in about a year.
Carson Phillips
You don't have enough muscle to justify cutting weight.
At 6ft tall you should be pushing north of 230 before you even think about cutting.
Eat and lift motherfucker.
Bentley Thomas
I'm 170 and 6ft as well. And your problem is literally this I didn't start to see abs until my 1rm squat broke 200. Squat more and they'll come in. I'm currently 170lbs at ~16%bf and I have visble ab separation.
Camden Parker
Why do you want abs so hard you fucking retard? How about you actually get past girl lifts and only then consider cutting?
