Alright, I figured that this thread would be a way for me to keep up consistency with my diet these next 6 weeks. I've been cutting for about 3 weeks already, down to 175 from about 180.
I'm going to post my plan that I posted in another thread, but it explains pretty much everything I'm doing. **Accept I will be adding Leviathan Reloaded and DCP when they arrive this week.**

Okay so just in case so no one stops right here to flame me for cutting at a low bodyweight, I'm trying to get around 7%bf for tricking, which is a hobby of mine, sort of like gymnastics, just flipping and stuff, mostly to impress people. Plus this is my first year of college so being lean for the ladies before trying to gain again is my major concern .

My schedule usually works out something like this:

8:30- Wake up, drink a cup of black coffee, stretch and go for a jog around campus, maybe with some HIIT thrown in.----*****I have been slacking a bit though on the cardio****
9:15- Make breakfast: Varies, but usually 500 calories, something like 1 cup oatmeal w/ cinnamon, 1/2 cup natural yogurt with strawberries, 3-4 eggwhites, and a few nuts or pb on a piece of whole wheat toast.
Also taken w/ a multivitamin, 1.5g fish oil, and 1g arginine.

12-12:30- Varies, usually 300-350 calories, w/ 30 grams from a lean protein source. Sometimes half of a turkey sandwhich on whole wheat.

3-3:30- Varies(everything varies since I'm in college it's hard to make a set amount of food everyday) usually 300-350 calories, sometimes 1/2 cup of brown rice, chicken, or tofu, or turkey, and a salad. Take another gram of arginine.

4:45-5:15- Workout-
Monday-Shoulders,
Tuesday-bis and tris, and forearms
Wensday-Legs
Thursday-Back
Friday-Chest

Each workout is high weight usually with a 12-10-8 or 15-12-10-8 sets for each workout, each with 4 second negatives, resting between 30-1:30 between sets. I also stretch down after each session, with static stretches.

6:15-6:30-Post workout shake: Usually a scoop of ON Whey Extreme Milk Chocolate with a cup of milk, and 5g of glutamine, followed by 3 cups of water. Sometimes have a yogurt or a half a banana as well.

7:30-8:00- I try to get around 300-350 calories here too, with a lean protein source, lots of mixed vegetables, and sometimes starchy
carbs.

11:00- another 200-300 Calories, sometimes just protein in milk, or tuna, I just try to get a lot of protein in. I usually limit slow burning carbs to post workout out or after about 5 if not.

Pre bed- Another 200-300 calories, either canned tuna with low fat mayo, and a bit of natty pb, or maybe cottage cheese(usually not, I only use it because its good before bed, I get sick of the taste) and pb.
I take another gram of arginine and a lot of water.

I drink around 2-3 gallons of water a day to stay hydrated. My calories intake may give or take about 200 calories every day.

I don't do cardio on weekends, but I have a pretty active lifestyle regardless of training. I also cycle creatine, but I'm currently off.

I just weighed in on my scale, which also is supposed to measure bodyfat. My weight was 175 exactly with 12.1% BF. Here are pictures I took just before this measurement...





*****Oh and don't mind the lounge pants,

After I get down to 6-7%bf, I want to maintain this % and gain muscle slowly, to about 175-180 lbs. This would be my ideal lean weight for what I do and what I want to look like I hope.

I'll try to keep my diet posted,(the best I can), but progress will definitely be consistently posted. The last time I tried, I think my one rep max bench was about 245, squats I'm not sure on, but I've done 300 8 times before lol.(Not too big on squats, usually do weighted lunges, recently started deadlifts, a lot of box jumps, etc)

Any questions or comments are welcome!

im in!!

Hey i just wanted to let you know that those scales that measure body fat are not the most accuarate test for body fat. I would go with calipers for a more accurate reading, you may be pleasently suprised and find your body fat closer to 10 percent imho. I would continue the way you are going and leave the scale alone for about a month.. evaluate progress from a mirror and in 4 weeks maybe jump on the scale again and see what it says.. you will learn alot about your body this way.

First of all... you already look a lot leaner than 12.5% - as stated above.

In all honesty - I would just do your lean bulk now, then trim fat after you get to 185 or so at this BF%... getting down to a 6-7% body fat and then lean bulking while remaining there would be terribly inefficient - and next to impossible.

Again, just my two cents. You're already very lean as is... I'd hate for you to waste time cutting now.

Seriously, you're nowhere close to 12.1% bodyfat.

Originally Posted by bigzach1234

Hey i just wanted to let you know that those scales that measure body fat are not the most accuarate test for body fat. I would go with calipers for a more accurate reading, you may be pleasently suprised and find your body fat closer to 10 percent imho. I would continue the way you are going and leave the scale alone for about a month.. evaluate progress from a mirror and in 4 weeks maybe jump on the scale again and see what it says.. you will learn alot about your body this way.

Thanks for that, I think that's what I'll do. I already ordered a body fat caliper but it got sent to the wrong address, so it'll be a while before it gets here.

First of all... you already look a lot leaner than 12.5% - as stated above.

In all honesty - I would just do your lean bulk now, then trim fat after you get to 185 or so at this BF%... getting down to a 6-7% body fat and then lean bulking while remaining there would be terribly inefficient - and next to impossible.

Again, just my two cents. You're already very lean as is... I'd hate for you to waste time cutting now.

Also, yeah I've thought about this too, but it just kills me because I've always wanted to be super lean(let's say I wasn't too athletic in my early years) and have personal body fat issues. But I also need to be as light as possible for what I do. How come growing after cutting down would be so difficult?

Oh and this is my BodyMinder log from my workout yesterday:
I maxed out benching for the first time in a while too..
Also keep in mind each set is done with 2-4 second negatives with less than one minute intervals in between.(Minus the max on bench)

Muscle Group: Chest
Bench press: 10 x 185, 1 x 245(w/ 5 slow assisted negatives), 0 x 255(only 5 slow assisted negatives), 6 x 205 (w/ 3 slow assis. negs.)
Inlcine Chest Press(machine): 12 x 135, 10 x 175, 8 x 180
Weighted Chest Dips: 8 x 45, 8 x 45, 8 x 45
Incline Flys: 12 x 35lb dumbells, 10 x 35's, 8 x 35's

Abs
Figure 8's: 8x bodyweight
Swissball crunch: 25 x bodyweight
Hover: 1:00 w/ 20 seconds both sides

Static Stretch down session.



Also my eating yesterday was a little off for the first time in a while, (Halloween lol), I ended up having a little bit of candy, and some alcohol(first drinks in over 6 months, not something I do often)

But nonetheless everything else I ate was according to my plan posted before. Also I received my DCP already, so yesterday I took 2 before breakfast, 1 pre workout, 2 before my post post workout meal, 1 before dinner, and 1 before bed.

Originally Posted by Theipodpeople

Also, yeah I've thought about this too, but it just kills me because I've always wanted to be super lean(let's say I wasn't too athletic in my early years) and have personal body fat issues. But I also need to be as light as possible for what I do. How come growing after cutting down would be so difficult?

Just the nature of the beast man... In order to grow, you need to have a calorie surplus, and unfortunately - unless you're a genetic freak - not all that calorie surplus goes to muscle. Especially seeing as above you mentioned you used to be a little chubby - I would venture to guess you are a bit carb sensitive. If you are going to successfully gain LBM after your cut - you're going to put on some fat regardless... I just think you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and stress by bulking up now.

I'm not saying its impossible - but it will be painfully slow. You wont ever get FAT mind you... but you might lose the abs for a couple months - it's not as big a deal as you might think.

Originally Posted by TimberLakers

Just the nature of the beast man... In order to grow, you need to have a calorie surplus, and unfortunately - unless you're a genetic freak - not all that calorie surplus goes to muscle. Especially seeing as above you mentioned you used to be a little chubby - I would venture to guess you are a bit carb sensitive. If you are going to successfully gain LBM after your cut - you're going to put on some fat regardless... I just think you'll be saving yourself a lot of time and stress by bulking up now.

I'm not saying its impossible - but it will be painfully slow. You wont ever get FAT mind you... but you might lose the abs for a couple months - it's not as big a deal as you might think.

Hmm, I'll have to think about it longer I guess. Thanks for the insight, it's just so hard because in College abs are the ticket haha.

Originally Posted by Theipodpeople

Hmm, I'll have to think about it longer I guess. Thanks for the insight, it's just so hard because in College abs are the ticket haha.

Laying pipe is the ticket. Just make sure she tells her friends.

Originally Posted by Theipodpeople

Hmm, I'll have to think about it longer I guess. Thanks for the insight, it's just so hard because in College abs are the ticket haha.

Abs are the ticket boys. But size with abs is all the better. Right now im 6'1" 220lbs at 4% using a caliber test. When I graduated high school I was like 170lbs. Once your lean gaining size becomes addicting. But i never lost that ripped look when bulking. At times I might have been up to about 9% but that would be when i had eaten bad for a lil while, it happens. Your pretty lean already and your diet isnt too bad, you seem to eat a lot of clean meals. If you want to get rid of that excess bodyfat then for the next 3 days eat 7 meals a day approx. Eat 40-60grams of protein every 2.5 hours. The only meal that you are to eat carbs is the one before the gym. Eat 50grams of complex carbs. Keep fat intake low. Also make sure you do cardio each of these days for 30-45min. Drink lots of water, which you seem to already do, but try and get 3 gallons a day. After the 3 days if your not lean enough to make you happy then add more days until you are. Be careful because if you do this for too long then you will start to lose some muscle mass. When you are done cutting start eating 40-60 grams of complex carbs for your first 5 meals of the day along with the 40-60grams of protein. Make sure youre still drinking lots of water. Try and keep fat intake as low as you can, but get some fats each day. And just stick with this diet as closely as you can from here on out. Id get more specific about the diet but im sure you get the idea. Eating clean shouldnt be that hard after eating that strict during your cutting days. Things like beans and bread taste so good after not having them for 3+ days. If you eat like this and your training is in check and your getting enough sleep then your gonna slowly grow and stay lean. Sleep 7-9 hours each night. Buy some casein protein to have as your last meal before bedtime. Youve got a good frame, good luck with everything!

^^^^ hurdlemaker said it all - great advice. You look very lean - not far from your goal - i'd def add some mass and concentrate on pullups to widen your lats. Good luck bro - tone those abs and go get the ladies!

Originally Posted by hurdlemaker

Abs are the ticket boys. But size with abs is all the better. Right now im 6'1" 220lbs at 4% using a caliber test. When I graduated high school I was like 170lbs. Once your lean gaining size becomes addicting. But i never lost that ripped look when bulking. At times I might have been up to about 9% but that would be when i had eaten bad for a lil while, it happens. Your pretty lean already and your diet isnt too bad, you seem to eat a lot of clean meals. If you want to get rid of that excess bodyfat then for the next 3 days eat 7 meals a day approx. Eat 40-60grams of protein every 2.5 hours. The only meal that you are to eat carbs is the one before the gym. Eat 50grams of complex carbs. Keep fat intake low. Also make sure you do cardio each of these days for 30-45min. Drink lots of water, which you seem to already do, but try and get 3 gallons a day. After the 3 days if your not lean enough to make you happy then add more days until you are. Be careful because if you do this for too long then you will start to lose some muscle mass. When you are done cutting start eating 40-60 grams of complex carbs for your first 5 meals of the day along with the 40-60grams of protein. Make sure youre still drinking lots of water. Try and keep fat intake as low as you can, but get some fats each day. And just stick with this diet as closely as you can from here on out. Id get more specific about the diet but im sure you get the idea. Eating clean shouldnt be that hard after eating that strict during your cutting days. Things like beans and bread taste so good after not having them for 3+ days. If you eat like this and your training is in check and your getting enough sleep then your gonna slowly grow and stay lean. Sleep 7-9 hours each night. Buy some casein protein to have as your last meal before bedtime. Youve got a good frame, good luck with everything!

^^^^ hurdlemaker said it all - great advice. You look very lean - not far from your goal - i'd def add some mass and concentrate on pullups to widen your lats. Good luck bro - tone those abs and go get the ladies!

Thanks for those complements and the advice! Those three days of cutting that Hurdlemaker is referring to, would that be a TKD diet? And is 3 days really enough to make a bodyfat difference? Like, to get to where I want to be? I won't have a problem doing it I know that much, but would it get me to a low bf quickly without losing muscle like you say?
I would love to get to 5%bf and stick around there while getting bigger already! haha

I guess that you are joking about 5% 'cause that is unnaturally lean unless you are going into a competition. You'd do better staying at 8-10% and building some muscle thickness. the CKD diet is great to strip off fat - altho I think you'd be better to go on a clean bulk.

Good luck dude!

Bulk up man.

Yeah I am now, sort of the reason I haven't been posting here haha. I did cut for while though, got down to 172, but I'm sad to say I cut too fast and lost a lot of strength. It pissed me off so now I'm working hard to get big.

Hurdlemaker, I'm going to have to agree with Timberlakers on this one, respectfully.

I would say that your lay out is great. However, genetics plays a huge part. I'm not sure how yours or those of the OP's are. Typically, we gain fat during a bulk. Some more so than others. In your case, I would have to guess you have genetics that some would kill to have.

Originally Posted by Condition1

Hurdlemaker, I'm going to have to agree with Timberlakers on this one, respectfully.

I would say that your lay out is great. However, genetics plays a huge part. I'm not sure how yours or those of the OP's are. Typically, we gain fat during a bulk. Some more so than others. In your case, I would have to guess you have genetics that some would kill to have.

Go take a look at Hurdlemakers old logs. He is one jacked mo fo, not to mention strong as hell.......i hate him.

Hey everyone. So I started bulking the week before Thanksgiving. I think I must have gone overboard because I definitely gained back a lot of fat that I lost. I've been trying to put on as much muscle as I can and really have been hitting the gym hard. I cut too much calories out of my daily intake while cutting, I was eating around 2100-2300 calories a day, and I ended up losing a butt-load of strength. However, I started eating a lot more carbs again and only simple carbs in the morning and PWO,(maybe some fruit preWO too). I think Thanksgiving had a lot to do with my fat gain since I went home for the week, and since I'm in college, you know how that goes with home cooked meals.

I've just weighed myself in at 181.4lbs and 12mm on my right hip by fat caliper. 3 weeks ago I was at about 10.5-11mm.

I hate coming to the board and sounding like I'm whining about nothing but I feel like I'm gaining fat too rapidly. Although i also feel like I'm making solid strength gains. I think now I'm eating around 3000 calories a day, while over thanksgiving it was probably at about 5000+ O.o.

Since I'm in college, it's so hard to find a place I feel comfortable, I change my mind every week on whether I want to cut or bulk. I see a little fat and start sharting my pants with fear of being the pudgey, short kid I was in fourth grade

If I am carb sensitive, should I limit my carbs while bulking? Or how should I get a number that I can shoot for daily?

Can anyone shed some light on how I can keep myself in a safe fat % while gaining muscle? OR an idea of how long I should shoot to bulk before I cut? I seem to respond really well to CKD, so I think losing the fat won't be a big deal as long as I stay dedicated and don't go home too often haha.

I also forgot to add, December 13th or so I go home for Winter break, until January 6th. From around the 19th-26th(maybe a little longer) I'll be out of commission do to a minor surgery. How can I make sure I maintain mass and don't add fat during this time?

Alright well I'm bumping the question I asked in my last post and also adding pics just taken tonight...
This is about halfway through my fourth week of bulking.






These next two were taken with the bathroom fluorescent light, mostly because the flash on my camera doesn't give any good shade lol.

cool

Originally Posted by v4nce

cool

RAD!..

good advise on bulking. You can stay lean anytime while still bulking and from your looks it seems that you will be that way. I would definitely work on developing thickness, but then again that comes with age as well. keep it up man you will get there sooner than you think!

New pics tomorrow night, before I start V diet log on this thread on sunday

Tomorrow's the day. I'll post pictures as I go. Here's the pictures after two months of bulking, and a week and a half off during that time due to surgery.










Cut starts tomorrow. Just weighed in at 183.2lbs.
BTW- I'm 6'1"

Why start cutting already if you still got the six pack?! Put in more time on the bulk IMO!

Originally Posted by Aggravated

Why start cutting already if you still got the six pack?! Put in more time on the bulk IMO!

Yeah but this is college! Haha I want to but I need that ripped look for the florida sun my man

My cut is a modified V-Diet. I know I know, extreme, but it's more for self discipline, and I'm not planning to kill myself so if it gets bad I can switch to a less radical cut. Pretty sure I'll be fine though only want to lose the lower back and lower ab fat, then back to BUILDING.

Day 1-Ain't no thang.

I'm keeping it simple, 2 scoops of protein, one whey one casein, per 5 shakes. Plus I eat 4 servings of flax, CLA and Fish oil, and then one tbl spoon of pb with my night time shake. I add some glutamine, bcaas, and fiber to each shake too. Green tea extract and some caffeine in the morning, along with a multi.

Oh and on workout days, Jacked 15 minutes before. Need to get some carbs during and after, about 90 grams worth, using grape juice tomorrow until I buy dextrose or something. Thinking about a solid meal once a day, IDK yet, well see how it goes.

Alright so I've been bulking a while. Thinking maybe starting to finally cut up again? Suggestions? Here are my pics taken tonight:

Dont make me undo the swirl!, good job man!
Id suggest after getting lean for the beach, go back to bulking and bulk much much more.

Just about done bulking up

Look how that guy looks after a bulk, not to great obviously, but hes gonna look awesome when he's done. If you know you have the will power I wouldnt worry about losing the 6 for 3 - 5 months, because in the end you'll look much better for next beach time.

Great job tho on your bulk tho, how much weight did you gain? Looks like aroudns 12 or 15~.