6 month transition, cut then bulk

[pinchharmonic]

like the title says, this started off with a major cut, and then a 1 month bulk. Planning to step onstage in about 2 months, so another cut is planned too.


the cut from fat pics to the lean pics was about 4-5 months, then from the lean pics to the bulked pics about 1 month. the bulk was clean and as strict as the cut.



4-5 month cut




bulked again 1 month

[Navyrigger]

Nice cut bro. Did you have any help?

[pinchharmonic]

Nice cut bro. Did you have any help?

not sure what you mean by help, but no hormonal supplements and no trainer or nutritionist if that's what you mean. as far as the contest is concerned, charles ray arde, ifbb pro is local, and I was thinking of getting some advice there even if it costs $. since cutting down vs getting ready for a show is probably night and day.

[Navyrigger]

How are the wheels. And by help i meant fat lose supps. Did you lose any power?

[lciaccio]

damn nice cut...what was ur diet like

[doyoudo911]

was the cut/bulk all natural (just diet and training)? or did you use supps/phs/ or AAS?


also I agree, NICE cut

[Red Dog]

you were ****in ripped after that cut man -- excellent job; the dedication shows!

[bmxrazr]

Hell yea awesome job on the cut.

[pinchharmonic]

no AAS, ephederine, clen, etc. the only fat burner I took was REDuction by controlled labs, and I think it's just as easily replaced with some caffeine. The diet is probably 85% of the equation, 14% is the training (cardio, more circuit oriented training, HIIT) and 1% is supplementation.

I have about 5 weeks to get back into that shape and this time around i'm going to do it with far less supplementation because i believe it doesn't really have that profound an effect. I'll definitely update everyone because sometimes i think the supplements are very misleading. the effort spent on finding the best supplement would be better spent on googling recipes, buying tupperware, cooking, and learning how to cook better. i can honestly say if I didn't take a serious interest in cooking I would never have been able to cut. I think of a new recipe each week, and tailor it to fit my macros. it makes the dieting possible.

not sure what PHS is?

[silverSurfer]

WOW! That's some serious cutting - looking ripped
Good luck on the stage, I'm sure you'll do great. Also, thanks for your note on supps vs. diet.

[pinchharmonic]

thanks everyone, any competitors here have any suggestions on when to remove things like glycerol monstearate and creatine? or any suggestions on carb/salt/fat manipulation the week before the contest?

[lciaccio]

dont know if u ever saw this, but check it out.

http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_...dded_in_6_days

[jsg]

WOW man very nice cut. I agree with you that good recipes can help cause I'm trying to cut right now and it's hard because the food is boring and I know it would be easier if I had good recipes that have taste.

[vadox6466]

Just out of curiosity.. you probably plateaued at least once during the cut -- how'd you get over it? Change your macros up? Also, how'd you transition into your bulk after? (ie, how much did you up your calories each week?)

[pinchharmonic]

hey vadox,

i definitely plateaued and I'd say until you are sure your next plan is going to get you to your goal, then keep a little something up your sleeve for the inevitable plateau.

i guess the phases were like this:

1.) same foods, split into more meals
2.) cleaner carbs (lower glycemic)
3.) add in a few 30 min steady state cardio sessions morning or after workout
4.) increase cardio time
5.) increase frequency of cardio
6.) start dropping carbs
7.) add fat burners
8.) add HIIT then steady state cardio after on off-days

so you can see it gets more intense towards the end, whereas each number represents a potential plateau buster.

I can imagine if you did the kitchen sink method where you do 1-8 all at once, you might shock your body and run out of tricks before your body gets to where it want to be. (perhaps doing all 8 is such a shock it's catabolic too). Moreover, doing all 8 of those for a prolonged period of time is tougher than gradually adding them over the course of 2 months say.

i did have some fundamental rules like, I would not drop carbs less than 75 grams a day ever. and i would not do <100 grams for more than 3 days a week.

i don't think i'd ever do more than 2 hours of cardio a day either.

so if I coudln't achieve what I wanted without breaking those fundamental rules I would consider that my genetic limit. because if you had to break those rules, there's no way you can maintain that lifestyle, and the bounce back when you bulk again is going to be horrendous.

speaking of bulking again, i can't stress enough to add the carbs back in SLOWLY. for example, you can add or subtract 20 grams of carbs a day and your body may not really realize it. Do that with 50 and your body may respond. I went from eating average 100 grams of carbs daily to eating about 300 in 1.5 weeks and I got bloated fast and felt horrible. Can't stress enough to take this part slowly...

[burymestanding]

sweet jesus, I did not expect your second picture to be that significantly different haha. Great job on the bulk, bet it feels nice to bulk like that and maintain the abs!

[pinchharmonic]

my wheels are ok. i'm using the "bounceback" from dieting -> bulk transition to add mass to my wheels. i truly believe in this principle now as before dieting I was bulking for about a year. I made gains the first 2-3 months, then stayed the same for 9-10 months! I think the body needs these dietary shocks to keep it uncomfortable and therefore growing.

contrary to most, I'm hitting wheels about every 4-5 days, sometimes every 3. The moment they are not sore, I will hit them again. i don't care what else is on is planned on my split, as my legs are priority now. I simply don't see results for any bodypart if I let it rest too long past its soreness phase. the only exception is if I am not sore at all after a leg workout, I'll rest 48 hours to make sure I don't get DOMS for one, and just to give it 48 hours to recuperate as that is my default.

i do calves in the same regard, so it ends up being every other day or every third day. Hitting it with that kinda frequency also gives you a chance to try different exercises, go heavier, or go volume, or go rest pause, etc.

[pinchharmonic]

damn nice cut...what was ur diet like

my diet was about 1700 calories daily with carbs between 75-150

[burymestanding]

what are a few of your favorite recipes?

[bmw8591]

WOW

Nice cut. I would love to see a sample of your diet from some of your days throughout the cut. Again, GREAT work!