Get Cut-I Wanna See My Six Pack!

[AlmostRipped]

Hey I am 23 and I am about 212, I have been back in the gym for about 3 months after about 3 years of laziness poor eating and not working out at all...that is all behind me now, I wanted to post something that would be useful for everyone that reads it but at the same time specific to what I have going on. Thank you for anyone that contributes.

Primary Goal: See my six pack through any means necessary, disciplined diet and kicking my ass in the gym included!


Current Weight:212.
Body Fat percentage:ahhh about 20
Target Weight: whatever that might be to see my six pack (165-185)
Current Diet 5-6 meals daily every 2-3 hours containing between 25-45 grams of protein,30-75 grams carbs whole carbs-wheat breads, whole oats, pro performance mass XXX (I only use half a scoop its 125 g carbs each full scoop)


My first 12 weeks of workouts were Ed Byrd's NO2 workout..it has been fantastic and I have dropped alot of fat and built muscle. Now I am doing LL Cool J's Platinum workout (starting at the gold body) it is hard core circuit training, alot of supersets, and cardio either at the end of short 30-45 minute very intense workouts with between 3-5 sets of varying number of reps depending on the day.

I feel like I am on point with what I am doing at the gym. I am trying to create a timeline to see how long it will take for see my 6 pack...I know it is tehre, I have just never seen it before :24:

OK wake up! Because this is the part where everyone can benefit.

Alot of people that will join this site are on a similiar journey, I am looking for the best combination of supplements and diet (let's leave the workouts for another post because this is already too long and I know you are getting bored)....

Here is the kicker though, I don't have a million dollars, so even though I might think I can teach someone how to get a million dollars just makes me a jackass =). If you don't actually have a six pack sit on the sidelines with me and let's learn something from the gifted minds that are on this site.

To all of the "millionaires" the players with the six packs, can you school myself and anyone else who is interested in what worked for you, and what you have seen work for others if you have given others help just along the lines of dieting and supplementation to get cut and see that six pack....obviously one thing can work for many people and some things only work for one person.

Thank you for any input that you provide, I don't know if I am allowed to post my email address, but if anyone who does have a six pack and some time is interested in helping me on my quest my email is [email protected]
If you are a trainer or would have use for a testimonial I have before pictures of my gut and I am taking this thing all the way so I would be willing to give after pictures and an endorsement!!!!!

Carpe Diem

Nothing is impossible; there are ways that lead to everything, and if we had sufficient will we should always have sufficient means. It is often merely for an excuse that we say things are impossible.
--Francois De La Rochefoucauld

 

[JayTren3000]

Just eat way less carbs, move more, run some ECA, do cardio, sfw. You may actually save money since you'd be buying less food. (you mentioned not being a millionaire)

an anabolic substance wouldnt hurt either. nothing strips muscle away faster than a cal deficit and soaring cortisol.

GICH!

 

[fightbackhxc]

An anabolic substance in not the answer for fat loss. Get your diet dialed in and you will progress well

 

[dayday87]

An anabolic substance in not the answer for fat loss. Get your diet dialed in and you will progress well

You obviously didn't understand why he suggested an anabolic.. A good clean cal deficent diet with an ECY stack and good cardio WILL lead to muscle loss also.. An anabolic will help you in keeping muscle alot.

 

[fightbackhxc]

You obviously didn't understand why he suggested an anabolic.. A good clean cal deficent diet with an ECY stack and good cardio WILL lead to muscle loss also.. An anabolic will help you in keeping muscle alot.

So will branch chain amino acids......

I understood him.

 

[AlmostRipped]

Thanks guys, I have VERY acne prone skin, are there any anabolics that I could use that will have a MUCH less chance of making me breakout. I am not so worried about any other side effects, the cost is scary as well but I can handle that.

Jay you said I should cut back on carbs, maybe someone can set me straight on the carb situation, from the books I have read (body for life, Abs Diet, other big names like that) carbs are just as important as protein in the muscle building process, and a lack of carbs can cause the body to go anabolic...(this is my interpretation, someone set me straight once and for all on this =)

what is the ideal balance of carbs to protein for cutting? I just finished an 8 week ECA cylce it was fantastic and cheap!!

I have been looking at NO2-Xplode for preworkout and MHP darkmatter for post workout, I eat a great whole food post workout meal, but it doesn't feel like I am taking full advantage of that window after I finish working out and all I do preworkout is have a glass of orange juice before I leave for the gym.....

Thanks for the help all!

 

[Steveoph]

You don't need anabolics to get cut. Run some Caffeine, Ephedrine, and aY + LX . Fatloss isn't instant, but learn to diet down, workout hard and do a fair bit of cardio and you will be set.

How much weight did you lose on your 8week ECA, and what was your dosing protocol? Also you need to define if you're main goal is to cut, or put on weight.

 

[fightbackhxc]

Thanks guys, I have VERY acne prone skin, are there any anabolics that I could use that will have a MUCH less chance of making me breakout. I am not so worried about any other side effects, the cost is scary as well but I can handle that.

Jay you said I should cut back on carbs, maybe someone can set me straight on the carb situation, from the books I have read (body for life, Abs Diet, other big names like that) carbs are just as important as protein in the muscle building process, and a lack of carbs can cause the body to go anabolic...(this is my interpretation, someone set me straight once and for all on this =)

what is the ideal balance of carbs to protein for cutting? I just finished an 8 week ECA cylce it was fantastic and cheap!!

I have been looking at NO2-Xplode for preworkout and MHP darkmatter for post workout, I eat a great whole food post workout meal, but it doesn't feel like I am taking full advantage of that window after I finish working out and all I do preworkout is have a glass of orange juice before I leave for the gym.....

Thanks for the help all!

It is very hard to build muscle and cut fat at the same time. It can be done but your diet has to be that much stricter.

 

[Steveoph]

It is very hard to build muscle and cut fat at the same time. It can be done but your diet has to be that much stricter.

Yea; fasted cardio with no carbs 12hours beforehand, with some goodies like ECaY + PLCAR, and plenty of BCAAs to prevent catabolism works to shed some fat upon waking, then you can repair/build during the day. I've recomped this way, but it takes a lot of time and recovery.

 

[AlmostRipped]

Main goal is to cut and take off weight right now, then ill bulk up when I get my six pack. I was really bad with keeping track of my weight while taking ECA it was 25/200/220 I started with a long way to go, I lost 4 pants sizes in the I guess going on 14 weeks now that I have been back in the gym. I would have to say I lost about 12-15 pounds while I was on it.

"with some goodies like ECaY + PLCAR, and plenty of BCAAs "
Steve Can you elaborate on this...I'm not completely compentent when it comes to acronyms, ill go do a couple searches, but I am still at work while writing this....

Thanks again for all the help!!

 

[dayday87]

He might of ment ALCAR... And BCAA, you can search both with the acronyms and find them.. Good stuff.

 

[AlmostRipped]

AWESOME ECAY...should I skip the aspirin--ECY it?...some say it helps some say its useless Iv'e read/ heard about 50/50 any thoughts?


I didn't know what the Y stood for:::
"More recently yohimbe has been used as an aphrodisiac and hallucinogen." --LOL...I don't see how this plays into getting cut but it sounds damn good!! (I am sure it has stimulant effects that would enhance an ECA stack but I didnt read that far)

as a side not, and sorry if I sound like a jackass what does "recomped mean" I did a search and the sites were for a creatine supp.

I have been off the ECA stack for a week, should I stay cycled off for another week and then start that stack? Or because of all the extra weight I have to drop should I hop right back on it?

--Oh and in my breif research I did find PLCAR, looks like a substitute to ALCAR...don't know anything else about it, jsut saw that in another forum it was suggested the guy take PLCAR because he was having side effects from the ALCAR--

 

[justreading]

PLCAR is awsome.

Stims dont seem to work on me but plcar with my stims is making my workouts nice on a super super ridiculously strict diet.

 

[AlmostRipped]

heh I was just reading your post justreading about losing that last layer (I still have about 3 layers...maybe 4 LOL) what is Ulitmate diet 2.0 ??I am about to do a search but I checked my thread for new postst and low and behold you had posted. Thank you for that, I am going to get some PLCAR within the next 2 days and see what the general consensus is from my other questions ^^^.

 

[justreading]

pm me with an email addy if you want to read the diet. its like 120 pages ha

 

[AlmostRipped]

ahh..hopefully you read this again, I only have 5 posts right now, this will make six, Its getting late I was trying to remember how I created a new one but my brain turned off about 15 minutes ago.

Thanks for the offer, I almost went and bought that right after I looked it up! My email is sgrsteve at yahoo dot com Ill try to pm you tomorrow after I get 7 posts, Ill definitely read it thanks again!!

 

[3708grunt]

plcar??? Sorry

 

[JayTren3000]

AWESOME ECAY...should I skip the aspirin--ECY it?...some say it helps some say its useless Iv'e read/ heard about 50/50 any thoughts?


I didn't know what the Y stood for:::
"More recently yohimbe has been used as an aphrodisiac and hallucinogen." --LOL...I don't see how this plays into getting cut but it sounds damn good!! (I am sure it has stimulant effects that would enhance an ECA stack but I didnt read that far)

as a side not, and sorry if I sound like a jackass what does "recomped mean" I did a search and the sites were for a creatine supp.

I have been off the ECA stack for a week, should I stay cycled off for another week and then start that stack? Or because of all the extra weight I have to drop should I hop right back on it?

--Oh and in my breif research I did find PLCAR, looks like a substitute to ALCAR...don't know anything else about it, jsut saw that in another forum it was suggested the guy take PLCAR because he was having side effects from the ALCAR--

As far as The Y in your ECY stack in concerned....

You must take Yohimbine on an empty stomach for the lipolytic effect. Insulin will blunt/negate the fat burning effect, so keep this in mind. However, you can use Yohimbine or Yohimbe as a preworkout stim, not just a fat burner.

Increased motor activity from being stimmed out will burn cals as well. Just start at a low dose, then acclimate. (5mgs yohimbine with 12.5 mgs of Ephedrine, and 100 mgs caffeine)

If you feel ok after a couple of days with those dosages, ramp it up. You can eventually go as high as 20 mgs of Yohimbine with nothing more than mild jitters.

The anabolic route would be up to you. Just do your research. Im Not gonna advise on that one. Just keep in mind lack of cals, plus stims = cortisol.

Recomp = Losing bodyfat while simultaneously holding onto muscle or even gaining muscle. Its extremely difficult to lose fat and gain muscle, hence a bulk or a cut. It can be done if everything is on point (diet, training, etc)

 

[MrBigPR]

You don't need to be a low bf# to see abs. Just sayin

 

[justreading]

You don't need to be a low bf# to see abs. Just sayin

Thats genetic - I am low BF and barely have abs

 

[MrBigPR]

I meant body weight...:doh:

 

[lozgod]

As previously stated. If you are cutting the carbs are way too much. Insulin makes fat cells. Carbs create insulin release. Carbs have their place though. Glycogen replenishment and to avoid body going in to starvation mode. I low carb 5 and a half days a week. All of Saturday and Sunday morning are my carb times. Google carb cycling. May work for you. Works for me but everyone is different.

 

[AlmostRipped]

Let's get into that--carb cycling, pro's cons for cutting, my body type is a combination endomorph and mesomorph. I read some great things, might start a cycle 3 on three off wanted to get feedback first, pro's and con's from the pro's. The articles that I read didn't talk about supplementation, so what I have gotten from all of you, which I cannot thank everyone enough for is the following:

Need to add a BCAA sup in my diet definitely, I'm going to run a cycle of ECY *start slow and build*, add in some ALCAR, and cut my carbs back dramatically....Thank you very much Just Reading, I got the ebook and I am going to read it and see what's up with ultimate body 2.0...*let me know if I missed anything here**

I cannot tell everyone how much I have learned just in the first week I have been here. Never thought I could learn this much from joining a forum ya'll are fantastic. Thanks again!

 

[oufinny]

Let's get into that--carb cycling, pro's cons for cutting, my body type is a combination endomorph and mesomorph. I read some great things, might start a cycle 3 on three off wanted to get feedback first, pro's and con's from the pro's. The articles that I read didn't talk about supplementation, so what I have gotten from all of you, which I cannot thank everyone enough for is the following:

Need to add a BCAA sup in my diet definitely, I'm going to run a cycle of ECY *start slow and build*, add in some ALCAR, and cut my carbs back dramatically....Thank you very much Just Reading, I got the ebook and I am going to read it and see what's up with ultimate body 2.0...*let me know if I missed anything here**

I cannot tell everyone how much I have learned just in the first week I have been here. Never thought I could learn this much from joining a forum ya'll are fantastic. Thanks again!

Good to hear you are on track and getting cut, same going on here just been at it longer than you! It is a slow process if you want to keep muscle around and not lose too much strength. Something to consider, it is not always about cutting out all of the carbs and calories down to a really low level. This is really hard on your thyroid and adrenals since you are a taking a high dose of stims. Get your macros in order 50/30/20 P/F/C for at least 5 days a week and then use one day in the middle (Wed for me) and another on the weekend (Sunday for me) that I carb up. This really helps keep the metabolism up and you don't seem to get burned out. Also, with my protein that high I really have not lost any muscle, just about 10% of my strength on some exercises from where I started back in May. Also, I noticed a significant decrease in DOMS with a higher protein content in my diet and that is really crucial when you are on low cals.

 

[jcrattigan]

Good information guys! I also want some ripped rock hard abs, your posts really helped me a lot!

 

[chris808costa]

P90X you'll get a six pack fast!

 

[jrw]

P90X you'll get a six pack fast!

Says the guy who is 137 pounds. Not saying it isnt true, but I think you could probably do about anything and have abs at 137. Rock on.

 

[Rapist]

Have a clean diet.
Run at a low intensity, 60-70% of max heart rate, fasted if you can.
Workout your RMR and eat maintenance, use the cardio etc to take you into the deficit.
You don't need any supplements until you're around 12% body fat, (i dont whey etc as supplements) i'm talking about fat loss pills etc and performance enhances.
People seem to be telling you to cut your carbs, this is not needed, follow a macronutrients ratio of 5:5:1 pro/carb/fat... so like 250g,/250g/50g, when you're around 14% maybe lower, you can already cut carbs down after 4pm, as you get lower, 13 %..3pm.. 12% 2 pm. Carbs give you energy, they'll help you keep sane if you arn't used to dieting.

 

[justreading]

Have a clean diet.
Run at a low intensity, 60-70% of max heart rate, fasted if you can.
Workout your RMR and eat maintenance, use the cardio etc to take you into the deficit.
You don't need any supplements until you're around 12% body fat, (i dont whey etc as supplements) i'm talking about fat loss pills etc and performance enhances.
People seem to be telling you to cut your carbs, this is not needed, follow a macronutrients ratio of 5:5:1 pro/carb/fat... so like 250g,/250g/50g, when you're around 14% maybe lower, you can already cut carbs down after 4pm, as you get lower, 13 %..3pm.. 12% 2 pm. Carbs give you energy, they'll help you keep sane if you arn't used to dieting.

I totally disagree with this...

Cardio should NOT be the basis of your deficit. Get your cals as low as you can without losing muscle and strength then only add cardio when the fat loss stalls.

I've gotten to well under 10% without any cardio and I am an endo

 

[AlmostRipped]

UD2 Baby! Thanks JustReading, I just finished it and set up my plan, I am actually going to start on Wednesday but I am doing an 8 day cycle instead of 7. I did an uneducated version of the diet last week I cycled carbs with 50-p/30-f/20-c (thanks oufinny for that advice) I did not realize why was so damn laggy in the gym. Not just that, but I started my "stack"....I probably should have asked more questions before I did this, read on, everyone is going to enjoy this story.

When I hear "stack" I usually think of a sandwich: bread, meat, bread. Of course that is not at all what it means, which I really should have given more thought to. It can be sandwich, then bread 2 hours later, then eat some meat with your lunch...metaphor, hope that makes sense, if not it will soon.

Wednesday morning I woke up after mon/tues at 50/30/20 pro/f/c now before I started understanding how carbs work in my body I was eating 6 meals a day with roughly 55g carbs/meal! When I switched to the 50/30/20 I went down to 13 g with 6 meals a day.
So I woke up with about 12 hours since my last meal, the supplement list that I had laid out was as follows:
ECY-"stack" <----not really.....I took 200mg caffeine, 9mg yohimbe,25mg ephedrine...
Then I added in some Acytl-L Carnitine (ALCAR) I read that you should take it on an empty stomach, I may ave intrepreted that a little too loosely.

I think everyone knows what is going to happen next. Turns out after reading further into the Ultimate Diet 2 (and everyone please correct me if I am wrong and breakdown any other mistakes I made that morning) Yohimbe is supposed to be taken with caffeine, NOT at the same time as the ephedrine, so I suppose its technically a CY EC stack...Apparntly a lack of carbs can cause nausea as well, yes, the perfect storm is coming.

My workout was shoulders and chest with fairly heavy weight, medium rep range. Then, a spin class, boy was that fun! Hit the weights hard and I was feeling off, but I had to keep pushing. I made it 30 minutes into the spin class, the teacher simulated some nice hills for us, and some all out sprints, good stuff. Until I decided I was done.

I got off the bike made it out of the spin class room, saw the trashcan and thought...I'm good, then all hell broke loose inside of me.

I threw up 6 times on my way to the locker room, 2 of them I was able to get back down, it was just water luckily. The other four consisted of fairly large puddles of what I am convinced contained a liquid substance consisting of water, and oh yes my dignity.

I work out at LA fitness. Luckily I played it off as best I could and just walked into the locker room feeling like Mcnabb in a playoff game.

The funniest part about this whole situation is that the manager came back and asked me if I was alright, "yes I am fine, I am really sorry about that I thought I could make it back to the locker room" he says "that's ok but I think it would be a good idea to head home". So I said "Thanks for your concern **** butkiss, actually I was thinking about finishing up the spin class so we can have this conversation again in 20 minutes or so"....nope, I did not say that out loud, I figured I should stay humble seeing as how I had just made serious mess of the floor and I was feeling a little bit silly.

What is the moral of the story? Well I put the ALCAR aside until I know what the heck it is for =)...Justreading maybe you could help me with that because he doesn't mention ALCAR he does mention ALA which I understand compliments ALCAR, but still not sure when to use it and how much....

The Yohimbe+C is going to be used on an empty stomach by themselves before my high intensity workouts. EC on those days 2 times after that. EC 4 days of my cycle before cardio workouts and depletion workouts then 2 more times during the day.

When Should I use the ALCAR, how much, and what is it used for I have been learning so much the past few weeks that my brain has jumbled everything up. The good news is in just a week of doing this (I carb loaded on Saturday) I can see a visable difference in my stomach and my hips, and my muscles aren't melting away like it seemed like they were starting too. My six pack is coming, now I just have to make sure I don't throw up all over the gym again.

 

[Rapist]

I totally disagree with this...

Cardio should NOT be the basis of your deficit. Get your cals as low as you can without losing muscle and strength then only add cardio when the fat loss stalls.

I've gotten to well under 10% without any cardio and I am an endo

oh yeh because i can see where i put cardio should be the basis of your deficit............................

 

[chris808costa]

Says the guy who is 137 pounds. Not saying it isnt true, but I think you could probably do about anything and have abs at 137. Rock on.

just to let you know i used to weigh 200 lbs

 

[justreading]

oh yeh because i can see where i put cardio should be the basis of your deficit............................

You said eat maintenance then let cardio be the deficit...

Workout your RMR and eat maintenance, use the cardio etc to take you into the deficit.

 

[justreading]

just to let you know i used to weigh 200 lbs

I think he meant that most people want abs with a larger amount of muscle mass to show and can get abs without that muscle mass without a problem if that is in their goals to do so.

 

[chris808costa]

I think he meant that most people want abs with a larger amount of muscle mass to show and can get abs without that muscle mass without a problem if that is in their goals to do so.

I know I was just being a smart ass lol

 

[USNdoc0311]

Holy moly 135! Didnt think that was possible j/k. But i dream of getting to 165-170. Im 200

 

[oufinny]

Holy moly 135! Didnt think that was possible j/k. But i dream of getting to 165-170. Im 200

That is a very attainable goal IMO. Used to be 6' and hoovered btw 155-160 for a long time then started drinking.... yada yada, now 205. At your height you can still be well defined and be under 170 it will just take a lot of cutting to get there; as I am finding out trying to get under 200 again for the first time in YEARS!

 

[AlmostRipped]

I was 235 I am 5'9 AHHHHH....got back ni the gym and knocked off some Fatty fat fat,I just started the ultimate diet 2 yesterday at 204....If I was the most dense boned person alive, any opinions on what weight I will have to aim for to get to to see my six pack? (I haven't had an accurate bf% measure, the crappy enter your weight and height hold the sensor thing at LA Fitness says I am 19% BF) I have to say I am much closer to 15 because other than my stomach and ass I am pretty fat free, and my larger muscles have some good definition. But that's just an assumption too, and you know what those do....

 

[AlmostRipped]

P.S I am starting a new thread on the Ultimate Diet 2.0 if anyone wants to join the discussion!

 

[justreading]

I was 235 I am 5'9 AHHHHH....got back ni the gym and knocked off some Fatty fat fat,I just started the ultimate diet 2 yesterday at 204....If I was the most dense boned person alive, any opinions on what weight I will have to aim for to get to to see my six pack? (I haven't had an accurate bf% measure, the crappy enter your weight and height hold the sensor thing at LA Fitness says I am 19% BF) I have to say I am much closer to 15 because other than my stomach and ass I am pretty fat free, and my larger muscles have some good definition. But that's just an assumption too, and you know what those do....

Sounds like your build is kinda like mine. I generally am 215 at 13ish then cut down to 202-205 so maybe at 190 you could be where you want

 

[AlmostRipped]

Yeah my build is very similiar to yours, I was looking at your 16 week before and after that is freaking awesome! I look right now very similiar to your before except a little more definition in my chest and biceps....I am hoping 185...190 would be awesome!! Time will tell, I think when I get finished with this 8 week UD2 I will know the answer to this questions.

 

[AlmostRipped]

OK...My diet is super dialed in, I am starting the fourth 8 day cycle on UD 2.0 and everyone in my life is commenting on how good I look, it is great, I am really not used to it...I think I got out of a ticket last night because the cop was diggin me =)...or she was at the end of her shift, whatever it's my own ego fuel...

Anyway, I am starting to really slim down and I am even losing the pouch at my lower stomach, I believe that if I build my ab muscles themselves I will be able to see my six pack sooner, I can see a very faint outline if I pull the fat down...don't laugh I know you have done it before.

My question is what in your opinions is the best ab workout to start building my actual ab muscles..this is my current routine, keep in mind I am doing the UD2 it is a carb cycle diet, I do this format on both my depletion and power workouts, and my high intensity, sometimes even cardio days....the following is my routine and what I have noticed about doing ab work...

This is done in a circuit 2 sets--Excercises are varied but work the same muscles
1.Lower Abs (ex. leg raises)
2.Upper Abs (ex. Crunch)
3.Obliques (ex. side Crunch)
4.Transverse Abdominus (ex.superman)
5.Lower back (ex. back extensions)

I have noticed that my abs never feel sore, except after doing back to backs on both depletion workout days, then it hurts for 24 hours max....

Are abs supposed to get sore like other muscles?
What is the most effective frequency to work my abs to build the muscles?
How long should my ab work take?
Does my setup look good, can I make it more hardcore?

Keep in mind my diet right now is very dialed in, I do cardio twice a week, 2 hardcore spin classes 30-55minutes or one spin class like that and then running in the park for about 20 minutes interval sprints.

I feel like everything I am working on is pretty good, I have the right supplementation going on and I am focused on the right things, I just feel like I can do more to get my abs showing than I am doing now....As always input is appreciated!!!

 

[justreading]

Abs are so core to the body that they evelution causes them to heal fast unless you OBLITERATE them but thats a good thing so, no they don't stay sore.

Try HEAVY crunches... Work them like a regular body part, 2 or MAX 3 time s a week do 3 heavy sets, you should FAIL at 12-15 reps then 8-10 then on the final set you will die to even get 8 if you can... when you can do this add more weight and always err on the side of adding weight too fast ha.

Once you build the muscle size they will always remain bigger even when you stop this heavy routine and having bigger muscles will show more at higher bf%, as long as you don't get fat right after doing this routine you won't look like you have a big gut. Just make sure your lower back is getting heavy training from other lifts as well you you don't get imbalanced.