Questions regarding cutting cycle

[Bigballer12]

Hello again guys. Todays topic is regarding a future cutting cycle.

#1 Test 500 with 40MG anavar for 8 weeks

#2 Test 250 Tren 200 anavar 40MG 8 weeks

I understand that option #2 is optimal but health wise it’s not good.

#1 being more safer but might be too low.

the following are going to be my goals but it may be less depending on my fat % at the end of my cycle. we shall see in a couple of weeks:

cut 1000 kcal a day for 8 weeks I understand that #2 is best for this goal but it may be overkill if #1 is sufficient.

Now to the question; is #1 sufficient for this or will I have to add tren the last 2-3 weeks? My goal is to minimize muscle loss to the absolute maximum as possible. The plan is not to cut out 1000 kcal diet wise but instead increase cardio each week each time I stall so I don’t have to lower the calories each time I hit a plateau.

Does anyone have any better suggestions? I’m all ears thank you.

 

[Bigballer12]

@Smont @Nac @Mikereyn513 @BBiceps

 

[BBiceps]

Is 8 weeks the limit for you? You could do Test P/Mast P for 8 weeks @350/350 (that was my first cycle), you could finish with Anavar in a cycle like that.

If you’re ok with doing a longer cycle I would do Test/Primo (400/400) and finish with with Anavar.

Both this cycles is better than your options.

Btw Vilken stand bor du i?

 

[Nac]

A couple of things...

Increasing cardio, compared to decreasing food, is a relatively inefficient means of increasing TDEE (and fatloss). Dropping calorie intake will have a much more profound impact on the latter.

All else being equal, both drug options will obviously help toward your goal. But including tren will likely have you looking more how I suspect youll want to look (vascularity and fullness in particular).

Do you *need* tren to cut fat? No, obviously. You can do a successful cut using just test.

The option you choose will depend on the results you want, and what youre prepared to do (take) to achieve them.

 

[Bigballer12]

Is 8 weeks the limit for you? You could do Test P/Mast P for 8 weeks @350/350 (that was my first cycle), you could finish with Anavar in a cycle like that.

If you’re ok with doing a longer cycle I would do Test/Primo (400/400) and finish with with Anavar.

Both this cycles is better than your options.

Btw Vilken stand bor du i?

Thanks for replying. I’d rather not touch mast since I care about my hair to much so that is out of the question.. as for the last one id rather not disclose it hehe

 

[Bigballer12]

A couple of things...

Increasing cardio, compared to decreasing food, is a relatively inefficient means of increasing TDEE (and fatloss). Dropping calorie intake will have a much more profound impact on the latter.

All else being equal, both drug options will obviously help toward your goal. But including tren will likely have you looking more how I suspect youll want to look (vascularity and fullness in particular).

Do you *need* tren to cut fat? No, obviously. You can do a successful cut using just test.

The option you choose will depend on the results you want, and what youre prepared to do (take) to achieve them.

Thank you for your time to write a reply. How should I lay out my calorie deficit? since I suspect that going straight to a 1000 kcal deficit will lead to more problems down the road like plateauing etc.. I do want to run tren but the side effects that affect the heart and the rest of the body seems to risky for me but at 200mg a week that might be a lot lesser than say If I would run 400-500mg a week and I suspect that fertility will take a big hit with tren as well

 

[BBiceps]

Thanks for replying. I’d rather not touch mast since I care about my hair to much so that is out of the question.. as for the last one id rather not disclose it hehe

Are you balding? I’m not and I haven’t had any issues with Mast or any other DHT but if you’re scared about your hair I would advise you to not touch any DHT (Anavar).

Haha, tror att jag skulle veta vem du är om du säger vilken stad Jag är ifrån Sthlm, blir jävligt imponerad om du vet vem jag är

 

[Bigballer12]

Are you balding? I’m not and I haven’t had any issues with Mast or any other DHT and if you’re scared about your hair I would advise you to not touch any DHT (Anavar).

Haha, tror att jag skulle veta vem du är om du säger vilken stad Jag är ifrån Sthlm.

Maintaining strong with RU,FIN,Minox,keta, microneedling. Anadrol did not affect my hair.

Hehe tror inte det för ja känner fan ingen sthlmare

 

[Nac]

Thank you for your time to write a reply. How should I lay out my calorie deficit? since I suspect that going straight to a 1000 kcal deficit will lead to more problems down the road like plateauing etc.. I do want to run tren but the side effects that affect the heart and the rest of the body seems to risky for me but at 200mg a week that might be a lot lesser than say If I would run 400-500mg a week and I suspect that fertility will take a big hit with tren as well

I think calorie deficits (and surpluses) are best laid out as %'s. Why? My current TDEE is 4500. Your TDEE might be 3500. If we both decreased our intake by 1000kcal, youre looking at around a 30% drop whilst Im looking at a 25% drop. To me thats assbackwards; having the higher TDEE, it is me that should have the largest absolute decrease.

So, we drop our calorie intake by, say, 20% each. I go to 3600, you go to 2800.

Generally speaking, a 15% calorie decrease is a good starting point for a longer, less aggressive cut.

A short aggressive cut would be 30-40% from the start.

You will obviously need to know your TDEE to do all this.

 

[Bigballer12]

I think calorie deficits (and surpluses) are best laid out as %'s. Why? My current TDEE is 4500. Your TDEE might be 3500. If we both decreased our intake by 1000kcal, youre looking at around a 30% drop whilst Im looking at a 25% drop. To me thats assbackwards; having the higher TDEE, it is me that should have the largest absolute decrease.

So, we drop our calorie intake by, say, 20% each. I go to 3600, you go to 2800.

Generally speaking, a 15% calorie decrease is a good starting point for a longer, less aggressive cut.

A short aggressive cut would be 30-40% from the start.

You will obviously need to know your TDEE to do all this.

Sir I’m planing to do a dexa scan before so I can calculate things to the outmost precision. But if we are going to speculate as of now let’s say I’m 3500 maintenance would 8 weeks be considered as short and aggressive or medium aggressive? Is it worth cutting 1000 kcal from the get go? And If I reach a plateau should I countineu to decrease to 1200 kcal etc? I have t3 on hand if that makes any difference. Thank you

 

[Nac]

Yes, 8 weeks is short. And the timeframe is only part of the equation.

I dont want to overcomplicate this, but where you start your deficit will depend also on your current bodyfat, and your goal bodyfat at the end of the 8 weeks.

If youre at 20% bodyfat and want to hit 12% in 8 weeks youll need to be very aggressive. If youre at 15% and wand to hit 12% you wont need to so much.

Or, you can just think to hell with the numbers, start at whatever deficit you see fit and, as you said, adjust as you go.

 

[Bigballer12]

Yes, 8 weeks is short. And the timeframe is only part of the equation.

I dont want to overcomplicate this, but where you start your deficit will depend also on your current bodyfat, and your goal bodyfat at the end of the 8 weeks.

If youre at 20% bodyfat and want to hit 12% in 8 weeks youll need to be very aggressive. If youre at 15% and wand to hit 12% you wont need to so much.

Or, you can just think to hell with the numbers, start at whatever deficit you see fit and, as you said, adjust as you go.

Let’s say 16% to 8%. Would option #1 be sufficient to minimize muscle loss?

 

[Nac]

Let’s say 16% to 8%. Would option #1 be sufficient to minimize muscle loss?

Absolutely.

 

[Bigballer12]

Absolutely.

How much muscle would I likely loose 1-100% now this sounds extreme but let’s speculate

 

[Nac]

How much muscle would I likely loose 1-100% now this sounds extreme but let’s speculate

Given your protein intake is sufficient, sleep is adequate, training appropriate, drugs are dosed accurately...

We know it wont be 100%.
We can be confident it wont be 50%.
Unlikely to be 25% given what nattys lose running PSMF, and patients prescribed oxandrolone

....so my best hypothetical guess would be anywhere between 0-20%

 

[Bigballer12]

Given your protein intake is sufficient, sleep is adequate, training appropriate, drugs are dosed accurately...

We know it wont be 100%.
We can be confident it wont be 50%.
Unlikely to be 25% given what nattys lose running PSMF, and patients prescribed oxandrolone

....so my best hypothetical guess would be anywhere between 0-20%

Sir yet again you have answered in detail and helped me out. Thank you very much for taking your time in helping me. Best regards

 

[Mikereyn513]

Op have you ever used tren before?

 

[Bigballer12]

Op have you ever used tren before?

No sir i have not!

 

[Smont]

You can't just pick a magic number like 1000 cal and expect it to make sense. Pick any cycle, they all work. The diet is your dividing factor here.

What are your current calories. If someone is eating 2000 cal a day maintenance you can't cut 1000, if your maintenance is 3000 you still shouldn't cut 1000, that's 33% to 50% of your total cal. So unless your eating 5000-6000 a day currently which you most likely are not then 1000 cal deficit is far too much. You will loose muscle and stall out pretty fast. If your a average size man who lifts weight of any significant degree and you find yourself eating less the. 1800 calories a day your basically on a starvation diet. I have a 150lb female who does not lift weights, works a desk job and walks 3-4 times a week. She barely moves outside of walking and she's loosing weight on 1400 calories. I can only afford to drop her calories another 200 tops so we gotta make her move more. Take that vs myself, last year I had to cut 30lbs from 210 to 180. I was boxing 4-5 days a week, running sometimes lifting weights 4x week and work a construction job. I was loosing weight on 3200 calories, that's great but I can basically only lower my food because there's little room to add more activity. So I steady cut 200 to 250 cal every 15ish days, basically whenever the scale doesn't move for 2 or 3 days in a row. Eventually I was down to 2400 calories and with the amount of exercise I'm doing I need the food and can't reduce it much more. Now I got little tweaks to move progress, I think that's where I added carderine and clen I believe. (By the way, everyone screws up starting there diet with all the bells and whistles) don't use up all your weapons in the first few weeks. Getting in shape is a long process and however long you think it's gonna take, double or triple it.

I would set my cycle up similar to how someone would plan a contest prep. 16-20 weeks depending on what you think you need to loose.

Testosterone for the test/mast 300/300 for weeks 1-16.

Add tren ace at like 150mg for weeks 10-16
Add carderine for the duration of tren.

Add anavar around week 14 or 15 and continue it 3 weeks past your last injection so like 14-19/20.
This is also the part of the part where you would add your fat burners.

That's a decent simple and moderately safe by comparison prep cycle. It will work for pretty much anyone who's eating correctly and doing there cardio and training hard

 

[Bigballer12]

You can't just pick a magic number like 1000 cal and expect it to make sense. Pick any cycle, they all work. The diet is your dividing factor here.

What are your current calories. If someone is eating 2000 cal a day maintenance you can't cut 1000, if your maintenance is 3000 you still shouldn't cut 1000, that's 33% to 50% of your total cal. So unless your eating 5000-6000 a day currently which you most likely are not then 1000 cal deficit is far too much. You will loose muscle and stall out pretty fast. If your a average size man who lifts weight of any significant degree and you find yourself eating less the. 1800 calories a day your basically on a starvation diet. I have a 150lb female who does not lift weights, works a desk job and walks 3-4 times a week. She barely moves outside of walking and she's loosing weight on 1400 calories. I can only afford to drop her calories another 200 tops so we gotta make her move more. Take that vs myself, last year I had to cut 30lbs from 210 to 180. I was boxing 4-5 days a week, running sometimes lifting weights 4x week and work a construction job. I was loosing weight on 3200 calories, that's great but I can basically only lower my food because there's little room to add more activity. So I steady cut 200 to 250 cal every 15ish days, basically whenever the scale doesn't move for 2 or 3 days in a row. Eventually I was down to 2400 calories and with the amount of exercise I'm doing I need the food and can't reduce it much more. Now I got little tweaks to move progress, I think that's where I added carderine and clen I believe. (By the way, everyone screws up starting there diet with all the bells and whistles) don't use up all your weapons in the first few weeks. Getting in shape is a long process and however long you think it's gonna take, double or triple it.

I would set my cycle up similar to how someone would plan a contest prep. 16-20 weeks depending on what you think you need to loose.

Testosterone for the test/mast 300/300 for weeks 1-16.

Add tren ace at like 150mg for weeks 10-16
Add carderine for the duration of tren.

Add anavar around week 14 or 15 and continue it 3 weeks past your last injection so like 14-19/20.
This is also the part of the part where you would add your fat burners.

That's a decent simple and moderately safe by comparison prep cycle. It will work for pretty much anyone who's eating correctly and doing there cardio and training hard

Thank you smont for the wise words! But let me Ask you this; if i would start at 250 kcal deficit and lower it by 250 each week e.g week 1, 250 deficit week 2, 500 deficit etc would my body Really take that Big of a hit? Even on aas? If i sleep and eat accordingly and also exercise hard?

 

[Smont]

Thank you smont for the wise words! But let me Ask you this; if i would start at 250 kcal deficit and lower it by 250 each week e.g week 1, 250 deficit week 2, 500 deficit etc would my body Really take that Big of a hit? Even on aas? If i sleep and eat accordingly and also exercise hard?

I wouldn't tell someone to cut 250 cal per week unless there goal was to loose as much weight as possible from muscle and fat. It's not even slightly reasonable to think your gonna cut 250 cal per week every week and not loose muscle.

Most credible trainers will tell you that around 2lbs per week or 2% of your lean body mass is about the most fat your gonna loose per week. So if you lost 5 lbs in a week it's likely that only 2 of it was bodyfat. The rest is water and muscle loss. If your goal is to maintain maximum muscle your diet needs to be perfect. And cutting 250 cal a week is far from perfect. Now if your goal is just loose weight as fast as possible then go for it.

 

[Smont]

You just said if you eat accordingly which makes zero sense because you just got done talking about cutting 250 calories per week and that's not eating accordingly unless you're eating accordingly to a starvation diet

 

[Smont]

What is your current weight and what has your calories been at for the past month

 

[Bigballer12]

What is your current weight and what has your calories been at for the past month

90KG (198) pounds 6ft been eating 3500 a day with around 2 hours lifting in the gym everyday.

me right now

my goal physique would be

 

[UnrealMachine]

This #1 or #2 stuff doesn’t make sense. Don’t run tren without test. Many anabolics will protect your LBM but few will actively cut anything. If you want to cut the question is less of the anabolics and more of the ancillaries like clen, T4, cardarine… var and tren are great choices tho. With your level of experience I don’t think tren is needed. Diet and consistency will get you 90% of what you seek.
It’s hard to proscribe any general rules for diet. If you’re running anabolics then presumably you have cut before and know what works for you. Dynamics are generally good… keep increasing calorie deficit, having refeed days, fasting or carb ups or keto whatever lots of things and some work better than others for different people

 

[Smont]

Do you know for a fact you have been eating 3500 or is that a guess.

That's a reasonable goal for a year. It's not going to happen in one cycle and honestly you have a ton of room to make progress with no cycles.

At the end of the day you got to do what you want to do but I absolutely would not run a cycle right now I would just go on a diet and strip as much body fat off as possible. You don't need steroids to get a six pack. Once you got ripped natural you could start a cycle and spend 4 to 5 months doing a slow steady bulk, something simple like test only, maybe test and eq, and then finish the year with a cut cycle.

But for where your at vs. Where your want to go, your looking a solid year of doing everything perfect.

And just for a piece of mind, your end goal physique looking at those pictures is 100% naturally attainable. Those guys are probably around 175lbs tops. It would just take a lot longer to get there naturally.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, just giving you some examples and a more reasonable timeframe

 

[Bigballer12]

This #1 or #2 stuff doesn’t make sense. Don’t run tren without test. Many anabolics will protect your LBM but few will actively cut anything. If you want to cut the question is less of the anabolics and more of the ancillaries like clen, T4, cardarine… var and tren are great choices tho. With your level of experience I don’t think tren is needed. Diet and consistency will get you 90% of what you seek.
It’s hard to proscribe any general rules for diet. If you’re running anabolics then presumably you have cut before and know what works for you. Dynamics are generally good… keep increasing calorie deficit, having refeed days, fasting or carb ups or keto whatever lots of things and some work better than others for different people

Thank you for your reply! Last time i cut i did so very very aggressively because I had a nose job coming up I went from my current weight where was more fat than I was now but i did so with DNP and 4 hours of cardio each day with only 1200 kcals that was hell and I would not do it again but time was of the essence and I lost a bit of muscle. Now with my current bulk I regained a lot of my muscle memory with minimal fat gain. Before my aggressive cut I was the same weight 90kg but at 25% fat now I think I’m around 15-16% with same or more muscle mass

 

[Bigballer12]

Do you know for a fact you have been eating 3500 or is that a guess.

That's a reasonable goal for a year. It's not going to happen in one cycle and honestly you have a ton of room to make progress with no cycles.

At the end of the day you got to do what you want to do but I absolutely would not run a cycle right now I would just go on a diet and strip as much body fat off as possible. You don't need steroids to get a six pack. Once you got ripped natural you could start a cycle and spend 4 to 5 months doing a slow steady bulk, something simple like test only, maybe test and eq, and then finish the year with a cut cycle.

But for where your at vs. Where your want to go, your looking a solid year of doing everything perfect.

And just for a piece of mind, your end goal physique looking at those pictures is 100% naturally attainable. Those guys are probably around 175lbs tops. It would just take a lot longer to get there naturally.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, just giving you some examples and a more reasonable timeframe

Sir my diet is pretty much dialed in, not 100% but at 85-90%. My pictures make me look smaller than I am but in motion my size is much more visible. I would want to try and do an aggressive cut like planned but my only worries is that I will stall. I believe that muscle loss would occur but I imagine when being at 8% I would look bigger than I am now due to the illusion with muscle cuts etc. I would rather not bulk again in my life maybe a slow bulk, I would like to reach the same goal physiques as I posted and just maintain that for the longest time possible. I’m not into bodybuilding I’m more for the aesthetics if you understand what I’m saying.

 

[Bigballer12]

Do you know for a fact you have been eating 3500 or is that a guess.

That's a reasonable goal for a year. It's not going to happen in one cycle and honestly you have a ton of room to make progress with no cycles.

At the end of the day you got to do what you want to do but I absolutely would not run a cycle right now I would just go on a diet and strip as much body fat off as possible. You don't need steroids to get a six pack. Once you got ripped natural you could start a cycle and spend 4 to 5 months doing a slow steady bulk, something simple like test only, maybe test and eq, and then finish the year with a cut cycle.

But for where your at vs. Where your want to go, your looking a solid year of doing everything perfect.

And just for a piece of mind, your end goal physique looking at those pictures is 100% naturally attainable. Those guys are probably around 175lbs tops. It would just take a lot longer to get there naturally.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, just giving you some examples and a more reasonable timeframe

Please don’t think that I don’t value your advice because I know that what you are saying is true and the best approach but I might just yolo this one out and go all out and see what happens I still got 4 weeks left on the bulk and after that I’ll see what happens. I will make sure to post before and after pictures with measurement etc strength loss etc

 

[Stacks1]

Do you know for a fact you have been eating 3500 or is that a guess.

That's a reasonable goal for a year. It's not going to happen in one cycle and honestly you have a ton of room to make progress with no cycles.

At the end of the day you got to do what you want to do but I absolutely would not run a cycle right now I would just go on a diet and strip as much body fat off as possible. You don't need steroids to get a six pack. Once you got ripped natural you could start a cycle and spend 4 to 5 months doing a slow steady bulk, something simple like test only, maybe test and eq, and then finish the year with a cut cycle.

But for where your at vs. Where your want to go, your looking a solid year of doing everything perfect.

And just for a piece of mind, your end goal physique looking at those pictures is 100% naturally attainable. Those guys are probably around 175lbs tops. It would just take a lot longer to get there naturally.

I'm not trying to talk you out of anything, just giving you some examples and a more reasonable timeframe

I agree with this. You can probably get darn close to those guys naturally, if not all the way. Just something to consider when you're thinking about how strong you want to run some of these cycles. It doesn't require a ton of muscle to get those physiques. The hardest part is cutting down to that low BF % and preserving the muscle. That might be where AAS would be most beneficial.

Also, I'm a bit surprised you're 198lbs OP. To be honest, you look closer to 180-ish pounds to me. I don't mean that as an insult or anything. I was just a little surprised.

 

[Bigballer12]

I agree with this. You can probably get darn close to those guys naturally, if not all the way. Just something to consider when you're thinking about how strong you want to run some of these cycles. It doesn't require a ton of muscle to get those physiques. The hardest part is cutting down to that low BF % and preserving the muscle. That might be where AAS would be most beneficial.

Also, I'm a bit surprised you're 198lbs OP. To be honest, you look closer to 180-ish pounds to me. I don't mean that as an insult or anything. I was just a little surprised.

Sir I’m just as surprised as you but the scale don’t lie even if it’s off it can’t be that off. I measured my bicep flexed no pump in the morning and it came out to 16.5 inches. Since I dropped the Anadrol around 8.9 pounds of water have evaporated and I’m no longer bloated.

Right now I’m on 500 test with no ai. No itchy nipples or such side effects. But I’m eating good and low sodium. Don’t bully me for measuring my strength this way but I measure it in dumbbell curls and right now I have worked up to 45 pound dumbbell curls 4x8 I have been able to lift heavier before but I’m regaining my muscle memory.

i trained naturally for 3 years before hopping on my cycle so I know that you are saying the truth about being able to achieve that naturally.

 

[Bigballer12]

@Stacks1 the strange is that i know i consume 3500 kcal but right now i’m pretty much stalled in the weight and have not gained much fat at all so I have to up my calories. Yet I’m gaining strength it’s very strange.

 

[UnrealMachine]

@Stacks1 the strange is that i know i consume 3500 kcal but right now i’m pretty much stalled in the weight and have not gained much fat at all so I have to up my calories. Yet I’m gaining strength it’s very strange.

What’s your macro breakdown and meal setup?

 

[Smont]

No1 is bullying you. I'm just being realistic. I'm not in the school of telling people what they want to hear. I tell people what they need to hear or tell them what is realistic.

Your not being truthful with yourself tho. When someone has there diet on point in a fat loss minded scenario and taking 500mg of test they will be lean. I'm not saying jacked but it will be obvious that diet is on point. Also given how yiur judging your strength on a bicep exercise my next assumption is you don't know how to train properly. Someone with a solid training program is going to asses there strength and progress through presses and rows, squats or leg presses. Eben weighted pull ups or dips. Improving your bicep curl isint going to get you twords your end goal

I'm 100% trying to help you. You presented a goal with a starting photo and a goal photo.

90% of that progress is going to be from your diet. The cycle doesn't really matter. 500mg of test is more then enough to reach your goal.

I'm not putting you down, I'm not telling you what to do. But what i am telling you is you need to reevaluate your diet and training if you want to reach your goal.

Just saying I'm going to the gym for 2 hours doesn't mean anything. You don't have to explain anything. I'm just trying to help a d my advice is that yiur issue is most likely, highly likely diet and training related.

That's all I got.

 

[Smont]

I agree with this. You can probably get darn close to those guys naturally, if not all the way. Just something to consider when you're thinking about how strong you want to run some of these cycles. It doesn't require a ton of muscle to get those physiques. The hardest part is cutting down to that low BF % and preserving the muscle. That might be where AAS would be most beneficial.

Also, I'm a bit surprised you're 198lbs OP. To be honest, you look closer to 180-ish pounds to me. I don't mean that as an insult or anything. I was just a little surprised.

It'd definitely possible. On a daily basis I use to spar with guys that were 100% natural that had comparable physiques and that was through mostly boxing, plyo and bodyweight stuff with minimal strength training. You might not have the perfect shape abs and skin texture as that's a genetic factor but a somewhat average height guy 5'8 to 6ft is only going to be between 155-175lbs the guy in that bottom photo I'd bet is 160 tops

 

[Bigballer12]

No1 is bullying you. I'm just being realistic. I'm not in the school of telling people what they want to hear. I tell people what they need to hear or tell them what is realistic.

Your not being truthful with yourself tho. When someone has there diet on point in a fat loss minded scenario and taking 500mg of test they will be lean. I'm not saying jacked but it will be obvious that diet is on point. Also given how yiur judging your strength on a bicep exercise my next assumption is you don't know how to train properly. Someone with a solid training program is going to asses there strength and progress through presses and rows, squats or leg presses. Eben weighted pull ups or dips. Improving your bicep curl isint going to get you twords your end goal

I'm 100% trying to help you. You presented a goal with a starting photo and a goal photo.

90% of that progress is going to be from your diet. The cycle doesn't really matter. 500mg of test is more then enough to reach your goal.

I'm not putting you down, I'm not telling you what to do. But what i am telling you is you need to reevaluate your diet and training if you want to reach your goal.

Just saying I'm going to the gym for 2 hours doesn't mean anything. You don't have to explain anything. I'm just trying to help a d my advice is that yiur issue is most likely, highly likely diet and training related.

That's all I got.

I have been bullied by my friends for not doing things like squats but I’m very clumpsy and would likely hurt myself also why I measure my strength in curls is because I have neglected legs for a long time (very stupid I know) but I leg press around 350 pounds. As I said earlier right now I’m on a bulk for 4 weeks more been on for 8 weeks so I aim for total 12 weeks of bulking.

@UnrealMachine

kcal around 3500
Fat:51g
Carbs: 359G
Protein: 270g
Salt: 3.5g

Coming from cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, chicken or ground beef and rice and some whey

 

[BBiceps]

No1 is bullying you. I'm just being realistic. I'm not in the school of telling people what they want to hear. I tell people what they need to hear or tell them what is realistic.

Your not being truthful with yourself tho. When someone has there diet on point in a fat loss minded scenario and taking 500mg of test they will be lean. I'm not saying jacked but it will be obvious that diet is on point. Also given how yiur judging your strength on a bicep exercise my next assumption is you don't know how to train properly. Someone with a solid training program is going to asses there strength and progress through presses and rows, squats or leg presses. Eben weighted pull ups or dips. Improving your bicep curl isint going to get you twords your end goal

I'm 100% trying to help you. You presented a goal with a starting photo and a goal photo.

90% of that progress is going to be from your diet. The cycle doesn't really matter. 500mg of test is more then enough to reach your goal.

I'm not putting you down, I'm not telling you what to do. But what i am telling you is you need to reevaluate your diet and training if you want to reach your goal.

Just saying I'm going to the gym for 2 hours doesn't mean anything. You don't have to explain anything. I'm just trying to help a d my advice is that yiur issue is most likely, highly likely diet and training related.

That's all I got.

^This^
OP, do you bench, deadlift and squat? If not start right now! Those are the only lifts (and OHP) you should measure strength increases in, everything else is completely useless. Also, doing these lifts regularly will transform your body.

I’m also a little confused with your cals, what’s your breakdown? I’m 6’1 and 235lb and eating 3400-3500 cals 300c, 300p, 120f.

 

[Bigballer12]

^This^
OP, do you bench, deadlift and squat? If not start right now! Those are the only lifts (and OHP) you should measure strength increases in, every else is completely useless. Also, doing these lifts regularly will transform your body.

I’m also a little confused with your cals, what’s your breakdown? I’m 6’1 and 235lb and eating 3400-3500 cals 300c, 300p, 120f.

Break down one answer Above

 

[BBiceps]

I have been bullied by my friends for not doing things like squats but I’m very clumpsy and would likely hurt myself also why I measure my strength in curls is because I have neglected legs for a long time (very stupid I know) but I leg press around 350 pounds. As I said earlier right now I’m on a bulk for 4 weeks more been on for 8 weeks so I aim for total 12 weeks of bulking.

@UnrealMachine

kcal around 3500
Fat:51g
Carbs: 359G
Protein: 270g
Salt: 3.5g

Coming from cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, chicken or ground beef and rice and some whey

That’s less than 3000cals.

I would lower carbs, you can cut it in half, and double your fats, that would give you better results.

 

[Stacks1]

I have been bullied by my friends for not doing things like squats but I’m very clumpsy and would likely hurt myself also why I measure my strength in curls is because I have neglected legs for a long time (very stupid I know) but I leg press around 350 pounds. As I said earlier right now I’m on a bulk for 4 weeks more been on for 8 weeks so I aim for total 12 weeks of bulking.

@UnrealMachine

kcal around 3500
Fat:51g
Carbs: 359G
Protein: 270g
Salt: 3.5g

Coming from cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, chicken or ground beef and rice and some whey

Dude you have to squat at your age. Doesn't matter if you're clumsy, just start with a light weight if you have to. I built my body on squats, deadlifts, and bench pressing. I don't deadlift anymore and only do squats pre or post exhausted in the 15 - 20 rep range because of injuries, most notably lower back. But those were the lifts that built my body. If I was your age again without the injuries I would be building my entire routine around those lifts.

If you want my opinion, you shouldn't even be super focused on the amount of weight you're lifting. Focus on your form, getting good muscle contractions, stabilizing the weights, and then just slowly add a little bit of weight each time. Never bother yourself with what other people lift. If someone uses momentum and powerlifting techniques then they are going to move far more weight than someone who does 10 second reps, regardless of each person's size. Everyone trains differently, so I never pay much attention to what others lift.

 

[Bigballer12]

Dude you have to squat at your age. Doesn't matter if you're clumsy, just start with a light weight if you have to. I built my body on squats, deadlifts, and bench pressing. I don't deadlift anymore and only do squats pre or post exhausted in the 15 - 20 rep range because of injuries, most notably lower back. But those were the lifts that built my body. If I was your age again without the injuries I would be building my entire routine around those lifts.

If you want my opinion, you shouldn't even be super focused on the amount of weight you're lifting. Focus on your form, getting good muscle contractions, stabilizing the weights, and then just slowly add a little bit of weight each time. Never bother yourself with what other people lift. If someone uses momentum and powerlifting techniques then they are going to move far more weight than someone who does 10 second reps, regardless of each person's size. Everyone trains differently, so I never pay much attention to what others lift.

What you are saying is true indeed. I know the effect squats have on the body but since I have not prioritized my legs I have not got around to doing squats. But then again I don’t want big tree trunks as legs because I want to look good in slim jeans if you know what I’m saying. But I will be sure to incorporate them in my routine.

 

[UnrealMachine]

Yea bit of work to do here
Diet and training are the basics

I do PPL two variabts
Push starts with flat bench or incline bench
Pull starts with RDLs or weighted pull-ups (love these would do cable pulldowns if I had it)
Legs starts with back squats or front squats

 

[Bigballer12]

Yea bit of work to do here
Diet and training are the basics

I do PPL two variabts
Push starts with flat bench or incline bench
Pull starts with RDLs or weighted pull-ups (love these would do cable pulldowns if I had it)
Legs starts with back squats or front squats

Would you say it’s acceptable doing squats on a smith machine?

 

[KvanH]

kcal around 3500
Fat:51g
Carbs: 359G
Protein: 270g
Salt: 3.5g

Coming from cottage cheese, unsalted nuts, chicken or ground beef and rice and some whey

51 g fat = 51 x 9 kcal = 459 kcal
359 g carbs = 359 x 4 kcal = 1 436 kcal
270 g protein = 270 x 4 kcal = 1 080 kcal

-> 459 kcal + 1 436 kcal + 1 080 kcal = 2 975 kcal

 

[KvanH]

That’s less than 3000cals.

I would lower carbs, you can cut it in half, and double your fats, that would give you better results.

I would personally lower protein and add fat. 200 g of protein should be plenty for 200 lbs and under BW, especially if not super lean. Just my point of view, not a direct disagreement on your approach really. But I do better with plenty carbs in the diet myself.

 

[KvanH]

Some food for thought, regarding calorie deficit on a cut, speed of weight loss, durations of cutting phases etc. I recommend you check out this whole series. Lecture 4 is about ranges and durations, if you want to jump to that.

https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVk7ofrHePaCnmNMqSa7ZYdI1I22ljwLt

Also on minicuts, when the deficit is bigger from the get go.

 

[Bigballer12]

51 g fat = 51 x 9 kcal = 459 kcal
359 g carbs = 359 x 4 kcal = 1 436 kcal
270 g protein = 270 x 4 kcal = 1 080 kcal

-> 459 kcal + 1 436 kcal + 1 080 kcal = 2 975 kcal

Thank you for your formula very nice! But the macros I posted are just guidelines because i tend to eat more so it adds up

 

[UnrealMachine]

Wouldn’t call it a formula. It’s not a secret.
Bottom of your bodybuilding pyramid is diet, and protein, carbs 4 cal per gram and fat 9. It’s not advanced stuff like steroids, it’s the very basics.

 

[Bigballer12]

Wouldn’t call it a formula. It’s not a secret.
Bottom of your bodybuilding pyramid is diet, and protein, carbs 4 cal per gram and fat 9. It’s not advanced stuff like steroids, it’s the very basics.

Hehe don’t bully me but somehow I did not know that this formula exists better late than never.. I know very few people who actually steps their foot inside a gym so discussing more complex things like this does not come to mind. We always followed the general consensus of eat and eat more. But in hindsight things could look much better but then again I can only change the future and not the past.

 

[UnrealMachine]

You’ve got the right mentality man

look best advice we can give is buy a food scale and write down everything everything you eat for a few days and tabulate the macronutrient breakdown and calories everyday. Once you get a real solid feel for it you don’t have to keep doing it every day.

we gotta be like engineers with this stuff. We need data. Diet breakdown, body fat %, how scale changes, how strength and body fat composition changes, then we decide how to optimize and proceed.

Steroids comes after that “equation” is perfect
it’s the cherry on top. It won’t overcome fundamental flaws with the underlying equation.