The dissapearing man

[Smont]

Hi all, I'm getting ready to go into a real cut and drop about 15lbs of fat hopefully without loosing too much muscle.

Recent chain of events.

Sick and injured from Christmas to the end of January. Got better and went into a slightly dirty bulk with test, eq and epistane and put on 18 lbs by March 19th and set some random strength pr's. Got sick again and dropped eq, ran test and mast at low doses and tried to salvage the cycle and I injured my shoulder, lower back and right knee all over the course of a month. I'm back down to 200lbs and I'm done with cycles for a while.

Going forward I'm taking a slightly higher then trt dose and staying there. 125mg sust every 4-5 days. I'm gonna use some peptides (for injuries) and carnatine along with a few natty supps this time around.

Training is going to be a mix of everything I like to do. Lift weights, boxing, some oddball strength training and some hiking and bike rides. All of which will be lower then typically used weights.

I'm doing this to keep accountability and track trends with lifts and injuries ect.

Training, food, injury recovery and some supplements.

Out the gate there will be no supplements beyond the basic vitamins i normally take, I will add things as needed. Step 2 will probably be gw and carnatine and at the end I will add a fat burner and probably something for enhanced pumps and performance In the gym.

I guess my end goal is to heal up and get really lean like I would want to before starting a bulking phase but IL probably hold there. I've been there before so it shouldn't be ultra complicated or require anything extreme.

Tomorrow will be day 1.

I'm hoping I can keep this thread on track and most of the general conversation stay in my other threads.

If anyone wants to see the workouts I can lay then out up front or just post them as I do them. When actually lifting weights, the goal is get a few warm up sets, then get a good pump and once I got the pump use a intensity technique to get close to failure and move on to the next exercise.

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

I am down to follow this!
Seems like a healthy approach.
In regards to lifting protocol are you talking warm ups progressing to acclimation weights then 2 or 3 balls to the wall heavy low rep? Like AST’s MAX-OT style?

 

[Renew1]

I'm following, man!

 

[Smont]

I am down to follow this!
Seems like a healthy approach.
In regards to lifting protocol are you talking warm ups progressing to acclimation weights then 2 or 3 balls to the wall heavy low rep? Like AST’s MAX-OT style?

No, say I'm doing a incline db press, before I got hurt I was doing 120's for my heavy sets and 70's for like 30 reps. But now I gotta reduce the weight.

Warm up sets, 35's x15, 50's x12. 70's x10,10 and now I'm warmed up and I got a good pump. After that second set of 10 IL only rest about 20 seconds and knock out 10 more, take a 10 sec break and squeeze out 4 or 5 more, dropset to 50's and knock out 15 is more and I'm Hitting the wall around there. IL move on to a db fly and knock out 2-3 sets of 10-12 with 50's and on the last set hold in the stretch position for as long as possible and possibly do a drop set or rest pause.

I'm injured and weight needs to be reduced so heavy high intensity training is out the window.

I will occasionally throw in a "heavy day" like I might do 245-250 on bench for sets of 3-5 but it's not actually heavy, when I'm not hurt I can do that with 315. But I do like to put weight on the bar. So I might take my 10 rep max and do a 5x5 with short 20-30 sec rest periods.

The goal is to stimulate the most I can with weights that won't compromise my injuries.

I guess it's more of a moderate volume approach with a few high intensity sets to keep the workouts shorter.

 

[Oliver Kween]

I'm following, too !

 

[Dblock]

So your target weight is going to be around 185? How tall are you amigo?

 

[Smont]

So your target weight is going to be around 185? How tall are you amigo?

5'9, I have no target weight to be honest. But once I get below 185 I'm usually loosing more muscle then fat unless I'm on cycle.

For some comparison, here's me around 215

And again around 190lbs I believe, this was last summer mid cut for a boxing match

I'm somewhere in between these 2 right now, 203.7lbs but not training hard at the moment so I'm kinda soft. IL get some new pics up shortly

 

[Mikereyn513]

15 pounds of fat? Easy ostsrine should do the trick

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

No, say I'm doing a incline db press, before I got hurt I was doing 120's for my heavy sets and 70's for like 30 reps. But now I gotta reduce the weight.

Warm up sets, 35's x15, 50's x12. 70's x10,10 and now I'm warmed up and I got a good pump. After that second set of 10 IL only rest about 20 seconds and knock out 10 more, take a 10 sec break and squeeze out 4 or 5 more, dropset to 50's and knock out 15 is more and I'm Hitting the wall around there. IL move on to a db fly and knock out 2-3 sets of 10-12 with 50's and on the last set hold in the stretch position for as long as possible and possibly do a drop set or rest pause.

I'm injured and weight needs to be reduced so heavy high intensity training is out the window.

I will occasionally throw in a "heavy day" like I might do 245-250 on bench for sets of 3-5 but it's not actually heavy, when I'm not hurt I can do that with 315. But I do like to put weight on the bar. So I might take my 10 rep max and do a 5x5 with short 20-30 sec rest periods.

The goal is to stimulate the most I can with weights that won't compromise my injuries.

I guess it's more of a moderate volume approach with a few high intensity sets to keep the workouts shorter.

I like the approach! I am 9 weeks in after a near 8yr hiatus from lifting. Prob gonna steal some of your tricks. Lol
And thanks for your code at MA Research!!!

 

[Dblock]

I will be following, In my honest opinion you are probably the most knowledgeable person on this forum. You always give great advice my friend….good luck

 

[Oliver Kween]

I will be following, In my honest opinion you are probably the most knowledgeable person on this forum. You always give great advice my friend….good luck

I couldn't have said it better, although sometimes I like to tease Smont, these tips are golden.
We can only say good luck!

 

[Smont]

I will be following, In my honest opinion you are probably the most knowledgeable person on this forum. You always give great advice my friend….good luck

I definitely don't think I'm the most knowledgeable, not even close, but I'm probably more active and involved then most on the forum so it appears that I am lol. There's still a collective group of people here I follow silently because I know they know more then I do, or they at least know about topics I don't. I'm always trying to learn more. I do have a lot of confidence in what I know and how I like to apply it tho. I don't think I quite have the knowledge to build a mass monster or get real contest prep shredded. But I do think my knowledge caters to someone who wants to go from average Joe to the biggest/strongest and leanest they can get and be bigger and stronger then all of your friends. If you wanna be 5'9 230 with abs I can get you there. If you wanna be 5'9 270 shredded on a bodybuilding stage your probably gonna need to call Matt Jenson or One of those guys lol

 

[Smont]

15 pounds of fat? Easy ostsrine should do the trick

No thanks lol. I do have 3 or 4 bottles of injectable yk11. But I'm definitely not using it. Appears it makes injuries worse for many people. IL keep them for a down the road experiment when I don't mine pinning 14x week lol and not so beat up

 

[Smont]

No steroid cycle, no sarms or hgh on this cut, it's trt and supplements with the majority of the effort on training hard and eating just enough to recover and make progress/prevent muscle loss

 

[Hyde]

Subbed

 

[Wobmarvel]

Interested in this. As I've gotten older I've started being more interested in staying in shape using the least weight possibly. A lot of supersets and pre-exhaustion. Looking forward to seeing how you progress.

 

[Smont]

Well, of course I started this off the worst way possible. I ate pretty much nothing but sandwiches, wings and desserts yesterday as I went out with a bang, I'm super bloated and have horrible heartburn today lol.

5am I got up and took all the tempting garbage out of the cabinets and either chucked it or put it in my son's room.

Stepped on the scale and I'm a fat watery 207.1lbs. My face looks like I'm on dbol lol.

Coffee for breakfast, I'm gonna pound water and when I'm hungry on break I'm probably just gonna eat some probiotic Greek yogurt and a orange and keep pounding water, I'm gonna take a late lunch and slam 70gm of protein, 70gm of carbs and minimal fat from mostly protein powder and oats and I gotta combine my push workout with cardio today. Eventually as I work into this schedule IL completely separate lifting and my cardio/boxing stuff.

Will post workout and dinner later. I'm probably gonna eat in this fashion for a few days while I reconfigure maintenance calories and my schedule. I really decided last minute yesterday that I was gonna start asap so I gotta meal prep this weekend

 

[gphagan1]

In man, following…

 

[MrKleen73]

Subbed!

 

[Mikereyn513]

Do you still have ankles or did they turn into cankles?

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

IN !!

 

[Smont]

Do you still have ankles or did they turn into cankles?

Cankles and armpit flaps

 

[Hyde]

Cankles and armpit flaps

Like an old Italian lady, sans the heavy gold earrings with stretched out lobes

 

[Smont]

Like an old Italian lady, sans the heavy gold earrings with stretched out lobes

And a sisi dress, all the old Italian ladies in my family wore these real plain ugly dresses we use to call sisi (CC) dresses lol. My grandmother had probably 20 of them. When I was a little kid all the men wore one of her dresses to her 75th birthday party

 

[Smont]

July 5th 2023, Day 1.

Pulled into the regular gym on my way home from work and there were so many cars I didn't bother, straight to the boxing gym. At this point I lost about 20min of gym time so I crammed hard lol

Quick pull with lots of cardio. Mostly dumbells and a jump rope. I counted 100 Rope skips between every set until I got 1000 total skips.

*Wide grip chins, assisted×15, bodyweight ×10, *+25lbs×6,6,6
*Chest supported db row, 50's ×10,10,10
*Db hammer curl 40's ×8,8,8
*Elliptical and some light lower body stretching
*knee height box jumps 5×5 (knee felt decent)
*training mits 3×3min rounds.

Soaking wet drenched in sweat.

Ideally I'd like to have a push, pull and legs day in the regular gym and the second time through do a abbreviated version like above with lots of cardio and eventually doing double sessions if I can keep up with it.

 

[Smont]

Dinner is meat, fruit and vegetables and then after dinner more meat and probably some whole eggs

 

[Smont]

I do apologize for not having a game plan set in stone, I did decide last minute yesterday that It's time to kick **** into gear before I start looking like a Boston cream doughnut. I also had a few family members trying to get put on magic weight loss drugs and I don't want them too because there not going to do it right. So this was also part of me going look, here's what I planned on looking like this summer and I'm looking pretty average and my abs are very faded. I'm probably 15lbs of fat more then I should be. If I only got 15-20lbs to loose and you got 50 it's gonna be way easier for you to loose 15 then me so let's do this. Lead by example is wishful thinking with them but I'm gonna do it anyways. I did take a gross looking bloated bag of **** picture of myself this morning and every 5 lbs IL put up a side by side comparison

 

[MrKleen73]

Man, you do you, as long as you get the work in you want, and enjoy the process it doesn't have to be laid in stone. It's not like your new to any of this or don't have the knowledge to wing it a good bit. Your basic plan definitely sounds legit to me.

 

[Smont]

Man, you do you, as long as you get the work in you want, and enjoy the process it doesn't have to be laid in stone. It's not like your new to any of this or don't have the knowledge to wing it a good bit. Your basic plan definitely sounds legit to me.

I hate to sound like a dbag lol. But the real plan is simple, work really hard in the gym regardless of what it is as long as I'm not risking further injuries and eat enough food to recover and not be miserable. That's the plan. But to avoid getting stuck I will still be reducing calories in a orderly fashion, only adding supplies and fat burners as needed. Usually after I loose the initial easy weight I will notice my gym performance goes down and at that point IL add some performance based supplements and when I hit my first weight sticking point IL add a fat burner. I do plan to take this to a uncomfortable place lol

 

[Mikereyn513]

I wad thinking it might be easier to stick to your plan without gear this time. It can be a big hassle as you know. I was watching the GOD podcast and mihaley was like sometimes I just wanna go train. I don't want to worry about what orals to take, or when do I take my slin, did I forget to do my test today, etc.. etc..maybe without the stress of all that this time yiu can actually just enjoy the process...just a thought

 

[Darkhorse192]

good luck and godspeed to you on your cut brother...

dont forget about the effectiveness of fasted cardio with yohimbine hcl +tyrosine + Caffeine for when you want go from lean to peeled out of your mind...

 

[gphagan1]

I hate to sound like a dbag lol. But the real plan is simple, work really hard in the gym regardless of what it is as long as I'm not risking further injuries and eat enough food to recover and not be miserable. That's the plan. But to avoid getting stuck I will still be reducing calories in a orderly fashion, only adding supplies and fat burners as needed. Usually after I loose the initial easy weight I will notice my gym performance goes down and at that point IL add some performance based supplements and when I hit my first weight sticking point IL add a fat burner. I do plan to take this to a uncomfortable place lol

Sounds like a plan to me…..actually the way you laid it out in the beginning makes perfect sense. It’s really a good cross training plan, and makes sense with all that your going through lately, and gives you way more flexibility to train around nagging injuries. And like Kleen said you know what your doing and as long as you’re training it will be productive for you especially on a cut.

 

[PolishHamm3r77]

I hate to sound like a dbag lol. But the real plan is simple, work really hard in the gym regardless of what it is as long as I'm not risking further injuries and eat enough food to recover and not be miserable. That's the plan. But to avoid getting stuck I will still be reducing calories in a orderly fashion, only adding supplies and fat burners as needed. Usually after I loose the initial easy weight I will notice my gym performance goes down and at that point IL add some performance based supplements and when I hit my first weight sticking point IL add a fat burner. I do plan to take this to a uncomfortable place lol

Have at it Boss! You are off to a good start. Love the “easy weight”. I lost 15lb right off the rip. A lot of that was the pint of Ben and Jerry’s every night. Cleaned my diet up and went from 223 to being stuck at 207ish w 2000 cal/day. I’m only 5’6” so that 15lb looked like a lot more. I am a lineman so work outside but either aloft in bucket truck or working off a ladder. I typically run only when chased and at 46 I don’t piss off half the people I use to in my 20’s and 30’s. Ha ha ha. I’m sure your current “fat pic” is better than most. YOU GOT THIS MAN

 

[Smont]

I wad thinking it might be easier to stick to your plan without gear this time. It can be a big hassle as you know. I was watching the GOD podcast and mihaley was like sometimes I just wanna go train. I don't want to worry about what orals to take, or when do I take my slin, did I forget to do my test today, etc.. etc..maybe without the stress of all that this time yiu can actually just enjoy the process...just a thought

It really is a part of it. Look how this year has gone for me. My cycle was delayed and then changed. Then injuries and abandon the cycle. I was following a altered program to get power days and that group of guys split ways. I'm kinda sick of things going wrong and forcing me to do something different. But without a perfect plan I can still be in a deficit and train really hard doing things i like. As long as I'm hitting everything at least once and preferably twice and putting a lot of effort there will be results. As long as your not trying to out train a crappy diet the initial phase is easy as pie. But I do know the more I loose the more strategies IL need and I'm not using any cards up front so it's all effort right now

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

you should get on and stay on Mass Shift throughout brother. Its going to be a godsend if you're not into counting foods.

 

[sammpedd88]

No steroid cycle, no sarms or hgh on this cut, it's trt and supplements with the majority of the effort on training hard and eating just enough to recover and make progress/prevent muscle loss

I think you have an excellent approach going drug free on this plan. You’re full of knowledge and I appreciate the advice you’ve given me in the past. I’m in on this!

 

[Smont]

you should get on and stay on Mass Shift throughout brother. Its going to be a godsend if you're not into counting foods.

What is mass shift? I saw it mentioned in another thread, havnt looked it up tho. I'm guessing it's a gda of sorts? I do track every single thing I eat and at bare minimum total calories and protein. I just won't be following a traditional 5meal plan because of my schedule (but I do usually end up eating 5 meals regardless) and I do also pay attention to my bloodsugar.

 

[xR1pp3Rx]

Na-R-ALA

nutrient partitioning like crazy~

 

[Darkhorse192]

don't sleep on just getting your NEAT up. Throw in a couple of extra walks a day. the other strategy that I and a few guys I have coached that has been very successful in that department is replacing lost body weight with weighted clothing / vest at least during times when you know you might be moving around a good bit. I have found it can both stave off some of the metabolic down regulation and keep some of the hunger and satiety hormones in a better balance for a lot longer.

 

[PFlowReborn]

As usual fashionably late to follow, but like the mindset @Smont has here, with, "But the real plan is simple, work really hard in the gym regardless of what it is as long as I'm not risking further injuries and eat enough food to recover and not be miserable. That's the plan. But to avoid getting stuck I will still be reducing calories in a orderly fashion, only adding supplies and fat burners as needed. Usually after I loose the initial easy weight I will notice my gym performance goes down and at that point IL add some performance based supplements and when I hit my first weight sticking point IL add a fat burner. I do plan to take this to a uncomfortable place lol "

Being a hardgainer for most of the time, the idea of running a cut seems almost foreign to someone whose been tall and lean and trying to add mass, despite diet until 34~35 (~8 years ago). I'll have to adopt a similar mindset and just control the pantry and fridge to allow healthy snacking to keep energy up now I'm like 210lbs and need to come back down.

 

[MrKleen73]

I hate to sound like a dbag lol. But the real plan is simple, work really hard in the gym regardless of what it is as long as I'm not risking further injuries and eat enough food to recover and not be miserable. That's the plan. But to avoid getting stuck I will still be reducing calories in a orderly fashion, only adding supplies and fat burners as needed. Usually after I loose the initial easy weight I will notice my gym performance goes down and at that point IL add some performance based supplements and when I hit my first weight sticking point IL add a fat burner. I do plan to take this to a uncomfortable place lol

Don't sound like a dbag to me. I honestly think your plan is good even if not laid out to your idea of a perfect meso.

Sounds like a plan to me…..actually the way you laid it out in the beginning makes perfect sense. It’s really a good cross training plan, and makes sense with all that your going through lately, and gives you way more flexibility to train around nagging injuries. And like Kleen said you know what your doing and as long as you’re training it will be productive for you especially on a cut.

Agreed, it is better than getting frustrated by not meeting your standards due to things out of your control and making you just say F it!

 

[Smont]

July 6th 2023, day 2

Note to self, lots of new members at the boxing gym, can't get real lifting workouts in until probably 7pm.

Still, push and cardio similar to yesterday's style

35°incline db press 70's ×12×3 dropset 50's ×18
Slight incline db fly 50's ×12×3
Side laterals 30's×10×3
Db skull krushers 40's ×10x3

Lots of jumping rope between sets for 1000 total skips (100 At a time)

Couple 3 min rounds on the heavy bag and out the door.

I can still fake being jacked in a tank top lol. Long as no1 wants to see the abs lol. Face is pretty bloated still too.

Half gallon of sweat helps with the lighting , that's not a shadow on my shirt, it's soaked.

After going to the grocery store soaked I cooked up 3lbs of chicken and did 10oz, 1.5 cups white rice and some clementine. I probably eat 4-5 every day.

 

[Smont]

Calories yesterday were around 2900 I didn't look everything up but I remember what most things are, today I tracked and I'm only at 2038 and last meal was supposed to be eggs and vegetables but since I'm looking to be in the 2800-3000 range this week just to see if the scale moves and get a rough idea on my maintenance this week with all the added activities. I gotta get at least 800 so I might turn a chicken breast into a Buffalo chicken sandwich

 

[gphagan1]

July 6th 2023, day 2

Note to self, lots of new members at the boxing gym, can't get real lifting workouts in until probably 7pm.

Still, push and cardio similar to yesterday's style

35°incline db press 70's ×12×3 dropset 50's ×18
Slight incline db fly 50's ×12×3
Side laterals 30's×10×3
Db skull krushers 40's ×10x3

Lots of jumping rope between sets for 1000 total skips (100 At a time)

Couple 3 min rounds on the heavy bag and out the door.

I can still fake being jacked in a tank top lol. Long as no1 wants to see the abs lol. Face is pretty bloated still too.
View attachment 233946

Half gallon of sweat helps with the lighting , that's not a shadow on my shirt, it's soaked.

After going to the grocery store soaked I cooked up 3lbs of chicken and did 10oz, 1.5 cups white rice and some clementine. I probably eat 4-5 every day.

View attachment 233947View attachment 233948

Arms and shoulders still look jacked……ahhh we have food porn again, I love those Clementines .

 

[MrKleen73]

Yep, I eat a lot of those too. Easy fruit to enjoy on the go or at your desk.

 

[Mikereyn513]

Arms and delts still there..delts don't pop as much but I'm figuring with your genetics they'll be back in a matter of weeks

 

[Hyde]

Yep, I eat a lot of those too. Easy fruit to enjoy on the go or at your desk.

Been doing them lately myself. More consistent to find at any grocer than seedless oranges and my son can peel them himself now, which he thinks is big timer stuff 🥹

 

[Smont]

Arms and delts still there..delts don't pop as much but I'm figuring with your genetics they'll be back in a matter of weeks

See, the problem is....

I think the definition is still there but the pop tarts created a illusion that my bodyfat is higher.

 

[Smont]

Been doing them lately myself. More consistent to find at any grocer than seedless oranges and my son can peel them himself now, which he thinks is big timer stuff 🥹

There tasty, but convenience and availability play a roll too..

 

[Mikereyn513]

See, the problem is....

I think the definition is still there but the pop tarts created a illusion that my bodyfat is higher.

Body fat still looks between 12-15% from what I can see, not a bad thing at all. Are still doing trt or are you completely natty