A few days ago, I had a DEXA scan and got 11.87% BF (yeah abs are visible) which was my original goal from way back when I first planned for this. To celebrate, I am going to share my plan and experiences along the way. It's a different take to what you normally see around the Web, but for those who have similar temperament as mine, you might find it useful.
This is only for people who are patient, and not a get lean / strong fast solution. However, knowing what I know now, I could've achieved this much faster. Most of the time were spent experimenting and learning. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Some hard numbers:
Where I started in 2012
==========
5'7"
200lb at my worst, and about 186lb when I started planning
waist ~34.5"
BF% was 19.99% on the DEXA scan at 186lb, LBM was ~148lb
Strength (1RM): squat 355lb, bench 220lb (paused), deadlift 405lb
Where I am now
==========
5'7" - unfortunately my method doesn't make you taller!
158lb
waist 29.5"
BF% 11.87% (DEXA), LBM ~140lb
Strength (1RM): squat 422lb, bench 242lb (note: had a shoulder injury for the last couple of years), deadlift 550lb
In powerlifting, I went down 2 weight classes (93kg to 74kg) and got a lot stronger, not to mention that my Wilks score went through the roof.
And here was what I planned - goals and challenges:
Goals
====
Get leaner and stay lean:
----------------------------
I don't do this to post results on the Internet for likes, only to rebound to previous fatness. I want to get lean and stay lean.
Get leaner while getting stronger
-------------------------------------
I don't want to compromise my strength training even for a little bit, while cutting.
Stay lean while enjoying foods and life
--------------------------------------------
I don't want to be those miserable people who can't eat this or that, just so they can have abs. I want to strike the balance between healthy eating and enjoying treats regularly, especially when I'm out socialising. I want to drink, eat ice cream, get a few slices of pizza etc. without freaking out about my abs like many lean guys do.
I want to eat a lot while still staying lean, like those genetically blessed people with super fast metabolism.
Challenges
=======
- My goals are super ambitious!
- I'm a natural drug-free lifter in the IPF, even in my youth I never touched any recreational drug.
- 95% of dieters rebound to previous fatness if not higher. Personal experience tells me this includes many people in strength & fitness, not just regular joes and janes.
- Conventional strength training wisdom - including those of my coaches with multiple decades of experience - tells us we have cut and bulk, and while you cut, you lose strength, guaranteed.
- Conventional dieting wisdom tells us we have to sacrifice a lot to get lean and stay lean. Can't drink, can't eat pizza, carbs are the enemy, ice cream... forget it, go home fatty.
- Nobody writes training plans or nutrition plans for people with these sorts of goals
- I was already 29 years old, my metabolism should be slowing down, and worse of all, I had been some form of fat all my life: chubby, skinny fat, really fucking fat and built-fat.
- I was also fighting two weird and rather serious injuries in my hips and shoulder all this time
Note: I have nothing personal against drugs, but I don't use them and I know practically nothing about them, not even the names beyond the popularly known ones.
Inspirations
=======
Although my goals sounded impossible at the time, I always thought that it simply meant I didn't know how to do it, and that I could learn, somehow.
I also know a few guys who have managed to achieve one of those goals at certain times. While they didn't articulate exactly how they did it, knowing that it can be possible is good enough.
Planning
=====
Even before I knew what to do exactly, I had created the overall plan which still serves me well. After the first trip to the DEXA scan clinic and seeing how huge a blob of 5lb of fat is, I realised that slow fat loss is key, and it is very similar to strength training in reverse. Here's the plan:
Every 4 months, I'd do a powerlifting competition and a DEXA scan to track progress. If I get leaner and stronger, it also means that I haven't lost any muscle even if the LBM might be down a bit (water loss, usually).
During a 4 months cycle, I want to get a little bit stronger and a little bit leaner, and keep it that way, so I can continuously build upon the results. What's a little bit (keeping in mind my relative size, and that I was already an intermediate lifter to start with):
- 10lb on squat, 5lb on bench, 15lb on deadlift
- minus 2.5lb fat (actual fat, not weight which could include water)
Sounds very modest, right? But it translates to, after 1 year:
- +30lb squat, +15lb bench, +45lb deadlift
- -7.5lb fat
and after 3 years:
- +90lb squat, +45lb bench, +135lb deadlift
- -22.5lb fat
I did mention this to some of my training partners back then, and they thought the increments / decrements were too small to bother with, and the whole process would take way too long. But here I am now, repping their deadlift 1RM while being a lot lighter.![[Image: tongue.gif]](https://rooshvforum.network/images/smilies/tongue.gif)
Had I not had to overcome the injuries, I would've progressed even further in strength. It doesn't seem to be such a slow process anymore.
As it turned out, some cycles I'd do much better, other cycles a little worse than this, but overall it was rather spot on.
Next I will go into Strength Training, Conditioning and Dieting and all experiences I've gathered so far.
This is only for people who are patient, and not a get lean / strong fast solution. However, knowing what I know now, I could've achieved this much faster. Most of the time were spent experimenting and learning. Hindsight is always 20/20.
Some hard numbers:
Where I started in 2012
==========
5'7"
200lb at my worst, and about 186lb when I started planning
waist ~34.5"
BF% was 19.99% on the DEXA scan at 186lb, LBM was ~148lb
Strength (1RM): squat 355lb, bench 220lb (paused), deadlift 405lb
Where I am now
==========
5'7" - unfortunately my method doesn't make you taller!
158lb
waist 29.5"
BF% 11.87% (DEXA), LBM ~140lb
Strength (1RM): squat 422lb, bench 242lb (note: had a shoulder injury for the last couple of years), deadlift 550lb
In powerlifting, I went down 2 weight classes (93kg to 74kg) and got a lot stronger, not to mention that my Wilks score went through the roof.
And here was what I planned - goals and challenges:
Goals
====
Get leaner and stay lean:
----------------------------
I don't do this to post results on the Internet for likes, only to rebound to previous fatness. I want to get lean and stay lean.
Get leaner while getting stronger
-------------------------------------
I don't want to compromise my strength training even for a little bit, while cutting.
Stay lean while enjoying foods and life
--------------------------------------------
I don't want to be those miserable people who can't eat this or that, just so they can have abs. I want to strike the balance between healthy eating and enjoying treats regularly, especially when I'm out socialising. I want to drink, eat ice cream, get a few slices of pizza etc. without freaking out about my abs like many lean guys do.
I want to eat a lot while still staying lean, like those genetically blessed people with super fast metabolism.
Challenges
=======
- My goals are super ambitious!
- I'm a natural drug-free lifter in the IPF, even in my youth I never touched any recreational drug.
- 95% of dieters rebound to previous fatness if not higher. Personal experience tells me this includes many people in strength & fitness, not just regular joes and janes.
- Conventional strength training wisdom - including those of my coaches with multiple decades of experience - tells us we have cut and bulk, and while you cut, you lose strength, guaranteed.
- Conventional dieting wisdom tells us we have to sacrifice a lot to get lean and stay lean. Can't drink, can't eat pizza, carbs are the enemy, ice cream... forget it, go home fatty.
- Nobody writes training plans or nutrition plans for people with these sorts of goals
- I was already 29 years old, my metabolism should be slowing down, and worse of all, I had been some form of fat all my life: chubby, skinny fat, really fucking fat and built-fat.
- I was also fighting two weird and rather serious injuries in my hips and shoulder all this time
Note: I have nothing personal against drugs, but I don't use them and I know practically nothing about them, not even the names beyond the popularly known ones.
Inspirations
=======
Although my goals sounded impossible at the time, I always thought that it simply meant I didn't know how to do it, and that I could learn, somehow.
I also know a few guys who have managed to achieve one of those goals at certain times. While they didn't articulate exactly how they did it, knowing that it can be possible is good enough.
Planning
=====
Even before I knew what to do exactly, I had created the overall plan which still serves me well. After the first trip to the DEXA scan clinic and seeing how huge a blob of 5lb of fat is, I realised that slow fat loss is key, and it is very similar to strength training in reverse. Here's the plan:
Every 4 months, I'd do a powerlifting competition and a DEXA scan to track progress. If I get leaner and stronger, it also means that I haven't lost any muscle even if the LBM might be down a bit (water loss, usually).
During a 4 months cycle, I want to get a little bit stronger and a little bit leaner, and keep it that way, so I can continuously build upon the results. What's a little bit (keeping in mind my relative size, and that I was already an intermediate lifter to start with):
- 10lb on squat, 5lb on bench, 15lb on deadlift
- minus 2.5lb fat (actual fat, not weight which could include water)
Sounds very modest, right? But it translates to, after 1 year:
- +30lb squat, +15lb bench, +45lb deadlift
- -7.5lb fat
and after 3 years:
- +90lb squat, +45lb bench, +135lb deadlift
- -22.5lb fat
I did mention this to some of my training partners back then, and they thought the increments / decrements were too small to bother with, and the whole process would take way too long. But here I am now, repping their deadlift 1RM while being a lot lighter.
Had I not had to overcome the injuries, I would've progressed even further in strength. It doesn't seem to be such a slow process anymore. As it turned out, some cycles I'd do much better, other cycles a little worse than this, but overall it was rather spot on.
Next I will go into Strength Training, Conditioning and Dieting and all experiences I've gathered so far.