Quote: (08-22-2011 08:50 PM)Smitty Wrote:
Quote: (08-22-2011 02:37 PM)_DC_ Wrote:
So I had a grand plan to lift at least two/three months, eating lots of food, doing no cardio, and getting significantly stronger. I'm a month and a half in, and I've gained 10 lbs. Even accounting for the creatine water retention , I've definitely gained some fat. Like most guys, I'm pretty lean all over but 5 lbs of fat almost always goes to the belly, meaning 1-2" increase even with such low poundage.
I was already planning on a leangains.com type intermittent fasting cycle for two-three weeks after a while, however, I'm already feeling chubby and I want to start it early. I'm hoping I can drop my bodyfat% and keep my lifts the same and hopefully not lose any strength.
I understand the concept of bulking/cutting and that they should be done in phases. Sorry if you feel asleep reading the above, here is the actual question (hopefully somebody whose experienced intermittent fasting can answer):
Is there any real difference between, say, a bulking phase, two months; cutting phase, one month (total of three months), OR a bulking phase, one month; cutting phase, two weeks; bulking phase, one month; cutting phase, two weeks (total of three months). I want to opt for faster cycling because having a lower body fat is more key for me, and I start to feel sloppy if I'm creeping to 15-16%.
Thanks in advance for any advice/anecdotes.
I have been in the same exact situation as you - try to bulk, accumulate too much around the waste, feel fat, go back to focus on losing the stomach and end up never achieving the gains in muscle I wanted. Here's how I fixed the problem:
First, I'm a mesomorph. Google it if you don't know what it is. My body type is well-suited for gains, but I have to be very careful because it's easy to put on fat. You sound like a mesomorph. Meso's have to do a very controlled bulk in order to control the fat gains. Which leads me to:
Second, I did a controlled, clean bulk. I kept to lean proteins, lots of them at that, complex carbs (brown rice, oats, but NO BREAD) and moderate fat intake. Do not, repeat do NOT, buy into that "cheat day" shit when you are trying to bulk. Most guys can eat anything they want while bulking. You can't. Stay on plan. That was the ONLY way I was able to finally achieve my goals.
Third, you have to do cardio. You eat the complex carbs to fuel your weight workouts, but you need to hit the cardio a solid three days/week to try and burn off carbs/fat. Otherwise it's going straight to the belly. Guys on bb.com will tell you to avoid cardio on a bulk but that simply is not the case for someone who is mesomorph.
Fourth, don't overeat. Know your BMR caloric requirement and then add 10% over to gain weight. Ten pounds in one month is way too much. If you bulk as I talked about above (lean proteins, etc) it will take you 2-3 months to gain 1o pounds. But you won't have the fatter belly (some fat is inevitable, but you can cut after you get the muscle).
What I'm telling you is direct experience from someone who had the same exact issues you describe. Happy to give other pointers if you think it's all relevant to your situation. Just come up with your plan, stick to it, and most of all, always question the so-called conventional wisdom. If it doesn't work for you, it doesn't work. You just have to try something different.
Edited to add: I don't think it's a good idea to bulk for a short period (two weeks) and then cut for a short period (one week). Your body needs time to adapt to changes. If it isn't obvious from my reply above, I strongly recommend doing a very focused, clean bulk for at least three months and seeing where that gets you. If you avoid the breads/pastas/beans and go light on the other complex carbs (they are a necessary evil for bulking), then I think you will achieve your muscle growth without so much additional fat. Then you can cut up and get rid of the little fat you have left and go bang some hot pussy.
Smitty, thanks for the info. As I mentioned, it was really probably 5-6 actual lbs (fat/muscle, as creatine undoubtedly gains a 6' person a sig. amount of water weight) but regardless, it was too much fat probably.
I do OK, but I should watch more closely the 2nd time around. I was trying to clean bulk, and not eat more than 3000-3500 cals a day, but alas too many carbs (including beer) was probably the x-factor. I need to switch over to Jack and diets and throttle down the drinking.
It's been about 6 weeks, so I feel like a 2-3 week cut might be in order. Advocates of "eat stop eat" and leangains.com have actually stated its possible to get stronger while losing serious fat. Its a pretty intense program but I'm going to go for it. I'm thinking ~2400 cals on "feed" days (low carb and two protein shakes a day) and of course 0 cals on three fasting days a week. Its best to start up a feed day right after a fasted workout. Any experience with intermittent fasting?
I think your clean bulk recommendation is good, and I will focus more on that approach once I lose a few pounds (undoing my overzealous approach). With some cardio, and three days of intermittent fasting, I should be able to lose 2-3 lbs a week of almost all fat. I've done it before (its not easy to fast however). Before anybody calls foul, I'd recommend checking the site out... the dude is incredibly scientific and rips conventional wisdom a new a-hole.
The Ryan Reynolds look above is pretty achievable, and something I think would fit me well. Dude looks smaller in that picture than I thought he was. If you want your mind to be blown, check out the following:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=my6IroYcyEI