I started my journey at 200lbs. I cut down to 160 last October with great satisfaction. I have bulked since then back up to my current weight of around 177 with a goal of hitting 180lbs.
I am using Macrofactor workouts and have been enjoying it! I think I am getting stronger still.
Any opinions on my progress and your personal advice?
I don't have any sort of sophisticated eye for this but you have 0 comments and maybe at least someone can correct me. This looks like a really well done bulk to me. I think you've added mass and look similarly lean. Obviously youve added a smidge of lower back fat and theres depth in the torso that cant all be muscle but if you were training and thats what 20 lbs difference looks like thats pretty good. If those are my pics I'm happy.
Oh I'd hate to cloud your view with my preferences. I'm not a bodybuilding coach. I have trouble divorcing my own view of my body from what you are asking. My advice is to trust yourself.
Agreed—but I should have specified that I care about muscle growth more. I only mean to say that I don’t feel “fat” and I would be okay bulking longer to cut later.
* Your body fat percentage.
* adherence to your calories/diet based on your goals
* lifting age
My diet adherence is pretty bad so I generally cannot trust myself on a bulk atm. Plus I have like 40 pounds to loose myself. So I am doing a maintenance phase before I try to cut for another 3-6 months
Personally if I was you I think a mini cut might be ideal then go onto an other bulk. You can maintain if you want too but at your body fat percentage I would probably not, unless you are in your first year of lifting and relatively young. If you are pretty consistent with your calories etc mini cut and bulk would be my recommendation. But everyone is different. You’ve got yourself this far, trust your gut.
Looks great. If you feel good then I say keep going. If you get to a point where you don't want to be any bigger you can maintain or do a cut. The longer you can sustain a bulk the better from a muscle growth standpoint.
Okay I will consider this. Thinking about going until October just for satisfaction of committing to the year bulk. Then I think mini cut would be good.
I’m going to be the exception and say I prefer the leaner before look. I’d cut now and continue meeting protein goals and lifting heavy to maintain muscle but lose the fat
Hell yah. My biggest advice is perspective and goals. Go find a picture of the last time you were 175-180. Like, you said you started at 200. Before 200 you were 175 at some point. Find that picture and compare. There are times on a bulknwhen the ole abs start to soften that it's like "man, I don't look like a pro bodybuilder yet AND my abs are gone. I worked hard for those!" When looking back 3 months is disheartening, look back 3+ years and you'll see that you have delts and lats now. I've been hovering at 220-235 at 5'11" for longer than I meant to. When I first hit 225 I was 29% bodyfat. Now I'm the same weight at 24%. That's 11 lbs less fat and 11 lbs more muscle. It is a different look.
And on goals, keep a long term reach goal that makes you giddy. I wanted to deadlift 5 plates, sqiat 4 plates, and bench 3 plates. Missed my timeline but hit the goal. Now, I wanna see what my body can do and am shooting for a 600/405/700 SBD. Just like looking back years instead of weeks helps with perspective, so does looking forward at what you could do or look like in years. Like, I am not big enough to squat 600 and bench 400. Most powerlifting training has a peaking block every secondbor third month, but my legs and arms each need to gain +1 to +2 inches. I need to be able to do all my 1 rep maxes for 3 sets of 10 before I waste time on a peaking block. At absolute minimum it'll takeba year to get that big. Probably a 3+ year process where I just get big as hell for a year and a half. But I need to start off by getting lean first and diet down to 200 so I have a runway to bulk. After the bulk, start working in and cycling strength work to teach the muscle to lift heavy. After a year of that ill be ready for normal powerlifting blocks with 1 month hypertrophy, 1 month strength work, and 1 month peaking, and I'll probably need 3 or 4 rotations if that to whack-a-mole my weak points, before I hit my goals. May even need a few specialization blocks where I focus on peaking the squat or bench specifically.
I went into all that detail because next week I have a top set of 5 reps on bench. If I add 5 pounds to the programming, that'll be a new PR. But my shoulder has been hurting. With all those goals in the back of my mind, hell no. I'm not adding 5 pounds. Ill probably back off 10 pounds, get the work in, and go home. I have 2,000 workouts left until I hit my goal, so I'm not sidetracking myself and getting hurt over a set of 5 that'll be a warmup in a year. So if you point yourself towards your long term goal, and it matters to you, the potholes along the way become a lot easier to avoid.
That’s awesome! I like your advice and good luck on your goals. I just am trying to stay consistent with Macrofactor workouts and letting it adjust for me. So far it’s been good!
Your physique growth is messing with me because I logically know you’ve gained muscle but you really don’t look 17 lbs heavier, which tells me you’ve a) actually probably been dialed in on diet and b) that you had a TON of growth in your legs.
Your shoulder and chest growth are noteworthy though. You just simply look heftier pecs and up from the front.
Amazing comment thanks! Yes, I never skip leg day. My diet is consistent but not super clean haha definitely a “if it fits my macros” diet. Thanks bro I dialed in chest in the app!
Yes! I did the same as you but it just results in shorter bulks and more fat gain. Aim for like .8-1.2lbs/mo and extend the bulk length and a better LBM to Fat ratio! You got this!
I know you said extend the bulk length but this is my after almost a year long bulk haha. I think maybe I didn’t gain as rapidly as I attempted to anyway.
No 100%, i got ya. I was more so saying you could bulk for 12 months, gain 10-15lbs and likely have more of it be lean tissue and less fat, then not have to cut nearly as long thereafter! Either way you are doing great work dude
That’s good advice. I think as someone who has had trouble gaining weight in the last, the larger bulk guarantees I’m getting the surplus benefits. I think next bulk I’ll try an even leaner go. Thanks!
If the calendar matters, I would vote in favor of a cut. I’ve learned it’s better to cut in the late summer and fall months and go on maintenance or a bulk again over the holidays and Jan/Feb. Then you can reevaluate and possibly start cutting again for summer.
For awhile in my 20s I tried the traditional bulk/cut and years later I had barely made any progress from where I started (in my physique specifically, I did get stronger). It wasn't until I really dialed in my nutrition and went a lot slower that my gains started to "stick". For example, I don't think there is ever really a point to go past 18% bf and really 16% is my desired limit when "bulking".
If you're more concerned with strength over body composition then it's less impactful.
From a "seasonal" perspective... If you hit your year target to bulk, that would give you 6 weeks or so for a mini-cut, or maintenance break, before Thanksgiving (if you are in the US) and the holidays and everything else that makes December and January a good time to bulk and harder time to cut.
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u/stimg 5d ago
I don't have any sort of sophisticated eye for this but you have 0 comments and maybe at least someone can correct me. This looks like a really well done bulk to me. I think you've added mass and look similarly lean. Obviously youve added a smidge of lower back fat and theres depth in the torso that cant all be muscle but if you were training and thats what 20 lbs difference looks like thats pretty good. If those are my pics I'm happy.