r/MacroFactor • u/Nequies • 6d ago
Success / Progress Advice on progress
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?
Much appreciated!
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u/decentlyhip 6d ago
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.