Growths Journal

[jono]

I went into it feeling hungry and thirsty.

never ever ever train when you are like this. ever. ever. there is no point. you must be hydrated and well feed

lol, yeah i know mate, couldnt be helped this time.

when i miss a meal like that which is not often i push the workout to the next day

[Growth]

when i miss a meal like that which is not often i push the workout to the next day

Yeah good idea...

[Growth]

Todays Workout

Incline Bench Press

60 x 10

60 x 10

100 x 8

105 x 6

110 x 4

110 x 4

Flat DB Press

47 x 8

52 x 4

53 x 4

Skull Crushers

50 x 8

55 x 6

CG Bench

100 x 4

105 x 4

Tricep Pushdowns (Bar - Single Pulley)

57 x 8

62 x 4

62 x 4 DS

Well theres todays workout, nothing special really. Again i didnt have proper preperation, ill be making a point of it from now on however. Nothing really felt heavy, it was more of a stamina thing from the bad prep. I wasnt hungry or thirsty going into the gym this time but still prep work was bad, damn time constraints. I didnt really give any of my bigger lifts a go today, like the 57's etc, kept the reps at 4 minimum and just repeated the last set.

Today is also the first day of my planned cut. I wont really get into the details at the moment, basically its very high protein, some efas, and the rest of the alotted calories will be structured around pre and post workouts.

Im really on the lookout for some cheap yet accurate calipers from somewhere in NZ. If anyone knows of a place please let me know. Other than that ill just be watching the scales and adjusting calories accordingly.

I weighed in on the gym scales at 94kg. Ill get a reading from my bathrooms scales too because they always take the gym ones away for maintainence for weeks on end.

[jono]

workout still looking good. be interesting as to what happens to your strength as you cut man

[Growth]

be interesting as to what happens to your strength as you cut man

Yeah. I usually dont lose too much strength, it seems i just lose muscle mass, and fat of course. I might also take some measurements, like arms, thighs etc to see the size loss. Really need to get some calipers to make sence of the whole thing though...

[Ash]

Still looking strong!

[jono]

be interesting as to what happens to your strength as you cut man

Yeah. I usually dont lose too much strength, it seems i just lose muscle mass, and fat of course. I might also take some measurements, like arms, thighs etc to see the size loss. Really need to get some calipers to make sence of the whole thing though...

i dont think you need calipers eh. you can judge bodyfar throughseeing how much quad seperation, how well the abs show, seperation between delt/tri etc

[deegee]

Good to hear you have started I look forward to hearing how the cut goes.

I would recommend callipers though it is a good way of tracking bf% all over I can loose on my legs but still hold fat around the waist.

It is good to know where it is coming off.

[Growth]

i dont think you need calipers eh. you can judge bodyfar throughseeing how much quad seperation, how well the abs show, seperation between delt/tri etc

Yeah i agree that you can roughly judge BF buy things such as that, id like to be a bit more precise though if possible, and once you buy them youve got them forever.

[Growth]

I would recommend callipers though it is a good way of tracking bf% all over I can loose on my legs but still hold fat around the waist.

It is good to know where it is coming off.

Yeah. Another reason why id like to use calipers is to see how much of the weight comming off is fat and how well im keeping the muscle.

[sponge]

how do you find close grip bench press? i try and keep my elbows in against my sides but i feel thats it's not as effective as it could be. any pointers?

[Growth]

Thats the way i do them. If you flare them out then you can use more of your chest to help push it up, but then of course thats not a CG bench.

Id say stick with what your doing now. Hows your grip width?

[sponge]

about two thumb lengths apart. i think my elbows are at like my stomach, as i raise and lower the bar.

[Marcus]

The way you are structuring your diet is similar to mine Growth. I noticed a small strength drop for the first few weeks with reduced carbs, but I've found that my body has adapted & I have regained a bit of strength. I also don't feel as drained as what I did when I adjusted my diet. For me the key is keeping my protein very high.

[Growth]

about two thumb lengths apart. i think my elbows are at like my stomach, as i raise and lower the bar.

I find the grip width really effects where you feel it working. At the moment ive got it at about 1 thumb length apart, if its too close i find it puts extra stress on my shoulders, too far apart and i dont feel it enough in the tris...

[Growth]

The way you are structuring your diet is similar to mine Growth. I noticed a small strength drop for the first few weeks with reduced carbs, but I've found that my body has adapted & I have regained a bit of strength. I also don't feel as drained as what I did when I adjusted my diet. For me the key is keeping my protein very high.

Yeah i find when i first adjust my diet i lack in the stamina department a bit, but then it comes back as the body get used to it. I think keeping protein as high as possible is really important when cutting, i hate seeing any hard earned muscle dissapear

[deegee]

"i hate seeing any hard earned muscle dissapear "

I agree with that! if the diet is right you should not really be loosing any, I have been told by some people they have even gained muscle while cutting

[Growth]

I have been told by some people they have even gained muscle while cutting

Yeah thats why i try to do, i generally still try to up weights etc and increase strength, the only real change is diet, sometimes i mix up the routine a bit, but i never try things like 12+ reps for every set or try to just maintain muscle.

[jono]

"i hate seeing any hard earned muscle dissapear "

I agree with that! if the diet is right you should not really be loosing any, I have been told by some people they have even gained muscle while cutting

gaining muscle while cutting is not possible. to lose fat you must be in calorie deficit. to gain muscle you must be in surplus. even on the best of cuts you will still loose some muscle.

ppl who say they gain while cutting are living in a fantasy land with magic elfs and where money grows on trees.

[Growth]

ppl who say they gain while cutting are living in a fantasy land with magic elfs and where money grows on trees.

Damn it! That guy who sold me those money tree seeds ripped me off!!! :grin:

[Pseudonym]

Then call me a magic elf. :grin:

I've done it. I know this not from BF tests (although they indicated the same thing), but because I was visibly getting leaner while my bodyweight stayed the same.

There are a few provisos, though...

- You need to maintain your carbs as high as you can, so

- You can't use a diet that's too drastic, and

- You need to be realistic. Once you get really lean, and are on very low carbs, it gets harder to maintain the muscle.

- Similarly, if you've got a lot of fat to start with, you've got a lot to lose, so you obviously can't expect to maintain the same weight.

But if all those conditions are met, then certainly it's possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. I think around 12% to 8% is the optimum range for this to happen.

[jono]

Then call me a magic elf. :grin:

I've done it. I know this not from BF tests (although they indicated the same thing), but because I was visibly getting leaner while my bodyweight stayed the same.

There are a few provisos, though...

- You need to maintain your carbs as high as you can, so

- You can't use a diet that's too drastic, and

- You need to be realistic. Once you get really lean, and are on very low carbs, it gets harder to maintain the muscle.

- Similarly, if you've got a lot of fat to start with, you've got a lot to lose, so you obviously can't expect to maintain the same weight.

But if all those conditions are met, then certainly it's possible to gain muscle and lose fat at the same time. I think around 12% to 8% is the optimum range for this to happen.

im highly skeptical of this

[Ash]

im highly skeptical of this

It can be done, I've managed it in the past. When I first started DC training, I got noticeably leaner but put on a lot of muscle.

[Varven]

Jono, it is possible.

Often it is not planned, sometimes it is.

For instance DC guys, loose bf and gain muscle at the same time.

Another phenomenon ive noticed amongst people who cut, quite often about halfway into the cut pahse when they tweak their diet or something, I have no idea what happens but they make gains of about 1 - 2kg of lean muscle mass.

Ive seen this happen amongst 2 friends of mine.

[Marcus]

I agree it can be done.

With DC, basically the idea is for the cardio to take off the fat, not so much diet adjustments. Extreme eating based around high protein & using fats & carbs to fill the gaps. I must say since following DC training my diet has improved dramatically & I believe for a while there I was increasing muscle & decreasing fat.