Question: So if you have 356 carbs in my case, how should I disperse the carbs throughout the day? I thought you rally should only have carbs before and aftere your workout?...
@Dcboyfan4 You want to have the majority of your carbs around your workout, but you can still have them at other times during the day. Personally I like to make sure I'm getting most of my carbs in during the day prior to working out (if I train in the evening), then go really light with my intake at night.
Maybe you can try something similar? Maybe aim to have 250g - 300g of your carbs during the day, then you have about 50g - 100g you can take post workout. That's if you workout in the afternoon/evening?
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I'm about to hit the gym and try what you said! Push C here I come!
Another question: when I'm squatting I'm feeling pain in my left knee. It goes up the whole leg. The higher I go with weight the stronger the pain. Just did a deload without leg days. Any suggestion to fix that? My right leg is fine tho as well as my form while doing squats. Had like a bad rep some weeks ago. That's the point where it started (I guess so)
Have a nice day bro! 💪ðŸ½
@Ypso Damn, not good man. It's pain in the knee joint? If it's all coming after that bad rep, then you might have strained something, like a tendon. If it's only during squats, then it's only when excess weight is being added. Might just mean you have to ease up on the heavy squats for a while, and don't do anything that's going to cause more pain. Rest and recover. Do bodyweight leg extensions, bodyweight step-ups (if you can do both without pain), and try ice or heat to see if that helps. You might need a knee brace or something for a bit.
Also, consider going to see a physical therapist if it's been going on for a number of weeks or a month. Best to get it looked at by a professional man!
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@Ypso Damn, not good man. It's pain in the knee joint? If it's all coming after that bad rep, then you might have strained something, like a tendon. If it's only during squats, then it's only when excess weight is being added. Might just mean you have to ease up on the heavy squats for a while, and don't do anything that's going to cause more pain. Rest and recover. Do bodyweight leg extensions, bodyweight step-ups (if you can do both without pain), and try ice or heat to see if that helps. You might need a knee brace or something for a bit.
Also, consider going to see a physical therapist if it's been going on for a number of weeks or a month. Best to get it looked at by a professional man!
Alright Scott, it's been a month since our last contact. I've given my knee some rest. Stopped squating, leg press,...
I continued with leg curls and exercises like stiff and romanian deadlift. Do you think I can start squatting again? How much weight shoul I try? Guess not going for high weights first? So maybe 40 insteads of 80 kg first and see how things go?
Another question: I've been doing a bulk for like 2 1/2 months now and I wanna go for a cut again coz I gained some fat I guess. First of all I went from 78 kilo to roughly 83 kilos during these months. I am really happy bout that but my sixpack has begun to fade unfortunately (that's normal I know) How Much would you cut and for how long? I mean winter is coming in some months which means Christmas will be right next door hohohoho.. I can't evade Christmas dinners and christmas snacks (a lot out here). So I could doing a bulk again with the beginnging of Winter?
Last question: I've been doing PPL for a year now. First of all thanks for this amazinig programm. It's been so nice to me and granted me with amazing gains. I skyrocketed and got so much feedback from everyone. They call me a machine now, stuff like this. I am so thankful. You helped me climbing up the ladder of natural bodybuilding and there's still more rungs to go. I am definitely ready to go for 'em. Shall I continue with PPL since I've been still gaining muscle mass from it? Shall I add sth.. to it?
Looking forward to your reply! Have a nice Sunday buddy! :)
Alright Scott, it's been a month since our last contact. I've given my knee some rest. Stopped squating, leg press,...
I continued with leg curls and exercises like stiff and romanian deadlift. Do you think I can start squatting again? How much weight shoul I try? Guess not going for high weights first? So maybe 40 insteads of 80 kg first and see how things go?
Another question: I've been doing a bulk for like 2 1/2 months now and I wanna go for a cut again coz I gained some fat I guess. First of all I went from 78 kilo to roughly 83 kilos during these months. I am really happy bout that but my sixpack has begun to fade unfortunately (that's normal I know) How Much would you cut and for how long? I mean winter is coming in some months which means Christmas will be right next door hohohoho.. I can't evade Christmas dinners and christmas snacks (a lot out here). So I could doing a bulk again with the beginnging of Winter?
Last question: I've been doing PPL for a year now. First of all thanks for this amazinig programm. It's been so nice to me and granted me with amazing gains. I skyrocketed and got so much feedback from everyone. They call me a machine now, stuff like this. I am so thankful. You helped me climbing up the ladder of natural bodybuilding and there's still more rungs to go. I am definitely ready to go for 'em. Shall I continue with PPL since I've been still gaining muscle mass from it? Shall I add sth.. to it?
Looking forward to your reply! Have a nice Sunday buddy! :)
@Ypso Can you start squatting again? I don't know man - how does your knee feel? Try bodyweight squats first, then yes ease into light weight squats and just pay attention to how your knee feels.
I don't really see the point in only bulking for 2 1/2 months man. Your body needs a lot longer than that if you want to put on quality muscle. That's why you should be aiming for a lean bulk - to avoid gaining too much excess fat so that you don't have to cut as often. But, at the end of the day, it's up to you if you want to cut. How long for is up to you as well - depends how lean you want to get. But if you are talking about bulking again at the beginning of winter.. that means you're planning a 3 month cut? Compared to your 2 1/2 month bulk? You shouldn't need that much time honestly.
Glad you're liking PPL, making so many natty gains!! If you're still making gains and still progressing with PPL (and still enjoying it), there's no need to change it man. Keep it going!
Hope you had a great weekend!
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@Ypso Can you start squatting again? I don't know man - how does your knee feel? Try bodyweight squats first, then yes ease into light weight squats and just pay attention to how your knee feels.
I don't really see the point in only bulking for 2 1/2 months man. Your body needs a lot longer than that if you want to put on quality muscle. That's why you should be aiming for a lean bulk - to avoid gaining too much excess fat so that you don't have to cut as often. But, at the end of the day, it's up to you if you want to cut. How long for is up to you as well - depends how lean you want to get. But if you are talking about bulking again at the beginning of winter.. that means you're planning a 3 month cut? Compared to your 2 1/2 month bulk? You shouldn't need that much time honestly.
Glad you're liking PPL, making so many natty gains!! If you're still making gains and still progressing with PPL (and still enjoying it), there's no need to change it man. Keep it going!
Hope you had a great weekend!
I'll try bodyweighted squats tomorrow and see how things will go. Missing Squats soooooooo bad! :(
I'm always trying to do a lean bulk but sometimes I cheat especially on weekends, that's why I gained a little bit more fat I guess. I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable because of the fat I've been building up so far, that's why I wanted to cut some fat. If I go for a longer bulk like you suggested should I aim for starting my cut at the beginning of 2019?
So I'll stick to PPL, it's amazing!
Btw. I heard of new studies that suggest longer set pauses (2-3 min) if you're an advanced lifter. In PPL you got some 30 sec pauses and 5 sets. Shall I still stick to these 30 secs?
Btw. Have you produced a video about training your rotator cuffs? How important is it? I just started training them :/
I'll try bodyweighted squats tomorrow and see how things will go. Missing Squats soooooooo bad! :(
I'm always trying to do a lean bulk but sometimes I cheat especially on weekends, that's why I gained a little bit more fat I guess. I'm starting to feel a bit uncomfortable because of the fat I've been building up so far, that's why I wanted to cut some fat. If I go for a longer bulk like you suggested should I aim for starting my cut at the beginning of 2019?
So I'll stick to PPL, it's amazing!
Btw. I heard of new studies that suggest longer set pauses (2-3 min) if you're an advanced lifter. In PPL you got some 30 sec pauses and 5 sets. Shall I still stick to these 30 secs?
Btw. Have you produced a video about training your rotator cuffs? How important is it? I just started training them :/
Have a nice day!
@Ypso Yeah it must suck not being able to do squats man. Figners crossed for no problems with bodyweight ones so you can work your way back up!
Nothing wrong with relaxing with your diet a bit on the weekends, but if you're going to, try your best to still keep your indulgences within your calorie and macro goals so that you can still stay on track as much as possible. Or do some extra cardio to burn off some of what you had at the weekends.
If you're feeling uncomfortable already, sure you can cut now, but it shouldn't take you until Christmas to get lean again.. depending on how much you have to lose, but probably only 3-4kg right? You will hopefully have made some muscle gains along with the fat.
I have heard of people recommending longer rest periods. I haven't read any of the studies, but the thing with shorter rest periods is you can more easily break down the muscle tissue because it's under more fatigue. Could you lift more weight with a longer rest? Yes, but that doesn't always mean more muscle breakdown (particularly if you have to sacrfice form too much). If you have been seeing good results with PPL and the short rest periods, I say stick with it man!
I wouldn't say you need to 'train' your rotator cuffs. But you do need to do mobility. Check out these videos!
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@Ypso Yeah it must suck not being able to do squats man. Figners crossed for no problems with bodyweight ones so you can work your way back up!
Nothing wrong with relaxing with your diet a bit on the weekends, but if you're going to, try your best to still keep your indulgences within your calorie and macro goals so that you can still stay on track as much as possible. Or do some extra cardio to burn off some of what you had at the weekends.
If you're feeling uncomfortable already, sure you can cut now, but it shouldn't take you until Christmas to get lean again.. depending on how much you have to lose, but probably only 3-4kg right? You will hopefully have made some muscle gains along with the fat.
I have heard of people recommending longer rest periods. I haven't read any of the studies, but the thing with shorter rest periods is you can more easily break down the muscle tissue because it's under more fatigue. Could you lift more weight with a longer rest? Yes, but that doesn't always mean more muscle breakdown (particularly if you have to sacrfice form too much). If you have been seeing good results with PPL and the short rest periods, I say stick with it man!
I wouldn't say you need to 'train' your rotator cuffs. But you do need to do mobility. Check out these videos!
Did some bodyweight squats yesterday and it didn't hurt. Guess I'll do them with only the bar behind my head next training and see what my knee says. And yes, it sucks to not being able to squat.
Alright, that makes me reassured to know that I can "cheat" on weekends if I am keeping track of macros and calories. :)
I definitely made some muscles gains! My strength has increased consistently during my bulk and I can see more muscle growth (a long with some fat). Guess I'll try to reach 85 kilo and cut down a little bit (maybe for like 4 weeks) just to feel a bit better. You're definitely right, that I don't need to cut until Christmas. I framed the part about cutting wrong. I am sorry!
Alright Imma stick to 30 secs! Technique over wieght!
Gotcha. Imma do these shoulder exercises today!
Btw. I hit a plateau at my Biceps. For instance: I'm stucking at 15 Kilo Colossus curls for like 3 months now :( I've already tried your new Biceps routine from one of your latest videos. Did that workout 2 times already and it's killer. Shall I replace it for every biceps workout in my week or just for one? Is it normal that I'm barely able to lift like 5 kilo at the Inclined DB Spider Curl? These 20 reps murder me every time. And for how long shall I continue with this routine?
Did some bodyweight squats yesterday and it didn't hurt. Guess I'll do them with only the bar behind my head next training and see what my knee says. And yes, it sucks to not being able to squat.
Alright, that makes me reassured to know that I can "cheat" on weekends if I am keeping track of macros and calories. :)
I definitely made some muscles gains! My strength has increased consistently during my bulk and I can see more muscle growth (a long with some fat). Guess I'll try to reach 85 kilo and cut down a little bit (maybe for like 4 weeks) just to feel a bit better. You're definitely right, that I don't need to cut until Christmas. I framed the part about cutting wrong. I am sorry!
Alright Imma stick to 30 secs! Technique over wieght!
Gotcha. Imma do these shoulder exercises today!
Btw. I hit a plateau at my Biceps. For instance: I'm stucking at 15 Kilo Colossus curls for like 3 months now :( I've already tried your new Biceps routine from one of your latest videos. Did that workout 2 times already and it's killer. Shall I replace it for every biceps workout in my week or just for one? Is it normal that I'm barely able to lift like 5 kilo at the Inclined DB Spider Curl? These 20 reps murder me every time. And for how long shall I continue with this routine?
Thanks as always Scott!
Have a nice day!
@Ypso Yeah man, maybe start with the bar for 2-3 warm-up sets, and slowly add a little bit of weight during your next leg session. You don't need to get anywhere near your previous maxes, but start adding some weight each set if you can without pain to build back up.
It's OK about your previous cutting plan! It is possible to cut that long, and it can be good to lose weight at a slow pace to minimize muscle loss, but I definitely don't suggest cutting for longer than your bulk.. definitely not twice as long haha. As long as you cut at that 250-500 calorie deficit and lose weight each week, just continue with it until you feel nice and lean again. You could easily drop 3-5lbs in a few weeks or a month, so probably a 4-6 week cut would be more than enough for what you need. But it's all about how you feel and where you want to be.
Spider curls are meant to be hard, and it's normal that you lift a lot less than what you can regularly curl. Maybe you should try a little bit of Cheat & Recover for your biceps to bust through that plateau!
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@Ypso Yeah man, maybe start with the bar for 2-3 warm-up sets, and slowly add a little bit of weight during your next leg session. You don't need to get anywhere near your previous maxes, but start adding some weight each set if you can without pain to build back up.
It's OK about your previous cutting plan! It is possible to cut that long, and it can be good to lose weight at a slow pace to minimize muscle loss, but I definitely don't suggest cutting for longer than your bulk.. definitely not twice as long haha. As long as you cut at that 250-500 calorie deficit and lose weight each week, just continue with it until you feel nice and lean again. You could easily drop 3-5lbs in a few weeks or a month, so probably a 4-6 week cut would be more than enough for what you need. But it's all about how you feel and where you want to be.
Spider curls are meant to be hard, and it's normal that you lift a lot less than what you can regularly curl. Maybe you should try a little bit of Cheat & Recover for your biceps to bust through that plateau!
Alright Scott, I am back again!
My knee is feeling good again. I did not put too much stress on it and this was totally perfect.
Since I'd like to do my little fall cut I've just finished creating a meal plan. May I ask you if you could take a look over it and give me some tips? I've recently read through our last conversations about cutting back in summer. I hope this helped.
At first my attributes:
male
5'9"
187 lbs
17,5 % fat
gym 5-6 times a week (PushPullLegs)
BMR in Motion is about 3440 (minus 340 for cutting) = 3100 calories I should aim for.
goal: cut some fat till mid december just to feel better and start a new clean bulk with ur cheat and recover programm for the upcoming winter.
My knee is feeling good again. I did not put too much stress on it and this was totally perfect.
Since I'd like to do my little fall cut I've just finished creating a meal plan. May I ask you if you could take a look over it and give me some tips? I've recently read through our last conversations about cutting back in summer. I hope this helped.
At first my attributes:
male
5'9"
187 lbs
17,5 % fat
gym 5-6 times a week (PushPullLegs)
BMR in Motion is about 3440 (minus 340 for cutting) = 3100 calories I should aim for.
goal: cut some fat till mid december just to feel better and start a new clean bulk with ur cheat and recover programm for the upcoming winter.
@Ypso Glad your knee is healthy and pain free again man!
Those macros don't look too bad. It's good to see the carbs are low for a cut, and the protein is high, though you possibly don't need that much protein. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but if you wanted to, you could maybe take the fats up more instead of the protein.
Honestly 300g would be heaps of protein, so if you cut back 30g of protein and replace it with around 15g of fat, that might be a better use of your macros. Especially if you're going low carb, your body will use fat more for energy than protein.
Aside from that, I don't see any problems (and even the higher protein isn't a 'problem', just a suggestion)! Your food choices look good 💪
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@Ypso Glad your knee is healthy and pain free again man!
Those macros don't look too bad. It's good to see the carbs are low for a cut, and the protein is high, though you possibly don't need that much protein. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, but if you wanted to, you could maybe take the fats up more instead of the protein.
Honestly 300g would be heaps of protein, so if you cut back 30g of protein and replace it with around 15g of fat, that might be a better use of your macros. Especially if you're going low carb, your body will use fat more for energy than protein.
Aside from that, I don't see any problems (and even the higher protein isn't a 'problem', just a suggestion)! Your food choices look good 💪
I ve been doing my cut for a good 2 weeks now. lost like 1.5kg. I am unsure if this is only water. I can now see my abs again in the right light. Should I reduce my calories from roughly 3000 to like 2800ish? Which macros should I reduce then? Proteins or carbs?
another issue: would u suggest using creatin during a cut? did it during my last one and during my current one. Dunno if it is helpful.
my last issue: would you do the deload week during a cut? If yes should I reduce my calories in this week?
I ve been doing my cut for a good 2 weeks now. lost like 1.5kg. I am unsure if this is only water. I can now see my abs again in the right light. Should I reduce my calories from roughly 3000 to like 2800ish? Which macros should I reduce then? Proteins or carbs?
another issue: would u suggest using creatin during a cut? did it during my last one and during my current one. Dunno if it is helpful.
my last issue: would you do the deload week during a cut? If yes should I reduce my calories in this week?
I wish you a nice day buddy! 💪
@Ypso Losing 1.5kg over 2 weeks is great progress man. That's a little over 3lbs, so your average right now is more than 1lb lost per week. I'd stick with what you're doing, that's a great rate of fat loss. I wouldn't say that's too slow or too fast.
Creatine won't necessarily help you during a cut, but you can still take it. It won't help with weight loss, but it could help you in terms of maintaining strength.
Just deload when you're due for a deload or when you think you need it. If it happens to fall while you're cutting OR bulking, always keep your calories the same whatever you're doing.
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@Ypso Losing 1.5kg over 2 weeks is great progress man. That's a little over 3lbs, so your average right now is more than 1lb lost per week. I'd stick with what you're doing, that's a great rate of fat loss. I wouldn't say that's too slow or too fast.
Creatine won't necessarily help you during a cut, but you can still take it. It won't help with weight loss, but it could help you in terms of maintaining strength.
Just deload when you're due for a deload or when you think you need it. If it happens to fall while you're cutting OR bulking, always keep your calories the same whatever you're doing.
Thanks for the positive reply Scott! This really motivates me!
I'll keep up things and let you know how my cut is progressing!
@Ypso You're very welcome man! You're doing great so far, I know you'll be looking extra shredded at the end of your cut!
Have a great week! ðŸ‹
Hey Scott,
got another question regarding my cut. I have the feeling that I haven't made any progress in the last 2 weeks. However I lost some more weight. I am now at around 80 kg. I started like 5 weeks ago with 84/85 kg. I am so afraid, that I lost some serious muscle mass at the end.... However my strength is almost the same in the gym as it used to be before. I did cut my calories to like 2600/2700ish. Any tips for my last 2 weeks of cutting? And do you have any future tips about cutting because after this winter (when I will have done ur cheat and recover) I will start cutting again in mid march. I' d love to look like a natural berserk coming summer. 💪
Simultaneously I got some knee problems again. It started when I squatted. Suddenly my knee hurt. I stopped and the following days I felt a light knee pain during walking etc. I am unsure if I should continue with exercises that need some knee involvement.. (did a 1 week leg training pause already). I also hurt my lower back because I was a lil bit too cocky during deadlifts. One rep was kinda shitty which led to lower back pain. It's almost over but would u recommend doing deadlifts again in the weight range of 100kg+ (properly ofc)! (My cocky rep was with 125kg)
another topic: I would love to see some more nutrition videos on ur channel 😠topics like ketosis, fasting, how to cut properly,...
I bet these videos would be super informative as always and they would also help a lot of ppl I guess.
(btw. yesterday I saw a video about 3 factors which u should consider when u are cutting: carb cycling, ketosis and fasting. What's ur opinion on these?)
got another question regarding my cut. I have the feeling that I haven't made any progress in the last 2 weeks. However I lost some more weight. I am now at around 80 kg. I started like 5 weeks ago with 84/85 kg. I am so afraid, that I lost some serious muscle mass at the end.... However my strength is almost the same in the gym as it used to be before. I did cut my calories to like 2600/2700ish. Any tips for my last 2 weeks of cutting? And do you have any future tips about cutting because after this winter (when I will have done ur cheat and recover) I will start cutting again in mid march. I' d love to look like a natural berserk coming summer. 💪
Simultaneously I got some knee problems again. It started when I squatted. Suddenly my knee hurt. I stopped and the following days I felt a light knee pain during walking etc. I am unsure if I should continue with exercises that need some knee involvement.. (did a 1 week leg training pause already). I also hurt my lower back because I was a lil bit too cocky during deadlifts. One rep was kinda shitty which led to lower back pain. It's almost over but would u recommend doing deadlifts again in the weight range of 100kg+ (properly ofc)! (My cocky rep was with 125kg)
another topic: I would love to see some more nutrition videos on ur channel 😠topics like ketosis, fasting, how to cut properly,...
I bet these videos would be super informative as always and they would also help a lot of ppl I guess.
(btw. yesterday I saw a video about 3 factors which u should consider when u are cutting: carb cycling, ketosis and fasting. What's ur opinion on these?)
@Ypso You will feel a bit smaller when cutting because, well, you are, happens to all of us haha. And unfortunately you do have to sacrifice some muscle. The other thing is because you are probably carb depleted, you won't look as full as possible either. If you're keeping your protein high and still training hard, you'll be maintaining as much muscle as possible.
If your knee is still giving you issues, avoid doing too much with it until it feels solid / secure again. Maybe bodyweight step-ups and bodyweight leg extensions to test it out. Double check your squat form - you could be letting your knees cave in which could be causing pain? Or squatting on your toes which can also cause issues.
Make sure you lift safe man! Don't want to hear that you get a really bad injury. Lift heavy, but lift smart. Use a belt if you need to, and ALWAYS do really thorough warm-ups before squats and deadlifts (and any workout for that matter).
I'd love to make more nutrition videos! Maybe I will when I am actually in my new house and have a good kitchen to use lol. I like carb cycling for cutting and bulking! High carbs on intense training days (e.g. legs), moderate carbs other days, and low carbs on your days off.
When cutting, pretty much always go low carb (everyday), and maybe even lower on your off days if you're struggling to lose weight. That would be my suggestion.
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