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Should I cut?

It's always a difficult decision

CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted

Hey Scott, I've been on a controlled bulk for the past couple months and my weight has went up from 80 to 84kg or 185lbs, which seems like a decent enough progress. Thing is, I'm starting to get bothered by those intrusive thoughts saying that my body fat levels are already getting too high and I should do something about it whenever out of clothes whilst still not being happy with my current overall size either so naturally, this has put me in a rather conflicting position of opposing ideals.


What I truly fear here is that by dropping my caloric intake slightly in order to shed off some fat, I'll be making it utterly impossible to gain any more muscle due to how difficult it is for me to build it without an abundant caloric supply. Even on such a high calorie diet, at least for my personal standards, I already struggle with low energy levels on frequent occasion and I own this acute mental disturbance that if I don't eat something whenever a feeling of hunger is manifested, I'll be entering a full fledged catabolic state shortly afterwards. Crazy I know but it's just one of several reasoning deficiencies which obsessing with your body can cause if you let things slip out of hand.


Anyway, taking into account the pictures below, should I go on a moderate cutting phase for the next 6-8 weeks or so? Like I've said, I'm not happy with my size, mainly on the chest department but I'm even less satisfied for the fact that some of my previously noticeable muscle definition has been nearly lost. And seriously, what the heck is wrong with my chest from the side profile? Is it supposed to be that flat after years of intensive training or do I just have terrible pec genetics?




Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

Hey Scott, I've been on a controlled bulk for the past couple months and my weight has went up from 80 to 84kg or 185lbs, which seems like a decent enough progress. Thing is, I'm starting to get bothered by those intrusive thoughts saying that my body fat levels are already getting too high and I should do something about it whenever out of clothes whilst still not being happy with my current overall size either so naturally, this has put me in a rather conflicting position of opposing ideals.


What I truly fear here is that by dropping my caloric intake slightly in order to shed off some fat, I'll be making it utterly impossible to gain any more muscle due to how difficult it is for me to build it without an abundant caloric supply. Even on such a high calorie diet, at least for my personal standards, I already struggle with low energy levels on frequent occasion and I own this acute mental disturbance that if I don't eat something whenever a feeling of hunger is manifested, I'll be entering a full fledged catabolic state shortly afterwards. Crazy I know but it's just one of several reasoning deficiencies which obsessing with your body can cause if you let things slip out of hand.


Anyway, taking into account the pictures below, should I go on a moderate cutting phase for the next 6-8 weeks or so? Like I've said, I'm not happy with my size, mainly on the chest department but I'm even less satisfied for the fact that some of my previously noticeable muscle definition has been nearly lost. And seriously, what the heck is wrong with my chest from the side profile? Is it supposed to be that flat after years of intensive training or do I just have terrible pec genetics?




@CEVRAM96 Hey man! Personally from looking at your photos, I think you could easily keep bulking. You might not be shredded, but you’re lean. If you were around 20% body fat then a cut might be a good idea. But you look more around 15%.


And if you’re Not happy with your current size, dropping your calories and cutting isn’t going to help that. Being a natural athlete, especially after years of training, you have to choose between cutting and bulking, you can’t do both at the same time.


From what you’ve said, my recommendation is that you keep bulking. Just keep it to a lean bulk!


Also, your chest looks good man! It is sticking out a bit but adding more size to it will help with that as well!

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CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 Hey man! Personally from looking at your photos, I think you could easily keep bulking. You might not be shredded, but you’re lean. If you were around 20% body fat then a cut might be a good idea. But you look more around 15%.


And if you’re Not happy with your current size, dropping your calories and cutting isn’t going to help that. Being a natural athlete, especially after years of training, you have to choose between cutting and bulking, you can’t do both at the same time.


From what you’ve said, my recommendation is that you keep bulking. Just keep it to a lean bulk!


Also, your chest looks good man! It is sticking out a bit but adding more size to it will help with that as well!

I was actually thinking about being somewhere around 15% body fat as well which is already feeling like too high of a value for me. A 4kg weight increase in just two months for an experienced natural lifter who has no newbie gains left in the tank might be an indicator that I've taken my bulk to excessive heights and as such, gained more fat than necessary for no added benefit in regards to actual lean mass development.


It's probably best to drop down my caloric intake slightly in order to prevent more needless fat tissue accumulation, make it a slow and steady bulk instead of this mindless weight gaining endeavour where I'm eating beyond what's comfortable and biologically useful for me. You can only gain so much muscle in a given timeframe.


Despite holding no intentions of doing it myself, I can now see why so many young impressionable guys looking to build a great physique as quickly as possible are so easily enticed by the prospect of undertaking anabolic cycling because it truly is a real challenge and one very lengthy process to get where you want to be naturally. Sometimes motivation will cease to manifest itself and you really have to forcefully grind through a certain existential dread as to keep making progress towards your end goal.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

I was actually thinking about being somewhere around 15% body fat as well which is already feeling like too high of a value for me. A 4kg weight increase in just two months for an experienced natural lifter who has no newbie gains left in the tank might be an indicator that I've taken my bulk to excessive heights and as such, gained more fat than necessary for no added benefit in regards to actual lean mass development.


It's probably best to drop down my caloric intake slightly in order to prevent more needless fat tissue accumulation, make it a slow and steady bulk instead of this mindless weight gaining endeavour where I'm eating beyond what's comfortable and biologically useful for me. You can only gain so much muscle in a given timeframe.


Despite holding no intentions of doing it myself, I can now see why so many young impressionable guys looking to build a great physique as quickly as possible are so easily enticed by the prospect of undertaking anabolic cycling because it truly is a real challenge and one very lengthy process to get where you want to be naturally. Sometimes motivation will cease to manifest itself and you really have to forcefully grind through a certain existential dread as to keep making progress towards your end goal.

@CEVRAM96 Well man it sounds like you've answered your own question haha. If you feel like 15% body fat is too high then by all means go for a cut! You're right that if your newbie gains are gone the muscle will come on slower, but I'm sure not all of that 4kg gain was fat.


But at the end of the day you have to do what makes you happy man, so if you feel your best at a lower body fat % then I guess it's time to cut!

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

@CEVRAM96 Well man it sounds like you've answered your own question haha. If you feel like 15% body fat is too high then by all means go for a cut! You're right that if your newbie gains are gone the muscle will come on slower, but I'm sure not all of that 4kg gain was fat.


But at the end of the day you have to do what makes you happy man, so if you feel your best at a lower body fat % then I guess it's time to cut!

Seems like I did yes! To be fair, I had already began dropping my caloric intake slightly by the time I opened this thread but nonetheless wanted to ask the opinion of someone with a better overall experience and insight on the matter than me so that I could have a good second opinion from which to base my future considerations.


The reality is that I'm one of those people who usually has a really hard time knowing exactly what goal they want to pursue and stick to it for long enough to achieve meaningful results and since getting substantially bigger and leaner at the same time is pretty much inconceivable for an experienced natural lifter, there's sort of this constant struggle to figure out which path I should take as to ultimately become more self satisfied and stop obsessing over minor details.

Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

Seems like I did yes! To be fair, I had already began dropping my caloric intake slightly by the time I opened this thread but nonetheless wanted to ask the opinion of someone with a better overall experience and insight on the matter than me so that I could have a good second opinion from which to base my future considerations.


The reality is that I'm one of those people who usually has a really hard time knowing exactly what goal they want to pursue and stick to it for long enough to achieve meaningful results and since getting substantially bigger and leaner at the same time is pretty much inconceivable for an experienced natural lifter, there's sort of this constant struggle to figure out which path I should take as to ultimately become more self satisfied and stop obsessing over minor details.

I hear you 100% man, and if I am being honest when I do my drop set 5 Day Split program that seems to be the only time I feel like I am getting stronger/bigger AND leaner at the same time.


To be more specific, because the program is full of so much volume the pumps are insane which helps with vascularity and maybe its in my head, but my abs always seem to look much better.  Probably because I am doing drop sets on the ABS exercises as well.


Have you ever checked it out?  I'll link to it here: https://muscularstrength.com/program/5-Day-Bodybuilding-Split

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted
Posted By: Scott_Herman

I hear you 100% man, and if I am being honest when I do my drop set 5 Day Split program that seems to be the only time I feel like I am getting stronger/bigger AND leaner at the same time.


To be more specific, because the program is full of so much volume the pumps are insane which helps with vascularity and maybe its in my head, but my abs always seem to look much better.  Probably because I am doing drop sets on the ABS exercises as well.


Have you ever checked it out?  I'll link to it here: https://muscularstrength.com/program/5-Day-Bodybuilding-Split

By the look of things, you're also going to try and cut to get as lean as possible, I wish you the best of luck for it man. Show all those doubters that one is never too old to accomplish their fitness goals if they hold the right mentality. Us full time natties aren't any less able than those on gear, it's just that our biological process of muscle development and fat loss isn't on a permanent fast foward motion as opposed to the majority of enhanced trainees. It's a real shame that the fitness industry has been brainwashing people to only judge someone's worth through the lens of what their current physique looks like and on this aspect, the folks taking PED's will always be in the bodybuilding forefront.


Not that I'm bothered from the fact that guys with better looking physiques than me will always receive more attention and validation, I do this for myself and myself only all things considered, what actually does bother me a little is seeing that people like yourself, Sean Nalewanyj, Simon Miller amongst others, who regularly give out great health and fitness related advice aren't quite receiving the credit you deserve simply due to not having top tier juiced to the gills physiques which most folks in the industry, particularly younger audiences, "naturally" gravitate towards.


I will check out that program as soon as I can, thanks for sharing it here Scott! I'm now 3 weeks down the line on my cutting phase and don't yet feel any losses of strength or energy so for the time being, everything appears to be going pretty smoothly.






CEVRAM96
CEVRAM96 g Carlos Ramalho
24 Post(s)
24 Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Gain Muscle Date Joined: August 8, 2020
Posted

Just a little update after a month of cutting or at least trying to. I personally don't see much of a difference but I guess you're not supposed to notice any substantial changes after only slightly reducing your caloric intake in the space of 4 weeks. I'm far too concerned about losing hard earned lean mass and lowering energy levels beyond a functional degree in order to impose strict restrictions on my diet thus rather take things down the slower yet safer path.


Scott_Herman
Scott_Herman a Scott Herman
7.1K Post(s)
7.1K Post(s) Gender: Male Goal: Bodybuilding Date Joined: August 8, 2008
Posted
Posted By: CEVRAM96

Just a little update after a month of cutting or at least trying to. I personally don't see much of a difference but I guess you're not supposed to notice any substantial changes after only slightly reducing your caloric intake in the space of 4 weeks. I'm far too concerned about losing hard earned lean mass and lowering energy levels beyond a functional degree in order to impose strict restrictions on my diet thus rather take things down the slower yet safer path.


@CEVRAM96 Yeah man you got to be doing this for yourself! That's the only person it matters for in the end right?! No point in worry about what others are doing, who are or aren't on gear. At the end of the day, the biggest competition you have is yourself! Cliché but true haha.


And I think you are looking leaner man! Your tricep seems to be popping more, your v-taper is coming in and your abs are showing through more as well. Like you say, it won't happen fast, but that's a good thing! Leaning out slowly will mean you're keeping as much muscle mass as possible.


Keep it up man and let me know what you think of the program when you try it! 

Need 1 on 1 coaching? Send me a direct message to learn more!
muscular strength
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