Lifting and Cutting journal

[menkio]

Welcome!!

Really excited, i hit my first goal. I started jan 10th, at 228lbs, and now may 25th I've hit my 200lb first benchmark.

I have a lot of questions, but held off on posting anything until
i hit my first goal. So now i need to switch things up, and move in
anther direction.

Diet, not keeping track of anything, but focusing on low carb, high protein, healthy fats. Most meals are chicken and veg, with almost 1x a week drinking beers/pigging out

Lifting, 3-4x a week, bicep/back, tricep,chest, legs(my favorite!!) and shoulders. High volume, mostly to failure, 8-10 rep range.

Cardio before i lift, 100-200 cals in about 15-20mins

5'11
200lbs
loose 36" waist

Questions.
With the time frame of about 4 and a half months, and 28lbs how much BETTER can i do!!

I'm not using protein powder, but i am using some creatine monohydrate, would adding supplements really give me any noticeable gains?

I'm thinking of buying wrist straps, and going for the 5x5 program, would that be a good system while cutting, or should i keep it high volume but new exercises?

 

[oso0960]

Welcome!!

Really excited, i hit my first goal. I started jan 10th, at 228lbs, and now may 25th I've hit my 200lb first benchmark.

Congratulations!

I have a lot of questions, but held off on posting anything until
i hit my first goal. So now i need to switch things up, and move in
anther direction.

Why? What you were doing to hit your goal stopped working?

Diet, not keeping track of anything, but focusing on low carb, high protein, healthy fats. Most meals are chicken and veg, with almost 1x a week drinking beers/pigging out

Lifting, 3-4x a week, bicep/back, tricep,chest, legs(my favorite!!) and shoulders. High volume, mostly to failure, 8-10 rep range.

High volume AND lifting to failure? If it works for you then have at it, but that's very hard to do and you may run your CNS along with your body to the ground pretty quickly.

Cardio before i lift, 100-200 cals in about 15-20mins

5'11
200lbs
loose 36" waist

Questions.
With the time frame of about 4 and a half months, and 28lbs how much BETTER can i do!!

You tell me. Set a reasonable goal.

I'm not using protein powder, but i am using some creatine monohydrate, would adding supplements really give me any noticeable gains?

I personally don't think so but I'm sure members on this board would beg to differ. Also make sure you get enough protein in your diet if you're not using powders.

I'm thinking of buying wrist straps, and going for the 5x5 program, would that be a good system while cutting, or should i keep it high volume but new exercises?

I thought you were going to do high volume to failure? I think if you haven't already, take a look at Rippetoe's 3x5. Stay on that until you can't progress. Then maybe move to a 5x5. Why wrist straps? Don't want your grip to get stronger? I don't think you should be worried about cutting/bulking. Just eat enough and make it healthy. If you want to be particular, ask the guys over on the diet forum to help you out.

In red above.

 

[menkio]

well this week i started using fitday.com to keep track of everything i ate.. and found I'm not eating enough protein, by a almost 100g.. so I'm gonna address that first, riptoes 3x5 looks good.. I'm gonna try that starting tomorrow night.

thanks for the input

 

[CoBra666]

rippetoes is great for starting. u could add some isolations to that as you get comfortable with the workout and find it a bit low volume. i like to do a 5x5 in circuit fashion to keep my heart rate up. some ppl find it very taxing on the body. i am very used to it so its what i do. make sure u get that diet dialed in. i also like to do light cardio on my off days on 5x5 routines. light cardio is good for recovery as it brings blood to the muscles and therefor nutrients. just dont overdo it. if ur looking to burn more fat a thermogenic/fat burner could help but diet and training are really what is gonna dictate how you do. 8 weeks PES's alpha t2/erase/shift stack can really help alot, but its not gonna make r break ya.