Hey so im just trying to figure out what i should do at the moment, i have done a bulk and cut before however i never did maintainance at a higher weight before so i dunno how to go about it.
Last year i bulked to around 80-82kg then cut to 72kg, I looked decent, was happy with how i was however i wanted a bigger foundation still! So starting in january i weighed 72kg, current day im at 92kg (gone a lot heavier this time) mainly went heavier just cause i was enjoying food and training!
Now im at a point where i dunno how to go about it, i wanna do a physique next year (junior category) however until i get to the point where i need to begin cutting i dont know whether to continue to bulk or maintain my current weight?
Any help and ideas is much appreciated
would add in pictures but im currently typing from my work laptop
my training plan is 5/3/1
You gained 45 pounds in 9 months? How tall are you?
Definitely get some pics up when you can, but I have to assume you gained a fair amount of fat along the way and gaining even more size won’t help anything.
There’s no point in bulking just to bulk. Meaning, you can only put on muscle so quickly even if you force feed yourself, so why ever add fat when yuh know you’re just going to have to lose it anyway?
My thoughts: IF (because I don’t know what condition you’re currently in) you’re in decent enough shape now, I’d keep your current slightly above maintenance intake and train my ass off banking on maybe a couple of quality lbs of additional muscle before officially starting to cut. Muscle gain is slow, and being leaner means better insulin sensitivity, so if you’re smart, this will not only benefit you with a little more lbm, but you’ll be able to handle more carbs once you begin prepping for your show.
5’10 yeah it was rapid, given at first i wasn’t really tracking then it slowed down once i properly started tracking.
yeah wont lie i’ve deffo gained fat, when doing a bodyfat measurement it said 23% however id like to think im more than that, wouldn’t say im in bad shape? stomach doesn’t overpower my chest, obliques still showing in certain poses, my legs and ass are the ones who gained the most serious size lol
would post pics now but my phone wont let me post on here?
Gone over any recent pictures I have and basically they’re all useless, don’t have a recent topless picture where to show much the most recent picture I have is this one lol
You should have simply removed your shirt, hiked your shorts up, gotten closer to the mirror, and faced forward.
This is NOT the way to go about training for a physique show. If you’re going to train for a physique show, train like a physique competitor, not an athlete, not someone who wants to get his best “big four”.
That is an enormous weight gain and likely the majority of the pounds are likely fat, which will just make your contest prep more restrictive and/or longer.
Considering this massive weight gain, you should start losing fat now, both for healthy and considering your aim to compete next year.
Here is a photo of my legs and upper body, the legs are from maybe a month ago? Upper body quite recent, two weeks maybe, the big mirror in my gym casts like a big shadow over you as you get closer so all I had was these
I would stop whatever “bulk” you’re currently doing. I dunno if you’ve put on lbm because I can’t tell just from recent pics but I can say that you are certainly “softer” than I would ever want someone to be starting a serious contest prep.
Well said, x2 here. I think it would be ideal for you to start losing fat in order to see your physique better, and what you need to bring up for a show. As Stu said it’s hard to tell how much mass you’ve put on. I’m guessing you have at least 35-40lbs to lose to get even close to ready for the stage, maybe more, you want to start your prep in the ~20lbs-till-stage area to make in manageable, especially the first time around.
Additionally, you’ll want to do some serious adjusting to your training plan. It’s hard to tell from these pics, but just being honest, you do not seem to have the physique of someone looking to get on stage, you look like someone that’s been doing 5/3/1. Might be easier to see if you were leaner, but you’ll want to do a more bodybuilding/physique athlete focused training plan for a while before getting ready for the stage.
If you can post a real picture it would be easier to give more specific advice. So, stop with the top-down lighting on an angle. Get better lighting, face the front, side, and rear, and be honest with yourself about your physique if you’re serious about stepping on stage.
these are just the photos i have, i’ve been in london since the post was made so haven’t been in the gym, + How much weight should i be aiming to drop per week? the comp I was looking into isn’t for like 9 months? so before i even look into prepping should i lower down around 5-10kg?
Most people try for a 1-2lb decrease per week, BUT most people also hugely underestimate how much they need to lose in order to be contest level lean. Throw in a few “hiccups” where the unexpected happens and you don’t get your weekly drop, and you’re looking at a real recipe for a bad experience.
My thoughts: start tightening up now. It doesn’t mean you won’t make progress anymore, it just means you’re planning ahead and looking at the big picture. No one wants to have to drop 50 lbs in 4 months (I had one guy do it and it was just awful all around-lol)
I know how much i need to lose for contest ready my whole thing has been I haven’t known when to start because my comp may not be until June? So I didn’t wanna start heading to a deficit to soon, but then I also don’t wanna end up starting too late cause I’d like to do well In it while I’m still young and confident enough to do it all lol, It’s just trying to get it all right is a challenge for my first proper serious cut!
No one ever regrets being ready early. Hell, if you do everything right you get to eat your way into the show while your conditioning continues to improve.
On the contrary plenty of people regret not being ready in time and those last few weeks of almost killing yourself and still looking a far shade from what you envisioned when you first thought of stepping onstage.
Yeah definitely it was like my friend he jumped into it real quick and didn’t get conditioned enough that his chest/abs looked terrible, biggest on stage but furthest from conditioned.
I think I’m going to keep to cardio/maintenance this month just because I’m travelling a lot this month with work which really doesn’t help in the diet area.
Also Stu while I have you here, what type of training would you suggest? I’m on PPL/PPL, just coming off of 5/3/1 BBB.
PPL can get you pretty far, but when you need to craft a symmetrical, highly developed stage physique I think a split with more days is better in terms of focus and volume per body part. I always favored a 4 day split myself, and if you plan intelligently (objectively evaluate potential weak points), I think that’s all you need in a cycle. Snap some pics of yourself “standing relaxed” front, side and back and really rip yourself apart.
If you can’t be objective about your physique then you’re not going to be happy competing.
Again not trying to be aggressive by any means! But, if this is your first serious cut, there’s no way to know how much you need to lose to get contest ready. I severely underestimated my first contest prep, figured if I got to 150lbs I’d be peeled like an onion. Turns out I was way off, went on stage my first season at 148lbs. Second season, started leaner, figured out my methods, and stepped on stage at just under 140lbs.
I agree with Stu, start cutting now, aim for 2lbs a week, lose at least 20lbs and see how you look. Again, you want to be ideally in the 15-20lbs range for a prep. And, since it’s the first time, as it’s been mentioned already, important to leave room for stalls and unexpected issues.
