The 10# dillema

I’ve been struggling with this for a year now. My goal has been just to either increase my lean mass by 10# while keeping the same fat mass (not bf%) or keep my current lean mass while reducing my fat mass by 10#. Either way I’m sure I’d look a lot better. Problem is I’ve used tons of Tribex, Vitex, whey, Nanadrosol, Androsol, MD6, T2, and even several cycles of Finasol and I just can’t get it right. I’ve done fat fast, massive eating, etc. and tried HIT and variations on volume training and cardio. Either I gain too much fat or loose too much muscle. Just can’t get my body to cooperate. Anybody in this same situation?

Why not add 15 pounds, some being fat, then slowly drop the five extra?

How long have you been training and do you feel you are at your genetic ceiling? What is your age? I have a feeling you are trying to do the nearly impossible. Lose fat and gain muscle at the same time. You may need to gain 20lbs then diet back 10lbs, or 30 dieting back 20lbs.

I am kind of in the same situation as you. I lost almost 90 pounds 2 years ago and when I tried to bulk, I gained to much fat and got aggrivated and just lost the weight. I weigh 160(5’7 and 8-9% bodyfat) and am trying to get to 170-175 with the same amount of bodyfat. After the summer I’m going to try Mag-10 and get to 180 without stopping and then lose a little fat. I wish I could help you but at least you know there is others out there like you.

Well I have bulked up over 15# before but on my frame an extra 5+# of fat is ‘very’ noticable. I’m 38, male, 5’10", 182# @~11-12%. Two years ago I lost about 50# and ‘then’ returned to the gym. At first I was adding muscle and loosing fat but that eventually stopped and I started using Tribex and 4-AD to tip the scale in my favor. Since I started lifting my weight has cycled up and down between 175#-196#. I hit the high end after several cycles of tren. I typically gain 10# then loose 10# so my average weight is around 185#. I just can’t get out of this cycle. I bulk for 6-8 weeks until I start getting too smooth and then I cut for 6-8 weeks until I feel that I’m starting to weaken.

From reading your post, and others in the past, it seems like you are pretty scared of adding fat (after the whole lipo thing, I would assume). The bottom line is that you are gonna add some fat when bulking…and if you try to go on a strict cut right away, you may not hold on to your gains in LBM quite as well. Try maintaining your newfound LBM, along with some unwanted fat mass, for a few weeks and then easing into a cut cycle.

Well a lot of this is compounded by the fact that I can hold a lot of water when carbloaded and bulking. Its hard to estimate my fat/lean gains/losses.

Try slowing down your cycles. Try only losing a 1/2 a pound a week. From the way your body is reacting is sounds like you still have plenty of fat storing enzymes and not enough fat burning ones. Changing this balance take time. Step one - As JB stated in one of his postings, train aerobically at a lower level for less time. Slowly up the time, this wll allow the body to build fat burining enzymes (check out his articles). Step Two - eat six small meals a day, every day. Over a period of six to eight months your body will stop producting fat storing enzymes and the one that exist in your system will wear out.
Try following the Zig-Zag diet as shown on Dr. Squat’s website.
Best of Luck.

I’ll try to maintain longer this next time and then cut slower by just increasing amount of cardio and keeping calories up.