I'm torn between a few factors:

1) I have this machismo fattylogic preconception that a male adult shouldn't weigh <135. <-- in favor of ending cut soon

2) I've been in some form of a caloric deficit for over 7 months now, and some change wouldn't hurt. <-- in favor of ending cut soon

3) I've been in some form of a caloric deficit for over 7 months now, and I'm so used to it that I could probably go on like this forever with relative ease. <-- in favor of extending cut

Admittedly, 1) isn't entirely logical. There may be a compromise, in which I eat maintenance calories for a couple of months just to make some quick gains and have a break from dieting. It wouldn't be outright bulking, and I could return to the cut after that to shed the last few pounds. Of course, that would delay the bulk even further and probably wouldn't be optimal for gains in the long-term.

I'll have at least the next two months (time it takes to get to ~17%) to ponder it more.

I think you know starting a bulk at 17%+ is not correct and that making up some arbitrary weight minimum of 135 is ******ed, especially for someone as short as you. You wanna tell this guy that? https://youtu.be/vcG6oR145h4

Taking a month or even more of maintenance before finishing your diet is not a bad idea at all. Refer to this https://youtu.be/tVPlPM0d7eQ

Percentages can be changed by either losing or gaining the 'appropriate' mass type.

On a cut without gear you are going to lose both fat *and* muscle.

F'n Hawthorne is one of those freaks of nature that are rare - and he found powerlifting so we get to see it.

Good progress on the chin ups, if you are gonna walk around sub 140 you should just do a **** ton of them daily. How many are you doing outside of your workout sessions?

None. I have a chin-up bar, but I've been putting in a lot of hours at live poker lately so not a lot of time at home for using it. Certainly, I could be doing a bit of gtg though during the little time I spend at home. Something else to work on.

I hear you on the 2) as I've been cutting for about as long myself at this point.
Cutting does get old. I don't think it's good enough of a reason to end the cut prematurely, though.
However, taking a week, two or even three at some point might be for the best, both physically and psychologically.

1) is utter bollocks ofc, especially so when you take into account the fact that you live in Cambodia. Is 135 lbs below or over average there?

Contents of actual muscle fibers? No, not necessarily.
LBM, sure, almost always unless you're a superfat untrained person cutting just a little weight.

You can see in his arm measurements that he is actually gaining muscle on this cut.

Yet still nowhere near enough to offset LBM losses.

I went through this four years ago. Lost 25 pounds, arms got half an inch bigger. The miracles of high volume weightlifting. Still think hero has gains in him, even while cutting. MOAR VOLUME.

And cutting to 135 is fine. Then stay there for a year, you will still make gains. Like I have said a million times, bulking for natties mostly fake and brought on by the advent of steroids (where bulking is real).

Haven't we been over this already; it's K to lose LBM when cutting. It's the actual contractile tissue you want to preserve.

Bulking is also fine. You just hit the diminishing returns depressingly early as a nattymcnat.
It becomes fake after the 1st year or two depending on how fat we are when we begin our journey.

I think I'm just going to stick to my current system of cutting for 6 weeks, maintenance for a week. At least for the next three months.

Yeah, people are very skinny here. 125 isn't uncommon. That said, while I'm bottom 5% of male height in the U.S., I'm maybe barely below average height in Cambodia.


I never intend to dirty bulk. Food logging is such an ingrained habit for me now that I see myself doing it forever. I just want to be able to eat a modest surplus of calories one day.

As for my volume, increasing it per Aidan's recommendation has resulted in no less than linear progress for six straight workouts now. Once the repeated bouts effect sets in for this program, I plan to add more as necessary.

No, that's the warped americano preconception inside you whispering odd bollocks.
They're exactly how us westerners used to be before this obesity epidemic*

*adjusted to height ofc plus taking the actual real shortage of food into account

Thursday, October 20, 2016 Training

Bench Press:

20x5x2
30x5
40x3
45x2
50x1
53.75x5
53.75x5
53.75x5
47.5x7

Front Squat:

20x5x2
40x5
60x2
70x5 [PR]
70x4
60x8 [rep PR]

Machine Chest Fly (#):

100x15
100x15
100x16

Leg Press (kg + sled):

95x12
95x12
95x18 (*)

Pull-ups (3, 2, 2, 2, 1) (**)

***

Still having trouble with bench press form, particularly with keeping my scapulae retracted. The linked set was my best and it got worse from there. In the last set, literally every rep was misgrooved / straight up off the chest. It's a god damn miracle that I yet managed 5 reps. Definitely strength gain though, as I got 5,5,4 last time.

Front squats continue to go up. This is nice.

* Normally these are done in a state of fatigue after fronts, but I got carried away chatting with someone for ~10 minutes today. Hence the lol amount of reps. Nonetheless, it seems that I can make bigger than 5kg increases on this.

** These feel really awkward. I'm having trouble finding a grip width that works, and also contracting my lats / upper back. It doesn't help that my doorway bar doesn't allow for a wide range of grips. I may do these at the gym going forward.

Sunday, October 23, 2016 Training

Bench Press:

20x5x2
30x5
40x3
45x3x2
50x2x2
55x5
55x5
55x5
50x7

Front Squat:

20x5x2
40x5
60x2
70x5
71.25x5 [PR]
60x7

DB Bent-over Row (# each arm):

60x12
60x11
60x10

Rope Triceps Pushdown (# each arm):

35x15
35x15
35x18

***

I benched for a while today and tried more new things. Namely:

1) Using the other bench that has shallower J hooks.
2) Using the top hooks instead of the second hooks.
3) Slightly wider grip, with pinkies on the rings instead of about 1.5cm narrower like usual.

The high hooks are not optimal. I have to protract a little just to unrack the bar. However, it might be better than having to press the bar several inches out of the second hooks. You can see in the linked vid that my scapulae remained pretty retracted because at the end of the set when I rack the bar I'm able to protract quite a bit.

I think this is one of the better sets I've recorded in quite a while. The other two work sets weren't as clean but weren't bad either. My pre-cutting PR for bench was 55x5, but given the ease and the fact that I hit 3 sets across I think it's safe to say I'm stronger now than I was then.


For squats, I mistakenly loaded 70 instead of 71 for the first set, which gave me some motivation to really go for 5 on the second set to preserve my squat winning streak (seven workouts now). Also, I graduated to bigboy plates. All in all, another highly successful day.


Week 28 Diet, Maintenance Week



I ate some really tasty food this week, including cassoulet at a french place, post workout Kit Kat ice cream, Thai red curry, fajitas, and quesadillas. Reined it in with a low-calorie day on Friday, and today I'm gonna have a cheeseburger with (gasp!) the full bun. Then on to another six weeks of bland.

Chin ups chin ups chin ups

One of the limiting factors for front squatters is a weak back. Work your back more man it makes you look better, improves posture and carries over to a lot of different lifts. The back can take a lot of work/volume too. Keep pushing yourself harder.

You have logged 37 in just under two weeks. You could do that many GTG in a day.

I hear you, man, it's just not super practical for me. I did a few doubles the other day when I had some free time, but I'm mostly sleeping when I'm at home. Not gonna be putting in any 37 days, but I'll stay on top of it when I can.

hi

Tuesday, October 25, 2016 Training

Press:

20x3x2
25x3
25x2
30x2
36.25x4
36.25x3 (f)
36.25x2 (f)
32.5x5

Deadlift:

60x3x2
80x2
92.5x1
102.5x5 mixed
92.5x6 straps

DB Incline Press (#):

30x13
30x13
30x13

Face-pulls (#):

75x15
75x15
75x15

Chin-ups (6 [PR], 5, 3, 3)

***

I think I just forgot how to press today. I gained some reps on the DB incline, so it really looks like poor technique did me in here (as opposed to actual strength loss).

Hitting 102.5x5 for deadlift brings me officially to former strength levels, matching my old PR. The strapped set was kind of a trash fire, though. I need to work harder on getting my back tighter when I'm tired from previous sets/reps.

Chin-up PR is super cool considering I'm the same weight as I was last week, but from here on out I'm doing to stop trying to get max reps on the first set. It just trashes me and makes it hard to get productive work in during the subsequent sets. From now on, I'm going to leave a rep or two in the tank during the first sets and go for volume PRs instead.

Thursday, October 27, 2016 Training

Bench Press:

20x8
30x5
40x3
50x2x3
56.25x5 [PR]
56.25x3 (bad setup, abort)
56.25x4
50x7

Front Squat:

20x5x2
40x5
62.5x2
72.5x4
72.5x2 (*)
72.5x4

Leg Press (kg + sled):

105x12
105x12
105x15

Machine Chest Fly (#):

110x15
110x15
110x15

Pull-ups (2.5' rest) (3, 3, 3, 3, 2)

***

Decent day. First bench press PR in over 8 weeks, though the subsequent sets were lackluster. I think I probably just need to get a handoff. There's this tiny margin for error where I can unrack the bar myself and keep a reasonably tight trunk, but if I set up even 2cm too far down or up the bench, it falls apart.

Squat is a little heartbreaking because there was probably a fifth rep in the first set, and I actually cut the set short so I'd be able to perform better in the subsequent sets. (*) Then, in the second set, I felt really loose after the 2nd rep and psyched myself into an abort/do-over. I'm pretty happy with the third set; if there was a fifth rep there, it would have been ugly as sin.

Didn't even recognize your body on the front squat video.
Definitely getting less pillsburian and more fit.

Thanks, bro. I look pretty decent in clothes now. I can still grab handfuls of fat from my chest, gut, lower back, and glutes though.

I had to hunt down this old picture from January. After they took it, I (semi) jokingly referred to it as my "before picture." This was two months before I started lifting and dieting, so ~170 pounds. Admittedly, the unflattering angle and being overdue for a haircut/shave didn't help my look.




This is from a Halloween party last night, ~143 pounds.

Even your posture in the first picture smells of insecurity. Second picture, that shirt fits you well. WP sir.

Sunday, October 30, 2016 Training

Bench Press:

20x5x2
30x5
40x3
45x3
51x3
51x2
56x5
56x5
56x6 [PR]
50x8

Front Squat:

20x5x2
40x5
62.5x2
72.5x5 [PR]
72.5x3 (*)
62.5x7 (**) [still a rep PR]

DB Bent-over Row (# each arm):

60x12
60x11
60x10 (***)

Rope Triceps Pushdown (# each arm):

35x16
35x15
35x14

***

Another great day of PRs. The bench press is a huge performance gain from just two days ago.

* This set I just lost the groove in the third rep and spent a bunch of unnecessary energy throughout the set, starting with a too-wide stance and correcting it between reps.

** I actually taped this set but my phone ate it. I wanted to upload this to showcase what a WIM problem I have. There was surely two more reps in this set.

*** I don't seem to be gaining reps on rows. It seems like the issue is that my upper back gets pretty fatigued from the squats, so I have a little less to offer once rows come around. I'm just gonna plug away at 60lb dumbbells and have faith that gains will happen eventually.


Week 29 Diet, Week 13 Cut



Hitting macros was a challenge this week. Probably because last week I ate 1800 a day, but also I had to go to a party on Friday night. That day looked like this:



Pretty much an exercise in anticipating a bad calorie day and taking measures to mitigate the damage. I've been experimenting with time-restricted feeding, so I didn't eat until 630p (I wake up at 11a). I went to an Indian restaurant on the way to the party and ordered a half tandoori chicken. Basically, it's marinated baked chicken. Ordinarily, I'd order some naan bread to eat with it but I knew I'd be drinking later, so I abstained, saving ~200 calories. Then, at the party, I had a few scotch and sodas and an unanticipated fruity shot of something (always expect to drink more than you plan for). GTFO of there and had a poverty late dinner with some whey before bed. I wasn't hungry at any point, and only 9g under protein.