Last Wednesday was two months from my starting point, where I weighed 258. The last couple weeks, I’ve been hovering around 244. So I’m down 14 lbs. Not bad, but not quite where I expected to be. Here’s my graphs.
So what’s happened? Basically, I got to a point where I started caring more about my workout weights than I did my weight. I could still stand to lose a few more, but I have a plan..
What I started to realize is that my body composition has been changing for the better, and once my winter weightbelt left me, I decided to switch to a more “traditional” build and cut plan, as they do in bodybuilding.
Bodybuilders generally have two major phases. First they bulk up, then they cut down. They spend a cycle of weeks (duration varies) focusing on building muscle mass and strength, irrespective of fat and looks. This isn’t to say they don’t care, because they still typically eat very well and don’t get fat, it’s just secondary to the focus of adding good, lean muscle. Once this has been achieved (or at a pre-ordained date, based on something like a contest), they will refocus their diet and cardio to cut bodyfat so they can show off their insane striations.
Now.. I’m not exactly trying to hit a contest weight like some of those guys, but I do want to look good this summer.. so that’s my timeline. Early June is when I want to hit a nice stride, and I’ll plan out an 8-week cut phase from there. Which means right now I’m focused on building muscle.
So how am I doing? Back in mid-December, I was struggling with 3 full sets of 225 on squats. I could do 315 on deadlift a couple of times, but my back was dead for the rest of the workout. I could do 225 maybe twice on bench (and I was really unhappy with that).
This past week I had some fun with more weight. I usually do at least 2 sets of squats with 315 now for 6-8 reps. I’d like to strap on a belt and see about going north of 350 on squat, but I worry about my back, so I haven’t gone there yet. I had 7 sets of deadlift last weekend, the last 3 of which were 375x2, 275x10 and 225x15. For the same reason (back), I’m still nervous going north of 400 on deadlift. And I’m doing 8-10 reps of 225 on bench right now. I’m not as strong on bench as last year, but I’m on a good upward curve.
The great thing about all these is that they’re set numbers, so I’m doing a bunch more exercises after these too.
I’ve got a few more weeks to focus on strength, and then I’ll start my cut regimen. I haven’t figured out yet exactly how that’s going to go, but I know it will be hard. I enjoy strength and heavy weights much more than lettuce and fasted cardio.
I’m expecting to start the cut phase right around 240, so even while I’m adding muscle, I still expect to drop a bit more. During the cut phase? Who knows.. I lost 12+ in 4 weeks pretty easily in January. That doesn’t seem unrealistic. So by early-June, sub-230 and looking good seems like a reasonable goal.
We’ll see what happens, now get your ass to the gym! :)