Following the LeanGains Protocol - Scoveg13's 12 Week Cutting Log

[aussieboi901]

Introduction:After a long 7 months of bulking, I am finally ready to shed some much needed fat. I will be following the LeanGains protocol and look to drop around 10-15lbs within the next 12 weeks in time for my vacation. I'm currently entered in the Dymatize Elite 12 Week Challenge as well as the BodyForLife 12 Week Challenge. If I win, great! If not, I'll still be shredded, it's a win-win situation.

Rewind a Year Earlier: I started getting into lifting and bodybuilding May 6th, 2011. I had just got home from college and was disgustingly skinny-fat. I was 5'7 160lbs of pure fat essentially and I was embarrassed for my vacation in July. Being the noob that I was I followed MaxOT for about 4 or 5 weeks and didn't lose any weight and was discouraged despite decent strength gains. I decided to follow Kris Gethin's 12 Week Hardcore Trainer that had just been released. Here is my before and after pictures after only 7 weeks of following Gethin's daily routine:


So after 7 weeks of Gethin's and after my vacation, I was scheduled for surgery since I had a deviated sceptum as well as a broken nose from years earlier. Long story short, after 4 botched surgeries from my doctors I was out of the gym for 5 weeks . Goodnight sweet gains. Not really. So I decided to bulk all the way until spring. After surgery I weighed about 137lbs and now currently sit at 166lbs! Some fat was gained but my strength skyrocketed - 360x4 deadlift, 405 deadlift max, 320 max squat etc. If I can cut down to 152-155 lbs I should be around 9-11% bodyfat which is ideal for me.



Ill add pictures from today here:

So essentially I gained around 30 lbs or so, and I'd venture to guess 10-15lbs is muscle and the rest is water and glycogen.

Macros:
On training days I'll do my best to consume - 193g of P/220g of C/40g of F
On non-training days - 193g of P/ 50-60g of C/~40g of F

I'll probably follow these number for the first couple of weeks, and slowly cut carbs from training days as I continue to lose fat.

Routine:
Standard 5 day split with 5/3/1 Deadlift, Squat, and Military Press.

Supplements
I have an obnoxious amount of supplements that I have acquired over the past year
Whey Protein
DS Craze
Shock Therapy and Fast Fuel Free Samples
Modern BCAA
Fish Oil
Multivitamin
Green Tea Pill
Fat Burners (RoxyLean 10 pack sample, Hydroxycut Hardcore by Muscletech 50 servings - Free giveaway, didn't pay for it, and free 70 servings SuperHD - giveaway, I'd never buy a fat-burner)
Creatine Ethyl Ester - debating on using.

My parents own a pharmacy so getting fishoil, multi's ,Green Tea, and WHEY PROTEIN are free!!!

Thanks for reading everyone! I'm going to redefine aesthetics - SICKENING.

Great results man, can i ask a question, am i missing something with leangains have been doin it since august last yr, saw sum really good drops in the first months but now its all gone pearshaped, havein trouble seein ny change, i think i may be missing a key point, i workout 6 days a weeks MAXot type of program which has been ok for me seein sum good strength gain, not as great as wen i was doin starting strength but i think a lot of that was beginner gains, if i only have one rest day, sunday, how far under maintenance should i go, using the stickies here i got my BMR as 2037, adding in activity factor i got bout 3000 as maintenance calories, but i currently am eating 2000 cals 7 days a week, protein varies from 250-300 carbs and fats vary upto 100grams of each, with wateva variation fits my macros on the day, usually though around 75 carbs, sumtimes as low as 30, any help appreciated, from any1 thanx,
once again man great results in the short time keep up the good work

[scoveg13]

270x5 back squat pr!!!!! On a cut too

[RichDestiNY22]

270x5 back squat pr!!!!! On a cut too

Congrats!!! Getting close to that elite 2x Bodyweight squatting range!

[aussieboi901]

270x5 back squat pr!!!!! On a cut too

congrats man keep up the good work

[scoveg13]

Great results man, can i ask a question, am i missing something with leangains have been doin it since august last yr, saw sum really good drops in the first months but now its all gone pearshaped, havein trouble seein ny change, i think i may be missing a key point, i workout 6 days a weeks MAXot type of program which has been ok for me seein sum good strength gain, not as great as wen i was doin starting strength but i think a lot of that was beginner gains, if i only have one rest day, sunday, how far under maintenance should i go, using the stickies here i got my BMR as 2037, adding in activity factor i got bout 3000 as maintenance calories, but i currently am eating 2000 cals 7 days a week, protein varies from 250-300 carbs and fats vary upto 100grams of each, with wateva variation fits my macros on the day, usually though around 75 carbs, sumtimes as low as 30, any help appreciated, from any1 thanx,
once again man great results in the short time keep up the good work

It sounds to me like you are over training, especially when doing something as taxing as MAXOT 6 days a week! Personally, I'd would take an extra day or two off from lifting a week and on your non lifting days try to have as little carbs as possible, at least that seems to be working for me. Try to eat twice a day if you can and divide your daily calories between those two meals. So if your daily caloric needs to lose weight is 2000 calories, eat two 1000calorie meals. Also, HIIT is great way to burn off excess calories. If you follow the LeanGains protocol and the advice I gave you really should be able to lose some fat. If you find your weight loss is stalling, cut back on calories a little more while keeping protein intake high.

http://techcrunch.com/2012/04/14/get...-500-startups/

very good read.

Congrats!!! Getting close to that elite 2x Bodyweight squatting range!

Thanks man! I'm so close to that, I maxed 320 at 170, and now I'm closer to 161-162 so I'm literally right there!

congrats man keep up the good work

Thanks bud!

[scoveg13]

Fat was higher than I wanted it to be but I didn't much a choice do to the options in the cafeteria. Did legs earlier today so that used up a ton of calories and I'm going for a 15 minute run now so I still be in a nice deficit for the day.

[aussieboi901]

It sounds to me like you are over training, especially when doing something as taxing as MAXOT 6 days a week! Personally, I'd would take an extra day or two off from lifting a week and on your non lifting days try to have as little carbs as possible, at least that seems to be working for me. Try to eat twice a day if you can and divide your daily calories between those two meals. So if your daily caloric needs to lose weight is 2000 calories, eat two 1000calorie meals. Also, HIIT is great way to burn off excess calories. If you follow the LeanGains protocol and the advice I gave you really should be able to lose some fat. If you find your weight loss is stalling, cut back on calories a little more while keeping protein intake high.



very good read.



Thanks man! I'm so close to that, I maxed 320 at 170, and now I'm closer to 161-162 so I'm literally right there!



Thanks bud!

Thanx for the reply man, will do, i dont think its an overtraining although i could be wrong, i have been training 6 days a week since early feb, not a big advocate in overtraining either, dont believe in such a thing lol, but each to his own thats just my personal thought, thanx for ur advice

[scoveg13]

Down to 160 as of this morning! The fat seems to be melting off as I'm significantly leaner, maybe I'll post a pic later.

[RichDestiNY22]

Down to 160 as of this morning! The fat seems to be melting off as I'm significantly leaner, maybe I'll post a pic later.

Congrats on the milestone! Isn't it funny how those round multiples of ten feel so much more significant than the 9 leading up to it?

[scoveg13]

Congrats on the milestone! Isn't it funny how those round multiples of ten feel so much more significant than the 9 leading up to it?

It's very strange to be honest, I don't get how I'm dropping weight so fast and maintaining all of my strength without even being in a massive day to day deficit. As far as I can tell I haven't lost any muscle mass but as this rate, I'd venture to guess I'll be done cutting within another 4-6 weeks.

Did chest today, started 5/3/1 for the bench today. I've maxed 200lbs but Wendler recommends that you multiply your max by .9 so that puts me at 180.

Bench Press: 135x5, 145x5, 155x7 (Could have gotten at least 9 or 10 but I didn't have a spot but I'm pleased with 7, havent barbell benched in months, only dumbbell)
Incline Db Press: 70x6, 60x8, (65x6, 35x6)
Incline Flyes: 35x8, 35x10x3
Pec Deck: 175x8, 188x8, (201x4 + 2 half reps, 120x6)

[scoveg13]

[scoveg13]

So, I just set a Deadlift PR of 335x7! What the hell is this? Lol, two PR's this week on a cut? I don't get it but I'm certainly not complaining!

[RichDestiNY22]

So, I just set a Deadlift PR of 335x7! What the hell is this? Lol, two PR's this week on a cut? I don't get it but I'm certainly not complaining!

Badass! Don't question it - just enjoy ;-)

[scoveg13]

Had a lot of Whey today since I've had an insane day. Woke up and wrote two papers, then went to the gym, had a 40 minute job interview, then had class, and now im at work from 5-9:30pm so this is all i could manage :/. macros are macros i guess.

[scoveg13]

Just an update on my back day:

Deadlift (5 rep day on 5/3/1) - 270x5 (easy), 295x5 (easy), 335x5+2 (7) complete beastmode. I could have gotten maybe another rep or two, but I'm always hesitant on deadlifts, rather not get injured
Barbell Rows: 165x8, 170x8, 175x8
Pulldowns: 162x6x2, 137x8
V-Bar Pulldowns: 150x8x3

Notes:
Getting leaner and leaner everyday. I'm noticing more veins in my forearms and my cephalic vein in my bicep is getting increasingly more prominent. Stomach fat is clearly getting reduced and I can slightly see my top 4 abs thus far, new cuts everyday it seems currently. I noticed when following Lean Gains that I'm not tired during the day anymore. Usually I dose off in close for a minute or two and then wake up, but none of that now. I have energy all day it seems. It's great. Getting out of bed is noticeably easier too...I need to increase my water consumption I think.

[scoveg13]

Weighed in at 158.5lbs this morning yet I'm setting PR's? What the hell?

[GeeJay86]

Just had a read through this thread, you're looking leaner already, congrats! Started LG myself yesterday so am looking for as much info as possible. Would be interested again to see a pic, when is the next one?

Edit: Just double-checked and your pecs are looking way more defined!

[Liftrunlift]

Looks like you are doing it right. Keep pushing!

I am thinking I will start doing leangains too. All I hear is good things.

[scoveg13]

After 11 days of cutting, crappy quality but down 7 lbs - 165.5 to 158.5

[RichDestiNY22]

After 11 days of cutting, crappy quality but down 7 lbs - 165.5 to 158.5

Awesome progress, man! 7 pounds in a week and a half is incredible!

[TinyMuscolo]

I deffly agree! There's some magic involved

[aussieboi901]

I deffly agree! There's some magic involved

Hey guys noticing with a lot of your nutrition logs that you guys are having a lot of carbs, is this mayb the one thing i am missing? i am only having upto 100 carbs a day, but about 250-300grams protein and remainder is fat, am i having too few carbs mayb??
thanx guys

[TinyMuscolo]

Well, that's nothing wrong in your level of carbs, as for any level. We just use to cycle macros, having more carbs on wo days and more fats in rest days. It's the LG protocol, but simply put, it can let you enjoy any food you want, so very useful for long term sustainability.

[scoveg13]

Crazy busy day...had to resort to a lot of whey again :/

[aussieboi901]

Hey wat are you guys using to track calories, looking for something else using daily burn atm

[scoveg13]

Hey wat are you guys using to track calories, looking for something else using daily burn atm

Fitday.com, people use myfitnesspal too

[scoveg13]

Down to 157.5 today...8lbs in 12 days...I don't get it

[hcoyle545]

Down to 157.5 today...8lbs in 12 days...I don't get it

You must be doing something right because you're looking a lot leaner in your most recent pics. Keep it up.

[aussieboi901]

Hey guys, lookin at your results has given me some new motivation so im gunna restart and get serious about my leangains and weight training monday after a couple of binge days over easter and being sick and missing some training my squats went from 115kgs down to 100kgs and sucked ass all other lifts seemed to remain fine lol so i will go back to workin out 6 days a week can u guys provide some feed back wat u think about macros i should be eating, in my past attempts at leangains i did not calorie cycle and i think that had been my biggest downfall, so a cupl of questions also, should i just have low cals/carbs high prot/fat on sunday only which will be my rest day, or should i have lower calories on one of my other lighter days of lifting?
any help appreciated, the progress you guys are making is amazing keep up the good work
Will start my own lean gains log monday for anyone who wants to check it out hope i see some improvements like you guys are havin :P

[SoundTiger]

Hey scoveg, nice progress!
You are definitely getting leaner, but some of the weight you are losing is water.