First Competition

[waldoehf]

[QUOTE=braelfergo;1572048291]

That's lean! Nice man!

Thanks man!

[TrainBeastMode]

Thanks! What do you guys think about doing a very slight bulk (keeping bf levels around where they are now) and then doing a 4 week cut for summer and then bulking again in the fall?

OR, would you just say to commit to either right now?

I'd commit to one or the other. If you aren't doing any shows again in the near future, I'd commit to the bulk and try and pack on some more muscle. You can show off your six pack to the ladies next summer after you've added some more muscle .

[smokinal]

I'd commit to one or the other. If you aren't doing any shows again in the near future, I'd commit to the bulk and try and pack on some more muscle. You can show off your six pack to the ladies next summer after you've added some more muscle .

I concur

[waldoehf]

You guys are right. After hearing what you guys have to say, I've decided to bulk. I'm gonna do a slight cut for about 6 weeks or so to get in a little bit better of a starting to point and then start a nice lean bulk.

Thinking I'm gonna do about a 400 calorie surplus for the bulk - thought? More? Less? Every other bulk diet I've done was "eat as many calories as possible XD"

[smokinal]

Take a couple of weeks and dial in where your cals need to be to be gaining about .5 lb/wk
That can be hard; in fact, I find that tight of a bulk harder than cutting at 1 lb/wk

Your surplus may vary, just dial it in for that slight gain each week

[waldoehf]

That can be hard; in fact, I find that tight of a bulk harder than cutting at 1 lb/wk

Interesting. I will definitely just monitor things closely and move little by little. It is definitely a balance though, I want to make sure I'm eating enough to fuel growth too. Super pumped to see where things go though! I really started focusing on compounds just before I began prep last summer, so I'm really hoping to see serious growth once in a consistent surplus!

[deltpecx]

Interesting. I will definitely just monitor things closely and move little by little. It is definitely a balance though, I want to make sure I'm eating enough to fuel growth too. Super pumped to see where things go though! I really started focusing on compounds just before I began prep last summer, so I'm really hoping to see serious growth once in a consistent surplus!

All what was said above.
Slowly add calories. Slowly add weight.

Remember the mirror tells you more about your condition than the scale. Use it.

[waldoehf]

Definitely. Really hoping to up my bench and squat for this bulk too. Although I for sure prefer gains in size over strength, it sure feels good to push some heavier weight too XD

[waldoehf]

Hey all!

I hope you all have been well these past few weeks. To update, I have begun the process of bulking after my 6-week mini-cut.

Although I was definitely more lenient with my diet during the mini-cut, I was still pretty on top of things. However, my body did not seem to respond as well. In addition to this, I started to feel what I strongly believe to be my hormones beginning to fall out of balance. It seemed harder to stay in a positive mood, and I was not sleeping as well.

Funny thing, I had a few "cheat" meals during this time and woke up the morning after feeling better than ever after each cheat meal! Adding on to this, my visual fat loss greatly slowed down after about 2.5 weeks (according to the mirror mostly).

Therefore, I decided to hop back into a lean bulk and let my body recover. Now that I am past my show, it really began to sink in how hard I pushed my body during the past few weeks of prep. SUPER glad to have done it, but I think I need to let my body fully recover and restore.

Attached is a picture of me today after leg day (no upper body pump). As each day passes, I am becoming increasingly excited to build some MASS.

My current routine has the same bread-and-butter exercises that it did during my cut, but I am currently really focusing on the eccentric and targeting the muscle, not just moving the weight. Man, training like this will really humble a guy (I've had to drop a large amount of weight on most exercises), but I feel that I am really nailing the target muscles!

Lastly, on a separate note, my little brother has been training for the past 3-4 months or so. I have been coaching him on getting in his macros and his workouts. He is making some serious progress (he has a lot more natural ability than I do), and man, he is killing it! I think that has been even more rewarding than stepping on stage for me to be honest!

[deltpecx]

Hey all!

I hope you all have been well these past few weeks. To update, I have begun the process of bulking after my 6-week mini-cut.

Although I was definitely more lenient with my diet during the mini-cut, I was still pretty on top of things. However, my body did not seem to respond as well. In addition to this, I started to feel what I strongly believe to be my hormones beginning to fall out of balance. It seemed harder to stay in a positive mood, and I was not sleeping as well.

Funny thing, I had a few "cheat" meals during this time and woke up the morning after feeling better than ever after each cheat meal! Adding on to this, my visual fat loss greatly slowed down after about 2.5 weeks (according to the mirror mostly).

Therefore, I decided to hop back into a lean bulk and let my body recover. Now that I am past my show, it really began to sink in how hard I pushed my body during the past few weeks of prep. SUPER glad to have done it, but I think I need to let my body fully recover and restore.

Attached is a picture of me today after leg day (no upper body pump). As each day passes, I am becoming increasingly excited to build some MASS.

My current routine has the same bread-and-butter exercises that it did during my cut, but I am currently really focusing on the eccentric and targeting the muscle, not just moving the weight. Man, training like this will really humble a guy (I've had to drop a large amount of weight on most exercises), but I feel that I am really nailing the target muscles!

Lastly, on a separate note, my little brother has been training for the past 3-4 months or so. I have been coaching him on getting in his macros and his workouts. He is making some serious progress (he has a lot more natural ability than I do), and man, he is killing it! I think that has been even more rewarding than stepping on stage for me to be honest!

It sounds as if you have things dialed in for the most part.


During prep when I feel like crap and my energy is low I have a carb refeed.
My weight will go up for the next few days but after that the fat will start to come off again.


I increase my calories slowly so as not to become a fluffy mess as I would just have to lose all that fluff in the next prep diet.
I think that defeats my purpose to stay s lean as possible during my bulking.


After a show is the prime time to add mass not too much fluff as most guys do.

Do you have any plans to compete again?

[smokinal]

Contest prep can be very tough on the body for sure! And a refeed can be a lifesaver. Yeah, definitely feed up, take a break, eat, and refocus.

And great work with the bro! It's extremely rewarding to know you are helping someone possibly change their life pattern with knowledge of proper diet and exercise.

Pass a fist bump along from me!

[waldoehf]

Pass a fist bump along from me!

Will do!

[waldoehf]

Do you have any plans to compete again?

Not currently. After getting show lean, I definitely want to build a lot of mass before competing again.

However, it's not out of the question for sure! XD