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On October 21 2013 17:23 Earll wrote:"Ideally, our forum users will write quality posts which we can append to this OP as they are answered." This never happened  Guess its understandable with 161 pages of questions and answers though, but am sure this question is answered elsewhere to some extent but i'll ask it anyway. Any tips on how to know when to go from 'bulking' to 'cutting'? So I am 1.82m tall or so, came back to norway and started working out semiseriously first wanted to go down a bit in weight so went down from like 85~ to 75~, then started bulking (+ started using creatine) so quite quickly went up to like 80~82.5, and then since then have gone up to like 87 now. My lifts have gone up a bit, squat and deadlift moreso than armexercises (though they were reallyreallylow) my squats are at 92.5kg, deadlift at 82.5 OHP at 37.5 and Benchpress (using dumbells) is at like 22.5 per dumbell ( ) Was thinking id just bulk up to 90kg then maybe try to rid myself of some fat, but that seems awefully close. should I let my lifts decide (e.g keep bulking til i reach a certain strength) or let my weight decide (e.g bulk up to 90kg or 95kg or?) and i guess what my end goal is would be relevant too? I used to be thinking long term perfect fitnessgoal that I would want to be at like 85-90kg but thats starting to seem pretty small =p anyway any input is much appriciated.
That's really only something you can decide. If you wanted to post pictures for people's opinions aesthetically you could do that. Or post your lifting numbers and people can tell you to get stronger...  It's really all about what you want. You seem to know the pros and cons for each approach so you're going to have to make the call as to what is most important to you.
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Personal opinion is you should bulk unless you have all the muscle you want for the time being OR you are above 15% bf.
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On October 21 2013 23:13 GoTuNk! wrote:
Personal opinion is you should bulk unless you have all the muscle you want for the time being OR you are above 15% bf.
I agree with this; it really depends on what your bf% is. If you're 90 kg and your squat is only 92.5kg, then you have a long way to go to be mostly muscle. If your goals are purely strength then just keep eating, if your goals are purely aesthetics then start cutting. If it's a mix you have to decide how important each piece is and plan accordingly.
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Hi everyone,
Three years ago I was exercising regularly and keeping fit and I was about 120 lbs. Now I'm 140 lbs. Most of this I'm pretty sure is fat. Right now I'm lifting weights about 2-3 times a week and my goal is to drop all that fat off while increasing strength.
I'm not sure what type of diet i should be following. I feel like I'm trying to lose weight (because of those extra 20 lbs) but also gain weight (in muscle). Right now I'm eating a lower carb mainly protein + veggies diet. I'm just wondering if I'm eating properly and if not, what type of nutrition/diet I should be following.
Thanks!
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How tall are you? I think most are going to say eat as much as you can of your protein/veggie diet. Like a lot.
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On October 22 2013 02:53 mordek wrote:
How tall are you? I think most are going to say eat as much as you can of your protein/veggie diet. Like a lot.
I am 5"5" and I have a thinner asian build. Should I be focusing on eating more calories than I'm burning or the other way round?
I want to lose fat more than gain muscle... so should I be doing less calories in and more calories out?
Thanks again
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If losing fat is the priority less calories in and more calories out yes. Stick with the lifting and I think you'll get where you want to be if you are consistent, good luck!
I would say if you're feeling overly tired from exercise eat more though.
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Thanks a lot for your help Mordek
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Make sure to read through the stickies in the Health & Fitness subforum if you haven't already You're more than welcome.
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On October 22 2013 04:52 mordek wrote:
I would say if you're feeling overly tired from exercise eat more though.
This is a huge key, glad mordek brought it up. Specifically, if you're feeling too tired from your workouts, try eating some carbs about an hour beforehand since your diet is so light on them. White rice is pretty convenient, and then increase your portion size in your first meal after the workout.
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I know this has probably been asked a lot, but any tips for improving hamstring flexibility? I do standard hip/hamstring stretches (mostly static) and I'm trying to do it as much as I can. My flexibility is pretty awful. If anyone's familiar with the sit and reach test where you push a block of wood along a track, I managed to push the block a measly 6 inches (still an improvement from my 4 inches). I can't come anywhere close to my toes if I try to touch the ground, and it feels tight just to have my legs completely straight when I'm just sitting on the ground.
Any tips are appreciated.
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Regular and consistent stretching is probably your best bet. Have you tried hamstring flossing with a lax ball as well? I'm not sure how much it helps for flexibility but I'm guessing it would.
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United States24799 Posts
I find it's hard to stretch the hamstring using a ball... maybe I don't know the proper form, but your leg just sorta absorbs the ball from that side, lol.
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United States24799 Posts
Oh maybe that position sitting on a bench with your upper body vertical will work much better.
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Yes, it makes a huge difference I'll be more specific in the future, thanks!
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If the maximum muscle gain I can expect to gain is 1-2 lbs per month, and both starting strength or a bodybuilding routine can achieve that growth, what is the difference? Or is my initial assumption incorrect?
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So yay, just broke 100kg barrier (on squats) still far away from having actual respectable numbers but have been looking forrward to breaching this barrier for a while. I noticed lately my squats have started to become reallysort of heavy and notice my Form is not as good as its supposed to be, especially today on the last set i was way more bent over than I should be, so im figuring i will just stay at 100kg for a little bit, maybe until my deadlift has caught up to my squat? (its currently at 90kg so that would be like 1.5 weeks) and then start increasing again as I am a bit more comfortable\stronger\better at having good form ? :v
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United States1865 Posts
@Earll Time for a deload bro, let your body rest. I find it weird how your deadlift is still lighter than your squat though... but that of course depends on your height and weight as well.
@joshie0808 Omfg. You are me. I was you when I first started (same weight&height). Skinnyfat as hell. Dude word from my experience don't diet, just eat at maintenance, or bulk with lots of protein. I went on a cut unknowingly at your weight and made no gains at one point for like 2 months straight. I don't know how long you've been lifting and how heavy you're lifting, but I can say that for guys at our height, we can still reach respectable weights, and 140 lbs feeling fat means that there's tons of room for muscle building. Let me know if you have any other questions about food and whatnot, I'm Vietnamese so I know the deal with our food and beer.
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On October 30 2013 11:12 Earll wrote:
So yay, just broke 100kg barrier (on squats) still far away from having actual respectable numbers but have been looking forrward to breaching this barrier for a while. I noticed lately my squats have started to become reallysort of heavy and notice my Form is not as good as its supposed to be, especially today on the last set i was way more bent over than I should be, so im figuring i will just stay at 100kg for a little bit, maybe until my deadlift has caught up to my squat? (its currently at 90kg so that would be like 1.5 weeks) and then start increasing again as I am a bit more comfortable\stronger\better at having good form ? :v
I agree with Snuggles you should probably deload. It's okay if it feels heavy, it should, but if your form is suffering then you are much more prone to injury which is a much larger setback than any deload would be. Don't worry about DL being lower than your squat, the comparisons only are relevant when you'v started plateauing in the lifts.
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EPT
