Gains disappear?

[Eat Too Much]

I've been bodybuilding naturally for 6 years now.. My biggest issue is cutting fat for summer.. I seem to gain weight fairly easily. After researching I've decided I would like to cycle Winstrol to try an lose than last 10 pounds.. My question is, if I was sucessfull in getting to my goal weight, will I gain it all back immediatly after I stop the cycle? I plan to eat fairly clean throughout the summer like I usually do.. In the winter I am content at 190-195lbs and I've dieted down to 173-175, but I need to be down around 160-165 to show good abs.. Is this a worthiwhile plan?

[Hellmaskbanned]

If your goal is to lose weight, AAS is not needed and are not very effective in this department. Cutting or bulking requires your diet to suit that, not what you take.

[Eat Too Much]

I understand that, but I keep hitting a plateau just shy of my goal weight each year.. When I diet really heavy, I feel like crap and my strength goes down quite a bit. After reasearching, Winni should help with strength levels and fat loss.. No? If not, what is the recommendation?

[Haro3]

im not bashing but this is what i've gathered ur 195 in the winter...and u need to be 160 to show abs? so lets say that ur showing ur abs at a gernous 8% bf. so 160x(.08) = 12.8 160-12.8 = 147.2 so thats what you'd weigh at 0% bf no ur 195 in the winter that makes u 147.5/195 = .75 x(100) 75% muscle which = 25%bf at 195lbs ..........if that is at all true diet would do u plenty well...

but thats jus my obvservation..

[Eat Too Much]

Yeah, I get big in the winter.. That's just how my body deals with my appetite.. I agree that I am too big in the winter time.. I think that If I gain less weight in the winter, it wont be so hard to get cut in the summer.. Gaining weight just comes too easy for me

[Hellmaskbanned]

im not bashing but this is what i've gathered ur 195 in the winter...and u need to be 160 to show abs? so lets say that ur showing ur abs at a gernous 8% bf. so 160x(.08) = 12.8 160-12.8 = 147.2 so thats what you'd weigh at 0% bf no ur 195 in the winter that makes u 147.5/195 = .75 x(100) 75% muscle which = 25%bf at 195lbs ..........if that is at all true diet would do u plenty well...

but thats jus my obvservation..

aww you seem kolage edjagated.

Yeah if your 25% BF at 195lbs, you need to do some serious corrections to alot!

[Haro3]

then u need to learn how ur body responds to different diets. obviously you eating to much of something in the winter time that causes u to blow up.. u could be sensitive to carbs or fats or just dont need as high of cals as you think you do. my recomendation would be to strucutre a diet and slowly build up and when u start gaining fat u know ur too high etc.

[Eat Too Much]

Yeah, that's gonna be the plan this year.. I gain the weight with the intention and building muscle, but I usually get in too deep.. I've never been cut to my own liking.. 168ish is as low as I've gotten. At that weight, I can see the upper ab lines, but I still have that little bit of fat on the lower abs. I even target that region with legraises and reverse crunches.. Just not sure how to get that last little bit off.. Thought maybe winni would help.

[DSM4Life]

Yeah, that's gonna be the plan this year.. I gain the weight with the intention and building muscle, but I usually get in too deep.. I've never been cut to my own liking.. 168ish is as low as I've gotten. At that weight, I can see the upper ab lines, but I still have that little bit of fat on the lower abs. I even target that region with legraises and reverse crunches.. Just not sure how to get that last little bit off.. Thought maybe winni would help.

Seeing your ab's is all about diet. One thing that use to drive me crazy was going from bulking to cutting then back to bulking etc. Pick one goal and stick with it. Do you want to get big ? Then bulk until you reach your goal even if it means 3 bulk diets/seasons/summers in a row. You want to cut to see your abs, then cut till the wind blows you away. Again stressing the point to PICK ONE GOAL AND WORK ON THAT GOAL ONLY.

[Bigmax]

Have to agree with DSM here bro...the yoyo effect will not work bro...How tall are you??..unless you're under 5'9 195lbs is not big bro(unless you're at 5%BF)..and from what Ive read you not...do dont cheat yourself...pick one or the other.

[ascendant]

k, for starters, it is not a specific weight that your abs will show at, it is a particular bf%. you need to get bf calipers and learn how to measure your bf%. bf% comes first, weighing in comes second, cause without measuring your bf%, you have no idea how much muscle and how much fat you're carrying.

now, winstrol WILL NOT cut you up. the only reason people use winstrol while cutting is cause it causes very little water retention so you don't get that puffiness you would from other kinds of gear. winstrol is used by experienced gear users while preparing for a show and is not for someone looking to lose some fat.

if you really want something to help you lose fat, the most important thing to start with is get your diet and cardio in check. once you read the diet forums and get all that in check to where they should be, then you could consider a fat-burner, such as clen, ECA, or even something more basic like hydroxycut hardcore. those can help you lose fat, but only if everything else is in check first!

last, you need to stop letting yourself go off-season. learn to moderate yourself when it comes to calories, as eating more by no means gaining more muscle. not gaining so much fat off-season will make your life so much easier when it comes to cutting up. everybody hates having to cut up and all the issues associated with it, so the less of it you have to do, the better.

off-season, limit the cheat meals to twice a week and get some self-discipline man. it's not about how much you gain, it's how good you look WHILE gaining, and those gains should primarily be muscle, which it doesn't seem to be in your case.

i've been in your shoes, and it took me years before i learned it wasn't all about just continually trying to gain. sometimes you need to lean those gains out, and eventually you learn how to gain lean muscle without putting all that extra fat on off-season. now, less fat off-season leads to looking better year round, feeling better (cause of carrying less fat around), and for many, more sex, as you're more appealing to the ladies year-round.

[Eat Too Much]

last, you need to stop letting yourself go off-season. learn to moderate yourself when it comes to calories, as eating more by no means gaining more muscle. not gaining so much fat off-season will make your life so much easier when it comes to cutting up. everybody hates having to cut up and all the issues associated with it, so the less of it you have to do, the better.

This is the key factor.. I have been shedding more than 40 lbs every year. That is what is making my diet so hard to stay on.. Right now, I am at 173-175lbs and I feel like I would like to loose another 10 lbs. My goal will now be to not exceed 175. What kind of diet should I be on now to loose this last 10 lbs? I do a 6 day workout split and 2 of those days are strickly cardio and abs. Set me straight on my routine and diet, all of the help is appreciated..
Basically, I want to now focus on getting shredded and not lose the gains that I've made. This is what I'm doing now:
Day 1- Chest / light tri's
Day 2- Cardio and abs
Day 3- Back / forearms
Day 4- Shoulders / traps
Day 5- Bi's and Tri's
Day 6- Cardio and abs
Day 7- rest
I do my cardio on an empty stomach aside from a protein shake.
How should I base my diet for these days? I usually wake up around 9:30am and arrive at the gym around 11:30am. Doing this spit and eating pretty much whatever I want has me maintaining my current weight. Would I be better off stepping up the cardio OR cleaning up my diet? Thanks for the help.

[ascendant]

This is the key factor.. I have been shedding more than 40 lbs every year. That is what is making my diet so hard to stay on.. Right now, I am at 173-175lbs and I feel like I would like to loose another 10 lbs. My goal will now be to not exceed 175.

again, don't worry about the weight, worry about your bf%. you can get a pair of bf calipers for like $10-30, depending on where and what kind. without bf calipers, you won't know if your diet and cardio has you losing fat or muscle. it's about experimenting and seeing what works and what doesn't.

What kind of diet should I be on now to loose this last 10 lbs? I do a 6 day workout split and 2 of those days are strickly cardio and abs. Set me straight on my routine and diet, all of the help is appreciated..

as far as a diet, all depends on your caloric needs and i can't give you a definitive number on that. if i were you, i'd read up on carb loading/depletion, cause it's very effective for losing fat.

the reason i keep suggesting the bf calipers is cause say you start cutting your calories down more to lose the fat. k, now you see weight coming off. however, if you cut those calories too low, you'll lose muscle as well, and without being able to measure your bf% and keep track to make sure you don't lose any muscle, there's no way of knowing for sure if your calories are in check.

as far as a general idea of where you need to start calorie and macro-wise, look at the stickies in the diet section to get an estimate and adjust it depending on how you compare to the person the caloric intake on the diet post was made for. the most important thing is to try to keep the macros similar to the ones on the thread. very high protein, low carbs, low fat.

Basically, I want to now focus on getting shredded and not lose the gains that I've made. This is what I'm doing now:
Day 1- Chest / light tri's
Day 2- Cardio and abs
Day 3- Back / forearms
Day 4- Shoulders / traps
Day 5- Bi's and Tri's
Day 6- Cardio and abs
Day 7- rest
I do my cardio on an empty stomach aside from a protein shake.
How should I base my diet for these days? I usually wake up around 9:30am and arrive at the gym around 11:30am. Doing this spit and eating pretty much whatever I want has me maintaining my current weight. Would I be better off stepping up the cardio OR cleaning up my diet? Thanks for the help.

as far as your training, i'd drop the light tri's training and only do them once a week. remember, while cutting you won't be able to build muscle, so the training is just to maintain. i'd also cut the ab training to once a week, as you only need to train them once a week as well IMO. since you're cutting, drop the forearm work. you'll get enough indirect work for them from your regular workouts, just get a firm hard grip on the barbells/dumbells while training and that will maintain them fine. with those adjustments, you should be able to cut your weight-training down to 4 days a week, giving you more time to focus on cardio.

now, as far as waking up at 9:30 and training at 11:30, what do you eat prior to going to the gym? personally, i feel you should get at least a good 2 meals in you before weight-training.

my advice for your cardio would be to do it before breakfast right after waking up. you'll burn more fat that way, just as long as you keep the cardio at a light to moderate intensity, basically no higher than 65-70% of your max hr. that's how i do it and i get great results. if you're concerned about catabolism, get yourself some gatorade powder and make it at about 1/2 the recommended concentration. the electrolytes and sugars, though very sparing in the mix, should be enough to stave off catabolism at a light intensity cardio session. oh, and keep the cardio to about 30-40minutes max.

you also need to do more cardio. near the end of my cutting phases, i do cardio about 9 times a week. i do 5 in the am pre-breakfast and 4 immediately post-workout. this is of course something you should very gradually work your way up to, but even just 5 times a week can be adequate for many people. however, 2 times a week won't cut it for maximum fat loss.

anyway, try to give yourself 2 days off a week as well. like i said before, turn your training into 4 days a week and keep your cardio on those same days. do cardio pre-breakfast and do your weight-training later on in the day if possible. if it's not, then maybe just do your cardio post-workout and then one additional morning. however, between the low caloric intake, the extra cardio, and the weight training, your body should get a good two days off per week to rest to keep from overtraining or burning out.

well, good luck to you and i hope this helped answer all your questions.