On the right track?

[ScotsRow1]

Hi all,

Looking for some people in the know to tell me if I'm on the right track or not regarding cutting weight.

Decided to do my first proper cut as I have spent my lifting career lifting and eating. I was conscious to give myself as much time as possible so I did not lose much strength. However I'm not sure if I have stalled.

Stats at the start:

105.2kg
23% BF (dexa)

Current stats:
100.8kg
19/20% bf (going off picture reference).
TDEE (-500kcal): 2460

First 4 weeks were a "transition to diet phase" which was all calculated off LBM and not total mass:

2 high carb days per week at 2-3g carbs per lb bw/1-1.25g pro/minimal fats
3 med carb days per week at 1.5g carb/1.25g pro/0.15g fat
2 low carb days per week at 0.5g carb/1.5g pro/0.35g fat

Training was 5/3/1 4 x per week and 2 x rugby sessions for 60mins. Cardio was added in on week 3 with two 20 - 30 minute walks, same for week 4.

I am only counting protein from protein sources, carbs from carbs, fat from fat.

Week 1: 105.2kg
Week 2: 104.2kg
Week 3: 103.2kg
Week 4: 102.4kg

The next phase I have completed 5 weeks into is set at:

High Carb Days - 2g C per lb/1g P per lb/min F
Low Carb Days - 0.5g C /1.5g P/0.35g F
Med Carb Days - same as low except post workout 80g carbs & 20 - 25g protein

Week 1 - 3: 2 High, 2 med, 3 low
Week 4 - Present: 1 high, 3 med, 3 low. 1 x cheat meal yesterday.

Now here is where I think I've stalled.

Week 1 - 101.7kg
Week 2 - 101.2kg
Week 3 - 101.7kg
Week 4 - 100.2kg
Week 5 - 100.8kg
Current week - 100.8kg

I have dropped to 99.2kg last week but seems to creep back up.

I thought maybe counting all the macros from each food source might be the way to go forward so have set my plan up with that for the next few weeks. I've also set my food sources at:

My questions are:

Am I going about things the right way?
Should I change anything?
Any other general comments.

My strength hasn't suffered, maybe slightly increased as I matched my squat PB of 200kg which I set at 105kg and managed it at 100kg.

Thanks in advance!

[ScotsRow1]

Bump!

[ScotsRow1]

Decided to run with counting everything from everything.

Currently running:

High day(1x per week) - 305g C/175g P/Min F
Med Day (3x per week) - 141g C/307g P/60g F(80g C + 40g P PWO)
Low Day (2x per week) - Min C/267g P/60g F

Weight was 98.9kg today and sitting around 17/18% bf I reckon.

Goal is 13 - 15% bf by June 29th.

Any feedback appreciated!

[ScotsRow1]

Might as well turn this into a log!

Medium day yesterday, down to 97.8kg

[ScotsRow1]

Weights for this weeks sessions:

Squat - 180kg x 3
Push Press - 117kg x 3
Deadlift - 162.5kg x 5
Bench - 130kg x 3

Strength staying reasonably up. Had to drop push press max, but not sure if that was due to low energy.

[Mr. Small]

Might as well turn this into a log!

Might as well follow you then.

[ScotsRow1]

97.9kg yesterday. Planned cheat meal. Was at a family event so it was average, not what I would have planned.

Today 98.5kg. Hopefully just water weight! Strange not enjoying being heavier when I step on the scales!

Today's training is a fitness test that we'll be doing in pre season...not looking forward to it!

So in 11 weeks:

105.4kg - 98.5kg
Bf: 23% - approx 17/18%

6.9kg
6/5% bf

[ScotsRow1]

97.5kg today.

Planned weights for squat session tonight are:

150kg x 5
170kg x 3
190kg x 1+

Also got 25mins of intervals to do after the session.

[ScotsRow1]

Hit all weights tonight. Got 190kg for 1, probably could have pushed out 2 but been doing this long enough to know injury free is more rewarding that a sloppy rep.

25 mins of 30s on/30s off on the bike was not fun!

[Mr. Small]

97.9kg yesterday. Planned cheat meal. Was at a family event so it was average, not what I would have planned.

Today 98.5kg. Hopefully just water weight! Strange not enjoying being heavier when I step on the scales!

Today's training is a fitness test that we'll be doing in pre season...not looking forward to it!

So in 11 weeks:

105.4kg - 98.5kg
Bf: 23% - approx 17/18%

6.9kg
6/5% bf

Maybe you would be better off shooting for 10% first. Getting down to 6% will probably be a battle.

[ScotsRow1]

Sorry the stats at the end were what I lost up to that point since starting, not my goals.

Aim is around 14/15%.

Jumped on the scales this morning and 96.8kg. First thing that popped into my head was...is it dropping too fast now?! Never happy haha.

[ScotsRow1]

Just finished training.

Push press:
97.5kg x 5
112.5kg x 3
125kg x 2

Push press felt good compared to last week. Although I felt tired throughout the rest of the session. Finished off with 55mins steady cycling as I never got my morning walk in today.

Today is medium carb day 275p/100c/56f.

[ScotsRow1]

96.6kg today.

No lifting, going to do some interval training later.

Today is low carb day: 262p/49c/74f (55/10/35)

[ScotsRow1]

96.6kg again today. Are out last night at a chicken establishment. Kept meal pretty much the same but reckon the marinade is probably quite high in salt!

Clean & Deadlift day today. Planned weights are:

Cleans - 75 x 3, 85 x 3, 95 x 3
Deadlift - 135 x 5, 155 x 3, 172.5 x 1+

[ScotsRow1]

Hit all the clean weights today and deadlift. Got 172.5kg x 5 which is more than I thought!

Followed up with 55min steady on the bike.

Today is medium carb day 275p/100c/56f.

[ScotsRow1]

96.4kg today.

Bench:
110kg x 5
122.5kg x 3
140kg x 1

Still unsure if I'm doing things right. Strength is maintaining/slightly increasing but visually I feel like the only thing that's noticeably leaner is my arms.

Abs are on the verge of showing through but it's taking a hell of a lot longer than I thought. 30 days until my goal date, guess I'll just keep going the way I am.

[ScotsRow1]

97kg yesterday. Morning sprint session and a pretty substantial cheat day...how come it is never as good as I think?!

This morning 97.5kg.

Question for anyone who's watching. Do you think I'm running my calories too low?

High Carb 179g pro/280g carb/24g fat (1x per week)
Med carb 275/100/56 (3x per week)
Low carb 262/49/74(3x per week)

25
5ft 11
16% bf

TDEE says 2906. Started dropping it by 500 then dropped it to the above when I stalled a couple of weeks ago.

Not sure if I am underestimating my activity level, however I'm not very active outside of my training session for the day (excluding dog walks).

[ScotsRow1]

96.5kg today. Water from cheat day lost.

No weights today as I'm working tonight. Done 15mins intervals this morning.

Still no idea if I'm on the right track ha but I guess I keep going! Really hungry these passed two days.

[RaginCajun]

seems you are doing well scotsrow1. just hit your macros day in and day out, and reassess if stalling. what does your workout/training schedule look like? how much cardio are you doing?

[ScotsRow1]

Following 5/3/1

Cardio has upped this week according to the original plan I am following:

Monday - squat (30 min interval cardio)
Tues - push press (55 min steady cardio)
Wed - 55 min steady cardio x 2
Thurs - clean & deadlift (20 min interval cardio)
Friday - Steady 55 mins cardio
Sat - Bench (steady 55 mins cardio)
Sunday - 30 mins intervals + 55 mins cardio.

I try to keep the steady cardio to the mornings (walking the dog) and weights in the evenings. However as my pre season training is approaching I am considering dropping 1 or 2 of the steady and putting in 1 or 2 more intervals as it is more specific to the sport.

[RaginCajun]

Following 5/3/1Cardio has upped this week according to the original plan I am following:Monday - squat (30 min interval cardio)Tues - push press (55 min steady cardio)Wed - 55 min steady cardio x 2Thurs - clean & deadlift (20 min interval cardio)Friday - Steady 55 mins cardioSat - Bench (steady 55 mins cardio)Sunday - 30 mins intervals + 55 mins cardio.I try to keep the steady cardio to the mornings (walking the dog) and weights in the evenings. However as my pre season training is approaching I am considering dropping 1 or 2 of the steady and putting in 1 or 2 more intervals as it is more specific to the sport.

looks good man. just stick to your macros and track your progress. how are you carb cycling in regards to your workouts? i would try to have 3 low days in a row, which would be tough with your lifting schedule.

[ScotsRow1]

Been doing 1 high day, three medium, three low. Usually:
Mon - squats (high)
Tues - press (med)
Wes - off (low)
Thurs - DL (med)
Fri - off (low)
Sat - bench (med)
Sun - off (low)

But this week I'm on 1 high, 4 low, 2 med. will probably be:

Mon - off (low)
Tues - squats (high)
Wed - press (low)
Thurs - DL (med)
Fri - Bench (med)
Sat - off (low)
Sun - off (low)

Working all weekend so had to change it up a bit.

[ScotsRow1]

96.5kg again today. 55mins cardio this morning (walk) & then squats this evening. I was coaching tonight prior to squats.

135kg x 5
155kg x 5
175kg x 5

Last set was pretty tough. First time I've felt like I wasn't going to hit the squat weight during this whole process. Dug deep though and got it.

Mood was pretty good today, felt like I could see a little improvement in physique. Today was high carb day.

[ScotsRow1]

96kg today. Medium Carb day. Mood has been pretty good.

Training sessions are becoming tougher and tougher however as the weights continue to go up.

Tonight was push press:

90kg x 5
102.5kg x 5
115kg x 6

Push press felt good. Never done any cardio today. This weeks cardio hasn't been great. Must re-focus tomorrow and get back on the wagon!

Off to eat my last meal of the day!

[RaginCajun]

consistency is the key to this! keep it up!

[ScotsRow1]

Yeah that's probably been my biggest learning point along with it takes longer than you think!

95.9kg today. Mood was pretty good! Clean & deadlift day. Medium carb day.

Power Cleans - 77.5kg x 3, 87.5 x 3, 97.5 x 1. Technique issues so dropped the weight and worked on that for a set or 2!

Deadlift - 130kg x 5, 152.5kg x 5, 170kg x 5.
Grip started to give out so called it a day at the 5 reps.
Followed up with some prowler work for cardio...wasn't fun!

Noticed that since I started posting on the 13th May I'm down 9.5kg and probably about 4/5% bf. I was complaining about being stuck but just shows that over time it all adds up!

I'm torn at the moment about how far I take this. I'm 24 days away from my holiday but pre season training starts in 12 days. Half of me says stop now and try to climb up slowly, but the other half says I've never been this low BF before and I've come this far so keep going until the end. Decisions decisions!

[ScotsRow1]

95.7 today. Low carb day. Mood has been pretty good all round. Still motivated!

No weights today, going to do bench on Sunday night. 50 mins walk this evening.

Probably just going to keep going until the end. No point in stopping now as far as I can see! Only thing that would make me stop is if my lifts have dropped dramatically when we do our 1RM testing on the week beginning 16th June. Hopefully not as I've kept my 531 cycles progressing with only push press being dropped.

[ScotsRow1]

So yesterday was 95.7 again and it was cheat meal day. 8 doughnuts and a pizza later and I was 96.7 today.

Spent the whole day on my feet working with new coaches, and trained tonight. It's low carb day and bench. Bench took a hit, but I'm hoping it's just diuento having worked all day when I normally wouldn't.

100 x 5
115 x 5
130 x 3 - meant to be 5 but struggled.

Afterwords we done the fitness test we will be doing in pre season. It sucked, and I'm hoping that with more carbs I'll improve!

[ScotsRow1]

Life took over so hadn't been able to update. However yesterday and today I was 95.1kg. Mood has been ok, food always on my mind!
Monday was squats:
5 x 142.5
5 x 167.5
5 x 182.5

Was pretty please with that but man it was tough! It was high carb day.

Tuesday was fitness in the morning and push press at night:

5 x 95
5 x 115
5 x 122.5

Had more but just focusing on hitting my weights, progressing consistently and staying injury free.

Wednesday was a day off.

Today is cleans/deadlift and fitness tonight.