BF Estimate

JMBS


RS,
   I'll bet all the mesos out there want to kill you right now!  ;)
I've gained about 15 lb in 3 months.  That's a pretty good rate, right?  My bf% doesn't seem to have taken off, so a good portion of that is muscle hopefully.  Your "chunky" is another man's "fit".  I know if I start to see the spare tire and pooch get much bigger I'm going to not be able to take it and will either slow the bulk down and try to get stronger, or will go into a cut.  I don't think I'm willing to look my version of "chunky" to continue putting on mass.  RS, you're on a cut or bulk now?

Right now im kind of experimenting and seeing how low my bf% can actually get with a diet and regimen that I can maintain.  Im trying to get from around 5.7% to 5%.  Its proving really difficult and all the HIIT and its becoming really hard to recover from the HIIT and heavy squats.  Im thinking 5% might be too low for me to hover around.  6% seems to be real easy for me though.

Im just chaning little things at a time and seeing what happens.  Im cutting out all starches all together even on the carb up and sticking to fruits and only whole foods.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

people are still "bulking" on this site eh?

oldschool!

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

Blitzseth


people are still "bulking" on this site eh?

oldschool!

Throw us a bone!   What's the latest?

Blitzseth


people are still "bulking" on this site eh?

oldschool!

I like you.

working on explosive phase
vertical: 35
weight: 206

Big 3: 300/440/515

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.

RollingStone

Blitzseth


people are still "bulking" on this site eh?

oldschool!

I like you.

#33

Sorry dude, i got a gf.... but i'll check if she'd be jealous :P
lol
-------------------------
JMBS : I'm not too sure how much you know about endocrinology. But i'll try to simplify.

Doing constant phases of cutting and bulking in the traditional sense has large impacts on hormonal modulation.
There is really nothing too bad about "cutting" and "bulking" but its all in the way that you do it.

First thinng you want to do is figure out how carb tolerant you are. That will determine what effect different types on carbs will have on your body composition.
Easy (less accurate) way to test your carb tolerance would be... when you wakei n the morning. eat only a ****load of carbs. If you feel lazy/leepy after.. then you're not very tolerant... if you feel energized and wide awake... you're a lucky bastard.

SO. lets say you're carb intolerant. what do you do?
Well... you need to increase your tolerance.

How do you do that?.... you cut carbs. This works because you will start to deprive your body of carbs, which in turn causes less insulin release. And to adapt, your body will increase its SENSITIVITY to insulin.
There are also supplements you can take along the way to help with increase isulin sensitivity like Fenugreek, Fish oil, Cinnamon etc.

So once your sensitivity is higher you can start handling more carbs. (bascially you must earn your carbs. so cut down bodyfat and you cna have more carbs)

Now i dont mean you're allowed to have starchy carbs in every single meal. Remember... you sensitivity was innitially low likely because your genetics suck.
But no problem!
Simply add these carbs post workout... you need them at that time anyway.
now your sensisitivty will be so high, and the fact that your taking in carbs will gelp you grow that much faster.

Sounds good?


Oh also... if you're wondering how to avoid carbs post workout when "cutting"
you can take glutamine and glycine with your shakes... it'll help you replenish glycogen stores.

cheers.

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

B,
   Thx!  That's a lot to take in!  I know nothing about endocrinology.  Okay so first thing in the morning carbs.  Complex only?  Pasta by the truckload, or is cereal and milk, or toast and jelly okay?

quicker the carb, the easier you'll notice it.

ofcourse reallize that its not a very accurate test. but if you're storing far on the suprailliac (lovehandles) or subscap (umm... mid back..ish), you're likely low tolerance.

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

Blitzseth


quicker the carb, the easier you'll notice it.

ofcourse reallize that its not a very accurate test. but if you're storing far on the suprailliac (lovehandles) or subscap (umm... mid back..ish), you're likely low tolerance.

The little fat I have is love handles and lower ab pooch.

lovehandle = insulin

ab poooch = cortisol.

Hows your sleep? do you get 8 hours? do you fall asleep easy? do you wake up in the middle of night? do you wake up tired in the morning? do you go to bed at the same time every night?

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

Blitzseth


lovehandle = insulin

ab poooch = cortisol.

Hows your sleep? do you get 8 hours? do you fall asleep easy? do you wake up in the middle of night? do you wake up tired in the morning? do you go to bed at the same time every night?

Sleep is pretty good.  Have to get up once or twice to pee.  If I get up to workout at 5am I probably only get 5 or 6 hours, otherwise 8 or more.  I fall asleep easily,  I'm not tired in the morning.  In bed varies from about 10 to midnight.

JMBS

Blitzseth


lovehandle = insulin

ab poooch = cortisol.

Hows your sleep? do you get 8 hours? do you fall asleep easy? do you wake up in the middle of night? do you wake up tired in the morning? do you go to bed at the same time every night?

Sleep is pretty good.  Have to get up once or twice to pee.  If I get up to workout at 5am I probably only get 5 or 6 hours, otherwise 8 or more.  I fall asleep easily,  I'm not tired in the morning.  In bed varies from about 10 to midnight.

Alrite. Well theres such a tihng as teh Insulin/cortisal seesaw. If your insulin goes up, your cortisol will have ot go up to brign your insulin back down... and hten the insulin will go up to bring hte cortisol back down... so its a viscious cycle.

control your insulin, and you'll prob be alrite.

and cut out stresses from your life.

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

B,
   Simple sugars are no good for the insulin rollercoaster right?  I should cut those out?  I drink coffee (probably 2 cups a day, black w/o sugar).  That gets the cortisol going, right?  Should I avoid caffeine if I don't need it.  It's more of a vice.  I could give it up if it would do me good.  It also curbs my  appetite which might be a problem w/not getting enough calories to gain more muscle.  Thx for all your help!  :)

I never knew cinnamon and fish oil helped with sensitivity.

It's no wonder I got carb sensitive quickly after keto. I am and at the time took 15-20g of fish oil and 3-5g of cinnamon every day.

Awesome, this must be why I'm not becoming a fat ass on my current bulk.

I have an absolutely horrid time sleeping, I wake up constantly, usually tired when I do get up unless I drink some coffee (Black no sugar for me)...

I tried melatonin and it helped for a little while, but nothing seems to help get me through 7-8 solid hours of sleeping without waking up. =/

Blitzseth


lovehandle = insulin

ab poooch = cortisol.

Hows your sleep? do you get 8 hours? do you fall asleep easy? do you wake up in the middle of night? do you wake up tired in the morning? do you go to bed at the same time every night?

6'3"  @213

Squat 1x20x275

press:200, Deadlift:475, Bench:300, P.clean:235, Squat:385

"The only failure that is final is to stop trying to improve"

Blitzseth

ab poooch = cortisol.

I have this. The ab pooch, never really been able to get rid of it. Even when I was very lean, it's a sign of high cortisol?

ACE-CPT, NASM-CPT, AFPA-Nutrition Consultant 

Hmm never heard that before myself interesting. I would think you would just need to be really low bf as in its one of the last places for it to really come off.

JMBS


B,
   Simple sugars are no good for the insulin rollercoaster right?  I should cut those out?  I drink coffee (probably 2 cups a day, black w/o sugar).  That gets the cortisol going, right?  Should I avoid caffeine if I don't need it.  It's more of a vice.  I could give it up if it would do me good.  It also curbs my  appetite which might be a problem w/not getting enough calories to gain more muscle.  Thx for all your help!  :)

Nah, dont produce cortisol stressing over your coffee. keep drinking coffee, its the only bitter herb we consume now days. alot of studies show coffee drinkers live about 5 years longer than non-coffee :)

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

MVP

Blitzseth

ab poooch = cortisol.

I have this. The ab pooch, never really been able to get rid of it. Even when I was very lean, it's a sign of high cortisol?

Yeah usually. Control your stresses... whether they're form training..work..relationships.. whatever it is.

ALSO note that certain food may be very mild allergens to your body. Eggs are a common example.

Go to a naturopath and get it all tested.

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

Nm0ney34


I have an absolutely horrid time sleeping, I wake up constantly, usually tired when I do get up unless I drink some coffee (Black no sugar for me)...

I tried melatonin and it helped for a little while, but nothing seems to help get me through 7-8 solid hours of sleeping without waking up. =/

Blitzseth


lovehandle = insulin

ab poooch = cortisol.

Hows your sleep? do you get 8 hours? do you fall asleep easy? do you wake up in the middle of night? do you wake up tired in the morning? do you go to bed at the same time every night?

sounds like you have pretty high cortisol then.

Few things you can do to improve your sleep.
Make the room completely dark.. not even the red LED on the tv should be on.. no alarm clock light. Go to bed at the same time every night.. no matter whether you're sleepy or not.
Believe it or not theres receptors on your skin that can sense light. so even if you're wearing those eye covers, you can wake up to light.

Also.. try taking Rhodiola Rosea in the mornings. it will help normalize your neurotransmitters and corisol.
Eat red meats closer to the morning as they keep you a bit more awake.. stick to white meats and fish later in the day.


OH i forgot ot mention to you high cortisol guys. take some Phosphatydil Serine before bed. (follow dosage instructions on the bottle)

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

PumaKrieg


Hmm never heard that before myself interesting. I would think you would just need to be really low bf as in its one of the last places for it to really come off.

yeah its a genetic thing.

people tend to handle stresses in different ways

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

Blitzseth

Sorry dude, i got a gf.... but i'll check if she'd be jealous :P
lol
-------------------------
JMBS : I'm not too sure how much you know about endocrinology. But i'll try to simplify.

Doing constant phases of cutting and bulking in the traditional sense has large impacts on hormonal modulation.
There is really nothing too bad about "cutting" and "bulking" but its all in the way that you do it.

First thinng you want to do is figure out how carb tolerant you are. That will determine what effect different types on carbs will have on your body composition.
Easy (less accurate) way to test your carb tolerance would be... when you wakei n the morning. eat only a ****load of carbs. If you feel lazy/leepy after.. then you're not very tolerant... if you feel energized and wide awake... you're a lucky bastard.

SO. lets say you're carb intolerant. what do you do?
Well... you need to increase your tolerance.

How do you do that?.... you cut carbs. This works because you will start to deprive your body of carbs, which in turn causes less insulin release. And to adapt, your body will increase its SENSITIVITY to insulin.
There are also supplements you can take along the way to help with increase isulin sensitivity like Fenugreek, Fish oil, Cinnamon etc.

So once your sensitivity is higher you can start handling more carbs. (bascially you must earn your carbs. so cut down bodyfat and you cna have more carbs)

Now i dont mean you're allowed to have starchy carbs in every single meal. Remember... you sensitivity was innitially low likely because your genetics suck.
But no problem!
Simply add these carbs post workout... you need them at that time anyway.
now your sensisitivty will be so high, and the fact that your taking in carbs will gelp you grow that much faster.

Sounds good?


Oh also... if you're wondering how to avoid carbs post workout when "cutting"
you can take glutamine and glycine with your shakes... it'll help you replenish glycogen stores.

cheers.

Oh my Crom, Lightning Clive is back!  And he's jacked as ever!  And it looks like you spilled some alphabet soup on your signature... nice, nice!  You've clearly been a busy bee.

I see you've been to the same mountaintop as Jillian Michaels -I've been reading all about endocrine-specific training and slow vs. fast oxidizers in her latest book.  Fascinating suff!

My home away from DBB

I like where this is going, Clive.  I've been on a carb-crazy bulking spree for over four months now, and while it paid HUGE dividends initially, I've noticed that my rate of gains has slowed considerably (I've always written that off to diminishing returns).  But I also suspect that prolonged carb loading like this is dampenning my insulin sensitivity a lot faster than I originally thought.

Are you suggesting that I roll off to a low-carb option for a few months to get my insulin sensitivity back up?

My home away from DBB

PumaKrieg


decided to try to get some more pictures after a nice big dinner. I swear I eat more physical food than ever on this diet and still lose weight; its quite cool. Don't kill me for the back pictures it is quite hard when im trying to take pictures in the mirror and i suck at posing.

Okay, couple of things.  First off, You lucky bastid, you look to have the same upper body proportions as 'Stone even BEFORE you cut.  That tells me you're going to have a sick lat spread-to-waist ratio and when you carve it up, you're going to be more jacked than me, so I hate you.  In a good way.

Also, you've clearly got enough thickness going on in your back that you could follow "Stone's advice about a slow, clean, lean gaining strategy and the cutting will practically take care of itself.  Rather than look at it as an either/or (hard bulk or dedicated shred), just focus on not letting your bulking activities get carried away.  It's how I picked up my first 15 lbs of muscle, and for a long time, I was a strong proponent of clean bulking.  I too saw little value in slamming everything up to 15% just to have to slave away at carving it up later.

On the other hand, and in keeping with the comments already offered, these day's I'm not so concerned about being ripped to shreds 365 days out of the year.  Personally, I want to keep it all at or below 10%, but I'm finding that sustaining the kind of anabolic response I've enjoyed lately is just not realistic (FOR ME) with that kind of diet and training approach.  Some guys can do it, and some guys clearly have more patience than I.

As to the pics, it looks like you're swinging some variety of Canon PowerShot Point-and-Shoot.  Does it have a self-timer?  If so, consider buying one of these bad boys.  Stupid compact, and dirt cheap.  It will make your life considerably easier

Attached Image(s)

My home away from DBB

veggeep


I like where this is going, Clive.  I've been on a carb-crazy bulking spree for over four months now, and while it paid HUGE dividends initially, I've noticed that my rate of gains has slowed considerably (I've always written that off to diminishing returns).  But I also suspect that prolonged carb loading like this is dampenning my insulin sensitivity a lot faster than I originally thought.

Are you suggesting that I roll off to a low-carb option for a few months to get my insulin sensitivity back up?

you might want to switch into some carb cycling, if your bodyfat is still low

Clive Clutton HH. BSc.
P.I.C.P. Strength and Conditioning Coach
Biosignature Practitioner
cclutton@gmail.com (important emails only)

veggeep

PumaKrieg


decided to try to get some more pictures after a nice big dinner. I swear I eat more physical food than ever on this diet and still lose weight; its quite cool. Don't kill me for the back pictures it is quite hard when im trying to take pictures in the mirror and i suck at posing.

Okay, couple of things.  First off, You lucky bastid, you look to have the same upper body proportions as 'Stone even BEFORE you cut.  That tells me you're going to have a sick lat spread-to-waist ratio and when you carve it up, you're going to be more jacked than me, so I hate you.  In a good way.

Also, you've clearly got enough thickness going on in your back that you could follow "Stone's advice about a slow, clean, lean gaining strategy and the cutting will practically take care of itself.  Rather than look at it as an either/or (hard bulk or dedicated shred), just focus on not letting your bulking activities get carried away.  It's how I picked up my first 15 lbs of muscle, and for a long time, I was a strong proponent of clean bulking.  I too saw little value in slamming everything up to 15% just to have to slave away at carving it up later.

On the other hand, and in keeping with the comments already offered, these day's I'm not so concerned about being ripped to shreds 365 days out of the year.  Personally, I want to keep it all at or below 10%, but I'm finding that sustaining the kind of anabolic response I've enjoyed lately is just not realistic (FOR ME) with that kind of diet and training approach.  Some guys can do it, and some guys clearly have more patience than I.

As to the pics, it looks like you're swinging some variety of Canon PowerShot Point-and-Shoot.  Does it have a self-timer?  If so, consider buying one of these bad boys.  Stupid compact, and dirt cheap.  It will make your life considerably easier

Sorry didn't see this until now. Thanks for the good advice as always.