Post: #1

I am currently weighing in at 149lbs, ~18% body fat, 5'7. Once I get to about 145lbs in a few weeks, I will finish this cut and start adding muscle slowly.

My goal weight in the near future will be somewhere between 160-170 lbs, lean with anywhere from 10-15% body fat.

What are your current stats, and what is your ideal goal weight and why? I feel my goal weight allows me to have a great build, without giving too much of a meathead look. Also, I play soccer on and off throughout the year and can't sacrifice speed for weight.

What about you?

Post: #2

205 lbs 18-20% BF. Going to cut to 175-180 and slow bulk so I have all my abs visible year round while still being able to make gains.

Funny you use the word meathead. When I see a guy that is 150 lbs I think "scrawny little girl".

Post: #3

210 pounds, maybe 15% to 20% body fat. I'm getting a little fatter than I'd like.
I looked pretty good at 190 which is what I'm shooting for again this spring, once I'm done with this 20 rep squat program.

Post: #4

(03-12-2013 11:07 PM)Jaylow Wrote:  205 lbs 18-20% BF. Going to cut to 175-180 and slow bulk so I have all my abs visible year round while still being able to make gains.

Funny you use the word meathead. When I see a guy that is 150 lbs I think "scrawny little girl".

It depends on height also. Take someone who is 5'10 and weighs less than 150, that is scrawny.

This is the look I am trying to avoid: http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/2011/...uilder.jpg

This is what I am going for: http://cdn.stronglifts.com/wp-content/up...oitsov.jpg

I have nothing against guys who wish to look like Arnold in his prime. And also, I recognize to achieve that takes some ridiculous amount of time, dedication, and effort. I am just aiming for a body that projects strength, power, and agility.

Post: #5

(03-12-2013 11:01 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  I am currently weighing in at 149lbs, ~18% body fat, 5'7. Once I get to about 145lbs in a few weeks, I will finish this cut and start adding muscle slowly.

My goal weight in the near future will be somewhere between 160-170 lbs, lean with anywhere from 10-15% body fat.

What are your current stats, and what is your ideal goal weight and why? I feel my goal weight allows me to have a great build, without giving too much of a meathead look. Also, I play soccer on and off throughout the year and can't sacrifice speed for weight.

What about you?

Do you know your muscle breakdown? I am the same height, around 20% BF and I weigh around 170. My goal is anywhere b/w 15- 17 %BF by summer

Post: #6

(03-12-2013 11:16 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  This is the look I am trying to avoid: http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/2011/...uilder.jpg

I just don't like when someone talks down to someone else who has put in the time and effort to get that big.

The 2nd pic you linked (what you want to look like) that guy is huge. 170 lbs with 7-9% BF. Did you not see how big his legs are? You do not get those by playing soccer. How about this, get to a 400 squat and have a perfect diet and maybe in 2 years you will be halfway there at your current weight. Your lean body mass is probably around 100-110 lbs. That guy in the 2nd pics LBM is probably around 150 lbs. Do you know how hard it is to gain even 2 lbs of pure muscle in a month?

edit: That is an olympic gold medalist who can power clean more than 99% of this planet can even deadlift who has also been caught for doping. You need a more realistic role model.

Post: #7

172lb, 16.4%, 6'
I would like to get down to 10%, but it takes forever

Post: #8

weighed in at 238lb today bulked a bit too much for a meet thats coming up so I need to drop down to 230lb I ate shitty these past few days so I suspect its mostly water weight that I put on. Probably just over 20%bf I have good definitition in my legs and back. My ideal would be ~220lb at 10-15%bf. I prefer food over the dedication it would take to get single digit bf.

Squat: 315x3 (ideal = 500)
Deadlift: 405 (ideal = 5-600)
Bench: 185 (ideal = 315)


Hades: how is that 20rep squat program working for you? I'll do a session of suicide squats (20xbodyweight) if I ever feel like shit or eat way too much and its just BRUTAL.

Post: #9

6', 195, ~12% bf. Pretty happy just maintaining at this weight. The effort in the gym and the kitchen required to put more mass on my frame just isn't worth it for me at this point.

My main focus in the gym now is just keeping up a decently high level of strength in the big lifts with extreme attention to form. Injury prevention and long-term joint health are my primary goals, aesthetics and strength are secondary. Ideally I will be able to do this same routine until I'm 50+.

I know it's not sexy to have this kind of focus (especially younger guys in their teens and early 20s) but I would encourage everyone trying to bulk to prioritize their joint health over putting up as much weight as possible. It's better to be walking around at 80 or 90% of your potential for 30 years than to blow out your back, knees or shoulder after a few years of careless heavy lifting and be unable to lift much at all afterwards.

Post: #10

Pretty nice lifting stats Western, especially for this board. Your bench is insanely low compared to your sq and DL. Your plateau questions were for bench? What are your tri exercises?

Quote:I prefer food over the dedication it would take to get single digit bf.

Same. I love food so much, especially fast food and sour candy. Ive had all my abs visible once in my life for about half a year. Its really hard to get to that point and then maintain. I am working a heavy intensive labour job for the next 7 months so getting low BF will be easy. Keeping most of my muscle is going to be very hard on the other hand.

Post: #11

(03-13-2013 01:04 AM)WesternCancer Wrote:  weighed in at 238lb today bulked a bit too much for a meet thats coming up so I need to drop down to 230lb I ate shitty these past few days so I suspect its mostly water weight that I put on. Probably just over 20%bf I have good definitition in my legs and back. My ideal would be ~220lb at 10-15%bf. I prefer food over the dedication it would take to get single digit bf.

Squat: 315x3 (ideal = 500)
Deadlift: 405 (ideal = 5-600)
Bench: 185 (ideal = 315)


Hades: how is that 20rep squat program working for you? I'll do a session of suicide squats (20xbodyweight) if I ever feel like shit or eat way too much and its just BRUTAL.

It sucks ass. I started out at 185 x 20 (which was a mite low but still horrible) and I'm planning on adding five pounds per workout session for three workouts a week. It's the start of week 2 but I'm staying at or under 200 for a little while until I'm used to doing 20 reps in a row.

My buddies and I came up with the 135 pound death set one Friday when we were bored and dicking around in the gym for three hours. Load the bar, get underneath it, and squat continuously until you can't anymore. My record is something like 74 reps, ten minute break, then another 18 reps. I consider this impressive because I had never broken 250 reps on consecutive bodyweight squats.I don't know if it's any good for muscle growth but for endurance work it does seem pretty decent. Great way to get completely slayed on a Friday and resume gym work on Monday. Probably the only time I ever puked shortly before going out and drinking.

Post: #12

(03-13-2013 02:04 AM)Hades Wrote:  I don't know if it's any good for muscle growth but for endurance work it does seem pretty decent. Great way to get completely slayed on a Friday and resume gym work on Monday. Probably the only time I ever puked shortly before going out and drinking.

You're right on both counts. It does nothing for muscle growth but will help your endurance, just make sure your back stays straight or this is a recipe for disaster. Question: why don't you just do a 10 minute HIIT instead? It will probably do more for you with less risk of injury.

Post: #13

(03-13-2013 02:19 AM)Jaylow Wrote:  

(03-13-2013 02:04 AM)Hades Wrote:  I don't know if it's any good for muscle growth but for endurance work it does seem pretty decent. Great way to get completely slayed on a Friday and resume gym work on Monday. Probably the only time I ever puked shortly before going out and drinking.

You're right on both counts. It does nothing for muscle growth but will help your endurance, just make sure your back stays straight or this is a recipe for disaster. Question: why don't you just do a 10 minute HIIT instead? It will probably do more for you with less risk of injury.

No real reason outside of trying to make gym time more fun and see how quickly one could train to puke-failure in the gym (it's six to seven minutes). I had heard that some people puke on 20 rep squats but this didn't happen so I wondered how many reps it would take to induce puking in the gym. I also like to do math and figure out my training volume, it's fun to look back in the log book and find days when I was approaching like eight tons of work volume.

It's definitely not something I would consider doing more often than once a month. I'm going to start doing HIIT once it gets warm out.

Forgot to mention. Occasional high rep training has lots of carryover to playing rugby. I used to forgo heavy lifts and do mostly high rep hindu squats during rugby season and it definitely made me a more effective player.

Post: #14

(03-13-2013 12:07 AM)Jaylow Wrote:  

(03-12-2013 11:16 PM)Nascimento Wrote:  This is the look I am trying to avoid: http://www.t-nation.com/img/photos/2011/...uilder.jpg

I just don't like when someone talks down to someone else who has put in the time and effort to get that big.

The 2nd pic you linked (what you want to look like) that guy is huge. 170 lbs with 7-9% BF. Did you not see how big his legs are? You do not get those by playing soccer. How about this, get to a 400 squat and have a perfect diet and maybe in 2 years you will be halfway there at your current weight. Your lean body mass is probably around 100-110 lbs. That guy in the 2nd pics LBM is probably around 150 lbs. Do you know how hard it is to gain even 2 lbs of pure muscle in a month?

edit: That is an olympic gold medalist who can power clean more than 99% of this planet can even deadlift who has also been caught for doping. You need a more realistic role model.

Who is that guy? Does anyone know his height/weight and his lifts?


I am 6' and ~ 165 (about 10% bf) aiming to get to ~ 200 (about 10% bf)

Post: #15

Quote:Do you know your muscle breakdown? I am the same height, around 20% BF and I weigh around 170. My goal is anywhere b/w 15- 17 %BF by summer

Not sure. I don't have much lean mass though, but I'm not too skinny. I have a decent build to build from.

Quote:I just don't like when someone talks down to someone else who has put in the time and effort to get that big.

The 2nd pic you linked (what you want to look like) that guy is huge. 170 lbs with 7-9% BF. Did you not see how big his legs are? You do not get those by playing soccer. How about this, get to a 400 squat and have a perfect diet and maybe in 2 years you will be halfway there at your current weight. Your lean body mass is probably around 100-110 lbs. That guy in the 2nd pics LBM is probably around 150 lbs. Do you know how hard it is to gain even 2 lbs of pure muscle in a month?

edit: That is an olympic gold medalist who can power clean more than 99% of this planet can even deadlift who has also been caught for doping. You need a more realistic role model.

It was not my intention. I do not know but I recognize how much work it takes to get that big.

Yeah, if he's 170 that is what I am going for. He's really at low body fat too, which is something that is hard to maintain.

I did some strength training for about 3 months very recently, and I achieved the following as my highest stats:

Squat: 245 5 reps
Deadlift 300 5 reps
Overhead Press: 115 5 reps
Bench: 185 5 reps

It has decreased a little bit since I lowered my caloric intake, lost 5 pounds since then. But I feel this is a decent base to start off. I figure if I can squat 300 and deadlift ~350 by the end of the year, I am on a good start. That and some assistance movements with focus on 6-10 rep range to stimulate some hypertrophy.

Post: #16

Tired out on the most recent program I started on end-Dec. It involved about 25 workings sets/workout and it was pretty tough. My nutrition wasn't that good to boot.

Current:

5'10'', 200lbs, BF ~ 21.1%

Bench: 5x275lbs
OH-Press: 5x165lbs
Squats: 5x355lbs
Deadlift: 5x375lbs

Have only just gotten into deadlifting. I have terrible flexibility, aim to work on that going forward. Have justed started PHAT and will combine it with IF and 3x HIIT a week. See where it gets me by 1 May.

Goal:

Bench: 5x300lbs
OH-Press: 5x200bs
Squats: 5x400lbs
Deadlift: 5x500lbs

BF <15%

Post: #17

I love how people think they can 'accidentally' get the musculature, vascularity and low body fat of a person who has been lifting heavily and consistently for years and probably done multiple steroid cycles, and it's something they need to avoid.

My current goal is to avoid looking like Ronnie Coleman in his prime, so I'm just curling a couple of 2lb dumbbells and not eating too much.

Post: #18

Damn, this thread is humbling.

Post: #19

(03-13-2013 06:48 AM)Kitsune Wrote:  I love how people think they can 'accidentally' get the musculature, vascularity and low body fat of a person who has been lifting heavily and consistently for years and probably done multiple steroid cycles, and it's something they need to avoid.

My current goal is to avoid looking like Ronnie Coleman in his prime, so I'm just curling a couple of 2lb dumbbells and not eating too much.

Sarcasm aside, do you think it is actually even remotely possible to get as big as some of the famous bodybuilders, without some sort of assistance?

What do you think is the biggest someone with average genetics, years of dedicated and optimal training, and great nutrition plan, can get naturally?

Post: #20

I'm 5'11 180 lbs 14% body fat. My goal is to be around 175 lbs with 10% body fat mainly because I play soccer often and would like the physique of a soccer player with a little more size. Currently cutting but its taking me forever to drop a few pounds...

Post: #21

(03-13-2013 10:41 AM)juice Wrote:  I'm 5'11 180 lbs 14% body fat. My goal is to be around 175 lbs with 10% body fat mainly because I play soccer often and would like the physique of a soccer player with a little more size. Currently cutting but its taking me forever to drop a few pounds...

I started a cut mid January and up until mid February, I was making steady progress, I had lost 4-5 pounds. Then lately past 2-3 weeks, very negligible progress.

So I decided to cut for just 3 more weeks - no more, no less. After that it will be over. First few days since I started this have been extremely solid.

Just set yourself a date, make sure you count calories, drink lots of water.. and be strict on yourself.

Post: #22

Three years ago after recovering from surgery I was down to about 165. It didnt look good on a 6'2 frame. I started going to the gym 5 days a week and now I weigh 200. I play soccer 3 times a week so its hard to put on weight but I've managed. Big difference in the way women respond to me. I'm sitting around 14% bf. My bench is 225 x 8. I'm trying to get it up to 245. I just broke my plateau so I'm adding an extra 10 pounds every month.

Most guys that try to avoid the "meathead" look were super skinny like me and just starting out. I felt the same way until I realized that it's almost impossible to achieve that goal without an insane amount of dedication. I eat as much as I can and lift as much as I can and after 3 years I'm still no where near that size. It comes down to genetics and roids a lot of the time.

I'm hoping to be about 208 by the end of the summer with around 12% bf.

Post: #23

(03-13-2013 06:48 AM)Kitsune Wrote:  I love how people think they can 'accidentally' get the musculature, vascularity and low body fat of a person who has been lifting heavily and consistently for years and probably done multiple steroid cycles, and it's something they need to avoid.

My current goal is to avoid looking like Ronnie Coleman in his prime, so I'm just curling a couple of 2lb dumbbells and not eating too much.

Yeah, just doing Starting Strength and eating the way I normally do, even seeing the huge changes from newbie gains, I realize there's no way I'll get too big. I eat and feel like a killer, mostly protein, with the occasional fresh veggie juice, but it doesn't stop me from eating garbage. I think some guys use their fear of becoming a meathead to rationalize not giving their best in the gym and making faces as they lift. I'm too lean if anything. It takes serious overeating to bulk up.

Post: #24

(03-13-2013 01:48 AM)Jaylow Wrote:  Pretty nice lifting stats Western, especially for this board. Your bench is insanely low compared to your sq and DL. Your plateau questions were for bench? What are your tri exercises?

Quote:I prefer food over the dedication it would take to get single digit bf.

Same. I love food so much, especially fast food and sour candy. Ive had all my abs visible once in my life for about half a year. Its really hard to get to that point and then maintain. I am working a heavy intensive labour job for the next 7 months so getting low BF will be easy. Keeping most of my muscle is going to be very hard on the other hand.

I used to have a bunch of limiting beliefs about the bench and a ton of excuses. Hardly trained it cuz I was a pussy haha. Now I ask for spots so I'm not afraid of failure, I'm doing tons of volume to work on form. As for tricep stuff I do jm presses then close grips.

Post: #25

5'10, 145, and sub 10% body fat. Looks very good, best physique for dressing well, and easy to maintain with a disciplined diet and minimal gym work. Tennis and basketball a few times a week.