Got Built?

This is the cut that never ends, I swear.

That being said, I want to see how truly freaking lean I can get this year.

I’ve been hovering around 134-137 for what seems to be an eternity, but my weight has finally started to cooperate with me – 132 lbs as of this AM, and after two days in a row with carbs.

Funny that this whole “eating less food” thing really works!

My workouts are in a holding pattern at this point. I’m down to 3×5’s for all the heavy compounds, 2-3×8s for the accessory work, no direct arm or calf work, and I’m hanging in there with my Bosu-ball crunches, twice a week, three sets of 8, with a 70-lb dumbbell on my chest.

You could drive a truck over my abs right now. They feel like steel, even to me, and I’m used to them.

Outside of refeeds, these are my approximate target macros:

LBM = 114 lbs.

Average weekly macros:
151g of protein,
75g of fat, and
106g of carbohydrate,
1,700 calories in total.

Lifting/HIIT days:
151g of protein,
67g of fat, and
151g of carbohydrate,
1,809 calories in total.

Rest/SS Cardio days:
151g of protein,
86g of fat, and
45g of carbohydrate,
1,554 calories in total.

I’m loosely following a bit of an intermittent fasting concept 1, 2 – I try to undereat as much as possible in the daytime so I can overeat at night, when I need it. So far, I’m really liking this. I’d rather feel full part of the day than unsatisfied ALL day. But I’m too much of a pussy to just not eat all day.

My compromise is to eat very low carb until about 5 or 6 PM. Breakfast is half an avocado, an ounce or so of tuna and about four ounces of cottage cheese. This keeps me full until about 1PM, when I have the other half the avocado in a salad of romaine, with olive oil dressing and some chicken. About half an hour or so before I train, I eat a little fruit and some cottage cheese. After is all starch, all the time baby! And everything else that’s left.

I’m doing my workouts a little out of sequence right now. I’ll describe the sequence:

Monday: horizontal push pull, abs, HIIT, high carb day

Lifting: This is usually

• 3×5 incline bench with 95 lbs,
• 3×5 BO rows or t-bars or rack deads,
• 3×8 incline dumbbell press with 40 lbs a side, and
• 3×8 one arm rows with 45 a side.

I finish up with 3×8 Bosu ball crunches with a 70-lb dumbbell on my chest. I was stuck at 65, but I’ve perfected the “thigh-pop” to get the weight into position.

HIIT: I’m in a holding pattern with 10 minutes of the 8-second recumbent sprints. This is followed with steady-state spinning for whatever remains of the 20 minutes I devote to post workout cardio.

Tuesday: quad dominant, ham accessory, “8 seconds of glory” recumbent sprints, high carb

Lifting:

• 3×5 fronts with a plate a side,
• 3×8 fronts with 35 a side,
• 3×8 hyperbench GHRs with a 35-lb plate in my arms.

HIIT for this day is treadmill sprints, which I precede with a dynamic warmup/stretching protocol I developed thanks to Tyron Piteau.

30:60 work:rest ratio, 10 MPH flat grade for sprints, 3.5 MPH flat grade for recovery. This is followed with fast incline walking for the remainder of my 20-minute session. 6-8 sprints.

Wednesday: off; low-carb day

Thursday: Ham dominant, quad accessory, treadmill sprints, post-workout half-day refeed, usually around 300g carb for the day.

Lifting:
3×5 RDLs with 155 lbs,
3×8 seated cable hamstring pullthroughs with whatever I can manage (I don’t wear reading glasses to the gym, I always forget my guide-dog so I just lift by feel),
3×8 front squats with 35 lbs a side.

HIIT: “8 seconds of doom”

Friday: Vertical push pull, abs, “8 seconds of glory” recumbent sprints, high carb

Lifting:
I’ve gone back to my old standby of self-assisted chins at the squat rack, but weighted with a 25-lb plate hanging between my legs. Makes me feel manly. *pounds chest*

• 3×5 weighted negative chins,
• 3×5 hang cleans with 30 a side,
• 3×8 one-arm lat pulldowns,
• 3×8 Arnies with 30 a side. 3×8 Bosu ball crunches with a 70-lb dumbbell.

HIIT:Dynamic warmup;
treadmill sprints – 20:40 work:rest ratio, 10 MPH at 2% grade for sprints, 3.5 MPH flat grade for recovery. This is followed with fast incline walking for the remainder of my 20-minute session. 8-10 sprints.

Saturday: Hill Repeats, low carb

- I’m up to 30 minutes of hills, walking the whole time at about 3.7 MPH. Incline starts at 10% grade and ends at 15% (I max out the treadmill) with minute rests at 5%, so it looks kinda like this:

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 10%

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 11%

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 12%

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 13%

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 14%

1 minute at 5%
4 minutes at 15%

Sunday: Rest, low carb.
There are a few days in here where I go for a 20-minute walk in the AM, usually before breakfast (don’t shoot me, it’s just a walk, not a jog, and it’s 20 minutes), and sometimes a few more walks in the evening. But these are fairly leisurely – like an after-dinner walk.

Notes:
I’m JUST starting to feel hard – my quads, abs – nice and solid. The lower body fluff is still there of course, but not as much as last year. All the sprinting is clearly having an effect, and the dynamic stretches and varying modalities are keeping me from injuries. Although I’m behind, this cut is going really, really well for me. I’m very pleased.