ASINES - Cut #2 Journal

[ASINES]

Originally Posted by WorkoutMchne

I don't know what all of that says, because it's too long for me to read. All I know is that you are a very big and strong individual, so whatever it says, keep doing it. Great work man.

lol........thanks

[ASINES]

Well I’d say that I’m pretty well “restocked” with glycogen! I had about 5 days worth of high carb intake. It wreaked havoc on my digestive system, but there’s no doubt that I felt a spike in my metabolism. (I wish I would’ve taken before & after temperature readings to compare.) It sure was nice to not count calories and expand the menu a bit.

This downtime allowed me to do a little re-evaluating. Long story short, I’ve lost the motivation to continue dropping down any further for the time being. The diet menu is becoming very stale. I know I’ve been pretty adamant about getting to my “goal”, which I guess was defined as a “near stage ready leaness”, whatever that may mean. However, I said it before I started and this process has confirmed it – for guys who don’t compete, it’s counterproductive to drop to unnecessarily low body fat levels for a long time period. It just takes away from growth potential. It’s best to just use common sense guidelines (cardio, carb cutoffs, limit junk, etc.) year round and keep as lean as possible without becoming obsessive-compulsive about it. Every once in awhile maybe throw in a 2-3 week lower calorie period to keep bodyfat levels in check. (I think this is a strategy used by Layne Norton.)

In retrospect, what I’ve accomplished so far is dropping about 25-30 lbs of excess fat. I’m as lean as I was on my first cut, only this time I’ve held onto all the muscle. The condition I’m in right now (probably 11%-12% bodyfat ) if desired, is maintainable year round if common sense is used. If I can maintain this leaness and stay in the 240-245 range for a month or two, maybe I’ll feel like dropping down further later in the summer. I have a GREAT headstart should I choose that route. Right now though, 19 weeks seems long enough. I’m ready for a break.

So, it’s time to transition to a maintenance diet strategy for awhile. I want to stay in the 240-245 range for awhile and leave the option open for dropping lower later in the summer. Cardio will still be incorporated, but not quite to the extent that it is now obviously.

Diet Plan:
Weight Training Days:
Protein = 310g
Carbs = 386g
Fats = 49g
Calories = 3238

Non-Weight Training Days:
Protein = 285g
Carbs = 190g
Fats = 77g
Calories = 2531

Cardio Plan:
Non-weight training days (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
• For two (2) of the four (4) sessions - morning (stationary bike); 15 minute HIIT session; 2 minute warmup (level 4.0), ten (10) one (1) minute intervals consisting of 12 sec sprint & 48 sec moderate, finish up remainder of time (3 min) with moderate pace (level 4.0)
• For the other two (2) sessions - morning (stationary bike); 30 minute LISS session

Weight training days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• Postworkout (elliptical or stationary bike); 20 minute LISS session

[ASINES]

As noted in my last journal entry, I stopped the calorie deficit after week 18 due to simply being burnout. Since then, I’ve just basically just eaten what I wanted; some days were ok, but several days were well over maintenance. Yes, poor approach, I know, but now I feel completely recharged mentally. Training is still progressing…..beating the logbook as usual. Body composition has obviously not improved; I weighed 244 this morning but I’m holding a good bit of water and likely a couple extra pounds of fat from my recent poorly disciplined diet approach.

It’s pretty clear though, now that I’ve had a chance to go back to the “other side”, that I’ll kick myself if I stop this recomp now. I need to follow this thing through. I’m not convinced at all that I’m lean enough yet to where it’s borderline maintainable; that’s simply a cop-out at this point. Heck, I can barely see an ab outline at this point! Realistically speaking, I can probably get down to the lower to mid 220’s before I drop below a reasonably maintainable condition. That’s the point I want to get to; and that point is not far away.

So, as of this morning, I’m back on the wagon. However, I will be using a different approach. I think I’d rather give the traditional carb-cycling approach a try. My diet through the week will look pretty similar to week 18, although I won’t have the single large refeed once a week. Instead, two of my three training days will have a slightly higher carb intake to act as a moderate refeed, twice a week. Lower GI carb sources will be used to keep a more stable blood sugar. This approach should keep me more disciplined since it doesn’t allow the use of the “good stuff”!

We head to the beach on July 7th. It would be nice to have reached my goal by then so I can enjoy my vacation food! That gives me about 7 weeks, so 15-20 lbs in that time period means no room for error. (That’s 2.1-2.9 lbs per week, which will be tough!)

Training days will be Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. That means that Monday morning would probably be my most depleted state. So, Monday morning will be my weigh-in day. Monday and Friday will be the moderate refeed days.

Diet Plan:
Moderate Refeed Weight Training Days (Monday & Friday):
Protein = 310g
Carbs = 323g
Fats = 49g
Calories = 2884

Regular Weight Training Day (Wednesday):
Protein = 310g
Carbs = 218g
Fats = 45g
Calories = 2453

Non-Weight Training Days:
Protein = 281g
Carbs = 88g
Fats = 63g
Calories = 1984

Total weekly calories = 16,157

Cardio Plan:
Weight training days (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
• Morning session - stationary bike - 30 minutes overall - LISS (keep within 4.0-4.5 pace)
• Postworkout session – elliptical or stationary bike - 20 minutes overall - LISS

Non-weight training days (Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
• Morning session - stationary bike - 30 minutes overall - HIIT and LISS hybrid- 5 minute warmup (level 4.0), fifteen (15) one (1) minute intervals consisting of 12 sec sprint & 48 sec moderate, finish up remainder of time (10 min) with moderate pace (level 4.0)
• Evening session - stationary bike - 30 minutes overall - LISS (keep within 4.0-4.5 pace)