Need some help

[Joe.Muscle]

Ok guys. I recently posted some pics of myself after bulking.

I weigh 192 at 13% right now. Last year I did everything in my power to be the leanest ever and well it worked. I got down to 8 % but lost a lot of muscle doing it. After spending the past 8 months getting the muscle back I feel and look better.

So I am at 13% bodyfat and I have 2 abs showing and a flat stomach. With clothes on I look very lean...with clothes off (shirtless) I don't have my abs or stomach as tight as I like.

What do I do. I know that a calorie is a calorie and I can't spot reduce.

I don't think a cut is a good thing but how else do I get the midsection tighter/ leaner?

If I cut again I feel I get to small...but if I continue to bulk the midsection is going to get bigger.

I have been training abs for a while. Nothing serious 2 to 4 sets 3 times a week. I train them in the 10 to 15 rep range with 125 to 155 pounds of weight...heavy weighted crunches.

At one point in time I just thought I needed more ab hypertrophy?

I know eating clean does nothing if a calorie is a calorie?

Any suggestions???

 

[scientific muscle]

for some people, getting chiseled abs without being very skinny is near impossible without drugs. I am one who has to lose a ton of weight (and muscle!) to get the last bit if stubborn belly fat off.
I don't want to do steroids right now, so I have decided to give up the whole idea of chiseled abs and just keep packing on muscle. I have done two major cuts and both times I stopped when strength losses started and I never made it to the 6-pack look. That made me realize that strength and size are more important to me than being ripped.

For a 'natural' lifter, I think most of us have to decide between being big and being super-lean. Most natural bodybuilders look sickly thin on stage, as it so difficult to retain lean mass and get to 5% bodyfat without anabolic hormones.

 

[bluejacket]

classic problem almost everyone encounters at one point or another.

dont feel your muscular enough to cut down to single digit bf% (and look the way you want) but feel your a little too soft in the middle with summer (only time you really have an excuse to be shirtless in public) fast approaching.

a very small percentage of folks can add signif mass without much fat and you would probably know already if you were one. a slow bulk is an option many talk about but if your not real careful the emphasis winds up being on slow and not on bulk (btw, slow is all relative anyway). a slow bulk also wont change the 13% your currently at.

it really come down to what your ultimate goal is. if you realy want more muscle mass then cutting and staying lean for the "warm months" will postpone your gains until next fall. if you really do enjoy being "leaner" for the summer (im betting you'll look better than you think) and feel you were still able to put good muscle on in the winter then go that direction.

personally, ive always struggled to get bigger. it took a long time for me to get a proper diet and w/o sorted out. on top of that i had a highly demanding physical job in the summer months (may-sept) so my bulks were limited to the winter. although i routinely gained 20-30 lbs (fat/muscle) over the winter my net gain once summer was over was lucky to be 5lbs. not exactly the same as cutting for the summer but you get the idea......a yearly cycle of hard work cutting/bulking with very small net gains to show for it.

a few yrs ago i "retired" from that job and decided for once in my life i would bulk thru the summer. well to make a long story shorter being "soft" for 1 summer has enabled me to put on way more size (and strength) then ever before. i am planning to cut for 1 cycle but that is mainly b/c im begining to reach the 16-18% range and its a little tough on my system. if all goes well ill be back to bulking by mid summer and continue until past the new yr. by next summer i dont plan on looking anything like i did in 05.

i hope that was helpful and not just a lot of rambling, good luck

btw, perhaps try looking into some of the bulk/cut plans on lyles board. i havent tried them yet but something like ud 2.0 may work to periodically shed some fat if you do decide to continue bulking. im not that familiar with his bulking plans so nothing to add there

 

[scientific muscle]

I now consider myself a powerlifter and NOT a bodybuilder, and the change has been nothing but positive. You won't find many powerlifters worried about 'abs' and all that crap. All they think about is their goal bodyweight and weight-class for competitions. I am currently 6'+ and 195. I have been told that at my height I will have to weigh at least 240 to have the muscle to height ratio needed for big lifts. I would have never dreamed of being this big as a natural bodybuilder because of the emphasis on extremely low bodyfat. And while 240 is a long way off for me, I do plan on slowly bulking up to 220 by years end....and probably having to buy a whole new wardrobe with it!

I guess I am happy to be getting away from the appearance-obsession of bodybuilding and just focus on how much I can lift. We bodybuilders can be a bit like anorexic teenage girls sometimes...chill out joe, you look fine!

 

[colby2152]

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">and probably having to buy a whole new wardrobe with it!</div>

Sci, going from 200 to 235 this past year has forced me to change my wardrobe. Target weight will be 220 for my cut, so the net change forces me to get some new clothes regardless.

Joe, you don't want to lose muscle or strength, but as bluejacket says, what is your ultimate goal? Be willing to lose some muscle as you will gain it back very quickly. Also, once you are fit and lean, you can add weight slowly while keeping the abs! Check out my 9th cycle log I will be posting soon.