LittleBigHorn
New Member
Hi everyone,
just a few thoughts concerning my (failed) cutter this past spring and summer. Now, first off, I pretty much did everything the same as I did last year (late spring & most of the summer). The only difference was that last year I actually managed to lose some 10 lbs of weight AND gain a little strength while at it! A succesfully orchestrated cutter, one might say. I never got to a very ripped BF%, though.. as I seem to be incapable of doing so (repeated attempts.. around 13% ish is where I stop burning fat altogether, no matter how low I go with the calories and/or how much cardio I do). Anyway, I pretty much did things the same this year: gradually lowering my calorie intake to -500 maintenance, doing cardio 3-4 times a week, and lifting twice a day, 3 x a week (splitting the volume between two workouts, doing heavy weights to conserve muscle & strength in the morning, and lighter weights with reps of 15 in the late afternoon for a metabolic boost + joint maintenance). Basically a modified version of HST. I was happy with the results from last year, so I thought it would work well now. It really didn't. I managed to lose a little fat and water weight, but I mostly just burned myself out and had to go back up to maintenace after about 2.5 months of failed attempts at making things work. What's worse is I think I lost a good deal of muscle even though I didn't manage to lose much fat, since my weight went down quite a bit (probably 15 lbs), and I've looked flat, deflated and generally smaller ever since I came off the cutter (I'm currently at my next HST cycle, finished with the 10's, ready for the 6's). I also lost about 22 lbs on my bench press. Oddly enough, my other lifts didn't go down much at all, so it may have been a localised overtraining problem of some sort, specific to the muscles involved in the bench press. I also stopped taking creatine at some point during the mid phase of the (failed) cutter, which may play a part in things going downhill..
Anyway, I'm wondering if it could be a hormonal problem.. why I'm finding it so difficult to burn fat or gain lean mass without my BF% going up. I've never really been at a very high BF%, probably around 18 at most before I started to lift weights (I ate junk food, drank and smoked back then, so I was in comparatively good shape, all things considered), and ever since I started lifting it's been pretty steady at 13% - 16% or so. I think I could get fat easily if I tried to seriously bulk, though, which I really can't do, since I can never get my BF% down to a low enough number to make bulking up a feasible option!
Another thing; I made pretty good progress during my first 2.5 years of lifting, but ever since then my body composition hasn't really changed at all. I'm going on 3.5 years now. I haven't managed to add any more lean mass (at least not visibly, and not according to the scales, either), nor have I leaned down considerably (i.e. my bodyfat setpoint is pretty much the same as it was at that 2.5 year mark). I have made some strength gains during this past year, but they haven't been that spectacular, excepting some lifts that seem to be easy for me naturally.
Looking back on some pics I took after 2 - 2.5 years of lifting, I almost look like I was in better shape back then (even though I may be a bit stronger now)! And that is not cool at all.. in fact, it's very discouraging.
Regarding the possibility of having inadequate testosterone levels; I should by all accounts have a robust sex hormone output (or at least sufficiently strong one for making some kind of bodybuilding progress), being a healthy 22 year old man, but I have to say I don't have a huge sex drive (it's not nonexistent.. just not very powerful), and I'm generally pretty depressed and unmotivated (lifting weights is about the only thing I'm actually motivated about!). I eat very clean, I take my vitamins, minerals, zinc, etc etc, I don't drink any alcohol, and I don't smoke. I also try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. I'm just so pissed off and frustrated sometimes with all the effort I'm putting into getting in shape and staying healthy, only to have my body fight back against my efforts. I look at pics of guys who have been lifting for as long as I have (approx. 3 years), and they all seem bigger and leaner than me. That could be a psychological thing, at least in part.. some sort of twisted perception of my own body, making it seem inferior in comparison, but I honestly feel like I've been cheated out of gains that should be rightfully mine. I should look more like a goddamned weight lifter by now instead of an average joe who lifts recreationally!
I suppose I'm looking for feedback from people who have been in a similar situation. Advice on how they managed to start making measurable gains is very welcome, too.
Here are a couple of pics of me, just for reference. The angles are deceptive, and I think I look bigger in them than I really am. I'm a hair short of 5'11" tall, and my weight fluctuates between 170 lbs at the very lowest and 188 lbs (I've basically been zig zagging in this weight range ever since my 'newbie gains' ended, after my first 2 years of lifting that took me from 150 lbs to 180, at pretty much the same BF%.. 14% ish).
Oh yeah, my apologies if this rant sounded like a long winded exercise in self pity, but all things considered, I've managed to keep a pretty positive and hopeful outlook on things. I'll never throw in the towel, that's for sure.
Don't mind the dumb ass faces I'm making, btw.. I find it excruciatingly difficult to have a blank/normal face when I'm taking a pic of myself, or when someone else is taking a pic of me. I always end up looking like a retard.
The first two pics were taken last winter, if I recall correctly. The last one with the sun shining through the window was taken this past summer, and that was as low as my BF% would go.
just a few thoughts concerning my (failed) cutter this past spring and summer. Now, first off, I pretty much did everything the same as I did last year (late spring & most of the summer). The only difference was that last year I actually managed to lose some 10 lbs of weight AND gain a little strength while at it! A succesfully orchestrated cutter, one might say. I never got to a very ripped BF%, though.. as I seem to be incapable of doing so (repeated attempts.. around 13% ish is where I stop burning fat altogether, no matter how low I go with the calories and/or how much cardio I do). Anyway, I pretty much did things the same this year: gradually lowering my calorie intake to -500 maintenance, doing cardio 3-4 times a week, and lifting twice a day, 3 x a week (splitting the volume between two workouts, doing heavy weights to conserve muscle & strength in the morning, and lighter weights with reps of 15 in the late afternoon for a metabolic boost + joint maintenance). Basically a modified version of HST. I was happy with the results from last year, so I thought it would work well now. It really didn't. I managed to lose a little fat and water weight, but I mostly just burned myself out and had to go back up to maintenace after about 2.5 months of failed attempts at making things work. What's worse is I think I lost a good deal of muscle even though I didn't manage to lose much fat, since my weight went down quite a bit (probably 15 lbs), and I've looked flat, deflated and generally smaller ever since I came off the cutter (I'm currently at my next HST cycle, finished with the 10's, ready for the 6's). I also lost about 22 lbs on my bench press. Oddly enough, my other lifts didn't go down much at all, so it may have been a localised overtraining problem of some sort, specific to the muscles involved in the bench press. I also stopped taking creatine at some point during the mid phase of the (failed) cutter, which may play a part in things going downhill..
Anyway, I'm wondering if it could be a hormonal problem.. why I'm finding it so difficult to burn fat or gain lean mass without my BF% going up. I've never really been at a very high BF%, probably around 18 at most before I started to lift weights (I ate junk food, drank and smoked back then, so I was in comparatively good shape, all things considered), and ever since I started lifting it's been pretty steady at 13% - 16% or so. I think I could get fat easily if I tried to seriously bulk, though, which I really can't do, since I can never get my BF% down to a low enough number to make bulking up a feasible option!
Another thing; I made pretty good progress during my first 2.5 years of lifting, but ever since then my body composition hasn't really changed at all. I'm going on 3.5 years now. I haven't managed to add any more lean mass (at least not visibly, and not according to the scales, either), nor have I leaned down considerably (i.e. my bodyfat setpoint is pretty much the same as it was at that 2.5 year mark). I have made some strength gains during this past year, but they haven't been that spectacular, excepting some lifts that seem to be easy for me naturally.
Looking back on some pics I took after 2 - 2.5 years of lifting, I almost look like I was in better shape back then (even though I may be a bit stronger now)! And that is not cool at all.. in fact, it's very discouraging.
Regarding the possibility of having inadequate testosterone levels; I should by all accounts have a robust sex hormone output (or at least sufficiently strong one for making some kind of bodybuilding progress), being a healthy 22 year old man, but I have to say I don't have a huge sex drive (it's not nonexistent.. just not very powerful), and I'm generally pretty depressed and unmotivated (lifting weights is about the only thing I'm actually motivated about!). I eat very clean, I take my vitamins, minerals, zinc, etc etc, I don't drink any alcohol, and I don't smoke. I also try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. I'm just so pissed off and frustrated sometimes with all the effort I'm putting into getting in shape and staying healthy, only to have my body fight back against my efforts. I look at pics of guys who have been lifting for as long as I have (approx. 3 years), and they all seem bigger and leaner than me. That could be a psychological thing, at least in part.. some sort of twisted perception of my own body, making it seem inferior in comparison, but I honestly feel like I've been cheated out of gains that should be rightfully mine. I should look more like a goddamned weight lifter by now instead of an average joe who lifts recreationally!
I suppose I'm looking for feedback from people who have been in a similar situation. Advice on how they managed to start making measurable gains is very welcome, too.
Here are a couple of pics of me, just for reference. The angles are deceptive, and I think I look bigger in them than I really am. I'm a hair short of 5'11" tall, and my weight fluctuates between 170 lbs at the very lowest and 188 lbs (I've basically been zig zagging in this weight range ever since my 'newbie gains' ended, after my first 2 years of lifting that took me from 150 lbs to 180, at pretty much the same BF%.. 14% ish).
Oh yeah, my apologies if this rant sounded like a long winded exercise in self pity, but all things considered, I've managed to keep a pretty positive and hopeful outlook on things. I'll never throw in the towel, that's for sure.
Don't mind the dumb ass faces I'm making, btw.. I find it excruciatingly difficult to have a blank/normal face when I'm taking a pic of myself, or when someone else is taking a pic of me. I always end up looking like a retard.
The first two pics were taken last winter, if I recall correctly. The last one with the sun shining through the window was taken this past summer, and that was as low as my BF% would go.
