Improvement Season Update
I am roughly 5 months into my improvement season. I'm feeling pretty fluffy. Body fat is up, face is filled out, boobs won't stop getting bigger. But energy is also up, lifts are strong, and strength continues to increase as I'm constantly setting new PRs in the gym.
Deep off season is an interesting place. Aesthetically, I'm hovering around my worst. Unless I have a decent pump at the gym, my muscles are hiding under a layer a fat, and I sometimes look like I don't even lift. But performance wise, I'm killing it. I'm stronger than I've ever been.
As a physique competitor, these are the trade-offs we must be willing to make. I cannot be so obsessed with staying lean that I never make any appreciable gains. I must accept the fact that fat gain comes with muscle gain, and do my best to minimize fat gain while maximizing muscle gain. I must be patient, knowing that I'm building muscle even though I cannot see it.
I'm sitting at 118 lbs., 20% body fat. Performing zero cardio. Current macros: 70 g. fat, 330 g. carbs, 150 g. protein. (By tracking macros, I'm tracking calories by default. This is 2550 calories for anyone who is curious.) I'm aiming for 0.5 lbs. gain per week, or 2 lbs. gain per month.
Haven't done any dieting since my show in September, but as soon as I hit the wall of feeling too fluffy (which is pretty soon, LOL), I'll do a mini cut. 2-4 weeks in an aggressive deficit to quickly shed some fat, then it's right back to gaining. This is my plan for the next 10 months: moderately paced bulking with aggressive mini cuts as needed to mitigate the fat gain. Expect plenty of updates along the way. :)
Deep off season is an interesting place. Aesthetically, I'm hovering around my worst. Unless I have a decent pump at the gym, my muscles are hiding under a layer a fat, and I sometimes look like I don't even lift. But performance wise, I'm killing it. I'm stronger than I've ever been.
As a physique competitor, these are the trade-offs we must be willing to make. I cannot be so obsessed with staying lean that I never make any appreciable gains. I must accept the fact that fat gain comes with muscle gain, and do my best to minimize fat gain while maximizing muscle gain. I must be patient, knowing that I'm building muscle even though I cannot see it.
I'm sitting at 118 lbs., 20% body fat. Performing zero cardio. Current macros: 70 g. fat, 330 g. carbs, 150 g. protein. (By tracking macros, I'm tracking calories by default. This is 2550 calories for anyone who is curious.) I'm aiming for 0.5 lbs. gain per week, or 2 lbs. gain per month.
Haven't done any dieting since my show in September, but as soon as I hit the wall of feeling too fluffy (which is pretty soon, LOL), I'll do a mini cut. 2-4 weeks in an aggressive deficit to quickly shed some fat, then it's right back to gaining. This is my plan for the next 10 months: moderately paced bulking with aggressive mini cuts as needed to mitigate the fat gain. Expect plenty of updates along the way. :)
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| improvement season, 5 months in |
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| improvement season, 5 months in |
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